Of Shadows and Ash

by Dana Marie Bell

  Both living and dead, Parker proved vampires could be a conduit for spirits if their bond with that spirit was both willing and strong.

  Greg took that power and lanced the boil that was the entity, separating Brian from the demon. Its claws raked through Brian’s shoulders, making the medium scream in agony before collapsing against the table, unconscious.

  The entity snarled at Greg. “You’ll pay for that, ghost.”

  Not if Selena could help it. She concentrated with all her might, desperate to save her friends.

  The entity reached for Greg, only to encounter Selena’s barrier. Sparks flew from its claws, causing it to screech in unearthly agony. Amara, who had no real sense for spirits, winced as the sound shivered through them all. It dissipated, leaving behind nothing but a foul odor that had all of them, except Brian and Greg, wrinkling their noses.

  “Can we break fucking hands now so I can check on my Renfield?” Parker’s eyes were blood red—the hunting eyes of a pissed off vampire.

  Gideon released his grip on Selena and Dragos and stood. “Quickly, before he bleeds out.”

  Parker was fast, much faster than any but Dragos. He had Brian up and on top of the table before she could blink. “Fuck, they’re deep.”

  “Do we need to call an ambulance?” Greg hovered over Brian, the energy he’s shared with Amara and Parker making his form visible to all present.

  “If I have to I’ll bloody change him.” Parker stared at Greg, the red haze still filling his eyes. “You won’t lose him, I swear it.” Greg shivered, but held still while Parker carefully removed Brian’s shirt. “It’s deeper on the right.” Parker sniffed. “I think we do need to get him to the hospital. I’m worried there might be bone or tendon damage, but I can’t tell.” He sniffed again. “I don’t think it hit an artery.”

  “Selena?” Dragos looked to her, obviously hoping she’d be able to fix what was wrong with Brian.

  She shook her head. “My powers are dysfunctional. I wouldn’t trust me to heal a paper cut.”

  “Your markings started out bright, but they darkened to black again.” Mina was staring at her with concern. “It was like everything was the way it used to be at first, but then something happened.”

  “It was the demon.” Greg didn’t once take his eyes off of Brian. “Brian wasn’t the real target. Selena was. If it can corrupt her, it has a toehold in Maggie’s Grove we’ll never get rid of. It used her worry over him to corrupt her again.”

  “How?” Ash sounded royally pissed.

  “The shield she threw up to protect me.” Greg shot Ash an apologetic glance. “It struck at her through her own energy.”

  Greer was singing softly to Brian, his hands hovering over the wounds as Parker and Greg carefully watched over him. Mollie was on the phone, speaking with the hospital and explaining the situation. Luckily the local hospital was used to dealing with their unusual nature. Mollie didn’t have to try and hide what had really happened to Brian, and healers would be waiting for him as soon as he showed up, ready to not only stitch his wound but clear his psychic energy of the demon taint.

  “He said that he was the gateway, the way in.” Gideon was staring at where the demon had stood. “How?”

  “He’s using his link to Selena to weaken the defenses around Maggie’s Grove.” Greg grimaced. “I’m not sure how, and I’m not quite sure how he got that link in the first place, but I can tell you they are connected.”

  “But her powers looked clean when they first went off.” Mina held a dishtowel to Brian’s left shoulder, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

  “And after the demon arrived, they started to darken.” Ash put his arm around Selena. “The séance did more harm than good.”

  “What do you mean?” Selena was afraid she already knew the answer, but it had to be said.

  “I think your bond with my ash broke the hold the demon had over you.” Ash’s arm tightened around her. “By doing the séance, he was able to reestablish it.”

  “It used Brian’s gift as a conduit.” Selena wanted to cry. Brian had been harmed because of her. “He held on to Brian long enough to take hold of my powers again.”

  “And he’ll use you the same way Greg used Parker. You’re in both worlds, Selena, just like a vampire.” Gideon stared at her, his gaze filled with regret. “I’m not sure how we’re going to fix this.”

