Atticus met my eyes. “Otherwise, stay out of this one.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you serious?”
“I agree,” Zahur announced. “We need to focus, and you in the middle of the fighting distracts all of us.”
“How am I doing that?” I demanded.
“Well, being set on fire distracted me,” Ranulf countered.
I shot Ranulf a look. “Haven’t you ever fought with females before? You need to keep clear of my line of fire.”
He sighed. “Aye, but it’s been years.”
I scoffed. I couldn’t believe this. “Is it really that bad?” I asked, trying to understand. I turned to Falk, hoping for a no.
“We’re out of practice,” Falk said quietly.
I eyed each of them. This wasn’t the time or the place for this discussion.
I sighed. “Fine, I’ll stay back.”
Ranulf tilted his head to the side. “The noise stopped.” Something dripped into the middle of the circle. We looked up. There, hanging upside down from the pipe, was the Preta; ancient, dry, cracked skin, its talons dripping with blood.
“Shit,” Zahur snapped. Everyone dove out from under it as it dropped on top of us. A heavy weight hit me, fangs digging into my back before I blasted the damn thing off me. It screeched as it flew through the air and crashed into a large puddle of blood. Everyone moved—everyone but me. The venom of a Preta had paralytic properties. Not to mention that it hurt.
“Evelyn?” Atticus called.
“Bite…” I bit out.
I threw a barrier up around me in case the demon got close again. I closed my eyes and focused. I moved through my body much like I had with Ranulf and Falk. I manipulated my body, this time pushing the venom out through the wound. It streamed down my back as I focused. When it was gone I was ready to kill the demon. I opened my eyes and got to my feet. I followed the noises further into the building. I moved past a cow pen just in time to watch Atticus take its head. That wasn’t good enough for me. When they backed up I torched the body. Everyone turned back to me.
“It made me angry,” I admitted.
Atticus strode straight to me. “Zahur.” He unbuttoned my jacket and pulled it off my shoulder. He was almost frantic to see the bite. I let him pull the jacket off. When his hands went to my buckles, I held his hand to stop him.
“I’ll get it,” I promised. Everyone else reached us.
“What happened?” Ranulf asked.
“I got bit,” I grumbled as I started unbuckling my buckles. Curses went around them as Atticus pulled off my armor. When he peeled my shirt off my shoulder blade it hurt. I hissed then looked over my shoulder, trying to see the damage.
“Zahur, get the kit,” Atticus ordered.
“It’d be more hygienic to take her to the kit,” Zahur countered. “She’s taken the venom out, all that’s left is the bite. She’ll be alright until we get to the car.” I took my jacket from Atticus and started walking out of the slaughterhouse.
The males were quiet as they moved to walk around me like a guard. I sighed as we left the slaughterhouse and went to the car. I stripped off my harness and vest, stuffing them into the back of the car.
“Evie,” Zahur called, the kit on the hood. I sighed and walked over. I faced the SUV as Zahur lifted my tank top to examine my back. I hissed as he pulled the cloth out of the wound. “Good job getting the venom out,” Zahur said absently as he cleaned the venom from my back.
“Well, it was that or stay put,” I pointed out. Zahur reached around me to grab the disinfectant and more gauze. I rested my arms on the hood.
“This is going to hurt,” he warned. Zahur soaked the bite with disinfectant. It burned down to the bone. I grunted, closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I gritted my teeth as Zahur began to scrub the punctures.
“I’m sorry, I have to.” Zahur’s voice was hard.
“I know,” I grunted. He stopped cleaning. I leaned against the car, breathing deeply to get my breath back. Zahur started to bandage my shoulder. “I-I can heal it now… just… in a second.”
Zahur’s hand touched the area between my shoulder and neck, his fingers on my collar bone. He wiped below the wound again. “Then do it, because you’re still losing blood.”
I nodded then closed my eyes. I focused on moving energy to the back of my shoulder. It took several minutes but I healed the wound completely.
