Succubus Heat CHAPTER 16

Georgina.My name came to me from far away, from far down a tunnel without an end. It echoed off the w anys of my mind, loud at first and eventu aloney fading to nonhing.Georgina. font at me, sweetie.Let her sleep, Hugh.No, I need to talk to her and make po modelive(predicate) she doesnt clear a concussion. Georgina, come on. Open your eyes for me.Through a blur of black fog, my brain parsed the words and slowly found meaning in them. Some basic response in me wanted to comply, exclusively my eyelids felt interchangeable they were stuck together. Thinking-let alone answering-was too hard, merely more words came to encourage me.T present you go, sweetie. Try it again. You almost had it.With much effort, I finally managed to open my eyes. It was excruciating. My lids felt equal they were made of lead. At first, I could only perceive one thing light. I winced, wanting to sink back into that oblivion Id been pulled from. And with this slight stirring of consciousness, all the di stract Id escaped from before suddenly returned. My peak th snitchbed. My back burned. The clich? active breaking e really bone in the body keep in linemed like a very real possibility all of a sudden, and I was pretty sure Id broken a few that werent in my body. Sure, that didnt make sense, just now with as large(p) as I felt, little did.Oh God. At least, thats what I attempt to say. It came out as more of an indistinct moan.Easy there. You dont have to say anything.I undetermined my eyes again, this time making out a figure leaning all over me. I knew his voice so well that I didnt need to see his face, which was a blur anyway.Hugh, I croaked.Hey, ask her what-Shut up, Hugh snapped. The jerky movement of his head made me think hed glanced behind him, but I couldnt be certain.He moved his face closer to mine, bringing his features into sharper relief. He was paler than Id ever seen him, his face filled with lines of worry and fear Id never thought him capable of. He looked even more upset than when hed come to tell us about Jeromes summoning. Reaching out, Hugh held the lids of one of my eyes open and shone a small light into it. I squirmed at the brightness-or at least I tried-but he was fast and did it to the other eye before it caused too much annoyance. When he finished, he moved his fingerbreadth around in the air and studied my eyes as I followed it.Whats your name? he asked.The voice behind him piped up. You already say her name.Hugh sighed and jerked a riffle over his shoulder. Whats his name?Cody, I verbalize. It was getting easier to speak, but the pain was spill up the more conscious I became. Codys voice was as familiar to me as Hughs, and I felt certain Peter was here too.Hugh asked me a few other factual questions, like the current year and the location, and also if I was nauseous.It all hurts, I said, voice still slurred. I couldnt even move, let alone distinguish nausea from the balance wheel of my pain.Yeah, but do you feel li ke youre loss to throw up? Right here? Right now?I thought about it. My stomach hurt, but it was less of a queasy discomfort and more of a nearone-just-kicked-me-with-stilettos discomfort. No, I said.Hugh sat back, and I heard him sigh in relief.It all hurts, I repeated. Can youmake it stop?He hesitated, and a moment later, Cody appe bed beface him. Whats the yield? Youve gotta give her something. Look at her. Shes suffering.Understatement, I mumbled.Hughs face was still drawn. Im not gonna knock her out if shes got a concussion.She passed your tests.Those are field tests. Theyre not one hundred percent accurate.Please, I said, feeling tears well in my eyes. Anything.We know it wont kill her, I heard Peter say. Id been right about him being here.Hugh hesitated only a little longer. Go get some water.Cody disappeared, and Peter replaced him by Hughs side. Hughs fount was still grim. Sweetie, Ive got to clean up your back, and its pass to hurt. worse?A different kind of hurt. But this has to be cleaned up so you dont get an infection, and then I need to shift you to check out the rest of you. The drugsll help, but its all going to hurt at first.Go for it, I said, steeling myself. At this point, I couldnt really imagine worse pain. Besides, Hugh was a doctor. Everything was going to be okay now.Cody returned with a glass of water. Hugh made me drink some first, just to make sure I could keep it down. When I did, he gave me two pills to reserve with the rest of the water. I nearly choked on them-my throat felt raw and swollen, maybe from screaming-but I got them down.I wanted to ask what Id just taken, but it seemed like too much work. Should kick in in about twenty minutes, Hugh said.I could see him fumbling with something in his lap. Standing up, he leaned over my back. Something wet touched my flake.Son of a routinech Again, my words were slightly incoherent, but I think he caught my meaning.Stinging pain-a different pain, indeed-raced across my skin wh ere hed touched it. It was electric, sharp where the rest of my body throbbed. My desire to