Thrall (17 page)

My head was spinning. “Sustenance?” I asked.

Karayan looked at me closely. “Interesting. The Guard really is keeping you in the dark. You’re Lilitu, Braedyn. If you want to grow up to be healthy and strong, you’re going to need a more balanced diet than most girls.”

“I don’t... what are you talking about?”

“Ask your daddy,” Karayan said, her voice taking on a bitter undertone. “I’m sure he’d love to explain it to you. We have more important things to discuss. I’m here to give you the chance to join us.”

I looked at her sharply. “Join you for what?”

“The daughters of Lilith have the same right to be here as the sons of Adam,” Karayan said. “We were created from this earth in the beginning, just like they were. It’s time we reclaimed our birthright. It’s time to tear down the Wall between our worlds.”

I felt a prickle of intuition at the base of my neck. “On Winter Solstice.”

Karayan regarded me cautiously, a calculating look in her eye. “I told Ais you’d be worth our time.”

“What if I don’t want to join you?” I asked.

Karayan picked a single white bloom, turning it in the moonlight. It gleamed in her hand. “Think about it carefully. You’ve got a big decision to make. You can embrace what you are, join your sisters, and live forever. Or...” Karayan tossed the rose to me. I caught it reflexively. In an instant it was yellowed with age, scattering petals, a wilted, dead thing. Karayan’s voice grew colder, quieter. “You can play at being human, betray your sisters, and die. It’s your choice. Any questions?”

“Just one.” I peered into Karayan’s dark green eyes. “Who is Ais?”

Karayan expression faltered. The next moment, she had vanished without so much as a sound. I glanced back at the rose in my hand. A maggot crawled out from behind one of the remaining petals. I flung the rose away with a jerk of disgust--

--and felt a throbbing pain in my side. My eyes opened. I was lying on our living room couch. Someone had draped a blanket over me. The lights were off, but plenty of warm light spilled in from the foyer. I saw Hale and Dad standing in the dining room, talking quietly. Gretchen stood beside them, staring out through the shattered dining room window, arms crossed.

My eyes caught on something in the doorway to the kitchen: Derek’s unmoving feet. His sneakers were scuffed and one lace had come undone. My heart turned over in my chest. I tried to sit up, but the throb in my side grew into a stab of pain. I fell back weakly.

“Careful,” Lucas said nearby. “Hale thinks you’ve got a cracked rib.” His voice kindled a warmth inside me. I turned and found him sitting in a chair across the living room. His right hand was wrapped in a small towel, and an angry red mark darkened half of his face.

Lucas stole a quick glance at the grownups in the dining room. As he turned, I saw the hair matted with blood along the side of his head. I eased off the couch and went to him, ignoring the throb of protest in my side.

“You’re hurt,” I whispered, kneeling by his chair to look into his eyes.

“I’ve had worse.” Lucas raised his good hand and traced fingertips across my cheekbone. His hand lingered to sweep a lock of hair behind my ear. Then he lowered his hand to brush my side gingerly. I sucked in a sharp breath at the touch. Lucas’ eyes tightened with misery. “I think I got off easier than you did.”

“You got thrown through a window,” I said. “Why aren’t you at the hospital?”

In answer, Lucas nodded to something behind me. I turned. Eric’s leather jacket was draped over a chair. Long scratches marred its surface. If Lucas hadn’t been wearing the jacket when he’d gone through the window, the glass would have shredded his skin.

“Derek almost killed you,” I whispered, finally realizing how lucky we were to have survived.

“About that.” Lucas tilted my face up gently. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you for stopping him.”

“All I did was give him another target.”

“Don’t do that.” The look Lucas gave me was so intense my breath caught in my throat. “I’m alive because of you.” He still held my chin lightly in one hand. As if he read my thoughts, Lucas leaned forward, lips parted.

“Lucas,” Hale called from the dining room. His voice sounded tense. “Go home.”

