33. Summer
Chapter Thirty-Three
Summer
I open my eyes to find that I’m once again in the bedroom that looks just enough like mine but isn’t. This isn’t like when I was in Connor’s room. This is like the dreams with the stranger, and my stomach twists. I’m so fucking tired.
“No. Not tonight,” I warn, knowing he is somewhere, waiting, watching. But there is no reply, and the silence is deafening.
I am alone. Truly alone. Relief spears through me, and I collapse back on the bed. The emotional upheaval of the last twenty-four hours has obliterated me. The tears start, and I curl into a ball, just letting myself feel it all—saying goodbye to Connor, Rafe’s sacrifice, Max, and the stranger.
A soft humming from outside filters into the dream.
I sit up in bed and wipe away my tears, still sniffling.
The humming ebbs and flows, and I frown as I climb out of bed.
I walk to the window where the stranger stood and I look out at a forest that is so familiar to me, yet also completely foreign at the same time.
“Summer?.?.?.” a voice calls to me from within the shadows of the trees, and again, the voice sounds so strangely familiar, but it also sends a chill through my bones.
“Summer?.?.?.” The haunting voice calls again, and I squint my eyes, trying to penetrate the black of the night. The moonlight casts a silvery hue just to the edge of the trees, but no farther.
From the shadows, a shape forms, a woman wearing a pale blue dress that falls to mid-calf.
Her bare feet are muddy, and her long brown hair is slightly tangled.
Despite her unkempt appearance, her beauty is still apparent, but that’s not what I find so striking about her.
It’s her eyes, the same pale blue as mine, shining in the moonlight, that I can’t look away from.
She lifts her hand and gestures for me to come to her, and I want to go to her. I want to know more about her. Lifting my hand, I almost reach out to her, but when my hand brushes against the glass pane, my vision blurs, and the dream shatters around me, everything turning black.
I surge awake, my chest heaving as I gulp down air. Disoriented, I look around, but when my gaze lands on Rafe, reality slams back into me. The dream fades to nothing as my eyes trail over him, checking on him.
Rafe groans and shifts slightly. It’s the first time I have seen him actually move since we settled him into bed, and he seems uncomfortable. He must be in pain. I pull the sheet back and check his runes and notice that the healing one needs to be topped off.
“I’m here, Rafey,” I say, grabbing the dagger from the bedside table. Not wanting to cut him, I manage to find some blood on his skin. I don’t want to cause him any more pain when he is already hurting so much.
I hold the image of the rune in my mind and follow the headmaster’s instructions exactly.
When the runes don’t immediately start to glow, I panic, trying to work out what I’ve done wrong.
I reach out to retrace the lines, but it finally lights up, and I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
Rafe’s body relaxes, but when I look at his face, I notice black liquid trickling from the corners of his closed eyes.
Tears?
I wipe them away, and Rafe whimpers again.
“I’m here.”
Rafe’s eyes spring open, and I gasp. They’re flooded with black, and more dark tears slide down the sides of his face, his breath coming in labored, ragged gasps.
“I’ve just redone your healing rune. It’ll all be okay,” I say, gently wiping his face with a cool cloth. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
His breathing calms, and his eyes drift closed. Tears are still falling from his eyes, but I can see him relaxing back into unconsciousness. Good. I hope he can stay unconscious throughout the most tumultuous parts of this -process.
Alice sits up on the other side of him. Her eyes are dark, probably thanks to the blood that seems to be still leaking from him.
Is that what his tears are? Black blood?
I’ll need to do more research on how to care properly for a Fallen.
Though given how infrequently this happens, I’ll probably have to settle on a book on demons and adapt it somehow.
“His rune?”
“I’ve just redone it. He opened his eyes.”
“He did?” Alice scrambles up and leans over him. Rafe grimaces with the movement before settling back into sleep. “Oh, my gods!” she yelps, making me jump.
“What?” I ask, frantically looking him over.
Alice gently lifts his upper lip. “He has fangs just like his mom’s!”
My lips twitch as my heart rate returns to normal. The sun is beginning to rise, casting the room in a happy orange color, easing the terror of last night.
Alice smiles like a proud parent. “Top and bottom! I’m a proud vampire.
” She frowns when she notices his lip is bleeding a little, and she hops out of bed and hurries out of the room before coming back with some old chopsticks.
Snapping one in half, she parts Rafe’s lips again before opening his mouth and placing the chopstick inside to protect his lips from his growing fangs.
