Chapter 134 - An Axe Is A Cure, Too

'That must be the infamous Desmond,' I thought, scanning the man. Even with the pale skin, he looked tanned, like someone from southern places, and he had a slightest shade of bristle on his chin. My first thought was India, but his name suggested Europe. It wasn't his first one, I was sure.

Desmond smiled wide enough to show fangs and focused on the spider-woman. "If you are so eager to get cured, I can tear off your excess limbs right now."

Oh, the vampire hearing. He must've heard this scuffle from the first floor. I bit the inside of my cheek, fighting for standing my ground here and now when my body wanted to hide under the nearest bed. That cruel smile and these cold eyes told me that Desmond was absolutely serious.

"You can't just do whatever you want here, vampire," Katya said, squeezing past Desmond inside and giving him a dirty look. "This isn't your home."

"All in the spirit of cooperation. I simply offered to help." Desmond's eyes and smile turned mocking. "Are you going to insult me by refusing it?"

The spider-woman, pale with fear, swallowed and returned to the curling pose in which I saw her. Gone was the obsession and the rage, though the woman's chin was still raised high in defiance when she glanced at Desmond. "There's no need. You were right, other patients need help more. I will be fine."

"Are you sure? Alright, then." the vampire gave her one more malevolent smile, then switched his focus to Ghost and our healed patient. "And here's your miracle doctor."

"Nice to meet you! Call me Ghost," he beamed in greeting, completely unaffected by the oppressive aura of Desmond's presence. "Did the Circle sent you, or are you here on your own? I didn't expect a vampire. Diana, did we expect a vampire? I think I forgot."

"It was only a matter of time. I mean, vampires want to know about the demon too, right?" I shrugged, stepping closer to Ghost. Never ever I wanted to hug him more than I did now. Yay for literally crazy positivity. "Can we help you?.."

"Desmond." He introduced myself but didn't spare me a glance, watching only Ghost. Desmond wasn't smiling anymore. His brows were pinched together in annoyance. "It's a surprise to see a smiling face in such circumstances."

Ghost chuckled. "I always said that a smile makes a day brighter. Or almost always. Or at least when I could remember it, then I said it. Some brightness is absolutely necessary right now."

"You don't look very smart, Ghost. Is he really a doctor, Katerina? Do you know him?" Desmond asked Katya with a tone of casual disdain in his voice.

"He isn't from my coven," the witch replied with the same disdain, but turned on Desmond. "But I've personally witnessed his skills. And, Ghost, you succeeded in healing the patient you worked on, didn't you?"

"He did," the patient confirmed from where he propped himself on his elbows on his bed. He eyed Desmond warily. "Why are you here?"

"Questions. Just questions… for now." Desmond flashed his fangs again. "We have to know what we are fighting, after all."

"I can't tell you much. I don't think anyone here can." The patient fell back on the bed and hugged himself in comfort.

"Even an insignificant from the first glance detail can help," Desmond walked past Ghost to the man's bed, looked down on him. "What was your condition? Did this person," Desmond gave Ghost a dark glance through his eyelashes, "really cured you?"

"I don't know. It was all white." The patient shook his head. "I already told them all I knew. I don't want to talk to you. Please… get away."

Desmond inched closer. "That's not a good answer… What's your name?"

"Please, step away from the patient." Emboldened by presence of other witches, and most of all, by Ghost's, I knelt next to the man's bed and put a hand on his shoulder. "He's terrified enough without your help. In the spirit of cooperation, how about being nice to everyone here?"

Desmond gave me a dark look that made my heart beat faster, and not in a good way. His eyes gleamed dangerously. "You are interrupting the interrogation."

I stood up to be on evener ground with him, but he was still one scary asshole. "He will tell you all you want to, Desmond. From a distance. I'm sure you will hear him just fine even from the other side of the room."

Desmond smirked. "All that sassy talk, and still your vein flutters like a spooked bird when I look at you. Go and pester the adults somewhere else, girl."

I flinched away from him against my better wishes, both afraid and angry now, and didn't miss the satisfaction on Desmond's face at that sign of vulnerability. In the next moment, I bristled in defence, thinking about an even better, sassier remark, when Ghost stepped in.

"Hey, hey, pal, don't say that to my pupil. We didn't work so hard on healing the patient so you could scare him to death here!" Ghost laughed at the joke, though in this situation, no one else, including me, found it funny.

"Actually," I spoke up, emboldened and revitalised again with Ghost next to me, "I think it would be the best to do any interrogations somewhere away. Would probably help with the… how is it… cleanliness of the information?"

Or something like that. In detectives, people were almost always interrogated one on one…

Desmond gave Ghost another dark look, but the man was a rock. The man was a rock, and Desmond was a scythe… I grinned, which gave me a sharp glance from the vampire—but I only grinned harder. That appeared to do him. It also appeared to irk him immensely.

He gave a curt nod and turned to Katya. "Prepare a room for interrogation. I will find you in fifteen minutes."

Without waiting for an answer, he left the room.