I look from Hasan to Jacques, trying to tell them it’s okay. They both look so worried, and the pain on Jacques’s face matches what I saw in the dream.
Only this time, it’s real.
I’m not going to let this bitch get the best of me. I close my eyes and inhale, bringing in energy around me, and I hear a voice inside of me telling me what to do. I bend my elbow and hold up my right hand.
“Ignis,” I say, and feel a rush go through me. It comes from my chest, cascading through my whole body and into my fingers. Fire surrounds my hand again. I curl my fingers into a fist, watching the flames move with me.
And then I hit Nariah in the face. She shrieks and moves away, long nails tearing the flesh on my chest. Her cheek is smoldering, but she’s not catching on fire as easily as the others. She lets out a roar, eyes glowing a fiery red. I can’t keep the fire going much longer.
Two large figures come from the sky, and Thomas and Gilbert each grab an arm. She thrashes, putting up a good fight for the two of them. I don’t waste time. I rush forward with my hand out and press the fire into her chest. She screams in pain as the fire catches. She’s not burning fast enough, and I feel like I’m going to pass out. I stumble back, vision blacking, but not before I see Hasan plunge a stake into the burning cavity of her chest.
“I got you, Ace,” Jacques whispers, and his arms wrap around me once more.
* * *
“This might hurt,”Jacques warns before he gingerly presses a warm, wet rag to my neck. I’m sitting on the couch and he’s tending to my wounds. Thomas and Gilbert are outside, patrolling to make sure we got all the vampires. I had seen six when I left the house, and we killed them all. Better safe than sorry, of course. Hasan is also standing guard outside, keeping the same mentality.
Jacques carried me in the house and wrapped me in blankets, gently setting me down on the couch. I felt like a porcelain doll being wrapped in bubble wrap for shipping or something, but I didn’t object.
Wincing, I rest my head against the couch. “Does it look like a hickey?”
“What’s a hickey?” He leans in, moving hair off my neck.
“A mark left on your neck, or other parts of your body, from someone sucking on your skin in a sexual way.”
“Oh. And no. It looks like a bite mark.”
“Good, because that would be an awkward thing to explain at—fuck—work.”
Jacques wipes more blood away. “I thought you liked your work.”
“I do. This whole thing is a mess. Was a mess. I think. I hope.” I sigh. “The sire and the new vampires are gone, we know that, but no one else does. We solved the case by killing a shit-ton of vampires, but at work, this is going to go unsolved.”
“I’m sorry, Ace. Balancing two worlds isn’t a burden you should have to carry.”
“But I do.”
“Yes, you do. I know you don’t believe in fate, but I do, and I know you wouldn’t have been chosen to fill this role if you weren’t able to.” He presses the cloth onto my neck, removing a chunk of dried blood. I don’t have a first aid kit here, and the best we have is soap and water. If I wasn’t so exhausted and still a little worried a vampire might burst through the door, I’d take a shower.
“Thank you, Jac. Does it bother you if I call you Jac? I never thought about it before. Us modern Americans like to shorten words whenever we can.”
“No. I like Jac. No one has ever called me that before.”
“I’m glad to be the first.” I look into his chocolate eyes. “So, the thing about vampires not being able to enter your home is bullshit, right?”
“No, it’s true. They need an invitation.”
“But they came in here.”
Jacques’s brows pinch together ever so slightly. “This isn’t your home, Ace. Not in that sense. You call your apartment home. You’ve been staying here, but you don’t live here.”
“So where Ifeelat home is where my real home actually is? How does that work? And what if vampires aren’t Christians? Does holy water still work on them? I have so many questions.”
“I’ve noticed, and I don’t really know how the magic works. I only know that it does.”
He finishes cleaning the wounds and brings me a glass of water from the kitchen. He sits next to me on the couch and shyly wraps his arm around my shoulder. I scoot closer, eyelids heavy, and lean against him.
Jacques brings his head down and gently kisses my forehead. I close my eyes, relaxing against him, and fall asleep.
