The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (42 page)

“Yes. You should just accept that I am always right. You’ll feel better if you do.”

I had to laugh at that. “You kill me. You know that? I can’t understand how you fit through doors with that ego of yours!”

Stripping another wing, he smirked at me. “I’ve earned this ego.”

Sean and Dec walked in before I could answer. Dec said, “I thought I smelled chicken. Need help?”

Rolling my eyes at the suspicious timing, I said, “No, I don’t. I’m done. Just bring the bowls to the table and we’ll eat.” I dumped the steaming biscuits onto a platter and grabbed the butter.

Living with three large males had taught me that the quietest part of any day is the first five minutes of mealtimes. The only sound ever heard during this magical time is the clanking of silverware. No matter the stress in my life, I had to smile at the three of them wolfing down dinner.

“I hate to bring this up, but can we talk about my wonky vaporizing power? It’s bothering me.”

Sean grinned evilly at me and gestured with a drumstick. “Feeling guilty?”

“Dude, I used to be a little jealous that Mica liked you. But now? I am sooo glad she picked you!” Dec confessed to Sean in a loud whisper.

“She does have a wee bit of a temper these days.”

“Careful Sean, you might find yourself sleeping with Dec from now on,” I said in a syrupy sweet tone.

“Oh, come on, darlin’, we’ve already talked about this.” He grinned over the chicken.

“Questions of my guilt aside, I still don’t understand what I’m doing and I think that could be a problem.” I looked around the table at their blank faces. “Am I the only one who thinks that?”

Sean cleared his throat and said seriously, “No, you’re right. We’re just not panicking about it. Do you want to hear what I think?”

I nodded and he continued. “It’s translocation--pure and simple. In a split second of panic, you unconsciously moved the person out of danger.”

“But that doesn’t explain how I’ve been blowing up demons.” I told them the story about the demon with the fireball at the rest stop and reminded them about the one that attacked my brother. Both times, the demons had gone up in a cloud of smoke. Not the typical ash, just smoke.

“And it doesn’t explain how you vaporized Sean,” Dec added thoughtfully. He was listening to us, but his eyes were glazed as if he were seeing something else.

“Tell me something. Why didn’t you move Dani out of the way? You chose to move that human instead. Good choice considering how he ended up dead…but still, you didn’t intentionally throw him down on the fountain, did you?” Killian asked.

Startled, I said defensively, “No, I didn’t throw him on top of the fountain! Geez. It was an accident!” The image of his eyeballs glistening in the light made me shudder. So gross!

He raised an eyebrow at me and crossed his arms. “Don’t get touchy about it. Just answer my question. Did you consciously pick the guy over Dani? Think about it. This could be important.”

“I think so…this time. With Trevor and Domino I just wanted them away from the fireball. I totally panicked. This time, I wanted the guy with the knife away from Dani.”

The room got very quiet. No one said a word for a few minutes. All of us were lost in our separate thoughts as the sunlight began to fade. I hadn’t turned on the lights and the room suddenly seemed very dark.

“I’ve got it!” Dec announced. “You didn’t
blow up
those demons, Mica. You
scattered
them! You vaporized them! Don’t you see? They have a totally different molecular structure than humans do. When you tried to move them, the energy released must’ve overloaded their bodies and
poof
!” He made a gesture to mimic an explosion. “Up in smoke!”

Horrified, I said slowly, “That makes perfect sense, Dec.” I turned towards Sean and was assailed by the familiar wave of images that played like a movie in my mind. I knew every part by heart. After he’d disappeared, my brain had refused to rest and replayed these images for days.

For the thousandth time, I watched as Sean grabbed for Dec and turned at the exact moment the demon fired his weapon. The red flame of the weapon collided with the white blast of the chemicals as they ignited and exploded. Caught between them, the two blasts hit him at the same time I had screamed his name in sheer terror. Over and over the image of Sean’s body twisting and falling played inside my mind. Totally tranced out, I sat there and let the images come to me. There had to be something I wasn’t seeing.

Gentle fingers closed my eyelids and the images stopped. More thought than sound, he said, “I know what you see.” He kissed both of my eyelids and pulled me against him in a hard hug.

“You have to let this go. Listen, our molecular structure isn’t the same as humans, but it’s also not the same as demons. It’s possible you could move us without vaporizing us.” He rubbed his hand over his chin and looked into my eyes, his eyes clear. “I saw what you saw that night. You know that I was caught between two explosions at the exact second you tried to move me. You know that as fact, right?”

