Heir of Night by Emily Goodwin

Chapter 38

Lucas stands, gently pulling me with him. “We need to go.”

“I can’t leave him,” I say, fingers sliding across Julian’s arm as I get to my feet. “He deserves to be buried.”

“I’ll come back for him,” Lucas tells me. He looks around the yard and then cups my face in his large hands, kissing me. “He died so you could live. You need to live.”

Tears pour from my eyes, and my heart is ripped right out of my chest. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper to Julian. My entire body shakes as I cry, and Lucas picks me up, running with vampire speed through the woods. He doesn’t stop until we’re at the Covenstead door.

Scarlet is there, still in hellhound form, and lets out a long, pitiful whine when Lucas sets me down.

“He’s not coming,” I tell her, throat tight. Scarlet pushes her giant head against my hand, and I feel the familiar tug on my heart. Binx, Freya, and Pandora are almost out of the pocket dimension and are on their way.

“Open the door,” Lucas tells me. I nod, body going on pure adrenaline at this point, mind still in shock over everything that transpired. I close my eyes, and more tears spill out.

“Invoco elementum terrae,” I start, “Invoco elemuntum aeris.” A strangled sob escapes, and I have to pause, sucking in a breath. He died so you could live. I need to live. “Invoco elemuntum aqua. Invoco elemuntum ignis.” The door appears between two large trees. I wipe blood from my forehead and touch it to the ground. Lucas can enter with me, but I’m unsure about Scarlet. The spell will burn anyone who tries to enter but isn’t permitted, and a hellhound can’t be burned to death.

I’m not losing anyone else tonight.

“What are you waiting for?” Lucas asks.

“My familiars. They’re close.”

He takes my hand and waits a beat. “Go through. I’ll wait for your familiars.”

“No,” I say with a shake of my head. “I’m not leaving you or anyone else. If I go through, you can’t promise you’ll follow.”

Lucas goes to pick me up, no doubt to push me through the door, but then hesitates. He looks at me, face pained, but it’s not so much from his own loss but knowing how much I’m hurting right now. The entire forest is dead silent, and I inhale, feeling like I’m going to pass out or puke again.

“Callie,” Lucas breathes, catching me right as I falter. The sadness on his face turns into fear, and he picks me back up, holding me against his firm chest. His clothes are soaked in his own blood, and he’s weak after losing so much. He needs to seek shelter at the Covenstead as much as I do right now.

“Go,” I tell him, fighting just to keep my eyes open. I’ve been weakened as well, but part of me wants to pass out and not have to accept that Julian is gone. “They’re here.” I lift my head to be sure. Pandora shifts into cat form as she jumps through the door. Binx and Freya do the same. “You too, Scar.” I close my eyes, not wanting to see if she bursts into flames. She doesn’t, and Lucas steps through the door.

“Oh, goodness, Callie!” Tabatha and Ruby are right inside the door. They must have gotten my message and have been waiting for me.

“Close it,” I force out, and Lucas sets me down. My lip quivers, and I start crying when Tabatha throws her arms around me.

“Julian,” I start, crying so hard none of my words can be understood.

“Julian didn’t make it,” Lucas tells them, voice low.

Tabatha runs her hand over my head. “Oh, darling.” I sink to the ground, and she comes with me, holding me tight against her. “I’m so sorry.” She holds me for another few seconds and then pulls back, looking at me. The courtyard of the Covenstead is dimly lit with magical fire, glowing in lanterns hanging on posts. “What happened?” She looks up at Lucas, knowing I’m in no condition to talk.

“The Horsemen are working with Paimon. He found the loophole Bael missed and started a ritual to drain Callie of her divinity, using only what the baby has to open the gates and sit on the throne.” Lucas, always stoic and straight to the point, pauses. If he breathed, he would take a breath to steady his emotions. “There was some sort of magical vortex Callie was stuck in. War had me, and Julian got there just in time to keep the demons from following through. He stepped into a circle Paimon had cast so they couldn’t put Callie in instead.”

Silence falls over us. It’s such a shortened version of what happened. So much more transpired.

So much pain.

So much fear.

So many dead humans.

“The kid.” I lift my head and look up at Lucas. “The kid is still in the guest room. And someone is hiding in the downstairs bathroom.”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Lucas tells me. He means well and is more concerned about me, but there’s a lot at stake there.

“What if he wakes up? Or the lady in the bathroom is still alive and decides to leave now that things are quiet? Our house is full of bodies.”

Tabatha inhales and brushes my hair back. Her eyes are misty as she looks at me. “You don’t worry about it. Let us figure something out.”

“It’s too dangerous to go back to the house,” I rush out, and I’m torn again. This time it’s not physically tearing me apart, but I don’t know what to do. Someone has to go back to the house. The kid and the woman need to be checked on.

The bodies have to be dealt with.

And Julian deserves more than to be left to the insects in my backyard.

I get a flash of his lifeless blue eyes, and my heart breaks all over again. This time it really does twist my stomach, and I move away from Tabatha just in time to throw up in the grass.

