A Demon Does It Better (15 page)

“Dr. Carter.” Cassie held out her hand, brushing her fingers against Lili’s arm. “What is Kevin? He’s not completely human, is he? Whatever his father is…”

“Kevin is an empath,” Lili said quickly, not wanting Cassie to think about what she might have had sex with that night five years ago.

Cassie shook her head. “I thought empaths detected emotions.”

“They do, but there are some who can see beyond a creature’s illusions if they’re in hiding. Or sense what they are. Deisphe is a Wereleopard, and Kevin saw that. Whatever he saw in the pizza restaurant was probably in hiding. I would guess he saw its true self, and it frightened him. I can show Kevin’s drawings to someone who might be able to identify the creature. We’re not all monsters, Cassie.”

She nodded jerkily. “If you can help Kevin, I will be forever grateful. I’ll do anything you want.”

“No!” Lili quickly softened her voice and grip on Cassie’s shoulder. “Never make a promise or vow to any magickal being,” she warned. “For many it’s considered unbreakable, and you could land in a lot of trouble. If you want to say thank-you, fine, but nothing more. Crying Souls is here to help, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Relieved she was able to get some information from Cassie, Lili guided her back to the examination room where they could hear Deisphe entertaining Kevin with stories of her childhood. Both women smiled at the boy’s laughter. He looked up and smiled happily to see his mother, holding his arms out for her.

“No green skin,” He looked at Lili. “Not a mean witch. A pretty witch.”

“See why I love him?” Deisphe grinned.

Lili smiled at Kevin as she pulled a pad out of her pocket and began writing. She tore the paper off the pad and handed it to the nurse. Deisphe glanced at it and nodded.

“Back in a jiff.”

Lili rechecked Kevin’s vitals, relieved to find him a lot calmer and even smiling. She knew she had the Were to thank for that. While she wanted to ask him questions about what frightened him so badly that night, she knew it was best not to.

“Kevin, do you know what witches are?” she asked quietly, placing herself on the stool by the gurney.

His eyes widened. “They’re not like you. They’re ugly, and they cook little boys in an oven.”

No way was she going to tell him that some fairy tales were based on fact.

“And there are witches like me who make little boys feel better. We have special drinks and special things you can carry.” She looked up when Deisphe returned carrying a tray. A small squat bottle filled with a pale blue liquid glimmered under the light. Lili picked it up and poured the contents into a glass. “What’s your favorite thing to drink?”

He squirmed, glancing at his mother. “I like Coke, but Mom doesn’t like me drinking it.”

“This will taste just like Coke then.” She handed him the glass. She glanced up at Cassie. “It will help dampen his abilities for a while,” she explained as she picked up a small medal on a leather cord that she then placed around his neck. The bronze metal glowed slightly when it touched his skin. “This is a protection charm. Between the two, no one will be able to detect Kevin or his abilities, but it’s not a permanent solution. He needs to be trained. That’s where Asmeth can come in handy.”

“How do you know he’ll be willing to help us?”

“It’s what he does best.”

Cassie shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. “I don’t make very much money,” she said softly.

“He won’t ask you for payment.” She knew her old friend well enough that the softhearted wizard would take the girl and her son under his wing without expecting anything in return.

Lili waited until the boy drank the entire potion down. She allowed her senses to flare and noticed the change immediately. She still made them wait a bit while she checked on other patients and returned to make sure the potion still worked.

Cassie promised to call Asmeth as soon as she returned to her apartment. As she left the hospital with Kevin in her arms, she looked at Lili and smiled broadly, looking more relaxed than she had since she first arrived.

“Thank you.”

Lili smiled back. “You’re welcome, and if you need anything, call me any time of day or night. I’m serious about it, Cassie.”

Cassie nodded.

“We do great work, don’t we?” Deisphe asked, standing at the entrance with Lili and watching Cassie buckle Kevin into the backseat of a battered blue Honda.

“That we do.”

The two exchanged high fives and returned to the ER.

***

Lili was a witch on a mission. A mission to find out just what Kevin’s monster was.

And she knew just who to ask when she got a chance.

She wasn’t surprised to hear from Asmeth not long after.

“Such gifts you send me, my pet,” he boomed in her ear when he called her later that day. “What am I to do with the children? One a mere babe, no less. I am not a nasty witch living in a gingerbread cottage,” he laughed heartily.

“If anyone can help Kevin, it’s you,” she praised the wizard. She ducked into an alcove where she could have a bit of privacy. “I know Cassie told you what happened, and you’ll recognize what I did for Kevin. She’s scared to death, Asmeth. I think she’s afraid whatever Kevin saw will come back for him. Or perhaps even his father will track them down.” She wished she knew what Kevin’s father was and hoped Asmeth would find out.

“I asked Cassie and her son to come see me this afternoon,” he replied. “Not to my shop, of course, but to my other residence. Come for dinner this evening. Hopefully, I can relate something to you by then. I will be back in my shop by then.”

Lili had a feeling the invitation was for much more than a meal and idle chatter. The last time she’d seen her old friend, she asked him to keep an ear open about the hospital. Luckily, he hadn’t asked any questions, merely looked at her with a sharp gaze and promised to report anything he heard.

“I would love that. I get off duty at three.”

“I will see you at six.” With that he clicked off.

Lili tucked her phone away and headed for the stairs. She was hoping she might find some answers below.

Of course, she should have known it wouldn’t be easy when it wasn’t one of her days to be down there. Not to mention that Dr. Mortimer told her she wasn’t to have anything to do with Jared. Luckily, she knew the doctor was off today, so she didn’t have to worry about running into him.

“Dr. Mortimer didn’t say this was one of your days to work down here,” Coing growled, his huge arms crossed in front of his massive chest.

