Still of Night (Thorne Hill 4)

“You sure about that? Maybe just pull their teeth out.” He laughs. “That was a good one.”

“He deserved it.”

“Oh, he deserved much worse.” Lucifer drops his hand to his side. “Daemonium mori,” he says.

“What?”

“Daemonium mori,” he repeats. “You’re going to wake up soon, and I want to give you one last gift just as a gesture of goodwill. I’m not out to get you, Callie.” I let out a breath feeling the air press down on me more and more. He holds out his hand again. “Now let me help you wake up.”

I take his hand this time, and feel red-hot energy pulse through me. “I have a question.”

“Shoot, kid.”

“If you’re bound to Hell, how are you visiting me in my dreams?”

“I’m not visiting you. You’re visiting me.”

28

I wake with a start, gasping for air. I’m still in the basement of the barn, but have been moved into what looks like a crudely built hospital. I jerk up and realize I’m tied to a bed. I get a flashback to my days at the research lab, but I know now isn’t the time to freak out. I need to get out of here.

“Callie?”

I turn my head, squinting in the dim light.

“Danielle,” I breathe and realize there are several other people lying on gurneys right along with us. A few are moving. A few aren’t. I can tell by the smell that they’re dead. “Are you okay?”

“I…I don’t know. I can’t move.”

“None of us can,” someone else says.

My head is foggy and my right arm hurts something fierce.

“I’m going to get you out of here.”

“But…you’ve been drugged,” Danielle counter. “Like the rest of us.

I grit my teeth and push up on my elbows. “I fought off a hellhound after three vodka tonics and while wearing high heels. Trust me when I say I’m okay.”

I turn my head, telekinetically undo the buckles around my wrists. I sit up and undo the ones on my ankles. I stand and survey the area.

There are four people in here, very much alive. Two…I’m not sure.

“You’re going to be okay,” I promise and go over to Danielle. My phone isn’t in my bra anymore and my head is so foggy and my right arm hurts. I rub it, finding a little scab. Oh, son of a bitch. I’ve been injected with something.

Probably the same thing the others have been injected with, only it didn’t work on me. I’m not fully human. “Who took you?” I ask her.

“I don’t know. He calls himself The Doctor.”

“Real original,” I huff and go over to the guy next to her and undo his restraints as well. “Binx,” I whisper again. “Can you hear me?”

I scuffle over to the other people and undo all the restraints. “No one can move?”

“No…how can you?” Danielle asks, trying hard to turn her head. “I saw him inject you with whatever he put in us.”

“Maybe he didn’t give me as much. It doesn’t matter.” I look around the room. There’s only one door leading out, and it’s metal. I blink and see the inside of the research lab again.

Keep it together, Callie…

“Binx,” I call again, looking up. There has to be an air vent in here somewhere. He’ll be able to get in. “How long have you been here?” I ask and go to the door.

It’s sealed with magic and my head is too foggy right now to try and decipher the spell used to lock it.

“What day is it?” the guy asks, trying to curl his fingers in.

“Friday.”

“Three days.”

“Shit,” I mumble. “How often does The Doctor come in?”

“I don’t know,” Danielle cries. “He just…he just…”

“He fucking cut someone,” the guys says, voice cracking.

“Yeah, I can see that.” I lean against the door, letting my eyes fall shut. I just need a minute…I slide down to the floor and I jerk my head up, fighting against the drugs. Something familiar tugs against my heart.

“Binx!” I push up off the ground as his spirit shadows down from a crack in the foundation. He shifts into cat form and meows, trotting over. He rubs his head on me, giving me a boost of his energy. Freya and Pandora shadow down right after them.

“Oh thank goodness,” I sigh, giving myself a minute to collect myself. My familiars meow and rub against me, lending me just enough of their energy to get back to my feet.

“It’s sealed with magic,” I tell them. “I can try to blast through it, but if The Doctor is out there, he’ll know right way that we’re—”

Shit. Something moves outside the door. I look at my familiars, nod, and then hurry back to the gurney. I lie down and suck in my breath, holding it and trying not to move.

The metal door opens and a man in a black lab coat walks in, humming to himself. He’s holding a butcher knife in one hand and a syringe in another. He goes over to one of the people who weren’t moving.

“Not fresh,” he mutters, confirming my suspicions that they’re dead. He moves over to Danielle.

“Hey!” I shout and sit up. “Am I fresh enough for you?”

The Doctor whirls around, eyes glowing a dark yellow. He throws out his hand and I’m forced back against the bed. Binx jumps onto Danielle’s bed, hisses, and then shifts into shadow form, crushing The Doctor’s hand. The syringe falls to the ground and I sit up, eyes narrowed.

Binx jumps out of the way just in time, and I throw an energy ball at The Doctor. He tips his head up and absorbs the magic.

“Thanks for that.”

Oh shit.

I roll off the bed, shoving my hand forward and hitting him with a blast of telekinetic energy. He stumbles back and Freya lunges forward, knocking him to his feet. Pandora shadows over to me and helps me back to my feet.

I inhale sharply and don’t think. I lunge forward, hands landing on either side of The Doctor’s head.

“Daemonium mori!” I shout, having no idea what those two words Lucifer told me would do. It could break a seal for all I know, yet for some reason in that moment, I trust him.

Blue light glows under my fingers and The Doctor’s eyes start to burn from the inside out. I hold steady, watching the demon burn right out of this body.

The demon disappears into a puff of black smoke and the body collapses onto the ground.

Holy shit.

I just exorcised a demon. I’m feeling a little depleted and a lot shocked. Lucifer didn’t trick me. He…he helped me.

“Very nice,” someone says, clapping their hands.

Fuck. The Doctor wasn’t the high-level demon. I whirl around and see a woman standing in the doorway. She rushes forward and my familiars are forced back into cat form. They hiss at her, but are stuck, unable to fight.

“What are you?” She kneels down and puts her hands on both sides of her head. “That was…that was glorious.” She brings her head down to mine and presses her lips to my forehead.

“You smell wonderful.”

“Get off me, lady,” I say through gritted teeth. I summon the last bit of energy I have and hit her with an energy ball, right in the chest. She flies off of me, and I scramble forward. If there’s going to be a big showdown, we need to get away from these people so they don’t get caught in the crossfire.

I’m dragging, still pulled under by whatever The Doctor injected into me. I don’t have it in me to fight a high-level demon right now. I claw my way up the steps and fall onto the floor of the barn. Binx shadows along behind me and pulls me up the stairs leading out of the root cellar.

The demon is right there, appearing above me, totally unfazed by the energy ball.

“You,” she says and drops to her knees again. Whatever she’s doing pins my familiars to the ground. “You’re what I need! What I’ve been looking for.” She tears open my cheek with her nail and licks my blood.

“Yes! You are the key!”

“The key for what?” I say through clenched teeth.

“To asce

nd!” She stands and holds out her arms. “For too long, Hell has been ruled by a patriarchy. It’s time for a woman to take control, to show them how it’s supposed to be done.”

“Normally, I’d be all over the girl power.” I push myself up on my elbows and throw my hand out, hitting her with a blast of energy. It nudges her back, just a bit, but pisses her off a lot. She hits me hard on the side of my head.