Page 28 of Awakened Ash and Alchemy

“No,” he said hoarsely as she rushed toward him. “Don’t touch me.”

“You’re bleeding.” Ignoring him, she dropped to her knees, checking his armor. The thick black leather etched with symbols like complex runes was warm, as if alive.

“What happened? And don’t tell me you’re fine when you’re clearly not.” And neither was she, not after what she’d done.

“It should not have cut me,” he said, breath hitching. “The armor—”

“Has a hole in it.” She tugged her scarf free and pressed it hard against his ribs. “Put pressure on it.”

He inhaled fast. “You shouldn’t be able to touch me.”

“Well, I am. And right now, I’m more concerned with the fact that you’re bleeding. So, unless you’ve got a better plan—”

“I do not,” he admitted through clenched teeth.

She pressed harder. The blood soaked the scarf far too quickly.

“Keep that pressure up.” She ran back to the car, sloshing through wet puddles, and grabbed her spare scarf from the back seat. By the time she was back at his side, he was pale, clenching his jaw tight with pain.

“I’ll wrap this around you.” The smell of blood was making her ill. “It needs to be tight.”

“You don’t need to do this,” he muttered. “We self-heal quicker than mortals.”

Mortal? What did that make him? Zarek looked human, yet in her gut she knew he wasn’t normal. Nothing about this entire scenario was normal.

“Then you’re doing a terrible job of this healing thing,” she shot back, wrapping the fabric snug around his torso. “Do you want me to take you to the hospital? I think I should. They’d know what to—”

“No. I can’t.”

“Can’t… or won’t? They only call the police when it’s a gun—”

“I cannot go home.” His words were weighed down with more than just pain.

“What do you mean?”

“They used the Poison Blade,” he hissed. “A black blade that paralyzes our magick. It has the power to cut through our wards, armor, anything, to destroy us.”

Wait! He didn’t just say what he said, right? Magic wasn’t real. When none of this was real. Yet the blood seeping through his leather armor, and the pain he tried to hide, was so wrong that it could only be real. What’s worse was that she could feel it, stabbing into her side. How was that possible?

“The poison from the blade…” Zarek winced. “It’s inside, eating through what I am. I cannot heal properly… or travel. Helviti.” He gritted his teeth.

Vulnerable is what she heard, and for someone like Zarek, dressed like a warrior, it must be rare for him to need help.

And she never said no to anyone who needed help.

“Then you’re coming with me.”

“But—”

“No buts. I know you’re hurt. And I know you’re not safe here because more of those black cloaked things might show up, like they did last time. So don’t complain.” She didn’t want to think about them, or what she’d done, but only focused on Zarek. She helped him to his feet, sliding his arm over her shoulders so he could use her for balance.

“You worry for me?” he asked softly, while wincing with pain.

“Yeah, I do. Even though I don’t understand you, or what this is—where the whole thing terrifies me, I can’t help it. So, please let’s get you out of here, or I’ll be no good to you when I have a panic attack and faint from the fear.” And then she’d think about what had possessed her to deviate from her simple trip home from work.

She guided Zarek to the car, easing him into the back seat and helping him lie flat. “Keep pressure on the wound so you don’t lose more blood. Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the hospital?”

“No. Like I said, we are self-healers.” His gloves were already slick with blood as she pressed them against his ribs.