Knowledge Hurts (The Nememiah Chronicles Book 3)

by D. S. Williams

  Lucas chuckled. “I think Epi's under no illusions as to what will happen to him if he puts you in that position again.”

  “My beloved wife has assured him that once you've 'slit him open, gutted his miserable hide like a fish, ripped his heart out and burnt it', she will be tearing his head and every other conceivable body part from his torso,” Ben added with a broad smile.

  “I'm never going to live that down, am I?” I asked with a degree of dismay.

  “Nope. It's already reached legendary proportions around the city,” Striker laughed. “People now think you're a beautiful angel with the mouth of the devil.”

  “I didn't give a very good impression to our new allies, did I?”

  “On the contrary, I think they're under no illusions at all. Not only did you establish exactly what you could do - you also proved that you won't take any nonsense from anyone. Joe Reynolds, in particular, was extremely impressed,” Holden responded.

  “How's Epi with all this?”

  “Epi has agreed he overstepped the mark. From now on, any large demons he wants to test your abilities on will be inside that damn cage he built - you're going to be on the outside,” Conal explained.

  I screwed up my nose. “How is that going to be helpful? What about when we're training together?”

  Conal grinned, his black eyes alight with glee. “Don't think you're getting out of it completely. We still get to train together with the smaller demons, but Epi's seen the error in his ways - no more Naberius for you on your own.”

  “Well, that's a comfort. I would hate to think I was going to miss out on smelling like rotting carcasses on a permanent basis,” I agreed wryly. I attempted a smiled and winced, before I spoke to Jerome. “So, what's the damage? The left side of my face doesn't feel so good.”

  Jerome shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest. “Fractured cheekbone. Five broken ribs. Bruising over pretty much every available square inch of skin. And a particularly nasty bite on your neck. One of these days, I'd like to have a conversation which doesn't start with you asking what the damage is.” He softened the words with a wink.

  “Mmmm. Well, at least I'm retaining a high grade point average.” A glance showed the vampires were looking deeply troubled, even uncomfortable. “Let me just warn you guys up front - any one of you attempts to bite me and I will kill you, regardless of whether I love you or not.” More seriously, I directed my next words to Lucas. “When Archangelo bit me, it was unbearable. I thought you told me there was a paralytic agent which keeps the pain to a minimum when you bite?”

  “That's true, but in your case, Archangelo didn't use his fangs alone - he ripped into your neck with his teeth.”

  “Great,” I muttered.

  “I don't believe it would have made any difference, Lottie. You're utterly unique. I would imagine the angel blood is likely to make you immune to the vampire's paralytic agent,” Jerome suggested.

  “You believe so?” Ben questioned, his expression alert. “What makes you say that?”

  “It stands to reason. Despite Archangelo using his teeth, his fangs were involved in the process. There should have been some effect from the agent, some relief from the pain.”

  Hunter pursed his lips, thinking deeply. “Jerome's right. His fangs had to have made contact with Charlotte's bloodstream. There should have been some paralyzing effect.”

  “O-kay,” I said slowly. “In that case, if one of you attempts to bite me, consider yourself dead before you get within ten feet of my throat.”

  “I would believe that too, having seen you out there with the demon,” Lucas agreed.

  “So you better keep your fangs and teeth away from her, leech,” Conal announced with a contented grin.

  “As long as you do the same, dog,” Lucas retorted.

  I looked from Lucas to Conal. Despite their name calling, there seemed to be no trace of animosity between them. “Are you two okay?”

  Conal met Lucas's eyes before he returned his gaze to me. “Yeah, Sugar, we're okay.”

  Before I could reply, Nonny and Epi appeared in the doorway, Nonny balancing a tray in her hands. “Epi told me you were awake and I was sure you'd be hungry.” She placed the tray down on a hospital table and Conal wheeled it in front of me. I looked down at the tray and discovered Nonny had brought me one of my favorite meals, chicken enchiladas and an icy cold can of Coca Cola.

  “I love you, Nonny,” I muttered fervently, inhaling the delicious aroma.

  “Of course you do, I know your favorites,” Nonny agreed. She eyed my face and muttered something in Spanish which sounded remarkably like cussing. “I'll kill that man myself for what he did to you.”

