Boreal and John Grey Season 1 (52 page)

“Yes. Well, not really. Finn—”

“Are you hurt? Where are you?”

Damn, if Dave was there with a gun at Mike’s head... “We need a doctor. It’s urgent. Norma isn’t doing so well. And Finn was shot.”

“Who isn’t...? Who’s Norma? And what do you mean Finn was shot?”

“Shot. With a gun. Through the chest.” Ella swerved rather wildly to avoid a pedestrian and heard another rasping gasp from Norma. “We need a surgeon, Mike, and a cardiologist. Is there a clinic with people you can trust?”

“Not sure, I’ll just have — Stop this, give it back!”

“Mike?” Ella frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Hi,” a female voice said. “I know a place. It’s in Bellevue.”

Ella blinked. “You’re...”

“Sarah. I got Mike before your robotic boss found him. We’ve been waiting to hear from you.”

Thank god
. “Great. We’re on our way.” She hung up and shoved the phone into her pocket. She squared her shoulders and sent a brief prayer heavenward. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

***

She’d spoken too soon. She should have known better.

A police car had come out of the blue, its sirens blaring behind them, Norma was turning sort of blue in the face, and Finn rattled the door handle as if he was about to throw himself out — and she had no doubt he would, only she didn’t think he’d survive it.

“Finn! Stay put.”

A crack rang out and she ducked instinctively.
A gunshot?

“Stop.” Finn rattled the door handle again. “Ella, stop the car!”

Dammit.
Ella slammed her hand on the steering wheel, and of course it had to be her bandaged hand. Pain tore a groan from her throat and sent sparkling lights dancing in her eyes. “Can’t. The police are sniffing our ass.”

Norma slumped in her seat, her head rolling.
Freaking hell
.

“Is she okay?” Finn wheezed.

“I don’t know. We’re going to a clinic. We’ll be there soon.” She dived into Harley Avenue and then shot out into Cardiff Way, relieved when the police sirens faded in the distance. “We’re almost there.”

The clinic was a square white building set among dark office towers. She wasn’t sure there was an emergency entrance and she couldn’t take the time to find out. She drove right up to the front, parked the car and rushed around to get Norma.

“Are you okay?” She unbuckled Norma’s seatbelt and patted her cheek. “Come on, let’s go inside.” Norma looked pale and shaky, her breathing too fast. Ella hauled her out, steadying her with an arm around her waist, but Norma began slipping from her grasp, going lax. “Norma!”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Finn struggle out of the car as she followed Norma down, trying to break her fall. She laid the old woman on the concrete, her mind going
shitshitshitshit this can’t be happening
.

“Was she shot?” Finn croaked. “Is she dead?”

“I don’t know.” There was no blood. Ella checked for a pulse, and couldn’t find one. Her hands shook. “She said she had problems with her heart.”

Finn slid down to his knees, pale hair spilling from the bandana, catching the morning light. He bent over. She’d never seen such grief on his face before, except perhaps in a dream — a little boy throwing himself at a glass coffin.

She turned back to Norma, tried again to find a pulse. Failed.

Finn moaned. The air around him cracked into shiny panels. His hair lifted in a spiraling wind as the cracks widened, filling with shimmering, shifting light. It was hauntingly beautiful, oddly fascinating.

Then he opened his eyes. Silver fire played in their cores.

Ella jerked back. Christ, he was opening a Gate. She’d never seen him do it, never so close to him, right where he knelt. He was breaking the Veil to pieces.

She grabbed his arm, and fire jolted up her shoulder, making her gasp. “Finn, stop.” She shook him. “You have to stop!”

He blinked and the silver light vanished. The air around him stilled. His chin dipped to his chest.

His magic thrived on pain, the book had said. He’d been in a lot of physical pain since she’d met him, but had never reacted like this. Not pain, then.
Sorrow
.

She was staring at his bowed head, trying to figure this bit of the puzzle out, when a nurse came running out of the clinic.

“What happened?” She waved at two orderlies who trooped out with a stretcher on wheels.

“She just dropped,” Ella said, her throat tight. “She said she had a weak heart.”

Finn gripped Ella’s arm, fingers digging in sharply, as Norma was lifted to the stretcher. “Is she alive?” he rasped.

The nurse glanced at him, on his knees, covered in blood and dirt, and her eyes widened. “Bring another stretcher!” she bellowed, turned and disappeared inside the building.

Chapter Five

Bone

“The bullet broke two ribs,” the doctor explained. “Broken ribs are not a major issue, they’ll fix themselves on their own with lots of rest.”

He spoke slowly, as if to a child, but Ella was grateful for it, and for his use of simple words. Her head still buzzed with adrenaline and a night spent running and despairing and hoping, only to start the cycle all over again.

