Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 14

I worked an yeting shift that berthreal day and had made plans to turn out lunch with Maddie. She and I had worked several shifts to charterher in the last week or so, yet things were getting so sick at the store that we just now had a chance to chew out whateverto a greater extent. well, arent we the rebels? she verbalise when the waiter set devil margaritas on the table. We were at the unholy place Peter, Cody, and Hugh had tried to lure me start to a few nights ago.Nah, I said, licking the edge of my scratch. Salt and unslaked lime juice were proof of Gods existence. And tequila was proof of Satans. We dont work for collar more hours. Well be sober by past. Besides, Im your superior, and I say its okey. We clinked glasses and drank up.I touch sensation the the likes of Im boring, she told me halfway through our meal.Not true.It is. I dont do anything with my life. She held the glass by its stem, swirling the contents around and around. Doug goes bug out every night, either to pull or party or w abhorver. Me? If Im non at work, Im pedestal indite articles or watching reality TV.What do you wish you were doing instead?I dont know. There are lots of things Ive thought about. Skydiving. Travel. Always affable of wanted to go to South America. But its hard, you know? Those kinds of things force you to break out of your comfort z champion.Theres no reason you cant do those things. Youre smart and capable, and I presuppose youre braver than you give yourself credit for.She smiled. Why are you such a cheerleader for me?Because youre awesome. The lawfulness was, I was starting to realize, Maddie re straitsed me of myself when Id been mortal. Not entirely comfortable with my body (Id been madly tall). Not always so adept socially (my sharp office had gotten me in trouble a lot). That version of me was centuries g unmatched, provided a mall of it would always be within me. I gestured the waiter over and move my glass at him. Hey, Josh. Can you hook me up?Josh the waiter, who reflectioned also young to drink, took the glass with a grin. You bet. Same thing?Yep. AlthoughI hate to tell you this, but it was kind of weak.Josh adopted an offended air. Was it? Ill bellow at the bartender immediately. Maybe Ill make him come over and warrant on bended knee.No need, I said magnanimously. Just beat him add an extra shot this time.He gave a gallant enter and winked. As you com domaind.Maddie groaned when he was g one and only(a). See? I could neer flirt that way. sure as gibe not with jailbait like him.Sure you can.She shook her head. No. I affirm the worst luck with men.How is that possible? Youre always saying funny things to me.Youre not a troops. And Im not afraid of you, she explained.Youre afraid of Josh the waiter?Wellno, not exactly. But I just get so self-conscious. either flustered and stuff.I leaned forward and spoke in a conspirative tone. Trade secret. Everyones self-conscious. Act like you arent, a nd youll be a superstar.Josh brought me my margarita. I thanked him with more flirting while Maddie looked thoughtful.When he went to check on another(prenominal) table, she sighed. Did you know that Ive only ever slept with two guys?So?So, Im twenty-nine Isnt that reprehensible?I thought about my track record. No point even attempt to count. Just means you declare standards.She grimaced. You havent met the guys.So find a good one. Plenty of them out there. I had a weird photograph of d?j? vu to past conversations with Tawny.Not that Ive put onn. Well, except maybe readiness. Hes one of the good ones. She sighed. He still hasnt mentioned our date.Hasnt he? Id have to get on him about that.Yeah. Unless babysitting his nieces counts. She shrugged. Its okay. Like I said, I know he just did it because he snarl bad. I appreciate the gesture. Oh hey, I over comprehend band saying something to Doug about how you wanted a Christmas tree. Are you having trouble decision one or someth ing?I groaned. Not that again.Soyou dont want one? Or do you? You get wordm like the kind of person who would. frankly? Im indifferent. I shook my head. Its something my friend Peter started, then he told Seth.She uprise me a suspicious look. You know, you sure seem to hang out with Seth a lot.Hey, you can be friends with nice guys too. I had no mood why I still felt the need to keep my kind with Seth a secret. Some instinct told me it was the right thing to do. overly bad, said Maddie, finishing her own margarita. I bet hed treat his young lady like a princess.Yeah, I agreed wryly. So ache as that princess doesnt mind a mistress. Sometimes I think his writing pass on always be his first love.To my surprise, Maddie didnt laugh or look outraged. Well, I think thats the price youve gotta cave in if you want to be with a man like that. It might be worth it.Now I became pensive, enquire if this was true. Was I too hard on Seth and his distractibility? When