by Linda Wisdom
“What’s wrong?”
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?” She threw up shields. She didn’t think he could rummage around inside her mind. She hadn’t seen signs of it before, but she wasn’t taking any chances. Not with her lack of knowledge about shadow demons.
“You look devastated.” Shadows crawled from the corners of the room toward Jared’s chair. They started to wrap around his ankles, stealthily making their way up his legs.
“Tell them to back off.” Her voice was sharp, filled with command, as she glared at the darkness. Her head shot up when he didn’t respond. “Now.” Lili held up her forefinger, the tip glowing red. She didn’t indicate she was in any pain from the flame that engulfed her skin.
Jared’s smile was filled with malice. “Make me.”
It wasn’t the shadows that caused his world to suddenly go black.
***
Jared’s eyes popped open at the same time that a blinding pain tortured the inside of his head.
“What the fuck?” He found himself sprawled on the floor while Lili looked on as if there weren’t anything unusual about sending a patient into la-la land with the snap of the fingers. “What did you do to me?” he rasped as he finally managed to crawl back into his chair. He swore his shackles had easily gained a thousand pounds since the ogre slapped them on him. He reached for the coffee cup and found his hands trembling from the violent shocks still racing through his body. A glance at the clock on the wall said he’d been unconscious for at least a half hour, yet his drink and food were still hot.
Terrific. She zaps me but thinks enough to keep my lunch warm. Not that he thought he could handle solid foods just now.
“Any reason for what you just did?” He winced as the coffee burned his tongue. Damn, he must have bit his tongue when she zapped him.
“I told you to force your shadows to back off,” she told him with a shrug of her shoulders. “You didn’t comply, so I did it for you.”
Jared’s arms felt as heavy as his shackles as he lifted his hands to rub his aching head. No wonder it all hurt. The room was as bright as the noonday sun. She’d not only managed to knock him out but destroyed his shadows too. He felt suddenly bereft.
“You witches pack quite a wallop.” He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.
“Be grateful I didn’t use full power. You would have been lucky if you could even drool by now. Speech wouldn’t have returned for at least forty-eight hours.” She smiled cheerfully.
“And I thought Dumb and Dumber were bad enough.” He started to scowl at her but discovered even that hurt. “Does Dr. Mortimer know about that trick of yours?”
“Does he know you have a way to leave the hospital when you want to?” Lili countered.
“Point taken.” He took an experimental bite of food and discovered his head was no longer trying to squeeze his brain out through his eye sockets. “First you protect my skin from the irons, provide me with decent food, and then you hex my lights out. Are you sure you’re not really an inmate down here?” He felt warm inside as her soft laughter washed over him.
“I wanted to prove I back up what I say.”
“I haven’t met all that many witches, but you definitely take first page in my memory book.” He polished off his burger and worked on the fries. He didn’t notice Lili’s sharp look of interest.
“Did other witches work down here?”
He missed her all-too-casual tone. “Not on a regular basis, unless more medical care was needed than Dumb and Dumber could provide. They were usually the ones to provide minor medical treatment, even if their bedside manners frankly sucked. Dr. Mortimer handled the bad injuries.” His voice tightened. “A Were nurse was down once. Shingleg mangled her pretty badly. You’re going to want to keep the two ogres in with you when you talk to him.” He started to push away his plate with half the fries still on it but changed his mind. Who knew when he’d get a good meal again? He didn’t have enough power to sneak out for the next few nights. He wondered if his shadows could track the lovely doctor down like that night in her house. He wouldn’t mind running into her in Inderman again. He’d like to see her in a place of light and laughter instead of down here in darkness and sorrow.
He looked up and found her staring at him intently. “Are we getting to the treatment part now?”
“I don’t know if therapy would help you,” she said frankly.
Her candid statement left him feeling unsettled. Did this mean she wouldn’t come down to see him again? He didn’t want to believe that would happen. Seeing the witch was the only bright spot in his existence. While he was able to venture outside the walls, his time away was limited and only at night when the shadows were the strongest.
“What are you thinking?”
Jared wanted to laugh at Lili’s typical question. “You head docs need to come up with better questions,” he said. “It seems you always want to know what we’re feeling and thinking.” He was relieved to see his hands were completely steady now and his head felt as if it would stay in one piece. “Wouldn’t you rather know why I killed that vampire nest?”
“I asked you that already, and you didn’t answer. I thought I’d sneak that question in again later on.”
Jared inhaled her scent, wanting to imprint it in his memory banks. Her female scent was mixed with something woodsy and exotic. He’d sensed her fertility cycle that first time but couldn’t catch any hint of it now. Obviously, her protective runes didn’t shield her from any unwanted male attention, such as his.
“Why do you want to be here?” he asked. “You’re nothing like Dr. Mortimer. You’re not looking to see if pain will drive the devils from us.” He laughed without any form of mirth. “You’re not set in your ways.” He nodded his head toward her computer tablet. “I may have been locked down for centuries, but I try to keep up with all those newfangled gadgets out in the world.” He explained his slight knowledge of modern electronics. “Although Twitter is still strange to me. And I guess Turtifo and Coing have Facebook pages. No idea why, since their faces would break any computer. I bet the only friends they have are each other.”