Lucas and I turned. Hale was moving toward us. Behind him, Dad and Gretchen stood close together, watching us. Lucas dropped his eyes, smiling sheepishly.

“Busted,” he said quietly to me. “I’ll see you later.” He stood, picked up Eric’s jacket with his good hand, and left.

After Lucas left, Dad stepped away from Gretchen. I saw what he’d been hiding from us. Gretchen held a gleaming Guardsman’s dagger in one hand. Dad’s hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist, immobilizing her.

“Drop it,” Dad said quietly. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Gretchen glared murder at me, but she let her hand open. The dagger fell, thunking into the wood of our dining room floor.

“This is exactly what I said would happen,” Gretchen said. “I called it as soon as you told me what she was.” Her eyes never left my face. Grief and rage washed over her features.

“You don’t make the calls,” Hale said. “Drive Lucas to the hospital. We’ll talk about this later.”

Gretchen didn’t move. “This isn’t just about Lucas,” she said. “If you put your faith in her, you put us all at risk. The cause...”

“She’s made her choice, Gretchen,” Hale interrupted. “She proved that tonight.” Hale gave me a brief nod of approval before turning back to Gretchen. “You don’t have to like it, but she’s part of the team.”

Gretchen stewed, but didn’t argue. She turned on Dad. “Keep her away from Lucas.” With another glare at me, she stormed out into the night.

Dad finally relaxed. He bent to retrieve the dagger. I stood, gasping at a severe twinge in my side. Dad’s eyes creased with worry. “We should get you to the hospital, too.”

“Wait,” I said. “There’s something I need to tell you.” I glanced at Hale, uneasy. “Both of you,” I said.

Dad helped me back to the couch as Hale joined us in he living room. Dad sat beside me on the couch, while Hale perched on the edge of the coffee table. “I know what they’re are planning,” I said. Their eyes widened in surprise. “They’re going to tear down the Wall separating our worlds on Winter Solstice.”

“How...?” Hale’s eyes were full of questions.

“Karayan. The Lilitu who killed Derek. She found me in my dream.” Dad and Hale looked at one another. The revelation seemed to leave them breathless. For a long moment, no one spoke.

“Did she say anything else?” Hale asked. “Anything about how or where...?”

“No. But she told me...” I swallowed, uncomfortable. “She told me to ask you about Lilitu... sustenance.” Dad nodded slowly. “I guess we’re going to have that sex talk after all,” I said, trying to smile. Dad reached out and squeezed my hand. We heard the thin sound of a siren growing stronger by the moment.

Hale stood. “All right. The police will be here soon. We should prepare.”

“There’s one last thing,” I said. “She mentioned someone called Ais.” Hale and Dad turned to me, eyes suddenly sharp.

“Are you sure,” Dad said, his voice strained with tension. “You’re sure she said ‘Ais?’”

“Does that mean something to you?” I asked.

Hale turned to my dad with a grim look.

“No,” Dad said, answering an unasked question. “Don’t even think about it.”

“We need him,” Hale replied. “And you know it.”

“Hale, please.” Dad glanced at me, eyes tight with anxiety.

“Can you think of anyone else?” Hale asked. Dad dropped his eyes, silent. Hale stood. “I’m going to make the call,” he said.

Two hours later, Dad held my hand as I was wheeled back into the St. Stephen’s hospital emergency room. I’d been examined and x-rayed, and they’d given me something for the pain before taping my middle tightly. The medication was making me a little loopy, but at least it muted the pain. As an orderly steered my bed into a curtained partition, I spotted Lucas sitting on another hospital bed across the aisle. He smiled at me faintly. Gretchen noticed and pulled their curtain closed.

“All right, young lady,” the doctor said, giving me a kind smile. “Why don’t you rest. I’ll be by with the results in about an hour. Sound good?” When I nodded, he turned to my dad, lowering his voice. “The police are waiting to talk with her.”

