Rose

by Ripley Proserpina

  The door suddenly opened, and a gust of cold wind blew through the house. Rose turned to face the newcomer, knife in hand, but all she saw was a flash of gold hair before the room spun. Pain exploded through her hand, and she swore she heard the bones break before she flew through the air.

  Her back hit the wall, head cracking against the bookcase.

  There was an angry roar, but she couldn’t see anything. Her vision was weird, she couldn’t focus on anything, and it seemed like everything was spinning and smashing.

  “Dad!”

  “Lindy, run!”

  She couldn’t see, but she held her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry!” she cried out, knowing exactly what had happened. The guys’ friend had come home and seen her with a knife.

  Someone squatted near her. She jerked away when they placed their warm hand on her face. “Don’t move, Rose.” Horus.

  “She’s a human, Valen!” Seti yelled.

  “She had a knife!”

  “Dad?” The girl’s voice trembled.

  Rose could only imagine what she looked like, so she wiped her sleeve over her face. “Please don’t be frightened. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize,” Horus growled.

  Slowly, her eyesight was returning, but she was really injured. The room was blurry, and her hand throbbed.

  Not since her attack had she been this hurt. The worst she’d ever done to herself was fall down a flight of stairs and that had resulted in two broken wrists (healed within minutes) and a cut on her forehead (ten seconds, tops).

  Like the cut on her palm, she burned where she healed.

  “Fuck,” she groaned as the bones in her hand began to realign themselves. It felt as if someone was holding her fingers and pulling them out of the sockets while holding it over an open flame.

  And her head…

  She was going to throw up. Shutting her eyes tightly, she sucked in a breath through her nose.

  “You’re healing.” Ra’s voice was an icy wind over the flames. “Keep breathing.”

  She tried, squirming on the spot where she’d fallen. Unable to stop herself, she twisted and arched, heel driving against the floor as she struggled not to scream.

  “Keep breathing.”

  She inhaled through her nose and let out the breath between her teeth. Ra stayed with her as the minutes passed. He stayed until the nausea abated. Opening her eyes, she took stock of the damage she’d done.

  Standing near the door was a giant of a man, bright blond hair tied back at the base of his neck. A girl held tightly to his arm, staring at her with worried eyes.

  “I’m okay,” she said to her. “I’m sorry.”

  “If you apologize one more time…” Seti crouched next to Horus, but now he stood, arms out, between her and the man.

  “You’ll what, break my other hand?” She laughed and winced when it jostled her head. Shit. It hurt to breathe. She must have broken a rib.

  “I’m sorry,” the man at the door called. “I saw the knife.”

  Crossing her arm over her ribs, she pulled her knees closer to her body. God, she needed to heal and fast.

  There was one last blast of heat, radiating along her fingers, and she could move her hand again.

  “Did you see that?” the girl whispered.

  “Yes,” the man replied.

  Her ribs burned like they were made of gunpowder and someone had lit a match to it. The fire zinged along them, but then, sweet relief. She could breathe again. “I’m okay,” she said, again, looking between each of the brothers and then to the man. So much for first impressions. How was she supposed to introduce herself now? Taking another breath, and reveling in the fact that it was pain-free, she steadied herself. “I’m Rose.”

  He smiled tightly, white teeth flashing in a handsome face. “Valen,” he replied. “This is my daughter, Lindy.”

  “This is your house.” She rolled onto her knees. Horus grunted, moving quickly to put his hands under her arms and help her stand. She wobbled for a second before she got her balance. “Oh no.”

  The living room was trashed. Rose turned. She’d slammed into a bookcase and broken the shelves. The floor was covered in blood, wood, paper, and… glass?

  She studied the men. Horus’s sleeve was ripped and Seti’s hair a mess. Even Ra was breathing heavily.

  The girl looked fine, but after further study, Valen appeared to be missing a boot. “Did you kick me?” she asked.

