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Authors: Christina Henry
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Nathaniel studied me in silence.
“What?” I asked.
He looked contemplative. “I think I begin to understand you.”
“It doesn’t appear that understanding me has brought you any joy,” I said, pushing away from him and standing up. I offered my hand. “Do you think you can stand?”
Nathaniel ignored my hand. He sat up slowly before coming to his feet. His face was white as chalk.
Once he stood I could see the damage to his wing more clearly. It was sickening.
It appeared that Bryson had deliberately shot several times into the place where the root of the wing grew into Nathaniel’s back. Muscle and cartilage lay exposed, and the wing looked like it might snap off at any moment.
I reached toward his wing with my left hand, and that was when I noticed it.
“Nathaniel,” I said, and my voice was barely a whisper.
“What is it? They approach. We must move…” He trailed off as I held up my left hand and wiggled my fingers. All five of my fingers.
He grabbed my hand, inspecting it, then looked up at me in wonder. “How?”
“I have no idea,” I said. “This morning the last two were missing, just like they have been since Samiel cut them off. Now they’re back. There’s been so much other stuff going on I didn’t have time to notice the spontaneous regeneration of my digits.”
“Perhaps when we combined our powers the first time,” Nathaniel said speculatively. “The force was significantly greater than I expected. Perhaps this regrowth is a side effect.”
“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe the fingers just grew back the way Lucifer always said they would.”
Nathaniel cocked his head to the side like a dog, like he was listening hard. “Unfortunately, we do not have time to contemplate this miracle. The vampires approach quickly.”
“You can’t run far with your wing like that. We’ve got to find some way to tape it up before we move any further.” I pointed at the glass doors of the convention center. “Let’s see if there’s a first aid kit somewhere in there.”
Nathaniel looked doubtful. “If we are trapped in there, we will be rats in a maze.”
“I’ve already survived a maze,” I said. “And we don’t really have a choice. If your wing breaks off, I doubt that it can be fixed. Do you want to be grounded for the rest of your life?”
I could tell that he wanted to argue further but the thought of being flightless halted him.
“Very well,” he said. “Let us move quickly. If we are fortunate, the vampires will be unable to distinguish our scent from that of other humans so recently near.”
As we hurried toward the doors something occurred to me. “But we don’t smell like humans.”
“I know,” Nathaniel said, and grabbed the handle of one of the doors. It opened easily. Whoever had left the building last hadn’t bothered to lock up.
I remembered the vampire I’d met in an alley the previous November, whose eyes had flared at the prospect of taking my blood because I was a descendant of Lucifer. I wondered how easy it would be for the vampires to find us.
We entered the cavernous hall. Stairs and escalators were before us. To our right was an auditorium and signs for bathrooms at the bottom of a short flight of steps. Advertisements for upcoming events open to the public were piled on a ledge directly to our right.
“There has to be an aid station here,” I said. “We just need to find a map and get there so we can tape you up.”
“And then return outside as quickly as possible. I do not like the idea of being closed in this building with vampires.”
After some searching we found a map of the building and located the aid station. McCormick Place is a sprawling complex that comprises several buildings. We were in the South building. The first aid center was on level 2.5, next to a FedEx office.
“Level 2.5?” I said as we hurried up the long flight of stairs to the upper floor. It was slower going than our usual hurry. Nathaniel really
“What?” I asked.
He looked contemplative. “I think I begin to understand you.”
“It doesn’t appear that understanding me has brought you any joy,” I said, pushing away from him and standing up. I offered my hand. “Do you think you can stand?”
Nathaniel ignored my hand. He sat up slowly before coming to his feet. His face was white as chalk.
Once he stood I could see the damage to his wing more clearly. It was sickening.
It appeared that Bryson had deliberately shot several times into the place where the root of the wing grew into Nathaniel’s back. Muscle and cartilage lay exposed, and the wing looked like it might snap off at any moment.
I reached toward his wing with my left hand, and that was when I noticed it.
“Nathaniel,” I said, and my voice was barely a whisper.
“What is it? They approach. We must move…” He trailed off as I held up my left hand and wiggled my fingers. All five of my fingers.
He grabbed my hand, inspecting it, then looked up at me in wonder. “How?”
“I have no idea,” I said. “This morning the last two were missing, just like they have been since Samiel cut them off. Now they’re back. There’s been so much other stuff going on I didn’t have time to notice the spontaneous regeneration of my digits.”
“Perhaps when we combined our powers the first time,” Nathaniel said speculatively. “The force was significantly greater than I expected. Perhaps this regrowth is a side effect.”
“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe the fingers just grew back the way Lucifer always said they would.”
Nathaniel cocked his head to the side like a dog, like he was listening hard. “Unfortunately, we do not have time to contemplate this miracle. The vampires approach quickly.”
“You can’t run far with your wing like that. We’ve got to find some way to tape it up before we move any further.” I pointed at the glass doors of the convention center. “Let’s see if there’s a first aid kit somewhere in there.”
Nathaniel looked doubtful. “If we are trapped in there, we will be rats in a maze.”
“I’ve already survived a maze,” I said. “And we don’t really have a choice. If your wing breaks off, I doubt that it can be fixed. Do you want to be grounded for the rest of your life?”
I could tell that he wanted to argue further but the thought of being flightless halted him.
“Very well,” he said. “Let us move quickly. If we are fortunate, the vampires will be unable to distinguish our scent from that of other humans so recently near.”
As we hurried toward the doors something occurred to me. “But we don’t smell like humans.”
“I know,” Nathaniel said, and grabbed the handle of one of the doors. It opened easily. Whoever had left the building last hadn’t bothered to lock up.
I remembered the vampire I’d met in an alley the previous November, whose eyes had flared at the prospect of taking my blood because I was a descendant of Lucifer. I wondered how easy it would be for the vampires to find us.
We entered the cavernous hall. Stairs and escalators were before us. To our right was an auditorium and signs for bathrooms at the bottom of a short flight of steps. Advertisements for upcoming events open to the public were piled on a ledge directly to our right.
“There has to be an aid station here,” I said. “We just need to find a map and get there so we can tape you up.”
“And then return outside as quickly as possible. I do not like the idea of being closed in this building with vampires.”
After some searching we found a map of the building and located the aid station. McCormick Place is a sprawling complex that comprises several buildings. We were in the South building. The first aid center was on level 2.5, next to a FedEx office.
“Level 2.5?” I said as we hurried up the long flight of stairs to the upper floor. It was slower going than our usual hurry. Nathaniel really
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