Zahur wiped down my back and shoulder one more time. “That is handy.”
I lifted my head from the hood. “Okay, come on, we have five more.” I let my shirt drop and reached for my vest.
The guys shared a look before Atticus looked at me, his face hard. “Let’s call it a day.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Because I got hurt? There are five more demons out there.”
“Not just because of that,” Atticus countered. “You also have some other work to do, Falk as well. And Zahur has to hit the Ether.”
“You want me out of the way,” I surmised. Zahur started putting things away. Ranulf was looking anywhere but at me. Falk met my eyes, as did Atticus. I looked down at the ground, fighting back emotion.
“Fine, I’ll head back and open the shop.” I didn’t know how I was feeling. Hurt, angry, sad it was all a jumble in my chest. “Take me back.” I opened the door to the car and slid in.
“That went well,” Ranulf said sarcastically.
“Not now,” Atticus growled.
I ignored it. Everyone got in and we were on the road. I was quiet the whole way to the shop. When we got there Zahur got out so I could exit the car. I didn’t bother with my vest but I waited until Zahur got back in the car. I went to Ranulf’s window and knocked on the glass. He rolled it down.
I met Atticus’s eyes, my stomach knotting. “Just, don’t go after the Rakasha or the Succubus without me. Please?”
Atticus let out a breath. “We won’t go after them without you.”
The knots in my stomach eased.
“Don’t worry, lass,” Ranulf smiled. “We’ll go after the lower level ones.”
Hating this, I stepped back. They drove off. I turned and opened the shop.
Inside I turned everything on and dropped my vest on the chair. I opened my stash drawer and fished out a big, comfy green cardigan. I pulled it on before I ran through the morning routine in the shop. I made a cup of tea and started going over the day’s shipping list.
I was still in the middle of finding the books when my cell rang.
“Hello.”
“Evelyn, it’s Delia.” The witch's voice was thick. “Rowena is gone.”
“I’m sorry for your and the others’ loss,” I told her simply.
“She violated the treaty, she knew what she was doing,” Delia said. “I’ll be ready to sign a new Treaty tonight.”
“I’ll see you at the usual time.”
“Bye.”
I put the phone down and sighed. I needed to make a new Treaty. It took hours. I looked around the book store at all the orders to go out. I needed help.
I picked up the phone to call Rina, only for Rina walk right through the door, her face pale, her eyes wide.
“I jumped into someone’s dreams last night,” she announced.
I blinked. “That’s nothing new, you’ve done it before.”
She shot me a look as she dropped her book bag onto the counter. “Not the sex dream of the hottie down hall.”
I bit back my laugh. “Did you at least enjoy yourself.”
Her face turned beet red. “That’s not the point!”
I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
She rested her elbows on the counter and hid her face in her hands. I leaned down to her level. “It’s okay. It happens to every telepath at least once,” I explained gently. She dropped her hands and met my eyes. “You didn’t violate him. You never touched him.”
“No, but it was his dream,” she pointed out. “It’s like…”
“Did he ever say no?” I asked.
“Did you do it on purpose?” I asked.
“No,” she snapped.
I smiled. “Then it’s okay. It was an accident. As long as you don’t jump into his dreams again, it’ll be alright.”
She sighed deeply and nodded, her face back to its usual color. “How do I stop myself from doing it again?”
“Shielding exercises before bed,” I reminded her. “You haven’t been doing them.”
“I forgot,” she admitted.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. I was about to call you,” I said. “I need you to take over the store for the day. The Head of the Witches Council died today, I need to draw up a new Treaty by tonight. Save my butt?”
Rina smiled. “Of course, that’s what I do.”
I smiled as she came behind the counter while I gathered materials. It was going to be a long day.
