“What about you, Alaric?”
He shrugged. “Still wondering what you did to us.”
Yeah, he wasn’t the only one. There was still this uncomfortable psychic connection stretched between us in the car. It was enough to make us tense and our breathing strained.
The door next to Fallon swung open and the scariest vampire I’d ever come across stuck his head in and I jumped. On the outside he didn’t seem that frightening. In fact, he was gorgeous. It was his aura that made my flight or fight instinct scream “Flight.” Dark was too mild a word to describe it. His already cruel lips twisted into a snarl when he spotted me, and I wanted to disappear against the interior of the car.
His gaze darted to Fallon. “How long has he been unconscious?”
“An hour, at least.”
“Fuck.” He reached out and shook him gently. “Fallon? Come on, you pain in my ass. Wake up.”
I rolled my eyes when he didn’t answer. “He’s out. I don’t think he’s going to come to no matter what you call him.”
He shrugged. “You never know. Sometimes we’ll wake up with the right stimuli. Though right now I’m guessing blood is the only thing that will bring him around.”
He jerked his head to the side. “Get out of the car and we’ll get him out and fed, and see if sewing up that wound helps at all. It’s either that or cauterize it, which I imagine would definitely wake him up.”
I braced my hands on the door and the roof of the car and pushed myself to standing. Black spots danced in front of my vision. Hands clamped onto my arms and lowered me gently to the pavement while I tried to hang onto consciousness.
“Looks like he won’t be the only one we’re patching up.”
I blinked several times, but my vision was still fuzzy. “I hadn’t realized I’d lost this much blood.”
“You think you can stand if you do it slowly?”
I shook my head. I couldn’t seem to make my vision go back to normal. I gave up, and lay back on the concrete, and even the pain in my back didn’t stop me from closing my eyes.
“Shit. Laden, can you get this vampire hunter inside? Make sure you hurry, but try to keep a low profile. Many know her face and would love to kill her.” The venom in his voice told me he’d probably enjoy killing me, too.
“Wow, boss, I get the feeling you’d like to off her, too.”
“It’s a thought, but my wife would castrate me.”
“Damn right I would.” The commanding female voice cut through the tense air.
I stuck a hand up and waved, even though I wasn’t sure where she was. “Hi, Pagan.”
I opened my eyes to see her leaning over me. “Hi there. Don’t die, okay?”
“Pretty sure I’m not going to.”
She glanced up. “Alaric? Are you going to live?”
“I’m better off than they are, which wasn’t the case a few hours ago. Get her inside and sew up her back.”
She snorted. “Don’t be so damned bossy.”
“Pagan!”
“All right, all right. I’m gettin’, I’m goin’.”
I pushed myself up to sitting slowly. Oh yay, less dizziness. I’d have to go slowly.
Pagan eyed Fallon, whom Nyx had gotten out of the car and laid out on the sidewalk. He was now examining his wound while Misha hovered next to them.
“Who’s this guy?” she asked, poking her husband’s shoulder.
Nyx didn’t answer. His brows were pulled together, and his mouth was set in a grave line.
Misha straightened. “He’s our brother.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? No way. I’ve never met him. Not in all the years I lived with you guys.”
Misha nodded. “He’s kind of the black sheep of the family. We don’t talk about him or let him around. He’s…”
“A pain in the ass,” Nyx muttered, his voice hollow with distraction.
Misha shrugged. “A dangerous pain in the ass.
Pagan glanced around before clearing her throat. “Yo, leech, we’re attracting some unwanted human attention,” she mumbled.
Nyx jerked his head up and glanced around before fixating at a spot across the street. I looked in the same direction and saw a group of seven people eyeing us. Nyx seemed to meet the gaze of each one. All at once, they turned and went calmly in different directions.
Whoa, that took serious power to control multiple humans.
“Nyx, I wish you wouldn’t do that. It’s creepy, and something I would have killed you for when I still hunted.”
