“Do you know where the cat is?”
I sighed. “He left when they
took Daisy. Maybe he couldn’t find
his litter box.”
She rolled her eyes. “Or he was
following them. That’s great news.
He won’t let them get all the way to
the Force.”
“The cat is going to stop them?”
I raised an eyebrow. Clearly the cat
was more than the usual household
variety pet. Maybe the ability to
speak wasn’t his only skill.
“Yes. He has plenty of tricks up
his sleeves.”
“Even if he has no sleeves…” I
hoped she had a better plan than
simply relying on the cat.
She shook her head at my weak
attempt at a joke. “Let’s find our
girl.”
“Our girl?”
She lifted her chin. “Yes. I want
to help Daisy too.”
“Even though you can’t feel. I’m
never going to understand that.”
And I was always going to question
her motives.
“It shouldn’t matter. We both
want to get her back.” She hurried
out the door, and I didn’t see any
alternative but to follow.
It was still dark, but I could see
the barest hint of the sunrise. I
wasn’t sure if the morning was
going to bring any relief from our
situation. All I could think about
was finding Daisy.
“Why does the Force want her?”
I still didn’t understand what was
going on. “And why did they take
you and Hugh?”
“Louie. He turned us in. All new
Allures must be checked in with the
Force.”
“Then why didn’t they take
Daisy right off?”
“She isn’t full Allure, so they
couldn’t grab her when she
transported.”
“They can grab Allures when you
transport? Isn’t that a little
extreme?”
“Or convenient for them,
depending on how you look at it.”
“Or incredibly annoying.”
“Yes, that’s another way to look
at it.” She smiled at me over her
shoulder.
I followed Violet out of the
Allure village. We walked across a
large clearing and toward the
jungle again. Neither of us said
anything as we moved at a fast
pace. I didn’t know the landscape,
so I put my trust in Violet. No
matter what her intentions were,
she seemed intent on finding Daisy.
That meant, if only temporarily, our
goals were united.
“I’m not trying to double cross
you.” She broke the silence.
“I never said you were.” I only
thought it.
“Not with words, but your eyes
and body language say it all. You
don’t trust me.”
“Can you blame me?” She’d
started the conversation, so I went
with it. “You brought us to a new
realm and disappeared. Did you
think we’d be happy about that?”
“That wasn’t by choice.”
“Oh yes, because you were
picked up by the Force.” I was tired
of excuses and the runaround.
“I assure you that wasn’t our
plan.”
“Then what was?” I pushed
through some long and tangled
vines.
“To get Daisy to Mount Majest.
You know that. Seeing the Force
wasn’t part of the plan, but they are
one of the inconveniences we have
to deal with.”
“Then why did we come this
way? Wasn’t it supposed to be
easier than going straight to
Energo?” So far it was anything but
easy.
“There’s complications with
cutting through other nations, but
we won’t get noticed this way.”
“Whatever you say.” I continued
to trample through the jungle. I
saw no sign of Daisy, and I
sincerely hoped this wasn’t a trap.
“Is this to avoid being seen too?”
“It’s a short cut. I know which
way Gabriel is going.”
“Sure. Speaking of where people
are going, where’s Hugh?” I didn’t
miss the guy, but his absence didn’t
go unnoticed.
“He’s procuring us
transportation.”
“So you didn’t leave him
behind?”
“No.” She smiled. “I’m sure you
would have been disappointed if I
had.”
“He doesn’t bother me as much
as Roland.”
“I wonder why?” She laughed.
“At least Hugh knows his
appropriate boundaries.”
“I find it interesting that you
haven’t asked what kind of
transportation he’s getting.”
“I’d assume he’s getting a boat.”
“Yes. You understand we’re on
an island?”
“Yes, the whole water
surrounding us thing made it
obvious.”
“You haven’t seen more than
one shore.” She gave me an
annoyed look over her shoulder.
“True, but I figured it out, and
we need to get to another island so
a boat sounds reasonable. If you
want to fly I have my own wings for
that.” I’d never grown to like
planes. I always felt stifled.
“Fine, you’re right. We don’t
have much time before we need to
meet him.”
“We need as much time as it
takes to get Daisy. There’s no point
meeting him without her.”
“It’s going to be easier since you
have wings.” She turned, and we
moved into a less lush area of the
jungle.
Now that was a plan I could get
behind. “My wings are part of your
plan?”
“Yes. Gabriel won’t be expecting
an air attack since he will assume
the shadow still has you.”
“Good point.” I bent down and
ran my hands over new footprints in
the dirt. “We caught their trail.”
“And you’re a tracker too.” She
grinned.
“I have many skills.”
“Lucky Daisy.”
I ignored the sexual innuendo in
her statement. “Let’s go.”
I took the lead, following the
footprints. They veered north
before zagging off in a strange
direction. The trail wasn’t leading to
any shore.
“Water.” Violet explained. “He’s
taking her to the stream.”
“He’s concerned with getting her
drinking water?” Somehow I
doubted that.
“Probably. Daisy can be mighty
persuasive.”
“To humans and some
paranormals, not to Allures.”
Violet shrugged. “You don’t
know that for sure.”
I sped up my pace. Knowing we
were getting closer gave me new
motivation.
We were almost there. I could
hear the flowing water. I released
my wings and flew up to a tall tree.
I didn’t wait to confer with Violet.
