“I’m fine, my love.”
“Are the bullets still in there?”
“Yes, but I can feel them being pushed out.”
“You’re okay, though?”
Lucas, not caring that we have an audience, cups my face with both his large hands and puts his lips to mine. “I will be.”
I suck in a shaky breath. The headache is getting worse and I’m feeling so drained and depleted. Seeing Lucas get shot, even though I know he’s a vampire, shook me.
“You took a bullet for me.”
“I’d take a hundred for you.”
I clench my jaw and flatten my hand over the wound in his chest, wanting to stop the bleeding. The wounds won’t heal until the bullets are out, and while his body will heal itself and push them out, I can get them out a lot faster.
“Brace yourself,” I tell him and telekinetically pull the bullet from his chest. Lucas lets out a grunt, body tensing. The bullet went through his sternum and I have to pull it back out the way it came. I look away, hoping I don’t pass out or throw up. Finally, the first bullet clatters to the ground. The second comes out smoother, not having to be removed through bone.
He will be fine, just like he said. He’s already healing, and it doesn’t seem like it hurts that much. Either that or Lucas is really good at keeping a poker face.
Easton and the gunman watch us, and it’s obvious from the look on their faces they’ve never seen anything like this before. Even in the life of a hunter, watching someone telekinetically pull bullets out of a vampire’s chest isn’t something you see every day.
I hope I never have to do this again.
“What do you mean, he took a bullet for you?” Easton asks, eyes flitting from me to the gunman.
“He shot at us,” I say. “We were just walking down the deck after killing the demon you couldn’t.”
“I thought they were demons,” the other hunter spits out. “This place has been crawling with demonic energy for the last few days. And after seeing that…that thing by the gate I didn’t think it was possible for humans to still be alive in here.”
“You’re lucky it was just us.” I turn away from Lucas to stare daggers at Mr. Shoot First, Aim Later. “Demons occupying the place or not, innocent humans could have been here.”
The hunter messed up, and he knows it. He was freaked out and let his emotions get the best of him. He cradles his wrist to his chest and gives Easton a dubious look.
“So, what they say is true. You are friends with a witch and a vampire.”
“We’re not friends,” Easton and I say at the same time.
“Kill the fuckers!” the gunman shouts and Binx growls. Sitting by my feet and swishing his tail, he drops his shield a bit and lets his eyes glow red in the dark. The gunman stiffens. Most hunters have been taught that witches are the evil villains fairy tales paint us out to be.
We’re killers. Evil. Will eat your babies and kill your pets.
It’s so far from the truth it’s comical.
“What the hell are you waiting for? That fanger broke my wrist.”
Lucas speeds forward, fingers wrapping around the gunman’s throat again. “You’re lucky that’s all I did. You tried to kill the woman I love. I’d do the same to you, but that death would be too quick.”
“Get control of your attack dog.” Easton pulls out a knife. The tip of the blade has been dipped in a special kind of holy oil, working almost as well as my enchanted dagger. Almost.
“Guys!” I yell and Binx shifts back into shadow form, circling around Easton again. Lucas snarls at the gunman, fangs up in his face, and shoves him hard against the side of the building. I bring my hand to my head, rubbing my temple. The headache is back, and I can hear my own heart beating in my ears. “This isn’t going to solve anything! Lucas, Binx, and I would kick your ass before you knew what was happening, so save it, okay? We all came here with the same intention of killed that rat-bastard of a demon and it seems like he’s gone. It’s over. So let’s go home, okay?”
Begrudgingly, Lucas lets go of the gunman. Binx comes back to my side, taking the form of a pretty black cat. Easton doesn’t lower the knife. Letting out an annoyed sigh, I pull the wallet from my pocket. “If Arnold Keller was a friend, I’m sorry. The demon possessed him. He was gone before we got there.”
Easton takes the wallet and flips it open, looking at the ID. “It’s the missing hunter.”
