Page 63 of Cold Curses

“Everything seems to be slowing,” he said. “Her heart rate is slower. Her blood pressure is lower than it was when we got here.Her oxygen saturation is down.” He rubbed a hand over his shorn scalp. “I don’t think I’ve ever said that phrase before tonight.”

“They’re keeping her as stable as they can,” Mom said. “But there seems to be a cumulative reaction to the magic, and they don’t know how to reverse that yet.”

“We’ve tried spells,” Aunt Mallory said. “To reverse whatever this is or break it. Nothing has worked so far.”

“I’m still looking,” Petra said, without glancing up from her seat, where she frowned at a large screen. “Easy to find apotropaic demon magic. Harder to find full reversals.”

Apotropaic magic was protective; wards fell generally into that category.

I glanced at Roger, not sure if he wanted an update.

“Go see her first,” he said. “Then we’ll get on the same page and make a plan.”

* * *

Connor accompanied me to Lulu’s room. The door was slightly ajar, and Alexei sat on a stool by Lulu’s bed, head down and eyes closed prayerfully. He still wore the scrubs he’d been given by the EMTs.

Connor and I walked in. Alexei didn’t stir, but recognition of Connor’s presence seemed to move through his muscles. He rubbed a hand across his face. And without a word, he rose and turned into me.

It took a moment of frozen shock for me to realize what he needed. I put my arms around him, held him tight. If he cried, he did it silently. It seemed he wanted only a moment of peace, of oblivion. And then he let go, gave me a nod. Looked at Connor, did the same. And then left us alone in stillness and the quiet.

Lulu lay in the bed, its head raised slightly. Her frame looked tiny under a thin blue blanket. Sensors had been hooked to her arm and slipped across her collarbone and into a gown that was white and sprayed with small pink flowers.

Her eyes were closed. Her face was serene. But the screen beside the bed danced with numbers.

Connor leaned over her, kissed her temple. “Please wake up, because Alexei is experiencing human emotions. And the rest of us must deal with that, and it is a lot. And we love you,” he added.

Then he stepped back and kissed my temple. “I’ll give you a minute with her. But I’ll be right outside.”

When he was gone, I sat down on the stool Alexei had vacated; it was still warm from his time at Lulu’s bedside. I put a hand on hers and felt the stain of demon magic. It felt potent enough that I pulled my hand back, wondering if I might see some kind of spreading burn. But my skin was unmarred.

“I want to apologize,” I began, “but your mom would yell at me, and you tell me not to say ridiculous things. So I won’t. But I will tell you that I’m sorry their battle took place near your worksite and damaged it and damaged you. And I’ll tell you what I know.

“We think the demons are battling for territory. Dante, the Gold Coast demon, and an unnamed female demon he calls the ‘upstart.’ We don’t know who she is yet. This is all happening because someone found a cornerstone at a ward we didn’t know was a ward, dug down to it, and broke it in two. So, that’s probably when the ley lines pulsed, and it’s probably why your parents haven’t been able to get the broken wards going again. Because they’realldown, and they’ve apparently been down for days, and none of us knew.”

I stopped for breath, pulled up my hair, closed my eyes. Thought about what I’d seen.

“The perp broke the stone by hand, not magic, while wearing fake construction gear, which is such a dick move. And it happened during daylight. So, human? Or, I guess, anyone but a vampire. So, at least that’s not our fault.”

My stomach growled as a wave of exhaustion hit me. I checked my screen. There was still time before dawn, but not much. And I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten real food.

“I wish we were at Taco Hole.” I squeezed her hand. “And we will be very soon. I promise,” I said to seal the deal. And I let the silence fall and sat with my best friend.

* * *

I’m not sure when the knock on the door came, but I felt Connor’s magic before he stepped inside.

“It’s getting close,” he said kindly but firmly. “We need to go soon.”

“I could sleep here.”

“I asked. They don’t have sun protection.”

That had me sitting up straight. “What? It’s a supernatural ward.”

“And vampires don’t need hospitals,” he reminded me.

“Right,” I said. “My brain is done.”