Running Red: Lost Moon

Chapter 55: A Meeting

Andrew shoved past people to find Rhea rushing for the hospital room. He had heard the shout and sensed the magic as he stepped off the elevator. He had only left to get something from the house. Paxton had been having nightmares lately and the toy comforted him. Andrew had the toy embedded with a charm by a friend in hopes of helping soothe the nightmares. When he rounded the corner, he saw Rhea reaching for the door ahead of him. He caught her around the waist and twisted her from the door before she could run in there after another scream was heard. "Stay here."

"The hell I am!"

"Rhea trust me, stay here." The calm in his voice didn't match the panic inside him, and he knew she could see it in his eyes. "Please. Stay here." He shoved into the room and made sure the door closed and locked as a nurse flew at him. He caught her and pushed her behind him as he made eye contact with the creature. He could see Levi's small body hanging from its long spindly fingers. His eyes darted around the room to find Paxton gone. Anger had him growling, "Where the hell is he?"

The creature tipped its head to the side. "He needs them."

"Like hell." Ink quickly seeped from his hands to the floor to race across the room. The creature tried to jump out the window when it was restrained. Arnan appeared in his human form to catch Levi as he started to fall out the window. Tugging him back into the room, he scanned the hospital ground from the window as Andrew slammed the creature into the wall. "Where is my son?"

"He demands it."

"Who wants my son?"

Arnan crossed the room as he called out. "I'm going to go see if I can locate him." He knelt next to the nurse, who was slowly coming too. Placing Levi in the nurse's arms, he pointed to the bathroom. "Get in the bathroom and close the door."

She clutched Levi close as she scrambled to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Arnan ran for the window.

Andrew tightened the bonds on the creature. "Where is my son?"

The creature laughed. "Gone. He wants the heirs to the name."

"What heirs? They're no heirs to anything. They are children."

"They are." Then the creature dissolved, and Andrew rushed for the window. He leaned out to look around the hospital grounds as the room door slammed open, and security guards rushed into the room. Andrew looked up in time to see Arnan climb up onto the roof. He took off past Rhea and the security team.

"Levi's in the bathroom." Then he was rushing for the stairs.

"Andrew!"

It took him too long to reach the roof. He slammed into the door, once, twice, and a third time before the door swung open. He stumbled out to find Arnan on the ground badly injured. Rushing over, he saw the oddly colored ichor on the ground before checking over Arnan. "What happened?"

Arnan wheezed, "Gone. Smelled of magic." When Arnan tried to stand up, Andrew lowered him back down. "I can follow."

Andrew looked around him as the night stretched out. With Arnan down he wouldn't be able to protect Paxton and keep them safe. Not alone. He gritted his teeth before shaking his head. "We need to regroup. I'll call Tate. We'll find him."

He looked at the ichor on the ground as it started to smoke and slowly disappeared. "We have to find him." Andrew rubbed a hand over Arnan's large head. A wheeze left Arnan as Andrew looked down at him. "Rest. We're going to need everyone." He watched as Arnan slowly disappeared. His hands clenched. "Damnit."

When he finally returned to where Rhea was clinging to a sleeping Levi, she looked at him with wide hopeful eyes. Then he watched as that hope shattered as he shook his head. Her face crumpled, and she buried her face into Levi's hair as she cried.