Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

FRANKIE

"Maybe you guys should call your parents?" I glanced over my shoulder to Esther in the passenger seat, then to Archie behind her. Both of them had a little too much of their own blood on them for my comfort. "Just not on FaceTime, because . . . we don't need a panic."

They laughed.

The door behind me opened and Rootbeer leapt inside. She snuggled right into Archie's lap before Seamus was even in the car. She was rather obsessed with Archie. I watched in the rearview mirror as our second redhead buckled his seatbelt. It was actually hard to tell which of the speckles on his face were blood and which were freckles. He looked up with bright-blue eyes and met my stare in the mirror.

"Ready? " I signed.

He nodded and signed back, " Yes. Let's go. "

I put the car in drive and drove off. "But really, please call your parents?"

"I've been texting mine. They're gonna meet us there." Esther glanced back to Seamus, then looked to me. "How do I sign phone and mom ?"

I showed her because Seamus was staring out the window. Esther nodded, then reached back and tapped on Seamus's knee to get his attention. The angle she was turned gave me a grisly view of the wound on her chest. She signed the two words. I looked into the mirror to watch his reaction.

He frowned and patted his pockets, then grimaced. "I don't have my phone. Can you call her?" he yelled.

Esther gave him a thumbs-up, then turned back around, already dialing her phone. "Hi, Mrs. O'Brien—what? . . . Oh, you heard. Yeah, no, it's okay. They're all dead. But listen, Seamus got a little scratched up . . . No, he's okay. Really. But both his hearing aids broke. Ava is on her way to get his backups, but Frankie is driving a few of us to the infirmary. Seamus cannot find his phone, so it's probably in the gym still . . . Yeah . . . Of course . . . Okay. See you soon."

She turned and gave him another thumbs-up.

"Okay, your turn, Archie."

"Oh. Right." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed, then held it to his ear. "Hey, so . . . I think I swallowed a demon. Or part of one."

" Archie, " I hissed and shook my head.

"So, what had happened was these demon gnats attacked us, and Frankie was smashing ‘em like baseballs in the home run derby, and I did not move fast enough."

I snort-laughed so hard my sinuses burned.

Esther spun sideways in her seat to look back at him. Black demon blood dripped from her black curls onto my center console. "For someone so small, you really are a danger to yourself. I mean, how'd you get a demon in your face? Twice?"

"I'm an over-achiever?"

We all laughed. Even Seamus, which told me he was reading lips now. I was always impressed with how well he could do that.

Archie frowned. "Actually, I believe I ducked into the demon baseball."

"I didn't see that I hit you twice?—"

"Look, I just wasn't prepared for how slow these little legs would move."

I sighed. He was just so nonchalant about it. "Let me guess, you've had worse?"

Archie pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes like he was thinking about it. "I think that might depend on if I did in fact swallow the demon."

Esther grimaced in disgust. "I am not checking your poop."

He looked down at his stomach, then back up. "I think I'd rather puke it back up rather than have it go out the proper exit."

I giggled. "Hey, at least now you have a good pickup line. Baby, wait ‘til you meet the demon on my tongue. "

They cackled.

"Well, thanks, Frankie, I don't think I'll ever be able to do that again." Archie shuddered. "Then again, some people eat pineapples to get a better taste . . . and all things said, maple syrup isn't the worst?—"

"ARCHIE!"

Esther was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

"I didn't catch all of that, but I think I don't want to," Seamus yelled. He was smirking.

Esther shook her head and mouthed he's being nasty.

Tears slid down my cheeks from how hard I laughed. I pulled up in front of the infirmary and parallel parked. "Archie, I say this in the spirit of friendship, but you have the most fucked up sense of humor I've ever seen."

Archie grinned. "Thank you."

Esther choked on the oxygen she was trying to suck in. "Wait, are you on the phone with your mother this whole time? She heard you say all that?"

"She's heard worse." He shrugged. "Anyhoo, we just got to the infirmary. I'm gonna go get my face fixed . . . Okay . . . Yeah . . . Right, I love you, bye."

"You tell your mom I love you on the phone, like every time?"

He unbuckled his seatbelt, then scowled up at Esther. "Each time you speak to someone you love it could be your last, and you won't know until after. Trust me, I'd go back in time to say it more often to the people I've lost."

My chest tightened as his words hit hard. For a moment, we all just sat there in silence in my car, undoubtedly as we all thought about the people we didn't want to lose. A hot lump formed in my throat.

Seamus cleared his throat. "Thanks for lightening the mood, dude," he yelled with a smirk.

Archie cackled and jumped out of the car. The rest of us climbed out after him. I let Esther and Archie lead the way through the opening in the white picket fence and up the red brick pathway. I wanted to make sure I was next to Seamus until Ava or his parents got here in case someone tried to talk to him. Rootbeer trotted between her owner and me with a happy, sloppy smile on her face.

I looked up to the colonial-style home with gray wooden siding, a white roof, and black shutters with pentagrams etched into them. There were nine French windows on the front wall, and I loved the candles flickering with orange light. The front door was painted black, and they had a pentacle made of twigs on it. The outside looked nothing like a medical facility, so I was curious to see the inside.

