Blind Salvage by Shannon Mayer Read Free Book Online Page B

veil into the icy blast of the New Mexico winter. There the morning had only just started; a hint of the night still clung to the edges of the land. Though, the fact that we had come out in a cave probably wasn’t helping any with the light. Stumbling forward, I didn’t see him until he grabbed me. Hands, big blue gentle hands caught me, shocking the hell out of me.
    “Dox.”
    “Hey, Rylee. Heard you were coming my way and might be in some trouble.”
    Distantly, I knew that there was no way Dox could have known where we were going to come out, or that we’d need help. So how had he found us? Who had told him?
    “Don’t try to talk, Rylee,” Dox said, his face coming into view as he carefully scooped me into his arms. “We need to get you two out of here.”
    Liam and Dox carried Pamela and me out to Dox’s oversized bright red pickup truck. The back seat was big enough for a twin bed and had leather seats that matched the exterior paint, which would at least make for an easy cleanup. Pamela came around as Liam laid her on the seat. She sat up fast, her eyes wide and hands up in prep for a spell, aiming straight for Liam. I reached over and grabbed her hands, my wayward rib wriggling closer to my heart.
    “Stop,” I gasped out, blood trickling down the edge of my mouth. Crap, if she let loose on Liam, there was no guarantee I could convince him not to take her out.
    There was a split second where I wasn’t sure she heard me, and then she lowered her hands. “Sorry, I thought we were still in the castle.” She turned to look at me. A large gash over her right eye seemed to be the cause of all the blood. Dox leaned in and pressed a wad of cloth against her wound.
    He introduced himself to her, and when he stepped out to get into the drivers side, her eyes widened even more.
    “I’ve never met an ogre.”
    I didn’t answer her, just focused on sitting still. Liam slid into the passenger side of the truck and the engine choked, then died.
    Just brilliant. What else could go wrong?
    “Alex and I will run, we’ll meet you there,” Liam said, and before I could protest, he’d stepped out of the truck and slammed the door. Dox turned the key in the ignition and the engine rolled over without a hiccup.
    Dox didn’t take us back to his place, but to Louisa’s. He pulled in as the sun climbed the rest of the way up over the edge of the horizon. Her house, built in a classic southwest style, hadn’t changed since we’d last been there. Dox parked the truck, and then slid out, reaching for Pamela first. She turned her head to me, and I gave her a nod. If I couldn’t trust her with Dox, I couldn’t trust her with anyone.
    Louisa met Dox on the front porch and ran her hand over Pamela’s head, then pointed into the house. Without waiting for the ogre to come and get me, she instead climbed into the back seat of the truck beside me.
    Her hair was cropped short, still growing back after her time spent with a Daywalker who’d used her as bait for me.
    “Rylee, do you want to call in your favor to me?”
    “Heal us both,” I said, the rib digging in hard. I wanted to cough, fought the urge and held my breath against it.
    She put her hands to my ribcage, clucking her tongue as her fingers prodded at me. “The girl I can heal; you are going to need more help than I can give. I will need to call in another Shaman.”
    “Do it.” They all owed me a favor, so if I had to cash in two favors to save both our lives, I would do it.
    Would I heal on my own, without her help? Possibly. But with my rib so far out of place, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. Even supernaturals healed wrong if the bones were broken too badly, or too displaced. Made for some seriously ugly and misshaped bodies.
    She left me there, her beaded necklace and bracelets jangling with each step as she walked away. I leaned my head back. Right there, in that position, I didn’t hurt too badly. The pain still hummed under my skin, but with my eyes