I was in shock. Again. The doctor said so. They wrapped me in blankets, fed me chicken broth mixed with something. It was insanely good and I wasn’t really sure I wanted to ask about the secret ingredient.
Someone herded me into the infirmary. I didn’t see who. Didn’t see much of anything, really. I kept slipping in and out of focus. Some kind soul had brought me a tall mug of hot coffee. Warmth, food, and caffeine were slowly beginning to work their wonders.
“This is insane!” Creede snarled. “The whole plan should be scrapped. There’s no way we still have the element of surprise, and without it this is a suicide mission. You can see for yourself, she’s in no shape to do anything.”
Queen Lopaka sat in a chair next to the bed I was sitting on. She was listening calmly and politely as everyone around her shouted and argued.
“I have seen—” Adriana’s voice was cold, hard.
“Seers have been wrong before,” he interrupted her. “No offense meant.” The apology was perfunctory and I wasn’t positive he meant it. Apparently he and Adriana weren’t hitting it off.
“I’ve seen it. The rest of the clairvoyants have seen it. It is necessary.” She gave me an odd look. “And Celia is tougher than you think: tougher than I would’ve suspected.”
“I don’t like it,” Creede growled. “It smells like a trap.”
“You don’t have to like it,” Adriana snapped back. “What do you think, Mother?”
Everybody turned to the queen, including me, though I felt like retching when I did. Concussion, thy name is Celia. “King Dahlmar has to do this if he is to have any hope of regaining his throne. He intends to go forward with the plan, with or without Celia’s participation.”
“Without,” Creede snapped. Adriana opened her mouth to begin the argument anew but stopped at a small gesture of the queen’s hand.
“That’s up to Celia.”
“I’m going.” I stood up and threw off the blanket. I didn’t even wobble . . . much. “How much time have I lost?”
Creede answered me, his tone making it clear that he didn’t think I’d be ready. His growl was almost protective enough to be sweet. “We leave in a half hour.”
But I don’t need protection, though I appreciated the gesture. “Good. There’s time. I’m going to need some more of that broth and I need somebody to get me a phone.”
Adriana passed me her BlackBerry. “Use mine.”
“I’ll get your food.” Hiwahiwa rose. She’d been so quiet, back in the corner, that I hadn’t even noticed she was there. I nodded my thanks as she hustled out the door. Sliding open the phone, I dialed a number I knew from memory.
“DeLuca residence.” I didn’t recognize the voice. Not really surprising. It sounded like a kid, and several of Bruno’s siblings had been breeding like bunnies. I’m not sure how he can even keep track of them all.
I didn’t bother with greetings. If I started in on the niceties and checking on all the family I could be talking for a week. “I need Matty’s direct number. It’s an emergency.”
“Hang on. He’s right here.” By the muffled sound of what followed, the kid had put his hand over the speaker. It didn’t make a difference to vampire hearing. “Uncle Matty, it’s for you. She says it’s an emergency.”
He took the phone. “Hello?”
“Matty? It’s me.”
“Celia . . . look, I’m really sorry, but—”
I interrupted him before he could say more. I didn’t want to talk about Bruno. I couldn’t even afford to think about him right now. There was no time and I couldn’t afford the distraction. “Matty, this isn’t about Bruno. It’s about the demon, the one you helped banish in the stadium parking lot. He’s back and he’s actively trying to get into this dimension.”
Matty didn’t swear, but I could tell he wanted to. He gave a sharp intake of breath and there was the sound of a door being firmly closed. “Tell me.”
I did. Even talking as quickly as I could, it took a few minutes to cover it all. But he was a good listener and smart. He let me get it all out before he started asking questions.
“So one of the summoners is dead, but there’s at least one more out there.”
That pretty well summed it up. Someone was still pulling the strings and my money was on Ren. A family that summons together and all that. “Yes.”
“And he’s targeted you specifically? Spoke directly into your mind?”
“Yes.”
“All right. When you were hurt last time, when the demon actually touched you, what did the priests at the hospital do?”
“They cleaned the wounds with holy water and blessed me. Why?”
He swore again. “They didn’t do a full exorcism?”
“No. I wasn’t possessed. They didn’t think it was necessary.”
Matteo gave out a growl that would do Kevin proud in wolf form. “Is that what they said?”
“Yes.”
“So they didn’t do an exorcism.”
Now I let out an exasperated breath and stopped pacing around the room. “Didn’t I just say that? I think I’d remember an exorcism, Matty. They’re supposed to be pretty intense.”
He swore some more. I was pretty sure a few of the words weren’t approved by the order. “All right. I can’t be sure without looking for myself, but I’m guessing that what we have here is a breach. Working with demons stains the soul. The more you do it, the more of a tie you have with them. Eventually they can and do use the summoner himself as a doorway to get into our reality. Being injured the way you were marked you—creating a link between you and the demon. Killing the first summoner closed one door.”
“But—”
“But you’ve been marked. If there’s another summoner, that person can bring him over and he can use the mark to home right in on you.”
It was my turn to swear. I wasn’t precisely surprised, but I’d hoped for better news. “Is there any way to unmark me?”
Silence dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. “Maybe,” he admitted. “If you were human, I’d suggest a full exorcism. But with you being part vampire—”
He didn’t have to finish. I knew the answer. “It could kill me.”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t even hesitate. Better to die clean than risk eternity with a demon. “How long would it take you?”
“Let me get in touch with a few people. In the meantime, get to a church—”
I interrupted him. “Can’t. We’re going after the other summoner. Is there anything we can do for now? Some sort of ‘patch’?”
“You need a priest.” His voice was hard, unyielding. “You’ll be slaughtered without one. And if you die now, with the demon having marked you—”
I shuddered. I couldn’t help it. The problem was there weren’t any priests on Serenity. Ren had fetched the one this afternoon from freaking Italy. Then again, knowing what I did now, that could’ve been a stalling tactic. But even if there was a local church, they certainly hadn’t ever needed one of the militant orders. No monsters. Not until now.
“I’ll catch the next plane.”
I shook my head while everyone in the room stared at me. The sirens’ expressions made me think they were eavesdropping through my own mind. Creede was probably listening in with magic. “There’s not enough time.”
“Make time, Celia. I’m serious. People will die, but that’s nothing compared to what will happen to you.”
Pale and trembling, Okalani began tugging at my sleeve. They’d brought her to the infirmary to be checked for shock. She’d come up clean, but she and her mother hadn’t left yet.
“Hang on, Matty.” I covered the receiver. “Yes, Okalani?”
“I can bring him here. I just need to see where he is.” She was scared enough that I could see white all around the pupils of her eyes. But she was determined, too, and smart. I hadn’t even thought about what she was proposing. Good kid.