by Apryl Baker
“I’ve never actually done that before, Dan. I usually just draw whatever pops into my head. Following directions from someone else is not my strong suit. You know this.”
“Yeah, but I had an idea about that.” He sounds nervous, never a good thing. “I don’t know if it’s even possible or if you’re up to it, but it was a thought.”
“Well, spit it out.”
“Whenever I touch you during a ghost attack, I can see the ghost. So I’m wondering if you touch me while I’m thinking about what I saw, you could see it too?”
“I don’t know, Dan.” I frown, thinking. “A ghost is different from a vision. It’s real, tangible. A vision is just a thought or sensory memory.”
“Like I said, I don’t know if it’s possible, but I thought it might be worth a try. You’re really good at what you do, Mattie, and I’d trust your vision of the perp better than anything I could describe to someone else.”
He had to throw in a compliment, didn’t he? My ego preens herself, knowing Dan loves our work, even if it’s dark and twisty.
“Dan, I don’t know if her brain can handle that kind of mental assault right now. She just had a major seizure. It’s a miracle she’s awake and talking right now.”
“Not such a miracle. I have demon blood in me, remember? I’m betting I’m a little harder to kill because of it. My body can take a hit and keep on ticking.”
Eli’s face pales, but he nods.
“Do you want to try?” Dan asks, coming to sit beside me on the bed. “It might be risky. Eli’s right. Your brain might not be able to handle the sensory overload this could cause.”
“Just what are you asking my daughter to do?” Zeke’s very angry voice makes us all jump.
We turn our heads to see him standing in the doorway, his face swarming with storm clouds.
“Dan wants her to test their connection.” Eli leans back in his chair. “He’s hoping she can see what he sees, the way he can when he touches her.”
“That amounts to a nuclear assault on her mind.” Zeke slams the door shut and stalks into the room. “It might cause another seizure, and we can’t risk that. And why does it smell like sulphur in here?”
“Silas was here.”
“What?” Zeke turns his attention to me. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” I shake my head. “He wanted to make a deal to heal me.”
Zeke’s face morphs into rage. “The demon can heal you? He told me last night he couldn’t.”
“Did you offer him something he wanted, or were you calling in marks he owed you?” Eli yawns, blinking his eyes. I wonder how much sleep he’s actually had. Probably about as much as Dan.
“I called in favors.” Zeke lets out a sigh.
“Nobody is making a deal with Silas.” I’m adamant about this. “No deals. Silas wants something from me. I highly doubt he’s going to let me die before he gets it.”
“What does he want?” Zeke all but growls the question at me, anger blazing in his eyes.
“Not a clue.” The lie rolls easily off my tongue. “He always alludes to it, but never comes right out and says it. He’s healed me before, so I’m betting he will again, if necessary. I’m not worried, and neither should any of you.”
“And you, Daniel, do you know what the demon wants from my daughter?”
“No, sir. Whatever it is, I think she’s right. He’s not going to let her die before she does it.”
Zeke has this particular ability. When he asks you a direct question, you can’t lie to him. It’s impossible. Silas, being Silas, forced a spell on me that gave me the ability to lie to my father. He used Dan as a guinea pig to see if he survived it. He almost didn’t. That is the spell that put him in the hospital with a massive brain injury. Although it wasn’t the spell that put him at death’s door. It was the hard hit he took to the head when he struggled against Silas.
The only good thing that came out of it was we can both lie to Zeke without blinking an eye. Dan’s gotten much better at lying since he met me. Before, he’d have been nervous, twitchy, and uncomfortable. Now, he’s looking Zeke directly in the eye without so much as a blink.
Not sure that’s a good thing. I like Dan honest.
Before he can ask Eli, who doesn’t have the same protection we do, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “They found my neighbor’s little girl.”
“Ma petite, I am so sorry, cherie. I know you were fond of the child.”
“That’s why Dan was asking me to make a drawing of the guy who took her. We want to stop him before he takes his next victim.”
