by Sara Snow
A green Dodge Charger, mangled beyond description, had come to rest in the central median. A body lay prone on the shoulder of the road. From a distance, it looked like a doll that had been tossed away by a careless child, its limbs extended at impossible angles.
Black hair pooled around the cambion’s pale face. Her eyes stared straight up at the sky, fixed on the moon.
Even as the first responders surged around her body, the succubus was moving in on her prey. She crawled through the debris and gore that slicked the asphalt, determined to steal the last breath from her victim.
The cops and paramedics meant well, but they were no match for the evil that surrounded them. Hordes of demons, invisible to their eyes, filled the night sky. Their shrieks of glee were deafening.
I had to act fast. The succubus would devour Georgia in plain sight, then vanish in a red mist. I jumped out of the car and ran to the scene. Imogen had Georgia by the throat, strangling the life out of her while she tore at her exposed abdomen.
The vampire in me remembered how to fly. I sailed through the air, covering the last few feet of asphalt in one bound, and came to rest on Imogen’s back.
She whirled around to face me, screeching with fury. Her powerful arms and legs clenched around my torso as she tried to wrestle me onto my back.
“I never should have let you live, Imogen,” I snarled. I grabbed a handful of her short-cropped hair, pulled her head back, and shoved the iron stake through the hollow of her neck. Blood spurted from her throat.
Her eyes bulged in shock. A film formed over her retinae as the life seeped from the human form she had stolen.
The sight and smell of that bright arterial blood woke the vampire in me. In the chaos surrounding me, I lost control over my instincts. My fangs sprung out.
Imogen’s jaw dropped open. She spoke, but the voice that emerged from her mouth wasn’t hers.
“Charles of the Shadow Clan,” pronounced the demon that dwelled in Imogen’s body. “Damn you and all the ones you love.”
I hadn’t heard my full original name spoken in over thirty years. Imogen, the punk rocker who had been betrayed by the supernaturals who’d seduced her, couldn’t possibly have known it.
“No. Damn you.”
I looked up to see Kingston standing over us. A golden light rimmed his body, incandescent in the darkness. He raised one hand in invocation.
“I call on the power of Light to banish you,” the gentle angel thundered.
The succubus screamed as her body burst into flame.
Kingston swept in and scooped Georgia up in his arms, holding her above the earth at a safe distance from the blaze. Within minutes, the succubus had disintegrated into a heap of foul ashes. Smoke clouded the scene as Kingston set Georgia down again, gently, in the path of the paramedics. In the smoke and chaos, the first responders hadn’t seen the supernatural confrontation that had taken place.
The paramedics lifted the cambion as if she were made of glass, secured her on a stretcher, and whisked her away from me.
Wrapped in a blanket, her arms and legs strapped to the gurney, Georgia stared at me as they lifted her into the ambulance. Her cheeks and throat were smeared with crimson. The red fluid covered her face like a mask, obscuring everything but her eyes. The scent and sight of her blood stoked my hunger even more. If she hadn’t been restrained on the gurney, surrounded by human rescuers, I couldn’t have stopped myself from ravaging her.
My fangs lengthened even more. My upper lip curled back. The human in me couldn’t stop that transformation from taking place. It was the last Georgia saw of me that night: a predator eager to take advantage of her at her weakest, most broken point.
Georgia’s purple eyes burned holes in my conscience that lasted long after they’d carried her away to the hospital. In that last look she’d given me, her eyes had shimmered with fear.
If I hadn’t been certain before, I knew now that Georgia recognized me for what I was.
“She’s better off now,” Kingston reassured me as the ambulance doors closed. “They’ll keep her for a few tests, then bounce her right back into our arms. You know how quickly she heals. Those shattered bones are mending themselves as we speak.”
His voice brought me crashing back to reality, back to my human self. The self that could still feel guilt and remorse.
“I wish I were as confident as you sound,” I said.
