My fists shot out, sparks arcing from my fingers. I missed, but the jolt of magic hit a barrel, which exploded, sending a stake of wood into Helen’s leg. She shrieked and limped to the end of the alley, then stuttered to a stop. A wall of crates blocked her path. To her right was another alley, but she’d never make it on her injured leg. She turned to face me, lungs heaving on gulps of air. I bent at the waist, a stitch burning my side.
Man, she was fast.
Helen was pulling a knife when I looked up again. Out of options, she advanced. I rubbed my hands together to resurrect magic but nothing happened. Fists clenched, I tried anyway, splaying open my fingers to complete and utter failure.
Time for plan B.
I grappled at my waist for the vial of powder. Helen attacked. It slipped from my hand and rolled across the ground as I ducked. Her blade whistled past my face. I dropped to a knee, reaching for the knife in my boot instead. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Derrick charging from the other direction. He was too far out to stop a second attack, but at least Helen wouldn’t get away.
Unable to reach my weapon in time, her knife flashed in the moonlight. I tried to roll and dodge it but only managed to lift my arms and shield my body.
“No!” Derrick’s guttural cry ricocheted off the brick building.
The blade sliced through the sleeve of my cloak and bit into skin. I gasped as I reached for the wound. My fingers came away sticky with blood.
Helen backed up, her eyes wild, then thrust the knife again, aiming for my chest.
Magic finally surged from my fingertips, releasing into her. Her body convulsed, and she staggered back. It bought me enough time.
Falling within reach, Derrick tackled her to the ground. The knife skittered across the stones while Helen shrieked, fighting with her whole body, but his knee pressed firm into her back, forcing her face to the gravel. He wrenched her arms behind her and circled iron cuffs around her wrists.
“It’s over, Helen. You’re under arrest.”
Heaving her to her feet, Derrick passed her off to a waiting officer. More had converged on our location, watching as Helen tried to dislodge the man. She looked arrogant. Her laughter filled the air.
“It’s not over. Not even close.”
Derrick barked instructions as officers dragged her away. Another burst of her crazed laughter made my skin crawl. She was insane. How could she have poisoned her own stepsister?
I pressed my fingers against my forehead. Pressure built behind my eyelids and it hurt to think. Helen had to be working with someone else, possibly the man Argus had seen with Jane Porter before her death. She would talk. She couldn’t hold out forever.
We were so close.
So…lightheaded?
A wave of dizziness caused bile to climb my throat. I reached for the wall to steady myself.
“Uh, Derrick? Something’s wrong.” Tongue thick in my mouth, I couldn’t form the words. They sounded slurred, faraway. I tried again, my sentence worse the second time.
“Tessa, are you all right? Let me see your arm.” He broke away from the officers, and I blinked to clear my vision as his features split into two. Four arms, four legs, running now, as I swayed on my feet. The ground rushed to meet me. He caught me before I hit the dirt.
Derrick examined my injury, tearing at my cloak until the wound met fresh air. I hissed in a breath as his fingers probed the laceration.
“It’s not deep and barely bleeding. I don’t understand what’s happening.”
Another wave of dizziness hit, buckling my knees. His grip strengthened, keeping me upright. Spots danced in my vision. Of all the rotten luck. I struggled to speak. Had to let him know…
“The knife,” I mumbled. “She poisoned it. Take me to Vivian.”
He was already lifting me up, my feet losing purchase on the ground as he tucked me against his chest. “Bring the knife,” he shouted over a shoulder. Smart. We’d need that.
Haze clouded my thoughts. There was something we could do. A spell, maybe? I wasn’t very good at spells. I never wanted my life to depend on one—it didn’t bode well. My head lolled against his chest. Derrick’s footsteps were so loud, pounding in my ear. No. His heart. It knocked fast on his ribcage, and I pressed my palm against the spot.
“Shh… I’m trying to sleep.”
“You can’t sleep right now.” He jostled me, making my surroundings spin.
