Darkness Divides (Sensor #3) (5 page)

With every swallow my body grew stronger. The pain in my head went away and my senses came alive. The sudden influx of information almost overwhelmed me. I had to work to tone it all down. Next, a sort of stinging sensation started creeping over my body. At first it felt a little uncomfortable, but it steadily grew worse. When it became too much I stopped drinking and pulled away. The last two times I’d fed from him hadn’t been like this.

I clenched my eyes shut when it turned into agonizing pain. Lucas didn’t need to know how much the transition was hurting me, but I’d be damned if it didn’t feel like every cell in my body was on fire. No wonder Remiel had insisted on the doses being spread apart. I couldn’t help but curl into a ball on my seat as the pain raged on.

Every sound grew louder. The hospital smells became stronger. My sensor abilities didn’t extend farther than normal, but they felt more acute. It hurt to take in so much external information. Every nearby person’s emotions assaulted me like needles poking into my brain. Too much suffering, sadness, and fear surrounded me.

Lucas pulled me into his arms and I barely noticed. Tears streamed down my face and I couldn’t stop them. Everything hurt. It was as if my body had become a foreign vessel—a trap. My skin was so sensitive even my clothes felt harsh as they rubbed against me. Last New Year’s Eve I’d had to fight off the werewolf virus. It had been excruciating, but I’d been lucky enough to pass out during the worst of it. I didn’t get that advantage now. All I could think of was wishing I could escape.

Footsteps sounded close to my head. Lucas pressed my face into his chest, and another set of hands took hold of my flailing legs. I twisted and turned trying to get away, but their grip on me kept me from getting far.

How long the agony lasted I couldn’t say. The pain lessened in increments. My bones stopped feeling as if they’d turned into hot poker rods burning my insides. The roaring in my ears died down. All my senses returned to a tolerable level.

“Breathe, Melena,” Remiel whispered in my ear. His soothing voice calmed me. He’d been saying that over and over for some time, though I just now realized it.

My face was still pressed into Lucas’ chest, but he’d stopped gripping me so tightly. Now he ran his fingers through my hair in gentle strokes. The more I became aware, the more I wanted to sink into the floor in embarrassment. They’d seen me behaving like a weak pathetic woman. After everything that had happened last year, I’d vowed to never let anyone see me like that again.

I scooted off Lucas, back to where I’d been sitting before and buried my face in my hands. “Sorry. That was a little more…difficult than expected.”

No way could I look at them.

“I could feel your pain through our bond, Melena.” A hint of concern laced his voice. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It was far more extreme than we anticipated.”

“You could feel it?” I asked, lifting my head. It had always been me experiencing his pain before.

“It appears our bond has become stronger with this exchange.” I couldn’t sense how he felt about that.

I turned to Remiel. “Is that normal?”

The archangel looked disturbed. “You two are the first sensor and nephilim to form this type of bond. There is no precedent to know what is normal.”

I frowned at him. “Then why forbid it if it’s never been done?”

Usually, something bad had to happen before a rule was made about it.

“The blood transference has been done between a
human
and nephilim precisely three times. Two of those cases resulted in death due to them being rushed. For the third, the human lived but he was unprepared to handle the changes. He lost his sanity within a year and had to be executed.”

Lucas and I both stiffened. That definitely cast a shadow on things.

“Then why allow it for me?”

He glanced up at the ceiling for a moment before answering. “We were able to predict you had a high probability of success for handling it. You’ve been living with enhanced abilities for much of your life and we extended the time between doses to even longer than the previous instances to ensure you had more time to adapt.”

I was beginning to feel like a lab rat for heaven’s minions. “Then why is it so much easier for humans to turn into vampires?”

He gave me a patient look. “Is it? They must die first and then undergo a three-day transition. As you know, half of them don’t survive that. The process and results are quite different from yours as well. Magic animates them, while you are still very much alive. There is no true comparison.”

“Is that why I’m able to retain my sensor abilities? Because magic isn’t involved and it’s just biological?” This was my one chance to get answers for all the questions I’d wanted to ask for almost a year. There hadn’t been much time during his last visit. I’d practically had to go into this blind except for a few small details Lucas had given me.