We were close, and I wasn’t losing
my chance.
I flew quietly and scoured the
landscape. Daisy was seated on a
rock by the water. The Allure held
her arm in a tight grip. I noticed
Glendale hiding in the brush nearby.
“I’ll be ready in a minute.” She
looked up. She caught my eye and
smiled for a split second before
composing herself. She didn’t seem
surprised to see me, and my heart
soared. She’d known I’d find her
eventually. Of course she didn’t
realize Violet had saved me.
“What? What did you see?”
Gabriel looked up. I quickly moved
lower behind a tree so I was out of
his view.
“Nothing,” she hurriedly replied.
“I was just looking.”
“You saw something.” Gabriel
grabbed her and yanked her off the
rock.
Watching him handle her
roughly was more than I could
handle. I didn’t pause to think. I
swooped down and pulled her from
his hold as I knocked him to the
ground.
I flew back up to the tree so I
could assess her. “Are you hurt?”
We didn’t have much time, but I
had to make sure she didn’t need
medical attention.
“No.” She rested her head on my
chest. “Are you?”
“I’m okay.” Other than a
damaged ego, I was fine.
“What do we do about him?”
She pointed down to where Gabriel
was now talking to Violet and
Glendale. She looked between the
figures on the ground and me.
“Violet? You found her?”
“Actually she found me.” I
wasn’t eager to relay how I’d had to
be saved by an Allure.
I listened to the argument
below. Violet wagged a finger in
Gabriel’s face. “How dare you. After
all these years, you turned on me?”
“It was a double bounty, Vi.
What did you expect? You want the
same thing.”
She shook her head. “I want to
help the girl. Stay out of my way.”
“Not this time. I need this.” His
eyes bore into hers. “I need it.”
“I’m sorry, but you’re going to
have to find another way.”
“No, you are.”
“You think you’re going to stop
me?” Violet put a hand on her hip.
“Yes.”
Glendale made a loud hiss, and
the ground started to tremble.
Within moments at least a dozen
striped tigers moved out from deep
in the jungle. The largest
approached Gabriel and roared loud
enough to shake the trees as the
other tigers circled around.
Gabriel groaned. “Really? Cats?
Is that really your plan?”
“Think you can fly one more?”
Violet called up to me.
“Yes.”
“And a cat?” Glendale flicked his
tail from side to side.
“Yes.” I would do whatever it
took. We had Daisy back, and as
much as I didn’t want to admit it, I
had Violet to thank for that.
“Violet, no. You can’t leave me
here.” Gabriel gazed at the tigers
surrounding him.
“You’re clever. You’ll find a way
out. Besides, they don’t like Allures.
They won’t eat you.”
I swooped back down and
picked up Violet and the cat. Flying
two people was new, as was flying
a cat. I wouldn’t mention that part
to the guys.
“Glendale?” Daisy asked as I
flew.
“Yes?”
“If you could summon giant cats,
why didn’t you do that when they
first arrived?”
“I cannot summon them out of
thin air. They live in this jungle.”
“Do they talk, like you?” Daisy
asked.
“No.”
“Fly to the north shore,” Violet
directed.
I tuned everyone out and
focused on flying toward the shore.
15
DAISY
Every few hours I reevaluated the
term crazy. As soon I was accepting
one situation I was hit with
another. They changed so fast it
was making me dizzy, but none of
that mattered as Owen flew us
away from the river. I was back
with Owen, and somehow
everything was going to be okay.
He flew for miles, and I forced
myself to keep my questions to
myself. Owen was using all of his
energy to fly us, and I wasn’t about
to make things harder on him by
flustering Violet or anything.
Instead I focused on how lucky I
was to get to spend a few more
minutes with Owen. Selfish or not, I
savored his touch and the feel of his
body against mine.
I closed my eyes, inhaling his
scent and every single sensation. I
wasn’t ready to give up, but even if
I failed, I wouldn’t forget. I’d find a
way to feel the love again. Not only
for Owen, but for my family also.
Finally he slowed and landed on
the sandy beach. The beach was
empty aside from a few sea birds
walking along the water’s edge.
Owen walked off a few feet, and
I assumed it was because he didn’t
want us to see how tired he was. I
still couldn’t believe he’d carried
Violet, me, and a cat so far. His
wings were strong, but that had to
have been pushing it.
I gave him space and instead
gazed out at the water. I noticed a
large yacht in the distance.
“That must be Hugh.” Violet
waved even though I assumed
Hugh was too far away to see.
I’d barely talked to her yet, and
I wasn’t sure what to say. Did I
confront her about her motivation
to glimpse memories with emotion
and watch her response? It all had
to tie back to that New Orleans ball.
It had to. The logical side of me
kept my mouth shut. Aside from
seeing the Elders, I had no plan. If I
confronted her she might not take
me to them. Whether she was
turning me in or not, I still needed
to get there. I could figure out what
to do next once we arrived.
“I missed you.” Owen’s arms slid
around my waist, and I leaned back
into him.
“I missed you too.”
“Does that mean you won’t run
off on me again?” he teased.
His teasing was exactly what I
needed. Things were so crazy that I
needed to find some normalcy
anywhere I could.
“I’ll try not to, but did you see
that Allure?” I teased him right
back.
“Did my heroic acts make you
forget him?”
“Yes.” I turned in his arms.
“Thank you. I’m starting to lose
count of how many times you’ve