My stomach rolled. I hated Helen with every fiber of my being. Whatever she’d laced the blade with was going to make me toss my dinner at Derrick’s feet. Hopefully, by then, death would be swift. You didn’t come back from humiliation like that, not when you’d had a huge bowl of Vivian’s hearty chicken stew for dinner.
Seconds passed. Minutes? Time was fuzzy. We stopped, and Derrick tossed a terse command at someone above him. Who was he talking to? Horses neighed, and I knew.
“Don’t talk to the horses,” I groaned. “They can’t help.”
“I’m not talking to the horses.”
Somewhere close by, reins snapped. My hands tangled in his shirt, pulling at the fabric.
“You can’t make me ride a horse. I won’t forgive you. I’m too dizzy, and you’re likely to drop me.”
“I would never drop you.”
“Can’t risk it. I’d rather die by poison than be trampled.”
“You’re not going to die!”
I blinked, my lids closing far longer than they should. “If you say so.”
“I do,” he snapped. “Keep your eyes open, Tessa. For once, do as I say.”
Derrick’s hold tightened as the carriage lurched, arms anchoring me to him, absorbing the worst of the bumps in the road. He smoothed the hair out of my face while I stared up at him, trying to follow his orders. His features were pinched with fear, eyes stormy. People only looked at you that way when you were dying.
“There’s four of you,” I whispered, as his tormented face morphed into many. I struggled against the weight dragging on my eyelids. “Don’t be mad. I can’t handle four mad detectives. One’s bad enough.”
“I’m not mad.” His lips found my temple. Stayed there. A sharp breath expanded his chest, and he choked on it, gathering me closer.
“You never get mad. You get even. I remember.”
“That’s right, I do.” His voice was husky against the side of my neck. “You’re going to let me get even.”
“Maybe. But…just in case…give Vivian my share.”
The carriage seats spun like a top. Black vines slithered into the corners of my vision, spreading faster and faster, blocking everything else out.
“Your share of what?”
“The…reward.”
It was dark all of a sudden. Pitch-black. Like being underwater, Derrick’s frantic cry was a muffled echo in my ears.
Tessa? Tessa!
And then, there was light. Brilliant, crisp, and blinding white. The sensation of being lifted high, floating on air, leaving my body…
Dropping fast to oblivion.
I felt nothing at all.
Chapter 27
“There she is.”
Vivian’s face swam into sight. Easing my eyes open to take in my surroundings, I realized I was in her guest room, propped up on pillows, wearing one of her sleeveless shifts. My clothes had been discarded in a heap near the foot of the bed, blood and grime staining the garments. They needed to be tossed, or better yet, burned. A roll of bandages lay on the side table along with my reference book on poisons. My memory came back all at once, and I groaned.
“Am I dead?”
“Unfortunately, no.” Her lips crooked into a wistful smile. “It’s such a shame too. I’d already figured out how I wanted to spend your share of the reward.”
I scooted back against the pillow, surprised to find my dizziness gone. Even my stomach felt settled. It was a miracle I’d held on to my dignity. There was only a slight twinge in my arm where Helen had cut me with her knife.
“Were you
planning to erect a vast monument in my name?”
Vivian blinked. “No, I was going to buy a horse farm.”
“Get out!” I shoved her off the bed with my good arm, and she landed on the carpet, her lips shaking with suppressed laughter.
“Come on, that’s funny. Only you would rant about horses when you’re delirious.”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose. Flashes of mine and Derrick’s woozy conversation made me cringe. Had I really accused him of talking to horses? Thankfully, I’d been on my deathbed, and you could say pretty much anything when you were about to die. That was a rule I was sure had been written down somewhere.
Vivian remained on the floor, not bothering to contain her amusement as I scrunched my nose in disgust.
“Is nothing sacred? I can’t even enjoy a good old-fashioned near-death experience without mockery?”
“Well, you could have if you’d been near death, which you weren’t. After Derrick brought you here, I performed your spell with the enchanted rosenphyn you had leftover from testing Liam’s shirt. Turns out, Helen dipped the blade in icafrass sap. It’s essentially harmless, meant to disarm rather than kill, which is why it’s quick-acting. It made you dizzy. Probably nauseous too.”
