Lost Soul (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 2) (17 page)

Lily gave me a small wave and an even smaller smile.

Then they both looked at me and at Logan, who moved to my side.

Saleem shifted beside us. "I'll meet you there then?" I nodded and he shimmered and disintegrated.

Logan came closer, taking my hand in his. "Please be careful." His voice was soft. So soft I almost didn't hear the fear lacing his words.

I placed a palm on his cheek. "You know I will."

He laughed, then wrapped me in his arms. "That's just the thing. I know you won't be careful. You are rash, and you run headlong into every challenge as soon as one presents itself." I smiled into his shoulder. He knew me well. "And as much as I know you are capable, I still worry about you. I just wish I could come with you."

His hand at the back of my neck made my skin tingle. His cheek grazed mine as he moved back slightly to trail a few kisses along my chin. Heat rose in the pit of my stomach and somehow I didn't care that my grandmother stood a few feet away.

When his lips closed over mine, the world melted away. I couldn't get enough, and he deepened the kiss for the briefest moment, his tongue caressing mine and sending shivers across my body, making me ache for more. Then he released me and placed his forehead on mine, breathing hard against my lips.

No more words were needed.

I smiled and drew the rucksack higher onto my shoulder and faced the water. I walked slowly across the length of the pier until I came to the edge of it. The water was black as pitch.

I pulled the portal key from my pocket and held it in my palm. Everything rode on whether or not this key would open the Veil and allow me to pass through. The disk had grown heavy, weighing my hand down more now than a few seconds ago.

I tossed it over the water. If it fell and sank into the lake, I'd probably wring Kira's neck with my own hands.

But Kira was safe. The disk hovered above the surface of the water, and before I could enjoy the relief that it worked, a column of light shot from it. The pillar of brightness stood ten feet high and just a hand span wide. It thinned and disappeared into the hole in the middle of the key.

I took a deep breath then glanced over my shoulder at the waiting group. I threw them a quick wave and jumped straight into the light. It seemed impossible even though I'd done this before. The light held me, compressed me, and sucked me into the center of the seal. A whoosh of air blasted my ears and I landed on my feet. I'd remember to keep my stance soft and my knees bent to ease the jarring force of my landing.

The light disappeared and the disk clattered to the pier below me. I quickly grabbed the key and stowed it in my pocket.

My way out. I had to keep it safe.

Then I stood and took in my surroundings.

I'd arrived in the Greylands.

***

Clothing rustled beside me. Saleem shifted into solidity at my right. His eyes gleamed a red, golden fire as he examined our surroundings. Everything was grey. Every possible shade of colorlessness.

Lockwood Lake was every shade of grey imaginable. So weird.

I shrugged my packed higher up my shoulder. "So could you maybe take my heavy pack to the city and I'll meet you there?"

"Sure thing." Saleem nodded. "Give me a second to get there and look for a good place to hide my stuff. I'll be back in a moment to fetch your stuff. I'll take both your packs and tell you where to meet me." He disappeared almost as soon as he finished his sentence.

It wasn't long before he returned and I handed my packs over. I felt a slight twinge of worry about the weapons and ammo, but I did have a few knives and guns on me. I'd have to be satisfied with that in case the djinn decided to betray me. He directed me to an alleyway near the address Nerina had given me and left in a cloud of amber dust.

I set off at Panther speed and met Saleem in the alley in less than fifteen minutes.

The world was in reverse. The streets of Chicago were mirrored here in the dead world. We'd arrived around the corner from Tara's shop
.

The streets were deserted.

I almost expected tumble weeds and litter to come rolling along on an errant breeze, but that would be wrong. The Greylands were dead. Nerina had said that nothing grew here. That ruled out tumbleweeds.

A street sign on the corner said "teertS htuoS" and went in the opposite direction to the street I was familiar with. It was a little disorienting and more than a little disconcerting but we had to get moving.

"Come. I have an address we need to go to." I glanced over my shoulder at Saleem who was staring up the street, frowning. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I think I saw something."

"You probably did." I was about to walk off when I thought of something. "Have you ever been here before?"

"The Greylands? Nope. Not exactly my kind of place." He grinned at me and tiny little flames flickered in his eyes.

"Omega never sent you here?"

"No. Never had a mission in the dead lands." He stared at me thoughtfully. "Besides. I wouldn't be allowed to tell you even if I had."

I snorted. "Let's get going."

"Where's the address?"

"It's up here, 256 South St., around the corner at the end of the street." I took the turn up Tara's street and headed past her shop. My steps slowed and I peered inside to find the shelves empty and lights off. Nothing stirred. I sighed. "This is so freaking weird."

"Tell me about it." Saleem shuddered as affected by the strange place as I was. Then he cupped a hand and stared inside the shop as well. "What's this place?"

"My friend's shop. So weird seeing it empty."

"Well, clearly the demons from around here take whatever they need whenever something appears."

Made sense. From what I understood, when something new is placed somewhere in the normal world it appears in the Greylands. Stood to reason anything Tara created would appear here. Which meant all her weapons that never left her shop were somewhere here in this land. It made me shiver to think of that kind of firepower readily available to these demons. But most of the rounds were meant for ghosts or demons. A reassuring thought, if only a momentary one.

I looked up and shivered. The cloudless, grey sky was a flat ceiling above us, not even high enough to be called a sky. I looked back at the shop and made a decision.

