The Guardian (20 page)

she brushed against his lips.

Even through his vicious, biting pain, both of those warmed him completely. And when she pul ed back,

he suddenly found himself in a strange room with red brick wal s and no windows. He lay on a smal , thin

bed that was surrounded by strange steel and glass cabinets, the likes of which he’d never seen before.

Where was he?

Was this another hel realm?

The door behind Lydia flew open so fast, it rattled on its hinges. Three large men came in, ready for

battle.

Grinding his teeth against the pain he knew would come, he put his arm out to block Lydia from them and

sat up.

Too late, he realized that was a bad mistake as unimaginable agony ripped through him and stole his

strength. His head swam and vision dimmed. But he refused to pass out and leave her to them.

He groaned out loud as the pain increased even more. It was absolutely kil ing him.

“Seth!” Lydia wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laid him back against the bed with a care that

amazed him. Her lips touched his ear as she held him close and trembled against his body.

In that moment, he wanted to die with her like that. Wrapped around him, offering him comfort. Especial y

if it was a lie and she real y didn’t care about him. He didn’t want to live and discover the truth.

The men came forward and surrounded his bed.

Seth tried to summon his strength to fight. How could he protect her?

I’m worthless.

The one with long black hair braided down his back placed a hand on Lydia’s arm. “We’l take care of

him.”

Seth shoved him away. “Don’t touch her!”

Instead of making him mad, the man offered him a smile as he moved her further away from the bed. “My

name is Carson and it’s al right. We won’t hurt her or you.”

Seth wasn’t sure if he believed him. But what choice did he have? It was bad enough that he was injured

to the point he could barely move. He was also bare-assed naked. Gods, just what he needed.

More humiliation. And in front of guys he could beat down like punks if he wasn’t so injured. Damn. Would

his degradations never cease?

Lydia moved past Carson to return to Seth’s side. “Can I stay with him?”

The beefy man with long, curly blond hair scoffed. “Girl, I don’t think you want to see this. Carson’s a whiz

at medicine, but dayam.” He gestured toward Seth’s injuries. “This is some seriously nasty shit. Unless

you’re a doctor, too, you’l just be in the way, and you’l probably lose some lunch before al is said and

done.”

Lydia bit her lip in indecision.

“C’mon,” the blond man said more gently this time. “My name’s Dev, and we won’t be far away. Just in the

next room, okay?”

Stil she held on to Seth’s hand and that succeeded in bringing tears to his eyes. But he blinked them

back before anyone else saw them.

“I’l be okay, Lydia. Go with him.”

Her topaz gaze glowed with her reluctance. But final y, she nodded. “If you need anything, cal for me and

I’l come.”

He let go even though it pained him to do so.

Dev took her out of the room.

Carson glanced at the man with short, black hair. “Colt? Can you let Margery know it’s safe to come in

now?”

“Sure, Doc. I’l also let Fang and Aimee know we’ve got company.”

“Thanks.” Carson draped a warm, thin blanket over Seth’s loins to give him a modicum of modesty.

He hated to admit it, but he was grateful for Carson’s action, and he despised the fact that he couldn’t

dress himself or conjure enough powers to do it.

The Greek Phonoi and Dolophoni had stripped his armor off not long after they’d driven him into the Wal .

Those bitches. If he ever laid hands on either group, he’d tear them apart.

But last night, he hadn’t stood a chance. Not when his powers were already low and they assaulted him

with reapers and dagnytes first. He stil had no idea why Thorn would have aligned himself with the Greeks.

Normal y he stayed out of such things. The dark lord despised demon politics.

Not that it mattered. The important thing was that Seth had to get enough strength back to protect Lydia

before they found her.

Seth glanced over to the door Colt had left through to see a tiny woman with red hair several shades

lighter than his and blue eyes, come in. She wore some kind of blue shirt and a white jacket with a long

white skirt that had running shoes peeking out from beneath the hem. Her hair was coiled into a bun and she

had a pair of cat-like glasses.

