Queen of Night

by Emily Goodwin

“No,” I say, but my blood runs cold. “That’s not possible.”

  “Right,” Holly agrees. “Hellhounds aren’t real, and neither are werewolves.” She looks at her partner, saying something about letting the ER know the kid could use a psych eval. Good gravy, Holly. The kid is drunk as a skunk and just got attacked in the dark. Cut him some slack.

  Ruby takes my arm and leads me back over to the Jeep. “Is there any way Scarlet could have gotten out?”

  “No. She was at home when I left, and even if she did get out, she’d be running around looking like a little fluff-ball puppy. The only way she can transform is if someone takes her collar off, and that someone has to have angel blood. It wasn’t me, and the only other angels who know about her are Julian and my dad, and I know—” I stop short, because there is one other person. It wouldn’t have been possible before, but now…now it is.

  Because Lucifer is here on Earth.

  Chapter 16

  “Mrs. King? Mrs. King?”

  Blinking, I snap my attention away from the woods and look at Officer Maxwell standing only a few feet from me. My lips part and I let out a breath. Focus, Callie, focus. Binx is still in my arms, and Officer Maxwell is curiously looking at him, and I don’t have to have the power to read minds to know exactly what he’s thinking.

  The people I rescued from that root cellar told some pretty wild tales, with one being me showing up with an army of cats. But he’ll never say anything, because you’d sound pretty fucking insane to outright accuse someone of running through town like a masked vigilante—with their army of cats.

  Though that sounds pretty badass, if you ask me.

  “Yes?”

  “I need you to tell me what happened.”

  My eyes shut in a long blink and I set Binx down. Opening my eyes, I adjust my headpiece and take a slow breath in. “We were driving back to my house from the downtown trick-or-treating event and a deer ran out in front of us. It hit the passenger side.” I motion to the Jeep’s cracked headlight. “So we stopped and got out to look for it but it ran off. Then we heard the kids screaming for help.”

  “And you didn’t think to call 911? You just ran into the woods?”

  “I left my phone in the Jeep,” I tell him. “And I went on adrenaline to get to those kids.”

  Officer Maxwell nods and writes something down in his notebook. “Did you happen to see the creatures the kids reported?”

  “I’m pretty sure I saw the deer running away. It was pretty dark in the woods.”

  “The same one you hit?”

  I shrug. “Maybe. There are a ton of deer in the area. I live on this street,” I remind him. “I see them all the time.”

  “What about coyotes?”

  “I hear them from time to time,” I lie. I actually don’t, as they don’t come too close to my house anymore. My familiars scare them away.

  “For the sake of my records, can you confirm or deny seeing—and I quote—alien-like creatures in the woods tonight?”

  “Deny,” I say, making a face that shows how far-fetched the idea is. Though having these kids going around saying aliens attacked is actually better than them saying demons are running through the woods in Thorne Hill.

  “And again, for my records, did you beat anything or anyone up?”

  I shake my head. “I’m not very good in physical altercations.” Binx sits in front of me, swishing his tail back and forth. I nervously mess with my headpiece again, which is slipping down my forehead. I reach up, pulling the bobby pins out of my hair.

  “How did you get that?” Officer Maxwell grabs a flashlight from his belt and shines it on my arm.

  “Oh, I, uh, didn’t even realize I was bleeding.” I swallow hard, looking at the scratch on my arm. It looks like it’s from the scrapper grabbing me, and I honestly don’t remember that happening.

  Things really did happen fast.

  “I ran through the woods. It’s probably from a tree branch.” I wipe away the drying blood. “How’s the kid?”

  “He’s lucky you showed up when you did.” Officer Maxwell clicks off his flashlight and eyes me. Yeah, I know…I happen to show up just in the nick of time and have saved a few people because of it. Can’t people just be fucking grateful? I know things don’t add up and they are far from making sense.

  I look at Ruby. “If that deer hadn’t run out when it did then we wouldn’t have stopped.” I twist the headpiece in my hands, desperate to end this questioning so I can get home and make sure my hellhound is still in the house, still looking like a cute little golden retriever puppy.

