Free Immortal Rider (LD2) by Larissa Ione Page B

bastards who’d done this.
    “You don’t think anyone will guess Arik’s with you?” Shade asked.
    “No one knows where I live. Underworld General is sort of… famous. And I don’t trust your staff.”
    Eidolon shot her a dark look before palming Arik’s forehead, his dermoire glowing as he channeled his ability into the human. “He’s in bad shape. Really bad.” He frowned. “There’s a lot of healed damage. Holy hell, he’s had his ear drums punctured, every bone broken multiple times, his skull is a mass of fractures. His organs are caked with scar tissue.”
    “So someone healed him?” Limos was going to make Arik’s captors experience everything he had. Without the healing. “What—or who—could have done that?”
    Shade dug IV supplies out of his bag. “Spells could have been used. And there are some species of demons who have abilities similar to ours, though not nearly as powerful.”
    Eidolon’s frown became a scowl, and then a growl. “I can’t repair any of the old injuries, which means it was a Sem who healed him. Arik is going to be dealing with this damage for the rest of his life. I can fix a lot of things, but not another Sem’s work.”
    “What do you mean?” Kynan moved next to her.
    Eidolon palpated Arik’s abdomen. “It’s like someone setting a broken leg bone but not knowing what they’re doing. The bone will heal, but it’ll heal wrong, leaving the limb bent or twisted. Arik’s healer did that with pretty much everything. Whoever did it was good enough to keep Arik alive, but he wasn’t practiced.”
    “There’s nothing you can do?” she asked, as Shade hung a bag of clear liquid from the bed post and then inserted a needle into the back of Arik’s hand.
    Eidolon shook his head. “Once something has been healed by another Seminus demon… it can’t be undone.”
    Limos cursed. “What about the immediate injuries? The shit he’s dealing with right now?”
    “Those I can fix.” Eidolon nodded at Shade. “Need your help, bro. He’s got spinal fractures, a severed spinal cord, third-degree burns, bilateral compound tib-fib fractures, and multiple lacerations. If you can handle his pain, I’ll get the healing started.”
    “Wait.” At some point, she’d dug Arik’s dogtags out of her pocket, and now she held them as if his lifedepended on her firm grip. “His back is broken? As in, he’s paralyzed?”
    “For now. We’ll fix it.”
    The doctor sounded so confident, and she hoped to hell he could do what he claimed. Shade gripped Arik’s wrist, and his dermoire started glowing like his brother’s. She paced, worrying the dogtag chain and wearing down the hardwood floor. She tried not to look, but every time Arik moaned, she flinched, looked over, and ached at the sight of his pale, waxy skin and pain-pinched expression.
    Twice she caught herself moving toward him, as if she could help, even if all she could do was hold his hand. Would he be comforted by her touch, or would she cause him more distress?
    And why did she care? Sure, the scales on her shoulder blade were evenly balanced again, but this was still the first time she’d worried about how someone besides her brothers might react to her.
    Frustrated by the direction of her thoughts, she concentrated on inane things, like planning her next nail color scheme. Would Arik like orange and lime?
    Finally, Eidolon stepped back and wiped his sweat-dampened brow with the back of his hand.
    “He’ll need to rest, and when he wakes up, make sure he gets food and liquids.” Eidolon pulled the bed sheet up to Arik’s chest. “Call me if something isn’t right.”
    Shade removed the tube and catheter from Arik’s vein and tucked the empty IV bag and supplies into his duffle. “I’ll let Runa know he’s here. She’ll want to see him.”
    “Of course. I’ll contact you when he wakes.”
    “Limos.” Kynan plunked a coin into her empty palm. “I got this off one of the demons I killed. Who is