She offered Seth a kind smile. “Glad to know the danger’s past.” Pushing her glasses further up on her

nose with her knuckle, she joined Carson beside him. “The woman’s named Lydia, by the way.”

“Yeah I know,” Carson said as he laid out things Seth couldn’t identify. “He cal ed her by name before she

left. Our guest here is Seth.”

She smiled at him again. “Hi, Seth. I’m Margery, Margy or Marge, Mars or about a dozen other

nicknames people use for me. I’l answer to just about anything so long as it’s not an insult. And in case

you’re wondering, I’m the other doctor who works here with Carson. We’re going to get you patched up real

fast, okay?”

Frowning at her outgoing ebul ience, Seth wasn’t sure what to make of these individuals. His powers

were so weak that he felt exposed and unsure. Defenseless. He hated to be this vulnerable when he didn’t

know who or what he was up against.

What their abilities were.

Never mind their intentions.

Carson shined a light into his eye that had the broken blood vessels.

Cursing, Seth grabbed his hand and shoved the light out of his face.

“It’s okay,” Carson said patiently. “I’m just trying to assess what al has been done to you.”

“Isn’t it obvious? I had the shit beat of me.” What kind of physician couldn’t tel that by looking at him from

across the room?

Did they not know what they were doing?

Carson laughed. “Yes, I’m aware of that. But I need something a little more specific before I treat you.” He

stepped forward again. “May I look in your eyes? I want to see if you’re in shock or have a concussion.”

Seth nodded, and did his best to not strike out at him. But it was hard when Carson’s merciless light

made his head hurt even worse than it already did.

Once Carson finished with that, he slid the light into his jacket pocket. “Do you mind if we wash the paint

off your face?”

Yes, he did. Greatly. “Why?”

“Wel , it’s going to make it a lot harder to clean and dress the cuts you have and I’m pretty sure you’re

going to need sutures on one of them. Not something we want to do over greasepaint. That’s if you don’t

mind?”

What did it matter at this point? Could he real y look any weaker to them than he already did?

“Okay.”

Margery came forward with a warm cloth to clean his face while Carson examined the cut one of the

Phonoi had made through his stomach.

One day, he was going to find that bitch and pay her back tenfold for that cut. She’d had the nerve to laugh

after she did it.

Once Margery had his face clean, Carson felt the bones around the eye Noir had punched. Seth could

only imagine how beautiful that “kiss” was after last night’s punch.

Carson sighed. “Al right, Seth, I know you’re not a shapeshifter. And by the severity of these wounds and

the fact you’re stil alive, never mind ful y conscious and not screaming your head off, I’m going to assume

you’re some kind of immortal. Not a Dark-Hunter with those eyes. So what are you, then? Demon?

Vampire?”

Seth choked on the word he hated. “Demigod.”

Carson exchanged an unidentifiable look with Margery that Seth wasn’t so sure about, then asked,

“Greek?”

“Egyptian.”

“Ah. Okay, I’m a little rusty on your pantheon. We don’t come across you guys much here. And let’s face it,

I can’t exactly Google real facts about ancient gods. So I’m hoping you can help me out a little. Do you know,

offhand, if I can give you anything to relieve your pain?”

That question confused him. “I don’t understand.”

Margery patted him gently on the shoulder. “Do you know what medicines can ease your pain?”

Oh … He remembered his adoptive father had used salves and some kind of root plant to soothe pain,

but he had no idea what any of them had been. It was too long ago to remember.

And since then … Noir, Azura, and the others had only wanted to give him pain, never take it away.

“No. Whenever I’m injured, I eventual y heal without anything.”

“Has anyone ever tried to give you anything?” Carson asked.

Only a hard time. “No.”

Carson rubbed his jaw as he thought it over. After a few seconds, he nodded at the other doctor. “Al right,

Marge … I’m going to give you the honor of choosing for him. Have fun.”

“Oh thanks a lot, Carson. I appreciate it.” She winked at Seth. “If it doesn’t work, remember the one you

want to be mad at is the male doctor, not the woman.”

