Queen of Night

by Emily Goodwin

  And that’s when it hits me: the fear I feel is mixed with crushing disappointment. Lucifer has been the most reliable relative I have, answering me when I ask for help.

  “I’m sorry,” Lucas tells me and strides back over. He takes me in his arms and holds me tight against his firm chest for a few seconds. “I’m not angry at you, Callie.”

  I sniffle and nod, pressing my face against his shirt. He runs his fingers through my hair and then cups his large hands around my chin, tipping my face up to his. We kiss, and some of the tension melts away.

  “Tell me everything,” he says and slides his hands down my arms and takes my hands in his. Nodding, I follow him to the couch.

  “We got back from the spa and were sitting in the kitchen. The doorbell rang and Abby got up to get it, thinking it was her neighbor who was dropping off honey. But it was Roger, and when he shot at me, I blocked it with a telekinetic shield and it…” My throat gets tight again. “It bounced off and hit Abby in the stomach.” I blink and fat tears roll down my cheeks. Abby doesn’t remember any of it, and I wish I could forget too.

  “I threw him back and his head cracked against the door. I called for my dad or Julian to come heal her, but they didn’t show up. She was losing so much blood and then he…he just showed up.”

  “Lucifer.”

  “Yes, and he healed her, sent Roger’s body to Hell—I think—and then I asked what do you want and he said nothing, but then he looked at my stomach and said maybe I do.”

  “How does that mean he wants your baby?” Eliza asks. She’s chewing on her nails, nails that she just spent a good hour painting just the other day. I’ve never seen her this nervous before. “All he said was he maybe wants something.”

  “I don’t know, but it was the way he looked at me.”

  Lucas wipes my tears away again and bring me into his lap. “After he healed Abby, what happened?” I can see the stress in his deep blue eyes, yet he’s calm for my sake.

  “I cast a sleep spell on Abby, and then Easton called, saying he’d gotten word that Roger figured out I’d put a truth potion in his drink and then cast a sleep spell on him. He was only a few minutes away, so he helped me clean everything up. I altered Abby’s memory, cast a glamour on her so she wouldn’t see that her clothes were all bloody, and magically swayed her to go shower and get all the blood off her skin.”

  “You’re sure you got everything?” Lucas asks, tensing.

  “I think so. I told Abby we would stop by later to say hi to Penny before we head back into Thorne Hill so you could check it out.” I close my eyes, feeling nauseous again. “Easton got rid of the security footage and took all the bloody paper towels, Abby’s clothes, and the gun. I kept the bullet, though. Is that weird?”

  “You’re weird,” Eliza says matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t have expected anything less than you keeping the bullet that almost killed your sister.”

  I suck in a breath but get no air. Lucas puts his hand on my chest. “Breathe, my love. Look at me and breathe.”

  Blinking back more tears, I nod and take in a slow breath.

  “If the house is clean, the footage removed, and there is no body to be found, then we can check that off our list of problems. Now…how the fuck did Roger know where you were?”

  I shake my head. “I have no idea, and the only thing that makes sense would be if someone was spying on me.” I feel icky when the words leave my lips. “They knew we were here, in Chicago, and maybe saw me leave with Abby. I don’t know.”

  I put my head in my hands, world spinning. Just when I thought I’d caught a break, I’m here playing whack-a-mole with my problems again. I take care of one and two more pop up.

  And that’s not to mention the biggest mole of all has come out from the depths of Hell.

  “He was hired by a vampire who knows we are together,” Lucas says, thinking out loud. “And he knows you are a witch. So, he either knew that before or he got close enough to sense your magic. I can pay Dina another visit and see if I can get any information out of her, though I fear that’s not likely.”

  “She’s still alive? Well, undead. I kinda forgot about her.”

  “She is.” Lucas looks at Scarlet. “She hasn’t given me anything useful in a while, though maybe if I bring a hellhound she’ll talk after her arms have been ripped from her body.”

  Scarlet wags her tail at Lucas’s words, sweet little puppy eyes gleaming at the thought of getting to torture someone.

