Jenna Black - The Devil You Know

“Would it matter if you were?” Andy asked.

The doctor laughed, and I gave my brother a sidelong glance. That sounded like something I would say. Andy was usually polite to a fault.

Correction—the Andy I’d known ten years ago had been polite to a fault. Even ten years of normal life would have changed him. Ten years with Raphael might have warped him beyond recognition. Only time would tell.

“I just need to give you a final checkup before discharging you,” Dr. Neely said. He looked at me pointedly. “If you would excuse us please, Morgan.”

I blinked in surprise. I’d never seen this guy before, so how did he know who I was? “Have we met?” I asked, though I knew the answer.

Dr. Neely shook his head. “No, but the nurses told me you were here.” He reached out his hand. “I’m Dr. Neely,” he said, putting on a charming smile.

I shook his hand. We had a brief who-can-squeeze-harder contest, but since The Healing Circle was crawling with demons, I decided I’d better give up before I learned the hard way that Dr. Neely was one of them. He didn’t quite have the physique of your stereotypical host, but he was close enough to make me cautious. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes that told me he knew exactly what I was thinking, and I decided on the spot that I didn’t like him one bit. Andy’s body language showed me he shared my opinion.

“Pleased to meet you,” I said, my voice oozing insincerity.

“Likewise,” Dr. Neely answered. He sounded more sincere than I did, but not by much. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind excusing us?”

“Never mind,” Andy said. “I’m ready to get out of here. Morgan’s here to take me home.”

Dr. Neely raised an eyebrow at that. No doubt he knew Andy was supposed to go home with our parents, but he didn’t comment. “Just as soon as I’ve had a chance to examine you.”

But Andy shook his head. “No. Now. I’ve been in this place long enough.”

Dr. Neely looked stern. “I’m afraid I can’t discharge you without examining you first.”

“I don’t need your permission to leave.” Andy gave me a significant look, and I took the hint. I took hold of the handles of his wheelchair as he released the brake.

Dr. Neely frowned. “This is medically inadvisable,” he said, blocking the doorway.

Andy didn’t answer, and I started pushing him toward the door. I’d have been happy to run over Dr. Neely if necessary. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if he called the nurses and orderlies to stop me, but I’d cross that bridge only if I had to. He had no legal right to keep Andy here against his will.

Dr. Neely held his ground until we were almost on top of him, then took a quick step to the side. I bent close to Andy’s ear as I pushed him down the hall.

“We’re leaving without your personal effects,” I pointed out.

“I don’t care,” he said tightly. “Just get me the hell out of here.”

I was happy to oblige.

By the time I got Andy properly installed in my spare bedroom, I wasn’t only late for the exorcism, I’d missed it entirely. I’d called the courthouse to let them know that a family emergency had come up. The judge kindly refrained from slapping me with a contempt of court charge, but she assured me I’d used up my one and only get-out-of-jail-free card. I was very polite and professional—don’t laugh! — and rescheduled for mid-afternoon.

My parents weren’t so easy to defuse. They were furious with me for taking Andy away from them—I think they were hoping that they could brainwash him into hosting again if they got to spend lots of “quality time” with him. My mom demanded I allow her to speak with him, but he communicated to me with a shake of the head that he didn’t want to. I told her he was sleeping.

After the phone call from hell, I made lunch for Andy and me. I’m not much of a cook, so this elegant lunch consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches washed down with skim milk, but Andy didn’t complain, and I figured PB&J counted as comfort food. Something we both needed.

Afterward, I helped Andy drag himself to the living room couch. I should have set out for the courthouse, but instead I sat beside him on the couch. He looked at me warily, and I cleared my throat.

“I was wondering,” I started, then almost talked myself out of the question. But the fact was that Lugh’s comments last night continued to ricochet across my brain and I wouldn’t rest easy unless I asked. Of course, I wasn’t likely to rest easy even if I did.

Andy raised his eyebrows, but otherwise waited patiently for me to continue.

“You remember when I was thirteen, and I spent a week at The Healing Circle?” I asked. Andy was three years older than me, so I figured there was a chance he might know something I didn’t.

“Yeah,” he said cautiously. His caution immediately triggered my suspicious nature.

“Did anything…weird happen while I was there?”

He frowned at me. “You mean other than you almost dying?”

Don’t ask me why, but something about the look in his eyes or the expression on his face made me think he knew exactly what I was talking about. My first impulse was to go into overdrive and demand he tell me whatever it was he knew. But though I’d always thought of Andy as a strong, tough guy, the man sitting in my apartment was not the big brother I’d once known. There was something distinctly fragile about him, and it wasn’t just his gaunt frame. I did my best to rein myself in and be gentle.

“I mean I don’t remember a thing about my stay,” I said, and I think I managed not to sound impatient. “Lugh says there’s something hinky about that. He says that he can’t access those memories, and that it has nothing to do with me having been drugged to the gills.”

Andy shrugged and shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. “Every time I saw you, you were too out of it to even recognize me,” he said, his gaze fixed on the floor. “I don’t think it’s surprising that you don’t remember.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but since he was so fascinated with my exciting beige carpet, he didn’t notice. “Lugh thinks it’s surprising.”

Another shrug, and still he didn’t look at me. “Maybe it is. Or maybe he’s got some hidden agenda.” He finally raised his eyes to mine. “Once upon a time, I trusted the demons. Now I know better.”

The haunted look in his eyes made me long for the opportunity to beat the crap out of Raphael.

“What did he do to you, Andy?” I found myself asking, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. “He seemed pretty convinced he was one of the good guys.”

Andy laughed bitterly. “Yeah, right.” He shook his head. “He knows exactly what he is, and he doesn’t give a damn. Never make the mistake of trusting him, even when he seems to be on the same side.”

“Do you have to talk in riddles? Can’t you just tell me what the hell happened?”

Andy shook his head again, and his chin took on a stubborn set with which I was intimately familiar. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

It took a lot of tongue-biting, but I managed to let the subject drop, reminding myself that he’d been through ten years of hell and maybe he needed me to give him a break for the time being. Besides, I’d told Lugh I didn’t want to know if anything fishy took place while I was at the hospital.

Too bad just knowing that my memory was fucked up in a way even a demon couldn’t understand made me too uneasy to let the questions go.

I managed to be late to the rescheduled exorcism, which didn’t exactly endear me to the judge. I held my breath, fearing I was about to be fined to within an inch of my life, but she let it slide. It was my lucky day.