Kindling Flames: Flying Sparks (The Ancient Fire Series Book 2) (5 page)

Vicky was sure she didn’t want anyone to watch him kiss her again.

“Anyway,” the doctor continued, “I need to see what the emergency room did and how bad the burns are.” Dr. Urnkalther stood up. “If you would, please
,
Karl.” She waved at the orderly, and he came over.

“If I may?” Karl asked again and waited for Vicky to nod before lifting her onto the operating table.

Dr. Urnkalther went to scrub her hands while the two nurses prepped Vicky to have her wounds cleaned and redressed.

“Um… why are we in an operating room?” Vicky asked Karl as he was messing with her IV.

“Burns require a more sterile environment then other injuries do,” Karl explained. “And these surfaces are easier to clean if there is any blood.”

“Blood?” Vicky asked.

“You’ll see,” he answered nonchalantly. “Dr. Urnkalther is one of the best in the area. You’re in good hands
,
My Lady.” He turned away to remove the wheelchair from the room.

Dr. Urnkalther came back over with a mask and very clean hands in sterile gloves. “Burns are easily infected, so we always take great care with them,” the doctor explained as she stood in front of Vicky and took up her right arm. She held out her hand so the nurse could give her some scissors. “I’m just going to cut this off, so we can see what’s going on.” The doctor looked up at Vicky. “Are you ready?”

Vicky took a deep breath and nodded. Curiosity about what was under the bandages had been plaguing her since she woke up.

Dr. Urnkalther carefully slipped the end of her scissors into the bandage at the back of Vicky’s hand and cut into the cloth. It only took her a moment before she had the used gauze off the hand. “That’s not so bad.” Dr. Urnkalther inspected the redness of Vicky’s skin and the stitches on her palm.

Vicky looked down at the injuries. She’d had worse burns from baking.

The doctor made an odd noise in her throat after cutting the bandage free from the left hand. “That’s an unusual burn.” She ran the tip of her gloved finger over the round, red mark on Vicky’s palm. “Did you pick something up?”

Vicky looked at the mark. “Not that I know of.” The only thing that she could remember touching was the coin from the envelope, but that was
before
the explosion and the fire.

“Mmm.” Dr. Urnkalther’s brow furrowed as she turned Vicky’s hand so that the light shone on the mark better. “This one looks really raw.”

She released Vicky’s hand and gave the scissors back to her assistant before pulling the bandage off Vicky’s forearm. “Wow!” the doctor commented when she saw the burnt skin. “This happened yesterday morning?”

“Yes. Around two AM,” Vicky confirmed.

“This burn looks like it has healed for several days already.” Dr. Urnkalther poked around the burnt skin. “I’ll still have to clean it up and redress it, but this looks really good. I am sorry, but this may hurt a little.”

Vicky watched the doctor’s amazement grow and did her best not to cry from the pain as Dr. Urnkalther unwrapped and cleaned the other burns on her body.

***

“I wonder if I could get Master Darien to come down to the burn unit and do this to a few of my more severe patients,” Dr. Urnkalther pondered as she finished placing the last paraffin bandage on Vicky’s leg. That had been the largest and worst burn, but it was already starting to heal nicely.

“I think it would be safe to downgrade your condition, Miss Westernly. You should be able to get out of here in a day or two if you keep healing like this.” She finished wrapping gauze over the paraffin bandage and taped the end down. “You’ll still need to stay off your feet until the stitches are taken out, but those cuts almost look healed, too.”

Vicky cracked her eyes open and looked down at the doctor pulling off her gloves.

“All done.”

Vicky let out a sigh of relief. The wounds hurt from the doctor’s invasion, but the bandages she now sported were much smaller, and she no longer felt like a mummy.

“I’ve got something here for the pain,” Karl said as he injected a clear liquid into Vicky’s IV.

She could feel the cool liquid run into her veins.

“You should feel better in a few minutes, My Lady.”

Vicky nodded as the man turned away to dispose of the needle.

“Karl will take you back to your room,” Dr. Urnkalther said as she wrote on Vicky’s chart. “Try to get some rest, and I’ll come by to check on you again tomorrow.”

Vicky nodded again and closed her eyes to let the medication steal away the pain. She opened them back up briefly as Karl lifted her from the table to the wheelchair.

“You did very well,” Karl complimented her as he pushed her from the room.

“Does it always hurt that much?” Vicky whimpered, trying not to cry from the pain. She had managed to hold it together as the doctor prodded the sensitive wounds, but it was catching up to her now.

“No.” There was a sad note in his voice. “It’s usually much worse.”

The frayed ends of her emotions let loose, and Vicky sobbed as he pushed her back to her room.

He hummed soothingly as they walked.

By the time they reached the elevator, she had gotten herself back under control. “Thank you,” she said as she wiped her eyes on the corner of the blanket.

“You’re welcome,” Karl answered. “I’m going to hang around for a while, so let me know if you need anything.”

Vicky nodded. Her mind was starting to fuzz as the medication he’d given her muted the pain. She leaned back in the chair, and Karl bent forwards, sticking his hand out to support her head as he pushed the chair from the elevator with his elbow. Vicky was sound asleep by the time they reached her room and the freshly made bed within.

The house Darien parked in front of was one of the older ones in the area, but it was still rather nice. The yard wanted for cutting, but it was otherwise well maintained. He sighed as he pulled the plastic bag of wolfsbane from the seat and got out of his car.

It had been a long day at work, and this was the last thing he needed to take care of before he could head back over to the hospital. Darien stood in the shade of the porch and knocked on the door of the sky blue, split-level house. When no one answered, he banged on the door a little louder.

