I'D TAKEN A long, scalding shower, wishing the heat would wipe away some of the emotional grime I felt. Tears cascaded down my face for several moments before I got a hold of myself. Crying wouldn't help things. My decision had been made, my course set. Sometimes being a friend meant doing what was necessary even if it hurt the other person in the short term. I saw no other way that didn't lead to death for someone. I doubted Caroline would see it in that light, but that was something I would have to live with.
There were a lot of things I had to find a way to live with in this life. Someday I feared those things would become more than I could bear, and I would crumple under their weight.
Dressed, my hair tied back in a ponytail and my face free of makeup, I padded into my bedroom collecting things along the way. My phone ringing brought me to a stop. I stared at it for a long moment, not wanting to answer. Nothing good ever came of answering that phone. Evidence—last time I answered I'd ended up betraying one of my oldest friends.
Hermes calling.
Shit, I had a run tonight that I was late for. I grabbed the phone and clicked answer.
"Where are you?" Jerry rumbled, the sound having only the barest resemblance to his normal voice. This version was deeper, like a volcano on the precipice of eruption. You knew when it went it was going to take out everything in its path.
"Not where I'm supposed to be," I said.
"And, are you planning to get to your pickup anytime soon?" he asked, that volcano bubbling ominously.
I stopped putting on my shoes and sat on the bed. My silence was answer enough.
"One day," he said. "You kept your promise for one day."
I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. "Yeah. I did."
There was a crash on the line. When Jerry came back, his voice was calm. It was scarier than the volcano had ever been. "You leave me no choice." I really hadn't. "Aileen, you are no longer employed with Hermes Courier. Henceforth, you are banished from our offices and no longer operate under our banner or protection. Hermes will never work with you or deliver to you."
My exhale was tremulous. That hurt more than I thought it would. My job was important to me. I might bitch and groan about it, but a large part of me had found purpose in it, and I'd made connections that would have been otherwise impossible.
"I understand, Jerry. And, I'm sorry."
His sigh was heavy. "I didn't want to do this, but you left me no choice."
My throat was tight and my voice wobbly as I said, "I know."
"They're going to come after you now. Every spook with a vendetta against the vampires will consider you fair game."
I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me.
"Consider joining a clan," he said, his voice barely audible. "It will provide protection."
My laugh sounded soggy. "I doubt that's a possibility anymore. Thanks, though."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'll figure something else out. It's no longer your problem." I cleared my throat. "I appreciate everything you did for me. I know it hasn't always been easy and wasn't something you ever wanted, but I thank you anyway."
There was a heavy silence. "Ah, lass. You know better to say thank you to a fey."
I snorted lightly. "You never confirmed your species, so those rules don't count."
"They always count," he returned, his voice normal. There was a pause. "Good luck, Aileen."
"Thanks."
The line went dead before I could say anything else.
The phone dropped into my lap. I was unemployed now. I'm sure once it sunk in and I processed what had just happened, I'd feel panicked, but for now I just felt resigned. The question of what I was going to do, how I was going to live without an income, was too big for my mental state now. Like so many things tonight, it was a problem I would have to solve later. Perhaps when my rent came due and I was unable to pay it.
*
The hour flew by and the moment of reckoning loomed over me like a freight train barreling down the tracks. A part of me had thought I would come up with some brilliant but insane plan by now—one that would magically fix things and save both Caroline and myself from our mistakes. Nothing came to mind, which left me standing alone at the base of the tracks ten minutes before the meet time.
The tracks were exactly how I remembered, an old wooden bridge crossing the river. On this side, the tracks extended to within ten feet of Riverside Road before disappearing. Trees framed it on either side, since the riverfront had been turned into a metro park. There were old brick buildings just up the bank, remnants of a time in Columbus's history where all goods flowed under the power of the river.
Liam and his men, as well as Brax and his pack, waited in the shadows, leaving me to draw Caroline out alone. It kind of felt like I was in a high stakes thriller blockbuster. They'd fitted me with a wire so they could hear what was said and so they could ensure I held up my end of the bargain.
I looked at the train tracks above me and sighed. It was time.
Climbing the short hill to the tracks didn't take long. Standing on top of them, I looked around. No sign of Caroline. No sign of anyone, really. Liam and Brax had done a good job of keeping their people hidden so it looked like I was alone. Not surprising, considering both were apex predators, and this wouldn't be the first prey they hunted.
