Mistfall (4 page)

Once I was feeling the full effects of Luca’s
pain remedy, he had me lie down on the floor so he could clean the
wound. His fingers were gentle and cool, comforting against the
fire that surrounded the gouges in my back.

Maybe it was a side effect of the medication,
but I was thinking of his hands on me in a more inappropriate
manner. The thought caused goose bumps to break out against my skin
and I shivered.

“Are you okay?” There was a tone of concern
in his voice.

I turned bright red and it was a good thing
my face was against the floor, turned away from him.

“I’m fine, it’s just a bit cold,” I lied,
praying he couldn’t hear the nervousness in my voice.

“I’ll be done soon and then you can put on
something warmer.” His voice was caring and soft which didn’t help
me focus on cleaner thoughts.

“I could wrap myself around you to warm up,”
I murmured.

He coughed. “What did you say?”

Oh crap! I said that out loud.
Stupid pain
potion!
I tried to use the fog of the pain meds to cover my
verbal diarrhea and prayed he hadn’t heard what I said.

“What was that?” I asked him.

“You were saying something about arms, legs,
and me, I think.”
Damnit, he did hear me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I
replied, trying to sound half out of it. Yep, not only did he hear
me, but he knew exactly what I had said, word for word. Being a
gentleman, he said nothing more about it and continued his
ministrations on my injuries.

I must have fallen asleep because I was being
gently prodded and Luca’s deep velvet timbre was floating around in
my ears.

“Mags…Mags, open your eyes for me.”

I was a bit groggy, but opened my eyes,
finding myself in bed. “How did I get in here?” I asked him.

“I brought you in after I finished binding
your back. I thought you would be more comfortable in here while I
worked on the injury to your face.”

Instinctively, I brought my hand to my cheek,
wincing at the bruise that had formed from where the mutt had hit
me.

Luca bent over me and brushed my hand away
from my face, replacing it with his own. His thumb lightly caressed
my bruised cheek and I closed my eyes, relishing in his gentle
touch.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You don’t need to thank me Mags. If I had
walked you out of the club this wouldn’t have happened and I can’t
forgive myself for that.”

I opened my eyes and looked at the remorse
and genuine concern on his face. “Luca…” I began to say he nothing
to apologize for, when my brain kicked into high gear and I
realized the
brew
had worn off earlier. My eyes grew wide
and panic set in.

“You know what I am. Please, I’m not like the
rest of them, don’t turn me in,” I pleaded as I shot up into a
sitting position, grabbing the towel and keeping it firmly in
place. My eyes darted around the room like a cornered animal,
trying to find possible escape routes and potential weapons.

“Mags, calm down, you have nothing to worry
about.” He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look him in the
eyes. “Your secret is safe with me, I promise. You need to relax
though or your wounds won’t heal.

I scoffed. Like I was going to relax being
found out by someone I had just met. I didn’t know where his
loyalties lied.

“Everyone wants me dead, why should you be
any different?” I demanded.

“For starters, I’m not everyone else,” he
scolded, making me feel like a child. “The issue with your kind was
a long time ago. Surprised as I am that you even exist, I doubt you
carry your ancestor’s politics. Besides, I reserve the right to
pass my own judgment on the character of others.”

Relief washed over me and I reclined back,
thanking my lucky stars that I survived the attack and though,
found out, wasn’t going to be strung up by my toes.

“I’m guessing you use some sort of glamour?”
Luca asked and I nodded in return. “That would explain a few
things,” he mused.

“Like what?”

“The fact that I could feel something was
different about you, but when I tried studying you, I found myself
distracted.

Luca had already found me out, so I didn’t
see why I couldn’t tell him about the
brew
. I explained its
inner workings. He found it rather ingenious.

He ran his index finger across my mouth.
“You’re lip has healed and your bruise is already fading, but your
back will still need a few hours. I suggest you rest and let the
binding do its work,”

I had no argument with being told to sleep.
My eyes were already drooping.

