Page 23

23. Care and Feeding of Kerry Harker

Gemma

Although it shamed me to admit it, I was glad I hadn’t been the only one captured. It would have been more than I could bear to be alone among the enemy.

And the others had trained much longer than I had for situations like this; their calm acceptance helped me keep panic at bay.

The demons had tossed us through the portal to land on a grassy yard in front of a strange building with metal letters running across the entrance. Some of the letters were missing, but enough remained for me to see it once said, “Science of the Future.” More demons had come out of that building and carried us across a gravel road to a metal building that had the look of a garage or repair shop of some kind.

Now, left lying on the concrete floor still swaddled in blankets, we struggled to free ourselves, but were “wrapped up tighter than burritos,” as Jax put it. Even the yellow color of the material added to the image and everyone had laughed, except Maddy, who had started to unravel. The constricting fabric triggered some sort of claustrophobia for her, and I tried to soothe her with songs while the others brainstormed ideas.

I looked around as I sang, getting a feel for our prison. Industrial lighting glared down almost too brightly from the metal ceiling. Dominating the room was a huge workstation with several stools still looking in usable condition. Most of the large space’s long walls were lined with metal shelving units and workbenches littered with odds and ends.

Several cots huddled in the rear of the building near a door marked as a bathroom. Also in that area was a metal contraption she thought might be a heating unit. I could feel warmth coming from that direction, anyway. An overhead garage door was next to the door we’d come in and two windows high up were probably more for ventilation than the view, I figured.

No escape there , I thought as I eyed them. Too high and narrow.

Fighting against the fabric was exhausting, and I eventually stopped struggling. Jax theorized that maybe there was some kind of power woven into the blankets. It took the better part of an hour, but Spin at last wiggled and squirmed his way over to Chance, who’d used his teeth to find a loose end of the blanket. He pulled at it until Spin could unroll himself like a clown doing a circus trick.

He freed Maddy first, then the rest of us.

“Let’s not do that again,” Jax muttered as he and Spin gathered up the blankets and threw them in one corner.

My arm around Maddy, I agreed.

“I wonder if we can destroy these.” Tara kicked her blanket onto the pile. “I’d like to burn mine.”

“We should take stock of what we have to work with here,” Spin suggested. “We may not have our powers, but we have our brains. Surely we can come up with some ideas to help the others find us. Rome will be on our trail as soon as he has a clue or a lead.”

“Kerry, too.” Jax smiled grimly. “And when he finds us, nothing will be left standing.”

Hearing his name, my chest clenched with misery and I slid to the floor, huddling against the wall.

“I’m worried about him. He was so upset before the ambush.” Tears pricked my eyes and the more I talked, the faster they flowed. “Now he has this to deal with, too. I’m scared about what he’ll do. What he’s thinking.”

Half-aware of the others gathering around me, I fought the hysteria rising up to claw my throat, but it was a losing battle from the beginning. I wanted to scream and fine tremors raced up and down my spine.

Jax plopped down, put his arms around me, and tucked my face into his throat. He was almost a foot shorter than Kerry, which actually made it easier to cry all over his shoulder.

“Gemma,” Chance said, “your imagination is running away with you. Do you honestly think he would abandon you to an enemy? Especially a Diabolical one? If you believe that, why—”

“That’s not the issue.” I raised my face and met his eyes. “I’m worried what he’ll do to rescue us. He will take any risk, even if it costs his life, to find us.”

“He’ll call the wardens in on this.” Spin crossed his arms over his chest. “He has to. This is too big for a newbie team’s first mission.”

“Ha! He won’t call Clem or go back to the Sanctuary. Not Kerry Harker.” Jax half-smiled. “Not as long as he believes there’s a traitor among the wardens. And Gemma’s being modest when she says rescue us . Even as angry and upset as he was, she’s all he’ll focus on.”

I blushed as everyone looked at me, but it was the truth and I knew it. Frowning, I sat up and away from Jax, then wrapped my arms around myself.

“A lot of times, we say we’ll do anything to make something happen, but we mean anything within reason. I might say I’ll do anything to get him to forgive me, but I wouldn’t murder someone because I have a moral compass. Kerry doesn’t, and he does not play. To him, anything means just that. If he has to beg, he’ll beg. If he has to lie, he’ll lie. Cheat. Steal. Kill. Torture. Betray. Sacrifice. Whatever it takes, he’ll do it. Whatever the cost, he’ll pay it.”

