LogansEmpath (8 page)

Wes rubbed his temples. “And how did you learn? How did you
get any of this information? And if these tears have been happening for
thousands of years, why aren’t we knee-deep in demons?”

“Because of the sets of Three.”

All the brothers stared at him in silence.

And here we go.
Logan took a deep breath and braced
himself before continuing. “For decades, maybe even centuries, warriors fought
against hordes of demons. Many of the great hero myths are based off these
battles. During one of those battles, a mage with the power of sight met up
with an Empath and a person who could amplify powers, referred to as a
Catalyst.”
They don’t need to know that mage was me, not yet. Let them buy
into the story a bit more first before dropping that on them.
“The mage was
so tired of fighting, tired of losing his friends and comrades. He came up with
a way to combine the three powers together in one giant spell. This spell could
close gates before and after they opened. He then trained others with similar
abilities to do the same.”

“And what? You go to some special magic school and learn all
this stuff?” Jordan snorted. He looked at his brothers, disbelief shooting from
each glower. “Because I have to say, I don’t remember Bree ever getting a
special invite.”

Logan didn’t let the attitude dissuade him from continuing.
“No. After learning all this and training his people, the first Visionary had
any Three willing to give up their possible futures take a magical oath. They
would continue the fight, with their Three, in every lifetime. The Visionary of
each Three would be born with his or her power and memories. They would gather
the Three again and use the ritual to close any tear they find.”

“So you’re a Visionary, right?” Aaron asked in an amazingly
calm voice.

“Yes. That’s how I remember everything.”

“And that’s how you can use magic?” Wes raised a single brow
before waving his hands around in a bad imitation of a stage magician.

“No.” Logan chose to ignore the bad abracadabra act and
looked around the table. The brothers all seemed engrossed in his story.
Whether they believed it or not was still up for grabs. But at least they were
giving him their full attention. “I’m…special.”

Jordan looked like he was about to say something but Ty
elbowed him in the side and gave him a warning look.

Logan continued. “I was that first Visionary, the one who
figured out how to close the tears. I was also the strongest mage so I was able
to remember and use my powers in the next lives.”

“Lives, plural?” Wes’ doubts were becoming more obvious.

“Plural.”

At Logan’s other side, Matt smirked. “And you remember them
all?”

“Yes.”

“Can you see the future?” Jordan piped in, bouncing in his
seat. “If you are this Visionary, shouldn’t you be able to see the future?”

“I see future possibilities, the most likely outcome. But if
my life is directly involved, those visions are sketchy and difficult to
guide.” He smirked at Jordan. “Sorry, but I’m no Magic 8 Ball and I’d be zero
help with the lottery.”

“So you can’t tell us where their main nest is?” Wes resumed
the questioning.

“No.”

Wes, ever in information-gathering mode, kept pressing. “But
if there isn’t a large tear, then how come we’re are getting bigger demons and
not just those little imps?”

“Demons are like any other creature. If fed enough on human
misery, they grow and mature.” Logan grimaced, thinking of his own battles with
maturing demons in the sewers of San Francisco. “I would guess it’s only been
recently that you’ve seen maturing demons. At one time, those were the larger
imps.”

“Human misery.” Aaron grimaced, turning to look out the
window at the mountain behind him. “Browningsville does have a history of that,
with the mines—cave-ins, poor living conditions, strikes and now the closings
and the bad economy. We’ve had more than our fair share of hard times.”

Logan nodded. “That would do it. You’ve had a leak here for
at least seven years, probably longer. What you have looks like a worse version
of what I’ve been dealing with in San Francisco.”

“You fought demons in a city?” Wes asked. Logan could almost
hear the gears clicking in the man’s head. He wondered how long Wes would wait
before he started his fact checking.

“Yeah. The leak there lasted for about ten years. It’s taken
nearly that long to have most of the demons cleaned up.” Just thinking about it
brought back the smell of sewage mixed with burning demon flesh. Logan almost
gagged. “It’s been hard, since a demon lord on the other side was purposely
sending as many low-level creatures over as he could to help the tear grow. He
actually broke through before the Three could completely close the gate.
Luckily, I was there to take him out.”

