Meaning you’ll be acting through us? Because that’s dangerous.
For all three of us.
How could it be dangerous for you when you’re a soul locked in the wild magic?
What is locked can be unlocked if I step beyond the limits of strength.
What was dangerous for her would undoubtedly be doubly so for me. Is that why you were absent for so long after our confrontation with your mother at Aiden’s party?
Yes. It drained me to the point where I was little more than a shade.
A statement that held a warning for me, and one that confirmed fears that overusing the wild magic could literally result in me fading away.
But we have no choice. It is the only way to save Dillon’s life. She paused. It might also have the side benefit of proving your worth to my mother.
I snorted in silent disbelief. You really believe that?
Well, no, but stranger things have happened.
I think that is one step too far, even for a reservation that specializes in strange.
Her laughter bubbled through me, though it held a sharp edge. Indeed. We are near the ICU. You should contact Belle, so there is no further delay once we are in his room.
I reluctantly reached out, and immediately hit a mental wall so damn strong it would have kept even the strongest telepath out. But she was my familiar, and that was a connection no distance, no barrier, and very few spells could break.
It took a few seconds, but I did get through.
What’s happened? she immediately said.
All sorts of shit that I can tell you about tomorrow. Right now, I need you to get comfortable and form a full connection with me. Aiden’s brother is in hospital, on the cusp of dying, and the only way we can save his life is by you, me, and Katie forming a three-way connection and diving into his brain to force a shape shift.
Well, fuck.
Yeah.
Let me get comfortable and warn Monty.
Sorry to spoil your evening.
You haven’t.
The deep undertone of satisfaction running through that statement very much suggested they’d enjoyed themselves more than once this evening.
Indeed, she said. It’s actually excellent timing on your part. We were just taking a refuel break.
A secure-looking door loomed ahead of us. Aiden punched through it and immediately set off a series of alarms. Nurses came running from everywhere, but Aiden held up a warning hand. “Liz can save my brother. Get in my way at your own peril.”
One brawny nurse stopped in front of us and crossed her arms, practically daring Aiden to run her over. “She isn’t getting near intensive care until she’s fully masked, gloved, and gowned. And I will take you down, Ranger, if you take one step further.”
Aiden made a low sound deep in his throat, but nevertheless stopped. “Fine. But hurry.”
The nurse nodded and motioned us to follow her. In almost no time at all, we were both kitted up and ready to go. Aiden grabbed my hand again, his fingers so warm against mine despite the gloves. I appreciated that warmth. Appreciated the strength of his grip.
I was going to need every little bit I could scavenge.
The ICU door slid open. A sharp array of different sounds hit, the noise so loud it was briefly overwhelming. Monitors and machines surrounded every patient, and some had so many tubes in their bodies it was hard to see the person. At least five patients were intubated; Aiden’s brother was one of them.
His bed lay at the far end of the room; Karleen and Joseph—Aiden’s parents—stood on one side of the bed and a nurse on the other. The nurse’s expression was remote and businesslike, but worry and concern ran all through her aura. As Katie had said, things were going downhill fast.
Karleen abruptly stiffened. Before Aiden could say anything, she spun around and bared her teeth. If she’d been in wolf form, I suspected she might have launched herself at me.
“What,” she said, her voice quivering with rage, “is she doing here?”
“She came here to help Dillon—”
“And what the fuck can she”—Karleen pointed a stiffened finger at me, her sapphire eyes glowing with a ferocity that was almost manic—“do that a multitude of specialist doctors cannot?”
“Maybe nothing,” I cut in, voice calm despite the inner rage—rage that was more Katie’s than mine. “But your daughter believes it’s possible, and I’m not going to gainsay her.”
“Aside from the fact she’s dead, Kate is no more a healer than you.” Her gaze snapped to the woman standing on the other side of the bed. “Nurse, call security and get her the fuck out of here.”
“Do not obey that order,” Joseph said. He was an older, gray-haired version of Aiden and, at least at a surface level, taking my intrusion a whole lot more calmly than his wife. “What is all this about Katie being able to help?”
“There is no time to explain, Father,” Aiden said. “Please, trust Liz. Or at least trust the fact that I wouldn’t do anything to endanger Dillon’s life, and let us get this done.”
The older man hesitated and then nodded. Karleen made another low sound, but Joseph gently touched her arm. Her gaze snapped to his, but after a moment, she said, “Fine. Let it be done. But do not think this will in any way change anything.”
My smile was thin and humorless. “Oh, I’m more than aware of that. Your loss, not mine.”
Her gaze narrowed, but she didn’t say anything. I followed Aiden around to the nurse’s side of the bed. The wash of Karleen’s fury was sharp enough to burn my skin, but I had no choice except to ignore it. Anything else would have the bitch launching at me.
Dillon’s face was drawn and pale, his aura awash with agony despite the drugs they were pumping into him. It also pulsed, and that meant the damage to his body was so bad his soul was in the process of giving up the fight. If we didn’t force his shift, he would die.
He had minutes left, if that.
Do whatever it is you do to slip into the dead’s mind, came Katie’s urgent response.
I moved around to the head of the bed, stepped carefully past several monitors, and then pressed my fingers to Dillon’s temples.
My gaze rose to Aiden’s. “What we’re about to attempt is a mix of mind-reading the dead, and Belle, Katie, and I merging. You’ve seen how both affect me.”
He nodded. “I’ll catch you.”
“And take me home.”
He hesitated, and that hurt. But then, what did I expect? I was his live-in lover rather than family, and he would always put them first.
Always.
Concentrate, Katie admonished softly. The clock ticks. Connect with Belle.
I immediately reached out for her. Okay, Belle, let’s do this.
The connection instantly deepened between us. This was far more than just a sharing of thoughts and energies. It was all encompassing—a merging of metaphysical beings. There was no me here in this connection, and no her. There was simply us, even if her spirit remained anchored to her body via a tenuous ethereal thread—to do otherwise would mean her death. A heartbeat later, the moonlit thread around my wrist began to burn, and two became three.
Enter his mind as you would the dead, the portion of us that was Katie said.
We closed our eyes, took a deep breath, and reached for my psychometry abilities.
His agony hit us, a wave so fierce it tore a gasp from our lips and sent our heart into overdrive. We gulped and pressed our fingers tighter against his skull, using it as an anchor to hold against the force of his emotions. Tears slid down our cheeks but there was nothing we could do about that.