The archangel nodded. “Nephilim blood can bestow immortality and enhance strength, but it cannot transfer any special powers. Vampires are unnatural due to the black magic used to create their race.”

Yet they’d allowed vamps to continue roaming the earth, though with limits such as their aversion to sunlight and needing an invitation to come inside homes. You never got away scot-free with angels.

“So how can Zoe kill me?” Whatever weaknesses I had remaining, I needed to know them. I knew my immortality couldn’t be as foolproof as a nephilim.

“The only way you can die now is by beheading. A nephilim’s spine cannot be severed, but yours is not quite as resilient as theirs. It would take an extremely sharp sword—and someone very powerful—but it is a method by which you can be killed. I would advise guarding your neck if a confrontation cannot be avoided.”

Somehow, I doubted avoiding Zoe forever could be done, but at least I was better prepared for her when she did arrive. For now, I needed to get back to the waiting area. My senses told me Micah was still with Emily in the operating room, but Derrick would come looking for me soon if I didn’t come back.

Felisha’s recent arrival was probably the only reason he hadn’t already. He must have called her after I left. She owned the herb shop where I worked, but she’d also become close to Emily since we met. The sweet-natured fairy probably rushed right over here as soon as she found out what happened.

“Well,” I said, standing up, “as much as I enjoy keeping the more devout out of the chapel, I think it’s time to get out of here.”

I led the way with the two men close behind me. People in the hallway gave us a wide berth as we passed them. It made getting through the crowded hospital easier.

“What story am I supposed to tell the others about you?” I asked, glancing back at Remiel.

He kept his gaze forward. “Tell them nothing. They will have no desire to ask and will likely not notice I’m even there.”

“And Lucas?” He was still bigger than the average man, but nowhere near his usual bulk. People who knew him would notice that.

The archangel took one look at the nephilim and his expression changed to one of consternation. I could sense the displeasure vibrating from him, but wasn’t sure what that meant. It’s not like Remiel really gave a damn about how nephilim were treated in Purgatory. Hell, he helped put them there.

With a wave of his hand, Remiel placed glamour on Lucas that would make anyone who saw him think he looked like his pre-Purgatory self. My immunity to magic meant I could still see his true appearance, but at least others wouldn’t be wondering about him.

“You know,” I said, shooting the archangel a dirty look, “if you allowed regular meals for your prisoners it wouldn’t be an issue.”

Remiel frowned. “Your protest is noted, sensor.”

“It is not your concern, Melena,” Lucas said, coming to walk beside me as we headed toward the area where Derrick and Felisha waited.

“I can’t
not
say anything. Would you be able to stand by and do nothing if our roles were reversed?” I didn’t really want to argue with him. This would be the last time we would see each other for a very long time, but I couldn’t help making the point.

Lucas leaned down, almost brushing my ear with his lips. “That will never happen. I wouldn’t allow it.”

I shivered and almost missed the alpha coming around the corner.

Derrick stepped in front of us and crossed his meaty arms. He’d bulked up even more since becoming the local alpha. Whenever he had free time, he was in the gym these days. I didn’t know why he put so much effort into it considering he was five times stronger than most werewolves. He’d been drinking vampire blood since the 1800s so he wouldn’t age and die. The extra years on his life had made him even more powerful than others of his race.

“It’s about time you showed up,” he said, glaring at Lucas. “You can’t just claim a woman and leave her like that. It ain’t right.”

“Derrick,” I kept my voice low, “I told you before to stay out of it.”

He’d repeatedly brought this topic up with me for over a year now. Why he thought it was his problem, I had no idea. I started to take a step forward, but Lucas grabbed my arm and held me back.

“No, Melena. Let him believe what he wishes. His opinion means nothing to me.”

Derrick growled. “It should. You have no idea how your leavin’ affected her. She’s been trying to hide it, but we ain’t blind. The woman hardly sleeps and keeps herself so busy it’s a wonder she hasn’t collapsed from exhaustion. It ain’t healthy and it’s gonna kill her if she keeps it up.”

