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Cora’s hands tighten on Maddy’s. “It’s been too long since you’ve eaten, Maddy. Let them go. You don’t want to do this. It’s not something you want to tell Caleb.”
That banks the fire in Maddy’s bloodlust. “I’m so hungry.” It breaks out of her like a long wail. “I don’t know how.”
Cora helps her release the men, and she sends them away. Before they leave, she adds, “Don’t forget we can find you wherever you are. Don’t harass anyone again.”
They duck their heads. “Yes, ma’am, yes, ma’am.” Then the men scramble away.
Cora pulls two blood bags from her pockets and hands them to Maddy. “Go ahead. They’re not fresh, but they’re warm.”
In the alley, Maddy devours the two blood bags, and takes the third one Cora has in her pocket. Finally, Maddy wipes her chin, then slumps against the wall of the convenience store. “What’s happening to me?”
Cora pats her shoulder. “You’re figuring out how to be a vampire in a mortal world. It’s not easy, but it can be amazing, if you allow it.”
Maddy covers her face, glad the hunger has eased. But she doesn’t know who she is anymore, and she needs Caleb more than ever.
Where is he?
Chapter12
Caleb
Quinn offers her hand to Caleb, and he takes it without hesitation. She drags him out of the earth as though he’s being pulled free of his own premature grave, then makes sure he has his balance before releasing him. Being free does nothing to lessen the fear wrapping his stomach. Instead, when a crash sounds in the forest, he ducks as though dodging a volley of stray bullets.
“It was a branch,” Quinn comments.
Panting, he scans the forest, half-expecting Flea—or whatever her name is—to come flying out from between the tree trunks. His pulse pounds and frantic takes on a new meaning. He hates it, and his emotions are as huge as they’ve been since he became a human again. But this is what he’s got to deal with. Kenna deserves an earful next time he sees her.
His hands shake as he smooths them through his hair. He’s already been gone too long, and Maddy must be frantic by now. How long have they been away? And how’s he going to get back? He’d been counting on Nim to know how to make the portal work to get back.
Oh, crap.Nim!
That’s when he sees her and rushes to her side. He tries again to wake her up, shaking her shoulders and calling her name over and over again. But she doesn’t move. Caleb tries again and fights the worry that she’s been without oxygen for too long. He hasn’t been injured by the lack, so she should be fine.Right?More worry, more concern. He isn’t good at the human stuff anymore.
Quinn crouches beside Caleb and catches his hands. “She won’t wake up. Not here. Not now.”
“How do you know that? Is she hurt?” Nim’s chest rises and falls with another breath. “Internal bleeding, maybe? Do you have doctors here?”
Quinn shakes her head. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. Her body isn’t hurt, so a doctor won’t be able to help her now.”
“Why not?”
“It’s nothing medical. Orion doesn’t want her to wake up, so she’s not waking up.”
“Why does he care?” Caleb can’t keep from glancing at the shadows and the murky fog in the distance.
“Nim is the one who ensured the spirits of Purgatory didn’t fall prey to his control. She kept them from giving in completely to Orion.” She waves her hands over Nim’s supine body. “This is his revenge. Nim’s soul is trapped in a dimension he made for her. No doubt, it feels like a prison to her.”
Except Orion’s made his way into the mortal world. How does he know they’re here? Oh, Flea. Of course. She’s working for him, and she probably has a direct line of communication. Orion must have more than her eyes everywhere. Caleb shudders, glad he’s here instead of Maddy, even though he didn’t want to come here at all. His decision isn’t about him. It’s about Maddy.Anything to keep Maddy safe. The thought repeats in his head.
He brushes dirt off of Nim’s forehead and cheeks. “So, how do we free her?”
Quinn looks defeated, as if her soul itself is ready to drip into the ground and drain away. “Orion must die. It’s the only way to break the magic which holds her.”
Caleb sorts through what he knows about Purgatory, Orion, and everything else. This—whatever’s going on with Nim—is something different, and he doesn’t have any knowledge of his own to help break her free. “Do you think she’s in pain?”
Quinn doesn’t answer, but her shoulders lower ever so slightly. She droops as though the truth is disheartening. “There’s no way to know.”
Except Quinn says everything Caleb needed to know with her body language. Of course, somebody like Orion wouldn’t trap a soul or a mind without all the pain he could conjure. “You don’t have to try to protect me from the truth,” Caleb says, rising to his feet. “I’d rather know the reality of it than something not-quite honest.”
