I pulled out the bottle of pills and slid it across the table. “I need to find out about this drug and the doctor prescribing it.”
He examined the label. “You think it might be Ose?”
“There is activity from the local asylum where that bottle came from.”
“Having adventures already? How are the Van Helsing boys working out? Are they everything you expected?”
I shrugged.
“Not Dimitri?”
“They have their family issues.”
“And you need to remember that.”
“What?”
“It’s their family.”
“What are you implying?” I gritted my teeth.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Our food arrived. I picked at my potato. Was it so odd to have concern for Dimitri’s bloodline? The man had shown me love and life at the point when I had just been existing. The least I could do was help avenge his grandson and look after his progeny, especially since Ose was unfinished business for me. I didn’t expect to be a part of their lives after this. I couldn’t be a part of anyone’s life.
“I know that look.” John reached over and squeezed my hand. “Stop thinking that. I’ve told you before.”
“John, I . . . ”
“I know, but it’s still the truth. After Maureen, there’s no one else but you.”
I stared down at my plate and bit my lip. John and Maureen had been happily married for years until a demon had possessed her. I’d come across them on a beach in Florida one day. It’s been one of those private places with palm trees surrounding it. I’d thought I’d been tracking Allegra. Instead I’d found a demon using Maureen to drown her husband. I’d saved him, but she hadn’t been so lucky.
“It’s just hero worship,” I said.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure what I can do to prove it’s not.”
“Find someone else.”
He sighed. “We’re going in circles. How about we forget this and dance?”
He pulled me to the dance floor and wrapped an arm around my waist. The band played Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.” He swayed with the music, pulling me with him. I chuckled and let the stiffness in my back fade away. Soon my rhythm matched his.
He grinned. “That's better.”
He pulled me closer and I let my head rest on his shoulder. I inhaled his aftershave and could almost taste the sea. I shuddered and tried to pull away. He shook his head and swung me into a dip. My head swam, making me laugh.
“I think I’ve been privileged to witness something no one has seen in years,” he said.
“Hmm, you seem smug.”
“Maybe I am. Your laugh is truly beautiful.”
He drew me closer, our gazes locked together. Our breaths mingled as our lips brushed. A shiver ran through me. As my eyes closed, I saw Dimitri's face. His dark eyes pierced my heart and I pulled away. My feet wanted to stay while my mind said go. I stumbled back to my seat. John followed.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I can't,” I said. "Too much of the past—”
He held a finger to my lips. “Just think of now.”
“But this can't go anywhere. You know about my curse.”
“Now has nothing to do with that.”
“You're talking about a one night stand?”
“Maybe more than one, but we can keep it casual.” He winked again.
I bit my lip and looked to the ground.
“Let me guess, you don't do casual. Have you had anyone since that Van Helsing boy all those years ago?”
“Of course, there have been others.”
Few others, to be honest with myself. After Dimitri, I concentrated on hunting once again. Funnily enough, violence is a great relief for sexual tension. However, it is only temporary, so there had been a few men, but none who had ever truly known me. That was too dangerous, John was too dangerous.
I shook my head and grabbed my purse. “I think it’s time I headed back.”
I stared out the window of the car on the way back. He didn’t ask any more questions. Instead he switched on the radio and let the blaring rock music fill the silence. I marveled at how much had changed over the years. Cacophony of sound replaced the harmony of horns, strings and wind instruments. Electricity had replaced fire, such as the street-lights. The world had grown smaller thanks to technology. Yet, here I remained the same.
“Drop me off here,” I said as we passed a familiar figure with brown hair.
He pulled the car over and waited for me to get out, with his shoulders stiff and his jaw set. He kept his eyes averted, and his knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.
“Call me when you get the supplies,” I said.
He nodded. I sighed and stepped out of the car. Relief came with a soft breeze that ruffled my hair.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Should you really be patrolling in your condition?” I asked Esais as he caught up to me.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on a date?”
“I call it more of a business dinner.”
He raised an eyebrow. “In that dress?”
“What, I can’t look pretty?” I chuckled. “Nothing happened.”
“Not for lack of trying on his part?”
I fell into step beside him. The stiffness between my shoulder blades eased, and I found myself smiling. Esais was easy to talk to like John, just without all the sexual tension.
“You noticed? It’s not that I don’t find him attractive, just . . . ”
“Then perhaps he’s not right for you.”
“I sense you don’t like him.”
“Something’s not right. I’m not sure what.”
“He’s been through a lot. He had to deal with his wife’s demonic possession.”
The bushes along the side of a nearby house shook, and the shadows moved. I stiffened and unlatched my purse. Esais nodded to me, slowing his pace.
“It’s been following me for the past ten minutes. I can’t get a grip on its mind, but it feels like the one in the bar.” The choir from his contact was an undercurrent to his words.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“It faded back when you arrived. It keeps slipping.”