A needle dripped serum, painkillers and antibiotics into Finn’s arm. Testing Finn’s blood type to check compatibility with a donor was out of the question. So she’d spoken against a transfusion and the doctor had reluctantly agreed.

Sarah had arrived with Mike and between the two of them they’d hidden the car and somehow arranged the paperwork. No questions asked. Still, Ella avoided looking at the doctor. She stared instead at Finn. A transparent plastic tube tucked under his nose delivered oxygen. His fingers were wrapped around hers, and blue showed under his pale lashes. He was awake. She squeezed his hand, a wave of protectiveness and fear rolling inside her.

“What about the bullet?” she asked.

“It’s lodged in the rib bone. There are some bone fragments we should remove. Your friend was very lucky. The book he carried inside his jacket, and the leather strap of the holster he was wearing slowed down the bullet. Though I have to say I’m impressed by the strength of his bones. And by his luck.” The doctor’s brows lifted. “Had the bullet hit him any higher, it would have found his heart.”

Ella shuddered. It was only appropriate that John Grey’s saga had saved John Grey’s life.

Finn didn’t bat a lid. Then again, his eyes had slid shut. She shook his hand. “Hey, wake up.”

“He needs to rest,” the doctor said, frowning.

And let him open a Gate right inside the hospital?
No way in hell
. Not even Sarah could get them out of that sticky mess. “He’ll want to hear what we’re discussing, since it’s about him.” She shook him again. “Hey.”

Finn blinked, breath catching. “Norma,” he wheezed. “Where is she?”

“She’ll be fine.” Actually, she was in the intensive-care unit, but if Ella told Finn the truth, she was sure he’d get up and go find her, even if he died in the process.

“We need to remove the bullet and the fragments,” the doctor was saying. “They’re close to major arteries. It’s a simple surgery, very straightforward.”

Simple for humans, but for elves?
“Is it a serious surgery? Do you have to use full anesthesia?”

The doctor narrowed his eyes at her. He was young, his dark hair short, his faded blue eyes serious. “It should be quite straightforward. Bullet’s close to the surface, palpable under the skin, the fragments, too. Why? Does he have a history of adverse reaction to anesthetic?”

Ella bit her lip, wondering what to say — what would be best for Finn. She only hoped Sarah could handle the doctor and his staff, make sure Finn’s identity wouldn’t be revealed during surgery.

“Will he feel anything if you use local anesthetic?”

The doctor hesitated. “Probably not.”

She winced. Didn’t want Finn in any more pain. “Will he dream if you put him under?”

The doctor frowned. “Normally not, but patients do report dreams occasionally.”

That settled it. If more Gates opened, she couldn’t protect anyone in her tired state. “Local anesthetic it is.” She took a deep breath. “As soon as possible. We can’t stay long.”

The doctor’s frown deepened and he opened his mouth, no doubt to retort that Finn couldn’t take off in his state, but Sarah walked in, her high heels tapping a muted staccato on the yellow linoleum floor.

“Is everything okay?” She glanced at Finn on the bed, then Ella, before turning her attention to the doctor. “Dr. Evans, thank you for helping us out once again.”

Ella quirked a brow.

“They’ve been working with the Organization for a hundred years now,” Sarah said, smiling. “They are our trusted people.”

Ella’s brain was particularly slow that morning, but now it froze to a stop.
Wait
. If they collaborated with the Organization, they might inform Dave of the new arrivals at the clinic.

“Sarah, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure.” Sarah nodded at the doctor. “From what I caught from your conversation, the surgery should be quick, so why don’t you get started while we talk outside.”

“No, I need to be there.” Ella nudged Finn’s arm and he opened his eyes. He kept falling asleep — or passing out, and she wasn’t sure which was scarier. “Don’t start without me.”

The doctor didn’t look happy but only shrugged. “I’ll get him prepped.”

***

“How’s Norma?” Ella walked a few steps down the corridor, past two nurses who were discussing notes on a clipboard. “Is she out of critical care?”

“Not yet.” Sarah nodded at an open window. “Mind if I smoke? Helps calm my nerves.”

Sarah looked perfectly calm, in Ella’s opinion. In fact, she looked as if she’d just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine, whereas Ella looked as if she’d dropped out of a particularly bad B-rated movie. She glanced down at her filthy, blood-covered shirt, her legs streaked with mud, her bare feet. A shiver wracked her.

Pushing grimy strands of hair behind her ears, she followed Sarah to the open window. “I can’t thank you enough for saving our asses.” She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes for a long, blissful moment. “Where’s Mike?”

“Grabbing us all some coffee.” Sarah pulled a slim cigarette from a white pack and lit it. She offered the pack to Ella who shook her head.

