Fang Me (17 page)

I glanced at Marina, but she seemed much like Fang and me, feeling singed and stinging a bit, but mostly startled, not injured."Let's get you to the ER," I said."My roommate works there."

Erica's mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. She seemed to be in shock."Marina, do you have a car?" I asked urgently. The motorcycle wasn't made for this.

She nodded, though she still looked stunned.

"Can you drive?" I persisted.

"Uh, yeah, I think so." She shook her head and seemed to get rid of whatever fog she was in. "Of course, of course. Let's go."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

We helped Erica into the car and headed off. She moaned and I cringed at the sound. The woman was hurting because of me."Wait," I said."I have a better idea. I know a demon healer. It'll be faster." And her injuries were minor enough that Shade wouldn't be endangered.

I called Shade and explained the situation. He agreed to meet us at his place since it was closest. I gave Marina directions, then explained about Shade and his appearance. Didn't want them freaking out at the guy who was about to be Erica's savior.

On the way, I told Marina,"That lightning bolt caught us just as you were giving us a prophecy about the books."

"It did?" Marina said."No wonder I didn't see the strike coming."

"We didn't see it coming either. I don't suppose you remember the rest of the prophecy?"

She shook her head ruefully."None of it, like usual."

Through gritted teeth, Erica added,"The timing seems suspicious. Like someone didn't want you to finish that prophecy or have us find those books. We almost had it . . . ."

Yeah, it did seem suspicious. But I couldn't understand it. I thought the books
wanted
me to find them. So what was this all about? Had we triggered an automatic protective spell of some sort? It was confusing.

We arrived at Shade's place just as he and Trevor drove up.

I introduced them."Shade, Trevor, this is Marina and Erica. Erica is the one who's injured."

"What happened?" Trevor asked, looking at the two women with some annoyance.

I helped Marina get Erica out of the car."She got hurt trying to find the books," I snapped at him."Some compassion would be nice."

He held up his hands defensively."Just asking." He darted a quick glance at Shade, but since he wore a deep hoodie and wasn't touching anyone, the shadow demon's features were inscrutable. "Do you need some help?"

That was obviously directed at Shade, as if Shade's opinion was more important than anyone else's. What was going on there?

Shade unlocked the door and directed them to his couch. His living room was a lot like Dan's, only with more gaming electronics and bookshelves. It was spotless as always, though.

Fang sniffed the air. I THINK PRINCESS IS GOING INTO HEAT. BUT SHE'S HIDING, THE LITTLE MINX. SEE YA.

Fang took off, following his nose. Sheesh. Males—always at the mercy of their gonads. Oh well, we didn't need him here right now anyway.

Erica half sat, half laid on the couch, her face twisted in a grimace of pain as she held her hands cupped in front of her.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Marina asked in a worried tone.

"Don't worry, it will," I assured her. Then, turning to Trevor, I added,"You can leave to continue your search if you want. We don't need you here."

"No, that's all right," he assured me smoothly."I'd like to see this."

Shade took my hand then threw back his hood. He probably wanted to reassure the Witches with his normality."Do you know how this works?" he asked Erica.

Erica stared up into his face as if she'd suddenly seen her savior. With his head haloed by a lamp in the dark room, I could see where she might think he was an angel."Sort of," she gulped out.

"I am part shadow demon," he said gently," and when I'm not touching a being of this world, I look like this." He let go of my hand, and Marina and Erica both gasped. They appeared fascinated instead of horrified by his swirls, thank goodness, or I would've asked Shade to stop.

He grasped my hand again."I can channel healing energies from another dimension to heal Er ica's injuries, but I need to use another person as a sort of template, to show the healing energies what a whole system looks like."

"I can do that," Marina said eagerly.

Shade smiled."Thank you. However, I must warn you both that you will share a lot more than that. You will share memories, fears, hopes and dreams with each other, but not with me. I am merely a conduit for the energies. If you aren't ready for that, let me know and we can find someone else to be the template or take you to the ER."

Marina and Erica looked at each other and smiled."We've been best friends forever," Marina said."It's not a problem."