  Valen shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “No.” Horus spoke right next to her ear, his arm went around her waist, holding her close. She expected him to let her go, but he didn’t. “He just threw you.”

  “Wow,” she replied. There was a good ten feet between the door and the bookshelf. “I really scared the crap out of you, didn’t I?”

  “All five feet of you,” Seti muttered.

  “I said I was sorry!” Valen mumbled.

  Lindy’s gaze went between all of them as she worried at her lip. Rose hated that the child had been frightened, and worse, that she’d been scared in her home. Home was supposed to be safe, and Rose had ruined that because she was showing off with her super-healing.

  “It’s okay,” she said to Valen and Lindy. “I’m all better.” Surveying the damage, she went on, quieter, “I’ll pay for the damage.” A lot of the things in this place looked expensive. “I might need a payment plan.”

  “The hell you will!” Horus bellowed.

  “Language!” she chided, choosing to ignore the fact that she’d dropped the f-bomb minutes ago. Lindy giggled, and Rose winked at her, trying to lighten the tension. A book lay at her feet, and she crouched down to pick it up. She read the title and swallowed hard. “They have first editions of Pride and Prejudice at Target, right?” Carefully, she closed the book and set it on the edge of the sofa. “Do you have a broom?”

  “I’ll show her,” Lindy said to her father.

  Valen put her down, and the girl ran toward the kitchen. Rose made a move to follow, but Valen shook his head at the same time as Horus touched her arm.

  It struck her that Ra hadn’t said a word since telling her to breathe. Instead, he stood like a statue, staring at her. His eyes were the only thing that moved, tracking her as she’d stood and now, when she had started to follow Lindy.

  “You’re all right?” Valen asked her.

  “I am,” she said. “I heal very quickly.”

  “Even though you’re human.”

  There it was again, the word human. Icebergs. For ten years, she’d waited for answers about why she was this way, and in the space of two days…

  Well, nothing was clearer, and she had a billion more questions.

  But answers were on the horizon. She was certain of that much.

  “Here.” Lindy handed her a garbage bag and a broom. “When Valen and Sylvain fight, we burn the wood in the fire pit outside and roast marshmallows.” She began to pick up fallen books and stacked them on the sofa. “The floor isn’t scratched though, so that’s good. Marcus gets all worked up about the floor.”

  To her surprise, the other guys began to clean up with them. Ra stacked books, fitting them onto unbroken shelves while Horus and Valen brought pieces of wood through the kitchen to the back yard.

  Seti took the broom from her to sweep so she straightened the cushions on the couch and the rug in the foyer. Ra moved about as well, though the times Rose glanced over at him, he usually stared at her as if he was lost in his own thoughts.

  With the debris cleared away, Rose could make out a puddle of blood on the floor. “How bad do I look?” She spoke to herself, mumbling under her breath as she made her way to get wet paper towels and dish soap.

  “Kind of like a zombie,” Lindy said from nearby. “With more blood. You should probably clean up.”

  Great. Self-conscious now, Rose quickly took her cleaning products to the spot to clean up.

  “I’ll get this,” Ra said, gently taking them from her hands. �
�Bathroom is on the second floor.”

  “It’s my blood,” she said. “I’ll get it quick.”

  “I’ve got it,” he replied in a tone that said she’d be wasting her time if she argued.

  The other men were still outside, and she’d like to be blood-free before she faced everyone again. “Thanks.”

  The second floor was just as gorgeous as the first. The floor was covered with expensive looking rugs and the walls were hung with family portraits. She glanced at them as she passed by, freezing at the sight of what had to be a wedding photo. At first, she thought it was the bride and groom with groomsmen, but around that photo of the pretty young woman in a white dress were additional black and white photographs of her with each of the men.

  Huh. Rose mentally shrugged. Love is love. To each their own, and good for that lady. Those guys were smoking hot.

  Even if one of them had thrown her into a wall and broken her hand.

