“Sybil.” Azazel ran to her. He hesitated for a moment, seeing her face down. Her chest was rising and falling, but blood coated her head and her arm. Her clothing looked torn and scorched.
Ambulances came flying into the parking lot, proving that the alarm system he required each shop to have had done its job of notifying the authorities. A moment later, two fire trucks came in.
“Sir, move away please.” A voice came from behind him.
He glanced to see an EMT standing there. “Of... of course.” Except he didn't trust the human to take care of Sybil. He wanted to be by her side.
Dey put a hand on his arm. “Come on, let them work.”
He nodded and walked a few steps away with her. “The shop is gone.”
“Insurance is going to be a bitch unless it was arson.” Dey shook her head. “Wonder if your manager didn't do the protection spell properly.”
He watched as the fire crews pulled out hoses and planned the best method of attack. Turning, he saw the EMT loading Sybil into the ambulance and walked toward them.
“Where will you take her?”
“Closest hospital. Do you know her?”
“She's an employee here. I'm the owner, but the manager will have more information for you.” He pulled up the manager's phone number. “Here.” He showed it to the EMT, who wrote it down. “She'll know Sybil's next of kin.”
“Thank you.” He got in the ambulance and drove off with the sirens blaring again.
Dey put a hand on his arm again. “I'll disguise myself and go check on her if you want.”
“Let's see what her manager has to say first. If Sybil has family, it's best we let them take care of her.” He couldn't take his eyes away from where the ambulance drove off. “But...”
“You're worried, boss. Don't worry, I got it.” She disappeared, and he looked around to see if any of the humans noticed. Nothing. Good.
A car drove up, and the screech of a distraught woman echoed over the noises of the firefighters. “My shop!”
Ah, there was the manager. He turned to see the woman he interviewed when the store first opened but hadn't seen since he handed the keys to her. He liked his people to run the store their way, and as long as they weren’t breaking any laws that would get them shut down and the numbers were performing, he didn't interfere.
“Chrissy,” he greeted. “An ambulance just took your employee to the hospital.”
“Sybil?” She sounded worried. “Oh, goddess of mercy, is she alright?”
He paused for a moment. “I don't know. They took her to the closest hospital. The EMT should call you soon to see if you have her next of kin's information.”
“Um... Sybil hasn't mentioned any. I know she has a goat.”
Ah, someone would need to take care of Billie. He made a mental note of that. “No mention of siblings?”
She shook her head. “No, nor parents. She's not a very open person. She's good at the shop, but she works, she goes home. We used to get her to go out, but then something spooked her, and she doesn't like to go anymore. We're friends, but like I said, she doesn't talk about family.”
He had a feeling it was Morrah that spooked her. “Okay. I'll have Dey take care of the insurance and make sure that you and your employees are taken care of while they investigate the fire.” He turned to leave.
“Thank you, Zel.”
“I take care of my employees, Chrissy. This wasn't your fault. You did what you could to protect it.”
She swallowed. “Obviously not enough if someone could destroy it.”
He didn't answer. He needed to make sure Sybil was okay and figure out who her family was so he could tell them what happened. And take care of her and her goat during her recovery.
Once he was out of view of the humans, he disappeared. He took himself to the hospital and walked to the desk.
“There was a woman brought in, first name Sybil. She came from a shop that caught fire.”
The woman checked her notes. “And you are?”
“Zel Margo. I own the shop. The manager told me that Sybil never mentioned family to her. I'm hoping I can see Sybil when she's ready, so she can tell me who to call.”
The woman shook her head. “The woman is currently in surgery. She'll be in the ICU for recovery.”
“Surgery?” His heart skipped a beat.
“That's all I can tell you. If you'd like to leave your number, I can have someone call later when she's able to receive visitors.”
He didn't want to leave. He wanted to be by her side. Fuck.
Beeping machines surrounded Sybil. She opened her eyes and squinted at the brightness. Had it not been for the annoying sounds, she'd have thought she died.
As the pain settled into her, she realized that no, she was far from death, because death wasn't supposed to hurt that much. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes all the way.
White room?
Check.
IV?
Check.
Wires everywhere?
Check.
Yep, she was in the hospital.