get away from that horrible stinging was so strong that I actually managed to move a little, but all that did was trigger the hurt in the rest of my body. The world blurred once more.Youre making it worse, he warned. Stay still.Easy for him to say. I bit my lip as he continued. He was using antiseptic to clean the places Nanette had cut me. Necessary, as hed said, but God, did it hurt.Talk to her, Hugh said to no one in particular. Distract her.What happened? asked Peter. Who did this to you?Nice distraction, said Hugh.Nanette, I said. Saying her name made my stomach turn, and I hoped I wouldnt have to go back on what Id said to Hugh about throwing up. She wasmad.I guess, said Peter.Mad I told Cedric about herDoesnt this kind of confirm your suspicions, then? asked Cody.Yeah, if beating up the person whod ratted out your secret plans didnt in effect(p) suspicious, I didnt know what did. But if Nanette really was behind Jeromes summoning, why not just kill me outright and leave no witnesses?Explaining that would take too some(prenominal) words and too much effort, so I just said, I dont know.There, said Hugh, straightening. That wasnt so bad, was it?I tried to glare, but I dont think he noticed. He rummaged in his kit once more and then leaned back over to start bandaging up the wounds. With as much as he was piling on me, I had the feeling I was going to look like a mummy.Why didnt Dante stick around? asked Cody.Huh? Dante? The bandage pressure wasnt as bad as the cleaning, but it was still uncomfortable. I wondered when those goddamned drugs were going to kick in.He was here, said Cody. He called Hugh and told him to come over.Some of the exact details of what had happened with Nanette were foggy, but I felt pretty confident, head trauma or no, that I would have remembered Dante being around.Dante wasnt here, I said.Hugh paused and looked me in the eye. Then who cal led me? It was a guy, from your carrell phone. Said to get over here and bring medical supplies-that youd been hurt.I frowned, and it came back to me, a shadow in the pain-filled haze of my memory. The strong arms and prosperous voice.There was someone here I began slowly. Not Dante. Someone else. He put me to bed.Silence fell. A slight fuzziness was starting to tingle the edges of my senses, which I took as a good sign. It was more of a pleasant, dreamlike fuzziness-not the I-cant-handle-this-pain-anymore kind. There was still a fair amount of that, though.The guys deepend puzzled looks. Are you sure it wasnt him? asked Cody.Why would Dante leave her, though? asked Peter.Hugh snorted. No telling with him.Stop, I mumbled. It wasnt him.You cant remember a face or anything? Peter asked. Was it even someone you knew?I thought again, desperately trying to dig out the memory. There was nothing, though. Only that hed been someone familiar.I knew him That pleasant drowsiness was growing stronger. I wished it would hurry up.There, said Hugh. completely bandaged up. Help me move her so I can look at her ribs.That was not fun, and the discomfort of the three of them turning me over-no matter how gentle they tried to be-was enough to momentarily break me out of the drugs soothing embrace. They managed to flip me over, putting moderate pressure on my back when I rested back against the bed, but allowing Hugh to examine the rest of me. He poked and prodded and had me take deep breaths. His final analysis was that I had a couple of broken ribs and a lot of bruising and pain that would just go away with time.Great, I said. I was so loopy by that point that I didnt even know if I was being nipping or not.Cody was still unable to give up my benefactor. But who was here?The man I said.You arent going to get anything else out of her, said Hugh wearily. Not for a while. Shes going to be in Dreamland any minute now.Dreamland. The man I repeated. Suddenly, I giggled. The man i n the dreamI saw them exchange pitying looks, just before my eyelids drooped closed. They thought I was talking nonsense. None of them knew about the story of the man in the dream, of that alluring and improbable alternate behavior that Nyx had shown me.But as I drifted off to Dreamland, it wasnt Nyxs vision I saw. It was more of that same, painless blackat least, it was until I got jolted by a zillion volts of electricity.I let out a small cry of surprise, my eyes popping open. It felt like hundreds of icy needles were dancing along my body, piercing each nerve. The rooms details, as well as my friends, came to me in sharp, crystalline detail. No more fuzziness. Turning my head slightly, I saw a fourth person.mei.She stood beside my bed, face untenanted and emotionless, arms crossed across her black silk blouse. What happened? I asked. My words were still thick, but my speech capabilities had improved by leaps and bounds.I healed you, she said flatly. Inasmuch as I can. Youre s till going to hurt.Demons, though once angels, didnt possess that power to heal that their heavenly counterparts had. They could do it in small bursts, however, and in expanding my senses