“Come, darling,” Tabatha says, holding my hair back. “Let’s get you inside and cleaned up. Evander and I will astral project to your house and see what it’s like.”

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and nod. Lucas wraps his arm around me, supporting my weight.

“What are we going to do about the hellhound?” Ruby asks, eyeing Scarlet with a bit of fear. She’s massive and literally demonic. It’s smart to be wary around her, though she won’t disobey my command. “You don’t happen to have her collar, do you?”

“I didn’t think to grab it.”

She gives me a half smile. “I’ll, um, get her set up in one of the storage sheds out back. It’s probably best no one sees her.”

“Yes,” Lucas agrees. “She likes soft blankets.”

“I, um, I’ll find a nice quilt for her. Does she understand English?” Ruby asks.

“I think so,” I tell her. “Scarlet, follow Ruby. She’s going to show you a safe place to take a nap, okay?” My hellhound barks in response and trots over to me, giving me a slobbery kiss on the cheek. “Good girl,” I tell her, patting her chest. Her bristly fur is covered in blood. “You were good tonight.”

Freya growls and races ahead. “Drama queen,” I grumble. “You all did good tonight.”

But we didn’t do well enough.

We lost tonight. I’m still standing, but Julian isn’t. We didn’t all make it out of this one alive, and the next time Paimon strikes, I won’t have an angel there to save me.

“The Academy is on lockdown,” Tabatha says. “All students in their dorms. Evander is overseeing everyone, and extra protection spells have been cast on the buildings.”

“Kristy,” I gasp. “She was working tonight.”

“I got a hold of her,” Lucas assures me. “She closed the store and was going to Nicole and Naomi’s house along the lake.”

“Did she make it?”

“Yes,” Tabatha says, but I’m not convinced.

“How do you know?”

“We’ve been in contact.” Tabatha wrings her hands. “Almost everyone else is here and accounted for. I summoned all those who were near to come to the Covenstead at once. And those who couldn’t get safely to the door were to go home and cast extra protective circles on their houses.”

That should bring me comfort—and it does, just a bit—but so many others weren’t so lucky. They weren’t able to be warned. They had no knowledge about demons and didn’t stand a chance at protecting themselves.

“How are we going to explain all the bodies?” My breath catches in my throat, and the sour taste of vomit is still fresh in my mouth.

“I’ll handle it,” Lucas presses. “Callie, my love, you’ve been through so much tonight. Worry about yourself and—” He cuts off, and I know he’s afraid to ask about the baby. “Worry about yourself.”

We get inside and go right to the infirmary. There are usually a few students in here at any given time, sick with the stomach flu or suffering a bad cold. With potions and teas, Sister Celeste is able to cure some aliments faster than average, though witches and warlocks are biologically human, and humans get sick.

“Oh, goodness,” she says when she sees both me and Lucas. “Sit her on a bed right away.”

Tabatha closes the infirmary doors behind us, and Lucas helps me onto the bed, picking my feet up and moving them for me. I’m shaking, which I hadn’t realized before.

It keeps replaying over and over in my mind: Julian stepping into the stone circle at the last second. The spell was complete, making whatever artifact Paimon had inside the black stone useless.

It should have been me.

I should have fought harder.

Pushed with everything I had.

We only had a few minutes to wait before the moon wasn’t in the right position and the spell wouldn’t have worked…I think.

Tabatha takes my shoes off, and Lucas sits on the edge of the bed next to me. His face is tight with worry, and he just takes my hand, not speaking. Sister Celeste looks me up and down, not sure where to start.

“What on earth happened?” She sets a leatherbound first-aid kit on the bedside table.

“Hell,” I whisper and pull my arms in close to my body. I want to get under the covers, but my body hurts too much to move. I don’t care that I’m covered in mud and blood. I close my eyes, jaw trembling, and squeeze Lucas’s hand.

Tabatha fills a bowl with warm water and starts gently washing the blood from my arms while Sister Celeste tends to the cut on my forehead.

“You’re quite banged up, that I can tell,” Sister Celeste says. “I’m equipped to handle that, but I’m worried about other injuries you received.” I can’t open my mouth without bursting into tears. I try and fail a few times.

“She was pushed and dragged multiple times,” Lucas tells her, words hard to say. He hates that he wasn’t able to protect me. “And spells were cast.”

“Mh-hm.” Sister Celeste presses an alcohol pad to the cut on my forehead. It stings, and the pain feels good.

Because I deserve it. Julian is dead because of me.

“When was the last time you felt the baby move?” she asks, and I open my eyes, slowly shaking my head.

“Um, before Paimon started the ritual. I, um, I don’t really know if she’s moved or not. I…I…”

“It’s okay,” she assures me and looks at Tabatha. “Can you summon the midwife, High Priestess?”

“Right away,” Tabatha says and sets the washcloth down.

Lucas puts his hand on my stomach, waiting to feel his daughter kick. She doesn’t, and he moves his hand lower.

“I can hear her heart beating.” His voice is calm again, anchoring me. He puts his head to my stomach, listening to our baby’s pulse. “It’s strong and steady.”

