Damian's Oracle (17 page)

“You mean without killing anyone else,” she
said, crossing her arms again.

“It’s one of our most sacred creeds: we do
not kill humans. Sometimes we find Naturals, humans with the
ability to track Czerno’s creatures or to heal our kind or some
other natural talent.”

“Like me?”

“Sorta.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’re in a category all by
yourself, but if it gets my point across, sure.”

“You’re an ass, Pierre.”

He moved away from her to meet the others.
The tension of the stiff forms in the foyer was overwhelming.
Without Pierre, she’d never set foot in such a dangerous
situation.

“Rainy, Ving, Justin, this is Pierre,” the
surly blond said.

The three looked at him, the bloody man -
Rainy - with pure hostility. The other two were too occupied by
whatever happened to do more than glance at the newcomer. Ving -
the man in the trench coat - looked at her.

“What the fuck? Lon, did you let her in?”

“Yeah. She’s with him.”

The four looked at her. If she ran, they’d
eat her, she was sure. So she stayed put and hugged herself more
tightly. Pierre was at ease among his own kind.

“You a doctor?” Rainy demanded.

“Damian sent her,” Pierre answered.

Rainy hesitated, then threw open the door he
guarded, glaring at her. Pierre motioned her forward, and she went,
afraid of what she’d find. As she passed Rainy, she looked up at
him and saw the lines of worry in his face. His gaze was stormy,
but there was more there, a profound sadness that made the large
man more human.

She entered, and he closed the door behind
her. A bloodied woman lay on the bed, unconscious and breathing
shallowly. A brunette woman worked to stabilize her, and Sofia
froze in place.

She didn’t want to see more death.

“Can you give me a hand?” the woman called
over her shoulder. “I need this hung high.”

She held up an IV bag. Sofia forced herself
to take it. The woman looked up at her, surprised. She was in her
mid-20s with crystal clear blue eyes and porcelain skin.

“I thought you were … nevermind,” she said,
scurrying around the bed. “It’s better you help anyway. The boys
are clumsy.”

Sofia looked down at the beautiful woman on
the bed then jerry-rigged the IV over a lamp to keep it
elevated.

“Is she going to be ok?” she asked, then
realized how stupid her question was when she could see the
future.

“I’m not sure.”

She sat down on the bed, careful to keep the
blood from her gown, and touched the woman’s face, bracing herself.
What she saw amazed her, and her eyes watered, this time out of
relief and happiness.
Traci.

“She’s bleeding internally,” she said.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s her spleen. Can you fix that?”

The brunette paled.

“Rainy!”

The door flew open. Sofia stood as his hot
gaze fell to her, sensing he wanted no stranger near the woman.

“We need to take her to the hospital,
now.
”

He shot forward and gathered the woman in his
arms while the second woman scrambled to grab the IVs.

“Where the fuck is Damian?” Rainy roared as
he tore through the house.

Pierre motioned her aside as the mad rush
went through the house to the garage.

“I want to go, Pierre,” she said,
following.

“Yes, please come,” the brunette urged. “I
don’t know how you know this, but I stopped asking questions awhile
ago. C’mon.”

The men piled into two Tahoes, and the woman
led her to a small Honda. Pierre crammed himself into the
backseat.

“I’m Linda.”

“Sofia.”

They were quiet the remainder of the trip
while Sofia dwelled over what she’d seen in Traci’s future.

What was Damian doing? Why had he sent her,
and where the hell was he? She knew he could heal people. Was he
that busy?

She hung back as they entered the hospital
and watched the emergency room personnel take Traci. Linda flashed
her a strained smile that made her feel welcome for the first time
in a week before the pretty brunette gave the blond man, Lon, a hug
and kiss. He relaxed visibly with her in his arms.

They waited. Rainy paced, flung himself into
a chair, then paced again. She didn’t like seeing someone else
suffer the way she did every time she thought of Toby or Jake or
others dying. She approached him. His gaze raked over her.

“Rainy,” she said, clearing her throat.
“Traci’s going to be ok.”

“How the fuck would you know?”

“I just do.”

He stared at her.

