Page 37 of Unholy Gambit: Checkmate in Blood
Down another long hallway, and Axel was standing in the corridor. “I apologize for the stairs. If I’d realized there wasn’t an elevator option to reach the vampire accommodations, I’d have chosen another hotel.”
“I need to do stairs,” she told him. “It’s fine. They take security seriously here, though.”
“Vampires are vulnerable when dead to the world. I rise before most, but it’s good there are protections for those still defenseless.” He looked to her left. “Dr. Woods, it’s nice to finally meet you in person. Please, both of you, come in. I have peach tea for Aury, and a selection of teas, colas, and water for you to choose from.”
“Water is fine for me, thank you.”
And then they stared at each other. Silent.
“What’s going on?” Aury asked after a good thirty seconds of silence.
“The good doctor picked up on something I wasn’t aware of until we performed your oath,” Axel said, his voice calm, his diction precise. “He is rightfully angry on your behalf, and I’ve explained the circumstances.”
Dr. Woods turned to her. “He planned to tell you after you saw his memories of the night, and I actually agree with the timing. Trying to explain before you fully remember won’t be productive. Let’s find our seats and get started.”
She narrowed her eyes and didn’t move an inch. “It feels as if the two of you are being too careful. Someone please explain.”
“We are more than our beasts,” Dr. Woods explained. “I have a claim on you as my patient, when you were a teen and now an adult. I’ve helped you through some difficult times. It’s a longstanding relationship.”
“And I insisted he be present for this,” Axel said, “not understanding how protective his wolf would be of you.”
“We’re fine,” Dr. Woods said. “Most humans wouldn’t have picked up on that, and I apologize we let our issues bleed over.”
“What is it you tell me about children who experienced trauma being sensitive to conflict?”
He nodded and sat in a chair, and Aury got the distinct impression he was trying to dial whatever had just happened down.
“I agreed to the rules of safe passage,” Axel said, pulling Aury onto a sofa with him and tucking her into his side. She felt a little like a stuffie two dogs had been battling over, but she kept that to herself.
“The fact you required safe passage tells me you had an inkling there might be a problem,” Axel said.
“I had no specific concerns,” Dr. Woods answered. “My request is standard for an unknown vampire visiting the territory, but add in your reputation, and I’d have asked for it even if it wasn’t standard.” He looked to Aury. “Tell me, please, what you hope to get out of this exercise?”
“I need to know what happened. I get why he couldn’t let Maman and me run off to the hospital talking of superhuman monsters, but my memories were fucked with, and I need to know the truth.”
“Do you want it in pieces, or the whole thing all at once?” Axel asked.
Aury turned to him, considering. “Start with what you saw and heard on the way to the house, and stop once you’re inside, so we can talk about who is there and what you were thinking.”
“I shall stop if your pulse goes too high, or I sense panic. Otherwise, I will do as you’ve asked.”
Aury was suddenly on the street outside her old house, screams tearing through the night.
She staggered. Not in the vision, in her real body. Her breath seized up, chest tight, and for one hard second, she couldn’t inhale.
The scent hit her next.Everything at once. Wet asphalt, damp rot from the garbage can, the acrid trail of old rat piss.Fox musk, sharp and pungent. All of it layered under blood andterror.
She — no,he— moved. Superfast. Across the street. Through the gate. A door splintered open under her hand.Hishand.
She arrived in the living room when the child was thrown.
Aury’s body flinched before her mind caught up. She felt the motion as if she’d thrown herself across the room — as ifhersmall body were airborne,herbones about to hit—
And then the shift: Axel’s magic, hiswillpower, catching the little girl, slowing the forward momentum, but not enough. The child still hit the wall. A sickening crunch echoed through the memory, across the years.
He cushioned her fall to the floor,why had this never occurred to her? She’d had a slight concussion, but not serious brain damage. Ofcoursehe’d softened her landing.
But the damage was done. Her knee. Her leg.