lunch imprisoned up, we walked back not too tipsy to the bookstore. I nudged Maddie as we stepped inside.Okay, heres the deal. In the next week, I want you to do tether adventurous things.She looked startled. What kind of adventurous things?I dont know. I pondered, thinking I might be drunker than Id suspected. The adventurous kind. Go out clubbing. Wear red lipstick. Doesnt matter. All I know is that theres going to be a pop quiz later, okay?Thats ridiculous. Its not that easy, she said with a scowl, turning aside. You cant just make something like that happen.Did I just hear you tell Maddie to go clubbing? Seths voice asked a moment later. She was already halfway across the store, and I doubted shed run through me up on my challenge. Too bad. I turned around to pose him.Im helping her live life.By drinking in the middle of the day? he teased.I pointed upstairs. Dont you have a book to finish? Ill blether to you later. I have important things to do.I felt only a little bad about dismissing him , seeing as we had dinner plans and would see each other later. He wandered off to write, and I threw myself into my work. Someone was home sick, so I got to be out amid the holiday shopping frenzy. Maddie worked a register beside me, and I was pleased to see how cheery and charismatic she was with customers.When conclusion time came, I stopped in front of the newspapers, looking forwell, I didnt know what. But I hadnt forgotten about that poor drowning victim. I wondered if there might be more about him or more about anything that might help me count on out what was happening to me in my sleep. Sadly, the headlines offered no insight today.Seth and I drove to Pioneer settle for our late dinner and unsurprisingly couldnt find parking. We ended up several blocks out-of-door and were freezing by the time we entered the restaurant. The trek was worth it, though. This place was one of my favorites, serving up Cajun food spicy enough to chase forth the winter chill. With gumbo and ?touff?e, it was hard to brood for too long.Wed almost faultless dessert when my cell phone rang. I didnt recognize the number.Hello?Hey, Georgina. This is Vincent.Hey, I said, surprised to be hearing from him.Look, I really need to talk to you in person. Is there any way I can see you? Right now?Yeahits kind of important.I glanced over at Seth, who was finishing the last of his bread pudding. He was so easygoing, I doubted hed mind if Vincent stopped by.Im out with SethItll just take a few minutes, Vincent promised.Okay. I told him where we were, and he told me hed be there shortly.He wasnt kidding. Id barely explained the internet site to Seth when Vincent walked into the restaurant.Whatd you do, fly over here? I asked as he slid into a chair beside us.Nah, I was just close. He gestured to the remnants of our desserts. Looks good.It was great, I said. Now, whats up?He hesitated and glanced in Seths direction.Its fine. Seth knows everything, I assured him. The waitress came by an d dropped off our receipt and change.Vincent studied Seth a moment more, then turned back to me. Okay. I just have a straightaway question for you. We can talk about it on our way out.The three of us set out into the cold again, heading toward Seths car.So, Vincent began. Remember that storey you told me a little while ago? About the cop shooting his partner?Yup.Whered you hear it?We walked in silence for a few moments as I tried to remember. I dont know. Probably on TV. Maybe I saw the headline at the store. Cant recall.Are you sure?I frowned. Positive.Vincent sighed. Well, heres the thing. I looked into that stage and had a hard time finding out anything. It was never made public. I really had to go investigate with some law of nature sources.It had to have been made public. How else would I have known?Thats what Im trying to figure out.I racked my brain. Where had I heard it? No clue. Id just known it when I talked to Vincent that day. But, obviously, it hadnt sprung up in m y head out of the blue.Do you know anybody in the police department? he suggested.No one I would have talked to. Maybe I overheard someone. Seriously, I justI just cant remember.Whats the story? Seth asked me.Puzzle pieces suddenly fell together. The cop was just like the guy whod swam Puget Sound. Both had had a vision of something that wasnt true, but their subsequent actions had brought it about. And I had known about both stories before I should have.Georgina? asked Seth.This cop went crazy in a store and started Okay, just stop. Just fucking stop.The three of us jerked to a halt as the voice came out of the darkness. In heading toward our remote parking spot, wed strayed quite a ways away from the hustle and bustle of Pioneer Square. And from around a corner, a man in need of a shave and clean clothes had emerged. He made Carter look genteel. Muggings were rare in Seattle, but statistics meant little when actually being mugged. The man had a gun aimed at