“Who
are
you?” he demanded,
approaching her so quickly she backpedaled. His jaw ticked, and his
fists were clenched. She cringed away from him as her knees hit a
chair. He was ready to snap, and she didn’t want to be the first
one he took out when he did.

“Careful,” Pierre warned from nearby.

“Down boy,” Ving said, taking his arm.

“The babies are ok, too,” Sofia added.

They all froze, and a look of surprise
crossed Rainy’s stormy features.

“The
what
?!”

She said nothing, realizing she’d told him
something he didn’t know.

“Sofia found the internal bleeding. If I were
you, I’d listen to her. Traci will be fine. Sit your ass down,”
Linda said, planting herself between them and physically pushing
the man who towered over her.

To her surprise, Rainy obeyed, though he sat
across the room and stared at her. She curled up in a chair, afraid
to move too quickly under the tense Guardian’s gaze. A doctor
emerged soon after, hesitating as his gaze swept over the room full
of massive, bristling men until Linda came forward.

“Are you next of kin?” he asked.

“More or less,” she said with a smile.

“Come with me.”

“Sofia,” Linda waved her over.

Rainy started to his feet as she rose, and
she stopped.

“Dude, chill,” Lon said, placing a hand on
his shoulder.

Pierre drew nearer, and Linda waved her
forward again. Sofia went, trailing them down a hall with
antiseptic-laced air to an open bay with beds separated by
curtains. Traci was alone at the far end of the bay.

“She’ll be alright. We had a scare there, but
she pulled through. We’ve stopped the bleeding. She’ll have to
remain here for a couple of days.”

“Thank God,” Linda breathed. “And … uh, her
babies are ok?”

“She’s in the early stages of pregnancy, no
more than eight weeks. We’ll be watching for signs of trauma. It’ll
be another two weeks before I’ll feel comfortable imaging her
uterus to see the fetus.”

Sofia listened as she approached Traci’s bed
and gazed down at the unconscious woman. The woman was hooked to a
ventilator and IVs, her battered face clean and pale. The doctor
left, and Linda joined her.

“Czerno is a monster,” she whispered.

“He is,” Linda said. “Lon - my husband - has
had his own run ins with Czerno.”

“So have I.”

She felt Linda’s gaze.

“It’s why they do what they do, to protect
humanity from that fate.”

At her curious look, Linda continued.

“Their war, it’s been going on for thousands
of years. Damian is their leader. Lon says he’s not … normal, if
you’d call any of them normal. I guess D is something less normal
than my Lon. Anyway, the war between Czerno and D is for the fate
of us puny humans.”

“Why would creatures like them bother?”

“I don’t know, but I’m glad they do. I’ve
only met Damian once, when he saved Lon’s life after Czerno chewed
him up and spit him out. His men worship him. He’s helped all of
them somehow, though he terrified me the time I did meet him.”

“He has that affect on people.”

“Are you one of the Naturals, like
Traci?”

“Not really.”

Sofia heard her unasked question and moved
away.

“Is she having boys?”

“Girls, two of them.”

Linda laughed.

“Rainy with two girls? No way! He’ll be
inconsolable.”

Sofia smiled and looked at the pretty woman
beside her. There was a natural sense of cheerfulness to her that
she liked.

“May I … could you shake my hand?” she asked
lamely.

Linda’s brow furrowed, but she held out her
hand. Sofia gripped it, the touch enough to reveal a future like
Traci’s, filled with love and joy.

“Am I pregnant, too?” Linda teased. “That’s
an awesome pregnancy test, by the way.”

“No, you’re not,” Sofia answered with a
smile. “You will be soon.”

Linda grinned.

“We better get Rainy in here before he tears
down the hospital looking for her.”

“I’m not staying. He’s an inch away from
wringing my neck,” Sofia said, following. Her stomach growled.

“You wanna get some food?”

She bit her lip and crossed her arms.

“Sure.”

Linda sent Rainy to Traci and walked with her
to the cafeteria. Pierre trailed them at a distance just out of
earshot, and Linda looked at her curiously.

“He’s wearing the color of the bodyguards,”
she observed. “You must be someone important.”

“Not really. I’m a lost sheep.”

“Strange. You seem to know what you’re
doing.”

