A Demon Does It Better (33 page)

“Uh, Lili,” Deisphe’s fingers hovered just above Lili’s arm. “You’re glowing like something ready to go off any second.”

She looked down and saw that the Were was right. Her olive skin showed her power glimmering strong on her skin. She took several strong breaths to bring it under control.

“I want them in the Hellion Guard’s custody,” she said around a jaw tight with fury. “I don’t care if they’re even cured before they’re tossed to the Guard. And I don’t care that Dr. Mortimer is in charge of this hospital. I don’t want them on the grounds.” While her voice fairly vibrated with her temper, her hands were tender as she worked on Pepta who mewled softly.

She thought of the arrogant nymph at their first meeting and the way she fought Lili at every encounter. But the witch had refused to back down, and she saw the faintest hint of softness begin to show in Pepta’s harsh nature.

The idea that she lay before her whimpering like a small child was disheartening.

“They really did a number on her, didn’t they?” Deisphe’s eyes were liquid with concern.

“We can help physically, but some things…”

“Dr. Carter.”

Lili turned to see Nurse Garrish at the door. The dragon-shifter walked in and glanced at Pepta. Her demeanor was as emotionless as ever, but Lili knew that rage simmered below her skin, and the smell of brimstone grew stronger until it was pulled back under control.

“She will not see them again,” Nurse Garrish said. “Dr. Mortimer has no say in this. He is not on the premises, and I am in charge when he is not. That authority extends everywhere. I contacted the Hellion Guard, and two members will be here shortly to transport them from here.” Her thin lips narrowed even more. “I have allowed my sight to remain dim for too long. I will also be sending a report regarding Dr. Mortimer’s unorthodox activities to the Physic Council.”

Witch and Were exchanged a look.

“We still don’t know everything,” Lili said.

“We will, and even more, once he’s returned.” Her eyes softened when she glanced at Pepta. “There is still a great deal of anger inside her, but I feel with your help, that will eventually be gone.”

“I want all of them out of that dark place.” Lili wasn’t going to back down now. “There has to be a ward up here that can be fitted out for them. I refuse to believe any of them are as dangerous as Dr. Mortimer states they are.” She kept her gaze on the head nurse.

“Even Patient 1172?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.

Lili managed to unclench her fists that hung at her sides. “His name is Jared, and whatever sickness he had is gone. He’s not dangerous.”

“Lili!”

Deisphe’s panicked cry had her spinning around to see Pepta thrashing so wildly on the gurney she almost slid off. She returned to her patient, barely aware of Nurse Garrish close behind her.

“
Noooooo!
” Pepta screamed, sitting upright, her body a bowed arc of pain that whitened her joints. The brand on her shoulder flared a hot orange color that flashed into a white-hot flare.

Lili, Deisphe, and Nurse Garrish were forced back as the room lit up in an eye-blinding white. They shielded their eyes, and Lili felt the dragon-shifter unhesitatingly threw up a protective ward around them.

By the time she could see again, the gurney was empty save for a nymph-shaped pile of silver-colored ashes and the acrid stench of burned flesh in the air.

“No.” The word escaped her lips. “No.” She started to touch them then held back. “No.” She shook her head, refusing to believe what was in front of her.

“The brand on her skin,” Nurse Garrish said, sounding as shocked as Lili felt. “It must have had a tracking spell embedded in it. If a patient was away from below for too long, the brand…”

“Killed her,” Lili flatly finished for her. “Burned her like trash.” She could hear the sounds of Deisphe crying softly and sense the anger in Nurse Garrish. All she felt was numb.

This
could
have
been
Jared
lying
here
in
cinders. If it weren’t for the shadows protecting him, he would have erupted into flames long ago.

She covered her mouth to hold back the screams that threatened to crawl up her throat. Not in fear but rage that a life was snuffed out as if it meant nothing.

“What has he done to them?” she whispered. “And what can we do to protect the rest of them?” She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this helpless. She didn’t like it.

“Let me check their records,” Nurse Garrish offered. “There has to be something there about the brands, what exactly they do, apart from declaring the wearer a mental patient.” She reached out and touched Lili’s shoulder. “Pepta will be treated with respect. I promise you that this tragedy will not go unnoticed.” She turned to Deisphe, who looked as shell-shocked as they did. “Have her remains handled with care, then have this room thoroughly cleansed. I will also arrange for appropriate help to be sent downstairs.” She speared a look at Lili. “I suggest you refrain from returning there this evening. Wait until tomorrow.”

Lili watched the dragon walk away and turned to her friend, who sat trembling in a chair.

“I go hunting in the mountains once a month,” the Were murmured, staring down at her lap. “I’m a nurse, for Fate’s sake. I’ve seen all forms of death before. More of it horrific than gentle, but this—” she shook her head, her dark hair glinting under the light. “This was just too wrong.”

“It was, and that’s why we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” She didn’t want to think about it happening to Jared, of his flashing into flames before her.

“After you have the aides come in here, I want you to take a long break.” Lili rested her hands on Deisphe’s shoulders. “I don’t care if all Hades breaks loose out there; you are to stay away from here for the next thirty minutes.”

She licked her lips and nodded jerkily as she rose to her feet and walked away with the stiff, odd gait of an elder.

Lili turned back to Pepta’s remains. “I am so sorry, Pepta,” she said softly. “We will avenge you.”

Then she went to her office, closed the door, and collapsed on the couch, crying as she hadn’t done since the night her mother was killed.

She barely noticed when Cleo crept into the room—as if a closed door could keep the cat out—and curled up in Lili’s lap.

And Lili cried even more until there were no more tears left within her.

