Graveyard Watchman (Book 1)

Chapter 83

Dominic takes my hand in his and kisses it as we begin to walk down the hallway together. I'm still looking up into his amazing eyes; thankful for how lucky I am to have this incredible man in my life before suddenly hearing someone approaching us. Dominic looks away first in the direction of heavy footsteps before I can make out who it is. A few seconds later, I instantly recognize my brother's walk.

"Gideon is waiting for you in the Great Hall." Zack says, looking directly at Dominic.

Wait, hold up...

Dominic nods his head and I quickly interrupt, "Now? I mean, don't we," I look back up at Dominic, "Get any time to ourselves?"

I hear Zack sigh under his breath as if he's a little annoyed and my eyes go straight to his, "Katie, time is of the essence. Skylar needs our immediate protection."

"I—I get that, but..."

"Kate," Dominic interjects, "Zack is right. I must go," he says, letting go of my hand as he shifts his eyes back to Zack, "Escort her back to our quarters." He says, glancing back at me, "I will see you soon." He takes off and Zack looks down at me, holding out his elbow in a gesture for me to take it, so I do. "If this place is so safe, why do I need an escort?" I ask, not even trying to hide my frustration.

Zack shakes his head and smiles like my question was funny. "You are our Queen. It is proper and expected for you to have someone by your side at all times, especially when you're in public."

At all times? What?

"C'mon," Zack says, "We need to have a little chat."

The second we make it to my enormous room, I notice Victoria opening the armoire, hanging something new before we catch her attention.

"Your Majesty," she bends into a deep bow, "Can I get you some anything? Food or maybe something to drink?" she asks as if the drama from earlier never happened.

"Oh, um, yes." I say, because I'd actually kill for some caffeine. "Can I have a Diet Coke?"

She glances at me, then to Zack and half smiles, pulling herself back up, "Of course. Anything you wish." She says before darting out of the room and I can't help thinking it's still awkward between us. We'll definitely need to talk soon but first, Zack needs to clue me in on a few things I want answers to.

"So," I take a seat in one of the wing backs by the fireplace, "How is Uncle John?" I ask, hoping, no praying, it's good news and that I didn't make the biggest mistake, ever.

Zack's face changes and I can't quite figure out if he's troubled or trying to hide something much worse. "He's doing..." he pauses, "okay, I suppose. Although, I'm concerned about him."

"Oh? Why?"

Zack looks away like he's thinking of how to tell me, "He's extremely angry" he takes in a breath, "And it's difficult to know if there's still..." he locks eyes with me, "If there's still a Demon attached to him." he takes in a breath, "I mean, obviously, he's tormented by the loss of his hand."

Oh crap, I almost forgot about that.

"Maybe I should go talk to..."

"No!" Zack interrupts. "We can't allow that yet. He's not in the state of mind to speak with you—or Dominic."

Shit.

"W—What about Aunt Kelly? Can't she calm him down?" I ask, rubbing my hands together as I stand and begin to pace back and forth, "Isn't there anyone in this place who can tell us what's going on with him...for sure?"

"Yes." he whispers, like it was hard for him to admit.

"Okay, then let's find out. Who is it?"

Zack locks eyes with me and I know who he's talking about before he even says a word.

"Me?" I whisper back. "Wait, you saw how badly I handled that whole situation. I had no idea what I was even doing!" I raise my voice louder than intended.

Zack reaches out, taking me by the shoulders with both hands, "Your gifts reach way beyond your ability to teleport or even to save a life."

Gulp.

"I want you to think back to the moment you decided to save Uncle John. Why did you save him?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that question?" I blurt out. "I did it for Aunt Kelly!"

"Yes, but would you have done it had you known the Demon was still inside him?"

"That's just it, I didn't know." I whisper. Well, not for sure, anyway"

"Yes you did. When you saved his life, you also saw into his soul—which is why you collapsed afterward. You made the Demon leave his body. We all saw it."

"Wait, are you saying I'm going to have to lip-lock our Uncle again to know the truth?"

"No." he answers and I let out a thankful breath. "All you have to do is look into his eyes."

"But I thought you said he was too unstable for me to be around him."

"He is, but there's another way." My brother admits with a serious look on his face. "But we will have to make Aunt Kelly agree to it." he takes in another breath, "We will also assign two Warriors to hold him down to keep him from attacking you."

Holy crap.

"So, you're saying, I may have gotten rid of the Demon once, but there's a chance it's back?"

"It's rare, but yes—and this Demon..." he swallows, "is a particularly evil one."