Demon Huntress

The room spun in a pudding-smooth mix of pale grays and browns. She really, really wanted to fall over and go to sleep, maybe after throwing up.

"Hand me the key and I'll help you."

Yeah, like she'd let him loose while she was weak and vulnerable. He couldn't kill her in the hospital, but he could do it now. That smooth doctor voice he was using didn't fool her or comfort her in the least. Not when his words at Hui yin's apartment kept replaying in her ears. "I should kill you. Here, with no Haven spell to keep me from wringing your neck."

"This'll pass." She pushed to her feet, only to stumble. Ming jie caught her forearm with his loose hand, and she dropped the key.

Her legs gave out, and she found herself face-down on the floor, unable to move.

The key had fallen just beyond Ming jie's reach. He rocked his body, jiggling the mattress until the key slid into range of his fingers. Once he had it, he quickly released himself.

"Shu lan." Ignoring his stiff joints and aching muscles, he crouched beside her and turned her face toward him. "Can you hear me? Blink once if you can."

She blinked, her terror shining through the glaze of confusion in her eyes. He knew how it felt to be helpless and vulnerable, and for someone as strong as she was, the sting would go deep. He shouldn't care, was still pissed as hell that he'd allowed himself to be knocked out and tied up, but he was a physician and this was his job.

"It's okay," he murmured, and gently brushed her hair back from her face. "Just answer my questions. Can you move at all? Two blinks for no."

She blinked twice.

"I'm going to roll you onto your back. If I hurt you, blink." Carefully, he rolled her. "I'm going to check your vitals, so just relax and breathe, okay?"

A rapid assessment revealed a clear airway, a regular pulse, and rapid but steady breathing. Her skin felt too cold, but her capillary refill was satisfactory. Until she could speak again, he wouldn't know what was wrong, but he suspected that her demon half was having a tantrum.

It wanted out.

"Does this happen often?"

No response at all, though the fingers on her left hand began to wiggle. Grasping her arm, he closed his eyes, wishing he possessed Chen's power to affect bodily functions and detect systemic malfunction. Instead, all Ming jie could do for Shu lan was send a generalized healing wave into her and hope that any damage would reverse.

Warmth washed over his skin, seeping from his fingertips into her arm. "This won't hurt," he said, because the bitter scent of fear was rising from her and her pulse had gone tachy. "I'm trying to heal you."

A low m.o.a.n wracked her body, and her feet twitched. He reached down, pressed his palm to one sole.

"Push against my hand."

She did, a good sign.

"I'm getting better," she rasped, and he pulled back his healing powers, uncertain if they had anything to do with her recovery.

She grasped his hand, her grip strong but trembling. "Do you know what's wrong?"

Sixty years ago, he'd gone to Africa to rescue yuan from yet another incident, and he'd come across a lion dying from a festering bullet wound. The animal, once strong and proud, had been reduced to a weakened shell, but its eyes still burned with the will to live.

Shu lan reminded him of the big cat, dismayed at how its powerful body had failed it, yet wanting to survive. Something inside Ming jie buckled, and f.u.c.k, nothing should be buckling or unbuckling for this woman. There had already been way too much of the latter.

If anyone in this room was weak, it was him.

"Does this happen often?" he repeated, more sharply than he intended.

She hesitated. It couldn't be easy revealing vulnerabilities to a mortal enemy. "It's happening a lot more lately."

"When did it start?"

She still hadn't released him, as though she needed comfort and had forgotten who—and what—he was. Just as he had.

"A few months ago. It started small. Numb fingers and toes. Then I'd lose the use of a hand or foot for a few minutes."

"And now?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. Without thinking, he covered her free hand with his, stroked the cold skin. "Shu lan? I need to know."

"Sometimes both legs go out. Or one side of my body. This has been the worst so far. I've never been completely immobilized." She opened her eyes, tried to lift her head, but failed. "I haven't been to a doctor."

"I don't think a human physician could help you."

"Why?" She struggled to sit up, but he held her down with gentle force. "Tell me!"

"Calm down—"

"Oh, my God," she breathed, struggling even harder against his hold. She was growing stronger by the second. "I've been infected by some kind of demon disease, haven't I?"