Charade (36 page)

“Thank Goodness!” Heven said as we hurried into the room. “Cole?” she said before the door was even shut.

“He’s in the shower,” Gemma said quietly, pacing across the room. She looked tired and paler than usual.

“How is he?” Heven asked, staring at the bathroom door.

“He’ll be fine.”

“Thanks for coming today,” I said, sinking down onto the corner of my bed. If she hadn’t shown up to help me fight off that swarm of demons, who knows what might have happened.

Gemma nodded. “I figured things would get messy.”

“Have you been here this whole time?” Heven asked.

She nodded again.

“Why wouldn’t you say something?” Heven blurted and her eyes met Gemma’s. Something passed between the two and they seemed to come to some unspoken agreement.

What’s going on?
I asked.

Gemma is just fighting her feelings for Cole and is trying to keep distance between them, but now she can’t.

Girl stuff. That wasn’t my department. “Hecate took the scroll,” I told Gemma, changing the subject far away from girl stuff.

She nodded. “The odds were stacked against you.”

Gloom settled over the room and we all lapsed into silence. Soon, the bathroom door opened and Cole came out. He was wearing a pair of gym shorts and a pair of socks. No shirt. But judging from the bruises and marks all over his chest, it was no wonder he didn’t want to wear a shirt. It probably hurt too much. Heven rushed over, stopping short of throwing her arms around him after she quickly took notice of his appearance.

His arms and chest were covered in swollen, angry-looking bite marks and scratches. The bite marks were red with some sort of black substance oozing from the wounds. He had a split lip and more scratches on his neck. One of his knees was swollen with another bite and his skin was unnaturally pale. His lips were cracked like he was dehydrated, and when he breathed, he took shallow breaths like it hurt.

“How bad are you hurt?” she asked timidly.

He gave her a smile and my respect rose for him a notch. Clearly, he was not okay, but he cared enough about her not to make her feel any worse. “I’m good. You okay?”

The back of her head bobbed up and down with her nod. “I’m so sorry.” Her voice was hoarse and I hated to hear it so full of pain.

Cole made a noise in the back of his throat. “Don’t be sorry. I knew what I was getting into.”

“Kimber…” Heven’s voice trailed away.

His eyes darkened. “I didn’t know she had it in her.”

Heven sniffled and shifted from one foot to the other and Cole held out his arms. Heven hugged him carefully, and over her shoulder, Cole winced.

Gemma shot up from the chair she was perched on and began pacing the room once again.

“Scroll’s gone?” He mouthed to me.

I nodded.

Heven pulled out of his arms. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, but looked down at one of the worst-looking bites, which was also next to one of the worst looking scratches. I frowned.

Gemma cleared her throat. Cole forgot about Heven and looked at her.

“I have something for you to put on those bites. The sooner the better.” Her voice bordered on a whisper and she avoided looking at Cole. For a warrior she sure seemed squeamish about his injuries.

“I’ll be fine.”

Her eyes snapped to him. “Those bites are going to start burning and the poison in the saliva is going to make you sick. You need this.” She held up a small silver jar. Suddenly, I recognized the look in her eyes. If I looked in the mirror right now, I would probably see the same look. It wasn’t his injuries that bothered her. It was Cole’s pain. She was upset because she felt she failed the person she cared most about.

He nodded grimly. “They’re already burning.” He turned toward his nightstand to switch on the light. I caught the swear in my throat. He had a huge bite on his back; the skin was practically hanging from his body.

Gemma made a sound and Heven stumbled back. I reached out and pulled her toward the bed, pressing her down to sit.

“I’ll help you,” Gemma said, unscrewing the lid of the cream she brought.

“Yeah, okay,” he said, swaying a little on his feet. Heven jumped up, but I beat her to his side and helped him sit on his bed. “I hope that stuff works,” he mumbled.

Heven was white and a little green. I knew she wanted to be here for her brother, but I thought she might need a breather before being faced with Cole’s downward spiral into pain. “You should probably get upstairs. Mrs. Britt didn’t take attendance on the bus. She will probably be coming around to our rooms.”

