been turned into a triage unit. Nurses and volunteers were scampering among patients who had been laid out on blankets, towels, even yoga mats, while other workers made hushed phone calls desperately calling for more doctors. Though they struggled to appear professional, the panicky fear rising from the staff left a bitter taste on Jay’s tongue.
One of them glanced up, barely seemed to register his presence, and said, “Sign her in at the front desk. We’re trying to find space for everyone.”
“I need to put you down,” Jay said, warning Rikai but not asking her permission as he dropped the Triste and knelt next to the nearest patient. Rikai stumbled before she found her balance, but at that moment, Jay couldn’t have cared less if she fell.
The patient had previously been a receptionist at this haven. Jay couldn’t recall her name, but he knew she was a leopard shapeshifter. She shouldn’t have been able to get sick, but the moment he touched her, he could feel the illness racing through her.
“Jay.” He looked up when Jeremy whispered his name. “You shouldn’t be here. The shapeshifters are getting it worst, but witches aren’t”—Oh, god, how did I let her get that bad before I noticed?—“aren’t immune.” Jeremy’s voice hitched in the middle, and Jay’s heart leapt into his throat at the image that came along with the human’s hesitation: Caryn fainting, her fever 102 degrees and climbing.
“Caryn’s sick?”
Jeremy nodded. “Her mother and aunt, too.”
“Vireo?”
“Not as bad as some of the others, but he started sniffling a couple hours ago. How are you feeling?” Jeremy reached forward as he spoke, but Jay was barely aware of the human touching his brow and taking his pulse. “You’re chilled.”
“We had to walk in the snow to get here,” Jay snapped, jerking back. “Where’s my brother?”
“He went with a busload of patients to Center Number Twelve,” Jeremy answered. “They have more resources, so those well enough to travel have moved. Caryn’s still here,” he added, a note of desperation breaking into his voice as he fought an internal battle with himself. If he tries to help, he could get sick. He needs to help. I can’t ask it of him.
“Where is she?” Jay asked.
Jeremy didn’t have the willpower to say any of the sensible things he knew he should say as a doctor, and that was good, because Jay didn’t have patience for an argument. He was already trembling as they entered Caryn’s room and he caught the first reek of fever-sweat.
Caryn’s eyes opened but didn’t focus. She was flushed, and her hair was matted.
“Jay?” she asked. Her voice was hoarse. “No, stay back. You’ll catch it.”
Jay flinched. Jeremy had said nearly the same thing, but all Jay had felt was his concern for Caryn. Suddenly Jay could feel the creeping fog of the illness, and for the first time, a more personal terror seeped in.
What if I’m sick? Jay wondered. Would I notice? He was struggling against exhaustion and panic. He felt like he had been kicked in the gut and then punched a few times. Was that just fear, or some microscopic malady?
He forced himself to Caryn’s side and took her hand. Humans got sick all the time, and they were still brave enough to work in hospitals, or even retail locations or schools where disease was easily passed on. Jay refused to be too much of a coward to approach his own cousin.
“Control yourself, witch,” Rikai hissed as Jay paused again, pushing back the black spots that tried to claim his vision. “You’re not ill. Control your breath, and you will force your body to calm. You need to be calm.”
Jay had lost track of Rikai in the face of this pestilence. Jeremy asked sharply, “Who is this?”
“Never mind me. Try to help your cousin,” Rikai prompted Jay. For a moment, he thought she was being compassionate, but then he realized that she was gazing at Caryn like a scientist dissecting a rat.
Jay turned all his focus on his cousin and the snarled energies within her. It had been easy to encourage Jeremy’s human immune system to respond to an invading illness, but Caryn’s body had never needed to fight off disease. It didn’t know how. He did what he could for her, but then he needed to pull his magic away or risk doing more harm than good. He was struggling to put her into a deep, healing sleep, when someone in the hall shouted. Jay didn’t catch the words, but