Devil Inside (50 page)

My dear, if it makes you feel better you can blame all of that on me.  But you need to come to grips with your own darkness before you can ever really understand mine.

Harley squirmed against the Nocte’s implications as well as the brittle prickling that radiated throughout her body.  She couldn’t bring herself to concentrate on the Nocte’s words just yet so she shrugged it away for the time being. 
Not even going to think about that for a while
, she thought to herself. 
And the trying to have sex with everyone?  You’re gonna tell me that was all on me too?

The Nocte laughed. 
I never said everything was ALL on you.  But don’t act like you don’t want to.  You know you do.  If you would just let go—stop worrying about what other people think we would both have a much easier time with everything.

I’m not going to go around killing and/or screwing everything that moves.

I am not suggesting that we should.  But why do you hold back and continue to punish yourself?  I never realized that humans were so stubborn…the Ignis seem to have such an easy time with their bond.  I assumed that humans just did whatever their instincts told them to do.  But not you—no!  I couldn’t get that lucky.  I get a human who has to overthink everything.

What’s that supposed to mean?

The Nocte was beginning to sound annoyed. 
You have convinced yourself that your mission is to kill Cutter.  But think about it.  Let go and really think about it.  He is not the heart of the problem here.  There is something bigger going on than Cutter and his murdering your friend.

The Rogue.

Ding, ding, ding.

Harley sighed. 
Cutter is just a part of the Rogue’s plan, right?

Right again.

What is the Rogue?

The Nocte didn’t answer for a moment.
He is a Lux,
she said finally.

Are you sure?

It’s a very long and complicated story for another time.  We don’t have that much time.  But yes, he is a Lux.  Once you have recovered enough and wake up we won’t be able to communicate like this anymore. 
And as the Nocte pointed it out, Harley realized their time was limited.  The pain was beginning to subside and she felt…heavier…in the darkness.  She was pretty sure that her body was healing.

How can we now?  Can everyone communicate with their Nocte this way?

Highly unlikely. 
Harley could hear a distinct scoff to her voice.

Then how can we?

Let’s just say that we are both different from others of our species.  But the important thing is—you need to concentrate on finding the Rogue.  We need to take care of that problem before anything else.

“But the other Vigilum and Praesidio both are already on it.”

When the Nocte spoke again it was less distinct than before. 
Think about it and you will figure it out.  Why would YOU need to be the one to that needs to go after the Rogue?

Cause I can fight during the day?

You’re getting better at this
, the Nocte chuckled. 
What was one of first things Levi told you about the world and the Ignis, Nocte and Lux in it?

Harley thought hard. 
A lot of things.  And how do you know any of that anyway.  You weren’t even here yet.

The Nocte sighed, getting frustrated again. 
I live inside you, stupid.  Your memories are my memories now.

Harley ignored the insult.  She thought hard and could feel the gears slowly click into place. 
The balance.

Well, there is hope for you still.  For light to exist—darkness must exist as well.  Do you understand?
  The Nocte’s voice was growing even fainter. 
Our time is up I think.  Remember—focus on the Rogue.  Most likely you will be able to kill two birds with one stone.
  Her voice was barely more than a whisper now.

-------------------------------

When Harley crashed back into her body she realized just how bad she had been hurt.  At first she felt nothing but pain.  Agonizing, excruciating, obliviating pain.  She couldn’t move, speak or even think for a long while.  She knew that she was breathing because she could feel her chest rising and falling ever so slightly.  She knew that her heart was beating because it thudded weakly in her chest but Harley was just relieved it was moving at all.

Slowly but surely the pain began to subside little by little.  When Harley could think beyond the pain at all she realized how wrong her body felt.  She couldn’t move yet but she could feel the odd rubbery angles that her limbs lay in.  She wasn’t sure where she was at but she knew she wasn’t still lying on the street.  Whatever was underneath her was soft and not hard concrete. 
I really hope I’m not in a morgue
, she thought feeling panic rise up.  Possessed by a devil or not—waking up in a morgue would be terrifying for anybody.   Then, Harley realized that if she was in a morgue she would probably be laying on a steel gurney—at least that was the way it was in movies. 
Hospital?
 
God, this is going to be hard to explain.

Harley worked to open her eyes.  Her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton and it took tremendous effort to open them even a tiny crack.  When she got them open enough to see she had just enough strength to shift her eyes to the right and left but her vision was still severely limited because she couldn’t move her head.  She was able to make out enough of the room to realize it wasn’t a hospital.  She could see a dresser near the foot of the bed and there were colognes and other personal items lying on top of it.  She shifted her eyes to her left and saw that she was lying in a bed near a window.  The window was covered with heavy curtains so she couldn’t see out of them well enough to know where she was.  As she looked to the left a small sound squeaked out of her throat from the effort.  Suddenly, a face popped into her line of sight.  It was a very worried looking Castor.

His short brown hair was disheveled and it looked like he hadn’t slept much at all.  “Welcome back to the land of the living,” the relief showed through his nonchalant words. 

Harley was flooded with her own relief to find that she wasn’t in a morgue or a hospital.  She couldn’t even make her mouth move enough to make another sound.  Moving her eyes around had taken every bit of energy she had and she slowly felt them start to flutter closed.

“Whoa, wait.  Don’t go yet.”  Harley felt the bed shift as Castor sat beside her and she forced her eyes to open as much as she could.  “I’m going to give you blood.  It’s the only thing I know to do to help you heal.  Blink if you understand what I’m saying.”  Harley let her eyes fall closed and then forced them open again.  She did that two times and Castor nodded.  She let her eyes fall closed because she had no more energy to keep them open. 