Erica nodded."I agree. What do we need to do?"

"Just sit on the couch next to each other," Shade began.

Trevor interrupted him."Are you sure this is wise? A good use of your abilities?"

Annoyed, I said,"I can't believe you're saying this. Who do you think you are? Shade's manager?"

Trevor scowled at me."I'm merely concerned for Shade. He told me what happened the last time he healed someone. We almost lost him. I don't want that to happen again."

"I don't think her injuries are bad enough to be a danger to me," Shade said softly.

He was too nice to the creep."Don't forget, this woman got hurt because she was helping us look for the books," I reminded Trevor.

"How?" Trevor asked.

"What does it matter?"

"It might matter to Shade in the way he treats her."

Dang it, he always made things sound so reasonable. But it wasn't my story to tell, or I'd reveal the Witches' demon powers. I looked at Marina and Erica to see what they wanted to reveal.

Marina sighed."Erica is a finder. She was using a crystal pendulum over a map of San Antonio.

We were close to finding the books when I, uh, went into a trance."

"A trance?" Shade repeated with a puzzled look.

"Soothsayer demon?" Trevor asked.

Marina nodded."The books must be protected somehow, because as I was doing my prophecy thing and the pendulum was getting closer to finding the books, the crystal shattered and we got the backlash. It felt like lightning or electricity ran through us. Erica got the worst of it."

"What did the prophecy say?" Trevor asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but the eagerness on his face betrayed him.

"Nothing useful," I told him."She wasn't able to finish it. Now, can we heal this nice lady?"

"Of course," Trevor said.

Soooo glad we had his permission. But I bit that back as I watched Shade position the women on either end of the couch.

He moved the coffee table out of the way and sat on the floor facing them, lightly touching their wrists near the injuries."Ready?" he asked as he blipped into focus.

"Ready," they chorused.

"Then relax and try to stay conscious. This may hurt." Shade lowered his head, and his face flickered in and out of the dimensions, in and out of the swirls. The swirls moved faster and faster, like a tornado, with small flashes of purple lightning zinging through now and again. All normal . . . for him, anyway.

Erica grimaced and strained, but her fingers and wrist slowly turned from a blackened mess to pink, healthy flesh. I expected him to stop when they looked whole once again, but he kept going.

Trevor looked alarmed."What's wrong? Shouldn't he be done by now?"

"Yes," I said, hating to agree with him.

"Then why isn't he?"

"I don't know," I said in exasperation."You're the guy with all the answers. You tell me."

"He must be healing more than her hand," Trevor whispered in horror."What else is wrong with her?"

"I don't know—I just met her." I stared at Erica, who was bent over double now, writhing in pain."You think she has cancer or something?" That would be bad. Very bad.

"Shit. I hope not. Shade can't handle that much." Trevor took a step toward Shade, looking anxious."We have to stop him. I need him."

I blocked him with my body, maybe a little more forcefully than I had to."Leave him alone. You don't know what will happen if you touch him at this point."

Trevor shoved me backward with both hands."We both know what will happen if we don't."

I slugged him back, right in the shoulder, just to relieve some of my pent-up anger at the creep. "I can handle it. I can help him. I did it before."

He got right up in my face and yelled,"If we stop him now, you won't have to."

I was prepared to yell right back, with my fists if necessary, but he darted around me and grabbed Erica's hand to pull her away from Shade.

But Erica's hand wouldn't pull away. It was as if a circuit had been completed with the four of them, and Trevor stood there, jerking spasmodically, his eyes wide open and his mouth drooling. The others mirrored him, even Shade.

Oh crap, oh crap. This couldn't be good. What could I do?

I couldn't grab hold of anyone or risk being pulled into that myself. Should I wait it out? I was afraid it wouldn't let up. Force wouldn't work, reason wouldn't work . . . all I had left was Lola. And since the only one in that unholy circuit she would affect was Shade, I concentrated on him, reaching out with all my might to grab onto his chakras.

But I couldn't get a grip. I couldn't snag his attention, not with all of his will focused on the healing.

