The buzzard was still there, his wings hunched around his shoulders, waiting. He moved, and Shay could see past him, where something dark lay behind the small building. A deer? She squinted and saw it move. It was alive! The damned bird was waiting for its meal to die. Shay moved closer, planning to scare it away. She saw boots, not hooves, and then legs, hips. She yelled as she ran, startling the great bird into flight.
When recognition dawned, she opened her mouth and screamed.
Chapter 17
Cody knocked on Shay’s door. It swung open. “Shay?” He checked the balcony, but she wasn’t there. Maybe the shower. No. The room was empty. She could be with Bree or Nina and Matilda. As much as he loved them, the two old women were going to complicate things.
The small silver jewelry box he rescued from the fire sat on Shay’s dresser. He gave it to her on her sixteenth birthday. He bought it and the white-gold heart inside with the money he made from helping the farmer down the road make hay. He had known he would be leaving for training soon and worried they would grow apart with him gone so much and having to keep his secrets. Then his father had told him Shay’s secret. They probably would have been better off if they just told her. He headed down to the kitchen, where Coira was banging around. The clan had offered to hire cooks, but Coira guarded her kitchen like a pirate guarded his treasure. “Have you seen Shay?” Cody asked.
“Not this morning. She didn’t come to breakfast. Such a sweet girl, but she doesn’t eat enough.”
“I’m sure you’ll take care of that, Coira.” Cody grabbed a biscuit. “I’ll check the library.”
When he entered the room, he saw the secret-passage entrance standing open. His pulse quickened as he stepped inside. “Shay,” he called. His voice echoed back to him, hollow. He smelled her and another scent too faded to identify. He followed her trail through several passages. The scent stopped where the tunnel door led outside. He stepped into daylight as Declan came around the corner, carrying a ladder.
“Have you seen Shay?” Cody asked.
“She went to get some fresh air.”
A scream pierced Cody’s ears.
“That was Shay!” Cody bolted toward the sound.
“Help!” Shay screamed. She knelt on the ground beside Jamie. His bloody shirt hung in tatters. Deep wounds covered his stomach and side. “Help him.” Shay’s eyes were wide, her face pinched. “Please, help him.”
Cody and Declan knelt beside Shay. Jamie was unconscious but breathing. His knees and hands were covered in dirt. “Looks like he crawled here,” Declan said.
“Run ahead of us and get Coira. She’s in the kitchen,” Cody told Shay. “We’ll carry him.” Together he and Declan carried Jamie to the house. Coira met them in the infirmary. They laid Jamie down and stood back as Coira cut away his filthy shirt, revealing long, gaping wounds.
“Claw marks,” Declan said.
“They’re deep,” Coira said, “but the bleeding has stopped.”
Shay hovered over Jamie, holding his hand, as Coira checked Jamie’s vital signs. “Will he be okay?”
Cody could see the tears staining her cheeks.
“Unless it gets infected. He was lying out there for God knows how long.” Coira’s hands moved deftly as she cleaned the injuries.
Infection and sickness were rare among warriors. Strong genes were part of their weaponry. The biggest danger was dying in battle. “I’m going to sound the alarm,” Cody told them.
When he came back to check on Shay, she was removing Jamie’s jeans. She laid them on a chair and straightened his boxers, her movements smooth and sure, as if in familiar territory. Of course she was. She almost married him.
She picked up a washcloth and began to wash dirt from Jamie’s arm. He muttered something and reached for her hand.
Cody eased the door shut and walked away.
The warriors assembled a group and searched the woods. It didn’t take long to find signs of a fight where Jamie had been posted last night.
“You think it was a vampire?” Brodie asked Cody, who had bent down to sniff the tracks.
“There’s no scent. It’s too old.”
“Looked like demon claws to me,” Niall said.
Cody sat back on his haunches, staring at the tracks. Problem was, a vampire had a footprint just like a human… or a demon in disguise. Had one of Malek’s demons tracked Shay to the castle? “We’ll need guards, twenty-four seven. Shane, can you organize it? Someone tell Sean to alert the Council that we’ve been attacked.”
***
Shay pulled back the sheet and lifted Jamie’s bandage. She could already see a difference in the wound after just a few hours. Coira said the warriors healed quickly. The cut from Cody’s sword was proof. It was just a thin line already. Other scars dotted Jamie’s body. She asked him about them once. He laughed and said he was a reckless kid.
His eyes flew open, and his hand clamped on her arm, surprisingly strong. He focused on her face and relaxed his grip. “Shay.” He looked down at his bandage and winced.
“How do you feel?”
“Cold.”
“Let me get Coira.”
“No. Stay with me.”
This was the first time he’d spoken to her since the attack. Coira said he’d woken a few times, but hadn’t said what happened.
“You were hurt. Something attacked you.”
He frowned hard and rubbed his forehead. “A demon, I think… can’t remember…” his voice trailed off, and he shivered.
“I’ll get another blanket,” she said, starting to pull away.
He held onto her hand. “Lie down with me, just for a few minutes. Please.”
She hesitated, knowing she shouldn’t, but she felt bad for Jamie. Not just for his physical pain, but for the emotional pain she’d caused him, although it hadn’t been intentional. He’d offered her his heart and his home. The least she could do was comfort him for five minutes. Maybe he would fall asleep quickly and she could put another blanket on him and leave. After all, Sam had been in Cody’s bedroom while he wore nothing but a towel, and he expected Shay to believe it was innocent. Was this any worse? Against Shay’s better judgment, she slipped off her shoes and lay on top of the covers, stiffly, trying not to let their bodies touch. The pillow was soft. She hadn’t realized how tired she was, and her arm burned like the dickens. Maybe she was the one who should worry about infection. Shay closed her eyes, to rest for just a moment. As soon as Jamie fell asleep, she would leave.
***
Cody returned to the castle at eight o’clock. He missed dinner, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to crawl into bed with Shay and hold her. Seeing her caring for Jamie left him with an uneasy feeling. He yawned. He’d spent most of the day talking to the fire investigators and looking for some sign of who might have attacked Jamie. He found a young warrior dead, probably killed before Jamie was attacked. The warrior had recently arrived from Ireland after finishing his training. His mentor hadn’t come; they thought it was a safe enough task. He shouldn’t have been guarding such an isolated section of the wall, but he talked another warrior into switching places. Sean was taking Patrick’s body home to his parents.
Cody headed to the room where they’d moved Jamie. If he was awake, Cody needed to ask him some questions about the attack. Perhaps they could clear the air as well. They weren’t at each other’s throats anymore, but Cody owed the man an apology. At one time Jamie had been a friend, and now he was sacrificing his life to protect Shay. He’d broken the rules and gotten involved with her, but Cody had too.
Jamie’s door was cracked. He lay on his back. Shay lay beside him, holding his hand. Cody’s heart felt like a block of wood. Had seeing Jamie injured made her realize that she still loved him? She’d cared enough to almost marry him. She had spent far more time in Jamie’s bed than his, and Jamie hadn’t gotten her pregnant and left her to carry and bury a baby alone. Cody turned and headed to his room, weary to the bone.