Call of Night (Thorne Hill 3)

“Where are you going?”

“To find her sister,” he says. “Because it all makes sense now.”

“What does?” Eliza’s heels click against the tiled floor.

“The rats and the demon and now Callie’s symptoms. Remember the way that body smelled? So rancid you didn’t think it was human?”

“I’ll remember that smell forever.”

“I smelled blood like that before, but not since the 1300s.” He turns away. “Fuck! I didn’t see it until now.”

“What are you talking about, Lucas?”

“She has the plague, Eliza. The Black Plague.”

“People still get that?”

“Not this strand.” I can hear Lucas pacing around the room. “The hunter, Melinda, brought over police reports. All the bodies were found in a state of advanced decomposition but hadn’t been missing for more than a week. And whatever is making Callie sick is burning right through her, faster than it should.”

He comes over and wraps cool fingers around my wrist—the one that the demon scratched.

“Holy fuck,” Eliza exclaims. “What is that?”

“The demon scratched her, but instead of trying to hurt her, it was infecting her.”

“I’ll stay here, go get her sister,” Eliza tells Lucas. “They can treat her now that you know what she’s sick with, right?”

“No,” Lucas replies in a grave tone. “They can’t help her because what’s making her sick isn’t biological. It’s supernatural. I need her sister to sign her out of here. There’s a demon virus coursing through her veins and if it’s not vanquished, Callie will die.”

Chapter 30

Binx nuzzles his head against me, and I blink my eyes open. Two people are arguing in hushed voices at the foot of the bed. My vision is hazy and I can’t sit up even if I tried. I turn my head and realize I’m in the ICU instead of the ER. There’s a small window in my room, and it’s edging toward dawn. Lucas and Eliza won’t be able to stay here much longer.

Binx meows, getting someone’s attention.

“Callie.” Lucas rushes to my bedside and takes my hand and laces his fingers between mine. “You’re awake.”

“I am.” I try to push up and fail. Abby stands on the other side of the bed and raises the head of it up a little more. “What’s…what’s going on?”

“Lucas wants to check you out against medical advice,” Abby spits out, which must be what they’re arguing about. “You’re way too sick to go anywhere.”

Memories come back in flashes and I’m not sure what was real or not real. The piles of bodies ready to be burned? That didn’t happen.

Black veins stemming from the demon-scratch? I don’t know. I twist my wrist and look down.

That’s real.

The rats. The demon. The way the bodies were covered in thick, dark veins, just like the ones on my wrist.

Lucas is right.

I’ll die if I stay here.

“You should call Tabatha.” Lucas paces around the little room again. “Other than you, she’s the most powerful witch I know of, and we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

“I can’t call her,” I protest.

“I will for you.” Lucas picks up my phone from a bag of personal items the ER sent up with me.

“No.” I use my powers to take the phone from his hand and terrible pain ripples through me. It starts in the center of my chest and spreads, burning and stabbing and contracting all my muscles.

The monitors go crazy, beeping and blaring with warning. I cry out in pain and Abby and Lucas both come rushing over.

“What’s happening?” Lucas asks.

“I…I don’t know. It’s like her body’s going into shock!” Abby calls for the nurse but as suddenly as the pain came on, it goes away.

“It happened when she used magic,” Eliza whispers before the nurse runs in.

Lucas turns my wrist over, watching as the black travels up my veins. He covers it with his hand.

“I’m…I’m okay,” I pant, shaking from the pain. Tears well in my eyes and I rest my head back against the pillow. Abby tells the nurse to go get more ice packs just to get her out of the room.

“You can’t call Tabatha,” I breathe. “It’s too risky.”

“I don’t care about the Grand Coven,” Lucas counters. “And neither will she.” Lucas moves his hand and looks down at my arm.

“What is that?” Abby leans in. “That wasn’t there last time I saw you.”

“It’s the demon virus.” Lucas straightens up and looks at Abby. “It kills fast. If we don’t act now…” He casts his eyes down. “I’m not losing you, Callie.”

“You won’t,” I tell him, but I feel like I’m lying. I didn’t know it was possible to feel your body shutting down, but that’s exactly what’s happening right now as the virus courses through me.

“I thought you killed the demon.” Eliza crosses her arms tightly over her chest. Her hair is up in a fancy braid again, one so elaborate Daenerys Targaryen herself would be jealous. Her dress is pale pink with little flowers hand-stitched along the hem. She really is pretty.

“We did.” Lucas takes my hand again. “Unlike the rats, the virus isn’t linked with the demon.”

“Rats?” Abby echoes. “You’re talking about demon rats?”

“Don’t worry, they’re dead.”

The lights shine down on Eliza, who’s pacing back and forth now. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, it seems. “You look like a fairy princess.”

“Who are you talking about?” Lucas asks.

“Eliza. She’s so pretty. Like a fairy.”

Eliza stops pacing. “As much as I

like compliments of any kind, that has to be the fever talking.”

“The plague makes you delirious,” Abby explains. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. I mean, we’ve seen modern cases. It’s rare, but her symptoms do fit. It comes on suddenly too, not this sudden, but if it’s paired with a demon virus…medical school did not prepare me for this.”

“It prepared Sister Ross.” I reach for Binx, wanting to feel his sleek fur. “Actually, she might…she…” I start coughing again. My chest hurts and the pain radiates through my body.

“Take your time, my love.” Lucas smooths my hair back, taking the old ice packs off. “Who is Sister Ross? Could she help?”

Binx stands and jumps off the bed, shifting into shadow-form before he hits the floor. Abby has never seen him like that before, and I will say he’s quite terrifying. He moves like black mist through the air, taking on a human shape with red eyes that glow like coals in the dark. Abby jumps back and screams, but Lucas is faster and covers her mouth before anyone can hear her.

“Sister Ross is a witch-doctor, so to speak.” Binx’s voice is deep and raspy at the same time. It fills every inch of the room while being impossible to tell where it’s coming from.

“Where is she?” Lucas asks, letting Abby go.

“At the Academy.” Binx shadows over to the bed, hovering above me.

“Can you go get her?”

“I will not leave my master.” Binx turns into a cat again, right as the nurse walks in with more ice packs. She comes to a sudden halt, eyes wide. If only she’d come in a second sooner…

“Therapy cat,” Abby blurts. “It’s a therapy cat.”

“Oh, how, uh, nice.”

“I’ll take those.” Abby holds out her hand for the ice packs. “Thank you.” She ushers the nurse out and closes the door. “That’s what Binx really looks like?” Quickly shaking her head, she puts the ice packs around me. “Will she be able to help you?”

“She might,” I say.

“It’s worth a try then.” Lucas gets my phone. “Do you have her number?”