I walked out onto the tracks, careful to watch my step. Some of the boards on this thing weren't stable. They were old and twisted, a few missing, forcing me to widen my stride to jump over them. Twenty feet away from the bank I stopped before turning and looking out over the river. An inky black blot against the sky, it was lined by the shadowy shape of trees around the edges. The moon was out, almost full. Another day and it would be. It was clear tonight, the moon's light made it easy to see by—even if I had not been a vampire.
I stuffed my hands in my pocket and watched the river flow by, the moon reflected in its dark depths—its lights dancing across the surface. Wind blew my hair away from my face as I let myself be, let myself just feel the night around me, the insects singing and the railroad bridge creaking under me. It was so peaceful. Quiet, with a solitude that called to my deepest self.
"You always did like this place at night," Caroline said from several feet away.
I didn't jump, nor did I look away from the river and starry sky before me. "So did you."
Caroline looked out at the river, a small smile on her face. "Guess that's why we're friends."
"I thought you were my friend so you could cheat off me in math class."
She snorted. "Hardly. It was always you looking over my shoulder, if you remember."
A smile broke across my face. "Oh, yeah."
Her lips twisted in an answering smile, and she looked down and away. "Thanks for meeting me, Aileen."
I grunted.
"No, really. I mean it. I know I haven't been easy these last few months, what with locking you out and then showing up out of nowhere." Her shoulders hunched, that same edginess she'd had in my apartment making another appearance. I took my hands out of my pocket, not wanting to get caught unaware if she flipped.
Not that it would do me much good. Both Brax and Liam had seemed certain that if she changed and attacked me, I would stand little chance. Her wolf was evidently much stronger than my vampire, and since neither would chance giving me a gun after last time, I would have to face her with nothing but my fists. Cheery prospect that.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I thought I could handle this by myself, and I can't." Her voice was raw and her eyes glassy as she admitted that. "It's just too big for me, and I don't have enough experience with the wolf. I need someone at my back."
"Let me bring in Brax, then. He can help with your wolf much better than I could," I pleaded.
"No, you can't do that," she snapped. "I don't know if he can be trusted. There are things going on here that you don't understand. His pack is part of it, and I'm not sure which of his wolves are compromised."
"Caroline."
"I said no." Her voice took on a deep timber, her eyes shifting and her wolf peering out at me. To my othersight, that wolf bared its fangs, power flicking around it uneasily.
"Okay, let's just stay calm." I held up my hands.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and visibly calming. The wolf beside her faded slightly until it was just a shadow clinging to her shoulders. Present, but not moments from ripping out my throat.
"I am trying to stay in control. It’s like there’re two Caroline’s fighting for my body, and one of them is so very angry,” she admitted, her voice desperate as she looked at me. “You bringing him up over and over, when you know I don't want to go back to that place, isn’t helping matters," she said, her voice strained.
"You know I'm just trying to help. What did you mean about his wolves being compromised?" I asked, changing the subject and getting her mind off Brax.
She took a deep breath and shook herself, like a dog shaking off rain. It was a mannerism unlike Caroline, bringing home the point that this was my friend, but it wasn't, too.
"You know that project you had me work on earlier this year. The one that resulted in this?" She gestured to herself.
"Where you traced the Bennet lineage?" I asked. How could I forget? It was responsible for our current predicament.
"That wasn't just the descendants of just any random person, was it?" She stalked along the steel girder of the railroad tracks, her balance perfect as she moved back and forth, unable to stay still.
"No, it wasn't," I admitted.
"Who was it?"
"A vampire. A powerful one."
"And you got me got involved in that." The words were an accusation.
"Yes."
"It didn't occur to you the danger you were placing me in," Caroline's voice deepened, her wolf moving closer to the surface. Before, I'd only caught glimpses, flashes of it. Mostly its head, an impression of its body. Now, it was closer to fully formed, and it was big. Bigger than it should have been.
"I didn't think they'd go after you," I confessed.
"Well, they did," she snapped, her voice breaking. "Do you know what it's like to be trapped in your own body, unable to think or do anything but feel horror at what is happening to you?"
Yes. My words didn't leave my mouth as I stared at her with sorrow. Admitting such a thing wouldn't help and wasn't even important right now.
"I don't know how they learned about you," I said. "The only place we were together was that gala you dragged me to."
She stilled. "What do you mean?"
