One of the twins started crying almost as soon as Tala walked away, but it was an attention-seeking cry, not a hungry or dirty diaper or discomfort cry.\u00a0 Jacqueline bit down hard on her lower lip and ignored the sound as she unzipped Phelan\u2019s jacket and peeled him free of it.\u00a0 She tugged the hem of his shirt free of the waistband of his jeans and her hands slid up under his shirt.\u00a0 Her hands were cold and she watched his face for any sign of a flinch, a twitch\u2014he always reacted somehow when she touched him with cold fingers.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDammit, Phelan,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t do this to me.\u201d\u00a0 Operating by touch, she checked for injuries that might have been hidden by his shirt.\u00a0 One side of his body was ice-cold, as cold as the snow outside.\u00a0 The spot started from a couple inches above his hip and stretched down beyond the waistband of his jeans.\u00a0 Jacqueline sucked in a breath.<\/p>\n
The Greys, maybe.<\/em> Nothing else seemed to be wrong.<\/p>\n She reached for the button of his jeans as Tala dropped both kits next to her.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you going to strip him down right here?\u201d the young mother asked as she stepped away to scoop up her crying infant.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think either one of us is going to be offended if I do,\u201d Jacqueline said, swallowing against the tightness in her throat.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might want to take his boots off first.\u201d<\/p>\n Choking on a laugh, eyes starting to sting, Jacqueline shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u2019t fall apart. Keep it together.\u00a0 You can handle this. You\u2019ve <\/em>got to handle this.<\/em><\/p>\n She worked off his boots and then stripped off his jeans.\u00a0 The skin of one thigh was discolored all the way down to the knee.\u00a0 His shin on the same side was discolored the same way, pale and whitish, almost looking frostbitten.<\/p>\n \u201cShit,\u201d Tala said, peering across the fire.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the hell hit him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had to guess, probably one of the Greys,\u201d Jacqueline murmured.\u00a0 \u201cI need blankets, Tala.\u201d\u00a0 What else do I need? God, I don\u2019t even know.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never seen this before.\u00a0 The Greys\u2014they shouldn\u2019t be able to do this, right?<\/em><\/p>\n God, I don\u2019t know anymore. I don\u2019t even know anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n She sucked in a rasping breath, abruptly aware that Tala was gone, probably to get the blankets she\u2019d just asked for.\u00a0 The hairs on the back of Jacqueline\u2019s neck refused to lay down and she shuddered, swallowing hard.<\/p>\n \u201c\u00c9riu, is that you?\u201d<\/p>\n She felt a strange warmth and nodded to herself, swallowing again. \u201cAll right.\u00a0 Stay near, hmm?\u00a0 As long as it\u2019s safe.\u201d\u00a0 Jacqueline pulled Phelan into a sitting position so she could peel off his shirt.\u00a0 First she swore at the chill that had spread across his shoulders and back, just like the cold she\u2019d felt along his leg and side, then she swore at the blood she saw on the lining of his jacket where it had been laying beneath him.<\/p>\n \u201cDammit<\/em>, Phelan!\u00a0 What the hell did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t answer and it made her heart hurt.\u00a0 Her chest was tight and breathing was hard.<\/p>\n Jacqueline squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that tried to escape.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t cry\u2014not now, not yet.\u00a0 She had to finish taking care of him.\u00a0 After that was done, she could fall apart, but no sooner.<\/p>\n She peeled off his shirt and threw it to the side, not caring where it landed. She rolled him onto his stomach to get a better look at what was bleeding. His shoulders were smeared with fresh and drying blood, the skin of his back just as discolored as his leg.<\/p>\n Definitely one of the Greys, but I\u2019ve never seen it like this before.<\/em> She grabbed a basin and filled it partway with tepid water, partway with hot water from the kettle.\u00a0 A few clean rags from her kit got tossed in that water as she peered closely at Phelan\u2019s shoulders, seeking the source of the bleeding.<\/p>\n There!<\/em> Two sets of marks, puncture wounds almost surgically neat, like someone had stabbed him with twelve large-bore needles in a crescent shape, six wounds to each shoulderblade, deep enough to penetrate the muscle almost all the way down to the bone.<\/p>\n How didn\u2019t I notice that before?<\/em> She shook her head and grabbed one of the wet rags, folding it quickly and pressing it against one wound. \u00a0A second rag ended up over the other.<\/p>\n \u201cJust stay with me, Phelan.\u201d \u00a0She watched him as she reached for her kit to find her mortar and pestle, for the herbs she\u2019d need for compresses and the strips she\u2019d need for bandages.\u00a0 He was deathly still, breathing slow, completely silent and limp in front of her.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a sign she liked at all.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease,\u201d she whispered. \u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t leave me now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the twins started crying almost as soon as Tala walked away, but it was an attention-seeking cry, not a hungry or dirty diaper or discomfort cry.\u00a0 Jacqueline bit down hard on her lower lip and ignored the sound … Continue reading