Page 68 of Alora: The Portal (Alora 2)

Alora helped Kaevin, Uncle Charles, and Arista return the family room to a semblance of order. She cringed, wondering if Karen would go ballistic when she realized how many dishes and plates had been broken when Uncle Charles smashed into the china cabinet.

Dr. Sanders emerged from the hallway, pulling his bloody latex gloves off inside out to toss them in the trashcan. “The boy needs to be in a hospital.”

“But you’d have to report a gunshot wound to the authorities. How would you explain it?” Uncle Charles tapped his fingers on his legs the way he did when he was really anxious. “Do you think he’s going to make it?”

“I don’t know. I did the best I could without doing surgery. The kid didn’t even make a sound when I dug the bullet out. It was wedged against a rib. But the bullet may have nicked his spleen. If so, he might not survive without surgery.”

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that.” Charles dropped back in his chair, wincing when the back of his head touched the cushion.

“Who wants tea?” asked Arista, entering the room with a steaming mug in her hand. Upon learning how to fill a cup with water from the “magick pipe” and heat it inside the “magick box,” she’d made no less than three cups of tea, foisting them upon anyone who stood still.

Alora accepted a mug and sipped the hot soothing liquid. She was surprised to find her head felt a little better. She held out the cup toward him. “Here, Kaevin. Take a sip. It’s helping my headache.”

“I already had to drink a cup.” Kaevin rolled his eyes toward Arista. “But my head’s already feeling better. Now it’s only my ribs that are hurting.”

“I guess I should check out the other injuries since I’ve done what I can for the boy. Let me see if you’ve broken a rib.” Lifting Kaevin’s shirt, Dr. Sanders probed his side. Alora couldn’t help staring as she got her first view of Kaevin’s chest. It’s nice. Lots of muscles. Ow!

“Ah!” said Kaevin.

“It hurts right here, huh? Yep, I think you’ve got a cracked rib.” Dr. Sanders listened to Kaevin breathing with his stethoscope. “But your lungs sound normal. Six weeks and you’ll be good as new, with a little rest and anti-inflammatories.”

“You don’t need to tape up his ribs, Doc?” asked Charles.

“No, that’s not recommended any more.”

“What about Uncle Charles’ head?” asked Alora. “It’s all bloody.”

“I’m fine,” Uncle Charles grumbled.

“Let me take a look at your head,” said Dr. Sanders. “And while I’m doing that, you can explain to me exactly what happened and why you have that boy tied to the bed with zip ties and someone standing guard over him.” Dr. Sanders referenced Graely, who’d remained in the bedroom to keep a watchful eye on Daegreth. “I mean this kid is obviously mentally imbalanced. I recognize him from when he went ballistic in the hospital. Now he’s evidently done it again.”

“He’s not crazy, Doc.”

“Well, he’s suicidal, Charles. When Graely wasn’t listening, the kid asked me to let him die. So what’s going on? Who is this kid?”

“Are you sure you want to know everything? I thought you wanted plausible deniability.” Charles gave him an I-don’t-really-buy-it look. Alora had seen a similar expression a few times before… usually when she gave a lame excuse for a bad test grade.

“I did want plausible deniability, but now I’m finally giving up. Besides, Janice has let a few things slip. I think she thinks I know more than I do. So, if she and I are going to be together—”

“Janice? You mean Beth’s mom?” Alora gasped. “You and Beth’s mom are dating? I can’t believe Beth kept it a secret.”

“Alora.” Uncle Charles said everything with one word in a scolding tone.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be nosy.”

Dr. Sanders laughed. “It’s okay, Charles. Janice and I have been keeping it quiet until we were certain it was serious, but we’re not hiding our relationship any longer.”

He shoved Charles in the direction of the bathroom. “Go stick your head in the shower and wash all that blood off so I can see if there’s any glass in there. I’ll be there in a minute.”

As Charles departed, Dr. Sanders continued his explanation. “Janice is very protective of Beth. She didn’t want Beth getting attached to me until she was sure I was going to stick around. So we told Beth last night.”

“Beth… oh, no! I was supposed to go over there today after our meeting. I forgot all about it after Daegreth went postal on us. She’s going to be so mad at me.” Alora dug in her coat pocket to retrieve her cell phone. Four missed calls and five texts. All from Beth.

Where are U?

Hello?

Call me!