Death at First Sight (Spero Heights Book 2) Read online

  He noticed more movement as he neared the Midnight District. Bathory’s Bistro and Amour de Sang were closing their doors. A few of the fanged slipped out under the blue streetlights and quickly headed down the sidewalks. The sun would be rising soon.

  Along the north stretch of the square there were a few businesses that kept odd hours. They weren’t officially part of the Midnight District, but they toed the line between the two factions, serving both sun and moon worshippers. Ben Macaulay’s shop was especially rare, his door being open around the clock. Though his windows were dark this particular morning, since he was watching the twins so Selena could run under the full moon.

  East of the Midnight District, the cheese factory, along with its gift shop and parking lot, took up four blocks. The gift shop faced the square, where Fromage Road and Monroe Street met. Further down Monroe, the local locksmith, a defunct wizard named Phil, and Edwin, Dr. Delph’s wererat mechanic, were standing outside their respective shops, enjoying coffee and conversation. They paused to wave at the doctor as he ran past.

  Dr. Delph nodded at them and ran another six laps around the square. The space in the center was a grassy plane, dotted with fountains and garden nooks. An open-air pavilion was in the very center, strung with white lights. It was often used for community events and gatherings.

  When his sides began to ache, Dr. Delph made his way up through a rose garden in the southeast corner of the square and drank from a water fountain fashioned into the corner of a low rock wall. Then he found a nice patch of grass and stretched into a comfortable warrior pose just as the sun broke over the trees surrounding Spero Heights. He closed his eyes and let it warm his face and light up the insides of his eyelids.

  A cool wind combed through the square, and a pair of birds chirped from a redbud tree overhead. Nature. Maybe this was what he’d been missing. The salt slab in his sauna just wasn’t cutting it anymore. He needed to connect with the Fates on a more personal level. He hummed out a few low oms and focused on his breath, trying to calm his mind.

  When he opened his eyes, Zelda stood beside him, mirroring his tree pose. A nest of dreadlocks were knotted on top of her head, and a racerback tank top revealed her lean, muscled arms. They’d grown more prominent from her wolfish workouts.

  “Good morning, Dr. Delph,” she said with a smile as she repositioned her heel against the inside of her opposite thigh.

  He nodded to her. “Doctor Fulmen.”

  Zelda didn’t need to recover like the rest of her pack. She wasn’t a werewolf. Her shift was aided by an enchanted amulet that decorated an onyx necklace at her throat. Still, Logan had taken her as his mate, and the rest of the wolves had accepted her as their alpha perhaps even more so than Logan. She’d earned their trust and respect in her human doctor form, long before they ever knew she was a witch.

  “My tea leaves were floating this morning,” Zelda said casually as she stretched down into dolphin pose.

  Dr. Delph felt a pinch of annoyance, but he bit his tongue. If the Fates wanted to speak to others, that was their business. “How many?” he asked.

  Zelda stood up straight and turned to look at him. Her brows knit together with concern as if confused that he didn’t already know. “All of them.”

  Dr. Delph was speechless. He wasn’t about to confess his defects to anyone outside of the council. There was too great a chance it would invite rebellion, and with Graham away and Selena rearing infant pups, now was not the time.

  He opened his mouth, waiting for something that didn’t taste like a lie to come to him, but was quickly saved by the roar of a delivery truck and the hiss of its breaks as it stopped in the middle of Fanfare Road.

  The driver popped open his door and scrambled out, quickly rushing to the other side of the vehicle. He spotted them on the grass and waved his arms over his head.

  “Call 911!” he shouted. Then he opened the passenger door and a young, blond woman spilled out. He tried to hold her upright, but she convulsed against him, her eyes rolling back in her head and the whites glowing softly.

  Dr. Delph was incapacitated by the sight of her, until Zelda squeezed his arm.

  “Come on.” She pulled him toward the truck. “We’re doctors,” she told the man. “We can help.”