Zeke’s lips thin. He’s not having it. “I understand, ma petite, but it is too dangerous right now. Perhaps I can help in some other way? I have several psychics on my staff who may be able to do what you wanted Mattie to do.”
“But can they draw like she does?”
“I do not know, but I can find out.”
“Dan, I’m starving. Like, seriously starving. Will you go down to the cafeteria and grab me something? Take Zeke with you and get him up to speed on the disappearances.” I want him away from Eli before he asks anything Eli won’t be able to lie about. Out of sight, out of mind.
Dan frowns, but he knows exactly why I’m asking him to get Zeke out of the room. As much as he doesn’t want Eli near me right now, he can’t argue. Eli won’t be able to keep the truth of what Silas said quiet.
“I think I should stay, given you’ve just had a visit from the demon…”
“Eli’s with her, Mr. Crane. She’ll be fine. I’m hoping your psychics may be able to help us. The sooner we go, the sooner we can get back. If her stomach rumbles much louder, I think she’s going to wake every patient on this floor.”
“Hey!” Well, it is complaining about my lack of food, but still.
Zeke laughs at my disgruntled face but allows Dan to lead him out of the room.
Leaving me all alone with Eli.
Chapter Eleven
Eli is quiet for a few minutes, watching me. It makes me uneasy. I don’t know what he’s thinking. It could be anything from I’m demon spawn who should be put out of her misery to I’m the best thing next to chocolate cake. Either way, I hate not knowing. It’s unnerving, honestly.
“So, you want to talk?” I can’t stand his silence any longer and break it.
“There’s a lot to talk about, Hilda. I just don’t know where to start.”
“Let’s start with me having demon blood. That upset you. A lot.”
He nods. “Yeah, it did.”
“You left, Eli.”
“I needed time to think, to process it. I’ve spent my entire life hunting demons down and killing them, Mattie. Learning the girl you are entrusted to protect, as well as a potential girlfriend, is part demon? That’s a lot to swallow.”
“But I’m still me, still the same girl you met in New Orleans.”
“I know.” His voice is low, somber. “It just hit me like a ton of bricks, and I couldn’t breathe, Hilda. I had to get out, I had to think.”
“Dan didn’t leave. No matter what brand of crazy or weird I throw at him, he never leaves me, Eli. You left.” I can’t hide the small hitch in my voice. What he did hurt more than I want to admit.
“Dan didn’t grow up like my family did, knowing who and what demons really are. They’re manipulative, dangerous, and can make you do things you never thought possible. He doesn’t understand demons like we do.”
“So since he doesn’t understand I’m evil, that’s why he didn’t leave? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No, I’m not saying you’re evil, Hilda.” He runs a hand through his dirty blond hair. It looks bedraggled.
“Then what are you saying?”
“I don’t know.” He sighs heavily. “It’s complicated.”
“No, Eli, it’s not complicated. Was Silas right? Do you not want to be my Guardian Angel anymore?”
His aqua eyes pierce mine. They are full of so many emotions. “I’m your
Guardian Angel, and that will never change.”
“But do you want to be?” I press, needing him to answer.
“Yeah, Hilda, I want to be your Guardian Angel. I can’t reconcile what I know about demons with what I know about you. You’re not evil, Mattie. You’re the farthest thing from evil I’ve ever seen. Demon blood or not, you’re not a demon.”
Relief snakes through me. He doesn’t think I’m evil. That’s something, at least.
“And I didn’t leave you. I just needed time to think. You dropped a live bomb in my lap. Ava and I went to the deli across from the hospital.”
“You told her?” I so do not want this to become common knowledge.
“Yeah. She’s my best friend as well as my sister, Mattie. Of course I told her. She helped me work through it.”
“She doesn’t think I’m a freak and demon to be put down?”
A smile ghosts across Eli’s face. “No. She wasn’t fond of you the first time she met you. You were pretty rude to her. But then she watched you while Dan was in the hospital. She saw the real you. Ava had no qualms about telling me I am an idiot for even thinking you’re some monster waiting to spring to life on us.”
