Traitor, Book 1 of The Turner Chronicles

  * * *

  He next woke to the sound of loud voices shouting in the outside hall.

  "You will let me see my husband. You will let me see him NOW!"

  "He's asleep. It's not a good idea to wake him, Mistress Turner, because it was a very near thing. Right now, the more sleep he gets the faster he will heal."

  Aaron opened his mouth. "Awake," he called hoarsely. His throat was sore, and just about everything hurt. Ominously, he felt dead skin peeling away from the roof of his mouth so he knew there was a chance he was forming ulcers.

  Eyes glaring fury, Kit burst into the room. "Three days," she spat angrily. "Three days, that's how long I waited without knowing what happened to you. I waited for three days, three entire days before I knew a thing. What the he--what the heck did you think you were doing to me? I thought you were dead! Lord and Lady, I thought my children no longer had a father!"

  Aaron thought of shrugging apologetically, but all the various hurting bits probably meant moving was a bad idea. Instead he smiled and tried to use the doubtful power of his voice.

  "I'm sorry." He kept his voice meek and low. Maybe that would work. Kit sometimes responded reasonably to meek.

  Not this time.

  "I'm sorry! You come within a hair of dying, and I don't know where you are, and all you can say for yourself is I'm sorry?" Stamping her foot, she tried to kill him with her stare.

  "It won't happen again," he tried. Dead skin fell on top of his tongue. His head throbbed.

  Kit's face gathered dark clouds of anger. The storm was about to release its full fury.

  "Here now." Pushing between them, Doc turned himself into a solid wall between Kit and Aaron. "I won't have you abusing my patient when he is in no condition to properly defend himself, Mistress Turner. If you want to abuse your husband, you'll just have to wait until next week since it's going to take that long before I have him back on his feet. Until then, Madam, he belongs to me. After I let him go, you are more than welcome to do whatever you like to him, but I will not permit you to damage him further while he is under my care."

  "I understand." Kit's voice purred with suppressed emotion. "You get to heal him for one week, and then I am allowed to kill him."

  "Exactly," Gunther agreed.

  Aaron was not sure if he wanted to thank the good doctor.

  "Aaron," Kit said in a more reasonable tone, "just tell me if it is over. Is it done with? Are you going to let Beech be? Will he leave us alone?"

  Aaron closed his eyes and allowed a feeling of peace wash through him. His memory was back in full force. He knew. "It's done," he said gently. "He's gone."

  "Oh." Gently. Softly. "Then--then I suppose I won't kill you after all."

  Hard lips pressed down on his. "See, it wasn't our last kiss. Please hurry up and heal."

  "I promise to give it my all."

  "More importantly," Doc said, "I will give it my all. Move aside, Mistress Turner. I need to use this amazing Stone on your Mister again. Why, if it wasn't for this thing you would have to wait months before you got a chance to kill your husband."

  "I don't feel like killing him anymore," Kit said.