Heir of Night by Emily Goodwin

Chapter 26

The sound of muffled voices wakes me from my drug-induced sleep. I blink my eyes open, struggling to stay awake. Then I remember where I am—and realize that the room is full of sunlight.

“Lucas,” I call and sit up too fast.

“I’m right here.” He moves from the window to the bed, cupping my face and kissing my forehead. “I’m still here.”

“How?”

“You can thank Kristy for that.” Lucas motions to her. Disoriented, I didn’t realize anyone else was in the room. She’s sitting in the uncomfortable-looking lounge chair on the other side of the room.

“Seriously?” Kristy gets to her feet and crosses her arms. “You didn’t call? I found out what happened when Melinda called asking if you were okay because she hadn’t heard from you.” She widens her blue eyes. “If you weren’t in the hospital, I would be yelling, just so you know.”

“Why don’t I believe that?” Lucas says with a smirk. Kristy is soft-spoken, calm, and collected—opposite of me—most of the time. But cross her and there will be hell to pay.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” I tell her. “But I’m glad you’re here.”

“It was more of a bother doing a locator spell at five a.m.” She stops at the foot of the bed. “You’re my best friend, Cal. Next time a Horseman attacks and you end up in the labor-and-delivery ward, call.”

“Okay,” I say in a wavering voice.

“I’m not really going to yell at you,” she assures me.

“I know.” I sit up. “Thank you for coming and doing the daylight spell.”

“Of course.” Kristy reaches forward and takes my hand. “Lucas filled me in on everything. We’re all here to help, Callie.”

“Wanna help me out of bed then? I have to pee.”

Kristy smiles. “I said I’d do anything, though Lucas is much stronger than me to help you get there.”

“I can walk,” I say firmly, looking at both her and Lucas. “I agreed to hang up my demon-hunting hat as much as I can, but I’m capable of walking.” I pull back the blankets and unhook the monitors. Cassandra must have unhooked the empty IV bag while I was sleeping. The port is neatly taped to my arm, making it much easier for me to get up. Feeling a little weak and a whole lot tired, I do accept Lucas’s arm just to cross the freaking room.

Then it’s back to bed for me. The daytime nurse comes in for an assessment and says my blood pressure is back down, which means I get to leave.

“How are you going to get home?” I ask Lucas, feeling panicked all over again. I didn’t think about it last night when I was desperate for him to stay with me. Before he can answer, the air shifts, and I turn my head just in time to see Julian appear.

“I can help with that,” he tells me. “Hello, Callie. And Lucas. And Kristy.” He’s not dirty today and looks oddly normal in dark jeans and a gray t-shirt. I’m calmed just by him being here, and Elena starts moving around like crazy. I think she seeks out divinity like I do. “I am sorry I wasn’t able to answer you last night. Famine targeted rice farmers in Asia yesterday. Alona and I attempted to intervene.”

“Attempted?” Lucas echoes.

“Yes. He’s hiding on the astral plane and is difficult to locate. We did eliminate three demons he created.”

“What happened to the farms?” Kristy asks, fiddling with a button on her sweater.

“One completely dried up over the course of twenty-four hours,” he tells us sullenly.

“And so it begins,” I whisper, fighting a chill from running down my back. “I saw War,” I tell him, not sure if he got much from my pleas last night. “On the astral plane. I couldn’t hit him with magic, yet he was able to affect people here.”

“You would have to send your magic to the same plane,” Julian tells me. “Though I fear it will not be an issue for long.” He frowns. “They will step into our world soon. We must prepare.”

“Callie isn’t preparing anything,” Lucas says, deep voice filling the room. “She’s pregnant and in the hospital, and your feathered friends need to do their fucking part.”

“I agree,” Julian replies, surprising Lucas. He was expecting an argument. “Though I will need her help preparing the amulet.”

“You found all the pieces?”

“We did. It was broken by an archangel, and we need it put back together by an archangel.”

“I can do that,” I say, eyeing both Kristy and Lucas. “It’s like the office work of demon hunting.”

“As long as that’s all you do.” Lucas meets my eye, waiting for me to agree.

“I won’t even leave the couch,” I promise. “Well, I guess that depends on what I need to do.”

“Fuse the broken pieces with magic,” Julian explains. “You could do it sitting down.”

“See?” I motion to him. “I can be useful without exerting myself.”

“Fine,” Lucas sighs. “In the meantime, I’m going to look for a tall tower for sale.”

I cock an eyebrow. “Not funny.”

“Good thing I’m serious,” he replies right back, blue eyes glinting. The nurse comes in with paperwork for me to go over and sign. The OB wants me to “seriously consider” being a patient of hers with regular checkups from now through labor. I wish I could. As terrifying as being admitted was, it felt good to be taken care of, and I know it gives Lucas so much peace of mind knowing my human side and our child are taken care of like this.

“Finally. I can go home,” I sigh and telekinetically bring my clothes to me from the little bedside table. Kristy waves Julian out of the room so I can get dressed. “Whatever happened with my bloodwork?” I ask Lucas, certain he did something.

“I paid a visit to the lab last night and had them compute that everything was normal. You are more human than last time, but still not enough for lab work.”

