Marker of Hope (6 page)

“You’re bleeding,” David said, touching my
forearm arm.

I glanced at the bright crimson gashes on my
upper arm.

“You’re bleeding, too,” I said. “I can see
bone peeking out from under your eyebrow. How do you feel?”

“Awful.” He leaned forward, idled at my lips,
leaving millimeters between us. “Terrible. I’ve tried so hard,” he
said. “But I can’t do it. I can’t stop thinking of you.” He stared
into my eyes. “I admit I tried. I—I wanted to forget you, to make
the pain go away. But no matter what I do, I can’t stop loving you.
And I don’t want to be apart from you…ever again.”

CHAPTER 7

I touched the side of David’s face and traced
the angle of his jaw. Besides the dirt and blood he was covered in,
I could smell the sandalwood essence he emitted. For so long, I’d
craved to be close to him, to feel his hands caress my skin, to
taste his lips, to feel his heart beat against mine, to hear him
say “I love you”. Now, all those things I wanted were out of the
question.

“You’re engaged,” I said.

“Not because I want to be.” He shook his
head. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted, Isis.”

“Even after—”

“I don’t care about that. I just need to know
what you feel for me. Right now.”

I thought for a moment. “There isn’t a word
for what I feel,” I said. “But if I were to describe it, I’d say it
exceeds love.”

He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me
close to him. His blue eyes fixed on me. The tips of his fingers
lifted my chin, and his lips pressed against mine. I reveled in the
feeling of his arms encasing me. I felt complete, like a whole
person. I was no longer remnants and pieces of debris scattered by
the wind, waiting to erode. No, not anymore. I was wanted, needed,
loved by the person I’d so much wished to reappear in my life. And
now that he was here, I wouldn’t make the same mistakes. Not ever
again.

While I delighted in having my dream boy’s
kisses on my lips once more, it occurred to me I had no desire to
rip him open and have him for lunch like I did everyone else.

David gave me a few final pecks before he
stepped back to look at me.

“I should take you to the emergency
room.”

“You think that’s a good idea? They’re going
to want to run tests on me.” The thought of being near so many
people with possible open wounds caused my shoulders to tense.

“Not the best.” He rubbed the back of his
neck. “But what choice do we have?”

“Well, Dr. Gunn…”

“Gunn is here?” he asked, and I nodded.

“Galilea brought him and his wife, Eileen,
with us.”

“Has he been observing you—the pregnancy, I
mean?”

“No. I barely found out yesterday. But I feel
fine…aside from the nausea and headaches.”
And the unrelenting
hunger for human flesh
. “I’m fine.”

“You may feel fine, but you may not be. We’ll
call Dr. Gunn. But first, you should get cleaned up. You can’t go
home to your mother looking like this.”

I glanced down at my muddy clothes. Part of
my shirtsleeve was missing. My jeans were torn and drenched in lake
water. Then I remembered my wardrobe was the least of my
worries.

“Oh my…” I covered my mouth. “I totaled the
car. My mom is going to kill me.”

“I’ll buy her a new one. We’ll worry about it
later.” He took my hand. “Come. We have a lot of catching up to
do.”

“But, David, what if more demons come?”

“Don’t worry about them.” He placed a hand on
my stomach. “I’m more concerned about this right now and making
sure you’re both okay.”

***

When I turned off the water in the shower, I
heard David talking. I wrapped myself in the only towel on the rack
and cracked the bathroom door open, peeking into the bedroom. David
was looking out the window, his cell phone pressed to his ear. He
was wearing sweatpants, which sat low on his waist. From the looks
of it, he’d showered—in one of the other bathrooms, I guessed.
Beads of water dripped from his hair down the toned muscles on his
back and arms.

“Right. I’ll see you then,” he said, ending
the call.

I stepped out of the bathroom. David dropped
the phone on the bed-less mattress. It sat on the floor in the
middle of the room, one of three pieces of furnishings left—the
other two, a chair and a side table. He stepped toward me and
surveyed the scratches left by the demon on my arm. He leaned down
and laid a kiss on my bare shoulder. I shivered.

“Does it hurt?” he asked.

“No.” I touched the side of his head. “Your
face looks a lot worse than my arm.”

“It’s nothing.” He put his hand over mine.
“It’ll heal.”

