A female voice seeped through the closed door. I hopped to my feet, checked the peephole, and peeked out the window. A tall, dark haired woman stood next to a cart. It neared eight a.m., I had stayed up sitting in the unforgiving wooden chair watching Jessica lay unconscious all night, she never moved. I plopped back into the chair. A knock jolted the door. “Housekeeping.” The familiar beep of the plastic key disengaging the lock had me to my feet again. Evidently they didn’t observe do not disturb signs. “No thank you,” I yelled. The door burst open, splintering the frame and Russell, sword drawn, barged in. His cold blade pierced my mid-section. My demon’s fury raged. I clapped my hands around his wrist and guided the blade further into my stomach, bringing him closer to me. My demon-side emerged, and Russell’s eyes went wide. He jerked, but my grip on him was relentless. I peeled his fingers from his weapon and stepped back, pulling the silver blade from my body. I lurched forward and yanked him by the neck toward me, spun and kicked the door closed.
