[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
. Chapter Twenty-threeIt was the awful smell that drew me out of a comfortable, deep sleep.Not rotting-meat awful.More vinegar-tang awful.Smelled like that Koreansauerkraut Ash would make for dinner.Only Jesse would eat it; I got takeout those nights.Was she making it? That what I smelled?I peeked one eye open and spotted familiar stained wallpaper.Watermarks on what used to be white and yellow daisies, left over from the lastpeople to rent the place.I wasn t home enough to care, so I d never bothered painting over it.The apartment was a place to crash and recover, notto nest.I was in my room, and it reeked of icky food.Terrific.I rolled over, cuddling my pillow and tugging the blanket higher over my head.Every muscle in my body ached.Must have been a rough night.What had I done last night? Had we gone out on a warrant? Stayed in? Trained? Couldn t remember.Were my partners even home?Home & Home was gone.I couldn t go back there, but why?Because the were-cats had attacked me there, that s why.Duh.I shot up in bed so fast my head spun and the room tilted.I clutched the blankets tight to my chest, waiting for things to settle.It was my room, inthe old apartment above the jewelry store.My room, my bed.The blankets and sheets were new, and something was burning on the table nearby.Looked like incense and was the source of that odd odor.It was all a bad dream; it had to be.The last two weeks were just some elaborate drug-induced nightmare, and I was back at home, in my old life.That explained it.Only thing that could.No, I felt it the faint buzz of power from the Break.My hand flew to my chest and found the familiar smoothness of the cross necklace.The heavyweight of thick brown hair falling almost to my waist.Tears stung my eyes as confusion set in fast and sharp, roiling my stomach.My heart thuddedhard.In the far corner of the room how had I not seen it before? was a hospital IV stand and two empty solution bags.How long had I been here? Hello! My voice was raspy and thick, coming out more like a frog s croak than a call for help.The bedroom door swung open, and Wyatt rushed in, a paperback novel still clenched in one hand.He was clean-shaven and looked relativelyhealthy and pain-free.His entire face lit up when our eyes met.My heart leapt, relief warring with confusion in a dizzying battle. Hey, sleeping beauty, he said, in a mirror of his words only & well, sometime earlier.Dozens of questions raced through my mind, each one demanding to be asked first.Stupidly, the one I asked was: What s that smell? He blinked, then smiled.After tossing the book on the foot of the bed, he came over and perched near my knees. A gift from Isleen, actually.Those herbs over there promote healing.We figured it couldn t hurt, given you took a four-story header onto the pavement. That s right.I d gone out a window with Cole.The entire night came back in a rush of pain and sensations.Everything we d done, everything we dtried to prevent. The theater? His smile vanished, and he hesitated. We were right about the tunnel access.Our teams met up with about forty Halfies down there.The tightspaces gave us an advantage, but it was a tough fight.Twenty or so still got up into the theater and started killing.Gina found the source of thebarrier spell and destroyed it, so the regular police were able to get in.Not sure how the hell they explained it to them, though. How d we do? I asked. Baylor lost his rookie.Two of Morgan s Hunters were wounded, but they ll live. I felt a small amount of relief knowing that the Triads had suffered only one casualty.It could have been much worse.I was even glad Paul Ryanhad apparently survived the onslaught.He was a trigger-happy little shit, but he was a fighter, and the Triads needed every fighter they could hold onto. How did Kismet s boys make out? He flinched. Tybalt & My mouth went dry. Is he dead? No.Say no. No.But he s in pretty bad shape.A Halfie bit him on the hand, so Milo & Wyatt grimaced, a little pale at what I could only imagine hadhappened in such a situation. Milo cut his left arm off at the elbow to stop the infection.Nearly bled out before they got him to the hospital.So far,he s not showing any signs of turning, but he lost half his goddamn arm. I felt ill and reached for Wyatt s hand.He squeezed hard.They d done the best they could to save Tybalt s life.Still, what good was a Hunter withone arm? He d never use his butterfly swords again.I swallowed, no moisture in my mouth. Have you talked to her? Who, Gina? Yeah. All our personal bullshit aside, she was still his friend and had to be upset over Tybalt s injury. Once, Monday morning.She told me the truth about the factory. Grief deepened his frown. I think she was hurting over what happened to Tybaltand & I stroked the back of his hand with my thumb. She didn t want to lose someone else she cares about? He nodded.I got that.They d been through a lot together, been friends for years longer than I d known him.Even though she believed she d killedme and hurt Wyatt irreparably, Kismet had still reached out.I admired that
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]