To be Claimed by Her

Chapter 16

Eveleen's POV

I'd already visited with Cassie's roommate as well as three other victims' families. This was my last stop for the day. Something had drawn me to the building where Daryl had stayed. It reeked of dark magic. Why would a coven member want to stay here with so much negative energy? Maybe he was the one who accidentally brought the shade, but if that were the case, it would have left once he died. Whatever or whoever brought this one was still around.

I'd made it to the warehouse room of the building when a fireball whizzed past my head. Oh hell no, not today. I spun around expecting a shade to find myself face to face with a Domaug demon that had probably fed off the negative energy, and I just interrupted dinner time. It lunged at me and I fought back. Hearing a man's voice, the demon turned to focus on the two men who had entered the room.

Fuck.

My premonition.

This is really gonna hurt.

The demon launched a fireball striking the blonde man. The second man crouched over him, trying to rouse him when the Domaug launched another attack. Without hesitation, I jumped in between the demon and the two men, screaming out the curse - scriosta! (obliterate) as the demon exploded. Then I felt the impact of the fireball making contact with my chest. It was as if all the oxygen was sucked out of my lungs. The grey-eyed man let out a cry as he held me. Why was he so sad, so uncertain of himself? When he touched my cheek the shock jolted me, but the residual feeling felt like home. "Mo chroí."

And the blackness took over.

I heard a steady beeping sound. Did I forget to turn off my alarm? I tried to reach out but found my arms felt heavy.

"Slow down, miss," an older man's voice said with a heavy southern accent. "You've had quite an accident. No fast movements."

I slowly opened my eyes and adjusted to the bright lights. Oh damn, I'm in a hospital. The Council's gonna freak out on this one. Wait, what happened to the men? I looked around "Wh, where am I? What about the men, did they, are they okay?"

The older man gave a soft chuckle, "They're fine. You're in the hospital. Owen said there was some sort of accident at a warehouse involving a fire. Apparently, you and Sean were both injured. He's fine, just a mild burn on his shoulder. But you have some damage to your chest. It will take a while to heal and possibly some skin grafts. You need to stay here for at least a few days." He pulled up my chart and flipped through the pages. "Oh, sorry, I'm Dr. Roberts. Forgot my manners there for a minute, Miss Doe." He gave me a little wink when he said my last name. I heard someone clear their throat behind him.

"Owen, glad you're here. She was worried about you two." Dr. Roberts said to the grey-eyed man. He gave a small smile. "I'll give you two a few minutes." The old man walked out the door, leaving me alone with Owen.

"How are you feeling," he asked, coming to sit in the chair next to my bed. He looked exhausted and even though he tried to hide it, he was truly shaken to his core.

Wincing a bit as I spoke, "I'm better than I thought I would be. How is your friend?"

Owen gave a short laugh, "Sean? He's grouchy and making all the nurses miserable. Doctors always make the worst patients." He gave an exaggerated eye roll that made me laugh. He sobered his expression and met my eyes. "What was that thing?"

I wanted to lie, but I couldn't. "A Domaug. They are low-level demons that feed on unhappiness and negative emotions. They usually don't attack, but I interrupted its feeding time." I could see the wheels in his head turning, trying to make sense of what I'd said, of what he'd seen.

"Who are you? How did you blow that creature up?" He asked. I could see he was still trying to come up with a plausible explanation.

"I'm a witch. Well, half-fae, but that's probably more than you need to know." I babbled. Oh wow, it really is spill the beans time, huh?

He hung his head, his breathing was erratic. Oh shit, he's having a panic attack. I had to do something before the poor man passed out. I reached out and placed my hand over his, pushing calm waves at him. His head jerked up, grey eyes meeting mine. "How are you doing that?"

"As I said, I'm a witch. It's just one of my abilities. I can channel emotions. You were starting to have a panic attack so I helped calm you."

"Is this real?" he mumbled under his breath, hanging his head again.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "I just couldn't stand by and let you both die."

"No," he snapped. "Sorry, I just, I mean...this is just" his words trailed off. I completely understood. I just ripped apart his entire worldview. He was actually handling it much better than I expected.

"Um, I'm sorry to ask, but can you maybe help me get out of here?" I needed to leave. There was no way to explain that my wounds would be healed in the next day or two as if they never happened. "I'm not really sure why I just admitted everything to you, but I can't let just everyone know. More than just my life could be placed in danger if that happened."

His eyes slanted as he studied me closely, "What do you mean?"

"I heal fast. In a couple of days, the doctor will wonder how I recovered. I'm not the only witch in this world. There are lots of things in this world you know nothing about." I sat up a bit more, meeting his gaze. "I need to get out of here before someone or something realizes I'm here. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"If I help you, will you answer some questions for me and my friends?"

Letting out a deep breath, "I don't think I have any choice in that matter, so yes. Help me get home and I'll answer your questions." Better know what you're doing, Cailleach, I cursed mentally.

Author's Notes:  Our foundation has been laid, and now things start moving quickly.