Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Fire licked along the pile of bones. Officer Montroig found a fire extinguisher under the control panel and carried it into the room. Oliver sagged against Dave as he watched the white clouds of fire retardant mix with sooty black smoke. His hands hung at his sides, and his legs were wobbly.
Officer Keaton coaxed Samira to her feet and helped her out the door and into the hall.
“Everyone back to the gardens,” Carter said. “I want to talk to every witness before people start leaving.”
Most of their group had slid down the wall and sat staring at each other. Cuts and bruises were starting to show, and every outfit was ruined.
“Are you kidding me?” Agatha said. “Did you not see what happened here? Darnell was nearly strangled.”
“I’m fine.” Jugs’s voice was hoarse, and Oliver could see bruising starting to darken the skin of his neck.
“I understand that, but this whole building is now a crime scene,” Carter replied. “The faster we get through this, the sooner everyone can leave.”
The others grumbled, watching nervously through the glass at the smoke still rising from the bones.
“I think we should postpone the wedding,” Dave said, his voice flat as he stared at Amenmose’s remains.
Oliver huffed a soft laugh. “I love you.”
Dave managed a quirk of his lips before leaning in for a gentle kiss. “I love you, too. Thought I’d lost you.”
“Never.”
Supporting each other, they followed the group out into the hall and back to the gardens. No one spoke. Dave leaned heavily against him.
Inside the gardens, people were milling about and talking. Event staff had righted tables and chairs, moving them aside to allow Zenona, campus security, and EMTs to tend the wounded. Several patrol officers were assisting, and Carter gathered them all together a short distance down the path.
Zenona came over when she saw them all coming down the path. With practiced efficiency, she examined each of them.
“Sit.”
She gently guided Oliver and Dave toward a table where a plastic box of medical supplies stood open before she turned away to give Jugs’s throat a more thorough check. Oliver stared around the room. He still didn’t have his glasses, so most people were blurry shapes in motion.
Zenona directed Agatha to take Jugs to an EMT, then rummaged through the medical supplies, selecting a few things and setting them on the table nearby.
Dave rubbed a hand up and down Oliver’s back. “How are you?”
Oliver dropped his eyes to the floor. When the staff had done their clean up, they’d missed a fork. The gray light coming through the glass roof was a dull reflection along the tines. “I don’t know. I’m kind of numb.”
With a brief squeeze, Dave released him. He always seemed to know when to give Oliver a bit of space.
Zenona pulled a chair up in front of them. “I love a dress with pockets.” She reached into one and produced Oliver’s glasses. “Looking for these?”
“Oh, thank you.” Oliver checked the lenses, grateful to find them intact. He used the end of a napkin to clean them, then slipped them on. “A lot better. Thanks.”
She checked Dave first, shining a light in his eyes and checking range of motion for his arms and neck. His glasses sat crooked on his nose, and his eyes were wide as he stared into the middle distance, his expression slack.
“You need a CT scan to check for more serious injury, but from what I can tell, you may have a concussion. They’ll be able to do a more thorough exam at the hospital.”
“Thanks,” Dave said, momentarily taking her hand. “I’m really glad you’re here, but I wish it could have been just to celebrate with us.”
“Next time.”
Just as Zenona turned her attention to Oliver, Cody and Demetrius walked up.
Dave was on his feet, swaying a bit before grabbing his brother in a strong hug.
Cody grunted in pain, but awkwardly hugged him back.
Oliver shared a sad, tired look with Demetrius before slowly standing.
Every muscle ached and seemed to weigh at least a hundred pounds, but he managed to hug Demetrius.
When Dave stepped back, Oliver was able to see Cody’s condition.
His suit jacket hung loose on his shoulders, the left sleeve and front torn to shreds.
His shirt, tattered and bloody, was unbuttoned, revealing two wide, white bandages secured across his chest. Blood had soaked through in parallel lines.
Cody’s grin looked worn out. “Hell of a party, Ollie.”
Oliver hugged him, trying to be careful of his injuries. “Thank you.”
“Didn’t help much,” Cody said with a grunt. “Just got myself beat up.”
Oliver stepped back. “A for effort.”
Cody glanced down at himself. “Think Carlos will give me back my deposit on the tux?”
“Come on, big guy,” Demetrius said, taking his elbow. “Let’s get you to the hospital.”
“You going here in Glenmont?” Dave asked.
“No, I’m taking him to Memorial so he’ll be closer to home.”
Cody winced and adjusted his stance. “Notice I got no say in this decision at all.”
“For God’s sake,” Zenona said. “Get him out of here.”