Esther opened the door and led the way inside. Archie was hot on her heels. I had to admit seeing them walking with such ease despite their injuries made me feel better about this whole situation. Seamus gestured for me to go in ahead, so I leapt over the threshold. Inside was a whole lot of not what I expected. It basically looked like the inside of a residential home, complete with a grand wooden staircase that led to an open-air hallway on the second floor.

"Oh boy," a young girl said from out of nowhere. "Guess the rumor is true, eh?"

"If you mean, were we unexpectedly attacked by demon gnats the size of basketballs, then yes." Esther chuckled and pointed to her own chest. "I'm not entirely sure what's beneath all this blood, but I do know it hurts."

I stepped out from behind her and spotted a girl who couldn't have been much older than us. She had a wild mane of red hair that I was low-key jealous of. Her amber eyes were wide and staring at us.

I waved. "Hi, who are you?"

"I'm Gin. I'm one of the junior healers here." She grimaced. "You don't look hurt, but you two guys do . . ."

"Right, Archie here had a little face action with the demons.,"

"Which I might've swallowed." Archie grinned like this was the highlight of his day.

I gestured to Seamus beside me. "This is Seamus. He's deaf and both of his hearing aids have broken. New ones are on their way here."

"Oh, we know Seamus here." She smiled and looked to Seamus, then signed, " Hi, friend! You and Rootbeer take the room upstairs with the bay window? She'll like that one. "

"Thank you! Will you be healing me? " Seamus signed back. When she nodded, he waved to us and then led Rootbeer up the stairs.

Gin then looked back to us and bit her bottom lip. "Right. So, demon gnats are a nuisance. Um?—"

"I'll take care of them, Gin," a smooth, deep voice said from the hallway to our left. "Tend to Seamus upstairs, please."

"Perfect." She waved to us, then hurried up the stairs.

But I wasn't watching her. My gaze landed on the guy walking into the foyer. My breath caught in my throat. My heart did weird little jumps in my chest. I swallowed roughly and tried to keep my cool. He was tall and gorgeous. His hair was the color of freshly fallen snow, though his eyebrows were jet black. Somehow it didn't clash with the paleness of his skin or the all-white outfit. It was giving Billy Idol vibes but prettier— dangerously pretty, in fact, with that sharp jawline and the wicked sparkle in his blue eyes.

"Good evening." He gave us a tight-lipped smile and pressed a palm to his stomach. "I'm Everest. Katherine sent me here to help out with some of the nastier ailments while she's with The Coven, so I will be tending to your wounds tonight."

Everest. A million images flipped through my mind—rainbow light flashed in my eyes. I blinked and shook my head. Sharp pain lanced through my temples, so I pushed on them with my fingertips. I hissed through clenched teeth loud enough to trigger both Esther and Everest to look at me. I tried to give them a reassuring smile, but neither of them fell for it.

"Archibald, your mother beat you here and is in the middle room just behind me." Everest smiled and half-turned. "Go ahead in there and I shall be with you in a moment. Try not to eat anything you shouldn't."

Archie cackled and walked off, pausing only to give us two thumbs-up.

Everest watched to make sure Archie went into the correct room, then turned his attention back to us. The intensity in his blue eyes made me inhale sharply. He arched one eyebrow at me and his lips curved into a little smirk—and then the expression was gone. His face was a mask of professionalism, while my face was hot and definitely as pink as my hair.

"Esther and Francelina, follow me?—"

"You know our names?" Esther cocked her head to the side.

He gave her a small smile and my pulse skipped beats. "Francelina's aunt called as soon as you left to warn us."

And then his gaze shot back to me, and I swallowed roughly. Seriously, body, what is wrong with you? Get a grip. He's just a boy. A really stupidly, dangerously pretty boy. I wasn't used to having this kind of reaction to anyone. Normally I reacted to boys the same way I did to Tomás: I acknowledged they were cute and maybe liked their personality but felt absolutely numb and apathetic in every other way.

But not with Everest.

I couldn't even breathe normally in front of him, and we'd just met. My body was locked in place and in the process of overheating.

"Francelina?"

I jumped and looked around to find Esther was already ten feet away while Everest just watched me with a sparkle in his eyes like I was entertaining him immensely. Wait, he said my name. But like my whole government name. I cleared my throat and opened my mouth, but no words came out, just a squeak.

His one eyebrow twitched like he was trying really hard not to react. "Are you all right, Francelina?"

Butterflies danced in my stomach. I licked my lips and nodded, or I thought I did. There was a chance I just stared at him. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I felt like I'd stepped into a sauna and now couldn't find the door to get out.

Esther was suddenly in my face. "Did you have another vision? What'd you see?"

That lock on my body snapped and air rushed through my lungs. I blinked and shook myself. "What? No? I don't know?" I looked over Esther's shoulder and my eyes locked with his. Words dried on my tongue.

"Visions?"

I opened my mouth to answer him, but no words came out.

"Yeah, she's had some issues. I was actually going to call Katherine today." Esther wrapped her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. "Maybe you can help both of us in a room together? She's been through a lot."

"Of course, you and Francelina can take the room in the back?—"

"It's Frankie. You can call her Frankie."