“Yeah, this is the dude who can’t understand mercy and thinks being kind shows weakness.” Jax half-smiled. “Good thing he’s on our side.”

No one spoke for a moment.

“Rome’s with him,” Chance said at last. “He has a practical nature and a lot of common sense. While he’s not at Kerry’s level of power, he’s had more training.”

“Yeah, Rome’s all logical and crap.” Spin grinned. “He’ll keep the others out of trouble.”

“Travis will help, too.” Maddy knelt in front of me and touched my knee. “He feels like he still owes Kerry a favor and he wants to make good on that, but he also genuinely likes Kerry.”

“Did you know, that day with the gargoyle in the Repository, Kerry let John teleport him?” Tara smiled at me. “It blew John’s mind. He was honored that Kerry trusted him enough to let him touch him, especially when he was wounded.”

If he could hear them now, I thought with a bittersweet pang, he’d understand they like him for who he is, taint and all. And it has nothing to do with pity.

“That’s ‘The Care and Feeding of Kerry Harker Rule Number Three.’ ” Jax laughed, apparently wanting to lighten the mood. “Number two is, Don’t touch him. Period. Number three is, Especially don’t touch him when he’s mad or hurt.”

“What’s rule number one?” Chance asked.

“Oh, his warden came up with that one last fall.” I smiled faintly. “Chessie Catt told me. It’s something like, ‘Pretend he’s a tiger. Respond accordingly.’ Only I can’t say it in Hank’s snarky voice.”

“Works in all situations, too.” Maddy grinned. “From someone cutting him in the lunch line to a succubus challenging him with monstrosities.”

“Oh, I think the time Todd Weaver cut him in the lunch line was far more terrifying than those monstrosities.” Jax tilted his head and his eyes twinkled with good humor.

“You said Hank’s his warden.” Spin looked down at me. “Is it Hank Bishop ?”

“Yes,” I said. “Do you know him?”

“Know him? There’s not a guide alive today who doesn’t know Hank Bishop!” he said with a smile, as if it were a pleasant surprise. “I know Clem told us not to contact the Sanctuary because of a leak, but there is no way it’s Hank. No way . When we escape, we need to call him pronto. He’s probably worried out of his mind about Kerry, unless Clem’s been updating him.”

“I think all of Clem’s priorities have changed now.” Jax gave us all a meaningful look. “I’m not blaming him, but I don’t think he’s too concerned about reporting to our wardens.”

“Or the Council,” Tara added.

“Did you say Chessie Catt?” Chance asked.

“Yes. Do you know her?” Tissue-less, I wiped my nose on my sleeve.

“No, I don’t know, but Kerry mentioned her on watch. I’d like to meet her, especially after he showed me the nightmare ward she made him.”

“He showed you?” Jax and I blurted out at the same time.

Chance leaned away a bit and gave us a startled look. That was all it took. We both started to giggle.

Then the others broke up and began to look around our prison.

“Have faith, Tomato, and don’t borrow trouble.” Jax helped me to my feet. “We have enough to worry about right here.”

“Okay. I’ll try.”

“Um, I don’t know what to do here!” Spin called.

On the other side of the workstation, he stood perfectly still with his hands down. Curious, I walked over to peer around his shoulder and my jaw dropped.

A young woman lay curled in a tight fetal position, her dark eyes blank and staring. Thick black hair framed her face in a tangled haystack and she wore a short-sleeved, white t-shirt with faded navy jeans. Her feet were bare and her toenails showed the remnants of pink polish.

At first, she was so still and emaciated that I feared she might be dead, but as Spin took a step closer, she pulled herself into a tighter ball and curved her slim back forward protectively.

“Stop, Spin.” Chance caught his shoulder.

“I wasn’t trying to sneak up on her.” Spin frowned. “I came around the corner and there she was.”

“I know,” Chance said. When Spin asked what was wrong with her, he shrugged. “At a guess, I’d say she’s had too much trauma or stress to cope with and has shut down in self-preservation. Do you agree, Gemma?”

“Absolutely. Let me try, okay?” I looked at Chance. “Sometimes, being surrounded by big, strong guys makes a girl feel safer. Sometimes, it has the opposite effect.”

He nodded and left, returning to his inventory of the room, but Spin only backed away several paces. I looked at him curiously for a second before getting down on my hands and knees.

“Hi. My name’s Gemma. Gemma Shepherd.” I waited a few seconds, then continued. “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to, but I would like to talk to you for a bit. I hope that’s okay. I won’t hurt you. None of us will.”

