Blood of night, p.3
Blood of Night, page 3
“Fuck,” I grumble and lean forward, head in my hands. I have so many damn questions and need to focus my attention on one thing.
“Maybe we should take a break,” Kristy suggests and looks at her watch.
“It hasn’t been that long,” I counter, not wanting to leave without a solution. Because we have to find something I can work with.
“Really?” Nicole raises her eyebrows and eyes my chest. I reach up and feel my breasts, which are engorged.
“Dammit. Fine. Lunch for us and Juliet and then we’ll come back to it.”
My friends exchange looks, no one wanting to say that this isn’t worth the effort. We didn’t find anything helpful the first time we looked through the books, and we’re not going to find anything helpful now.
“Okay,” Kristy says, forcing a smile on her face. “Let’s get lunch.”
We close all the books and put them away. I stop by Tabatha’s office on the way to get food. She’s sitting on the couch holding Juliet, and three other professors are all gushing over her. My heart swells when I see her, propped up in Tabatha’s arms, curiously looking around.
“Perfect timing,” Tabatha tells me, smiling as she stands. “She had a nice nap, and I just changed her diaper.”
I take my baby and sit where Tabatha had been. Juliet immediately turns her head in, wanting to nurse. I’ve never been particularly shy, but I wasn’t sure how I would feel about breastfeeding in front of others without covering myself up. When I suggested a nursing cover, Lucas looked at me like I was crazy.
“Why cover up our child when you are doing what your body was meant to do?”
His words echo in my head and I have to work hard not to let my eyes fill with tears. He’s given me so much I never thought about before. His love is obvious, of course, and I never stopped to realize how much confidence he’s instilled in me without even meaning to.
I don’t want to do this without him. I don’t want to raise our daughter with only photos and memories of her father. Paimon won the battle, but he’s not winning the fucking war.
I’m getting Lucas back, and if anyone gets in my way, blood will spill.
Chapter
Five
“He’s not coming back,” I say, looking out the window. We’re in Evander’s office and the sun is starting to set. I just want to go home. “When Lucifer leaves, he’s gone for a while.”
“There could be archangels waiting for you. You did use a lot of power,” Kristy reminds everyone. “Maybe stay one more day.”
“We don’t even know for sure if I’m fully hidden here,” I counter, looking at Nicole, Naomi, and Evander’s faces.
“We don’t,” Evander agrees. “But you can’t say it’s not safer here.”
“Lucifer just popped in,” I go on, probably not helping my case. “He didn’t have to open the door or anything. The others can do the same.”
“They’d have to find you first,” Nicole tries. “I agree with Kristy. One more day. And if Lucifer doesn’t come back and give the all-clear, then…I don’t know. Let us try to seek out their power.”
“One more day here is one more day Lucas is down there,” I add pointedly.
“Is that necessarily a bad thing?” Naomi says and holds out her hand. “I know, I know. But think about it, Callie. The Horsemen are in the Underworld. Locked up and not terrorizing earth. Someone had to say it, and I’m prepared for you to be mad at me all you want, but think, Cal.” Her brows push together, and she slowly shakes her head. “I don’t want Lucas gone and I don’t want to see you hurting. But he knew what he was doing when he got onto that horse. The Horsemen are out of the game. Maybe now we can refocus on Paimon. Lucas knew that, Callie.”
“And he also knew that I would come get him,” I hiss, not believing she has the gall to actually say this to me. “There is nothing good about Lucas being a fucking Horseman!”
“I know,” Evander agrees, nodding as he looks at Naomi. “But she has a point. We’d been killing ourselves trying to find a way to lock the Horsemen back up and Julian came up with a solution.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be Lucas. And it won’t be.” I suck in a shaky breath. If I hadn’t knocked Famine off the horse, none of this would have happened. I ignored my gut feeling and am paying for it now. “I’m getting him back, and I don’t care what I have to do.”
Everyone exchanges worried looks and I know they think I’m close to going off the deep end. And this time, they might be right. But I refuse to live in a world without Lucas when there’s something I can do about it.
And I refuse to believe that Naomi has a point.
Not about leaving Lucas in the Underworld as a Horseman, but about using this time to come up with another plan and finally taking down Paimon. Julian making a deal with the God of the Underworld is the last thing Paimon would expect.
Unless he joins forces with Osiris.
But does Osiris want to burn the world? Maybe he wants out of his hell like Lucifer does. I blink and remember the images Paimon showed me of how the world would look if the Horsemen brought the apocalypse. Lucas didn’t want to raise his daughter in a world like that, and deep down, I know Naomi is right. Lucas knew exactly what he was doing when he got on that stupid horse and now I want to go to the Underworld so I can slap him for being such a stupid noble hero.
“Callie?” Kristy says in such a way I know it wasn’t the first time she said my name. Dammit. I really need to focus on one thing at a time. “Let’s get dessert and then maybe try to contact Lucifer.”
I just nod, not wanting to tell her that I have no fucking clue how to contact my uncle. For all I know, he distracted his brothers and sisters and then took another dose of potion, temporarily binding his powers so he can’t be detected.
