Page 61 of Concluded
“On one of my very first assignments, my partner and I had a surprise run-in with an anzu.Injuries ensued.I detoured by that hospital I was telling you about and came home late, after some treatment for third degree burns.I mean, they were just small ones.I wasn’t very close to the anzu when it spit fire.But Orson freaked out.Gave me an ultimatum—the job or him.”
Well, Dee knew how that had turned out.“He shouldn’t have forced that decision on you.”
“No, I get it.He couldn’t deal with constantly worrying that I’d die.So… he died instead.”
“From the anzu?”Dee asked, horrified even though he didn’t know what one was.
“No.From Los Angeles.A couple weeks after we broke up, he was driving back to my apartment to pick some stuff up—it had beenourapartment—and got in a wreck.He was a good driver, too.The other guy wasn’t.”
Achilles was clearly trying to be flippant about the whole thing, as if it didn’t matter anymore, but the pain on his face said otherwise.Dee patted his knee slightly awkwardly.“Thanks for sharing with me.”
Achilles started to say something, stopped, and then shot to his feet.“I should check on Ish.”
“Can I come too?”
“Can you make it upstairs?”
“Yes,” Dee said with far more certainty than he actually possessed.
In fact, it took him about a thousand years to climb the single flight, but he managed.Achilles came up right behind him, as if prepared to catch him should he fall.
The upper story looked as if it hadn’t been changed much since the house was constructed.There were some built-in cabinets and drawers, a bathroom, and two bedrooms.The one to the right overlooked the street and was likely the one where Clay and Marek slept.The other currently contained a bed, a chair, a dresser, a vampire, and an angel.Until Dee and Achilles entered, at which point it also contained a hero and a djinn.
“How’s he doing?”Achilles asked Marek softly.Clay had left the house soon after dark to fetch dinner for himself and Clay.Dee hadn’t been brave enough to ask what that errand entailed.
Marek, who’d been sitting in the chair, stood.“He rests.”
There was more whispered conversation, but instead of trying to follow it, Dee tiptoed forward.Ish lay on his side, his back slightly curled and a blanket pulled up to his waist.His skin was nearly as white as the sheets, as was his long, matted hair.His eyes were closed, pale lashes over razor-sharp cheekbones, and his mouth hung slightly open, revealing razor-sharp teeth.One hand was loosely curled near his face, which lent him an air of innocence sharply at odds with his skeletal features.
And his wings….They were as enormous as Tenrael’s but with snow-white feathers.They were terribly ragged, however, the flesh torn and swaths of feathers reduced to nothing but naked barbs.
“Hi,” Dee said, because he felt as if he should say something.“It’s Dee.You’re among friends now.”
Maybe he imagined it, but he thought that perhaps Ish’s eyelids fluttered a little.
Then his own exhaustion hit him like a wave, and he came damned close to swooning like a Victorian maiden.Fortunately, Achilles noticed and acted fast, catching him before he fell and then half carrying him down the stairs.Dee made it to the couch and was asleep before his head hit the cushion.
CHAPTER25
Marek and Clay generously offered Achilles their own bed, but he didn’t want to be far from Dee and so he slept fitfully in an armchair instead.Not that he expected Dee to run away—he wasn’t capable of it right now—and not that their current situation felt especially dangerous.Achilles simply wanted to be near.
He woke up before Dee and crept into the kitchen, where he found Clay sitting at the table with a mug of red liquid.“I picked up a few groceries if you want ’em,” Clay said.
“Thanks.Is Marek still on angel duty?”Achilles made a vague gesture upward.
“He’s fascinated.Someone his age, it’s hard to find something completely new.But you brought us Ishanda genie.Congratulations.”Clay flashed one of his rare grins.
The groceries in question turned out to be a slab of bacon, a dozen eggs, and a fresh loaf from Acme Bread.There was also a thermos of coffee, which was an extra-nice touch.Achilles fried up a healthy serving of food and joined Clay at the table.
“Jesus, that smells good,” Clay moaned.
“I’d offer you some, but….”
The habitual scowl returned.“Yeah.”
Vampires could consume blood from any mammal and a few non-mammalian NHSs, but according to what Achilles had been taught, anything else made them violently ill.“Do you want me to eat this somewhere else?”
“No, it’s fine.I can enjoy the scent, at least.”
