Double Down on Demons (Pandora's Pride Book 1)

by Annabel Chase

  I wasn’t able to save him.

  Not my father and not Leto. I flung an arm across my eyes and sobbed in earnest.

  “Callie, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

  “I don’t think so.” I moved my arm and a figure came into focus. Saxon hovered over me, frowning deeply. My shoulders sagged with relief at the sight of him. “Leto…” My mouth felt strange, as though I’d been repeatedly punched in the jaw. A small price to pay for defeating Supai.

  Saxon nodded solemnly. “I know.”

  “The others?”

  “They’ll make it.”

  I pulled myself to a seated position, still focused on the brooding hybrid. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  He continued to stare at me, his mismatched eyes uncertain. “Callie… Why do you have fangs?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Despite our defeat of Supai and the safety of the children, the mood was bleak upon our return to HQ in light of Leto’s death. As team leader, Saxon volunteered to break the news to Purvis. Evadne was whisked away to see Harmony, although I was surprised to see the tri-brid already mobile and talking.

  “How fast will it take her to heal completely?” I asked. Evadne’s fae side allowed her to heal others the same way Harmony did, so it had to be the combination of werewolf and vampire genes.

  “From the looks of it, that’s a pretty deep cut,” Tate said. “It won’t be overnight.” The witch placed a comforting hand on Saxon’s arm. “How are you?”

  “Already healed,” he said. “Just need a hot shower and time to decompress.”

  “You should wait for Harmony,” I said to Tate. “That gash on your arm looks bad.”

  Liam dragged himself over to us. “I’ll go too. I got pretty banged up thanks to two Abaasy that decided to treat me like a basketball.” Despite the levity in his words, there was no signature twinkle in his mischievous eyes.

  I didn’t miss the apprehensive look Saxon gave me now that we were alone. Thankfully my fangs had disappeared before I’d even left the cave.

  “How do you think that happened?” he asked and I knew exactly what ‘that’ was.

  “I’ve been thinking it over and I may have inadvertently triggered one of the enchanted cards in my pocket,” I said.

  Saxon ran a hand through his hair, contemplating the possibility. “Like a card that allows you to mimic other supernatural traits? Is that even an option?”

  “I don’t know. I’m planning to ask Lloyd once things calm down. It also could be connected to my mage marks.”

  He glanced in the direction of the elevator bank. “Do you think we should tell someone?”

  I shook my head. “Please don’t. I’d like to figure this out on my own.”

  Saxon reached for my hand. “Thank you. I know I should’ve said it sooner…”

  I released his hand as Natasha appeared in the lobby from the elevators. Her brown eyes looked pained and I knew that she’d heard the news. The vampire engulfed Saxon in a bear hug. I suddenly felt like an outsider intruding on a private family moment.

  Natasha tore herself away and cupped my cheeks in her cool hands. “Bless you, you miraculous mage. How did you do it? A fireball to the head? Please tell me he suffered.”

  “Hand-to-hand combat,” I said. It was the closest I could come to the truth.

  Natasha leaned back to give me an admiring look. “What a badass. I knew we were right about you.” She hesitated. “You fulfilled your end of the bargain, so I guess you’d be well within your rights to leave now.”

  I collected myself so that this badass didn’t dissolve in a puddle of a tears. “I’ve been giving it some thought.” Ever since Baltimore, I’d been considering my options. I figured it would be helpful to earn money while I could, to provide me with a financial cushion in the event that travelers weren’t ready to trust me yet. The fact that three travelers died in my care was sure to still be making the rounds.

  “It would be great if you stayed,” Saxon said. “We can offer you training that you won’t get anywhere else.”

  I knew what he was intimating—that if I had some weird mage power, Pandora’s Pride was the best place to develop it. “Doesn’t the management team have to agree?”

  Natasha scoffed. “Do you think they won’t after what you just did?”

  “I think we can make it work,” I said.

  Purvis strode into the lobby from outside and stopped short when he noticed us. His hopeful expression gutted me and I turned away as the memory of Leto’s body flashed in my mind.

  “Why don’t you go see Harmony now?” Natasha suggested. “She’ll want to give everyone an exam after what you’ve been through.”

  I hurried away, unable to endure the conversation that Purvis was about to have. The kindly werewolf would never be the same—that much I knew.

  I rode the elevator alone to the healer’s office. When the doors opened, Evadne stood there, looking like she’d just woken from a restful nap.

  “Hey, killer,” she said with a bright smile.

  “I don’t actually consider that an affectionate nickname.”

  “What’s the problem? It’s a compliment.” She clapped me on the shoulder. “You did good. I only wished you’d done it before the bastard got to Leto.”

  I brushed past her. “Thanks. Be sure to put that in my review. Tell everyone that I would’ve gotten five stars because I killed the bad guy, but you had to knock off a star for failing to save Leto.”

  “Relax, Callie. I didn’t mean it as a criticism. We all know the dangers that come with this job…or I guess you’re learning.”

  I stalked off before I gave in to the urge to punch her. I arrived at the healer’s office as Tate and Liam were leaving.

  “Everybody’s in good shape so far,” Liam said. “Don’t be the odd one out.”

  I already was the odd one out. I was the one who had the chance to save Leto and failed. The one who didn’t know him well enough to grieve with everyone else. The one who didn’t understand her powers well enough to master them.

