Page 43 of Maddie
Noah
“Rest,” Noah encouraged Maddie. After she’d collapsed into his arms, he’d carried her back to the safe house in Ivory beside the lake in case any werewolves followed. Once she was safely off her feet, he swung the soaking wet bag from his back and unzipped it. “Blood will help, right?”
Maddie let out a weary breath. “I’m fine, really.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t have nearly fainted,” he said as he pulled out a sealed pouch of dried blood. Ripping open the plastic, he poured some into a half empty bottle of water. If she needed more, he would have to chance stepping outside to the lake.
The smell of the mixed blood pricked at his own hunger. After all their running and fighting, he’d built up an appetite. And the mushrooms had beendeepin that lake. Dozens had been spread out across the mossy floor, so far apart that, once he was far enough down to reach, he’d struggled to make it from one to another. He’d spotted at least two headless human-like skeletons at the bottom from where vampires must’ve failed. Logically, he knew he couldn’t drown, but that hadn’t made the burning in his lungs any easier to bear. Most likely, the dead vampires had been killed before going into the water.
“Stop exaggerating, immortal.” Maddie rolled her eyes. “My legs simply gave out for a moment.”
Noah wasn’t entirely sure if that were true given the huge gashes on her back. But she knew herself better than he did. As vampires, they healed differently. That didn’t make him feel any better about her getting hurt so badly. It was his fault she was on this journey. He put the cap back on the bottle and shook it until the powder was fully dissolved. “Will this be enough?” he asked, handing it over to her.
“For now.” She wasted no time bringing the bottle to her lips and downing the liquid.
“Maddie?” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”
She paused her drinking just long enough to ask, “For what?”
“Asking you to come along. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been injured.”
She rolled her eyes as she guzzled the last few drops of blood. “Let’s not waste our breath on that. More importantly, we can’t stay long. If they follow our scent here, they’ll leave someone near the lake to keep watch. Getting ahead of them is the only way to avoid another fight.”
“As soon as you’re well enough,” Noah agreed. He didn’t want to face the werewolves again but if they left too soon, Maddie might not be strong enough to fight or escape. However, he did have to admit using his strength to defend her and himself made him feel unstoppable. With the power to send a werewolf through trees from a single punch, was there anything hecouldn’tdo?
She handed him the empty bottle and shifted as if testing her wounds. “Most importantly, you got the mushrooms.”
Noah nodded and lifted them out of his bag to inspect. They were large, black and white striped, with wavy gills underneath. The stem of one had snapped—though still attached—in their escape, but the second appeared fine. Why hadn’t he ignored the pain and grabbed more while he was down there? As many as he could hold. If they didn’t need more than one each, Maddie could’ve sold the others to anyone interested and used the money to set her and Mouse up somewhere safe, somewhere far away from Scarlet.
“May I see them?” Maddie asked.
Noah carefully set the fungi into her waiting hand. “Interesting,” she mused. “So frail a thing can make a vampire mortal again.”
“Do we eat them like this or cook them?” he asked. Maybe there was something they needed to add in order to unlock the curing properties. “Or is there more to the process?”
“I believe you simply eat them, however, it might be hard to get them down. Solid food can be difficult to stomach. Such a change can’t come without some discomfort, I suppose.” She handed them to him. “You can’t eat it yet though.”
Noah’s heart lurched painfully in his chest. “What do you mean? Alice will die if—”
“Of course, Alice needs hers right away,” she amended. “We arebothgoing to save our sisters, but you must wait for yours. You can’t help me with Mouse if you’re human again,” she reasoned.
“I understand that.” He wouldn’t stand a chance fighting vampires unless he was one too. Being an immortal felt natural, maybe even more so than when he was human—he was in no rush to give up his new abilities. “I promise not to take it until we rescue Mouse.” They’d struck a deal, and he had no intention of going back on his word. More than that, he wanted to make Maddie happy. To see her reunited with the sister she loved so much.
“Let’s head out.” Maddie blew out a breath and stood.
Noah eased out of his crouched position. He stretched, loosening his muscles now that the adrenaline was wearing off. His fist ached a bit from punching the werewolf, but it was worth it to save their lives. To saveherlife.
“After you,” he told her with a renewed energy. Their goal was accomplished and they’d both survived to tell the tale. Now he could save Alice, too.
Maddie snuck back to the entrance of the safe house and inched the door open, sticking her head out briefly. Noah took note of the already healing wounds showing through the rips in the back of her dress. They were barely more than cat scratches now.
“All clear,” she whispered a moment later and exited the house.
Noah followed her and strained his ears, listening for danger. His pulse quickened as they raced from the lake, putting as much distance between them and werewolf territory as possible. Without Maddie to lead the way, he would’ve gotten lost in Ivory, as he’d put too much attention into glancing over his shoulder and not enough to the path before them. So, when she stopped, he didn’t notice and ran straight into her.
Maddie stumbled forward a step and tilted her head in confusion. “Look.”
The trees with splashes of crimson loomed ahead, far too familiar, but that wasn’t what had his brows rising. One tree in particular was worrisome—the one with torn rope littering the ground at its base and no snarky, yellow-eyed arsehole in sight.