“Can you give us five minutes before you send them in?” Dad asked. The doctor nodded and pulled the curtains closed around us. Dad sat on my bed and lowered his voice. “Listen, honey,” he said. “The police are going to interview you about tonight. I want you to stay as close to the truth as possible. You snuck out of the house, you went to the club, tell them all of it just like it happened.”

“Minus the demons,” I murmured.

Dad nodded. “When you get to what happened in our house, tell them you and Lucas and Derek came home after the club and found a masked man robbing the place.”

“Why can’t we tell them about Karayan?” I asked, uneasy. “Not that she’s a Lilitu, but...”

“The police aren’t equipped to deal with a Lilitu,” Dad whispered urgently. “Please trust us on this. Hale’s already briefed Lucas. Your stories need to match.”

I nodded unhappily. The curtain parted and two detectives came in, a woman and a man.

“Hello, Braedyn,” said the woman. She looked older than her partner. Seasoned. “I’m Detective Kerns, and this is Detective Bierson. I understand you had a pretty traumatic night.” She flipped open a notebook and took out a pen.

I nodded.

“Why don’t you take us through your evening. Everything you remember. No detail is too small. Okay?”

I took a deep breath and started talking. As I talked, Kerns wrote down everything I said. She stopped me periodically to ask a question. Bierson watched me the entire time like a hawk. I did what Dad wanted. I talked about sneaking out and heading to the club. I told them about my birthday celebration, and described the confusion when someone pulled a fire alarm.

“Do you know who pulled the alarm?” Kerns asked.

“No,” I lied. Bierson jotted something down on a piece of paper. “I only remember people running off the dance floor.”

“Did you see any weapons?” Kerns asked.

I glanced at Dad. He nodded imperceptibly. “Knives,” I murmured.

Kerns nodded. “That’s consistent with what some of the other kids are saying, but no one stuck around long enough to get a good look at the suspects,” she said. “All the bouncer could tell us was there were two armed men fighting.”

“Like a gang fight?” Dad’s expression was one hundred percent concerned father. Lucas was right. It didn’t matter that the bouncer had seen them; the Lilitu had covered their tracks.

“I’d rather not speculate on that just now,” Kerns said to my dad, then nodded for me to continue. I described leaving the club with Derek and Lucas, and getting home to find someone in our house. I described the punch to the ribs, and running to get Lucas’ help. But then I switched to Dad’s version of events. I described the killer as male and wearing a mask. In this version of events, the masked man threw Lucas out of the window, and I watched helplessly as he killed Derek, then fled when my dad arrived.

“All right.” Kerns stood, gesturing to Bierson. “We may have some follow up questions for you later. In the meantime, you focus on healing, okay? We’ll do everything we can to catch this guy.”

I mumbled a thank you and they left.

Dad put a hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” he said. I shook my head wearily. Exhaustion made my whole body feel three times heavier than normal, but I was too freaked out to sleep. After about half an hour, Kerns and Bierson returned. They had fresh coffee with them. The smell made my stomach queasy.

“I don’t feel so good,” I said. Dad felt my forehead, concerned.

“Just a few more questions, Braedyn,” Kerns said, flipping through her notes. “You said Derek was still alive after the intruder threw Lucas out of the window?”

“Um, yeah,” I said, groggy. “The killer got him in a chokehold. I heard his feet scraping on the floor. His hands... he was trying...” I saw it all again, vividly. Hale with an arm around Derek’s face. Derek, mad with rage, ready to kill us all. “He was trying to pull the guy’s arm away from his neck. He couldn’t breathe...” I couldn’t stop the flood of memory. The smell of coffee was way too thick. I turned and snatched up a plastic bucket, retching for the second time that night. My stomach heaved, but it was empty. The spasm sent a new wave of pain through my side and I sobbed out a moan. Dad was on his feet in an instant, taking the bucket out of my hands and helping me lay back.