by Becca Andre
“You’re not going to reveal yourself either.” The words came out as a growl and then he started to cough.
His reaction surprised me, but I didn’t get to comment as he continued to cough. “Hey, are you okay?”
A few more wet hacks and he managed to stop. I caught a glimpse of blood on his lips before he slumped against me once more.
“Rowan!” I whispered his name, not sure how sensitive that camera was. But the crew was still struggling through the brush lining the river so I had a few moments.
Damn it. What could I do? If I let them pack us off to a hospital, I could find a phone or a cab and get word to Ian. He could whip up a batch of Rowan’s remedy while I played some sort of damage control. But first, I had to stop this camera crew from getting a good look at Rowan.
To my surprise, they hung back and let the two EMTs approach. The two young men hurried to us. One dropped to his knees in the mud while the other shook out a blanket.
“Any injuries?” the man kneeling beside us asked.
“Just cold and tired,” I answered honestly. I was surprised that the cold didn’t affect me more. Maybe my rapid healing helped in this situation as well.
“We need to get you to the ambulance,” the young man continued. “Can you walk?”
“Probably.” I kept my voice low, hoping the camera crew couldn’t hear. I didn’t like them seeing Rowan so weak.
“Give her a blanket,” Rowan said, his voice muffled by my jacket—and exhaustion. “My brother will be here shortly.”
“It’s under thirty degrees, sir, and you’re both soaked to the bone. You need—”
Rowan started to raise his head, but I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, holding him against me.
“A blanket would be great,” I said, holding the EMT’s gaze.
“…that alchemist,” I heard one of the camera crew comment to another. I guess they’d noticed my tattoos.
“Her lips and nails are blue,” the EMT said to Rowan, ignoring me. I had to give him credit. He knew which card to play.
Rowan tried to move again, but I tightened my hold. “We need to lose the prying eyes first.”
The EMT looked up at the camera crew. “I don’t think we can do anything about that, ma’am.”
I wiggled until I could pull a vial from my pocket. “Throw this at them.” I offered him the vial, and he pulled back his hand, his eyes widening. I almost laughed.
“Is that a threat, Ms. Daulton?”
I looked up, realizing the reporter had addressed me. She moved closer, the cameraman and the sound guy following.
“That depends on what’s in the vial,” I told her.
Rowan braced a hand on the tree above my shoulder and managed to push himself up. He caught my wrist with the opposite hand. My jacket still covered his head and his back was to the reporter, but the EMTs could see him. Of course, they didn’t have cameras.
I met his gray eyes, and caught amusement within the exhaustion.
“Yes?” I said to him.
“Closer,” he whispered, his eyes flickering in the direction of the reporter.
I frowned. Did he intend to ash the camera? He wasn’t up to that. Blood still stained the corner of his mouth.
The vial I held was just some amyl acetate Lydia had given me. An ingredient I planned to use in an upcoming potion, but one that offered nothing in this situation. Alchemically, I was helpless.
“Aw, come on,” I complained. “The effect is temporary.”
Rowan plucked the vial from my fingers. “No.”
“You’re no fun.” I leaned up, closer to his ear. “Don’t,” I whispered, too soft for the reporter to hear. “Let me up. I’ll tackle the guy and chuck the camera in the river.”
“No,” Rowan repeated, his expression serious now.
The reporter moved closer, though her crew hung back a little.
“Please don’t come any closer, ma’am,” the EMT said. “We need to get them to the ambulance. Unless you wish to assist. They just saved a family of three. I think that deserves a little privacy.”
“I like him,” I whispered to Rowan.
“We’re not hindering you,” the reporter answered.
“You’re agitating the patients,” the EMT replied.
“A shame none of this will make the news,” I said.
Rowan bowed his head and closed his eyes. I glanced up at the reporter, gauging the distance. A drop of blood slid off Rowan’s lip and splattered against my tank top.
Chapter
9
I had to stop him. Rowan had already done more than he should. Another use of his power could be his last. If I just had some Extinguishing Dust…
I fisted my hand against the ground. Hell, there wasn’t even any dust, just mud.
The cameraman had hung back, maybe for a better angle, but he moved closer now, almost in range of Rowan’s power. No, that wasn’t accurate. The cameraman had been in range the whole time, but for Rowan to distinguish between him and the camera, he needed to be within about ten feet. I dug my fingers into the soft earth. I had to stop this.
An idea forming, I fisted a handful of mud and smeared it across Rowan’s face. He gasped, his eyes snapping open to give me a full view of his glowing orange irises. I caught the edge of my wet jacket and pulled the fabric over his face, rolling to the side as I did so. I staggered to my feet, annoyed by how much my chilled muscles had stiffened. Mud gripped in my fist, I ran at the cameraman. Unfortunately, he eluded me easily.
“She’s crazy,” the reporter exclaimed.
I ignored her, closing with the cameraman once more. Being an alchemist, I often had to defend myself by throwing a vial, and I found I was pretty accurate. I didn’t want to speculate on any practice I’d gotten before I lost my memory. Then, too, my potions had a wider dispersal area than a mud ball.