"The vampires were there. They were all over the place. It's why I put distance between us and then dragged you out. I hoped it would keep you off their radar. Guess I was wrong." I took a step closer. "I still don't know why they targeted you. It's not like I'm worth anything, and they couldn't have known about the research."
"They did," she admitted, her voice cold. "I don't know how, but they kept asking me about it. I should have left it alone after, but I didn't. I wanted to know why my life had been ripped apart, so I kept digging. That's when I found it."
"Found what?"
"His descendants are still alive, and they're right here in Columbus." Her face shone with victory.
"I don't understand how that's pertinent to what’s happening," I said, wishing we'd been able to keep that little tidbit secret. With Liam and a half-dozen other vampires listening, this information was bound to get back to Thomas. How long before he tried to ruin other lives by turning them into little, baby vampires whether they wanted the change or not?
"It's the reason for everything," she said, her voice close to a growl. "I thought I could track down the why, maybe get some closure, but they're too smart. They keep covering the evidence."
"Caroline, I need you to stay calm," I said. She was close to losing it, her eyes taking on a wild gleam, her gestures frenetic.
"They almost caught me in the alley, but I got away," she said.
I stilled. "What alley? Where?"
"The one in German Village," she said.
I took a deep breath, the sensation almost painful. "What did you do when they almost caught you?"
I didn't want the answer, not really, but I couldn't stop myself from asking.
"What?" She seemed disinterested in the question, waving it away. "That's not important right now."
"Did you kill those people?" I asked, my voice brittle.
Her movements stopped, and she gave me a sidelong look, suspicion dawning. "Why are you asking that?"
"It's important," I said, my throat tight. "Did you kill those people?"
She stared at me for a long moment before twitching and shaking her head. "What? No?"
"You may not remember," I said, unable to let this go. "I'm told that your memories can get spotty near the full moon for the first few months."
"What are you talking about?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"The people in the alley way. Did you kill them?"
"What? No. How could you think that?" She looked horrified at my accusation.
"Your scent was there, and when you called me you kept talking about blood," I said.
She threw up her hands. "Yes, I was there, but I didn't kill them. I arrived after they were already dead. The blood may have made my wolf a little excited, but I didn’t murder them."
I fell quiet, thinking. Could she be telling the truth?
"How could you think that?" She appeared genuinely hurt that I thought she had killed them. "You know me. You know I'm not capable of that. For God's sake, I was a vegetarian until this whole werewolf thing happened."
"You were?" That was a new development.
"Yes!"
"Since when?" I just couldn't picture it. Caroline loved burgers.
"Since a year after you left," she said, her voice still outraged.
"That doesn't mean you didn't kill them," I said in a soft voice. I wanted to believe her, but she made it hard. She barely seemed in control. I could see her losing her temper and doing something she would regret later. Hell, I'd been in her shoes once upon a time, was still in her shoes on my worst days, if I wanted to be honest. Sometimes the only way I held on was through a wish and a prayer. Perhaps she hadn't had my luck.
"Come on, Aileen. You know me."
"I thought I did," I admitted. "I'm not so sure anymore."
She laughed. It was a bitter sound. "Then why are you here if you think I'm some homicidal wolf on a rampage?"
My throat locked down, and I was unable to think of a lie. The shame showed on my face, and I found it hard to meet her eyes.
"You didn't," she said, denial in her voice. Her eyes went over my shoulder. "Please tell me you didn't."
My voice was steady and seemed to come from far away as I straightened. "You need more help than I can provide. Look at you. Since we've been talking, you've almost lost your grip on the wolf twice. You're a danger to yourself and others."
She screamed, a long sound that turned into a howl. "I can't believe you. You're a hypocrite."
"Yeah," I admitted in a soft, defeated voice. "Feels like it right now, too."
Dark shapes swarmed across the ground, their movements a blur. Some were in their wolf form as they stalked along the bridge. Liam appeared at the other end, behind Caroline, cutting off her escape as Brax padded along the rail behind me.
Caroline snarled, falling into a defensive crouch as she looked between the two. Her eyes had taken on an amber sheen, and her fingers were tensed into claws.
"You're going to let them kill me," she accused, her eyes swung to mine.
"No one is going to kill you. They just want to help," I said.
"You don't know them. Brax will put me down if he thinks I've tasted human blood." Her voice was guttural.
My gaze turned towards him, a question in them. The grim look on his face did not allay my concerns.