The hellhound had decided to stalk us. It was probably waiting for us to lead it to the others. I didn’t want to play into its paws, but I’d left my sundang at the house again. I longed for the days when swords were common-place.
“How is your head?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation casual.
“Better,” he said. “Less cluttered.”
Sweat beaded down his forehead, and his eyes held a glassy look to them. How much of that statement was true and how much bravado?
“Do you think you can attack its mind?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I can try to play distraction until you can. Try for a kill. If you can, knock it unconscious, and we run.”
“We really need to take care of this thing.”
“I will when John comes through for me.”
“Hmm, we need to find another way in case he doesn’t.”
I stiffened. “He hasn’t let me down yet.”
My steps quickened, and Esais matched my pace. I reached in my purse and grabbed the handle of the knife I’d put in there. I tried to keep few items inside so I didn’t have to dig around for anything. You know, everything a woman needed: knives, pills, lipstick. Too much would make it take forever to find my knife, and in this situation, that could get someone killed, possibly me.
The street was empty. Parents had called their children in from the growing darkness hours ago. Street-lamps stood sentinel through the night while a few lights dotted windows through the neighborhood.
“We need to get somewhere more private,” I said.
A growl echoed from the side of the next house we passed. Yellow eyes reflected from the glow of the street light, and a shadow separated itself from the r
est. The hellhound leaped at us. I shoved Esais to the side. The beast’s weight took me to the ground, and the concrete scraped against my bare legs as its teeth buried in my forearm. I flicked the knife open and buried the blade in its side only to have the wound heal almost immediately.
This time it attacked in wolf form. I think it had now come at me in all shapes. It was the size of a mastiff with shaggy fur. It looked almost the same as the demon I’d seen in the bar. The hellhound had taken the werewolf’s body long enough for its true form to take physical shape. Thank god it wasn’t as strong in this form as in the wolf-man hybrid. Otherwise I’d have lost the arm.
I stabbed the hellhound several more times, not caring that the wounds sealed in seconds. The world faded around the edges, giving off a blurred view. Damnit, I wanted this beast’s blood to run down my hands, and this just wasn’t working. Esais grabbed the beast around its middle and yanked it back. It released me to snap at him and caught him in his shoulder. I rose to my feet as he tossed the hellhound to the side.
“Focus on its mind,” I said.
It jumped at us again. I tackled it in midair, and we tumbled into the grass with me on top this time. A blur of red and blue flashed in my peripheral, and a siren gave a short wail.
“Freeze,” a man’s voice yelled.
“What in God’s name is that?” Nancy said.
The hellhound hopped to its feet, tossing me to the ground. Esais stood to the side, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Nancy pulled her gun out and fired. The shot echoed through the air followed by several others.
I flattened myself against the ground as the bullets passed over me. The hellhound yelped and shook its head. Its body moved from the impact of the bullets, but it paid them little attention. Its shoulders bunched, and its lips pulled back in a snarl. Nancy kept firing, her eyes wide and her face colorless. Esais pressed his back to the house and kept his gaze on the hellhound. Nancy’s partner backed from his position around the car to her side. He kept his gun trained on the beast.
“Nancy,” his voice was almost drowned by the gunfire.
The hellhound whined and growled, shaking its head again. It swung its head at me, and its eyes bored into mine. It winced again and dashed into the narrow opening between the two fences, disappearing into the alley.
Esais and I stayed in place, trapped by the flying bullets Nancy continued to fire. Her finger kept pressing the trigger after she emptied her clip. Her partner grabbed her arm. She slammed her other fist in his face, and he tackled her to the ground. I stood cautiously, holding my arm to my chest.
“Nancy, get a hold of yourself,” he yelled.
She tossed her head from side to side. “It’s the end. Monsters, demons, we’re all going to burn.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“The world is twisting.” She looked to me. “And you’re to blame.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I hated hospitals. Yes, over the centuries modern medicine had improved. Medication replaced herbal concoctions and leeching. Cleanliness prevented wound infection, and diagnostics actually became something more than just guessing. Still, underneath the sterility lay the scent of disease and death. Not the swift death gained by combat. Those deaths are pure and simple. This one lingered, filled with suffering and fear.
Once, I contracted malaria in Italy while tracking a demon in the sixteenth century. I had been new to the hunting thing then, still filled with the rage of losing my family and being cursed. I didn’t stop to pay attention to the sickness that had spread through the town. I was a week away when the fever hit me.
For days I lay under a tree, sweating and frozen at the same time. I fought for every breath as my chest ached at the labor. My arms and legs felt like boulders when I tried to lift them. What little food and water I consumed did not stay down. Eventually, I’d been found and taken to a local convent. The nuns cared for me, but could not cure me. I died after weeks of agony. Every time I entered a hospital I still smelled that room in the convent.
