Sucking in San Francisco (24 page)

Seeing Lilith with Sebastian is painful. I don’t like these emotions. Sneaking her away from him last night was just what we both needed. It seemed like it had been forever since I had held her or kissed her. I know she says she needs time, but I feel her resolve weakening. Seeing Sebastian injured yesterday made her maternal instincts kick in and I thought I had lost her. But her eyes follow me and I still feel the emotion in them. I will not give up hope. I will wait patiently, abiding by the rules for now. Being her friend while my heart and being ache for her. Right now I have work to do.

I pop back into Alexander’s car. He is on his way back to his hotel room. He told the police he lives in L.A. but is staying in town to handle the girls’ affairs.

When we reach his room he throws his jacket on and rushes out the door. He goes back down to his car and we head to the witches’ house. He breaks through the crime scene tape, walking across the places where his cousins’ bodies had laid without hesitation and whips down the stairs that lead to the garage.

The flare of magik as he relights the candles does little to brighten the dim garage. Chalk scratches on cement as he redraws the pentagram. He begins chanting spells and power pours from him as he stands in the middle of the pentagram.

A thin wisp of smoke appears just inside the pentagram and it slowly turns into a weasel-like creature with a hump back and no hair. Its teeth are rotted and uneven. Its ragged nails gather its long spike tail in its hand and twirl it nervously. He’s summoned an imp!

Imps can backfire on a warlock or witch if they are not handled right. They can kill their conjurer. If the spell is performed right, the imp is your slave for one deed.

“Yes, master,” the imp says in a raspy voice.

“I have a question that needs answering, imp!” Alexander shouts.

The imp cowers and scuttles around in a circle.

“Yes, master. What would that be?”

“I want the name of the vampire or vampires that killed my cousins in this house!”

The hideous creature’s eyes dart around the circle, he mumbles the incantations. No way out. Delaying on general principles.

“Yes, master. That would be Lilith Goodwill and Helena Gaius. Now I will go, master.”

He vaporizes the same way he appeared. Alexander looks satisfied. He should be happy - he didn’t die. He’ll need rest now. Alexander has tremendous power. The gods be with us. My Lilith. What can I do to protect her? This warlock is too powerful. I need to get her out of here but she won’t listen, she is too stubborn.

I follow him out of the dilapidated house. He staggers. He slides into his low - slung sports car and heads back to the hotel, eating oranges. A little known fact: oranges help rejuvenate a witch or warlock’s energy levels. As Alexander crawls into bed I leave for the manse. I need to warn Lilith and Helena.

I get ready for work. It’s raining and I want to take advantage of Aidan’s powers but he’s already trailing Alexander. I’m just being lazy. I’m so thankful for all his efforts. It still would be nice to pop into work.

I wear a sweater and add a colorful scarf around my neck. Then I grab the pea coat that Aidan gave me. It’s warm and makes me feel close to him. Grabbing my umbrella, I rush down the stairs. Sebastian has volunteered to take me to work. More like insisted. He meets me at the bottom of the stairs.

“You look warm, Cherie.”

“Not warm enough. I need some coffee. It’s going to be a miserable night on the hotline. Whenever it rains we have more desperate callers. We’re so lucky, Sebastian.”

“Agreed,” he says as he straightens my scarf. He takes my hand and I unfurl my umbrella as we step into the cold, wet night.

Our wipers are set to full speed. When we reach the Victorian where I work, Sebastian opens my door with the umbrella open. I have a grim determination as we rush to the key-coded door. He continues to hold the umbrella while I punch in my code then gives me a kiss goodbye.

“I’ll be here to pick you up when you get off work, ma petite. Don’t try and take the bus,” he warns me.

“I won’t. It’s too wet. Thanks for the ride, Bast.”

“You’re welcome.” He sneaks another kiss before he leaves. I walk into the building with walls of grey that are as gloomy as the rain outside. The mildew smell is especially strong tonight. The coffee is hot, though, and I fill my “Love Bites” ceramic mug with some and add creamer.

