The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (28 page)

A STORM WAS COMING. Angry thunder rumbled in the distance and cold gusts of wind bent the branches of the maple trees around me. Unconcerned with Mother Nature’s snippiness, I focused on my breathing and relaxed my body. The smell of green things filled my head as I opened my mind to what would come. When I meditated, I tuned out the world and found peace. The tiny room I visualized in my mind was empty and calm at the moment. I wanted it to stay that way and made no effort to reach out for a premonition.

Today I sought only peace.

A gust of wind blew my hair into my eyes and scattered my thoughts like leaves. I shoved my hair back and tried to regain my earlier sense of peace. A drop of chilly rain splashed off of my outstretched palm and yet I continued to breathe slowly and deeply. Gradually I drifted into my happy place and tuned out the storm completely. I floated among the trees with feet that didn’t touch the mossy earth. Warm air caressed my skin as I made my way into the forest. Fine tendrils of mist swirled at my feet as I wandered. No light guided me, no darkness stalked me. Today I merely wandered free and alone. I’d found the peace I longed for, but something was missing.

Someone
was missing.

Rain sluiced down my back as a bolt of lightning struck a tree nearby. The loud crack barely penetrated my consciousness. Another sound held my full attention now. Beginning softly and growing louder, I heard someone calling my name. The next flash of lightning lingered brilliant cobalt long after the sound of thunder faded.

“Mica!” Killian’s sharp voice against my ear brought me out of my dream world and back to reality.

I blinked rain out of my eyes and accepted his hand. As he pulled me up, I shook my head to clear it. His familiar touch steadied me as I came back to the moment. The heavy rain softened the lines of his face and made him look more human than usual. His thick black lashes were clumped together around those brilliant blue eyes that still startled me with their intensity. Today they were fathomless midnight; other days, the wild color of the ocean. I sighed wistfully. He was gorgeous and I’d be blind if I didn’t see that.

“What did you see this time?” He searched my eyes.

Indifferent, I said, “Nothing new. No light, no dark. Just me and the trees.”

“And that troubles you?” He took my hand and tugged me towards the house.

“Yes. I guess it does. It’s peaceful, but I wanted…” I slowed down and sighed. There wasn’t any point in talking about this again.

His hand tightened around mine and he said, “I know, babe. I want the same thing, but--”

“Just stop! I won’t give up on him. I can’t!”

He stopped abruptly and I ran into him. He squeezed my shoulders and said, “I’m not asking you to give up on him, Mica! We all want him back. It’s just been so long now. I don’t know what to think anymore. No one has any answers.” He cupped my face in one of his big paws and added more softly, “I wish I could take away your pain.”

I rubbed my cheek against his hand and leaned into his chest. How had I ever thought he was cold? After a moment of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around me and we stood in the stormy woods lost in our own memories.

Sean’s beautiful face teased me. It was mostly lean lines and sharp cheekbones. His eyes were his most striking feature. Large and slightly turned up at the edges, they were a moody blue with heavy black lashes and feathery eyebrows. His mouth could go from a grim line to a soft sweet smile that melted my heart. He was serious and intense but his eyes knew my heart and his smile was only for me. A powerful and lethal soldier, a Primani, he had softened only for me. I was his balance. I missed him with an ache that stopped my breath sometimes. He was my other half; my soul mate. It was his power that had awakened my own powers. I was trying to help when I used my vision that day in Vermont. After Sean disappeared, I spent months cursing my vision and refused to use it. Even after all these months, I had nightmares about it. I could still see Sean’s face contorted with agony as the explosions ripped him away from me. We never found his body. None of us could sense him anymore.

He was just…gone.

“We’ll find him. Don’t give up.” Killian whispered against my ear and tucked my dripping hair behind one ear. His calloused fingertips left a trail of heat across my jaw and down my neck.