Uh oh. Was that a green cloud forming above his head? That couldn't be good. Was it one of the other dimensions? Was he about to lose control and let more demons into our world?

Crap. Maybe if I distracted him . . . But how could I do it without touching him?

I couldn't touch him with my hand, but I could distract him by hitting him with something else. I glanced around the room and grabbed the first thing I found—a book—and threw it at him. It didn't seem to do anything, but something must have worked, because Shade moaned,"Stoooop meeeee . . . . "

Okay, maybe if I threw something harder and knocked him out. It had worked on me. Another book didn't do it, so I picked up a large crystal paperweight and threw it at his head. But he was jerking, so it missed and hit him in the shoulder instead.

Energy flashed from Shade into the crystal, turning it a virulent purple before it overloaded and exploded, sending the four of them flying apart. Trevor and the two women lay unconscious, but Shade was still alive and shaking, curled into a fetal position with that green cloud growing slowly over his head.

No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. I ran to him and helped him to his feet. He staggered toward the bedroom, and I followed him, wondering what he planned to do.

He pulled a knife from his nightstand, and I suddenly knew what he intended. Fear poured through me. No, I couldn't lose him. I'd just found him. I yanked the knife out of his hand and sent it spinning to the other side of the room.

Hugging him fiercely, I said,"I'm sorry, Shade. What can I do?"

"Kill me. Now." His voice was muffled in my shoulder, but I could hear him quite well.

"I can't do that. You know I can't." But the green cloud was growing above him.

Lola helped last time, so I hoped she could again. She wasn't quite back up to full force, but it would have to do.

Wrapping myself around him, I pulled Shade down onto the bed. His body was so tense, so concentrated on controlling his abilities, it was as if he didn't even know I was there. Instead of shoving Lola into him, I eased her in slowly through the cracks in his defenses, letting her gradually take over his body. This way he didn't slam up his defenses.

It worked, but that green cloud continued to grow, creepily silent, and it didn't look good for the home front. I needed more ammunition, needed to give Lola more room to work. Skin to skin, that was the ticket. I let go of him long enough to try to strip off his clothes, but he struggled against me.

"I'm trying to help you, damn it," I muttered."Work with me here."

Though he was still gritting his teeth, Shade helped me remove his clothes, then I whipped off mine as quick as I could and wrapped myself around him, urging Lola in through all his pores, filling up every one of his chakras, willing her to leave no room for anything else . . . like pesky alternate dimensions.

Though Shade remained rigid in my arms, I could see the cloud getting smaller. It was working! Together, we were getting a hold on his sanity. I pushed harder, urging him to stay with me in the here and now, here in this flesh, together.

"Val," Shade groaned and buried his head in my neck."Don't stop."

No problem. I couldn't stop for anything. I didn't want to. It was as if something else outside myself had control of my body, something freeing all of my inhibitions. Lola pulsed through us, raising our awareness higher, until there was nothing left in the universe except Shade, me, the slide of skin against skin, and an incredible pent-up passion. His scent was so delicious, so yummy—like some primeval musk—I just wanted to eat him up.

Oh wow, this was . . . amazing.

Wait
, a little voice inside me said.
Stop and think about this.

Who needed little voices? Not me. Not Lola. Right here, right now, I no longer cared about my powers, no longer cared about being the Slayer. All I wanted was to be normal, like any other girl loving her guy.

At last, I gave in to temptation.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Afterward, as we lay entwined together, Shade murmured nonsense about how much he adored me and covered my neck with kisses. I sighed and rested my head on his chest, happy and content. For the first time in my life, I felt really loved. It wasn't how I would have planned my first time, but it was still wonderful, without the awkwardness I'd expected.

I explored my body and senses mentally, probing for any changes beyond the incredibly obvious one. Nope, not a thing different—I still felt like me. My hopes rose. Maybe Shade was wrong. Maybe I wouldn't lose my powers.

