“I’m just tired.”
“And you stood up too fast.”
“Yeah.” I wave my hand in the air, trying to dismiss it. People get dizzy from losing too much blood, but it’s never bothered me before. “I’m fine. I need a drink, and then I’ll come to bed.”
He pulls me to my feet, makes sure I’m steady, and then walks with me to the hall. I go into the bathroom, use the toilet and clean myself up, and then get a drink from the bathroom sink.
“Sleep in tomorrow,” Lucas tells me when I get back in bed. We snuggle up together, and the exhaustion crashes down on me again. “It’s almost dawn now, and you’ve been on edge. It takes a lot out of you.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “Sleeping in does sound nice.” I run my fingers through Lucas’s thick hair. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Callie. Now sleep, my love.”My phone ringing at nine-thirty a.m. wakes me up. I slit my eyes open, hoping Lucas will reach over and silence the call. He’s not in bed with me, so I reach my arm out of the blanket and grab my phone. I don’t recognize the number and usually I don’t answer if I don’t know who’s calling, but with everything going on right now, this could be important.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Callie. It’s Ruby.”
“Oh, hey.”
“Evander filled us in on everything, and I’m just now leaving the hospital.”
“How are Carly and Maria doing?”
“Much better now that they’ve been given a health potion. They’ll be discharged later this afternoon. The Grand Coven wants to question them.”
“That’s good, right?”
“I think so. Once Evander alerted them about Ruth, they acted pretty fast. They were the ones who ruled her ‘not a danger’ and let her go with bound powers. But we all know binding natural powers won’t stop someone who understands magic.”
“Talk about egg on the face.”
“Exactly.”
I pull the blankets over my shoulder and try to muster up the willpower to get out of bed instead of going back to sleep once I’m done talking to Ruby.
“And that symbol…you said it was engraved above the door?”
“Yeah,” I say and roll over. My eyelids are heavy. Nope. There’s no way I’m getting out of bed.
“It’s a concealment sigil used in a voodoo ritual to hide from bad spirits. I’m guessing she tried her hand at voodoo before switching to necromancy and it didn’t work so well, which is probably why she’s so desperate to break you down until you give her the satanic hookup.”
“Desperate people are sloppy.”
“And dangerous,” Ruby counters. “Don’t do anything on your own.”
“I won’t be on my own. I’ll have Lucas.”
“Callie,” Ruby says slowly and lets out a breath. “I was talking to Evander, and he shares my concerns.”
“About Lucas?” I sit up, immediately offended.
“Yes. He’s technically dead. Necromancers can control the dead. Once Ruth realizes her curse didn’t work and he’s still alive, well, undead, she’s going to be pissed. And what’s worse than making you watch Lucas die? Making Lucas kill you.”Chapter 32“Fuck it.” I kick the blankets off and sit up. I’ve been lying in bed for the last half-hour, trying to go back to sleep but unable to keep Ruby’s words from echoing in my head.
Because she’s right.
Necromancers can control the dead. Lucas is dead. He died and came back thanks to dark magic, so he wouldn’t be as easy to control as a reanimated corpse, but if Ruth was able to get the juice to curse him in the first place…
“It’s not going to happen,” I tell my familiars, who are still lounging in bed with me. “He’d kill himself before he killed me.” It’s true, and I know it, and suddenly I’m even more scared.
I thought I lost him once. I can’t even imagine watching him plunge a stake through his heart in order to save me. Shoving that thought out of my head, I get dressed, wash my face, and brush my teeth. Then I go downstairs and find Lucas and Julian sitting together in the living room, watching TV. Scarlet is curled up in Julian’s lap, and he’s absentmindedly stroking her fur as he stares at the television screen in front of him.
A vampire, an angel, and a hellhound, sitting on the couch…I can’t. Like literally can’t. I come to a stop, stifling a laugh.
“You’re up.” Lucas looks away from the TV, smiling when our eyes meet. Fuck, I love him so much. “I thought you’d sleep in longer.”
“Ruby called,” I start and go into the living room. I sit on the couch between him and Julian. Scarlet gets up and wobbles over, tail wagging so hard she can hardly walk. “The Grand Coven is going to look into things.”
“Is that good?” Lucas asks, resting his hand on my thigh.
“I suppose. They’ve been slow to act for the last few years, but they’re the ones who let Ruth go. She was found innocent of practicing dark magic, and this proves otherwise. They’ll have put a plan in motion in order to avoid looking negligent.”