Forcing myself to focus, I walked across the room to the right side of the bed and paused. Deep bruise-like bags hung under her bloodshot eyes. She was even paler than normal.
“What did you bring?” Lexie asked as she slipped under the blankets.
I looked down at the book in my sling. My ears warmed. “Oh, um, ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy.’” I pulled the blankets back and carefully got into the bed, making sure to not touch her. Why was this so awkward? She slept in my room at home. I carefully pulled the sling off and set it on the nightstand.
“Can’t go wrong with Douglas Adams,” she said with a small smile. I lay down and shifted to get comfortable. She moved to her side to face me. “Are you going to read to me?”
I grinned a little. “If you like.”
She smiled and scooted close enough that I could feel her body heat.
I focused on opening the book and started reading. “‘Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun.’” I made my voice the one she seemed to like.
I continued reading to her, noticing that she was only half asleep. I made my voice quieter. Her breathing grew deep and even. I kept reading just in case. I knew she was asleep when she shifted closer, her head moving to my shoulder, her leg slipping over mine as she pressed against my unbruised side. She moved her hand to my chest and left it there. The scent of rosemary filled my nose coaxing me to relax. I closed the book, set it carefully on the nightstand with my glasses, and pulled the lamp’s chain to dim the light to a soft glow. I held her hand against my chest and took a deep breath. What did she go through in that room? I ran my thumb over her palm and looked at her. If we couldn’t find the answer… how much longer did we have with her? My eyes burned as I pressed my lips against her forehead and just felt her against me. Eventually, my eyelids grew heavy. I fell into a deep sleep with her touch and smell soothing me.
Chapter 15
Friday Late Afternoon
Zeke
What time was it? I checked my phone. 3:44 p.m. I took another drink of coffee. I was going to need to get some sleep soon. But I didn’t want to. There would probably be nightmares; there always were when I hadn’t slept for a few days. I leaned my head back and took a deep breath. I was just going to have to—
The door to Isaac’s room burst open. Ethan strode out, his face furious.
I got to my feet as he walked by, muttering in Spanish under his breath.
“Ethan!”
He turned around and shot me a look. “No!” he snapped. “I can’t fucking sit in there anymore!” His voice shook, his hands clenched into fists.
“You have to,” I growled. “You can’t leave it alone to torture Isaac.”
“That’s my brother!” he shouted.
“I know!” I shot back. “And you need to get back in there and cover his ass!”
He let out a deep breath. “It won’t shut up.” He seemed to deflate. “It… it used her voice. It told me how much he wanted to die.” His eyes watered.
“Fuck,” I growled, guilt eating at me. Ethan’s face was ragged, his eyes tortured. He’d been in there for hours. I couldn’t make him go back inside. If he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t.
“Go. Take a walk and come back,” I told him.
Ethan turned back to me. “What?”
“Take a break,” I said again. “He’ll be okay for a few minutes.”
Ethan’s face was dark, his eyes storming, as he walked away with his head down. I looked back at the door. Someone had to stay in there and distract it. Fuck.
I walked into the small room. Andrew, that priest for the Templars, was doing the recording today. He looked up. I didn’t bother to stop, I continued into the room with the demon.
It grinned as I walked to the chair.
“Zeke,” he greeted me in his voice. Isaac didn’t look good. His eyes were becoming sunken, his skin extremely pale. “Let’s talk about that day…”
Lexie
I woke up slowly, warm and comfortable. A heartbeat sounded under my ear. Wintergreen surrounded me along with strong, lean arms and a bulky cast.
“Sorry, Nemo,” I muttered into his undershirt.
He chuckled softly. “It’s alright.”
I lifted my head and opened my eyes to look up at him. I was lying on him again, my body between his knees, my arms around his neck.
“How’d you sleep?” he practically whispered.
“Good,” I said. “You?”
He grinned. “Better than I have in a while.”
“You must be a cuddler too,” I teased as I pulled my arms from around his neck. He lowered his leg and moved his arms so I could shift off him and back to my side of the bed. “What time is it?”
Miles reached over to the nightstand, turned on the light. He picked up his phone to check. “It’s only four, you still have three hours.”
“Good.” I got to my feet and went to the bags of clothes on the dresser. I wanted to check on Ethan and Isaac then talk to Father Francis about the tattoos the Templars had. I grabbed some clothes and hurried to the bathroom. I quickly pulled on blue jeans and a black boyfriend shirt. Whoever Miles got to pick out the bra was amazing because it fit perfectly. Huh. I rushed my morning routine and hurried back out. Miles was just getting out of bed when I was putting on my sandals.
“Why are you in such a rush?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
“I want to check on the twins. Then I have some questions for Francis,” I told him.
He nodded.
“What are your plans for the evening?” I asked.
“Sitting outside that room,” he said, his voice still half asleep.
“I’ll meet you there,” I offered as I got to my feet.
“How about I meet you in the cafeteria?” he suggested. “For breakfast... or dinner... to get something to eat?”
Oh, yeah. Food. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll meet you there.”