He’d thought I was a monster? Even for a minute? That hurts.
“Mattie, I don’t know what this thing between us is. It might be the bond making us feel like this. Or it might have enhanced our own feelings. I can’t say. What I do know is I like you. A lot. Demon blood or not. I guess, what I’m trying to say…I’m still willing to give us a shot if you are.”
“Eli, I grew up with people walking away from me, deciding I wasn’t worth their time or effort because I was difficult. Sure, part of that was my fault, but even when I tried to be good, people still tossed me back. They always leave.”
“But I didn’t leave you, Mattie….”
“Yeah, Eli, you did. You walked away from me, from us, because I told you the truth about me. I threw my crazy at you, and you couldn’t handle it. Who’s to say when we find out what other crazy I have in me, it won’t be worse than demon blood? Will you still stay, or will you book it?”
“I’m not going to bail again.”
I look away. He says that, but when things get tough, who’s to say he won’t? Dan is the only person to never leave, to never walk out on me. He didn’t care about my demon blood. I will guarantee even if he’d grown up like Eli and Caleb, it wouldn’t have mattered. He would have stayed.
I don’t know if I can say the same for Eli.
“Let’s just get through dealing with Deleriel, and then we’ll decide what to do about our feelings, okay?”
He gets up and leans over me, pulling my head back around to face him. His eyes are bright, brimming with unsaid emotion. “I am not leaving, Mathilda Louise Hathaway. If I have to prove that to you, then I will. But I’m not going anywhere.”
His lips graze mine and that same warm feeling curls to life in the pit of my stomach that I get around him. It burns hot and fast, but I’m not ready to trust him quite yet. He does have to prove himself. I pull away from his kiss, and he sighs, but he doesn’t argue with me.
“Fine, Hilda. I’ll just have to prove it to you, then.”
I lie back, feeling exhausted. My head has been pounding since Mary’s visit, and dealing with Silas and Eli all in the same breath seems to have tuckered me out.
“I think I need a nap. Will you stay until Zeke and Dan get back?”
“Sure, sure.” He settles back into the chair and props his feet up on the bed. “I could use a nap too.”
My resolve softens the tiniest bit. He looks as exhausted as I feel. Instead of giving in and forgiving him, I close my eyes and let myself drift off to sleep.
***
The next time I wake up, I’m alone. Only the steady beeping of the machines to keep me company. Yawning, I sit up and shiver. I’m cold. Lila brought me one of those soft, fleecy throws, but I don’t see it. The thing is warm, even able to dispel the chill from my bones. Where she got one in the dead of summer, I have no clue.
It’s times like these I miss Eli. He gives off enough heat to warm me up, even from a distance. The one perk of his being my Guardian Angel is he’s what I need him to be, and most times that’s a living furnace.
It has to be late; it was nearly dark when I fell asleep. Starved. And I’m still starving. Did I miss dinner? Usually, they wake you up when they bring your tray of bland hospital food. My stomach is noisy enough I’d have eaten the nasty stuff just to get it to shush. Someone is going through a twenty-four-hour drive through if they let me sleep through dinner.
Zeke and Dan were supposed to bring me something from the cafeteria, though. A quick search of the room squashes that hope. Don’t they realize my bottomless pit of a stomach needs to be fed?
The room still reeks of sulphur. It serves to remind me of Silas’s visit. He left me with more questions than answers. Typical Silas. I don’t know how to do what he wants me to, though. I did try, but I couldn’t see past the surface of the man on his table. Even when I decided to draw him from memory, all I could see was his fear, his pain. I couldn’t see the heart of him.
Silas knows how to do that. I’m sure of it. In order for me to deal with Deleriel, I need to understand what’s under the surface of the façade he presents. I think that’s what Silas has been trying to tell me all along. If I can do that, I’ll be able to…I shake my head. I have no idea. I’m still sitting at go, no passing anything to collect the proverbial two hundred dollars.
