He grabbed my wrist before I went far. “A human doctor can’t help me. I only need more time to rest and heal.”
Marduk walked through the door, his hands full of packages and bags. He gave me a bright smile. “You’re back! Did you see your new door? It’s going to be even better than the old one. Wallis said we should paint it soon. We could look at colors tomorrow and help you paint.”
“That’s nice,” I said. “But we need to help Danzig!”
Marduk looked past me at his brother, his brows furrowed. “Do you need another healing charm?”
“No, this one is still working,” Danzig said. His smile was wavering, as if he was having a hard time focusing. “Explain, ‘k?”
The exposed eye dropped closed, and his body relaxed. Was he asleep or had he passed out from pain and blood loss?
“I’m going to call an ambulance,” I said, pulling out my phone. “He could have a serious brain injury.”
“Please don’t do that,” Marduk said, stepping over to the dining table and setting down all the stuff in his arms.
“Don’t what? Try to save Danzig’s life?” I asked, outrage and worry making my voice high.
“Don’t get humans involved,” Marduk said, tugging the phone out of my hand. Hugo made a little whining sound as he climbedup the set of doggy stairs and settled on Danzig’s stomach, the leash trailing down to the floor.
Danzig made a comforting sound and tried to pet Hugo, but his hand rested on the dog’s head for a second, then dropped to the side.
Hugo shifted his eyes to me. He looked as worried as I felt.
“Danzig is healing,” Marduk said. “I know it looks bad, but it's already much better.”
If this was much better, then the original wound must’ve been horrific!
“Did he really trip?” I asked. The bodies from earlier flashed through my head. What if that spell had caused this somehow?
“In a way,” Marduk said. It was clear he felt intensely guilty, so I knew he had something to do with Danzig’s injury. “He used a healing charm that will accelerate the process. Human doctors wouldn’t help, and they might even hurt him. The important thing is that he’s able to rest. After the healing process is finished, he’ll be hungry. That’s why I ran out and got all that food. It’s from one of his favorite places.”
His care made me relax a little. If anyone was going to do what was best for Danzig, it would be Marduk.
“Maybe we should move him to my room? He could stretch out on my bed.”
Marduk looked relieved. “Yes, that would be better for him.”
With almost no effort, Marduk leaned over and picked up Danzig with Hugo still snuggled on top of him. As he turned to face me, I unclipped Hugo's leash.
“This way,” I said, and led him up the stairs and into my room. Marduk carefully laid Danzig out on the bed. Hugo slid off Danzig’s stomach, then turned in a tight circle about a dozen times. Finally, he snuggled down against Danzig’s side.
I moved to the foot of the bed and tried to get off his surprisingly complicated boots. “What kind of shoes are these?” I grumbled.
Marduk gently nudged me aside and unclipped them. “They’re motorcycle boots.”
After the boots were off, I grabbed a blanket and gently draped it over his legs. He mumbled something, and his hand fell away from his face, taking the soiled towel with it. I had a clear view of his cut. It looked slightly less angry than when I'd seen it downstairs. Or maybe I was fooling myself, I wasn’t sure.
“Oh good, it stopped bleeding,” Marduk said, tugging the cloth out of Danzig's lax hand.
“Should we wake him up every hour?” I asked, trying to remember what head injury protocol was. It'd been so long since I’d taken a first aid course that all I could recall was that he should be checked, which included making sure he knew his name and the year. Or something like that.
“No, we don’t need to,” Marduk said. “But if it would make you feel better, you can do it.”
“I’m worried about—oh!” I gave a little startled cry when something grabbed my arm. It was Danzig. His eyes were still closed, but his hand was firmly clasped around my wrist.
“Don’t leave,” he whispered, not opening his eyes. “I need comfort. My head hurts, and I feel better when you touch me.”
I heard Marduk let out a derisive snort, but I ignored him. “Let me get a chair. I can sit next to you, and we can hold hands.”
