Awaken (Divine Hunter Series) (9 page)

Micha
el had no clue what the demon was talking about, but remained still. It whispered something in another language and then suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving Michael panting and looking at nothing but the depths of the alleyway in front of him and distant traffic speeding past at the end.

What the fuck just happened?

A groan came from his left. The man had pulled himself up and was sitting against the wall in between two dumpsters. “What the hell
was
that?” he asked as he wiped his forehead and examined the blood that was now covering his hand from a small gash above his left eyebrow.

Michael went to his aid, holding his hand out to him.
“You okay, buddy?”

He took Michael
’s hand and pulled himself up to his feet. “Yeah man. You saved my life. I owe you one.” He dusted down his trousers. “What
was
that thing?”

“I have no idea but−”

“And what the hell are
you
?” the man interrupted; his eyes wide as he looked at Michael waiting for an answer.

M
ichael was confused. “I. . . What do you mean?”

“
I saw your eyes just now, when you were fighting that
thing
.”

“
What the hell are you talking about? I think that bump on your head has affected you.”

“
There’s no human I know whose eyes glow white like that. What the hell are you man?” He wiped at his head again.

Ignoring his question, Michael gestured towards the guy
’s forehead. “You need to get that gash checked out. You’re gonna need some stitches.”

The stranger looked
frustrated. “Come on. Are you kiddin’ me man? A guy with bright red eyes just flew down from the sky and tried to kill me. I think we can safely assume that I’m all shocked out right now. You can tell me what the hell it is that you are ‘cause you’re certainly not normal.”

Michael shook his head. Granted, he was still discovering thing
s about himself but. . . his eyes glowing white? “I didn’t know that happened.” He couldn’t understand it.

His confusion
must have surprised the stranger as he was now looking at him with a bemused expression.

“
Damn, I could use a drink!” Michael scoffed. “No doubt we both could. Come on. I’m buying.”

From that day on, and after never seeing that demon again, Michael and Evo had been best friends.

It was good to hear his voice after so long. Evo was due to arrive in the next half hour or so and Michael had insisted
that he stay with him on campus. He didn’t have much room in his apartment but he had a sofa which was quite comfortable and in truth, he would quite enjoy the company right now.

After work Michael had returned to his dorm. He
’d powered up his laptop before heading out to meet Evo in front of the admin building and was just about to sit down with his freshly made mug of coffee when the phone rang. He walked to the counter top and grabbed the handset from its cradle. “Hello?”

A familiar British accent sounded on the other end of the line.
“Michael? Hi. It’s Lacy. I’m calling from the hospital.”

T
he constant, familiar beep of the EKG machine was enough to keep Lacy on edge as she sat in the bucket chair that she’d pulled over to Nina’s bedside. She looked at the many tubes and wires connected to Nina, whose gaunt face was hidden behind an oxygen mask that clouded over with each exhale that she made. The fact that she was breathing on her own was a small relief, but Lacy still felt a knot in the pit of her stomach as she sat and stroked Nina’s hand. She’d only left her side once since she’d been brought into ICU a couple of hours ago, which had been to call Michael to inform him of Nina’s condition but there had been no answer on his cell.

A deep groan came from the pit of her stomach. The hunger was too intense to ignore now and she knew she
’d have no choice but to eat something soon, if only to keep her own strength up.

The door swung open and a brown haired nurse came in giving Lacy a warm smile as she walked over to the bed. She picked up the
clipboard from the end of the bed and walked over to the EKG machine, pressed a few buttons and wrote something down on the sheet of paper.

“
How are you holding up?” she asked Lacy over her small black rimmed glasses.

“
Good. Thanks. How’s she doing?”

The nurse finished up with the clipboard placing it back on its hook and walked over to an IV drip that hung on a metal stand next to the bed. She reached up and turned
the small clamp on the tubing.

“No change as of yet,” s
he replied, her voice soft. “With trauma like this I’m afraid it’s a waiting game, but she’s comfortable. She’s being kept sedated so there is less stress on her brain.” The nurse put her hand on Lacy’s shoulder. “I know she’s been through a lot, but she’s in good hands here. Listen, you’ve been here for quite some time. Have you eaten?”

“
Not since lunch. But I’m fine, really.”

“
You need to eat something. It won’t help anyone if you neglect yourself. Why don’t you pop to the canteen and get something? I’m sure Nina won’t mind.”