The explosion. It'd thrown her out a window and to the ground. She cringed as she moved her right arm. Okay, dominate arm was still working. Sore as hell, but still movable.
Her left arm...
Wouldn't move.
She looked down to find it splinted and wrapped in bandages. What happened?
Her heart pounded, sending one monitor into a frenzy. She needed to calm down. She needed to think through this.
A nurse came in and calmly walked over to the machine, turning the beeping off. “You're awake, good.”
“What happened?”
“You were unconscious when they brought you in. They sent you to surgery to set your arm and your knee. Both broken. They'll heal, but you'll be in casts for about eight weeks.”
Sybil stared at her. “What? I can't be sitting around in a cast, never mind two casts for two months.” She tried to keep her voice down. Running wasn't an option. She couldn't even have crutches with a broken arm. There would be no way to keep herself safe.
“Do you have any family you can call to help you when you're released?”
She shook her head. “No. They, um...” She tried to find an easy way around the truth. “They’re not in my life anymore.” It hurt her so much to say.
They abandoned her that day. The first time Morrah came to visit. She swallowed. “Um. I'll call my boss. Maybe she can come pick me up?”
“It'll be a few days. The specialist will need to make the cast. The doctor wants to monitor your head. You hit it pretty heard.” She glanced at her chart. “We're looking at seventy-two hours, minimum.”
Sybil tried to think through the panic. She was a sitting duck here. She was going to die at the hands of an angel, or worse, he would kidnap her and make her do something.
“We serve lunch at noon, and I'll bring you some pain killers after, so you can rest.”
She didn't want to rest. She wanted to leave. She glanced at the nurse and gave a numb nod.
“Where are my items? The ones I had on me when I came in?”
“The white bag on your tray.” The nurse pulled the rolling tray table closer.
Sybil offered a forced smile. “Thank you.”
“Let me take your vitals and then I'll be out of your way.”
The nurse finished up with her duties and left. Sybil dug through the bag. There was the house key with the goat skull, her phone, which survived. She was so thankful she invested in one of those destruction proof cases, and her wallet.
She called Chrissy.
“Oh, my goddess, Sybil. Are you okay?”
She carefully considered the question. “Um, I'm alive.” Which was better than the alternative. “And I'm in the hospital.”
“I'm so sorry, Sybil. I had no idea that an explosion could get past that spell.”
Sybil forced a laugh. “I don't think anyone was expecting an explosion, but it...” she paused as she remembered the feeling of power that came before the explosion. “It wasn't something your spell could prevent. That's okay though. I'll heal.”
If Morrah didn't get to her first. “Um, I need someone to go feed Billie and let her out for the next couple of days.”
“You want me to run up and get your keys?”
“That would be great... um. Was someone there when the building exploded?”
Chrissy paused. “What do you mean, sweetie?”
“I thought I heard someone when I went unconscious.” It's not like she could tell Chrissy, hey I heard the voice of a fallen angel, one that some witches still worship.
“Mr. Margo was there. He's the owner. He got the alert from the security system. Sybil? Is that who you were talking about?”
“Um, maybe. I don't know, but hey, my head hurts. If they'll let you visit, come on over in an hour or so? I'll give you the key to let Billie out. Just don't spook her.”
“How can I not spook her? That thing tries to head butt everyone who walks into the house.”
Sybil chuckled. “Yeah, she's a protective little goat. Thanks, I'll see you later.”
“Of course. I'll be there in a couple of hours.”
Sybil hung up the phone and sighed. Her head pounded, and she closed her eyes. Her entire body ached whenever she tried to move to get more comfortable. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep, seeing nothing but flashes of white and hearing Azazel's voice in her dreams.
Azazel paced his office, waiting for some kind of information about Sybil. No one updated him when she was out of surgery. He hadn't gotten a call or a text from Chrissy, and it was taking everything in him to not go topside and storm the hospital.
Dey appeared in a puff of red smoke. “So, got her charts pretending to be a nurse. She's got a broken arm, broken leg, and they moved her out of ICU this morning. Chrissy has been by once, but they wouldn't let her in yet.”
He let out a breath. “No?”
“No, said she still needed rest, and they'd let visitors in after they cast her bones. They handed Chrissy some keys, and she left without protesting.”
