Wednesday Snippet - Blood Witch

I need more creative titles for these posts...Anyway, here's another snippet from the definitely-not-going-to-be-finished-by-the-end-of-January Blood Witch! It might be a tiny bit spoilery.

Lola slept fitfully, as if in the grip of a fever. Confused, broken images tormented her when she was asleep, and when she was awake the world spun and fractured around her. Once she woke up screaming for Tristesse, and the demon was there, her warm body curled around Lola's like a comfort blanket.

“I'm here. You're safe,” Tristesse whispered, stroking Lola's sweat-soaked hair and kissing her cheek. Lola shook and burrowed against her, desperate for her heat, before passing out again.

When she finally awoke properly, painfully bright daylight burned her eyes. She groaned and rolled away instinctively, reaching for Tristesse. The bed was empty though. Lola opened her eyes and peered groggily around the room, trying to get her bearings.

She was definitely in her own bedroom, which was a relief. The rumpled sheets smelt of hot bodies and strawberry gum, bringing a flush to her cheeks she couldn't quite explain. Memories of the night crawled through her head, like flashbacks when you'd drunk far too much. And in keeping with that, her head ached, her mouth felt stuffed with cotton balls, and her entire body felt like she'd run a marathon.

“Water and cereal,” Imani said briskly from the doorway.

“What?” Lola managed to answer. Her voice was raspy, reminding her of the demon from the cemetery. Isaiah. Isaiah and his undead woman. She shivered, wishing she could hide under the duvet forever.

“Tristesse said you'd feel shitty, like you were coming down from something,” Imani said, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. She was holding a tray with a glass of water and a bowl of cereal on it. 

“Whenever I'm coming down from E, all I want the next day is water and cereal.”

“I'm not hungry.”

“Doesn't matter. You need to eat. Can you sit up?”

Lola tried and found she could, although her muscles screamed in protest. She took the tray reluctantly. “Where is Tristesse?”

“Downstairs arguing with Rowan and her scary boyfriend.” Imani leaned forwards, peering into Lola's eyes. “You okay? What was it like? What happened? Tristesse won't really tell me anything.”

Lola winced at the thought of Rowan and Tristesse arguing, especially now she knew what Tristesse was capable of.

That woman...burning...oh fuck...

She pushed the tray away. “I really can't eat anything right now.”

“Then maybe you should come referee between your girlfriends.”

Lola groaned again. “Why me?”

“Because I value my neck more than I value yours. Sorry.” Imani hopped off the bed. “Eat your breakfast, take a shower, and come downstairs. I wanna know everything about last night, and Tristesse isn't talking.” She left the room.

Lola forced herself to obey, one step at a time. The water was a balm on her parched throat, but the cereal was too much effort and she only ate a few mouthfuls before giving up. Showering was exhausting, but at least the hot water was soothing on her sore body. If this was the result of using ley line magic, Tristesse could keep it.

She wiped steam off her bathroom mirror and studied herself critically. She looked as bad as she felt, shadows under her eyes, skin pale. Her lips looked puffy and swollen, probably from a combination of hard kissing and hard biting. Humans were definitely not meant to experience ley magic, she decided, no matter how good it might have felt.

And it had felt spectacular, right up until they ran into Isaiah.