Necromancing Nim (17 page)

“Yes. And?”

Sebastian shifted, bringing his face into my field of vision. “I’ve been using it on the bite. It’s improving. I think you’re going to be okay.”

I closed my eyes, too profoundly relieved to be truly able to feel it. “How does it work?” I asked and was surprised to hear my own voice. Why was I asking? Why did I care as long as I wasn’t going to end up shuffling around biting people and eating their brains?

“It’s magic,” said Sebastian. “No real way to explain it.”

“Nice copout,” I mumbled and closed my eyes. They’d saved me. They could have just beheaded me and gone on with their fight against Pieter, but they hadn’t. They’d taken the risk. I didn’t quite know what to make of that.

I’d have to think about it later. Figure out what it meant to me, to them, to the three of us. For now, I rolled my face into the blessed softness of my pillow and quickly fell asleep.

I felt strange when I woke up. Not quite woozy, not quite awake, but not asleep, either. Something had changed. I wasn’t sick anymore, but that wasn’t all of it. Hesitant, I opened my eyes.

A warm weight lay on my feet. I wiggled my toes. It was Rufus. I didn’t really want to disturb him, so I held still, feeling his rhythmic breathing on my feet. I turned my head, searching through the dimness, trying to see if anyone else was there.

Colin sat in a chair by the bed, watching me. I jumped when I saw him, startled by his direct regard.

“How long have you been there?” I snipped. I sounded shrewish even to myself.

“Awhile.” He didn’t move except to speak, his stillness more than a little disconcerting. “As long as you’ve been unconscious.”

“And how long is that?” My snippiness morphed into panicky worry. Was I healed, or was the whole horrible vampire-zombie fate still waiting in the wings?

Colin blinked. Suddenly, his stillness seemed more a product of weariness than of creepy vampire staring. “I’m not sure. It’s been a while,” he said quietly.

I blinked back, not at all sure what to say. “Am I… I mean did I…?”

The set of his mouth shifted ever so slightly. I supposed it was a smile. “You’re still warm. I can see it from here.”

“You can see that I’m warm?” The boss was just brimming with weird vampire revelations lately.

His chin tilted up in acknowledgement. The movements he allowed himself were so small, I had to wonder if he’d drained himself dangerously by sitting up with me. “You smell different, though.”

“I do?” My feet moved involuntarily under Rufus’s warm belly, and the dog lifted his head, mildly offended.

“Sorry,” I offered, and he shook himself, then jumped off the bed, sat down and scratched his ear vigorously. “How did you get him to find the stone?”

Colin’s eyebrows twitched into what I assumed was meant to be a frown. “Sebastian did some kind of whammy on him, kind of turned him into a bloodhound temporarily. Not quite sure how he did it…” He peered at me sidelong. “Did you know your dog really likes coffee?”

Smiling, I nodded. “Grounds. He loves coffee grounds. He’s an idiot.”

“Anyway, he sniffed it out from the coffee smell still left on it. Wouldn’t have thought of it at all except the stupid shithead kept trying to get into the garbage. He doesn’t seem to be any the worse for wear.”

I nodded, grateful he’d taken the time to explain but not sure how to express it. There was too much inside me right now—gratitude, amazement, a general relief I wasn’t dead, or undead, or eating Colin’s brains out of his ear with a spoon. And other feelings, urges to slide my hands inside his clothes. It didn’t seem quite so weird now. He’d saved my life. He’d sat up with me to be sure I was all right. It made me want him.

“Thanks,” I finally said.

He closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again. “I need to sleep.” His voice trembled, though he was obviously trying to remain stoic and steady. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I feel okay.” I frowned at him. Something about him didn’t seem right. His eyes, I realized. His pupils were dilated, filling the space of his irises with black. “How long have you been awake?” I ventured.

His hand moved slightly on his thigh, as if he were trying unsuccessfully to shrug. “Too long.”

“Go to bed.” I sat up.