He nodded. “Good, that means Billie is being taken care of. I'll try to visit her today, then.” He'd wished that they had exchanged phone numbers because then he could at least talk to her. “And Morrah?”
“No signs of him as of right now, but if he senses she’s weak, I doubt he'd hesitate to take her.”
“Any luck on finding out who her family is?”
Dey waved a hand, and a stack of papers appeared on his desk. “Her blood goes back a long time. Back when you were pulling women from fires and making deals with them.”
He smiled at that. He made some of the strongest witches that way. He granted the special ones immortality. “That's a good era to come from. What family?”
“Peregrine.”
His blood went cold. “Impossible. Witches wiped out the Peregrine line centuries ago.”
“Yes, the witches and warlocks of the human world turned them in for their own crimes, because they thought the Peregrines could take magic away.” She raised a brow. “Any truth to that?”
He searched through his centuries of memories and came across one. A frightened male child tucked in the corner of a cellar. “A fail-safe,” he muttered. “In case the humans went rogue. I never said a word about it after the creator cast me out of heaven. I refused to let him take my gift from the humans. “I rescued a child. After they hung the Peregrines. The child told me he was forbidden to speak his name. So, I gave him another. How did you find out?”
“I'm an imp. I have my ways.”
He nodded. “I know why Morrah wants her now.”
“Because he wants to take the gift of magic away.” Dey pressed her lips together. “You need to make sure you keep her safe. Though the explosion? That would have killed her, and she's no good to him dead.”
“Yeah, I had that thought, too. Which means someone else is after her.”
“And she's sitting in a hospital, helpless.” Dey picked at her nails. “Would you like me to heal her?”
He nodded. “Once she's out of the hospital. There will be questions if she suddenly heals while there.”
“Okay, then I'll go back and stand guard?”
“I'm going to go up and try to visit her. I need to make sure she's safe. Waiting around here isn't helping me.”
She sat down at his desk. “Okay, she's in room 315. Have fun. I didn't really want to be around anymore humans anyway. I'll finish out the insurance paperwork.”
“Thanks, Dey.” He gave her a wave and then took himself topside. He appeared in the alley by the hospital and waited to make sure no humans were around before slipping out to the street. He strolled into the hospital and smiled. “I'm here to see Sybil Peters in room 315.”
The woman behind the desk raised a brow at him. “Here's the visitor log. Sign in.” She handed him a clipboard and then went to the computer and typed a few things while he filled out the log.
He handed the log back to her. “Oh, Mr. Margo, you're expected. Chrissy Sota said you'd be stopping by.”
He grinned. “Yes, I own the store where the explosion happened. I wanted to come check on Sybil.”
“Ms. Peters, room 315.” She handed him a visitor badge. “Head on up, I'll let the nurses' station know you're coming.”
Peters. That was a far cry from Peregrine and was not the name he'd given the child he'd found. Names changed, bloodlines did not.
Dey wouldn't have made a mistake in this.
He knocked on the door before entering the hospital room. A nurse was just leaving as he stepped in.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” He offered Sybil a small smile.
She looked miserable, pale face, uncomfortably propped up on her pillows, a cast on her left arm and right leg. Her hair was frizzy still, but he assumed she hadn't gotten a chance to take care of her own needs.
She mustered a smile at him. “How did you know where to find me?”
He pulled up a chair and sat by the bed. “Well, I saw the news and came to find you at the shop. What I found was you on the ground.” He paused. “I asked the EMTs where you'd be.”
“Chrissy said only the owner was there...” She paused as her mind wrapped around it. “Chrissy would lose her mind if she realized the owner was the actual Azazel.”
“Yet you didn't seem surprised.” He grinned. “You knew about me the moment I said my name.”
She nodded. “Hard not to believe in you when I normally have an angel chasing after me.” She shrugged a shoulder. “ I guess all this is going to make it a little easier for him to get me.” She nearly choked on the words.
Anger filled him. “We're not going to let that happen.”
She looked away. “I'm a sitting duck at this point.”
“I have ways of healing you, but first we have to get you out of the hospital.”
“They're saying another twenty-four hours. They just want to monitor the concussion a little longer.”
“Hm.” He gently touched the butterfly bandages on her head. “Hit your head a little.”
She rolled her eyes. “Happens when you skid across the ground.”
