“Go!” Neville barked.
I raced toward Demon Me without breaking stride. I ran straight into my physical form and pushed with all my strength, feeling the demon’s resistance every inch of the way.
Get! Out! I insisted.
With one last push, I was back in the saddle. Well, more like sharing a saddle with my identical twin, but we wouldn’t be uncomfortable for long if my plan worked.
I saw the dagger in my mother’s hand, already steeped in blood. “I’m here!”
My mother didn’t hesitate. She tossed the dagger to me and I snatched it out of the air before Demon Me or Grandma could react. I clutched the dagger and felt the magic throbbing beneath my fingers. A supernatural death would mean a supernatural revival for me.
I hoped.
It was now or never. My mother held Grandma firmly in place while I sliced open my arm from elbow to wrist. The goal was to make this as quick and painless as possible. It was only after I pierced my skin with the blade and felt the pod demon’s life force ebb that I heard his voice calling frantically.
Chief Fox.
Was I hallucinating?
No, he was there, coming toward the vortex. Great balls of fury. He could see us.
I staggered to the ground and he yelled with such primal force that my bones rattled at the sound of my name. I dropped to the ground, trying not to fight the pain. Trying not to resist death. No matter how many times I’d been killed by my family, it had never felt quite like this.
And that worried me.
It was too late now, though. I could only hope that even if I failed to survive, the pod demons wouldn’t. One sacrifice for the sake of many? I could live with that. It was my job to serve and protect the residents of Chipping Cheddar and I was very good at my job.
“Why are you all standing there?” the chief bellowed. “Why is there so much blood?”
Although their images were hazy, I could see my mother and Aunt Thora arguing with Neville.
“I thought you cloaked it,” I heard Neville say.
“Why would I bother to cloak it when you could have done it?” my mother shot back.
Apparently, we’d been too distracted by our plan to assign cloaking duties.
“I don’t know what you’re arguing about, but stop right now,” the chief said. “She’s hurt.” The pain in his voice was palpable.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, but I wasn’t sure whether I’d actually made any sound.
“Eden.” The next thing I knew, the chief was cradling my head in his lap. His tears slid from the scruff on his chin, past the dimple I adored, and landed on my cheek. I didn’t have the strength to wipe them away. Too weak.
“Sorry,” I murmured.
“Eden, don’t leave,” he whispered. “Stay with me. Please.” He held me against his chest and the last sound I heard was the brutal pounding of his heart.
And then I was gone.
“Eden!” Someone slapped my cheek. Hard.
“Ouch!” I rubbed the sore spot on my skin. “Who did that?”
“Does it really matter? You’re alive now. That’s what counts.” My mother loomed over me, flanked by Grandma and Aunt Thora.
“Did it work?” I asked. My gaze flickered to Grandma.
“Surprisingly, you managed to accomplish something,” Grandma said. “Somebody schedule a parade.”
Relief washed over me. Grandma was no longer occupied.
“Well done, Eden,” Aunt Thora said. “It took a lot of courage to do what you did.”
“Oh, please,” my mother said dismissively. “Marrying her father took more courage than that.”
“Mom,” I said. “I’m barely back in the land of the living. Can you wait to slam Dad when I’m feeling better?”
“I have a nice glass of lemonade waiting for you in the kitchen,” Aunt Thora said.
“I’m always thirsty after a resurrection,” my mother said. “I think it’s something to do with salt. That’s why I like a nice margarita with salt around the rim.” She sighed. “Now I want a margarita and I haven’t even died today.”
“I prefer orange Gatorade,” Grandma said. “Replaces the electrolytes.”
My mother urged me to sit up. “Let’s take the photo again while you’re still dressed appropriately.”
My head was still murky with yesterday’s memories. “Photo? What are you talking about?”
“Our Day of Darkness photo,” my mother replied.
I struggled to sit up. “Didn’t you take that yesterday?”
