Page 81 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse
Twenty minutes later, I pulled into Eric’s small garage. The door was closed, and I had no idea how to open it. I glanced around, looking for his phone, which he used to control the security system. I found it tucked in a nook in the dashboard. I pressed the screen. The phone came to life, but I didn’t have the passcode.
“Shit!” I exclaimed in frustration, stuffing the phone back where I’d found it.
I was about to get out of the van when the garage door started to open, scrolling upward like a curtain. I figured Damien had used a spell to activate it. I drove inside as soon as there was enough room to get through. After shutting off the engine, I hopped out, ran toward the back just as Jake threw the doors open. He hopped out, then turned to help Eric out.
Eric was in his human form, his clothes perfectly clean, a sharp contrast to the skin on his face, hands, and arms, which were so caked with dry blood that he almost looked black. He was holding his middle and got down gingerly with Jake’s help.
Without thinking, I crashed into him and wrapped my arms around him.
He let out anoomphand a groan of pain. Still, I couldn’t let him go. I was too relieved he was all right. At first, he was stiff, but then he relaxed into the hug and patted my shoulder.
“I’m okay, Sunder. I’ve been through worse.”
I pulled back, draping his arm over my shoulders, and helped him walk inside. The training room didn’t have any furniture, but it was the closest to the garage, so I took Eric in there and helped him as he gingerly lowered himself to the floor, resting his back against the mirrored wall. He slumped, a hand still pressed to his stomach.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’m good. I just need to rest.” He closed his eyes and let his head drop to one side. Jake came in with Ben who was using him for support as he hopped on one leg. His pants’ leg was torn to shreds and soaked in blood, but, from what I could see, he wasn’t bleeding anymore. Damien had done a decent job healing them despite the fact we were addled as hell.
Jake deposited Ben next to Eric. The big guy let out a heavy exhale and went limp. Patrick rushed into the room and knelt by his friend.
“How you feel, man?”
“Like shit,” Ben responded, without opening his eyes.
“I told you not to go head to head with that beast.”
“It was the smallest one.”
Patrick shook his head. “Not as small as your pea-sized brain.” He pressed his index finger to the middle of his friend’s forehead and pushed.
“Hey!” Ben swatted at him weakly.
I turned away from them as Damien and Rosalina walked in, the mage leaning heavily on her. His eyelids were drooping and he looked pale.
Rosalina met my gaze, a concerned expression shaping her features. “Marcus won’t... leave her.”
My breath hitched. “I’ll go check on him.”
I tried not to feel guilty about what had happened. It had been an accident. Unknowingly, I’d saved his life and condemned his sister. When the dust settled, would he hate me like Travis did? It didn’t matter. For some reason, I felt responsible for him, so I had to go.
As I started to leave, Jake grabbed my hand. I glanced back.
“Are you all right? Do you need me to come with you?”
I shook my head. “Help them here. Bring them water.” Eric and Ben had lost a lot of blood and, despite their healing abilities, they still needed to hydrate.
Jake walked out with me but headed in the opposite direction, presumably toward the kitchen. I went back to the garage and, taking a deep breath, I braced myself for what waited for me in the van.
Skirting around the open back door, I faced the sight of Marcus sitting cross-legged on the van’s floor, Olivia’s body lying in front of him. His eyes were open but unseeing. His chin rested on his chest. An air of complete despair hung around him, a noxious cloud seemed to seep into my lungs as I breathed.
“Marcus,” I all but whispered.
He didn’t look up but, coming to, he blinked and peered at his sister’s slack face. Fresh tears slid silently down his face.
Removing my jacket, I stepped into the van. “I’m going to...” I showed him my jacket and gestured toward Olivia.
He seemed angry for an instant, like he hated me for intruding, but then he took the jacket from me and draped it over Olivia’s face. The bottom of the garment halfway covered the bullet wound in her chest. My head snapped to one side as I averted my gaze.
