Cloak of Deceit

Chapter Twenty Two

The Grigoric Agents dropped us off at an out of the way motel that took cash and didn't ask questions. A good thing, since they unloaded three seemingly dead bodies into the room and took off with another in critical condition.

Carl was by my side when I stirred the next night. He was bandaged and banged up, in a splint and a cast, but shining with his signature "all's well" smile. He filled me in on what I'd missed. Katya had called to let me know Esmond made it out alive, per my request. I didn't remember asking her to, but I was glad for the news. The days ahead would be rough enough without the grief of another death weighing us down.

Carl, Dawn, and Ian took nursing shifts for almost a week and kept a constant supply of blood moving into our impromptu hideout. I hadn't sustained the injuries Jules and Andreas had, but I'd over-exerted and I was newly turned and therefore weaker. My metaphysical drain and the compounded stress had cost me too.

It took Julian two days longer than me to recover, with constant infusions. I found out he'd technically lied to me — Undead could die if they lost too much blood, if they weren't able to heal fast enough and couldn't drink more. He came very near it. I stayed by his side the whole time, in case he woke up wondering where he was. When he did open his eyes, he only smiled softly and kissed my hand, then drifted back to sleep. I'd never seen him look so peaceful.

I let myself finally cry that night, rocking in Carl's arms.

We were going to be okay.

The dam of strength I'd built those first few days came crashing down with the knowledge. It seemed like the best time to finally fall apart.

We kept Andreas sedated the first week to spare him the pain of his body regenerating, and because we didn't know what sort of mental shape he'd be in when he finally came to. He'd been starved of blood for an extended period of time, and he could still be too far gone. We didn't want a full-strength crazed Undead on our hands, at least, not until Jules was strong enough to handle him.

Julian kept the same vigil by his Sponsor's bedside that I had. Though relieved and grateful, he remained distant. He didn't seem open to affection, and merely tolerated my lame attempts to comfort him. So I gave him space. I couldn't blame him. I wouldn't want to face the question he did — whether he would have to put down his oldest friend, whether there was anything left of the man he'd once known like a brother.

At one point, I stumbled in on them to find Jules holding Andreas's hand and speaking in the same dulcet tone he'd used on me, but in a language I didn't recognize. His eyes were filled with tears. It seemed like he was praying. I never told him I'd witnessed that moment. It was private, not meant for me to see, but it made my chest swell to overflowing with love for him — my Undead Knight. He deserved something good for a change. We all did.

By the second week, we'd upgraded to two connected suites in an extended stay hotel. Despite my urging, Carl refused to stay with Dawn and Ian. They'd already begun work to relocate Monique's halfway house and research facility. Even after her betrayal and tragic end, they gave her a memorial service. Julian and I didn't attend, but it sounded lovely — white doves and wreathes of French lavender. She had touched many lives.

Her star pupils decided her work had been noble and should continue. They needed Carl's help more than we did, but he stuck around. Despite being slightly exasperated by his terminal optimism and urging him to go, I was secretly thankful to have him there. With Julian so aloof, I had no one else to talk to, or worry with. Carl was good at distracting me, and I needed that.

My life, or the one I had lived before, was an official wreck. My mother had filed a missing-persons report in both Oregon and California, I failed my second-to-last quarter of pre-med, and without me, my soccer-team didn't make the playoffs. Those were the least of my problems. The Cabal remained a threat, though they didn't have to come for me now that I'd given the Cloak a legitimate reason to put me at the top of their most wanted list.