Page 39 of Claiming a Demon

“Malakai? Mom’s asking for you.”

Dropping my hands from my face, I looked toward the doorway to the waiting room. Vienna stood watching me, her eyebrow raised in challenge. I knew what I was being called in for, and it didn’t matter what my mom said. I wasn’t leaving. She got the rest of my siblings to leave, minus Vienna, who was Mom’s accomplice. But I was the one who realized something was wrong and brought Dad here. I wasn’t going to leave now.

“Tell her no. I’m not leaving.”

Vienna made an irritated noise, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re being a real pain in the ass, you know that? She just wants to talk. I get that you’re mad about what happened, but cut her some slack. She didn’t know.”

As much as I wanted to believe that, I still questioned it. How could someone look at the state my dad was in and think he was getting the help he needed? He was fading so fast, it was obvious he wasn’t being treated properly.

I wasn’t bothering to hide my expressions anymore. Vienna saw the disbelief all over my face. For one thing, I was too tired to hide it. I barely managed a few hours of sleep the past few nights, and that was only because Zach made me use his lap as a pillow and stroked my hair until I fell asleep. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so I figured he went home with one of my sisters to get some rest.

I also stopped hiding my expressions because it didn’t do any good. Maybe if I’d been more upfront, I could’ve gotten my dad into this place sooner. Maybe if I wasn’t such a coward, he would’ve been awake by now. Who knew?

She scowled at me. “Stop it. The only person who can really answer the questions on Dad’s treatment is the healer himself.”

“Have they found him yet?”

She shook her head. “No. But Mom said he was going away for like a week to treat another patient. He should be back soon.”

“Treat a patient? Or kill one?” I scoffed.

I regretted it the minute I said it. My sisters were just as worried about Dad as I was, and the heartache on Vienna’s face cut through my chest.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No. You shouldn’t have. We’re all upset, Mal. We had no idea he wasn’t actually being treated. The healer said everything was normal. You know how this disease works. We thought it was just really bad.”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I sighed. “So then, why wasn’t he moved? When things got bad and it looked like one healer wasn’t enough, why wasn’t he brought to a facility?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Mom was always the one in the room with the healer while Dad was being treated. You’ll have to ask her. But stop taking your temper out on everyone else. We’re all worried. So get up, go talk to Mom, and stop being a jerk.”

Nodding, I pushed to my feet. She had a point. I had a lot of questions and the only person who could answer them was Mom. Or the healer. But it was probably safer to keep him away from me. I still felt like I wanted to kill him.

Stopping beside my sister, I offered her a hug. “I’m sorry, V.”

She hugged me back, squeezing tightly. “You’re forgiven. I’m gonna head home. I haven’t seen my husband in days. Where’s Zach? I thought he’d still be with you.”

“I don’t know. I figured he left with one of you to get some rest. Did you see him leave with anyone?”

She shook her head slowly, and my heart stuttered in my chest. I was so distracted by everything going on, I wasn’t paying attention to Zach. I had no idea when he disappeared or where he went. I pulled out my phone and tried to call him, but it immediately went to voicemail. Which meant either his phone was dead, or he wasn’t in this realm. Cell signals couldn’t bounce between realms yet.

Concerned, I went looking for him. The waiting room was empty, and the staff in the cafeteria hadn’t seen him in a while. The coffee shop said he hadn’t been there in hours. The longer I went without knowing where he was, the more worried I got. When I got back upstairs to check with Vienna, who said she’d call our sisters, I found her waiting with Callum. She waved me over, tipping her head toward my friend.

“Callum took him home this morning.”

Relief flooded me, and I leaned heavily against the wall. “Thank the gods. Why didn’t you tell me?” I shot an accusing look at Callum. He frowned.

“He asked me not to. He didn’t want to worry you. Have you not spoken to him since? He was really sick when I dropped him off.”

I almost didn't want to admit that I didn't even notice he’d been gone. I just assumed he was busy or went home with my sisters. I was the world’s worst boyfriend.

“He’s sick?”

Callum nodded gravely. “He threw up twice on the trip home. We had to drive him from the tunnel because teleporting made it worse. I was going to stay until you could come see him, but he told me he was going to rest. I thought you would’ve checked on him by now.”

“Checked on who?”

My mom joined us in the hall, looking between us. She looked tired, and she only ever left my dad’s bedside to give us an update. When she noticed my concerned look, she shook her head.

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