Page 43 of Nightmares and Numerology

Chapter Nineteen

Angelo

“What do you mean, you don’t know where she is?”

Wanda gave me a flat, unfriendly look. I suspected she was more upset about the state of her hairdo than Lydia’s absence. Wanda was a beautiful woman. Even I could admit that. But all the smoldering good looks in the world didn’t help when you looked like a drowned rat.

“I mean, I don’t know where she is,” she said, rubbing a trickle of water from one eye with a sigh. “She and Poppy were supposed to distract security and any personnel that might interfere with the ritual. We didn’t even get a clear visual on what was preying on Lydia’s ex before the alarm started blaring and water started gushing from the ceiling. It effectively ruined all our preparations. And I will have you know that said preparations took especially long to set up because we couldn’t bring our familiars with us. Cats or dogs might get a pass in the hospital, but not an owl, skunk, raccoon, or piglet.”

She was probably right, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. And I didn’t like it! I raked a hand through my hair in frustration, scanning the crowd hopefully for any sign of Lydia. Whatever had activated the sprinkler system had forced three hospital floors to evacuate. There were sick or wounded humans as far as the eye could see, but no alluring gypsy in sight.

“Didn’t you have a fallback plan? What about looking out for members of your coven?”

Wanda’s furious scowl was all the warning I got before the hex hit me right in the mouth. It wasn’t as painful or obvious as a swing that resulted in the crunch of bone, but it still felt like I’d been struck in the mouth with a tennis ball. My teeth clacked together painfully, and it took everything in me not to lunge at the witch on instinct.

“What the hell was that for?” I demanded, once I could find my voice again.

“For insinuating I don’t care about my coven,” she hissed, giving me an arched brow stare. “You know damn well I care about every single member, even if Lydia still hasn’t committed to the ritual. I’ll bring her into the inner circle if she wants to try. I was willing to die for my people. You only care insofar as it concerns Lydia. Would you be spitting this much venom if it was Poppy missing instead of Lydia?”

I had to think about that for a moment, and some of my anger faded. Wanda was right. I wouldn’t have been as upset if Poppy had disappeared. I should have been more concerned about my fellow monsters, but…

“Poppy doesn’t have the kind of enemies that Indigo earned,” I said quietly. “You heard what happened to Indigo the first time she died. They had to aim a curse so destructive at her that it blew her original body to smithereens and destroyed part of Lydia’s last shop. They had to bury Indigo’s remains in a plastic bag.”

I couldn’t escape the gruesome visuals in my nightmares. I didn’t share the same trauma Lydia carried from the event, but she’d screamed herself awake often enough for me to understand. And now she was in danger from the same people, all because she’d had the misfortune of fusing soul-to-soul with a witch.

Wanda’s face softened. Her fingers twitched as though she considered taking my hand to give it a squeeze. She seemed to think better of it and let her hand fall back to her side.

“I’m sorry too,” she said, though the words came through clenched teeth. She wasn’t the only one unused to eating crow. “That must be terrifying for you both.”

She had no idea. Some days, it felt like I was the last line of defense against a rapidly approaching army. I was strong andskilled. But not strong and skilled enough to defeat a half-dozen supersoldiers as capable as Indigo used to be. We were fighting things well outside our weight class, and it was going to kill us someday.

“Especially with a manananggal on the loose,” I said, watching as Wanda’s eyes widened. Clearly, she knew what the monster was, or she’d at least heard of it.

“How do you know that’s what it is?”

“Taliyah, and her deputy caught on video what attacked me in the realty office parking lot,” I explained. “And Anthony told us what it was.”

“So, what is it?”

Okay, so maybe she didn’t know as much as I thought. “It’s a type of vampire crossbreed that feeds on energy after inflicting a wound on someone. It took almost everything I had to survive. Feeding on Lydia helped, since she had more than human reserves to help me heal.”

Poppy sidled up to my side, her eyes glistening with tears. She kept glancing up at the hospital, as though expecting to see Lydia come jogging out of the emergency bay’s double doors.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I was supposed to help her. But I got caught up by a doctor who wouldn’t stop talking. I was about to throw more Confusion Oil on him before the sprinklers went off.”

Rendering Poppy’s most potent weapon useless. Of course she’d gotten caught up in the hustle and bustle. Her potions would wash off if she tried to use them to find Lydia. She had to evacuate with everyone else or be noticed and likely arrested. The cops wouldn’t look too closely at the crowds. They’d be searching for any suspicious characters lingering after the fact.

“You can still help her, Poppy,” Wanda said, steering the weepy gypsy to a stop. “I can use one of the brews you packed to start a tracking spell. It’s a good spiritual anchor.”

“Put it on me.”

Both of them glanced up at me in surprise. I was surprised to hear the words coming out of my mouth, too.

“What?” Wanda asked.

“Olga and Betanya confirmed that Lydia and I have a bond. That should mean I can home in on her whereabouts faster and more accurately than you can. Anoint me, put me in the passenger seat of a car, and let’s find these sons of bitches. I’m not letting them take her without a fight.”

Poppy’s lips quirked in a small, tremulous smile. “A bond?”

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