“How long has he been missing?” My throat feels thick when I swallow and I’m starting to get really dizzy. I guess seeing Lucas shot and bloody is catching up with me after all.
“Two days.”
“The body looks farther gone than two days, didn’t it?” I ask Lucas.
“Yes, it was deteriorated enough to have been dead for a week.”
“I saw Arnie the morning he went missing,” the gunman tells Easton. “What the hell did they do to him?”
“We did nothing,” Lucas presses, sounding annoyed with the hunter. “Your friend was possessed by a demon. That can speed up the rate of decay. Human bodies can’t handle demonic possession for long.”
“Once the body is dead, the rate of decomposition can be accelerated,” Easton says. “We’ve seen it before.” His eyes go to me again, and I can tell he’s torn. If I wasn’t feeling so sick right now, I might feel sorry for him. Being a human born into the life of demon hunting isn’t easy. It’s isolating and lonely and dangerous. Going after things with powers when you don’t have any yourself is just stupid too, if you ask me.
The group hunters run with are their family, and often their real families have been picked off by demons over the years. Easton’s group of hunter buddies is like what the coven is to me. They can stop running with him and Melinda, refuse to help them or give them places to stay while traveling around on hunting trips.
Letting a witch walk free is an offense big enough to make that happen. Letting a witch and a vampire walk…they’d never talk to him again. But he’d be alive, not sentenced to death. That is one thing witches could learn from hunters. They value human life above anything…though then again, they don’t consider witches to be humans.
“He’s in there if you want to get the body. I’m sorry for your loss,” I add, manners coming through even now. “Now, I want to go home. If either of you try anything as we walk away, so help me God, I will curse you both.”
“We can’t let them—” the gunman starts.
“We can,” Easton interrupts. “These are the two that saved Melinda. I owe them that at least, and then our debt is paid. If I see them again, I’ll kill them.”
The hunter with the broken wrist isn’t satisfied with Easton’s response, but he knows he’s seriously out-powered here.
“You should probably burn all the dead rats,” I add, taking Lucas’s hand. “Just to be safe.” I flick my fingers and slide the gun back over to Easton, trying to show a gesture of goodwill. He won’t shoot me, and he knows shooting Lucas will only result in pissing us all off.
The deck leads down a rickety set of stairs and then continues along the water, turning into a dock. One rusty boat is tied up at it, and the smell of human feces and pee is strong coming off the water. I suppose living in there would beat being homeless, though the boat doesn’t look occupied right now.
I blink, looking back at the dark water. And then I see him. The outline of the man with the blue eyes. He’s standing in the boat and is gone the second I see him.
“Hang on.” I pull my hand from Lucas’s and hold up my finger, signaling for him to stay put. I tiptoe down the dock. “I saw you,” I whisper into the dark. “Twice. Who are you?”
“Callie, what are you doing?” Lucas calls from the deck, taking a few steps down the dock. The old wooden boards groan in protest under his weight.
“I thought I…” I trail off, dizziness crashing down on me like a heavy fist. I step back and the boards crack under my feet. I throw out my hands, and I swear I feel feathers brush against my finger.
But it doesn’t matter, because I stumble back and fall into the dark water.
Chapter 27
“You can’t leave well enough alone, can you?” Lucas sits on the deck, holding me in his lap. He was there the second after I plunged into Lake Michigan, pulling me from the water and back onto dry land.
“It’s one of my many faults.” I shiver. “Why is the water always so fucking cold?”
Lucas brushes my hair back, and Binx meows, gently pawing me. “What did you see out there?”
“The man with the blue eyes.”
“The one you said saved you from the demon in the woods?”
“No, that’s the Blue-Eyed Man. This guy isn’t as…as ethereal looking. He’s more like a regular man but has blue eyes.”
“Did you hit your head?” Lucas runs his hand over my head.
“No, I’m fine.” I push out of his arms and stand. The dizziness is back, and Lucas steadies me.