  Chapter Nine

  Lia hadn’t expected to escape her morning condition. That was inevitable, she knew. But as the truck had climbed the hilly road up to Spero Heights, she began to panic. The sun was seconds away from rising before she’d worked up the nerve to say something to the truck driver, and by then, it was too late.

  Her vision should have been a light one. They were far from any big city, but even a light vision was disturbing for most to witness. She remembered the look on her mother’s face after she’d had her first at the tender age of nine. They’d taken her to doctor after doctor, strange men who ran tests upon tests and prescribed every drug in their arsenals. All to no effect.

  Her mother finally accused her of faking seizures for attention. After that, Lia began locking herself in the bathroom every morning and praying that she didn’t wake her parents.

  When Spero Heights came into view, the streetlamps were already clicking off, signaled by the sun working its way up to the horizon. Lia looked at the truck driver and opened her mouth. Don’t be alarmed. It’s perfectly fine. I’m not dying. This will pass soon. She wanted so badly to get the words out, but they froze in her throat. Then the sun arrived, its bewitching rays finding her an instant later.

  “Miss? Miss!” The truck driver slammed on the breaks, throwing her forward. Her seatbelt locked up just shy of her face meeting the dash. A moment later, she was being pulled out of the truck.

  “We’re doctors,” someone said. No! No doctors. Lia shook harder as she struggled against the dawn’s spell. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. She had to snap out of it and get away from them. But her vision was determined to have its way with her first.

  She felt several people lift her and begin moving her across the street. “My clinic is just around the corner,” a man said.

  Lia wanted to scream. The face marring up her mind was more vivid than she’d anticipated, but she had a hard time focusing on it with her attention so divided. It didn’t matter, she thought. Saunders wouldn’t be quizzing her anytime soon. That fact would have been more comforting if not for her current situation.

  “Let’s lay her down in here.” Her head sank into a pillow and she smelled citrus and tea tree oil. It reminded her of the health food stores her father had taken her to as a child, when he was fighting his own battle with cancer and trying every fad supplement on the market. Lia had tried those too. There was no vitamin cure for her affliction.

  Once the vision dissipated, Lia sat up straight with a gasp. Her head pounded and she rolled off the bed and lost her footing. A pair of arms caught her before her knees could hit the tile floor.

  “Whoa there. Take it easy.”

  Lia looked up at the man, shock startling her into silence as he sat her back down on the edge of the bed. He didn’t look like much of a doctor in his gym shorts and sweaty tee shirt. A man bun was tied at the back of his head, and though his hair was silver, his face had a youthful glow about it. Light stubble lined his jaw, and dark, gray eyes took her in with curious concern.

  “You had quite an episode. Are you on any medications?” he asked.

  Lia thought of the new drugs Saunders had given her, and then of the safes lining the closet shelf in the rundown apartment she’d fled. The man’s eyes blinked in surprise, and she quickly looked away from him.

  “It’s okay,” he said softly. “You’re safe here, and you can tell me anything. Doctor-patient confidentiality.” He placed a hand over his heart as if making a solemn vow to her.

  “I should go,” Lia said, trying to stand again. Her head throbbed and she sat back down just as quickly.

  “I really shouldn’t release you until I’ve done a proper evaluation.”

  Lia’s
heart raced, her childhood memories feuding with the remnants of her vision. “I don’t have insurance,” she rasped in between several deep breaths.

  “You’re going to hyperventilate. You need to relax. Also, Orpheus House is a community-funded facility. No insurance or copay required,” he said with a tender smile. “Why don’t you rest a bit first? I’ll go shower before we begin.”

  Lia’s heart sank. He was going to lock her in there, probably until his shift was over and he could pawn her off on the next doctor. As if he’d read her mind, the man touched her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

  “I’ll be back in half an hour. Cross my heart,” he said.

