30. Thirty Arthur

CHAPTER THIRTY

THIRTY: ARTHUR

I opened one eye. Mistake. Bright light shot through my skull, like a laser irradiating my eyeballs. My head throbbed.

"Praise Mother Mary, he's awake." A familiar Irish voice drawled, each word a sword stabbing at my eyes.

"Flynn?" I croaked. "Why is the sun in my eyes?"

"It's not the sun, you eejit. It's the light. I'll turn it off if you like."

I heard shuffling, and a click. I tried my eyes again. The room was still bright, but it wasn't killing me. I blinked again. Blobby shapes started to materialise, becoming bodies and limbs and faces. Familiar faces, all looking weirdly solemn. Behind Flynn was a huge contraption, like something from the medical bay on the USS Enterprise , all flashing lights and intermittent beeps.

I tried to sit up, but it was like my whole body was underwater. "Where am I? What happened?"

"You're in the hospital, mate." Flynn squeezed my arm. His fingers on my skin shot more knives through my body. "You've been here for the last three days."

"Three days, but…" Something nagged at me, some important thing that I had to do, that I couldn't miss. I searched my foggy memory. "What about the Slaugh?"

"The Slaugh are toast. Goneburger. Finito. We defeated them like that. " Flynn snapped his fingers. "It turns out belief magic and my amazing artistic talents are a killer combination."

"Ryan Raynard's painting stunt helped a little," Blake pointed out.

I slumped back against the pillows. I'd missed the Slaugh. I was the warrior. My arm rubbed against the thin sheets, sending shivers through my skin. I looked down at it and noticed it was wrapped tightly in layers of gauze.

If I missed the Slaugh, then how did I get injured? Why was I in the hospital?

"What happened to me?"

"Don't you remember?" Flynn scratched his head. "They said you might not remember much. You cut yourself with your sword. mate. You hit a main artery and lost almost 60% of your blood. We were fecking lucky Rowan saw you and Blake called an ambulance and gave you some herbs to quell the bleeding a bit. If it wasn't for him, you'd have joined Corbin and Maeve."

Flynn's words took a few moments to fully register. I'd done this to myself. I'd lost all that blood…

And Blake… Blake had saved my life.

The door flung open, banging against the wall. The sound mashed against my skull like a mallet. Jane, Connor, and Kelly crashed into the room and surrounded my bedside.

Kelly wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing so hard I was afraid my head would roll off my shoulders. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Everyone was here to see me. Flynn, Rowan, Blake, Kelly… I glanced around for Corbin before the memory of his death bounced off my skull like a rock.

Corbin. That's why I cut myself. Because he was dead.

The rest of Flynn's words sunk in. Or you'd have joined Corbin and Maeve. I searched the room for her face, but she wasn't there. "Where's Maeve?"

Kelly leaned back. The guys exchanged a telling glance. My chest tightened. Behind me, a machine beeped at double speed.

"Flynn," I demanded.

Flynn cleared his throat. "Right, there's something we have to tell you, and you're not going to like it. But we need you to stay calm and don't burn down the hospital until we've finished talking, okay?"

"Bloody hell, just tell me!"

"Maeve's gone," Blake said, his voice hard and cold. "She's in the underworld."