Lost Soul (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 2) (26 page)

"If we have to walk then so be it. We need to get there." I walked off in the direction of the docks and Greer huffed but she followed. "Besides, we can go Walker speed."

She snorted and I looked at her sharply. "What's wrong with Walker speed?"

She glared at me. "Nothing."

I looked back at Saleem, who followed behind Greer as if he needed to keep watch. And a part of me wondered if we did need to watch her. Either way, I didn't plan on dropping my guard
.

A twinge in my side had me grasping my ribs with a hiss.
When my hand came away slick with blood, I swore. I'd forgotten about my injury and began to dread the long walk to the docks. The wound was bound to bleed me dry by the time we got there.

"Let's go," I said to Greer and glanced over my shoulder at Saleem. "Meet us there?"

"I'll stay with you." When I frowned, he grinned. "I can move fast too. And I'd prefer you weren't alone." I kept his gaze on my face, but I could tell he really wanted to glance at Greer. Seemed Saleem had taken a dislike to my sister. And here I thought Greer had the drop on all males of all the species with her white-blond hair, knockout figure and endless legs.

"Suit yourself." I nodded and glanced at my sister. "Ready?"

She just grunted and we set off at high speed, flitting through the streets.

***

The streets blurred around me and my feet barely touched the sidewalk as we sped through the city toward the water. But something made me want to stop. A ripple of awareness ran through me, making me alert, wary.

Something was wrong.

After a moment's hesitation, I drew to a stop and so did Greer and Saleem.

"What's wrong?" Greer asked, annoyance pinching her features.

I frowned looking around the shadowed street. "I'm not sure. I think we're being followed."

"And you can tell that at warp speed?" asked Saleem with a raised eyebrow.

"I can sense someone else around." I let my eyes and ears transform, channeling my panther and borrowing her sight and hearing. Another scan of the street revealed nothing, but my ears peaked, twitching at the faint beat of a heart. An odd, unusual rhythm, but a heartbeat nevertheless.

"I don't think you need to worry about it. This place is filled with ghosts and demons. It's probably one of the more curious ones watching us." Greer shook her head and her lip curled a little. "I really don't think you need to get all suspicious about it." Her eyes shone and she lifted her chin a little.

I scowled. I didn't care what she thought. I'd trust my instincts first. Greer? Probably never. Besides, there was something about her defiance that bugged me. Would she defend the demons of the Greylands? Surely she didn't owe them any of her loyalty?

The single heartbeat was still there, accompanied but the distinct soughing of breath. They were closer now. I nodded to Greer. "Let's go." I didn't miss the look of relief on her face.

We slipped into Walker speed again, but I remained alert. It worried me that someone was following us. Why they would be following us? My side twinged and I slowed. What worried me the most was we couldn't allow anyone to follow us to the docks. Did Greer want someone to follow us there? Is that why she wanted me to ignore our tail? What was she up to?

I stopped so abruptly that Saleem almost slammed into me. Greer hadn't noticed until she was a few hundred yards down the street. I spun around, motioning for Greer to join us.

The demon took it as a cue to come out of hiding. He ran at us, waving two horrific-looking swords. I didn't have time to run to him. Saleem shifted around me to protect Greer while I stepped toward the oncoming demon to meet him head on. I managed to draw my demon sword from the satchel in time to swipe a wide blow. The clang of the swords sounded dull and hollow to my ears. I was getting used to the strangeness of sound in the Greylands.

The demon danced around me as we exchanged blow for blow. I slammed a sword into his forearm, which elicited a howl of pain from the lamia. He'd moved around me so much that I'd counteracted and moved with him until Greer was almost at my side.

I dodged another blow, happy that so far he hadn't touched me. He swiped again and I parried, sending the blow off its course and toward Greer. Time slowed and I watched as the sword grazed Greer's forearm, drawing a line of red from her wrist to her elbow.

She shrieked and grabbed her arm, glaring at the demon, her face surprised, shocked. She hadn't expected the demon to hurt her. Her face blazed with anger and she stepped toward the lamia. My jaw dropped as I watched the armed demon stumble away from Greer, his expression fear-filled.

No time to figure Greer out, I rushed at the lamia, swiping wide and hard at his neck. The sword glided through the air, taking his head off clean. It fell to the ground and rolled a few feet until it came to a stop at the edge of the curb.

Greer uttered a shocked squeak and I glanced at her. She still looked horrified, but now as she stared at the head, she also looked upset. I frowned and she looked up to meet my eyes. She held my gaze for a second, then looked away, swallowed hard, and composed her features. I knew it. Greer had known this demon. It had most likely been a setup. The demon meant to follow us to the portal. Who knows what they had meant to do once they knew the location of the dark water. All I knew was the Greer was not to be trusted.

When I looked at the remains of the lamia again, he'd already begun to disintegrate. I wiped my sword clean on a rag from my satchel, dabbed the sharp edge with more demon poison and sheathed the sword.

A quick look at Greer's wound confirmed it was surface only—the cut wasn't deep at all.

"Let's go. We have to move fast. Who knows how many more of them are out there." I tried not to think about it as I slipped into panther speed, keeping a firm grip on Greer's arm. I didn't plan on letting her give me the slip.

She held her body tight even in super speed, as if anger still flowed through her. There was much more to Greer's involvement here than met the eye, and what Skates had revealed had only touched the surface. I suspected Greer would be the only person to tell us the truth and that would near impossible.

Once we got home, we would have to find a way to the truth. For now we just needed to get home.