I agreed with him and he said shakily, “It was an incredible force. In that fraction of time before you moved me, I felt like I was going to implode from the pressure. It was crushing me. I would’ve probably died from the trauma if I’d been left inside that basement. For all we know, you
saved
my life. The point is we
don’t
know, and we won’t know. So we need to get past this. We’ve got more to do and we need you focused.” He messed up my hair and added, “Just don’t do it again!”

He looked at Dec and Killian and asked, “Anyone else have anything brilliant to add?”

“Can I have a new partner?” Dec asked Killian and then ducked when I threw a biscuit at him.

“Okay, I think we have other things to talk about tonight. Starting tomorrow, Sean, you and Mica run through some drills and get her in control of this new power. Practice on anything, but each other. We can’t afford to lose you again.” He gave us both a meaningful look. “Dec, you need to pair up with James from now on. I don’t trust him with Mica, and I’m not sending him with Sean.”

“Killian, I can handle James,” I offered. Dec wasn’t happy with this change at all.

He frowned and said, “Not a good idea. Something bothers me about the way he looks at you. Until I figure that out, you stay with Sean.”

“Sean, you need to know James has been acting strange. He’s been conveniently there each time someone was hurt at the penthouse, and he was here yesterday before all hell broke loose.” He stabbed a finger at the air for emphasis.

I hadn’t thought of that and gasped out loud. “No, he didn’t! You don’t think James had anything to do with that? It had to have been Balin.”

I filled them in on my time with Balin in the park and the burn of his kiss on my hand. It was embarrassing to have been fooled by his disguise. The stupid dog was a Trojan horse…

Sean slammed his hand down on the table. The glasses rattled and I jumped. “Damn it! Is she still marked?” He threw the question at Killian who shook his head.

“Absolutely not.” He lifted my hand for them to see. “This rune is mine--I put it there to protect her from psychic attacks. They can’t trace her anymore.” To emphasize the rune’s power, he traced the rune slowly. As before, my blood rose to meet his finger and the rune was outlined in pale golden light. The rune on his own hand responded and began to glow.

Sean snatched up Killian’s hand in disbelief. He flushed, struggling to control his temper. Between his teeth, he said, “What is this?”

To his credit, Killian didn’t punch him in the face. Instead, he looked him straight in the eye and said with great patience, “My blood to protect her blood. The runes are twins and have even greater protective power because of it.” He glanced at me then.

How much do you remember?

Every last second.

His lips curled in a sexy smile that I felt wash over my mind. I covered my rune with my hand.

In the reasonable tone of a history professor he said, “Calm down, Sean. Look, you know the magic is very old. Blood is always required.” He said this with a trace of pride. “After what happened with the demon, I had no other options. Keeping her alive and sane were my only priorities. You should understand that.”

Killian reiterated the dream I had when we were in Eden, leaving out the part about the demon masquerading as him, and the terrible voices they put inside my head leading up to that. Clearly the demon was planning to use me to get to
Sgaine Dutre
.

When Killian mentioned the blood, I noticed that Dec turned a bit green and I went over to him and whispered, “It was a really big knife too. Actually, there were two of them. Very sharp. In fact, they were so sharp that I didn’t feel it at all when Killian carved the runes into my hand or over my heart. I didn’t notice until the blood dripped onto the altar.” I cocked my head as if thinking of something else. “It sort of undulated down my stomach…very strange in the firelight.”

His face had turned the color of moldy cheese and his eyes were squeezed tightly closed. So I added one more little detail to push him over the edge. “You know, now that I think about it, it didn’t hurt at all until he set my back on fire. That sort of st…”

Dec bolted to the sink and lost his dinner. All conversation stopped as the three of us listened in shocked silence.  It sounded like someone was killing him in there; I almost felt sorry for him. Almost, but not quite. Smiling to myself, I thought, yep, payback is a bitch.

“How much of your blood did you share with her?” Sean sounded pained.

“A bit, why?”

“I don’t think we can stand
two
of you.”

The stars were out again, but I wasn’t in the mood to appreciate them. I was still thinking about Balin and how he’d tricked me into spending time with him. He didn’t look like a demon, and he’d brought bait--the dog. That was pure genius and I fell for it. He’d nearly tricked me into going to dinner and God only knew what would’ve happened. Probably he would have brought me to the underground room that night instead of the next. In hindsight, he’d probably followed me and bided his time to grab me.

