Page 45 of Anywhere

“Dere be a type of demon dat likes ta frequent da islands out dis way. Dey sneak on when someone be doin’ magic and wait for a wee crack ta form. Da demon’s blood be a hallucinogen, but stronga. Picture da best high ya eva had and multiply it by ten, but ya get no side effects when ya wake up aside from feelin’ like ya had da best sleep of yer life. There also be no of dat random seeing dead shit or tings crawlin’ on ya. Yer want ta lie in a field a flowers, yer there. Ya wanna have da best sex all night wit someone, den it happens.” I gave a little shrug. “It happens in yer mind, but it feels real. Ya be wakin’ up wonderin’ fir a moment if yer fantasy came true.”

“Fuck, that sounds awesome,” Rook said. The exact response that got Mari and so many into trouble in the first place. “So that is what Mari wanted to do? Get high? That doesn’t sound like the Mari I’ve met.”

I loved that he was giving her the benefit of the doubt. Not simply jumping to her wanting to take drugs or, worse, trying to end her life. I knew she was stressed, but I couldn’t imagine her doing such a thing.

“Aye and no. It is also a blocker. It allows fir yer mind ta quiet down and lets ya sleep. If ya ‘ave insomnia or severe panic attacks, it helps block the stimulation.”

“Oh…So what is she trying to block…Oh! You mean…this is about us?”

“I dinnie know,” I said, but I feared that, in a way, it was. Stress made her ability unstable, and the triad starting to form would certainly be more stress. “Maybe, maybe not. She has taken it before, but it be possible. Dere is one drawback, aside from havin’ ta pay in rubies for it.” Rook’s eyes went wide. “The other and more lethal payment for this incredible blood is a trade, one drop of blood fir one minute of yer life.”

Rook’s face shifted from shocked to horrified as his eyes locked on Mari, then flicked back to me. “How many times can you take it?”

“Dat’s da catch. No one really knows. For some it be a thousand, anotha only fifty. We dinnie know how much time we each ‘ave left. Fir example, me time could be tomorrow and da blood speeds dat up ta today. Each drop is a game of chicken wit death and I can be sayin fir certain dat da reaper be starin’ ova yer shoulder.”

As I suspected she would, Mari twitched and then thrashed violently, her body splashing water onto the floor. I had to wrap my legs around hers and hold her arms down tight as strange noises like high-pitched screeches ripped from her mouth.

“Holy fuck, she’s got black shit pouring out of her nose.” Rook’s eyes grew wider as he stared at her face. “How much did she take?”

“I dinnie know,” I said as her body arched. It took almost all my strength to hold tight to keep her from hurting herself. More water splashed out of the tub and hit Rook in the chest as she became increasingly more volatile.

“This has to be because of me, doesn’t it?” Rook stumbled back from the tub until his ass found one of the plush chairs in the washroom. “I mean, she was fine before I got here. Now she’s taken this shit and may die because I came here. Because I was an asshole to her.”

“We dinnie know ‘er reasons, but I’d say it has more to do wit the reality of what the rest of ‘er life would look like as a woman born into the brothers.”

Mari’s body fell slack against mine, and I took a deep breath and waited for the next round. I could only pray that she had enough fight in her to kick this before it had time to take her life.

Gregory and Belle raced in with more ice and dumped the buckets.

“How she be?” Gregory asked panting hard.

“I dinnie know yet,” I said honestly. I’d never seen anyone have this much black demon blood come out of them and not be possessed.

“Belle and I will stay to help,” Gregory said.

“Naw, I think it be best if I do dis meself.”

Gregory looked like he was going to argue.

“Please, dis is somethin’ I need ta do on me own. If her condition worsens, I’ll send Rook to come git ya.”

Gregory’s eyes filled with tears as he continued to stand there, eyes fixed on Mari’s face like he was staring at a ghost. Belle grabbed her father’s hand and led him from the washroom, but she glared at me the entire time. She didn’t have to say a word. If Mari died, she’d never forgive me, and I’d better watch my back because she’d be coming for me.

Once the door was closed, Rook slowly stood. “Do you want me to go too?”

I shook my head. “Naw, I’d like ya ta stay, but I need ta say somethin’,” I looked away from his eyes. “Ya may no ‘ave anythin’ ta worry about, but I want ya ta know I get yer jealousy. I do want us ta work, but I cannie give up on Mari as part of me life unless she no wants me ta be her friend no more. If ya can’t handle dat…den I dinnie know where we stand.”

Rook knelt by the side of the tub and used a cloth to wipe the black mess still dripping in a steady stream from Mari’s nose.

“You’re really in love with her, aren’t you?” he asked softly.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and prepared to say words no one had heard except her. “Aye, I am.”

Rook sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I wish she wasn’t my cousin. It would make things so much easier.”

“Aye, it would.”

Mari’s ragged breathing was slowly returning to normal, and I knew we weren’t out of the woods, but the worry in my gut lessened slightly.