***

We were nearing the docks when my side twinged again. This time the pain lanced through my body and straight into my brain. Fiery agony gripped me and I came out of Walker speed so fast I tripped and fell. I curled into a ball and ended up rolling a few feet. Not a comfortable thing when a bag and a satchel full of weapons is strapped to one's back.

I panted, sucking in air as much to ease the pain as for the need to breathe. I lay on the sidewalk assessing my body, admitting that the Wraith poison would have begun to take its toll by now. I twisted my left arm and almost screamed at the agony of the movement. I knew that feeling. The poison had spread, thick and malignant within my flesh and veins.

I needed Logan's fire treatment.

Now.

But common sense said I'd get none. Not from Logan himself, and not from his magical fire syringes either. I'd used the last ones for my last treatment. I was all out of luck until we got home. I'd just have to suck it up for now.

Greer and Saleem finally realized I was no longer speeding along with them and returned for me.

"What's wrong?" Greer knelt beside me. I wanted to laugh, unsure whether her question meant she really cared or she was just making a show of it. Not that I gave a damn either way.

"She was injured very badly when Yanuk beat her. Lost a lot of blood. And she had injuries from back home. The Wraith Lord's sword was poisoned. A piece broke off into her flesh and stayed there too long. Now the poison's in her blood and her body, and we haven't been able to find a cure." Probably the longest speech Saleem had made since I'd met him.

Greer stared at Saleem then turned to bend over me. "Where does it hurt? What can I do to help?"

"Unless you're a Fire Mage, there's about nothing you can do. Logan's fire treatment is the only thing that helps," I said softly through teeth gritted with pain.

"Do you want to take the armband off?" Saleem asked, glancing at my arm. It throbbed in answer.

I shook my head. "It will just hurt more." I waved them off. "I think the super speed is taxing me. I'll just have to walk the rest of the way there. It's not far—just another block."

"Right." Saleem leaned closer. "Hold on." Before I could protest, he scooped me up into his arms and strode off down the street. I struggled, but he just glared at me. "Stop being so stubborn. You don't have the energy to waste, so shut up and be still."

I scowled at Saleem but remained silent. He did have a point—if he could carry me why should I decline an opportunity to conserve my strength? Then again, when did he begin to think he had the right to boss me around?

A few minutes later we arrived at the docks. "Let me down. I can walk from here," I said, determined to walk to the pier by myself.

The docks sat empty and silent, grey sky hanging low over metallic, rippling water. I scanned the area around us, satisfied when I saw no movement, heard no hearts beating, heard no breathing. We were totally alone.

As soon as Saleem let me down, I dug into my bag for the portal key. I was about to head to the water's edge when Greer held onto my arm. My bad arm. I hissed with pain.

"Sorry," she apologized automatically, as if she'd already forgotten what Saleem had revealed about the condition of that arm. Or as if she didn't really care. "Is that the key? Can I see it?"

Reluctant to let go of it, I held it out so she can get a better look. She traced a finger over the metal disk, but when she held onto it as if to take, I didn't let go. Greer glanced up at, anger flashing in her steely eyes
.

"Let go," she said, giving it a tug.

"No. I'm not parting with this key for anyone," I said firmly.

She pouted, although her petulance didn't cover her simmering anger. Why was she so angry? Was the portal key part of some plan? Was that why we were being followed? Why Greer had agreed to come back with us so easily? She must not be to
o happy now that her plans were thwarted.

She held onto the disk for a moment, as if considering whether to take it from me by force. In the end she relented although her body remained stiff with anger.

"Right, let's go." I made my way down the pier until I reached the dark water of the docks. Around us, silence danced, no wind blew and the water remained still as obsidian. "Saleem, you can go now."

"I'll leave only after the two of you are safely through the portal." He gave me a pointed look. I remembered what Greer had done the last time she took a jump through a portal. Maybe we were better off being careful.

"Fine by me."

I held the disk over the water, keeping it horizontal. There was a familiar pull and the key moved out of my hand and hovered over the water. I waited, holding my breath. A flash of light hit the hole in the center of the key, widening into a bright, blinding column.

Beside me, Greer gasped softly. I held onto her arm. "Ready to go home?"

She hesitated for a moment then smiled brightly. "Yes. Let's go home."

"Okay. Don't let go. The portal key is made only for me. Without me, you can't use it." I spoke firmly and looked her straight in the eye. She held my gaze only a moment then looked away.

Then she lifted her chin, a tiny act of defiance that didn't sit well with me. "Ready?" I asked. Only when she nodded did I say, "Let's go."

I took a few steps backward, still holding onto Greer's arm. She moved back with me, then ran forward as I ran, keeping pace and jumping off the wooden pier as I did.

We hit the light and I felt a pull toward the seal, a force that grabbed hold of us and tugged until we flew through the air and went straight into the light, straight into the center of the seal.

***

We arrived at the water's edge at the pier, and within moments, the air beside us shimmered and Saleem popped into existence.

The portal key made a whooshing sound and landed at my feet, but when I bent to retrieve it, darkness fed into the edges of my vision and my throat closed. Everything was slowly going black and I ended up falling hard to m
y knees. I groaned, pain radiating through my body. All I wanted to do was keel over and sleep.

Saleem bent to me, pushing my sweaty hair out of my eyes. "You have a fever. Just stay there and I'll get a car." He didn't wait for an answer, just rose and dialed a number, briskly requesting a car. When he cut the call and dialed again, I knew by the tone of his voice he was calling Logan.

Just the thought of him made me desperate to have him with me. The world tilted, and I turned and settled on the wooden pier where we'd landed, Greer beside me. She'd been silent since we arrived. She hadn't checked on me, either. Not that I expected or wanted it. Just something to take note of.