  “The kid has defensive wounds on his hands,” Officer Maxwell goes on, and I make the mistake of looking at Ruby. Officer Maxwell sees and eyes me suspiciously again.

  “I’m sure he tried to fight off the coyote.”

  “That type of defensive wounds aren’t from coyotes.” Officer Maxwell closes his little notebook. “Is there anything you’re not telling me, Mrs. King?”

  “I’ve told you everything. I hit a deer, stopped to see if I could find it, and heard the screams. We went into the woods and found those kids. They were obviously drunk and ranting about a werewolf. So, unless you think werewolves are hiding out somewhere in Thorne Hill, I don’t see what else you’d want to know. Do you think werewolves are in Thorne Hill?”

  “Of course not. There are no such things as—”

  A car screeches to a halt on the road just feet from us, and in an instant, Lucas is right here in front of me. His blue eyes are full of worry, and he grabs my left arm, looking at the scrape.

  “You’re bleeding,” he says, able to smell my blood.

  “I’m fine,” I press and take a step back. Officer Maxwell’s hand is on his gun again, and his eyes are wildly darting back and forth between me and Lucas and back again.

  “Lucas,” I say calmly, taking his hands in mine “This is Officer Maxwell. And this is Lucas, my husband.”

  “He’s a vampire,” Officer Maxwell states the obvious.

  “Yes, I am.” Lucas turns, fangs drawn, and surveys the scene. “What the fuck is going on?”

  “It’s fine,” I rush out, pulling Lucas to me. Ruby steps over, hands held out to her sides, ready to spell anyone if need be. “We hit a deer.” I look into Lucas’s eyes. “And when we stopped to look for the deer, we heard kids calling for help.” I motion to the ambulance. “One of them got attacked by a coyote.”

  “Except that doesn’t look like any coyote bite I’ve ever seen,” Officer Maxwell counters. “It’s way worse. Perhaps a vampire bit him.”

  Lucas turns to look at him, and Office Maxwell pulls his gun from his holster. “Hold it right there,” he orders. Lucas freezes, holding his hands slightly out to the side. Officer Maxwell radios for backup and keeps his gun trained on Lucas’s chest.

  “Hey!” I yell, and the headlights on both my Jeep and the police car flicker. “Lucas didn’t do anything. Lower your gun.”

  “Not until he backs off.”

  “He’s not doing anything!” I go to move in front of Lucas, but he growls and holds out his arm, keeping me away.

  “Go ahead,” he taunts. “Shoot me and see how much good that does.”

  “I have silver bullets,” Officer Maxwell counters.

  Lucas laughs. “That’s not how you kill a vampire. But go ahead and try.”

  “Stop!” I yell and Officer Maxwell’s arm is jerked down to his side. Fuck. I didn’t mean to do that. His eyes widen and he looks at Lucas with fear.

  “What did you do?”

  “He didn’t do anything,” Ruby says, slowly moving over. “He didn’t even move.”

  “Look at the ground,” Officer Maxwell order Lucas. “Now!”

  Rolling his eyes and letting out a dramatic huff that would make Eliza proud, Lucas tips his head down, unable to look at Officer Maxwell in the eye and hold him spellbound. The second the gun is lowered, I rush over to Lucas, throwing my arms around him.

  “Your heart is racing
,” Lucas tells me, wrapping me in a one-armed embrace.

  “I just want to go home.”

  “Are you done questioning my wife?” Lucas asks. I spin in his arms, watching Officer Maxwell wrestle with what to do. He’s scared of vampires, and I’m sure he has a good reason to be. He’s a cop, and if he got called out to deal with vampires before, it wasn’t because they were being overly friendly and giving out free hugs.

  “Yes,” he finally says. “If I have further questions, I will call you to come into the station.” He looks at Ruby. “Both of you.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Be safe now,” he says, not taking his eyes off us. I swallow my pounding heart, and Ruby shuffles forward. “I’ll drive the Jeep.”

  “Thanks,” I say, letting out another deep breath, desperate to get home. I really have to pee on top of everything.

