The Darkness Calls (The Transfigured Ones 1)

“Very well,” he said, addressing the doctor. He turned to face her and said, “Someone from the hotel will ensure that you get home safely.”

“But,” she asked. “What about my car?”

“It can be delivered to you. When do you work next?”

She blinked, trying to fight the fuzziness in her mind, and said, “Tomorrow afternoon.”

He shook his head and said, “We’ll reassign your shifts for the next two days. Take the time off.”

“Thank you,” Lilly said. She couldn’t imagine doing much of anything except laying under her blankets, if her head persisted in feeling like this.

“Keys,” he prompted.

She picked them up, then she winced as there was dried blood caked on the car key. She gingerly removed it from the ring and said, “Sorry. It may need a rinse. I managed to gouge him a couple of times.”

His eyes widened incredulously for a moment before he reached out and took the key from her. He didn’t seem to have an aversion to the bloody key. It was, she supposed, his meal of choice. A slow smile, a genuine one, pulled across his face. He said, “Yes, Miss Ferguson, I do admire your spirit.”

Despite the throbbing in her head, she felt a distinct shift in the energy of the room. Before she could say anything, he continued, “When you’re ready, there will be a car out front.”

“Thank you,” she said automatically.

“You’re most welcome,” he said, and then he took his leave. As his voice faded away, she could hear him arranging the car for her.

When she focused back in on the people around her, she noticed they were all looking at her strangely. The security guard said, “That’s the most I’ve heard him say, and I’ve been here for five years.”

The doctor nodded as he packed up his things and said, “He was rather chatty.”

After a few last-minute instructions for her, he took his leave.

Lilly gathered her somewhat tattered purse and said, “Thank you, again,” to the security guard. “If you hadn’t come along...”

“You would have stabbed him a few more times with your keys, and he would have run off,” the guard finished her sentence, smiling.

For the first time since the attack, she grinned. She had been kind of a bad ass, hadn’t she?

By the time she made it out front, after being waylaid by several of her coworkers on break, the doorman was waiting.

“Miss Ferguson?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said.

He gestured toward the limousine that was idling in the entryway and said, “Your ride awaits.”

“Seriously?” she asked.

A moment later, the driver popped out of the car and circled around to open the door to the backseat.

Cautiously, she slid into the back. He had sent her home in a limo? She reached into her purse and texted her roommate Marissa the moment the driver shut the door.

Fingers flying over the virtual keyboard, she said, “Holy shit, I’m in a limo right now.”

When the driver slid into the front seat, he asked, “Where can I take you, Miss?”

She quickly rattled off her address and then slumped back against the cool leather seat. Her head was pounding. There were two aspirin and about twelve hours of sleep headed her way. Luckily, she didn’t have any classes tomorrow.

Her phone lay next to her on the seat, buzzing with incoming texts. She was sure Marissa was asking a million questions, but it just felt so damned good to close her eyes. Lilly promised herself she’d only drift for a minute.

She was jarred awake when the car shut off. She blinked and began to gather her things when she realized they had arrived. As she reached for the door handle, the driver opened the door from the outside.