Which is making me wonder if I bound just my angelic powers, would I be able to take on Paimon?
“Probably not,” I answer my own question out loud.
“What?” Kristy asks, eyeing me and then my friends, concerned.
“Nothing. I, um…I’m going to go find my baby.” I plow my hand through my hair and let out a breath.
“Good luck getting her back,” Evander chides, trying to lighten the mood. “Mom takes being a grandmother seriously.”
“That she does,” I agree, both thankful Tabatha has had Juliet for most of the day and missing my daughter at the same time. For the last two weeks, Lucas and I pretty much stayed home. My friends came over to visit and Eliza snatched her baby sister up any chance she got, but we wanted to focus on adjusting to parenthood together. The first few weeks are important for bonding, after all.
It’s late enough that most students are in their dorms, but a few are still in the common areas, talking and laughing instead of studying. The end of the school year is approaching, and I had mixed feelings about that when I was a student here.
Magic came easily to me, and I aced all those classes with minimal effort thanks to being a nephilim. We’re taught other stuff here as well, things you actually need to know to survive in the real world. And in those subjects, well, I was less than a straight-A student. I loved being a student and the Academy will always feel like home.
But summers? Summers were…complicated. At least in the beginning. I went from living with who I thought were my family to being sold like livestock to the highest bidder. I spent two years as a lab rat, forced to do horrible things just to see how powerful I was. Then I came here and didn’t even think about what would happen in the summer until Kristy asked me if I was going on vacation.
But the Greystones welcomed me without a second thought. I felt like a burden at first, and it took me a few years to get over the mentality that I was worthless, bad, and unwanted. Tabatha took me to therapy weekly for two years after she busted me out of the lab, and I continued meeting with the academy social worker until I graduated.
I had my own room in her house, and she let me decorate it how I wanted. Every Friday night in the summer, she would set up a “popcorn and movie night” for Evander and me, and we’d bicker like a real brother and sister over which movie to watch. She took us on vacations over spring break, and we visited different National Parks throughout our summers, both to relax and to appreciate the unique magic of each location.
And she did it all as a single, working mother.
She really set the bar high for my own expectations when it comes to my ability to take care of my daughter.
“Hey,” I say, stepping into her office. She’s sitting by a crackling fire, reading the original versions of fairytales to Juliet. “Is she asleep?”
“She’s resisting.” Tabatha looks down lovingly at Juliet. “I think she’s starting to get hungry.”
“She eats nonstop,” I say and Tabatha laughs.
“I remember those days all too well. You’ll miss it, I promise. It may not seem like you will now, but you will.”
“It’s crazy to think she’ll be a sassy, back-talking teen someday. You know…if the world doesn’t end first.”
“None of that talk.”
Going over to the couch, I take Juliet and snuggle her against me. “How did you do it?” I ask.
“Do what?”
“Be a mom to two kids while running the school and then the whole freaking coven?”
“I had help.” Tabatha’s lips curve into a small smile. “I would say the fact that you were already ten by the time you came to our family helped, but you do have that special knack for finding trouble.”
“Do you think she will?” Juliet moves her little arms around, not able to control them very well but is able to get a fistful of my hair.
“If you’re lucky, she’ll take after her more sensible father.” Tabatha blinks several times and slowly shakes her head. “I can’t believe out of the two of you, the vampire is the more sensible one.”
I laugh and blink back tears. “It’s not fair he’s not here.”
“I know.” Tabatha rests her hand on my knee. “It’s not. None of this is fair, my darling girl. But that is life.”
“I’m going to get him back,” I say and Tabatha just nods, not wanting to disagree and upset me…or tell me I will when she doesn’t believe I can. “And I want to go home. I have to eventually.”
“You do. Send your familiars first and allow Evander to accompany you through the woods.”
“I can do that.” I slowly inhale again and look into the fire. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. You’re family. She’s family.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “So is Lucas.”
“He is, and he would want you to tread carefully,” she says gently and gives my knee a pat. “If there is anything I’m certain of, it’s that he loved you very, very much.”
“Loves,” I correct. “He’s not dead. He’s temporarily not here and I will get him back.”
Tabatha nods again and shifts her gaze to Juliet. “If anyone can, it’s you. But I beg you, don’t act on your own.”
“I won’t,” I say, though I’m not putting anyone else in danger. This isn’t witch business, but something more. There is one person who can actually help me, and he will, one way or another. I just need to find Lucifer first.
All I wanted was to go home, but now that I’m here, it feels wrong. Wanting to shower, I went up to my bedroom and put Juliet in her swing. Dread starts to bubble up inside of me, and Juliet starts to fuss. I should go get her, yet I’m rooted to the spot, looking at my bed.
I’m going to have to sleep in it alone.
I’m going to wake up alone.
What if I can’t save Lucas? What if I do and all traces of him are gone? Will he just be an empty shell after I pull him out of the saddle?
Juliet’s fussing turns into crying and yet my feet refuse to move. My vision blurs as tears fill my eyes. Binx shadows in, circling my feet, and I suck in air, not realizing that I had my jaw clenched and was holding my breath. Blinking the tears away, I rush forward, stopping the swing from swaying back and forth. I unclip Juliet and bring her against me, thinking she wants to nurse.
