‘Ow,’ I whimpered.
‘I did warn you,’ she replied but I thought I detected an iota of sympathy somewhere.
I folded forward, nausea surging, vision greying. Ugh. I’d forgotten how truly awful a scry was.
Loki screeched at my pain.
He dive-bombed from his position at the top of the ceiling and landed on my shoulder, pressing his small, warm body against my neck. His wings stroked my skin, feather-soft and grounding.
Easy, Pigdog,he crooned, voice deep and steady.Breathe. I’ll help.
Something warm spread through me.
The pain didn’t vanish entirely, but it dulled. Shifted from a screaming agony to a brutal, grinding ache. Still, it was enough that I could breathe again, enough that I didn’t faint embarrassingly in front of Bastion.
I sagged back into the chair, shaking.
Amber crouched in front of me, green eyes dark with concern. ‘Are you all right, Inspector?’
‘Defineall right,’ I rasped.
‘Well, I suspect you’ve got a migraine to deal with and then some.’
‘I’d agree with that assessment,’ I ground out with effort. Skull pounding like a Scottish drum, I closed my eyes against the light and battled the rising nausea.
‘Potions won’t touch it,’ she warned. ‘Your brain’s overstimulated. Mundane and magical. Time for a lie down, Inspector.’
I didn’t argue. I couldn’t. I was no good to anyone like this.
Strong and surprisingly gentle arms led me to my room, pulled off my jacket and shoes, and gently pressed me into bed.
‘I’ll lock up as we leave,’ Bastion promised. ‘And I’ll start digging on the vampyr.’
‘Thanks,’ I mumbled.
I closed my eyes and let the rest of the day dissolve into darkness while Loki perched protectively on my pillow, doing his best to chase away the worst of the pain.
Chapter Eight
When I woke a couple of hours later, the headache had settled into something deep and relentless, like a vice clamped around my skull.
Warm arms encircled me, and I recognised the scent around me instantly. Robbie.
I relaxed against him and kept my eyes closed. ‘Hey,’ I said.
He pressed a gentle kiss to my temple. ‘Hey. Loki summoned me. Apparently you’re nursing one hell of a headache.’
‘Yeah. I got Amber to scry the vampyr’s image from my mind, and now I regret my choices.’
‘I’ve got some Common medicine. It helps more than potions, or so I’m told.’ He reached out to his duffel bag, grabbed some tablets, and passed them to me along with some water.
I took them. At this point, I’d eat a spider if someone told me it would help the grinding agony in my head.
Loki trilled and pressed his head to my hand. Again, the agony lessened.
‘Thanks, buddy,’ I murmured. ‘That helps.’
He hopped up to the cushion next to me and closed his eyes too. Helping me was tiring him.