"Come, let us see to your needs in private." Everest nodded once and then turned and gestured for us to follow him.

If it wasn't for Esther dragging me by the elbow, I couldn't have said if I would've been able to move. But we were catching up to Everest and my muscles were already trying to lock down, so I squeezed my eyes shut. Esther wouldn't let me walk into a wall. The temperature in the foyer and hallway was a little on the cold side, so I knew the moment we'd crossed into the room because the air was cozy warm and smelled like vanilla.

"Make yourselves comfortable. I shall be right back," Everest said softly from right behind me, his breath sweeping over the back of my head.

The door clicked shut.

Esther snorted. "Are you holding your eyes closed?"

I nodded.

"We're alone. You can open them now."

When I did, I found her standing in front of me with her hands on her hips and her eyebrow arched. "What the hell is going on with you?"

I cleared my throat and shook my head. "Nothing?" But I couldn't stand there with her watching me like that, so I walked around her and sat on the chair next to the bed.

"Oh my Goddess."

"What?" I fidgeted with my crystal ring.

She gasped. " Frankie. You like him! "

I sighed and collapsed against the back of the chair, then scrubbed my face with my hands. "Make it stop."

She giggled excitedly. "So this is Frankie with a crush?—"

"Oh my God, shhhh, " I said with a groan. "I can't have a crush on a person I just met for two whole seconds?—"

The door swung open, and Everest sauntered in with one of his hands in his pocket. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"— Or maybe you can, " I heard myself whisper.

"What was that, Francelina?" His voice was smooth and silky.

My face was on fire. All I could do was shake my head.

He nodded and gave me a smirk but turned his attention back to Esther. "Why don't we start with your wounds. Please lie down on your back."

I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I watched as he carried a tray of vials and gauze over to the bed and got to work. A strange chill swept through my body. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself as a light filled my eyes. One second I was watching the speed of Everest's hands as he treated Esther's wounds . . . the next I was walking through a garden covered in ice.

Everything was covered in snow. Every flower petal had a layer of ice on it. I walked with my head held high but only because I had to. There were too many eyes on me. I saw them in my peripheral vision, men and women dressed in formal white gowns and tuxes. I stole a glance down at myself only to find I was wearing red.

I was freezing.

But then something hot pressed to my forehead and I was back in the infirmary.

I gasped and threw my hands out to grab the armrests and hold on tight. That warmth still pressed to my head, and it was calming my runaway heartrate. It took me several blinks before my vision cleared enough to actually see around me.

And then I wanted to die.

That heat on my forehead was Everest's hand. He had his palm resting against my skin. And the armrest I held was actually his knees. My stomach sank like I was on a roller coaster. I wanted to scream, run away, and throw up a little. I had his soft white pants fisted in my grip. Both hands. My mouth was dry, but it didn't matter because no words were coming to me. Judging by the tightness in my chest, I wasn't breathing either.

"Come back to me, Francelina, " Everest whispered.

Like the flip of a switch, my body kicked into gear. My lungs breathed the oxygen I was swallowing, though my cheeks were still burning. " You can call me Frankie, " I heard myself whisper back.

He chuckled and pulled his hand off my face. "There you are. Welcome back."

I started to smile except his hands covered both of mine and my brain short-circuited.

"You see what I mean?" Esther sat up in the bed. I saw her over Everest's shoulder. Except she now had all this gauze and cream spread over her chest. "She'll be just fine, then boom , lost to a vision."

I scowled. " What?"

"Your friend explained everything you've been experiencing. She is worried about you, and I have to agree." He uncurled my fingers from his pants, then stood up. Without dropping my hands, he gently pulled me onto my feet. "Come over and lie on this other bed, please."

My mind was not registering the words coming out of his mouth, all I knew was the softness of his skin, the feel of his bare hands on mine, and the way his fingers curled to let mine hook around his. He walked backwards like he didn't want to spook me. It took me far too long to put the words together. He wanted me to lie in the bed. I licked my lips and nodded, then forced my way around the foot of Esther's bed to the side of the room with the other bed.

I stopped at the side of the bed and frowned. "Wait, why? What's wrong with me?" I turned and choked on a gasp.

Everest waved his hand in front of my face, and I saw a cloud of black—and then my body acted without my approval. I hopped onto the bed with my legs dangling off the edge. He stepped up so close that our bodies touched from my knees down to my ankles. Heat radiated off his body. I was falling apart with every second he looked at me, and it was so unlike me.

"Your magic and your mind have muddied the water, so to speak, so we just need to clear it up and this shouldn't keep happening." His finger tipped my chin up, forcing me to look him in the eye. "Do you understand?"

My eyes widened. This close to him, I realized his eyes were not normal. Instead of black pupils, his were royal blue. Where there normally would've been a color like blue, green, or brown was a nearly solid white iris except for the rim, which was the same royal blue as his pupils.

My breath left me in a rush.

"Francelina?"

"Your eyes are beautiful," I heard myself whisper.

"Thank you." He smiled softly. "On that note, I'm going to keep you overnight so we can settle your soul back to where it should be. Lie down, rest, and I will return shortly."