“I figured.” I pull my dress over my head. “What are we going to do when I give birth? I really want an epidural and to be in a hospital.”

“I spoke to the nurses while you were sleeping,” he goes on, kneeling down to put my leggings on for me so I don’t have to bend over. “It’s not safe to get an epidural unless your blood work comes back showing your platelet count is within range. I’m sure it is since I still feed off of you and you’re fine.”

“But they won’t do it unless they know.”

“Right. I don’t want you to be in pain, but I also don’t want you to have any sort of procedure that would cause lasting damage.”

He helps me to my feet so I can pull my leggings up. “This was what I imagined.” I look at the hospital room. “Not that I thought about it a lot, but I assumed if I ever found someone as perfect as you and got knocked up, I’d give birth after getting a lot of drugs.”

“Is there anything Tabatha can do to help?”

“I’ll ask.” I sit back on the bed and stick out my feet. “Any chance you want to put my shoes on for me?”

“Of course. I look forward to removing them and the rest of your clothes again.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” I say seriously. “When you were sleeping, the doctor said no sex.”

Lucas gives me an unamused look. “I didn’t sleep, and if that were the case, no one said you can’t suck my cock.”

I laugh, swatting at him. “Thank god for the soundproof spell!”

“Are you hinting at something?”

“Get me home, let me nap, and then we can talk about blowjobs, you horny vampire.”

Lucas chuckles and puts my boots back on my feet. I pull at the hospital bracelet around my wrist, needing it off as soon as possible so I don’t have the constant reminder that I was here.

I open the door, letting Kristy and Julian come back in.

“So, my car is here,” Kristy says. “Do you want me to swing by the diner and get something for you to eat? I can be at your house in like half an hour.”

“Oh my god, yes,” I tell her. “That would be amazing.”

“What do you want?”

“Pancakes, hash browns, bacon, and scrambled eggs. And a blueberry bagel for later.”

“I’ll get myself the same. That sounds good. Want a decaf coffee from Curlews?”

“It depresses me to pay for coffee that lacks caffeine.” I shake my head sadly. Okay. Maybe Lucas was onto something saying I can be dramatic. “Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. I think it was Abby who said it’s not very often we get to take care of you, and she was right. I’m glad I can help.”

“You’re going to make me cry.”

“That’s another thing we don’t get to do very often. Make you cry.” I laugh, blinking back tears, and give Kristy a hug. “Whoa,” she says, pulling back. “You weren’t kidding when you said you got bigger. I was able to put my arms around you not that long ago.”

“I feel like a whale,” I deadpan.

“Hey, you went from seven months to eight like overnight. Cut yourself some slack. You still look hot, and I’m sure Lucas will agree.”

“I do, and I was just telling Callie what I want to do when we get home.”

“I’ll drive slow.” Kristy laughs. “See you soon, Cal.”

We wait until she’s in the elevator to fly out of the room. Julian takes us into the living room, and it feels so fucking good to be home. My familiars and Scarlet, who we dropped off before going to the hospital, come running to greet me.

“I’m fine,” I tell them. “I got a little overwhelmed, that’s all.” Lucas grumbles behind me. Ignoring him, I go upstairs, strip out of my clothes, and turn on the shower.

“I walked in at the right time,” Lucas says, seeing me standing naked in front of the mirror. “We have plenty of time before Kristy gets here.”

“Julian is downstairs.” I put my hands on my stomach and turn, blown away by how much Elena grew in the last twenty-four hours. The high blood pressure can be written off as being caused by stress, but what made me feel those weird pains?

“You’ve only utilized the soundproof spell for sex once. Being heard is a concern of yours, and you found a solution.”

“Let me repeat myself: horny vampire.”

Lucas speeds forward and snakes his arms around me. It feels so good to be pressed up against him like this, but I’m way too exhausted for sex. He kisses my neck and steps back, checking the temperature of the water. I twist my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head and then get in, lazily washing my body and rinsing off.

I get dressed in loose-fitting gray pajama pants and one of Lucas’s t-shirts. Kristy is already in the kitchen looking at the broken pieces of the amulet Julian has laid out on the counter. The pieces have been carefully arranged, and the thing is much bigger than I expected. About the size of one of the pancakes I’m about to devour, it’s made of smooth clay with unfamiliar symbols etched into it.

“So,” I start, sitting at the island and sliding a plate Kristy prepared for me over. “What do I do?”

“Fuse it together with magic.”

“Got it.” I pick up a piece of bacon. “How?”

“I’m not…not quite sure.” He tips his head, listening to something. “I’ll be right back.” He disappears in an invisible whoosh.

“He will be back,” I say to reassure myself. I take another bite of bacon and cut apart a sausage to toss to each of my familiars and Scarlet. My phone, which I’d forgotten I plugged in when we stopped by the house last night, vibrates. It’s on the counter near the sink, and Lucas brings it over to me.

“You have a lot of messages to catch up on.” He hands me the phone. He’s right. I have over fifty texts and seven missed calls. Most of the texts are from Abby and Melinda. The rest are from Eliza and Kristy.