I tapped my foot and crossed my arms as I sat in the waiting room, trying to figure how anyone found taupe a comforting color. Esais was still with the doctors in the emergency room. A white bandage covered the twenty-three stitches that ran the length of my forearm. Grass stains covered my dress, the lace ripped in several places. One strap dangled, broken. This was why I could never wear anything nice. I was doomed to an eternity of T-shirts and blue jeans. The doors slid open, and Tres rushed over to me. He looked at my arm and scanned the rest of the waiting room. The doors closed after Adrian stepped in.
“Where’s Esais?” Tres asked.
“Still getting stitches,” I said.
“What did you do?” Adrian asked.
“We were attacked by the hellhound.”
“I see. Once again you let it get away, and my brother was wounded in the process.”
I flung my arms out wide. “I would love to deal with it. Do you have any alchemical silver? Silver bullets blessed by a priest? I didn’t think so.”
“Stop,” Tres broke in. “Why didn’t you come get me?”
“The police called the ambulance.”
His right hand twitched. “I’m going to find this thing.”
“Once again, no silver.”
“I could make it hurt.” He clenched his right fist.
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Really what?” Esais asked.
Charlotte stood beside him. Her arms were wrapped around her shoulders like she was trying to hold herself up. Deep shadows indented her red-rimmed eyes.
“How is Nancy?” I asked.
“She’s been taken to the institution,” Charlotte said.
Esais cleared his throat. “I feel like coffee.”
We rode in two cars to the diner Esais and I had met John in. Country music blared from a small radio at the counter. The ceiling fan spread the smell of grease and meat throughout the room. The waitress eyed my tangled hair and the remains of my dress with her nose wrinkling up. I met her gaze, daring her to say something. She cleared her throat and hurried away after taking our orders. I sat up straighter and crossed my arms with a small smile.
Charlotte played with her silverware as we waited for our drinks. She straightened the knife until it was perfect, then moved on to the fork. She barely met our gazes, instead focusing her attention on the table. My gaze traveled from the waitress and cook to the couple sitting in the back and laughing softly together. All human.
“It should be safe enough to talk,” I said.
Her shoulders stiffened as she lifted her head. Her eyes shifted to the left and the right. She took a deep breath and nodded. Adrian sat with his hands resting on his knees, studying her like an interesting specimen. Did he actually see anyone as human beings?
“All right,” she said. “I’ve been thinking of our conversation a lot in the past couple of days. I know you are aware things aren’t right. Nancy thinks you’re responsible, but she didn’t see what happened before you got here. She doesn’t work at the institution.”
“When did the trouble start?” I asked.
“He used to be a good guy, until his son was diagnosed with some neurological disease six months ago. I really felt bad for him.”
“Who are you talking about?” Tres asked.
“Dr. Navotny. He became obsessed with his new experimental drug.”
“So, the drug is his baby,” Adrian said.
“All to save his son.” Esais sighed.
Charlotte shook her head. “I don’t know. Patients are selected for an experimental run. I haven’t seen anyone return from the third floor.”
“Tell us more about this drug.” Adrian spoke up. “Has it been approved by the government?”
“He’s restricted information on it and access to the third floor.” She took a deep breath and met her gaze with Esais's. “I’m scared Nancy is going to be used.”
“Won’t you be able to have a say
in that?” Tres asked.
“Because we’re related, they won’t let me treat her.”
“I’ll go in,” Esais said.
“What?” Tres said.
“Why?” Adrian asked. “She’s not really our concern.”
I looked between the three of them to Charlotte’s look of relief and hope. I knew where this was going, but why did it have to be Esais? He’d be behind barred windows surrounded by madness and open to any traps Ose laid.
“We need someone to see what is happening there,” Esais said.
“And how are you the best to do that?” Adrian asked.
“I’m the oldest.” Esais met his gaze. “And because I can read minds.”
Adrian stiffened, his eyes narrowing.
“I can go instead," I thought to them.
“No, you’re the best we have for handling the demons we’ve seen.”
“And if you run into Ose?” Tres asked.
“I’m only a thought away.”
Charlotte moved her head between the stare down. “I can keep an eye on him.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Esais asked.
“Even if I did, I doubt it would be followed.” Adrian stood and walked out of the cafÉ.
Esais watched him go and shook his head. He turned back to Charlotte. “I guess I will check myself in tomorrow.”
“Are the two of you riding with Charlotte?” I asked, and they nodded. “Good, then I will catch a ride with your brother. Excuse me.”
Adrian had made it halfway down the block by the time I stepped out of the diner. I slipped off my broken heels and ran to catch up to him. He paused, watching me approach him.
“I can push the issue,” I said. “Make sure I go instead.”
“Why do you care?” he asked.
“I don’t want to see anything happen to him either.”
PANDORA Page 283