Actually, it wouldn’t, but I couldn’t explain that any more than I could explain the reason behind Lucas’ absence. Very few people knew he was being confined to Purgatory and Derrick wasn’t one of them. I’d tried to tone down my behavior so people wouldn’t notice, but since getting the first dose of nephilim blood I’d been restless. All the new energy buzzing through me made it hard to sit still. Of course, the nightmares I had almost every night didn’t help either.

Lucas moved to get in Derrick’s face. Like his brother, he was a few inches taller than the werewolf, giving him a slight height advantage. The alpha’s eyes darkened and his skin rippled. I was glad it was still daylight. Between all the humans present—and the archangel—it would have been a disaster for him to turn furry. Supernaturals were expected to clean up their own messes, but I wasn’t sure what Remiel would do if something happened right in front of him.

“Back away, wolf,” Lucas said, glowing eyes focused on Derrick. “Melena’s personal life is none of your business. Speak ill of me again and I’ll rip your entrails out and hang you by them.”

Derrick’s face turned red. “As if you care…”

Lucas grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. “
Do not
tell me what I feel.”

He tossed the alpha down the corridor. Derrick landed with a hard thud and slid a few feet before banging his head against an empty gurney.

“Um,” I cleared my throat, “someone might want to take care of that group of teens down there. I’m pretty sure they had their camera phones out just now.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Remiel said. He paused next to Lucas. “Do something like that again and we’ll leave immediately.”

The archangel stopped by Derrick as well, who had gotten to his feet and started moving our way. He looked a lot like a raging bull with his shoulders hunched and fists clenched. Remiel put a hand on the alpha’s head and stopped him. Waves of peace flowed from his fingertips.

Derrick’s nostrils flared as he fought to get his temper under control, but eventually his shoulders relaxed. I put my arm around Lucas and pulled him back a few feet. The more distance between the two men, the better.

Felisha came around the corner and froze upon seeing us. She frowned at Derrick, skimmed her gaze past Remiel—who was doing something flashy to the teens’ phones, and widened her eyes at the sight of Lucas and me together.

“Melena, what…” She opened and shut her mouth a few times. “What is
he
doing here?”

Fairies came in all stages of attractiveness. The very good ones were amazingly beautiful, the very bad ones were hideously ugly, and then there were all the ones in between. Their appearance depended on how they behaved in life and treated people.

Felisha had shiny red hair that hung down her back, porcelain skin, and bright green eyes. Despite that, she didn’t have a vain bone in her body. She was one of the kindest, sweetest women I’d ever met and was always generous to those in need. I’d never seen her impolite to anyone—until now. Apparently, she’d been harboring some resentment toward Lucas and hiding it from me.

“He’s here to check on Emily,” I said. That wasn’t exactly lying.

“After more than a year?” She gave me an exasperated look. “You deserve so much better than this, Melena.”

I rubbed my face. They had no idea how much Lucas had sacrificed for me and I hated that I couldn’t tell them. He didn’t deserve to be treated like crap by my friends—even if they did mean well.

Trusting Remiel to keep the men from trying to kill each other, I walked over and grabbed Felisha’s arm. “We need to talk.”

A minute later we found a snack machine area with no one around. I stopped there and dug some change out of my pockets. Until that moment I hadn’t realized I was thirsty. I grabbed the bottle of Coke when it dropped down and turned to face Felisha.

“Look, I know this is hard to understand. It’s more complicated than you can possibly know. Just trust me that he’s not staying away to be cruel.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Then tell me what is going on so I can decide for myself.”

I played with the cap on my Coke. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” She tapped her foot.

Her shoe had a soft sole. With mortal hearing I never would have noticed it, but now it came to me loud and clear. I needed to practice toning it down. It had to work similar to how I controlled my extra senses.

“Can’t.” I gave her a stern look. “All I can tell you is Emily and Micah know what’s going on and they understand. If you can’t trust my judgment, then at least trust theirs.”

“That’s part of why this bothers me. Emily complains of missing him all the time because she thinks he’s gone for a good reason. Now he shows up when she’s hurt, but is he going to stay or take off again?”