Page 14 of Chosen, Eternally
As I bleed out, I sigh and finish dressing—for comfort, because I’m not ready to end the love of my life. Not today.
“The Society is looking for me. I didn’t check in after going out hunting last night, which I usually do. You know, to make sure I didn’t die and they don’t have to call upon another.”
“So why don’t you just answer the phone? Just tell them you’re alive.”
I sit beside James and slump against his shoulder. “Because there was obviously some foul play surrounding your death. Or fake death. And I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself from asking them point-blank what happened. I don’t know who I can trust. Don’t know who I should talk to. Something isn’t right here, and I need to do more research before I tell absolutely anyone about you.”
His arm comes around me. It feels like coming home for the first time. James kisses the top of my head before pulling away to look me straight in the eye.
“How can I help?” he asks, his gaze filled with so much love and support I nearly throw myself at him once again.
Smiling, I get to my feet. “Not sure whether you can do anything, to be honest. Any second now you’ll… Well, and anyway, contrary to what movies show you, I doubt turning into a vampire automatically makes you a black belt in taekwondo. If we were to encounter some bad people, I’d be distracted the entire time making sure you’d be fine. It’s best if you stay here, out of sight.”
“Yeah, but I’m basically immortal, though, right? So what does it matter? I won’t get hurt.”
“I mean, sure, you’rebasicallyimmortal. You heal fast and you’re much stronger than you were as a human, but you still have vulnerabilities. Can’t go out in the sun. Stake through the heart. You know, the usual.”
James laughs. “The usual? Baby, none of this is the usual. Not witches, not vampires, not us.”
I frown. “What do you mean ‘not us’?”
He smiles and walks over to me—buck naked—before cupping my face and placing a soft kiss on my lips. “I meant that we—what we have—is one of a kind. I can’t imagine anyone else feeling this way. I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to care for you the way I do.”
My answering kiss is more like a goofy smile pressed against his lips. He’s so fucking adorable.
I’m not usually someone who makes stupid choices—and I really hope today is not an exception.
After our conversation, I decide that leaving James alone in my apartment with all my weapons and potions seems like a marvelously idiotic idea, so I decide to bring him with me—hidden beneath a very strong Invisibility spell and a tricky, yet effective Linking spell that stops James from getting more than six feet away from me. You know, just in case he flips his switch and tries to make a run for it. Additionally, in order to protect him from the sunlight, I cast an Engulfing spell that will keep him from bursting into flames.
Magic is useful like that.
It’s still dangerous to bring him along, but what else was I supposed to do? I mean, I couldn’t just leave him alone, and I had research to do. And there was no way I was going to tell The Society he was still alive, so I couldn’t leave him with them.Definitelywasn’t going to tell them about the whole vampire thing. At least not until I find the person responsible for infiltrating our team and faking James’s death. Clearly, this is a collaboration between the vampires and one or more of the witches, and something aboutcertain people’sgeneral shittyattitude and his post as a pathologist tells me I already know who it is. So after checking in with The Society and providing proof of life, I head over to the city morgue.
It doesn’t take much to convince the front desk and security guards to let me through. All I need is a Compelling spell to get them to agree and hand me the keys and a Memory spell so they forget I was even there.
In the main computer, James and I quickly find his autopsy report. In it, it’s clearly stated that James’s cause of death was due to an animal attack—pretty standard when hiding a vampire-related death. However, even in the rush to falsify reports, there are no fake pictures, no made-up descriptions of injuries like there usually would be. Nothing. The whole thing is basically blank.
Of course, since they didn’t find a body, it’s logical. James was neverreallydead, was he?
Now he is, I think glumly. I shake my head and try not to dwell on that for the moment.
But still, shouldn’t they be putting in a little more effort? Doctor some pictures or something? It’s just the sloppiness that surprises me. This isn’t our regular MO.
When I check for the name of the examining pathologist, I find the exact thing I need to confirm my suspicions:
Patient: Kittle, James
Age: 28 years old
Cause of Death: animal attack
Chief Pathologist/Examiner: Dr. Ian McCaffrey
Notes: N/A
There it is.
Ian’s the one who signed off on this farce.