He frowned at Pagan. “And if they call the cops I’ll have more, possibly stubborn humans to be-spell. Best to deal with them now and get the wounded inside.”
“It’s still creepy.”
He shook his head. “Laden, get Alaric. I think Pagan can help Kori.”
A little shiver went down my spine. “How do you know my name?”
“You come from one of the most prominent vampire-hunting families in the country. Everyone knows of you, but I can identify you because I’ve been keeping track of you for some time. Ever since Pagan came into my radar and I found out who trained her. Hell, I’ve been in your house.”
That would freak me out for years to come. A vampire had been spying on me for years. Had been in my house.
Pagan snorted at the expression on my face and reached down to help me up. “Don’t dwell. It will make you crazy. Be glad he didn’t kill you.”
The world spun as I stood, and it took all my willpower not to fall back down.
Pagan grabbed my arm and put it over her shoulder as she hugged me to her hip. “Those are some nasty slices on your back.”
“Oh, yeah. They won’t stop bleeding. Which worries everyone.”
“Uh, I can understand why. That’s a big problem. But we’ll sew it up, and hopefully it will start healing. If not, I’m not sure what we’ll do. I’ve never heard of something like this, and judging from Nyx’s face, I don’t think he’s seen anything like it. Either that or it’s a real problem.”
She opened the door of the club. The smell of cigarettes and pot smoke hit me first, along with the grating sound of heavy metal. It was something I usually enjoyed, but my new super hearing was not happy. A dull throb started at my temples. The stench of fresh sweat and booze permeated the air. As we stepped in, I detected the tangy undertone of bleach water. “Wow, that’s a powerfully awful smell.”
She shrugged. “I’d say that you get used to it, but with our highly developed senses you don’t. I’m actually trying to convince Nyx that we need a different place. The smell kind of drifts up the stairs, and it’s gross. But Nyx is adamant that he live here. He says if he leaves, anyone who takes refuge here is vulnerable, which is probably true, so I haven’t pressed him.”
I was so fatigued. I wanted to sit and maybe pass out. My feet didn’t seem to want to keep moving. Pagan was almost dragging me. I glanced around the room as she tried to hustle my uncooperative body through it.
All around me vampires stopped whatever they were doing to glare in my direction. Had they all seen me at some point? Could they sense my powers?
A few of them stood and headed toward us, but Pagan glared at them and they paused. I guess it was a bad idea to piss off Nyx’s wife. She might not be much of a threat to them, but he sure was.
We made it through a door next to the bar. As it closed behind us, the noise of the place immediately vanished. The tension in my shoulders eased as the pain in my head decreased slightly.
Pagan all but dragged me to the stairs where she paused. She looked up the long, narrow stairway and then back at me. “Nope. I’m not dragging your sorry ass up there. It will be too hard. Your feet and the awkward angle of dragging you is slowing us down.”
“Great.” My knees started to slide out from under me. If she wasn’t going to help, I could sit. “I’ll lay down here.”
She snorted and crouched down in front of me. Before I knew what was happening, she’d hoisted me over her shoulder in a fir
emen’s carry. The pain in my head increased tenfold and bile swam up my throat.
“I’m gonna hurl.”
“Don’t you dare puke on me, Kori. It’s a short walk and we’ll be there.”
I groaned and held as still as possible, but every time she stepped, my stomach jammed against her shoulder. We made it to the landing and into the room closest to the stairs. She set me on my feet before pushing me face down on the bed, presumably so she could doctor my back.
“Stay here. I need to get some medical supplies.”
“I couldn’t move if I tried.” And I really couldn’t have. The amount of spinning the room was doing rivaled a roller coaster ride.
She poked her head back into the room and tossed something on the bed. I lifted my head and my eyes focused on what it was.
“Bagged blood? Seriously. Is that even going to work?”
“You can’t survive on it forever. I think it has something to do with a lack of psychic energy that you get when you feed or whatever. But it will give you some strength until you can feed properly.”