  “If you think you can get anything from her, then yeah, let’s try, but like you said, she hasn’t given us any info in months. What has she said? She doesn’t know anything, or she won’t tell?”

  “She claims she doesn’t know anything beyond what she’s already told us. At this point, I’m leaning toward believing her.”

  “Then we shouldn’t waste our time. Unless…” I trail off, biting my lip as I think. “We use her as bait. Reverse bait, technically. Let her go and see who she goes to.”

  “I suppose that could work,” Lucas says, not liking the idea of letting his prisoner go free. “We should try it. You can magically track her, right?”

  “Scrying isn’t my strong suit, but if I cast a spell on her first, I’ll be able to locate her within a fifty-mile radius. I think. Kristy is better with that area of magic than I am.”

  “Call her,” Lucas tells me.

  “Can we wait until after we get back from Florida?” I ask, giving Lucas an innocent smile.

  “Seriously?” Eliza quips, looking at the nail she chewed down to her skin.

  “Oh, can you blame me?” I dramatically toss my head back. “Today was supposed to be my relaxing spa day and I spent a good portion of it wiping up my sister’s blood from the floor. I want a vacation.”

  “You deserve a vacation,” Lucas starts. “But we already put this off to deal with Ruth and now that she’s—”

  “Nope.” I shake my head. “Don’t say it. No buts. There’s enough going on with Uncle Lucy being on the lam. And I’m giving up enough by not being able to drink or go on thrill rides while on vacation.”

  “Or go in the hot tub,” Eliza adds and Lucas glares at her. “What? She can’t go in one until she pushes that thing out.”

  I shudder. “I don’t want to think about pushing anything out, either. And if we’re right about this vampire being the same one behind the groups against assimilation, then they’re ultimately after you, Lucas. I was targeted because it would piss you off if anyone hurt me. And those protestors…you have to be pretty fucking stupid to try and stab a vampire in the stomach. They’ve been fucking with your business since before I even met you. Roger is gone,” I say and get an unsettled feeling in my stomach.

  I didn’t necessarily mean to kill him. I wanted to hurt him, but taking his life…it was an accident. Yet I don’t feel bad about it. I’m nothing like him. I was defending myself and my sister, and if I could do it all over again, I’d make sure the bullet rebounded into Roger’s stomach instead. My heart starts to speed up as anger courses through my veins.

  “After we get back,” Lucas says, hearing my heart speeding up. “We’ll go after the vampire. There’s a VC rally on November second. I will go and scope things out. If Dina doesn’t lead us where we want, I could always accept the offer to join the fucking anti-assimilation gang.”

  “No,” Eliza and I say together.

  “It’d be like walking into a trap.” I push my hair back and shake my head. “They’d have you right where they want you and who knows what they’d do.”

  “Nothing, because I’d kill them first,” Lucas states with confidence. “They want me to join because I would be a good influence in getting others to join as well. They need me.”

  “They’ve done a shitty way showing it,” I say. “Blackmail and attempted murder.”

  “We’re vampires,” Lucas offers. “We do things differently, not that I agree. Mostly because it’s been a pain in my ass and I’d love to add a few fresh prisoners t
o the basement.”

  Scarlet lets out a little yip, liking that idea too. I bring my hand to my head and exhale heavily. I wish I could have a big glass of wine right now. I’d suck it down and pour another. Hell, I’d go straight for drinking out of the bottle.

  “Are you feeling sick?” Lucas asks, gently resting his hand on my stomach. I don’t have the heart to tell him that when I feel like I’m going to throw up, the last thing I want is for anyone to touch my stomach.

  “I have been for days. Luckily the devil himself busting out of Hell and then cleaning up a crime scene is rather distracting.”

  “You should go upstairs and lie down,” he suggests.

  “Stop treating me like I’m fragile,” I counter, though a nap sounds fucking amazing right now. My heart is still racing and I’m not sure if I want to go into a full telekinetic rage and throw shit around the room or collapse onto the soft mattress in the guest room and snuggle under warm blankets. “Will you come with me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Okay. Then I’ll go lie down.”