  A pink flush filled his cheeks as he left the room. He paused at the doorway and turned back to her. “I’m Christian, by the way. Christian Delph. Welcome to Spero Heights, Lia.” He stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

  Lia considered checking to see if it was locked, but even if she wasn’t trapped there, she had no idea where she would go. All she knew about the little town was its name—and that it had its very own little prison for all the crazies like her.

  This new doctor seemed harmless enough. He wouldn’t be able to fix her, but maybe she could humor him until he gave her a clean bill of health and let her out of there. Then maybe she could find someplace to lay low that wasn’t a hospital. It didn’t seem like such an unreasonable goal.

  She looked down at the bed she was sitting on. The sheets smelled fresh. And the mattress was soft and even. When had she last slept? When Saunders transported her across the state in the trunk of his new cruiser?

  The silence in the small room tickled her ears. Mixed with the pounding in her head and the hollow ache in her stomach, she could hardly focus on anything, let alone a realistic escape plan. What she needed was food and rest. The former would have to wait, but she decided she could at least manage the latter.

  She peeled off her grimy hoodie and dropped it to the floor before curling up under the soft bedsheets and closing her eyes. As sleep claimed her, her mind vaguely wrapped around the fact that she hadn’t told the doctor her name. How had he known? She didn’t contemplate it long. She just wanted to get out of there before his death. Witnessing it once had been enough.

  Soon her breath slowed and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Dr. Delph paced his office with his hands on his hips and a deep crease dissecting his brow. He was still in his running clothes, and he could smell himself.

  “Are you sure you don’t want a second opinion?” Zelda asked again. She sat in one of the guest chairs, her legs stretched out before her and ankles crossed.

  Dr. Delph shook his head. “She’s spooked enough, and understandably so after what she’s been through.” He was still trying to sort through the pieces he’d picked from her frantic mind.

  Lia James’ head was like a graveyard. It was full of death and loneliness. Dr. Delph couldn’t decide if she was deranged or had lived the most tragic existence imaginable. How could one person have experienced so much loss, and so intimately, in such a short span of time?

  This was a question for the Fates. He wondered if the answer would present itself after his shower and morning tea—then he wondered if he should ask Zelda to stick around, just in case. He quickly decided against it. It would be too tempting to come clean with her about the Fates shunning him.

  “I better get back to the club.” Zelda stood and stretched her arms behind her head with a yawn. “The pack will be hungry when they wake up, and I promised them biscuits and sausage gravy.”

  Dr. Delph nodded. “Thanks for your help, Dr. Fulmen.” He walked her to his office door and let her see herself the rest of the way out. Then he headed for his desk. He desperately needed a shower, but there was something he wanted to check first.

  Graham had bought a small laptop for him two Winter Solstices back, and Dr. Delph only used it as a last resort. He had been relying on it quite a bit lately. He flipped the top open and punched the power button. His palms itched as he waited for the system to load.

  A quick internet search delivered equal enlightenment and dismay. The first result was a police report that labeled Lia a dangerous and delusional hospital escapee who had murdered her former doctor. Her age was listed as nineteen, but the article was a decade old.

  The picture that accompanied the report looked even younger, possibly from a high school yearbook. Lia smiled awkwardly at the camera, her hair piled in loose ringlets over both shoulders. Her wide eyes looked frightened, like she was ready to crawl back into the shadows just as soon as the uncomfortable affair was over.

  The second article was even older, dated back thirteen years. It was an obituary for David Leroy James. Lia was only mentioned briefly, as a survivor of the home, along with David’s wife, Clarissa James.

  The third and final article that came up was from a medical journal published by Aldini’s Research Hospital in Kansas. Lia was listed as a test subject undergoing experimental procedures for macabre hallucinations. A statement attached to her mother’s consent form stated that the girl was a lost cause with no hope of recovery. It was dated less than a year after her father’s death.

  Dr. Delph put his head in his hands and blew out a slow breath. This was more than he was currently equipped to handle.

  Lia saw things. That much was certain. Now it was up to him to decide if those things were real or not, and he needed to do it before she became a problem and drew the wrong kind of attention to Spero Heights.