  “Bind me.” Selena held up her hand when Gideon went to protest. “Bind my powers until we can get him out of me. It will buy us some time.”

  “You’re wrong. I got a feel for what it wants while we battled, Selena. Binding your powers is exactly what it wants. Doing so will leave you completely vulnerable to its influence.”

  Ash’s arm tightened to the point of pain. “No. She’s never completely vulnerable. Not while she has us.”

  The sound of sirens outside her house ended the conversation. It took the EMTs moments to have Brian strapped to a gurney and out the door. Selena leaned into Ash. “We can argue about this later. Let’s go, guys. Brian needs us.”

  “Thank you.” Greg smiled wearily. His image blurred, the power he’d used to fight the demon slowly draining away.

  It was a solemn group that trooped out the door and headed for the hospital. Nothing was worth the injury Brian had sustained, and Selena was determined that it wouldn’t be in vain.

  The demon would pay for messing with her family.

  * * *

  “Whatever you’re thinking, knock it off.” Ash watched as Selena, startled, turned toward him looking surprised. They were still in the waiting room, hoping to hear word on Brian’s condition.

  The doctors and healers had been forced to rush Brian into surgery. The damage was more extensive than they’d first thought, and one of the doctors was concerned there might be permanent damage to Brian’s right arm. A tendon had been severed, and they feared there might be nerve damage.

  Greg had been inconsolable, refusing to leave his husband’s side. As a ghost, he could accompany the doctors into the operating room, sending loving thoughts toward his unconscious mate. Ash hoped it worked. Both Greg and Brian deserved all the help the town could offer them. Greg had made a place in the people’s hearts, and Brian was a home-town boy who made friends wherever he went.

  “What makes you think I’m up to something?” Selena smiled sweetly.

  Ash wasn’t fooled. “I know you, better than you think I do.” Ash pulled her aside, unwilling to fight with his mate in front of everyone. “You’re planning something.”

  “The demon is using me to get inside the town’s defenses, and I don’t know how.” Selena groaned. “We really need to figure out what the stuff I was injected with was.”

  “Have the blood test results come back yet?” Ash had meant to ask, but had forgotten in the need to deal with the shadow man.

  “No, not yet. Why?”

  “If it the chemical cocktail you were given has something to do with the demon, could any of the victims be a conduit?”

  She shrugged, but her concerned expression didn’t reassure him. “I don’t know, but I get the feeling we’ll be dealing with the ramifications of what the Van Helsings did to us for a long time to come.” She patted his chest. “You know, if Gideon binds my powers the demon won’t have access to them.”

  “Neither will you.” Ash wasn’t thrilled with the idea of his little witch left powerless to defend herself.

  “It would be temporary, I promise. It might even kick the entity out of me.” She leaned against him, her expression weary, her tone so soft he could barely hear her. “This whole thing sucks donkey balls, but it’s the best solution I can think of other than binding the creature away in a dybbuk box. If we can’t find it, we can’t bind it. And perhaps, if we bind me, it will draw it out of hiding.”

  He snorted, amused. “All right. I don’t like it, but I’ll think about it. First, explain how they’ll bind you.”

  “It’s a fairly simple ritual designed to keep a witch
from accessing their powers. It doesn’t break the bond between the witch and the earth, it merely puts up a wall between them. It leaves the witch essentially human for the duration of the spell.”

  That didn’t make him feel any better. “What can break a binding?”

  “The witch who cast it, or a more powerful force shattering the wall.” Selena grimaced. “It’s my hope that the demon hasn’t gathered enough strength to shatter a binding Gideon establishes, but just to be safe, I’ll suggest he have the entire coven perform it with him.”

  “But that means if one of the witches who bound you dies you might be forever cut off from your powers.”

  She frowned, as if that hadn’t occurred to her, then shrugged fatalistically. “It’s a chance we need to take. We can’t allow a demon to subvert our defenses. If they go down, we’re vulnerable, and not just to the Van Helsings. There are a lot of people out there who would love to move into our territory and take it over. Look at what happened when Laurentiu brought the dragon clutch here. If he’d beaten Vasile, Dragos would be dead and Laurentiu’d be ruling us now.”

