Fallen Darkness (The Trihune Series Book 2) (18 page)

He returned his attention to the computer. After a few strokes, the city’s grid, zoomed in on the night’s location, flashed on the wall. Cade gave Sarid a lowdown of what they’d found. The bodies were still in the refrigerated truck, which was parked on the HQ property. It was one thing to ship skin samples to their science guy but quite another to send fifty bodies.

“Is he willing to move?” Gabe asked.

“I’ve already spoken to him about it,” Cade said. “He’s thinking it over. He has a family. Moving would be difficult.”

“How much does he know about us?” Sarid asked.

“His wife is the diocesan bishop of Episcopal church in New York,” Cade answered. “She and her husband are aware of the real situation.”

“If she’s head of the dioceses,” Lucas said. “They have more to think about than just moving children across the country.”

“Yes,” Cade said. “But helping the Creator’s cause is just as important a task as her duties in New York. The husband promised to get back to me tomorrow with an answer.”

“Do you think the van and the house are connected?” Gabe asked.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “What van?”

“The one Cade and Sarid found before you left. Andrew went through it. Found rope, blankets, traces of blood, and workmen clothes.”

“Items for abduction,” Lucas said.

“Yes.” Cade’s voice was grim.

A flash of anger tore through Lucas. Amped up by the last of the gang leader’s darkness. “What’s going on here? Horror movie houses with bodies in the basement. Poison. Abductions. It’s not like Fallen can continuously feed off their victims. Once the soul is gone, the body is not going to generate another one.” Lucas breathed hard, hands clenched into fists, wishing he hadn’t left his star on the bathroom counter after his shower.

The conference room fell silent.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck
. Lucas cleared his throat. Tried to calm down. “I’m sorry,
achs
. I just hate to see Followers unnecessarily hurt. It’s our job to protect them.”

The Fallen’s knife had been on the basement floor. Within reach of the enemy’s hand. So, Lucas had picked it up. Whipped it out of the way.

He fisted his hands. Nails dug into his palms.

“We’re all frustrated, Lucas,” Cade said. “We’ve had many setbacks over the centuries. Lost too many innocent lives. But we’ve taken lives, too. We’ve beaten the Fallen time and time again. The other Septs are coming. We’ll figure out this prophecy. Soon we’ll have the key. In the end, we’ll be the ones left standing.”

Lucas managed a tight smile for his boss’s pep talk as his leg bounced underneath the table. As soon as Cade finished the meeting, he was out of here. He’d go back to where he found that gang leader. Pick up a couple of his buddies. He’d take more than one this time around. Maybe the effects would last longer.

Ten minutes later in the hallway, Gabe caught up with him. “Ready for some ball?”

Shit
. He’d forgotten. “Sorry, Gabe. I can’t right now. Have to run into town.”

“For what?”

“Need to grab some things.”

Gabe opened his mouth.

“How about when I get back?” Lucas asked. “Or later today. Yeah, later today. Before the BDM. Sound good?” He ran a hand over his forehead. Rubbed his sweaty palm on his thigh.

His
ach
frowned, gaze narrowing as he studied Lucas.

Heart skipping a beat, Lucas jogged toward the stairs. “Gotta go. I’ll catch you later.”

Chapter 39

Kate increased the speed on the treadmill like Jeeves had showed her then used the attached remote control to up the music volume to blaring. Definite benefits to staying at this place.

Like the food. My God, she’d never had so much in her life, which was one reason why she started using the gym. Besides, there wasn’t much to do during her off time.

Emma had asked her to hang a few times. Kate went once. It was awkward. The girl was bubbly and really happy, two things Kate wasn’t. The pauses had outweighed the talking. She just didn’t know how to act in social situations. Was better at worker verses customer interactions. Not the drinking iced tea and gossiping about men. And never, ever, the get-to-know, let’s-dish-about-our-past conversations.

Lucas had introduced her to the other guys in the house the first night she stayed.

Yeah. Meeting up with them? Never in a million years.

Not even the dimpled, Ken-looking one. It wasn’t that she couldn’t protect herself if necessary, because she totally could, and it wasn’t that she was afraid, because she absolutely wasn’t.

Fine. Maybe she was a bit.

She had a nightmare the first night in that too soft bed. As soon as she’d woken, she’d snatched the blanket and pillow from the bed and lay on the floor, the king-sized piece of furniture securely between her and the rest of the non-humans.

The job wasn’t bad. Cleaning with Martha was like cleaning anywhere else. After the initial training, she’d been left alone to do her job. By the third day, Martha stopped checking on her so often.

Kate wiped the sweat dripping down her face with her sleeve. She’d never had the opportunity to work out before. Never really had the energy, but now with the food intake and the men around, she wanted—fine, needed—to work out. She was the only unattached female in the house, and, no matter what Lucas and Martha said, she had to be prepared for anything.