17
Evelyn
It was more than two hours before I saw any of them again. Falk came into the store and he paused at the door. I got up and moved to the doorway of my office. Rina was typing away on her laptop with her earbuds in again, not even noticing that Falk had come in. Falk, however, was staring at her like he’d never seen a woman before. I grinned as Rina finally looked up from the computer and saw him. Her lips parted as her eyes ran over him before going back to meet his. She pulled out her earbuds.
“I-is Evelyn here?” Falk asked, his voice extremely hoarse.
“Um, yeah, she’s in her office,” Rina said, her face turning pink.
“Thank you,” he croaked. He headed towards me, his shoulders tense. He had an odd look on his face. He met me at the door.
I reached up and held my hands to his throat. I poured energy through his throat, soothing the irritation. When I opened my eyes he grinned down at me.
“So, what have you guys been up to?” I asked, walking back into my office to sit down behind my cleared desk. The only thing on my desk was the long parchment that I was currently working on.
“Running errands, picking up groceries,” he said, his voice only rough now.
“Fun,” I said sarcastically.
“Not really.” He leaned against the doorjamb and glanced over his shoulder at Rina who was also glancing over every once in a while, as if she couldn’t help it. “Who’s that?”
I smiled as I picked up the glass spelled pen I was using. “That’s Rina. She’s a human telepath who I’m teaching to control her abilities. She also works here while going to the university.” I peeked up at him. He was trying not to be obvious about watching her out of the corner of his eye.
“What is she studying at the university?” he asked casually.
I smiled. “Computer science. She’s planning on creating video games when she graduates.” When he didn’t say anything I added, “Would you like to meet her?”
His head snapped back around to me. “No, that’s alright.”
I smiled at the embarrassed look on his face. The bell to the store rang.
“Why not?” I asked.
“She’s human. No real future there,” he pointed out. I rolled my eyes as Atticus stepped to the doorway.
My eyes went straight to him and ran over him. No injuries. The tightness in my chest eased. “Hi,” I greeted him. Falk turned in the doorway.
“Go help the others bring up our gear,” Atticus ordered. Falk sighed then headed towards the door. Atticus stepped into my office and closed the door behind him. “What are you working on?”
I put the pen down carefully and closed the ink bottle as he came around the desk. “Rowena died today.” I looked up at him. “I have to have the new Treaty ready by eight tonight.”
“That soon?” he asked as he put a hand on the back of my chair and one on the desk. His eyes ran over the parchment.
I sighed. “Unfortunately, the witches usually have a funeral right away. The signing of the new Treaty is at the beginning of it.”
“That’s… interesting,” he said.
“That’s what I always thought,” I admitted, looking back down at the Treaty. I was looking over the second parchment, my master copy, when hands spun me around in my chair. Surprised, I looked up at him. There was a light in his eyes I’d never seen before.
“How did hunting go?” I asked.
“We weren’t hunting,” he admitted, a small grin on his face.
“Then what were you doing?” I asked, suspicion filling my voice.
He grinned. “Come with me.”
Ranulf
This was a bad idea, bordering on horrible. Falk and Zahur were in the middle of putting up a Christmas tree in Evelyn’s apartment.
“Take it down,” I tried again. The guys ignored me. “Guys, she doesn’t celebrate Yule, and I don’t think it’s an accident.
“It’s Christmas, Ranulf. It’s time she got to celebrate it with others like her,” Zahur countered. I ran over our drunk walk back to the apartment.
“I don’t think that’s why she doesn’t celebrate,” I told them.
“Sure it is,” Falk countered in a rough voice. “Everyone hates Christmas when they have no one.” I couldn’t argue with that. But something told me this was a bad idea…
The apartment door opened. I sighed. It was too late. Evelyn walked in with a box in her hands, looking back at Atticus. When she turned the blood drained from her face. She dropped the box at her feet.
“Surprise!” Falk and Zahur cheered from behind me.
“Get rid of it,” she said desperately.
“Come on,” Zahur tried. “With us, Christmas will be fun.”
