Creatus

He—”

“I won’t let anyone touch you, Kristina,” he promised, pulling her closer. He ran his fingers over her forehead attempting to soothe her.

Kris let out another breath and rested her head on Derrick’s chest. It felt so good, but the dream had been so real. She’d felt the attack, saw the solid earth disappear from beneath her as her body had been ripped from the ground.

Derrick’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. He turned to it and looked at the number. “It’s Michael. If he’s calling at two a.m., there has to be a reason. Maybe he caught the rogue.”

Kris nodded at the hopeful look in his eyes. She’d never been so scared. Even after her mother’s attack and the nightly bad dreams, a part of her assumed it wouldn’t happen twice, but this thing was marking her for death. As a payback for something Derrick had done as overseer, he’d explained when they came home after the police station. He’d wanted to move away, but she had refused. They couldn’t leave permanently, and if the rogue wanted her, he’d track them down, she was certain. And who knows how many innocent people he’d kill while they hid somewhere. How could Derrick expect her to sit around while innocent people were slaughtered? No, she’d told him. She agreed with Michael; she’d become bait.

Derrick answered the phone and then sat up quickly. “Where?” He listened for a second and then hung up. Derrick turned to her, his eyes grave.

Kris shook her head, knowing it was something awful. News that would hurt her again based on his expression. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

He picked up her hands and held them. “Beth is in the hospital.”

She gasped, throwing her hand over her mouth, tears seeping down her cheeks as if someone had turned on a spigot. “The rogue?” Kris pushed out the words, praying they weren’t true. But if Beth had been hurt any other way, they wouldn’t be receiving the news from Derrick’s brother. If Beth had been in a car accident, her mother would have called her—eventually. Beth’s mother had never liked Kris, so she wouldn’t be first on the list, she knew.

Derrick nodded, pulling her into his embrace. “Michael thinks so. The police aren’t releasing any information, but his source gave him enough to go on.”

“But… she’s alive?” she mumbled against his chest.

“Yes, but she’s in ICU. I doubt they’ll let you see her. But as a doctor, I can get to her. Her parents won’t know I’m not just another doctor checking on her. The nursing staff won’t question me; I’ve visited patients there.” Derrick peered down at her. “Do you want to come with me? Or, I could get my parents to come and stay with you.”

Kris’ eyes darted up at him in response. “Of course! Even if they won’t let me see Beth, I want to be there.”

He pulled her off the bed and to her feet. “I’m sorry—”

“Stop it!” she shrieked. “This has nothing to do with us.” She shook her head as she walked into his walk-in closet to grab clothes. “This is… that rogue, as you call that thing. That animal.” Kris pulled her hands to her head and released more sobs. “Beth’s so little. So sweet.” Derrick wrapped his arms around her without a word, comforting her with just his touch. She leaned against him. “How could anyone hurt Beth?”

“I don’t know,” he said, turning her in his arms. “But we’ll find out. This stops now. I swear to you—” He sucked in a breath. “I won’t let this continue. And whoever’s responsible… will pay.”

When Kris entered the doors of the emergency room, only a few people sat in the black vinyl chairs in the waiting area. As predicted, they wouldn’t let her see Beth, since she wasn’t family. Derrick had dropped her off at the ER entrance so she could walk in by herself, and he’d taken the rear entrance, keeping in touch with her via text messages.

Now, she sat anxiously, awaiting any word. The room was surprisingly quiet other than a few moans and groans here and there, reminders to the nurses and receptionists that the people were in pain, she imagined, since no one seemed to be in a hurry to attend to the new arrivals.

A few minutes after she sat down, the locked double doors to the ER opened, and Derrick, wearing a white jacket over his khakis and oxford, leaned his head through the doorway. “Ms. Heskin?” he called without making eye contact with her.

Truly surprised, since he hadn’t texted her he was coming to get her, Kris jumped up. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t warned her. “That’s me!” She tossed a glimpse at the receptionist’s desk, but they didn’t seem to question the fact that a doctor was calling her to the secured area. Kris ran across the gleaming-white floor of the emergency room toward Derrick while he held the door.

“Right this way, Ms. Heskin.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and escorted her along the corridor, stopping before he turned to walk them into a room. He lowered his head to speak, without looking as if he knew her. “She’s going to be okay, I swear. But she looks really bad. Are you sure you want to see her?”

Kris gulped, restraining her tears. “Yes. Please.”

“Okay… but try not to upset her. If she wakes up and sees you crying, it will only make it worse for her.”

She bobbed her head. That made sense. She didn’t know how she could retain the tears, but she would. For Beth, she’d be strong.

Kris walked inside the room quietly, doing her best to hold her audible tears as she took in her surroundings. Where were Beth’s parents? Jason? Why weren’t they here holding her hand? Speaking to her, telling her she’d be all right. Kris stepped to the hospital bed, looking up at the monitors to the left of Beth and the IV fluids to her right. Was that a normal beep? she wondered. Would she know if she was in danger? Derrick slid up beside Kris as she placed her hand over Beth’s, and she remembered that as a doctor he would know if anything wasn’t normal. But would he tell her? He’d sworn that she’d be okay, so Kris had to have faith that he wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true. He just wouldn’t have said anything.

She retained the audible cries that threatened to burst from her throat, but she couldn’t impede the stream of tears sliding down her cheek. Beth had looked so lovely in her dress today. Her strawberry-blond curls had bounced beautifully around her shoulders, and Kris had told her she should allow plenty of tendrils on her wedding day. Beth had looked like a princess and had even tried on some tiaras, but in the end decided to go with a stunning white and lace headdress with rhinestones that didn’t look as if she was pretending to be royalty.

Now Beth’s light peach-colored skin was red with splotches of yellow and blue forming around her eyes and cheeks.  Kris choked back the tears, imagining what that beast had done to her.

“It was a message, Kristina,” Derrick whispered in her ear. “He could have killed her, but he wanted us to see her.”

Kris turned to him. “How do you know it was the rogue? Maybe it was a mugger.”

Derrick shook his head. “The 911 call came from her cell phone. There were no words, just the call. The police triangulated the position of the call. She was on a rooftop. But worse… He used our kind’s insignia. Before phones, when creatus needed to meet, they’d use a courier to deliver a note card with a red wax seal on the front. Nothing else, but it told family members that there was an emergency. The meeting had always been held in the same place at the same time, so creatus knew to show up that night. Obviously, we don’t need to resort to those methods nowadays, but it’s always something we’ve kept from our heritage, reminding us how we used to have to hide, and that our anonymity was our greatest strength.” Derrick dropped his head and sighed. “Since he wasn’t eliciting a response from the media, I guess he’s decided to leave a calling card. Sick S.O.B. This isn’t about food or a thrill; he’s trying to let humans know we exist.”

Chapter Twenty-two

Reece Buckley leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist as he examined the video feed from the hospital. Catching a glimpse of his own image on the monitor, he flinched; he still hadn’t adapted to the short spiky cut. But, high and tight, they’d said, just like when he was a SEAL. He’d been UC for so long in Miami, he’d gotten used to wearing it long. But that’s why the government wanted him, he imagined. He cleaned