Chapter 15

15

“Smile. It’s more contagious than the flu.” Lilis wrinkled her nose at the poster of a clown with an unnecessarily large makeup grin giving two thumbs up in the hospital hallway and tried not to breathe too deeply. The smell of disinfectant and the perfumes humans added to their soaps assaulted her from every direction. “Do all human rescuers do this on purpose? Put up creepy posters to scare everyone?”

Simon chuckled and tightened his grip on her hand. “Feeling left out? I’ll buy you one.”

“Please don’t.”

“It could add flair to your lair.”

Lilis growled. “Not if I torch it first. If you think I’m tainting my treasure with?—”

The stench of wet dog and smoke cut through the faux cleanliness, and Lilis’ senses pulsed into high alert.

“Lilis?” Simon gave her hand a small shake. “Hey, what is it? Are you okay?”

“They’re here.” Lilis drew Simon closer to her, eyes scanning the hallway and every human within range.

“Who’s here?” Simon tensed.

“The manjeja—the weasel demons from yesterday. Come on, I’m getting you?—”

“I’m staying right here.”

Lilis stopped mid-stride and faced him, one hand on his thick bicep. “Demons, Simon. Pay attention. I’m trying to keep you safe.”

The intensity of his eyes pinned her in place. “I’m allowed to do the same for you.”

Lilis’ mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Like Simon, every man she’d dated had understood her power in both her human and dragon forms.

Unlike Simon, they’d listened when she told them to run.

Idiot.

Was he seriously under the impression he’d be of any use in a battle? That he could truly protect her ? She ground her teeth, calling on her dragon to shift enough for a show of strength.

But the stupid reptile rolled over in her mind’s eye, exposing its belly for rubs, clearly pleased with Simon’s show of affection.

You’re both idiots. If he dies because you wouldn’t show your face, I’m drowning you in a vat of absinthe.

Her dragon pressed forward immediately, hovering just below the surface, ready to take over and protect what was theirs. Because Simon was hers.

Even if she had no idea what she was going to do about him.

Hells . The stench of disinfectant and humans overloaded her senses. Lilis shook her head.

“I can’t find it anymore. Manjejas are so pungent, they could have been here hours ago and left their stink trail behind.” She shook her head again. “I feel like I stuck my head in a vat of rubbing alcohol.”

“Then let’s make this fast.”

He led her to the next corridor and into Hoyt’s room. The young man lay in a baby-blue hospital gown in bed, chatting and joking with Carter and Johnson. The scent of wet dog and smoke returned stronger than before, and she tightened her grip on Simon. Johnson watched her closely, eyes narrowing.

“Well, well, well,” Carter said. “Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. With a friend .”

Simon laughed. “Oh no, sorry. I rank much higher than that.”

Lilis flushed at his obvious claim on her, touched he wasn’t backing down in the face of her alpha male colleagues.

He stuck out the hand not holding hers. “Simon. Nice to meet you.”

Carter paused before shaking Simon’s hand, clearly thrown off balance by Simon’s cheerful mood. “Noah Carter.”

Simon’s brow furrowed. “Carter… I know that name.” He turned to Lilis. “Is this the same Carter you were drinking with last night before we met up?”

Lilis nodded, biting back a smile. Something other than cheer flirted on the edges of Simon’s voice, and she couldn’t wait to see what it was.

Simon smiled brilliantly. “It’s great to be able to put a face to the name.” He peered more closely at Carter. “You don’t look as wrecked as I’d expected. Close. But hey, that’s something to be proud of at least, huh?”

Carter sputtered and rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, well, about that.” He cleared his throat and turned to Lilis. “Sorry about yesterday.”

“Which part?” She smiled sweetly. “Mary duty or the vodka?” She stepped closer to sniff at him surreptitiously. Was that dog smell lurking under the layer of booze, disinfectant, and embarrassment? Or was she imagining it?

Carter backed down with a laugh, diverting her attention. “The absinthe. And the vodka. And probably the rum. My brain still hurts, and just the fact that you’re walking around all chipper is pissing me off.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? You drank all that in one night?” The horror in Hoyt’s voice cracked through the tension. Everyone laughed.

Lilis snorted. “Pick your battles.”

“Believe me, I will.” Carter clapped her on the back, the motion familial, like he was welcoming her back into the fold, and Lilis resisted the calm that tried to steal over her at his gesture.

Johnson folded his arms over his chest and stayed in his dark little corner of the hospital room. “I’m sorry for takin’ a swing at you. I know you followed protocol.” He lifted his chin in a defiant motion. “But you still left Shepherd.”

“Here we go,” Carter said with a tired shake of his head. “Johnson?—”

Simon stepped forward, his head tilted and his face scrunched. “She left someone? But I thought your partner was the one that ditched you?”