“I’ll follow them to the hospital and wait for the doctors to evaluate Georgia at the ER. She’ll be fine by morning, Carter. I’ll bring her back to the warehouse after they discharge her, and Olympia will spoil her rotten.”
Kingston grasped my shoulder. The warmth of his touch melted the tension in my muscles.
“Trust me,” he said. “I’ll take care of her.”
I was relieved that Kingston had taken charge of the situation. At the same time, I didn’t want to lose control over Georgia. It had been hard enough trying to reign her in at the beginning of our training. Now that she recognized her own powers, her sass and snark would go unchecked.
19
Georgia
My trip to the emergency room after the car crash was interesting to say the least. The paramedics and nurses handled me like a shattered porcelain doll, but to the ER doctor’s amazement, my X-rays showed that all of my bones were intact.
“That’s impossible,” he kept saying, shaking his head as he studied the films. “You had two compound fractures, one in your left humerus and one in your right tibia. Your right hand was smashed when you flew out of the car—every bone in that hand should have been pulverized.”
He stared at me with a combination of wonder and dread. “Are you sure you’re human?”
I smiled. “I’m pretty sure I’m not.”
“I do want to order a CT scan of your head, just to make sure you don’t have any intracranial injuries. But honestly, I don’t know why I’m keeping you here. You should be bruised, lacerated, and fractured. And you should be in shock from the blood loss. But your vitals are stable, and your labs are normal.”
After what I just went through with the succubus, I didn’t think anything could send me into shock anymore.
“Can I go then?”
“As soon as we run the CT and get the results back, you can be discharged. There’s a man outside waiting to see you. Looks like he might be your dad.”
“I don’t have a dad.”
“Well, he looks like a father type. Want me to have him come in?”
I nodded.
The triage nurse led Kingston into my room. He rushed to me and engulfed me in his arms. That hug felt like being wrapped in a pair of angel’s wings.
“Georgia! How are you doing?” He stood back and held me at arm’s length. “Just as I thought. You don’t have a scratch on you. Your hair’s a bit mussed, but that’s nothing a comb and brush won’t fix.” He laughed.
“The X-rays don’t show any broken bones,” I said. “I know I heal fast. I walked out of the hospital days after waking from a coma. I can cut myself with a knife and watch my skin seal itself shut. But this is insane. I was thrown from that car. I went flying through the air and landed on the asphalt at high speed. I shouldn’t even be alive, much less sitting here in an ugly hospital gown waiting to be discharged!”
“You have extraordinary powers,” Kingston agreed. “You caused that car accident, didn’t you?”
“It was the only way I could think of to get out of that nightmare. But where did those powers come from? That’s what I don’t understand. They definitely didn’t come from my mom. The only powers she had were the abilities to shoot up, get high, and pass out.”
“For now, let’s just be grateful that you have them.” Kingston patted my arm. His tone was a bit on the condescending side, but I didn’t mind. The warmth of his presence, of his goodness, made me feel safe. I hadn’t felt safe in a very long time.
The ER doctor discharged me, but not before asking if I would agree to be the subject of a
study. “This could make my career,” he said. “I can just imagine the possibilities. I’d be offered a directorship, honorary degrees, speaking tours! There’s just no record of any human being ever healing so quickly.”
“This young lady has more important things to do than make you rich and famous, Doctor.” Kingston put his arm around my shoulders and led me out of the ER.
“Would you mind giving me a ride back to my apartment?” I asked the older man. “I don’t have my car, and even if I did, the idea of driving right now freaks me out.”
“I absolutely do mind. You will not be going back to your apartment until you’ve fully recovered from this experience.”
“But my computer with my school assignments on it is there! And I need to go to work tomorrow morning, and all my clothes are there, too. I can’t afford to lose that job, Kingston. It’s shitty work, but I need the money.”
“I’ll call your company tomorrow and let them know you had an accident, and that you need a few days to get back on your feet. If you don’t have sick time, I will compensate you. I don’t want you back in that apartment any time soon.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he closed my lips with his finger.
