Things happened at that point. Something was put on her arm . . . after which there was a slow constriction and a release. Then a cold disk that was heaven pressed into the front of her chest. After that, there was a beep next to her ear—no, wait, that was inside her ear.
“Helania? I’m going to give you a shot of morphine, with your permission. It will ease you and make this so much more bearable. Is that okay?”
The angel’s voice was closer now and Helania tried to open her eyes. “Yes. Anything . . .”
At this point, if she had to get in a bath of dry ice, she’d jump in—
Another surge owned her, and as she cried out, she was aware that the spikes of hormones were still getting stronger. As impossible as that seemed, she could feel the intensification—
The easing came on in a wave and flooded through her body, calming down the boil sure as if she were a pot taken off an open flame. But she did not trust the relief, and for a time, she braced herself and waited for the suffering to come back.
“It’s all right,” that female voice said. “Just let yourself relax. I’m going to stay here and monitor you. I won’t let it get away from us.”
The tears came hard and heavy, Helania weeping for no cogent reason and every variation of an exhausted one.
“Mother Nature can be so cruel to females,” said the voice.
Wiping her eyes with her forearm, Helania craned around. As the details of the mystical female came through with greater clarity, she frowned. No wings. No aura. No preternatural presence. Instead . . .
“You’re not an angel.”
The female laughed, her forest green eyes flashing. “Oh, trust me, I’m so not. Just ask my hellren.”
Helania glanced down at herself. What she had assumed was a fluffy white cloud covering her tortured body turned out to be one of her own sheets. She recognized the faded pattern of little pink and yellow flowers.
“How are you feeling now?” the doctor asked.
“Where’s Boone?”
“He’s out cold by the sofa. I’ve given him some help as well.” Helania closed her eyes. “I swear, I didn’t know it was coming. The needing.”
Was she making any sense at all? She felt like she was babbling.
“From what I understand,” the doctor said, “it is not always possible for you all to guess the timing of it. And Butch tells me that you’ve been dealing with a lot of stress. That can throw things off as well.”
“You’re not a vampire?”
“No, I’m not.”
Oh, of course. How else could the female have come here during the day. Wait . . . it was daytime, wasn’t it?
Whatever. It did not matter.
“I should have been smarter.” Helania closed her eyes. “I should have . . .”
“How about we get you to your bed? It’s cold in here and that floor has to be very hard.”
Was it? Given the morphine, the tiles felt as soft as feathers. Still, when the doctor offered a hand, Helania put her own into it and did her best to participate in the effort of getting her body to the vertical.
With that goal accomplished, the doctor hitched a hold around Helania’s waist and supported more than half her weight as they hobbled out into the living area, the tails of the sheet dragging behind.
As they rounded the corner to enter the bedroom, she finally saw Boone. He was on the floor in front of the sofa, his arms and legs flopped in a disjointed series of angles, his torso twisted so he was half on his back, half facedown. He looked like he’d been sucker punched and had gone down hard.
“He’s fine,” the doctor said. “I gave him a lighter dose and he’s slipped into sleep. And before you ask, I checked his vitals. He is just exhausted.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. He fed from a Chosen just three nights ago.” A Chosen, Helania thought.
“It was a medical-need feed,” the doctor said gently. “Not to worry. There is nothing there.”
“It’s not my business.”
“That’s for you and him to decide.” The doctor smiled. “Come on, let’s get you to lie down. If you faint on me, I may not be able to keep you from crashing to the floor.”
Helania allowed herself to be drawn over to her mattress—which, for some reason, had been moved out of place. But what did she care. As she lay