Page 27 of The Redd Key (Bone Coven #1)
I ce seared my throat, and I screamed in torment, but no sound came out. Shards of glass seemed to have replaced the oxygen in the air, as excruciating breaths forced their way into my lungs. I wanted to fight, to claw the pain away. Because someone was doing that to me.
“She’s awake,” the deep voice boomed as I felt pressure lift from my mouth. “We got her back.” I thought I heard the man’s voice crack. “Raina, come on, please open your eyes.” This voice was softer now but had just as much depth. “I just got you…”
Griffin, I tried to speak. My eyelids felt too heavy, but I forced them to move. After a few attempts, they fluttered open, revealing his clear, blue eyes beneath a brow laced together with concern. Griffin’s hands were cupping my face as an EMT, who wasn’t Agatha, rushed over to us. Words refused to climb my throat as I mouthed his name once again.
“Don’t,” Griffin said his favorite word. “You shouldn’t try to speak yet. They’re going to look you over – make sure you’re alright.” He spoke softly, and I gripped his thick coat. He was no longer dressed like the masked ghoul, but like the firefighter he truly was. Covering my hand with one of his, he brought his lips to my ear as sirens blared. “I am not going anywhere.” I tried to sit up in alarm, eyes darting to find Sarah and Bridget. Panic made my chest heave with shallow breaths. “They’re fine, they got out quickly,” he answered as if he heard my thoughts. “Raina…” He gently guided my face to meet his. “Can you feel your legs?” Hearing Griffin’s voice so somber sent a chill down my spine.
I coughed as I effortlessly wiggled my toes. “Yes,” I said the word clearly. “The pain is almost gone…” even though a giant beam crushed me. I wrapped my arms around myself under the warming blanket I hadn’t noticed was draped over me. My hands slid against my forearms, and I felt the dried flaky blood that covered my fingers.
Nausea hit me in the gut as I realized exactly why I could feel my legs and why the pain that burned my throat was gone. The power that resided in that blood, from a person who had been injured, or worse, coursed through my skin and gave me strength to survive something that should have killed me. I felt dirty, and it had nothing to do with the black streaks of smoky sweat that covered me.
From where I sat in the back of an ambulance, I was able to take in the horrific tragedy that just occurred. First responders were swarming Town Hall, keeping people away from the fire. The fire hoses streamed water at full force into the collapsed roof, and through openings near the foundation. Dozens of people were dealing with injuries, from abrasions and smoke inhalation to severe burns and crushed limbs.
My heart fell to my stomach as I watched two stretchers, both occupants motionless, being loaded into separate ambulances. Before one of those vehicle’s doors were shut, I watched as the medical first responder zipped shut a black bag over the unmoving body. My breath shuddered and my eyes stung as Griffin stepped to the side and blocked my view.
Through the haze of tears and smoke, I desperately tried to find where Bridget and Sarah were, but I couldn’t see them from where I sat. The EMT working on me was quick with their assessment. They checked my vitals a second, then a third time, and kept giving a curious look to Griffin. They grimaced, puzzled by something. “Sh-she’s fine,” the EMT said to Griffin, their voice was breathless, heavy with awe. “She was d–, she wasn’t…but now, now she’s fine.” Their words barely registered.
“She can go?” Griffin asked the EMT, who nodded.
“Take her straight to the hospital,” the EMT said as they stripped off the latex gloves and replaced them with a new pair. They moved onto the next survivor.
That’s what we all were right now; survivors. Except for the two people I saw on the stretchers. And, I thought as Griffin led me across the Town Hall’s lawn, that mangled creature. I nearly stepped on what was left of a large raccoon, only distinguishable by the grey and black rings of its tail.
“Does anything hurt?” Griffin’s eyes searched mine as I shook my head. We stopped walking and were beside his SUV, the Fire Marshal lettering plastered across the rear window. His rough hands swept up and down my cold, gooseflesh arms beneath the emergency blanket. “You’re nearly frozen and covered in–” He did his best not to, but Griffin’s gaze quickly examined my blood crusted hands and forearms. He must be used to seeing gore in his line of work. My mind was vacant, numb beyond belief like my limbs were becoming. Still, I welcomed the chill of the air. After suffocating inside there, I couldn’t get enough of swallowing the mouthfuls of icy oxygen. “I don’t want to overstep, but I wish I could stay with you tonight.” My head snapped around to face him, surprised. He didn’t show a hint of being abashed. “You were…you nearly died in there.”
Heat blasted through Griffin’s car vents as he helped me get settled inside. He rounded the vehicle, opened the trunk, and then appeared in the driver’s seat next to me, holding out a piece of clothing.
