Page 77 of The Shadow of the Count
“He breathed in a lot of smoke.” Peter coughed a little himself. “I wasn’t going to leave him. He got us all here and he kept us alive at Yvgeny’s.”
“You’re a hero. You’re my hero.” He kissed Peter’s forehead.
“I don’t feel like one.” Peter smiled faintly. “I think I might throw up now.”
“Just not on me.” That was a tiny throwback to the librarian he’d first met, and Donnie had to laugh. They were all alive, they were together, and Yvgeny was on his way back, led by a wolf and tugging three horses behind him.
He either had to laugh or cry. These days, Paris was starting to be a distant memory. He had all new nightmares in his head.
Twenty-Six
Peter woke in a rough rope bed, the straw ticking crackling under him. They had been lucky enough to find lodging for the night at a local monastery, where all of them had received medical care. Especially Jeb, who had nearly bled to death.
He was looking forward to heading to the train station this morning, however. He wanted to get back to the relative sanity of London, and to help Donnie check in on Douglas.
Then he fully intended to take Clark up on his offer to stay in Boston and relax and do nothing more strenuous than read.
They needed to be able to lick their wounds. They needed…well, they needed out of Europe as well. Not that there weren’t horrors in the Americas. Of course there were. But it was still more home than not, and they had more resources there.
First, they would all stay with Douglas until he was up and able to travel, then they would get on a ship.
He knew Charles would love that. He sailed so well. The thought made him chuckle, because it was so untrue, and Donnie patted his chest. They were in a monastery, yes but they were all sharing beds. There could be no shenanigans, but comfort they could all find, including Yvgeny, who had opted to come with them rather than going to his father’s home, and Richard, who looked haunted by what he’d seen.
It was a terrible shock, the first time that a man realized that all they knew to be true was false, that monsters were real. It couldn’t be denied when it was experienced firsthand. Then a shift happened inside, and that man either strengthened or crumbled.
He wasn’t sure which direction Richard intended to take.
“Are you ready to get back to Douglas?” Peter whispered, feeling banal and ridiculous asking. He could tell Donnie was awake by his changed breathing, so he felt the need to fill the silence.
“I am. And to have a full English breakfast. Somehow I’m craving toast and beans.”
“Ugh.” He chuckled lightly. Beans for breakfast were an abomination. But he did love how the English did their toast. “I want scones and jam.”
“Y’all need to hush. My belly is gnawing my backbone, and I reckon we’ll get gruel here.” Jeb’s voice was cracked a bit, but it was so good to hear him from across the room.
“I promise that we’ll get you a steak when we get back to the city.” Richard sighed softly, shaking his head. “I still can’t believe that creature existed.”
“It did.” Yvgeny’s voice brooked no argument.
“I can.” Clark shook his head. “Sadly, there are more things out there in the dark waiting to devour good people.” He still sounded unutterably tired, but he remained living and breathing.
“And we’ll keep fighting them.” Jeb sighed deeply. “Just not today, please Lord.”
“Exactly.” Yvgeny chuckled. “I shall go and see what there is to eat that is not gruel.”
“Thank you, my friend.” Clark sat up and stretched, joints popping. “I’ll need to call Grant from the train station and fill him in, so we’ll leave a tiny bit early.”
“I’m ready. Let’s go. Now.” Jeb was ready and raring to go.
“Food,” Peter insisted. Donnie needed his strength. So did Jeb, come to that. “Then we can go.”
They had the car still.
And a wolf who lay just inside the door to their chamber, head on its paws. He had flat-out refused to leave Jeb’s sight. At all.
He wondered how Jeb meant to get him on the train. It probably involved a gun.
Somehow he doubted anyone would dare argue. At all.
