Casting Curses

  She was unfazed in her nudity, and Leonard didn’t even bat an eye. Together, they gently lifted me and helped me onto a chair. Bubba jumped up on the table, nosing me gently.

  “I’ll watch her while you get dressed.” Leonard motioned for Kelson to gather her clothes.

  “Thanks.” She quickly slid back into her jeans and shirt. It occurred to me that going commando, without a bra, made sense for her, given she had to take off her clothes in order to shape-shift. She glanced around the kitchen.

  “I’m going to sweep up the glass here before Luna or Bubba hurt themselves on it.”

  “Go ahead. I’m keeping watch.” Leonard looked like he had aged ten years in the past half hour.

  I tried to focus. The oxygen deficit had taken its toll on me, and I had a raging headache. I needed water, but I was scared to drink in case my throat wasn’t wide enough and caused me to choke. I rubbed my head, whimpering, and once again, Bubba leaned down, licking my face. I managed to scratch him behind the ears and whisper a thank-you to him.

  I wasn’t sure how long it took—I was fading in and out of consciousness—but Jordan was suddenly there, examining me. He pulled out a bottle of a clear liquid and drew some into a syringe, injecting me in my thigh.

  It was like a bolt of lightning had just hotwired its way through my body. I jumped, gasping as my throat began to clear up. Within a couple of minutes, I was breathing easily again, and feeling as if I’d been wired with more speed than my body could handle. I felt twitchy and jarred and all manners of jittery, but the important thing was that I was breathing again and able to speak.

  “My gods, what happened to me?” My voice was hoarse, and my throat felt raw, but otherwise, it seeped into my brain that I wasn’t going to die. At least not right now.

  “You went into full-on anaphylactic shock. You were touch and go there, Maddy. If Bubba hadn’t done…well…whatever it is that Bubba does, you might not have made it.” Jordan wasn’t smiling. He was entirely serious and he held my gaze until I had to look away.

  I leaned back in my chair. “I’m so thirsty.”

  “Get her some water, please.” Jordan motioned to Kelson. He glanced at Leonard. “Are you coming back with me to see Trey? I’m sorry I don’t have better news.”

  “What news? What’s going on with Trey?” I glanced from one man to the other.

  Jordan cleared his throat. “Trey’s not going to make it. There isn’t much I can do for him. He was stable until we got to the office, and then he took a quick turn for the worse and slid fast. His pulse is weak, his heartbeat has slowed, and there aren’t any signs of brain activity. It’s like somebody just decided to turn off a switch and all the life and energy he had—vanished.”

  That was more than I could take. It was bad enough something had invaded my home, but it was killing one of the werewolves?

  “Crap. Motherfucking pus bucket. What the hell happened? What is that thing?” My voice was scratchy and I began to cough. Kelson handed me the water and I sipped it slowly, almost afraid to even taste it. I didn’t know what had caused the reaction, though I suspected it had something to do with my unwelcome guest.

  “I’d better get back to the office. Trey’s not going to last much longer. Maddy, I want you to come with me so that I can give you another examination. I want to run more tests. We need to find out what happened to you so you can avoid the trigger in the future.” Jordan stood, motioning to Leonard. “If you want to see Trey alive, come with me. You say he has no family?”

  Leonard shrugged. “He’s part of the Pack, so we’re all his family, but no wife or kids. His mother lives on the island, but she’s on a cruise right now and there’s no way she can get back here in time. I’ll have to stand vigil in her stead. I need to call one of the Death Singers, too, to come out with me. I’ll call them on the way. Kelson, tell the boys to finish up for the day and we’ll be back tomorrow to check the patches and how they’re holding.” He paused. “Maddy, you do need a new roof, but these will hold throughout the winter, I think. I’ll give you an estimate later, if you don’t mind.”

  I shook my head. “Not at all. I can barely think and I’ve got a horrible headache.”

  “I don’t want you driving in this condition,” Jordan said.

