Of Shadows and Ash

by Dana Marie Bell

  To Ash, it was a bunch of nonsense, just some random shapes in different colors.

  To the doctor, it appeared to be cause for serious alarm. “If not for some abnormalities I would have pegged you as having acute myeloid leukemia. Your ass would have been strapped to a bed so fast your mate would have felt it.”

  Now Ash was the one who paled. “That’s fatal.”

  “Not as much as it used to be, but the prognosis, if left untreated, is bad. However—” Dr. Douglas pointed to a barely visible dark circular splotch in the left hand bottom corner, “—watch this.” He clicked on something, and suddenly the dark cell began to move. “All the other cells are already dead, but that one is still alive.”

  The dark cell zoomed to the middle of the screen, the movement so jerky and quick Ash could barely see it. A dark, smoke-like aura surrounded it, then it settled down, quiet once more.

  “What the fuck?” He leaned forward, staring at that tiny, dark, ominous cell.

  It pulsed, as if it could feel his regard.

  “I’ve got my techs wearing contamination suits while working on your blood.” The doctor’s voice was quieter, almost as if he didn’t want that lone black cell to hear him. “We’ve found evidence of these cells in all of the other victims, but yours is the only one where the cells seem to be active.”

  “How do we get this out of her?” Ash couldn’t take his eyes off that fucking invader inside his mate.

  “Or any of the others?” Selena, of course, was just as concerned about the rest of the people infected by that dark blood.

  “The other witches seem to have slowly purged it by reestablishing their link to the earth. I’m still not sure why that works, but my theory is that this blood feeds off the spiritual more than the physical.”

  “So it’s confirmed? It’s definitely demon blood?”

  “Yes, although I’m having difficulty determining what kind of demon. We don’t exactly have a lot of their DNA profiles on hand.” Dr. Douglas sounded pissed off about that fact.

  Ash pinched the bridge of his nose, weary to his bones.

  “And the only way to cure her is an exorcism. Cut the link, and the demon blood should die. Once her bond is reestablished with the spirit world, it should no longer be able to feed on either her power or her blood.”

  “What about bonding?” Selena gasped beside him, clearly not expecting him to ask something like that. “If we bonded, she could use my strength against the infection.”

  The doctor blinked. “I have no idea if it will do more harm or good, but I’ll look into it.”

  Only one thing concerned Ash at the moment. “Can I safely bring her to the Throne?”

  “Yes, but be careful. Watch for signs that her presence could be infecting the area.” The doc grinned. “It’s also possible that, since the Throne is sacred space, it could actually do more good than harm. Once the exorcism is performed her body’s immune system should clear any remaining demon blood out, just like a regular infection. She may show signs of having a cold or a stomach flu when that happens.” Dr. Douglas’s chair creaked as he leaned back. “I’m going to want follow-up blood work to make sure it’s completely gone.”

  Ash stared at the black, vibrating blob on the screen. “If we get this out of her can she be re-infected?” If the Van Helsings somehow got through him and took her again there was a chance she’d be more vulnerable to the effects of the demon blood. “Or would her immune system fight it off?”

  “Honestly?” Dr. Douglas shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s a toss-up. It’s not like we get a lot of witch doctors infected with demon blood around here.”

  Ash growled.

  “This is why we want follow-up blood work, to make sure the exorcism completely clears her out. We’ll also want to run some other tests to insure none of her vitals have been affected.” He leaned forward. “I should warn you. One of the tests we ran was to put Selena’s blood together with that of a volunteer. The black blood multiplied at an alarming rate, completely overcoming the volunteer’s immune system.”

  Shit. “Who was the volunteer?”

  “Another witch. A young one who had reason to help.” Dr. Douglas turned off the screen.

  “Who?” Selena asked softly.

  “Blake Truillo.”

  Ash was shocked. “The ex-Van Helsing? The kid whose father is second in command of the Van Helsings?” The fact that he’d volunteered to be a guinea pig for the doctor’s testing spoke well of him. He was doing his best to prove his worth to his new town, and Ash was oddly proud of him for it.