“You didn’t tell Eliza what was going on?” I ask Lucas, shoveling a forkful of scrambled eggs in my mouth.

“I did this morning. You were my main focus,” he admits. “She’s ready to move in now.”

“Eliza’s moving in?” Kristy turns to me. “Here?”

“She kind of named herself our nanny. If we’re being honest, I’m gonna need one, and I don’t mean because babies are little poop-machines that don’t sleep through the night.”

“You mean because of the demons.”

“Yep.”

Lucas’s phone rings. “Speak of the devil,” he says, looking at the screen, and then shakes his head. “That phrase doesn’t have the same meaning anymore.” He answers as he leaves the room so he can tell Eliza everything that happened with me in full detail.

“While we’re on the topic of Eliza and demons.” I slather butter on my pancake, fold it in half, and pick it up, eating it like a taco. “She wants to be the godmother, and I kinda said sure but also explained how it works within the coven. I want you and Evander to be her official guardians if anything happens to me and Lucas. And if something happens to just me, can you promise you’ll make sure she’s raised as a witch?”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you,” Kristy spits out. “It can’t.”

“I don’t want it to.” I dip my pancake-taco in syrup. “We need to be real. I ran the risk of death by demon long before I knew I was a Nephilim. Add my made-to-be-murdered pedigree in with some serious bad guys…” I don’t finish my sentence. “I need to know Elena will be taken care of. And that someone will check in on Lucas too. If I die, I…I don’t know what it would do to him.”

“He’d find a way to keep going. For your daughter. It’s not going to come to that, Callie. Okay? Don’t tell me otherwise.” She blinks away tears. “I don’t want to live without you, either. None of us do. You know we need you way more than we like to admit.”

“Yeah.” I chuckle, forcing back my own emotions. “You guys would totally be lost without me.”

She inhales, taking a minute to compose herself. “So, since you potentially have like a month left, we really need to get this nursery together. What do you have left to buy?”

“We have pretty much everything on the list, I think. I didn’t want to put things together too soon and jinx anything.” I tap the screen of my phone to pull up my list and remember I never texted my sister or Melinda back. I fire off a quick “I’m home, baby and I are fine, I’ll explain more later because I’m tired” text to them both and then show Kristy my list. We plan out how to set up the nursery while we finish eating. It’s fun, reminding me about our talks as kids, planning out elaborate weddings that would result in perfect families.

I lean back in the barstool right when the energy shifts again. This time, it’s a stronger shift, and my heart skips a beat right before Julian and my father appear in front of us.

“Dad!” I can’t get out of the stool fast enough. Michael smiles broadly and wraps his arms around me. “What are you doing here?” I pull back. “Family reunions tend to only happen when someone died.”

“No one died.” Michael smooths back my hair and looks into my eyes. “You are the spitting image of your mother.”

Lucas, having heard our conversation, speeds back into the room and looks just as concerned as I was.

“No one died,” I tell him.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to come see you,” Michael tells me. “I wish I could have come sooner, but it wasn’t safe.”

“Julian told me. I’m glad you’re here now. Please tell me you can stay a while.”

“Just a while.”

“I’ll take it.”

Michael sweeps his hand out to the island. “Were you eating?”

I shake my head. “I’m done. For now. Do you want anything? You don’t need to eat, but you can, right?”

“Right, and no, thank you, though.” He turns his attention to the broken amulet.

“Is that thing going to work?” Lucas asks, not hiding how doubtful he is.

“It may contain one Horseman long enough to trap it in Hell,” Michael says, holding his hand over the pieces. “Or keep one imprisoned for just enough time for us to figure out how to kill it.”

“I like option number two,” I note and feel both Kristy and Lucas giving me don’t even think about it looks. “How do I fuse it back together? I mean, I don’t have to now that you’re here, but I want to try.”

Michael looks at me like a proud father. “I can show you.” Eagerly, I nod and step around the counter. “Hold out your hands and close your eyes. Then tell me what you feel.”

I extend my hands and let my eyes fall shut. At first I feel nothing, like this thing wouldn’t even register as a magical artifact. But then the air around it shifts, just like it does before an angel appears on our plane.

“Energy. Like teeny-tiny particles of…of everything, and they’re vibrating fast like hummingbird wings.”

“Yes. Now, pull that energy out. The amulet was broken by a spell rooted in divine magic. Take the energy back, and the amulet will return to its previous state.”

I inhale, imagining bright light coming out of the amulet. Kristy gasps, and when I open my eyes, I see the white light I imagined has manifested and is being pulled out of the amulet. A rush goes through me, awakening the angelic part of me that’s been rather repressed lately.

The pieces of the amulet start to fuse back together, and Michael smiles again. “Holy shit, it’s working,” I whisper to myself.

“Concentrate,” Michael instructs. “You’ve almost got it all.”

The final piece of the amulet melds seamlessly in with the rest, and I close my fists, taking in the rest of the energy. It gives me another rush…a rush that quickly makes me feel like I’m going to throw up from the intense pain it brings on. I pitch forward, hands landing on the counter. The same burning-hot pain is back in my stomach, and this time it’s worse than ever before.