“Well, yes,” my mother said, “but that wasn’t really you and Grandma was on ice. We need to take it again.”
“I am not posing for a picture,” I insisted. “I just came back to life for Hecate’s sake.”
“I’ll wait for you to brush your hair and teeth,” she huffed. “I’m not a complete monster.”
“I beg to differ,” I murmured. My head throbbed as I made an effort to stand. “Did resurrection always hurt this much?”
“You’re out of practice,” Grandma said.
“That’s a good thing,” I said. “No one should ever have to get used to death.”
“Hey, if you didn’t have our wicked blood coursing through those holier-than-thou veins of yours, you wouldn’t have been able to save the town.” My mother fluffed her hair as though she was personally responsible for my DNA. Hmm. I guess she kind of was.
“Speaking of wicked blood,” Grandma said. “Any fury powers?” She peered into my left eye and then my right one. “Flames are still there. How about the wings? Remove the cloaking spell so I can see.”
“I don’t lose the powers when I use dark magic,” I said. “I gain them.” My heart skipped a beat. “Do I look the same?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” my mother said.
I touched various parts of my body to see whether anything new had sprouted. There had to be a fury power lurking.
“Really, you should thank us,” my mother said. “If we hadn’t killed you the last time, you wouldn’t have thought of killing yourself now.”
“We inspired you,” Grandma added.
“You murdered me.”
“I think I should join the FBM,” my mother said. “It doesn’t seem that difficult.”
“You can’t even open a jar of mayo without help,” I said.
“Why exert the energy when there’s someone with fatter hands to do it for you?” she replied.
I bristled. “My hands are not fat.”
“Sorry, I meant big boned,” my mother said.
“So everything’s back to normal?” I asked. “The demons are gone?”
“Yep,” Grandma said. “Demons are gone. Nobody remembers that anything strange happened to them. It’s like another day.”
Aunt Thora licked her lips. “Well, there’s the problem of the chief. Nothing happened to him, but he certainly saw something he won’t likely forget. He was so confused.”
Memories of the chief flooded my head. His look of pure anguish would haunt me for years to come.
“He wasn’t supposed to see me kill myself,” I said. “I don’t know why he was there.”
“What do you intend to tell him?” Grandma asked.
“You can act like a ghost,” my mother said. “Anytime he’s around, you just make haunting noises.” She proceeded to do a poor imitation of a ghost.
Alice stuck her head out of a wall. “How insulting. That sounds nothing like me.” Her head quickly disappeared.
“Tell him it was a mistake and that you didn’t actually die,” Grandma said.
“He was there, Grandma. He saw me bleed out with his own two eyes.”
“He didn’t see where you went afterward,” my mother said. “We basically shoved him out of the way and told him we were rushing you to the hospital.”
“Just because he believed you couldn’t survive a wound like that doesn’t make it true,” Grandma added.
“He can check hospital records,” I said. “He’
ll know I wasn’t treated.”
“You have a sister-in-law for a doctor,” my mother said matter-of-factly. “Verity treated the wound at home.”
“There was blood everywhere,” I said. “We were dressed like we escaped from a Spanish insane asylum in the 1800’s.”
“I honestly don’t think he noticed,” my mother said. “All he saw was you. It was quite touching, really.”
“You can’t tell him what happened,” Grandma said. “We need to make him a Forget potion. You bring it to him when you tell him you’re alive.”
I needed to mull it over. Lies begat lies and I hated it, at least where the chief was concerned. He could be an ally if we let him.
“I need to make a few calls,” I said.
“To the chief?” Aunt Thora asked.
“That’s not a good idea, Eden,” my mother said. “You’re still woozy and likely to make foolish decisions.”
“No, that’s you after too many margaritas,” Grandma shot back.
“These calls are work-related.” I glanced around helplessly. “Where’s my phone?”
“I’m not sure,” my mother said. “Where did we put Eden’s phone? Did someone charge it while she was dead?”