Carson snorted at her, then turned his attention back to Seth. “Do you mind if I knock you out?”

Hel yes, he minded. Last thing he wanted was to be hit anymore. He was tired of it.

Anger ripped through him as he glared at Carson. “Why would you want to do that?”

“So that we can work on you without causing you pain.”

Yeah, right. No one cared about giving pain to others. They lived for it.

And now that he thought about it, he realized how stupid it was to be here with them. What had he done?

How could he have let them separate him from Lydia? Dear gods, they could be doing anything to her

right now. Anything. What if she needed him?

What if they were hurting her?

Panic laid hard talons into his conscience. He had to find her before it was too late. “Where’s Lydia?”

“She’s safe,” Carson reassured him.

Bul shit.

“I don’t trust you … Lydia!” He tried to sit up, then groaned as the pain in his stomach and head made him

sick.

The doctor forced him back down, but he wasn’t about to go. Not until he was sure they weren’t raping or

torturing her. Or worse, handing her back to Noir.

“Lydia!”

She came running through the door.

Only then did he breathe easily. He shoved at Carson so that he could reach for her.

Lydia took his outstretched hand and held it tight. Frowning, she glanced around at al three of them.

“What’s wrong?”

He couldn’t answer for a few seconds as he struggled with the misery that tore into him from every angle.

The only thing that grounded him was her soft touch … the concern in her warm eyes.

“I didn’t know what they were doing to you,” he said at last.

“They were feeding me.”

Real y? He found it impossible to believe. “You’re al right, then? No one hurt you? You’re sure?”

Lydia’s heart broke at the panic in his suspicious gaze. She cupped his face in her hands, desperate to

calm him down and soothe him before he hurt himself any worse. “Not everyone is cruel, Seth. I told you that.

It’s al good. They’re not going to hurt us. I promise.” She pushed him back onto the bed.

Seth growled in fury as another round of agony shot across his stomach and down his back. Gah, it hurt.

Lydia took his hand into hers and placed her head next to his on the bed. He closed his eyes as he

savored the first bit of real pleasure he’d ever known.

“I’m right here, Seth,” she whispered to him as she brushed his hair back from his face. “I’m not going

anywhere.” She kissed his cheek, then looked up at Carson. “Do whatever you need to.”

“You sure? ’Cause he’s better off untreated than having another episode like that one.”

“He won’t fight you.” She tightened her grip in his hand. “Wil you, sweetie?”

Seth couldn’t speak as he heard her endearment. No one had ever used one for him or if they had, he

couldn’t recal it. In that moment, he knew he was lost to her.

There was nothing she could ask of him that he wouldn’t do. Nothing.

“I won’t fight,” he breathed.

The doctors returned while Lydia stroked his hair. He’d never felt anything better than her fingers against

his scalp. Her tenderness left him even more raw and bleeding than his wounds. It shattered something

deep inside him that craved her.

Suddenly, something sharp bit into his arm. Cursing, he reached for the doctor and grabbed him in his

fist.

Lydia pul ed at his hand. “It’s al right, Seth. It’s just medicine. It’l help you. I promise. Please let go.”

Seth did, but only because she asked him to.

Lying back, he tried to focus on Lydia’s face.

He couldn’t. His eyelids were so heavy now. The pain was fading and as it went, it pul ed him with it.

Seth tried to fight it, but in the end, he took one breath and surrendered himself to the darkness.

Lydia let out a relieved sigh as Seth final y relaxed. “I’m so sorry about that,” she said to Carson.

“Think nothing of it. Believe me, we’ve seen just about everything you can imagine, and a few things I’m

sure you can’t, shoot through our doors at one time or another.” Carson inclined his head toward Seth. “And

he’s not the only one with a real y bad past. Believe me.”

Margery brought a tray of medical instruments over to the bed. “You might want to go finish eating now,

hon. He should be out for a while.”

Lydia wouldn’t put money on that. Not from what she’d seen of his stamina. “Or he could wake up in a few