Free Wendigo Wars by Dulcinea Norton-Smith

after him each day, Seb each evening and Mathilde from midnight until 6am. Mathilde had arranged the schedule. This way she rarely had to see Dash awake. Mathilde felt uncomfortable when she was around Dash. Her heart raced faster and she became breathless. It was even worse when he was awake. His piercing eyes seemed full of secrets and she couldn’t tell whether he found her interesting or despised her.
    Whenever anyone spoke to Dash he smiled at them and made normal eye contact but when he looked at Mathilde he stared straight into her eyes and barely blinked. She always broke eye contact first, looking away embarrassed, unsure of what he was thinking or why he treated her differently. That was why it was better to take the night shift. It was still uncomfortable being so close to Dash, Mathilde wasn’t used to not being in control of the way her body reacted, but it was far easier to be with him when he slept than to face down those sapphire eyes every day.
    Mathilde arrived at the hospital alcove and went into the side room. “Night shift is here Seb”
    “Hi Tilly. Come to watch our security risk again? Just can’t keep away can we?” joked Seb.
    Mathilde did not wholly trust Dash but her gut feeling was that he was no security risk. Seb was not so convinced, in fact he seemed to hate everything about him and Mathilde caught him glaring viciously at Dash more than once. He had been more than happy to take the evening shift so that Mathilde could do the night shift though. Mathilde wondered, not for the first time, if this was because he didn’t want Mathilde to talk to Dash.
    “Found out anything more about him?”
    “No. The freak is great at dodging questions. I’m pretty sure I could get some answers out of him but Violette would kill me if I got heavy with her patient.”
    Seb chuckled in undisguised glee and Mathilde had no doubt that he would get some pleasure out of getting heavy with the person who he seemed to have decided was his enemy.
    “Anything I can get for you before I leave you to it?” Seb gave Mathilde one of his usual one armed hugs as they looked at the sleeping Dash
    “No thanks. Just have some breakfast ready for me in the morning.”
    “No probs Tilly.”
    With another squeeze of the shoulder and a kiss on the top of her head Seb reluctantly left. Seeing as he hated Dash so much Mathilde would have thought that he would have been more eager to leave. Then Seb was gone and Mathilde and Dash were alone. Mathilde took up her place in the corner of the room at a small table. She had meant to bring something to do tonight to keep her distracted, a pack of cards or one of the old books she had brought from Suceava, but she had forgotten again. Mathilde cursed her forgetfulness. Now she would have nothing to distract her from the body lying on the bed in the corner.
    By the end of the first hour Mathilde had memorised, yet again, every crack, corner and shadow in the room in her attempt not to look at Dash. Only five hours left to go thought Mathilde as she wondered how many times she could count the bricks in the wall before it drove her mad. She cursed her forgetfulness once again. A game of Solitaire was looking really appealing right about now.
    All of a sudden Mathilde became aware that it was too quiet in the room. Dash did not snore but he did breathe heavily enough for it to create a constant background noise. The noise was now gone. Mathilde squinted at Dash from across the room, not wanting to get closer if she didn’t have to. His chest was still, his face like a statue. Mathilde stood up and approached slowly, stopping every couple of steps to squint at his chest and listen for a sound of breathing. As she reached his body his chest still did not seem to be rising and falling. Mathilde gently placed her hand on his neck, her hand resting on his collar bone and her fingers touching his skin, lightly at first and then with more pressure as she searched for his pulse. Where her