to assess my body, I could feel how shed gotten rid of the worst of my pain. I still ached in some places, and even bandaged, my back still stung. I no longer wanted to die, however, so that was definitely an improvement.Thank you, I said.Mei didnt look particularly compassionate or benevolent. Her expression darkened. They say Nanette did this?I hesitated. Id already gotten in enough touch with the archdemoness for telling on her. Of course, my friends had undoubtedly already told Mei the truth, and anyway, she was the closest I currently had to a boss. I wasnt entirely sure if I could trust her, but if I had to place my money on the demon most likely to have my back right now (no pun intended), it was her.Yeah, I admitted. I told Cedric that Nanette had met with Jerome. Shed met with Cedric too, so it seemed kind of like she was manipulating both of them.Meis face grew harder still. Whether she agreed with me or not, she didnt reveal. Nanette wont bother you again.And with no more than that, the demoness vanished.Girl fight, said Hugh, looking the happiest Id seen him today.I dont think its going to be in creamed corn or anything like that, I remarked dryly.Her sense of humor returns, said Peter. Definitely on the road to recovery.I tried to sit up and winced. Or not.Dont push it, warned Hugh. Mei can only do so much-What the hells going on?We all turned. Dante stood in the doorway to my bedroom. His face was a mixture of incredulity and utter confusion. Without waiting for an answer, he hurried over to the bed and knelt down so that he was at my level.Are you okay? What happened?His expression was so tender, so full of concern that I was momentarily taken aback. Dante was indeed selfish and arrogant, but he did care about me, no matter what my friends thought. And in dire situations-like now-that bitter faade of his fell, revealing someone whose soul hadnt turned completely black yet. He tried hard to hide this side of himself, but I knew it was there.I had a run-in with a demon, I said. I gave him a brief explanation of what had happened.He grew more and more sceptical as I spoke. When I finished, he glanced around the room, studying everyone accusatorily. How does something like this happen? I thought demons couldnt go around roughing people up. Arent you under some kind of protection?Technically Jeromes, I said. But hes kind of busy right now.Maybe youre under Grace and Meis protection now, mused Cody. Mei looked pissed.She always looks pissed, said Hugh.I should hope so, snapped Dante. Are they going to go kick this other demons ass?Shes not likely to smite her, if thats what you mean, said Hugh. Grace and Mei are under the same scrutiny as everyone else, but I bet Meill bitch Nanette out.Great, said Dante. A stern talking-to. Thatll show her.I ts unlikely Nanettell do anything else. If she was going to kill Georgina, she would have already. There was an almost gentle tone in Peters voice. I think Dantes outrage and concern had convinced the vampire that Dante might not be the complete and total bastard hed always believed.My immortal (or not so immortal) friends finally decided I was in reasonable enough rail to leave me in Dantes care. Hugh promised to check on me tomorrow, and I thanked him again for his help. He and the others looked like they wanted to hug me, but with my back, they knew better.When they were gone, Dante went out to the kitchen and came back with a curlicue of ice cream. Good for what ails you, he said.I was surprised to discover I had a considerable appetite. Judging from the time, Id been out quite awhile before Mei had shown up. It had only felt like a few seconds.Careful, I teased. People are going to think youre a nice guy.Well, Ill have to go rob some orphans to save my reputation.He lay in be d beside me, curled on his side so that he could gently keep his hand on my arm and talk to me. As the evening passed, our conversation mostly touched on inconsequential things, topics to distract me from Seattles increasingly dangerous situation. Finally, when it came time for both of us to sleep, Dante brought up the attack again.Succubuswho was here earlier?I knew he didnt mean Hugh and the vampires. I frowned. Even with Meis healing, my memories were sketchy. I dont know. But I thinkI think it might have been Carter.Really? I still cant believe that angel hangs out with you guys. But if it was him, why didnt he heal you? He could have fixed everything.Through the fog of that ordeal, I recalled my rescuers words. I cant heal you .Because hes not supposed to interfere, I said slowly, remembering my earlier rumination on whether blowing up a stove was interference. Heavens supposed to stay out of this. He probably shouldnt have even carried me to bed-which is why he would have then gotten out of here and left it to Hugh to patch me up.An angel breaking the rules and a demon healing the sick, Dante said. You and your associates just get more and more fucked up.I shifted slightly, cautious of my back, and rested my head against him. Thats for damned sure.