I suck in a shaky breath. The headache is getting worse and I’m feeling so drained and depleted. Seeing Lucas get shot, even though I know he’s a vampire, shook me.
“You took a bullet for me.”
“I’d take a hundred for you.”
I clench my jaw and flatten my hand over the wound in his chest, wanting to stop the bleeding. The wounds won’t heal until the bullets are out, and while his body will heal itself and push them out, I can get them out a lot faster.
“Brace yourself,” I tell him and telekinetically pull the bullet from his chest. Lucas lets out a grunt, body tensing. The bullet went through his sternum and I have to pull it back out the way it came. I look away, hoping I don’t pass out or throw up. Finally, the first bullet clatters to the ground. The second comes out smoother, not having to be removed through bone.
He will be fine, just like he said. He’s already healing, and it doesn’t seem like it hurts that much. Either that or Lucas is really good at keeping a poker face.
Easton and the gunman watch us, and it’s obvious from the look on their faces they’ve never seen anything like this before. Even in the life of a hunter, watching someone telekinetically pull bullets out of a vampire’s chest isn’t something you see every day.
I hope I never have to do this again.
“What do you mean, he took a bullet for you?” Easton asks, eyes flitting from me to the gunman.
“He shot at us,” I say. “We were just walking down the deck after killing the demon you couldn’t.”
“I thought they were demons,” the other hunter spits out. “This place has been crawling with demonic energy for the last few days. And after seeing that…that thing by the gate I didn’t think it was possible for humans to still be alive in here.”
“You’re lucky it was just us.” I turn away from Lucas to stare daggers at Mr. Shoot First, Aim Later. “Demons occupying the place or not, innocent humans could have been here.”
The hunter messed up, and he knows it. He was freaked out and let his emotions get the best of him. He cradles his wrist to his chest and gives Easton a dubious look.
“So, what they say is true. You are friends with a witch and a vampire.”
“We’re not friends,” Easton and I say at the same time.
“Kill the fuckers!” the gunman shouts and Binx growls. Sitting by my feet and swishing his tail, he drops his shield a bit and lets his eyes glow red in the dark. The gunman stiffens. Most hunters have been taught that witches are the evil villains fairy tales paint us out to be.
We’re killers. Evil. Will eat your babies and kill your pets.
It’s so far from the truth it’s comical.
“What the hell are you waiting for? That fanger broke my wrist.”
Lucas speeds forward, fingers wrapping around the gunman’s throat again. “You’re lucky that’s all I did. You tried to kill the woman I love. I’d do the same to you, but that death would be too quick.”
“Get control of your attack dog.” Easton pulls out a knife. The tip of the blade has been dipped in a special kind of holy oil, working almost as well as my enchanted dagger. Almost.
“Guys!” I yell and Binx shifts back into shadow form, circling around Easton again. Lucas snarls at the gunman, fangs up in his face, and shoves him hard against the side of the building. I bring my hand to my head, rubbing my temple. The headache is back, and I can hear my own heart beating in my ears. “This isn’t going to solve anything! Lucas, Binx, and I would kick your ass before you knew what was happening, so save it, okay? We all came here with the same intention of killed that rat-bastard of a demon and it seems like he’s gone. It’s over. So let’s go home, okay?”
Begrudgingly, Lucas lets go of the gunman. Binx comes back to my side, taking the form of a pretty black cat. Easton doesn’t lower the knife. Letting out an annoyed sigh, I pull the wallet from my pocket. “If Arnold Keller was a friend, I’m sorry. The demon possessed him. He was gone before we got there.”
Easton takes the wallet and flips it open, looking at the ID. “It’s the missing hunter.”
“How long has he been missing?” My throat feels thick when I swallow and I’m starting to get really dizzy. I guess seeing Lucas shot and bloody is catching up with me after all.
“Two days.”
“The body looks farther gone than two days, didn’t it?” I ask Lucas.
“Yes, it was deteriorated enough to have been dead for a week.”
“I saw Arnie the morning he went missing,” the gunman tells Easton. “What the hell did they do to him?”
