go up against El Jefe. The nickname might have started out as a joke, but it stuck because Warren
is
“the Chief” when it comes to the paranormal. He’s internationally renowned and brings a lot of prestige and money to the university. Lackley might win this particular battle, but pissing off Warren would cost him dearly long term, and he was too astute a politician not to know it.
“Dr. Reynolds—since Ms. Graves appears to be alive and in full possession of her faculties and memory, is there any reason why she should remain here instead of recovering in the comfort of her own residence?”
“Well, sir …,” Reynolds stammered a little. I knew he was going to argue. As a doctor, he’d feel compelled to take a conservative course with regard to little things like, oh, sunlight, holy water… . But I knew it would go badly for him if he did. He didn’t have the clout Warren did, so he’d be practically defenseless, and Lackley was in the mood to rip someone a new orifice.
I didn’t want Dr. Reynolds to be punished for saving me, so I spoke up before he could argue. “It’s all right, Doc. I was planning on leaving anyway.”
“I hate this.” Kevin glared at me when he said it, and I could feel the heat of his anger. “You shouldn’t risk going out into the sunlight.” I knew his beast was close. I could
feel
it. He usually has better control than that, and it made me nervous. I wasn’t afraid of him. I was afraid
for
him. Because most people see werewolves as monsters and think they all should be either killed or locked up, which was why nobody at the university knew about his condition. If Kevin gave them an excuse, we’d have more and worse problems than we already did.
I tried to show him all that in a look, and he subsided a little.
“I need to know how bad this is going to be, Kev. If I
have
to stay in, I will. But if I can handle the sunlight, I’m going.” I took a deep breath, gathering my nerve. If I was going to do this, I needed to get it over with.
President Lackley and the others stepped out of the way, Rocky even went so far as to open the door for me.
The hallway had an entire wall made of windows overlooking the campus quadrangle. Bright sunlight was streaming through the east-facing glass.
Everyone stared in hushed silence as I paused at the very last edge of shadows.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the light.
I didn’t incinerate.
Yay!
“I’m fine.” All right, “fine” was an exaggeration. I could actually feel my skin heating: like a sunburn on fast forward.
I stepped back into the shadows wondering if my trusty SPF 30 would be helpful, and for how long. I’ve always had naturally pale skin, so I kept bottles of it pretty much everywhere. Of course I could go up to SPF 45, or even (ugh) sunblock. But if that didn’t work, life was going to be damned inconvenient. We were, after all, living in sunny Southern California, next to the Pacific. It’s my home and damn it, I
like
it here.
Kevin was at my elbow. His words were a bare breath of air meant only for my ears. “I can smell your skin burning, Celia.”
He took a step back, but his eyes were glowing. I felt his power roll across my skin, raising the hairs on my body. No surprise there. What was … disturbing … was that
my
power rose in response, making my skin glow white enough to banish the shadows from the hallway. My eyes felt … odd, my vision shifting into a kind of hyperfocus that showed me every nick in the painted wall, every flaw in the glass. I could see the pulse beating in the throat of a student hurrying down the sidewalk outside a hundred yards away, and it made my stomach growl.
Oh, shit.
“Should she be able to do that?” Emma was obviously fascinated. I’d heard her use the same tone of voice when discussing research results with her father.
Kevin gave me a long, assessing look. “That, and more. She’s not human anymore.”
There was both fear and …
excitement
in his
is
“the Chief” when it comes to the paranormal. He’s internationally renowned and brings a lot of prestige and money to the university. Lackley might win this particular battle, but pissing off Warren would cost him dearly long term, and he was too astute a politician not to know it.
“Dr. Reynolds—since Ms. Graves appears to be alive and in full possession of her faculties and memory, is there any reason why she should remain here instead of recovering in the comfort of her own residence?”
“Well, sir …,” Reynolds stammered a little. I knew he was going to argue. As a doctor, he’d feel compelled to take a conservative course with regard to little things like, oh, sunlight, holy water… . But I knew it would go badly for him if he did. He didn’t have the clout Warren did, so he’d be practically defenseless, and Lackley was in the mood to rip someone a new orifice.
I didn’t want Dr. Reynolds to be punished for saving me, so I spoke up before he could argue. “It’s all right, Doc. I was planning on leaving anyway.”
“I hate this.” Kevin glared at me when he said it, and I could feel the heat of his anger. “You shouldn’t risk going out into the sunlight.” I knew his beast was close. I could
feel
it. He usually has better control than that, and it made me nervous. I wasn’t afraid of him. I was afraid
for
him. Because most people see werewolves as monsters and think they all should be either killed or locked up, which was why nobody at the university knew about his condition. If Kevin gave them an excuse, we’d have more and worse problems than we already did.
I tried to show him all that in a look, and he subsided a little.
“I need to know how bad this is going to be, Kev. If I
have
to stay in, I will. But if I can handle the sunlight, I’m going.” I took a deep breath, gathering my nerve. If I was going to do this, I needed to get it over with.
President Lackley and the others stepped out of the way, Rocky even went so far as to open the door for me.
The hallway had an entire wall made of windows overlooking the campus quadrangle. Bright sunlight was streaming through the east-facing glass.
Everyone stared in hushed silence as I paused at the very last edge of shadows.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the light.
I didn’t incinerate.
Yay!
“I’m fine.” All right, “fine” was an exaggeration. I could actually feel my skin heating: like a sunburn on fast forward.
I stepped back into the shadows wondering if my trusty SPF 30 would be helpful, and for how long. I’ve always had naturally pale skin, so I kept bottles of it pretty much everywhere. Of course I could go up to SPF 45, or even (ugh) sunblock. But if that didn’t work, life was going to be damned inconvenient. We were, after all, living in sunny Southern California, next to the Pacific. It’s my home and damn it, I
like
it here.
Kevin was at my elbow. His words were a bare breath of air meant only for my ears. “I can smell your skin burning, Celia.”
He took a step back, but his eyes were glowing. I felt his power roll across my skin, raising the hairs on my body. No surprise there. What was … disturbing … was that
my
power rose in response, making my skin glow white enough to banish the shadows from the hallway. My eyes felt … odd, my vision shifting into a kind of hyperfocus that showed me every nick in the painted wall, every flaw in the glass. I could see the pulse beating in the throat of a student hurrying down the sidewalk outside a hundred yards away, and it made my stomach growl.
Oh, shit.
“Should she be able to do that?” Emma was obviously fascinated. I’d heard her use the same tone of voice when discussing research results with her father.
Kevin gave me a long, assessing look. “That, and more. She’s not human anymore.”
There was both fear and …
excitement
in his
Similar Books