I sit on the chair Lucas wanted in our room so he could help with long nights and put Juliet to me. She latches on, nurses for a few seconds, and then starts crying again.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I ask and move her to the other side. She doesn’t attempt to latch this time and cries even louder. Suddenly, I can’t remember what I’m supposed to do. I know her diaper is clean since I just changed it. The temperature is comfortable in the room. If she was hungry, she’d nurse, right?
I didn’t read all the baby books like Lucas did.
There are a million reasons why our daughter is crying right now, and I can’t think of a single way to make her happy.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as a big tear rolls down my face and splashes onto Juliet’s cheek. It startles her and she keeps crying. Binx patiently sits by my feet, trying to calm me since he’s able to sense my pulse quickly rising. “Maybe you are hungry?” Leaning over, I try to position her against me. Nothing works so I get up and try walking her around, which does nothing as well.
I’m on my seventh lap of the room when she turns her head in, rooting against me like she wants to nurse. Finally. We go back to the chair, and she latches immediately.
“Good, sweet baby,” I tell her, smiling as I look down at her. A minute later, she pops off, gurgling and coughing. Panicked, I stand up and hold her against me, patting her back. The longest twenty seconds of my life pass by as she coughs and gasps for air before finally growing silent. I pull her back, needing to look at her face to make sure she’s breathing, and she spits up down the front of my shirt.
Then she starts crying again. And this time, I do too.
“Callie?” Eliza stops in the doorway. “Is everything okay?”
“No,” I admit, bottom lip quivering.
Eliza speeds over, stopping just a foot in front of me. I’m holding Juliet away from me, not wanting to cradle her against my spit up-covered chest and get it on her, though I doubt she’d care or even notice.
“I got her,” Eliza says over her loud cries. Sniffling, I hand her my baby and go into the bathroom, stopping in front of the mirror. I’ve been covered in blood and guts before and have thrown away more clothes than I want to think about because of it. I peel this shirt off me just like I would one that’s covered in body parts but toss it in my laundry basket instead. I don’t have that many tops that are easy to nurse in.
I rinse off the remaining spit up in the sink and go to my closet. Lucas and I each have our own closets, and his is neat and tidy, with everything in its place. Mine is semi-organized, with three piles on the floor for dirty clothes, clean clothes, and then some that fall somewhere in the middle. I pick up a shirt that’s halfway between the dirty and sorta-dirty clothes, taking my chances with either.
Juliet is still crying despite Eliza’s best efforts, and it takes a good ten minutes to get her calmed down enough to be able to nurse.
“Are you okay?” Eliza asks, perching on the side of the bed.
“I don’t want to do this alone,” I say, voice breaking.
Eliza puts her hand over mine. “You’re not alone, Callie.” She blinks back her own tears. “You know at first, I didn’t understand why so many people were willing to run headfirst into danger in order to help you. I didn’t think any human was worth it if it meant risking my nails.” She stops, taking in a breath she doesn’t need but instead is trying to keep her composure. “For the rest of my existence, you’re worth ruining a fresh manicure for. Fuck, I’d even ruin a new pair of shoes.”
“Coming from you, that means a lot.”
Blinking back her emotions, Eliza gives me her trademark grin. “Now, give me my sister once she’s asleep and go shower. Then we can get back to your annoying heroic and borderline neurotic planning.”
“Deal.” I bend down and kiss Juliet’s head. I’m getting a cramp in between my shoulder blades from holding her like this so much. How the hell do full humans do this? A few minutes later, I’m able to slowly pull her away, but right before Eliza takes her, she tips her head, listening to something I can’t hear.
Scarlet barks the exact second Eliza gets to her feet, and then the doorbell rings.
Chapter
Six
Eliza’s eyes meet mine. “Stay here,” she says and then zooms out of the room. Who the hell is ringing my doorbell at this hour? It’s not that late, but the only people with a reason to come to my house know I have a baby and wouldn’t ring the damn bell.
“Freya,” I call, summoning my familiar. “Stay with Juliet.” Pandora is downstairs with Scarlet, guarding the door. She lets me know there’s a vampire on the porch—one she’s sensed before. Moving as fast as I can, I get Juliet in her swing, turn it on, and take a lingering look at my daughter before rushing out of the room. Freya shadows into her true form, hovering next to the swing. Binx follows me out of the room, and we race down the back staircase and hurry to the front door. Damn this house for being so big. It feels like it takes forever to get to the foyer.
Eliza has the door open several feet and is standing in a typical Eliza stance: arms crossed and looking bored. She’s anything but, though you couldn’t tell unless you really knew her. Scarlet is standing by her side, letting out a low growl. Pandora is shadowing behind, eyes flashing.
“Ahh, Mrs. King,” whoever is on the porch says, and the familiarity in his voice sends a chill through me. I know exactly who it is, and I do not have fucking time for this. The fact that he got past the wardings means he actually has no intention of causing me harm…or whatever happened with the Horsemen messed up the lines of magic and my wardings aren’t working as they should be.