Wes wasn’t done with him yet. “So you found your Three already.
Where are the other two?”

“It wasn’t my Three that closed the gate. But being that
close to the energy left over from their ritual, I was able to pull in enough
to blast the demon lord with mage magic.”

Suspicion clouded Wes’ face as he started putting all the
information together. “You’re still looking for your Three. You didn’t just
happen to come here did you? This has to do with Bree.”

Logan nodded.
Now’s when I get to see how hard my ass
gets kicked
. “I can’t see my own Three, no Visionary can. But Ryuu, the
Visionary for the San Francisco Three, saw my Empath here. That’s why I came,
to see if it really was Sabine.”

“And is it?” Jordan asked, eyeing Logan with a hint of
threat. “Do you think Bree is this Sabine?”

“Yes.” Logan folded his hands and put every ounce of
certainty he had into his voice. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind that she is.”

“So what does that mean for her?” Jordan fairly bristled
with protectiveness.

Logan concentrated on the table in front of him, trying to
stay relaxed and to not clench his fists. Now this was a conversation that a
man did not want to have with a woman’s brothers. At the same time, he couldn’t
blame them for whatever their reactions might be.

“Can you do this ritual you talked about to stop our leak?”
Matt asked, putting a hand on his youngest brother’s shoulder.

“I have to find the Catalyst too before we’ll have that kind
of power. I don’t know where he is yet. But once I find him, yes, we will be
able to stop the leak.”

Finally Ty, who hadn’t spoken since Logan started telling
his story, asked, “Why did Bree slap you? What aren’t you telling us?”

Logan looked at each man at the table.
Five brothers…how
can I answer that question when I’m talking to her five brothers?
“The
ritual takes a certain amount of trust and…intimacy. Your sister barely knows
me. She didn’t want to hear what boosting both her and my powers would entail.
But she asked me and I couldn’t lie to her about it.”

Jordan glared at him. Logan knew that if Matt didn’t still
have a hand on his shoulder, Jordan would’ve launched over the table to
strangle him. “Intimacy. You mean sex. You actually told Bree the only way she
could strengthen her empathy was to have sex with you.”

Wes snickered and rocked back in his chair. “Oh I’m sure
that went over real well. I’d hate to be you right now.” He noticed his other
brothers glowering at him. “What? You don’t actually think this guy would—or
could—force Bree to do anything she didn’t want to, do you? Poor guy’s lucky
she only slapped him instead of gutting him.” Wes gave Logan a pitying look.
“She’s real good with that hunting knife of hers, just so you know.”

“I’m sure she is.” Logan felt a stab of nostalgia. “She’s
always been good at inflicting pain with sharp objects.”

Wes tilted his head as he stared at Logan. “Always? You
mentioned past lives before. Are you saying you knew her?”

“That’s what I meant when I said that she’s part of my
Three. I’ve loved her for more lifetimes than you would ever believe.” Logan
paused, staring down at the age-scarred table, not wanting to see what reaction
his words caused. “You have to understand that I would never, ever force her
into doing something she didn’t want. I know exactly how she would
react—violently. I want only to protect her. And trust is also a key factor. Without
trust it doesn’t work, so forcing her would always be out of the question.”

Wes started to respond but a gesture from Aaron cut him
short. “We don’t trust you, not entirely.” Aaron leaned forward in his chair,
demanding Logan’s attention. “But you won’t hurt Bree. She wouldn’t let you. So
what happens with you and her is between you and her. I just want you to
understand that we are there for her. We have her back.” He waved his hand at
Matt, Wes and Jordan. “We’ve checked up on you. While you’re history of
institutionalization as a child doesn’t exactly endear you to us, it is
understandable with your family’s massacre at such a young age. We, more than
anyone, can understand what that kind of tragedy can do to a person. And what
else we can find on you since then is clean. You will stay with us, where we
can keep an eye on you.”