He managed half a wry smile. “Not sure I can get out of this chair.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” I swung out of bed, happy to find the action met by only a small, shifting sense of vertigo. I felt better. A lot better. Maybe too much better. “Can you make it over here?”

“I’m way past you propositioning me. I’d never live through it.”

“I mean get over here to sleep, you fucktard.” I crossed the short distance to him and grabbed his arm.

He started to ease himself out of the chair. “Did you call me a fucktard?”

“I did.” He was heavier than hell, but I got him half-balanced against me, and he took a step or two. His body felt strong under my arms, but he couldn’t keep his legs steady under him. I clenched him tighter, my fingers digging into muscles that…wow. He must have worked out a lot when he was alive.

“You are so fired.”

“Whatever.” He lurched the last step, and I half heaved him onto the bed. He managed to draw his legs up and settle on his stomach. “There. Just sleep. Do you need anything?”

He didn’t answer. His eyes had fallen shut, and he appeared to be thoroughly dead.

“Okay, then.” I stood there for a few seconds. It was weird. He didn’t breathe, his heart didn’t beat—I could tell because the blue vein on his neck was absolutely still. Part of me tried to lurch into panic because there was a dead guy in my bed, and because that dead guy was Colin. The non-lizard portion of my brain talked that part down, convincing it Colin was supposed to be that way.

This would take some getting used to. I sat on the bed next to him and laid my fingers against that still, blue line. Nothing. But his flesh was soft, if not warm, and I let my touch move up along his neck, to the underside of his chin. I traced his lips, the long profile of his nose. Touched his closed eyelids one by one. Then, gently, kissed his forehead.

My head spun a little when I straightened, and I closed my eyes. When it passed, though, I didn’t feel like throwing up or passing out. I didn’t even experience a pressing need to put my head between my knees. This was a good thing. But my renewed ability to function like a person brought to my attention how smelly and sticky and gross I was.

Shower time, then, especially if I was going to inflict my up-close-and-personal presence on Colin. He deserved better than stinky not-quite-zombie girl.

There are no words in the English language to describe the perfection of that shower. After all the hours of pain and discomfort, the certainty I was going to die a horrible death or come back as something that would inflict horrible death on my friends and loved ones and probably complete strangers too, the sensation of hot water on my skin was transcendent. Spiritual. Better than sex. If I was remembering right anyway. It had been a long time.

I let the blissful spray run until the hot water started to run out, then switched it off and took my time luxuriating in the towel. Just an ordinary towel, but today it too seemed extra soft and comforting.

When I came out of the shower, stepping into the bedroom, Colin lay exactly as I’d left him. Why this would surprise me, I don’t know. When vampires sleep, they
sleep.
Because they’re basically dead. Still, it caught me off guard.

I stood there for several long seconds, watching him not breathe. I wanted to touch him again but decided to keep my hands to myself. It seemed like the polite thing to do, even though my fingers itched to trace those cheekbones again.

I had dropped the towel to the floor before I realized I didn’t feel self-conscious about it this time. Huh. Naked, I sorted through my closet and drawers and found enough clothes to make an outfit, not even thinking twice about the dead guy in my bed.

Finally dressed and wearing not-quite-clean socks—I really need to do laundry more often—I headed to the living room. It was daylight outside—just before noon, by the clock. Normally, I might have taken Rufus for a walk, but today I wasn’t too keen on having people see me. Or, more importantly, non-people. Or people who worked for non-people who would be asleep right now. Whatever. In any case, I made a mug of tea, let Rufus out and settled into my comfy chair to watch TV.

Within seconds, I was gaping at the screen, too taken aback to hit the remote. It was Friday. I’d been out nearly two days.

Good God. Had Colin stayed by me all that time? If so, no wonder he was exhausted. The reaction I’d had when I’d first awakened, profound as it had been, suddenly didn’t seem adequate. Two days without sleeping. If he’d been human, it would have been impressive. For a vampire… I hadn’t even thought it was possible.