“I’m taking you home.”
I want to protest and go back out onto the dock, demanding the man with blue eyes come out and face me. Why lurk around like a creep? If he wants to attack me, then do it already.
Lucas picks me up and races over the grounds, not stopping until we’re by his car. I get in the passenger side and Binx jumps up on my lap. The headache is getting worse and all I want to do is sleep.
“Do you want me to get you food?” Lucas asks, turning the heat on instead of the air conditioning. I’m so, so cold, and I have a feeling it’s not from the plunge into the cool water.
“I’ll find something at your house, but thanks.”
Lucas rests one hand on my thigh. “We’re taking that vacation, I promise.”
“Can we leave in the morning?”
He laughs. “If that’s what you want.”
“I want a week without demons and witch-trials and people trying to kill me.”
“Let’s go to Paris. You’ll love the nightlife there.”
“I’ve never been to Paris.” I rest my head back against the seat. “And they’re much more open to vampires over there.”
“They are. Vampires have almost equal rights to their human citizens.”
“Right, I remember hearing that. And they were one of the first countries to legalize vampire-human marriages too.”
Lucas runs his hand up and down my thigh. I can feel him looking at me, but the pain in my head intensifies and I close my eyes, fearing I’m going to puke all over Lucas’s car. I turn down the heat, which is making me feel even sicker, and start shivering. It takes over half an hour to drive back to Lucas’s house in Lincoln Park.
We go right up for a shower, and Lucas pulls his bloody shirt over his head and throws it in the garbage.
“How many items of clothes have we gotten rid of because of blood?” I mumble, stripping out of my clothes. Losing my balance, Lucas catches me at the last second before I fall on the marble floor.
“Are you feeling all right, Callie?” He looks into my eyes, searching for an answer.
“I’m tired,” I admit. “Really tired and I have a headache.”
“Aspirin,” he starts, not sounding sure of himself. “That’s what humans take for headaches, right?”
“Not so much anymore. I usually take Advil instead. Aspirin can thin your blood so it’s probably not a good thing for me to take.”
“I will get you some.”
“Shower with me first?”
“Of course.” Lucas helps me strip out of the rest of my clothes and get into the shower. I feel a little better once we’re both clean. I run my hand over his chest. There’s not even a mark on him.
“You need to eat. You lost a lot of blood. Again.”
“I’m not drinking from you tonight.”
“Do you need to drink from somebody else?” I tip my head up, eyes shut to keep the water out.
“No.” He turns the temperature of the water up a little more for me. “I don’t want anyone else’s blood. Nothing tastes as good as you do, Callie.”
“You told me before that vampires aren’t usually monogamous.”
“Correct.”
“But you are with me.”
“You’re an exception to a lot of rules.” His hands slide over my body and he holds me close, kissing the top of my head. “Now let’s get you into bed.” He shuts off the shower and wraps a towel around my body.
“You’re so good to me,” I say when he lays me down in his bed after drying me off.
“And you’re too good for me.” He smiles and plants a kiss on my forehead. “You’re hot.”
“Mmmhh, yeah I am.”
“No, I mean that literally. You’re hotter than usual.”
“Maybe because we were in a hot shower?”
“Perhaps.” Lucas puts his hand to my forehead. “Do you want me to get you anything?”
“Just some water.”
Lucas hurries out of the room and comes back with a glass of ice water. I suck it down and then fall back into bed. I’m so dizzy and something just feels off. I can’t explain it. Binx curls up next to me, and I lay on my side, arms wrapped around my familiar, and fall asleep.
* * *
I wake up with a sore throat and an ache in my chest that gets worse when I breathe. Binx is stretched out next to me, taking up a surprising amount of space for how small he is in cat-form. The master bedroom doors are open, and I hear Lucas talking to someone downstairs. The house is dark, and I have no idea what time it is. I feel like I only slept for a few hours and then at the same time days might have passed.