  “You’re okay?” she asks.

  “Yeah.” I hold up my arm, looking at the scratch. “I’ll be fine.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Oh.” I rub my temples. “I’m fine. Let’s just…let’s just go. We have a party to get to.”

  She nods, pats my shoulder and gets in the Jeep. Binx follows, hitching a ride up front next to her. I get into Lucas’s Mercedes with him, feeling the tension the moment the doors to the car close.

  “What really happened?” Lucas slowly accelerates.

  “Scrapper demons.” I pull the seatbelt over my lap. “One ran out in front of me, and I hit it. My poor Jeep. We got out, I threw an energy ball at the one I hit and burned it to death. Then we heard the kids screaming.”

  The Mercedes speeds up, and a few seconds tick by. We’re close to my house and will be there in only a minute by the rate we’re going.

  “So we ran into the woods,” I continue. “And found several scrapper demons standing over the injured kid. He said a werewolf attacked him, but that can’t be. There aren’t weres in Thorne Hill.”

  We pull into the driveway and Lucas puts the car in park in front of the house.

  “I have to pee,” I say, using it as my excuse to get out the second the engine is cut. I unlock the house with magic and burst inside. Freya and Pandora are sleeping on the couch, and Scarlet comes running.

  My eyes fall shut and the biggest wave of relief goes through me. I run my hands over her fluffy fur, feeling for her collar, which is in place, of course.

  “You’ve been here the whole time, right?” I ask, petting her once more. I get up and dash upstairs, really having to use the bathroom. Lucas is at the top of the landing when I come out, startling me when I open the bathroom door.

  “You need to disinfect that cut on your arm,” he says.

  “Oh, right. It’s scabbed over by now. I’m fine.”

  “Wounds can get infected,” he tells me.

  “I know, but I’ve never had that happen before. I’ll get a freaking band-aid if it appeases you.”

  “Yeah,” he snaps. “It would. You’re more human now than ever,” he reminds me.

  “I’m aware.” I let out a sigh and go back into the bathroom, turning on the sink to let the water warm up. I grab a washcloth from the little linen closet next to the shower, and run it under the water, getting it just wet enough to gently rinse the cut on my arm.

  “Does it hurt?” Lucas asks, leaning on the door frame.

  “It didn’t. I wasn’t even aware I got cut. But now that I’m scrubbing my scab off it hurts.” I squeeze the water out of the washcloth and press it against my arm, holding it there for a few seconds. “There, I’m fine now,” I snap.

  “You’re mad I want you to clean your wound so it doesn't get infected?”

  “I’m not mad,” I counter. “It’s a little annoying. I’m fine.”

  “You might not have been.” He curls his fingers into fists. “You went after a demon, Callie, and then took on several more. What the hell were you thinking?”

  “Are you serious right now?” I toss the washcloth in the sink. “When the scrapper was running toward us, I was thinking I didn’t want to become its lunch. So yeah, I went after it, and I’m glad I did. And I’m glad I went into the woods and stopped the other scrappers from ripping three drunk kids apart.”

  “You put yourself at risk,” he goes on. “You shouldn’t do that now.”

  “What should I have done then? Driven off and let those kids get eaten?”

  “Yes,” he tells me, blue eyes piercing into mine. If I wasn’t so angry, I’d see the fear behind them. He can’t always protect me, and I know it upsets him more than he’ll ever admit.

  “Seriously? You don’t mean that.”

  “I do! You are my wife and are carrying our child and if anything happens to either one of you—”

  “So, what? I’m just a human incubator now? And I’m not even that because I’m only half human! I can take care of myself and I’ve done a good job so far. Fine, an okay job. Things have gotten a little dicey a time or two.”

  “Callie,” Lucas says, brows pinching together. “I know you are more than capable of doing just about anything. You are strong and brave and care more for strangers than some do for their own families. But just because you can fight demons doesn’t mean you have to. Not right now.” He pulls me to him and rests his hand over my stomach. “We made something no less than amazing together, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you both safe. And part of that is telling you I don’t want you fighting demons while you’re pregnant.”

