“Like I got hit by a truck.” My voice was getting more hoarse with every word and clearing my throat didn’t help. It was a little whiny, but I wanted to rail at the fact that Wednesday was going to be my first day off in weeks, and I was going to spend it miserable, recovering from whatever this had been.
Fluke finally dropped my wrist and leaned over to nip at David’s hand. Not to bite, just to chase it away. David lifted a brow at him, but Fluke didn’t back down, glaring so hard Gideon would have been proud.
“Protective little guy, isn’t he?” David asked.
I shrugged and cringed at the wave of pain it sent through my whole body, like I’d run ten miles the day before and every part of me was sore. Still, I managed to wheeze out, “Must be all the peanut butter and jelly I give him.”
Then I spent the next twenty minutes laying very still as the EMT put me—and Fluke—into the ambulance, Beez promising to follow immediately behind us, as we sped toward the hospital.
The EMT gave me an apologetic smile. “I can’t do it, but when we get to the ER, they might give you something for the pain. And if the Aureum is paying, you might as well, right?”
Since nodding hurt like a bitch, I gave him a weak smile and whispered, “That sounds awesome.”
At the hospital, they settled me right into a small enclosure, a young man checking my vitals and filling out my information.
Just as he was finishing, the EMT poked his head in the curtain. “I’m heading back out, but just so you know, your friend is with the Aureum guy, and he’s filing the paperwork now. You’re covered, Aureum paying the whole bill. I say take the good drugs when they offer.” He winked, and then he was gone.
Meanwhile, the nurse was giving Fluke the evil eye because he still wouldn’t get off my lap. I ignored the guy and didn’t try to make him. There were literally no circumstances I could imagine where I’d try to send Fluke away from me.
I drifted for a while, not sure how much time was passing, and only distantly wondered if maybe I’d hit my head when I went down. I’d had a concussion before, and this felt similar.
When the curtain opened again, I was expecting Beez and David, but instead, it revealed Dr. Almasi. She was wearing a hospital pass clipped to her pocket and offered me a soft smile. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Same to you,” I tried to say, but the words slurred together.
She frowned at that as she crossed to stand by the travesty of a bed they had me on, picking up my chart and looking it over. “I don’t see a head wound listed. Are you tired, or did they miss something?”
“Don’t remember. Just felt the sucking and fell down.”
Her eyes twinkled with mischief, and I realized what I’d said. If I’d had the energy, I’d have smacked myself in the head.
“Magic sucking,” I corrected. Poorly.
She somehow managed to not laugh at me. “The Aureum asked me to come here and scan you, to see if your attacker was the same as the murder victims. Is that acceptable to you?”
“You’re a dead mage?” I asked. “That’s why you see ghosts?”
“The two aren’t always related, but yes.” She brushed my hair off my forehead, and I thought that was oddly sweet, then realized she was checking my hairline for injury. Still worried I had a concussion.
I liked her. She reminded me of Beez; sensible to the point of being slightly obnoxious about it. Then I remembered I hadn’t given her permission to scan me.
But.
If I did, could she tell that I wasn’t a class two social mage? Would she tell on me? Was she one of the people who wanted arcane mages dead?
There wasn’t much I could do about it. David had called her in to scan me for whatever it was that had killed the others. If I refused, he could probably force the issue. It would look suspicious if I backed out, right? Hell, my hesitation probably looked bad too. Fuck, I was screwing everything up.
I couldn’t quite meet her eye as I muttered, “You can scan me.”
“Thank you.” She moved her head to force me to meet her eye. “You should know that I don’t work for the Aureum. I’m an outside contractor, and