“Of course we will, pussycat,” her father rumbled, his voice muffled and distant. “We love, you, Tessa, and we love the baby. Sleep now. Rest up.”
“I love you, too, Dad. Both of you,” she managed to mutter before the warmth of her mother’s hands and the soothing grumble of her father’s voice took hold of her, easing her, calming her until she allowed herself to fall into the soft spot they provided.
The last thing she remembered was a long, relived sigh slipping from her lungs before she succumbed to the security of having her parents with her again.
* * *
“TESSA! Wake up!”
She frowned. Gone were the soft voices of her parents from last night. Gone was the secure warmth as Mick shook her with hard hands. She sat upright, forcing her eyes open. “What’s wrong?”
His eyes were wild, still lined with sleep, his hair mussed, his face hard. “The egg’s gone.”
She smiled and stretched. “I know, but it’s okay.”
Mick gripped her shoulders and gave her a shake. “You know? What the hell are you talking about, T?”
She put a comforting hand on his arm, enjoying the feel of his biceps beneath her palm. “I said I know. Calm down, Mick. My parents took the egg. They’re going to keep it safe until this is over.”
“Your parents? Tessa, that’s crazy. They’re dead.”
She cupped his face in her hands. “I know. But Nina’s a vampire, and we’re dragons. Why can’t they be ghosts?” That’s what they were, wasn’t it? Of course it was. What other explanation was there?
Mick grabbed her wrists, his fingers wrapping around them. “Tessa, that’s crazy.”
“Oh, c’mon. Is it any crazier than me having an egg? Or you knocking me up without even looking at me?”
He shook his head, his lips going flat. “No, this is wrong. Why would your parents suddenly show up after all this time?”
She shrugged her shoulders, still comforted by their lingering presence. “Why would Noah be in my store? Maybe because they were looking out for me all this time. Isn’t that what ghosts do?”
“Honey—something’s wrong. I can feel it,” he urged.
Why was he always stomping all over everything she did independently of him? Jesus. This was a lot like the time he’d browbeaten her with a million questions before she’d bought the store. Or taken her to task when she’d gone out all by herself and bought a brand-new car. “Why can’t you just trust my choices, Mick? I’m not your little sister. I was Noah’s!”
Mick’s face got harder still, the tic in his jaw popping out. “Tessa, this isn’t like that. I’m not trying to run your life. I’m looking out for the baby. Our baby.”
She gave his chest a shove, sliding off the edge of the bed. “Is this how it’s going to be, Mick? Are you going to question every little thing I do with the baby? Because you can forget it if you think I’m going to have you breathing down my neck every time I make a decision about the baby!”
Mick stomped after her as she reached for the dresser drawer. “This isn’t like deciding whether the baby should be breast-fed or bottle-fed, Tessa. You just handed our baby over to someone!”
Whirling around, she tore her nightgown off and threw it on the floor, pulling a shirt over her head and throwing on some yoga pants. “Someone?” she yelled. “Someone? They’re my parents, Mick!”
“Who are dead, Tessa!”
“Heyyy, what in the ever-lovin’ fuck, people?” Nina bellowed when she crashed through the bedroom door, her Elmo pajamas rumpled. “What is wrong with you two? I thought we were past the hump and onto the humpty-hump. Why the fuck are you in here screaming at each other like you’re cage fighting?”
“The baby’s gone,” Mick spat, shoving his legs through his jeans.
Instantly Nina froze, her eyes flying to the nightstand where the incubator had been. “Say again?”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “The baby’s not gone. It’s with my parents.”
Nina’s head cocked to the right, the curtain of her beautiful hair glimmering in the early-morning sunlight. “Kiddo, your parents are dead.”
“I know, I know. Mick reminded me. Listen, they showed up here last night and told me they’d take care of the egg until this was over. The baby’s safe.”
Nina grabbed her by her shoulders, gripping them so tight it hurt. “Tessa, that can’t be right.”
If Nina said it wasn’t right, that made it not right, right? Well, not this time. “Why can’t it? If you can be a vampire and Carl can be a vegetarian zombie, why can’t my parents be ghosts? And get off me, Nina. You’re hurting me.” She tried to push Nina away, but that only made the vampire grip her tighter.