They all laughed, even Cody. Before they left, Demetrius caught Oliver’s eye and said, “I’ll call you later.”
“I’m right here,” Cody said with an elaborate sigh. “I can hear you making plans with your ex while I’m going to be hospitalized for serious injuries and most likely major invasive surgery.”
“Tell me you gave him a pain killer,” Dave said to Zenona.
“Nope. This is pure Cody.”
“Unfiltered, baby,” Cody said, raising a fist in the air, then grimacing.
“That’s it, we’re leaving.”
Oliver watched them go, starting when Zenona touched his hand.
“Have a seat, let me take a look.”
“Will you be okay if I go check on my family?” Dave asked.
“Yeah, of course. Oh, my grandmother.” Oliver stood again, searching the groups of people. “Is she…?”
“She’s fine.” Zenona pulled him back into the seat. “I checked her out just to be safe. She’s with Amelia and the others.”
Zenona moved in closer, taking his hand and gently turning his wrist to examine the scratch underneath.
“How are you?” Her voice was quiet, her focus on his injury.
“I honestly don’t know.” He felt a quiet buzzing in the back of his head. “Amenmose—the mummy—was a monster, but I…I think I started to understand him a bit by the end.”
Zenona swiped an alcohol pad over his wound, and Oliver hissed. When she met his gaze, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. “I understand how you feel.”
Then he remembered Dr. Graham, the late-night coroner Zenona had been close to. And who also happened to be a vampire. He’d died battling the ancient vampire who had turned him, helping to save the rest of them. At the moment, he had no words that seemed fitting, so he simply nodded.
Robin sat beside him. A bandage had been applied to the cut near their hairline, and most of the blood cleaned from the side of their face. They leaned in and hugged each other.
“You doing all right?” Oliver asked.
Robin shrugged. Their eyes darted from one place to another. “I don’t know.” They looked back at him. “That was completely chaotic.”
Oliver snorted. “That is the best way to describe it.”
Clarabell approached them, shaking her head. “You know how to throw a party.”
“Don’t expect an annual repeat.”
“I’m going to drive Robin home,” Clarabell said. “Call me if you need anything.”
Oliver watched them go, surprised by sudden tears.
“How bad is he hurt?” Eileen’s rough voice was like a soothing blanket across Oliver’s frayed nerves.
He felt her hand on his shoulder and tipped his head to the side to lay his cheek on it, wincing as pain shot up the back of his neck. “I’m fine, Grandma. You okay?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m an old, hardened broad. No goddamn mummy is going to take me out.” She slowly lowered herself into the chair beside him and clutched his hand tight. “You’re really okay?”
He made a seesaw motion with his free hand. “Can I get back to you?”
“What happened to it?” she asked.
“It, um, burned.”
“Holy shit, I bet that stunk.”
Oliver and Zenona both laughed, and Eileen cackled along with them.
Zenona patted his leg. “I’ll come back in a bit.”
“These things you get involved in,” Eileen said, shaking her head.
“I don’t always have a choice. This time it all just…happened. I never thought it would turn into, well, this.” He gestured toward the ruins of his and Dave’s wedding.
“However it happened, I’m glad you’re safe. If I lost you…”
Oliver took her hand in both of his. “You won’t. I promise.”
“You’re a good boy. And you’ve got a good man who loves you.”
“Calling me a boy and him a man makes it kind of icky.”
She smirked. “Smart ass cub reporter.”
He chuckled. “You are forbidden from spending any more time with Cody Bower.”
“His car is parked in my garage, how am I supposed to avoid him?”
“Just find a way, please, for my own mental well-being.”
Dave returned and sat on Oliver’s other side.
“How’s your family?” Oliver asked.
“Roman’s bitching up a storm about how much this is going to cost him, how much his suit cost, and that he’d better not miss his flight home,” Dave said.
“So, he’s fine.” Oliver said.
“He did check first to make sure you and I were all right.”
“A glimmer of hope for us all,” Oliver said in a dry voice.
Eileen and Dave chuckled.
“Sounds like Margie hurt her wrist,” Dave said. “But she assured me she’ll be okay.”
“It just gets better and better.” Oliver hung his head and took a few slow deep breaths. Everything felt far away and, somehow, much too close. The chatter of voices in the background was too loud, the air too damp and sticky.
“None of this is your fault,” Dave said. “None of it.”
He kept his eyes closed and breathed out but nodded to acknowledge he heard him.
Dave’s parents came over, and Oliver lifted his head. He somehow found a smile. Alice kept a hand on Dave’s shoulder, her fingers curled into the fabric.
“Was it an actual mummy?” Greg asked, voice lowered. “Like in the movies?”