I’d forgotten about the green-eyed doctor who’d helped save my life. Sean filled me in on him in our meeting. After bringing him back with me, they turned him over to Alex for more…thorough questioning. Apparently he was an undercover fed. He’d been working to get information on someone who was trying to create new biological and chemical weapons. Before I showed up, he’d worked with petri dishes and test tubes. He was supposed to be a scientist, not a medical doctor. He’d been horrified when they sent me back to him broken and bloody. He’d wanted to help but didn’t want to lose his cover. So he gave me injections to help me zone out during questioning and then pain injections when things got ugly. It turned out that he was one of the good guys. According to Killian, Alex had someone adjust his memory and they released him. I said a prayer for him as I supposed demons had long memories and would look for him. He’d be completely at their mercy.

We still didn’t know the name of the demon who’d tortured me; I assumed he was in charge though. He had too much arrogance to be a lower-level demon. Others deferred to him there, so he had to be the boss. He was still out there too.

Absently, I rubbed the rune against my cheek for reassurance. I trusted Killian’s magic. If he said I was protected, then I was going to believe that. My mind was safe for now, but what about my body? I wasn’t indestructible…The door opened and a sliver of light crossed over the rug.

“You’re still up?”

Turning away from the window, I pulled the curtains and curled up on the bed. “Couldn’t sleep. Are you coming to bed now?” I patted his pillow in invitation.

He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it carelessly on the floor. Completely unaware of how sexy he was, he stood there for a minute, apparently thinking. Not for the first time, I caught myself drooling a little and licked my lower lip. I could have a million problems, but they all vanished the minute he took his shirt off. The jeans came next and he crawled into the blankets with me. The sheets were cold and I burrowed against his side.

Pulling me close, he whispered against my ear, “How tired are you?”

“NO WAY.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I turned around to see my butt in the hallway mirror. “It’s the perfect stakeout look. Black, black, and more black.”

Dec chose that moment to stroll into the room and whistled in male appreciation.

Sean’s teeth clacked together, and he asked pointedly, “See?”

“Dec, what do you think?” I twirled around for him to see all sides.

I was wearing black stretchy jeans with steel-toed thigh-high leather boots with a black under-armor V-neck shirt tucked into the jeans. It was all topped off with a bad ass black military jacket. I thought it was very practical…lots of pockets to stash important things like extra magazines, pepper spray, rope, and essential beauty products like a nail file and lip gloss. My gun and its new partner were stashed happily on my black web belt. I thought I looked good.

Dec laughed uncertainly and swiveled back and forth between us. Backing away from Sean, he said, “I’m just gonna say you look
hot
in those boots!” Raising his hands peacefully, he added, “Not sure you should be hot on a stakeout though. Might be a wee bit distracting.”

Sean gave him a fist pump and smirked back at me, “Are you going for hot or practical? Seriously, babe, you look hot--too hot for a stakeout. Shit, you’re supposed to blend in wherever we are. In that?“ He waved his hands over the general direction of my cleavage. “No way. You have to change.”

He had a point.

But that was beside the point.

I worked really hard to put this together and wasn’t giving in that easily. “Come on, Sean!” I batted my eyelashes, but he still looked stubborn. “Fine. We’ll let Killian decide. He’s on his way. I can sense him.”

“Is that new?” Killian asked as he appeared out of thin air in front of me.

I posed like a super-secret agent and said, “Yes! And it’s awesome, isn’t it?”

He frowned in confusion at my comment and said, “I was talking about your ability to sense me before I got here.” He gestured in amusement at my clothes and added in an offhand way, “You’re not wearing that on a mission. You look ridiculous.”

Three hours later, Sean was still feeling victorious and was in a great mood while I sulked in the other seat. He was drumming his fingers on top of the steering wheel in time with his iPod. The new car had a fabulous sound system, and he completely tuned me out as soon as we were parked. Two cars mysteriously appeared overnight a few days ago. I couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone, so I still had no idea where they came from. We were sitting in the one Sean insisted on driving tonight. It’s a faded blue 1967 Camaro. The paint was so faded it was nearly white in patches. It probably had the original paint. Judging from their condition, the vinyl seats were the originals. The stupid car is older than I am so it’s a classic. Yay. I don’t know why the Car Fairy couldn’t have brought us a new Charger. I shifted my butt again and grouched to myself. My seat wasn’t keeping its springs to itself.

Turning the volume down, I complained, “I still don’t see what’s so great about this car. No power steering, no power brakes or windows! How am I even going to be able to drive it? It’s got a gear shift, for crying out loud. Why couldn’t we take the other car?”

He rubbed his hand lovingly along the top of the steering wheel and closed his eyes in apparent bliss. “You will never understand, love.” He stretched his legs and yawned while looking at his watch.

“Heads up. It’s time. Are you ready?” He’d turned the stereo off and put on his alert face once more.

“I’m ready.” I dragged my window closed so no one could see inside and slunk down in the seat.