  “She can ride in with me. I won’t be leaving the office till Trey’s…passed…but that gives you time to line up a ride home.”

  I nodded, agreeing to anything that would get me into the fresh air. I was suddenly feeling claustrophobic and the last thing I wanted to do was worry about driving. “I’ll call Sandy. She can pick me up on the way over to my place.” I paused, looking around. “But it’s not safe leaving you here, Kelson. Or Henry or Bubba and Luna. Or Aegis. What if that shadow found a way to stake him while he’s asleep?”

  “Stop worrying.” Jordan grabbed a sweater of mine off of a coat hook near the sliding glass door. “Put this on. If you refuse to come with me, I’ll tell Aegis just how bad off you were and he’ll read you the riot act.”

  “You can’t do that! It’s against doctor–client privileges.” But I stopped. I had to treat this as serious. I couldn’t just blow it off. “Fine, but hurry when we get there, please.”

  “I’ll hurry just enough to be thorough,” was his oh-so-not-reassuring answer.

  KELSON SHOOED ME out, reassuring me that she would watch over Bubba, Luna, and Aegis. On the way, in Leonard’s truck, I called Sandy.

  “Can you pick me up at Jordan’s on your way to my house?”

  There was a hesitation, then, “What happened. Are you all right?”

  I was getting awfully tired of that question. “I am now, and I’ll tell you the rest when you get here. But you and Max may want to rethink staying at our place. I’ll explain it all when you arrive.” I hung up, frowning.

  “That room really stirred things up, didn’t it?” Leonard said, glancing at me as he turned left on Vans Road, which led to the Bedlam Medical Center.

  I wasn’t sure what to say. One of his friends was dying because of what happened in my house and even though I knew it wasn’t my fault, it still felt like I should take some sort of responsibility for it.

  “I’m sorry about Trey. He seems like a nice young man.” It sounded lame, even to me, but it was the best I could do at this point.

  “Maddy? Don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know what was in there. And now, whatever it is, is running around your house raising hell. I know you didn’t do this on purpose. Trey wouldn’t blame you. It was bad luck, nothing more.”

  The fact that Leonard was being so nice made me feel worse. I stared out the window, a tear trickling down my cheek.

  “Tell me about Trey. I feel like I owe it to him to know what he’s like.”

  “Trey’s father died when he was young. He was just a pup, really. He was around eight. I knew Raymond, and he was a good man, but he was a bit of a daredevil. This was before the Pretcom were well-known. Raymond decided to go on a vision quest up in the mountains during hunting season. We tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted he’d be fine. A trigger-happy hunter saw him in wolf form and shot him, thinking he was going to be attacked. Raymond turned back into his natural form and the hunter freaked. It ended up in the pages of the National Tattle-Tale. Raymond died, but the hunter also suffered. I gather he spent some time in therapy to come to grips with what he had done, and then turned into an anti-hunting advocate. But the fact is, Raymond caused the problem—he knew that was a dangerous thing to do.”

  I hung my head. “A lot of people died when we were all closeted.”

  “Yeah, and a lot of people died when we weren’t. Especially your kind, with the witch hunters,” Leonard said gruffly.

  I nodded. He had a point.

  “Trey’s mother took two jobs to support her son, and the Pack helped as much as we could. That’s one of our most sacred values. If you belong to the Pack, you don’t go hungry. You don’t worry about rent. You h
ave to make your way, but if you’re trying and you need help, it’s there. The Pack is always there.” Leonard punctuated his words with a nod.

  “I’ve always thought werewolves were more supportive of one another than some of the other shifters. So what happened to Trey as he was growing up?”

  “Ronnie managed to keep a good roof over their heads. We helped her keep food on the table and the community created a savings fund to help should Trey want to go to college. He decided he’d rather work as a tradesman, so Trey and his mother took that money and offered it to another family having trouble paying for their kids’ education. I hired Trey about fifteen years ago—he spent some time backpacking around the country first before coming back to Bedlam to settle down. He’s been working for me since then, and I’ve never regretted taking him on.”