“Keep your pants on,” Darien heard a young man’s voice yell from the other side of the door. It opened as far as the security chain would let it, and a teen dressed in a rumpled punk rock T-shirt peeked through the crack. “What do you want?” he growled.

Darien gave the boy his calmest smile and reminded himself to be nice. “I wish to speak with the master of the house,” he said politely. “Open the door and ask me in.”

The teen glowered at him. “Michael is sleeping right now. Come back later,” the boy grumped and went to shut the door.

Darien caught it with his hand before it could close. “I need to speak with your master
now
.” His voice hardened. “Go wake him up.”

“I told you,” the boy repeated, “he’s sleeping. You’ll have to come back later.”

“Who is it?” A female’s sleepy voice called from within the house.

“Some guy in a suit,” the boy replied. “Says he wants to see Michael.”

“Did you tell him that Michael’s asleep?” she asked.

“Yes, but he still insists I wake him up.” The punk teen yawned and rubbed his spiky hair.

“Get his name, and I’ll see if Michael wants to see him,” the woman’s voice answered.

“What’s your name?” the boy grumped at him.

Darien dropped his hand from the door and stood up to his full height. “Darien Ritter.” His voice was loud enough to carry into the house.

“
Oh shit!
” the woman’s voice cried from the top of the stairs, and the door slammed shut.

Darien crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot as he listened to the sounds of a scuffle behind the door.

The chain lock rattled, and a tall woman opened the door. “Please forgive us, Master Darien. We were not expecting visitors at this time of day.” The woman bowed. “Please come in.” She stepped back so Darien could enter. The boy who had answered the door was no longer in the entryway.

“Thank you.” Darien stepped over the threshold. “I promise I won’t trouble you long.” He recognized the woman as one of Michael’s long-term pets, Maria. She took care of his house and all the residents that came and went.

“You are no trouble, Master Darien,” Maria assured him. Watching the master step into the darker room from the light on the porch, she closed the door behind him. She had heard about Darien’s special talents from Marsha when she came back from the Vampire Council, but she hadn’t believed it.

“Where can I find Michael?” he asked.

“This way.” Maria led him down the steps of the split-level house. Their course took them through a lounge where several people huddled on couches and watched in fright as the vampire walked through the room. Maria stopped in front of a closed door. “He’s in here. If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll wake him up.”

“No need.” Darien waved her way. “I can wake him up.”

The blood drained from Maria’s face, but she backed away and let Darien push the door open.

The room was dark and cool as he walked in and shut the door behind him. There was just enough light for his eyes to find the bed and its three occupants curled together. Darien stood at the foot of the bed and slipped his hand into his pants pocket and patted the bagged plants against his leg. When no movement came from the bed, he loosened his control and let his power wash over the sleeping vampires.

Michael stirred in his slumber as something called to him. He opened his eyes to find the silhouette of a man standing at the foot of his bed. Irritated at the intrusion, he rolled over so he could turn on the light to yell at whoever had disturbed his sleep. Light flooded the room, and Michael blinked as his eyes registered Darien standing, annoyed, at the foot of his bed.

“Master Darien!” Michael nearly shrieked as he scrambled into a sitting position against the headboard.

Darien waited for the panic-stricken vampire to stop thrashing around. “Good afternoon, Michael.” He spoke softly to the terrified man. “I need to speak with you and your kiss.” Darien looked at the other two lifeless bodies in the bed.

“Sure,” Michael said with a voice that was a little higher than usual. “What time is it?”

Darien looked at his watch. “About five thirty,” he answered. He had skipped out of work a little early so he could deal with this issue.

Michael looked at his girls with concern. “It’s still too early for Ann and Robin.”

“That’s not a problem,” Darien said, releasing a wave of power over the three vampires.

To Michael’s complete amazement, the two girls drew in deep breaths and stirred. They both opened their eyes and blinked away their sleep. Once awake, they looked for the source of power that had pulled them to life. Neither of the girls had seen Master Darien before, but they both recognized him for what he was. Ann scrambled up the bed to Michael, and Robin fell off the side as she tried to move away.

“Good afternoon.” Darien started again. “I apologize for disturbing your rest, and I’ll make this quick.”

All three of the vampires looked at him in fright.

“Miss Westernly and I appreciate the thoughtful gift of the flowers, but you need to speak with your florist about what’s appropriate.” He threw the bag of wolfsbane onto the foot of the bed.

“I’m aware of the animosity between the wolves and the vampires,” he continued, “but I’d appreciate it if you keep the conflict out of the hospital rooms, especially when what’s mine is involved.” Darien turned and left as the three vampires stared at him in shock.

“Wait,” Michael called as Darien walked out into the common room.

He stopped and turned around to see what the man wanted.

Michael rushed naked into the room, followed by the two women wrapped in a sheet. “I apologize.” He bowed to the older vampire. “It was not in our instructions to put wolfsbane into the arrangement. I’ll have words with the florist about this.”

Darien nodded his approval. “The tensions in this town run too high as it is,” he explained. “We don’t need thoughtless acts compounding the problem.”

“Yes, Master Darien.” Michael straightened from his bow and looked at him. “How is the young lady doing?”

“She’ll be fine,” Darien answered. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m on my way to see her now.” He turned away from Michael and crossed the room to the steps.

A parade of people followed him and gasped as he walked into the landing where the sunlight leaked in from outside.

Darien paused at the door and looked down past the humans following him to the three vampires who had stopped just outside of the light’s reach. “Have a pleasant evening.”