Winding through the cubicles, I dodge all the sniffles and coughs, longing for my Lysol and handi-wipes. As soon as I sit down I start disinfecting. Gah! People are practically dripping with germs tonight. The noises coming from the desks around me are making me tuck my legs in tight and hover over my hand sanitizer.

I put my newly sterilized headset on and push the little red button.

“Suicide Prevention, this is Lilith, how can I help you?”

“I need help and no one will help me,” says a high-pitched, frantic male voice.

“That’s what I’m here for. How can I help you? Let’s take a big breathe, tell me your name and then you can tell me what’s wrong.” My body goes on alert, waiting for the emergency.

“My name is Thomas and I started using Twitter and all these people started following me. Who are these people? Where did they come from? I think they’re stalking me. I just want to be left alone. The police hung up on me. I don’t know how to stop people from following me. I want to stay on because there’s a girl I like that I want to see her tweets, but that’s it.” He spilled this all out in 30 seconds. Someone is off their meds.

“First, take that deep breath we talked about, Thomas. Breathe in with me, hold it, and breathe out. There, are you feeling a bit calmer?”

“Yes, no, I don’t know. I’m really feeling vulnerable right now. I’m afraid to leave the house. What if these people find me?”

“Have you thought about closing down the account and just talking to this girl in person?” I have to ask even though I think he is the real stalker here.

“Oh no, I couldn’t. She doesn’t know I exist. I just follow her around and watch her Facebook account and tweets. But now I’m afraid of going anywhere so I can’t follow her. I’m getting very anxious.”

“Thomas, I would like you to come in and talk to one of our doctors tomorrow. I know you will have to leave the house, but I promise you that none of the people on Twitter are following you outside of the program. No one is stalking you. I promise.” I try to sound safe and comforting. This man may not be suicidal, but he is a ticking time bomb all the same.

“I don’t know. I think you’re in league with them. Are you on Twitter? How do I know this isn’t a setup?”

“Because you called me, Thomas, asking for help and I am giving it.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense.”

“Can you come in?” I ask.

“I’ll try to make it. What time and where? And it has to be a female doctor. Male doctors freak me out.”

I give him the details and end the call. I don’t feel good about this one. I’m not sure he is going to make the appointment and even if he does I don’t think he will go back on his meds or start them if he’s never taken any. The poor girl he is stalking has me worried. I log the conversation and note my concerns before I take my next call.

“Suicide Prevention, this is Lilith. How may I help you?”

I hear heavy breathing, not unusual but creepy all the same. “Hello…hello? I’m going to hang up if you don’t answer.”

“Lilith…” His voice makes my skin crawl.

“Yes, sir. My name is Lilith. How can I help you tonight?”

“You killed my cousins, Lilith. Now it’s your turn to die.”

“Leave me alone,” I yell. Heads pop up like prairie dogs from cubicles all around me.

“I’m coming for you, Lilith. You and Helena.” And then he hangs up and I’m listening to a dial tone. I start freaking out.

“Meredith!”

“Lily, no need to yell. I was right behind you. By the way, I saw all your cleaning supplies again and I am going to have to write you up this time. I simply…”

“I don’t care if you write me up! I need to leave. Someone just threatened to kill me and said they’re watching me. I want out of here right now.”

“Well, don’t over react. I wasn’t really going to write you up,” she says as she waves her hand in the air dismissing me.

“No, Meredith, I’m serious.”

“Well, fine, go. But be here on your next scheduled night, Lily, and I mean it about your cleaning supplies!” She turns her back on me and swivel-hips her way down the aisle.

I immediately call Sebastian.

“Bast, Alexander just called me and threatened me. He said he’s waiting and watching me. Can you come pick me up?”

“Of course, I’m already heading out the door.
Do not
leave the building until you see me at the door. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Believe me.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, ma petite.” Bast hangs up. I gather my things and hurry to the front door. I watch the cars go by willing them to be Sebastian’s. Soon enough he pulls up, squealing the tires, leaping out of the car. I run out the door and into his arms.

“Are you all right?” he whispers into my hair as he holds me so tight I’m afraid something might break.

“Yeah, just rattled. His voice was so creepy. I’m scared.”