After a few minutes, Sean said, “There he is now.” In a lower voice, “Damn, he’s got a girl with him.” As planned, he started the engine and we got ready to follow our target.

Scott Flynn drove a red pickup truck with raised wheels and a gun rack. The rack had multiple occupants. The bed was covered with a black tonneau cover so the contents were hidden. I wondered what he had under there. An axe? Garbage bags? Scissors? As we watched, he smiled charmingly at the brunette he was with. She had a pretty smile and used it often as he walked her to his truck. His dark hair was still long and floated away from his face with the breeze. The deep-set dark eyes were exactly the same as I’d seen them in my nightmares. He had a heavy brow bone that gave him a slightly uncivilized appearance. Heavy brows and cheekbones with a hard mouth and mysterious hooded eyes all worked together to create a face that was both handsome and frightening. Like the devil himself I’d thought on more than one occasion. In the right light, he was terrifying.

“What are we going to do with that girl?”

Sean shrugged and answered, “We’ll see what happens.” He slowed the car to fall back some and I felt the transmission shift with a rumble. The vibration surprised me.

Scott was driving straight through town, and we were three cars back. It was close to 11:00 now and he’d just left work. It was Friday night and he was taking some girl out for a good time. He pulled up to a convenience store and ran inside. Idling down the block, Sean was deep in thought. Fingers drumming, he said, “Can you get a read on him?”

“You want me to get inside his head? Eeeww!”  The man was a horrible excuse for a human. The inside of his head probably squirmed with worms. I'd have to bleach my eyeballs after going in.

He reached over and squeezed my leg gently. “You’re safe from him now. There is no way he will ever touch you again.” Squeezing once more, he added, “We have to know what he’s planning. It would cut out a lot of guesswork if you can read him. Try, babe.” His eyes met mine and he nodded in encouragement.

“Okay, I’ll try. But you’ll have to stay closer.”

Scott swaggered out of the store with a 12 pack of beer in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. He surveyed the street like he owned it before getting back into his truck. His hand hung partly out of the open window as he dangled the cigarette. He drove directly towards us, and I dove across Sean’s lap to hide. Sean turned the other way as Scott drove by. As I slid back into my seat, Sean peered at his lap with a sigh and started the engine.

Now that we were back on the road, I tried to reach out to Scott and his slimy mind. Ignoring the sounds of traffic and the motion of the car turning corners, I concentrated and…nothing. I took a deep breath and sent my mind out again. I couldn’t even sense him. There was nothing, just a void as if he wasn’t there. Maybe we were too far away from him? I was about to try again when I felt the car brake and stop.

The sounds of teenagers laughing and having a good time greeted me as I got my bearings. Ah, Peabody’s. A place I knew well. Scott parked down the street and walked over to the passenger side to help his girl out of the truck. He started to help her down and then stopped her partway down so she was pressed against him in the doorway. He had one arm wrapped around her holding her up and the other casually braced on the doorframe. His back filled the door so I couldn’t see what her face looked like. He was relaxed though and seemed to be kissing her.

Suddenly his head snapped back and he stiffened. But then just as quickly he stepped back and pulled her out of the door with a laugh. Even from here, I could tell that wasn’t a sincere laugh. The sound was off and his shoulders were stiff as he draped an arm around her.

“Let’s rock. We’re up.” Sean grabbed the keys and started to open the door when I reached over to stop him.

“Wait! How do you want me to act in there? I’m nervous now.”

He pulled me over and kissed me thoroughly. I was glowing slightly by the time he leaned away from me.

“There. Now you look like a girl out on a date.” Just as fast, the soldier was back, and he was all frowns again. “Act like we’re on a date and you’re gonna get laid tonight. You focus on me like I’m your whole world. If he's the one we're looking for, he'll react. He won’t be able to stand watching you with me. Just don’t go anywhere without me.” He kissed me again, sweetly this time, and said, “I’ll keep an eye on Flynn, and we’ll wing it from there.”

Peabody’s was packed with college kids, and we had to wend our way through the crowd. Sean took my hand and cleared a path leaving startled faces staring after us. I smiled to myself. He could put off whatever vibe he needed to get what he wanted. If it was cooperation he wanted, he either went with suppressed violence or affable party goer. Tonight, it looked like suppressed violence was taking the lead. I sighed to myself. There would be trouble later. No doubt. For now, I clung to his hand like he was my only thought in the world and pasted a vapid smile on my face.