I grimaced. Feed properly? I wasn’t sure I could take some unwilling victim, and until Alaric was on his feet, I couldn’t feed from him.
She left again, and I reluctantly drank the blood. She was right. It wasn’t satisfying at all. It was like eating Lean Cuisine compared to a homemade meal. That boring, “Why should I even bother finishing this?” feeling.
However, my head stopped simulating a roller coaster ride, and for that I was grateful. My senses sharpened as well. I could hear people moving around the living quarters. Fallon was cursing in the room next to mine. I was shocked and very relieved that they could wake him.
Pagan came back through the door and dumped medical supplies on the bed next to my head.
“Everyone has settled in. I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that Casey actually came here with Dagger before you guys made it here. I would have told you sooner, but it completely slipped my mind when you all arrived so battered.”
A tension deep inside my chest, that I hadn’t realized was there, eased. No matter how old she was, Casey would always be my baby sister. I’d loved her and replaced a mother that hadn’t loved either of us. We’d been born to carry on the line. I was supposed to protect her, and I’d failed her enough for one lifetime. Longer…
I sighed and attempted to clear my mind. “I don’t suppose I get drugs for this doctoring you’re going to do?”
Pagan snorted. “Well, if you’d like a little heroin, I’m sure that could be arranged, but beyond that Nyx is a ‘suck it up and embrace the pain’ kind of guy. And for that matter, I’m that kind of girl. Hell. I’ve done stitches on myself. Did you get pain killers, ever?”
I snorted. “Hell, yeah. Astra’s parents were doctors. She’s got the hook up. And a witch specializing in healing can master a spell to eradicate pain, and we always had one of those in our network.”
She snorted. “Lucky you. After my brother quit hunting I had to do my doctoring on my own. Never did have any pain meds much stronger than aspirin.”
She cut the shirt off my back and pulled the sides apart. She let out a low whistle. “Well, on the upside, these seem to be slowly scabbing over. I think the bleeding has slowed if the amount of blood on your pants and shirt are any indication, because it’s barely leaking now. Strange that these are healing so slowly.”
“They’re demon cuts. I think that must have something to do with it. Glad they’re healing though.”
“They seem to be healing at a human pace. Sucks to be you.”
She stuck a needle into my skin to begin stitching and I growled at her. “I think I hate you.”
She snickered. “Love you too, honey.”
Chapter Twelve
Back wounds are the worst. If you injure any other part of you, you can compensate. If you break a leg, you use crutches. If you break an arm, you string it up and use the other. But when you hurt your back, every tiny move you make sets it on fire. If you walk, you’re in pain and if you move your arms, you’re in pain. You can’t sit, stand, or even lay down without causing some kind of twinge.
I sighed and tried not to shift in my seat or touch my back to the chair. Unfortunately, the cuts came down to the top of my ass, so jeans were a problem, too.
We’d all gathered in Dagger’s room after we’d been patched up. He was still down for the count, but he had information we’d need, so he had to be in on the plan. The only one who hadn’t joined us was Fallon, who was resting comfortably. Well, relatively speaking.
Nyx paused in his pacing and faced us. “So what now, people?”
Dagger frowned at him. “This is none of your concern. We shouldn’t even be here. We’re putting you in danger. If I hadn’t been unconscious, I would have told Casey not to come here.”
Nyx crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to help you fight this evil she-bitch. Now that I know the kind of trouble you’re in, I want to help.”
“No, take your fledgling and your werewolf, close the bar, and get gone for a few days. I won’t put you at risk.”
Nyx shook his head. “You need me.”
“I’m stronger than you, boy. I don’t need you.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, but have you mentioned to these people that you can’t access most of your powers without losing control?”
Dagger opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Alaric.
“Stop bickering. Nyx is a big boy. He’s older than everyone here but you. That’s not the point of this meeting. The point is to find out what the heck we need to do next.”
Dagger took a deep breath and flinched. “We call a Gate Guardian.” He looked at me. “You had a decent plan, but we failed, and now we have no choice.”