“This isn’t just about your health or recovering from an accident,” Kingston said. “It’s about protecting your soul. The succubus we destroyed last night was the mate of a very powerful incubus. That accident stirred up a whole hornet’s nest of demons, and they’re going to be pursuing you. You aren’t safe alone tonight, if ever.”
My heart sank. My life as a call center slave did suck, but it was a life I’d built through my own choices. I had no plans to stay in that gig any longer than I had to. I was going to pull myself out of the cubicle-monkey zoo and become a healthcare professional who could afford a car that didn’t break down and an apartment that didn’t reek of stale cigarette smoke.
“So, what should I do? Go back to the warehouse with you?”
“Yes. That’s the plan. You’ll come back to the warehouse, rest for a day or two, and then resume your training. Olympia is all ready to fuss over you. She’ll be thrilled to have you back.”
My life, such as it was, seemed to be out of my hands now. I let Kingston take me to his car, a black sedan that looked like a Secret Service vehicle.
We drove in silence for a few minutes, then I asked the question that had been on my mind since I’d regained consciousness in the ER.
“Did Carter make it out of that mess okay?”
“He did, indeed. Carter is fine. He’s worried sick about you, but otherwise, he is completely well. No injuries, other than the blow to his conscience. He feels responsible for what happened to you. As well he should. You are a slayer in training—he should never have left your side.”
“But our plan was for him to sit alone so that the succubus would hit on him,” I explained. “That’s the only reason he left me. I was supposed to keep my eye on Carter and stay sober. I got at least one of those right.”
We pulled into a covered garage behind the warehouse. Kingston helped me out of the car. I tried to stand, but a muscle spasm in my lower back stopped me cold. I winced in pain. With each step I took, my back and knees throbbed.
“Ow! I guess I’m not as fully recovered as I thought,” I said.
Suddenly, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea for me to stay with the Venandi. If that incubus sent his supernatural thugs after me—or if, God forbid, he came to find me himself—I wouldn’t be able to run very far if I was paralyzed with pain.
Olympia met us at the front door of the warehouse.
“Georgia! What on earth have you been up to tonight?” she cried, squeezing me in a powerful hug. I couldn’t help yelping—she was much stronger than I thought.
“Oh, I was just out getting drunk with a succubus. She kidnapped me from the bar and threatened to kill me in the grisliest possible manner with the help of her incubus boyfriend. All I had to do was wreck her car and break half the bones in my body to free myself—you know, just another wild Saturday night for a college kid.”
“Tsk, tsk. Sowing your wild oats, aren’t you, sweetie? Come with me. I’m going to draw you a hot bath and make you a pot of my muscle-repairing tea. I can tell you’re in pain—you’re hobbling around like Old Mother Hubbard.”
“Olympia will take excellent care of you,” Kingston said. “I’m going to go to bed. Don’t let Olympia keep you up all night gossiping. You need your rest.”
Olympia took me upstairs, where she already had a warm bath waiting for me. The tub was encircled by scented candles and the water foamed with bubbles. A set of white towels and a white bathrobe hung on a rack beside the tub. The pot of tea she had promised sat steeping on a table beside the sink.
Tears stung my eyes. No one had ever taken care of me like the beings in this warehouse did. They didn’t have any obligation to protect me—they had just taken it upon themselves to keep me safe, in spite of my worst suspicions. I had never felt like I deserved such kindness, but here I was, wrapped in their generosity like a down comforter.
“You go ahead and take a good, long soak. It’ll make those sore muscles feel so much better. And drink your tea—all of it. I’ll come in and check on you, just to make sure you don’t fall asleep and drown yourself.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said.
Olympia kissed me lightly on the forehead to show me she was joking. This must be what it felt like to have a big sister who loved you and looked out for you.
