Tainted Night, Tainted Blood

21



I wanted to leave that night, but it was far too close to dawn. Doctor Lei led me down into the basement where the windows were completely black. A few mattresses that smelled of stale sweat and blood lay around the room. I chose one that smelled the least foul and settled in for the long day.

Jonathan wanted to continue talks about what should be done about Thomas, but I was in no mood. He came down more than once to try to get me to discuss it with him. I steadfastly refused, knowing if I were to start plotting my brother’s downfall now, I’d lose it.

Eventually, he left me alone to my thoughts. We planned on waiting another night before acting, which gave me time to figure out what the f*ck I was going to do. I needed to go home, obviously. My gear was there, and Ethan would be having a fit by now.

Doctor Lei checked on me off and on. She never really said much outside a few grunts and mumbles about me moving around too much. As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t sit still. My back ached something fierce, and she was forced to rebandage my wound more than once.

Finally, the day faded and I was allowed to leave. Jonathan drove me back to my Honda and waited there as I checked the bike over.

“You could use our garage,” he said as I started up the motorcycle. “You don’t have to park all the way out here.”

I didn’t answer. I walked my bike out of the alley and took off down the road the moment I was clear. I wanted nothing more than to go home and take a long, warm bath. Lei’s clothes, combined with the stitches and healing flesh, were making me itch.

The drive was nearly unbearable. Every bump in the road made me wince. I cried out almost continually when the road got especially rough. While I might be healing, it was clear I wasn’t going to be nearly strong enough for a good fight for quite a while. Thomas and his Tainted had done a pretty good number on me. It felt like someone had taken my insides and stirred them around with a baseball bat covered in barbed wire.

I took my driveway slowly in a vain attempt to mitigate the jarring. I parked in the garage, closed the door, and entered the house through the side door. I fully expected Ethan to be in the basement working. I was wrong.

“Where have you been?” he asked, nearly stumbling over himself as he rose from the table. His face was puffy and red. His SpongeBob T-shirt looked as though he had been wearing it for days. His hair was a mess, and it was obvious he hadn’t slept since the last time I had seen him.

“Out,” I said, easing my way across the kitchen. I just wanted to go upstairs to my bath. Doctor Lei hadn’t told me if my stitches would dissolve in the water or if it would be bad for me. Quite frankly, I didn’t give a f*ck. I was going to do it whether she approved or not.

“Out?” Ethan said, his voice rising in pitch. “Just out? I was worried. You’ve been gone for days and all you can say is out?” He laughed. It had a slightly maniacal sound to it.

I stopped and leaned on the table. “I’m sorry,” I said. “Things came up.”

Ethan started to say more but froze. “What happened to you?” he asked. “Jesus.” He walked toward me, wincing as if he could feel every bruise and cut. “And where did you get those horrible clothes?”

I sighed. I really didn’t want to get into it until I felt better. While I wanted to let Ethan know I was still alive, I had hoped to do it after my bath. I figured a good wash and a new set of clothes would have hid most of the damage. He never would have known how bad it really was.

But it was too late now. He was circling me, looking me up and down. He reached out every few seconds as if he wanted to touch me, but held off as if he was afraid to. I didn’t blame him. I probably looked like hell.

“I found Thomas.”

“Jesus,” he said again. He stared at me wide-eyed. “He did this to you?”

“No,” I said. “Not entirely.” I suppressed a groan as I shifted my weight. “He had some friends.”

“And all of that.” He motioned toward the stitches under my chin.

“Doctor Lei sewed me up.”

“Who?”

I didn’t feel like explaining. “Thomas is alive, Ethan,” I said. “He’s alive and I think he is starting to remember who he once was.”

Ethan sat down heavily. “But he did this to you?”

I started to shrug. Pain lanced through my shoulder and I settled for a nod. “He isn’t there yet. I think if we can catch him, we’ll be able to restrain him. It’ll take time, but I think we can reach him.”

“Who’s we?”

“Jonathan and I.” No sense in hiding it. “I’m leaving later to discuss it with him.”

“Tonight?”

“No better time.”

“Jesus, Kat.” Ethan shook his head. “You’ve been gone for days, you look like someone dropped you into a meat grinder and then tried to sew you back together, and you want to go running off again? Take a break. I don’t think I can handle another night wondering if you’re dead or alive.”

“I can’t leave him out there,” I said. I sagged into a chair, unable to stand any longer. “The longer I wait, the more likely it is that Adrian or someone else will find him. I can’t take that chance.”

“Adrian?” Ethan paled. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

I frowned at him. “I’m not the only one who’s been looking for Thomas. My brother’s been the one who’s been killing all the vamps and wolves lately. He’s in a lot of trouble, and I plan on getting to him before someone else does, someone who won’t be as understanding.”

“And one more night will really matter?”

“You don’t understand... .”

