Mixed Feelings (Empathy in the PPNW Book 1) (9 page)

As she took a breath, I took
a breath. The thing inside me started to panic; she might have been human but
that wasn’t all and the parasite in my head knew it. It
battered
against the inside of my
skull, trying to read her, trying to figure out what she was and what she was
doing. As she breathed out, I did as well. The thing inside my psyche flailed
spastically and then started to dissipate. My eyes snapped open and I found
myself able to focus on a very pretty face.

Even with slightly frizzed
hair and no makeup, she was lovely. Her blue eyes were vibrant over a straight,
narrow nose and full lips. She had a trio of tiny beauty marks set back on her
right cheek and I found myself concentrating
on them
as she continued what had to be some sort of psychic healing.

Amy
’s lips parted
;
she
took a deep breath, seeming to call my attention from her cheek to her gaze. I
couldn’t look away and I couldn’t resist whatever her power was. I took a
breath with her and, when we breathed out, the thing in my head came out with
it. Within a few more breaths, I was alone in my brain. I still felt like I’d
been thrown off a cliff on fire, a la Lara Croft, but I could see my
surroundings again and my empathy peeked out of whatever deep, dark crevice it
had burrowed into. Concern and calm radiated from Amy; it was like being a
small child sitting in my mother’s lap again. I let out a small whimper of
happiness and took a slow, long breath, on my own this time.

Still holding my face between
her soft hands, she grinned at me from inches away. I swallowed thickly and
gave her a small smile as I slurred at her.

“
Thanks.
”

We stayed that way until
something hot seared the edges of my consciousness.

“
Why, hello
,
ladies
,” Mel said from nearby. Amy looked up at him without
taking her hands away from my skin.

“
Mel, d
ear, how are you?” She turned back to me without
waiting for his answer and her face went sober. “
I
’m going to let go and you are going to feel it. Something was inside
you and it left a nasty stain. Whatever it was, it’
s gone now,
but you’re going to need more than my modest
little
healing ability to feel back to normal. Are you ready?”

I swallowed hard and said a
meek, “
Yes.
”

She pulled her hands away and
nausea rushed in. She jumped back just in time and I threw up just outside the
car, where she’
d
been leaning.
I
wouldn’t have figured I had anything left in
me
after the last time
.

“I got here maybe ten minutes
ago,” Amy explained to Mel while I finished heaving. “I didn’t see her at first
,
but I did a sweep of the area, checking around the
building.
N
othing out of the ordinary
that I could see. Whatever you called about either ran off when it heard the
sirens or had already
done
whatever it came for.”

“Sirens, most likely,” Mel
murmured. I looked up at him from my seat, wondering why his emotions weren’t
affecting me as much as they usually did. I considered that maybe Amy was to
thank, but I didn’t have the energy to ask.

“That’s the second time she’s
vomited and there’
s no clean street
left
for me to stand on.” She
looked away from the mess to Mel and her face warmed. “
You
’ll need to take her home. Whatever's wrong with her, it’s not something
that a trip to the E.R. will fix.”

“I did a lap around the area,
too. I think the snow is screwing up my nose,” Mel said, shaking his head. “I
could’
ve
sworn I smelled vampire, but
there’s no way.”

“Vampire?” Amy asked, her
eye
brows shooting up. “
I
... those really exist? I had no idea.”

“There’s a reason. Don’t
worry about it, they’re not a threat to you or anyone else.” Mel paused,
cocking his head at h
er.
“Will your bosses ask about
your sudden detour?”

She shook her head, her
expression going soft. “
Don
’t worry about me. Just get
her safe.”

Mel nodded and took her hand
off his arm, kissing it and giving her a wink. She smiled and I felt her
flattery. Whatever was between them was warm
,
but she
wasn
’t after
sex
. Mel leaned down to look
into my eyes.

“You smell pretty awful.
Slide
over, I
’m driving you home.” When I didn’t move, he frowned,
then spread his legs on either side of the vomit and reached awkwardly into the
car. “
You
’
re sure she
’s not hurt?” he asked Amy as he moved my box of
donuts to the back seat.

She told him no and then I
heard her radio squawk as the volume was turned up. She walked away without
another word to us, addressing
d
ispatch as she did.

“Up you go.” He lifted me
like a doll and sort of tossed me over the cup holders and e-
brake
. As I landed on the passenger’s seat, one leg still
draped across to the driver’s side, Mel slid into the car. With a deft hand
,
he shoved the seat back and then reached over to
gently cradle my leg, his grip more sexual than helpful as he put me completely
on the passenger side. His hands flirted with impropriety as he reached across
my body to buckle my seatbelt and he wasted no time turning the car on and
blasting the heater.

“
Mel,
”
I muttered.

“
Hmm?
”
      

“
You
’re an ass, but a nice one.”

“I have a nice ass? Thank
you, Gwen. I’m touched!” To demonstrate, he took my limp hand and dropped it in
his lap.