I took off my clothes and stepped into the tub. The water was exactly the right temperature, warm enough to soothe my aching limbs, but not so hot that it scalded my sensitive skin. The abrasions on my arms and legs had closed over, but my cells still remembered the agony of skidding across the road.
I wished I could talk to Carter. He didn’t like fielding all my questions, but that was too bad. I had thousands of them, but I was willing to sacrifice my curiosity on all but one point.
Who was he? What was he?
I thought I knew, but I needed to hear him say it.
The soapy water welcomed me as I sank deeper, the back of my head resting on the rim of the tub. My eyes drifted shut.
My body jerked. A narcoleptic vision yanked me back to consciousness. The succubus crouched over me, blood dripping from her sharp teeth as she tried to choke me to death. Her ghoulish grin promised torments that I couldn’t even imagine. Her talons raked across my abdomen as she began to tear me open.
Then Carter swooped down on the succubus.
Even in my terror, I saw that his teeth were as long and as sharp as hers.
Kingston refused to let me do any training the next morning. That was one command I had no trouble obeying. My body still ached whenever I moved—even standing up from the guest bed was a painful experience. I knew I had to stay in motion to keep my muscles from locking into spasms, but that motion still had to be pretty limited.
“Why do I hurt so badly this morning?” I moaned to Olympia. “I didn’t have this much pain last night.”
“Probably all that tequila you sucked down at the bar. You can thank Jose Cuervo for numbing your pain last night.”
I glared at her. “Hah, hah. You’re never going to let me hear the end of that, are you?”
“Nope. It’s too funny. The image of sweet, innocent Georgia sitting at the bar with a butch succubus slamming tequila shots! That’s going to keep me laughing for the next five hundred years.”
“I’m not that innocent. And I’m certainly not that sweet.”
“Well, I know you’re a total bitch, but you have the face of an angel. That’s why you’re such a great addition to the team. We’ll be able to use you to lure all kinds of demonic beings out into the open. You’re the perfect bait.”
“Are you serious?”
“Partly. We all use our human forms to entrap demons. I’ve been known to seduce a few incubi on more than one occasion, only to leave them disemboweled once I’ve had my way with them. The on
ly thing I won’t take from a demon is a demand for any kind of commitment.”
Olympia handed me a mug of steaming coffee and slid a plate of fresh pastries across the table.
“Eat something,” she urged. “You must be starved.”
I was slurping coffee and munching happily on a bear claw when Carter walked in. I froze in mid-chew, my cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk’s. Carter avoided my stare as he strolled over to the coffee pot and poured himself a mug of Olympia’s black brew.
“It’s about time you showed up,” Olympia said accusingly. “You’ve got some explaining to do to Miss Georgia.”
Carter lifted the mug. “I know I do. That’s why I’m fortifying myself with this motor oil you call coffee. Do you mind giving us some privacy?”
Olympia sniffed and tossed her blonde ringlets over her shoulder. “Fine.”
She got up and took her time exiting the kitchen, leaving a cloud of patchouli in her wake. Her bottom twitched in her tight, low-slung jeans. I could practically see a tail swishing behind her, broadcasting her irritation at being left out of the conversation.
Carter took a seat at the kitchen table. He chose a chair that was close to me, but not close enough to signal any kind of intimacy. His face was drawn, his eyes shadowed.
“You look worse than I feel,” I commented. “Didn’t you get much sleep last night?”
“None,” Carter said curtly. He swallowed his coffee, still avoiding my eyes.
“I slept like a baby. It wasn’t till I woke up and tried to move that I started feeling like hell.”
“The adrenaline must have numbed you last night. You were battered beyond description.”
“Good thing I’m a fast healer. But I guess it takes time to recover from a rollover car crash, even for me.”
“Listen, Georgia.” Carter was now looking me straight in the eye. “I need to apologize for last night. I never should have left you alone. I let myself get distracted by an old flame who showed up at the bar. I tried to put her off, but she’s always been pretty insistent on getting what she wants.”