Masquerade (Heven and Hell #1)(77)
Author: Cambria Hebert

I watched in smug satisfaction as she came to stand over the wreckage that used to be her car, her face twisted in pain. He called out to her and she lifted her face and turned. Pain screamed through me with my sharp intake of breath. It couldn’t be!

There was only one way that she could have survived my attack and have this ‘miracle’ occur. The rumors I’d heard down below were true. The scrambling for power, the plan to upset the balance of Glory and evil, was not going unnoticed by those who wanted things to remain as they were.

But what did she have to do with it? What did he have to do with it?

Pain, sharp and pungent, ripped through me. I had to get out of there before I passed out; he would smell me and come to finish me off. I was lucky he was so busy mooning over her and calling the police to catch my scent now. This wasn’t over, not by a long shot. It didn’t matter how they were involved because I would take them out of the game before they even got a chance to play.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Heven

Hospitals suck. I swore after my accident that I would never go back to one, yet here I was. Sam sat over by the wall, his hair wet and mussed from the rain with an unreadable expression on his face as he watched the nurses poke and prod me. He was lucky they weren’t torturing him this way, too. Sure, he hadn’t been in the accident, but the clothes he was wearing (the shorts Airis seemed to conjure right on his body and the shirt he got from his truck) were ill fitting, ripped and covered in blood. He looked like he needed medical attention, even if I knew he didn’t.

Just as I thought it, a new nurse came into the room with what I thought of as a blood bucket (a kit to draw blood) in her hands and an intent look on her face as she headed for Sam. “We would like to check you out as a precaution.”

His face stayed the same, but I felt his panic like a slap to my face. Having his blood down in the lab would raise all sorts of questions. As a hellhound, Sam has an extremely high white blood cell count, which he believes is the reason that he heals quickly and rarely gets sick. If his blood went down to the lab and they saw how unusually high his count was, they would want to study his blood further which would lead to the discovery that he has an extra chromosome (which is what I learned enables him to change into a hellhound). These kinds of discoveries would only lead to more questions…questions that Sam (and I) didn’t want to answer.

Thinking fast I moaned and caught the nurse as she brushed past me. “I don’t feel well.”

She stopped and turned to me, her face softening. No doubt I looked horrible, so my lie appeared true. “Did you get some pain meds yet?”

“Yes, they made my stomach upset,” I gagged and lurched forward at her.

She jumped back, stumbling a bit. “I’ll get the trash can.” She hurried over and grabbed the bucket and thrust it at me.

“Thank you,” I responded weakly. “Could I have some ginger ale and some crackers? It might settle my stomach.”

The nurse patted my hand and ran from the room. I tossed the trash can down and looked over at Sam. He lifted an eyebrow. “Pretty convincing.”

I shrugged. It wasn’t all an act. The thought of anyone finding out he was different made me nauseous. He appeared before me and I blinked.

You have to go. The idea really made me feel like barfing.

No, I don’t.

The nurses are going to want to check you out.

I’ll handle it.

Just then Grandma ran into the room. “Oh, Heven, honey, what happened?”

Sam went back to where he’d been sitting before. “I’m sorry, Grandma, I wrecked your car.” Seeing her made my eyes fill with tears. Up until this point I think shock kept me from feeling overly emotional about everything that had happened tonight.

“Don’t worry about the car. How are you?”

“Okay, a little shaken up. I’m not hurt too bad.” I sniffled. Lucky for me most of my injuries were healed when Airis brought me back to life. I was still bruised up and my body really hurt, but at least I was alive. Thankfully a good amount of the blood that I lost had been washed away with the rain. Having that much blood all over me would have looked suspicious considering my lack of injuries.

She grabbed my face and kissed me, brushing the hair away from my face. I looked up to smile and reassure her, but her eyes went wide and she gasped.

“What?”

Your scars are gone. They disappeared when Airis brought you back to life. Sam hurried to say.

“What happened to your scars?” Grandma whispered.

My hand flew to my face. It was smooth and flat. I felt around again and again. I looked up at Grandma. “They’re gone?”

She nodded.

“I want to see.” I jumped down off the gurney. My legs felt like Jell-O and wouldn’t hold me up, but Sam appeared, slipping his arm under me for support.

“You have good reflexes,” Gran murmured.

You didn’t tell me! I told Sam as I headed for the bathroom and the mirror.

I forgot.

How could you forget this?

I never see your scars when I look at you.

When I was in front of the mirror, I took a breath and looked up.

They were gone.

I wasn’t disfigured anymore.

I burst into tears.

“Bring her out here,” Grandma told Sam from the bathroom door.

“Wait!” I cried. Lifting my head from his chest, I stared back at my reflection. He kept a hand at the small of my back as I stepped closer to the mirror. My skin was splotchy from all the crying I’d done in the past few hours…but the scars were gone. I stared at myself, at the face I’d wished for since the accident, the face I’d always had – except it wasn’t me anymore.

What’s the matter?

I looked in the mirror at Sam who stood behind me. I don’t recognize myself.

I do. You’re beautiful.

I burst into tears again.

“Come lie down,” Grandma ordered.

Sam led me out of the tiny room and all but lifted me onto the gurney. Instead of going back to his chair, he sat beside me. His body heat and scent calmed me. I loved him so much that I would go through everything we’d just gone through again just to be here with him.

“What happened?” Grandma asked from the foot of the bed.

“It was raining really hard, and the car just hydroplaned. It was dark, and I ran off the road.” After Airis had sent us back to the scene of the accident, we called the police, and the ambulance brought us here to the hospital. While it hadn’t been raining when I wrecked the car, it did start right after, so I didn’t have to stretch the truth too far. “I called Sam while I was waiting for the ambulance, right after I called you.”