I didn't regret finally doing the deed, but I did wish it hadn't happened like this. I'd really wanted to make our first time special, at a time and place of my own choosing, with candlelight, roses, and the whole schmaltzy deal. Us both losing control of our powers . . . not my go-to choice. But it was as if something outside me—outside Lola even—had grabbed hold of my emotions and driven me out of control. Something like an empath demon, maybe? I went rigid at the thought.

"Are you okay?" Shade murmured.

I gave him a quick squeeze to reassure him."I'm good."

"Are you worried about not having . . . you know, protection? Remember, different kinds of demons can't interbreed. And I'm clean."

"I know. I'm just trying to understand how it happened."

He levered up onto one elbow to look down at me and smoothed the hair from my face."I'm sorry. I didn't intend for our first time to be like this."

"Neither did I," I assured him."It wasn't your fault. But did you sense anything . . . odd . . . going on?"

"You mean like the spooky green cloud above my head?" he asked wryly.

"No, actually I meant someone manipulating our emotions . . . making it impossible to . . . er, stop."

He frowned."You mean that wasn't Lola?"

"No. Trust me, I know the difference."

Fang scratched at the door. LET ME IN AND I'LL EXPLAIN.

He'd
explain? I
t was getting dark outside, so I turned on the light. We dressed hurriedly—not that Fang would care, but I did—and opened the door. Fang trotted in and looked up at me with those big brown eyes, then lowered his head, looking guilty as hell . . . a classic hang-dog expression.

"Explain what?" I asked.

IT WAS ME, he said, sounding miserable. PRINCESS AND ME, I MEAN.

"I don't understand," Shade said.

That made two of us.

Fang heaved a doggie sigh. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. YOU SEE, PRINCESS IS IN HEAT, WHICH MEANS SHE'S PRETTY HARD TO RESIST. He shrugged. SO I DIDN'T.

When I stared at him blankly, he added, YOU KNOW, WE DID THE DEED, HOOKED UP, STUFFED THE MUFFIN—

"We get the idea," I said, holding up my hands to stop the flow of unwanted images."What does that have to do with Shade and me?"

WELL, I DIDN'T REALIZE IT AT THE TIME, BUT YOU AND I ARE PRETTY HOOKED IN TOGETHER. SO ARE PRINCESS AND SHADE. SO WHEN THE EMOTIONS RAMPED UP, WE ALL, UH, KIND OF . . . SHARED IN THE GOOD TIMES.

I cringed at his wording, but that made sense. Looks like I'd mistakenly accused Trevor.

"Like a feedback loop," Shade said.

EXACTLY, Fang said, and I got the distinct impression he felt no shame for sharing in our "good times," but was definitely sorry he'd caused this to happen.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that sharing myself . . . . Talk about TMI. And how about the other guilty party?"Where's Princess?" How did
she f
eel about all of this?

HIDING, Fang said. SHE'S EMBARRASSED.

Really? I didn't think that word was even in her vocabulary.

I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION, Fang continued.

I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it, but Shade asked, "What's that?"

WHAT'S WITH ALL THE STIFFS IN THE OTHER ROOM?

Stiffs? Oh, crap, I'd forgotten about the others. Shade and I shared a mortified glance, then rushed into the living room.

Shade turned on a light, and Trevor rose unsteadily to his feet. Relief surged through me. Sheesh, never thought I'd be so glad to see him alive.

Marina and Erica were still passed out on the couch. Shade felt for their pulses and nodded. "They're okay. This is the normal unconsciousness after a healing. It's best to let them come to by themselves."

I glanced around, expecting to see crystal shards littering the carpet, but the paperweight had broken into four irregular lumps and lay blackened on the carpet.

WHAT HAPPENED HERE? Fang asked, sniffing at it.

I answered, since I was probably the only one who knew all of it. Stabbing a thumb toward Trevor, I said,"Genius here tried to stop the healing by grabbing Erica and pulling her out of the loop. He ended up getting sucked in instead." I grimaced."Then they all went into convulsions."

Trevor, still a bit shaky, glanced at the broken crystal and the books strewn around the floor. "So you threw things at us?" he asked in an incredulous tone.

"Well, your idea didn't work out so well, so I had to find some way to break the connection." He glared at me, and I added,"Hey,
my
idea worked."