“Listen to me, Tessa. Those weren’t your goddamn parents. They were fakes. Remember what I told you about the demons and how they prey on your fears? How all you have to do is show them a crack in your emotions and they’ll worm their way the fuck in? Do you remember me fucking telling you that?”
Her mouth fell open, words escaping her, but only for a moment. She did remember. She also knew her own parents.
“Do you?” she roared the question.
“Yes! But that’s not how it was. They were exactly like my parents. They looked like them, talked like them. My mom even called me sugarsnap. Just like always.”
Nina shook her head, her eyes hot with fury. “They were not your parents, Tessa. They were shapeshifting demons that can take on any form and personality trait. Darnell? Get your demon ass in here!”
Darnell stuck his head inside the door, sleep still in his eyes, his flannel pajamas askew. “Why you yellin’?”
Nina let Tessa go and grabbed a framed picture of her parents from her dresser. “Look at this picture, Darnell. This is Tessa’s mother and father. Show her how you shapeshift.”
Darnell’s eyes searched Nina’s, worry in them.
“Do it!” she screamed at him.
Darnell glanced at the picture, his eyes roving over it for a few seconds before he melted away and her mother appeared before her.
No.
Oh, God. No.
Her mother rolled her head on her neck and then she morphed into Tessa’s father. Just like that.
Oh, my God. What had she done? Her hands began to shake, her stomach revolting, churning acid bile.
“Do you see, Tessa? Do you?” Nina roared, jolting her out of her misery. “You handed them the fucking egg like you were giving out Halloween candy! Fuck!” Nina gave her a shove, storming out of her bedroom.
Tessa looked at Darnell and Mick, helpless. “I didn’t know. I swear, I didn’t know,” she sobbed.
Darnell reached for her first, enveloping her in a big hug. “If it’s any consolation, they probably put a spell on you. Even if you did know they were fakes, you wouldn’t have been able to move anyway, Miss Tessa. I’d say likely they came as your parents to keep you calm. So you wouldn’t wake the rest o’ us up. They tricked you.”
She bit back another sob when Darnell handed her off to Mick, who drew her in tight to his chest, running his hands over her back. “It’s okay, honey. You couldn’t have known.”
“Now don’t y’all worry. I’m gonna go find out what we can do. I won’t let nobody hurt the baby. Promise you that much,” Darnell said before pushing his way out the door to join Nina.
She gripped Mick’s chest. “I swear to you, Mick, they looked and sounded just like my parents. I didn’t know. I never would have let them have the egg if I knew.” Terror seeped into her bones.
“We’ll figure it out. Now let’s get dressed and see what Nina and everyone else has to say before we panic.”
Oh, God. How were they going to get the egg from Hell?
Who wanted her egg?
She couldn’t afford to break down now. She had to be strong so she could help. Stay strong, Tessa. No matter what.
She pushed her way out of Mick’s arms and straightened, fighting back more tears. “We need to do something and we need to do it
fast. Me falling apart isn’t going to get the egg back. Katie said it was about to hatch. We have to get the baby back before that happens. I won’t settle for anything else.”
Mick smiled, though it was fraught with worry, and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Then let’s go kick some of Hell’s ass.”
* * *
YET another stranger was in her living room when both she and Mick entered it. A petite woman with dark brown hair and big round eyes. She popped up off the couch, where everyone had gathered. “I’m Casey Gunnersson, Wanda’s sister, and a demon by accident. I’m so sorry we’re meeting like this.” She held out her hand, taking Tessa’s in hers and pulling her into a tight hug.
Casey pulled away, putting her hands on Tessa’s cheeks. “I promise you, I’ll use all my connections, power, whatever to get the baby back, okay?”
Tessa took a deep breath of air. “Okay. So what’s the plan of attack?”
“I’m going in,” Casey said, planting her hands on her hips. “Me and Darnell.”
Mick’s brows knitted together. “Didn’t someone say the two of you live on the fringes of Hell? In order to keep from getting caught? Won’t you be in danger?”
