Chapter 17 Chase
Chase
The air was still cool in the early morning, and the streets were quiet. Sagitta and I were the only people on the sidewalk. The scene felt strangely intimate—a handsome man in my arms in the soft dawn light...
It was every weightlifter’s dream. All those protein shakes and hours in the gym finally came in handy. Halfway to the temple, I’d broken a sweat, but I was proud to have carried Sagitta all that way without stopping once. I felt like the cool, sexy action star in some movie.
Except I was the reason he got hurt.
If I’d listened to Sagitta and stayed out of the way, he wouldn’t be suffering.
I felt like an idiot for butting in when I didn’t know shit about supernatural entities.
I was almost annoyed at Faust for not telling me basic information, like ‘baseball bats don’t work on demons’. How the hell was I supposed to know?
As if reading my mind, Sagitta spoke for the first time since we left the apartment.
“Hear anything from Faust yet?” he asked.
“Not since we had sex.”
The relief in his dark eyes shone through the pain. “Good. I hope that was enough.”
I couldn’t bite back a playful retort. “Why, ‘cause you don’t want to have sex with me again?”
“You’re an idiot.”
I chuckled. “I know, I know, you just wanna exorcise the demon.”
Sagitta closed his eyes with a sigh. “Let’s talk about this when I don’t have Hellspawn residue on my leg.”
I grimaced as I remembered how badly he must be suffering. I rushed ahead, eager to find this temple healer. But I wasn’t looking forward to running into Cygnet again. He always seemed to be lurking around, radiating waves of judgment at everything that crossed his path.
“I’m sorry, by the way. About butting in,” I murmured.
In a cute catlike motion, Sagitta slowly blinked at me, then rested his head against my chest. “It’s okay. You didn’t know any better. I appreciate you trying to help anyway.”
My heart beat wildly. He could probably feel it thumping against his cheek, which made it race even faster.
I tried to think about something else. My mind veered toward Faust, or the lack of him.
He hadn’t said a word since suggesting I return to the apartment.
I was almost too cautious to hope he was really gone.
I’d gotten my hopes up once before and had them dashed.
But I had a better feeling about it now.
If sex was really all it took to evict him, and we’d done that, then wasn’t he truly gone?
I couldn’t tell anymore, but I wanted it to be true for Sagitta’s sake. Every time he tried something and it didn’t work, I could tell it shook his confidence. I didn’t want to see him down on himself.
But what if Faust came back? Sagitta seemed to be at his wit’s end, and I couldn’t think of another option, either. If Faust returned, was it kinder to tell Sagitta the truth? Or lie and pretend the demon was gone forever?
As we passed Dustin’s Donuts, I half expected Faust to pop into my mind and demand we visit. But he didn’t.
Maybe he’s really gone...
We arrived at the temple as dawn broke over the horizon. Sagitta gave me directions to the doctor’s chamber, and I was relieved to get there without any interruptions. When I knocked, a sleepy groan sounded on the other side of the door.
“Who’sat?” a hoarse voice asked.
I raised a brow at Sagitta, and he took the lead.
“It’s me,” he called.
The voice grunted. “What d’you want so early?”
“I require your services,” Sagitta said curtly. “Why else would I be here?”
I was shocked to hear him talk so rudely to a doctor, but when the door flew open, I immediately understood why.
The scruffy man in a lab coat wasn’t the first thing I imagined when I thought of a noble physician.
His shaggy brown hair, dusted with grays, was half-flattened from being slept on, and his jaw was obscured by a half a week’s worth of stubble.
But I tried not to be too judgmental. We all looked rough when we first woke up.
The doctor squinted at Sagitta in my arms. “The hell’s this? You break a leg, Sangkaew?”
“I may as well have,” Sagitta replied, sounding ashamed of himself. “An imp bit me.”
The doctor grunted, then rubbed his temple like he had a headache. His hand groped around his desk. It bypassed a pack of cigarettes and grabbed a mug on his desk. He threw back a swig of what smelled like day-old coffee.
“You. Hoodie. Put him there.”
The doc pointed at the tidy patient bed on the other side of the room. The man looked like he’d just woken up, and he obviously hadn’t slept in that bed. Had he fallen asleep at his desk?
“Um, okay.” As I carried Sagitta to the bed, I whispered, “What’s with him?”
Sagitta sounded tired. “Hartford is just like that.”
“Is he, like, safe?”