  “And I’ll get the ear plugs,” Eliza huffs, rolling her eyes so far back it’s impressive. I’m not in the mood for sex, but if anyone can change that, it’s Lucas.

  “Are you hungry?” Lucas asks, pulling me to him again. Being pressed up against his chest brings an instant sense of comfort, and for a split second, I actually believe everything is going to be alright.

  “A little.”

  “What do you want? I’ll have Monica bring it over for you.”

  “Tacos, maybe. I’ll know for sure after I nap.” I slip my hands under Lucas’s shirt, comforted further by the coolness of his skin. “Normally, I’d say there’s no way I’d be able to lie down and fall asleep after everything that happened, but this baby is stealing all my energy. I’m almost thankful,” I add, looking forward to passing out and not having to deal with my emotions for an hour or so.

  Granted, that’s only if I don’t have a nightmare.

  “You went through an emotional trauma,” Lucas starts, lacing his fingers between mine. “Even though your sister is fine, seeing someone you care about almost die isn’t something that you can easily get over.”

  “I know.”

  “It’s okay to be upset,” he goes on, and I know he’s trying to open a conversation about how not okay I am. I don’t have time for that, though, and if I let myself go down that emotional path, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get off.

  Abby is fine. Roger is gone. And Lucifer has busted out of Hell. I need to focus on one issue at a time or I’m going to come undone.

  “I know,” I repeat. “But I’m okay. Tried, but okay.” I look up and smile. “I promise.”

  “I swear you got bigger since the last time I saw you!” I coo, picking up Penny. The sun set only minutes ago, and Lucas and I just walked through Abby’s front door. She’s on-call but still home and answered the door with a smile on her face. Seeing her step aside and welcome us in loosened the knot in my stomach—just a bit.

  If Easton hadn’t said anything about the spell not fully working, I wouldn’t be worried. I’ve never doubted my magic before, but it’s not like I’ve exactly followed up with anyone on how long the memory alterations have lasted. And I’ve never covered up anything of this caliber.

  Abby almost died. The fear, the pain, the blood loss…it was all real. I cleaned up enough blood to know she had to be feeling a little woozy the rest of the afternoon. Maybe she wrote it off as being tired or stressed, or not eating properly. Something totally normal, since most people wouldn’t attribute feeling run down with maybe I got shot and healed by the devil.

  “She’s in a growth spurt every other day,” Abby laughs. Penny smiles and babbles at me, and then leans out of my arms, reaching for Scarlet.

  “Do you mind if she comes in?” I ask Abby, setting Penny down so she can love on Scarlet. We’re standing right where Roger’s body was, and the thought makes me sick. I grimace, wrinkling my nose as I wait for the nausea to pass.

  “Not at all, though the more Penny plays with her, the more she’s going to want to get a dog of her own.”

  I laugh. “Scarlet isn’t a real dog, remember.”

  “Oh, I’ll never forget what she actually looks like. Same with your familiars. Are you ever going to get a normal pet?”

  “Normal is boring.”

  “Familiars and hellhounds suit you,” Abby says with a wink. Phil walks through the house, greeting both Lucas and me with a big smile.

  “I hear a congrats is in order,” he starts, holding out his hand for Lucas to shake.

  “I told him,” Abby rushes out. “You’re not mad, are you?”

  “Of course not!” I rush out, too eager to agree with and please Abby. It’s not like I’m feeling guilty or anything… “I’m kind of over keeping secrets. It’s not much fun and I’m starting to lose track of them at this point.” Except I’m looking at you and all I can see is the blood pouring from the bullet wound in your stomach.

  “I would too,” Abby says.

  “Whatcha driving today?” Phil asks Lucas, who slowly turns, sniffing the air for blood.

  “A ’69 Chevelle.”

  “Ahhhh, I was hoping that beauty was yours!”

  “It is nice,” I note, crouching down to pet Scarlet, watching her interact with Penny. She’s so gentle and careful with her. Phil asks Lucas more about the car and is impressed that Lucas has been the only owner. I run my hand over Scarlet’s head and stand. “Ugh.”

