Read Online Crux (The Aurora Lockette Series) by Miranda Kavi - Free Book Online Page A

several hours, for which I was glad. I stayed next to him most of it, but not so close I would make him warmer than he already was. Every time I glanced back at his too-still form, I feared he had slipped away.
    “ Aurora?” he said weakly.
    I abandoned my post and rushed to the bed. “I’m here.” I sat on the edge of the bed, tucking one leg underneath my body so I could lean forward. “How are you feeling?” I touched his forehead with the back of my hand. It was too hot, but not as hot as it was last night. I felt his pulse, but I didn’t know how to interpret it. It seemed fast but weak—not a good combination.
    “ Terrible,” he said, with a weak smile. “How did I get in this bed? What’s happening to me?”
    “ Mr. X carried you in here. They’re letting us stay together.” I jumped from the bed.
    “ Where are you going?” he said.
    “ I’m going to stuff you with medicine while you’re awake.” I knelt over the small chair, where I’d already crushed ibuprofen and acetaminophen and left it in the bottom of a plastic glass. I added a little water and mixed it up.
    “ Here. Drink this.” I helped him sit up. His muscles shook from the effort.
    He drank it, then asked for more water and I gave it to him. I tried to keep the worry out of my face, but his unusually pale clammy skin, glassy eyes, and fever were hard to ignore. We usually heal fast, must faster than any human could, but he wasn’t healing at all. He may not without his handler.
    He watched me as he settled back on to the bed. “I’m that bad, huh?” Another smile crossed his parched lips.
    “ No, you’ll be fine.” I put the bottle of water down on the floor.
    He lifted the blanket, stared at the loose bandages on his abdomen, and then put it back down. “You’re a terrible liar. I should have healed by now. They must have put some of their evil shit on the knife or something.”
    “ Okay, fine. You really need antibiotics.” I rummaged through the first aid kit, like they were going to magically appear on this search.
    “ Stop taking care of me,” he said.
    “ What?” My head snapped up. “Don’t say that.”
    “ You’ve probably missed a hundred chances to escape because of me. I’m going to die. I’m at peace with that. Save your energy to escape.” He lowered his head back on the pillow.
    “ Please don’t talk like that.” I stroked my hand over his hairline. “I’m healing fast, and you will, too. They don’t need to know how fast we can heal. I’ve been pretending to be injured so I—”
    “ I’m not going to heal.” He placed his hand over mine. “But you must. Let this be my gift to you.”
    “ What?”
    “ Escape. When the time comes, I will use my ability to hide you the best I can.”
    Keith was a blocker. He could shield us from the Shyama’s senses. Blockers were used to hide the Gifted that didn’t have handlers yet, hide those that are injured, and protect Gifted communities from outside interest. It took a great amount of energy to activate his gift, energy he did not have.
    “ No, Keith. Cut it out. I’m going to save myself, and I’m going to save your butt, too.” I pushed myself from the bed and started pacing the small room. “Besides, I know what they are now.”
    “ What?” he said.
    “ What do you mean? You’re the one who told me about rock demons.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
    “ It was during your fever.”
    He looked bewildered, so I sat at the foot of his bead. “Rock demons. They’re demons from Sumerian mythology. It makes total sense because of the rock formations around here.”
    “ Sumerian,” he repeated. “Like ancient Mesopotamia?”
    “ Yes, exactly.” I went back to pacing. “I took a graduate level course on the ancient advanced civilizations of Iraq, and I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember. In Sumerian demonology, there’s a mighty rock or underground demon, called Asag, which is what the creepy