She settles back in bed, curling against Rafe’s side, and is almost immediately asleep again.
I envy her for her ability to fall asleep so quickly, to have dreams that don’t bring her discomfort, but also I’m happy for her.
Alice has had her own fill of trauma, and she deserves to be happy and healthy.
I lie back next to Rafe and allow myself to be at peace for a while.
A few hours later, I shift and gently shake Alice from the realm of sleep. “Al? I’m going to take a shower.” I’m still caked in mud and demon blood, but I’ve not felt confident enough to leave Rafe’s side.
Alice waves her hand sleepily, and while she’s still half-asleep, I can tell she’s attuned herself to Rafe’s breathing.
I shower quickly, washing away not only the physical evidence of last night, but letting the warm water soothe my emotions and thoughts.
I step out and start drying off, noticing a book on the bathroom counter.
Frowning, I stare at it, knowing it wasn’t there when I got into the shower.
I look around and tighten the towel around myself before picking it up.
Demonology: By Demons for Demons.
I look around my bathroom again, unsure of what I’m looking for, or who I’m looking for, but I know it must have been the stranger.
I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that he was in the bathroom with me while I was showering, but I’m too interested in the book to put much energy into any form of outrage.
It reeks of brimstone, the same thing that was in that pouch the headmaster brought and gave to Alice last night.
That means the stranger must have gotten this from Hell.
That is a locked realm, so I’m unsure how he managed to get in.
I open the book and a note slides from between its pages.
There are two words, and my stomach flutters reading them.
For Rafe
I take the book back to my room and set it on the bed so I can change into shorts and a T-shirt. Once I am dressed and have pulled my hair back, I pick up the book and pad barefoot back to Rafe’s room, reading as I go.
When I step through the doorway, I glance up and stop, doing a double take. Alice is kneeling over Rafe, examining the top of his head.
“All good?” I ask.
“His horns are coming in,” Alice says, throwing me a look as if it is obvious.
I nod and climb back in bed with them, going back to my reading once I settle with my back to the headboard.
Alice’s nose scrunches. “That book reeks.”
I nod and curl toward Rafe, barely paying attention to either of them, captivated by the knowledge contained within the book.
Demon or daemon in Latin or diamon in Greek loosely translates to “unclean spirit” or “god of the heathen.” They are a proud, protective species that values their privacy.
For the most part, they reside in Hell but are free to travel among realms as desired. However, access to each realm is closely monitored and is a multi-step process for non-demons or exiled demons.
Demon physical characteristics include horns, fangs, and black blood. Depending on the subspecies, they can have tails, wings, and/or extra arms.
The capital of Hell is named Pandemonium and is where the “king” resides.
Alice climbs out of bed and goes back to the dresser she has turned into a makeshift bench, to make more salve for Rafe. Between the book and the making of the salve, the smell of brimstone overwhelms the room, but I don’t care as long as it helps Rafe.
I go back to reading, becoming engrossed in the information.
“Ow,” Rafe groans, and I nearly drop the book in surprise.
“Rafe?” I ask, sitting up and looking down at him.
“Hurts,” Rafe whimpers.
“Rafe,” I choke out, a sob lodged in my throat.
He tries to open his eyes, but I can tell it’s a struggle for him. “Hurt?.?.?. all?.?.?. over.”
I nod and shift to redraw the rune. “I’m going to help you. I’m going to redo your runes, okay?”
Rafe’s body slumps, and I can tell he’s passed out again. I look up, meeting Alice’s gaze. She’s looking at me with tears in her eyes too.
“That’s good, right?”
“I think so,” I say, nodding. Rafe waking up means that he’s healing. It means that whatever we’re doing is helping him enough that he’s getting better.
“You should call them,” Alice says as I finish redrawing his rune. It glows dimly, and I grab my phone, selecting Uriel’s number.
Uriel answers immediately. “Is he okay?”
“He is. He woke up for a moment.”
Uriel releases a heavy breath, and I can hear him falling back in his chair. He must have been pacing, maybe since our last call.
“He’s going to be okay, Dad,” I say, my voice breaking.
Uriel’s sob is muffled as if he has buried his face in his hands. Then I hear him take a steadying breath.
“Farrah!” he calls out. “He woke up!”
“He-he did?” Farrah’s voice sounds distant, but I can clearly hear the raw emotion in it.
“Summer’s on the phone.”