I sighed and ran my hands over my face. “I agree, but I don’t have that kind of power. Neither does Casey.”
“Together, you and I have enough power. We’ll leave Casey out of it.” He glanced at her. “No offense, honey, but you don’t have enough power or control to pull this off. What we’re about to do will make you very, very evil.” He looked at me. “I think you can do it, though.”
“Can you do it? Is Nyx’s statement about not being able to use your powers true?”
He glared at Nyx. “I should have let you die on that battlefield long ago, boy. You and your fledglings cause me nothing but headaches. That Fallon is a pain in the ass.”
“Dagger, answer the question.”
He shrugged. “Yes, occasionally using my powers can make me lose control and kill some folks. But, there will be a conveniently summoned Guardian. Gideon knows to kill me if he believes I’ve lost it. Hell, it’s kind of hard to convince him not to kill me. I’m part demon, and he feels that means I don’t belong in this realm.”
I laughed. “Great, so do you think you’ll be safe summoning him?”
“Yeah, we’ve reached an agreement. But, I need time to heal and so do you. If we’re not at full strength, things could go badly. Calling Guardians has a delightful way of backfiring—everything from calling more demons to setting your cat on fire.”
Alaric laughed and then bit his lip to hold his laughter in when Dagger glared at him. “Holy shit. You’re not kidding?”
“Nope. Mr. Whiskers was my ex-girlfriend’s cat. You can understand why she’s an ex.”
Nyx snorted. “Because of that cat’s awful name?”
“Yep.” He glanced at Alaric. “You need to feed and heal in case we need you to, you know, cut off my head or something.”
I nodded at Dagger. “What about you? Are you healed and ready to go?”
He frowned and rubbed his stomach. “We don’t have a choice. We need to get this done quickly. I’m not a hundred percent, but I’ll feed again. And you need to also, but I have another thing in mind for you.”
I arched an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
“You’re going to feed, and then you’re going to have some of my blood.”
; I scowled at him. I didn’t like that at all. But then, the whole need for blood was skeeving me out anyway. “And why will I be feeding from you?”
Alaric growled. “Yes, please explain that.”
He sighed and shook his head at Alaric. “Don’t get your possessive panties in a twist. I’m hoping giving her a bit of my blood will strengthen her and give her a bit of immunity against the dark realm we’re tapping into here. Hopefully if she’s got a bit of evil in that lily white soul, it won’t be physically painful to bring this guardian. And I’m hoping if she gets used to the sensation now, she won’t go completely dark side when two tons of evil dumps down on her. We’re messing with wicked shit, and I’m guessing she’s only done good magic.”
I snorted. “Good magic is as powerful as the bad, and can be used to do some pretty nasty stuff. Just because there is no blood sacrifice but our own occasionally doesn’t mean it’s weak.”
He nodded. “I know that, but still, its white magic. No decent witch in her right mind would open a portal to a demon realm. Not knowing what could piggyback out.”
I shook my head. “You’re right. I’ve got to be crazy.”
Alaric chuckled. It wasn’t a happy sound. “Well the way I hear it, we’ve got no choice.”
No, we didn’t, but that didn’t mean I wanted to jump into next level shit. What if I couldn’t handle all this evil Dagger was talking about? He was right. I’d only done pure magic. I’d done nothing that could stain my soul, because of how dangerous I knew it could be. It could turn me into one of the monsters I hunted. Or worse. Being killed outright was the least of my worries. At least no one else would get hurt if I kicked the bucket.
Pagan stood. “Well, I guess I’d better go ask around for some more willing donors. Ours have given blood twice already. They’re resting. Fortunately, the bar is well stocked.”
I shuddered. Willing donors. Another word for junkies looking for a bigger rush than any drug could give them. It was disgusting. But it would have to do. Everyone slowly filed out of the room, leaving me alone with Alaric. He motioned me over, so I came to sit next to him on the bed.
Almost Human Page 11