I forced a watery smile for him. Tenderness was totally out of character for this one. Out of the three, Killian was the oldest, the most experienced, and the deadliest. He was my protector in Sean’s absence. Before he disappeared, Sean made him promise to take care of me. Like everything else he did, he did it with complete commitment. He had a lot of very good qualities, but he was bossy and impatient with humans. He was also intense, gorgeous, and scared the hell out of every human he came into contact with. Despite, or perhaps because of all of this, I was irrevocably tied to him in ways I no longer questioned and I loved him completely.

Later, I was cleaning up the kitchen when a familiar sunny face popped around the corner.

“Hey, darlin’!” Dec was back.

With a very girly screech of joy, I flew to him and he swung me around in a bear hug. Domino jumped up and wrapped her legs around him too. There wasn’t a Primani alive who she wasn’t crazy about. Laughing at her antics, Dec scooped her into his arms and gave her some love. With her brilliant black freckles and petite little face, she was pretty irresistible and she knew it.

“Oh my God! It’s been months! I’ve missed you!” I held him out at arm’s length and drank in the sight of him. “You need a haircut!”

His blond hair was curling around his ears and was streaked white by the sun. Like Sean and Killian, he was beautifully made with a lean face, golden skin, and hypnotic eyes. His eyes were the same brilliant shade of blue they all had, but he had a ready smile with adorable dimples. The dimples hadn’t made many appearances since Sean disappeared. None of us smiled very much anymore.

“Are you back for a while, Dec? It’s been
hard
without you.” I smiled and gazed into his face. It was so good to see him.

His eyes were shadowed and he needed to shave. He rubbed a hand over his scraggly beard. “I don’t know. I hope so. I’ve missed you too, darlin’.” His Irish accent slipped out every now and then. He winked at me.

“Tell me what’s been happening here.” He dragged a chair around and straddled his lean body around it.

“I’m working at the mall again. I don’t seem to have an allowance from Alex like you guys do. I have to earn my money. Plus I can’t stay cooped up here all day. Killian and I need a break from each other.”

He chuckled darkly at that. “I bet. Are you still training?” His eyes traveled over my body taking in the muscles that I’d worked hard to maintain.

Sean had drilled me relentlessly on hand-to-hand combat and Krav Maga last year.  He was adamant that I be able to protect myself from whatever might happen. I also had a gun and a knife that I carried on missions.  I insisted Killian keep up my training to keep from getting out of shape. He didn’t like it.

“Oh yeah, he hates it though. He says I’m obsessed and it’s not healthy. That--coming from Killian. I think it’s funny.”

Killian walked in just then. “You are and it’s not. Don’t act like you’re innocent here.” He nodded at Dec and added, “She nearly ripped my throat out yesterday. She forgets she’s supposed to be
practicing
.” He rubbed his neck idly.

I flushed. “Well, it’s a good thing you’ve got superpowers then! I’m not letting up. I
will
be ready.”

Killian rolled his eyes at Dec. They were doing it again--communicating silently and leaving me out. I couldn’t read their minds and they knew it. I tapped my foot on the tile.

Dec peered closely at my face. “You’re not sleeping again?”

I started to deny it, but there’s no point. He knows me better than I know myself. “No, not really…the nightmares are back. And lately, I’ve been…hearing him.”

His eyes widened. “Hearing him? How?”

I straddled one of the kitchen chairs. They weren’t going to like this. I should’ve told them as soon as it started. ”I have these dreams…Dec, he’s calling to me. I hear his voice. It was faint at first…barely a whisper. Now though…it’s clearer and more…insistent…he’s scared.” I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.

Dec gripped my hand and said roughly, “Does he say anything else?”

“No, he’s just…calling to me.”

“And you think it’s Sean?” Killian’s expression was guardedly hopeful.

I met his eyes and nodded. “It’s his voice, Killian. I
know
his voice.”

“And when you meditate? Do you hear him then?”

I hesitated. “Yes, today I did. This is the first time though. It’s only been happening for the past few days.”