I turned to look at Gemma. “I’m going to walk her upstairs. Will you stay with him?”

“Sure.”

“I don’t think you should be around Kimber,” Cole said to Heven, a fine sheen of sweat was breaking out on his forehead.

“I’m sure she won’t be there. She disappeared with Hecate.”

I went to the door, opened it and looked out into the hall. It was clear. Once Heven said her good-byes to Cole and made Gemma swear to watch over him, I ushered her out into the hall and into the elevator.

“He looks really bad,” Heven said, leaning against the wall.

“He’s tough. He’ll be okay.” My thoughts flashed to those scratches all over his body. They somehow seemed familiar.

Heven brushed away a stray tear and straightened as the elevator doors opened. I went out first, making sure nothing or no one was in the hall. Someone was at the far end, but they let themselves in their room and then there was no one.

Sam? What will happen now that the Treasure Map is gone? Will people on the list start dying?

I wished I could say no. I wished that I could deny her fear, but I couldn’t. Because I really didn’t know.
I hope not.

All those innocent people. All slaughtered because…

I failed.

Heven stopped and turned to face me.
You didn’t fail. You’re the reason we all lived. You and Gemma. Yes, the scroll is gone, but this isn’t your fault. I guess that means it isn’t my fault, either.

I dropped my forehead to rest on hers.
We’ll make it right. Somehow.

I know we will. But first let’s take care of my brother and get home.

I don’t want to leave you here alone.

It’s only for an hour. Then I’ll meet you downstairs for dinner.
She pulled away and used her keycard to open her room. I pushed past her to search the room, making sure it was clear.

Heven waited patiently by the door and then wrapped her arms around my neck when I came back.

I’m fine. She isn’t here. Try to relax.

Kimber was the least of my worries. The people she seemed to align herself with are another story.

I’ll see you at dinner.

I pressed a kiss to her lips, lingering longer than I should have, but it felt so good and I couldn’t make myself back away. Finally, I did and I waited until I heard the lock on her door before I went to check on Cole.

Now that Heven wasn’t in the room, I would find out just how much he had been faking and how hurt he really was.

*   *   *

Before I even got to the room, I heard him retching. When I opened the door and stepped inside, I was greeted (if you could call it a greeting) by an awful stench that made me want to gag.

“What the hell is that stuff you put all over him?” I asked Gemma, who was busy rushing to the bathroom to empty Cole’s puke bucket.

She stopped in front of me to glare. “It’s not the salve. It’s what the salve is pulling out of him. It’s the poison from the demon’s saliva. He was bitten almost twenty times.”

She was more rattled than I had ever seen her as she hurried away.

“You search Hev’s room?” Cole asked, his voice hoarse as he turned to face me. How he was sitting up at all amazed me—he looked like death.

“Of course. Shouldn’t you lay down?”

He grunted then looked toward the bathroom where the water was running. “It hurts too much to lay down.”

I bet it did. That bite on his back was nasty. All of them seemed more swollen than before and I said as much as I walked across the room.

“It’s that crap she smeared all over me. She says it’s supposed to do that.”

I sat down on the side of my bed, facing him. “You fought hard today. You did good.”

He looked up at me, dark circles ringing his red-rimmed eyes. “You’re a bad-ass fighter. I’m sorry I ever doubted your ability to protect my sister.”

Gemma came back to Cole’s side with a clean bucket and a few wash rags. She leaned back and looked at his back. “It’s definitely working. I’m going to clean it again.”

Cole winced, but steeled himself. “Do it.”

Gemma climbed on the bed on her knees behind Cole. She looked at me briefly before turning to Cole’s back and placing one of the cloths over the bite wound. Cole’s jaw flexed, but he said nothing as she gently wiped away black ooze.

“So are we calling a truce?” I asked Cole and stuck out my hand. He looked up at me. “I figure any guy who can manage to get a fallen angel in bed with him is a guy I can respect.”

He laughed out loud. Gemma took a final wipe to his back, and his breath hissed between his teeth. Then abruptly, he lurched forward and I shoved the bucket under him as he retched again. Gemma was biting her bottom lip, jar of salve in her hand.