  He thought about calling Selena to give her a head’s up, but he knew she was probably just now getting back from her wolfish run. Ben would be ready to return to his shop and water his rooftop garden. It was best to hold off until he had a chance to learn more about Lia.

  He headed for the bath attached to his private quarters and took a cold shower, willing his shot nerves to hold out just a bit longer. He was going to need coffee before his tea. Strong coffee.

  After the shower, he faced another dilemma in his closet. A suit seemed too formal. He wanted to set Lia at ease, not cause her more distress. He dug to the very back of his wardrobe before he found a dark blue dress shirt and a pair of khakis. Then he slipped on a pair of brown loafers and tucked a canister of elderberry and rosehip tea in his pocket.

  By the time he made it to the cafeteria in the south wing of Orpheus House, the day staff had already arrived. Nora and Judy were sisters and half elf. Dr. Delph had seen them in a vision, being hunted by a deranged uncle who believed in racial purity. He’d sent Graham to collect them from California. It was the way Spero Heights came by most of its citizens, though certainly not all. Word of mouth, no matter how much the council stressed discretion, seemed to be drawing in more and more supernatural refugees. He had a feeling Lia’s arrival was no coincidence either.

  The cafeteria of Orpheus House was set up for casual dining. Spherical fixtures hung from the high ceiling, lighting up a dozen round tables, each set with four chairs. Six trays of bacon and sausage links lined the stainless steel breakfast bar, and a fountain machine churned a fresh batch of orange juice.

  Nora was pulling a tray of blueberry and lavender muffins out of an oven when Dr. Delph came into the kitchen. “Good morning,” she sang out to him, and then waved the tray under his nose. “I got just what the doctor ordered.”

  Dr. Delph took a deep breath and his mouth watered. Nora’s muffins rivaled the finest pastries in Paris. He knew firsthand, having traveled there the summer he backpacked across Europe, seeking answers from every temple and ancient ruin across the old countries.

  “I’ll take twenty,” he said to Nora with a playful grin.

  She chuckled. “I think you better stick to one if you want to keep that trim figure of yours.”

  “Actually…” Dr. Delph held up two fingers. “A new patient joined us this morning. We’ll be eating breakfast in her room while I do a preliminary exam.”

  Nora raised an e
yebrow. Her eyes dropped to take in his casual appearance, but she didn’t say anything as she deposited two muffins on a paper plate. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

  “Oh, I know.” She grinned and went to open another oven.

  Dr. Delph fixed himself a cup of coffee and downed it before filling a tea kettle with water. While it heated on a free stove burner, he dug out a serving tray and arranged two teacups on it beside the plate of muffins. Then he found a glass and stepped back into the dining room to fill it with orange juice. He added it to the tray along with the tea kettle.

  As he left the kitchen, he snatched a bit of fresh lavender from the herb basket on Nora’s prep table and dropped it in the center of the tray. Now it was perfect.

  “I saw that!” Nora shouted as he hurried off.

  On his way to Lia’s room, his eyes darted down at his watch. He had told her half an hour, and he was almost a minute late. When he reached her door, he cracked it open slowly and peeked inside.

  Lia was asleep on the bed. Her black sweatshirt lay in a heap on the floor, leaving her in nothing more than a thin, pink tank top and a pair of jean shorts. The bedsheets were tangled around her legs, and she moaned as she tossed and turned. A few bruises lined the back of one of her arms as if someone had grabbed her too tightly, and a nastier purple bruise marred one of her cheeks.

  Dr. Delph stepped inside the room and quietly set the tray down on the small table near the window. He dug the tea tin out of his pocket and put two pinches of the dried berries and flowers in each cup. Then he topped them with steaming water from the kettle.

  The sweet aroma filled the room, and Lia’s moans softened. Her eyes fluttered open suddenly, and she sat up with a start, one hand reaching for her head. A pained expression puckered her face, and her shoulders shook softly.