“We did nothing,” Lucas presses, sounding annoyed with the hunter. “Your friend was possessed by a demon. That can speed up the rate of decay. Human bodies can’t handle demonic possession for long.”
“Once the body is dead, the rate of decomposition can be accelerated,” Easton says. “We’ve seen it before.” His eyes go to me again, and I can tell he’s torn. If I wasn’t feeling so sick right now, I might feel sorry for him. Being a human born into the life of demon hunting isn’t easy. It’s isolating and lonely and dangerous. Going after things with powers when you don’t have any yourself is just stupid too, if you ask me.
The group hunters run with are their family, and often their real families have been picked off by demons over the years. Easton’s group of hunter buddies is like what the coven is to me. They can stop running with him and Melinda, refuse to help them or give them places to stay while traveling around on hunting trips.
Letting a witch walk free is an offense big enough to make that happen. Letting a witch and a vampire walk…they’d never talk to him again. But he’d be alive, not sentenced to death. That is one thing witches could learn from hunters. They value human life above anything…though then again, they don’t consider witches to be humans.
“He’s in there if you want to get the body. I’m sorry for your loss,” I add, manners coming through even now. “Now, I want to go home. If either of you try anything as we walk away, so help me God, I will curse you both.”
“We can’t let them—” the gunman starts.
“We can,” Easton interrupts. “These are the two that saved Melinda. I owe them that at least, and then our debt is paid. If I see them again, I’ll kill them.”
The hunter with the broken wrist isn’t satisfied with Easton’s response, but he knows he’s seriously out-powered here.
“You should probably burn all the dead rats,” I add, taking Lucas’s hand. “Just to be safe.” I flick my fingers and slide the gun back over to Easton, trying to show a gesture of goodwill. He won’t shoot me, and he knows shooting Lucas will only result in pissing us all off.
The deck leads down a rickety set of stairs and then continues along the water, turning into a dock. One rusty boat is tied up at it, and the smell of human feces and pee is strong coming off the water. I suppose living in there would beat being homeless, though the boat doesn’t look occupied right now.
I blink, looking back at the dark water. And then I see him. The outline of the man with the blue eyes. He’s standing in the boat and is gone the second I see him.
“Hang on.” I pull my hand from Lucas’s and hold up my finger, signaling for him to stay put. I tiptoe down the dock. “I saw you,” I whisper into the dark. “Twice. Who are you?”
“Callie, what are you doing?” Lucas calls from the deck, taking a few steps down the dock. The old wooden boards groan in protest under his weight.
“I thought I…” I trail off, dizziness crashing down on me like a heavy fist. I step back and the boards crack under my feet. I throw out my hands, and I swear I feel feathers brush against my finger.
But it doesn’t matter, because I stumble back and fall into the dark water.
Chapter 27
“You can’t leave well enough alone, can you?” Lucas sits on the deck, holding me in his lap. He was there the second after I plunged into Lake Michigan, pulling me from the water and back onto dry land.
“It’s one of my many faults.” I shiver. “Why is the water always so fucking cold?”
Lucas brushes my hair back, and Binx meows, gently pawing me. “What did you see out there?”
“The man with the blue eyes.”
“The one you said saved you from the demon in the woods?”
“No, that’s the Blue-Eyed Man. This guy isn’t as…as ethereal looking. He’s more like a regular man but has blue eyes.”
“Did you hit your head?” Lucas runs his hand over my head.
“No, I’m fine.” I push out of his arms and stand. The dizziness is back, and Lucas steadies me.
“I’m taking you home.”
I want to protest and go back out onto the dock, demanding the man with blue eyes come out and face me. Why lurk around like a creep? If he wants to attack me, then do it already.
Lucas picks me up and races over the grounds, not stopping until we’re by his car. I get in the passenger side and Binx jumps up on my lap. The headache is getting worse and all I want to do is sleep.
“Do you want me to get you food?” Lucas asks, turning the heat on instead of the air conditioning. I’m so, so cold, and I have a feeling it’s not from the plunge into the cool water.
“I’ll find something at your house, but thanks.”
Lucas rests one hand on my thigh. “We’re taking that vacation, I promise.”
“Can we leave in the morning?”
He laughs. “If that’s what you want.”