Allan opened the car doors, and Doc and I basically collapsed into the back seat. His chest heaved, and he felt like he was burning where our skin touched. Since he was normally cooler, that worried me.
"Who?"
"Ash is apparently a lesser demon that the Andersons have enslaved. Doc did the whole, I'm going to bite you into submission thing because he didn't actually want to kill Ash, since it's really not his fault," Ed answered.
I dropped the knife on the floor of Victoria's car, so I wouldn't accidently cut Doc or myself, and put my hand on his forehead. He clutched my arm, though he didn't speak.
"He's shaking and sweating pretty badly. What do we do?"
"He's hot? He's never hot." Ed twisted around from the passenger seat while Allan drove.
"Burning, even warmer than you guys."
Ed swore. "Is there anything you can do with magic? Like, maybe he's just not used to dealing with magic. Especially demon magic. Can you pull it out of him?"
"He didn't have any problem with mine the other day," I said while I thought.
"Well, you're not a demon," Ed pointed out.
"Yeah, true. He told me I could take some of his powers if I drank some of his blood, right? Or at least he thought I could? That's how he thinks I can shift into a werewolf?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." I grabbed the knife from the floorboards and took Doc's arm. "Sorry," I whispered as I cut his arm. I dropped the knife again and grimaced as the blood welled on his skin. I tried not to think too hard about what I was doing as I put my lips to his skin and tasted his blood.
Almost instantly, I could feel Ash's power pour into me through the connection Doc's blood gave us. It didn't take long before I forgot what I was doing was kind of gross, and instead, rode the wave of power that coursed through me, drawing it out of a body that wasn't really designed to handle that kind of magic and into mine.
It burned through me–not quite compatible, but not completely foreign–as it filled me to bursting. I could tell why Doc was having problems. I had to funnel the magic somewhere.
"Pull over," I gasped as I released Doc's arm.
As soon as the car was stopped, I scrabbled at the door handle and practically fell onto the pavement when it opened. I crawled off the road and shoved my hands into the dirt, doing the one spell I was actually pretty good at.
The extra energy poured out of me, into the ground, and up into the roots of all the plants nearby. I felt them grow. Once the magic left me, I collapsed to the ground, not able to move.
"Sofia?" Allan crouched next to me.
"Yeah?" I gasped.
"You good?"
"For the moment."
"We have to get out of here."
I couldn't force myself to move, so Allan picked me up and awkwardly shoved me into the backseat with Doc.
The vampire had cooled and rested normally now. I sprawled on top of him, trying to remain conscious long enough to make sure he was okay.
The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me.
"Sofia, wake up."
I groaned. My head ached, and my stomach clenched. I was starving.
"Oh shit, what did we do to her?"
Chapter 26
Sofia
"What?" My mouth felt funny, and I couldn't quite get my words to form properly.
"We didn't turn her into a vampire, did we?" That was Ed.
"No, it's temporary. I've never heard of this happening, but I guess it's possible. Especially with the demon magic mixed in," Doc said.
They leaned over me in the back seat of Victoria's car.
"What!"
"How do you feel?" Doc brushed some hair out of my face.
"Starving."
"I was afraid of that. I'm going to carry you. Try not to do anything until we get you someplace safe."
What was he talking about? What was I going to do?
"We can't take her back to the cabin like this. Her little grove should be okay. I'll carry her. You two go back to the cabin and let them know everything is okay."
"Them who?" I slurred.
"Doc, I'm going with you," Allan insisted. "You might need backup."
Doc pulled me out of the back of the car. My entire body tingled. I clutched at Doc's arms, not quite sure what I needed, but knowing he could provide it. What was wrong with me?
He carried me into the woods, Allan right behind us. I heard Victoria's car start up and head on down the road.
Though it wasn't swimming the way it had earlier, I felt faint, as if I hadn't eaten in hours. Which, to be fair, I hadn't. I considered asking Allan if he had a protein bar or something. Thinking about solid food turned my stomach.
Before long, the energy changed, and I knew we were in my grove.
"Sofia, can you seal the pathway?"
I glanced behind us and didn't even have to think before we were cut off from the outside world.
Doc knelt, still holding me. I looked into his obsidian eyes and all I could think about was the coppery tang I could smell from the blood smeared on his arm.
"I'm not sure what you need," Doc said. "I think you'll be okay in a couple of hours."
Allan sat next to him. "You sure? You can access our powers for longer than just a couple of hours, and if we don't get her back, they'll call the cops."
Doc sighed. "Allan, she's not going to have any control, and she's not actually a vampire, so I don't know what drinking more blood is going to do to her."
"You're sure we didn't turn her into one?"
Doc nodded. "Among other things, she still has a heartbeat."
"What is going on?" My stomach cramped, and I cried out as I convulsed in Doc's arms.
"Guess she needs blood." Doc sighed. "Allan, just, uh, be careful, okay?"
At his suggestion, my gaze locked onto Doc's neck. Blood sounded fantastic.
"Sofia, you're going..."
I didn't let him finish. I lunged, sinking my teeth into Doc's neck and
