Lost Soul (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 2) (28 page)

Tara stared at me, the look on her face saying her mind was whirling with an idea. "I'll ask mother to see what she can find out. She knows a lot of people, magicians, Fae, alchemists who might know a thing or two about this poison and what could heal you." She nodded to herself as if she hadn't intended to even ask for my consent.

I wanted to protest and tell her not to bother her mother, but who would I be kidding? I needed a cure like I needed to breathe. I'd be stupid to decline her offer.

"Okay. And let me know if there is any kind of payment required." Tara's faced scrunched up, a hurt look swirling in her eyes. I laughed and gave her a quick squeeze. "I meant for whoever your mother finds to help me. If they need payment, I want to make sure they get it."

"Fine. I'll tell her." Tara looked relieved. "And how are you really feeling other than the deadly poison ravaging every inch of your body?"

I raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Tired, but regaining my strength. I'm just glad I have Greer home. Now I can concentrate on getting Mom and Anjelo back."

"When will you go?"

"As soon as I regain my strength. I don't know how long I'll be there and I need to be strong enough to fight if I have to."

"Will you take Lily with you?"

"Most likely." I nodded, wondering where Lily was. I made a mental note to send her a message as soon as Tara left.

"I'm glad you two have each other. She seems to need a little focus right now."

I nodded. "She misses Anjelo."

"So do you," Tara said softly.

"Yeah, so do I," I whispered. "I'm so terrified they won't be okay. What if I get there and they've been killed? What if they're dead because I was too sick to go after them? Because I decided that my sister needed saving first?"

"You did what you had to do. Your mom and Anjelo would understand."

"Not if they are both dead." I made a face and blinked back the sheen of moisture that coated my eyes. Even the thought was hard to bear.

"Even then." Tara grabbed my hands. "It's not about that. It's about you doing the right thing. And your mother would expect you to save your sister first. Especially when you knew she was in danger. Is she okay?"

"You mean, did I save her from going crazy?" I laughed. "No. She's not okay. In fact, she's kind of crazy. Kind of psycho."

"I'm sorry." Tara's face fell.

"It's okay. It's not as if we are close. Not that I would have expected her to be grateful." I shrugged.

"She didn't thank you for saving her?" Tara raised her eyebrows.

I snorted. "Who, Greer? Thank me? Are you kidding? Greer would die first before she thanked me for anything. She's not exactly the grateful kind."

"Well you don't need her thanks or even her gratitude. Just knowing you did the right thing should be enough. Your mom will be proud of you. And we are all proud of you. You went through a lot to get her to safety." Her cell rang just as she took a breath to continue her very uplifting monologue. "Mom. I was just about to call you. Okay. Can you wait for me? I'll meet you there in five minutes. Yes, it's important. I'm with Kai, but I'll be right there." She hung up and smiled. "Mom says hi, and I have to go see her before she heads off again. She's going to Court for another meeting, so maybe she can check with her contacts while she's there."

Tara rose and hurried to the door, throwing a little wave over her shoulder as she went. I locked the door behind her and sent a quick text message to Lily who responded almost immediately saying she was coming right over.

Though I was tired I texted back and said okay. The only way to make Lily happy was to show her I was fine. I wouldn't be able to get rid of her if I didn't.

***

Lily sat silent and shocked as I related the story for the third time. This was really getting old.

"Wow," she breathed. "Man, I wish I could have come with you."

I shook my head. "Not there. The portal key may have gotten you in but it would have been impossible for you to survive there. I'm still not entirely sure how Greer survived for that long."

"Well, she is your sister. Maybe she had some abilities like you, inherited from your mother," Lily said.

Lily certainly had a point but I was leaning in a very different direction with a very different theory. One involving Wraith Lord possession which I wasn't about to discuss with Lily.

Before she left, Lily put a call through to Storm and passed her phone to me. Storm's voice was soft with concern. He asked a few questions and told me to take it easy, promising to come and check on me soon. In that moment I decided that should Grams not unearth some information for me regarding the Niamh prophecy, I was going to demand that Storm get me some info or else. I hoped that as an Immortal, he still had some major strings to pull. Otherwise I was all out of options.

Lily went home not long after, leaving me with a mind filled with worry and suspicion. Heading to bed, I intended to get some rest. Instead, I shuddered and tried to shove a multitude of thoughts out of my mind. The idea of Greer channeling the Wraith Lord didn't sit too well with me.

What would she do if she were capable of such power?

***

The mattress sank beside me as someone sat on the bed. I sat up with a shock, looking straight into Logan's eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't want to disturb you." His eyes were all innocent and mischievous, no apology in sight.

"Yeah, you just wanted to get yourself killed." I offered dryly as I scooted up against the headboard.

He chuckled then turned to the nightstand to hand me a coffee cup. "Cappuccino. It's a sorry-I-frightened-you cup of coffee."

I snorted and drank deeply. I wasn't about to complain when he'd just brought me coffee. I watched him as I drank, thinking how lucky I was. We were so comfortable together. But it was the trust thing that did it for me. I'd never been able to trust anyone so deeply before. And I was glad I'd taken that chance with Logan.

My thirst sated, I turned smiled at him. "Thanks. I needed that."

"I'm sure you can find a better way to thank me." He winked.

I grinned and got to my knees. I crawled toward him and placed my lips on his neck. He groaned softly as I nipped his skin and trailed kissed up his neck to his earlobe. I'd missed him and I intended to have a little fun with him. I bit his lip and was about to return to his neck when he growled and grabbed the back of my head, guiding his lips to mine, crushing his mouth onto mine.