“What are you doing?” Cleo hopped onto Lili’s desk, watching as she dug into the bottom desk drawer.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Her face was set in stark lines as she laid a silk cloth across the desk surface, then carefully piled the scrolls onto the material.

“Giving them back to Dr. Musty?”

Lili shook her head. “Not after what just happened. There had to have been a blood spell cast into that brand for Pepta to die that way.” Her body ached to return downstairs and see Jared, but then he’d know what happened to Pepta. She doubted anyone down there would take the news well, and she couldn’t blame them. She’d vowed to protect them all as best she could, but instead she had been the cause of one’s death. She had to come up with a way to save them from harm.

“He won’t like it,” the cat warned her. “He could get you barred from working in any hospital or even a healing center.”

“Let him try,” she said grimly, carefully folding the silk over the scrolls so that she didn’t have to touch them. “He knew he was taking a chance in showing them to me. It wasn’t like I agreed with his methods to begin with. Besides, I’ve got Nurse Garrish on my side now.” She rummaged in the top drawer and pulled out a stick of sealing wax and a brass seal. She touched the wax with her fingertip, heating it until enough wax dropped onto the folds, effectively closing the packet, then pressing the seal on top of the wax. “Warning to all. Lest you fall. Dark contents to be sent where they belong. Be gone.” She pushed the packet that seemed to go up in smoke.

“Eurydice?” Cleo asked.

She nodded. “She’ll know what to do with them.”

“You really should have strung Dr. Musty for a while longer. Put on one of those Victorian dresses you have in storage and showed him a hint of ankle.” Cleo returned to her silk pillow and curled up, her tail draped around her round body.

“I don’t think Dr. Mortimer will be surprised that I did this,” Lili said with strong conviction. “He knows what my thoughts are about those blood spells.”

“And maybe he’ll think of a way to use it against you.” The feline started to groom her paws.

“He better not, not after what happened to Pepta.” She picked up her bag and coat. “We’re going home for a quiet dinner.”

“And you are hoping the demon will show up.”

“He will.”
Please, Jared, show up.
She shrugged on her coat and walked out of the office with Cleo following.

Lili stopped in the ER first, relieved to see that Deisphe looked more like herself, even if her eyes were red and puffy.

“I can take that away for you,” Lili offered, gesturing toward her eyes.

The Were shook her head. “It’s a good way to remember.”

Lili nodded her understanding. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She felt uneasy the moment she stepped outside and found the fog lying low on the ground. The moist air clung to her skin the way she imagined shadows wound their way around Jared.

“I don’t like this,” Cleo grumbled, walking beside her. She looked over her shoulder as they headed for Lili’s CX-7.

“The lot is protected,” she reminded the cat.

“That doesn’t mean anything, and you know it.” She started to weave her way around Lili’s ankles, careful not to trip the witch.

“What are you doing?”

“They always say not to be an easy target. A zigzag motion is your best bet.”

“Yes, well, you’re doing it around me, making
me
the target.” She clicked the remote for the locks, and they got into the vehicle. Lili turned on the engine and adjusted the heater. She didn’t admit she had the same uneasy feelings and still did. She knew even a locked SUV couldn’t keep out most creatures, especially when they had fangs and claws meant to tear into metal as if it were paper.

“Can we go out to dinner first? Some nice salmon perhaps?” Cleo peeked out the passenger window.

“Jared might be at the house.”

“And he seems to have a way of tracking you down,” she reminded her. “You need to be somewhere with others right now. I don’t mean you have to laugh and drink and badly sing in a karaoke bar, but it’s not too late to go out for a bite to eat.” Her stomach rumbled to add credence to her words. Lili’s stomach soon followed suit.

“We’ll go to Inderman,” she said, turning left instead of right and head for the ocean’s edge, where the supernatural community thrived.

Cleo was right. She needed to be among others, and at least the Inderman Health Department wouldn’t have a fit about a cat dining in the restaurant.

***

“Well, that was fun.
Not
,” Cleo rumbled as she followed Lili into the house. “I thought we were going out to relax and have a nice meal.”

“We did.” Lili tossed her leather bag on the kitchen table, the keys clattering alongside it.

“You barely ate a bite while you looked around, waiting for the demon to show up.” The cat headed for her kitty kibble dish and began crunching down. “The totally cute waiter flirted with you, and you didn’t throw him a bone.” She threw her head back, laughing hysterically. “Throw him a bone! And he’s a Werewolf.” Her laughter turned into a sigh. “No one appreciates my humor.”

“What humor?” Lili pulled a bottle of her favorite Chardonnay out of the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. She kicked off her shoes, nudging them into a corner, and padded barefoot into the family room while Cleo continued to grouse that witches didn’t understand the need for a sense of humor.

Lili stopped short at the sight of a familiar body lying asleep on her couch. She almost dropped her glass as she ran to the couch and knelt down.

“Hey,” she said softly, whispering her fingers across Jared’s brow.

He opened his eyes halfway and smiled.

“How long have you been here?” She hated the idea she hadn’t been in the house when he arrived.

Jared glanced at the clock. “A couple hours.” His voice was rusty with sleep. “You weren’t here, so I made use of your couch.”

“You should have used the bed and been more comfortable.” She was pleased to see all of his wounds were fully healed. Even his broken jaw was fine now. She threaded her fingers through his, relishing the warmth of his skin. Then she remembered the afternoon’s events. “Pepta’s dead.” She knew better than to try to sugarcoat the words. Jared would prefer the stark truth.

His eyes darkened to a blue that mimicked the bottom of the ocean. “I was afraid of that. Because of what they did to her?” His lips thinned in anger.