  Leonard fell silent, staring ahead at the road. We were at the entrance of the Bedlam Medical Center. He eased into a parking spot and turned off the ignition.

  “You mentioned at the house that you needed to call a—Death Singer?”

  He nodded. “Right. Death Singers are spiritual mourners for the Pack. They guide the spirit out of the body and into its next transition. We always try to have one at a passing. It’s our way.” He paused, glancing at me as he lifted his phone to his ear. “If you don’t mind, this is personal.”

  Feeling very much out of place, I hopped out of the car and slowly headed into Jordan’s office. Not only did I feel like shit, I felt like I had set into motion a tragic story that would be told and retold by the Alpha-Pack members. I couldn’t shake the guilt.

  JORDAN HAD ARRIVED before us, but he was waiting by the door. He helped me inside.

  “Where’s Leonard?”

  “He’s calling a Death Singer.” I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut. “Jordan, I feel so horrible about Trey. I never meant for this to happen.”

  “You’ve been thrown on the rocks, Maddy. I know you feel bad, but you weren’t at fault. Come on, we’ll see about getting you fixed up. You need a good night’s sleep, some hearty food, and then when you put a stop to whatever’s loose in your place, you’ll feel better.” He escorted me into one of the exam rooms. “Go ahead and get undressed and into a robe. I need to take a full battery of tests this time, given what happened. I’m going to go get Leonard situated.”

  “Jordan?” I caught him by the arm. “Why is Trey dying?”

  Jordan gave me a noncommittal shrug. “I wish I knew, Maddy. Something’s siphoning off his energy, I believe. But I don’t know what, and I don’t know how to stop this from happening. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  As he headed out of the room, I began to change clothes. I had a massive headache and a raw throat, and I was tired, but otherwise I felt okay. I checked myself for any cuts or scrapes but couldn’t see any. By the time Jordan returned, I was on the exam table, trying to keep warm in the cool, hospital atmosphere.

  “Is he still alive?”

  Jordan nodded. “He’s hanging on, yes. Leonard is with him and the receptionist has instructions to put through the Death Singer as soon as she arrives. All right, let’s see what’s changed since yesterday.”

  He put me through a battery of tests and I submitted to them without complaint. Given I had suddenly developed an allergy to something, I wanted to know what it was that had almost killed me so I could avoid it from now on. I certainly didn’t want a repeat performance.

  Jordan listened to my heart, his hand precariously between my boobs. I had big breasts, and they weren’t all that fond of gravity, and now as I breathed in and out, they jostled his fingers a bit, even beneath the thin gown. I stared at the ceiling as Jordan cleared his throat and noted something down in my chart.

  “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

  He blushed. “Yeah, too many exams and Aegis will get suspicious that I’ve got more in mind than just your heartbeat.”

  Jordan had a girlfriend, but there had always been a little spark between us. Not enough for me to ever even imagine acting on especially since I was with Aegis, but enough that we both felt the little zings when we were in close proximity.

  “Well, your heart sounds good.” He hung his stethoscope around his neck. “Pulse is high, but that’s to be expected with the medication I gave you. By the way, it’s a compound that acts like epinephrine does for humans. You’re going to be jumpy for quite some time.” He paused, frowning. “What were you doing when the attack came on?”

  “I was fighting that damned shadow creature. Bubba helped me, but he couldn’t fully take away the attack, and he couldn’t fully negate the shadow. The little guy saved my life, Jordan.” I ducked my head. Over the years, Bubba had paid me back many times over for saving him when he was a baby. I owed him big.

  “What kind of magic were you using?”

  “A simple disruption-dispel spell. I’ve used it before without any issues.”

