The Shade Amulet
Page 16
I spent many hours on the phone reassuring both my mom and Nicole that I didn’t need either of them to fly in now to make sure I was okay. Instead, I invited my mom to come up for a visit later. I’d missed her a great deal since moving here. Nicole had really bad morning sickness, so we decided to put off a longer stay from her until later.
In the end, it was Detective Evans who alerted me to the fact that Abel had awakened. He texted, telling me Abel was conscious and didn’t want to answer questions, and would I please come convince him to stay for a few hours and give Detective Evans the information he needed?
I agreed to do so and left my house immediately. The detective had already questioned me thoroughly, but apparently, he wanted to hear Abel’s side of things too, and I didn’t think that was unreasonable.
I drove to Mountain Point Medical Center, eager to see Abel, experiencing a little bit of breathlessness that surprised me. My feelings were so mixed up. Maybe seeing him again would set my brain and heart straight.
Abel was sitting on his bed, legs dangling over the edge, power swirling around him. He was staring at his shoes longingly, obviously not wanting to be there anymore.
“You’re finally awake!” I rushed to his side, ignoring Detective Evans, who stepped out of the room, probably to give us some privacy. The giddiness bubbling up inside me made me tingle. I sat next to Abel on the bed, putting my arms around him and resting my head on his shoulder. “I was so worried about you. How are you feeling?”
Abel’s arms encircled me and he pulled me closer, burying his face in my neck, making my skin tingle. “Not terribly great, but better than I would otherwise. If it hadn’t been for you . . .” His voice trailed off and he pulled back, meeting my gaze. He gently brushed my cheek, his eyes tender. “I owe you my life.”
I trailed my fingers through his hair, finding it difficult to meet his gaze. “No, you don’t. I owe you mine.”
Abel chuckled. “How? I did nothing. In fact, I caused it all.”
“No, earlier. When I was in the room with the fire vampires.”
He stilled, and then his breathing became erratic. “We really need to do something about them.”
“How? And what?”
He shrugged, tucking me against his chest, rubbing my shoulder. I warmed everywhere he touched me. “I don’t know. We need to figure out where their hive is.”
“Vampires have hives?”
“Of course they do. Strength in numbers and all that.”
“When do you want to go? You need time to heal, so I don’t think we should leave for a few days. That is, if they don’t come back before then. And we still need to actually hunt hounds.”
I felt Abel shaking his head, and I looked up at him. “No,” he said. “I have to take care of another job first. I don’t know when—or if—I’ll be back.”
The expression on his face worried me, and a wave of disappointment forced my heart up into my throat. I actually thought we’d be working together. I leaned away, putting some distance between the two of us. Why was I feeling like this? “Okay. Well, you let me know when you’re ready, all right?”
Abel grabbed me, pulling me back again. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you. Lizzie, I need to see you, to help you stop all of these creatures.” His hand returned to my cheek, and he stared into my eyes. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to come back. I won’t leave you to fight these demons alone.”
The intensity of his expression almost made me want to look away. I knew he felt something for me, and I realized I had feelings for him too—as if the butterflies I’d had since he’d come back into my life weren’t enough. But now I sensed a change, a sort of deepening. I actually cared for him. When had that begun? Maybe it was how helpless and fragile he’d been during his Restart, and how much he’d needed me to survive.
“Please come back,” I whispered.
***
Abel answered Detective Evans’s questions, then discharged himself from the hospital. He gave me a kiss on the forehead, promising again to return if he could. Then he walked out the door and didn’t look back.
Detective Evans and I chatted for a moment, then I left as well. I needed to practice with the Shade Amulet.
It didn’t work in the sunlight unless I stored it in darkness for a large amount of time. It was as if it drew strength from darkness and saved it for use when there was too much light. But I used it quickly, if I wasn’t careful.
I had my work cut out for me.
I needed to find out what the limits of the amulet were and what sorts of abilities it gave me. Judging by how things went with the hound, I would begin taking fighting lessons. But I also started to pray that the amulet would give me an ability I hadn’t discovered yet because I knew there was no way I’d learn to fight quickly enough to defeat the hounds that way. Not to mention the fire vamps, if—when—they returned, and any other demons that had discovered my planet.
In the meantime, I worked with both detectives as we tried to figure out what to do about the fire vampire situation. No new bodies turned up, and it seemed the vamps might have been telling the truth—that they left to give a report. That didn’t bode well.
Cole sensed my apathy and withdrew. Before it could hurt him, I explained my feelings to him. I was attracted to him—I’d felt it on our date—but I wasn’t willing to lead him on when I didn’t know how I felt about Abel.
He gave me a teasing smile when he heard I had potential feelings for someone else. “So, you’re not tied to him in any way yet?”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed into a wicked expression. “Good. Don’t underestimate the need a man has to conquer.”
I’d laughed at his joke. I hoped it was a joke.
All thoughts of Cole fled when I got a phone call from Abel several days later. He was okay. He told me not to worry about him, that he was almost done and would be on his way home again soon. I smiled. He thought of this place as his home. That warmed my heart.
“Take care of yourself, okay?” he said. “I have a feeling things are about to get interesting.”
Things already were interesting.
###
http://andreapearsonbooks.com/
Note from the author:
Hello, all y’alls. :-) Thank you for reading The Shade Amulet! And those of you who read it like, a year ago, thanks for your patience while I’ve finished the Mosaic Chronicles. :-)
I wrote The Shade Amulet while under an incredibly tight deadline—I had broken a bone in my pinky finger and had sprained a ton of the supporting ligaments without knowing it. When I realized the pain wasn’t going away any time soon, I got desperate and ended up dictating The Shade Amulet in three days. I’m still surprised I was able to get it done as quickly as I did. :-) We had the whole book brainstormed, written, revised, edited, and proofread in about two weeks. Phew! So glad I haven’t had to repeat that experience since. :-)
Anyway, Lizzie is a fun character to view the world through, and I hope you’ll continue this journey with me. :-)
If you haven’t already, join my readers group.
Have a great day!
Much love,
Andrea
P.S. Every time a reader leaves a review, Lizzie punches a hound in the face. I’d appreciate (and keep) you forever if you posted one on The Shade Amulet. Since it’s the first book in a series, it could really use some love. Thank you so much!
About the Author
Andrea Pearson, author of several series including the Kilenya Chronicles and Mosaic Chronicles, lives with her husband and children in a small valley framed with hills. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor of science degree in Communications Disorders.
Andrea spends as much time with her husband and daughter as possible. Favorite activities include painting, watching movies, collecting and listening to music, and discussing books and authors. She and her husband are expecting their second child in the fall of 2015.
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