I’m stuck. And I’m pretty sure there’s only one way to get unstuck. I have to ask Silas for help. Zeke can’t help me with this, and I don’t trust Doc. I’m not sure I want him to either. Silas has always been adamant about me not telling him about my gift of bringing images to life.
While I don’t think Zeke will hurt me or sacrifice me to gain more power, a small part of me wonders what he’d do if he knew what I could really do. There has to be a reason Silas doesn’t want him to know. I laugh softly. Trusting a demon over my father. What a choice.
My door creaks open and I look up, ready to quarrel with Dan or Zeke about food, but it’s neither of them standing there. Kayla Rawlins is standing in the soft glow of the bathroom light, her head tilted, watching me. Her eyes are yellow. The same color as the kid in the morgue.
Fear prickles along my skin. These little demon kids are dangerous. They feed on souls. No way is she getting near me. I look around for something to protect myself, but before I can do much, she shuffles into the room. Panic tries to crowd me, but I push it down. Now is not the time to panic.
She inches closer, and I see some of the damage that’s been inflicted upon her poor body. Her yellow princess shirt is soaked through with blood, her white skirt not much better. She keeps stumbling, and I see her feet are twisted and broken, barely even attached to her legs anymore. The closer she gets, the more intense her eyes become, the yellow in them pulsing with a deep need.
Um, nope, not feeding on me. I scramble out of the bed, but the IV needle pulls painfully at my arm. I don’t hesitate, I just rip it out. Same with all the little electrodes they have attached to my head and chest. I need to be able to move.
Dang it, she has me backed into a corner. There’s no getting around her because she’s standing between the foot of the bed and the wall. I pick up the brown tray under the water pitcher. Not that it’ll do much good, but it’s better than nothing.
“Stay right there, Kayla.” I try to sound as mean as I can without letting her know I’m scared.
She cocks her head and stares at me curiously. Does she recognize her name? Is there some part of the little girl I know left inside of the monster Deleriel created?
“Kayla, it’s Mattie. You know me.”
She keeps those yellow eyes fixed on me, and I try to slide a little closer to the bed. Maybe if I can jump over it, I can get around her? Not that I’m up to jumping. Just moving this little bit has caused my head to swim. Getting dizzy right now
is not good.
She turns with me, and I stand still. Why hasn’t she attacked?
Kayla puts a finger to her lips, the unspoken symbol to shush. Then she waves for me to follow her and shuffles toward the door. She pauses by the bathroom and looks to see if I’m behind her. She frowns, her yellow eyes blazing with irritation, but I see the fear behind it. She’s terrified of something.
I take a few steps toward her, and she motions again for me to follow.
I shake my head to try to clear it. I’m dizzy, and now I’m getting blurry. Passing out is not a good idea. I can’t protect myself from the little bugger trying to feed on me if I do.
But is following her any better? I have no idea where she wants to take me. It could be right back to that creepy little boy from my dream, Deleriel’s first son. I hate when I end up in these horror movie scenarios. Door number one will get you killed, door number two will get you killed, and door number three will get you seriously killed.
Kayla opens her mouth and lets out this godawful keening that goes straight through my head, adding pain to my now perfect trifecta of passing out possibility. Door number three it is.
“Sheesh, kid, I’m coming. Stop it.”
Her wail ceases, and I move forward, careful to hold onto what I can to keep from falling. Once I break the doorway, I see the nurses’ station is empty. That would be the reason no one noticed the alarms going off on my machines when I pulled all the little electrodes off. Not sure if the IV machine has an alarm or not, or if there’s still fluid leaking out of the needle. Probably a good thing no one is here. How to explain you’re following a ghost so they don’t try to suck your soul dry?
Yeah, no. Definitely would earn a visit from the psychiatrist on call.
Hospitals are creepy to begin with, but tonight this one is super creepy. None of the resident ghosts are out and about. I’ve had several pass through my room today, which I ignored completely. But they’ve all vamoosed. Another warning bell. Something is not right, but what else can I do?