Someone emerged from the fog and came to stand over me. My heart lurched. Had the thing followed me off the roof?
But a male voice spoke. “Oh, my God.”
I lifted my gaze to find Dr. Spencer staring down at me. His face was pale from shock, setting off his dark hair. I could see the stubble from the day’s growth marking the line of his jaw. Every detail stood out, and I realized the fog had once more started to fade away.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and crouched beside me. He reached out as if to touch my shoulder and then snatched it back again. “Oh God, Elizabeth. Don’t move. I’m calling an ambulance.”
He punched a couple of numbers into the phone and then swore. “Shit. I haven’t got any coverage. I need to go and use the phone in my office. Try not to move.”
The last thing I wanted was to go to hospital. I didn’t want to explain how my bones were healing so rapidly, or how my bruises and cuts were fading within hours. With a groan, I pushed myself to sitting. Everything hurt, but was working, and that was all I needed.
“Christ, Elizabeth. Stay where you are. You’ve probably got broken bones.”
“I’m okay,” I croaked. “It’s not as far as it looks.”
He glanced up at the roof, his eyebrows lifting in disbelief. “Looks damn far enough to me. You need to be seen by a doctor.”
No, I needed to get out of there. “I’m fine. Please, stop fussing.”
His gaze locked on one side of my face, his nostrils flared, his eyes widened with horror. “But … your cheekbone is the wrong shape, like it’s been flattened!”
“Oh, I ...” I lifted my hand to my face. My cheekbone did feel a strange shape, but even as I tentatively pressed my fingers against the broken bone, I felt it restructure itself and push back out again.
The expression on Dr. Spencer’s face morphed from horror to confusion. His eyes narrowed.
“It’s fine,” I insisted. “It must have been a shadow, or the fog distorted it.”
“The fog has gone.”
“A shadow then.”
“I still think you need to see a doctor. You might have internal injuries.”
My ankle had shattered, but I could feel the bone mending as an intense itching combined with a dull thump which resonated with my heartbeat. I was biding my time, waiting for it to be strong enough to allow me to stand. I figured when I did that, Dr. Spencer would have no choice but to take me at my word.
I forced a smile and reached my hand toward him. “Help a lady to her feet?”
He studied me again, and I felt like something else was going on in his head other than wondering how badly injured I was. He reached down and took my hand, pulling me to my feet.
Pain speared up my leg, and through my lower back. I didn’t think my back had been broken during the fall—thank God—but possibly my coccyx had been fractured. I winced in pain, though I tried to hide it, but Dr. Spencer didn’t miss a thing.
“Right, that’s it, young lady. I’m driving you to the emergency room myself.”
I yanked my hand out of his. “I said, no!”
His eyes narrowed at me again. “I think you and I need to talk.”
My heart tripped, my mouth running dry. What did he know? I remembered the flash I’d gotten from him in the coffee shop, and how I’d seen him and Dana fighting. Was there more to Dr. Spencer than a simple math professor?
A black shape came racing out of nowhere, and for the briefest of moments I thought the thing from the fog had finally made an appearance in the normal light of day. But then the thing collided with my teacher and sent him spinning.
“Get the fuck off of her, bro!”
My eyes widened in shock, my mouth dropping open. “Riley!”
The angry ball of leather-jacketed, black-haired fury that was my boyfriend had exploded onto the scene. He shoved Dr. Spencer again, sending him flying backward to land on his ass in the grass.
“Riley, quit it!” I screamed.
“What the fuck were you doing to her?” Riley spat again.
Dr. Spencer scrambled back to his feet. “Nothing. I was trying to help her.”
Riley squared off to the older man. “Didn’t look like that to me. I heard her tell you no.”
I took after him, grabbing him by the shoulder and trying to drag him around. “Riley! He was helping me. Leave him alone!”
He glanced around at me, and frowned.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine. I had a fall, that’s all.” I glared at him.
Dr. Spencer spoke. “Are you sure you’re okay, Elizabeth? Do you want me to get rid of this guy?”
I shook my head. “This is my boyfriend, Riley. He’s just a little over-protective.”
Riley spun to me, forgetting my professor. “Over-protective? I haven’t heard a word from you for the last twenty-four hours. I’ve been worried sick. You can hardly blame me for over-reacting when I find you, obviously hurt, with you telling some guy to get away from you.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t some guy. This is my math professor, Dr. Spencer.”
To his credit, Dr. Spencer stuck his hand out toward Riley. “John.”
Riley paused for a moment, but then shook the offered hand. “Riley. I’d say good to meet you, but I’m still not too sure about the circumstances.”
Dr. Spencer—John—lifted an eyebrow. “That makes two of us.” He turned to me. “I still think you should go to the hospital.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “I promise.”
Riley’s eyes flicked to me, and now the initial surge of testosterone had faded, he clicked onto what was happening. “It’s okay, I’ll keep an eye on her. If something seems wrong, I’ll get her straight to the emergency room.”
