Guarding Grace

Chapter Nine

Walking through the alley, Grace reflected on the medicines she had given Ryder, trying to remember any of the recognizable ingredients. The green powder that went into his water, the pale purple powder for his sleep, which could have held the poison?

Deep in her thoughts, Grace ran into Ryder's back. She looked up and saw that they had stopped outside a small house: out of place in the large city with it's housing units. "Are we at Elizabeth's?" Her question went unanswered as Garon pulled out a large iron key. As he placed it in the door, Hunter stood at the bottom of the stairs watching and listening.

The door opened and Garon stood out of the way. Ryder walked into the home without what seemed like any reservations. Grace reached for Ryder to pull him back but instead her hand was caught by Hunter who pulled her into the house. "Change of plans Dovie. We wait for Regan here. Get inside."

Grace walked inside, stopping just inside the door to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Hunter pushed past her and turned a small knob beside her head. The room blazed with light, Grace shielded her eyes and tried to look around. Antique furniture lovingly placed around the space. She sighed, it's a model- probably part of the past fair that the city tries to put on for the Rabble. A chance to see what it was like in the 'olden days'.

She looked into the living area, Hunter was helping Ryder settle onto the couch. She walked to them as Ryder looked up at her and smiled, "Might get better sleep here. Hopefully I won't need the sleeping powder." Grace gave a timid smile, "Yes, maybe"

Hunter grunted, "With any luck, you won't need any of those powders. Might need to get you something other than water though." He eyed Grace with suspicion. "Did you bring them with you?" Grace tilted her head in confusion, "Them?"

Hunter blew out a breath of air, "God damn, you look like a lost puppy doing that. The damn powders. Did you bring them?"

Grace straightened up and looked at Hunter, anger tinging the edges of her vision. "No, I didn't." She spat out, "Besides you said they were poisoning him. So why do you care?"

Hunter swept his eyes over her, bending over to grab the blanket off the back of the couch he growled lowly, "Think about it, puppy."

Grace's vision began to spin, she hated nicknames. Before she could open her mouth to retort, a thought struck her. "If I had insisted on grabbing them even though we were in a hurry, you think that proves that I'm actively trying to poison him?" The end of her sentence lilted up like a question. Hunter simply nodded, "Either that or you are too stupid to realize how bad the situation actually was." He draped the blanket over Ryder, "Stay warm Bubba, you are about to go through some Hell."

Ryder nodded and pulled the blanket to his chin, he looked from Hunter to Grace. "Grace, I never thought and don't think you were trying to poison me. I think you really wanted to help me." He smiled, eyes half closed, "Maybe I'll sleep through this like I did last time."

Grace smiled softly, she didn't think he'd sleep through it. The lavender helped him sleep, he will be awake for every second. Her heart sank, she had poisoned this man, she could have killed him if she hadn't followed Dark Annie's dosing instructions.

Dark Annie! She poisoned him, she mixed the powders. Grace's eyes widened and Hunter smiled a feral smile. "You get it now puppy."

"But why?" Grace whimpered, "She helps people, why would she do that tp him?" Grace looked over at Ryder who was snoring softly on the couch. She watched as Hunter laid him down, pulling his legs onto the couch and adjusting the blanket. He turned to look at her, "That I can't answer, puppy. What I can answer is that she does help people, but only those who she thinks can help her."

Grace shook her head, what help could Old Albert be with his rheumatism? Or Sandy with her feeble mind? She helped them and they couldn't possibly help her. She looked at Hunter, "She helped you, what could you do to help her? She healed your voice."

Hunter barked out a laugh, "No, she didn't. She bandaged my throat and then had Regan dump me in an alley. I couldn't have been any help for her. None of my kind could have."

Grace's head spun, Regan dump him in an alley? But weren't they meeting with REgan, Grace felt the beginnings of a headache at the base of her skull. "I-I need to lie down. I can't think right."

Hunter dismissively pointed towards the back hall. "Pick a room back there." He sat in a overstuffed chair and stared at Ryder, Grace started walking towards the back hall, as she opened the door to the first room she heard Hunter whisper, "Bubba, you gotta pull through this. We need you."