Lacy glanced over at the young girl who looked so peaceful in her induced slumber. The nurse was right; no sense in starving herself and her s
tomach had begun to shout for food a while ago. It would be good to stretch her legs, she supposed, and she could also try calling Michael again. “Okay.” She got to her feet and placed her jacket on the chair. “I won’t be too long.”

She swung her purse over her shoulder
and gave the nurse a smile.

“
I’m on duty all evening so take your time. I’ll keep checking in on her for you.” The nurse’s smile was kind and sympathetic, reassuring Lacy that it was fine to leave Nina which, for some reason, she found extremely hard to do. Still racked with guilt over her sister, she worried about something happening to Nina while she was alone. She couldn’t bear the thought.

After sitting i
n the canteen for half an hour, pushing some berries from a slice of cherry pie around her plate instead of eating them, Lacy had given up on food. She couldn’t conjure up any kind of appetite, which was no surprise. She knew when she’d ordered at the counter that she wouldn’t eat it, but had ordered anyway in the hope that she’d change her mind when it was in front of her. Not the case. All she’d managed was one measly fork full and a few sips of her coffee. Her stomach wasn’t cooperating and it was pointless trying to make it, so she decided to head downstairs.

She reached a bank of pay phones down at reception, put a few quarters in
and dialled Michael’s number. At seven thirty p.m, he should be home from work by now. After a few rings, Lacy was relieved to hear his voice on the other end of the line.

“
Hi. It’s Lacy. I’m calling from the hospital.”

“
Hey. How’s she doing?”

She let out a heavy sigh.
“It’s pretty bad.” She repeated what the surgeon had told her earlier about Nina’s condition as best she could; surprised she’d even remembered what he’d said. Even more surprising was how badly the whole thing was affecting her. She hardly knew Nina; had spoken to her, maybe once before, so why had it hit her so hard? Deep down, she knew the answer: she’d replaced her sister with Nina thinking that if she looked after her, it would take away some of the guilt she felt over not looking after Beth. Her previously buried emotions about her sister’s death were now a high speed train she wasn’t ready to board yet. The guilt that had buried itself right down to her marrow was now raging like a hot furnace. She thought she’d dealt with it after all these years, that she’d finally put it to rest when really all she’d managed to do was push it further back, all the while fighting hard not to let it rise to the surface.

“
Are you okay?” Michael’s voice snapped her away from her inner struggle and she inhaled so deeply her lungs burned. “Lacy?”

“
Yes. Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Somehow Michael’s voice soothed her. It was nice to speak to someone she classed as a friend even though they hadn’t known each other all that long.

“
You don’t need to stay with her all the time,” he told her, his voice sympathetic. “I’m sure the hospital will let you know if there’s any change. You’re going to wear yourself out.”

He was right
, of course. There was nothing she could do for her right now so exhausting herself was just silly. Besides, she needed to stop by her office to get some of her things so she thought it best to leave now before it got any later.

“
Okay. I’ll just pop back up to see her before I leave and make sure they have my number.”

“
Then go home and get some rest. I’ll speak to you tomorrow okay?”

“Yeah,
okay.”

On her way back up to the room she stopped at the
nurse’s station to leave her home and cell number then went back to Nina’s room. Still lost in her inner turmoil, it wasn’t until she was through the door that she saw a familiar figure at Nina’s bedside, leaning right over her. Lacy froze. Her breath caught and her eyes fixed on Jake’s as his head snapped towards her and he stood up straight.

What the hell was he doing leaning over her like that?

“How did you get in here?” she managed to ask him through her alarm. “Visiting is over.”

He was silent for a moment and just when Lacy was about to repeat her question he spoke in a quiet mumble
that she barely heard. “I needed to see her,” he said.

She felt
annoyed at him for avoiding her question. She slowly walked towards him, keeping her eyes fixed on his. When she got closer to him she noticed how pale he was. His face was gaunt; his deep blue eyes weighed down with dark, heavy circles. She happened to glance down and saw that his hands were thick with dirt. As she stood near him, his empty stare seemed to burn through her like he wasn’t really seeing her even though he was looking straight at her. Lacy felt a chill creep down her spine, but shook it off. She had to find out what had happened between him and Nina. “Do you know what happened to her?”

She watched his face intently
for any kind of sign, but he looked away from her. “No.”

“I saw you earlier today. You and Nina. . .
You were arguing about something.”