“That explains the road rash on your cheek and other arm.” He shook his head. “I'm sorry. I should have been there.”
Sybil laughed. “You aren't my savior. I just met you.”
He jerked a little. She was right. “Yes, but you're one of my followers.”
“Deities don't owe it to us to follow us around and save us from freak accidents.”
But it wasn't a freak accident, and he had a feeling she knew that. “Well, I know it kind of put a damper on our first date. But let's see what we can do about it.”
She raised a brow. “What kind of date can we have in the hospital?”
“Let me figure it out.” He pulled his phone out and texted Dey to bring some things.
Sybil sat in comfortable silence, dozing in and out, while Azazel sat there, occasionally asking questions to make sure she was comfortable. If this was his idea of a date, then they were going to have to rethink dating.
The door opened. “Hey boss, got your things.”
A woman's voice made Sybil open her eyes. The lady walked in wearing a short leather skirt and a tight shirt that barely contained her breasts. For a moment, Sybil felt jealous. This woman looked amazing with her long fire-red hair, bright lips, and here was Sybil, laying in a hospital bed without even a true shower after the explosion.
“Dey, this is Sybil. Sybil, Dey. My secretary.” He stood and grabbed the bags from her. “Thank you.”
“Nice to meet you, Dey.” She tried to force as much kindness into her voice as she could.
Dey blew a kiss at her. “You too, sorry it's in a hospital, and that you're um... broken.”
“Dey!” Azazel growled. “Out.”
“Yes, sir, yes, sir.” She walked out of the room and Azazel sat back by the bed with his bag. “Okay, so I can't take you on a date and I'm sure that the hospital would frown at me giving you wine right now.”
Sybil let out a small laugh.
“So I had Dey go pick some things up.” He pulled out two to-go boxes from a local Italian place. “I hope you like it. Sweet isn't typically my go to. But bad-ass wouldn't do us any good here. Would it?”
She shrugged. “I've seen bad-ass from you already. It's pretty good, but I wish I would have gotten to see you fight Morrah.”
“Morrah ran away like the coward he is.” He snorted and unwrapped the plastic fork for her.
“You have a history with Morrah?” She took the fork from him. “Thank you for this.”
He nodded. “Morrah was the one who turned me in, so the creator cast me down.” He shook his head. “Morrah couldn't see how good magic would be for the humans. How much you could grow and accomplish.” He chuckled. “But he was so determined to weed the witches out. Kill them all.”
“Is that why he's after me?” She took a bite of her pasta.
Azazel's gaze flickered up to hers. “I don't know why he's after you.”
There was something there, something in his voice, that told her he was lying. But the man brought her food and was trying to make her feel better. She'd let the lie go, for now.
“I promise the next date we have, I’ll clean up better.” She tried to make a joke out of it. “You really didn't have to come here.”
He shook his head. “Finish up, I can't bathe you...”
Heat rushed to her cheeks at those words, and he gave her a wicked grin.
“But I can at least brush your hair out for you.”
She raised a brow. “I thought that 'sweet' wasn't your go to.”
“I said it wasn't my go to, not that I wasn't capable of it,” he muttered.
A laugh bubbled up in her throat, and she gave him a full smile. “Okay, dinner first, and after dinner, you can pamper me by brushing my hair.”
“Thank you.” It sounded so honest that Sybil took his hand.
He squeezed hers. “Eat up. I'm sure the hospital food isn't very good.”
“It's awful.” She laughed and ate.
After she finished, the nurse walked in, took her vitals, touched her head, made a few notes, and left.
“One more thing,” Azazel said and pulled out a plastic container with two slices of cheesecake.
The white creamy slice had dripping red cherry sauce on it, with huge cherries on top and a small swirl of whipped cream. “That looks amazing.”
She moaned at her first bite. “I haven't had cheesecake in ages.”
“It's one of my favorites.” Azazel took a bite of his. “So, where did you get Billie?”
She snorted. “Right to the goat?”
“Well, I already know where you work, what you do for a living, might as well learn why you have a goat.”
She licked the whipped cream from her fork and watched as his eyes followed the movement. “I was volunteering at this farm and they had a lot of goats. The mom died, and I was helping to bottle feed Billie, and she just kind of got attached to me. So the owner said I could have her. She’s never really left my side. I spent a lot of time with her on the farm, and then she got to come home with me.” She couldn't keep the stupid smile off her face.
