Page 46 of Shadow Scorching

“What about the drain in life energy?” I asked. “And anemia? Her doctor checked her for vampire marks.”

“We did too, and we didn’t find any. The anemia could have several causes. As for the draining of her life force? That, we don’t know. It could be magical in origin. There aren’t many natural causes. From the records her doctor forwarded to us, she’s generally in good health, especially for her age. She might have attracted a Sticktor bug—they drain life energy from people they’re around. If that’s the case, anybody who lives in the same house as Tilly would be subject to the drain as well.”

“I don’t think the maids are having issues,” Dante said. “Is there anything else that can cause an energy drain?”

“Oh, there are a variety of possibilities that could account for it. It could be a psychic vampire, it could be a cursed object—any number of things.” The doctor paused as her beeper went off. She glanced at the message and then said, “I’ll be back in a while. It looks like your aunt is waking up.” With that, she turned and disappeared down the hall, leaving Dante and me alone with Philip.

Philip stood there, expressionless. Then, he turned to Dante. “Tilly has made her opinions clear about you. Since you were here first, I’ll take my leave. I give you permission to contact my office with news about her, given she has designated you her favorite.”

Without another word, and without even acknowledging my presence, he turned and marched toward the door. As he left, I glanced at Dante, who watched him go, stone-faced.

“How are you?” I asked, trying to choose my words carefully. Dante had been excommunicated from his pack for longer than I’d known him.

He kept his eyes on the exit doors, watching as they closed behind his father. “Honestly? I think they’re waiting for her to die so he and my mother can take her place as the family monarchs, so to speak.” With a long sigh, he returned to his seat and I handed him the rest of his chips, and we finished eating in silence.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

After another half hour,Dante told me I should go home.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to be until I can talk to her,” he said. “I can call an R-N-R when I’m ready to go.”

R-N-R was one of the multitude of rideshares around the city and country.

“Hold on.” I opened my phone and brought up my What-The-App. There were a string of messages waiting for me. Jet was love-bombing me like crazy again. There was a certain mania to his texts. “I’m going to ask him if we can meet.”

“Don’t seem too eager—you don’t want to scare him away. He seems to enjoy the chase.”

“I suppose so,” I said. I texted him back telling him I was all right and that I was thinking about him. I asked him if we could voice chat tomorrow. Within seconds he answered back that he’d love that and gave me a time that he’d call me. “Well, at least we’re getting somewhere with him.”

“Seriously, go home, Kyann. Tilly’s out of danger, and who knows how long the evening’s going to take. I appreciate you being here, but all we can do is wait.” He reached out and took my hand, holding it tight. “Thank you, for caring.”

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I love Tilly. I love you, too. You know that.”

“I know,” he gave me a tired smile. “You’re my best friend…and I bless the day we met.”

“Me too, dude. Me too. All right, I’ll go, but if you need anything, call me. Promise?”

“I promise,” he said.

As I left the hospital, I glanced back. He was leaning back against the sofa, looking exhausted. I vowed right there we’d find out what happened to Tilly. And we wouldn’t let it happen again.

I got home aroundeight o’clock. Penn took one look at me and pointed me toward my bedroom. “Take a bath and I’ll make you some supper. I don’t care if you think you’re too tired to eat—you’ll be hungry enough once you relax.”

She guided me to my bedroom and, as I stripped, she found my favorite velour pajama pants and cami for me. Then, as I headed into the bathroom, she took off toward the kitchen.

I thought about a bath, but decided I’d rather take a shower, so turned on the water and settled on the walk-in shower seat, I was so tired. My body was fine, butemotionally? I felt fragile. I sat there, the water pounding down on me, and leaned my head back against the shower wall. As I slowly lathered up, I realized that I was on edge.

Sex had always been a no-brainer for me. I’d had plenty of sexual partners over the years, but like Penn, I wasn’t looking for a relationship. At least, not now. I had enough on my plate without having to deal with other people’s baggage as well. But sex? It was like breathing, and I managed that on my ownwithout help. As I slid my hand between my legs, I tried to clear my mind and focus on the sensation of my fingers on my skin. It wasn’t long before the tension drained away with the water.

“So,what’s going on with Tilly?” Penn asked. She had brought our dinner—she’d waited for me, after all—into the living room. We were having comfort food: Macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, and coleslaw.

I filled my plate and settled back, flanked by Jangles on one side and Murdoch on the other. “We’re not sure, except that something’s been feeding on her life essence. She’s also anemic, and she was drugged with razapahn. Overdosed, in fact.”

“Cripes,” Penn said, settling back in the recliner. “Do you know what caused the drain in life force?”

“No, but we suspect Jet.” I told her everything that had happened. “I’m supposed to talk to him tomorrow, as Estelle. I need a voice changer app before then, to make me sound older.”

“That’s not difficult,” she said. “When you do, let me listen in. I might be able to pick something up from him.”

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