Before Harley could drift off into oblivion again she felt something warm against her mouth and then something even warmer dripped into her mouth.  When it hit her tongue her head felt like it was exploding with light.  Even with her eyes closed it felt like she was staring at the sun.  But the light wasn’t yellow, it was blinding white.   The warmth spread across her entire body and her skin felt like it was crawling with electricity.  Soon the warm blood stopped flowing and Harley felt cold and broken again.  She did, however, feel more energized and less weak.  She opened her eyes again and could see Castor wiping blood from his wrist.  He looked dazed and tired when he met her eyes.  He offered her a small smile just before she drifted off into a surprisingly pain-free sleep.

When Harley opened her eyes again she no longer felt broken.  Her entire body ached almost unbearably, but she knew that she was healing at least.  She was able to turn her head despite the sharp pain that shot into her skull with the movement.  She slowly surveyed the room around her.  Oddly, it was decorated with pictures of houses.  These weren’t the random decorations thrown up for effect; there was definitely a theme and thoughtfulness to the pictures.  The houses were all old brick constructions of all different colors and shapes.  The rest of the room was gently lived in—not obsessively clean nor dirty.  Overall, it was a comfortable room and Harley was pretty sure that it was Castor’s bedroom.  She could smell him on the sheets.

Harley tried to sit up but realized that wasn’t possible yet.  When she tried to put any weight on her arms her muscles and joints screamed in protest and the pain took her breath away.  She let her body relax into the mattress and tried to catch her breath.  She tested her mouth and found that, other than being extremely dry, it moved just fine.

“Hello?” she said softly, her voice sounded rough and cracked.  At first she didn’t think that Castor was home because everything was so quiet.  But then she heard footsteps coming towards the bedroom door.  She knew before he opened it that it was Castor.  She assumed it was because of the blood he had given her.  Just like with Levi, she could feel his presence without even needing to see him.  He cracked the door and peeked in before opening it all the way.

When he saw that she was awake he smiled at her.  “I see someone is awake!”  He stepped into the room and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.  He was wearing sweat pants and a large tee-shirt.  Even when they were completely casual Levi and Castor both were able to still look amazing—maybe even more so.  As Castor came closer to the bed she realized that it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a while, which was odd because he normally was clean cut. 
How long was I out?
Harley wondered.

“Hi,” she croaked again.

Castor sat on the edge of the bed.  “How are you feeling?”

Harley considered this for a moment.  “Like shit,” she said with a smile and Levi laughed softly.  Then she realized just how smooth the sheets felt against her body and narrowed her eyes at the Lux.  “Am I naked?”

Castor had the decency to look at least a little embarrassed.  “Um, yes.”

Harley simply raised an eyebrow at him, which sadly made her head hurt worse.

“Your clothes were demolished,” he said defensively.  “How much do you remember of what happened?”

Harley thought for a moment, “I remember everything.  Right up until the blonde bitch hit me with her SUV.  What happened after that?”

Castor took a deep breath.  “By the time I took care of the Burners and got outside, Cutter and the women were driving off.”  He hesitated for a moment.

“I want to hear everything.”

Castor nodded.  “When the SUV hit you it did a lot of damage.  A lot.”

Harley figured as much.  She worked the blankets up higher under her chin.  But it wasn’t because she cared if Castor saw her naked or not. 
Not that it actually matters at this point, really.
  But thinking about how much damage had been done to her body made her blood run cold.  Castor helped tuck the blankets around her shoulders and when his fingers brushed her skin she broke out in goose pimples.  She could feel her Nocte shiver in excitement.

Castor continued his story.  “Your neck was broken.  There were skull fractures, broken ribs, skin was ripped off and who knows what else.  I’m pretty sure they didn’t just hit you.  I think you got ran over.”  He winced as he remembered the damage.

I could tell you weren’t dead.  Believe me though—if you had been human—or maybe even less of a Nocte—you definitely wouldn’t be.  Anyway—I moved you as easily as I could.  I wrapped you in a blanket and put you in the back of their box truck.  I grabbed the paperwork that was left from inside and brought you and the truck back here.  Basically, the only thing I could do was try to at least put your bones in the places they needed to be and wait.  That first twenty-four hours were pretty scary.  I don’t think you were breathing much at all and if your heart was beating I couldn’t tell.  I just knew that you weren’t completely dead—I could still feel life in you.

“I left you here when the sun came up and went back for my car and to search the church.  I didn’t find anything else.  The truck was full of drugs—hidden in all kinds of clever places.  Boxes of jewelry, food and what not.  The only real information we got from the stuff was that Cutter was planning to ship all of it to California.”  Harley listened quietly without interrupting his story.

“I could tell you were healing slowly.  You stopped bleeding and began breathing more and I was able to find a heartbeat.  Right after that you woke up.  That’s when I figured that you would be able to swallow blood.”  He looked away and didn’t elaborate further but Harley felt her body heat up with the memory and she was pretty sure he felt it too.  “After that you started to heal quicker.  Now here you are.”

Harley had listened quietly to his narrative.  “How long was I out?”

“About a day before the blood—two days after.”

“Whoa…”

“Yeah, you were hurt pretty bad,” Castor looked regretful.

“So what have I missed while I was out?”

“There have been  Rogue murders it seems.  This time in California.  Which, if that is the case, goes along with our theory that the drugs and the murders are connected.”

At the mention of the Rogue Harley remembered her conversation with the Nocte.  “Are you sure they are Rogue murders?”