  “Get in line, Nonny,” Striker said. “There's a queue.”

  “While I truly appreciate your enthusiasm Nonny, I think he might be a bit much for you to deal with,” I added.

  “I'll cook enchiladas and fill them with rat poison,” she announced triumphantly.

  Holden hooted with laughter. “Good idea.”

  Lucas opened the Coke and dropped a straw into it, while I eyed the enchiladas cautiously. “These look so delicious, Nonny, but I don't think I can eat them.” Chewing seemed an impossibility with my face in such sorry shape.

  “Lucas, get the Hjördis. Whilst I might be an excellent Doctor, in this case you'll heal yourself much faster than I can,” Jerome announced.

  Lucas opened a drawer in the cabinet beside the bed and picked up the small wooden box the Hjördis had originally resided in, before I'd begun using it full-time. “After your father attempted to control it, we put it in the box for safe-keeping,” he murmured. He handed the box to me and I stared at it for a few moments. The mention of the Hjördis triggered a memory, snippets of the conversations I'd heard in the darkness.

  “Charlotte? What's wrong?” Acenith asked.

  “Nothing. I…” Shaking my head, I closed my eyes and recalled what I could from the conversations I'd heard. I drew some of the spirits forward, asking questions and clarifying responses. When I opened my eyes, everyone was crowded around the bed, looking at me curiously.

  “What was all that about?” Lucas questioned, rubbing my arm.

  “When I was… unconscious, or whatever… after Archangelo attacked me and you were trying to get me back to Zaen. I could hear your conversations, or part of them. You and Conal, Epi, Nick - I heard you talking about the best way to get me back to Zaen. You portalled me from the lake directly to here.”

  “That's right,” Conal said with a frown. “You were losing so much blood, Jerome needed to get you back here as soon as possible.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “But you were out it, Sugar. We thought you'd died.”

  I shrugged a little, screwing my nose up. “I could still hear your voices. And someone else.”

  “Who?” Ripley asked immediately.

  “I think… I think it was Nememiah. He told me he would be watching, gave me the impression he wasn't taking sides in this war, that every decision and choice would be up to me. But… I think he gave me a clue.” Turning the box in my hands, I lifted the lid and offered it towards Lucas. “Take it,” I suggested quietly.

  His eyes widened and I gazed at him steadily, willing him to have faith in what I believed. “Trust me,” I whispered.

  He reached for the box and cautiously took the Hjördis in his hands. To everyone's shock but mine, it didn't throw him, hadn't hurt him in any way.

  “How did you do that?” Conal breathed, eyeing the Hjördis in Lucas's hand warily.

  “I don't know.” Lucas's answer was honest and immediate.

  “Could it be the wing sigil?” Ripley asked.

  “I've never been able to touch it,” Epi responded. “It's not the sigil.”

  “Then - what's allowing him to hold it?” William questioned.

  I was watching Lucas. “How does it feel in your hand?”

  “Warm. And it's vibrating,” Lucas said. His eyes were intense. “Do you think
I can operate it?”

  “I don't know, let's give it a try,” I suggested. “Can you remember the blood sigil?”

  Lucas nodded and held the Hjördis towards my neck. I held my breath when he drew a blood sigil near the edge of the bite mark Archangelo had left. When it was complete, everyone watched the wound curiously. My neck tingled and warmed as it usually would whilst healing and I was certain something was happening, but the lack of feedback was disconcerting. “Did it work?” I asked anxiously.

  “Perfectly,” Rowena assure me. She looked stunned, as did everyone around me.

  “Now try the bone sigil,” I suggested. Jerome lifted the hospital gown so my ribs were visible, holding it delicately in place so my breasts remained covered. Again the sigil worked, I could feel it in my chest as the bone bonded together and the ache disappeared.

  “You need one on your face, Sugar,” Conal reminded gently.

  I shook my head apprehensively. “No, not on my face. I don't want those marks on my face.” Whilst the power sigils left no marks, fading away completely, we'd discovered the healing sigils left a small blemish on the skin. I had dozens of them, one for every injury we'd healed but the thought of having one on my face was more than I could bear.

