Page 68 of Blood of Night (The Thorne Hill)

Abby doesn’t move for several seconds and then shakes herself. Lucas begins rolling the body up in the rug, going about things like it’s business as usual. For us, it is.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been covered in blood,” he chides, and I give him a look.

“Too soon, Lucas, too fucking soon.”

“I love you,” he says as he effortlessly picks up the body.

“I love you, too.”

Lucas takes the body outside, moving with vampire speed. Obviously, he’s only buried bodies at night. Vampires can see in the dark, giving them yet another advantage over humans. The dark was a good cover, hiding what he was doing from sight unless you were up close, and if you get close enough to see a vampire burying a body, well, you’re probably going to end up in the same grave.

“Cal?” Abby calls. She’s in the hall by the library and I hurry through the house to find her.

“Hey, I’m sorry. We had a little demon issue, but he’s dead now.”

“Yeah. I…I could see that.” She struggles to keep Penny in her arms. The kid is getting big and wants down, but Abby doesn’t want to risk her stepping in blood. Not that I can blame her. “Should we go?”

“No, it’s fine. You look upset.”

“Yeah.” Abby shakes her head and laughs. “Seems silly now that I walk in on you and Lucas—wait. The door was open. Lucas was in the sunlight.” Her eyes widen and she gasps. “Did you figure out a way to let him go into the sun?”

“I didn’t figure it out, but for now, it appears he’s able to day walk. That’s what it’s called when vampires can be out in the sun.” I wipe a bead of blood off my face. “Eliza is upstairs with Juliet. I think in the nursery. I’m going to shower and then we’ll talk?”

“Yeah.” Abby stares at me for another moment and then nods. We both go up the back staircase and I walk Abby to the nursery, finding Eliza seated on the floor. Juliet is laying on her play mat, staring at the mobile hanging above her.

“It’s all good,” I tell Eliza, knowing she’s wondering what the hell is going on—again. “Just a slight demon issue.” Our eyes meet, and I try to convey that I’m downplaying this for Abby’s sake. “I’m going to shower. Lucas is handling the body.”

“Great,” Eliza says sarcastically. “Now I get to babysit three people.”

“You don’t have to babysit my sister,” I quip and look at Abby. “Penny can play with any of the toys she wants. Lucas and I got excited and set up that little kitchen set.” I motion to a wooden kitchen set in the corner of the nursery. We ordered it not long after Juliet was born, and put it together the day before everything changed.

Abby just nods and goes into the room, entire body relaxing a bit when she smiles down at Juliet.

“Bay-bee. Bay-bee.” Penny reaches out for her cousin.

“That’s Juliet.” Abby sits on the floor and I leave the room, closing the door behind me since Penny is two and a bit of a terror. Taking my bloody clothes off as I walk, I ball them up and shove them in my laundry basket. I get in the shower before the water is fully warm, wanting the blood off me as soon as possible. I wash my hair twice and scrub my face. It’s gross enough to be covered in someone else’s blood, but this time the smell of sulfur is strong and makes me gag.

I hadn’t noticed it before and only knew that possessed blood smelled and tasted different because Lucas told me. This is the first time I’ve been covered in demon blood since my father unlocked all my powers.

“I’m not sure that’s a benefit,” I say out loud and soap up my loofah, making sure I got all the blood off before getting out and dressed. I pull on another pair of leggings and a wine-colored tank top. Giving my hair a quick towel-dry once over, I flip my head upside down and rake my long brunette locks into a messy bun. I pad back down the hall in bare feet and into the nursery.

Penny has taken everything out of the kitchen set and has it all thrown on the floor. She’s cooking stuffed animals instead of the pretend food, making me chuckle.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Eliza says and gets up. “Everything is okay?”

“For now.” I meet her eye and give her a tiny nod. The threat of the demon is gone, but we still don’t know why he was here. At this point I wouldn’t rule out straight-up psychological torment.

Randomly sending demons to my house is a good way to make me go crazy. You can only bury so many bodies in a short time frame before someone starts to notice. Reopening the Gates would at the very least allow Scarlet to drag bodies down to the abyss and we wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught.

“I’m going to order pizza,” I blurt and then remember Abby said she tried calling me but my phone was dead. Right. I never put it on the charger after coming home from the Covenstead. Things have been a blur since Lucas appeared at midnight and I can’t even blame myself for being preoccupied.

“Make sure the mess in the foyer is cleaned up first,” Eliza says casually and leaves the room.

“I’m so sorry for coming over unannounced,” Abby says as soon as the door closes. “Phil is out of town at a conference and I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Don’t apologize.” I sit next to Abby, leaning against the crib. I pick up Juliet, and as soon as she’s in my arms, she wants to nurse. “This is exhausting, by the way,” I sigh. “I feel like a milk factory.”

“I remember feeling that way. And with her being so little, that’s basically all you are to her.” Abby playfully elbows me. “You don’t have to breastfeed, you know. I didn’t make it as long as I wanted since I went back to work and Penny is just fine.”

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