Blood Debt (The Blood Sisters Book 2) (8 page)

“
Bait?”

Duncan ran
his hands through his hair and stared at Amanda with his jaw slack. He gave a
shake of his head and a big exhale. He glanced at Mike, who stood there with
his arms crossed, studying Amanda’s face. “Help me out with this, would you?”

Amanda
didn’t have to be an
empath
or a
mind-reader to figure out things weren’t going her way. She fumbled with the
cardboard container filled with breakfast they had grabbed from the food truck.
Two glazed donuts, coffee with extra sugar, and a side of warm garlic hash browns.
It should’ve been enough to warm her soul, but
instead,
she felt cold. Duncan and Mike weren’t on her side.

And she
really needed them to be.

Their
eyes were hard; their gazes unkind. If Amanda didn’t know any better, she’d
think they didn’t want to get Jessica back.

“I’m not
a child,” Amanda interjected before Mike got a moment to speak. Her fingers
coiled around the red and white paper cushioning her donuts like a precious
commodity. “One way or another and I’m getting to that church. Granted, I’d like
to have a little backup, just in case things go wrong.”

Duncan’s
eyebrows rose. “Incase anything goes wrong? Darling, you’re talking about a
written invitation for wrong. You’re talking about blaring over the loud
speaker where you’re going and telling the demons exactly where you’ll be.”

That was
the point. That was the plan. Couldn’t Duncan understand? “She can sense me all
the time. So what’s the difference?” Amanda bit her lip and implored him with
her eyes.

But
Duncan raged and all he felt was frustration. Slapping his hands on his thighs,
he stood from his chair and paced to the other side of the room. Mike followed
him with his eyes before taking Duncan’s vacant seat. He leaned
forward
but didn’t bother to uncross his arms.
“What makes you think this was Jessica’s plan? What makes you think it wasn’t a
hallucination, a trick from Lourdes?”

“Because
of what I felt. She was there.” Amanda’s nose flared and warmth spread across
her freckled cheeks. “Lourdes will make her come after me, it’s just a matter
of time before Jessica can’t resist any longer. So let’s make it on our terms.
On Blood terms.”

Mike’s
eyes flicked back to Duncan, who was a basket case of nerves. As usual, Amanda
couldn’t get a bead on Mike. “I’m not saying we agree with you, Amanda, but if
we go there and set up as you’ve asked, what makes you think you’re up to the
job? What makes you think you’re strong enough to heal Jessica?”

For the
first time, Amanda felt her own doubt. Glancing down at her wrist where the
mark still lay, her spirits weakened. Mike must’ve sensed it because he put his
hand on hers.

“You
crumbled at the hospital when the demons closed in. You went unconscious and we
could barely get you out of there,” Mike’s eyes came alive with a glint of
passion. “In here, you were seizing and Duncan could barely hold you down. So
you tell me why we should allow you to put yourself in harm’s way? Let me
remind you, Amanda, it might not be Jessica’s plan.”

Amanda
got what he was saying, but she held a steady breath; rife with determination.
“I know what I know. As sure as I can feel what you’re feeling right now. The
same way I can feel the weight of responsibility on Duncan, I feel it all
simply by existing.” Amanda rose from her chair and put her cardboard box
untouched on the bed. “I felt it in my dream. It was real and it was Jessica.”

She
paused
to let her words sink in, but she turned
from Mike and scrutinized Duncan. His heart pounded and he tried, in a way, not
to feel anything as their eyes locked. “Jessica is hurt, hurting
bad
. She can’t fight Lourdes
forever.
As I already said. Shouldn’t we face
her on our terms? This church is
warded
.
This church has systems in place that give us the edge. This is what we’re
meant to do. Someone has to free Jessica from Lourdes.”

“At the
expense of you?” Duncan paraded right up to her and pointed his finger. “You
think that’s what Jessica really wants? You think if she was in her right mind,
she’d ever make it so you
were bait
?”

