Page 52 of Bound
Chapter 19
Amoret
Gage’s heat from the colony house seems to exude from his skin as he pulls into the parking lot of a low brick building. The front glass windows are blank and only a narrow sign near the door marks the space as the mortuary.
I gulp.
He parks the car and climbs out without a word. I follow suit and smooth my dress as I walk to the door.
We enter the mortuary and the scent of chemical death rings the air. The wash of disinfectant and metal is hard to ignore, making my palms sweat.
Gage walks to the counter and says a few words to the male behind the desk. He turns back to me, a second pair of sunglasses pushed up on top of his head. “Come on.”
I trail the pair as the receptionist swipes his badge beside a white metal door. We ease into the narrow corridor beyond. The separate rooms are closed off, single thin panels of glass leaving glimpses of metal cold lockers and steel tables under too bright lights. Each space is impersonal. Empty.
The receptionist raps on one of the few wood doors, and an older male with glasses steps out.
He smiles at Gage before looking at me.
I duck my eyes.
“Amoret, this is Dr. Niell.” Gage’s voice is still empty. I peer at him. His green eyes are darker in the dim lighting. Less vibrant than in the sunlight.
Dr. Niell reaches for me, and I take his hand without thinking. “Pleasure,” I murmur.
He beams some more. “You must be from the Sith.”
I nod. “Yes, sir.”
He tuts a bit. “I’m sorry for your loss, my dear.” He starts toward one closed room and we follow. “I must say, Gage, I’m glad you’re here.”
“What did you find?”
“Well, when you said your electrometer didn’t detect any magick on the John Doe, I wasn’t sure it was working properly.”
Gage huffs. “I just bought the damn thing. Trust me. It was working.”
My gaze tracks between them.
“Well, it was right,” Dr. Niell says as he holds the door for us. “From the autopsy I was able to discern our Doe had magick at one point. But within the last few days, his cells slowly deteriorated, depleting his body of his ability to heal and taking his magick. Similar to poison or a disease. And it’s the damndest thing I have ever seen.”
“Any theory on the cause?” Gage asks.
Donning a pair of gloves, the doctor walks to one cold cabinet and opens the little door. “At first I wanted to say maybe family history or a new drug,” the doctor says. “But then I found this.”
He slides out a long silver rack covered in a white sheet. Lifting the sheet back, he displays a nude male with soft blue skin. Picking up the male’s arm, he turns it, flashing a livid purple bruise like an odd ‘t’ on his flesh.
Gage steps closer. “What the hell is that?” he asks.
Dr. Niell huffs. “I was hoping you could tell me.”
Gage looks at him. “There are no known weapons that leave a mark like that,” he says.
“Was there anything in the alley that was similar?” Niell asks, frowning.
“No. I would’ve noticed.”
I peer at the little mark as something nags at the back of my mind. Like I’ve seen it before.