  “Still feeling nauseous?” Abby asks, and I nod. “I’ll get you another Zofran and I’ll write you a prescription. You can fill it at your pharmacy in Thorne Hill.”

  “I’ve never gotten a prescription before,” I admit.

  “That is so weird,” Abby laughs. “Do you have insurance?”

  “I do, mostly in case I get hurt demon-hunting. Though the only times I’ve broken a bone or needed stitches, I was still at the Academy and the school nurse took care of me.”

  “With magic?”

  “My broken arm was in a cast for a few weeks, but yes, magic helps speed up the healing process.”

  Abby waves for me to follow her into the kitchen so she can get her prescription pad. I reach behind me and take Lucas’s hand. He needs to check the kitchen for traces of blood too. He meets my eyes a few seconds after we’ve been in here and gives me a tiny nod.

  It’s clean in here too.

  Abby quickly writes out the prescription and hands it to me. I hug her goodbye, Penny cries when Abby picks her up, reaching her little arms out for my hellhound, and Phil walks out with us to check out the car.

  “Finally,” I say with a heavy sigh when we pull out of the parking spot. “I just want to go home.” Lucas puts his hand on my thigh and Scarlet curls up in my lap.

  “Do you want to stop for food on the way?” Lucas asks.

  “Yeah, French fries sound good right now. I’ll watch Star Wars with you while I eat.”

  “And then you’ll put your Princess Leia outfit on?”

  “Hah. I forgot about that.”

  He turns his head to me and wiggles his eyebrows. "I didn’t.”

  “Assuming I don’t puke after eating the fries, I’ll dress up for you.”

  “Sexy, Callie.”

  I bite my lip and give him a coy smile. “Right? I’m going to rock your world, as long as I don’t throw up.”

  Lucas laughs and intertwines our fingers. We make it a few miles in silence before he pulls his hand out of mine, merging onto the highway.

  “We need to talk about something,” he starts, flicking his eyes from the fast-passing traffic to me.

  “Okay?”

  “You killed two humans. Ruth and then Roger. While I’m no stranger to it, that’s a first for you.”

  “But is it?” I ask slowly, mind going back to my days imprisoned at the laboratory. Dr. Howard would lock me in a room with someone that scared me, forcing me to use my powers to pr
otect myself. I never knew what happened to the people after I left the room. Most were unconscious or bleeding.

  “I’ll rephrase then: the first time you weren’t tricked or bullied into it.”

  I swallow hard, knowing that Lucas is right. We do have to talk about this. I’ve mentally suppressed enough emotions and memories to scar me for life. Refusing to deal with hard topics is kind of my thing, and it comes back to bite me in the ass.

  “I guess I could have stopped Ruth. Magically bound her hands and turned her over to the Grand Coven. But they fucked up and let her go once, and she’d already attacked the coven and cursed you. Honestly…” I bury my fingers in Scarlet’s thick fur. “I don’t trust them to handle something like that.”

  “I agree, and if I’d gotten there first, I would have pulled Ruth’s heart out with my hands and sucked the blood out of her aorta.”

  “I would have enjoyed watching that,” I admit, not sure if I should feel ashamed or not. “And with Roger…I…I didn’t think. I just threw him back. Killing him wasn’t my intention, but not killing him wasn’t either, if that even makes sense.”

  “It does. It was self-defense,” Lucas takes my hand again and brings it to his lips. He presses a kiss against my fingers. “You know I don’t hold anything against you.”

  “Just yourself, right?” I joke, and Lucas chuckles. “And I do. That’s why we’re perfect for each other. You don’t judge me, and I don’t judge you.” I give his hand a squeeze. “I love you.”

  “And I love you. Always.”

  “Good morning, my love.”

  I slowly sit up, smiling when I see Lucas coming into the bedroom carrying a tray with a plate of bacon and pancakes, a small bowl of freshly cut-up fruit, and a cup of coffee. The sheet slips down to my waist and Lucas’s eyes immediately go to my breasts.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Okay,” I tell him, pushing my messy hair back. “I’m hungry and that bacon smells wonderful.”