[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
us both, and he frowned.
Who could that be? he mused.
As far as I could tell, he hadn t talked to a single soul outside my apartment since he d
gotten out of the hospital. He pulled out the phone and stared at it. After looking at the
number, he shrugged and stuck the phone back in his pocket.
I double-checked my Taser and pointed it as Adam guided Raphael inside.
Stay behind me, Andy, I said.
Raphael smiled and put his hands up. Behind him, I saw that Adam had drawn his gun.
Not the optimal weapon to use against a demon, but I supposed a gunshot wound to the
leg might slow Raphael down if necessary.
It s so nice to feel welcome, Raphael said, stopping when Adam ordered him to.
Andy s cell phone rang again. I was tempted to tell him to turn it off, but then I had a
disturbing thought what if it was Mom and Dad, calling from wherever they d
disappeared to? Without looking away from Raphael, I said, Answer it, just in case it s
important.
May I put my hands down now? Raphael asked.
No, Adam and I said in concert.
Behind me, I heard Andy answer the phone. A voice buzzed on the other end of the
line, but it was too faint for me to recognize or make out words. Andy said yeah and
uh-huh a couple of times, then hung up.
Who was it? I asked.
Just The Healing Circle, checking up on me. They must not realize Dr. Neely is
paying me a house call.
I thought I heard a little something off about his voice, but I figured this wasn t a good
time to pry.
What was it you wanted to talk to me about? Raphael asked.
I told them everything I know, Andy said, shocking the hell out of me. That so was
not part of the script.
I turned my head partway. Andy? What are you doing?
I m tired of being scared, he said, sounding scared shitless. I want everything out in
the open.
Raphael shrugged, which looked kind of funny with his hands still up. He didn t look
particularly surprised by Andy s admission. Considering how certain he d sounded that
Andy would keep his mouth shut, that kind of surprised me.
Water under the bridge now, Raphael said with a bland smile.
Morgan, Andy said, and his voice was shaking. Shoot him. That s not Raphael.
Chapter 18
I was too slow on the uptake. Andy s words hadn t even begun to sink in yet when Dr.
Neely lunged at me. I tried to fire my Taser, but Andy tackled me.
It was a heroic gesture, trying to get me out of the way of Neely s charge, but I could
have done without it. I cursed him as we both fell down and the Taser was knocked out of
my hand.
Get off! I screamed at Andy, and jabbed him with my elbow to punctuate the point.
Neely grabbed my arm in a brutal, crushing grip, dragging me up to my feet.
A gunshot nearly deafened me, and something hot and sticky splashed my face. Neely
grunted in pain, but he didn t let go of me. He spun around, putting me between him and
Adam and wrapping an arm around my neck.
Shoot, and I ll take her head off before I die, Neely said.
I reached up to grab the forearm he had pressed against my neck, prying at it uselessly.
It wasn t that I expected to be able to make him let go, especially with my taped fingers. I
was just playing the helpless human female in hopes he d underestimate me.
Adam s gun was still pointed straight at us, but he didn t fire. Footsteps pounded down
the stairs.
Stay away! Adam bellowed, but Brian and Dom both ignored him and came
charging into the room.
I felt Neely turn to look at them, and in that moment of distraction, I stomped down on
his instep as hard as I could.
I already knew pain didn t bother this particular demon much, but it did startle him. I
let myself become a dead weight in his arms, and he had to readjust his grip to keep me
from falling.
Everything else seemed to happen pretty much in a split second, and it wasn t until
afterward that I was able to piece together the sequence of events. At the time, all I
noticed were the sounds.
Gunshot.
Scream of pain, but it wasn t from Neely.
Another gunshot.
Utter silence.
Time resumed moving normally, and my other senses caught up with me, when I
collapsed to the floor with a limp body on top of me. I shoved Neely away and got to my
knees.
Brian and Andy were standing around in shock. Adam was on the floor on his knees,
bent over. A trickle of blood obscured my vision, and I had to wipe it away before my
mind could finish figuring out what I saw.
Adam was bent over on the floor, clutching someone to his chest. Andy and Brian
were still standing, and Neely was dead as a doornail. That left&
No! I choked, stumbling to my feet and crossing the short distance between me and
Adam.
Dominic lay in Adam s arms, a huge bloodstain spreading across his chest.
No! I said again, eyes filming with tears as I dropped to my knees beside them.
Dom s eyes were squinched shut with pain, and his face was way too pale. Blood
continued to pour from the wound.
Do something! I shouted at Adam.
He was a policeman. He had to know some rudimentary first aid! But when I took
another look at the wound, I knew that rudimentary first aid wasn t going to cut it.
Adam! Dom gasped, terror and pain in his voice.
Shh, Adam said, wrapping one of his hands around Dom s fingers. His face looked
strangely serene, no sign of grief or horror or fear. I wanted to scream at him, curse him,
hit him. Make him look like he was supposed to look when his lover lay dying in his
arms.
I ll take good care of you, Adam said, his voice a low croon, and the bastard had the
nerve to smile.
Dom s eyes widened, as if he, too, were shocked by that smile. Then he made a pained
sound. His back arched briefly; then he went limp and his eyes closed. Adam released the
hand he d been holding.
I put both my hands over my mouth to stifle the sob that was rising in my throat. Adam
sighed, then turned to me and held out his hand.
Nice to meet you, he said, with a little grin, though I d have preferred to do it under
better circumstances.
I just sat there and gaped, not understanding. He lowered his hand.
I m Adam, he said, and I wondered if it was possible for demons to go into shock.
I d never heard of it before, but then his lover had just died in his arms. He blinked. I
mean I m Adam, he said more forcefully. My demon s taking care of Dom at the
moment.
I shook my head, wondering if that would rattle the pieces of my brain back into place.
Then I figured out what he meant and my eyes went saucer-wide.
You mean he transferred to Dominic? I cried, and I heard the shrillness of my own
voice.
Adam nodded. It s only temporary. He ll probably need about twenty-four hours to
get Dominic fully healed, then he ll come back to me.
I stared at him, so full of questions I couldn t even figure out which one to spit out
first. Eighty percent of demon hosts are nonfunctional when their demons leave. And
you and Dom are both in the lucky twenty percent?
It s not luck, Adam said. His voice sounded the same, and obviously he looked
exactly the same, but though it might have been my imagination, I could have sworn
there was something visibly different about him. Maybe it was just body language.
Most of the time when you see a host without its demon, it s because the demon was
illegal and was exorcized. Illegal demons generally don t give a damn about their hosts,
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]