Fang Me

by Parker Blue

  "What happened?" Trevor asked, looking at the two women with some annoyance.

  I helped Marina get Erica out of the car."She got hurt trying to find the books," I snapped at him."Some compassion would be nice."

  He held up his hands defensively."Just asking." He darted a quick glance at Shade, but since he wore a deep hoodie and wasn't touching anyone, the shadow demon's features were inscrutable. "Do you need some help?"

  That was obviously directed at Shade, as if Shade's opinion was more important than anyone else's. What was going on there?

  Shade unlocked the door and directed them to his couch. His living room was a lot like Dan's, only with more gaming electronics and bookshelves. It was spotless as always, though.

  Fang sniffed the air. I THINK PRINCESS IS GOING INTO HEAT. BUT SHE'S HIDING, THE LITTLE MINX. SEE YA.

  Fang took off, following his nose. Sheesh. Males—always at the mercy of their gonads. Oh well, we didn't need him here right now anyway.

  Erica half sat, half laid on the couch, her face twisted in a grimace of pain as she held her hands cupped in front of her.

  "Are you sure this is going to work?" Marina asked in a worried tone.

  "Don't worry, it will," I assured her. Then, turning to Trevor, I added,"You can leave to continue your search if you want. We don't need you here."

  "No, that's all right," he assured me smoothly."I'd like to see this."

  Shade took my hand then threw back his hood. He probably wanted to reassure the Witches with his normality."Do you know how this works?" he asked Erica.

  Erica stared up into his face as if she'd suddenly seen her savior. With his head haloed by a lamp in the dark room, I could see where she might think he was an angel."Sort of," she gulped out.

  "I am part shadow demon," he said gently," and when I'm not touching a being of this world, I look like this." He let go of my hand, and Marina and Erica both gasped. They appeared fascinated instead of horrified by his swirls, thank goodness, or I would've asked Shade to stop.

  He grasped my hand again."I can channel healing energies from another dimension to heal Er ica's injuries, but I need to use another person as a sort of template, to show the healing energies what a whole system looks like."

  "I can do that," Marina said eagerly.

  Shade smiled."Thank you. However, I must warn you both that you will share a lot more than that. You will share memories, fears, hopes and dreams with each other, but not with me. I am merely a conduit for the energies. If you aren't ready for that, let me know and we can find someone else to be the template or take you to the ER."

  Marina and Erica looked at each other and smiled."We've been best friends forever," Marina said."It's not a problem."

  Erica nodded."I agree. What do we need to do?"

  "Just sit on the couch next to each other," Shade began.

  Trevor interrupted him."Are you sure this is wise? A good use of your abilities?"

  Annoyed, I said,"I can't believe you're saying this. Who do you think you are? Shade's manager?"

  Trevor scowled at me."I'm merely concerned for Shade. He told me what happened the last time he healed someone. We almost lost him. I don't want that to happen again."

  "I don't think her injuries are bad enough to be a danger to me," Shade said softly.

  He was too nice to the creep."Don't forget, this woman got hurt because she was helping us look for the books," I reminded Trevor.

  "How?" Trevor asked.

  "What does it matter?"

  "It might matter to Shade in the way he treats her."

  Dang it, he always made things sound so reasonable. But it wasn't my story to tell, or I'd reveal the Witches' demon powers. I looked at Marina and Erica to see what they wanted to reveal.

  Marina sighed."Erica is a finder. She was using a crystal pendulum over a map of San Antonio.

  We were close to finding the books when I, uh, went into a trance."

  "A trance?" Shade repeated with a puzzled look.

  "Soothsayer demon?" Trevor asked.

  Marina nodded."The books must be protected somehow, because as I was doing my prophecy thing and the pendulum was getting closer to finding the books, the crystal shattered and we got the backlash. It felt like lightning or electricity ran through us. Erica got the worst of it."

  "What did the prophecy say?" Trevor asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but the eagerness on his face betrayed him.

  "Nothing useful," I told him."She wasn't able to finish it. Now, can we heal this nice lady?"

  "Of course," Trevor said.

  Soooo glad we had his permission. But I bit that back as I watched Shade position the women on either end of the couch.

  He moved the coffee table out of the way and sat on the floor facing them, lightly touching their wrists near the injuries."Ready?" he asked as he blipped into focus.

  "Ready," they chorused.

  "Then relax and try to stay conscious. This may hurt." Shade lowered his head, and his face flickered in and out of the dimensions, in and out of the swirls. The swirls moved faster and faster, like a tornado, with small flashes of purple lightning zinging through now and again. All normal . . . for him, anyway.

  Erica grimaced and strained, but her fingers and wrist slowly turned from a blackened mess to pink, healthy flesh. I expected him to stop when they looked whole once again, but he kept going.

  Trevor looked alarmed."What's wrong? Shouldn't he be done by now?"

  "Yes," I said, hating to agree with him.

  "Then why isn't he?"

  "I don't know," I said in exasperation."You're the guy with all the answers. You tell me."

  "He must be healing more than her hand," Trevor whispered in horror."What else is wrong with her?"