Amanda’s
forehead crinkled. “No. She’d never want me harmed, but she only has one shot
at this. We might only have this shot. If we fail to capture her, or I fail to
cleanse her, we might never see her again.” Her eyes fell to the ground, “At
least not a Jessica we’ll remember. You have to know what’s at stake, Duncan.”

“You
think I don’t know?” Duncan whispered with fury. He gripped her shoulders and
bent over to meet her eye level. “You think I don’t want her back, damn all the
costs? Well, not you, Amanda. Not you.”

She
hadn’t known he felt or loved for her that strongly, but Amanda wouldn’t quit.
She wouldn’t give in. “Then give me backup. Help me. Don’t make me do this on
my own. I can try to control the emotions I get from demons. I could never do
it before. I always relied too much on Jessica, but now I have a reason. A good
reason. To really try. I can be
stronger.
If you’ll help me.”

Duncan
turned to Mike for help. “Help me out here, would you?”

Amanda
couldn’t help a small smile. “He’s already made up his mind.”

Mike
wiped his face. “You know what I want for lunch too?”

A BLT
with extra
mayo
but Amanda thought not to
say it. “We better get ready. I’ve never led before. Jessica always does that.
I need her back, Duncan. More than I can say. It isn’t just about surviving for
me. It’s…” Amanda thought, her eyes ticking back and forth, “it’s about
living.”

Without
Jessica her life was worthless. Is that what she was going to say? Is that how
she really felt? In a lot of ways, yes. Amanda always had her. She didn’t know
what to do without her.

“Then you
better eat up, let Mike and I get the car ready. It’s going to be a long
drive.”

The drive
was long, but Amanda thought the road was going to be even longer.

*****

Bait. Who
knew she’d ever agree to such a stupid plan.

Amanda ate
her breakfast and slurped on her coffee. When that was done, she used the
washroom to freshen up. Her cheeks were splotchy like she was recovering from a
prolonged sickness and the sparkle in her eyes was dull. Amanda didn’t like
seeing the effects of what Vaughn had done to her. She wasn’t much into
repressing her thoughts or feelings, but being high on demon drugs, well, she’d
just like to forget it all.

There was
nothing she could do to heal that, but the burn on her wrist she should be able
to take care of
lickity
split. So Amanda
rolled her wrist
over
and held her hand
above it. Instinctively, the ball of light grew out from her palm. It spun,
casting a soft glow in the cramped dirty bathroom.

While her
skin grew warm, the mark still remained.

It wouldn’t
heal. Or maybe she couldn’t heal?

Amanda’s
brow pinched together and she tried again, this time with more concentration.
The spot where Jessica had touched her grew redder. Hotter, but it wouldn’t go
away. It wouldn’t heal.

Breathless,
Amanda stopped her healing energy and rubbed her wrist. The skin felt like
scales over the red mark. It seemed it was there to stay, but why couldn’t she
heal it? She’d healed the girl in the café. Were her powers changing that much,
or was it something about the mark itself?

She just
didn’t know.

Amanda
took a deep breath and fixed her hair. She couldn’t let Mike or Duncan know
what was going on. There was no reason to worry them because Amanda didn’t have
any answers. The only thing she knew was, she needed to get to that church.
Needed to wait for Jessica. They’d stop her if she told them the truth and that
just wasn’t an option. Amanda needed them there.

So she
did her best to force a smile as she left the bathroom. No one was there, but
the television was on and it flashed a news report. Interested, Amanda stepped
closer and saw a red banner rolling across the screen Physiatrist Hospital
Massacre.

Massacre.
There was that word again.

Her
fingers gingerly played with the remote to raise the volume and Amanda sat on the
corner of the bed without meaning to.

“The
three suspects,” the screen flashed with character sketches of her, Duncan, and
Mike,
though her drawing was all wrong.
Amanda’s nose wasn’t plump like that. The artistic representation was closer to
Jessica’s image than her own, “shot their way out with Ronald Wax, the
suspect
in an alleged mass murder less than two
days ago.”

