Catch Me When I Fall (10 page)

Wrapping my arms around one of the Nightmares’ necks from behind, I yanked the beast away from Seth. Its claws dug into my arm, trying to squirm away. I groaned in pain, but when I pulled the creature back far enough that it couldn’t reach Seth, I let the Nightmare go and in the same motion sliced my dagger across its throat. The monster fell forward, slashing at whatever it could before collapsing on the ground. The Nightmare’s scream was like a foghorn in my ear. I winced and turned away.

And that was when I saw the Nightmare on Kayla’s bed dig his claws deep into Hendrik’s chest and stomach. He screamed and the dream above Kayla’s bed flickered to nothingness. I ran as hard as I could, leapt onto the bed and stabbed my dagger into the Nightmare’s back. It screeched and dropped Hendrik. Hendrik fell off the bed, dead, into a ball on the floor. In one swift movement, the Nightmare turned around and backhanded me so hard I flew into the window. The back of my head smacked the glass and I fell to the ground. Blackness took over.

Kayla’s screams woke me minutes later. Samantha and Seth stood back to back, fighting two of the remaining three Nightmares. The third, the large one that tossed me into the window like a stuffed animal, poised over Kayla’s body. From where I laid on the ground, I saw for the first time how truly massive the beast was, like someone had pumped it full of steroids. I’d never seen one so large. No wonder my blade didn’t kill it.

I pushed myself up, my body aching everywhere. Throwing a dagger was out, given the monster’s proximity to Kayla, but I could charge it. Running and jumping on the bed, I threw my entire body weight into the Nightmare. The creature budged but didn’t fall. I did the only thing I could and heaved backward, pulling the oversized beast with me to the floor.

The Nightmare landed on top of me, sending ripples of pain down my back and legs. I jammed my dagger into the side of its neck as hard as I could. Black blood squirted out of the wound, coating both the floor and me, but I hit my mark. The monster squealed then went silent.

“No! Please no! Help! Somebody help me!” Kayla thrashed around in the bed, fighting whatever she was seeing in her nightmare.

My eyes snapped toward the bed, and I shoved the dead Nightmare off me, groaning at the pain in my lower spine. I should go straight to Bartholomew, but I hadn’t been able to protect her. Again. There was no way I was leaving her in this state.

Forcing myself up from the floor, I stumbled to the bed while Seth and Samantha disposed of the bodies. Kayla was still screaming when I sat down, and I put my hands on her shoulders. I didn’t know what my words would do, considering she couldn’t hear them, but I had to try. “Kayla, calm down. You’re safe now.” When I touched her cheek, her screaming quieted. “That’s it. You’re okay.”

“Um, Daniel—”

“Not now, Sam.”

Kayla’s eyes opened. And stared right at me. Again, the screams started.

“Help!” She smacked my hand off her cheek and forced me away, scooting back on the bed. “Somebody help me!”

Oh, shit.
I jumped off the bed and raised my hands in the air. “I’m sorry. I’m not here to hurt you, I swear.”

“Get away from me!” Kayla threw her pillow at me, smacking me in the face.

Samantha grabbed my arm and evaporated us to Rome.

e landed in Samantha’s room.

“What the hell was that?” she screamed at me. “You went corporeal! And you
touched her
!”

“I know.”

“You
broke the first law of Dreamcatching
!”

“I know!” Breathing deep, I tried to calm my voice. “Sam, please. Don’t say anything to Giovanni.”

She sighed. “You know I wouldn’t. But tell me—what were you thinking?”

I ran my left hand through my hair. “I don’t know. I screwed up, again, and she paid for it. I didn’t want her to be afraid anymore.”

“Yeah, and you showing up out of nowhere worked like a charm.”

“I didn’t know I’d gone corporeal.”

Samantha crossed the room and grabbed a towel out of her bathroom. “Yeah, no shit. I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen. You’re covered in blood, by the way. I don’t want you staining my stuff.” She threw the towel at me.

I caught the cloth and groaned. The sudden movement of my arms sent a shockwave of pain down my back.

“You really should let someone see that.”

“Yeah, I know.” After wiping my face and hands, I threw the towel in Samantha’s rubbish, opened her door and went to find Bartholomew.

“This is going to hurt, but don’t move,” Bartholomew said. I held my breath when his hands rested on my spine. Then he pushed, and I gripped the end of the hospital bed as sharp pain blackened my vision. When Bartholomew drove the long needle into my spine, I swore, pressing my forehead into the mattress. Did he have to make this as painful as possible?

“There. That should help speed up the healing process. But I want you off your feet as much as possible. After a few days you should be able to move around without injuring yourself any further. Take the pain pills as needed and wear the back brace, including when you sleep. Understood?”

I nodded into the sheets and breathed slowly through clenched teeth. The stabbing in my lower back had only intensified with Bartholomew’s adjustment, and the serum burned through my body.

“You’re lucky you only twisted it. Now, go give Giovanni a full report and then go home and lie down. Swing your legs off the bed to stand up. Don’t bend your back.”

I followed his instructions, and when I was standing upright, he wrapped the brace around my waist. This was going to be so uncomfortable. Slipping on my T-shirt, I left the hospital room. Samantha waited for me outside the door.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Just great.” Every step made me want to punch something. How soon until the damn shot started to work?

“Here—lean on me.”

I held up my hand. “I’m good.” When she frowned, I added, “Thanks, though.”

By the time we reached Giovanni’s office, I sweated through my shirt. The pain was unbearable, but I couldn’t appear weak right now. Samantha opened the door, and we entered.

Giovanni sat at his desk, his forehead in his hands. Seth stood to the side, still wearing the same clothes he’d fought in. His dark eyes told me we were going to have a serious talk later. Great. He was as bad as Samantha.

I walked up to the desk and sat in one of the chairs. My sudden appearance startled Giovanni.

“Daniel. How’s your back?” he asked.

“Just twisted, sir.”

“That’s good. Seth told me about the attack tonight. Six this time?”

“Yes, sir.”

He shook his head. “I don’t understand.” Standing from his chair, he continued, “I expected you to have to fight every night. It’s why I picked you. But
six
? Has she shown any signs of violence?”

“No, sir.”
Well, not on purpose.

Giovanni stared out the window. People were starting to pile into the streets. Somehow, people-watching had become a way for Giovanni to sort out his thoughts.

“Then I think we need to dig deeper. There must be something about this girl that has their attention. Bartholomew found nothing yet, but with Hendrik’s death…” He paused to collect himself.

I must have underestimated how close he and Hendrik were.

He continued, “I feel it more important than ever to determine their cause for such interest. Continue to report to me daily. I want to know everything about this girl. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” I stood from my chair and left his office, unable to tell him I couldn’t do this anymore. Samantha and Seth followed me out the door.

Seth wasted no time bombarding me as soon as we got back to our apartment.

“Are you tryin’ to get killed?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Tossing the pain meds on the counter, I plopped down on the couch, covering my eyes with my arm.

“Well, that’s too bad because I’m fed up with your brooding shit. You gotta wake up and face the facts, man. You can’t stay away from her, but she needs you. You’re the best Giovanni’s got. If you died or asked to be benched or whatever, Giovanni will pull her protection, and she’ll be a Nightmare feast.”

My chest tightened. Twice now I’d seen her thrashing about as Nightmares fed off her deepest fears. I couldn’t leave her to that fate. Damn it. Why after all these years had I developed feelings for
her
?