Cole looked up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You guys don’t need to be here for this.”

“I’ve seen worse—no worries,” I said.

“I need to get this on you,” Gemma said quietly.

Cole nodded and she smoothed a thick layer on his back. He didn’t seem to mind that and I thought maybe the stuff made him feel better. When Gemma was done, she climbed off the bed and glanced at me.

“I need to go and get some more of this salve from where I’m staying. And I want to get him something else that should help. Can you stay with him until I get back?”

“Sure.”

Gemma looked over at Cole and it looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t.

Cole felt her stare. “I’ll still be alive when you get back.”

She made a face and walked out of the room. Just as the door was shutting, I heard words that I was sure were only meant for her. “You better be.”

It was silent for a few long moments and then suddenly Cole thrust out his hand. “We never did get to shake on that truce.”

I put my hand in his and shook. I couldn’t help focusing on the long scratches on his forearm. He seemed to notice my stare and pulled his arm back. I cleared my throat.

There was a knock on the door and I jumped up. “Attendance,” Mrs. Britt called from the other side. I grabbed up a small blanket that was on the end of the bed and draped it around Cole’s shoulder’s to hide the worst of his injuries and he let out a low swear.

“Sorry, man,” I whispered and went to the door opening it, only partway.

“Cole and I are both here,” I told the teacher, hoping she would go away.

“What is that awful smell?” she asked, recoiling from the room.

“Uh, Cole caught that stomach bug and he’s been throwing up.”

She tried to look past me into the room so I opened the door a fraction and looked over my shoulder. Cole was still on the bed with the blanket around him, head bowed and the bucket in his lap.

“Would you like to move to another room?” Mrs. Britt asked me, clearly convinced.

“Nah, I hardly ever get sick, and besides, I’ve already been exposed.” I pulled the door back around once more.

“Well, all right. Cole…” she called out, but I didn’t bother to open the door again. He made a sound and she took that as a response and she continued, “You’re excused from dinner. If you are better tomorrow, you can join in the last day here, if not, get some rest so you won’t be sick on the plane home.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She moved off down the hall and I shut the door. Cole tossed the blanket away like it was on fire.

“Did Gemma say how long you would be sick?”

“Depends on my body, I guess.”

I sat back down on the bed and wondered if he was going to be able to sit during the very long flight home.

“I guess Heven told you about my angel status?”

“On the plane.” Cole was a Supernal Being—not technically an angel, but not quite a human either. “Think that will help your body heal?”

“I sure as hell hope so.” He made a motion like he might vomit again and I snatched the bucket and held it out. He swallowed back his illness and took a deep breath.

I kept the bucket ready.

“Guess my almost—angel—status and your hellhound status is the reason we instantly disliked each other.”

I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but he was right. I guess we should be natural enemies if you consider where we both came from. Still, it bothered me that he would be the “good” one and I would be the “bad” one. “You know, I’m not really from Hell. God created me, it’s just that part of me was… twisted by Hell, by Satan, but I try to be better than that.”

Cole looked up at me. “I didn’t want to believe that at first. I wanted you to be the bad guy. But now I know that I was wrong.”

His words meant more to me than I thought they would. I always told myself that what Cole thought never mattered. But I think maybe it did. I didn’t need his friendship, but it would be nice to have. “Once you stopped hitting on Heven, I realized you weren’t as bad as I thought either.” I grinned.

He grimaced. “I knew there was a connection there, with her. I just couldn’t figure out what it was and the only thing I could think of was that we were… well, you know. I never in a million years thought she could be my sister.”

He didn’t just get a sister, though. He got pulled into an entire supernatural world. His life would never be the same. “You cool with everything that’s been going on? It’s been pretty crazy.”

He sat there for a minute, his breathing slightly ragged, and I figured that while he was battling his pain and sickness, this wasn’t the best time to talk about this stuff. I got up and grabbed a clean change of clothes out of my bag, a pair of shorts and a dark-colored T-shirt, thinking a quick shower before dinner would help wash away some of the day’s worst.