Shade looked up from his examination of Erica, still touching her wrist."I'm glad it did, Val. I always wondered what would happen if someone interrupted a healing. Now I know."

"But how could the crystal stop you when the books didn't?" I asked, confused.

Shade thought about it for a moment as he perched on the back of the couch and kept his fingers lightly on Erica's pulse."I guess the crystal was able to absorb some of the energy. It interfered with the circuit just enough to destroy it."

"It shouldn't have been necessary," Trevor said impatiently."It shouldn't have taken that long to heal her burns."

Shade's expression turned sheepish."The damage
was
confined to her arms and hands, but she had . . . something else wrong with her."

"What?" Trevor demanded.

Shade shook his head."I'm sorry, but that's private . . . her choice whether to reveal it or not."

What a great guy—and he could
heal
people. It made me so proud of him. I moved behind the couch to hug him and give him a kiss."Did you completely cure her?" I asked, hoping their pain hadn't been in vain.

Shade smiled at me."Yes."

"What does it matter?" Trevor bit out."Shade, you took too big a risk. And for what? To cure someone you don't know? For a problem she didn't even ask you to fix?"

WHOA. Fang rocked back on his haunches. ISN'T THIS DUDE SUPPOSED TO BE AN EMPATH DEMON? SHOULDN'T HE HAVE SOME, YOU KNOW, EMPATHY? WHAT'S UP WITH THE ATTITUDE?

Exactly what I was wondering.

"It was my risk to take," Shade said softly."And I judged I could handle it."

"Obviously you couldn't," Trevor retorted, and flung his arm out to point at the women on the couch."Look what happened."

Shade tensed."It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't interfered."

"I had to do something." Trevor ran a hand through his hair, messing up his immaculate hairdo."You're too important to risk like that."

THAT'S INTERESTING, Fang said. WONDER WHY MR. PERFECT IS FALLING APART?

I was afraid Shade would go all mushy with Trevor's compliment, so I challenged Trevor."You said that before you grabbed Shade—that you needed him. For what?"

Shade grew very still."That's a good question, Trevor. Why am I so important to you?"

The empath demon froze for a moment as well, but recovered quickly. Giving us his practiced smile, he said,"Hey, buddy, you know how it is. I don't have many male friends, and we've become like brothers in such a short period of time. I'd hate to lose you."

I wanted to call him on his crap, but Shade squeezed my hand, so I kept quiet instead and let him handle it.

Keeping his voice even as he released my hand and went all swirly, Shade said,"Oh, I think it's more than that. You glommed onto me when you realized I'm part shadow demon, and you've been all buddybuddy ever since."

I blinked at Shade, surprised. Then again, my guy was no dummy. I should have given him more credit.

YES, YOU SHOULD, Fang agreed.

"No, no," Trevor protested."I—"

"You had me fooled for a while," Shade admitted."But you became even more friendly when you learned I was the only known shadow demon in existence. You do need me for some reason. Does it have something to do with the books?"

Fang's ears perked up. GO, SHADE!

Trevor stared at Shade, his fake smile fading as he tried to weigh Shade's reaction. But the whirls revealed nothing as Shade waited for a response. Trevor glanced at me warily, but I worked on keeping my face relaxed. I really wanted to hear the answer to this question.

Trevor sighed and sank down onto a chair, bending over to stare at his clasped hands."Shadow demons can reach across dimensions, open portals to other realities."

So far, he wasn't telling us anything we didn't know.

"The books aren't just an encyclopedia," he explained."They've also been spelled to be a portal. That's how my father was trapped."

"Oh, I get it," Shade said."You need my help in getting your father out of the books."

Trevor winced."That's right."

Well, that was one of the few things that came out of his mouth that sounded like truth.

Sounding relieved, Shade said,"Why didn't you just say so?"

"Shade's one of the good guys," I added."You didn't have to pretend to be his friend to get his help."

Trevor grimaced."I wasn't pretend—"

Shade held up his hand to stop both of us."Enough, please. Val is right. That's what the Underground is all about—helping each other."