***

I woke in the dark in an
unfamiliar bed to the
muffled
sounds of
a TV in
the next room. The bed I lay
in was decadent, the covers thick and plentiful. The room looked small, judging
from what the sliver of light slipping through the doorway showed me. There was
one narrow rectangular window set high in the wall to the right and I could see
that the sun was sneaking a peek at the world. I couldn’t tell if it was going
down or coming up; I had no idea how long I’d been asleep.

Something shifted by my legs
and I froze, panic taking over. A dark shape arched upward and I felt claws dig
into my leg, even through the blankets. My heart pounding, I tried to force
myself to think rationally. My brain was refusing the call to action and all I
could do was picture horrible things about to happen to me
.

The claws pulled back and
little feet padded quickly over me before a furry head slammed into my face,
shoving me further into the pillows I was propped against. A purr vibrated away
my fear as a cat rubbed itself across my face, ending gracelessly with the side
of its butt against my mouth. I blew out my breath—and likely a bit of
spittle—and turned away, grumbling. The cat came back for more, stopping
briefly to sniff my mouth before making another rear-ending pass. I couldn't
feel any actual emotions coming from her
,
but
that wasn't unusual for felines. They’re often more of an enigma than the
Riddler himself.

The door cracked open a bit
more and Chloe peered inside. The light from the living room illuminated her,
making me squint slightly.

“Poopy, leave her alone.” She
slipped in, closing the door
just
enough that it
let light into the room but didn’t blind me. She picked Poopy up—the cat
let out a dissatisfied little rumble, but didn’t fight her—and then
perched on the bed next to me. “How are you feeling?”

“
Naked.
” I answered. My throat was dry and I swallowed as
much spit as I could generate. “
Why am I naked?
”

I was struggling to remember
what had happened. I had vague memories of Mel in my car and I leaned my head
back as I tried to piece things together. Suddenly I had a shocking thought,
letting out a dry, strangled cry.

“
We
… am I naked because… did Mel do this? Did I have sex with Mel? Oh god.
Oh, god!”
I moaned
, hugging the covers against
my chest and wondering if I'd ever be able to
chafe
Mel
’s essence off my skin. My head was pounding; it felt like the worst
hangover headache I’d ever gotten. I said nothing, waiting for Chloe to break
the disgusting news that Mel had finally found the cheap pick-up line that I
couldn’t resist. After what felt like several days, she chuckled and sat up,
setting the cat free on the floor.

“Relax. You threw up on
yourself, so we had—
”

“
We
?
” I demanded squeakily. “What
did Mel pay you to let him see me naked?”

“I wouldn’t charge Mel to see
you naked!”

“Wouldn’t or didn’
t?
”
Chloe
’s snort dissolved into
a
fit of giggles and I
relaxed. She took my hand and held it, giving a squeeze.

“You must be delirious. I
undressed you to clean you up and you’ve been out for over a day. Whatever
smacked you around really did a number. Yo
u feel
ing okay now?
”

I took stock of my body,
sucking in a breath, wiggling and moving my limbs from the toes up to see if
everything worked. Other than the
monstrous
headache and fatigue,
I actually felt reasonably normal.

What I didn’
t feel was Chloe. Pa
nic surged right back in.

“
I can
’t feel you!” I reversed her hold, taking her hand. I
clutched it, seeking outward, trying to feel her emotions. There was an ebbing
of something but it could have been the headache. I couldn’
t tell.
“
I
—my empathy! It’
s gone!
” I took a deep breath; I wanted to jump up, to run
out and find whatever had done this to me and
demand
it give me back what was mine.

Chloe put a hand to my head.

“
Calm down. It
’s not you.” She pulled my hand to her chest, just
below her collarbone, and I felt a lump of something smooth and hot, like glass
left on a stove.
She
closed her hand around mine
and tugged. The necklace left her skin and suddenly I could feel her. Concern washed
over me and I gasped for air; it was like drowning in her worry. I felt myself
flailing, trying to surface through the flood of mixed emotions, a torrent that
I’d never felt from a person in one sitting before. After a few minutes,
everything slowed and I adjusted, closing myself off to her emotions like I’d
done a hundred times before.

“What was that?” I wheezed,
putting a hand to my forehead.

“Merrin dropped it off. It
protects the wearer from, um, probing. She said you’d need stillness to recover
and told me to wear it until you woke up.”

Evadne
’s words came back to me and I made a thoughtful
sound.
“The trinket, I guess.”

“Merrin only stayed long
enough to give you a once-over and tell me you’d be fine with rest and to come
to her when you were ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“She didn’
t say. You know Merrin.
”

I did know Merrin, so I left
it there
.
Chloe
dropped
my hand, the stone still inside my grip. It was hot
,
but I didn’t want to let it go.

“I rescheduled your
appointments from yesterday and your only appointment for today cancelled so
it’s okay if you’re not feeling up to going in.”

“How’d Loraine sound?”

“
Um.
” I could feel hesitation and worry in her and considered that she was
about to lie—
a
waste of time around an
empath. In the end, she answered truthfully. “As well as could be. She
understood when I told her it was an emergency, that you feel really bad about
having to put her off a few days.”

Guilt chewed at my insides
and it seemed to magnify the headache. When I didn’t say anything else, Chloe
pressed on.