“Don’t remind me. I should have gone easy on your stew before I went hunting for killers. Lesson learned.” I folded my arms over my stomach and frowned. “Are you sure I wasn’t dying a little bit? It was dicey near the end there.”
“No. The poison only induces fainting.”
“I fainted?” I kicked the blanket off my legs and sat on the edge of the bed, head in my hands. “How embarrassing. Does Derrick know?”
“Yeah, sorry. If it makes you feel better, he wouldn’t leave your side. It was very sweet. But it made keeping your diagnosis from him tricky.”
Great. I couldn’t even die properly. I was just a ranting lunatic who’d been dosed with a hallucinogenic. Even my wound wasn’t anything to get excited about.
“Is he still here?”
“Yes, he’s been pacing outside since I kicked him out of your room. He did not appreciate that. But it’s my house, and I thought you might want to get rid of all this…”—she swung her hand in my general direction—“awkwardness before you see him again. Maybe fix your hair.”
“What’s wrong with my hair?”
“Nothing, if you’re going for the ‘I was attacked in an alley and it shows’ kind of look.”
“Gee, thanks, Viv.”
She shrugged and had me turn so she could sit beside me on the bed. The mattress dipped as she reached for a brush on the nightstand, then she pulled the bristles through my tangled waves. We were quiet for a long moment, her fingers soft as she sifted through the strands, arranging them so they’d frame my face.
“There, all better.” Her hands stilled. “I’m glad you’re okay, Tess. I have enough friends who are ghosts.”
I smiled. “I know.”
Her fingers found mine, and she squeezed. “Are you ready to see Derrick, or do you want me to tell him to come back tomorrow?”
Nerves fluttered in my stomach. There was no sense in putting it off any longer even though I was scared to see him. What if he made sure I was okay and then just left? Did I have it in me to change his mind? If being somewhat adjacent to death’s door hadn’t made him realize how much he cared for me, I didn’t have a ton of other cards to play.
“I want to see him.”
Vivian rose and walked to the door, pulling it open a crack to say, “She’s feeling better. You can sit with her if you want.”
The door was pushed wide, and Derrick appeared in the entrance. Air left his lungs in a rush when he saw me sitting up in bed.
Vivian patted his shoulder. “It’s late. I’m turning in. Goodnight, you two.” She nudged him further into the room then closed the door, her footsteps fading down the hall.
Derrick stood unmoving, watching me as if I might vanish into thin air. The strength of his gaze made me restless, and I slid to the edge of the bed, wincing when I put pressure on my injured arm.
He was beside me in an instant. “Go slow. Are you dizzy?”
“No, I’m fine. It’ll take more than a knife wound and poison to get rid of me.” My smile dimmed beneath his fierce expression. Jeez, where was the joy at my speedy recovery? How about, You’re the bravest, most resilient and stunningly beautiful witch the kingdom has ever seen? Something! At this point, I’d take a fist bump to the shoulder and a, “Hey, good to see ya.”
Derrick sank into a chair beside the bed, where he bent over and dropped his head into his hands. His coat was filthy. A long swath of blood had dried on his sleeve, and droplets dotted the side in a scattered pattern. There was no saving it. Apparently, the coat knew how to die properly.
“I think you need to burn your coat.”
He laughed, the sound abrasive, almost brutal. “You’re always worried about my clothes. The devil take my coat! Tessa, I thought I was going to lose you.” He lifted his head, anguished eyes locking with mine.
I went still, my insides rolling from the intensity. His voice was rough with emotion.
“When you blacked out, I lost it. I’ve spent my entire career as a detective hardening myself against the things I witness every day, and in a single second, seeing your eyes close like that, it ruined me.”
“Derrick—” My throat closed. The pain in his voice stabbed me harder than Helen’s knife ever could.
“When I found out you’d hid your association with Argus, I had to let you go. I couldn’t trust you. How could I protect you when you were lying to me? It was too hard.”