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

Before we can take a step, our sight is blinded by car lights bearing down on us. The car screeches to a halt and a man leans out of the window. It’s Alexander. Sebastian growls and makes a leap for him but before he can get to him Alexander makes sigils in the air. I cry out, diverting Sebastian, and Alexander drives off. Aidan pops in at the same time and runs to me.

“Love, what is it?” He catches me before I fall. Sebastian is holding my hand but all I can think of is the pain exploding through my brain. I start to shake and moan.

“Lily, what’s wrong? What did he do to you? Aidan, what’s wrong?” Sebastian demands.

“I don’t know. I just got to the manse and they told me what happened so I came as soon as I heard and saw Alexander casting and then Lilith fall. Love, we need to get you to Helena. You’re getting soaked out here. I’m going to take you home. Hold on a little longer.”

“You’re not taking her without me. Can’t you send my car home or something?” Sebastian asks.

“Yes.” Aidan does just that with a nod. “Hold my hand, it’s a little different to transmanifest, so be ready.”

Aidan lands us in my bedroom and Sebastian fetches Helena.

“Aidan,” I whisper. “The pain… it won’t go away.”

“Lilith, thank God you can speak. Where?” Aidan asks.

“My head, shoulders, arms, moving…” I pant with the effort of communicating. “Filling me up, feel like I’m on fire. Feel like I’m dying…”

“Hold on, love. Sebastian went to get Helena and Julian. We will sort this out.”

Helena, Julian and Sebastian hurry into the room. Helena is instantly at my side. She tries to touch me but Aidan stops her.

“She says she feels like she’s on fire, Helena. It started in her head and is moving down her body,” he explains.

I nod and a moan escapes

“What can we do?” Julian asks quietly, his voice stiff with controlled emotion.

Helena begins chanting over me. She waves her hands and I glimmer briefly. The pain eases a little.

“That helped some, Helena,” I whisper.

She does it again and again until it gives no more benefit.

“It’s the only spell I know, sweetheart,” she apologizes. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“You’ve worked miracles giving her relief,” Aidan says. “But, we need to find an antidote.”

“Helena,” I say. “Thank you.”

Helena bends down and kisses me. Sebastian, Aidan and Julian touch me lightly. No one wants to hug me because they’re afraid it will hurt me. I fade in and out of consciousness. Blessedly the black gives moments of relief from the pain. Sometime while I was unconscious, Helena dried me off and changed me into a gown. I’m just coherent enough to hear Julian, Sebastian and Aidan talk much later.

“I want to kill him. Hunt him down like the dog he is and drain him to the last drop!” Sebastian says. His voice is hushed, but hard.

“Sebastian, think clearly! He did this to Lily within a few seconds. We have to be protected. We can’t just hunt him recklessly,” Julian says. As always his advice makes good sense.

“He’s coming after Helena next you know, Julian. See if you want to sit around then,” Sebastian snaps.

“Don’t assume I don’t want his blood on my hands, Sebastian,” Julian says carefully.

“I agree with Julian, Sebastian, we have to keep everyone as safe as we can,” Aidan says.

“That’s the problem, I can’t think while I see her suffering. I can’t see anything but his dead body,” Sebastian growls.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Julian decides. “I’m going to work with Helena. Maybe we can come up with something,” he says as he leaves.

I want to reach out to him but I can’t. I know it is almost dawn and I will fall asleep soon. I yearn for it.

“Aidan,” I whisper.

“Yes, love.” He’s beside me instantly.

“Can you do anything to him?”

“No, I’ve tried everything. As long as he has his protective spells in place, I can’t hit him. My powers are magikal too, we cancel each other out.”

I whimper and he kisses my hand.

“I am so sorry, Lilith. If there were any way, I would do it for you. I am trying everything I know.”

“I know, thank you.”

Sebastian sits next to me with his head in his hands. His hair is a mess because he can’t stop running his hands through it. Aidan’s normally expressive face is closed. I reach out for Sebastian’s hand and he takes it and holds mine gingerly. Before I know it I fall asleep.

