He released his hands from my neck and collapsed.
I stumbled out of the room, choking and gagging. By the time I reached Jo’s door, I was breathing normally again, but my throat still throbbed. It felt permanently bruised on the inside, and I could still feel the pressure of Stuart’s hands. I felt a stab of panic, thinking maybe he had crushed my windpipe, but reminded myself that I wouldn’t be breathing if that were true.
As I stepped inside Jo’s room, the lights flickered back on. I heard the whoosh of the vents, and hoped Gavin had restored the power in time to salvage the antidote.
I plopped down on a scratchy visitor’s chair and waited.
In less than a minute, Gavin appeared at the door. “What happened to your neck?” he asked. “It’s covered in red marks!”
I shrugged. “I guess that’s what happens when someone tries to strangle you.”
“It’s no joke. Your throat’s very delicate, Maren,” Gavin said. His eyes flashed dark and angry.
“I know,” I said. “Believe me, it freakin’ hurts. But I’m fine now.”
“Who did this to you?” he demanded.
“Stuart,” I said, “but it’s okay. I knocked him out. He must have been infected or something. He was crazy.”
“You knocked him out?” Now he looked impressed.
I nodded. “We wound up in an operating room, and I managed to hit him with a hammer.”
Gavin smiled. “That’s my girl.”
I was proud that I’d fought off Stuart by myself. All six feet of him. I liked proving to Gavin that I wasn’t a damsel in distress. But the relentless death and drama was wearing me down. I longed for my own room, for my own bed, for safety, for a normal life. Could I ever have that with Gavin?
“He’ll probably sleep longer than the others,” Gavin continued, “but the antidote will still get to him. He’ll be fine.”
Jo stirred, rustling the bed’s stiff sheets. She opened her eyes and looked around the room. When she saw me, she smiled.
“Jo!” I said.
“Hi, Maren,” she answered. “What’s going on? Why am I in the hospital?” Her cheeks were returning to their normal color, and her eyes already looked brighter. The antidote was working!
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“Well, start at the beginning,” she commanded. She tried to sit up and realized she was strapped down. Gavin and I quickly undid her restraints. As Gavin bent over one of the buckles, she nodded at him and mouthed “OMG” to me. I shook my head. I had my best friend back.
We sat with Jo and told her about the party poisoning. I didn’t mention that the disgusting seducer Anders Campbell had allowed a group of jinn demons to infect his party guests . . . In return for what, I didn’t want to know, considering what incubus craved. And I didn’t tell her Gavin was an angel. But the story was shocking enough without any of those details, and I didn’t want to put her in any more danger like I had Hunter.
At six a.m., when Jo’s mom showed up, Gavin and I left. All of the patients, including Stuart, made miraculous overnight recoveries. The doctors theorized that the toxin that infected everyone had finally just “worn off.”
Gavin took me home, and then returned to his village. He was going to report in, but he promised to visit me later in the afternoon. The jinn demons’ plot had been defeated, everyone had recovered, and my days as an undercover angel spy were thankfully over.
As my grandparents started making breakfast, I finally laid my head on my own pillow. I was so exhausted, I didn’t even care if I had a bad dream.
I should have.
CHAPTER 32
I heard the screaming first. And then I saw her—Hunter. And she was covered in blood.
I burst into the dark and dusty room. The furniture was worn thin, the wallpaper was peeling from the walls, and the smell was overwhelming. I put my hand over my mouth, tried not to vomit.
Hunter’s face contorted in pain. “Help me! Help me!” she wailed.
I couldn’t move.
A round woman wearing an apron rushed past me carrying a knife. It was covered in blood as well. I wondered if she had hurt Hunter, or was somehow trying to fix her.
A man paced at the foot of the bed. He was tall, blond, and really attractive. He was wearing an old-fashioned suit, like a young Sherlock Holmes. He lunged at Hunter, and I opened my mouth to scream, but she beat me to it.
A river of blood rolled, bubbling, across the floor. When the rounded edge of dark red hit the tip of my shoe, I passed out. The last thing I heard before everything went black was more screaming. Hunter’s voice was now silent.
The screaming was from a new baby.
Bam! Bam! Bam! I heard the pounding in my dream, but I couldn’t wake up.
Bam! Bam! Bam! I begrudgingly opened my eyes, and realized someone was knocking on my door. My grandmother burst into the room.
“I’m sorry to wake you, Maren dear. But I just couldn’t wait any longer. It’s after three . . .” She threw my curtains open. Sunlight spilled over my face.
“It’s after three? Three what?” I mumbled.
“Three in the afternoon,” she answered. “You’ve been sleeping so soundly, and I know you probably need it after your trip, but . . .” She paused, looking like she’d rather eat nails than continue her sentence.
“But what?” I asked, pushing the hair out of my face.
She crossed the room and sat down next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. I immediately tensed up. Something was wrong.
“There’s been an accident,” she said.
“An accident?” I was awake now. “Where? It’s not Grandpa, is it?”
“No, it’s Jo,” she said. “She fell out of a tree or some such thing. They’re not really sure. Her mum just called.”
“Oh my gosh, is she okay?” I jumped up and pulled a hoodie over my head so we could rush to see her.
“She’s dead, Maren.”
My grandmother’s words pierced me like spears of ice. “What?” I blinked.
“I’m afraid she’s dead. She broke her neck in the fall. There was nothing they could do.” Gran followed me and tried to hug me again. I wriggled away from her.
“No, she’s not. She’s fine,” I argued. “I just saw her this morning. She’s perfectly fine.”
“It’s a terrible shock, I know.”
“She’s not dead,” I repeated. “She’s not dead.”
My grandmother finally caught hold of me, and held my hand. “I’m so sorry, Maren.”
“What do you mean, ‘she fell’? How could she fall? Where was she?”
“Mrs. Dougall said they didn’t really know. Jo had just gotten out of the hospital, and said she was feeling cooped up, so she went for a little walk to get some fresh air. One of the Crowleys found her lying in their field down the road. She had a small branch in her hand, so they think she must have climbed up a tree to fetch it, and lost her balance.”