“How’s she doing?” he asked.
“I’m all right,” she said. But she misspoke. Numbness set in, traveling from her upper chest down her side. Her hip spasmed, making her leg kick out, then it, too, went numb. She stared up into Finn’s face. “Or maybe not. I can’t feel my left side.” She thought that might be a very bad thing, but she couldn’t get her brain to work out why.
“God.” He looked up at the others. A muscle ticked furiously in his jaw. “I’ve got to get her off this mountain.”
“Let’s go.” Tobias led the way, then Caladh with Nix right behind him, and Finn carrying Keira.
When they exited the mine, Keira squinted in the bright sunlight and took a deep breath of clean mountain air. The sun had passed its zenith, and she guessed it was somewhere around one in the afternoon. Birds sang their cheery songs as if nothing had changed, and she found herself envying them. “Put me on the ground,” she whispered.
Finn immediately went down on one knee.
“Let me try again.” She put her palms flat on the ground and sent out a call to the earth beneath her. Energy began to trickle into her, but it wasn’t enough. “I need more of my skin on the ground,” she muttered. She looked up at Finn. “Help me take my clothes off.”
His brows raised but he complied without hesitation. A button went flying with his haste. “Sorry,” he muttered. “You know, I always love it when you let me take off your clothes, but I never thought I’d be doing it under this kind of circumstance.”
“Me, either.” She glanced up to see Tobias and Nix had turned Caladh away and all three had their backs to her. “I don’t think I can completely heal myself,” she told Finn. “But I might be able to do enough so I can get off the mountain.”
He supported her as she lay back down. Now she was skin to ground from her shoulder blades to her heels. She felt an immediate difference. The numbness left her, which as the pain flowed again made her think maybe this hadn’t been such a great idea. After several minutes had passed, she said, “I think that’s as good as it’s going to get.”
“You sound stronger.” Finn drew her to her feet and helped her get dressed. “You can turn around now,” he said to the others.
“Thank you,” Keira said. It wasn’t as if people other than Finn had ever seen her nude, and she wasn’t shy about her body, but she wasn’t an exhibitionist, either. She appreciated their care for her modesty.
“Can you walk?” Finn looked down at her, concern darkening his eyes.
“For a while, I think.” She glanced down at her feet with a wry smile. “Good thing Stefan bought hiking boots for me.”
“Hmm.” Finn didn’t seem ready to be thankful for anything Stefan had done, and Keira couldn’t blame him. Stefan Liuz had been a delusional maniac. This world was better off without him.
Heading back down the trail was slow going. Even if she’d been in peak physical condition she’d have had difficulty climbing down the rocky path. Every time her footing slipped, it jostled her shoulder. After about the twelfth time she could no longer hold back the grunts of pain.
“Let’s stop and rest a few minutes,” Finn said.
She nodded, grateful for the suggestion. “I don’t suppose anyone has water.”
All but Nix shook their heads. “I have some in my bag,” she said. “It’s, ah, in the car.”
“It sounds like your plan was ill conceived from the start.” Caladh’s voice conveyed the same smugness that was written across his features. “You all went up the mountain with nary a drop to drink.”
“Oh, shut up.” Nix shot him a glare.
“You used to be so respectful,” the councilor murmured. “Is this what turning into a vampire has done to you?”
“No, this is what you being a douchebag has done to me.”
Keira licked her lips. She wasn’t going to get any better until doctors could remove the bullet. “Let’s go.”
“Are you sure?” Finn asked. He looked so worried, it warmed her heart. “You know what? I can carry you the rest of the way.”
“You need your hands to be able to maintain balance,” Keira countered. “If you’re carrying me and lose your footing, we’ll both go down.” She sent him a dry look. She was giving short little pants, both from pain and exertion, and realized she wasn’t scoring any points with her argument.