The Delacours: Part Deux

nine.

Jason knocked on the door to the hotel and I opened it. He was with Nicky. I let them in and closed the door behind them. Val spelled it shut.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked.

"I won't take any chances. I don't know what caused this and I can't risk something getting in that door. I already spelled the windows and cleaned the room..."

"Something?" Jason asked.

"Whatever that was last night... It's not corporeal. I could only fight it because it was in Alma's body... I won't take any chances right now." I nodded as we walked to the living room. I introduced Val to Nicky and Nicky sat down on the couch as Val took Jason into the bathroom and looked at his teeth the way she did mine.

"What happened before I got here?" she asked. "What happened after you called me?"

"I called you as soon as I figured out that it was a magical problem," I started. "We went to Alma's house to talk to her about it, thinking she had a group of rogue witches practicing blood magic or something. I figured out pretty quick it was Santeria. We tried to leave but they knocked us out."

"We woke up being drained," Jason said. "Liz got herself out of it and then she helped me."

"Being drained how?" Val asked. "I need to know exactly how you found yourselves."

"It's hard to remember because I couldn't see very well at first. I know we had two small white oak stakes in our wrists and a larger one in our chests." She ripped Jason's shirt open to look at his chest and ran her finger over the scar.

"Was there anything else?" she asked.

"Not that I can remember."

"You two were in the same room?"

"Yes," we both answered.

"Jason, can you sit on the ground?" Val asked. "Just try and think about what you can remember about the moment. I'm gonna try something."

"Is it gonna hurt?" he asked, sitting down.

"Yeah, probably," I said. Val stood behind him and put her hands on the side of temples. I could see her fingertips light up. Jason let out a groan.

"Jason, if you fight me it will be worse," she said. I walked towards Nicky and sat down on the couch next to her.

"What is she doing?"

"She's trying to look into his memory to see if she can pull out anything we can't remember."

"She's hurting him..." she said, looking over to Jason.

"Not any worse than we've already been hurt."

"What happened back there?" Nicky asked. "Jason came home covered in blood... He tried to run in the bathroom before I could see him but I saw his clothes on the floor covered in blood. I threw them away..."

"You don't need to know."

"Yes, I do! We don't do secrets, Liz. I don't know how you handle your relationships but Jason and I don't hide things from each other. What happened!?" she said. I bit my tongue.

"We nearly died. Any further details will need to be discussed by the two of you privately. Until you are turned, there are certain things you can't know and I can't know that you know them." I stood up and walked back to Val and Jason. Jason was starting to get up and Val was shaking her hands as if she was trying to get something off them.