Sebastian and I are allies, again. Lilith made us natural competitors and only she can unite us. Watching Lilith sleep in temporary relief, I can finally think straight. She looks peaceful, the lines that creased her forehead are gone and the whimpering has stopped. I had been going out of my mind watching her suffer. Somehow I will kill the man that has caused her to feel this way. It takes every trick Julian and I have to talk Sebastian out of going after Alexander. But we prevail.

Helena and Julian are still working in the library.

“Sebastian,” I say. “Let’s go down to the library and see if we can help Julian and Helena.”

“I don’t want to leave her,” Sebastian says, no discussion. “See if Julian and Helena will come up here, Aidan,” he orders without taking his eyes from Lilith’s face. My emotions boil inside me. I’m in turmoil.

They are so focused on a book, Julian and Helena don’t notice when I materialize into the library.

“I think all of us need to talk and Sebastian won’t leave Lilith’s side. She is asleep now, so we won’t disturb her. Will you both come upstairs?”

“Yes, I think that is a good idea,” Julian turns to Helena. “Come, dear heart, we will bring the book.”

We join Sebastian. He sits next to Lilith, staring at her face, willing her to be better. Lines of tension bracket his mouth. Helena takes his hand. He glances up at her and she puts her other hand on his face. There is no one to comfort me.

“It will be okay, Sebastian. We will work this out,” she says.

“Please tell me you have found something, Helena.”

“We think we have found more effective protection spells to put on you and Julian. I still have not found anything to release the spell on Lily,” she tells him, regret shadowing her eyes.

“Will killing him release the spell?” Sebastian asks her, taking Helena’s hand and holding it tightly.

“Yes it will. But he will be hard to kill because he is powerful and well-shielded. The added spells will not completely protect you. It will only slow him down.”

“That’s all I need. If I can get my hands on him, I will rip his throat out,” Sebastian says hoarsely.

“You will have me and Julian to help as well,” I say sitting on the bed, smoothing out Lilith’s hair. There is no way I am standing in the shadows. “I can do a lot to slow him down. If it gets too bad I can grab you both and get us all out of there.”

“We need to know where he is.” Sebastian says. “He is human after all. He has to sleep. I would rather attack when his defenses are down. The sooner the better.”

He returns to watching Lily.

“Let me check some things, Sebastian,” Helena says, touching his shoulder. “Tomorrow night should give me enough time. I need to tighten the security on the house too. We can’t have him coming here and finishing Lily off while you are off trying to find him.”

“Maybe Helena will find something that will help Lily while she’s looking up the other spells,” Julian suggests.

“I’ll wait one more day, but no longer.”

Sebastian means it. It is clearly a struggle between staying with Lily and protecting her or hunting down the warlock. I don’t have the same time restraints. I can transmanifest instantly. I will hunt him, and if I can find a way, I will kill him.

“She can’t take more suffering than another day, Helena. You must stay here with her when we go so that both of you are protected in the house. He wants you as much as he wants Lily. Promise me you won’t go out of the house?” Sebastian asks.

“I agree I can be of more use here than anywhere else,” Helena agrees. “I am going to go downstairs and search for something to boost her resistance, encourage her vampire healing. Sebastian, she will be okay.” Resolve sits firmly on her face, etched in worry lines. She’s pale beneath her Mediterranean coloring.

“Thanks, Helena. I want to stay with her. I will see you when she wakes up.”

I leave with Helena and Julian. Looking over my shoulder as Sebastian climbs in the bed next to Lilith. I’ll give him this only because I plan on hunting.

We meet in the library. Since Andrew is sleeping off his birthday night out, I summon tea for Julian and Helena. Julian thanks me tiredly.

“The energy we must be generating has to be rough on you.”

“It’s definitely not my cup of tea,” I joke. “But I’ve been around worse. What I can’t bear is to see her in pain or in danger. I’ve become fond of you, as well.”

“Aidan, we treasure you,” Helena says. “I know Lily cares for you a great deal. She is lucky to have a great friend like you.”

I have lived multiple millennia. I have patience when I must. Helena sees the resolution in my eyes and her face softens. If I had a heart it would beat with Lilith’s. My existence has become entwined with hers. I am a jinni. I will find a way to have her. One misstep by Sebastian and I’m in.