Page 55 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 23
“Find Alaric,” Chander demanded, hanging up the phone and grabbing his suit jacket. The two Daemon Lords who protected Chander shared a glance. A second later, Benton whipped his cloak on from wherever sentinels hid it and disappeared. “I’m glad you finally let your mate do something.”
“If I volunteered again, I might be sleeping on the sofa,” Baxter complained.
“Do us a favor and don’t start whining about it,” the Arch Lich instructed. The Lich Sentinel and Benton shimmered into view a few feet from him. “I don’t have time to explain. We need to get to this hospital in Kentucky.”
The three sentinels glanced at the picture on Chander’s phone and Alaric stole a kiss, then stepped into the shadows. Chander teleported himself to the spot, and the Daemon Lords arrived a moment later. Without a word, Chander stalked down the hallway. When he turned the corner, a doctor raced toward him.
“Arch Lich, thank you so much. I didn’t know who else to call. Follow me,” the man instructed, and Chander jogged after him. Within a few feet, he understood the panic. Even though he was over six hundred years old, it was Chander’s first experience seeing an actual grayish spirit on the living side of the veil.
“What the actual fuck?” Baxter blurted out.
“I wish I knew, Daemon Lord. This man was transferred here from a human hospital after they did a blood test and discovered he was a shifter. Only we can’t discern what kind. His condition is extremely grave, and we were in the process of readying him for surgery when this wolf spirit grew enraged, forcing our staff to evacuate the room. Each second for this patient is critical.”
“I can call in sorcerers to help,” Chander said, digging into his pocket. Before he could dial, the doctor shook his head.
“We got druids from every hospital in the state in here and pumped him full of magic,” the doctor informed him, his mouth in a tight line. “He wasn’t wearing an alert bracelet, so we didn’t know he’s part of the one percent of the shifter population that is intolerant. The swelling he’s experiencing internally, thanks to our efforts, is killing him. Please, Arch Lich, is there anything you can do to calm that spirit? Our only hope is to get him in surgery and find out what can be salvaged. I’ve called in a human doctor to help us as we rarely see injuries this extensive. For whatever reason, his beast isn’t healing him, and what isn’t actively wounded is scarred. I have no idea what he’s been through, but it appears to be horrific and had to have gone on for some time.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m going to help. I’ve just never encountered a spirit like this,” Chander murmured, his brain flipping through his entire mental spellbook. There was no way he was going to be the reason this man died if he could help it. Though at a glance, Chander couldn’t see how he could be saved. Every visible inch of him was a bloodied mess.
“The humans told us that they found this man unconscious on the road. A young wolf had been hit by a car.”
“You think it’s the same wolf?” Alaric asked.
The doctor nodded. “I believe he thinks he’s guarding him when, in reality, he’s hastening his death.”
“You have a resurrection spell for animals,” Alaric told his mate. “The wolf has the soul of a sentinel. If you bond him to the man, it might save his life. It certainly would protect him in the future.”
“I broke sentinels free for a reason Alaric, and I need a piece of his soul to tie them together. As sick as he is, I might kill him in the process.”
“If it’s his only shot to live, then I think we should take it,” the doctor stressed.
“A wolf sentinel,” Chander murmured out loud, piecing together a spell in his mind that was a combination of one he’d memorized that had created three of the men around him and another he’d written for animals. “Superior tracking, impervious to temperature, able to reveal lies, summoning ability for the guy when he’s awake, attuned to the guy’s extreme bodily responses to help him in danger, invisibility—though I’d prefer him to use that as a last resort since a wolf walking in is scary enough—and we’ll leave his form to Fate. Anything else?”
“Let the wolf communicate telepathically with the man, so he can tell him if he needs something or warn him verbally of danger,” Alaric suggested.
“He’s a wolf, so I’m not sure how that works, but I can suggest it and hope it works. The guy will have to speak aloud to communicate back, because I can’t influence his mind. Okay, let’s do this,” Chander said. Once everyone around him nodded, he took one step forward and pulled off his jacket, which Alaric took. Letting his demon free, his wings tore through his dress shirt as he lifted his hands, calling out to the wolf spirit.
Chander gathered his magic, carefully sought out the edge of the dying man’s soul, and found it already trying to head toward the veil. Giving it a small tug to keep it in place, he hoped it would help. Speaking his spell aloud, while throwing in as much power as he could, the wisp of the ethereal wolf turned into a large black one with thin streaks of gray scattered through his fur. The animal woofed at Chander the moment the resurrection spell was completed. Running to the bed, the wolf growled at the medical professionals creeping forward.
“Call the fallen knights,” Alaric demanded. “He will need to be sedated, and they should find out what happened to this man anyway.”
Baxter had his phone out and was likely calling the two men who led the Order of the Fallen Knights.
“Thank you, Arch Lich,” the doctor said. “Um…what do we do if we can’t save him?”
“Call me,” Chander replied. “We’ll take the wolf and care for him.”
∞∞∞
Reverent Knight Conley Gylde-Kempe strode down the hall with fury hastening his steps. “Fucking humans,” he muttered to his mate, who was stomping alongside him. They were waved around a security station manned by dragons. When they got to it, Conley hit the button for the elevator and the moment the doors closed them inside the box, he grabbed Drystan’s uniform, yanking him to his chest. Sealing their lips together, he kissed him voraciously. A ping sounded, and he shoved Drystan away to stalk out into the hall.
“What the fuck was that for?” Drystan demanded. They stalked past a desk with a dragon duke, who just grinned at them as they passed.
“Needed to burn off some of this anger,” Conley informed him. “I might kill someone otherwise.”
“We’re the good guys, Con.”