“No, you don’t understand.”

I looked up at Ethan, stunned. I couldn’t believe he had actually raised his voice at me. I don’t think in all the time I’ve known him he’d ever yelled at me.

He reddened and looked away. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But I just can’t accept this. You look like you can barely stand and you plan on running off after your brother. A brother who kicked your butt once already, I might add. Do you really think it’s a good idea to go running off now before you’ve had a chance to recover?”

“I never said I was going after him tonight.”

“You didn’t have to,” Ethan said. “I know you. You’ll go talk about it for a few minutes, and the next thing you know, you’ll be off chasing after him.”

I looked down at my hands. Ethan was right. While I might prefer to have everything all planned out, this was Thomas we were talking about. I couldn’t sit back and wait when I knew I could be out there looking for him. I was pretty sure I knew where to find him. Why wait?

“Kat,” Ethan said. “I know you mean well. I know you want to do what is best for Thomas and everyone else around you, but you have to stop for a few minutes and breathe sometimes. If you don’t, you’re going to get yourself killed rushing into something you aren’t prepared for.”

A hint of anger started to rise, but I suppressed it. Ethan wasn’t being selfish here. He was trying to look out for me. I was being stupid. I could hardly breathe without whimpering and I expected to go running off to subdue the very man who had hurt me so badly? What was I thinking?

“All right,” I said, hating myself. I knew it was the right thing to do, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. “I’ll stay home tonight.”

“Good.”

“But I’m leaving tomorrow night at first dark. I’ll want all my gear ready, plus a few extras just in case.”

Ethan frowned. “Where’s your stuff?” he asked, eyeing me critically.

“Gone.” I left it at that.

He nodded as if it made perfect sense and started for the basement stairs. “I’m going to make sure you have everything you need. Don’t you dare leave or I’ll have to come after you.”

I smiled at that. He could hardly leave the house without panicking, yet I believed him. “I won’t.”

Ethan hurried down the stairs. As soon as he was gone, I forced myself to my feet and dragged my way up to my room. I instantly shed Doctor Lei’s baggy clothes and went to the bathroom.

I peeled off my bandages and dropped them into the trash. I started for the tub but stopped at the mirror to really look at myself. My eyes were sunken in, my face bruised, though the bruises would fade by morning. The stitches in my shoulder and under my chin were dark against my pale skin. I wondered what she had used to sew me up. They definitely didn’t look like normal stitches.

I turned so I could see my back and nearly sagged to my knees when I saw the extent of the damage. The skin was so dark it was nearly black. It looked as though someone had run me through with a forklift. It was a wonder I could even move.

Feeling worse than I had before, I went to the tub to start the water. I applied a liberal amount of bubble bath, and as soon as the tub was full, I sank down into the hot water.

It was like slipping into acid. My back screamed as the hot water washed over me. I gritted my teeth and forced myself all the way in so that only my nose and eyes were above the water. I trembled there, in so much pain it made me sick.

But it eventually passed. The pain ebbed away and I was left floating in a state of utter numbness. It almost felt good.

I stayed in the bath for so long my entire body had started to wrinkle, which did little to help my wounds. All the bubbles had popped and the water had turned cold. It was now a faint pink.

I dragged myself out of the bloody water and dried off, careful not to press too hard against my wounds. Just the thought of touching them hurt. How I was ever going to fight and subdue Thomas, I would never know.

Leaving the bathroom, I picked up Doctor Lei’s clothes. There was bloody pus all down the back of the shirt where I had seeped. It made my stomach churn. I tossed the bundle into the hamper. I would return them to her and thank her later, even though she had said I could keep them. It was the least I could do.

Still naked, I went to the closet and pulled out my old leather coat, the one that was too long. I tossed it on the bed, along with a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting T-shirt. As much as I would want to go out in full leather, I was pretty sure it would be impossible to get anything too tight on my body for weeks.

I sat down cross-legged on my bed and grabbed a pair of scissors from the bedside table. I rubbed the tough leather of my coat between the pads of my fingers, relishing the feel.

And then I started cutting.

I planned on taking off only the last few inches, then sewing the bottom so it wouldn’t look ragged. After the first pass, I found myself cutting another long strip, then another. Before I knew it, I had cut half-a-dozen strips from the coat, my hands working without conscious effort. I held the coat up. It only went down to about midthigh now. It was too short to conceal my sword.

And for some reason, that’s what did it.

I burst into tears, rocking back and forth amidst the ruins of my leather coat. Everything caught up with me: Thomas, Adrian, the Luna Cult, the cop I had attacked, everything. I couldn’t take it. It was just too damn much.

I cried, letting out all my frustrations, hoping that when I was done, I would be able to face the night like I always had. I wasn’t sure where that girl had gone, the one so willing to kill without a thought. If I was going to survive this, I needed to find her again. And I needed to do it fast.