Page 82 of Craving Demons

I put my hands on him again and pushed hard once more. This time, I dared to watch and saw the burned skin reform and mend. The bones of his shattered leg fused, and the muscles knit over them once again.

After another moment of extreme effort from me, he looked normal. His face was healed and his hair returned.

Gasping, I sat back feeling both exhausted and nauseated at the same time.

I turned to Grey. “Your turn.”

But instead of standing and walking to him, I got to my feet and promptly crumpled.

Grey caught me before I hit the floor and pulled me into his lap, cradling my head.

“I’ll survive for now,” he said, a hint of mischief tugging at his lips. “You can do me later.”

With my head in his lap, I smiled up at him, my vision swimming. I’d used up too much of my abilities or something and I’d never felt this drained before.

“Healing first,” I said, my words slurred. “Thendoing.”

Then I passed out.

ANAIS

I woke in a plush,soft bed that wasn’t mine and dragged my gaze over the unfamiliar room.

It was huge and opulent, colored in rich reds and golds. I lay in a decadent four-poster bed complete with a gauzy curtain. Next to it stood a large nightstand with an ornate lamp. Beyond that, was a small table with two chairs sitting in front of a large bank of windows. The sheers were drawn with daylight pouring into the room, but it was close to fading, and I could see the brilliant hues of sunset in the sky beyond the translucent curtains.

Across from the bed were three doors. Two were open, one leading to a massive walk-in closet and the other to an ensuite bathroom. The third door stood opposite the windows and probably led to the rest of the house.

Much to my surprise, Ramsey sat against the wall beside it, looking weary with his knees pulled up, arms folded across them, and his head turned and resting on his forearms.

“I’m awake,” I said softly, and the man perked up instantly.

Raising his head, he smiled at me. There were still a lot of cuts and bruises on him and his suit had been shredded in that fight, but there was something else wrong with him. His eyes looked a little glassy and were red and swollen while strange spots dotted his skin with black tendrils snaking out from those points.

“Hey,” he said weakly. “How are you feeling?”

Good question… howwasI feeling?

Tired still, but no longer exhausted. Depending on how long it had been, I was doing quite well actually. Ramsey however…

“I’m fine,” I said, “but you look like shit. Let me heal you some more.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he said and rose. Even just how he got up, so tentative and slow, showed how much he was suffering. “I got some poison on me from that Wadjet-blasted snake. I’m feeling a little… rough.” The last word came out in a huff as he fell onto the bed and passed out.

“Fuck,” I hissed and shifted over the covers to him. I was still fully dressed, but I had blood on me, lots and lots of blood. This outfit was definitely ruined.

I touched Ramsey, but before I just dumped my healing power into him, I paused.

There was no doubt, no hesitation this time. Apparently, I’d accepted that I could heal him. This second aspect, though a surprise, hadn’t been as big of a shock as finding out I was a sex daemon. And having accepted it, I wondered if I shouldn’t explore this aspect a little instead of just dumping power into Ramsey. I think it had been pushing raw energy into Fen which had exhausted and nauseated me last time.

So, I touched a finger to Ramsey’s skin near one of the spots that looked like strange burns. Not really sure what I was doing, I tried tofeelthe wound. For a moment there was nothing, then… I felt a faint sense of… wrongness.

Frowning, I closed my eyes and concentrated, sensing that the black spots were dying tissue and that it was spreading now that it had filtered into his blood.

Sighing, I then went to work trying to heal that. The trouble was, I still had no clue how to moderate my power. So—

I woke with a gasp.

It was dark out. Ramsey was still lying, passed out on the bed and I’d been lying on top of him.