Johnson’s eyes blazed fire. “She told you that bullshit? He?—”

“Of course she didn’t say that. I’m just trying to understand.” Simon blinked as if he was really confused and turned to Lilis. “Didn’t your partner run back along the path you two had come from?”

Johnson’s face grew scarlet. “Yeah, but?—”

“And didn’t you have to find another way out?” Simon ignored him, continuing to address his questions to Lilis.

Johnson sputtered. “Which she did after?—”

“Okay, I think I got it.” Simon let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “You and your partner got separated, and he took the safe route back, leaving you on your own. You never mentioned his name was Shepherd.”

He kissed her forehead, and Lilis fidgeted. She never let anyone weaken her publicly with such a display, and here she was, letting Simon pretend to worry about her. As though she needed it.

She shrugged, uncertain how else to react. “It’s fine. I can handle myself.”

“I know. It’s better this way than having your partner take the dangerous route.” Simon’s voice dropped. “I just hate it that you’re always the one having to take those risks because guys like Shepherd can’t.”

Lilis froze, torn between shock and laughter.

He’d counted on her nonchalant reaction and had used it to finish walking Johnson into a verbal corner.

“You fucking pussy nurse.” Johnson stormed toward Simon, face mottled purple, vein pulsing in his temple. He grabbed two fistfuls of Simon’s shirt and yanked him forward.

Lilis’ dragon roared to the surface, snapping and clawing to be released to eat the human who had dared to touch Simon, and she growled. Just as she was about to break both of Johnson’s hands off at the wrists, Simon squeezed her shoulders gently, letting her know he was fine.

“Just take a deep breath, man, and walk away. Later, you can tell whatever version of this story you want to tuck yourself in at night.”

Lilis’ pulse raced at Simon’s show of dominance without ever lifting a fist. He rose above everyone else without altering who he was. This man was amazing.

“Dude.” Carter put a hand on Johnson’s shoulder. “Chill. You just said Shepherd walked away from her. Which is exactly what he told us.”

Johnson opened his mouth to say something else when a pink kidney-shaped bedpan hit him in the head.

“Give it a rest, Johnson, before I throw something loaded.” Hoyt sat up, hospital gown hanging off one shoulder, and brandished a hopefully-sealed bag full of unidentifiable liquid. “You’re in my hospital room now, not at my wake. Thanks to Gerru.”

“See that? Everyone wins.” Carter steered Johnson toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go get Shepherd.”

Lilis startled. “He’s here?”

“His doc is checking his burns again.” Johnson continued to glare daggers at her. “They were pretty nasty. But you wouldn’t know.”

“We’re done.” Carter pushed Johnson out the door and poked his head back in. He lifted one eyebrow at Hoyt. “Stop being so lazy, kid. Get better and get your ass back in the field. We need you.” He saluted Simon and turned to Lilis. “See you soon.”

Simon smiled with boyish charm as soon as they left. “I like them. They’re fun.” He gave Lilis another quick kiss on the cheek, making her skin tingle. Sandalwood and vanilla caressed her abused nose, and she sighed. “I’m gonna go check the schedule and make sure I’m not working during my exam next week. Let me know if you need anything.”

Lilis nodded. A pang tightened her chest as he left. Don’t be ridiculous. He’s just going downstairs.

She turned to find Hoyt watching her, wide-eyed.

“Johnson took a swing at you, Carter actually lost a drinking match to someone, Shepherd got barbequed, and you got a man?” He rehung the bag and rubbed a hand over his buzzed hair with a soft chuckle. “Did I miss anything else?”

“You left out the yo-yo fire. Vega called in special investigators.”

Hoyt let out a long breath. “I’m gone two days. Two days . What the shit, Gerru?”

“You could stay here longer,” Lilis suggested. “See what else happens.”

“No way. I’m climbin’ the walls. I can’t stand it in here. I miss my girl. I miss the guys. I miss fresh air.” With a frustrated groan, Hoyt closed his eyes, bouncing a fist against the mattress.

Lilis snorted. “I’ll give you that last one. Smells awful in here. Like dogs and asshole.”

Hoyt laughed and opened his eyes again. “Damn, you can smell that? Shepherd’s got a couple of pit bulls. It’s probably him, but I didn’t notice it.”

Hells. So that’s what she smelled earlier? She was getting sloppy if she was confusing pit bull buttholes for manjeja demons. Stupid human hospitals with their attachment to the worst scents on the planet.

“So when do you get out of here, anyway?”

“My girl, Chloe, is springin’ me later today.” His entire head pinkened at the mention of his fiancée, the tint showing through his buzzed brown hair. He swallowed uncomfortably, suddenly unable to make eye contact. “Hey, Gerru? I meant what I told Johnson. I owe you one.”

