Malachi came charging back out from the closet and dove for the Darkling, tackling him off me. They both crashed and tumbled back through the hole in the other room.
Thomas and Alexander finally entered, and assisted Kade at the window.
“We’ve got this man,” Thomas said.
I couldn’t move. Pain. Sharp, excruciating pain radiated in my chest. It was nearly unbearable. It felt like my ribs were broken, but I wasn’t sure. I was surprised I still had any ribs left at all, they’d been broken so many times.
Kade was suddenly over me, scooping me up into his arms. He took off running, out of the room, toward the end of the hall. He stopped abruptly and kicked open the last door on the left, then carried me into the bathroom, carefully laying me on the floor before locking the door behind us.
He then went to the sink cabinet, and yanked it away from the wall. Right behind it was a small latched door. He unlatched it and pushed it open, then picked me up and carried me in, setting me back down. He then pulled the sink back into place, and closed the trap door, locking it from the inside. We were draped in pitch-black.
I could hear him feeling around the walls. “Where the hell is it?” he muttered, under his breath. “There it is.” A flashlight clicked on and we had light.
WE WERE IN A PASSAGEWAY in between the walls. It was tall and wide enough for any full sized person to stand and walk comfortably. I could hear banging and muffled growls and screams, but they seemed so far away.
“Don’t worry. We’re safe here. These walls are reinforced with steel,” he assured me.
I couldn’t answer him, and knew I had a look of fear and pain in my eyes. I could barely breathe, and was still trying to breathe without pain.
“Where are you hurt?” he asked.
I pointed to my chest, and he carefully lifted my sweatshirt. When he reached my ribcage, his eyes pressed closed.
“Dammit. Did they break your ribs again?”
I shook my head, not completely sure.
“Let me get you to the safe room.” He picked me up again and carried me down through a small maze of openings. He ended at the front of a large metal door. He set me down, and as soon as he did, I collapsed forward.
“Emma,” he gasped, catching me before I hit the ground. Gently setting me down, he then opened the door, and clicked on a light. Picking me up, he carried me over to one of the two beds, and carefully laid me down.
“I thought I’d be bringing you down here after dinner, but I guess now is better than ever,” he said with a sad grin.
He headed over to a wall and opened up a cabinet. “I left my vial in my room, but I think Alaine keeps some here, he said lifting a few bottles and reading their contents. “Here we go,” he said happily, unscrewing the top of a clear bottle. He made his way over to me and carefully lifted my head, then placed the vial to my lips. I took a sip, and instantly, started to feel tingly. The tingles continued down to my ribs, soon making them numb.
“Thank you,” I said through my deep breaths.
“I’m glad it helps. I can’t bear to see you in pain.”
I smiled at him. “And what about you?”
“I’m fine.” He smiled.
“I noticed you locked the bathroom door from the inside. What if the others try and get in?”
“There is more than one entrance to this place. It’s like a maze to throw off the Darkling, in case they get in. I guess Alaine has a thing with secret mazes.”
I grinned. He shifted, and I noticed blood dripping down his arm. As I followed the trail of crimson, I noticed a rip in his shirt, and a gash about three inches long on his bicep which continued across to his chest. It looked deep, and I could see his flesh.
“You’re hurt,” I said tugging at his arm. “Let me see that.”
“No, it’s fine. Just a scratch.”
“A scratch? That is not a scratch,” I said, pulling him closer. I sat up and took in a deep breath. My ribs felt much better, so I stood up from the bed. “Sit,” I instructed.
He narrowed his eyes and plopped down on the bed in front of me. “It’s nothing, really. I was just scraped by some damn shards of glass when I pushed a Darkling out the window.” He tried to make light of it.
I leaned over for a closer look and swallowed as I saw the depth of the wound. “It’s pretty bad and needs to be taken care of immediately,” I sighed. I took the vial from his hand. “I’ll need you to take your shirt off.” He glanced at me with a crooked grin, so I held up the vial and smiled. “So I can apply the medicine.”
“Sure,” he exhaled, pulling his shirt over his head. My eyes wandered to his chest and continued down to his perfect abs, lingering there a little too long. “Ahem.” He cleared his throat, making me blush.