Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel by Becca Blake (english novels to improve english .txt) 📕

Had there been an attack somewhere?

“Jake?” a raspy voice called out from one of the beds as we passed. “Is that you?”

The guy who called us over was young, no older than eighteen or nineteen if I had to guess. His blond hair was cut short, though a recently stitched up scar interrupted his hairline on the left. A blanket covered his legs over his pastel hospital gown.

“Ian,” Jacob breathed out. “You’re alive.”

“Yeah. Doesn’t look like everyone else was so lucky.”

With a sinking feeling, I realized that these were the new recruits who faced the hellhounds. The ones who survived, anyway.

At least Jacob’s friend Ian seemed to be in better shape than a lot of the others in the ER.

“Let’s go,” Jane snapped. “We have a lot to do today, and we don’t need you hanging around down here and getting in our way.”

“Give him a minute,” I said. “He’s checking on his friend.”

“Fine.” The nurse scowled at us. “I trust you can find the rooms upstairs, then—rooms two and three. We’ll get to you when we can.”

She disappeared behind a curtain to check on another patient.

Jacob shot me an appreciative look before turning his attention back to Ian. “I hate seeing you like this, man.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ian said, offering his friend an unconvincing smile. “I knew you’d pass your eval. Have you already gone out on a hunt?”

“We just got back. They sent us right out of town, so I didn’t have time to check up on anyone,” Jacob said apologetically.

“Totally understand,” Ian said, waving a hand. “No hard feelings.”

“I’m glad to see you’re mostly alright, though, aside from this.” Jacob pointed to the side of his head, indicating the spot where Ian had his scar.

“Not quite.” Ian’s face fell as he pulled away the blanket, revealing legs that ended just below the knee. “That thing tore them to shreds. Even if it wasn’t an infernal wound, there was too much damage to heal. They couldn’t be saved.”

Jacob’s olive complexion turned pale. “Oh, man… I’m so sorry.”

“I’ll be okay, and that’s more than can be said for a lot of other folks,” Ian said, replacing the blanket. “But don’t worry about me right now. It looks like you’ve got your own problems to focus on.”

Jacob nodded. “I’ll come see you as soon as I can.”

When we made it to the stairwell that led to the second floor, I paused and touched Jacob’s arm. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

“That could have been me,” he murmured, more to himself than to me.

I was thankful when we separated into different rooms to wait for our nurses. I wasn’t sure what more I could say to him, and I doubted he wanted any comfort from me.

Exhausted, I collapsed on the exam table. I had no idea how much time passed before the door slammed open, waking me with a start.

I held in a gasp as Nurse Jane ripped Orion’s shirt away from my torso, tearing away some of my scabbed over skin along with it. The scratches had healed some, but fresh blood trickled down from the spots where she reopened the wounds.

“Demon or human?” Jane demanded as she leaned in, squinting at my stomach. “I can’t quite tell. They’re shaped like a demon claw, but they aren’t infected like an infernal wound.”

“Um, both, I guess?” I said, unsure how to answer the question. I’d seen demons take a human form to blend in, but I’d never seen it the other way around before. I hadn’t realized it was possible for a human to take on a demonic form like Casey had.

Jane rolled her eyes and drew in an exaggerated breath. She enunciated each word slowly, as though I wasn’t capable of understanding her if she spoke at a normal speed. “Demon. Or. Human. I need to know if the wound was infernal, since that would mean it’s resistant to the magic of healing herbs and would mean you’ll have to suffer through a longer healing process. You should know this—you’ve been out in the field long enough that you should have a grasp on the basics, haven’t you?”

I ignored the condescending jab and described Casey’s transformation, how the gem had turned her into a demon, and how she returned to being human before she died.

“Human, then. That was all you had to say,” Jane said. She picked up a machine the size of her palm from the counter and ran it over my torso. “Was there dark magic?”

I froze. “Yes. The woman we brought down used some.”

“What kind?”

“Electricity,” I said.

Jane set the device down on the counter and snatched a jar of gooey herbs from the shelf. “You’re certain that’s all?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Hmm.” Jane scrutinized me through narrowed eyes, as though my answer wasn’t satisfying. When I didn’t elaborate, she moved on and slathered the herbs on my side more forcefully than necessary. “Reapply healing herbs every few hours. Watch out for mundane infections, and return here if you notice anything out of the ordinary.”

She left the room without another word before I could form any sort of response.

I tossed the jar of healing herbs in my bag and slung it over my shoulder. Out in the hallway, I found Jacob waiting for me, a fresh bandage on his head. He leaned against the wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“She says I might have a concussion,” he said.

“That sucks,” I said. “So, you’ll be off duty for a while? How long?”

“She said healing herbs can heal the external injury, but not the concussion. Not entirely, anyway. It’ll heal faster than it would have otherwise, but I’ll still be out for at least a week,” Jacob said as we started down the stairs.

“Have you told Orion?”

“I just got off the phone with him.” His face scrunched up.

“And? What’s wrong?”

“He says he wants us staying together while I recover.”

I stopped on the landing to stare at