He traced my lips with his tongue—driving me insane. I opened my mouth to him, pulling his closer. He deepened the kiss and we both wanted more. Needed more
.

The room was silent except for the sound of our heated breathing. I opened my eyes and gazed at Logan's face. His skin was flushed, eyes hooded with passion, dark with emotion. I thumbed open the top button on his shirt and he blinked, but didn't stop me as I went for the second.

It didn't take long for me to drag his shirt off his body. I'd wanted this for a long time. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him in the last week.

Logan pulled me to him, his heated skin grazing mine. I sucked in a breath as pain flared in my wound
.

"I'm so sorry, Kai," he said as he moved away, but I gripped his arm, held him to me.

"No. I'm fine." I ran my hands over the muscles of his chest and enjoyed the rough breath he took. He pulled my hands away, tugging me toward him and I sighed as our bodies met. I wanted more and so did Logan. He grabbed the hem of my tee shirt and dragged it over my head. I lifted my arms to help him, trying to hold back the wince as the movement of my arms pulled my skin against my wound.

Our bare bodies met and heat sizzled at the contact of fevered skin. My breasts were crushed against his chest and I reveled in the feeling, just wanting, needing more of him.

***

After Logan left, I went through my bag and rucksack, laid out all the ammo to take stock and began to clean my weapons one by one. Soon I'd be able to head off to the practice range to make sure the tightness around my wound wasn't going to slow me down if I needed to work.

As I polished the sword, I stiffened. I set the sword down and rushed to my bag, rifling through it for the portal key. I didn't recall seeing it as I went through the bag for the ammo.

And it wasn't here.

Wracking my brain, I tried to remember what had happened to the key after I dropped it. I remembered Saleem picking it up and putting it into the satchel before he dropped the bag on the floor beside me in the car.

After that, I didn't remember a thing.

All I knew now was that the seal was gone.

I wasn't too devastated. It was the key to the Greylands portal, and I wasn't exactly going to waltz back there anytime soon. But who would take the seal? Greer? Why would she want to go back to the Greylands? Would she even be able to use it?

Saleem maybe? Logan? Could Omega want the seal for something? But the seal was coded to me. Nobody else would be able to use it, so I couldn't understand why anyone would take it. The thought that it could have been Logan made me shudder.

I shook the suspicion from my head and began to search again. I was lifting the cushions on the sofas when the door opened and Grams entered.

She gave me a funny look as she entered the kitchen and set down her bag of groceries. "What are you looking for?"

I sighed and stuffed the cushions back and plopped onto the sofa. "My portal key to the Greylands. It's gone."

"Omega?"

"I thought about that, but it doesn't make sense. They wouldn't be able to use it anyway because it's keyed to my blood. And besides, they have djinn on their payroll. What would they need my key for?"

Grams nodded. "True. So that leaves Greer, Tara, and Lily."

"And you," I offered with a wink. She rolled her eyes and put a saucepan onto the stove. "Honestly, the only person it may possibly work for is Greer."

"Because you share the same blood." Grams nodded as a shadow passed over her face. "That girl worries me."

"You and me both," I said drily. "And she's still gone."

"Do you have the other one? The one for Wrythiin?" Grams asked, frowning.

I nodded. "Yes. It's in my nightstand."

"So then, maybe the destination of that portal key is significant."

"Yeah, someone wants to go to the Greylands." I narrowed my eyes, staring at Grams but not seeing her. "Does Greer want to go back?"

"Why would she?" Grams asked, still frowning. I could see she didn't want to believe it.

"She had power there. People obeyed her. She was in charge. Maybe she wants that power back." I paused. "And everything was all so weird about her leaving. She agreed too easily. Especially when she was all demon-overlord wannabe. And she'd wanted that demon to follow us. She'd wanted the location of the dark water to be known. And come to think of it, she'd wanted the portal key too, but I hadn't allowed her to have it. And how she got to the Greylands in the first place …" I fell into silence.

"What do you mean?" I stared at Grams, wondering if I should keep that suspicion to myself, then deciding for better or for worse I'd best tell her. She listened and nodded and seemed to agree. "You may be right, but it still doesn't fit with why she would want your key unless she knows a way to bypass the blood coding." Grams fell silent for a moment, then she sighed. "I'd better get this info to Sentinel. Greer's been gone too long and that is not a good sign. We need to find her and bring her in ASAP. Whatever she's involved in sounds bigger than just one small Pariah's rebellion."

I shuddered at the thought. "Let's just hope that that is just major speculation." I waved a finger in the air as my chest tightened with fear.

I didn't even want to contemplate the possibility.

***

Late the next day, Tara texted asking me to come over to speak to her mother. I was about to head out of the apartment when someone knocked on the door.

Lily grinned at me. "How you feeling?"

I walked straight out of the apartment, ignoring her raised eyebrows. "I'm off to Tara's. Can I meet you later?"

"Nope. I'll come with you," Lily announced. "Seeing as I'm your sidekick and all, I'd better do some side-kicking, shouldn't I?"

I shook my head as we bounced down the stairs. "Gracie's found someone who can remove the poison. I'm not sure how long this will take." Part of me did not want Lily involved.

"That's fine with me. I'm coming with you." She lifted her hair out of her face and marched out onto the sidewalk, keeping pace with me as I headed for Tara's shop.

The bell above the door clanged as we entered and Tara looked up from a ledger she'd been writing in. She stood immediately smiling at Lily. "Hey, come on through." I followed her, the familiarity of the place settling over me eerily. Tara noticed. "What's wrong?"