  He really wanted to grumble, but she was right. If the demon did manage to gain enough power, it could shatter the wards around the town. “Could my ash break the hold the demon has on you again?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not certain it did. I think the bond I made with your ash drove the demon partly out, but not all the way. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been able to reestablish a hold over me so easily.” Selena sighed again. “I’m the weak link. I need to be strengthened or taken out of the game.”

  “I would rather strengthen you.” Taken out of the game sounded far too final for his liking.

  “Me too. But this isn’t just about me.”

  He could tell she’d made her decision.

  Mina was cuddling with Dragos, looking worn. Dragos was speaking softly with Parker, keeping the younger vampire calm.

  Amara was holding tightly to Parker’s hand, her gaze glued to his face, worrying over her mate the way Ash did Selena. Mollie was keeping an eye on Greer without trying to be obvious about it, while Greer paced, pointedly ignoring Mollie.

  And Gideon was watching Selena with an expression that immediately set Ash’s teeth on edge. It was cold and calculating, and Ash wanted to wipe it from the man’s face. It was a look he’d seen on Gideon’s face before, as if he was sizing up a potential enemy rather than worrying over a friend.

  “Will it hurt you to have your powers bound?”

  Selena stilled. He hadn’t realized she’d been nuzzling against him, seeking comfort like a kitten, until it stopped. “Not at first.”

  “Then we need to find another way.” He put his finger against her lips. “I won’t have you hurt, Selena. We’ve been over this.”

  “If there’s no other way to keep everyone safe, then I suffer, end of discussion.” Now it was her turn to put her finger on his lips. “Please, Ash. I need you to trust me on this.”

  “Then I need you to trust me as well. I’m going to be part of this binding ceremony of yours, and I’m going to help pick the witches who perform it.”

  “It will be stronger if the entire coven is involved.”

  He shook his head. “No. I won’t risk another Kate. Gideon and I will pick the witches, and you’ll abide by our decision or I’ll figure out a way to lock you in the Throne until I know for sure the demon is gone.”

  She glared at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “If it meant keeping you safe?” He leaned down until they were nose to nose. “Fuck. Yes.” They stared at one another, Ash willing his mate to back down. Stubborn as she was, it might take the rest of the day. “Compromise with me, little witch. Find a middle ground.” He wasn’t above using her compassion against her. “Because what hurts you also hurts me.”

  She sagged again, the anger draining away. “Fine. As soon as we know anything about Brian we’ll head to the labs ourselves.”

  He nodded. “Agreed. They’ve taken long enough to piss me off. And if you do need to be bound, Gideon and I pick witches we both trust.”

  “Agreed.”

  They both turned as Brian’s surgeon stepped into the waiting room. Ash could see Greg’s outline behind the doctor, the formless ghost becoming distinct for a brief second. “He’s out of surgery and in recovery.” The doctor shivered as Greg floated past him, the chill touch of the ghost showing Greg’s agitation. “We’re sure that there is some nerve damage to his right arm, but we won’t know the full extent of it until we can get him to move it. Also, we were forced to shorten one of the tendons, which means he’ll never recover full use of the arm. However, with time and therapy, we believe he’ll recover most of his mobility.” The doctor adjusted his glasses. “The risk now is infection. Considering the cause of the wounds, and Mr. Cunningham-West’s unique abilities, we’ve got a witch on staff that is going to double-check him on a regular basis.”

  “Is he awake? Can we talk to him?” Parker’s anxious tone matched his expression. “He’s my Renfield.”

  “You can see him once he wakes up, but I should warn you he might not be lucid. He’s going to be dealing with the aftermath of both the forced communion with the demon and the drugs we’ve had to pump into him in order to perform the surgery.”

  “Will there be any lasting effects from the demon’s touch? Any spiritual infections or weird diseases?” Amara put her arm around Parker’s waist.

