The Reluctant Vampire - Lynsay Sands [64]
Harper opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling over his bed, then a vision of Drina covered in blood filled his mind, and he sat up abruptly.
“Settle down, boy. You’re safe,” Teddy Brunswick said, hefting himself out of a chair beside the bed.
Harper stared at the man blankly, the crash replaying in his head; blood splashing, glass flying, and the smoke from burning rubber all filled his vision, accompanied by the sound track from hell. Shouts, screams, screeching metal, shrieking brakes, and then dead silence and stillness.
He recalled being dizzy from hitting his head. Barely holding on to consciousness, Harper had turned instinctively to Drina and moaned at what he’d found. Her bloodied body had appeared partially encased in metal, and what wasn’t—including her face—had been shredded by the flying glass.
“Drina?” he growled, shoving aside the memory along with the blankets that had been covering him, and shifting to get up.
“She’s alive. You know you people don’t die that easy,” Teddy said grimly.
Harper relaxed a fraction, but continued to his feet, asking, “And Stephanie?”
“They’re both in their room being tended to by Beau and Tiny,” Teddy assured him, reaching out to steady Harper when he swayed on his feet. “I’m thinking you need blood. Your head wound didn’t look too bad, but you lost consciousness and have been out all night. Your nanos probably used up a fair amount repairing whatever damage was done.”
“All night?” Harper muttered with surprise.
Teddy nodded. “I was surprised myself. Once we cleaned away the blood, there didn’t seem much wrong with you compared to the girls, but the knock your head took must have caused some internal damage that needed repair or something. We fed you a couple of bags of blood, but didn’t want to give you too much and cause other problems.” He frowned, and asked, “If I go fetch a bag for you, will you sit your arse down and wait for me to get back before trying to—?”
“I need to see Drina,” Harper interrupted impatiently, staggering past the man.
“That’s what I figured,” Teddy said on a sigh, and caught his arm to help him to the door. “I’ll see you down to the girls’ room then before I fetch that blood.”
Harper muttered a “thanks,” but then remained silent for the rest of the walk down the hall, the flight of stairs, and up the second floor hall to the girls’ room. He knew he definitely needed blood by the time they reached it. He was unsteady on his feet and exhausted by then. Obviously, there had been more damage done inside his head than it had appeared, but then his brain had probably bounced around inside his skull like jelly in a bowl during the accident.
Teddy reached past him to open the bedroom door, and Harper staggered eagerly forward, almost desperate to see for himself that Drina was all right. He spotted an exhausted Mirabeau and Tiny sitting in chairs by the window, and then his gaze dropped to the first bed, and he let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Drina was pale, but otherwise appeared fine, with no sign of the shredded skin or smashed body he recalled in his memory.
Of course, she was under the covers, so there might be injuries still mending, but she would heal, he assured himself, his gaze now moving to Stephanie. She had been seated directly behind Drina on the impact side as well, and had no doubt taken equally severe injuries, but like Drina, the girl appeared pale and still but otherwise fine. There was an IV stand between the two single beds; two bags of blood hung from it, each with tubing. One long tube dropped down, and then curved into Stephanie’s arm, the other trailed down from the second bag and led into Drina’s.
“Sit down before you fall down,” Teddy said gruffly, urging him to the bedside as Tiny and Mira-beau stood up.
“How are you feeling?” Mirabeau asked, coming around the bed toward him.
“I’m no expert on your people, but I think he needs blood,” Teddy answered for him as he forced Harper to sit on the side of Drina’s bed.
Mirabeau nodded and turned back toward the windows, but Tiny was already opening