“You’re not driving home tonight, are you?” I
asked. The bags developing underneath his eyes told me that he was
well beyond tired. “You can stay here,” I offered before he had the
chance to answer. “There are extra pillows and blankets. You can
sleep on the couch.”

Luca’s eyes swept the room and he pointed to
the overstuffed lounge chair in the corner. “I’ll stay here, the
chair will be fine. I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re
healed.” He gave me a small smile before he furrowed his brow and
got lost in thought. I was going to ask him what he was thinking
about, but never got the chance. His face evened out and he looked
at me with a half-cocked smile.

“Before you go to sleep, there’s something I
need to do. Something I’ve regretted not doing since you left The
Lamp earlier.”

Confusion and curiosity danced through my
mind at his comment “What’s that?”

Luca didn’t answer but leaned in, his hands
entwining themselves in my knotted hair.

“This,” he smiled, bringing his lips within
an inch of mine.

He paused only momentarily making sure I was
receptive of his offering. When I didn’t back away he closed the
short distance, enveloping my lips in his. His lips were soft and
full, the kiss gentle. His tongue swept lightly across my lips and
that tingle from earlier returned, only this time it went straight
south and melted.

He broke away too soon, before our kiss had a
chance to deepen. I think he did that on purpose, knowing that I
hated the manhandling David had given me earlier at the club. I
smiled at him awkwardly (You know the smile. The one you get the
first time you kiss someone.) and could feel the flush rising in my
face.

“No regrets?” I asked, filling in the
silence.

“Not where you’re concerned,” Luca replied
cheerfully, his perfect white teeth gleaming through the grin
plastered on his face.

He let go of me, somewhat reluctantly and I
settled down in bed while he took the chair. “Good night gorgeous”
was the last thing I heard when I closed my eyes, letting the
exhaustion pull me fully into dreamland.

As I slept, my dreams decided to take on a
life of their own, reliving the first and only other time I had
been found out for who I was.

I was twenty and living in southern
Wisconsin. It was around midnight and I was out with friends at a
party when I had gotten a frantic phone call from my neighbor,
Willa.

“Mags…all my fault…run.” She was coming in
and out and I couldn’t ‘make out everything she was saying.

“Willa, I can’t hear you, you’re breaking up.
What’s wrong?”

“Run…don’t come…they won’t stop until they
find you.”

“Willa, you’re scaring me…” The line went
dead.

I was frantic. Something very bad was
happening and Willa was involved. She was the grandmother and
mentor I never had. She taught me to control my powers and to fight
the hellions that came after us. Without her, I would’ve been dead
long ago and now I’m afraid death is on her doorstep.

I ran out of the party, jumped in my car and
sped all the way home. I fumbled with my pants pocket to free my
phone so I could try and call Willa back. The phone rang and rang
until voicemail picked up. I tried calling my parents next. Even
though they may have been no match for whatever was going on, the
denizens of Hades tend to shy away of a human audience. Only the
annoying repetition of a busy signal answered my call.
Maybe
they’re already over at Willa’s
.

Twenty minutes later I turned onto the street
I lived on. I pressed down on the accelerator a little harder when
I noticed a house on fire.
Please no
! I was maybe two houses
away when I saw that the house on fire was mine. Unidentifiable
shapes were lined up on my front lawn. It only took a split second
for the realization set in. Those shapes were bodies. I threw the
car into park, leaving it in the middle of the street, and ran over
to them.

It was pointless to even check for a pulse.
Willa, my mom, and dad lay lifeless in front of me, their hands and
feet bound, their throats slit from ear to ear. It must have been
the shock that kept me from freaking out because I couldn’t even
cry or scream.

I knelt by Willa and took her cold hand into
my own.

“Oh Willa,” I whispered.

I saw what appeared to be someone moving away
from Willa’s house out of the corner of my eye. I turned and stood,
looking for whoever it was. I only took three steps when the house
exploded.

I was thrown backwards and landed in a heap
on the ground. My ears were ringing, but I wasn’t hurt. I took one
last look at the lifeless bodies. There was nothing I could do for
them and whoever attacked them was still out there, so I did the
only thing I could think of. I ran.