  “Yes.”

  Selena frowned thoughtfully. “Could the fact that it took over his blood have anything to do with his father?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ve been testing it on other healthy blood, including mine. Witches seem to be the most susceptible, but none of them have reacted with the same ferocity as Blake and Selena. The most immune appear to be the elementals, like myself.” He tapped something on the screen, and the image changed. “Vampire blood has the oddest reaction. See here?” He pointed to an odd, extremely red blood cell. “This is what happens when vampire blood gets hold of the demonic blood. It changes the demon blood into vampire blood.”

  “Vampire blood might be the key to a cure,” Selena whispered.

  “Exactly. However, vampire blood affects paranormals in odd ways as well. It can drive some of them insane, or make them constantly thirsty, like diabetes insipidus, or mimic other blood born disorders. We’ll have to isolate whatever it is about vampire blood that acts as an aggressor and create a vaccine from it that won’t damage other supernaturals. And that will take some serious time.”

  “In the meantime, we perform the exorcism on Selena.” Ash stood and held out his hand. “Thank you, doc.”

  Dr. Douglas stood as well. “You’re welcome. Just do us all a favor and let the leaders know we’re going to be calling for volunteers soon.”

  “I have no doubt Parker Hollis will be one of the first in line for that. Brian West is his Renfield.” Selena also shook Dr. Douglas’s hand. “We’ll be in touch.”

  Dr. Douglas nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  Ash led Selena out of the hospital, eager to get to her house, do a quick clean up and return to the Throne where she’d be safe. He trusted Mina would call if anything went wrong with Brian’s care, but there was little they could do to help the medium but be there for him and support him in whatever came next.

  “Think Parker will change him?” Selena slid into the passenger seat of her car, handing him the keys. They’d leave the car at her place again before heading into the woods.

  “Yes. The change will heal the damage Brian sustained, but now that we know Brian will live Parker will need his permission. Dragos will set it all up, make sure that all the legal paperwork is done.” He started the car and began the short drive back to Selena’s.

  “And Parker will have to find a new Renfield.” Selena’s head thumped against the headrest. “What a cluster fuck.”

  “Brian will help when the time comes. And don’t forget he’ll need a Renfield as well. Greg won’t be able to do that for him.”

  “Greg will be able to help Brian choose, at least. It would be better to have a Renfield who’s also a medium. He or she will need to communicate with Greg, and that will mean a lot to Brian.”

  “At least they’d discussed the possibility of changing Brian before all of this happened. It’s always been an option, at least as far as Parker was concerned.” Ash pulled into Selena’s driveway and turned off the car. “And Brian won’t lose access to his gifts. He’ll still be a physical medium who happens to also be a vampire.”

  Selena nodded. “If anything he’ll have more resistance to things like this happening to him again.” She opened the car door with a weary sigh. “I just wish it hadn’t happened at all.”

  He followed her to the front door, that expression on her face haunting him. She was planning a worst-case sce
nario, and unless he missed his guess it was one he’d object to. “Selena.”

  She paused, her hand on the knob. “Ash?”

  “Don’t lose hope.”

  She grinned over her shoulder at him, a pale imitation of her usual sassy self. “Who, me?” His mate stepped into the house, her back straight and her head held high.

  He just wished he was as easy to fool as she thought he was, because her trembling hands gave her away.

  Chapter Eleven

  Selena entered her house, hoping to the goddess that Ash was buying her act. The last thing she wanted was for her overprotective boyfriend to decide she couldn’t handle being in her haunted house. Knowing him, he’d drag her out by her sweatpants.

  She stopped in front of the round table and wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. We need to get the blood out of Gideon’s altar cloth.” She put her hands on her hips, thinking of how he’d have to consecrate it once more. “Maybe we should let him deal with it.”

  “Why? We can just throw it in the washer.” Ash started to bundle it up like it was a Thanksgiving tablecloth covered in gravy.