Withdrawing my scimitar from its sheath at my back I slid it into the space between the door and the jamb. I moved it down until it touched the lock, then raised it and hit the metal pin hard. It shattered beneath the blade and the door swung open. I had expected to hear the little doorbell, but the only sound that echoed around the room was a strange dull clanging, as if the bell was muffled somehow.

A slight push sent the door swinging inward and I entered, listening for the usual tap of my boot heels on the old wood floor. As I suspected the sound was muffled, deadened with no echo and no density to it.

Saleem followed close behind me. I let him pass, then grabbed a stool and shoved it against the door to hold it closed. "I hope the things we do in the Greylands don't have a flow-on effect in the real world."

"I don't think so. Not from what I've heard at least."

"How much do you know about this place?" I asked him.

"Not a whole lot. Just what my father used to tell me." He shrugged and turned to study the room. I suspected he was avoiding my gaze, but I didn't have time to interrogate him just yet.

I returned the scimitar to its sheath and led him inside the apartment and into the kitchen, dropping my rucksack and satchel on the table. I turned to the lower cupboard and opened the doors, half expecting to see food. Shaking my head, I began to stack our canned food into the farthest, darkest corner of the cupboard.

Saleem came around to pass tins of tuna and bottles of water and crackers. I sat on my heels, looking around the kitchen and frowned.

"What are you looking for?" asked Saleem.

"Something to block the food off. Just in case somebody comes by and decides to steal our stuff."

He nodded his approval and got up to look.

"Check the broom closet."

He rummaged inside for a few seconds, then returned triumphantly with an old box filled with grey rags.

"Perfect." I ripped a piece off the side of the box before angling it to hide our loot and shut the doors. I got to my feet and dusted my hands on the seat of my pants. "So now that's done, we need to figure out what next."

"That address. Whose place is it?"

I shrugged. "No idea. Nerina gave me the address while she was trying to call Greer. I'm assuming it's where Greer is." I stared out the window which overlooked the alley behind the shop. "But wouldn't that be too easy."

Saleem nodded. "Way too easy." Then he stood. "So let's go check it out."

I rose and grabbed my bags, watching Saleem from the corner of my eye. He did the same with his bag. Good. I liked that he wanted his weapons close. Meant he wanted to be ready for anything. Still, it didn't mean I trusted him completely.

"So, tell me about the djinn. I had always thought they were actually demons. No offense." I sent him an apologetic smile.

"None taken." He grinned and followed me out the door, waiting while I turned back to fold a piece of cardboard and hold it against the door jamb as I closed the door. It held and I was relieved. As soon as we started walking again, Saleem continued. "Djinn are technically Dark Ethereals or demons. But our form is human and we live among the humans. We have done so for centuries, so it's not surprising that the High Council has never thought to ward the portals against our kind."

"So your kind can move through the portals at will?" Saleem nodded. "Convenient for Omega, isn't it?"

Saleem curled his lip. "Not really. Omega is bound by the laws as well as the next person. If we ever needed to enter one of the forbidden planes, we have to obtain the permission of the High Council first."

"So you got permission to be here?" A nod. "So they know I'm here too?"

"Yes, they were given a full rundown of the mission and who it involved." After we'd crossed the street, he looked at me. "Have you decided either way what you will choose to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Logan mentioned that Omega wants you on board."

"No secrets among you boys, is there?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No secrets among our team, Kailin. Jess is our supervising officer and Logan is our team leader. When we are on team missions, that is. When we go solo, we still answer to Logan but we get to make our own calls in terms of the specific needs of the job." I glanced at the djinn and said nothing. Why was he being so informative about their team dynamic? Was he also on a recruitment drive?

"Here." I stopped on the corner and looked at the building. Two stories of solid, grey brick and off-white mortar. "Let's go round back." I led him to the alley behind the building and we entered an odor-free, garbage-free back alley complete with an empty dumpster and a neatly closed row of clean garbage cans.

"Wow. Back home this would put the garbage disposal companies out of business in the blink of an eye."

I hurried to the closest of the back entrances and jimmied the lock with my dagger. The old lock didn't hold up to the sharp twist of my Fae metal blade. We scurried inside and the door swung shut, heavy on its hinges. We were in some sort of commercial kitchen, maybe a restaurant. Skirting the wide metal tables, we went to the swinging doors and peeped through the porthole windows.

Nothing moved inside so we entered, crossing an expanse of bare carpet. Tables and chairs edged the room in disorder and the place had an abandoned, yet occupied air. I shook my head. That was so silly.

Farther inside was another room, larger. A ballroom or a conference hall. Then it clicked. "The Fenton."

"What?" Saleem asked, his eyes scanning the high-ceilinged room.

"I'd forgotten. This is the Fenton Hotel. It's a small place. About thirty rooms. Reasonable rates. The working girls with special higher-paying clients use these rooms."

Saleem's face darkened, nostrils flaring a little. Guess he didn't like the thought of prostitution. He'd just moved up a notch in my estimation.

We headed across the floor of the shadowy room and were halfway across when a cold breeze grazed my skin and raised goose bumps. We'd dressed warm as we'd known the Greylands to be cold, but this rush of air was Arctic.

And strange.

I stopped dead in my tracks and Saleem almost bumped into me. "Did you feel that too?" he whispered.

"Yes. Any ideas?"

"Ghost?" he offered.

I went with it. "Is anyone there?"

No answer.

"Hello. We're not here to hurt you. Can you tell us who you are?"

"He won't do that."

"Won't do what?" I asked, my voice rising. I'd forgotten to whisper.

"Tell you his name," Saleem answered, all attempts at keeping our voices soft were gone.