John looked to me. “Are you sure that’s okay, Elizabeth?”
“I’m sure.”
John’s gaze flicked between us both, clearly not one hundred percent happy with the situation. “Okay,” he relented. “But if you start getting any sudden pain, promise me you’ll get to the hospital.”
“I promise.”
“And if you’re feeling up to it, we have that appointment in my office later.”
I nodded. Shit. I still needed to get the information about the elections. With everything else happening, the damn elections didn’t seem in the slightest bit important. I wondered if I should try suggesting to someone that they should be postponed in light of Melissa’s murder and another student landing in hospital, but I had a feeling Dana would fight me every step of the way. Besides, perhaps the school needed to maintain a level of normalcy.
We waited for Dr. Spencer to round the corner of the building, and then Riley stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. Even though I was still angry with him, I couldn’t help the effect just having him close again had on me. Peace settled into my broken and battered body, and I relaxed for the first time in twenty-four hours.
He kissed the top of my head, and then pulled me back slightly to study my face. Then his hands were in my hair and he was kissing me, his mouth hungry, his tongue meshing with mine. Our bodies sank in together, as if we couldn’t help the pull, and my hands clutched at his shoulders and back.
We broke apart, breathless.
“I’m sorry about our fight,” he said, reaching out to touch my cheek. “I hate fighting with you.”
I nodded. “Me, too. But you have to stop it with the jealousy bullshit, Riley. I can’t live like that.”
“I know. I just worry about you all the time. It feels like whenever I’m not around, you run into trouble. Just like whatever was going on with you and that guy. Don’t pretend you weren’t hurt. I know you better than that.”
“But I’m fine. What the hell did you think you were doing rushing in like that and hitting a teacher?”
He locked a hand in his black hair. “Aww, hell, I don’t know, Icy. I haven’t seen you since last night. Another one of your friends has been hurt. How can you expect me not to worry
? You can be so fucking self-centered sometimes.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him, and then something he’d said hit home. “How do you know about Kayla?”
“How do you think? The cops have been around to see me.”
“They questioned you about her?”
“Yeah, and Melissa too.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Because I’m an outsider with a murky background, and I have a connection to the girls through you.”
“Shit.”
“It’s fine. I’d almost be worried if they didn’t question me.”
“But how could they think you’d hurt our friends? And don’t you have an alibi?”
“Only you, and you were asleep. Could you honestly say you’d have noticed if I’d slipped out while you were sleeping and killed Melissa?”
I smacked him on the chest. “Don’t say things like that!”
“Sorry. I’m just trying to show you how the police are thinking.”
I scowled. “Okay, I get it.”
“Anyway,” he said, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, “I bought you a present.”
He pulled out a disposable cell phone, the type that flipped open, and handed it to me. “It’s only a cheap one to keep you in touch with everyone until your regular phone is fixed. I’ve programmed my number in, together with Laurel’s, Dana’s, and yes, even Flynn’s. So you’ve got no excuse not to call one of us if you need to.”
I flung my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “You really do care about me, huh?”
His expression grew serious. “I fucking love you, Icy. You know that. If anything happens to you, my life won’t be worth living.”
I smiled. “I love you, too.”
His eyes flicked to the side of the building from where I’d fallen. “So, are you going to tell me what happened?”
I hesitated, remembering his last reaction when I’d tried to tell him about my experience, but I needed him to know. “You remember how I told you I’d felt as if I wasn’t alone in the fog the other day, after you’d found me near your place?” He nodded, but didn’t respond. “Well, now I’m certain there’s something in the fog. And I don’t think it’s human.”
“Do you think it’s what killed Melissa and hurt Kayla?”
“I don’t know. If it is, someone must be conspiring with it, because Laurel and I think both the girls were lured out of their bedrooms by someone they knew.”
“How do you know that?”
“We went to Kayla’s room, and I got a flash of what happened when I touched her things. Someone called her out, and she just got up willingly and left. I don’t think she was forced in any way. I believe the same thing happened to Melissa.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “You’ve got someone in mind, haven’t you?”
I nodded. “Dana has been acting weird since the ‘ascendance that never was.’ She doesn’t seem to care about what’s happened to Melissa and Kayla. Plus, it would make sense that both of them would leave with Dana without questioning her why.”
His mouth twisted. “I don’t know, Icy. Dana can come across as a bit full of herself at times, but is she really capable of killing the rest of her circle?”
I exhaled slowly. “Honestly, I have no idea. If you’d said such a thing to me three days ago, I’d have laughed in your face. But everything has changed.”
“So what now?”
“I still need to go and see Dr. Spencer. I’m supposed to be handing in a report to Dana about the student elections.”
“Screw the elections. What do they matter, considering everything else that is going on?”
“I know. I thought the same thing, but everyone else is getting on with school life, and if I suddenly start acting like a diva, it’s going to attract attention.”
He squared his shoulders. “Fine, but I’m coming too.”