“This won’t take long,” she told him, already determined to throw a massive amnesia spell on the ogre and his cohort before she left. “Just bring Patient 1172 to my office.” She used enough persuasion on him that he had no choice but to obey her command. She brushed past him, wrinkling her nose at the rank smell that came from his unwashed body, and headed for her office, hoping her ballsy attitude would be enough.

She paused at the door and looked down the hallway that looked never ending. One large door on the right glistened with power. She looked over her shoulder, wondering if she had enough time to check out the door. Hearing the ogre’s voices made her mind up for her. It would have to wait.

She frowned at the fresh bruises marring Jared’s face and his split lip.

“What happened here?” she demanded, rounding on his keepers.

“He fell.” Turtifo smirked.

“Get out.” She held up her hands and used her magick to push them out and slam the door after them.

“You’re going to be in trouble after we tell Dr. Mortimer!” Coing yelled.

“That’s what you think,” she muttered, hexing up coffee and food for Jared as he stumbled into a chair.

“They’re better than the ogres Mortimer used to have here,” he said, wincing at the hot liquid burned his tender lip.

“Here.” She cupped his chin in her hands and lightly brushed her free hand over his face. His bruises soon disappeared, and his lip healed. “How quickly do you normally heal?” She felt the heat of his skin against hers and was tempted to further explore his sharply-defined body. She stepped back before she gave in to the temptation to touch him further.

“Always right away, but they have something down here that doesn’t allow us to heal too quickly. My broken ribs took almost a week to heal.”

“That would be a miracle for a mundane,” she commented, taking the seat across from him.

“And an eternity for supes. So why the surprise visit, Doc?”

“You left here without anyone the wiser.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone,” he replied.

“I have my reasons, and as long as you don’t attack anyone on the outside, I’ll keep it to myself,” she told him. “But now I need your help.”

Jared picked up his sandwich and investigated the contents. “Looks good.” He bit into it. “You’re asking for my help? I’m supposed to be begging for your help, Doc.”

“Stop calling me Doc!” Lili snapped. She took a calming breath. “A new patient came into the ER today. A mundane teenage mother and her little boy…”

“Who’s not,” he guessed and laughed at her expression. “Why else would you be down here unless something’s off.”

“I think it’s demon-related. Something I haven’t encountered before. Demon clans are notorious for keeping things to themselves.”

Jared looked puzzled. “So what do you want me to do?”

Lili knew she’d already broken a lot of rules in the hospital, and she was getting ready to break a whopper. She took a deep breath and spoke before she could think twice of what she was about to do.

“I want you to go with me tonight to a friend’s house for dinner.”

“Why are you so worried about what to wear to Asmeth’s house?” Cleo asked from her pillow on Lili’s bed.

“Because I rarely get to wear more than scrubs at the hospital or my pj’s at home,” Lili argued as she rummaged in her closet. When was the last time she’d done any serious clothes shopping? Racking her brain only gave her a headache, so she stopped. She finally settled for a pair of charcoal wool pants and a deep red silk top with a draped neckline that left one arm bare, along with a favorite pair of red peep-toe stilettos. She already knew her moonstone pendant would easily nestle among the fabric.

Instead of using a flatiron on her curls, she bundled them up on top of her head in a loose knot.

“I want to go,” Cleo insisted, her silver chinchilla fur ruffled in agitation.

“And I want a three-week vacation in Bali. We can’t always get what we want.” She added a glossy red lip color.

Not that she was doing this because Jared promised to be there. She merely wanted to look nice for Asmeth, who always enjoyed seeing a woman looking her best.

That’s right, Lili. You keep on saying that.

“The only reason you want to go is because you know Asmeth will feed you a lot of exotic treats.” She reached for the perfume bottle she had picked up at the scent shop.

She stepped out of the bathroom and froze. She noticed that Cleo stared at the bedroom doorway with a fascinated expression on her face.

“Why does everyone feel they can just pop in without warning?” the cat asked, ruffling her fur even more. “No one has manners anymore.”

Lili sniffed the air. “I don’t think Eurydice smokes cigars. That’s it. I’m setting up megawards tonight when I get back.”

She followed her nose finding Jared in the family room smoking a cigar, channel-surfing, and sitting in
her
favorite
chair.

“Make yourself at home, why don’t you?” She glared at the glass of wine he held in one hand.

“I am, thanks. Nice wine.” He held up his glass. “Do you want some?”

“Since it’s my wine, yes.” She stomped into the kitchen and poured herself a glass. “And get rid of that
thing
.” She snapped her fingers, gratified to see the cigar wink out of sight. Another flick of her fingers had the lingering smoke following the cigar and a hint of citrus filling the air instead.

“You really know how to ruin a guy’s fun, Doc.” Jared smiled lazily.

“How exactly do you get in here?” She took a hefty swallow of her wine as she glanced at the clock. Almost time to leave.

Just as the other times she’d seen him away from the hospital, Jared was cleaned up. All signs of his injuries were gone.

“How do you do it?” she asked curiously. “You can’t tell me that wrapping yourself in shadows also provides a bath, shave, haircut, and decent clothing.” She had to admit he looked damn good in dark stone-washed jeans and a forest-green, long-sleeved polo shirt that showed off a nicely sculpted body.

He settled back in
her
chair
, resting one booted leg across his opposite knee.

“Nice place you have here. How come you don’t live in Inderman like most of the witches do?”

“Not as many live there as you think. Living units aren’t all that plentiful in Inderman,” she corrected him. “And the witches I know live in various parts of the city and even in the ’burbs. Housing on that plane is meant more for those who own businesses there. Do you understand why Inderman is here? After all, it’s not known for attracting demon businesses except for a tavern on the edge.”