“Please,” she said, voice a whisper. “Just get me out of here. Don’t… make this any worse.”
Malcom caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye and turned back to see Brenden taking aim, this time at him.
“Don’t!” cried Rose. She let out a single, pained sob. Malcolm hurried to his side, keeping his eyes on Brenden even as he leaned over to cradle Rose on the bed.
“I can’t just leave him,” said Malcolm.
“Please, Malcolm.” She squeezed his hand, pleading with her words and her eyes. “Please. Just get me out of here.”
Brenden looked momentarily stunned. Malcolm felt a cold rage for the man, but couldn’t ignore Rose’s request. He scooped her up into her arms, surprised by how light she felt, and carried her out the door. Brenden didn’t pursue them.
Once outside, Malcolm lifted off into the air. Using his wind manipulation to carry someone besides himself was dangerous, especially given that Rose was injured and it took more energy to hold them both steady. But he did it for her sake, knowing that a man carrying a spryte through the street, during daylight hours, would raise far too many questions.
“Keep pressure on your wound,” Malcolm said. He could feel a hot wetness on his chest. He glanced down expecting to see Rose’s blood on him, only to discover that it was mostly tears.
He used the wind to carry them over Vanderbrook as gently as he could while still going as fast as he could. A couple of people glanced up at them. Malcolm wasn’t high enough to be out of sight, but he’d already expended his budget for worrying on Rose’s condition.
The sun was slipping behind a cloud when he set down next to his hideout. Rose’s eyes were closed. He didn’t know if she was unconscious, or just unable to keep them open.
“I’m going to lower you down using the wind,” he said, as he opened the hatch. “I’ll follow right behind you, and I’ll… help get your wound cleaned up.”
If it’s serious, what can I do? She’s a spryte. I can’t just take her to a hospital.
“I’ll be fine,” mumbled Rose. Her tone of voice was anything but reassuring.
Malcolm carefully lowered her into the hideout on a cushion of wind. He didn’t bother to lock the hatch after him, quickly carrying her to his bed and setting a towel down underneath her. He had no more than the same crude first aid supplies he’d used on his own shoulder wound the night before, but he cut away the fabric of her leggings to get a look at her injury and went to work.
“The bullet is still inside you Rose,” muttered Malcolm. He swore under his breath. “This isn’t good. I’m… not sure what I can do, other than try to stop the bleeding.”
“Why?” she asked. The question wasn’t meant for him, but Malcolm tried to answer, anyway.
“He seemed unstable when I first met him,” said Malcolm. “I was a little worried that something like this might happen. That’s why I was watching out for you.”
Rose didn’t press him on that point, not even to make a joke about him stalking her. That worried Malcolm as much as the pain in her voice, and the look on her face.
“I’ll find a doctor,” said Malcolm. “Maybe… there is someone I can bribe to do it secretly, or something. I have money. I can make it happen.”
“Shield Maiden knows someone,” said Rose. “Call her.”
Malcolm frowned.
“Shield Maiden,” he repeated. “Alright. I can do that. Do you have the number?”
“It’s the one I gave you,” muttered Rose. “We… share… the line.”
She sounded tired, and he couldn’t tell if it was because of the bullet hole in her leg or if it was an emotional fatigue. He hoped for the first, a physical wound would heal pretty quickly, but a wound of the latter variety would likely get worse before it started to get better.
“I’m sorry, Rose,” said Malcolm. “I… should have…”
I should have what? What could I have possibly done to stop this?
“I felt what he was talking about,” whispered Rose. “He kissed me, and… I didn’t remember anything. But I felt the emotions come back. I did love him, Malcolm.”
Malcolm nodded slowly.
“And then,” continued Rose. “He… I don’t understand. Why did he try to kill me?”
It was as she said. Rose might not have had memories of Brenden, but pain and betrayal in her voice was just as raw. Malcolm took bandages and disinfectant out of his medical kit and went about cleaning her wound, listening to her ragged breathing. He put a temporary bandage on it when he was done, and then took out his phone.
“I’ll call Shield Maiden,” he said. “Just try to stay calm. Your emotions will make it harder for you to deal with injury if you don’t.”
“Okay,” said Rose. “Thank you… Malcolm. You saved me.”
She smiled at him, and Malcolm remembered the other thing. What she’d said to Brenden just before he’d shot her. The thing about having someone else in her life that she loved.
He put on his mask before dialing the number. Rose made a small noise. Malcolm hurried over to her, only realizing that she’d been chuckling until the movement made her groan with pain.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You put your mask on before talking to people on the phone?” she asked. “Do you think Shield Maiden will somehow hack your phone’s camera to get a look at you?”
Malcolm smiled back at her.
“I’m glad you’re feeling well enough to mock me,” he said.
“It would take more than one gunshot to stop me from doing that,” said Rose. Despite her words, Malcolm could still hear the pain in her tone, and see the sadness in her expression. He dialed the number for the phone in the spryte’s base.
Shield Maiden answered, and Malcolm had one of the strangest conversations of his life. He threw his voice to make it sound gruffer, and worked to keep his worry and concern out of his tone. Shield Maiden asked probing questions about where Rose was when she’d been shot, and what they’d been doing, but let it drop when she realized the danger her friend was in.
Malcolm waited impatiently by Rose’s side for nearly an hour, watching her slowly bleed through the towel he’d set underneath her on his bed. He didn’t care. A mattress was something he could replace.
He was about to head up to the warehouse to wait for Shield Maiden’s arrival when a sharp knock came at the hatch. Malcolm hurried over to it, pulling his mask back on and trying to keep paranoia in check.
It’s Shield Maiden. It has to be. Too much of a coincidence for it to be anyone else.
And it was. She climbed the ladder down into Malcolm’s hideout in a black gown, her hair woven into an intricate braid. She even had a little bit of make up on, and Malcolm realized that he’d interrupted her from something that night.
What surprised him was that she wasn’t alone. The blonde illusion spryte, Fantasy, followed after her, clad in sweatpants and a loose night shirt. She was very attractive, with curves in all the right places and dazzling eyes, though Malcolm barely noticed with Rose in such danger.
“She’s here,” he said gruffly. “The bullet is still inside her.”
Shield Maiden nodded. Fantasy made a show of folding her arms over her breasts and glancing around his hideout.
“This is very quaint,” said Fantasy. “You live a dangerous life, Mr. Vigilante.”
“Fantasy…” groaned Rose. “Please don’t flirt with my… friend.”
Malcolm knew that Rose must have lost a lot of blood, because her words verged on giving his identity away. He’d interacted with both her fellow sprytes before, and they knew that Rose had, at one time, been involved with Wind Runner.
“I wasn’t flirting with him,” protested Fantasy. “I was just suggesting that perhaps under different circumstances, I’d love to have a chat with him on how all this came to be.” She gave Rose an innocent look, but it melted after a second. “Okay, maybe I was flirting with him.”