Wicked Wonderland (22 page)

Two birdmen caught hold of Lilly’s arms. Nick and Kris moved to free her, but birdmen surrounded them on all sides, their broad shoulders pushing between her and her lovers.

But it was all right. She didn’t feel afraid. A power, a confidence built up from deep within her body, moving up toward her lungs.

She opened her mouth and sang.

She didn’t sing in English. She sang in Fae. She sang with the same voice, with the same power that she’d sung after her earlier orgasm with Nick and Kris. She sang like an angel.

A white-hot bolt of lightning hit one of the ship’s masts, splitting it in two. The pieces crashed down, smacking the birdman holding her right arm, crushing him beneath their heavy weight.

The birdman gave an unearthly, inhuman scream as the wood crushed him. Blood spurted from his body onto the deck. The one on the left dodged the falling beams and flew shrieking up into the air and off into the night. Copious cascades of white flower petals, petals of white roses, tulips and gardenia fell from the sky.

“Come back, you moron. Fight for me, or so help me, you will suffer!” Zenia howled, but her words seemed to have no effect on the birdman who did not glance around or turn back.

Lilly continued to sing, and the wood from the broken mast went flying, smacking another birdman in the head, then whirling to smash into a third birdman’s solar plexus, winding him completely.

While Zenia was distracted, Nick approached her, his axe at the ready.

But she wasn’t as distracted as she appeared. Humming, Zenia pivoted, knocking the axe out of Nick’s hand seemingly just with the force of her arm, though Lilly was sure magic must be involved.

With a deadly smile of triumph, she held her knife to his throat. “Where is the bracelet? The turquoise bracelet you gave Lillian. Kris should have given something like that to
me
, made a binding ceremony with
me
and someone else of royal blood like myself. Give me the bracelet now!”

“Is that why you’re doing this, you nasty hag? Because you think Lilly is some kind of fae princess? And you believe the rumors that Kris is of royal blood? No one knows if there’s any truth to those rumors. Kris doesn’t even know who his father is.”

Zenia still clutched the knife to Nick’s throat, making terror claw at Lilly’s insides. The dark fae spat right in his face, “You stupid bastard. I’m her half sister. She has royalty in her bones, but I’ve seen to it she’s weak and defenseless. I took a human approach to the whole thing and stalked her. Silly slut thought it was a man all these years, perhaps an admirer. Like anyone could admire a loser like her. She has the self-esteem of a two-dollar whore.” Zenia gave a triumphant smile. The smile didn’t last.

His dark hair plastered against his forehead by the pouring rain, Nick shook his head. “Well, that seems to be changing, Zenia. You heard her sing. Who do you think made the mast fall on your precious birdman back there?”

Fear flickered in Zenia’s eyes. “Shut up! Just shut up, Nick! You always were the most annoying asshole! Just tell me where the whore’s bracelet is, or I swear by The Dark Path, I’ll slit your throat.”

Even as Lilly was about to scream, Nick brought his arm down sharply, breaking Zenia’s hold on the knife. The knife skidded across the wet deck and dropped over the side of the ship. Two birdmen pointed their blades at Nick. Lilly flung herself on the back of the birdman, but he shook her off, and she slipped and fell on the bloody wooden floor. The birdman kicked her shield so it went whirling off the edge into the ocean.

Lilly grabbed hold of the birdman’s ankles to steady herself. Another birdman lunged at Nick, but he spun out of reach in a move so graceful and amazing it was like he’d performed the action a million times before. He snatched up a sword lying on the deck. With two quick flicks of his wrist, he slashed each of the birdmen with his sword. The shallow nicks frightened them and made them cry out. Nick crouched low and spun on the deck. Using his legs, he windmilled the two birdmen to the ground.

One of the braver birdman rushed headlong at him and knocked his sword out of his hand. At the same time, a birdman threw Zenia a knife, and she lunged at Nick. Without hesitating, he wrenched an iron sword from a nearby birdman’s grasp and plunged it into Zenia’s chest. He drew the sword upward and stabbed down into her again while she screamed.

No! Nick, your magic!

Nick turned to look at Lilly.

Lilly surged to her feet again, hacking at the back of a birdman with her axe. Something hit her in the chest. She looked down and watched the left side of her white blouse explode in a crimson wave.