Lilis waved him off and flopped into the chair next to his bed. “Pay it forward to the team. I’m sure it’ll happen sooner than you think.”

“No doubt. But man. I still can’t explain what happened.”

Lilis crossed her legs to keep herself from pouncing on him for more information. This was her chance to ask him about what he’d seen, but she had to be careful. If he were involved somehow, he’d be on his guard and wouldn’t say anything. And if he weren’t involved, he’d probably brush it off as a hallucination.

Maybe she could use that as her way in. “Still think it was aliens?”

He hid his head in his hands and groaned. “They told you about that, huh? You can’t hold it against me. I was stoned as a gravel road.”

“So what do you think now?”

For a long moment, he didn’t respond. When he finally spoke again, his voice was so low, Lilis would never have heard it without her dragon senses. “What I think now is so much worse.”

“Try me.”

“No thanks. I don’t need the ridicule.”

Lilis took a breath, searching for something that would make him feel comfortable enough to open up to her. If he were an animal, she could use scents or touches. But Hoyt was human and not one she knew that well. He needed words.

Simon’s face popped into her mind, earnest brown eyes inches from her own as he entreated her to just… let go.

“It’s okay to drop your guard sometimes.” She mimicked Simon’s comforting tone as best as she could. “No one else is here, and I’m sure as hell not interested in gossiping with anyone.” He stayed silent, and Lilis pressed a little harder. “You might feel better unloading it.”

Hoyt dropped his hands and leaned his head back against the pillow, eyes closed. He swallowed. Took a breath. Held it as though he would answer and released it again. Just when Lilis thought she’d missed her chance, he started talking again.

“I saw the drop. I saw it, and I turned away from it. And then… it was like someone pulled me backward.” He jerked as though reliving the memory. “I felt something, like I was being yanked.”

Lilis said nothing. His face scrunched up, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he thought.

“I fell… I opened my eyes… I know I still had my helmet because it slid to the side, and I couldn’t see anything. Until it just flew off my head. Ripped off and gone. And then… Gerru, when I say I hallucinated… you have no idea. Whatever I said when I was high…” He shuddered.

“It’s okay.” Lilis heard herself say the words, felt her own body relax as though she were directing them at herself. She released a shaky breath. “Let it go.”

Hoyt swallowed. “It was a man. Just a normal man. But where his hands should’ve been, there were only flames coming out of his sleeves. And he was reachin’ for me, with those flamin’ hands. One touched me, and then, poof! He just vanished! And then I blacked out. I think somethin’ hit me.”

Lilis’ muscles jerked taut again. The blood drained from her face, and her breathing sped up. Hoyt continued talking, oblivious to her panic.

“I’ve only been a Flame Jumper for eight months. But I grew up around this shit. My dad and my uncles are firefighters. My granddad was a firefighter. I’ve been around fires. I know what goes on. But this? As soon as I forget it, I’ll be fine. But sometimes, when I’m alone here, I swear I can see him watching me from the foot of my bed, with his black eyes and long black hair. And those flamin’ hands.”

Lilis shivered and shoved her terror down as far as it would go. “Fear can make us see things,” she whispered. “I think you’ll feel better when you’re holding Chloe tonight.”

A slow smile spread across Hoyt’s face and he blushed. Lilis stood and patted the end of his bed, somehow finding her own smile. “Get some rest. You’ll need it for her.”

“Gerru?”

She paused, one hand on the door frame.

“Thanks.”

Lilis didn’t look back. She couldn’t. Behind her lay a man going home to be with the woman he loved. And she’d finally figured out what to do with Simon.

Leave him.

“Don’t mention it.”

Lilis leaned against the wall outside Hoyt’s room and took several deep breaths, fighting to still her tremors.

A man with fire for hands? All hells . She knew a few like those, and they weren’t demons.

They were worse.

The endirim were a race of human-like creatures that could control one of the four elements. Their war against each other had nearly wiped everything—humans, demons, and endirim—right into the trash heap of history. Though few and far between, they regularly hunted demons like Lilis.

If an endirim who could control fire was hunting demons, the blaze in the Pine Barrens that started and stopped without warning made even more sense. Especially if they’d set all the other fires she’d followed over the region.

But then, why set additional traps? And why the Flame Jumper patch?

Her questions layered over one another. Laughter drifted down the hall, mocking her, making her want to punch a hole through the nearest wall. She took a steadying breath and glanced toward the laughter. It wasn’t at her. It was—shit. Maybe it was at her because Carter and Johnson were the ones giggling like schoolgirls.

With Longwei.

Her pulse raced, the blood in her veins colored her vision violent red, and her freshly healed wounds burned at the sight of him. Of the dragon who’d poisoned her.