He grinned at me as I closed the door behind me. First, Isaac. I hurried down the hallway.
When I reached the door, I was surprised that Zeke wasn’t there. Maybe he had finally gone off to get some sleep. I opened the door, stepped in and my heart dropped. Hades was lying on Isaac again. Zeke was inside with the demon. And it was talking. Memories from yesterday surged through my mind as I rushed through the inner door. The demon stopped talking immediately. I didn’t stop. Furious, I reached Zeke as he got to his feet, grabbed the neckline of his shirt and dragged him out of the room. I slammed the outer door open and dragged him further into the hall. I turned back to him and let him go.
“What the fuck?” I shouted. “It was talking to you!”
Zeke’s face was hard and pale. His haunted eyes met mine. “Yeah.” His voice was strained.
“Why didn’t you say something?” I couldn’t seem to stop shouting.
“Miles and that priest told me not to!” he snapped back. “After it talked to me, they said I couldn’t stay with Isaac.” His jaw clenched and unclenched. “Not with my history.”
I closed my eyes as my heart broke. Zeke had more trauma than I did. An extremely abusive father, finding his parents dead… That would just be a field trip for the demon. My eyes shot open.
“Why the hell were you in there? Where’s Ethan?” I demanded.
“He needed a break,” he bit out between clenched teeth.
“You should have woken me up,” I snapped.
His eyes narrowed on mine. “Why? So you can be tortured even more?” he growled. “It’s perfectly fine for you and Ethan to get torn apart, but not me?”
My eyes burned as I looked up at him. “We don’t have the shit you do!” My voice came out raspy. My throat hurt and I didn’t care. I kept yelling. “It isn’t that bad!”
“Bullshit!” he shot back. He stepped closer until I had to look up at him. His voice was hard as it grew quieter. “I know you, Baby. When you came out o
f there yesterday you were hurting. So don’t give me that crap about how it didn’t hurt. Don’t fucking lie to me and tell me you walked out of there fine.”
“I can fucking take it, Zeke,” I growled as I clenched my fists. “That’s Isaac, it can fucking talk all it wants. ’Cause that’s all it fucking is! Talk!”
“That is Isaac,” he shot at me. “One of my best friends since I was four. His brother, another of my best friends, needed a fucking break because it was tearing him apart! So, yeah, I went in and it tore into me for a while.” His eyes met mine. “That shit has taken a lot from me. I’m not going to let it take Isaac too.” He strode past me.
I wiped tears from my face. “Are you okay?” I didn’t turn around to face him; Zeke hated it when I cried, anyway. And I was still too angry.
“I’ll survive,” he snorted in disdain. “I always fucking do.” His footsteps faded as he walked away. I took a deep breath and wiped my face.
“I seemed to have missed something.” Ethan’s voice had me turning around. Zeke continued walking down the hall. Ethan’s chocolate eyes ran over me as he stopped in front of me. “What happened?”
“Zeke went in,” I said, my voice raspy.
His face grew pale, his eyes wide. “What?”
“Zeke. Went. In,” I repeated. “Apparently it fucking talked to him, too, but Francis and Miles refused to let him sit with Isaac.”
Ethan’s face grew dark. “Yeah… I can see why.”
I met his eyes. “How long were you gone?”
“Thirty, maybe forty minutes.” He swallowed hard. “It used Sophie’s voice. I needed a break.”
I nodded. “Next time, send a Templar for me first.”
His eyes were shadowed as he looked down the hall at Zeke’s retreating back. “You got it.” He turned back to me. “Now, go get some tea. It sounds like you just fucked up your voice.”
I nodded and walked down the hall already knowing what was wrong with my voice. The therapist and the doctor had warned me - don’t strain your voice until you’re completely healed. I had a nagging feeling I had just fucked it up even more.
I went upstairs and into the cafeteria. Thankfully the cold cases usually had sandwiches for between meals. I grabbed one and made some hot tea. I ate my sandwich quickly, trying not to think of what that thing could have said to Zeke. I was sipping tea when Miles came in.
He got a sandwich and coffee before he came and sat across from me. He eyed me as he sat down. “What’s wrong?”
“Zeke sat with Isaac,” I told him, my voice rougher than usual. His face grew white. “I agree completely that Zeke shouldn’t have sat with him. What I’m struggling with is that neither one of you told us that it spoke to him.” I took another sip of tea. My hand trembled around the mug.
“I didn’t want to embarrass him,” he explained, his voice quiet.
“That’s the second time in the last week one of you have hidden something important from me,” I told him as I met his eyes. “What the fuck?”
His gaze ran over my face. “Do you believe this is a good time for that conversation?” My eyes snapped to his as my heart dropped. “After all, we haven’t told the others about your health situation.”
His eyes were shadowed and refusing to leave mine, demanding an answer. Shit. He was right; I had no room to bitch. I was doing the exact same thing. I shook my head.
“Sometimes we don’t tell people things to protect the ones we love and end up hurting others in the process,” he said patiently. “I didn’t want anyone to judge Zeke for not staying with the demon. But, yes, perhaps we should have told everyone.”