  "I don't know—I just met her." I stared at Erica, who was bent over double now, writhing in pain."You think she has cancer or something?" That would be bad. Very bad.

  "Shit. I hope not. Shade can't handle that much." Trevor took a step toward Shade, looking anxious."We have to stop him. I need him."

  I blocked him with my body, maybe a little more forcefully than I had to."Leave him alone. You don't know what will happen if you touch him at this point."

  Trevor shoved me backward with both hands."We both know what will happen if we don't."

  I slugged him back, right in the shoulder, just to relieve some of my pent-up anger at the creep. "I can handle it. I can help him. I did it before."

  He got right up in my face and yelled,"If we stop him now, you won't have to."

  I was prepared to yell right back, with my fists if necessary, but he darted around me and grabbed Erica's hand to pull her away from Shade.

  But Erica's hand wouldn't pull away. It was as if a circuit had been completed with the four of them, and Trevor stood there, jerking spasmodically, his eyes wide open and his mouth drooling. The others mirrored him, even Shade.

  Oh crap, oh crap. This couldn't be good. What could I do?

  I couldn't grab hold of anyone or risk being pulled into that myself. Should I wait it out? I was afraid it wouldn't let up. Force wouldn't work, reason wouldn't work . . . all I had left was Lola. And since the only one in that unholy circuit she would affect was Shade, I concentrated on him, reaching out with all my might to grab onto his chakras.

  But I couldn't get a grip. I couldn't snag his attention, not with all of his will focused on the healing.

  Uh oh. Was that a green cloud forming above his head? That couldn't be good. Was it one of the other dimensions? Was he about to lose control and let more demons into our world?

  Crap. Maybe if I distracted him . . . But how could I do it without touching him?

  I couldn't touch him with my hand, but I could distract him by hitting him with something else. I glanced around the room and grabbed the first thing I found—a book—and threw it at him. It didn't seem to do anything, but something must have worked, because Shade moaned,"Stoooop meeeee . . . . "

  Okay, maybe if I threw somet
hing harder and knocked him out. It had worked on me. Another book didn't do it, so I picked up a large crystal paperweight and threw it at his head. But he was jerking, so it missed and hit him in the shoulder instead.

  Energy flashed from Shade into the crystal, turning it a virulent purple before it overloaded and exploded, sending the four of them flying apart. Trevor and the two women lay unconscious, but Shade was still alive and shaking, curled into a fetal position with that green cloud growing slowly over his head.

  No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. I ran to him and helped him to his feet. He staggered toward the bedroom, and I followed him, wondering what he planned to do.

  He pulled a knife from his nightstand, and I suddenly knew what he intended. Fear poured through me. No, I couldn't lose him. I'd just found him. I yanked the knife out of his hand and sent it spinning to the other side of the room.

  Hugging him fiercely, I said,"I'm sorry, Shade. What can I do?"

  "Kill me. Now." His voice was muffled in my shoulder, but I could hear him quite well.

  "I can't do that. You know I can't." But the green cloud was growing above him.

  Lola helped last time, so I hoped she could again. She wasn't quite back up to full force, but it would have to do.

  Wrapping myself around him, I pulled Shade down onto the bed. His body was so tense, so concentrated on controlling his abilities, it was as if he didn't even know I was there. Instead of shoving Lola into him, I eased her in slowly through the cracks in his defenses, letting her gradually take over his body. This way he didn't slam up his defenses.

  It worked, but that green cloud continued to grow, creepily silent, and it didn't look good for the home front. I needed more ammunition, needed to give Lola more room to work. Skin to skin, that was the ticket. I let go of him long enough to try to strip off his clothes, but he struggled against me.

  "I'm trying to help you, damn it," I muttered."Work with me here."

  Though he was still gritting his teeth, Shade helped me remove his clothes, then I whipped off mine as quick as I could and wrapped myself around him, urging Lola in through all his pores, filling up every one of his chakras, willing her to leave no room for anything else . . . like pesky alternate dimensions.

  Though Shade remained rigid in my arms, I could see the cloud getting smaller. It was working! Together, we were getting a hold on his sanity. I pushed harder, urging him to stay with me in the here and now, here in this flesh, together.

  "Val," Shade groaned and buried his head in my neck."Don't stop."

  No problem. I couldn't stop for anything. I didn't want to. It was as if something else outside myself had control of my body, something freeing all of my inhibitions. Lola pulsed through us, raising our awareness higher, until there was nothing left in the universe except Shade, me, the slide of skin against skin, and an incredible pent-up passion. His scent was so delicious, so yummy—like some primeval musk—I just wanted to eat him up.

  Oh wow, this was . . . amazing.

  Wait, a little voice inside me said. Stop and think about this.

  Who needed little voices? Not me. Not Lola. Right here, right now, I no longer cared about my powers, no longer cared about being the Slayer. All I wanted was to be normal, like any other girl loving her guy.

