Page 77 of Bad Medicine

But I was not leaving Farrowthere.

“What do you want with her,Kait?” Lilah asked, genuinely curious. She wasn’t upset, either. Just…curious.

“I want to save her,” I said.

She sighed, then smiled. “Oh. Isee.” She gestured. “I won’t try to stop you. Do as you will, little wolf.” Shedidn’t leave the room, but she stood back against a long countertop ofinstruments and watched me. “I’m finished with her anyway. She was about todie, so…” She shrugged one bare shoulder. “Take her—if you can.”

I stared down at Farrow, unsurehow to get her up. She was a mess, and I was afraid if I touched her, she wouldfall apart. “Did the council know what you were doing?” I asked Lilah. “DidSaul know?”

She was silent for so long thatI looked away from Farrow to see why she wasn’t answering. She simply stoodthere, an eerie emptiness in her stare. Finally, she jerked a little, and thelife came back into her eyes. “No,” she said. “I mean, of course they knew Iwas working over her, siphoning off magic and making reports for them, but theyweren’t interested in my…hobby.”

Maybe she was lying, maybe shewasn’t.

“Farrow,” I murmured. “I’mgoing to remove the silver from your body, and we’re going to get the hell outof here. Okay?”

“Please,” she said, but theword was simply a hiss of air coming from between her torn lips.

She didn’t scream—not once. Shewasn’t able to. Which made me wonder how I’d heard her—I couldn’t have heard ahiss or a moan. My hearing wasn’tthatgood.

I kept one eye on the quietlywatching Lilah, but as she’d promised, she made no move to stop me. And whenthe doors crashed open and a dozen supernats blew into the room, she simplygestured, and they slunk away like good little sons of bitches—probably to waitfor me in the hallways.

“Kait,” she called, as I prettymuch carried Farrow from the room, “I can’t help you more than I’ve alreadydone—I need to get cleaned up. But I will tell you to be cautious. You’ll bestopped by more of them on your way out.”

“And I’ll kill them all,” Isnarled.

“I have no doubt,” Lilahmurmured. Then, “I’ll call you later!”

I was pretty sure her psychohad mine beat all to hell.

Just outside the doors, Farrowcollapsed and slid to the floor, an empty, bloodless bag of bones, but her eyeswere open and glued to mine, as though seeing me there gave her hope. Sheopened her mouth to speak, but I shook my head. “Save your strength, sweetie.You’ll be healed soon.”

Not without feeding shewouldn’t, but I’d call Bastien as soon as I got her into Aaron’s car. He’d waitfor us, and he would help her. I couldn’t know if the council would come afterher again, but I didn’t believe they would. She was no longer a daywalker, ifLilah was to be believed.

Which meant that any daywalkercould be magicked half to death and returned to their vampire selves. It waseasier by far, though, to kill them.

Lilah wasn’t wrong. I wasstopped three times on my rush to get Lilah out, and each time, I got angrier.I was forced to leave Farrow sprawled against the wall, her face a bloody maskof agony, as I showed the vampires their places.

“How can you do this to one ofyour own?” I muttered to the last vampire I met before the exit doors.

He only frowned at me. “We areordered to protect these hallways. You are stealing one of the council’sprisoners. What else are we to do?” And then he attacked, his claws out, hisfangs long and sharp, intending to stop me and retrieve Farrow.

And I sure as hell wasn’t goingto let that happen.

We fought almost silently, mewith my demon blade and fury and him with his fangs, claws, and orders. I hadn’tescaped those pop-up fights without a scratch, but I barely felt my injuries. Iwas flying high on rage and bloodlust.

I was terrified, as well,because more supernaturals entered into the battle to take down Kait Silver,and I was sure that while I was otherwise occupied, one of them was going tosnatch Farrow and run.

So I fought maybe harder thanI’d ever fought, at least that was how it seemed at that moment. Hard, fast,and grim, and still more of the enemy flooded the room, with the exit rightthere.I could see the car through the glass, and Aaron standing outside it, grim andmotionless, watching me fight.

I’d never felt so alone.

Then things changed. The fightchanged, and intentions changed. As though they’d been given the order to killme, they threw themselves into the battle and came at me with every intentionof taking me out.

And finally, damn them, I wasforced to shift. In my human form, I was too injured to continue the battle. Asmy wolf, I’d heal most of the damage—if I had time.

There was an endless supply ofopponents, and it seemed to me, impatient to get Farrow to Bastien before shedied, that we fought for hours. I wished for dawn, but the sun never came. Iwas on my own.

I didn’t fight only vampires.There were all types of supernaturals, and I had to wonder where they’d allcome from. They filled the room, and the sounds they made battered my sensitiveeardrums.