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Sharah winced. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. He loves you, I know he does, but remember: His entire life has been thrown into a tailspin, and being mortal--"
"Not so mortal now, as he reminded me last night. Listen, I appreciate the pep talk, but right now it's the last thing I need. I accept that he can't handle a relationship, but I expect him to realize that he's not the only one affected by this. We saved his life. He was going to go through the transformation anyway.
Suddenly, he can't wait to get away from me."
She laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. "The last I'l say on the matter: It's not just you he can't wait to get away from. He's trying to get away from his own thoughts. Just remember when you were a child and felt like you didn't belong--"
I jumped up. "You leave my childhood out of this." Sharah might be Queen Asteria's niece, but that didn't give her the right to intrude on my sorrow. At her bewildered look, I stopped, aware of my misplaced anger. I wasn't mad at her. I was angry at the situation. "I'm so sorry, Sharah. I'm just a wreck right now. Where the fuck is Shamas?"
Blinking, she cleared her throat. "He'l be here in a moment. Um . . . can I ask what happened to your hair? I like it."
She meant it; that much I could tel . And she was trying to calm me down, which rankled, but I decided to take the high road: something I didn't always do. I forced a smile to my lips. "Thanks, it was a gift from a skunk. Indirectly."
"Wel , it's shocking, but I think it suits you."
Just then Shamas knocked on the door. The clerk was behind him, and I took him to the side and reassured him that everything would be fine while Sharah and Shamas loaded Camil e onto the stretcher. By the time we were ready to rumble, the clerk had offered me a free night, if I came in later. I had the feeling he was hoping to be included in that stay, so I politely declined.
We headed to the parking lot, where we lifted the stretcher into the medic unit. As I stared at the closing doors, it hit me that Camil e might real y be in trouble. A bubble of tears caught in my throat, and I swung into my Jeep and started the engine. If this was how the Samhain season was starting, I wasn't sure I wanted to see any more of it.
At the FH-CSI, of course I ran into Chase first thing. It couldn't happen any other way, with my luck. He stood beside me as Sharah wheeled Camil e into one of the examining rooms and put his arm around my shoulders. I wanted to lean into his embrace so badly it hurt, but I kept myself upright. No more relying on him, blood brother or not. It was time I stood on my own two feet.
"She'l be okay. Trust me," he whispered.
"Yeah. Wel , I don't know what you're offering for a guarantee, but I sure as hel hope you're right." I told him what happened.
"So Amber's been missing--"
"About twenty-four hours or so now. Luke is frantic, and things aren't looking good." I crossed my arms and stared at the doors that were closed on my sister. "If there was one magical trap, there were probably others that we didn't find. One could have knocked out Amber like it did Camil e."
Chase jotted down a few notes. "While it's not SOP to process a missing person report on a Supe for forty-eight hours, I'l have Shamas get on this today."
Tired and heart sore, I flashed him a soft smile. "Thanks. That's the best news I've had in ages." I sucked in a deep breath and stared at the door to Camil e's room, waiting for some news--any news.
"Come on, I'l buy you a glass of milk." Chase motioned toward the lunchroom.
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. "I want to wait here--"
"It could be awhile. Come on. Remember--we're . . . buddies?"
That stung. It stung hard and deep, even though I knew he didn't mean it to. He was trying, in his own clumsy way, to comfort me. We headed toward the lunchroom, where he plugged a dol ar in the vending machine and handed me a carton of milk. Another dol ar, and he handed me a package of Cheetos.
We sat at one of the tables. The room was comfortable; Chase made sure his employees felt at home, that was for sure. A cot in the corner offered a place for a quick nap in case one of the officers was required to stick around on cal .
Chase opened the refrigerator and pul ed out a sack lunch. I watched as he emptied it on the table in front of him. Bologna sandwich, pudding cup, an apple . . . He bit into the sandwich while I munched on the Cheetos. He'd been right--my stomach rumbled, and I realized I was starving.
"You think she'l be okay?" I final y managed to ask.
"You know Sharah can work wonders. Camil e wil be fine. I know it," he said, but he didn't sound so sure. He pul ed out his notebook. "Let me make certain I have al the details right before I send Shamas out hunting for . . . Amber, is it? Amber Johanson?"
I nodded and ran through the events again. After I finished, Chase stared at the page, then nodded. "Let me get this over to his desk right now--and let me get a photocopy of that picture. I'l be back in a moment." As he stood up, Sharah entered the room.
"Delilah, you can come with me now. Camil e's going to be okay, though she's stil a little out of it."
Chase touched me lightly on the arm. "I'l meet you in there."
Sharah led me back to the medical unit and through the doors leading to the ER. Along the way, she shook her head. "She's awake, but the spel wreaked havoc with her magical senses. She should be okay, but that was one heck of a jolt she got."
"What the hel was it? Do you know yet? Even getting near the residue made me dizzy."