  I swallow the lump in my throat. He’s right, and the fact that my life isn’t the only one on the line terrifies me too. “What if I get attacked? Should I just throw my hands up and hope they’ve seen the Pirates movies and know what parlay means?”

  “What?”

  “You’ve never seen—never mind.” I close my eyes and let out a breath. “And I agree. Fighting demons is dangerous and I get the shit kicked out of me more often than I’d like. I won’t go looking for trouble, but I can’t ignore it if it’s in front of me, and you can’t ask me to do that. It’s not fair.”

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry.” He smooths my hair back and pulls me into his arms once more. “I’m scared, Callie,” he admits. “I love you more than I ever thought possible. The thought of something bad happening to you terrifies me more than anything. I want to protect you from everything bad in this world. I want to keep you safe and make you happy, and I know we both want the same for our child.”

  “I know you do, and I love you so much for it.” My eyes fall shut and I rest my head against Lucas’s firm chest. “I can’t stand by and watch demons attack someone. It’s not who I am.”

  “I’m not asking you to be someone you’re not. Who you are is beautiful, Callie. You’re not someone who can sit idly by or look the other way, and it’s just one of the things I love about you. But you can’t blame me for worrying. A lot is on the line right now.”

  “You’re right, and I worry as much as you. I don’t want to do something and have it be my fault that I lost…” I can’t bring myself to say it. “It’s weird, being responsible for someone else’s life like this.”

  “I can imagine it would be.” He picks me up and carries me into the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed with me in his lap.

  “I wish you were pregnant instead of me,” I sigh.

  “I don’t, and I don’t want to think about it.” Lucas shudders. “It’s a disturbing thought.”

  My eyes are filling with tears again, but this time I don’t try to blink them away. “Being pregnant is weird.”

  “Do you not want to be pregnant?” he asks slowly.

  “I do,” I assure him. “I want to have our baby. I want us to have the family we never thought we’d have. I don’t like having the responsibility of keeping this baby safe inside my uterus, though.” I blink and get a flash of Lucifer standing in Abby’s foyer. The smell of her blood was so strong, and the memory of it brings a wave of nausea over me. I slowly inhale, breathing in
the scent of my room to remind myself I’m not there, not in the foyer.

  The scent of my lavender laundry detergent lightly lingers on my sheets, and I can smell the sweet lemongrass candle on my dresser. It was too pretty to actually burn, and the light scent it gives off is perfect. I didn’t notice it much before, so I guess what they say about your sense of smell getting more sensitive during pregnancy is true.

  “Don’t doubt yourself,” Lucas says softly. “I know I’m not the one carrying our baby, but I’m here, Callie. You’re not going through this alone, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

  I tip my head up and press my lips to his. “I know.” And he will. He’d fight to the very end if it meant keeping me—and now our child—safe. And I fear that end might come sooner than either of us think.

  Chapter 17

  I rake my fingers through my hair, untangling a knot. “I’m almost ready,” I tell Ruby, who’s sitting on my bed, flipping through my Book of Shadows. “Sorry I’m taking forever.”

  “It’s fine. It gave me a chance to be nosey and go through your stuff. This is the spell you used to break the curse Ruth cast on Lucas?”

  I glance over at the open page. “Yeah.”

  “It’s genius.”

  “I can’t take credit. Remember Felix from the Academy? He was a year above us.”

  Ruby closes the book. “Yeah. You dated him, didn’t you?”

  “I did.” Lucas is downstairs, but I know he can hear our conversation. Vampires are jealous and possessive in nature, and while Lucas doesn’t get stupid with jealousy, he still shows some of the typical vampire behavior.

  Which I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find flattering. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want a man who controls me—and Lucas knows he can’t even fucking try to tell me what to do—but knowing he’d do anything for me is a turn-on.

  “He’s the one who came up with the spell. Evander called him as a favor, and he came and helped us lift the curse. I kinda made him swear not to tell anyone he was helping a vampire.”

  “Wow. I wondered why he randomly showed up in town only to rush back to the Academy where he teaches.”