“I’m … new to Damian’s organization. One week
new, to be exact. I don’t really know which way is up right
now.”

“Wow, Sofia. First, welcome, and congrats!
These are the finest men you’ll find anywhere.”

“Thanks.”

“Second, who’s your sponsor?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, no one gets in without a reason.
Someone brought you in.”

They sat at a table near the windows.

“Why did they bring you in?” Sofia asked.

“Lon found me. I’m a Natural. I have the
ability to levitate things.”

“Really? Like anything?”

“Yep.”

“So, if Lon said something stupid to you, you
could toss him into the air and leave him there until he agreed to
treat you with an ounce of respect. And if he didn’t, you could
leave him there and do whatever the hell you wanted for the
day.”

Linda looked at her, and she realized she’d
said too much. She cleared her throat, anger spiraling through her
again.

“I guess I’d never thought of that,” Linda
admitted, a smile pulling up the corners of her mouth. “But yeah, I
could do that.”

Sofia watched her take a bite of a muffin, at
once longing and agitated. She was hungry. After her explosion at
Damian, she’d have to beg for food. And she’d never demean herself
to that man. She’d just have to starve to death.

“I do understand how frustrating this all
seems when you first join. Well, you don’t really
choose
to
join.”

“You’re telling me,” Sofia said with emotion.
“One day I’m normal. The next, I can’t stand daylight and Damian is
beating down my door.”

“Damian?” Linda’s amazement increased.
“Damian’s your sponsor?”

She nodded.

“I
totally
have to tell Lon. Hold on a
sec.”

Sofia watched as she whipped out a phone to
text Lon.

“You have no idea how special you are if D is
your sponsor. Or how lucky.”

“Lucky?”

“Yeah, sure. He’s dreamy, runs his own um,
business, and he’s got, like, Superman powers. He’s like a modern
day king who’s in charge of the superheroes trying to beat down the
evil villains.”

Sofia recalled how much her first meeting
with him had scared her. His aura of power, his command and
confidence, the sense that – whatever he was – he was something
humankind wasn’t prepared to face.

“He’s just a good guy,” Linda continued.
“He’s been after bad guys for thousands of years, and he’s never
gone to the Dark Side or quit or anything. That says a lot for
someone, you know? He’s good to his men. Lon and the others adore
him. I like him, even if he scares me.”

This world is so fucked up I don’t know why I
bother.

His cranky words echoed in her thoughts, and
she smiled to herself.

“They do so much to help people,” Linda said,
looking down as her phone dinged. “Lon doesn’t believe me. Oh,
well. Where is Damian?”

“I’m definitely not his keeper,” Sofia said
with a shrug.

The sun peaked over the horizon, reminding
her that she’d gotten only a few hours of bad sleep. Linda texted
back and forth with her husband for a few minutes.

“Traci’s awake. I’ll be right back,” she
said, hopping up.

Sofia gazed out the window, mulling over the
night. She began to suspect Damian sent her there so she could meet
the other women dragged into his organization. Or maybe he wanted
her out of the house so he could kill the traitors.

Oh ye of little faith.

“I hate that,” she answered.

I know.

“What do you want, Damian?”

I owe you an apology.

“Well, man up and do it in person.”

“A little testy today, aren’t we?”

She jumped, watching as he folded himself
into the small chair across from her. His scent made her heart
quicken and her drowsiness dissipate. Her breath caught as she
gazed at him, and she looked for any sign he was still angry at
her. His golden eyes were calm, his large frame relaxed with the
feline grace that made her hormones wild. His power was checked but
his unusual presence enough to draw the looks of those around them.
Most moved away quickly, sensing there was something about him that
just wasn’t normal.

His gaze was trained on her with an intensity
that made her body warm from the inside out.

“Well?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, Sofia, for being a dick.”

“Apology accepted,” she said and looked down.
“I’m so sorry about Claire. I knew it would hurt you.”

“No worries.”

His aloof response made her look up. His gaze
was wary and moving, and he was guarded once more. Even after
thousands of years he was reliving the pain of his brother’s death.
If she closed her eyes, she’d see the home video of Darian’s
funeral pile. Her heart went out to him.