I zeroed in on Grandma, who was biting her lip. “Grandma, where’s my phone?”
“It’s downstairs. I may have downloaded an app on it.”
“Which app?” I asked.
“It’s just Little Critters,” she said. “No big deal.”
“Why would you download an app on my phone when you can play on your own?” I asked.
“Because I want to start over again with a new account and see if I can beat myself. No one else seems up to the task.”
“Grandma, I use that phone for work. You can’t use it to play games.”
“What? I wasn’t sure if you’d come back,” she said. “It’s been a while since you had to be resurrected.”
“There was a chance your only granddaughter wouldn’t come back from the dead and your first thought was to open a Little Critters account on my phone?”
Grandma shrugged. “What can I say? It’s addictive.” She held out her hands. “And you’re here now. All’s well that end’s well, right?”
I brushed past her. “I’m deleting it off my phone. No games allowed.”
“No games, huh? Boy, Chief Fox dodged a bullet with you,” she muttered.
I hurried downstairs and was intercepted by Princess Buttercup. The hellhound jumped up and landed a paw on each shoulder.
“Watch the flaming spittle,” I warned. Her panting was enough to blow me backward. “I’m happy to see you, too.”
She dropped her front paws back to the floor and trotted alongside me as I entered the kitchen. I found my phone on the island next to Candy. The cat spared me a look before offering a lazy hiss. She couldn’t even be bothered to spite me properly.
I texted Clara to let her know I was okay in case she’d heard rumors, then sent Neville a message to meet me at the office. We’d have to file a report now that we’d taken care of the problem. No need to raze the town, thank the gods. Once again, crisis averted.
Chapter Nineteen
I nabbed a parking spot right outside the office. “I’m alive and I got a good spot? Today must be my lucky day.”
I opened the office door with ease, pleased to find that Neville’s ward was down. If I didn’t have to deal with wards for a while, I’d be a happy fury.
“Great infernal goddesses.” Neville hurried to the door and embraced me before I could fully enter. “I was so relieved to hear from you.” He continued to hold me a little too tightly.
“Having a little trouble breathing,” I croaked.
He released me, pink-cheeked. “How inconsiderate. You’ve only just been reborn and here I am squeezing the life out of you.”
“It’s okay, Neville. I’m happy to be here, too.” I went to my desk and my gaze landed on the sun lamp. Chief Fox’s pained expression flashed in my mind again. I still had to decide what to do. I switched on the lamp and sat.
“I took the liberty of starting the report,” he said. “Feel free to review and sign it.” He gestured to the paperwork on his desk. “You’ll be happy to know that I’ve received confirmation of Handel’s extraction as well.”
“Perfect, thanks.” So Bruce Fendall had made good on his promise. That was great news. Handel wouldn’t be allowed to set foot or distribute anything in this world ever again.
“I think this calls for a celebratory donut,” Neville said. “My treat.”
I rolled back my chair. “Why not? It isn’t every day I come back to life.” Then I would decide what to do about Chief Fox, after a nice sugar high.
We went next door to Holes, where Paige was busy selecting donuts behind the counter.
“Another bear claw, please,” an elderly woman said. “I’m feeling hungry.”
“Hi Mr. Riggin,” I said to the old man beside her.
He turned to smile at me. “Agent Fury. What a nice surprise.” He put an arm around the woman. “Shelley, this is Agent Fury.”
“How are you feeling, Mrs. Riggin?” I asked. “I understand you’ve been unwell.”
“Much better, thank you. It’s like I’ve been asleep for a week. I feel like a new woman now, though.”
“It’s a miracle.” Mr. Riggin inclined his head toward Paige. “We decided to treat ourselves.”
“I usually make my own baked goods,” Mrs. Riggin said. “Stuart insisted that we come here. I’ve been spending so much time in the house. It feels good to be out and about.”
“I’m glad you’re back to your old self,” I said.