us.Give me everything youve got, he growled. He had kind of a all-encompassing, paranoid look, and I wondered if he was on something. Again, it meant little. He had a gun. We didnt. Every fucking thing. Wallet. Jewelry. Whatever. Ill shoot. I swear to God, I go away.I took a step in front of Seth and Vincent, scurvy enough not to raise the guys alarms but enough to put me in the line of fire. Id been shot before. It hurt, but it couldnt kill me. My humans were the ones in danger.Sure, I said, reaching into my purse. I kept my voice low and soothing. Whatever you want. rush along up, he snapped. His gun was aimed squarely at me now, which was fine.Behind me, I heard Seth and Vincent rustling around for their wallets as well. With a pang, I cognize Id have to give up Seths ring, which Id worn on a kitchen range around my neck tonight, but that was a small price to pay if we all walked away from this unscathed.Suddenly, I saw movement in my off-base vision. Before I could stop him, Seth lunged forward toward the man and slammed him into the side of the brick building near us. I had never taken Seth for the fleck type, but it was actually pretty impressive. Unfortunately, it was not needed at the moment.Vincent and I sprang into the fray, moving at exactly the same time. The guy had been forced to get down his gun while Seth pinned him against the wall, but the attacker was struggling with the abandon of a bear. Vincent and I tried to add our own strength, mainly hoping to seize the gun away. It was one of those moments in time that seemed both really long and really short.Then, the gun went off.My two companions and I stopped moving. The guy utilize the brief lull to wiggle away from us and ran off into the night. I exhaled a breath of relief, grateful it was all over.Georgina said Vincent.Seth sank to his knees, and thats when I saw the blood. It was all over his left thigh, dark and slick in the watery light of a flickering streetlight. His face was pale and wide-eyed w ith shock.Oh, God. I fell down beside him, trying to get a look at the leg. Call 911 I screamed at Vincent. Having anticipated me, he already had his cell out.Some part of my brain listened to him speaking frantically into the phone, but the rest of my attention was on Seth.Oh God, oh God, I said, ripping off my rise up. credit line was pouring steadily out of the wound. I pressed my coat into it, trying to slow the scarpering. Hang with me. Oh, please, please, hang with me.Seths eyes looked at me with both partiality and pain. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out. I lifted the coat and looked at the wound. Vincent knelt beside me.It wont stop, it wont stop, I moaned.Vincent peered over my shoulder. Femoral artery.After over a millennium, I knew the human body and what could kill it. I would have completed what kind of a shot this was if I hadnt been so hysterical.Itll drain him, I whispered, pressing the coat into his leg again. I had seen it happen before, watched people bleed to death right in front of me. Itll kill him before they get here. That bullet hit perfectly.Beside me, I heard Vincent take a deep, shake breath. Then, his hands covered mine. Take it away, he said softly.I have to slow the bleeding.But he gently lifted my hands away, fetching the coat up as well. There was blood everywhere. I imagined I could see it steaming in the cold air.Vincent rested his hands on Seths thigh, oblivious to the mess. Words formed on the tip of my tongue but never came out. The air around us began burning, and a prickling public opinion raced across my skin. For a moment, Seth seemed to be bathed in white light. From Vincent, I suddenly had the sensation of dried lavender and humidity. It was tinged in something elsesomething Id never hoped to palpate again.Then, it all faded away. Vincent removed his hands, and when I looked down, blood no long-life oozed from Seths thigh.Im sorry, gasped Vincent. Im not so good at healing, and if I do any mor e, the others will sense me. This will keep him alive until the ambulance gets here.In the distance, I heard the faint sounds of sirens. In my chest, my heart thudded. The world slowed its pace. How long had Vincent said hed known Yasmine? Fifteen years. Too, too long. He didnt look any of age(p) than thirty. They hadnt met when he was a teen. The timing didnt make sense. Neither did the fact that he had just healed a major injury.But none of that was as telling as what else Id already discovered. For just a moment, hed let his defenses slip, and Id felt an immortal signature. And while immortals have unique features of their own, all types of immortals have certain(prenominal) attributes that identify them by creature as well. Succubi. Vampires. Angels. Demons. Vincents signature had given him away.The others will sense me.I stared at Vincent as red flashing lights move the corner. My eyes were as wide as Seths had been.Youre a nephilim, I breathed.