Reversion (The Narrows of Time Series Book 3) Read Free Page A

surface he was on. He tried to pull his arm free, but the lashing held firm.
    The surface beneath him jiggled each time he moved. He was on a platform, probably a table, and it seemed likely the rope securing his hands was tied to the table’s legs for reinforcement.
    He tried to free himself again. This time, he summoned all his might, yanking and tugging with his good wrist and both legs in rapid fashion, hoping he could wriggle at least one of them free. He couldn’t. The rope was too strong, threatening to tear at his skin.
    A second later, he heard the strike of a match near his feet and saw flickers of flame bouncing off the ceiling. He craned his neck to look down across his body. The shimmering face of a young Asian girl looked back at him, brought forth from the shadows by the burn of a ten-inch matchstick. Her smile was stunning.
    “You really need to keep still. Otherwise, you’ll injure yourself further,” she said before the match completed its initial high-intensity burn.
    “Who the hell are you?” he asked, feeling his chest tighten and blood pressure rise.
    She didn’t answer, giving him a slight grin with her dark eyes locked onto his.
    “Where am I? Why am I tied up?”
    “I’ll answer all your questions. But for now, I need you to relax and remain calm,” she said, walking to the right side of the table with the flaming match in hand. The slender woman was dressed in a black t-shirt and pants with a duty belt around her waist. Her camo-style headband was pushed up high on her forehead, puffing up the jet-black stands of hair along the front.
    She stood with the burning match next to his knee, which was swollen to the size of a football. There were at least two dozen needles sticking out of his kneecap—each with a brown-colored ball the size of a marble stuck on the end.
    “Holy shit!” he said, remembering the impact with the cactus during his tumble down the mountain.
    “I was able to remove the spines, but then I discovered something else—two fang marks.”
    “A snake?”
    “That would be my first guess.”
    “Then you need to get me to a hospital, now!”
    “Sorry, that’s not possible. The nearest hospital is more than a day’s walk—you’d never survive the trip. You’re too weak. Besides, a hospital won’t be necessary. I lanced the area and was able to extract most of the venom. It took some effort, but I managed to remove the dead and discolored tissue. I’m pretty sure I got it all,” she said, lighting one of the needle balls with the match.
    “What the hell are you doing?” he asked with eyes wide.
    “Apply treatment. First we heat, then we treat.”
    “Treatment?”
    She nodded, lighting the rest of the balls. “Ancient family remedy.”
    “Hey, I appreciate the help, but I need real a real doctor, not this mumbo-jumbo crap. You need to call nine-one-one!”
    “Like I said, that’s not possible.”
    “Well, make it possible. I’m dying here!”
    “I don’t have a phone.”
    “You have to do something!”
    “Look. It’s been nearly twenty-four hours since I found you in the desert, and you’re still here. Plus, there’s no telling how long you were lying there before I found you. Your fever has broken and your vitals are getting stronger. So, I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine. We just need to continue treatment.”
    “Twenty-four hours?”
    “Yes, and let me say, you’ve been a real handful. Vomiting, violent seizures, hysteria. I’m guessing, since we’re having a normal conversation, you’re feeling better?”
    “That all depends on what your definition of normal is.”
    “Normal is normal. What else is there?”
    Lucas didn’t want to spar with her. “I don’t know, but my head’s frickin’ killing me.”
    “You may have a grade-three concussion. The gashes on your face were pretty severe. I had to use almost thirty stitches to close them up. I did what I could with the sutures, but I’m afraid you’ll probably have some nasty