Page 62 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

‘Nope. He’s still alive,’ Lee confirmed.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I guessed it was good, but Jayden was a powerful witch and if he held a grudge then tomorrow Bunny would be keeping one eye open when she slept. And Bunny really needed a good sleep.

Connor’s hand rested on the small of my back as we walked carefully out of the stacks of lumber and back to where the witch lay. Jayden Donaldson was sprawled out, a big pool of blood spreading deliciously from his shoulder. My stomach growled – I should have grabbed a cup of blood for me, too. I could see his chest rising and falling so I knew he wasn’t dead, but he had to be in bad shape.

In the end, my conscience wouldn’t let me do anything other than call the ambulance. Besides, I still needed questions answered and Donaldson was my last resort. Why had he said Aoife wasn’t his daughter? Was it because Aoife had snitched on him, or was he really not her biological father?

Connor sent Lee for my emergency kit from the SUV. I had first-aid supplies in there as well as the magic-cancelling cuffs. We needed both.

When Lee returned, he passed the bag to me and I pulled out the cuffs. By cuffing Jayden on one arm, I stopped him using his magic but didn’t hurt him more. Connor applied pressure to the gunshot wound, which was high on the witch’s shoulder. It didn’t look like I’d hit anything vital, but no doubt the bullet had broken some bone – I had bear rounds in my gun, for God’s sake. The back of the wound was ugly where the bullet had expanded, and I shuddered and felt vaguely ill. I’d never thought I’d have to shoot someone; the main reason I carried the gun was because of the beast.

I watched Connor saving the life of a man who might have killed him. How had I ever doubted him? Fated mates or not, he’d never force me into anything I didn’t want.

I started to shiver. The cold that had seeped into my bones since Aoife had flown into me was really starting to get to me. I examined my fingers and felt a surge of panic when I saw that my fingertips had turned blue. ‘Umm, Connor?’ I called. He looked up. ‘A banshee flew through me and I feel kind of cold.’

He blanched, shot up from Donaldson and moved to me in a blink. ‘How long ago?’ he asked urgently.

‘Um, a few hours, I guess.’

Connor’s eyes flicked to the bleeding man on the floor before he gave a minute shake of his head. ‘Margrave!’ he barked.

‘I’m on it!’ Margrave replied.

I expected him to run to the break room as I had, but instead he ran out of the warehouse and into the woods. ‘You’re scaring me,’ I admitted in a small voice.

‘It’s okay,’ Connor said soothingly but his eyes told me he was lying. ‘We need to get some blood in you. Now.’

It felt like hours before Lee returned, though it must have only been a minute or two. He was carrying a deer. It was alive and calm; he must have entranced it somehow.

‘You need to drink from something living,’ Connor explained.

I recoiled. I’d only done that once and I’d nearly lost myself in the process.

‘I’ll be here,’ he promised, ‘but you have to do it. That your lips and fingers are only turning blue now is a blessing. I think your … uniqueness has saved you again. You don’t need to kill the deer but you do need to drink from something with hot blood. Now.’ I hesitated. ‘Now!’ he snapped.

I moved to the deer before I could talk myself out of it. For once, my fangs had turned up when they were needed. ‘I’m so sorry, Bambi,’ I said then sank my fangs into her docile neck and drank. The blood tasted rather like mouldy cheese – and I despise mouldy cheese – but I battled through and took a bunch of good slurps.

Connor was holding my hand, looking at my fingers. ‘A little more,’ he instructed when I paused. Grimacing, I obeyed. ‘You can stop now,’ he said finally, sounding relieved.

I stepped hastily away from the deer. Margrave set it down and it bolted away. ‘She’ll be okay, right?’ I asked anxiously.

‘Unless another hunter gets her,’ Lee said casually and I glared at him.

‘How do you feel?’ Connor asked.

‘Fine. Normal.’ I paused. ‘Warm.’

‘Thank God. We got it in time.’

Lee was looking at me with new respect. ‘Surviving hours after a banshee possession is hardcore.’

‘She didn’t possess me, she … floated through me.’

‘One and the same,’ he grunted.

I looked between the men. ‘So banshees can kill vamps?’

‘Not something we advertise,’ Connor said drily.

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