  I blew past the reception desk and into the exam room where Harmony was closing a file. She shot me a quizzical look as I planted myself on the exam table.

  “I’m sorry about Leto,” Harmony said quietly.

  “I think I’m the one who should say sorry to you. He was part of your family.”

  The healer pressed her lips together. “It’s not your job to worry about how I feel. It’s important to focus on yourself right now. You’ve just been through a traumatic experience.”

  “That’s the job, though, right?”

  “So they tell me.”

  “I’m not sure I’m going to be very good at it. The whole point is to save lives. I couldn’t help my own father. I couldn’t help Leto. What makes me think I can help save the world from Plague demons?”

  The healer pressed her stethoscope to my chest and leaned down to listen to my heartbeat. I was relieved that she didn’t bother to have me change into the gown. I couldn’t have managed it right now.

  “You’re pretty worked up, Callie. Why don’t you take some deep breaths?”

  I did my best, but the breaths sounded shallow even to my untrained ears.

  Harmony gave me a lingering look. “Want some advice?”

  “Why do I get the feeling that you’re giving it to me no matter how I answer?”

  The healer smiled. “See? You know me well already.” She placed a hand on each shoulder and looked me in the eye. “You need to stop wrestling rain clouds, Callie. You’ll never win. Be the sky and let them pass.”

  “You don’t think I should care?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying. I think living in the past, dwelling on our injuries and injustices—is a recipe for misery. You need to learn what you can from the experience and then let it go. Anything else is unhealthy.” She released her hold on me. “And, as your healer, it’s my job to keep you healthy.”

  She checked me over quickly,
as though sensing my desire to bolt. “Am I good?”

  “Impressively so, given the ordeal.” She made a few notes in my file. “There’s something else I’d like to mention before you go.”

  I smiled. “Are you going to tell me to try meditation? Because I can promise you that’s never going to happen.” Nathaniel had suggested it many times over the years because he knew how hard it was for me to turn off my brain.

  “I swear it has nothing to do with meditation. I ran a few more tests on your blood.”

  I slid off the exam table, eager to return to my room. “You told me that already, remember? I’m disease-free. Yay me.”

  She flipped to another page in the file. “Not the disease panel. I decided to run additional tests after what happened with the Tzitzimime demons, just out of curiosity.”

  My body tensed from head to toe. “And?”

  Harmony bit her lip. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Callie, but according to the results, you’re human.”

  I relaxed. “Yes, I’m half. My mother was human.”

  Harmony shook her blond head. “No. You’re full-blooded human.” She held up the sheet of paper with markings I didn’t understand.

  “That makes no sense.” My father was a mage; only my mother was human. “I have magic. Lots of it. You must have mixed up my results with someone else’s.”

  “There is no one else, Callie.” She shook the paper at me. “This is you.”

  Her frown worried me. “What?” I prompted.

  “There are also…anomalies that I can’t explain.” She scanned the second page.

  “The anomaly seems to be that I’m a human with magical traits,” I said.

  “I’m not arguing about your abilities, Callie. The fact that you can do magic is clear. I just don’t know why you can do magic.”

  There had to be some mistake. My dad was a mage. He and I had performed magic together my entire life.

  “Why don’t you tell me your parents’ names and I’ll see if I can find them in the system? I might be able to trace your genetic history.”

  “My dad is Quinn Wendell, but I doubt you’ll find him in the system. He was pretty committed to living off the grid. After my mom died, he sort of turned his back on society.”

  “I see.” She tilted her head. “And what was your mom’s name?”

  “Greta. I don’t know her maiden name, but they were married.”

  The healer seemed to sense my distress because she offered a reassuring smile. “You know what? This has to be a glitch. Technology, right?” She laughed awkwardly and shook her head. “Let’s keep this between us, okay? I don’t need the Pride thinking that I don’t know how to run a simple blood test or I’ll be out of a job.”

  I thought of my own secret that I now carried—the one that I’d forced Saxon to carry too. There was no way I’d mention anything about fangs to her now. “Your secret of incompetence is safe with me.”

  “Get some rest, Callie, and go easy on yourself.”

  I nodded and dashed from the room, running smack into Saxon in the waiting area. He looked ridiculously handsome for someone who’d just been in a knock-down-drag-out fight.

  “How’d it go with Purvis?” I asked.

  “As well as could be expected.” He managed a small smile. “Are you good?”

  “Harmony says I need to meditate,” I lied.

  “Don’t we all?” His gaze lingered on me and I felt there was more he wanted to say. “I’d like to help you figure out what happened in the cave. Don’t think you have to do it alone.”

  “You don’t need to worry about me. I can handle it.” As I started to walk past him, he grabbed my hand.

  “It’s not commentary on what you can or can’t handle. We’re a team now. What’s important to you is important to me. If that means doing a little research on the sly, then we do it together.”

  His words stoked a fire in my heart. “Thank you, Saxon. I appreciate that.”

  He lowered his voice. “I want you to know that your secret is safe with me, I swear it. If you’re going to be a member of this team, it’s crucial that we trust each other.” As his mismatched eyes gazed into mine, I felt the flames of desire spread throughout the rest of my body. “Do you trust me, Callie?”

  Trust no one.

  I smiled and squeezed his hand before letting go. “Yes. I do.”

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