Heir of Night by Emily Goodwin
Chapter 22
"You’re sure about that?” I ask Eliza.
“Yes,” she replies with certainty. “The paramedics think she took something that made her eyes dilate, but those are not dilated pupils. Her entire eye is black.”
“How did that happen?” Melinda gets her knife from her jacket again. “I didn’t see any demons, did you?”
“No,” I tell her, watching Abby’s confusion grow out of the corner of my eye. Dammit, I don’t see a way around this unless I throw out some pretty big lies or have her memory altered—again. “I saw War. He stabbed her and she went crazy, saying her friend was going to kill her, so she had to kill her first. It’s the same thought that entered my mind when we were in the bathroom at the bar.”
“You were infected by War?” Lucas asks.
“I thought it was a demon sent by him, like how the demon made me sick. I think, at least.” I shake my head. “Maybe. I honesty have no idea about anything anymore. Maybe seeing the demon was part of the ploy to make me think someone was possessed.” I let out a sigh. “I heard a voice telling me the other woman in the bathroom was possessed and I needed to kill her before she killed me. I thought it was Paimon at first, and I kind of still do, maybe. Again—I don’t know.”
Lucas angles his body toward mine. “Are you still infected?” The fear in his eyes hurts my heart. He’s remembering how I almost died in his arms when Pestilence infected me.
“No. I used my angel-powers, and whatever grip the demon had on me went away. Angels can’t be possessed,” I remind everyone.
“Are you sure you saw War?” Lucas asks, hoping it’s not true. “It wasn’t another chaos demon?”
I look at Abby and mentally apologize for dragging her into yet another demon mess. “It was him. Red horse. Big sword. Wearing blood-stained armor.” I let out a shaky breath. “And before…it was a feeling. I just knew it was him, but I, uh, I…I heard someone calling my name, and I’m sure it was Paimon because he did the same thing to me when we were in Hell.” I look at Melinda. “That’s why we left the table. Once I got into the bathroom, the voices switched. It wasn’t Paimon anymore.”
Lucas slowly nods, trying to make sense of everything. “Paimon orchestrated everything to open the gates. Do you think he let the Horsemen out on purpose?”
His words send a chill through me. I hadn’t thought of it before, but it makes sense…and would mean he’s working with them. Fuck.
“That terrified look on your face tells me that’s a yes,” Eliza quips, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just clarify why that would be bad.”
“He knows about me. He knows exactly who I am. He knows Lucifer isn’t in Hell, and if he let the Horsemen out, then his plan is bigger than taking over Hell. He didn’t intend on getting trapped in Hell, so I foiled at least part of his plan. Though if I’m right and he’s able to communicate with the Horsemen somehow—”
“Then they’ll come for you,” Lucas finishes.
“Or avoid me because I can kill them,” I offer instead.
Lucas frowns. “You just saw War.”
“True, but he seemed surprised I was able to see him. Maybe Paimon didn’t know I could, either. I’m kind of the first of my kind, and the Horsemen walking around on earth hasn’t happened in a really long time.”
Lucas gives me a look that makes me really think he’s going to take me home, lock me inside and keep me in the house until this is all over. But we both know it’s not going to go away on its own.
“Hang on a second.” Abby holds up her hand, looking a bit like she might puke. “Horsemen?” She blinks a few times. “You said War. Holy fuck!” She gasps and clamps her hand over her mouth. “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are real and they’re here?”
“Yes,” I tell her with a wince. Someone yells from across the street. Tina has broken free, and two of the EMTs are in a heated argument. She’s possessed. Is she able to infect people as well?
“Dammit, Julian! I really need you.” I look up at the dark sky again, putting my whole heart into calling for my cousin. Another person screams, and a police officer has her taser trained on Tina, telling her to freeze. She’s possessed, so of course she doesn’t listen and instead charges right at the police officer, who fires her taser.
The jolt of painful electricity doesn’t so much as faze her, and she tackles the officer. Several other cops swarm in and pull her off, cuffing her hands behind her back. I watch them struggle but get her back onto the gurney.
“I need to get to her,” I say.
“And do what exactly?” Lucas questions.
“No fucking clue.” The EMTs start loading her into the ambulance again. “I…I think War turned her into a demon.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “And demons can infect people.” Both Lucifer and Julian told me there were demons in Hell before Lucifer got there. Some of those demons make deals with people in exchange for their souls too.
Callie.
I stiffen, but not with fear. This time, I know that voice right away. It’s my father, and suddenly I know what I need to do.