I raced to my car, my heart pounding, and
took off, not knowing where I was headed. When I saw the sign for
the expressway, I felt an indescribable need to take it. I checked
my mirrors to see if anyone was following. I only had the darkness
and the two semis in front of me as company.

I took a big breath and exhaled slowly,
letting the night’s events sink in slowly. I didn’t have the luxury
of safety to mourn their losses. That would have to wait until
later. I just hoped there was a later for me.

I had been driving for over six hours and
wasn’t even sure what state I was in. Willa’s last words were still
in my head.

“They won’t stop until they find you.”

The fear of my own demise kept me going most
the night. It was only by miracle I hadn’t been pulled over for
driving like hell was following me.

It was now 8 a.m. I was exhausted, running
purely on adrenaline. The gas tank was almost on empty and a
mysteriously heavy fog was settling all around me. Since I didn’t
feel safe enough for sleep, I pulled into the next diner I saw and
settled for a pot of coffee.

I looked around in the back seat of the car
to find something to hide my eyes. There was a baseball cap in the
back window and my sunglasses were in my purse. I was pretty sure I
would get some strange looks for wearing sunglasses indoors, so I
settled on the baseball cap. I would just have to keep my head down
and not look anyone in the eyes.

Normally, I wore contacts to hide my violet
eyes. Granted, any Otherworlder would still be able to tell I was
jinn, but hopefully it threw them off of what kind of jinn I was.
Tonight, however, my eyes had become red and irritated by the smoke
from the fire and I removed them.

The diner was shaped like a flying saucer on
the outside. It was an homage to the World’s Fair or some
nuclear-era design. Based on the age of the building, I wondered
what awaited me on the other side of the door. I was pretty sure
that a mud puddle on the side of the road might taste better than
the coffee they were serving. My options were limited as there was
nothing else besides a gas station on this road, so I sucked up a
big breath, opened the door, and hoped for the best as I walked
through.

“Holy crap!” I muttered to no one in
particular as I walked in.
Guess I shouldn’t judge a book by its
cover
, I thought. The inside looked brand spanking new. It
interior was designed like every 1950’s diner you’ve ever seen.

There was a horseshoe shaped bar jutting out
from the kitchen where solitary diners could sit and eat or drink
coffee. The booth seats were made out of that gold glitter plastic
I loved to sit in when I was a kid. I always wanted a chair made
out of that stuff at home.

There was a three hundred and sixty degree
view all around, on which one side had a breathtaking view of the
valley below the cliff the diner was butted up against. On top of
that, the place was clean! Things were looking slightly less grim
at the moment.

Choosing a corner booth, I sat down and
angled myself enough towards the window that I would be less
noticeable.

The waitress wasted no time in coming over.
She seemed to not care if she couldn’t see my face under my
cap.

“Can I get you something miss?” she
asked.

“I’ll just have a cup of coffee please.”

“No problem, I’ll be right back with
that.”

While I waited I glanced around the diner to
take in my surroundings. It was pretty busy and the clientele was
so varied I didn’t’ think I would have a problem hiding out here
for an hour or so.
Bikers, bankers, and thieves, oh my!

The waitress returned quickly. I don’t think
I had ever been as grateful as I was right now. “Thank you. You
don’t know what a godsend you are this morning,” I told her.

“No problem miss. You just let me know if you
need a refill.”

She walked away, towards the two guys that
had just sat down in the next booth, leaving me to my solitude and
my caffeine. I said a little silent prayer to the coffee gods,
stared out the window and drank my coffee.

A few feet away from the backside of the
diner is a forty foot cliff that tapers off into a valley. Since it
was late spring, the valley was alive with the variety of fresh
greens that seemed almost magical. The sun was shining, blanketing
the valley in its golden glow.
That’s odd, I didn’t notice the
fog lift
, I thought. Wildflowers were in bloom, dotting the
carpet of grass that lined the beautiful vista I was looking at
now. I finally had a moment of peace. That’s all it was too, a
moment.