I pulled my arm back and threw. The cameraman saw it coming, but his reaction time wasn’t that good through a viewfinder. A good portion of the mud splattered across the lens.
“Damn it!” He pulled the camera from his shoulder. I considered jerking it from his hands, but a low growl pulled me up short. A warm mass settled against my hip and the reporter screamed.
I twined my fingers in the shaggy black fur of the hellhound standing beside me.
“You may go now,” I told the news crew.
James snarled and my chilled skin pebbled further. The news crew turned and ran.
“W-wish I could do that,” I muttered against chattering teeth.
James bumped me with his shoulder.
“Ma’am?” the EMT prompted.
When I turned to face him, he offered a blanket, though his eyes kept drifting to James.
“Thank you.” I took the blanket, but fumbled it as I tried to wrap it around my shoulders. To my surprise, the young man moved closer to help me. Most reacted like the news crew when faced with James’s hellhound form.
James walked toward Rowan. My hoodie still shadowed Rowan’s face, but I could make out the smear of mud on one cheek, and his frown.
“What…is that?” the EMT asked, his eyes on James. His friend just stared.
“A hellhound,” I answered. “He’ll take us home.” James could take us back to the manor via his hell dimension. Ian and I had frequently saved cab fare traveling that way.
James stood quietly while Rowan used him to climb to his feet.
“You’re sure?” the EMT asked. His silent friend offered Rowan a blanket, then moved over beside his buddy.
“Yes. Thank you.” I offered my hand. “I’m Addie. Addie Daulton.”
“I know.” He took my hand. “Kevin Shaffer. And God, you’re freezing.”
“Yes, I am.” I hobbled over to where James and Rowan waited. “
If you’ll excuse us.”
Kevin Shaffer nodded and then led his silent friend away.
I followed James and Rowan around to the back of the tree, using the bulk to hide us from the crowd on the distant bridge.
Rowan let go of James and slumped against the tree. “What the hell was that?” he asked me.
“No Extinguishing Dust, so I used mud.”
Rowan frowned at me so I turned to James. “You want to open the portal?” I tried to pull my blanket closer with my numb hands.
“I can’t go through there,” Rowan said, his words slurred.
“Your Grace, I’m—” The new voice stopped with a gasp, and I looked up to find Gerald standing a few yards away. Like James, Gerald could teleport anywhere, though he used wormholes instead of crossing the land of the dead. Gerald was New Magic, and Rowan often used his talent to move around the city unseen.
Gerald raised both hands and took a hasty step back. He glanced over his shoulder like he intended to run.
“Gerald, wait.” I bumped James with my hip. “Change,” I whispered.
Gerald and James hadn’t gotten along so well on their first meeting. I suspected Gerald still had nightmares about that.
James became human, squatting on the ground beside me. “Get a grip, man. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You need to get Rowan to the manor, Gerald.” I drew the man’s attention to me. “Move! Before he succumbs to hypothermia.”
Gerald blinked then seemed to truly notice Rowan slumped against the tree. “Your Grace!” He hurried to Rowan’s side.
“Wait!” James called.
Rowan and Gerald vanished.
“Shit!” James smacked his bare thigh with his hand. “You need to go, too.”
“So, take me with you. Hell sounds nice and toasty at the moment.”
James looked up. “Addie, you can’t. The living cannot travel through the land of the dead.”
“I’m not supposed to be able to touch your blood, either. I’ll be fine, James. Trust me.”
He frowned and I realized what I’d said. After my betrayal, that was the last thing he’d want to do.
James became the hellhound and a dark portal opened beside us. He leapt through, his form changing as he entered the darkness. One clawed hand reached out, catching the edge of the portal before it could shimmer closed. No matter how many times I saw it, James’s true form—as he called it—always gave me chills. Human and hellhound merged into one was a terrifying sight.
You’d better be right. James’s voice echoed out of the portal: a menacing snarl formed into words.
“I am.” I walked toward him.
What did you find, little brother? Gavin, the other grim who shared James’s hell dimension, whispered in the darkness. Ah, it’s her. He drew out the pronoun.
My feet came to a halt of their own accord.
Back off. James snarled. He turned back to face me, those familiar eyes meeting mine. He won’t touch you.
A sense of déjà vu washed over me. Not the nose-bleeding, memory-returning sort that my mind-raping Grand Master had left me with, but the more common feeling that I’d done this before, back when James had often come to my defense.
I stepped into the portal, ducking beneath James’s arm, and a delicious wave of heat washed over me. “God, that feels good.”
The portal shimmered closed behind us, and we plunged into near darkness.
My eyes gradually adjusted to the low light. I gasped and took a step back. Gavin stood only feet away, his nightmare form larger than James’s and his glowing red eyes focused on me.
Give me just a moment, James said. The sinister voice didn’t mesh with the tentative request.
Is she as tasty as she looks? Gavin leaned toward me, inhaling.
I didn’t consider myself a coward, but he completely creeped me out. I stepped closer to James, and my shoulder pressed against his fur-covered ribs.
