“The boy’s lost so much blood, it may be too late to save him. But they have him on an IV and a ventilator. So who is this guy, anyway?” asked Dr. Sanders.
“I brought him here,” said Brian.
“From where? What happened to him?”
“Well…”
“Wait.” Sanders held up one hand as he massaged the bridge of his nose with the other. “I probably don’t want to know the answer to that. I don’t know why I ask any questions around you people. I might as well make up my own story.”
A woman in a white lab coat entered the room. “Dr. Sanders, we need to know if anyone here is related to the patient. He’s going to need a lot of blood, and he has a rare blood type.”
“Let me guess—he’s A-negative?” Brian’s heart thudded inside his chest wall. It was all a bit surreal.
“That’s right. Are you his father?”
“No, but I’m O-negative, so I can give him some blood. And my son is A-negative.” Brian pointed to Wesley, who didn’t look thrilled about the idea of donating blood. “I give every month. Seems they’re always wanting my blood type.”
He followed the woman through the doors, dragging Wesley behind him.
“Dad, isn’t it kind of weird he has the same blood type? Maybe he’s a doppelganger for Steven.”
“A few months ago I would have laughed at that idea, but now…” Brian scrunched his shoulders. “It seems like anything’s possible.”
*****
Daegreth woke up in hell. He wasn’t surprised. Where else would someone like him—someone filled with malevolence—spend eternity? But he’d hoped God might understand he hadn’t had a choice. His chest pain was excruciating, and he was being choked as well. He blinked his eyes to focus, startled at the bright light. He’d expected darkness and smoke. He attempted to grab at the hand pushing on his throat, but found his arms were bound in place. Perhaps he could break the bindings. Could one escape from hell?
“Oh, you’re awake. Don’t thrash about, sweetie. I know that tube in your throat is uncomfortable, but right now you need it to help you breathe. Just try to relax.”
A woman’s head appeared in his vision—a pleasant face with brown eyes like his. She wore a concerned expression and a smile. So he wasn’t in hell. Perhaps he’d ended up back in Sun Clan, somehow.
He’d had seven years when his parents and he had left on their journey to recover his brother, lost to slavers. The trek across the Empty Desert had been long and arduous, but his father had been relentless in his pursuit. Their relief at surviving the trip was short-lived, as they wandered unknowingly into a Water Clan encampment. The subsequent murder of his father, followed by their forced servitude, had forever ended the quest to find his brother’s captors.
Though his mother tried to be brave for him, he’d watched her spirit gradually fade from her eyes. When Daegreth acquired twelve years and was forced to take the oath of fealty and accept Vindrake’s bloodbond, she simply lost the will to live. Within a seven-day, he awoke to find her stiff body on her pallet, her hand clutching a remnant of his brother’s baby blanket.
“Are you hurting, dear?” The woman’s voice jolted him back to the present.
He attempted to answer, but something in his throat prevented him from speaking. He managed a nod. He had no idea why she was asking, but it seemed pointless to lie. Though the searing pain was acute, it occurred to him something was missing. The bloodbond is gone! Perhaps I’m dead after all. I’m not in heaven, and I’m not in hell. Is there something in between?
“Let me give you something for that pain, okay? Just hold on for a second and you’ll feel a whole lot better.”
He couldn’t see what she was doing, but within a few breaths, his eyelids grew heavy, and he was overcome with blessed sleep.
*****
“You went to Laegenshire in the middle of the night and left me here asleep? And you didn’t bother to wake me up and let me know?”
Wesley’s mother, Karen, turned to Alora, “Don’t worry, dear, I don’t blame you for what happened. You’re only a child. But you would think a grown man…” She threw a scathing glance at Brian. “You’d think a grown man would know better than to jaunt off to another realm with our son to fight in a battle without even talking to his wife.”
“But I left you a note.”
She reached into her pocket, retrieving a clumped piece of paper and spreading it to read the words. “Honey, Gone to Laegenshire with Wesley. Back soon. Don’t worry. Love, Brian.” She wadded up the note and threw it, the paper ball bouncing off Brian’s chest and onto the wood
floor. “Really? Back soon? Don’t worry? It’s not like you could get in a car and drive back or catch a plane. If Alora hadn’t brought you back, you’d still be there. And I’d still be here. And I would have no idea what had happened to you.”
“I thought we might make it back before you woke up,” Brian offered, reaching out to soothe her.
Knocking his hand away, she glared at him, leaning forward with both hands on her hips. He quailed before her fury, despite having a six-inch height advantage.