“If I cause a distraction, can you get me across the street as fast as possible?” I ask Lucas. “Just trust me on this, please.”
He presses his lips together and nods, hating whatever he just agreed to already. Pushing my shoulders back, I concentrate on the glowing streetlight across from us. It glows brighter and brighter until the bulb gets so hot it blows up.
Lucas picks me up and speeds me over to the ambulance. I rush to Tina the moment my feet hit the ground.
“Hey,” one of the EMTs starts. “You can’t be here.”
Lucas holds them both spellbound, and I put my hand on Tina’s chest. She snarls and screams, and I can feel the dark energy coming off her in waves. It wants to infect me. To pull me under the dark water and make my worst fears come true.
“I don’t care where you go,” I tell the demon inside of her. “But you can’t stay here.” Bright blue magic shimmers around my fingers, and I press it into her. She lets out a blood-curdling scream, thrashing from pain. I snatch my hand back, horrified, and watch as the blue light works its way through her body, burning her from the inside out.
I didn’t mean to hurt her. I wanted to help, and I was doing what I thought my dad told me to do. Fuck, I’m so stupid! I heard a voice and listened, and now she’s going to die. Her body seizes and blue light glows from her eyes. Then black smoke rises out of her body, burning as it hits the air. She goes still, and my heart skips a beat.
She opens her eyes. They’re not black anymore. “W-what’s happening?”
“Tend to your patient,” Lucas tells the EMTs. He turns, ready to hold anyone else spellbound if need be, but it’s like we’re not even there. Hand in hand, we walk past several police officers and join my friends on the sidewalk.
“What did you do?” Abby asks slowly.
“You didn’t see that?”
“I saw you touch her. That was it.”
I tip my head. “There was blue light and demon smoke and then magical fire.”
Abby slowly shakes her head. “I didn’t see any of that.”
“Neither did I,” Melinda tells me. “I saw what Abby saw.”
“Same,” Eliza says. “I heard you speaking in Enochian. That’s it.”
I look at Lucas. “I also heard you talking and I sensed magic, but I didn’t see anything.”
Biting my lower lip, I look across the street again. Tina is talking to one of the EMTs and is as calm as you can expect her to be.
“What did you say to her?” Lucas asks.
“Um, basically I don’t care where you go, but you can’t stay here.”
“That’s it?” Eliza raises her eyebrows. “It sounded much more profound in Enochian. In English, it sounds like a line from a country song.”
“Yeah,” I say with a nod. “It does. It worked. Why couldn’t you see it?” I ask out loud.
“We couldn’t see the Horsemen, either,” Melinda goes on.
“Witches can see things humans can’t.” Lucas puts his arm around me. “Things vampires can’t see, either.”
“You’ve always been able to see magic. Unless…” I trail off, shaking my head at my thought.
“Unless what?”
I turn in, using his body to block me from sight, and summon hellfire in my hand. Like the fire I summoned not long ago, the flames have a blueish tint and feel almost cool in my hand. “Unless I’m accessing a different realm somehow.” I put out the flames and let out a breath. “There are different realms and dimensions all over the place. Where we are now is commonly called the physical plane. The Covenstead is located in what’s often referred to as a pocket dimension on the physical plane. Hell is another dimension, as are the prisons created to keep demons away from earth.”
“Everything you just said is more complicated than anything I learned in med school.” Abby’s eyebrows hike up. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“Don’t think about it too hard,” I tell her. “Just accept that it’s real.”
“Easier said than done,” she mumbles and rubs her forehead.
I lean against Lucas, feeling that tightness in my abdomen again. Elena moves at the same time, kicking me in the ribs and uncomfortably stretching everything inside me.
“What’s wrong?” Lucas slips his arms under mine, ready to pick me up and cradle me like a baby again.
“Nothing,” I say, gently pushing on my stomach to get the baby to move. “She’s moving and—” I gasp when a red-hot burning sensation spreads through me. It only lasts a few seconds and subsides to nothing. “I’m fine.”
“You said that before,” Melinda says slowly, eyeing me with concern.
“This happened earlier tonight?” Lucas asks.
“Yeah, but I’m fine. I’m tired, and my back hurts, but I’m fine. Let’s go home.”
“Maybe you should get checked out,” Abby suggests. “Phil had to go to the hospital to perform emergency surgery on a cancer patient. He can pull some strings and get you an ultrasound at least. The way you’re wincing makes me a little worried about placental abruption. It won’t hurt to get checked out. I’ll come with.”