Through hazy vision, she saw the birdman Brock’s smile. She heard her own groan just as she collapsed on the sodden deck. She didn’t black out when she hit the floor, despite the agony and the wetness seeping from her chest. The pain in her left side felt like a thousand claws tearing inside her.

Through the fog in her mind, Lilly heard a birdman shout, “Rurik, don’t!”

Lilly looked up to see the birdman who must be Rurik on the upper deck, pushing at a huge trunk. Zenia lay fallen on the deck directly below. Despite Nick’s attack, Zenia’s chest rose and fell. In a moment, she was up again, her knife aimed at Nick’s back.

Lilly called his name, and he spun around.

The cawing of birdmen above her made Lilly look up. The iron truck on the upper deck seemed to pitch forward of its own accord. Suddenly, it smashed to the lower deck with an earsplitting crash.

The air filled with animal screams mixed with the howl of the wind and the splattering of rain. Nick’s astonished swearing blended with the thunder.

The last thing Lilly saw was a large red salamander with red-and-green wings slithering across the bloody deck, before her world went black.

Chapter Twelve

Nick gritted his teeth. He was nearly ready to strangle this receptionist, she was so freakin’ annoying.

She asked, “What did you say your name was again?”

“Nicholas Frost. I
brought
her here.”

“It says here they’re trying to get in touch with a Mrs. Marion Rudolph, who is the next of kin. If you aren’t her next of kin, I can’t really help you at this point. I’m sorry.”

Counting to ten in his head, he watched two elderly patients being wheeled through metal swinging doors. He wanted to smash his fist against the wall but losing his temper wouldn’t help. He took a deep breath. When he was calm enough, he made eye contact with the bleached-blonde receptionist again. “You need to at least tell me how she is.”

“She’s in surgery at the moment. That’s all I can tell you.”

Nick ground his teeth so hard they might have turned to powder in his mouth. “Goddamn it!” He slammed his fist against the nearby wall.

“Calm down, sir, or I’ll have to call security.”

Rolling his eyes, he shifted away from the information desk. When he looked up, he saw the compassion in Kris’s soft blue gaze.

Warm arms encircled him. He pressed his forehead against Kris’s for a moment, not caring about the stares of patients in the waiting room. He and Kris held each other for a long, silent minute.

Kris brushed back a lock of Nick’s hair. “All we can do is have faith that she’ll be okay.”

He swallowed and nodded. The image of Lilly bleeding on the deck still seared his mind. When he glanced across the room, he noticed an elderly woman staring at them. She looked to be in her sixties, skinny with hollowed cheekbones, a sallow complexion and, in Nick’s opinion, wearing far too much makeup.

It’s Marion. She’s older, but I recognize her.

Marion approached the woman behind the desk. “I’m here about my daughter, Lillian Rudolph.”

The blonde receptionist’s eyes softened. “Are you Marion Rudolph?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, your daughter’s in surgery right now. I’ll have someone come speak to you as soon as possible.”

Nick stepped forward. “Marion, you may not remember me, but I’m Nick Frost. I once had Thanksgiving Dinner at your home about ten years ago. My friend Kris and I brought Lilly here to the hospital.”

Marion wrung her hands. “What’s happened to her? What kind of accident? A car accident?”

“No, I’m sorry. It was a physical attack.”

Marion rubbed her hands over her face and burst into tears. Kris put a hand on her shoulder.

“What…what…by who? She was mugged?”

“They won’t tell us anything because we’re not next of kin.” Nick’s compassion began to override his dislike of the woman. He struggled to think of some words to comfort her while Kris clasped Marion’s shoulder.

“She’s strong, Marion. I’m sure she’ll be all right. I’m sure the good doctors here will find some way to heal her.”

Nick rolled his eyes.

Typical Kris. Always knows the right thing to say to a woman when I have no idea.

The information clerk picked up the phone and spoke to someone on the other end.

“A nurse will be with you in a few minutes, Mrs. Rudolph.”

The three of them took seats in the waiting area. A metallic blue Christmas tree sat in one corner, covered in silver and blue decorations. A TV mounted high on the wall appeared to be playing an animated version of
Frosty the Snowman
, although the sound was down too low for Nick to hear it. A
New York Times
lay on a large coffee table.