Lili’s lips twitched as she fought back her smile. “Why do you persist in acting as if you want nothing more than to kill someone?”
Something dark and dangerous filtered through his mind. Judging by the expression on her face, he was revealing way too much.
Lean bodies, faces contorted with uncontrollable hunger as bloodred eyes fastened on him. He was the creamy center in a vampire sandwich, except there was only one of him and too many of them.
“You defile us by your presence, demon.” The voice hissed in his ear as the stench of old blood and something in a state of decay caused his stomach to roll over. Not that it mattered how sick he got. They intended to kill him anyway.
“And you stink like Yeti at the end of winter.” He flashed his own pearly whites even though he didn’t have the fancy-dancy fangs.
If there was anything vamps hated more than a smart-ass, it was a smart-ass demon.
Pain everywhere. He thought his throat had been torn out. Screaming. Wasn’t sure if the sound came from him or them. He was betting it was him.
“Jared!”
This time, when he opened his eyes and found himself on the floor, he didn’t feel as if he had been run through a hex blender. No, more like fear that rendered him boneless.
His stomach roiled when he saw a trickle of blood on her chin. “No,” he whispered, starting to reach up to wipe it away, but she moved away, using a cloth to clean her face then torch the fabric.
Jared closed his eyes, willing the images to retreat and the long-ago pain to disappear. Too bad neither happened.
“You had a flashback.” Lili spoke softly, as if she sensed how badly his head was hurting and how any loud sound would just tear him apart.
“You went to medical school to figure that one out?” he growled, glaring at the mug pushed in front of him. “What the fuck is that?�
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“Just drink it.”
He picked it up and sniffed the contents. He reared back as his nose turned numb. “Do you really want to know what this smells like?”
“It doesn’t matter. It will help. Trust me.”
I don’t trust anyone.
Except she smelled good and fed him. She didn’t treat him like an animal.
Jared almost gagged as the putrid liquid slid down his throat, but he noticed his head felt a lot clearer and his insides didn’t feel torn up any longer.
“You’re just one witchy pharmacy, aren’t you?”
Lili reached into her pocket and held out small sacks filled with herbs. “A friend makes them up for me.”
“You take good care of me.” He pushed his hand through his hair, cringing a bit at the feel of the dirty strands. He wished he looked better for her. Maybe not the way he was centuries ago, but the way he looked when he escaped here. Even better, he wanted to be someone who was completely free to pursue the female that he was attracted to. Instead, he had been branded insane and locked in a stinking cell for too many hours of the day. He swore he was being used as some kind of mad medical experiment, even if his memories were so scrambled that there were days he wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t.
“You know what? I think I’ve had enough mind probing for today,” he muttered. He tore his hand out of her grasp so abruptly that he heard her gasp softly as his chains scraped her skin. He pushed himself to his feet, the iron chains clanking against the table. He limped his way to the door.
“Jared.”
He paused and looked over his shoulder. “The ogres are right,” he said quietly. “You shouldn’t be down here. Do us all a favor and worry about the ones upstairs, the ones who have a chance to experience a real life. We were abandoned on a dung heap for a reason.” He paused then walked back to her.
Before Lili could ask him what he was doing, he pulled her out of her chair and into his arms. He captured her mouth, kissing her so deeply, the action was as intimate as sex. It blistered her down to her toes, and she could only hang on for the ride as his tongue invaded her mouth without even a thought of protest from her. Lili gripped his arms, feeling the hard muscles ripple under her touch. She kept her eyes closed, losing herself in the sensual clouds that moved around her. She felt wrapped in something that seeped into her bones, a heat that was untamed and had her wondering if the images that flared behind her closed eyelids were his or hers. Sheets flowed around them while their naked bodies writhed in ecstasy, a wild magick that set the room afire as they sought something on a far higher sensual plane than most could attain. The pairing was so perfect that her senses cried at the beauty that flooded her mind. Now she knew he shared the same images.
Lili swallowed her whimper when he stepped back, the loss of his body heat like a cold shower on her senses. His eyes were almost black, and his face portrayed stark lines of passion. There was no doubt what they just shared had knocked them back for a loop.
Jared’s jerky movements showed none of his usual animal grace as he turned back to the door. He paused and looked over his shoulder before he pulled the door open.
“Thanks for the food, Doc,” he said quietly. The forceful gleam in his eye told her the attraction wasn’t all that one-sided. But then all she had to do was look south to see that his pants were a great deal tighter than they were when he first came in.
She barely recovered from their kiss in time to deactivate the lock before he turned the knob.
Coing straightened up from his position across the hall and stared at Jared as he exited the door. He leered at Lili before grabbing Jared’s arm and pulling him away in a painful grip.
She slowly put her computer tablet away and took the time to heal the scrapes on her chin. She could hear the sounds of Jared’s cell door opening and then being slammed shut along with the metallic clink of the lock engaging. But it was the cell’s occupant that ran riot through her thoughts.
Her body was still humming merrily along, reminding her just how long it had been since she’d had sex, although she doubted anything she’d experienced in the past compared to what it would be like with Jared.