  “All right. Well,” he looked over my chart. “I can’t see much here. I’m going to draw some blood and I’ll call you with the results. And in case you have another episode, I’ll prepare an injection that you can give yourself or somebody else can give you. You’ll need to inject the needle into your thigh—the muscle. Got it?”

  I nodded. “I’ve given shots before. I’m not afraid of needles.”

  “Good. I’ll have it prepared—I’ll preload two syringes for you, just in case. Keep them in their container unless you need them.” He drew my blood, then prepared the shots. “All right, we’re done. I swear, you keep me in business, Maddy.” But he said it with a grin.

  I smiled faintly. “I wish I didn’t have to. Could I see Trey before I go, Jordan?”

  “I’d take you to see him, but the Alpha-Pack custom is that once a death vigil has started, nobody goes in except the Death Singer and the witnesses. No one from outside the Pack or family.”

  “Then please let me know when he passes?” I let out a slow breath, wishing for all the world that I could walk out of the office to find my life had gone back to normal.

  Jordan walked me to the front, where Sandy was waiting. She jumped up, a concerned look on her face.

  “What happened?”

  “My throat decided to swell shut. I had an anaphylactic reaction and before you ask, I don’t know why. Bubba saved me. Oh, also, we have a shadow person in the house. Welcome to my nightmare, as Uncle Alice said.”

  Sandy turned to Jordan. “Her throat closed up?”

  “Yeah, and she’s lucky that Bubba was able to help her.” He reached out to take me by the shoulder. “Listen to me. I hope you realize how lucky you are, Maddy. Your throat was so swollen when I got there, it’s a wonder you didn’t suffer oxygen deprivation. As it is, prepare for the headache from hell for a day or two.” He shook his head. “I suggest plenty of caffeine, though it’s probably a good idea to wait a little for the medication to wear off.”

  Sandy helped me out to her rental car, even though by now I was able to walk without extra support. But I was exhausted. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and I felt raw and jarred and all sorts of jumpy.

  “Whatever that thing is, it’s dangerous. I’m worried about Kelson and the others, though I think Bubba could probably get his ass out of there without a problem.”

  Sandy frowned as she skirted a branch that had been left in the center of the road. “I’ll call Max and tell him to leave Mr. Peabody at home, but we’ll stay with you guys tonight. You’re not up to fend off this creep alone if he comes at you again. We’ll think of something, Maddy, I promise you that.”

  “Thanks. You’re not my best friend for nothing, woman.” I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes, resting till we pulled back into my driveway.

  AEGIS WAS PROWLING around the house, a thunderous look on his face. Apparently, when Kelson had told him what happened, he had gone ballistic.

  “I will not allow any fucking creature or per
son to lay a finger on you. I’m hunting down that freakshow ghost and tearing it to shreds.” His eyes were ringed with crimson, which meant his inner predator was out and hunting. He made me sit down in the parlor and wouldn’t let Sandy leave me. Max he enlisted to help him search the house. They covered every inch of the place, from the attic and secret room, to the basement. Twice.

  I tried to calm him down at first, but quickly realized he needed to vent his worry, so I sat back, cup of peppermint tea in hand, and let him go at it.

  Sandy arched her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of that temper.”

  “I wouldn’t either. I’m thinking about using a Finding spell to locate that shadow thing. Do you think we might be able to take care of him together?”

  Sandy frowned, shaking her head. “I’m not certain that’s a good idea. Do you really want to stir it up again while you’re still feeling punkish?”

  I shrugged. “I guess not. I just want to do something. I want this thing out of my house. I wish the tree branch had never broken into that side of the roof. I usually don’t like being ignorant of the facts, but right now, I’d be happy to go back to never knowing that something was hiding in a secret room in my attic.” I paused. “Kelson suggested calling Leroy.”

  Leroy Jerome was the headmaster of Neverfall and he was a fine man, with muscles that had muscles. With smooth black skin and a smooth bald head, he looked hotter than Shemar Moore. He was also brilliant and a damned good headmaster.