“At least put this on.” I took the hoodie from him and pulled the thick sweatshirt over my head, catching delicate hints of his scent only to be enveloped by them once I got it on. It melted away some of the numbness, and thankfully, it hid most of the dried blood on me. At some point he had taken off his firefighter gear and was in his black tee shirt and the black pants attire. For a second, I let myself scan over his tattooed arms, wondering the stories behind each of the black-inked animals. “Do you want to talk about it?” Griffin rested a hand on the steering wheel as his body turned towards me and gave his full attention. His gentleness was such a contrast to the other men I have known. But instead of making him “too soft” or being a turn-off, all it did was tell me how much of a man he truly is. He reached out and hesitated for just a moment before he cupped my cheek with a rough hand. I closed my eyes at his touch and shook my head again. When I opened my eyes, he was just inches from me. “I am so glad you’re ok.” His voice was husky, and his thumb gently swept across my cheek.
Thoughts swirled in my head, leaving me dazed and oblivious to where we were driving. I was surprised at how quickly Griffin’s SUV stopped in front of the emergency room entrance of the small hospital. The area was bustling with chaos as people in scrubs swarmed around patients covered in soot.
“She was in the fire at Town Hall. Please,” Griffin leveled with a doctor, “take care of her.” His darkened gaze softened as his eyes met mine. “I don’t want to leave you, Raina.” I felt the truth in his words as his brow furrowed.
“I’ll be fine,” I tried to reassure him, but my voice shook from my adrenaline crash. “Go. I know you have a lot to do.” Feeling like it had become our unspoken, intimate goodbye, he held my face in his hands, pressing his forehead against mine.
“Are you sure you’re good?”
“Go,” I urged him, and he stepped back, casting one last glance. “Griffin?” I called out just before he reached the exit. He paused, and his gaze turned to me expectantly. “Thank you…for saving my life.” My voice cracked on the last word, and with a tender smile, he was gone.
“Raina!” Sarah screamed through the busy triage. She and Bridget rushed over to me, both with black streaks down their cheeks from running makeup. Sarah stopped herself from crashing into me for a hug. “Are you ok? We couldn’t find you, and I was so scared–.” Her voice broke into a sob. Bridget stood silently, biting her lip as it trembled. Sarah began to smooth my hair back from my face and she looked me over with tears in her eyes.
“I’m ok, really,” I murmured with a wry smile, and a half-sob spilled from my throat. Bridget moved to the end of the small bed I was sitting on and looked at the clipboard. “Griffin found me and brought me here. I’m alright.” I nodded until Sarah accepted my words.
“They had to resuscitate you,” Bridget whispered, fear lacing her voice. “Raina, you were under one of the structure’s beams, unconscious in the fire for almost ten minutes. You should be–,” but she couldn’t finish her thought, and looked away from me.
“Whatever happened, I’m fine now.” I put my hands up in a calming gesture, when Bridget noticed the caked blood on my palms.
“Is that…did you use Blood Magic?” Bridget asked in a hush tone. They leaned closer to me.
“Not intentionally. There was blood on the floor where I fell,” I said quickly. “It was so different from our Aecor.” My eyes unfocused as I remembered how the warm liquid felt on my skin. “This power was hungry, like it wanted to be a part of me…consume me. It felt good —”
We were interrupted when the doctor Griffin had spoken to came over to me. “I see you three found each other,” he gave us a nod. “They were wandering all over the hospital looking for you,” he said to me. He then turned to Sarah and Bridget, “Against doctor’s orders, by the way. Get back to your beds.” He shot them a look. Both of them squeezed me in a hug and begrudgingly left my side. “Now,” the doctor looked at my chart, “you’ve had quite the night. There doesn’t seem to be any obvious signs of trauma, but we would like to keep you overnight for observation.” I nodded.
Bridget and Sarah were discharged before midnight, which was around the same time that I finally got a room. I shared the space with two other women who were in the fire – the barista from The Brew House and a woman I often saw in passing on Peak Drive. Fortunately, they both seemed to be alright. As exhausted as I was, there was no way I could sleep. Just before dawn, the floor was quiet with sleeping patients and the hushed voices of the nursing staff.
“Morning, Raina.” Griffin’s deep, tired voice broke the calm, and I blinked up at him, looking as exhausted as I felt. It wasn’t visitor’s hours, but as Fire Marshal, he probably had certain privileges. “They said you’re ready to be discharged.”
“Really?” I hadn’t seen a nurse or doctor in hours. I stood corrected as a nurse flitted in and confirmed what he said.
Once the paperwork was signed, Griffin led me outside. “Should I get you home?” But I shook my head before he finished.
The last place I wanted to be was home with that awful vial of blood. A subtle tingling still prodded me where the blood was caked onto my arms, reminding me of my unintentional use of Blood Magic. The residual effect of its power slithered across my skin, and I felt the bile rise in my throat. Not because the thought of blood made me queasy. No. It’s because the intensity of the blood was so very slowly ebbing away, it was replaced with want, longing, like I didn’t want it to end. I liked it. And that thought alone was enough for me to hate myself.