“Yes,” Sagitta said firmly. “Don’t mind his appearance. He’s one of our highest ranked exorcists, and you won’t find a better supernatural healer.”
That surprised me, because Hartford didn’t look like an important guy. And, except for the lab coat, he didn’t resemble a doctor, either.
But I trusted Sagitta’s judgment. “Okay,” I said. Then in a lower whisper, I added, “You know, it’s not too late to take you to a real hospital—”
“I heard that, punk,” Hartford suddenly growled behind me. I jumped as he shouldered past me to examine Sagitta.
I frowned at being unceremoniously pushed aside, but I held my tongue. All I cared about was Sagitta’s safety. If that meant tolerating this rude doctor for a while, that was fine by me.
Hartford examined the wound. He grunted, then fetched a pair of shears to cut away the fabric surrounding the injury.
“You’re not usually so careless. What happened?” he asked brusquely.
“Imp in Chase’s apartment. Didn’t have my weapon on me,” Sagitta explained in a strained voice.
Hartford raised a bushy brow at the imp comment, then clicked his tongue. “Rookie mistake.”
Sagitta grimaced but didn’t argue. I got annoyed on his behalf.
“Cygnet told me you’re staying at hoodie’s place to keep an eye on him,” Hartford said as he poured clear liquid on a cotton pad. I expected it to reek of rubbing alcohol, but it smelled weirdly sweet instead, like honey.
“That’s right,” Sagitta confirmed.
“What’s the deal? Must be serious if you went home with him,” Hartford went on, like I wasn’t in the room. “Incubus? One of the Ars Goetia motherfuckers?”
Sagitta continued to grimace, but I didn’t think it was from the pain.
Haltingly, he said, “It’s... Faust.”
Hartford was about to wipe the cotton pad over Sagitta’s wound, but upon hearing the name, he stopped. Only for a second, but I noticed it.
“I see,” he said.
Meanwhile, I stood awkwardly on the other side of the office. I still didn’t understand the big deal about Faust. But it wasn’t like I could ask him about it anymore.
Maybe I’m naive, but he didn’t seem like that bad of a guy... Are they all overreacting, or is there something I don’t know?
As Hartford worked on his patient, he asked, “How’d it go? The exorcism?”
“Fine,” Sagitta stated.
His stiff answer could be chalked up to pain. I hoped the doctor didn’t see through his lie. But was it technically a lie if it was currently true? Sure, Sagitta failed at first, but Faust was gone now.
“Hmm.” Suddenly, Hartford shot me a churlish glance over his shoulder. “By the way, do you need to be here?”
I was startled by his rudeness. “Uh...”
“Not too bright, are you, kid?”
“Hartford,” Sagitta chided.
“What, you like this guy or something?” Hartford asked.
When Sagitta went uncomfortably silent, the doctor raised a brow.
“Well, shit. Should’ve said so when you walked in.” Hartford pointed at his desk chair. “Take a seat, kid. This won’t be ten minutes.”
I sat down and relaxed, both because Hartford welcomed me and because he confirmed Sagitta’s injury wasn’t serious.
“Hoodie, toss me the green bottle, will you?” Hartford asked.
I questioned throwing any sort of medical supply across the room, but I didn’t argue. There was only a single dark green bottle on his messy desk, so I grabbed that one. I expected it to be made of glass, but the material felt weirdly spongy. I didn’t like it.
“Uh, should I seriously just throw it?” I asked.
“Did you fail a grade? I said toss it.”
Frowning, I chucked the weird green bottle at the back of Hartford’s head. He caught it in midair without even looking. I would’ve been more impressed if I wasn’t so annoyed at him.
“His name is Chase,” Sagitta explained, arching a brow at the doctor. “And he’s smarter than you think he is.”
Hartford popped the lid off the green bottle and offered it to Sagitta. “Sure. Drink this.”
Sagitta drank, then grimaced at what I assumed was a foul taste. Kinda like cold medicine that made you feel better but tasted like dog shit.
Hartford wheeled over to a drawer and snapped on a pair of disposable gloves. “Now, tell me something. If Chase is so smart, why’d he go and get possessed in the dumbest way possible?”
An embarrassed blush tinged my cheeks. “How do you know about that?”
“Cygnet told me,” Hartford replied, smirking. “Oh man, was he ever pissed. He ranted and raved about it for hours, but I tuned out after the first.”
Was he talking about the same Cygnet who’d threatened me with a sword? I couldn’t imagine him ranting or raving, but then again, I didn’t know him well at all.