  At last, I gave in to temptation.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Afterward, as we lay entwined together, Shade murmured nonsense about how much he adored me and covered my neck with kisses. I sighed and rested my head on his chest, happy and content. For the first time in my life, I felt really loved. It wasn't how I would have planned my first time, but it was still wonderful, without the awkwardness I'd expected.

  I explored my body and senses mentally, probing for any changes beyond the incredibly obvious one. Nope, not a thing different—I still felt like me. My hopes rose. Maybe Shade was wrong. Maybe I wouldn't lose my powers.

  I didn't regret finally doing the deed, but I did wish it hadn't happened like this. I'd really wanted to make our first time special, at a time and place of my own choosing, with candlelight, roses, and the whole schmaltzy deal. Us both losing control of our powers . . . not my go-to choice. But it was as if something outside me—outside Lola even—had grabbed hold of my emotions and driven me out of control. Something like an empath demon, maybe? I went rigid at the thought.

  "Are you okay?" Shade murmured.

  I gave him a quick squeeze to reassure him."I'm good."

  "Are you worried about not having . . . you know, protection? Remember, different kinds of demons can't interbreed. And I'm clean."

  "I know. I'm just trying to understand how it happened."

  He levered up onto one elbow to look down at me and smoothed the hair from my face."I'm sorry. I didn't intend for our first time to be like this."

  "Neither did I," I assured him."It wasn't your fault. But did you sense anything . . . odd . . . going on?"

  "You mean like the spooky green cloud above my head?" he asked wryly.

  "No, actually I meant someone manipulating our emotions . . . making it impossible to . . . er, stop."

  He frowned."You mean that wasn't Lola?"

  "No. Trust me, I know the difference."

  Fang scratched at the door. LET ME IN AND I'LL EXPLAIN.

  He'd explain? It was getting dark outside, so I turned on the light. We dressed hurriedly—not that Fang would care, but I did—and opened the door. Fang trotted in and looked up at me with those big brown eyes, then lowered his head, looking guilty as hell . . . a classic hang-dog expression.

  "Explain what?" I asked.

  IT WAS ME, he said, sounding miserable. PRINCESS AND ME, I MEAN.

  "I don't understand," Shade said.

  That made two of us.

  Fang heaved a doggie sigh. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. YOU SEE, PRINCESS IS IN HEAT, WHICH MEANS SHE'S PRETTY HARD TO RESIST. He shrugged. SO I DIDN'T.

  When I stared at him blankly, he added, YOU KNOW, WE DID THE DEED, HOOKED UP, STUFFED THE MUFFIN—

  "We get the idea," I said, holding up my hands to stop the flow of unwanted images."What does that have to do with Shade and me?"

  WELL, I DIDN'T REALIZE IT AT THE TIME, BUT YOU AND I ARE PRETTY HOOKED IN TOGETHER. SO ARE PRINCESS AND SHADE. SO WHEN THE EMOTIONS RAMPED UP, WE ALL, UH, KIND OF . . . SHARED IN THE GOOD TIMES.

  I cringed at his wording, but that made sense. Looks like I'd mistakenly accused Trevor.

  "Like a feedback loop," Shade said.

  EXACTLY, Fang said, and I got the distinct impression he felt no shame for sharing in our "good times," but was definitely sorry he'd caused this to happen.

  I wasn't sure how I felt about that sharing myself . . . . Talk about TMI. And how about the other guilty party?"Where's Princess?" How did she feel about all of this?

  HIDING, Fang said. SHE'S EMBARRASSED.

  Really? I didn't think that word was even in her vocabulary.

  I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION, Fang continued.

  I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it, but Shade asked, "What's that?"

  WHAT'S WITH ALL THE STIFFS IN THE OTHER ROOM?

  Stiffs? Oh, crap, I'd forgotten about the others. Shade and I shared a mortified glance, then rushed into the living room.

  Shade turned on a light, and Trevor rose unsteadily to his feet. Relief surged through me. Sheesh, never thought I'd be so glad to see him alive.

  Marina and Erica were still passed out on the couch. Shade felt for their pulses and nodded. "They're okay. This is the normal unconsciousness after a healing. It's best to let them come to by themselves."

  I glanced around, expecting to see crystal shards littering the carpet, but the paperweight had broken into four irregular lumps and lay blackened on the carpet.

  WHAT HAPPENED HERE? Fang asked, sniffing at it.

  I answered, since I was probably the only one who knew all of it. Stabbing a thumb toward Trevor, I said,"Genius here tried to stop the healing by grabbing Erica and pulling her out of the loop. He ende
d up getting sucked in instead." I grimaced."Then they all went into convulsions."

  Trevor, still a bit shaky, glanced at the broken crystal and the books strewn around the floor. "So you threw things at us?" he asked in an incredulous tone.

  "Well, your idea didn't work out so well, so I had to find some way to break the connection." He glared at me, and I added,"Hey, my idea worked."

  Shade looked up from his examination of Erica, still touching her wrist."I'm glad it did, Val. I always wondered what would happen if someone interrupted a healing. Now I know."

  "But how could the crystal stop you when the books didn't?" I asked, confused.