Dark Awakening: Echoes of Destiny (The Children Of The Gods #88)

30. Ell-rom

30

ELL-ROM

" S o, what happened?" Julian asked Jasmine as he pulled the ambulance out of the alley.

Sitting in the back, Ell-rom had no problem hearing the conversation despite the vehicle's noisy engine.

"He grabbed me," Jasmine said. "I didn't see him, but then Ell-rom and I were talking, and I wasn't paying attention. Anyway, the guy put a gun to my head, and he was shaking so badly I was afraid he would shoot me even if I cooperated. I told him to take what he wanted and let us go."

Ell-rom felt shame wash over him. Jasmine was still human, and her senses weren't nearly as sharp as his. How had he missed the threat?

The stench alone should have alerted him.

But then there were several large trash containers in that alley, and they stank, so he'd closed his nose and breathed through his mouth.

He should have been more alert.

"I was trying to calm him down," Jasmine continued. "But he was agitated. Twitchy. I'm certain that he was under the influence or suffering withdrawal symptoms. And then when he saw Ell-rom's glowing eyes and fangs, he said 'what the hell' and collapsed."

Julian nodded. "Drug-induced cardiac arrest isn't uncommon in situations of high stress."

Ell-rom could only imagine the satisfied expression on Jasmine's face.

Then again, she wouldn't let Julian see anything that she didn't want him to see. She was a very good performer.

It was also truly remarkable how well she functioned under duress and how calm she had been throughout her ordeal. Was it her training as an actress that had taught her how to handle stressful situations?

Ell-rom's own heart rate still wasn't back to normal.

As Julian started making calls, arranging for Guardians to do damage control, Ell-rom wondered what that entailed. What was he going to do with the body?

They hadn't wandered too far away from the keep, and the drive was over in minutes, most of the time spent going down the spiraling levels of the structure.

When they reached the bottom, Julian pulled up to a gate and stopped, waiting for it to slide open before going in and parking the vehicle.

When he opened the back, Ell-rom helped him get the gurney down. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Examine him." Julian pushed the gurney toward a door with a sign on it that Ell-rom couldn't read yet.

"What are you hoping to find?" Jasmine asked.

"I just want to determine the cause of death."

As Julian opened the door, Ell-rom held it for him to push the gurney through.

"What will you do with the body after that?" Jasmine asked.

"Drop it off at the coroner's. It won't be the first or the last." He smiled. "We pretend to be an EMT team. Most of them are operated by private contractors, so it's not a big deal to say that we were called and found him dead on arrival. Our hackers will plant the 911 call just in case anyone checks."

"Impressive." Jasmine followed him into the elevator, and Ell-rom stepped in last. "Do I want to know why and how you have been delivering dead bodies to the morgue?"

"Traffickers. Usually, we try to leave them bound and thralled for the police to collect, but occasionally, that doesn't work, and we have dead bodies to dispose of."

Ell-rom was impressed by Jasmine's ability to conduct a casual conversation after what she'd been through and in the presence of a cadaver.

Did he even know this brave side of her?

She seemed different, like she'd shed her former skin and had donned a different one for this occasion.

Julian cast him a worried glance. "Are you okay?"

Ell-rom shook his head. "I'm not. My mate was almost killed. That's not something I can get over so quickly."

Julian was about to say something when the elevator stopped on the clinic level. He waited for them to step out before pushing the gurney.

"It was a traumatic event." Julian turned to look at Jasmine. "You seem to be handling the experience incredibly well."

She shrugged. "I'm just pretending that I'm playing a part in a detective movie."

So that was her trick.

Ell-rom wished he could do the same.

He also wished he could come clean and tell Julian what he had done.

Jasmine was probably holding on and putting on an act to protect him when it should be the other way around. He was the one with the power, the one who should be protecting her.

In the clinic, Julian pushed the gurney past the patient rooms into what was the clinic's operating and diagnostic area. Ell-rom had never been there, but he'd seen Gertrude, Julian, and Bridget go in and out of there.

Bridget had returned to the village, leaving Julian in charge, and even though the young medic was less experienced, Ell-rom liked him better than his mother. He was easier to talk to, and he could give him the kind of advice Ell-rom would have been too embarrassed to ask a female, even if she was a medic.

The door to Morelle's room opened, and Gertrude stepped out, her expression worried. "Are you two okay? I heard that you'd gotten mugged."

"It was scary," Jasmine admitted. "The guy died. Julian thinks that his heart gave out."

"If you are okay, I'd better see if he needs help." Gertrude regarded them both with a questioning look.

"We are fine." Jasmine took Ell-rom's hand. "We are going upstairs, and I'm making myself a tall drink."

The nurse nodded. "Eat something sweet."

"Yes, ma'am." Jasmine smiled at the nurse and then tugged on his hand. "Let's get out of here."