Page 58 of Heart of the High King
“I wish you luck; that wolf is fiercely protective of this man, whoever he is.”
“Thanks for everything, Doc,” Drystan commented. They passed him and walked into the room, where a man with black curls streaked with the same silver as his wolf lay covered in blankets. There were tubes and other medical wires attached to him, and when they got close to the bed, his incredibly thick lashes lifted to reveal a set of vivid blue eyes that were swimming with pain.
“Hi, I’m Conley and this is Drystan. We’re fallen knights. What’s your name?”
“Reverent Knights,” the man murmured.
“That’s right, we’re the Reverent Knights, and we’re here to help you. But it’d be nice to call you something besides ‘guy’ or ‘dude,’ ” Conley remarked, petting the wolf that was stirring at the side of the man’s bed.
“This is an awesome wolf you have. Did the doctor explain that he’s tied to your soul?” Drystan asked. The man made a tiny motion with his head that Conley guessed passed as a nod for a man who had just come out of a coma and was still in shit shape. “Thought of a name for him yet?”
“No,” came the raspy response.
“Do you know your name?” Conley asked.
“No,” he replied in a whisper, but Conley knew it was a lie.
“It’s okay, no one can hurt you here. We keep a fallen knight in the hospital to make sure you’re safe. Whatever happened to you will never be repeated. I hope you know you can trust us. We’re incorruptible except for Con here. He can’t drive for shit and doesn’t obey a single law when he’s behind the wheel.”
“Not true, Drys. I wear my seat belt.”
The man in the bed gave a ghost of a smile but said nothing.
“So, you knew we were the Reverent Knights. Do you know we’re capable of detecting outright lies? I mean, any sentinel will tell you they can do a much better job and they’re right, but we never admit that when any of them are around. Are you too scared to tell me your name right now?” Conley asked.
The man shrugged, which had him wincing and he moaned.
“Okay, you know what? I’m going to go find that deer and tell him you need more medication. We’ll come back in a few days and we can talk,” Conley said. Kneeling so he was eye-level with the wolf with the same blue eyes as the man whose soul was attached to his, Conley petted his head. “Hey, wolf sentinel, I hope you can understand me. I have to either tranquilize you or take you home with me. What do you say? You want to go to sleep or come home and party in my living room in Vegas?”
As stubborn, it seemed, as the man who refused to give his name, the wolf lay down and closed his eyes.
“Shit,” Conley said, pulling out the special tranquilizer he’d asked Chander to dilute so the wolf was only out for a couple of days. Designed for shifters and magickind, for an animal the full dose put him out for up to a week and a half. It was longer than Conley felt comfortable putting the poor guy under. The wolf was given a few more pats, then Conley quickly shot the tranq into him. Within seconds, the wolf was out.
Standing up, he grinned at the man with the terribly scarred face. “Get better, okay? We’ll see you soon.”