The girl didn’t respond in any way, but I wasn’t deterred. I talked to her quietly for a long time, moving closer an inch at a time. Spin drifted away eventually and I could hear him talking with the others. When I was close enough, I skimmed my fingertips down the girl’s forearm.

Her skin was frighteningly cold.

She must have been lying on this concrete floor for hours . No wonder her feet look a little blue!

I took in the dark circles under her pretty eyes, the red marks on either side of her face, and the fingernails bitten down to the quick. Her arms were marred with fading bruises and mostly healed needle marks, but they weren’t the track marks of a drug addict.

That doesn’t make any sense. Were they drawing blood from her? Injecting her with something?

“She’s freezing, Spin. I saw some cots over there. Can you find a quilt or something? Even a sheet would be better than nothing.”

He nodded and left.

“He’s a nice guy,” I told the girl, “although he jokes around entirely too much. My boyfriend almost killed him once when he took a joke too far. He needs someone to keep him in line.”

She didn’t so much as blink and I wondered if the girl was in a coma. If so, it could mean she wasn’t able to take care of her bodily functions. As there was no smell of urine or feces, however, I decided against that.

Catatonia? Is she schizophrenic? Maybe no one’s done anything to her; maybe this is her normal mental state. That doesn’t feel right, though, not with those marks on her arms . I huffed a sigh, sulky that my power was still silent. Hmm. Is that a lingering effect of those blankets, or is the building like Kerry’s cottage - locked down to power? I’ll have to ask the others what they think later.

Spin returned with a heavy wool quilt in his arms and threw it to me, clearly nervous about getting too close to the girl. I caught it and arranged it how I wanted, bundling the girl in it loosely and getting her to partially sit up.

“Not much else to do but watch her.” I sat back on my heels. “After she gets used to us a little more, I’ll get her into the bathroom and check her over for any major injuries. I may not be able to use my healing power, but I can still do basic first aid.”

I swiveled my head up to look at him.

“If we find any food, we could try to get her to eat something. Is there any drinking water?”

“We found a connecting bathroom, and there are paper cups in a dispenser by the sink.” He shoved his hands in his back pockets and scrunched up his shoulders. His eyes were back on the girl. “Want me to get one with a little water in it?”

“Sure. Maybe she’ll take a drink. That would give me more information, seeing if she takes it or not.”

Spin nodded and disappeared for a few moments, then returned with a little paper cup nearly hidden in his big hand. He stretched out and handed it to me, and I held it up to the girl’s lips. Obediently, she opened her mouth and took a tiny sip.

“What do you think is wrong with her?” he asked.

“Most likely, Chance is right and she’s in a stupor.”

“Stupor?” His brows drew together tightly.

“Think of it as if she’s in a deep sleep with her eyes open. She would respond to pain or a loud noise or a shock. When you first moved closer, she responded, right? But her brain isn’t here with her body right now. Like Chance said, it’s protecting itself by shutting down.”

“What did they do to her? It must have been bad for her to react like this.” He jammed one hand through his hair with muted violence, his tone suddenly vehement. “I hate them! Human, nephilim, or Diabolical, whoever these people are, I wish I could kill them all!”

I lifted my eyes to his, surprised by the outburst. I struggled to stand, stiff from kneeling so long, and he pulled me up, his hands gentle despite the outrage burning in his eyes. I held onto his arm as I shook one leg out, then the other.

I knew I should say something to calm him down, but I couldn’t think of anything. I agreed with him too much.

“Their time is coming,” I said at last.

“Yeah, Rome and Kerry are on the way.” Spin’s grin held no humor. “And they won’t be bringing mercy with them.”

“Well, not exactly what I meant, but you’re right. Now, where is the bathroom? I need to investigate it.”

“Oh, it’s good. Nice and clean. And stocked, too. Lots of toilet paper, towels, washcloths, and stuff like that. And it’s a full bathroom, complete with a tub and shower. I tested the faucet and we’ve got hot water. Jax’s gonna work out a shower rota.”

I held up a hand and he stopped talking.

“I mean, I have to use it, Spin.” I grinned at his sheepish look. “Do you want to stay with her for a while?”

He shrugged, but dragged a stool over and sat on it, then hooked his feet into the rungs and crossed his arms over his chest. I smiled as I left him to it. Something told me he’d be content to sit there no matter how long it took for us to get out of here.