Page 17 of Lucie
Chapter Nine
Demand
“Ow!That hurts, damn it!” Lucien sniffed his shirt. “And I smell like I’ve been on a three-day binge.”
“Hold still,” Iain ordered. He lifted the bottle of distilled alcohol and poured a little more over the wound in the back of Lucien’s head and neck. Lucien hissed from the burn and jerked away, earning him a slap on the arm. “I saidhold still.”
He felt a prodding, followed by another lance of pain. There was the sound of more snipping, and a wisp of dark brown hair was tossed out in front of him.
“What are you doing? Cutting off all my hair?” He reached up to check for himself, but got his hand slapped away instead.
“What’s the prognosis, Doctor?”YulenD’Jacquesstrode into the room.Attywas right behind him. They walked over to where Lucien was lying on his stomach, his back laid bare across several soaked towels. They both checked the deep scratches sustained by their son, thenAttywalked around and hunched down to look him in the eyes.
“How do you feel?”
“I’m fine,” he assured her for the umpteenth time.
She glanced up at herhusband. “He seems clean and clear.”
“But we won’t know for certain until we find out if the bat was the same,”Yulenremarked.
Lucien sighed loudly to get their attention. “Mom, Dad, I’ll be okay.”
Reaching out, the battle lord gave Lucien’s arm a squeeze. “You protected your mother from that creature. Thank you.” The man’s voice was heartfelt, and forthe first time since the attack, Lucien felt his nose tingle as his eyes misted over. It wasn’t often that his father praised him with such obvious emotion for his actions.
There was some more prodding, and he winced. “What are you doing?” he demanded of the physician.
“When the bat scratched you, its claws dug into your scalp and neck, and some of your hair was buriedinto the skin.”
More alcohol was poured into the wounds. Lucien wasn’t hesitant about letting the man know how much it burned. “Be glad there was some local disinfectant to cleanse it. It also keeps the blood from clotting until I’m sure I’ve removed all the hair from the scratches.” A damp towel lightly patted his shoulders. “I think I got it all. Now comes the hard part.”
“Hardpart? What hard part?”
“I have to sew you up,” Iain remarked.
“Crap.”
Another squeeze of his arm drew his attention back to his mother, who was still crouched at the head of the table. She gave him a watery smile. “Thank you for your sacrifice.”
“When will we know about the bat?” the battle lord asked.
Iain shrugged. “Dr. Maynardis examining it now. He’s supposed to let us know as soon as he finds out something. Now, hold still, Luc. This is going to bite.”
Gritting his teeth, Lucien braved the stitches to the back of his head. Fortunately, the scratches down his neck were less severe, and only needed to be dressed. Throughout the whole ordeal, his parents remained by his side, and that alone worried him.In the past whenever he or either of the other siblings were injured or hurt, it was usuallyAttywho stayed with them. But he couldn’t remember at any time when their father pulled watch.
Iain tied the ends of the bandage that crisscrossed between Lucien’s shoulders to protect the padding placed against his neck. “All right. I’ve done all I can.”
“What about his head?Aren’t you going to wrap it?”Yuleninquired.
“Not until I get word about the bat,” the young physician told them. “Until then, he can wear a cap over it to keep the padding in place.”
“Why’sthat?”Attyasked.
“If the bat proves to be rabid, I’ll need to keep cleansing the open wounds until I’m certain I’ve removed all the toxin.”
“We leavetomorrow morning,”Yulennoted. “Should I send Luc back to AltaNovis?”
“No!” Lucien rose up on his elbows and gave his father a stern look. “I’m not returning to AltaNovis, and you go on ahead to Green River.”
