Darkness Shatters: Book 5 (Sensor Series) (10 page)

“Is Rob Maccormac sick?” I asked, wanting to know about Hunter’s father right away.

She nodded. “He came in late this morning. Thankfully Yvonne was here and could get him settled.”

Yvonne was a mystic and one of the first sups I met when I came to Fairbanks. She used to run a tarot card reading place, but was retired now. I’d had to save her family last year when the Department of Homeland Security tried to take them away. She was a good woman who did what she could for the community.

“So she’s not sick?”

Paula glanced toward the steps leading to the basement where I sensed Yvonne. “No. There hasn’t been any indication the plague is affecting mystics yet. There are so few of them I don’t think they’ll have to worry about being targeted.”

I was sorry about Hunter’s father catching it, but was glad Yvonne hadn’t.

“Is there anyone else helping you?”

“Not yet, but Derrick has promised to send a couple of vampires as soon as it gets dark. We just didn’t expect the plague to spread so fast. The alpha did manage to get me some of the supplies I needed.” She walked over to a side table along the wall and grabbed two sets of blue scrubs and gloves. “If you two could put these on before you come any farther?”

“Sure.” I took mine.

Kerbasi took a step back. “I said I wasn’t helping.”

“We didn’t ask you to heal anyone,” I explained in the calmest voice possible. “Just help with whatever Paula needs.”

“Absolutely not.”

I ground my teeth. “I swear by all that is holy if you don’t at least help that much you’re going to forget what ice cream tastes like by the time I let you have any again. And if that isn’t enough, I’ll take the heater out of your shack for the next month and forbid you entry into the house. Believe me that when February comes and it gets even colder you’re really going to regret not helping today.”

The guardian shuddered. “This is blackmail.”

“You’d know all about it.”

He stood there for a moment, glaring at me. We both knew I’d won, but he couldn’t make it look like he gave in too easily.

“You’re buying me a latte after this.” He jerked the garments from Paula’s hands.

She had an expression on her face that looked like she feared World War III was about to happen. Little did she know this was a normal exchange between us.

“We’ll both get one,” I agreed.

“And a scone? I really like those.”

I started pulling the oversized pants over my clothes. “Unless you want to go outside and play with Jupiter, don’t push your luck.”

He grumbled, but followed my lead and put on his scrubs. The top was so tight on him he had to take his sweater off first. It took a few more minutes of him complaining before he had the pants on. Kerbasi frowned as he looked down at the scrubs plastered to his body, which did nothing to hide his bulky muscles. I had to hide a smile behind my hand. If not for his waist-length black hair and harsh facial features he might have made a great doctor on one of those daytime soap operas.

“If you two could follow me.” Paula turned and headed for the living room.

We made our way down the hallway until she stopped at the entrance. There were four patients lying on cots in there, plus another two guys beyond that in the dining room. My senses told me a half dozen more were scattered throughout the rest of the house. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d called and said she needed help. Had it only been two days since I discovered the first case?

“As you can see, we’re running out of room.” She gazed at her patients with a look of concern.

Many of them were coughing and one guy was puking into the trashcan next to his cot. I could make out black marks around the throats, mouths, and noses of some of them—a lot of swelling, too. How Paula and Yvonne kept up with this by themselves, I didn’t know. They had IV drips going into each of the patients. That alone had to be a lot to maintain. With all the resources supernaturals had it seemed like there should have been an easy way to fix this.

“Have you tried healing them with your blood?”

She gave me a sad smile. “It was the first thing I tried. Unfortunately, it falls under the list of things vampire blood won’t cure.”

“And magic?”

“Nothing seems to get past the demon spells and we can’t use your blood for obvious reasons.” She sighed.

I’d considered that possibility as well, but we’d have to isolate every patient who I gave blood. Breaking the entwined demon spells wouldn’t be an instant cure and they’d remain contagious for days. It would require keeping them far away from humans or anyone else who could catch the plague until they recovered

During that time we’d have to institute special decontamination measures for all the caregivers. Short of taking over a Center for Disease Control (CDC) building—which would be conspicuous no matter how we did it—there was no guarantee we wouldn’t cause a greater outbreak.

Plus I didn’t have enough blood to help everyone. There were already too many afflicted across all the major cities. The real answer was to find and stop the source, along with locating an actual cure.

“You’re going to need more room,” I observed.

All her furniture was stacked against the far wall but even then it only left two feet of space between each cot. If any more sups got sick, there wasn’t going to be many other places to put them.

“The master is working on that now. He’s found a larger place and has his men working to get it ready. It’ll just take a couple of days.”

“If you killed off the worst ones you’d have room,” Kerbasi offered.

“Maybe your next lesson on humanity should involve cleaning bed pans. It would help you better understand the suffering of mortals.”

The guardian’s face turned an interesting shade of green. “On second thought, I believe getting a more spacious place is an excellent idea.”

Paula cleared her throat, drawing our attention back to her. “It’s about time to change out the IV bags for the patients down the hall, including the one for Rob Maccormac, if you’d like to see him.”

She knew there had been some tension between us a while back. I’d been upset with Hunter’s father for following Derrick during his uprising last year, but I’d mostly forgiven him and even had him over for Christmas dinner last month. Whether I’d forgiven him or not, though, I’d still want to check on him.

“I would like to see Rob, thanks.”

“Are you familiar with how to change out the bags?” She moved over to the table to grab an armful.

“I was a combat lifesaver in the military. I can handle it.”