“So spill.” Sarah drew on her cigarette, her cat-like eyes half-closing. “What the hell happened? Who shot the cutie-pie?”

Cutie-pie?
Ella rubbed her face. Her eyes stung as if they had sand in them, and her arm burned. She tried not to think about the snarling pain in her slashed hand. Blood had seeped through the bandage, making her fingers sticky.

How much could she tell Sarah? “Dave, my boss, shot him.”

“Dave, the Dark elf robot of doom?”

Ella nodded, chewing on her lip. “He came into my apartment and tried to shoot me. Finn got in the way.”
There
. Sounded plausible, didn’t it?

“Do you think your boss got wind of our investigation about him?”

Ella shrugged and looked out. A trim garden spread below, surrounded by the wards of the clinic. The sun shone, hurting her eyes, and the lawn was so green it looked plastic.

“He can’t know Finn is here. He’s looking for us.”

“Yeah, saw your face on the news.” Sarah tsked. “Mike was frantic with worry when I went to pick him up.”

 “I didn’t know you and Mike knew each other.” Ella frowned at the garden. “Have you been keeping tabs on me?”

“Can you blame a girl?” Sarah shrugged. “The Shades may say many obscure things, but I’ve always listened to them. The habit’s hard to break.”

Ella said nothing. Sarah thought she was working for John Grey, and for the first time she couldn’t deny it. “Where’s Mike? Why haven’t I seen him yet?” Her hand inched toward the grip of Finn’s gun, tucked in her waistband. “What have you done to him?”

“What are you talking about?” Sarah muttered. “I said he’s getting us some coffee.”

“Really.” Ella opened her mouth to demand Mike be brought there, when footsteps sounded behind them.

“Ella!” Mike sounded relieved, and when Ella turned, she saw he held three paper cups filled with steaming coffee. “Sarah told me you were okay but you know, until I saw you with my own eyes...” He grinned.

Sarah winked.

Christ
.

At least Mike was okay. Ella moved her hand away from the gun and accepted a paper cup. “You shouldn’t give me this stuff. I’ll be climbing the walls in five minutes’ time.”

“You look like you need something stronger than tea,” Mike said, his grin wilting. “Where’s Finn?”

Ella clutched the cup so tightly it began to cave in. “Being prepped for a surgery to remove the bullet. He’s going to be okay,” she rushed to say when Mike paled. “He was lucky.” She took a sip of coffee — Mike had thoughtfully added sugar to the bitter liquid — and tried to calm herself. It was going to be fine. Once the bullet was out and she was sure Finn was all right, they’d be able to leave.

And go where? Would Sarah keep helping them?

“Has your boss gone raving mad?” Mike swallowed half his coffee in a gulp and made a face. “Oh shit. Don’t tell me he found out about Finn.”

About Finn.
Right
.

Oh fuck
.

Ella took an instinctive step back. Shit, she was way too slow today. Her head felt like a bag of rocks.

“What about Finn?” Sarah’s face hardened. She glanced from Mike to Ella, full mouth downturned. “What about him?”

Mike’s eyes widened.
Yeah, pal, Sarah hadn’t known Finn was aelfr. Way to put your foot in your mouth
.

“He’s one of them, isn’t he?” Sarah’s coffee hit the floor, scalding liquid flying, and drew her gun on Ella in one swift movement. “An elf. Which is why Dave shot him.”

Mike groaned, his eyes huge. He gestured frantically at Sarah. “What are you doing?”

Ella took a deep breath, trying to still the trembling in her hands. She held them out to the sides. “Finn has done nothing to you. He saved your life once.”

“You,” Sarah nodded at Mike, her gaze stony, “you’ve known. Both of you kept this secret — for how long?”

Ella glanced toward Finn’s door. “I swear, if you do anything to harm either of them...”

Sarah puffed in annoyance. “Talk or I’ll shoot you. I’m not kidding around.”

Ella swallowed. Maybe if she gave Sarah something, she’d back off. Besides, being an elf wasn’t a crime, was it? “Yeah, okay, you guessed right. He’s an elf. He crossed over when the first Gate opened. And he’s been fighting on our side ever since. I swear it.” She played her trump card. “I swear it on Simon.”

Sarah’s gun wavered, then dipped a little. “God. An elf.”

“You’re not going to kill him, are you?” Ella’s heart was trying to pound its way out of her chest.

“Because you love him?” Sarah drawled. “Elves are the enemy. Why should I spare him?”

“Look.” Ella struggled to keep her voice low. “We’re trying to stop the Gates from forming, and Finn is our ally. What’s so hard to understand about this? Is your secret organization interested in slaughtering elves or in protecting the Gates?”