Page 38 of Claiming a Demon

Leona gave me a look. “You’ll rest first. Then you can come back. I’ll be encouraging my children to do the same thing. It has to be done tactfully, though. Each one has a different temperament and needs to be persuaded accordingly.”

That I believed. It was kind of crazy how alike they all looked while having such vastly unique personalities. The fact that they got along, for the most part, was a little shocking.

After Leona waved me off, I poked my head into the waiting room. Mal was exactly where I left him, and I didn’t want to disturb him or make him worry. I backed out slowly, shooting Callum a pleading look.

“Can you just tell him later that I went home? He’s struggling right now. I don’t want to worry him.”

Callum glanced at his friend through the doorway before dipping his chin. “I can do that. Let’s get you home. Leona’s right. You look pale.”

I mean, I was always pale, but I couldn’t really argue with that. I felt it. I readied myself for the uncomfortable feeling of being teleported, but I underestimated just how icky I was feeling, because we barely made it to the transportation tunnel before I started throwing up. Callum looked stunned and hovered beside me while I threw up in the bushes nearby.

“I’m sorry. If I’d known you were that sensitive to teleporting–”

I shook my head, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand when my stomach finally stopped trying to turn inside out. “It’s not that. I mean, it always makes my stomach a little uncomfortable, but… I honestly didn’t realize just how awful I felt until someone pointed it out.” I glanced at the tunnel entrance with a wince. “We moved pretty fast the first time. Any chance that feeling doesn’t happen again?” I was too woozy to remember what it was like when I came here with my friends.

“It shouldn’t. Not for the tunnel. But let me contact Brandon. He’ll meet us on the other side with a car. I don’t think flying will do you any good either.”

He probably wasn’t wrong about that. Just the thought of bouncing along with the steady flap of wings made me nauseous. While Callum made the call, again with that little marble thing that I kept wanting to ask about, an attendant from the tunnels brought me a bottle of water and some paper towels. I forced a smile in thanks, rinsing my mouth out and pouring some water on the towels to wipe my face. I doused another one and put it on the back of my neck, too. My skin felt heated and now that I wasn’t focused on taking care of everyone else, I realized just how tired I was.

Since the line was really long, it took a while before we got to cross over. There wasn’t an emergency like last time, and I wouldn’t let Callum ask for us to cut through just because I wasn’t feeling well. These people had places to be, too. He only pushed the issue when I started throwing up again. It was a good thing there was magic to deal with the mess or I’d feel really guilty.

Callum kept his hand on my shoulder as we took the tunnel. In less than a blink, we were on the other side, where Brandon was waiting with his giant truck. He took one look at me and grimaced.

“Yikes. You said humans and demons can’t share germs, right?”

Callum nodded. “Yes. I’m guessing this didn’t come from the Other Realm. How long have you been feeling unwell, Zach?”

I frowned at my feet, trudging along by the force of Callum’s hand alone. “Not sure. I was fine at first but…”

My mind flicked back to the day we left. Ah, crap. The walk in. She said she felt really achy, and that’s why she needed a massage so badly. I didn’t realize she was sick. I had to lean down more than once and get close to her face because she was speaking so quietly I couldn’t hear her over the music in the room. Ever since then, I’d been feeling tired and run down, but I thought it was just the situation. I wasn’t sleeping well at the facility and I was living off coffee and a few bites of Mal’s food now and then. I shot an apologetic look to Callum.

“It might’ve been my last client before Mal picked me up that got me sick. I didn’t realize. I thought I was just tired. I couldn’t sleep much the last few nights.”

He nodded. “I bet. My mother has put in the paperwork to fix up the waiting rooms, but it hasn’t gone through yet.”

When Brandon opened the back door of his truck, I eyed the inside warily. “You wouldn’t happen to have a bag or a bucket, would you? I’ve thrown up twice already and your truck looks really fancy.”

Brandon pursed his lips thoughtfully before heading to the passenger side and digging around for a second. He came back with a plastic bag and handed it to me, shooting Callum a sheepish look. “I picked up a few snacks the other day. I was hungry.”

Callum rolled his eyes, but his smile was affectionate. “When are you not hungry, baby? Come on, let’s get Zach home. We’ll discuss making you bigger lunches later.”

Relieved I wasn’t going to throw up all over Brandon’s truck, I attempted to get in the back. I might’ve been able to pull it off if I wasn’t sick, but they were both over a foot taller than me and the truck was lifted to accommodate their sizes. Callum had to help me get in, which was embarrassing. I curled into a little ball after I buckled and shut my eyes after rattling off my address for them to navigate. I wanted to go to sleep, but my stomach was still roiling and it took every ounce of concentration not to throw up during the drive. Maybe I need to wear a mask at work from now on.

After they got me inside and up to my apartment, I forced myself to smile. “Thanks so much for the ride. I’m sorry you had to deal with me.”

Callum looked concerned, his eyes searching my face. “Are you sure you don’t want us to stay? You still look pale.”

I waved my hand dismissively. “I’m fine. I’m just gonna go to bed. I don’t need help with that.”

He still looked undecided, but I could feel my mouth fill with saliva and I knew it wouldn’t be long until I threw up again. I didn’t want to worry him any more by subjecting him to that, so I backed up and jerked my thumb over my shoulder.

“I’m really tired. I’m gonna go lay down. Thanks again, guys.”

Shutting the door, I waited maybe point five seconds for them to walk away before I raced to the bathroom and fell on my knees in front of the toilet. Oh yeah. I was definitely wearing a mask at work from now on.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

MALAKAI