  “Stop!” Selena held up her hands. “That’s a sacred cloth, Ash. You don’t just rub some stain remover on it and shove it in your front load washer. Each witch has their own way of dealing with a desecrated altar cloth.”

  His brows rose. “This happens a lot, then? Blood stains, bodily fluids, evil entities vomiting ectoplasm all over it?”

  She tilted her head, smirking at him. “Well, maybe the bodily fluids part. Sex is considered a valid way to raise power by some witches.”

  His expression became heated, his lips curling into a small smile. “Oh, really? Is that something we’ll get to explore?”

  She just knew she was blushing bright red. “Not on that cloth. Besides the fact that Gideon would roast us, it’s contaminated with bad juju. And trust me, you don’t want bad juju smeared all over your nether regions.” She pulled out her cell phone. “Give me a sec. I’ll call Gideon and see what he wants done with it. We might just put it in a silk bag and bring it to him.”

  “Why silk?” Ash was now staring at the cloth like it was a living creature that could bite him in the, um, jujus. She almost laughed at the thought.

  “Because silk dampens magical energies. It will contain any negative vibes until Gideon can—”

  “Gideon can what?” Gideon sounded so weary Selena hated to bother him.

  “Hey, Gideon.” She held up a finger as Ash tried to interrupt her. “What do you want us to do with your alter cloth?”

  “Shit.” The sound of a squeaking chair told her he was still in the waiting room at the hospital. “Put it in the silk bag I brought it in. I left it on your kitchen counter. I’ll cleanse both when I pick them up.”

  “Got it. Anything else of yours we need to pack up?” She gestured toward the kitchen counter. “Silk bag on the counter, Ash.”

  He nodded and headed toward the kitchen.

  “My candles and candle holders, if you don’t mind.” Gideon rattled something, but she couldn’t tell what it was over the phone. “Thanks, Selena. I appreciate it.”

  “Not a problem.” Selena gathered those up with one hand, glad none of the wax had dripped onto the elaborately embroidered altar cloth. “Keep us posted on Brian, or if anything comes to you about what happened today.”

  “Will do. What did you find out in the lab?”

  “That the blood is definitely demon blood, vampire blood kills it, and that witches, especially witch doctors, are the most vulnerable to it while elementals are the least. Dr. Douglas is going to need volunteers for testing the vaccine he’s hoping to come up with using the vampire blood as a base.”

  “Lord and Lady.” Gideon sounded so tired it wasn’t even funny. “I’d better go talk to him myself, then. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Selena hung up after saying her own good-bye and began to help Ash fold the altar cloth. She started to fold the blood-soaked side but Ash gently pushed her away. “Let me do this.”

  “I feel so horrible about Brian.” She frowned. There should have been some way to protect the medium from what had happened, some sort of spell that could have stopped the demon from touching him. She’d have to do some research, see if such a thing was possible. If it was, Brian wasn’t the only medium who could benefit from a no-evil zone around them. Maybe an amulet or a charm, something the medium could take on and off as needed, would work. It would also allow witches to recharge the spell without the medium being forced to sit through the tedium such a spell would require.

  “Nothing you did could have changed the outcome.” Ash abandoned the altar cloth to hug her. “Parker and Greg were prepared to protect Brian, and they did the best they could.”

  “I should have guessed it would go after him, not me. Obviously Parker and Greg did.” She rubbed her forehead. She was gearing up toward one hell of a headache. “Hell, it was why Gideon took the lead, to protect me.”

  “You’ve been dealing with a lot recently on little sleep. It’s no wonder you didn’t think of it. Hell, I didn’t either, and I’m a fucking guardian.” Ash looked thoroughly disgusted with himself. “Even so, can you see Brian refusing to take part in the séance?”

  Her shoulders slumped. “No. If he knew this would be the outcome, he’d still have insisted on doing it.” Brian would have done it just to protect his vampire. Without a medium present, it was possible the demon would have tried its best to latch onto either Dragos or Parker as the next best thing, something any Renfield would try to prevent.