Amanda
hadn’t known people at the hospital died. She hadn’t known Ron had gotten out,
but where was he now? Would he go after Jessica too?

A knock
raised Amanda’s head. Duncan stood over by the front door. He put his hands in
his pockets and gave her a sheepish smile. “We’re ready to go if you are.”

“Why
didn’t you tell me…”

Duncan’s
head tilted toward the television. “About the demons at the hospital? Ron?”
Duncan shook his head and waves of regret washed over him. “I thought you had
enough to worry about. I doubt we’ll see him again. He doesn’t want to get
caught any more than we want him around.”

Duncan
turned his back to head outside, but Amanda heard something else from him. She
raced after him and grabbed the cuff of his jacket. “Who or what is Vain? You
keep…thinking it. It’s like a bad song on
loop
inside your head.”

He froze
and turned to look at her, but managed to avoid looking her in the eyes. “A
mistake. Something that’s come back to haunt me. For now, let’s get you to the
church. I’ll explain it
all
when I can.
Let’s just focus on what’s really important right now, all right?”

Amanda
followed Duncan out onto the gravel parking lot. Close to eleven A.M., the
sunlight beat down bright enough to be summer, but Amanda was chilled. It was
as if the sun was shining behind glass, and Amanda was hidden from its glow.
Duncan’s lie was easy enough for him to say, but inside he was torn in two. It
was eating him up inside. At some point soon, they were going to lose him.

She saw
it. She felt it in the whispers of the trees, their branches like possible
choices and paths they would take. But, all paths would lead to his departure
and it hollowed her out. He left once before, Amanda had thought he wouldn’t
make that same mistake again.

“I
thought you’d learned your lesson,” Amanda bit her lip. She didn’t want to say
she was disappointed, but her heart skipped a beat—sinking further into an abyss.

Duncan
turned on a dime and shook his head. “We’re going to go to the church. Get
Jessica back. I’m not leaving. I swear to you.”

In the
car already, Mike gazed between them, his hand resting on the door. His eyes
held mild interest, but he didn’t know what they were talking about. It was
clear as day to Amanda; Mike grappled with his own confusion. Whatever Duncan
was going through; he wasn’t sharing.

“Your
words, I wish I could say it changes anything. You might mean them now, but
you’re going to leave. If we save Jessica and you leave,” Amanda sighed, “maybe
I shouldn’t have pushed her to you again. I believed in you, Duncan.”

Heartbroken.
Like she just lost her puppy. Amanda turned away from his eyes and toward the
front office. The lawn was overgrown and an Out of Order sign hung at the
icemaker, but two men exited the office and pointed in her direction. Amanda’s
breath caught in her throat. They had been made.

The
police were coming.

“Don’t
hold something against me that I haven’t done yet. You can still believe in
me,” Duncan whispered. “Don’t lose faith in me. Not you too.”

His words
came close to crippling him. He felt so much pain in his heart, and his face
mirrored the intensity of it. Amanda wanted to apologize for hurting him, but
the men from the office stepped off the porch. Their steps hastening, while
still slow enough not to draw attention to themselves—so they thought.

“Duncan—.”

He took
her hand and gave it a squeeze. I swear I’ll do right by you. Jessica. I’d walk
to the ends of the earth to save either of you. I thought you of all people,
would know that.”

Amanda’s
dry lips parted. “We need to get in the car.” She glanced at the men
approaching. “Now, Duncan.”

“Shit,”
Duncan muttered under his breath. He was mad at himself for not noticing. He
ran toward the driver’s side of the
car
while Amanda slid into the passenger side.

“They’re
going to get away!”

Amanda’s
eyes widened with fear as she saw their guns drawn. A green hue encompassed
them. These weren’t regular law enforcement officers. “Duncan!” Her voice
pitched.

“Hold
on,” Duncan slid a toothpick into his mouth and in a matter of
moments,
they were peeling out of the parking
lot and headed toward the highway.