He’s the reason I almost didn’t make it to Simon in time.

Longwei winked at her. “Hey, Lilis. Long time no see.”

“ You. ”

Longwei sighed dramatically. “Would you excuse us for a moment?”

Carter and Johnson nodded. “See you at the station.”

When they’d left, Lilis rounded on Longwei. “Give me one good reason not to vaporize you right here.”

Longwei rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, dragging her into an empty room.

“Get your hands off me. Or did you forget that I nearly ripped you in two the other day—despite your poison. And what the fuck are you doing with my team?”

“First of all, I don’t use poison. Second?—”

“I know what poison feels like. That was low, even for you.”

Longwei lifted one black eyebrow. “Second of all. I’m allowed to make friends with humans. It’s useful to have them on your side.”

“You’re pathetic, you know that? Grubbing for attention. They won’t worship you. Because they don’t know you’re a dragon. And if they did, they’d pitchfork you faster than I could.”

“You’re one to talk,” Longwei spat. “How about that little nurse you keep as a pet, huh? I can’t believe the fall you took. For a human . What do you think you’re doing with him anyway? Or have you forgotten what happens to all your humans?”

“You have exactly half a second before I put you in the ground.”

Longwei took another step toward her, as close now as Simon had been in his apartment. But where Simon’s presence had excited and relaxed her, Longwei’s ignited the terror she just barely held at bay into a potent rage. “He’s going to die on you. Like every other human you’ve ever screwed?—”

Lilis shoved him into the wall with a feral growl, and a spiderweb crack erupted behind his head. She shifted without conscious thought, her jaws elongating, predatory vision sharpening, and watched his exposed neck. Her dragon begged for a reason— any reason—to clamp down on him.

“ This is you, Lilis. When are you going to see? It’s time you moved onto the real deal.”

Lilis reigned in her dragon enough to bark out a laugh. “The real deal what?” she growled.

“I am an original Chinese dragon. You deserve nothing less.”

His words echoed through her brain. What did she deserve? Certainly not Simon, and hopefully not the pain his loss would bring. But what choice did she have?

The dragon under her claws clearly thought he was her other choice. “Don’t come near me again.”

She shoved away from him and stomped off, catching the notes of canine and smoke again. She damned near laughed her ass off. If any of those weasel bastard manjeja demons were actually nearby, there was no way Longwei was leaving the building alive. One would’ve been enough to finish him. But two ?

He didn’t stand a chance.

“Fuck!” She bounced off a body and rocked several steps backward, looking up. Shepherd was steadying himself outside one of the exam rooms. “Shit! Sorry, Shepherd. Wasn’t watching where I was going.” She wrinkled her nose. He smelled awful. Like disinfectant, wet dog, soap, fake flowers, and aloe, the latter of which provided a rather pungent stench. She looked him up and down, noting the fresh bandage on his arm and a new one on his hand. “What the hell happened? You go back for seconds?”

“Nah, this is a radiator burn. Mary strikes again.” He paused. “Speaking of. Sorry for being such an ass.”

“We both screwed up. Don’t apologize.”

“Too bad. I’m not used to breakin’ in a new recruit, and I got pissed when I got burned. But I know that you didn’t deliberately leave me. Twice. To do something any one of us could’ve done.”

“Well, with a heartfelt apology like that one…”

Shepherd laughed. “I don’t do apologies. But you see what I mean.”

“Fine. Apology accepted. What time do we have to be back at the station, anyway?”

Shepherd gave her a puzzled look. “Vega didn’t call you?”

“No.”

“Inspectors haven’t finished the job. We’re still on standby.”

Lilis’ stomach sank. Something wasn’t right, she could feel it. Why hadn’t Vega called her? Why was he keeping an entire team of elite firefighters waiting on no evidence? “Seriously? How long can they keep us like this?”

Shepherd shrugged. “It’s their show. We just need to be there to control the pyrotechnics if they go off.” He glanced at his phone. “I’m off. I could use a nap while I still have a chance at quiet.”

Lilis smiled. “Enjoy. I’ll be in as soon as Vega calls for me.”

“Catch ya later, Gerru.” Shepherd waved as he strode down the hall.

Humans can be useful to have on your side.

If she discovered the human working with the endirim, and he was, as she expected, one of the Flame Jumpers, she’d expose him to his comrades. And they’d be ready to die to protect him.

Shepherd would certainly be a good human to have on her side in that situation. The others liked and defended him, and despite what Simon argued, she really had left Shepherd behind. Twice. Thankfully, he seemed ready to bury their differences and let her try again.

Because not finding the mystery human multiplied the threats to Simon’s safety. If the endirim setting fires to trap and kill demons didn’t claim his life, whichever human was involved just might.