"Stupid, Aileen. That was always your problem—acting first and then thinking of the consequences later." Caroline's voice filled with pain as her body twisted.
Within moments, a wolf stood in her place, the change faster than it should have been given her age. I took a step back, finally seeing why Brax and Sondra had been so convinced that Caroline was a danger. She was double the size of other wolves I'd seen, her head even with my shoulder and her fur shining white in the pale moonlight.
The wolf snarled, the sound dangerous, calling to the primal part of me. The one that recognized long ago that humans were not the top of the food chain. It was the part that originated from a time when our ancestors lived in caves. It sparked an immediate flight response.
"Caroline, calm down. They're not going to kill you. I made them promise," I said, backing away from the wolf whose head towered above mine.
"Aileen," Liam yelled, flying forward almost faster than my eyes could track. "Run."
I couldn't do that, struck with the sense that the moment I turned my back on her she'd rip my head from my shoulders. Not to say anything was stopping her from doing that now.
"Caroline." My voice rose in warning and fear.
Her paws inched forward, her head lowered in a hunting pose, her eyes tracking my every movement. Her nostrils flared, scenting the fear I couldn't stuff far enough inside. Another growl came, this one so low it was almost silent. Only the vibration of it felt, the sound of danger.
Caroline wasn't in those eyes. This was a predator. One that decided I had to go—whether that was because it was hungry, or saw me as a threat, I didn't know.
My eyes went to Liam, closing fast as he moved with a spook's speed to cover more ground than a human ever could. It still wasn't going to be enough. She was too close, and I was too slow.
"Caroline, no!" Brax roared from behind me, the alpha in his voice. Power flowed from him. The wolf's paws paused before she shook off its effects, advancing on me with that same stealthy creep.
Her muscles bunched. I threw myself to the side—her teeth closing on my arm instead of my neck. I screamed, a long, thin sound of pain as those teeth savaged my arm. They unlatched to close on my leg, her head shook hard once. There were twin roars, one a wolf's and the other the pissed off sound of a big cat crossed with a very angry bear.
Caroline released me, dropping me to the tracks and sprang backwards. Liam landed between us, fully vamped out. His fangs lowered as he hissed, his eyes glowing with that electric blue. Claws tipped each finger as he crouched in front of me. Brax's wolf barreled into hers, forcing her further back.
Pain savaged me, fire flaring up in my arm even as my leg went numb, the cold of a glacier's ice sheet inching up the limb. The two extremes competed with each other as I struggled up.
"Stay down, Aileen. You're bleeding out," Liam ordered, his voice otherworldly. He didn't turn to see if I obeyed. I did, but only because I was too weak to fight off the compulsion. I could see the veins of his power reaching out to me from him, soothing my worries and convincing me that he was right.
My eyes slid shut, and I slumped to the ground, my head bouncing off the steel track like a rag doll’s. It was too much effort to get up anyway.
"Caroline," I whispered.
The wolf's ears swiveled forward as she looked my way. She made a hurt sound, almost a whimper and then she bounded over the side of the tracks. There was a splash below, followed by several more, as Brax's wolves followed her.
I pulled myself along the tracks until I could look over the edge, the effort stealing the last of my strength. Blood coated the wood and metal under me, drops of it falling to the water below. Down the river, I could just make out the ripple of water as a wolf paddled along, letting the current do most of the work. Several wolves trailed behind, falling farther behind as the bigger wolf widened the distance.
She was going to get away, and I didn't know if I was glad for that or upset by it.
Nathan was beside me before I could decide, rolling me over and distracting me from the sight of Caroline's retreat. "Aileen, stay with me." His hands busied themselves. Pain crashed through the numbing cold as he tightened his belt around my leg, creating a tourniquet. I screamed and tried to move away. He held me down, making sure the makeshift tourniquet was tied off before taking off his shirt and pressing it hard to my shoulder. The new pain was too much, and I blacked out for a moment.
"Liam, she needs you," Nathan shouted, his voice tight.
I opened my eyes as Nathan stared down at me, his face tight with worry. Impossible. The bite must be making me hallucinate. I thought I read that in the book. Werewolf bites could be toxic to vampires, especially baby ones who didn't have the sense to get out of the way in time. Nathan would never be that worried for me, not the pain in the ass yearling they got saddled with.
Liam's face appeared next to Nathan's, his eyes wild. "Aileen, stay with me."
I smiled. My face was numb, my body cold, so at least I hoped it was a smile. I didn't feel much of anything anymore.