Sagitta scowled harder than when he’d drunk the nasty potion. “It’s unprofessional to discuss other people’s clients. I wish you wouldn’t encourage his bad behaviour.”
“Sorry, but I love gossip too much,” Hartford said with an unapologetic shrug. “Besides, if folks can’t talk to me, who can they talk to?”
“A therapist?” I suggested dryly.
Hartford threaded a curved needle. “Too expensive. Besides, I’m pretty much a therapist around here. Everybody trusts me with their deep, dark secrets.”
I arched a brow at Sagitta, who stared back at me with an expression that probably translated as: I know, but what the hell am I supposed to do about him?
“So, are there any other healers at this temple?” I asked, trying not to sound as irritated as I felt.
“Ha, ha, no. You’re looking at the only one.” Hartford tilted his head at Sagitta. “Gotta suture you up now. Want to hold your boyfriend’s hand?”
I blushed even though I knew he was just trying to get a rise out of us.
“No,” Sagitta said, icy and sharp. “Just stitch me up, please.”
Hartford chuckled. “You Sangkaew boys always wanna look tough. But all right.”
Dread crawled down my spine. I’d gotten stitches before and they hurt like hell, and those were just for a normal mortal injury. How badly would these supernatural stitches hurt?
I strode over to Sagitta’s side and took his hand.
His eyes, which had been clenched shut, snapped open wide as he stared at me.
“It’s my fault you got hurt,” I said, rubbing my thumb across the back of his hand. “The least I can do is help you through this.”
His gaze wavered with emotion. Then he closed his eyes again and gently squeezed my hand. He didn’t need to say ‘thank you’ out loud for me to understand his gratitude.
For all his attitude, Hartford was skilled—and fast. A minute later, Sagitta’s wound was neatly stitched and all cleaned up. It looked less like a nasty bite and more like a fading paper cut.
“Wow,” I said. “I’m impressed.”
“Am I good to go?” Sagitta asked, already sitting up.
“Yup.” Hartford snapped off the gloves and tossed them in the garbage, then looked at me. “You thought I was a hack, didn’t you?”
“Uh, I probably shouldn’t answer that...”
To my surprise, he let out a short laugh. “You’re all right, kid. Just don’t get possessed again. Sagitta works hard enough already. He doesn’t need to be your babysitter, too.”
I winced at a sudden pang of guilt.
“I’ll try not to,” I promised.
For Sagitta’s sake, I prayed hard that the exorcism took.
Although he had a slight limp, Sagitta was able to walk on his own. I’d enjoyed carrying him, but even my big, buff arms needed a break. Besides, I was just relieved to know he felt better.
“What was in that weird green bottle, anyway? An ultra-magical potion?” I asked as we stepped outside the doctor’s office.
Sagitta shuddered, as if recalling the taste. “You don’t want to know...”
The morning sun’s rays slanted through the roof and across the polished wooden floors. I raised my hand to block the light. Something about the early morning atmosphere filled me with hope, like I was awake before the city itself and I could do anything I wanted.
“So, now what? Do we go back to my place?” I asked.
Sagitta looked thoughtful.
When he didn’t speak for a while, I said, “You must be tired after that big commotion. You could still sleep for a few more hours.”
“Why was there an imp in your apartment?” Sagitta mumbled as if he hadn’t heard me.
I frowned, frustrated at my own ignorance. I barely knew anything about Sagitta’s world. Being possessed by a demon didn’t even bless me with any secret, arcane knowledge. All it did was give me an annoying, donut-obsessed voice in my head.
And now that voice was gone, and I was no help at all.
“I don’t know,” I said, because it was all I could say.
Sagitta shook his head. His brows were knitted in concentration. “As demons go, imps are weak.”
“That thing was supposed to be weak?” I interjected. “It took a chunk out of your leg!”
“Yes. Imps are the weakest of all demons. They’re not even strong enough to break through the veil on their own. They...”
He trailed off with a sudden tension that made me hold my breath.
“They what?” I asked, already dreading the answer.
Sagitta’s mouth was a thin line. “They have to be summoned.”
I frowned. “Who would do that on purpose, though?”
Suddenly, as if his leg wasn’t injured at all, Sagitta stormed back inside Hartford’s office. I barely caught up before I heard his icy voice demand, “Where’s Cygnet?”
And then, a different voice replied behind us: “Right here.”