The implications regarding what Colin had done for me were almost too much for me to bear. Instead, I mulled what two days of unconsciousness meant regarding my condition. I was almost glad I hadn’t realized how bad it was.

Well. I was okay now, or at least I was alive. It seemed easier to manage the seesaw of my feelings about that than it did to manage the seesawier nature of my feelings about Colin. And I hadn’t even started thinking about Sebastian’s role in this. He’d risked his life as well, searching for the stone in broad daylight. I couldn’t get my head around it. Not right now. Instead, I flipped on the TV, sipped my tea and tried to relax.

I woke to the touch of fingers on my face.

“Nim. Nim?” The voice was gentle, flavored with Britain. I opened my eyes to see Sebastian peering worriedly down at me. He was still pale, with dark circles under his eyes. The majority of the sun marks had disappeared, but a ragged red scar remained to mar his cheek.

“Hey,” I said. Warmth filled my chest. There was no denying it. I was developing a serious thing for both these men. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks,” he answered wryly. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay, I guess.” I straightened in the chair. It was dark outside—my old habits of sleeping through the day had taken over again. “Where’s Colin?”

“Still asleep.”

“Still?”

Sebastian dropped to a crouch next to me. “He was up for a very long time. It wasn’t good for him. Now he needs to rest.” He seemed awkward, uncertain. I wondered if he was blaming me for Colin’s current state of fatigue, but then he said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay with you too. I would have if—”

“Don’t apologize,” I cut in. “You’re a mess too. No point all of us dropping off like flies.” That’s me. I’m sentimental. Inside, though, I was feeling more than a little mushy. I couldn’t bear to hear him apologize, not after what he’d done.

Sebastian gave a crooked not-quite-smile and nodded. I laid a hand on his where it had settled against the arm of the lounger and squeezed it. It turned under mine, and his fingers clasped mine firmly.

I automatically squeezed back. His hand felt so right in mine. “Is it still Friday?”

Sebastian chuckled. “It is. Barely.”

“Good.” I stood and stretched, and my stomach growled audibly.

“Be careful eating,” Sebastian cautioned. “Your stomach’s going to be touchy for a while.”

I nodded. I’d suspected as much. I headed to the kitchen, intending to try more tea and maybe some dry toast. “How did you know how to take care of me? With the holy water and the stone, I mean?”

Sebastian followed me into the kitchen, then took a seat at the table. “I’ve had the stone a long time. When I first…acquired it, Pieter did a similar thing to…a friend.”

I nodded, catching his tone. “A lover?” He’d said something about this before, I was sure, but I couldn’t dredge up the memory. Too much excitement in the interim, I supposed, what with nearly putrefying and all.

“Yes. She was human, and she and I had been together a few years. We were close, but she had an independent streak. She didn’t like being tied to a relationship.”

“She?” I couldn’t help the question. After everything that had happened over the last few days, no questions seemed out of bounds to me. Well, not many. There were still lines I would draw with them, but I figured at this point, I’d tell them almost anything, so it was natural for me to assume they’d return the favor. Not necessarily smart, on my part, but natural.

The question seemed to puzzle Sebastian. “Yes. She. Louisa. Why?”

I slid bread into the toaster. “Just…I… You and Colin seem…” Oh, this was an awkward conversation. “I thought maybe a ‘she’ wasn’t quite your type.”

Sebastian’s expression changed, half realization, half embarrassment. “Ah. Well. Colin and me—that’s a thing of its own.”

“Oh really?” These two got more interesting all the time.

“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “Vampire sexuality is…flexible. And Colin…” He stopped. I swear he was blushing, though it was faint. “Anyway. Pieter bit her.” Clumsy segue, I thought, and grinned a little but took the hint.

“Okay. Pieter bit her. Like he did me.”

“Yes. And at the time, we didn’t know how to cure her of his bite.”

“Oh.” I hesitated, unsure if I should ask. “Did she…turn into a zombie?”