“Oh, ancestors.” Ava let out a hiss that became a snicker, and then a moan of pain. But at least she’d managed to say something.
And you’ll miss all thewonderfulpeople here at the Institute, like the cheerful guards who think there’s always something hiding up your anus,Oberi said.
“Well, they’d be right with me. I shoved something up there this morning,” I cracked.
“Oh, goodness.” Ava giggled, then wiped at her face, sniffed, and giggled again.
I told every joke I fucking knew, and a bunch of really terrible jokes that I’d made up on the spot, just to distract her from her pain. She was laughing more than she was crying now, and at least that was something. Oberi was funnier than me, so he had Ava clutching her stomach in both discomfort and laughter within minutes.
Eventually, after what seemed like at least an hour of absolutely shitty comedy, Ava’s flare up began to ease. She let out little snorts of laughter that turned into soft snores as she drifted off beside me. She didn’t toss and turn, but rather, seemed at peace.
I checked in. She was still in pain, but it wasn’t enough to prevent her from sleeping. Hopefully, she’d feel better in the morning.
Oberi lay at the foot of our bed, thumping his tail against the blankets as he watched Ava sleep.
“How’d you know what to do?” I asked him. “I was helpless.”
There is pain you cannot stop. Merely endure until it goes away,Oberi replied.And if the pain will not end, then laughter is the only way to ward off its effects. It’s not necessarily difficult to make her laugh, though the situation wasn’t at all funny.
“No, it really wasn’t. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.”
Oberi didn’t reply immediately. He seemed contemplative.It has been a long day, full of some very hard lessons. Some rest will do well for all of us. And Charlie?
I waited for him to go on. Oberi dropped his voice to a deadly tone before he warned,If you dare to consider something like that again, you won’t have to worry about ending your life once Ava is gone. Because I’ll do it myself. Sleep well.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
AVA-MARIE
Thad’s death shook us all. It was one thing to watch a friend die in front of you, and completely another to stand by in horror as he brutally murdered his Familiar, the one thing that meant the most to them in this world.
I attempted to imagine hurting Oberi, and couldn’t go there. It was an automatic response of revulsion. I’d sooner run myself through than harm a hair on my annoying Familiar’s head.
It spoke to Mad Dog’s power. No matter how strong his compulsion magic was, he shouldn’t have been able to manipulate Thaddeus to harm his Familiar, and yet, he had. That meant he could compelanyoneto doanything, and because he was a demigod, no one would be able to stop him.
Our group had fallen into a small bout of depression after the fact. We hadn’t been able to prevent Thaddeus’ demise, and on top of that, we were worried that Mad Dog would use his compulsion against us next.
I didn’t think anyone was more bothered by it than Charlie, however. He’d taken to spending long periods of time by himself. I was afraid he was either drowning in misplaced guilt, feeling responsible for sending Thaddeus to his death, or plotting Mad Dog’s imminent demise.
Both terrified me. Charlie wasn’t afraid of Mad Dog, but I was— because I was terrified that Mad Dog could compel Charlie to do something crazy against his will. For the most part, it looked like Mad Dog was lying low. We hadn’t heard or seen much from him since Thaddeus’ death, so he was probably biding his time, making sure he didn’t get caught and be taken to Cellblock 9.
Not to mention Charlie had been caught up in enough trouble since this semester started. The guards were already keeping an eye on him; they’d ruled Thaddeus’ death a suicide, but suspected foul play, and the only reason they didn’t pin his death on Charlie was because they had no proof Charlie had done anything to hurt him.
We needed to get the fuck out of here. Before our luck ran out.
I wasn’t sure where to go next when it came to Erasmus Morelli, but knew I needed to find out more about him. I figured if it had anything to do with vampires, Ivy might know something.
“You look down, precious,” Ivy purred as I rolled up to his table in the library. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Maybe. We’ve hit a dead end in our investigation,” I told him. “Do you happen to know anything about a vampire named Erasmus Morelli?”
“Ah, good old Erasmus.” Ivy gave a wicked smile. “I actually know him personally. He works for my dad. We did a couple of jobs together back in Chicago, before I landed in the pen.”
“Can you contact him? We need to speak with him. It’s urgent,” I pleaded.
“I can try, but he’s not an easy vampire to reach. My father often gives him the hardest jobs, because he’s got the most skill. Some of these tasks for the mob take months,” Ivy explained.
We didn’t have that kind of time, but I reeled in my patience and replied, “Thanks, Ivy. The sooner you can get a hold of Erasmus, the better.”