  “He’s a medium, so he has some natural resistances the rest of us don’t.” The doctor’s gaze cut toward Selena, alarming Ash. “And the contact was not prolonged. I believe that, while he’ll have some side effects, they’ll be temporary at best.”

  “Thank fuck.” Parker sagged with relief.

  “Let us know when he wakes, doctor.” Dragos held out his hand. “And thank you.”

  “I’m just glad the damage wasn’t more severe, mayor. Brian has proven himself a friend of the town. We’ll do everything we can to ensure he recovers as fully as possible.”

  The doctor left, leaving a relieved group of people behind him. “Dragos, Parker, you’ll need to head out soon.” Ash could feel the warm touch of the sun. “It’s dawn.”

  “Bloody hell.” Parker turned toward Amara. “Stay here?”

  “Of course.” She kissed her mate good-bye, watching him as he strode out of the hospital.

  “I’ll see you at home, dragostea mea.” Dragos kissed Mina and followed after Parker.

  Mina leaned wearily against Ash. “You’re heading back to Selena’s place?”

  Ash nodded. “There are a few things I want to check out before I take my mate home.” Like the damn fucking bloodwork.

  “All right. We’ll meet back at the Throne.” Mina took hold of his hand. “Be careful. That house felt...off.”

  Everything about this felt fucking off, but he understood why Mina said it. They watched out for each other. “I will.”

  “So will I.” Selena nodded with a determined air. “I’ll make sure Ash returns to you in one piece.”

  Mina smiled. “Thanks.”

  They headed deeper into the hospital, using Selena’s clout and Ash’s position as one of the ruling dryads to make their way to the lab. A few minutes of fast talking on Selena’s part—and some snarling on Ash’s—and they were in the lab itself.

  Two of the techs glanced over their shoulders, both of them staring wide-eyed at Selena.

  “Hello, boys.” Selena glided forward, her hands on her hips.

  One of them gulped. “Ma’am.”

  Ah. They were witches, intimidated by the witch doctor.

  “Who’s in charge?”

  The other one pointed toward a door that had Dr. Tyrone Douglas, Clinical Pathologist stenciled on the glass.

  Ash stomped over to the door and opened it without bothering to knock.

  “Come in, Ashton, Selena. I’ve been expecting you.” A dark-haired man with bronze skin and silver glasses sat at a table, his eyes glued
to something on his computer screen. “I’ve been wondering when you’d stop by.”

  Selena and Ash exchanged a confused glance before accepting the doctor’s invitation. “Dr. Douglas?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” The man clicked something on the screen and scowled. “The test results aren’t complete, but I can give you some answers.”

  “Why aren’t they?” Ash crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. “It’s been weeks.”

  Dr. Douglas finally lifted his eyes off the screen and returned Ash’s scowl. “We’re human, Mr. Ward, much like yourself. We get exhausted, we pass out, we get low blood sugar. I’ve already lost one tech from overwork. I’m not going to kill my people for anyone, even Ms. Giannone.”

  Ash took a deep breath and tried to get his anger back under control. He could understand where the doctor was coming from, but this was Ash’s mate. “Has anyone told you what’s been happening to her?”

  Dr. Douglas closed his eyes, and for a moment the weariness he’d spoken of was clearly written all over his face. “Yes. In fact, it’s why I hesitated to call earlier.”

  Selena swayed, her face pale. “Am I contagious?”

  “The bacteria from the claw marks were, but with Greer healing the wounds you should be fine. The singer is extremely powerful when it comes to healing, I understand. In fact, I’ve already placed a call to—” he checked a note on his desk, “—Brian Cunningham-West’s surgeon to give him the appropriate antibiotics to stave off infection.”

  Selena breathed out a sigh of relief. “Then lay it on me, doc.”

  “We need to know what she’s dealing with.” Ash led her to the only other seat in the room and put her in it. She was still too pale for his liking.

  “Your blood is infected with a spectral...parasite.”

  “You don’t sound too sure of that one, doc.” Selena’s lips quirked up into a wry smile.

  “Because I’m not sure exactly how to describe it.” He turned his screen around so they could see what he was looking at.