  Eventually, she found the bathroom. Oh my god. My face. Lindy was right. She did look like a zombie. Dried blood crusted her hairline and ran over her nose and down her cheeks like bloody tears.

  Her jacket was torn, one arm ripped at the shoulder. Second jacket in two days. She turned to see her back and winced. She’d chosen a bright green peacoat and there was a dark red stain along the neck.

  There was no saving it.

  How was she supposed to clean this mess? Dunk her head under the faucet? Throw the coat in the garbage?

  With no other choice, she shrugged out of the coat and turned on the water. Before she could stick her head under, there was a soft knock on the door. “Rose?”

  She opened it a crack. Ra stood there, holding clothes. “Briar, Lindy’s mother, said to give you these because you’d probably want to shower. She’s waiting for us at Boston College. She’s one of the doctors.”

  Her body was on fire. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “You did nothing wrong,” he said in that low voice that made her think he was trying to talk her into believing him. “It was an accident.”

  He was being almost too nice. Maybe he felt guilty, too. “This wasn’t your fault, either,” she said. “I’m the one who was showing off. If you want to be a jerk to me, go ahead.”

  His eyes flashed from brown to gold and back to brown. He handed her the clothes and she took them. Stepping away, he opened his mouth to speak but then shut it.

  “Ra?” Seti’s voice carried upstairs.

  Without saying anything else, he left her alone. Rose shut the door, staring down at the clothing. She placed it on the sink before picking up one of the shirts. It was small, way too small for her.

  She checked the size on the pants. Yeah. It was going to take some work to get into this, but she was grateful. She stripped out of her clothes and dropped them on the floor, gasping when she saw the bright red spot on her shirt. Holy crap, she’d bled a lot.

  Aware of the people downstairs, and this being a stranger’s house, she turned on the water and jumped inside before it had heated up. “Eek!” The cold took her breath away.

  On the side of the tub were soaps and shampoos. She chose the closest one and squirted a huge dollop into her hand before dunking her head under the water.

  She rushed through the shower, washing her hair until the suds were white and not pink.

  Holding up her hands, she compared them. Neither was swollen. When she dug her fingers into her hair, exploring her scalp, she couldn’t find any tender areas.

  She’d healed.

  Rose turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel from a nearby stack. She had to put her underwear and bra back on. The straps of her bra were stained, but there was nothing for it. Her boobs were too big to wear anything without one.

  Briar’s shirt was small, but stretchy. It was definitely tighter than she was comfortable with, but it would do.

  She was surprised the pants fit, but like the shirt, there was a little give, so she got them up and buttoned.

  Her reflection looked a lot less zombie, thank God. She squeezed her wet hair over her shoulder into the sink and wrapped it into a bun low at the back of her neck. If she tucked the strands into the center, it would stay in place for a while without an elastic.

  Gathering her clothes, she did one last check of the bathroom to make sure she hadn’t made another mess.

  What a crazy day. She needed like… seven drinks and a pizza. With a deep breath, and a quick prayer that she’d met her quota for excitement, she went downstairs.

  12

  Horus

  The moment the shower came on, Horus mentally reached out to his brothers. “This is unbelievable.”

  Seti. “Ra, what did you do?”

  A long silence filled the space between the three of them. Valen took Lindy into the kitchen to make her an after-school snack, almost as if he knew they were having a conversation and wanted to give them privacy. But he fixed them with a heavy look that said they’d have explaining to do when Rose left.

  Valen was an understanding guy, but he was protective. Horus didn’t doubt that when he told Rose he was sorry, he was. But he would do anything to keep his family safe, which meant if he saw Rose as a threat, he’d act fast and apologize later.

  Speaking of acting fast, why had he been so slow? He’d heard Valen coming up the stairs. Heard Lindy speaking to him.

  And yet he’d done nothing when the door had opened. He should have seen the potential for danger, but the sight of Rose’s healing had struck him dumb. And the scent of her blood… nothing had ever smelled more tempting. He couldn’t put his finger on the scent, it wasn’t something he could name, but it filled his nose and made his mouth water.

