Endless

Blood and History | Ryan

The hospital was in a state of absolute pandemonium when I arrived. Everywhere around me nurses, doctors, and frantic parents ran about. Children, many more than I would have thought fit into a bus, whimpered and cried from cubicles. I glanced around and found Dr. Hartley clutching a clipboard and shouting over the noise at an intern. I went over.

"What happened?" I asked as soon as the intern left to do Dr. Hartley's bidding.

She seemed utterly lost, staring at the clipboard as if it held the answer. "I don't know. Five buses were attacked on the way to their schools."

Five? "Attacked? How?"

She met my gaze, giving me a good show of the fear she was trying to hide. "I don't know. The kids keep saying a man threw them off the road, but that's impossible."

I tilted myself onto my heels to keep from reeling. The rebel griffons had to be responsible. "Yeah," I managed, frowning. "Impossible. Listen, I'm going to report to the desk and get my patient list. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay." She smiled half-heartedly. "Good luck."

"Same to you." I walked away, trying to get a feel of griffon activity in the city. The power I sensed brought me to a stop. I hadn't sensed out so many griffons in one place in years. Now, it felt odd. Foreign. I balled my hands into fists and kept walking. The main desk was awash in activity, serving as the HQ during the emergency. Only one man in a hoodie remained motionless, leaning against a nearby wall, watching.

A buzz of recognition twisted in my stomach and I cast out my power to sense him. Nothing extraordinary, except I could feel four griffs in short range, all on high alert. Just fucking marvelous. I went to get my caseload, trying not to appear aware of the man's gaze following me as I moved.

"ER is full, but as soon as you're needed, we'll call you, Dr. Ryan."

I nodded and picked up my stack of files. I paged through them. All children. All shaken and lacerated. Lots of stitches for me to do.

"Blake," my father said right next to me.

I suppressed a groan and peered beneath the hood. His blue eyes were softer than usual. Must have been the morphine he took. "The underground look suits you. Makes you look like a college guy."

Which was true. Though he didn't seem much older than I did, in reality he had about five centuries on me.

"I want to talk to you," he said, switching to Old Norse. Even in this chaos, it drew a young nurse's attention. I walked away, needing distance. Of course, my father disregarded this completely and fell in step with me. "I'm not angry at you, but I do think you're insane to shack up with the likes of her."

I halted and turned on him, narrowing my eyes. My father was strong, but my former love of hunting meant I could take him any day, any time. "I'm not going to talk about this."

"You're going to have to, boy. I'm protecting you both. Niko, too."

I lifted my eyebrows. "Really? So the veiled threats—"

"I didn't mean to threaten you, but I can see how you would have taken my words as such." He glanced off into the distance. "However, now that I know where you are, I'm sure you realize that I could have spared a few griffs to take all of you out."

He had a point.

"Except it wouldn't have been to your advantage," I pointed out.

He shrugged, tilting his head slightly. "Come back to the Firm, son. Not because I'm threatening you, but because it's your place."

Was it, though? The politics, the jealousy, the bloodshed, and for what? It took some time to get used to living without those things, but now I had tasted freedom, I didn't want to get tied up in all that again. On top of everything, Ali could never be a part of my life if I went back to becoming a monster.

My father sensed my hesitance. "Look, don't decide anything now. Let's clear out the rebels and then talk, okay?"

"Fine," I said, my body tensing. Trust him to try taking the gentle approach when it was too late to salvage anything. I had needed this when I was much younger, but not anymore. Now it just muddled things. I turned away and left him behind without looking back.

I'd done it very easily a few decades ago. Cut off any hope of ever having an emotional bond with him. Physically walking away now was actually much easier. The distance helped me focus.

The intercom called my name, saving me from further aggravation. Family history was impossible. Blood and lives in my hands? I could handle that with ease.    

Ooh! What do you guys think of Ryan's father showing up? And what do you think of his offer? Do let me know in the comments. And as always, please don't forget to vote if you've enjoyed this chapter. :-)