Read Shadow Games Page 25


  * * *

  “Paris! Paris! Do you hear me?” A panicky voice shouted.

  I strained to focus on the voice. There was something important about it. I had no concept of whom or where I was, but the voice meant something to me.

  I felt thumping on my chest, and the voice said, “Damn it, Paris! Wake up.”

  Wake up? I wasn’t awake? Oh yes, my eyes were closed. I opened them, only to see a very angry goddess, ready to hammer her fist down again upon my chest. I raised a feeble arm to ward her off.

  “Please! Don't hit me again. It hurts,” I said with a cracked voice.

  I stared at the face of the vision that hovered above me.

  The face flashed through a range of emotions, finally settling on one that looked to be relief.

  My memories of my conscious self began creeping feebly back. I became aware of my surroundings. “What happened?” I croaked.

  “What happened? What happened, is you damn near killed yourself – you jackass.”

  The vision finally resolved itself into Elizabeth's face, and I was fully aware of the world around me.

  “I think I may have made a mistake.”

  “Mistake?” She jerked an IV from the back of my hand, and slapped a bandage on the wound. “Mistake? You nearly die and all you can say is, ‘I made a mistake’?”

  She turned to Caesar who knelt nearby. “You deal with this idiot before I get angry enough to finish what he started. Don't let him up until I say so.” She stalked off toward the stairs.

  I rubbed my chest. “I think she's really mad at me. My chest hurts.”

  “Beth had to shock you. Your heart stopped beating,” Caesar said.

  I looked toward the stairs. “Is she all right?”

  Caesar shook his head. “Probably not. That's why doctors don't treat people they're emotionally attached to. No professional objectivity.”

  I tried to sit up. “I feel weak.”

  Caesar placed a restraining hand on my shoulder. “Paris, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to get over it fast. We've got a bigger problem.”

  “What kind of problem?” My head began to ache.

  Caesar looked grim. “There's a bloody SWAT team surrounding the house. That kind of problem.”