Staring at the metal protruding from his body, Breandan went pale and said, "Oh no." Then he crumpled.
Tomas snarled, and stepped forward menacingly toward the Cleric, who jumped then legged it back round the building.
I scrambled over to Breandan, and fell to my knees beside him. He was unconscious. I took a deep breath and let my eyes roam down to collide with the stubby length of metal sticking out of his abdomen. There was so much blood. Body propped off the ground, the shard of metal had punched straight through him.
"Rae, we must leave." Disorientated by intense dread, Tomas's freaky silent vampire movement made me jump.
"Say-so," I said. "We leave, but I have to help him first."
"He is finished, I smell the iron." He went to place a hand on my shoulder, but I ducked from beneath his touch.
"No," I said and bared my teeth at him in a snarl. He snarled back and it was a much more impressive showing than mine. It shocked me out of it. I fixed my face, and pleaded for understanding with my eyes instead. "I'm staying because, I can't I can't do this, Tomas. I cannot leave or watch him-" My head swung from side to side jerkily. "We heal but it has to come out."
Placing my hand on the metal rod the instant sting made me hiss. I snatched my hand back. Opening my palm the flesh sizzled where glass had cut me open. Huh?
A cool hand landed on my shoulder. "Listen to reason. I know you feel-"
"You don't know shit," I screeched. "Help me. Help me, or get out my way."
Gripping the pole again all my strength zapped away. What? I just didn't get it. Was there an enchantment on it? The metal stung my hands until I had no choice but to release it. Breandan's hot blood trickled from his body, seeped onto the ground in a growing puddle. Pooling around knees, it soaked my jeans.
Tomas's shoulder shunted me to the side. "Give me room."
Face grim, his fingers flitted over Breandan and his nostrils flared. His inch long fangs were fully extended and dangerous looking, telling me he was still hyped up; bloodlusty, but his eyes had cleared to deep brown. A nasty gash he'd gotten across his forehead when he'd crashed through the wall had closed up to leave nothing but a smear of blood on his ashen skin. "He needs healing. Heal him."
"I don't know how."
I pressed my hand onto Breandan's arm, needing to feel connected. His skin was cold. I squeezed, but there was no response to comfort. How could he do this, leave me now I needed him? I didn't know what to do. I had been too self-absorbed, and wrapped in my own problems to ask what I should do if a situation like this ever occurred. What was I going to do without him? A fire built in my belly. He had released all this power within me and now he was going to leave me?
"You will not die," I said fiercely, not sure why I reached to the Source as I said the words, simply that I did.
It flowed into me like molten lava and wrapped around my heart. Hot pain shot up my arm from Breandan into my stomach. Wavering on my knees, my head took flight as magic ran riot through my body. With nowhere to channel it I locked it inside me. One hand clutched at my abdomen the other kept its death grip on Breandan's arm; no way was I ever letting go of him.
"Are you hurt?" Tomas ran his eyes over my body.
"We need to get away from here."
"If you insist on saving this worthless fairy's life, I will have to carry him."
I sank my teeth into my lip, thinking. Breandan would not be happy with this. "But where do we go? I have nowhere else. This is my home, and I have no family, and no friends apart from Alex, who lives here."
"We don't need to go anywhere in particular. Into the forest will do. You fairies are most powerful there."
He added nothing else to this impromptu plan prompting me to say, "Then what?"
"Hope you can learn to call to your kind, or hope they find us before he dies." He picked Breandan up and threw him over his shoulder. "Follow me, and don't fall behind."