“I never would have betrayed you or the case for him. Not ever.”
“I know that. It was wrong of me to suggest you would. The things I said to you, accused you of, I hate myself for it. I was angry. I felt helpless, and I’m not supposed to be. The people in this kingdom look to me to know what to do. The rules, the routine, the structure—it’s the only way I know how to maintain control, and you obliterate each one, over and over.” He sighed and scrubbed a hand ruthlessly through his hair. “This isn’t the time. I don’t want to upset you. You need to rest.” He pushed out of his chair and headed for the door.
My mouth dropped open. Wait, seriously? He was going to leave after saying all that? His hand was on the doorknob. He really was! Heart in my throat, I sprang from the bed, feet tangling in the blanket so I almost nose-dived into the floor. Thankfully, I caught my balance, a feat I’d taken for granted until a short while ago.
“Wait! Derrick Chambers, don’t you dare turn your back on a dying girl.”
His head dropped forward. “Tessa, you’re not dying. It’s a flesh wound.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Actually, I do. I bandaged it myself.”
This was not going as I’d hoped. “Humor me then! I did faint. That has to count for something.”
“All right.” He backed away from the door, lips twitching in the barest twist of a smile. “What do you want to say?”
I exhaled and wiped my sweaty palms against my shirt. His eyes followed the action, lingering for a beat at the hemline, which stopped mid-thigh. There was definitely a draft in here. I’d completely forgotten about my lack of attire, and my skin flushed as I fiddled with the bottom of the shirt.
“Tessa, you’re fiddling again. Nervous?”
“No, I—hey, stop noticing that.” I clenched my fingers into fists. Everything I wanted to say clogged in my throat. So many things. Apologies, demands, explanations—they all sounded inferior in my head. I wasn’t good at this! Asking people to stay, hoping they’d look past all my faults, it was madness.
But I needed to try.
“Um…don’t go.” There. It was a start. I had this. “You asked me earlier why I changed my mind about finishing the case alone, and it’s because I want to finish it with you. I shouldn’t have lied to you about Argus and my debt. You deserved the truth. I got scared. I’
m used to disappointment, but I couldn’t handle disappointing you.”
“You wouldn’t have disappointed me. Tessa—”
I held up a trembling finger. “It’s rude to interrupt a dying girl. I’m not finished.”
There was that half-smile again. He nodded, and I took a moment to pace. My heart beat so fast, I figured it was only a matter of time before it decided it had had enough and gave out. Then, I’d really be at death’s door.
I shook out my hands and faced him. “Okay, you want honesty? Here’s the truth: I’m a mess. My magic is mediocre at best, I’m broke, and I ruined everything between us with my lies. The thing is, I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and be perfect. I’m going to make mistakes, probably lots of them. Pumpkins will explode. I might even cause another plague.” I let out a shuddering breath. “But I love you. And if you’ll stay with me, I want to be imperfect with you.”
The silence was unbearable. Derrick stared. I couldn’t tell if he was going to laugh or put a man-sized hole in the door trying to escape. He might do both.
Sick with fear, I broke the silence. “All right…I’m finished dying now. You can say something.”
“Are you sure you’re not going to relapse?” He moved closer.
“I don’t think so.”
“Good.” A few feet separated us. Then, nothing at all as his hands framed my face. “I wasn’t leaving. Vivian mixed some powder to help you sleep, and I left it in the other room. I was going to get it.”
“Oh.” Wonderful. First, I faint, and then, I make a blubbering fool of myself. “You know, I would have changed my speech a bit if I’d known that. Probably focused more on my many qualities.”
His fingers smoothed my cheekbones. “I’m glad you didn’t. It was honest.”
My breath caught. “Well, that’s me—or, at least, the new me. Honest to a fault.”
He bent his head, lips claiming mine in a devastating kiss. Relief swamped me and made tears gather under my eyelids. Honesty was my new policy from here on out. The reward was too good. Lies? No way, not me.
Spellbound After Midnight (Ever Dark, Ever Deadly Book 1) Page 24
