Ashes(67)

Which would mean the motherfucker or one of their minions might have been in her studio. Knox ground his teeth at the thought, and his demon let out another roar. "Could a hex harm the baby too?"



"I asked Mia that," said Levi. "She said no. The hex is directed at Harper – it will only harm her. But, obviously, if it is a death hex and it manages to kill her, the baby won't survive."



Knox looked at Rodgers, who was pale and looked completely out of his element. "She's in pain and has a fever. Will that harm the baby?"



Rodgers hesitated to answer. "It's more serious in human pregnancies. If you keep Harper hydrated and get her fever down soon, the baby should be fine." He didn't say there were no guarantees, but Knox could hear it in his voice. And it spooked the shit out of him.



"She'll be okay, Knox," said Keenan. "She's a fighter."



Harper again tried to get out of the bath. "Let me the fuck out! It's too hot!"



Again, Knox held her down. He hated to force her to stay there, hated the accusatory glitter in her eyes. "I'm sorry, baby." His head whipped around to look at Levi. "How long do we have to keep her in cool water?"



"Mia didn't say. I'll ask." Digging his cell out of his pocket, Levi left the room to make the call.



Harper grabbed Knox's arm. "Something's happening to the baby, isn't it?" Her shoulders shook, eyes tearing. "I'm losing it, aren't I?"



"No, no, no," Knox quickly assured her. "Someone tried to hurt you with magick. Your system is fighting it. That's a good thing."



She grimaced. "It doesn't feel like a good thing." She sucked in a breath and then hunched over again.



Knox rubbed her nape. "If I could do something, if I could help, I would." But despite how powerful he was, he couldn't do a damn thing to take away her pain. He was built to destroy, not to heal. And for once in its very long existence, his demon regretted that.



Levi re-entered the bathroom. "Once her skin cools, you can take her out of the bath, but you need to keep her covered with a towel or blanket. Basically, we just have to wait it out."



It took half an hour for her fever to break so that they could take her out of the water, but the cramps lasted for over an hour. It was a further forty-five fucking minutes before her blood no longer felt hot. Then, wrapped in her snug terry robe and huddled under the bed coverlet, she finally fell asleep.



Stood over the bed, Knox scrubbed a hand down his face. His jaw ached from how hard he'd clenched it as he'd fought to keep his demon from rising. The entity was a little calmer now that she no longer suffered, but it demanded vengeance.


      ///
       
         
       
        



"Thatcher," Knox spat. "It fucking has to have been him."



"Maybe, but we can't just go to his house and grab him, Knox," said Levi. "He's a powerful Prime. His lair is almost as large as ours."



"I don't fucking care. Look at her, Levi. He's an incantor; she was hexed. Are you not seeing the correlation here?"



"I'm seeing it. But I'm also seeing the consequences of you killing him without proof. You remember what happened to the last demon when he killed another Prime without evidence of wrongdoing, don't you?"



Yes. Most of the other Primes had united against the demon and killed him. "You don't think it's Thatcher," Knox sensed.



Levi sighed. "You said yourself that he's too smart to do anything that would cast suspicion on himself. Think past your anger, Knox. I know it's fucking hard, but try. For Harper."



Knox inhaled deeply, rolling back his shoulders. Before Harper, he'd never let emotions get in the way of his decisions – mostly because he hadn't felt many. He called on that practical side of himself as he paced, thinking it through. "The person who sent the emails was very careful to conceal their identity. Hexing her would not be a careful move for Thatcher; it would be damn stupid. He's not a stupid person. And, yes, it would be odd for someone who's been so cautious to then repeatedly act in ways that led back to them – I know all this. But what do you want me to do? Sit back and wait for whoever it is to make another move? If it is Thatcher, he's notorious for being like a dog with a bone. When he has an issue with someone, he doesn't let it go. He won't just stop."



Larkin, who'd arrived half an hour earlier, raised her index finger. "Um …  about people with issues."