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lay naked on the bed, still screaming and writhing in pain. The screams
started only moments earlier, and they sent cold sharp fear spiraling straight
to her gut. She knew well the dangers of a succubus bite. She'd been given a
great gift of healing, but poison from this type of being was beyond her.
She'd been about to call for Gabriel whenLogan 's first screams sounded.
Dara saw the stricken look on Ariel and James' faces and took charge. She
wouldn't let their fear forLogan get in the way of her doing everything
possible for him. "Everyonetake a limb and hold him down, so I can figure out
what's wrong."
Ariel and James each took a leg with Odeda and Kefira holding his arms.Logan
was held motionless by their superior strength, but his head still thrashed
wildly, the screams becoming more desperate.Logan tried in vain to grit his
teeth against another scream, and Dara's heart twisted inside her chest at her
inability to stop the pain.
She took a deep breath and stepped forward so she could examine his wound.
What she saw made her gasp aloud. Putrid smoke rose fromLogan 's thigh wounds
and grey-black pus bubbled up in greasy belches. Dara wiped at the pus with
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the tail of the sheet and the cloth began to smolder and smoke in her hand.
"Damn," she swore and ran toward the bathroom. She needed water to flush the
pus away so she could see the wound and keep the foul stuff away fromLogan 's
skin.
She grabbed a handful of towels and then searched frantically for something
to put water in, but only found a large bottle of hydrogen peroxide. "Might
help keep that crap off his skin," she murmured rushing back to her patient.
"What's happening?" Ariel demanded.
Dara shook her head as she pulled a towel underLogan 's leg. "The poison is
being forced out of his leg, but I'm not sure why." Dara unscrewed the cap off
the peroxide and met Ariel's worried gaze. "Hold him tight, this may hurt even
more." She tipped the peroxide bottle so that a steady stream fell onto his
wounds.
When the peroxide stream hit the succubus poison, it began to bubble
andsizzle like a frying pan full of fajita meat.Logan 's thrashing hit fever
pitch untilfinally, mercifully, he passed out, his body falling slack.
"Logan!" Ariel cried out.
"It's okay, he just passed out. The pain became too much. Maybe this will
finish before he wakes up, and we can spare him any further pain." When the
last of the peroxide drained from the bottle, Dara tossed it aside and waited
until the bubbling subsided. Then she took a towel and wiped the wound clean.
She saw two perfect lavender lip prints whereLogan 's wound used to be.
Tossing a towel over the wound and hoping no one besides her saw Alonna's
handiwork, she took action."Everyone out except for Ariel. All we can do is
watch and wait, and we'll need to conserve our strength in case we need to
take shifts with him."
"I'm not leaving him," James insisted, not meeting anyone's eyes. "If I had
been at the bar rather than off sulking, this may not have happened."
"We can protect him as well as you can," Ariel bristled.
James glared back at her. "I can see that," he said and gestured down atLogan
's still form.
"Enough," Dara snapped. She needed to get everyone out of here before they
started asking questions aboutLogan 's wound. "James, no one is blaming
you you know as well as we do that you wouldn't have sensed the succubus
threat any earlier than we did. We all wantLogan to be all right, and the best
way you can assist me is to get the hell out and let me work."
James seemed about to argue further, but then merely nodded. His face was all
hard lines and angles when he reached down to brush his fingers acrossLogan 's
forehead. "Take good care of him," hesaid, his voice almost a whisper. Dara
suddenly couldn't breathe, almost as if all the air was sucked from the room.
Her heart twisted inside her chest at the depth of emotion this ancient
vampire had just shown forLogan . No wonder Arielnever guessed James was a
vampire the man simply was not evil. Dara would bet her life and even the
lives of her sisters on it.
Before she could think about what she was doing, she reached out and took
James' hand in her own. The contrast of the large brown fingers againsther own
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creamy white skin was striking. "I'll do everything within my power for him."
James stared down at their entwined hands for a moment, an unreadable
expression chasing across his features. Finally, he nodded and then
disappeared from the room, followed reluctantly by Odeda and Kefira.
"We'd better hear what's going on soon"warned Kefira.
"You'll just have to trust me"Dara thought back. Kefira nodded and pulled the
door closed behind her.
Ariel turned to Dara. "What's going on?And why all the secrecy?"
In answer, Dara picked up the towel offLogan 's wound and revealed the
telltale lip prints.
"Alonna!"Ariel leaned closer to examine the prints, but Dara had already seen
that no wound remained.
Alonna had savedLogan 's life, but Dara didn't know why. It wasn't that
Alonna was evil, but for her to intervene for a mortal, one ofthe prophesies
must be involved.
Ariel finished inspecting the wound and looked up at Dara. "You were smart to
hide this from everyone. The more people who know, the more chance it could
change the outcome."
Dara sighed. Alonna had never before gotten involved, which meant this was
big. "Maybe Gabriel will be able to help us figure out whatthe prophesy is."
Ariel shook her head."No need, Alonna wouldn't do this," she gestured to the
twin lip prints, "withoutLogan 's consent. She's already told him and most
likely warned him not to tell anyone for the same reason you just kicked
everyone out."
Dara pulled the goo-covered towel out from underLogan 's leg and rolled it in [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]