The tension in the air was thick. He hadn’t gotten on with Marion the last time they met, and he wondered how much she remembered.

Of course, Kris already seemed to be on better terms with her, despite or perhaps because of the fact he’d never even met her before. He sighed and shifted in his uncomfortable chair for a while and watched a toddler playing with the waiting room’s toys. The little boy pushed a truck back and forth across the linoleum
.

Marion started crying again. “I’m a bad mother. I do everything wrong. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to her.”

Nick answered her with clenched teeth. “Something has happened to her. She’s been stabbed.”

Kris passed her a handkerchief from his pocket and shot Nick a dirty look. “That’s hardly her fault.”

“No. But I hope this gives her the kick in the ass she needs to stop sponging off her daughter.”

Marion looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock. “Bastard!” she whispered under her breath. Then she buried her face in her hands again, sobbing loudly.

A nearby door swung open. A nurse with black hair pulled back in a tight ponytail called out, “Marion Rudolph.”

Marion rose from her seat.

“Can we please come in with you, Marion?” The calmness and courtesy in Kris’s voice irritated Nick, who just felt like punching someone.

Marion eyed Nick warily for a moment but then blew her nose and nodded. The nurse gestured to a private waiting room, which they swiftly entered.

Nick could feel Kris’s gaze on him. He knew Kris wanted to talk about how he’d picked up the birdman’s sword, about how he’d fought with iron and risked his power, but it would be some time before they could talk in private.

The nurse smiled at Marion and shook her hand. Then her face grew serious.

“Hi, I’m Nurse Diaz. Your daughter has come out of surgery, Mrs. Rudolph. She has a stab wound on the left side of her chest that narrowly missed her heart. In a few minutes, the surgeon should be here to explain more to you.”

Nick put his fingers in his ears when Marion started sobbing loudly again. When the elderly woman turned away, a sharp pinch on his ass made Nick spin around. “Ow! What the fuck?”

Kris grimaced at him and mouthed,
You are so rude
. Nick lifted an eyebrow in reply, trying not to laugh.

Kris could just deal. He refused to be polite to Marion. He folded his arms across his chest and tapped his foot impatiently. They waited about five minutes before the surgeon entered the room. “Mrs. Rudolph?” The doctor reached out and took her hand. “I’m Dr. Goldberg. Your daughter had a close call, but we’re doing everything we can to help her pull through this.”

As Nick listened to the doctor talk about Lilly’s injuries, he clenched his fists, feeling like he’d been kicked in the stomach. He never should have agreed to her staying during the fight. It was incredibly stupid of him. But she’d looked so fierce, so determined, he’d been proud she was finally showing some self-confidence. He didn’t want to make the mistake of ordering her around outside the bedroom.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

And he’d been arrogant. He’d foolishly believed that he and Kris could protect her from any possible harm. That with himself and Kris and the centaurs to protect her, she’d be safe.

The sight of Lilly’s bleeding body had shocked him to the core. When he and Kris had lifted her from the deck, Lilly’s head had lolled back, her body as limp as a rag doll, her blood pooling on the floor.

Nick didn’t regret picking up the iron sword and plunging it into Zenia when he’d had the opportunity. It was worth the risk of losing his magic to pay that disgusting bitch back for all the evil she’d done Lilly. He’d face whatever the consequences might be. If his hunch was right and Lilly was an immortal half fae, she could still suffer major pain all her life from a wound too serious for sylph magic to heal.

Something Dr. Goldberg said snapped him out of his thoughts. “The stab wound just barely missed her heart.”

Hope seized him. Fae power couldn’t mend damage done to the human heart. The amount of mental energy such strong magic would take was highly likely to destroy any sylph and put him or her into a coma as it had Caterina Delaney, but if Lilly’s wound wasn’t too serious, he could use his powers to restore her to health.

A chill of horror ran through him.

I don’t have those powers anymore. I was never much good at healing, and now I probably have no power. Not after stabbing Zenia with an iron sword. But there’s still Kris. There’s still Kris!

Nick’s head pounded fiercely. Could Kris even do this kind of healing? Was it possible he’d survive? Or would Kris end up in a permanent coma like Caterina?