"Get Brax," Liam ordered.
I might have imagined it, but his fingers felt gentle as they touched my face. "You, stupid girl. Why didn't you run?"
"Then the big, bad wolf would have bitten off my head," I said in a slurred voice. "I'm rather attached to it."
"You believe us now about how dangerous she is?" he asked, his mouth tight as he felt along my neck for my pulse. It struck me as odd. We had one; it was just significantly slower than a human's. Hm. I raised my head and looked at my thigh. Perhaps I'd already be dead if my pulse was stronger. Didn't the pulse have something to do with how fast you bled out?
Maybe. It was hard to think right now.
"She said she didn't do it." Why was it so hard to think? My eyes fluttered shut.
Liam shook me. Hard. I couldn't bring myself to care.
Fire across my cheek. "Ow. What was that for?" I asked in a plaintive voice.
"You need to stay awake." His voice was urgent.
Something occurred to my foggy brain. "Why aren't I healing?" I raised my head. "Why aren't you healing me?"
"I've already tried. It's why you're not dead. Caroline’s wolf's bite is more toxic than anything I've encountered. Brax may be able to help," Liam said. He looked up, his expression darkening. "Where is he?"
"He went in after the pup," Nathan said, sounding as angry as Liam looked.
"If she dies, I will take it out of his arrogant hide," Liam snarled.
"Not his fault," I said, my teeth chattering. My breath rasped out. Why was it so bloody cold? "Caroline should be the priority."
"Bullshit," Liam snapped. Ah, there was the autocratic dick I was used to. It was a comfort to know he was there in all this, like a horsehair blanket designed to abrade and keep you on your toes. "He should have seen to you while he sent his pack after her."
My laugh was a disjointed, broken thing. "Su-such a know-it-all."
The tracks vibrated under me as footsteps approached. Sondra ran up, her eyes full of the wild and her hair an untamed mess around her face.
"Where is your alpha?" Liam demanded, power in his voice.
The colors floated in front of me twining around me like loving cats before darting after Sondra. "Such pretty colors," I said in a quiet voice.
"He's gone after her," Sondra said, strain showing in her voice. I turned my face toward her, surprised that the loving cats had turned feral as they twined and nipped at her.
Her wolf flexed and fought under her skin, power rising in green waves as they tried to force Liam's strands away.
"That won't work," I said to myself. "They'll just slip in the cracks."
Liam's gaze turned to me, and I smiled sleepily up at him.
"We need him here. She'll die if the toxin is left unchecked," Nathan shouted. The argument between them faded into the background as the color in Liam's eyes grew until it was all I could see. He was my sole focus, the rest of the world unimportant.
"What pretty colors, Aileen?" he asked in a soft voice.
I blinked slowly, knowing there was a reason not to tell him but unable to remember why. I turned my head to look back at where Sondra was fighting unsuccessfully against Liam's power as it tightened its grip around her. "Them," I said with a soft smile.
So pretty.
I turned my eyes back to Liam, smiling up at the shapes that surrounded him. They smiled back at me. "They're all so pretty."
"Brax can't help her anyways. Caroline's bite is beyond his control." Sondra's voice came from a distance.
"Thomas has more raw power. He's like the sun, look at his power too long and you'll go blind," I confided. "Yours is a finely hewn blade, beautiful and deadly. Wielded with a surgeon's precision."
The magic that stemmed from his core reached out and touched mine gently, brushing against my skin much like a cat would the object of its affection. My magic arched up, twining around it before his pushed it back inside me with a gentle nudge.
"You can see magic." His voice was hushed and full of awe.
I made a lazy sound of agreement. I no longer felt the cold or my body, just a spreading contentment.
"Aileen, stay with me." He sounded desperate. I wondered why. "Aileen, you can save yourself. You can see where the wolf's bite has spread."
I struggled to lift my head, glancing down at myself for the first time. Liam's hands were gentle as he helped me raise up until I was half-sitting, his weight at my back supporting me. Oh yeah, he was right.
"I'm covered in oil," I said, surprise in my voice. With my othersight, I could see black splotches spreading over my body, smothering the slight flicker of magic that resided in me. The taint had already traveled to cover my entire arm and leg and was now spreading through my core.
I lifted a hand to touch a spot and pulled it away, turning it this way and that in fascination. The black didn't transfer, which I found even more interesting. I touched another spot and another, until I was rubbing at them with a single-minded fascination.