“Good.” She handed them over. “There are also some clean rags and bowls of water in the rooms. If you could wash their faces as well, it would help make them feel a little more comfortable.”

We started toward the hall leading to the bedrooms. “Is any of this actually helping?”

“Along with the antibiotics I’ve been giving, a little. It seems to slow the plague down, but it’s too early to tell if it will be enough to stop it.” She paused at the first door on the right. “Start here with the women and then move on to the next room.”

There were only three bedrooms and all the patients were in the first two. I assumed the one at the far end belonged to Paula. She definitely needed a bigger place as soon as possible.

“Anything else?”

She shook her head. “Yvonne is handling the worst cases downstairs and I’ve got the patients in the main room. If you can do this we’ll have everyone covered.”

To think, I’d once believed all supernaturals were ruthless killers with no heart. I’d learned a lot since then, including good and bad people came with every race and group. You could only judge a person by their actions. I had a lot of respect for Paula. Not many people would take on this kind of responsibility and sacrifice so much of themselves to do it.

“I’ll take care of them,” I reassured her. “And if Kerbasi gives you any trouble just let me know.”

She gave me a weak smile. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

I walked into the bedroom and found two women and a young girl in it. The child lay on a twin bed and the adults on cots. Setting down all but one of the bags on a dresser by the wall, I went to the little girl first.

She was a troll and, like all of her kind, was on the small side. If anyone had seen her they wouldn’t have thought she was more than three years old, but my senses told me she was closer to eight. At the moment, she slept as a fever coursed through her. Someone had given her a good scrubbing so her pudgy nose and wrinkled forehead looked pink. The only visible signs of the plague were a swollen neck and armpits.

I changed out her IV bag and soaked a clean cloth to bathe her face with cool water, also smoothing down her bright yellow hair. She moaned. I caught sight of the razor-sharp teeth in her mouth. Oddly enough, the sight of them didn’t bother me like it might have at one time.

I finished bathing her and moved on to the adult women—another troll and a werewolf. They were insensible as well. It made my work easier and I was able to finish quickly. The next room held two werewolves, including Hunter’s father. His eyes were open and he stared up at the ceiling. There were black marks around his fingernails and a couple lumps under the covers where his lymph glands had swollen, but otherwise he looked better than the other patients.

“How are you doing?” I asked, bringing over a fresh IV bag.

“I’ve seen better days.”

His voice was still strong. That had to be a good sign.

“Does your son know you’re here?” And more importantly, could he be sick, too?

“No.” Rob turned his head toward me. “He’s been stayin’ up at the alpha’s house lately and I didn’t want to bother him.”

“You don’t think he’s…”

“Hunter’s fine as far as I know. Not that he talks to me all that much.” Rob grimaced and curled his hands into fists. I wasn’t sure if pain or frustration made him do it—or a little of both.

They’d seemed a little reserved around each other at Christmas dinner, but I hadn’t realized that father and son were on the outs. Had Hunter taken it more personally when his father sided with Derrick during the uprising? Neither he nor Emily had said anything.

“Are you not getting along?” I asked.

He let out an ironic chuckle. “I tried to keep him from his girl. What do you think?”

I tossed the empty IV bag into the trashcan after switching out the new one. A shelf in the room had fresh cloths, large bowls, and bottles of water. Like the previous room, there was also a receptacle to toss the used items when I finished. I grabbed one of the cloths and poured water over it.

“That was months ago. I didn’t realize he was still upset over that.”

“Hunter’s like his mother and can hold a grudge for a long time,” the werewolf replied.

Maybe it wasn’t my business, but I had to ask. “How did she die?”

All I knew was Hunter was young when it happened.

“Childbirth.” Rob closed his eyes. “There were complications. It took her and the baby.”

I rubbed the wet cloth I’d prepared over his forehead, but he pushed it away. “I’m fine. Just don’t tell my son I’m here. He don’t need to be worryin’ about me.”

“He’d want to know.”

“I don’t want this to be the reason he forgives me.” He took hold of my wrist and his eyes darkened. “Don’t tell him.”

I freed myself from his grasp. “Fine. I won’t—for now—but if you get near death he has a right to know.”

“It won’t come to that,” he swore. “The Maccormacs are known for their strength.”

My senses told me he believed it.

I moved on to the next guy, who’d slept through our conversation, and took care of him. By the time I finished washing his face, Yerik had popped up on my radar. He’d flashed into the living room.

From across the house, I overheard him updating Paula with the latest plague developments. It was spreading fast across American cities and even into other countries.

Chapter Nine

I joined the conversation in the foyer and found the daimoun yanking a pair of blue scrub pants over his bare legs. Once he had them on he removed his kilt and pulled the linen top over his head, covering his bare chest. The light blue color didn’t go with his complexion, but at least he didn’t look quite as much like a barbarian anymore. He even pulled his brown hair back after Paula handed him a hair tie.

“Any news on a cure?” I asked.

Yerik slipped on some booties the doctor gave him. “No, but a vampire healer in New York has begun using garlic oil. He’s found it slows the disease. I’ve brought some with me.”

He jutted his chin at a tote bag near his feet. I kneeled down and looked inside. He hadn’t brought the small bottles I’d seen in stores. These were five pint-size containers with no labels. My sense of smell wasn’t as sensitive as a werewolf’s, but the odor coming from them was nearly overpowering. Even with it sealed it burned my nose.

“You know they have this stuff in pill form, right?”

Which would have been a heck of a lot more tolerable.