  “I’ve never wanted to taste someone so much.” Ra’s thought came fast, but his brother immediately backtracked. He hadn’t meant to admit it to himself, let alone share it.

  But Horus agreed with Ra, and through their connection, so did Seti.

  The brothers didn’t need blood to survive. Human food, animal blood—all of it could sustain them. But human blood… If a plate held a hot dog, pizza roll, or filet mignon, the choice was obvious.

  Horus had his own reasons for denying his taste for blood, and they weren’t small ones.

  “If she heals so quickly, are you sure about her being in pain? Do you think she really needs Hudson, Marcus, and Briar?” Ra’s question jolted Horus from his daydream about Rose’s blood.

  “We’re sure.” Seti sent an image of how they’d found her in the elevator the split second before their eyes had met and she’d straightened. He tried to impart the scent of her pain to their brother.

  “What did you do when you saved her?” Horus asked. There had to have been something. “You told her to live, but what else did you do?”

  He felt Ra’s honest confusion. It was only here, through their bond, that his brother would let his guard down. Not even their most trusted friends saw this side of him. Ra believed he had to be strong, and distant. Untouchable.

  Horus knew why, and because of that, he never pushed his brother for more than he could give.

  “That was it.” Truth rang in Ra’s words.

  “Show us?” Seti asked.

  Ra glanced toward the kitchen, but it sounded as if Valen and Lindy were distracted by homework. He nodded slightly, shut his eyes, and sent them the memory.

  The snow fell differently here than in northern Quebec. There, it flew sideways, stinging and slicing across his skin. In Boston, it floated like orbs of light.

  Horus saw what his brother saw. The thick flakes drifted from darkness through the dim street lamp. Objectively, this wasn’t a pretty neighborhood. The houses were a little rundown, but the snow gave everything a coat of white paint. It covered up junk left on tiny lawns and rusted tin roofs.

  “Pretty girl.”

  In a flash, Ra took off. The sibilant voice could only belong to one creature. He moved faster than anyone would see him, scaling the side of a house before bounding across
the roof and jumping. He landed lightly on his feet in a small, square backyard.

  Horus gasped aloud. He’d seen horrible things in his life, things he could never, ever forget, but this hurt him in a way he didn’t expect.

  The scent of blood and death exploded across his senses as Ra took in the scene. The girl—puffy down coat torn open so feathers and snowflakes covered the ground around her. Body jerking with each bite the crawler inflicted on her.

  Drip. Drip. The blood from the wounds along her neck and hands dripped onto the white ground, immediately melting the snow beneath her.

  Her breath stuttered, and across the yard, her heartbeat slowed.

  Rage filled him. Crawlers were the worst kind of evil. And this one… attacking a child? He barely registered that he’d made it across the yard. He grabbed the crawler and in two quick movements, ripped its arms and legs from its body. Ra wanted this to hurt. He wanted the thing to know that its end was here. He hoped it was as painful as what it had inflicted on the child.

  It screamed, the sound echoing through the night, and he ripped its head from its shoulders.

  Ra forgot about it the second it turned to dust.

  Huge dark eyes met his. To his surprise, the girl didn’t cry or scream, she watched him come closer with something like awe.

  She was too young to die. Too young and innocent for this to be the way she passed from one life into the next.

  Horus was as wonderstruck as his brother.

  What do I do? The question ran through Ra’s head over and over. What do I do?

  And still the girl watched him. No judgment. No expectations. It was a quiet meeting of two souls on a snowy night.

  “You’re not going to die.” As soon as Ra thought the words, he knew he’d done the right thing. He said it again, pushing the command into her head. “You’re not going to die.”

  A change came over her. Her eyes closed, and she bit down on her lip so hard blood welled around her white teeth.

  “You’re not going to die.” He spoke the words aloud now. Closing in, he heard sirens and sent out the command, “Stop here.” To her he said, “Hang on. Help will be here soon.”