  “It'll heal much faster with the sigil,” Jerome urged.

  “Put it against her throat. It will work, just not as thoroughly,” Epi recommended. Lucas did as he suggested and when he'd finished, I opened and closed my mouth, discovering the pain was greatly diminished.

  “How can Lucas use it? Why now?” Gwynn demanded.

  “It's my blood,” I stated with conviction. “Lucas, you drank my blood. That's the only thing it can be.” I recalled the conversation I'd had with Nememiah about the weapons. “Nememiah told me the answer was within me. He was speaking literally. Angel blood is needed to operate the Hjördis and the weapons. That's what he told me, when I was dying. 'The vampires. They can help. Use the Hjördis' - that's what I heard.”

  “The blood of Angels,” Ben murmured, rubbing his fingers over his jaw thoughtfully. He and Lucas's eyes connected and Lucas nodded.

  Conal spoke. “It makes sense, except…”

  “Except what?” I demanded, pushing up on my arms in the bed, delighted by the absence of pain in my chest.

  Conal looked distinctly uncomfortable, his glaze flicking from Lucas and back to me. “Sugar, I drank your blood. Remember? When Reynolds kidnapped us, I licked your wounds.”

  Striker eyed the Hjördis and held his hand out to Lucas. “Let me try. It'll give us an indication whether it's only you, or if we can all touch it now.”

  Lucas handed the Hjördis to Striker and he was able to grasp it with no ill effect. After a second or two he grinned. “Warm and vibrating, Lott.”

  I was positive I was right. “Lucas, where are my weapons?”

  “They're in the closet,” Jerome answered.

  “One of our human friends brought them back and put them in here,” Ben added. He opened the door to the small wooden cabinet and handed me the belt.

  I pulled the Katchet from the belt and held it against my wrist. “Conal, the amount you had - it wasn't enough. Lucas, Ben, the others, they all drank much more than you did. You licked my wounds after they'd stopped bleeding. You need to drink my blood when it's flowing.”

  Jerome was alarmed. “Charlotte, this is a terrible idea. Not all the vampires have fed recently and you've lost far too much blood to start giving it away to others. For God's sake, I've just put you back together, don't go causing more injuries already!”

  “Jerome's right,” Conal captured my wrist, wrapping his hand around it to stop the movement of the blade. “And I'm no bloodsucker.”

  “You turn into a wolf, don't you?” I demanded. “Are you telling me you don't go out into the woods and eat stuff? There must be blood involved.”

  “That's different, Charlotte.” He continued to hold my wrist, his stance resolute. “That's not you.”

  “This is all hypothetical until we prove it,” I snapped. “We're guessing this is the way it is We know it isn't the sigil alone, there's something more and I'm ninety nine percent certain it involves my blood.”

  “Be that as it may, I'm not going to drink your blood,” Conal said, his black eyes flashing with anger.

  “Yes, you are, because seven people using the weapons isn't enough. Nememiah told me I have to select those I trust the most to give the power of the weapons.” I knew my green eyes were flashing with determination. “And I trust you. Next to Lucas, you're the single most important person in my world. We need to know if this is right.” I stopped Jerome's argument before he got started. “Only Conal for now. If it works, I'll wait till you tell me I'm ready to give my blood to others. I promise. But I need to know, Jerome, I need to confirm what I think is right.” Jerome stared at me for a few seconds, his frustration apparent before he nodded his assent curtly. When he did, I turned back to Conal, pleading with him. “Please, Conal. I want you to do this. Please.”

  Conal stared at the shining silver blade, then raised his gaze to Lucas. “You okay with this?”

  Lucas glared back at him, his expression hard. He nodded slowly. “I fed this morning.”

  “That's not what I meant,” Conal snapped.

  “I know what you meant. Just drink the damn blood and get it over with,” Lucas said, his voice every bit as angry as Conal's.

  “Charlotte, I must leave,” William announced, an equal mixture of alarm and desire in his face.

  “Sure, it's okay William.” I glanced around the room. “Maybe you should all get out of here.”

  “We fed this morning,” Ripley said. He exchanged a look with Acenith. “We'll stay.”

  “I'll go with William and Gwynn,” Marianne announced, patting my leg before they left.