“I don’t want to ruin your night out.”
“Seriously?” Abby gets out her phone to call Phil. “I’ve had more than my share of those two, and this is my niece we’re talking about.”
I straighten up. “I really feel fine now. If something was wrong, I wouldn’t feel fine, right?”
“Probably not, but I can’t tell you things are fine without running some tests,” Abby says, clinging to her medical knowledge because it’s what she knows, and familiar things offer comfort. “You need to be examined so we can rule anything and everything out.”
“I agree, Callie.” Lucas rubs his thumb in little circles over my palm. “Get checked out.”
Everyone is staring at me, waiting for me to do the logical thing and go to the hospital. The thought of hospitals still freaks me out, and what if something is wrong? It’ll be right there in my face, and I know ignoring it won’t make it go away, but the thought terrifies me as well.
“You’re right,” I relent. “I’ll—holy shit.”
“What?” Lucas rushes out.
“The guy who tried to mug us—”
“What?” he repeats, getting more upset by the second. Yep. I’m definitely getting an ankle monitor, as well as being put on house arrest.
“Eliza handled it,” I go on. “But he’s infected. He said he’s going to kill me, and it made him attempt to mug four innocent women, but hah, joke’s on him because we’re too badass to be innocent but—fuck—I sent him to the police station.”
“That’s a good place for him to be,” Lucas counters.
“No, it’s the worst. He’s going to go all crazy and murderous and get himself shot. He’s innocent for all we know. He wasn’t carrying out his latest in a string of crimes. I have to go save him.”
“You don’t,” Lucas presses. “You didn’t know, Callie.”
“I should have! I saw the demon in the mirror in the bar, and then we left. We just left.”
“You didn’t just leave,” Melinda interjects. “You shook it off when it tried to take a hold of you and then did that gray cloud spell to trap it. I thought it was handled too. We had no way of knowing War was literally in the street, calling the demon out.”
“We can’t let him get shot and killed!”
“It’s out of our control, Callie!” Lucas argues.
“The more souls they claim, the stronger they become,” I say, repeating Lucifer’s words. “War wants him to die so he can collect his soul. We can’t let that happen. We have no idea if War has killed before. This could be the last soul he needs before he can step out of the astral plane.”
“Dammit.” Lucas punches the side of the building, cracking the brick. “You don’t even know where this guy is, and you want to go save him.”
“I don’t have a choice, Lucas,” I retort pointedly. “War will get stronger the more he kills. He’ll be harder to kill the stronger he is.”
“You have contacts with the Chicago police, don’t you?” he asks Melinda.
“Not in this district,” Melinda asks, eyeing Lucas. He looks terrifying when he’s angry like this. “I can make some calls.”
I put my hand on my lower back, trying to stretch it out. It’s more of a discomfort than pain, but dammit, I’m not used to feeling so human. And why does the baby seem ten pounds heavier now than she did this morning?
“Your heart is beating fast.” Lucas brings my wrist to his mouth and draws his fangs, gently pressing them over the big blue vein that’s visible through my skin. “And your blood pressure is up.”
“Yeah, I’m stressed.”
“You can tell all that from…from whatever you did?” Abby blinks a few times.
“After centuries of drinking only blood, you pick up a thing or two,” Eliza tells her. “And I’m going to agree with my maker on this, Callie. I can’t be your nanny if you lose the baby.”
“Eliza,” Lucas growls, and she shrugs.
“I’m saying what we’re all thinking.”
I start to feel sick with fear, which is another feeling I’m not used to. Things have gotten bad, really bad. Yet somehow, I always know I’ll make it. This time, I don’t see how that’s going to happen.
“Go to the hospital,” Melinda presses. “I’ll get Easton and we’ll track down that guy. We’ll get him to safehouse and will keep him alive until we figure out how to un-infect him.”
“Thank you,” I say and feel a huge sense of relief that does little to quell the fear brewing inside of me. “Did you drive here?” I ask Lucas since he just showed up.
“No, I ran. I’m not making you walk,” he says, and I’m about to protest and say he’s not fucking carrying me to the hospital when the police at the scene across from us seem to get a call at the same time.
“What are they saying?” Melinda asks, knowing both Lucas and Eliza can hear. Eliza looks at Lucas, brows furrowing. She reaches for both Abby and Melinda’s hands, pulling them closer.
“They said there’s an active shooter in the area.”