"I didn't realize," Trevor said."I've never really been part of it before. All I know is that the Underground in LA lost the books my father was trapped in. I had no reason to believe you would be willing to help me."

"Of course I will," Shade assured him.

JUST MAKE HIM OWE A FAVOR TO THE UNDERGROUND IN RETURN, Fang suggested. MAKE HIM APPRECIATE IT MORE.

Fang must have said that to both of us, because Shade took my hand and shook his head slightly at the hellhound. Too bad. It was a good idea.

"How would I go about it?" Shade asked.

Trevor appeared eager now."I'm not sure, but there's some theory on the subject. I think it's a lot like what you do when you heal someone or bring demons through from another dimension. You know, transfer the energy from there to here."

That left another unanswered question."So if you need a shadow demon to release your father, and there are no other known shadow demons, how were you planning on springing dear old Dad before you found Shade?"

Trevor shrugged."I hoped there'd be a spell or something inside to tell me how to go about it."

I heard a moan from the opposite end of the couch, and Marina sat up, holding her head. "What . . . what happened?" she asked, her eyes wide.

We turned to her to reassure her everything was all right, and Trevor rose, looking all bouncy now that he was getting what he wanted."I'll leave you to it, then," he said cheerfully."I need to find my father."

Shade wished him good luck and Trevor left, shutting the door behind him. Erica groped her way to wakefulness, too. After we'd gotten them each a glass of water and they'd marveled at Erica's healthy unblackened flesh, we explained what happened.

"My energies don't discriminate one kind of injury from another," Shade said. "So when I found another, older, problem, it took longer than I expected. Trevor thought something was wrong, so he tried to stop it."

Erica covered her mouth with both hands, looking mortified. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think."

Marina grabbed her arm and shook it, an expression of unholy delight on her face."Didn't you hear him? He said he
healed
you."

Erica's mouth dropped open."You mean . . . I . . . you . . . ?" The hope on her face as she stared at Shade was almost painful to see.

"You're whole," Shade said with a smile.

Erica threw her arms around him and beamed from ear to ear."Oh, goddess, thank you. Thank you, thank you, t
hank
you."

Marina joined her, and Shade was almost smothered by the two grateful women.

I THINK THAT MAKES HIM A SHADE SAND . . . WITCH, Fang quipped.

I laughed. Not at Fang's horrible pun, but I couldn't help but share in their joy.

"Do you know what this means?" Erica asked me, apparently unable to stop grinning.

I shook my head."Haven't a clue."

"It means my husband and I can finally have a baby." She let go of Shade and put a hand to her chest as if to hold in the emotion."Marina knows. We've been trying so long, but I couldn't—" She broke off and burst into tears.

Marina joined her and they let go of Shade to hug each other and bawl.

Pain, injuries, death . . . these I could deal with. But two ecstatic, sobbing women? I was way out of my league. I stood there feeling helpless, not knowing what to do.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, Fang said, sounding unconcerned. THEY'LL COME UP FOR AIR SOON.

And so they did . . . eventually. Wiping tears from her eyes, Erica said,"I can't wait to tell my husband." Turning to Shade, she said,"How can I ever repay you?"

Shade shook his head."Just pass it on. Help someone else from the Underground when they're in need."

"Is that all?" Erica asked in surprise."It seems so little compared to what you did for me."

"It won't seem that way to the other person," I reminded her."Besides, you got injured trying to help us."

She tried to get to her feet, but the deep couch seemed to hold her captive. I held out a hand to help her, but misjudged my strength and almost fell on top of the tall woman. Bracing myself, I tried again, and was able to assist her up off the furniture.

For some reason, that apparently meant it was my turn to get hugged by both of them. I endured it with a smile, but was happy when they left. I was glad for Erica, but all those emotions could wear a person out.

Fang snorted. TRY LIVING WITH PRINCESS WHEN SHE'S IN HEAT.

Nope. Didn't
even wa
nt to go there.

The hellhound sighed then added, I'D PROBABLY BETTER CHECK ON HER.