"They won't come out." My head fell back to look Liam in the eyes. "None of the black will come out. I think it's killing me."
Pieces of the black flickered with a burnt umber, making it look like someone had painted me with the colors of Halloween.
"If you can force it out, I should be able to heal you," Liam said, one hand coming up, his thumb brushing against my cheek. It felt good, and I closed my eyes to savor the feeling, one of the only things I could feel at the moment.
"Don't know how," I confessed.
"I'll teach you." His lips touched my forehead as he smoothed back my hair. "Do you remember the first time we met?"
My laugh was raw. "Yeah, you threw me into a kitchen island. Broke several of my ribs."
"And then I showed you how to heal yourself, right?"
That's right. It was the first time I'd realized that the healing could be focused.
"Have you been practicing?" he asked.
"Every now and then." More like every chance I could get. Mostly just small stuff like a cut on my hand, but I was a little better than I'd been when I first started.
"Do that now. Only this time instead of directing it inward, corral the taint and push it out."
I tried. I tried so hard, but the tendrils that rested at the core of my being refused to obey. "I can't. It's not working."
He rocked me back and forth. "No, no. You can. You can see what needs to be done. Just do it. I know you, you're more stubborn than this. Where's the woman who survived impossible odds to become a vampire? Where's the woman determined to make it on her own? Be that person. Beat this. Do it now."
Tears leaked out of my eyes as I turned my focus inward, my thoughts sluggish. My mental forest rose up around me, the one I'd first created to protect my thoughts from telepaths. It had begun sticking around even when I wasn't actively trying to guide against mental attacks. I was beginning to think it was the manifestation of my soul. A whimsical thought, I know, but it was comforting to think my soul was the shape of a forest. A place of peace and tranquility where nature could flourish.
That's how it was normally. Right now, there was the smell of rot in the air, and the trees around me looked sick. This was the reason I couldn't force the black ichor out. It hadn't just infected my body, but the heart of me as well.
My bare feet whispered across the land as I walked my forest, noting where the trees' roots were beginning to decay. I hadn't the first clue as to what was needed to fix this. This task seemed too big for me, too far along. Maybe if I'd had the thought sooner.
I came to the large oak in a clearing that I suspected resided in the center of all this. The oak had two visible wounds on it and was leaking the black oily substance that pervaded the rest of this place.
As if in a dream, I walked up to it and touched it, my fingers coming away covered in black sludge. I stood back and looked at the tree. Already leaves were falling as whatever this was drained the life from it.
I stepped close and put my hand on the tree again, closing my eyes and envisioning a bubble around the taint. My thoughts fought for purchase, wanting to run in all kinds of directions. Gradually though, I felt that bubble flicker into place, containing it. For the moment.
I had no idea what to do now. I couldn't stay here forever working to contain this thing. Eventually, I'd run out of energy. Already I could feel myself flagging. Not to mention staying here would be the equivalent of being in a waking coma.
Last time I was here, I used the power from Liam and Peter's marks to drive away the demon. Perhaps they could help me this time too. I reached for those strands only for them to slip out of my grasp time and time again, the effort exhausting me.
"Shit," I said, looking up at my tree.
The shadow of a wolf appeared at my side. It bared its fangs at me, and then attacked the dead spots on the tree, ripping pieces of it away. Pain flared, like someone was ripping pieces of me away.
I screamed and flung out my hands. The wolf flew back, hitting the ground with a yelp and disappearing.
I panted in the aftermath, my strength spent. Going back to the tree, I touched the damaged parts. They were smooth with no hint of the black ichor.
I glanced back at where the wolf had disappeared. So that's why. Made sense. Sometimes the only thing to do with rot is to cut it out at the source.
I turned back to the tree and attacked the weak spots, my hands forming claws as I yanked and pulled, scooping out the bad. This was a dream, with dream rules. It meant I was able to yank and carve out the wood of the tree, when in the real world, I would have needed a chainsaw or an ax. Perhaps Liam could have done it with his bare hands, but he’d had centuries to strengthen.
Pain bit and nipped at me as I worked. It was like someone was taking a dull spoon to my psyche and carving it up one small bite at a time. I screamed and worked faster. This would not defeat me. I would not go out like this.
I worked until I couldn't see anymore, until the tree's sap flowed free of the black. Then I collapsed face down on the dirt, the world around me turning dark.