“I guess the doctors were right,” Mr. Riggin said. “There wasn’t anything wrong with her. I’m just grateful I have my Shelley back.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Hey, there,” Paige greeted us. “The usual for you, Neville?”
“I might try something new today,” he said. “I feel like taking a chance.”
“Wow, big day.” Paige handed Mr. Riggin their big bag of bear of claws and the elderly couple waved goodbye as they left the shop.
“I think I’ll try your finest chocolate glazed donut, please,” the wizard said.
Paige laughed. “They’re all the same, Neville.”
“One for me, too,” I said. I wasn’t about to turn down chocolate in any form.
As Paige retrieved the donuts, the bell above the door tinkled, alerting her to another customer. I turned with half a donut in my mouth and my heart stopped.
Chief Fox paused mid-stride and gaped at me. Although he wore his uniform, his face was unshaven and there were dark circles under his beautiful, sea-green eyes. I saw the rapid onslaught of emotions as he processed my appearance—shock, confusion, relief, and something else.
Neville plucked the donut from my mouth. I didn’t know how to handle this. What do you say to the chief of police—to the guy you desperately want—when he discovers you’re no longer dead? What does he say to you?
Apparently, the answer is nothing.
His long strides covered the shop in what seemed like a nanosecond. He gathered me in his arms and pressed his lips to mine, urgent and hungry. That single kiss sparked a raging inferno between us. He leaned into me as though trying to merge our bodies together. Forget resurrection—I never felt more alive. This moment—his reaction—changed everything. I couldn’t lie to him anymore. Didn’t want to. He was a strong man with a sharp mind and a kind heart. If anyone could handle the truth, it was Sawyer Fox.
“Oxygen, anyone?” I heard Neville say. He sounded so far away.
The chief buried his hands in my hair and leaned his forehead against mine. “I don’t understand,” he rasped. “I watched you die. I saw it. I checked your pulse. I even tried to resuscitate you. They took you away…They said to the hospital, but I checked…”
I slipped my hand into his and squeezed. “I’m okay.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?�
��
“You were next,” I said. “I had work I needed to take care of first.”
A strangled laugh escaped him. “Only you would consider eating a donut part of your job.”
Paige set two cups of iced coffee on the counter. “You two seem like you need to cool down.”
We broke apart, but he kept a grip of my hand, as though I might melt away. “Sorry about that, Paige,” he said. “Agent Fury had fallen ill. I’m just relieved to see she’s better.”
“Shia hadn’t been himself this week either,” Paige said. “Seems back to normal today, though. He got mad when I asked him to mow the lawn. That’s how I know.”
Chief Fox didn’t appear to be listening to Paige. He was staring at me intently. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“We are somewhere.”
His gaze flickered to Neville and Paige. “Somewhere private.”
“I’ll enjoy my donut here,” Neville said. “You go ahead to the office.”
I faced my assistant. “Are you sure?” I asked. Neville knew what I was really asking.
The wizard clapped my shoulder. “Whatever you decide, I support you, O Immortal One.”
The chief chuckled. “That should be your new nickname. Agent Impervious to Death Fury.”
Oh, he had no idea.
“I think you might want a drink first,” I said.
He glanced at the iced coffee. “I’ve got a drink.”
“Something stronger,” I said. In the immortal words of Grandma, sometimes you have to dispense with the looking and just leap.
“In that case, should we try The Cheese Wheel?” he asked.
“This isn’t a conversation we can have in public,” I said.
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “Good point. There are other things I’d like to do that can’t be in public either or I’d have to arrest myself.”
We left Holes and slipped back into my office. I locked the door behind us just to be on the safe side. Chief Fox didn’t hesitate. His muscular arms reached for me and pulled me against his chest.
“Yesterday felt like a nightmare and today feels like a dream,” he said softly. He kissed my forehead and then each cheek.
“What about Corinne?” I asked.
He rubbed the sides of my arms. “Corinne and I broke up last night.”
Bedtime Fury Page 17