He didn
’t respond. Didn’t even move, just continued to stare at her; his eyes still devoid of any emotion. She backed away from him, walking around the foot of the hospital bed to the other side. His gaze followed her. The chill came back, telling her she should get out of there, but she wouldn’t leave Nina, and she had to know if he was responsible for what had happened to her.

“
What was it about, Jake?”

Finally, his
eyes dropped to look at Nina, a wrinkle appearing between his brows. “It was nothing.” He sounded strangely despondent.

“
It didn’t look like nothing to me.” Her voice was stern as she stared at him over the bed, willing him to look at her so that she could gauge his expression. She remembered his face, as he’d grabbed Nina back at the campus, and the way it had made her feel in that moment−the dread that had hit the bottom of her stomach as she looked on from across the car park−and now, deep down to her marrow, her instincts were telling her that this boy was dangerous. She felt certain that he was the reason Nina was lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life.

“What happened to her
? What did you do?”

He took off
towards the door without saying a word.

“
Jake!” She was angry now. How dare he just ignore her? “I
will
find out what happened,” she promised as he left the hospital room without as much as a backwards glance.

After her anger had begun to subside, Lacy sat watching Nina, contemplating staying with her. She was even more worried about leaving her on her own now
. Seeing Jake standing at her bedside had freaked her out. What if he came back when she’d gone? Lacy didn’t trust him at all.

She tried fighting back a
yawn, but it beat her. She had to get some rest, there was no doubt. She figured if she spoke to the nurse on duty and explained about Jake they’d keep an extra eye on Nina’s room. She’d stop by her office on the way home like she’d planned. Then when she got home, she’d have a quick shower then bed. She could call the hospital in the morning to see if everything was okay, then visit Nina tomorrow afternoon.

It was a good plan. Little did she know that her plans were about to change.

* * *

T
he drive to her office had been a quiet one. She was glad to be away from all the beeps and drones of the hospital machinery that was currently helping to keep Nina alive, even though she still felt uneasy about leaving her. She couldn’t help but think of what happened all those years ago when she’d left her sister. The fact that she hadn’t been with her sister when she’d taken her final breath still affected her greatly and she couldn’t bear the thought of poor Nina being alone if the time came. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek and parked the car as near as she could to the psychology department building.

The night had brought along a slight
ground mist which had covered the whole campus. There was a cold bite in the air; a sign that fall was in full swing. Lacy pulled her jacket tighter around her as she walked towards the brownstone building where her office was. It was always pretty quiet around this part of the campus at nine o’clock at night. Most of the students hung out around the bars and leisure areas when they weren’t in their dorms.

Most of the evening classes had finished
by now so the hallways were empty as she walked towards her office. Far away footsteps echoed down the other end of the building as she unlocked the door. She paused, waiting to see who it was−maybe a colleague−but the footsteps stopped abruptly before they rounded the corner. She thought nothing of it and went inside her office, gathered up some files from her desk, turned out the lights and locked the door behind her.

As soon as Lacy was outside
the building her skin prickled with a sense of foreboding. Something inside was telling her she was being watched. That
something
wasn’t wrong.

She looked around and saw the figure of a man, shadowed by the large tree
he was leaning against. She could feel his eyes on her as she began to walk swiftly, but calmly, towards her car
.

Just stay calm,
she told herself even though her hands had already begun to tremble.

She walked a little faster
, cutting across the grass as she reached into her coat pocket for her car keys. A quick glance behind her caused her to panic as she saw that the man was now following her. She walked as fast as she could without breaking into a run; her heart pounding as her car came into view. She pointed her keys at it, hand shaking, and unlocked the doors.

Quickly, she climbed insid
e and pulled the door shut. The man, who was still heading towards her, lifted his head and as he walked into the light of the nearby street lamp she gasped.

Jake
!
He must have waited at the hospital and followed her.

A
s she fumbled to put the key in the ignition, she dropped the whole bunch on the floor. “Shit!” She bent down to grab them and when she sat back up again, she screamed when she saw Jake right outside her window. Frozen for a moment by his vacant stare, Lacy fixed on Jake’s eerily dead expression which sent a feeling of dread to the pit of her stomach.

Jesus Christ! What’s wrong with this guy?

Desperately trying to calm herself enough to stop her hand from shaking, she attempted to put the key in the ignition again. She managed it this time, and inhaled a deep breath when she heard the roar of the engine. Jake reached out for the door handle, but she managed to slam the car into reverse and maneuver out of his reach and out of the parking lot. She didn’t dare look back as she sped towards the gates at the front of campus.