Page 17 of Inked & Bloodbound

The sun breaks the horizon, and I close my eyes, letting the ground embrace me as I slip into the death-like sleep of the damned. But even as consciousness fades, part of me stays alert, listening for any threat to the woman sleeping peacefully in the house across the street.

Tomorrow, I’ll take her to the local bruja to confirm, but I already know. Already understand what I must do. I have to protect her because Lily is extraordinarily rare. A creature my people have long feared, coveted, and hunted.

She’s something we callOracolo del sangue.

A medium.

6

LILY

It’s not a date, but I still have nervous first-date butterflies.

I’ve dressed and redressed about six times already, spending at least the last hour pulling clothes out of the closet, checking them in the mirror, and then throwing them across the room in frustration. After an hour of indecision, I settled on a modest but clingy combination of a tiered maxi skirt, a crop top, and a long green cardigan. The fit is cozy, cute, and very boho, which should fit the vibe of whatever hippie witch doctor Cassini intends to drag me to.

There’s no way I’d admit it aloud, but I’ve been thinking about him all day. I definitely don’t trust the guy. He’s a creepy asshole who stole my phone and nearly smashed someone’s skull in—I haven’t forgotten that. But he saved me last night. He put himself in harm’s way to protect me, and when ‌he touched me, all I wanted was to lean into him. To feel closer.

It has to be some kind of trauma bonding after I was attacked, or the fact that he’s the only lead I currently have about that tattoo and my mom.

But I’m also a human woman who hasn’t gotten laid in a long time, and he happens to be the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in real life.

At 8 p.m. on the dot, he arrives in his flashy old car, which growls through my sleepy neighborhood long before I spot it across the street. He greets me in the same clothes from last night, but now he’s covered in a thin layer of dirt. He runs a hand through the strands of jet-black hair falling across his face and looks up sheepishly through those long black eyelashes.

Yep.

Very handsome.

For a creep.

“What the hell happened to you? You didn’t want to shower first?” I say, wrinkling my nose and scanning him up and down. “Get a change of clothes, maybe?”

“You don’t want to know,” he says with a smile. “Are you ready to go get some answers?”

Inside the car, I’m pleasantly surprised to find that he doesn’t smell bad—in fact, it’s the opposite. He smells earthy and warm, like taking a walk barefoot through a mossy forest. I want to get closer so I can properly inhale his scent, but then I guess I’d be the creepy one.

Neither of us knows how to make the small talk needed to get through this car ride, so I fold my hands in my lap and stare straight ahead in silence as the engine vibrates beneath us.

Last time we were here, I was being shoved into the passenger seat like an old suitcase. Now I’m here of my own free will. In a car with a man I hardly know, being driven to an unknown location, to meet a stranger.

Great instincts there, Lily.Real smart.

Somewhere out there, a couple of true-crime podcasters are screaming at me to get out and run a million miles in the opposite direction. I know my alarm bells should be ringing, but I’m calm. I can’t explain it, but it feels right. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

“Are you ever going to give me my phone back?” I say, puncturing the silence, “Spending the day without social media was nice, but I’m already starting to miss the memes.”

He raises an eyebrow. “What’s a meme?”

“Seriously?”

“Check the glove box,” he says. “I’m sorry I had to take it, but I thought maybe you just needed some time to calm down before doing anything crazy like calling the cops. Cyrus and his friends… They don’t respond well to that kind of thing. It would only make things worse.”

“Thank you,” I say, snatching it up. The relief of having it back is overwhelming—like getting a limb reattached.

“I figured you’d probably want to let someone know where you’re going,” he says, glancing at me sideways. “A smart girl like you probably has safety protocols.”

He’s right. I almost collapse with relief when I confirm I have enough battery life to text my stepdad:

Lily:Running late for SA trip. Something came up. Will call tomorrow.