I just shook my head and placed my palm over the wound. Closing my eyes, I pictured the wound in my mind and whispered, “Sano.” Magic concentrated in my thigh, tingling with brilliant energy. The wound stung, causing me to suck in a sharp breath, and then it began to burn. The fiery-hot pain was so intense it felt as if actual flames were licking over my skin. But underneath it all was my prickly magic, doing the job I’d asked it to do.
“Damn, Phoebe,” Dax said, awe in his tone.
I opened my eyes, focusing on him. He was staring down at my leg, his eyebrows raised and an expression of wonder on his face.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Imogen said.
I followed their gazes to my thigh and let out a small gasp of surprise. My hand was glowing silver, but instead of still covering the wound, it was hovering over it, a thick fog of black smoke clinging to my palm. I raised my hand, turned it over, and said, “Release.”
The dark smoke dissipated into the air and hovered as if suspended. I leaned forward, gently blowing. The smoke suddenly vanished into thin air as if it had never existed. And my thigh? All that was left of the wound was a small pink scar.
A pleased smile claimed my lips as I turned my attention to the healer. “I think I’ll be fine now.”
“How…?” She shook her head. “That was unreal. You must have healer magic. There’s no other explanation. I just can’t—”
I held a hand up. “It’s because I created the curse. Or rather my great-grandmother did, and it’s controlled by blood,” I explained and hopped off the bed. Gooseflesh broke out over my bare skin and I glanced down, realizing I was only wearing my bra and panties. It was a damned good thing Dax had already seen me naked. Otherwise, that moment would’ve been really awkward. “Now, where’s my dress?”
Dax held up the turquoise tube dress.
I grimaced. “Damn. I forgot about that.”
“Care to explain what happened to your gala dress?” he asked.
“Later. Right now all I’m interested in is getting out of here.” I tugged the tube dress over my head. “Shoes?”
Dax pointed to the corner of the room. The boots were on the floor while my dagger and phone were sitting in the seat of a metal folding chair.
I strode over, slipped them on, and grabbed my belongings. “Thanks, Imogen,” I said to the healer. “Whatever you did gave me my strength back, enough to eradicate the rest of the curse. I owe you one.”
She shook her head. “No you don’t. I was just doing my job.”
“Maybe,” I said, staring her in the eye. “But no one knows better than I do how powerful that curse is. I have no doubt that in the wrong hands, I might’ve never woken up.”
Dax muttered a curse.
Imogen grabbed my free hand. “I don’t like that you’re leaving so soon, but I understand the urgency of your case. Please just promise me that if you have any dizziness, unexplained fatigue, or any other unusual symptoms that you’ll come back in.”
Her hands were warm around mine, soothing even. But still her touch made me uneasy, and I frowned. That was strange. Talisen was the healer I usually saw after some vamp banged me up, and never once had his touch bothered me. I tugged my hand out of hers, the unease instantly vanishing, and nodded just so we didn’t waste any more time there.
“Sure.” I turned to Dax. “Let’s go.”
He led the way out of the exam room and into the quiet reception area. It was then I realized the healer’s office was in an old Victorian. White sheers covered the bay windows while two velvet couches filled what used to be a parlor along with a large desk off to the side. I glanced at the clock on the wall. Five twenty-five a.m. No wonder the place was empty.
Dax held the door open for me and we slipped outside onto Saint Charles Avenue.
“Has Allcot gotten his hands on her yet?” I asked Dax. Eadric Allcot was notorious for getting his hooks in any witches with healing powers. The truly powerful ones he always tried to lure to Cryrique. And if he couldn’t lure them, he used blackmail to get them to do his bidding.
It hadn’t always been that way, but as his organization delved deeper into experimental drugs for the supernatural, the demand for quality healers rose significantly. And although I hadn’t been able to prove anything yet, I was certain Allcot was breaking multiple laws when it came to testing those drugs. Unfortunately, the compromised healers were the ones running all his tests… mostly on unwilling participants, turning them into unwilling accomplices. If Allcot had gotten to her, there was no telling what she was doing behind closed doors at her clinic.
He shook his head. “No. She didn’t even know who he was.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“I asked her and believed her when she said no. Then I warned her he’d likely try something.” Dax paused beside the Trooper and eyed me. “Why?”
“Just a feeling. I’m not sure we can trust her.”
He glanced back at the clinic, his eyes hooded. Then he grimaced and opened my door. “Get in. We have a couple of fae to find.”
“It’s about time,” I said, a tiny twinge of relief rushing through me.
Dax ran around the Trooper and claimed the driver’s seat. He cranked the key and as the engine rumbled, he said, “But first you need a change of clothes.”
I stared down at the dirty, stained tube dress and nodded. I could kick a vampire’s ass wearing nothing but a smile, but it would be a hell of a lot easier in my tracker uniform. Jeans, T-shirt, and boots. All of which held my arsenal of weapons that would make it easier to end whoever took Willow.
5
When I opened the door to the Greek revival home I shared with Tal and Willow, I half expected to hear the murmur of my friends’ voices upstairs. Instead, I walked through the door and was nearly knocked on my ass by a large gray wolf.
Link, Willow’s wolf-shifting shih tzu, was in full-on agitated mode as he shoved his muzzle into my face and let out a low whine.
“Christ, you’re a pathetic wolf,” I said, gently patting the top of his head. He followed me into my bedroom and sat patiently as I pulled out fresh clothes and headed into my adjoining bathroom. The wolf followed me, his whine turning to a low growl.
“I know, Link. She’s missing. But we can’t do anything about it until I wash off this blood and climb into fresh clothes.”
His amber eyes glowed with intelligence as he sat back down, waiting.
Link was at least one good thing in my favor. He’d been with Willow since he was a puppy and no one, not even Talisen, was more devoted to Willow than Link. If anyone could scent her out, it’d be him.
Ten minutes later, I was out of the shower, fully dressed, and armed. I had everything from my dagger to a couple of stakes to my magic-infused jewelry. I even had another blade tucked in my boot, though this one wasn’t cursed. I ran upstairs with Link on my heels and found Dax in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge.
Red marinara sauce had dried to the dirty dishes that were stacked beside the sink, an echo of the lasagna dinner the three of us had shared the previous night before we’d left for the gala.
I could still see Willow laughing as she slathered butter on yet another slice of french bread, insisting that just one more wouldn’t hurt, and Tal rolling his eyes as the pair of us teased him about his pin-striped seersucker suit. He was a fae originally from northern California, not a Southern gentleman. Willow had flashed him one of her radiant smiles and assured him he’d be the most handsome man there. I, of course, had made a gagging sound because seriously, when you had to watch your two best friends fawn all over each other while you lusted after the shifter you couldn’t have, sometimes your immaturity got the better of you.
My gaze shifted and landed on a brown paper bag. Some Like It Hot Chocolate was scrawled across the front in Willow’s handwriting. Her concoction to promote fertilization was inside that bag. The one she’d mentioned at the gala. A small, strangled gasp escaped from my lips before I could stop it.
“Hey,” Dax said, stepping in front of me and placing his large hands on my shoulders. “You okay?”
“They’re supposed to be trying for a baby.” My voice was low and shaky as I stared up at him, my vision suddenly blurred with emotion.