She’d taken Lucas up on his fifteen hundred a week. It wasn’t extortion. Not if the man had offered to pay that crazy astronomical amount. No reason to feel guilty. Besides it meant she could leave faster. She was doing it for Stacy. Had played around with the idea of staying an extra week or two. To have some money saved for when she and Stacy crossed the border.

Kate mopped her face again. Even with the treadmill fans blowing she was hot. The gloves didn’t help either. Nothing worse than sweat trapped underneath pleather. They were practically stuck to her skin.

She had no plans to increase the speed on the machine. It should be okay to take her gloves off for a bit. Took some work, but when finished she laid the gloves over the heart pulse handles. Did the non-humans in the house even have a pulse?

They breathed, so probably.

Best not to think too much about it.

The fangs.

The bright blue flashlight eyes.

The fact she was in a house filled with people who weren’t human.

Once, when she was eight or nine, she wondered if her ability made her like Superman. Maybe one day she’d be able to fly away.

Yeah. That never happened.

Kate swiped her face again. She hadn’t sweated this much when she lived in Jacksonville.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and jerked her head round.

Sarid.

In the doorway.

Shirtless.

Her foot slipped.

She reached for the handlebars. Reflexively jerked back.

Bare hands.

Her gaze rose. Caught Sarid’s in the mirror.

His image blurred.

He was coming at her.

“No!” She cried just as he gripped her waist to steady her.

Her hands landed on his chest.

Kate stiffened.

Images flew into her head.

Then pain.

Chapter 40

Lucas came in through the kitchen. It was empty. The
ebhed
were probably in their wing for the day. Good. The two gang members’ violence was still buzzing through his bloodstream.

He stopped in front of the fridge, was reaching for the handle when a loud, fearful cry echoed through the HQ.

Kate.

His eyes glowed blue as his fangs descended.

Lucas stood in the doorway of the gym without conscious memory of tearing through the house. His heart pounded. The urge to protect pulsed in his veins.

Kate straddled Sarid, her hands on his bare chest. A growl rose in Lucas’s throat, but soon died when he realized Sarid was not in control. His
ach
was seizuring. The whites of his eyes showed. Back was bowed as if Kate were lifting him by his torso.

Lucas’s gaze sharpened on Sarid’s face, expecting to see flashes of the Other but there was nothing. That was more worrisome than if his
ach
had been about to change.

Kate screamed. High-pitched wails filled with pain. Her head was thrown back, irises yellow, pupils moving, watching images only she could see.

Lucas was at her side in two steps. “Kate! Kate!”

She didn’t register his presence. Only yelled like someone was hurting her.

His
ach
hadn’t noticed him either. The convulsions were slowing, but not in a good way. Sarid’s dark complexion lightened right in front of his eyes. As if he was dying.

Lucas grabbed hold of Kate’s wrist and yanked them from Sarid’s chest. His
ach
thumped to the ground, eyes closed, body still, chest rising and falling in an unnatural rhythm.

Kate began to flail. Lucas set her down, worried his restraint would cause more harm. Once released, her hands flew to her face, clawing her cheeks.

“Stop it. Stop it. I’ll be good. I’ll be good.”

Lucas’s gaze bounced from Kate’s fingernails digging into her skin to Sarid’s limp form. With his
ach’s
head tilted to the side, the scars on his cheeks were prominent in the glare of the lights.

“Fuck,” he breathed, whipping to Kate. He grabbed her upper arms, his hands over top of her shirt. “Kate. Kate. You’re fine. It’s fine. It’s not happening.” Nothing got through. She scraped her cheeks. Jagged red lines formed. Soon she’d break through the skin.

“What the hell?”

Lucas turned to Gabe in the doorway. “Help Sarid,” he barked, scooping Kate in his arms before flying out of the room.

By the time Lucas made it to his wing, Kate’s screams had transformed into ragged breaths. She trembled as yellow slowly faded from her eyes. Lucas kicked his bedroom door shut behind him, pausing at the edge of the bed. He wanted to lay her down. But would that throw her in another vision?

Her wide, brown-eyed gaze bounced around the room. She scrambled to get loose.

“It’s okay. You’re fine.”

“Let me go.” Her voice was hoarse but filled with panic, half of the words inaudible.

He set her on her feet. She lurched toward the bathroom, hand clasped over her mouth. A second later she was over the toilet vomiting. Lucas followed her in, gently scooped her hair away from her face, careful not to touch her skin, wishing for the first time he had his gloves on.

Would that even help?

When finished, she sank to her knees, hands on her thighs, head bowed. Tears raced down her cheeks. She started to sob noiselessly, shoulders shaking. Lucas crouched, still clutching her hair, wanting so badly to hold her. How could he fix this?