Logan grimaced. He’d known it was only a matter of time
until they knew about his less-than-savory personal history but that didn’t
make the reality of it feel any better. Still, he was lucky that they didn’t
look down on him for it. Not many people were so understanding when they found
out he’d spent close to a decade in the nuthouse. “I’ll do more than that. I’ll
help you find the root of your nest. You have to have an older demon here
controlling the rest, otherwise you’d be seeing mass murder and mayhem on a
grand scale.”

“Oh, you’ll help us. No one stays here who can’t pull his or
her own weight.” Aaron waved at Matt. “You go help him bring his stuff back
here from the motel.”

Matt didn’t say a word, standing and heading for the door
without waiting to see if Logan followed.

Chapter Nine

The bark scratched her back as Bree leaned against the tree
trunk and stared up at the stars. From her perch on one of the highest branches
of the old oak in their front yard, the night sky stretched out in a glittering
blanket weaving its way through the mountaintops. The lights of the town
weren’t bright enough to block out more than the dimmest stars. Surrounded by
so much peace and natural wonder, Bree could almost pretend that the world was
normal. That her life was normal.

But the arrival of Logan proved beyond a shadow of a doubt
that normalcy would never be associated with her. Here was a strong,
good-looking man who had a hint of danger and was from out of town. He had a
good job from what her brothers had found out. He was well liked by his friends
and coworkers. And he wanted to have sex with her.

It scared her to death.

Her heart felt too big for her chest, tight and heavy. It wasn’t
like Logan was really attracted to her or anything. He wanted to use her to
perform some ancient magic spell to rid the world of demons or as a way to
charge up his magical batteries. He didn’t want
her
. Not that Bree
wanted him to be after a relationship with her. She was quick to squash that
thought. No, she didn’t have the time or energy to devote to another person
like that.

But it was a hit to the ego to think that he didn’t want to
have sex with her because he desired her. How screwed up was that?

She brought her knees up under her chin and sighed. She
closed her eyes and willed her mind to be at peace. She didn’t want to think
about it, not when there really wasn’t anything she could do about her
situation. She hadn’t had control over her life in years.

The sound of fighting caused her to jerk, almost falling
from the tree. She looked down at the yard. Aaron, Ty, Wes and Jordan stood on
the sidewalk leading to the porch. In front of them was a large group of imps
and one small demon. A couple of smoldering bodies already lay in the grass,
the stench just reaching her.

Bree leapt from her perch, reaching for the knife she kept
at her hip. The moment her feet hit the ground she grabbed the nearest imp and
sliced its throat. She didn’t pause, spinning on her toes to stand in front of
her brothers, facing the enemy.

The Colliers didn’t let out a battle cry. They had no
special signal. But as one, she and her brothers surged forward in a
well-practiced dance. Bree’s world narrowed to the moment, to each kill, to a
mantra of battle.

Step to the side to avoid claws reaching for unprotected
flesh. Slide around Wes as he takes down an imp. Grab and slash at the creature
dashing forward and past Ty. Protect Aaron’s back as he faces off with the
larger demon. Throw a knife at the imp standing on top of Jordan. Sprint
forward, pull out the knife and finish the creature. Stand guard over Jordan as
he struggles to his feet.

Time lost all meaning. It could have been hours. It could
have been seconds. But finally only the Colliers were left standing in the
middle of a yard full of ash.

“Jordan!” Ty rushed around Bree to catch their youngest
brother before he hit the ground.

Bree had seen Jordan get hurt, collapsing under a short
swipe of claws, but she hadn’t thought it was that serious since he’d rolled to
his feet so quickly.

She’d been wrong.

Blood gushed from a head wound and he held his arm close to
his chest. Ty half dragged, half carried Jordan toward the house. Wes braced
Jordan’s other side as they pulled him up the stairs.

Shock kept Bree’s feet stuck to the ground. Aaron wrapped
his arm around her shoulders to get her moving to the safety of their home.

They’d gotten hurt before, many times. They knew that going
to the hospital wasn’t an option since they didn’t know who was possessed and
who wasn’t. Her family couldn’t risk the demons finding out who they were. They
also couldn’t risk putting themselves in a vulnerable position.