She glows so bright. Gavin’s eyes opened wider, and his pupils shrank to pin pricks as if he was looking into a bright light.
James’s arm slipped around my shoulders. Back off.
Gavin took a step closer, sniffing the air. A soul bright as a necromancer’s. Is that what attracts you, little brother?
James snarled, the sound so soft and low, I felt it in my bones.
Is her blood as sweet? Gavin continued. The necro that bound me had the sweetest blood. I often wished he’d been female.
Light flooded us, and Gavin snarled and jumped back. James had pulled the portal open—on the driveway in front of the manor. James nudged me toward the brightness, but I didn’t need encouragement. I stepped out onto the cobbled drive and the portal shimmered closed behind me. James didn’t follow.
“Oh God, I hate that thing.” I shivered.
Rowan and Gerald stood a few feet away, and I hurried to them.
“Your Grace?” Gerald tentatively reached out to Rowan, but pulled back before he actually touched him.
I saw Rowan sway and stepped up beside him, pulling his arm across my shoulders. “Hey.”
“What thing?” Rowan muttered. He must have heard my comment.
“Gavin.”
Gerald stood watching us, wringing his hands.
“I could use some help,” I said.
A quick nod and Gerald ran toward the side door. Apparently, he intended to look for help inside.
I sighed. I’d meant help me hold Rowan up. A snow-laden gust of wind hit us and my shivering increased.
“Damn, it’s cold.” I gripped Rowan’s wrist where it rested on my shoulder. The warmth of his skin surprised me. He felt feverish. “Rowan?”
“Y-yes. It’s cold.” He took a step, and then his weight took me to the ground.
“Rowan!” I crawled out from under him and touched his hot, mud-streaked cheek.
The side door opened and James ran out, wearing only a pair of sweatpants. He must have traveled to his bedroom after leaving me here.
Gerald, who was almost to the door, let out a startled squeak and vanished.
“Get inside,” James said to me and scooped Rowan off the cobbles as easily as a grown man lifted a toddler.
“James, what—” Era skidded to a stop in the doorway, Donovan halting behind her.
“They fell in a river,” James explained.
They stepped back to let him enter.
“And Rowan overdid it,” I added, following James inside. “Does he have any of his remedy left or do I need to—”
“He has another vial.” Cora said, stepping into the foyer. She stopped beside James and touched Rowan’s cheek. “Upstairs now,” she said to James. “Get him out of those wet things. I’ll be up in a minute with his medicine.”
James nodded and took the stairs two at a time.
Cora’s attention shifted to me.
“There was a w-wreck. On a bridge.” Now that the air around me was warm, I couldn’t stop shivering. “A car fell in the river. Rowan held back the w-water and I got the family out.”
“Rowan held back the water?” Era asked, her tone incredulous.
“Vaporized the water around the car—and us,” I clarified.
“Dear God,” Donovan muttered.
“It was pretty c-cool,” I agreed, pulling my now damp blanket closer.
Donovan stepped forward. “Here,” he said and then picked me up before I could understand what he wanted. “You’re soaked,” he said.
“He couldn’t hold back the whole river. I s-swam out to them.”
“In twenty-degree weather?” Era asked.
“Twenty-seven,” I clarified.
“Upstairs,” Cora said. “Era, get her dry and in bed. I’ll see if I can find an elec
tric blanket.”
Donovan turned and started up the stairs.
I let myself relax, though I continued to shiver. My cheek came to rest on his shoulder, and I felt the warmth of his skin through the soft fabric of his flannel shirt. There was something comforting about the scent of his cologne. Fatherly. Which was odd since I didn’t remember my father. A sigh escaped. I hadn’t wanted to stay at the manor, but now I was glad I was here.
“Don’t fall asleep, Addie,” Era said. “I’ll have to get one of the guys to help me change you and tuck you in bed.”
“I already did the wet T-shirt thing for the local news.”
“What’s this?” Era asked.
“Then I went after the cameraman,” I admitted. I felt and heard Donovan chuckle.
“You need to stay awake to tell me that story,” Era said.
“I’ll try.”
For the first time in weeks, I slept through the night. I guess complete exhaustion will do that to a person. But when the sunlight finally drove me from my slumber, I was annoyed to learn I’d wasted half the morning. I had too much to do to lie here sleeping. As the saying went, I’d sleep when I was dead—as long as Ian had no say in things.
That reminded me, I needed to get back to the lab and check in with him. A stress-free day at the bench was what I needed. I should also speak with Rowan to see about contacting the landlord about phone installation and—
I gasped, remembering the events of the day before. Had Rowan recovered? Certainly someone would have come to get me if more of his remedy was needed.
Anxious now, I hurried through my shower. My new clothes were hanging in the wardrobe. I pulled on a pair jeans and one of the fitted, long-sleeve T-shirts Era was so fond of, then hurried downstairs.
I didn’t have to go far to find an answer for my concerns. No sooner did I leave the stairs for the foyer then Cora entered from a side hall, James at her side.
“Gone?” she demanded of my former sidekick. “What do you mean, gone? When did he leave?”
“Several hours ago.”