I spotted Scott and his date before Sean did and tugged his wrist to the left. Without making eye contact with Scott, Sean sauntered across the room to a place opposite our quarry. So far, I didn’t think Scott had seen us. It was really crowded, and he had both eyes and his hands all over his date at the moment. He was showing her how to hold a pool cue.  Who knew it was a full contact sport? Sean pulled up a bar stool and hovered over me like a good boyfriend would. With one eye on Scott, he focused his hands and the rest of his body on me. Strong fingers linked in mine and pulled me closer still. I leaned back against him and nearly melted.

Fanning myself, I tilted my face towards his ear. “You are ridiculously hot,” I said under my breath.

He raised his eyebrows at that. “That a compliment or a complaint?”

I elbowed his ribs playfully and smiled up at him. “You’re burning up. Are you okay?”

He leaned into my ear and whispered, “I hate to tell you this, darlin’, but you’re the one who’s burning up.” He pulled back slightly, and his eyes went round. In a very low voice he hissed, “Your eyes are glowing! Stop that!”

To cover my surprise and well, my glowing eyes, I closed them and pressed my face against the muscles of his chest. Deep breaths, deep breaths, I chanted to myself. To anyone who was watching, I was just snuggling with my man. Nope, there was nothing weird to see here. Why were my eyes glowing?

After a minute or so, I cautiously peeked up at him, and he leaned in to kiss me. Taking his time, he kissed me in that special way that proclaims to the world that we’re having sex later. Just in case any foolish mortal guy thought to hit on me tonight. Claim staked. I laughed against his mouth and pulled back grinning.

“I thought we’re acting here. You’re excited.” I dipped my finger inside the top of his jeans. Rock hard stomach muscles contracted at my touch.

“Of course I am. You’re setting my blood on fire.” He leaned back nonchalantly on his elbows, and I quickly stood in front of him. The ladies didn’t need to have their questions answered. “Besides, who says we’re not having sex later? I think it’s a great idea.”

“Do you two want drinks or a room?” an amused voice interrupted my witty comeback. A waitress appeared next to us with a tray of empty glasses. She was a cute little redhead with green eyes and alabaster skin. Only about five feet tall, she had a good view of Sean’s assets and her smile widened wickedly.

“Back off, sister. He’s mine!” I joked with a real smile. “I’d kill for some water though.”

She laughed and said with an exaggerated shiver, “Mmm, I’m gonna let you keep this one. He’s a little scary.”

“You’ve no idea,” I told her in a stage whisper.

Sean winked at her and said, “I’ll take a Sam Adams.”

I thought it was safe to sit down again and looked around the bar. I recognized a couple of old friends from high school, but no one else looked familiar. I scanned the crowd while pretending to send text messages on my phone. Sean had his big body draped behind me as he pretended to read my texts. Every so often, he’d whisper something to make me laugh out loud. We’d been there a half hour, and Scott hadn’t taken the bait. I had to pee.

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

“Not alone, you’re not.”

“You can walk me there and wait, or you can stay here and watch Scott.”

We threaded our way to the hall where the bathrooms were and there was a long line of girls waiting. “I’ll be fine here. Why don’t you go back and wait? It’s packed with witnesses. What could happen?” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his worried frown.

The wait took about 20 minutes, and I was bouncing up and down by the time I got into the bathroom. Hurrying to an open stall, I closed the door in profound relief. As soon as I flushed and buttoned my jeans, the room was plunged into total darkness. All around me girls started screaming in the dark. Any second now, the lights should blink back on. Power surges were no big deal. I opened the stall and felt my way through the tiny room. Drunk and panicked, girls started shoving to get out of the room and the screaming got worse.

Not wanting to get trampled by idiots, I slipped back into a stall and waited for the herd to cull itself. I had my purse with me and dug out my cell phone. It had a flashlight app. I also had my gun. Not good to pull out a gun in a bar though. It’s not exactly legal here. Putting the gun back, I slid my knife into my front pocket. The screaming was down to a dull roar outside in the hallway, so I thought I could get out of here now. Sean had to be worrying out there. I was a little surprised he hadn’t already found me.

The scene that greeted me when I came out of the bathroom was so bizarre I couldn’t understand what I was seeing at first. The emergency lights were on and blinking red and white in the corners but white smoke filled the rooms. The smoke had a slight ammonia odor which seemed out of place here. Surely that’s not from a trash can fire?  Eerie shadows flickered here and there like some kind of demented ghosts. Groans and occasional shouts punctuated the muffled silence. Most of the people were gone, but there were bodies lying on the floor and sirens screaming outside. I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me, but I ran down the hallway, dodging bodies as I went. I had to find Sean and get out of here. There was something very wrong. I had a really bad feeling about this. As I came to the doorway to the main room, my brain screamed a warning, and I reacted automatically.