“Then stick it in your own fucking apartment!” she shouted, her voice shaking, her eyes full of tears. She turned and strode out the door and up the stairs towards the roof. Everyone was silent.
“Take the tree down,” Atticus ordered.
No one argued. Everyone worked together to take down the tree. Even Atticus took off his suit jacket to help get rid of it. What was it about Christmas for her?
Evelyn
I couldn’t seem to stop crying. I wiped my face again and took deep breaths. It was ridiculous that a stupid tree could break me down like this. Over 150 years later and I still shook at the sight of a Christmas tree. Still broke into a sweat whenever I saw a wrapped present. I don’t know how long I was sitting on the ledge of the roof when the access door opened. Atticus’s scent reached me on the breeze. He stepped next to me, his hands resting on the brick.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “We thought you would like a real Christmas.”
“It’s not your fault.” I looked out over the snow-covered roofs and still couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
“Stop crying, luv,” he said quietly as he stepped closer then leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You know what happens when you cry.”
I chuckled as my face burned. It helped push back some of the memories.
“Why don’t you like Christmas? Or gold wrapping paper?” he asked gently. I stared at a water tank on a far-off roof and began to talk.
“I was seventeen, we were in London. I went to bed on Christmas Eve and everything was fine. Mum was knitting, Dad was reading as usual.” Tears fell faster. His hand took mine. It helped push the tears back even more. I continued. “The next morning I came downstairs early and went into the parlour. The presents were under the tree like they were every year, but my parents weren’t there. They were usually up before me.” I swallowed hard as my voice shook. “I found a note. It said they were both ill and to go ahead and open my presents.” I took a shaky breath. “So, I gathered the gifts with my name on them.” I hesitated. “All of them were wrapped in gold paper. I opened the wrapping, then lifted the lid.” I took a breath and let it out. “It was my father’s head.” He grew still “I kept opening the boxes to see if my mother was there too. She was. A demon had cut them to pieces and wrapped them as a gift for me.”
“I’m sorry, Eve. When you said you didn’t celebra
te Christmas I just thought it was because you were alone,” he said, his voice filled with regret.
I pushed those memories back and wiped the last of my tears away before I looked up at him. “I should have explained.”
“Is this what your nightmare was about?” he asked.
I looked back down at the alleyway. “It happens every year. I have more, and worse nightmares as it gets closer to Christmas.” He was quiet long enough that I sighed. “I’m sorry I yelled at you guys, I just…”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. This was our fault,” Atticus told me.
“Not really, you didn’t know,” I reminded him. “You were trying to do something nice and I just couldn’t handle the tree.” I looked down at my hands. “I know I should deal with it. But I really don’t know how.” He carefully slipped his arm around my shoulders.
“What about a Charlie Brown tree?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow. “Do you believe you can handle one of those?”
“What’s a Charlie Brown tree?” I asked.
He frowned down at me. “You are almost two hundred and you don’t know what a Charlie Brown Christmas tree is?”
I shrugged. “I don’t watch Christmas specials or even listen to Christmas music.”
“It’s a small tree, no more than two feet,” he explained. “Do you think you can try that?”
I thought about it. He wanted to celebrate Christmas, and I wanted to for him, but… I imagined a small tree and it didn’t bother me. “I think so.”
“Then we’ll take the tree back and get a smaller one,” he said. He hesitated. “You don’t like gifts, do you?”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “You guys went shopping, didn’t you?”
“Perhaps,” he hedged.
“You guys shouldn’t have, I-I can’t go shopping right now,” I admitted, my face growing warm.
“That’s not why we did it,” Atticus said quietly. “The tree is already gone. Come back inside.”
I wiped my face and nodded. “I have to keep working on that Treaty.”
He stepped back so I could get off the side of the building. His hand went to my lower back as we headed back inside. There was still so much to do.
Found (Books of Stone Book 1) Page 25
