I STARED AT THE POOL OF SUNLIGHT THAT COVERED MY hand.
It took me a moment to realize that whatever had hit me must have knocked me out.
Under my hand was a thick pile of ash, and I jerked away.
Buried in the ash was a key.
It was a pretty key, one of those ornate skeleton keys.
It took all my willpower to put my hand back into what had been Blackwood and pick it up.
I hurt from head to heels, but the bruises the vampire had inflicted after Chad escaped were mostly gone.
And the others were fading as I watched.
I didn't want to think about that too much.
The oakman had a hand stretched though the bars, but he hadn't been able to touch the sunlight streaming into the basement from the hole he'd blasted in the wall with my walking stick.
His eyes were closed.
I opened the cage, but he didn't move.
I had to drag him out.
I didn't pay attention to whether or not he was breathing.
Or I tried very hard not to.
So what if he wasn't, I thought.
Fae are very hard to kill.
"Mercy?" It was Corban.
I stared at him a moment, trying to figure out what to do next.
"Could you unlock my door?" His voice was soft and gentle.
The sort of voice you'd use on a madwoman.
I looked down at myself and realized that I was naked and covered with blood from head to toe.
The butcher knife was still in my left hand.
My hand had cramped around it, and I had to work to drop it on the floor.
The key unlocked Corban's door, too.
"Chad's with some friends of mine," I told him.
My voice slurred a bit, and I recognized that I was a little shocky.
The realization helped me a little, and my voice was clearer when I told him, "The kinds of friends who might be able to protect a boy from a vampire run amok." "Thank you," he said.
"You were unconscious a long time.
How are you feeling?" I gave him a tired smile.