I use the bathroom and am startled by my appearance. My eyes are bloodshot, like I spent the night drinking, and dark purple circles hang under them. I must have used more energy than I thought last night killing that demon. Pulling on underwear and a t-shirt dress, I go downstairs to find Lucas.
“Hey,” I say, seeing Eliza sitting cross-legged on the couch in the living room. My voice comes out scratchy and hoarse.
“I heard you had a fun night.”
“It was riveting.” I clear my throat, trying to get rid of the nasty feeling. I swallow hard and just make it worse. “What time is it?”
“Ten AM. Almost my bedtime.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize I slept that long.”
Eliza tips her head, looking at me. “You look like you could use more sleep.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “I think I’ll take a nap later. Where did Lucas go?”
“In his office, but don’t bother him. He’s in the middle of something.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“Not really. Business bores me.” She picks up her phone and texts someone, fingers moving with impressive speed. Binx comes down the stairs and beats me into the kitchen, ready for me to make him breakfast.
I plug in the coffee pot first and sink down at the island counter with my head in my hands. Man, I feel like shit. The last time I felt a magic-hangover like this was when I used the hellfire to kill the demon. Last night was intense, but nowhere near the level of I’m going to die as the night in the woods.
Then again, I haven’t had the best habits lately and Lucas has been drinking from me almost nightly. We knew it would catch up with me sooner or later. I hoped it would be later.
I chug the coffee to help pull me from the fog my brain is in, and then scramble eggs to share with Binx. There’s one package of frozen sausage left in the freezer, and I pop it in the microwave.
Eating usually makes me feel better after a night of drinking and especially after Lucas has drank a lot of my blood. My body craves protein and water, and I just consumed plenty of that. Lucas is still in the office and it sounds like he’s on the phone. I don’t want to bother him, so I get my phone from my purse and call Evander.
The call goes to his voicemail right away, which usually means he’s at the Academy. My mind is so fuzzy I don’t even know what day of the week it is, but if it’s a weekday then he’s teaching a summer class right now.
/> “Hey,” I say to his voicemail. “Remember that weird rat-demon-dog-whatever the fuck thing Kristy told you about? We fought off more yesterday and then killed a real demon. I think it’s over, but something feels weird about it. It just doesn’t make sense. Call me when you get a chance and I’ll assign tons of research for you to do on my behalf. Love you, bye!” I end the call and go into the kitchen for more water. My throat feels raw and my chest hurts even more when I take in a deep breath.
I down another glass, blink a few times, and tell myself I’ll be back to normal soon. Maybe after another nap. Sitting at the island counter again, I rest my head on the cool quartz and groan.
“What’s wrong with you?” Eliza sits next to me, setting down a little bag full of nail polish.
“I don’t know,” grumble.
“You sound terrible.” She looks through bottles of nail polish and picks out a bright pink color.
“I feel terrible.”
“Are you sick?”
The thought hadn’t occurred to me because I haven’t been sick in years. I actually don’t remember the last time I had a cold. I’ve always had a strong immune system and only ended up in the infirmary at school because of injuries, not illness.
“Maybe. It hurts to breathe, kinda like it did when I inhaled the smoke from the hellfire.”
“Did you inhale smoke last night?”
“No, but it was pretty dusty inside that old building.”
Lucas comes into the kitchen, smiling when he sees me. He comes right over and puts his hand to my forehead. “You’re still hotter than normal.”
“I am?”
He looks into my eyes. “Why would you be hotter than normal?”
“It’s called a fever,” Eliza quips. “Have you been dead for that long? Humans get fevers. It happens when they’re sick.”
“You’re sick?” Lucas is suddenly concerned.
“I’m feeling a little rundown, and with everything that’s been going on, I’m actually not surprised I got a cold.”
“What can I do to make you better?”
“Watch a movie with me?” I suggest. “I’m tired and want to go back to sleep.”
Call of Night: The Thorne Hill Series Book Three Page 21