  “Then you can’t beat yourself up over this. I guarantee you, no one else blames you. They blame the entity and the Van Helsings.”

  She nodded, not sure if she agreed with him or not, but willing to take his lead. “C’mon. Let’s clean this place up and go home.”

  Calling Ash’s place home was starting to feel natural. It was this place, this haunted home she’d once loved so much that no longer felt like hers. One of her friends had been badly hurt, his blood spilled on the hardwood floors. It was a stain she’d never be able to erase from her memories.

  She’d never feel safe enough to live here again, and she knew it.

  So they cleaned up, mopping up the blood, folding the round table back up and pushing the furniture back into position. She’d have to arrange for the furniture she was keeping to be brought to Ash’s place, and for the rest to either go to charity or get sold. Maybe some of the elementals would help by either flying it there or having the earth elementals carry it over.

  She bet she could donate the items they didn’t want to keep to the new town hall. The old one had been destroyed when the witch Terri had been stalking Parker. Terri had somehow known he was inside and tried to force him to leave by crumbling the building around him with her power over plants. The town had bulldozed the ground the old town hall had stood on, afraid Terri’s evil would fester there, and chosen a new site for the town hall. It was currently being built, the foundation poured and the framework almost done. They had a ways to go until it would be completely ready, but donations were already beginning to flood in for when it was. Giving her furniture to the city would please Dragos and make her feel like this forced move had a more positive outcome.

  “We should donate the furniture you don’t want to bring with you.” Ash was staring at the sofa in particular. “What about giving some of it to the youth center?”

  That wasn’t a bad idea either. “I was thinking maybe the town hall could use some of it, but the youth center can take some too.” The youth center was part of the ranger station, and run by Rock. He’d probably appreciate a furniture donation, so long as it wasn’t the white sofa.

  “But not the sofa,” Ash chuckled. “Those kids will turn it brown faster than you can say dirt.”

  “We could donate it to those kids you rescued from the Van Helsings.”

  “And my TV in your bedroom.” She tapped her finger on her chin as she stared at the forty inch flat s
creen. That she wasn’t willing to give up. She needed something to watch Dr. Who on, after all.

  “Good idea.” Ash walked over, checking how she’d hung it on the wall. “We could watch my favorite cop shows in bed.”

  Selena bit her lip, hoping Ash would play along. She could use a good laugh, so in her most deadpan voice she replied, “Or porn.”

  Ash staggered, catching himself on the edges of the TV. “Damn it, woman.”

  “What, you’ve never watched porn with your girlfriend before?” Hell, Selena didn’t do it often, but sometimes it added a little spice to lovemaking. It was voyeurism without the burden of inviting someone else over. Or doing something totally illegal that she’d never ever do, ever...since high school anyway. And she’d deny that incident until her dying day.

  Ash whimpered. “You’re killing me here.”

  She tried not to laugh. “It’s a total turn-on to listen to others enjoying a down and dirty fu—”

  “Damn it, Selena.” He waved at her frantically. “Quick, find me a screwdriver.”

  She giggled and ran for the kitchen, where she kept her tools in her junk drawer. She began rooting around for the tools to take the TV down. “So. You like the idea of watching porn with me, huh?”

  “I will rip this damn thing off the wall if you don’t hurry up.”

  She was flat out laughing as she grabbed the screwdriver. His growl was almost as impressive as Noah’s. “Got it.”

  “Thank fuck.”

  “Hold your branch, tree boy, I’m coming.” Selena closed the drawer and made her way back into the living room.

  “I wish.” Ash turned toward her and held out his hand. “Gimme.”

  “What, this?” She waved the screwdriver at him with a grin. It felt so good to play after everything they’d been through. Watching the way his eyes danced with amusement, the wicked smile on his face, made everything seem better. She couldn’t wait until they were back in the Throne, this day behind them once and for all. “Come and take it from me.”

  If Ash were a fire elemental she’d be burning up from his gaze alone. He took a step forward, snatching the screwdriver from her hands. “You are evil.”