“Did you want a wet cloth? Or will that—”

She shuddered once, shook her head, which had her leaning over the toilet again, hands gripping her thighs as she wretched.

“I’m so sorry, Kate,” he said quietly once she’d stopped again.

“Not. Your. Fault,” she said between gulps of air.

Tears still ran down her cheeks, though she wasn’t sobbing anymore.

“What can I do?”

She lifted her hands as if to rub her face, but stopped halfway, staring at her palms. “I need my gloves. They’re down,” pause. Swallow. “They’re in the—” She leaned over the seat again. There wasn’t much food left in her stomach at this point. When finished, she swayed on her knees, fingernails digging into her pant legs. Lucas cupped the tops of her arms.

She stiffened.

He let go immediately but she began to fall over. He reached for her again.

Kate jerked out of his way, somehow managing to get to her feet, tumbling toward the sink with her momentum. She twisted at the last moment, her back landing against the counter with a thud, hands clenched into fists against her legs. “I need to go. Get out of here.”

Panic reared. “You can’t leave the HQ. You need to rest. To—”

“I meant my room. I need to go to my room.” She made it one step before listing to the side.

Lucas had less than a second to make a decision because Kate wasn’t even trying to catch herself. “I’m sorry.” He swept her up just before she hit the ground. She didn’t protest. Made no noise. Her face had lost all color, lids squeezed shut.

Lucas lowered her on top of the bed.

Her body relaxed, but her arms were stiff, hands clasped tightly over her stomach.

“I’ll go get your gloves.”

“Thanks,” she said on an exhale, not lifting her lids.

The gym was empty when Lucas stepped inside. He scooped up Kate’s gloves from the treadmill and was back in his room less than two minutes later. She hadn’t moved.

She was still too pale. Her breathing grew shallow as she slid her gloves on, then bracing her hands against the mattress, sat up.

“Should you be doing that?” he asked.

“I can’t sleep here.” But instead of rising, she leaned against the headboard, her eyes drifting shut again.

“It’s fine, Kate. Just sleep. I’ll leave you alone.”

“If I slip, accidentally touch something, I’ll have another vision,” she mumbled.

“So what do you need? How can I help?”

“My jacket. From my room.”

He paused at the doorway. “It’s okay if I touch it? Should I wear gloves?”

She licked her lips, shaking her head. “No. It’s fine. I never get a vision from the same object more than once.”

Lucas walked across the hallway and into her room. Her jacket lay on a chair in the far corner. Her bed was unmade. She was messy. It was something he hadn’t known about her. Then he noticed the comforter and pillow missing. He frowned, rounded the bed.

She was sleeping on the floor? Why?

He grabbed her jacket and after one more glance at her makeshift bed, left the room. Kate was still sitting up, head against the board at an uncomfortable angle.

“Here.”

She took the jacket from his outstretched hands. With slow deliberate movements, twisted and laid the jacket over his pillow. Then as if all the energy suddenly left her body, flopped down, lids shutting, face resting against her jacket.

Lucas startled, striding forward, but slowed when deep, even breaths filled the room. Sleeping. She was just sleeping.

I never get a vision from the same object more than once.

Did that go for people, too?

What happened to Sarid? Is that what happened when she touched people? Could she have killed his
ach
? Sarid’s pale, lifeless form flashed in his head. With one last glance at Kate he left the room. Lucas felt the zap, thump, and brush along his spine as he neared Sarid’s room. Everyone was present. The door was open. Cade stood just inside. He turned when Lucas walked up.

Lucas braced himself for Cade’s wrath. For demands that Kate be removed immediately. They never came. Warm breezes of concern didn’t waft through his veins either—thanks to the gang members—but Lucas read the look on his Sept leader’s face.

“How is he?” He stepped over the threshold to see for himself. Sarid lay in the middle of his bed, two mattresses stacked on top of each other. No bedframe. No pillow. No comforter or blanket. Just a black sheet pulled up to his waist. The rest of his room was just as bare. No dresser. Nothing on the walls. No windows. No other furniture. No closet.

His
ach’s
eyes were open. Breaths even. But his coloring hadn’t yet returned. Gabe sat on the edge of the bed, his wrist over a gold chalice Lucas recognized from the Ceremonial Chamber. The smell of blood was in the air. If Sarid was well enough to refuse Gabe’s blood at his wrist, to insist on drinking from a cup, he must not be so bad off.

Sarid’s gaze lifted. “I am well. How is the
nheqeba
?”

“Sleeping.” Lucas stopped a few feet from the end of the bed. Gabe held the cup out to Sarid, while licking the cut along his inner arm to seal it.

“Did he tell you what happened?” Lucas asked, looking first to Gabe and then Cade who had walked up beside him.

Cade nodded, face grave. “I’ll need to speak with the
nheqeba
when she wakes.”