“Were you talking to Dr. Gunn?” I asked.

“No. I tried calling him, but his phone is
out of service. He must’ve changed his number. Do you have a
working number for him?”

“No, and Galilea isn’t taking my calls. I
think she blocked me, so I can’t ask her,” I said. David looked at
me with a question on his face. “She’s upset because I suck at
being a good friend,” I explained. “I don’t even know where she
lives. We’ll have to wait until she decides to answer my calls
again.” I tightened the towel around me. “So who was that on the
phone?”

“I called my parents.”

“Your parents?” I winced. “You told
them?”

“No. I don’t feel it’s right to deliver this
sort of news over the phone,” David said. “But I told them it was
urgent they come as soon as possible. They’ll arrive tomorrow.”

I didn’t know who I was more afraid of
telling I was pregnant—Claire or Alezzander, David’s father. I
trembled.

“Are you cold?” David asked.

“No. Just dreading telling our parents.”

“It’ll be fine.” He rubbed my arms and kissed
the top of my head. “They’ll be upset—possibly enraged—but they’ll
get over it.”

“David,” I said. “Are you scared?”

“Not scared, but nervous. I don’t know how
they’ll react.”

“No, I meant, are you scared of becoming a
father?”

“Oh. Well,” he shrugged, “I haven’t had a lot
of time to let it sink in. But I do know I’m happy.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Aren’t you?”

“Maybe?” I twisted a strand of my wet hair.
“I don’t know how to feel except terrified. How am I supposed to
keep a baby alive? I don’t even know how to change a diaper.” I
looked up at him. “Do you?”

“I don’t. But it’ll be something we’ll learn
to do together, isn’t it?”

“Together sounds good,” I said. “Better than
alone.”

Together
. The word was like a symphony
to my ears. It entailed union and commitment—things I’d been
frightened of a few months earlier, even though deep down I knew I
wanted it as much as David. But what I wasn’t clear on was why, if
he claimed to love me still, would he get engaged?

I skimmed the room briefly and saw a suitcase
in the corner, the flap open and clothes folded inside. “Do you
have a shirt I can borrow?”

David dug through the suitcase and brought
back a plain white T-shirt. It was a few sizes too big, but it’d
have to do. I went into the bathroom to change and returned to the
bedroom, where I sat on the mattress.

“I’ve got to get something off my chest,” I
said.

“What’s that?”

“I wonder,” I smoothed out imaginary wrinkles
on the bed sheets, “why did you get engaged? It’s been a month and
a half since we last saw each other. Why were you in such a hurry
to marry someone else? You say you love me, but… I don’t
understand.”

“It’s complicated,” he said. “Wait. Are you
asking me this because you doubt my feelings for you?”

“You’ve doubted mine,” I said, and I
immediately regretted it. I didn’t want to start a fight. “Tell me
about this engagement.”

“There’s nothing much to tell.” He sat next
to me. “It was arranged by my father…to appease the Council. To
convince them I hadn’t strayed from the laws and counter rumors of
me being romantically involved with a human.”

“And you agreed. So easily?”

“It wasn’t easy. I told you, it’s
complicated. I couldn’t deal with the thought of you…” he pinched
the bridge of his nose, “…and my best friend.”

“David, nothing happened between Eros and me.
I thought I made that clear.”

He stared at me for a brief moment. “Nothing
at all?”

“Just a kiss…or three,” I said, and David’s
jaw clenched. “
He
kissed me. Not the other way around,” I
explained. “I used him to go find my father, to see if I could stop
the transformation. I didn’t want you to turn into a Creatura
because of me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this when I last saw
you in Bucharest?”

“I tried, but you didn’t give me a chance to
explain. You left. You…” I huffed. “You just left me there. You
wouldn’t take my calls. Do you know how many times I tried calling
you?”

“Yes. Four hundred and forty-seven. You left
five voicemails I listened to over and over again so I could hear
you say you loved me.” He sighed. “Isis, I was angry. And hurt.” He
paused and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Outraged.”

“I know. I didn’t expect anything less than
anger from you. But I thought you’d at least let me explain.” I
tucked my legs against my chest, under the white shirt. “I messed
up. I seem to have a real knack for it.” He said nothing. “I’m
sorry I hurt you.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you, too. I made a mistake
when I left you in Bucharest.” He pulled me close and pressed me
against his chest.