“He’s a patient,” she reminded herself. “Off-limits.” She didn’t bother mentally bringing up that he was not just a demon but a demon who was classified as homicidally insane. The most dangerous creature of all.
Oh yes, off-limits in so many ways that she shouldn’t even look at him that way. Her thoughts didn’t border on just unethical, it was slam-dunk illegal. She wouldn’t just lose her job, she’d lose her healer status and would be shunned by all.
***
“You stink, demon.” Coing flung Jared into his cell, not caring that he did a somersault along the way.
“Yeah, like you’re any better,” he muttered, wincing when his head connected with the stone wall.
The ogre grinned. “’Cept I don’t reek of witch too.” His yellow eyes flared with maniacal glee. “Tell me something, asswipe, What’s the bitch like? All slippery and tight inside? Did you taste her?”
Jared didn’t think. He roared and lunged at Coing, reaching out to tear his captor to pieces. The ogre wasted no time holding up his medallion. Before the demon could reach him, protective magick kicked in and Jared bounced off an invisible wall. Electric shocks traveled through his body, sending him into convulsions.
“Try it again, and I’ll amp it up until you’re nothing but a pile of drool.” Coing slammed the door shut and set the lock.
It took Jared awhile before he could control his muscles enough to crawl to what was laughingly called his bed. He finally collapsed and closed his eyes against the red dots dancing in front of him. He’d been zapped before, but Coing had gone for a higher voltage this time, leaving his body feeling like something wet and worn-out. He kissed her, and even though he couldn’t even move his little finger, he wanted to kiss her again, to experience the incredible magick that had swarmed around them like an iridescent bubble.
“Stupid,” he muttered, then winced as he realized even his teeth hurt. The protective charm Coing unleashed on him was something new and nasty. What the fuck was in that?
He wanted to close his eyes and lose himself in sleep, even if it brought bad dreams, but he didn’t think he could still control his body. He feared that he might never be the same again.
His lips twitched. Still, it had been worth it. He’d carry the scent of her skin and taste of her mouth in his memory. Maybe they’d be enough to keep the pain and nightmares away.
Why are you sad?
He opened his eyes to find the little spirit standing just inside his cell. She looked uncertain as she lingered near the wall with her ratty teddy bear in her arms. Due to her presence, the already cold interior dropped in temperature.
“I’m not sad. How did you get in here?”
She looked as if she’d bolt if Jared even looked at her wrong.
He mustered up a smile in hopes of calming her fears. “What’s your name?”
Amy. Feeling emboldened, she stepped forward and looked around. Dr. Lili said I could come in here if I was scared. That you’d keep me safe.
“Dr. Lili’s a smart witch,” he said softly, surprised that Lili put so much faith in the idea that he’d look after the little girl. But then there wasn’t much harm that could be done to a wraith. And he didn’t want to frighten her. He looked around, “Sorry I don’t have somewhere for you to sit.”
Amy offered a tentative smile and perched on what had to be an invisible stool.
“Who knew I’d be ghost-sitting today?” Jared said to himself while racking his brain for something suitable to say to a little girl that wouldn’t scare her into the next century. “So, does your teddy bear have a name?”
Amy’s bright smile told him he asked just the right question.
***
Demons don’t know how to tell the truth. You already know his real name isn’t Jared and that there is so much more you
need to know about him.
Lili wasn’t surprised to find a summons to Dr. Mortimer’s office waiting for her when she returned to her own personal space.
“He smells like an old couch,” Cleo informed her from her silken cushion. “And he ignored me.” She sulked. There was nothing she hated more than being ignored.
The witch didn’t miss the sight of a few more snags on her couch cushions while the cat kept her own elegant pillow in pristine condition. She had a feeling that her arrogant feline, as if there were any other, took out her frustration on the furniture.
Note to self. Bring in a scratching post for her highness before she shreds the entire couch.
Lili paused for a quick visual to make sure her hair was still neatly twisted on top of her head. She wore little makeup while working, so she only needed to refresh her lip gloss and add a touch of blush.
“A hint of perfume wouldn’t hurt,” Cleo suggested.
“He’s my boss.”
“And he’s also an old-fashioned male who’s not dead even if he’s got to be close to a thousand years old. Don’t use enough scent to seduce him, the way I bet you want to with that demon, but a little to soften the old fogy up is a good idea.”
Lili knew better than to argue with the former Egyptian seductress. Anyone who had been the lover of both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony knew what she was talking about!
Lili had a habit of pretending deafness when Cleo indulged in too much catnip wine and burbled on happily about her extensive sex life. To this day, she didn’t know how the former queen of Egypt ended up as a cat, and that was one thing Cleo had remained close-lipped about.
“Much better,” the feline pronounced after Lili presented herself for her approval. She sat up and stretched. “I believe I will visit the children’s ward. Younglings always need cheering up.”
“No begging treats from them,” Lili warned, knowing her words were in vain. Cleo was shameless when it came to begging for adoration and nummies. But she couldn’t scold her, since the cat was wonderful at distracting the young from their ills.