My chest loosens, and another tear makes its way down my face. I close my eyes again, body trembling uncontrollably. I feel sick and don’t trust myself to stand right now. I’m dirty, exhausted, and my wrist hurts like mad. I wince when Sister Celeste goes to move it, cleaning the tiny cuts I have on my forearms from being dragged.

“It’s a little swollen,” she notes, gently wiping away dry, crusted blood.

The infirmary doors open again, and Maryellen and Tabatha hastily walk to my bedside. Lucas moves out of the way, and I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to see anything that’s going on. I can’t handle it right now, and even though Lucas heard our baby’s heartbeat, it doesn’t mean she’s okay.

I sit there, unmoving, while I’m cleaned and examined, letting Maryellen and Sister Celeste do what they need to do. Not shocking to anyone, my blood pressure is up, and Elena is now measuring thirty-five weeks, according to Maryellen’s measuring tape. Now that I’m thinking about it, my skin is uncomfortably tight across my stomach. If I could see the bottom of my belly, I’m sure I’d find lines of stretch marks from my rapidly growing baby.

Physically, I’ll be fine. Maryellen wants me to go back to the hospital, but what would I say? I “fell” again? How will I explain the cuts and bruises on my body when Lucas has none on his? And Elena grew again in just a few days. I’m a medical mystery. I can’t be treated like a regular human, and with my baby showing more and more signs of using magic and being positively affected by it, she can’t be treated like one, either. I’m going to have to have a home birth, which I definitely didn’t want. The fact should jar me, but right now, nothing does.

“You’re more than welcome to stay the night in here,” Sister Celeste tells me, taking off her latex gloves. The small garbage can next to the bed is full of blood-soaked gauze. “Though once the sun comes up, we’ll have to find another arrangement.”

“The Academy’s guest rooms are currently empty,” Tabatha says. “The velvet curtains will block out the light.”

“Thank you,” Lucas says. He talks to Tabatha for a few seconds, but I don’t pay attention to their words. I think about the beach in Australia, trying to remember what the waves crashing on the shore sound like. “Callie?” Lucas asks in a way that I know it wasn’t the first time he called my name.

“Yeah?”

“Are you hungry?”

“I don’t think so. I’m…I’m tired.”

Tabatha blinks away her emotion. “I’ll take you to the guest rooms.”

Lucas helps me up, and we walk silently through the Academy. I’m slow going, wincing when I go up the stairs. Elena does a somersault, stretching out with her feet jammed in my ribs. The discomfort is welcome this time. She’s moving and is okay. Somehow, she survived the horrors of the night.

Taking a skeleton key from the pocket of her hunter-green dress, Tabatha unlocks the door and steps to the side, allowing us to come in.

“If you need anything, you know where to find me.” She sets the key on a dresser and takes both my hands, eyes filling with tears again. “You’re home. You’re safe. I love you, my darling.” She wraps me in a tight hug. “I will bring you both clean clothes.” She looks at me a while longer and then leaves, closing the door behind her.

I’ve been in the Academy’s guest rooms before. They’re similar in layout to the dorms, with matching decor. Usually, being here is calming. Inviting. It gives me the feeling of going home after a long vacation.

But right now, I’m just numb.

I don’t want to feel. I want to stay numb, but with each passing second, I’m more and more at risk for the heartache to crash back down on me.

Lucas takes my hand and gently pulls me with him, going into the en-suite bathroom. He turns on the shower and then silently strips me of my clothes. Then he picks leaves and other debris out of my hair as the water warms up.

He takes his own bloody clothes off and pulls back the shower curtain, getting in and bringing me with. Crimson water swirls around my feet. I can’t stop staring at it. It swirls around the drain, teasing me, reminding over and over how I failed tonight.

My face crumbles, and I turn in to Lucas. He wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head.

“Close your eyes,” he says and steps back, taking the showerhead down, rinsing all the blood off me. Once we’re clean, he turns the water off and wraps a fluffy black towel around me, patting my skin dry. I’m capable of doing this all myself, but I just can’t.

There are clothes neatly folded on the foot of the bed, and I get dressed in an over-sized white t-shirt and loose-fitting pajama pants. Lucas holds up the black sweatpants brought up for him and sets them aside.

“It’s not your fault,” he whispers and turns down the bed. “Don’t blame yourself, Callie.”

“How can I not?” My teeth chatter together. I’m so cold, and I don’t know how I’ll ever be warm again. “Julian died because of me.”

“No,” Lucas says firmly. “He died because of Paimon. If you want to blame anyone, blame him. Or Lucifer.”

“Lucifer?”

“If he had stayed on the throne, who’s to say any of this would have happened? Paimon would have tried to use you, I have no doubt, but the Horsemen wouldn’t have escaped. And if War hadn’t—” He stops short again. “If I’d been able to get to you, I would have gotten you out of there. Both of you.”

“It’s not fair.”

“No,” he agrees. “It’s not, not at all.”

I move a pillow to my side, wrapping my arms around it. Lucas spoons his body against mine and covers us both up with the quilt. He holds me tight, and I cry myself to sleep.