“Riley, I’m not some little girl who needs protecting. Remember what I am, what I’m capable of.”
“Yeah, well, Melissa and Kayla had their powers too, but they still got hurt. You can bitch all you like about me being over-protective, but as long as you’re still alive, your bitchin’ is going to be like water off a duck’s back, baby.”
I stared at him. “You’re so frustrating at times, you know that, right?”
He didn’t respond, just lifted his eyebrows and gave a smirk.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, come on then. But you’re staying outside of his office. I’m not having you sitting in the corner of the room like my babysitter!”
He slipped his hand into mine. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay outside, but I’ll be listening through the door.”
Chapter
15
I had half-hoped Dr. John Spencer wouldn’t be in his office when we reached it, but I could see through the small glass panel embedded in his door that he was sitting behind his desk.
“Wait here,” I told Riley.
He lifted his chin in acknowledgement, and released my hand to lurk around the corridor.
I rapped my knuckles on the door, waiting until I heard him say, “Come,” and then entered the room.
John turned his head in my direction. “Elizabeth. I hadn’t expected to see you so soon. How are you feeling?”
“Fine.” My hackles rose defensively. “Bit bruised, but otherwise unhurt.”
“You were a lucky girl.”
“I’d have been even luckier if I hadn’t fallen.”
“What were you doing up there, anyway?”
Shit. I hadn’t thought about that.
I figured I’d go as close to the truth as possible. “I thought I saw someone up on the roof. I thought they might be in trouble.”
“Were you pushed?” he asked out of the blue.
“No! I told you, I fell. It was the fog. I couldn’t see where I was going, and I thought there was a rail the whole way around, but there wasn’t.”
“Hmm. I’ll have to get someone to look at that. It’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, I’m aware of that.”
“So, you saw someone in the roof during all that fog?”
I sensed suspicion radiating from him. I didn’t like where this was going, and I had no intention of telling him the truth. “Aren’t we supposed to be talking about the election,” I snapped.
He frowned. “I’ll get to it.” He rose from his chair and approached me. I resisted the urge to turn and bolt from the room. “The thing is, Elizabeth, I heard the sound you made when you hit the ground. It sounded as if someone had dropped a bag of bones from the rooftop. And I wasn’t joking when I said your cheek appeared to have caved in, and then it looked as if it was moving and …” he struggled for the word and then found it. “Healing, right before my eyes.”
“It wasn’t,” I muttered. “I already told you, you must have seen a shadow or something.”
“No. Less than an hour ago, you had bruises beneath the same eye, but now they’re gone. Either I’m losing my mind, or there’s something about you that you’re not telling anyone.”
He was skating too close to the truth. Would he believe me if I told him? ‘Hey, Doc, actually now you mention it, I’m half-vampire, and because I killed a man and fed from him, my ability to heal myself has come on leaps and bounds. Good thing too, since some weird fog-creature pushed me from the roof!’
I stifled a burst of hysterical laughter. To think I’d moved to Sage Springs searching for a quieter life. I’d always believed Los Angeles to be a crazy place to live, but small town life was positively insane.
“Anyway,” I said, wanting to change the subject. “You said you had the information about the elections for me. I really need to get it into some sort of shape for Dana before she puts the paper to print.”
“Of course.”
He went to the drawer in his desk and pulled it open. He rifled through a number of sheaves of paper, before pulling a couple of pieces out. As he placed them on the desk, his hand knocked one, and it slipped of
f the desk and onto the floor.
“Oh, sorry,” he said with a frown, seeming distracted. “Could you get that?”
“Sure.”
I bent to pick up the piece of paper, holding onto the edge of the desk as I did so to steady myself. I heard it before I felt it, the thwack and the twang of metal. Then pain exploded up my hand and through my arm. I whipped my head around to find an old fashioned silver letter opener protruding from the back of my hand, pinning it to the wooden surface.
“What the fuck!”
Furious, I reached out and yanked the blade from my flesh, dropping it to the floor.
The door burst open as though by a massive gust of wind. Papers flew like fall leaves from the desk and whipped around our heads. The windows burst open in turn, and items on the desk and surfaces were blown over.
John looked around wildly, but he didn’t get the chance to react. Riley burst in with the wind—which I assumed he’d created—and attacked my teacher for the second time in less than an hour.
This time I didn’t stop him.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” Riley demanded, pinning my professor up against the interactive whiteboard behind him. “I warned you, and now you’re going to pay.”
John choked. “I was testing her.”
“Testing her for what?”
“For what she is.”
I glanced down at the wound in the back of my hand quickly closing over. The blood began to congeal above the hole, the skin itching as it knitted back together. Within ten minutes, it would appear as a healing scab, in an hour, it would be a scar, and by tomorrow there would be nothing to show for the fact I’d had a letter opener protruding out of the back of my hand.
Twisted Magic (The Dhampyre Chronicles Book 2) Page 12