  “We'd better skip out. Catch you later, kiddo.” Striker winked and he and Holden left the room.

  “Rowena?” She remained sitting on the bed, looking anguished.

  “I'm staying,” she replied determinedly. “I'll hold my breath.”

  “It would be judicious for us all to hold our breath,” Ben murmured.

  Conal's eyes were wide and focused on the blade. “Please, Conal. I need to know this works.”

  Conal nodded brusquely, watching as I cut into my skin and winced. The blood welled to the surface and I held my wrist toward him. For long seconds, he wavered, caught in indecision over what I'd asked him to do. In a swift movement he caught my wrist between his hands and lowered his mouth, sucking the blood slowly. For a minute there was complete silence as Conal drank and Lucas stood by my side, his hands clenched into tight fists. The muscle in his jaw was tightly compressed, his chest unmoving which assured me he'd stopped breathing so he wouldn't react to the coppery scent.

  When Conal released my wrist, he wiped his sleeve across his mouth. “Is that enough?” he asked huskily.

  I nodded, creating a healing sigil against my skin. “I think so.”

  Conal looked up at Lucas. “Damn. She tastes like heaven.”

  Lucas looked murderous. “I know!” he snarled.

  Holding the Hjördis towards Conal, I watched him as he eyed it uneasily. “I had a headache for days, last time I touched that thing.”

  “Go ahead. I know I'm right,” I encouraged him.

  He extended his hand, his fingertips hovering over the Hjördis before he grasped it in one quick motion.

  “Well?” Ben questioned anxiously.

  “Warm and vibrating,” Conal confirmed with a grin.

  “Looks like we're in business!” Epi announced happily.

  Chapter 34: A Quiet Moment

  After the excitement of our discovery, it took a while before my visitors left. Eventually however, the large group dispersed, leaving Jerome with Lucas and I.

  “I want one more listen to your chest before I leave you to sleep,” Jerome announced, lifting his stethoscope from around his neck.

  I lifted the hospi
tal gown agreeably and Jerome probed my ribs carefully. He checked my heartbeat using the stethoscope, then slipped it back around his neck. “Remarkable,” he murmured with a warm smile. “Thank God not everybody is an angel, you'd put me out of business.”

  “I don't think so,” I disagreed mildly. “There's a heap of stuff I can't fix and I certainly can't deliver babies.” Jerome had earlier announced that the pregnant shape shifter had given birth today, having a healthy baby boy in the converted hospital. It felt like a good omen, the beginning of new life despite the precarious position we currently found ourselves in.

  Jerome balanced on the edge of the bed, rubbing his bad leg. “Speaking of babies, Lucas tells me we need to discuss birth control.”

  I flushed a deep shade of crimson and Lucas rubbed my fingers in an attempt to comfort me. “I guess we should, given that most of Zaen apparently knows about Lucas and I.”

  “Unfortunately, due to a number of circumstances, your personal life became public. They'll soon forget about it.” Jerome smiled. “Lucas and I have spoken about precautions that are available to you. I would strongly suggest the contraceptive pill. I think it's our best chance of avoiding a pregnancy,” he explained calmly. “Your menstrual cycles - are they regular?”

  The blush crept up over my face again. “Yeah,” I muttered.

  “Twenty eight days?”

  I did a little mental calculation and nodded, mortified at having this conversation with Jerome while Lucas sat beside me.

  Jerome seemed satisfied. “Excellent. Lucas and I have discussed the best way to deal with your sexual relationship and we both agree the best we can do is birth control pills. Of course,” he shook his head, “I've never been called on to recommend birth control for a vampire and an angel. I can't guarantee anything I can suggest will work.”

  “We understand,” Lucas said.

  Jerome patted my leg. “Charlotte, there's no need to be embarrassed. Birds do it, bees do it. This is perfectly natural for a young woman like yourself.”

  I nodded, still unbearably self-conscious. “We'll talk more later. I'll organize the pills and have them sent up in the morning.” He stood up, making a couple of notes on the chart hanging at the end of the bed. “And I want you to take some sleeping pills tonight. Despite your miracle work with the Hjördis, your body still has some recovering to do.”