For the first time in a long time, there was a light in Killian’s eyes. Like me, he’d been on autopilot for these months and the spark was gone. He stared out of the window for a few minutes and seemed to make a decision.

“Okay, we’re going to try something. But I need some time to think it over first. You need to go to bed and take a nap. I need you to be rested for what I’m thinking. No dreaming! Just sleep. Let it restore your balance. Have you learned to recharge your energy yet?”

Excited now, I jumped up from my chair and asked a million questions. What was he thinking? What plan? Why wait? Recharge? Let’s just do it! He finally held up a hand and I lost audio to my voice. My lips moved but no sound came out. I glared at him. I hated when they did that! He shrugged and gestured to Dec. Time to work his magic.

Grinning with full dimples, Dec said, “Come on, sweetheart, let’s take a nap.”

He draped an arm around me and I felt the warmth of his body seep into mine and let the drowsiness take over until my knees gave way. A delicate woodsy smell drifted through my mind and I closed my eyes. He scooped me up like a child and carried me to my bed. With a kiss on my forehead, he told me to embrace the oblivion. I slipped into a deep dreamless sleep for the first time in nearly a year.

Twenty-four hours later, I woke up a new person. I bounced into the kitchen in search of my menfolk and food. Both were conveniently located within arm’s reach. They made me lunch: tuna salad on toast and a bowl of cut up cantaloupe. I gave them both a grateful glance and devoured my food. After gulping down a glass of milk, I sat back and asked about the plan.

Dec, the best healer of our group, picked up my hand and closed his eyes. After a minute, he declared I was healthy again. Apparently my
saol
, or energy force, was back in balance.  I still felt like half a person without Sean, but I didn’t want to spoil the moment by sharing that little piece of information. I actually did feel better than I had yesterday, at least physically.

Killian’s plan was a complicated one. I was a little leery of it after last year’s exorcism in Manhattan. That plan was
simple
and we both nearly disappeared. It was almost a disaster…

“Are you crazy? What makes you think this will work?”

He actually grinned at me like a normal person. “Possibly, yes. It’s been a rough year, babe. But I think this’ll work. We’re just going to explore and see if my hunch is right. If I’m right, we’ll figure out how to bring him back.”

Dec squeezed my hand and said seriously, “I’ll be right here to pull you back. Don’t worry at all about that. My whole focus will be keeping
you
safe. I know I can do that. I might lose
Killian
, but I won’t lose you.” He’d nearly lost us both last year and had been inconsolable over it. I knew he’d leave Killian hanging in purgatory if he had to make a choice this time.

I blanched and cried, “What? No, you can’t lose him either!” I swung around to Killian who just lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. He seemed to agree with Dec on this point.

“Kidding, kidding! Let’s do this before we talk ourselves out of it.”

The three of us formed a circle on the living room floor with our hands joined and resting on our knees. The afternoon sun was fading and the light was dim. I wore the gold locket they’d made me for Christmas last year. I quickly said a prayer over it and kissed it for good luck. I’d grown a little superstitious about it…It contained a golden drop of blood from the four of us and I hoped it would help draw Sean back to us. The circle wasn’t complete without our fourth person. Killian looked over at me and I nodded. I was as ready as I would ever be.

I closed my eyes and visualized the small open room I used for meditation. Dec’s energy flowed in a steady stream from his hand into mine and the gentle current traveled through my bloodstream. His was pure supernatural energy and contained power that far outshone my own hybrid human-Primani energy force. The burst of energy sent my blood singing and pulsing in time to the rhythm of his heart. My muscles strummed and vibrated and I tingled all over. If left unfocused, I would probably float away. I was feeling lighter already.

I murmured, “Not so fast…slowly.”

Deliberately, I drew that energy to my brain and used it to amp up my psychic powers. We hoped the Primani
saol
would give me the extra strength to do what we needed today. At the same time, I felt Killian’s mind prodding mine.