“What’s wrong with you?” Eliza asks, standing back. She’s still holding the little potion vial, and Pandora is sitting on the nightstand next to me, swishing her tail.
“Nothing.” My teeth chatter as I sit up. “Side effect of a deep sleeping spell. This happens when I’m astral projecting too long, too.”
“Did you get the answers to…to whatever the fuck you were asking?”
“Yes. We don’t need another vampire. Just something undead. Which is easy.”
“Easy? The last time you raised the dead, I wouldn’t exactly call it easy.”
“Resurrecting a human is complicated and difficult. But an animal…it won’t take long at all.” I look at Pandora, mentally asking her to take the others out into the woods to go hunting. “Don’t eat it,” I remind her, and she shadows out of the room.
Still shivering, I head into my room, wanting to get under the electric blanket with Lucas.
What the hell else is in me? Hellfire and…is heaven-fire a thing? Anger starts to rise inside me, not at Lucifer, but at my father for leaving me with so many unanswered questions. If he’d just sit down with me for half an hour…
“Julian,” I say, pausing in the doorway. “Please. I need to talk to you.”
“Is something wrong?” Eliza asks. “Why are you calling for that angel?”
I just shake my head. “He’d be a big help. That’s all.” I shuffle forward. “I…I need to warm up.” I blink back tears and hurry into the room, climbing under the covers. Lucas wraps his arms around me in his sleep, and I carefully snuggle up close to him, feeling instantly comforted.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell him. “I know how to save you.”
Lucas’s chest rises and falls. He told me he “breathes” out of habit. A lot of vampires still do. It’s something you don’t think about. But when he’s asleep, he never breathes.
I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing there’s no way I’ll be able to fall asleep. I lie there for a while, anxiety building with each passing minute.
“Callie,” Lucas grumbles. “You’re tense, and your heart is racing.”
“You can still hear it?”
“Yes.” He wipes a tear off my cheek. “And I can still see in the dark.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Kind of shitty,” he admits. “And you?”
“Oh, I’m peachy.”
He laughs and inches closer, kissing me. “You really should get some rest.”
“Napping always makes me feel foggy.” I run my fingers through his thick hair. “I want to check and see how things are going downstairs.”
“Stay with me,” he urges and slips his hand around my waist. “Rest, my love.”
I carefully hook my leg over his, and he rubs my back until I fall asleep.I wake with a start, unable to remember my dream in detail but knowing it was bad.
“Callie?” Lucas’s hand lands on my arm. “You had a nightmare.”
I conjure a string of magic, blinking to adjust my eyes. Lucas is sitting up, reading in the dark. “How long was I asleep for?”
“Half an hour.”
“That’s a good enough nap.” I swing my feet over the bed, cold now that I’m out of the heated blanket. “I’m going to warm up some blood for you.”
“Can you…can you water it down?”
My stomach clenches. “Yes.” I kiss him and then hurry downstairs, finding everyone in the dining room.
“Callie,” Nicole says, looking up from a book. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be taking a nap.”
“I can’t sleep.” I rub my forehead. “And I was thinking…Lucas is undead. So we need something undead.”
“Like a vampire?” Nicole asks.
“I don’t think it needs to be a vampire.” I take a seat next to Nicole and grab her wine, taking a big sip. “Just something undead.”
“Something?” Evander asks, narrowing his eyes.
“Yes, and I’ve already sent my familiars into the woods.”
“I thought we were waiting until the morning,” Naomi says.
I close my eyes, lips parting, and need a moment before I can speak. “I don’t think Lucas can last that long. He’s…breathing, and his wound was bleeding again. I’m doing the spell tonight.” I look at my friends. “If you don’t want to, I understand, and I won’t be upset about it. But I can’t lose Lucas. And I know if the roles were reversed, he’d do the same for me. Hell, he’s already risked his life enough for me.”
“He has,” Naomi says gently and puts her hand on mine. “And I’m not missing out on a chance to do this kind of crazy spell.” She smiles.
“Me, neither.” Nicole passes her wine to me.
Evander looks at Felix and grins. “You know we’re in.”
“Are you sure you should?” I ask him. “You’re the assistant headmaster to Grim Gate Academy.”
“When you say it like that, I sound rather dull,” Evander quips. “It’s been a while since we’ve raised hell together, sister.”
“Yeah, like a few weeks,” I say back, blinking away the tears that are stinging in the corners of my eyes.