Page 74 of Stalk the Dark
“Back off!” Ordell ordered. “Orina…Orina, can you hear me? Orina…”
The world winked out.
“Yes, I’ve got her. Go get him out of here.” Hemlock? “Open the damn door! Merry!”
Sharp pain lanced through my torso, fire biting at my throat. Fingers pinched my jaw. “Drink this. Orina, please.” Ice-blue eyes swirling with shadows filled my vision. “That’s it, good girl.” I choked and gagged on the bitter concoction. “Swallow it. That’s right.” He massaged my jaw, fingers gently coaxing me through the pain that gripped and squeezed me.
“Hurts…” Was that paper-dry voice mine?
“I know. I know, kitten. But I’m here. I have you.”
“Hold her still,” Merry said.
Needles of ice dug into my neck, and a scream bubbled up my throat. Darkness gathered at the edges of my senses, but agony refused to set me free. Blood pounded at my temples, lava in my veins. Make it stop. Please make it stop.
“It’s okay. You’re going to be okay. Listen to my voice. Focus on my voice,” Hemlock said. A low humming vibration swelled around me, like the rise and ebb of a tide washing over me. He was humming…
The melody wrapped around me, and a gentle warmth trickled through my limbs, bringing numbness in its wake.
“You’re all right.” Merry’s voice was far away. “I’ve got you now. I’ve got you…”
But she was wrong because the shadows crawled closer. They were here. Watching. Andtheyhad me.
They had me.
Chapter 23
My chest ached as I descended the steps to the ground floor of the chapter house. It was almost ten in the morning, and no one had woken me.
I stopped to catch my breath, clutching the banister for support. How much blood had Ezekiel taken last night? Too much, obviously.
“Orina!” Ordell bounded up the steps and scooped me into his arms. “You need to rest.”
I leaned my head against his pectoral, grateful for the assist. “I need food. Protein. Lots of it.”
“I’ll bring you up a tray.”
“I’m not an invalid. Just tapped out. I’ll be fine after I eat. I have work to do.”
“You’ll take the day off.”
I poked his chest. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“No. But I can always call your boss and tell them that?—”
“Fine!” I bumped his pectoral with my cheek, resisting the urge to nuzzle. “I’ll take the day off. Happy?”
He exhaled sharply. “No, Orina, I’m far from happy.” We descended. “Ezekiel broke three of your ribs, and I was too slow to stop him, too weak to get him off you despite his desiccation.”
“But youdidstop him. We’re good. Stop fussing.”
He halted suddenly, and I looked up to find him watching me with a tormented expression.
“You don’t get it, Orina. You almost died. Your throat…He mauled it. It took everything Merry had to stop you bleeding out, and—” His voice cracked. “I couldn’t stop him. If not for the amulet…”
I reached up to touch the bandage on my neck. It felt sore but nothing major. “I’m good now. Everything is okay.”
“You don’t remember?”