“An unusual companion, but typically, the familiar chooses the witch.” He took a bite.
“Oh no, I don't think there's anything magical there. No familiar for me. Nothing to strengthen my magic or draw more energy from.” She lifted the shoulder of her good arm. “Just a woman and her goat.”
He put the plastic container in the trash when he finished. “And your magic? Which way does it lean?”
“Whichever way I want it to.” She smirked. “No witch is inherently evil or good. Just like humans, we have freewill. I don't believe in a divine being that knows my path before I make my choices.”
“Well then, that's a discussion for another night. I don't particularly care to talk about the creator when we're in the human realm.” He took the empty container from her.
She didn't know why, but something curled inside her, not like a warning, but in anticipation. He motioned for her to turn. “Let's get that hair brushed.”
“Chrissy brought me some things. There should be a hairbrush in the bag.”
He nodded and went to get it. Sybil tried to run her good hand through the tangles and knots.
Azazel took her hand and placed down in her lap. “Stop.”
There was a command in his voice that she couldn't fight. She glanced up at him and met his gaze.
He smiled at her. “I'm just going to brush it and braid it, so it stays out of the way.” He moved behind her and slowly detangled the ends with the brush.
“Wait, our big bad fallen angel can braid?”
He snorted. “I have short hair now, but I didn't always. I took care of it on my own. I helped my sister with hers, after...” He paused for a moment.
“After?” she urged gently.
“My sister was human. Everyone thinks angels were created as divine beings, but not all of us were. The creator picked some of us for our devotion. My sister should have been the angel.”
She closed his eyes as his fingers worked through her hair with the brush.
“There was retaliation before I was cast down and my sister was collateral.” His voice became quiet as he brushed.
Sybil debated on what she wanted to ask for a few minutes. “Did she live?”
“She did, for a while. She had what people today would refer to as PTSD from the event and, well... she stopped living. My mother found her dead one day. Like she'd just given up on life.” He brushed her hair back away from her face. “So, on a lighter note, why purple?”
Sybil about choked. “That's not going to be a much lighter note.”
“Hm?” He ran his fingers through her hair. “Not tonight?”
She honestly thought about it. He'd just gave her a very vulnerable part of him, and she was shutting down about why she colored her hair purple. She opened her mouth to respond, but the door opened.
“Hey, boss, we need to get going.” Dey's words came out almost too quick to understand. “With the witch.”
Sybil tried to keep her heart rate under control to keep the machines from beeping.
“I can't just take her from a human hospital.” He jumped up and started shoving her stuff in the bag. “It'll complicate things even more.”
Dey glanced behind her shoulder. “Then you better do some fancy talking or some magic stuff to get her out of here. I just saw Morrah in the lobby.”
Sybil swallowed. “Tell the nurse I want to see the doctor.”
Azazel turned around. “What?”
“You heard her. Some fancy magic stuff needs to happen, but it has to be the doctor that lets me out of here.” She moved to the edge of her bed. The cast came just below her knee so she could bend it. There was a sling for her arm, and she grabbed it, putting it on.
Azazel darted out the door, leaving her with Dey.
Dey smirked, showing the corner of pointed teeth. “You're a witch, huh?”
“And you're a demon?”
“Imp, but close. Azazel's very taken with you.”
Sybil snorted. “Jealous?”
“Of him maybe, but I don't swing his way.” She winked, and Azazel walked back in with the doctor.
Sybil took a moment trying to figure out exactly what Dey was saying, but in the end, just focused on the doctor. She took a deep breath and pulled on that feeling of magic inside her. The thing that kept her warm and alive. The flame that kept her going and allowed her to perform magic. She met the doctor's gaze and let that feeling loose in the room.
“I'm fine now.”
“You're fine now,” the doctor repeated.
“You'll fill the paperwork out after we leave.”
“I'll take care of the paperwork. You're free to leave.”
Sybil nodded to Azazel, who gathered her stuff. The doctor stood there in a trance when Azazel came and helped her off the bed. “Let's go,” she whispered.
As they disappeared, Morrah stepped into the room.