Darnell chuckled. “S’okay, Mick. I been in and outta Hell more times than I can count. Haven’t caught me yet. I’ll take on a minion’s form—somethin’, but never you fear. We’ll find out who’s doin’ this and end it.”
Mick ran his hands through his hair, worry etched on his face. “So you need to pinpoint the source of this? But who’s to say more souls trapped in Hell won’t try the same thing? If Tessa and the baby and I are the only dragons, won’t someone always try to get the baby’s scales? Won’t the egg always be in danger?”
Tessa’s stomach plummeted. How were they supposed to hide from demons that could shapeshift into your own parents? Would they always have to look over their shoulders?
Casey’s eyes gleamed. “Not if I tell Satan what’s going on. You don’t really think he wants this soul released, do you? This person is in Hell on lockdown for a reason. None of which can be good. Clearly, whoever it is is hard to control.”
“Satan?” Tessa asked woodenly. “You’ll talk to the actual Satan?” This got wackier by the second. Who just walked into Hell and asked to see Satan like they were asking to see the doctor on call in the ER? Was it that easy?
Casey grinned. “Something like that. Mostly, I’ll spread a rumor. Sort of like playing the telephone game. It’ll get back to him because Hell is full of busybodies and ass-kissers, and when it does, when he finds out someone’s trying to one-up him, that’s when chaos will reign.”
Tessa shook her head. She’d done this. She’d fix it. “I don’t want anyone else hurt because of my mistake. Let me go. Shift me into something, Darnell. You can do everything else—why not turn me into a minion? I can do this.”
Nina shook her head as she stroked Joe-Joe’s muzzle. “Not gonna happen. First, Darnell can’t turn you into anything. Second, you know jack shit about Hell, yo. You’re a novice. Just because you used your wings once doesn’t mean you’re all of a sudden ready to take on a bunch of vicious motherfuckers like those demons.”
“At least take me with you.”
Frank spoke up then, lifting his eyes, not nearly as fearful as they had been just yesterday. “No, Tessa. You don’t know what it’s like. Please listen to Nina and the others. Whoever’s behind this is far more evil than even I imagined, and they’re desperate to get out of Hell. That means they’re willing to do vile, ugly things in order to make that happen. I’d go myself, to keep you all out of harm’s way, but I can’t seem to summon the usual portal. I don’t know what’s happened. I can’t even manage to cast spells that were once easy, though not very impressive. I’m no good to you if I can be detected, but please know this much: I would go if I could.”
“It’s okay, Frank,” Casey reassured him with a generous smile. “I think Darnell and I have a handle on it. You guys just sit back and wait for word from us, okay?”
Tessa would never be able to sit still, but what choice did she have? It wasn’t like she had the directions to Hell bookmarked on Google Maps. If her going with them would only put the baby in danger, then she’d do what she was told.
But she didn’t like it. Who would fight harder than she and Mick for the baby?
Casey gripped her arm. “I know what you’re thinking, Tessa. No one would fight to save your baby harder than you. But that’s not true in our cases. We’re dedicated to this cause—to helping people. I promise you, we’d take the hit if it came down to it.”
Fear swelled up inside her, raging though her veins. “I can’t let you sacrifice yourselves like this because of my mistake! You have families, children and husbands—”
“Who all knew what they were getting into when we started OOPS,” Marty reminded her in a gentle tone. “If we all don’t look out for each other, who will, Tessa? It’s not like you can call the FBI and tell them your egg’s been kidnapped. We’re all we have, and we fight to keep each other safe in a world where humans outnumber us by the millions. We do this because we want to. So please, listen to Casey and Darnell. Trust us.”
Wanda gave Casey a quick hug. “Keep that phone with you at all times, you hear me? Text me the second you get in. Darnell, you, too. I love you.”
“They have cell phone service in Hell?” Mick said, as astonished as she was.
Darnell grinned. “Yeah. It’s a little slow, though. Now don’t you go worryin’, okay? We’ll see what we can see, and form a plan of attack.”
It was then that Tessa felt the rumble. The distinct shift in her body, a vibration that ran bone deep, shocking her to her core. Instinctively, she knew what it was. Whether it was her maternal connection or some otherworldly event, she knew.
