Chapter 15

Drool's eyes raked over me. “Are you quite finished?”

I gave a shrug. “Depends. You gonna stop dragging your feet and help me?”

“Fine. Whatever.” He glanced over at Jade, face grim. “I'll have to start with the girl.” Waving one arm, he moaned, “Follow me.”

“Gee, prone to dramatics much?” If he heard me, he didn't act like it as he turned around and walked stiffly away.

Jade helped me get Vycandor to his feet. Head rolling limply to one side, it was obvious he was fading fast. “I've never seen him like this before.”

I let out a long, shuddery sigh. “Me either.”

Secretive, silent, and graceful in her every move, Jade tip-toed around the problem at hand – concern wrinkling her brow prettily. “Why don't you just feed him?”

“I tried to get him to eat something at the store, but he refused.”

“That's not what I meant,” she snapped. “Besides, I know your secret. Vy already confided in me.”

Half walking, half dragging him together down the long hallway behind Drool, I tried to act innocent. “Confided in you about what?”

“He told me that he's no longer able to absorb psychic energy. That because of you, he can only drink blood. Your blood,” she stressed, in case I wasn't paying attention.

I stopped short, making her body jerk forward. “Listen up, Punky Brewster. It's not like I'm not feeling great gobs of guilt watching him suffer. I'm just a little busy at the moment, if you hadn't noticed.”

“Uh huh. Right,” Jade snarled. “Well, if you let Vycandor die, then I die too.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I'm not going to let him die.” Only after we started walking again did the rest of her words register with me. Skidding to an abrupt halt, I met her hateful glare. “Wait. What's that supposed to mean?”

It was her turn to feign innocence. “Oh, you mean Vy didn't tell you?”

“Tell me what, Jade?”

A brief smile twigged at her lips. “I'm a watcher. An animal bound to a demonic angel for their protection.”

“You mean, servant,” I corrected, as visions of Hell Hounds danced in my head.

Jade shook her head. “No. Watchers aren't servants. I'm an extension of Vycandor's power, and he's an extension of mine. We've been together in spirit form since before we were born. Whatever happens to a demonic angel, also happens to his beast. One simply cannot exist without the other.”

The three of us...uh, make that two and a half...waited in the darkened hall while Doctor Drool first unlocked, and then opened a door – flipping on the lights to a cold sterile lab. Dingy and windowless, the sight of a stainless steel operating table in the corner of the rectangular room froze my spine like ice. Row after row of bubbling potions in glass beakers littered shiny metal counter tops in the middle of the massive room. Glass cabinets and jars stuffed with specimen samples lined the walls, casting eerie shadows on the drab concrete floor. The smell of strange chemicals wafting through the stale air made me more than a little bit lightheaded.

Heart beating wildly out of control, my breathing started to come in short, rapid bursts. Jade had to help me carry Vycandor over to the nearest chair, his once powerful body reduced to a near-skeletal state. The stress piled up on top of more stress, combined with a heaping spoonful of soul-wrenching guilt, was almost too much to bear at the thought of losing them both in one fail swoop.

“Bring the girl to me so I can get started,” Drool ordered, voice emotionally removed of any feeling.

I shot him a look meant to back-off. “Give us a minute.”

He glowered at me, eyes full of darkness. “You were the one rushing me, remember?”

The frustration welling up inside finally boiled over. “Don't you have someone tied up in your basement you can go torture, or something?”

If possible, his expression darkened. “Fine. I'll leave you two alone. But I don't have all night.”

Jade licked her lips watching him back away. Meeting my stare, she had a fierce look in her eyes. “Vy isn't the only one suffering from hunger anymore.”

“No grazing on the Doctor,” I whispered. “We still need his help. Hopefully your blood contains the cure.”

She swallowed hard, shifting her weight to her other foot. “I don't like needles.”

I raised my eyebrows at that. “Really? You sink your pearly frights into unsuspecting strangers, and you're afraid of a tiny needle?”

Now I'd heard everything.

She waved off my words. “I never said I was afraid of needles. I'm just not a fan. Okay?” When I didn't answer right away, she added, “Why are you afraid to let Vy drink your blood?”

I made a face. It sounded so gross. “I have my reasons.”

“Well, I hope those reasons are worth dying for.”

I nodded, thinking about Thomas. Somehow I knew if I shared my blood with Vycandor again, I would be forced to form the perfect union with the wrong partner. I couldn't let that happen. There had to be another way. A way to keep both Jade and Vycandor from starving to death. And a way to keep my promise to Thomas.

The promise I'd given him that I would stay forever his.

“Oh, trust me. He's worth it. He's definitely, definitely worth it.”