“So… is there anything I should know about
you and your arranged bride?” I looked up at him. “I mean, since
we’re being honest and all.”

“That, you really don’t want to know,” he
said. I frowned at him. “I’m kidding. There was nothing between us
but empty kisses.”

“Kisses?” My eyes widened, and I broke his
embrace. “As in plural? With an ‘s’? As in more than a few?”

“Please…” He drew me against him. “Don’t. I
honestly don’t want to talk about her anymore. It’s upsetting us
both, and it’s a waste of energy—which we could be using doing
other things.” He pushed me down on the mattress. “Like making up
for lost time.”

He propped himself up on one arm, half of his
weight over me. Using his other hand, he brushed the length of my
leg, and my muscles tensed.

“I’ve missed you, terribly,” I told him.

“Serves you right,” he pecked my lips,
“because I’ve been miserable without you.”

I sifted my fingers through his wet, black
hair and reached for his lips. His hand moved under the oversized
shirt I was wearing. He traced small circles below my navel with
the tips of his fingers, and then abruptly, he pulled away from
me.

“It concerns me you haven’t been seen by a
doctor.” He sat up and looked at his phone. “Did Galilea change her
phone number when she arrived here?”

“I don’t know.” I picked up my phone from the
night table and handed it to him. “You can check.”

David clicked on my phone’s display screen
and compared Galilea’s phone number to the one on his phone.

“Same number. Why didn’t I think of calling
her myself?” He tapped the screen on his cell phone, and then held
it up to his ear. “Galilea? Yes, it’s David.”

CHAPTER 8

The address Galilea gave David took us right
outside of town, to a gated community hidden by trees. I’d passed
by it many times and didn’t even know it existed. It was a perfect
hideout.

The gateway was wide enough to allow one car
to exit and one car to enter. A female security guard approached us
as soon as we pulled up to the gate.

“May I help you?” she asked.

“We’re guests of Miss Galilea Kristos,” David
told her.

“And your name, sir?”

“David Chios.”

“One moment while I verify, please.”

The guard walked back to the security booth.
From the car, I could see her talking on the phone. A minute later,
the gate rolled open, and she waved us in.

The houses in the neighborhood were fashioned
in Old Spanish style, complete with terra-cotta shingles, balconies
lined with potted flowers overlooking the street, and blooming
bougainvillea plants spread across the yards.

David brought the car to a stop at a
canary-yellow house with white trim and a brick-red roof. Dr.
Gunn’s wife—Eileen—was waiting for us at the door. I tightened the
sweatpants strings on my waist—the ones David wore earlier—and
stepped out of the car.

“Isis.” Eileen hugged me, and then shook
David’s hand. She studied the scratches on his face. “What happened
to you?”

“Demons,” I said. “They found me,
Eileen.”

“They attacked Isis as she was leaving my
house,” David added.

“Attacked?” Eileen’s eyes immediately fell to
my stomach. “Have you experienced any sharp lower abdominal pains
or bleeding?”

“None,” I said.

“You know she’s pregnant?” David sounded
surprised.

“Yes,” Eileen said. “Galilea gave us the news
yesterday.”

“I see. Well, in spite of Isis saying she
feels fine, I’d still like Dr. Gunn to examine her. If possible?”
David hugged me with one arm. “She took a number of falls, and I’m
concerned for hers and the baby’s well-being.”

“Yes, yes. Of course.” Eileen opened the door
wider. “Come in. Tobias is in the lab, prepping.”

“And Galilea?” I asked as I observed the
stone floors and rustic interior of the house.

“In her room. I’ll get her, and then I’ll see
if Tobias is ready to start.” She moved some newspapers off the
couch. “Have a seat.”

I sat down, but David remained standing. It
wasn’t long before Galilea walked into the living room. She walked
past me without acknowledge my presence.

“David.” She kissed him on both cheeks, and
then paused to study the marks on his face. “It’s nice to see
you.”

“Likewise,” David said.

“Galilea, we need to talk,” I said, rising
from the sofa. “Actually, I need to do the talking. I’m sorry I’m
such a poor excuse of a friend.”