Lucas frowned. “Kate. Her name is Kate.”

Cade studied his face for a moment before nodding.

“Why do you need to speak to her? She didn’t do it on purpose. She’s not at fault here.” He paused, realizing how that sounded. He glanced at Sarid. His
ach
was watching him as he drank. Lucas couldn’t see the Other but nevertheless felt its presence. “It was an accident.”

Cade held up his hand. “I’m not blaming Kate. But her ability is far more than reading emotions and receiving visions from objects. What she did to Sarid,” he paused, shook his head. “He could’ve died if you hadn’t pulled her off him. It’s one thing to have a Follower here, but quite another to have one with the ability to kill us.”

So it was as he thought. Kate had been draining Sarid’s life. Then he processed the last of Cade’s words. “She stays here with the same fear.” He remembered the blankets on the floor. It wasn’t because she was unused to the comforts of a bed. “What exactly happened?” he asked again, this time to Sarid.

His
ach
lowered the cup with two hands, licked his lips. “I startled her when I came into the gym. The music was on. Loud. She didn’t hear me enter.”

Lucas’s eyes narrowed, his fists clenched. Sarid had frightened her.

His
ach
glanced at Lucas’s hands, expression passive. “When she saw me in the mirrors, she stumbled and her foot caught the edge of the treadmill. She began to fall. I raced to catch her, only realizing too late that her gloves were off.”

Lucas blinked. Sarid had willingly gone to Kate. To touch her.

“She yelled for me to stop. Didn’t want to touch me, but it was too late at that point. Her momentum and my position, it was inevitable. At first I didn’t feel anything. I saw her eyes turn yellow. She stiffened in my arms. Then she screamed. Continuously. That’s when the images flew into my head. Of my past,” he added softly, not looking at any of them. “My heart rate accelerated. So fast. I didn’t realize at first she was the cause of it. A sharp pain in my arm followed. It grew difficult to breathe. Similar to what the Follower’s call a heart attack, I presume.” Sarid paused. Lifted his head. “It was strange though. The Other didn’t react to her at all or to the fact I was dying. The opposite, actually. Like he was afraid of her.” Another pause. “The Other only acts like that during ceremonies.”

Lucas frowned. “I thought it was Elias who held it at bay?”

Sarid shook his head. “No. The moment Elias enters the chamber the Other hides.”

“What does it mean?” Gabe asked.

Sarid shrugged, brought the chalice to his lips again.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Lucas said. “Not about Kate. Sarid confirmed she didn’t mean to touch him.”

All eyes were on him now.

He frowned. “What? It doesn’t. Kate’s fine. I’ve checked with Martha. I know she’s been reporting to you,” he said to Cade. “The
ebhed
is thrilled to have her help, especially with the extra work from the coming Septs. She says Kate’s a hard worker.” He’d been proud to hear that, though he’d already known it. “Even mentioned she wouldn’t mind her staying on.” So he embellished a bit, but he was sure Martha would agree.

“I’m not planning on kicking Kate out, Lucas,” Cade said. “At least not yet. And I think what Gabe means is if the Other is afraid of Elias and also afraid of Kate, it’s something we need to look in to.”

Lucas’s scowl deepened. Was that good or bad? Kate wouldn’t want more attention on her. He’d planned to question her when she woke, but carefully, so she wouldn’t feel attacked.

“Bring her to me when she wakes,” Cade commanded.

Lucas stilled. “I don’t think that’s—”

“I’m not asking.” Cade’s voice hadn’t risen, but it was unyielding. “Bring her to me when she wakes.”

Lucas’s eyes glowed. Cade’s lips were moving, but he couldn’t hear anything over the roar in his ears. Then Gabe’s hands were on his chest as if holding him back. He paused, confused, until Cade stepped into his line of sight.

Lucas lunged.

His leader didn’t move. Only raised his arms, pressed his hands to Lucas’s cheeks, mouth still moving.

He wanted to rip the motherfucker’s head off for . . . for . . . Kate.

The anger was slipping. He wanted it back. Needed it.

Next he was sitting on the edge of Sarid’s bed, head low, Cade’s palm on his shoulder. Gabe sat next to him, so close the sides of their bodies were touching. Oh.

Lucas was leaning against his
ach
for support. He moved. Braced his arms on his knees. This wasn’t going to end well. Now they’d suspect what he’d been sneaking off to do.

Though his anger had felt different in this episode.

“What’s going on, Lucas?” Cade asked. “This is all eerily familiar.”

Resentment rose. Anger only millimeters behind.

Play it cool.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why she affects me so. I will, of course, bring her to you when she wakes.”

After he spoke with her.

He didn’t wait for an answer before rising from the bed and heading out of the room. He paused in the doorway, not turning.

“I’m glad you’re well, Sarid.”