His calm voice struck me right in the heart. I finally realized how the guys felt all this time when I didn’t tell them what was going on. And that was only twice. I’d done it so many times. Shit.
“I’m sorry, Miles.” I shook my head. “It’s not fair for me to say that.”
His eyes found mine. “You have every right to be upset about this, just as they have the right to be upset about… any important news being withheld.”
I looked back down at my tea. He was right. I didn’t even think about why Zeke would keep it a secret, I just yelled. Fuck.
He leaned forward. “Now, what happened to your voice?”
I snorted. “I was an idiot,” I admitted. “Zeke and I had a yelling match outside Isaac’s room.”
His face grew somber. “So, you just damaged your voice even more?”
“My own fault. I never could shut up.” I tried for a joke. It fell flat.
“Well, try resting your voice for a few days. It might just be… temporary,” he suggested.
I nodded. The ache in my throat told me it wasn’t, but I let him believe it.
* * *
When I finished my tea, I went and found the church office. Father Francis was at the front desk talking to another young priest.
When I walked in he looked up. “Ah, Lexie. How can I help you?”
“I have some questions for you, if that’s alright?” I asked.
He smiled and waved me back to his office. His office was small and cluttered. He moved behind the desk and sat down. I took the chair across from it. “What can I do for you?”
"Do you know where that help is for Isaac?" I asked.
"Yes, they called a couple hours ago. They’re halfway and making good time. They should be here tomorrow,” he said with a smile.
"Thank God..." I took a breath before meeting his gaze again. "Now, the Templars’ tattoos. You said they prevent possession?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Yes, they do. But they won’t work on someone already possessed.”
“I wasn’t asking for Isaac. I was asking for me.” I swallowed hard as I began to explain. “The most dangerous part of being a Necromancer is getting jumped by the dead.”
I went on to explain what happened, the damage it caused. I even went so far as to explain the black dot on my brain. I told him everything.
“So, you would like the ward tattoo?” he asked.
“I… I think so,” I said. “It would… I would actually have a good chance of reaching thirty years old.”
He pressed his lips together before answering. “The ward tattoo is an important step in a Templar’s training. It’s a commitment to the church and this world. I can’t just give it to you.”
My heart sank. Great. Thanks. I got to my feet and headed for the door.
“But, if you worked for us, I could see that you receive the wards,” he offered.
I turned around and eyed him. “What?”
“If you joined us after high school and went through training, then we could give you the ward tattoo,” he said.
He looked like a priest, but he sounded like a dick. I turned around and walked over to his desk. “Let me get this straight. In order for you to let me get this ward tattoo and ensure that I won’t die before I turn thirty, I have to join and work for you? Is that right?”
“Well, it’s not that simple,” he tried. “We’re fighting a war against demons, we’re working to keep other species in line—”
“So you’re bribing me? With something that could save my life?” I tilted my head to the side. “Is that correct, Father? Isn’t that blackmail? Or is it extortion?”
“Your skills would be extremely useful,” he tried again.
“I bet,” I bit out. “If a priest is pulling this type of shit, you must be desperate or an asshole. Which is it?”
His face turned red. “Well, I’ve always endeavored not to be an asshole.”
“Would you keep chemo from a cancer patient?” I asked, trying to make him understand what he was doing.
He swallowed hard. “Sadly, if it meant the safety of thousands, yes.”
I shook my head. Work for the Templars? Seriously? “I can’t give you an answer now.”
He gave me an understanding smile. “That’s understandable. If you decide you do want to, then we’ll be here.”
I t
urned and walked out of the office, fuming. That fucker. I headed back to the living quarters. Work for the Templars? I headed down the stairs to the basement. Yeah, I could probably do it. But that would mean giving up on tattooing. It would be trading my dream for… a life. I turned into the hallway and headed for Isaac’s room. Well, it wasn’t like I didn’t have options. I fingered my beads. I sat down on the floor outside the door with Asher and Miles.
I could wear my bracelets the rest of my life. That would have the same effect, but they could break. They almost did with Mary Summers. Hell, they had heated up in this hallway just yesterday. My mind ran in circles as I sat there in the hallway. It was a long couple of hours.
* * *
Isaac looked like shit. It was almost as if he was disappearing before my eyes. Dr. Zimmer had put a catheter in, along with a nutrient IV. My poor Cookie Monster looked like death. Hades seemed to be keeping him warm at least. The dog wasn’t on him anymore but pressed along his side.
It was around two in the morning when the fucking demon changed tactics. It started using my father’s voice. I gritted my teeth and managed to keep from crying. Barely.
It smiled that creepy smile. “I’ve missed you, my love.” Clay Ordin’s voice came from his lips. I shuddered, unable to stop myself. “Would you like to know what I was thinking that night?”
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as my stomach rolled. Memories broke through their door and swamped me. My pulse picked up.
“Touching you wasn’t the only thing I was going to do,” it taunted. “You were my fiancé, you would have enjoyed it.” Rage tore through me.
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