Pamela let out a groan and my eyes shot to her. She was swaying on her feet, gripping the back of the chair. “Rylee, what happened?” Her words were slurred as if she were still partially spelled.
Faris turned toward her.
I did the only thing I could. Two quick steps and I grabbed his arm, yanking him back toward me, our faces not more than a whisper apart. “Leave her alone.”
“You reek of fear, Tracker,” he murmured. “I like it.”
It took everything I had not to start shaking. He could pull me apart like a rag muffin doll if he wanted to. But he didn’t, he just lifted a hand and brushed his fingertips along my hairline.
“I’ll go for now.”
I didn’t dare take my eyes from him, as if I could somehow stop him if he tried something. Ha! If only it were that easy. He seemed to hesitate, his lips parting and then he stopped.
“You follow your heart too much. It’s a deadly way to be in our world.”
Then he was gone, slipping out the front door with hardly a sound. I slumped to my knees, remembered Alex, and stood back up, stumbling to where I’d seen him hit the wall. Even the Guardian we’d faced had not been able to knock Alex down, not like this. The werewolf was at a bad angle, his back clearly broken against the corner of the wall. The wall wasn’t looking so good either, but Alex . . . shit. His body was at nearly a ninety-degree angle. Backwards.
Shaking, I crouched next to him. “Hey, buddy, can you hear me?”
He didn’t answer but his tail thumped weakly, his body already putting itself back together. He would be okay, even with a broken back, but I had to straighten him out unless I wanted a crippled werewolf at my side for the rest of my life. Goddamn that vampire for making me do this.
“This is going to hurt a minute. But I have to do it,” I said. One big breath, and I gripped his hind legs and pulled them out straight, aligning his body, his spine crackling where it had begun to heal.
Alex let out a whimper, and then stilled, blessedly passing out.
I got a blanket and covered him up on the floor. Fuck, he would be sore for at least a couple of days. A spinal injury was the worst thing that could have happened; but at least he was alive. Fuck Faris and his need to show up at the worst possible time.
“You just rest, buddy.” There was nothing else for him now but to heal. The rest of the case was going to be on me and me alone.
Next, I moved to Pamela. Her eyes were only at half-mast, her lips drooping. I snapped my fingers in front of her face. Nothing.
“Pamela, wake up.” I said, clapping my hands. Again, nothing.
Prompting her, I led her to the kitchen, grabbed a glass and filled it full of water. “Come on, Pamela. I don’t want to get you wet, but I will.”
I shrugged—wet wasn’t all that bad—and flung the large cup of water in her face.
Gasping, her eyes flew open, and the cupboard doors ripped off their hinges and flew into the air as her power pulsed out of her. She spun, crouching as she scanned the room. Good instincts on her, at least.
“He’s gone.”
“Did you kill him?” She didn’t get up from the crouch.
“No, not yet. He’s stronger than me by a long shot. If I get a chance, well, that’ll be the day I end it for him. Vampires don’t give you many chances, though. That’s why they’re at the top of the food chain.”
Pamela shivered, eyes wide with fear. “I couldn’t stop myself, I . . . .” She knelt down, her shoulders shaking as she cried out the terror and the guilt. How did I know what she was feeling? Cause I was struggling with the same emotions. Faris just seemed to have that effect on people.
Helping Pamela to her feet, I led her to the bedroom and handed her some of my clothes. “Here, see if these fit.”
I went back out and checked on Alex. His big golden eyes were open. “Alex hurts.”
Stretching out beside him, I carefully put one arm across his middle. “I know, but it will get better.”
“Promise?”
“Promise. But you’re going to stay here until you’re better.”
He didn’t answer me, his breathing eased and he slipped back into unconsciousness. Good thing too, since painkillers wouldn’t have helped him any, at least no human ones. And I had nothing in my gear for something of this magnitude. What I needed was a Shaman, and I didn’t think I was going to find one of those over here in London.
“These fit okay,” Pamela said.
Lifting my head, I could only see that the bottom of my jeans had been rolled up at least three times. She was dry and ready to go.
Giving Alex one last stroke across his head, I dusted off my pants. “I’m going to get my weapons, and we need something for you too.”