Not now. Please, please, please, not now.
Mick was at her side in an instant. “Tessa? What’s happening?”
She licked her dry lips, the words hard to form. Clinging to his arm, she gripped it tight. “The egg. It’s hatching.”
Everyone fought a gasp, but there was no hiding their concern as Tessa looked into the faces she’d become so familiar with. They were afraid, and that meant she should be afraid, too.
Casey blew a kiss to the group, grabbed Darnell’s hand, and said, “Love you all!” before they disappeared in puffs of misty smoke and a glittery afterglow.
Tessa couldn’t breathe from the fear, from the wretched, ugly, clawing-at-her-guts fear.
Nina came up behind her. “It’s gonna be okay, kiddo. Casey and Darnell are badass. Just breathe.”
But she couldn’t. There was no breathing when your child’s life was at stake. She needed air. Pulling away from Nina, she grabbed her coat from the hook on the coatrack and threw it on, bursting from the crooked cottage door out into the freezing air.
She began to run the second she hit the edge of the path leading to the road, heedless of the ice as she slipped and stumbled, ignoring the throb in her chest and the burn of her thighs.
Snow began to fall, clouding over the clear skies she’d awakened to, mirroring her emotions, slapping at her face in cold bites.
Without even realizing it, her jacket fell away, tore right off her, and she was suddenly above the trees, pushing her way through fluffy clouds, soaring.
As her wings began to flap, she forced herself to concentrate on them, move them in her mind, visualize the up-and-down motion needed to catch the air beneath them.
“Tessa!” someone called. “Wait!”
She couldn’t wait. She couldn’t think of anything but running from this pain, getting away as fast as she could from this helplessness.
The air shifted, carrying with it a slapping noise. Her eyes sought the ruckus, widening when she found Mick beside her, soaring closer, holding out his hand.
His eyes were pained, and she knew then that he was suffering as much as she was. This wasn’t just her agony alone. Mick hurt, too.
Tessa grabb
ed his hand, clinging to it until they fought the force of the wind separating them and managed to pull their bodies together.
Mick lifted her arms, putting them around his neck until his lips were at her ear, and he was doing the flying for both of them. “I know this hurts,” he whispered against the wind and cold, so raw, so real it tore her heart. “I hurt, too. Let’s hurt together, not separately anymore. Please, Tessa. I need you right now, and you need me, too.”
Tears flooded her eyes, tears that turned to stinging icicles she had to blink away. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she hung on to Mick, feeling his heart beat against hers, hearing his breathing, letting him navigate.
They flew like that for a time, silently, absorbing each other’s pain until Mick circled back and swooped downward, landing just shy of her front door.
Their wings deflated together in fits of flapping and crunching until they stood in front of each other in shredded clothing.
Mick shook the ice from his hair as the snow battered his face, so vulnerable and full of sadness.
“I feel helpless,” she said, voicing her emotion.
“I do, too.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do if something goes wrong . . .”
“Don’t go there, Tessa. Don’t allow yourself to,” he admonished, his jaw clenching.
“But so many things have gone wrong. My parents, Noah.” Her voice cracked.
Mick gripped her shoulders, staring down at her in the darkening gloom of the day. “I said, don’t go there.”
“Why won’t you ever let me talk about how I feel? What is it that keeps you from talking about how you feel? What is it about saying ‘I am fill-in-the-blank today’ that’s so hard? Do we need flash cards? Maybe colors for your moods? What?”
He let go of her, turning his back to her and jamming his hands into the pockets of his wet jeans. “I thought we agreed to let this sit?”
But she wasn’t having this anymore. Enough hiding, running away, shutting her out. She was sick to death of his avoidance. “When better than now, Mick? Because this is our biggest problem—this right here. When you’re faced with something that hurts, you shut me out. You shut everyone out. I’m not going to raise a child with you if you can’t teach them to openly express themselves. It’s unhealthy. So spit it the hell out! What’s the problem? What happened after Noah died that made you shut down?”
The Accidental Dragon Page 19
