Lost Soul (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 2) (30 page)

Then he turned his attention back to the sliver of obsidian sticking out of Kai's arm. Logan swallowed hard, slowly appreciating why his fire had never worked in totality. The piece of obsidian still stuck in her flesh had worked against every effort he'd ever made, leaking its poison into Kai's flesh constantly ensuring she never got better.

Darian picked up the tweezer and bent over Kai's hand again. He gripped the obsidian carefully and began to pull. Nobody breathed as he inched the sliver out of the wound. Not until Darian finally held the inch long, hair-thin piece of poisonous obsidian up for all to see.

Lily's breath hissed from her lips as if the mere sight of the obsidian infuriated her. Logan knew how she felt. That tiny piece of crystal had caused Kai so much of pain and everyone else so much worry. Logan felt as if a weight had been removed from his chest, something that had been suffocating him all these weeks.

He glanced at Tara and noticed the sheen to her eyes. She looked about to burst into tears and Logan knew just how she felt.

Darian's voice broke into his thoughts. "This tiny piece of crystal has much power." He held it up to the light, staring at it. Logan wondered if his ancient looking eyes could see it at all as the old man scrunched his face up to examine the piece.

"How is it possible it was so debilitating? It ravaged her body. We were barely keeping it at bay." Logan rubbed his face, the memory of Kailin's suffering haunting him.

"It is the power of the obsidian. The dead magic of the Wraith stone. It is filled with the power to kill, to poison. And unfortunately, it is very powerful, very insidious."

Dead magic. Odd choice of words Logan thought, but he didn't question Darian further. The old man wiped off his blade then fished inside his leather bag and retrieved a smaller pouch, tied off with a leather thong. He untied the bag and laid it flat— it turned out to be a large square piece of leather with dozens of needles pinned to it. Along one edge a variety of threads were coiled and tied off.

Darian picked a needle, threaded it then moved to the open mouth of the wound. Logan flinched as he watched the needle enter Kailin's skin, as he watched the thread pull at her flesh while Darian proceeded to sew the incision shut with a small row of neat, precise stitches. He tied the thread off and cut the ends with his blade. Kai was still unconscious, for which Logan was grateful.

"Now that is done, we can begin the purge." Logan glanced at Darian. He'd thought it was over but clearly the old man had more to do. "Once I begin, please do not move. Remain as silent as possible or please leave the room."

Though Darian spoke quietly, his tone clearly indicated there'd be hell to pay if he was disturbed. Logan, Lily and Tara remained where they were. So did Gracie. Darian stood at the side of the bed, pushing the stool away. He held his hands over Kailin's body and muttered a few words in a language Logan did not recognize.

As Darian chanted, the air around Kailin began to shift and move, twisting and roiling onto itself. The air took a hint of cloudiness that made it seem like Kai lay encased in a large, oval glass bubble.

Darian chanted and little strikes of silver lightning shot between Kai's body and the inside of the bubble. The silver lightning slowly darkened until minutes had passed and the forks of bright sparks turned a sinister black. Everywhere the black strikes touched on the inner surface of the bubble it took on a dark tinge, until the entire bubble began to darken as if it filled with a shadowy smoke.

Logan's heart beat too fast and he had to force himself to calm down. His gut told him Darian wouldn't hurt Kai, but what he saw looked pretty darned life-threatening. He fisted his hands to prevent himself from lashing out at the old man.

At last, the entire bubble turned a solid black and the rhythm of Darian's chant changed, became faster, darker. His voice took on an eerie echo sending chills up and down Logan's spine. Darian waved his hands around the top of the bubble, making large circles with his palms.

His hand moved faster and faster until at last he threw them up in the air. With that movement, the bubble popped and transformed into a black smoke that writhed around Kai's body like a snake. Darian moved his hands over the smoke, urging it, guiding it until it sinuously coiled, twisting and moving toward Darian's crystal bowl.

The blackness sought out the bowl, swirling within its center until it disappeared, as if the white crystal was swallowing the smoke. And perhaps that was exactly what was happening. Logan's eyebrows rose as he watched the pure white crystal darken slowly and become off-white, then silvery grey until it grew so dark it rivaled obsidian.

Logan blinked as the smoke dissipated and the bowl sat empty. Darian sighed and Logan realized only then that he'd stopped chanting altogether.

Darian faltered then stepped back. Before Logan could move to help him, Gracie pulled the stool to him. She put a hand to his shoulder as he sat heavily. "Are you well, my lord?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I am well. This process is very draining. I only need a few moments to collect my energy."

"Do you need anything? Can I provide you with food or drink?"

Darian shook his head. "Thank you for offering but I am quite fine." His gaze returned to Kailin, bringing Logan's attention back to her as well. Her skin looked a much healthier color than it had in the last few weeks. Something Logan found to be a great relief. He took it as a sign that she was well on her way to full recovery.

Logan looked at Darian who silently packed away his implements and bags. "Is she going to be okay?"

The old man looked up at Logan, his eyes clear and his expression open. "Yes. She will be fine. Usually this kind of poison would have needed only the extraction of the dead magic, but the piece of obsidian had to be removed before I proceeded."

Logan nodded, accepting what he took to be an apology from Darian for whatever damage he may have done to Kailin's arm. Darian got to his feet, hiking his bag up higher on his shoulder. He pulled the hood of his cloak back over his head and gave Logan a bow before offering Tara the same greeting.

Then he turned to Gracie. "Your Majesty, it would make me very happy if you would convey my best wishes to Kailin."

"I will tell her myself." Gracie held her hands out grasped Darian's hands, squeezing them.

Logan stepped forward and cleared his throat. "I don't wish to be rude but . . . reimbursement for Darian's services . . ." Logan trailed off unsure how to ask, wondering if it were an insult to ask or an insult not to.

Darian grinned. "Young man, I am grateful you wish to reimburse me, but I have done Kailin a service of my own free will. And please tell her I am at her service if ever she needs me again." Then he turned back to Gracie. "Your Majesty, please feel free to tell her how to contact me should she ever need me."

He bowed again and exited the room. Gracie followed him out and the room fell into silence. Logan wasn't sure what to say, and it seemed neither did Tara. When Kailin moaned and tried to turn, Logan went to her side, using the stool vacated by Darian.

"What exactly was he?" Logan asked, still curious about the old man.

"He is an Ancient," Tara said softly.

Logan's eyebrows shot up. Kai ha
d said he was an Ancient, but they were almost unheard of in this day and age. They were immortals with a Druid-like system of magic and worship. Some said the druids were instructed by the Ancients but Logan wasn't sure of the details. "Interesting."

"Mother used her contacts back home to find him. He was very happy to help."

"We're all happy he helped." Logan pressed his temples then folded his fingers and leaned forward on his elbows, his eyes on Kai's face. Lily still sat beside her as if afraid to leave her friend alone. "I'll sit with her if you have anything you need to do," Logan said to Tara.

She nodded and shifted off the bed. "Thanks. How long will it be before she awakens?"

"It might be a couple hours. They weren't specific. I guess it's different for each Walker and with Kai being an Alpha, the dosage was fairly high."

Tara nodded, her forehead creased with worry. She left the room and Logan felt a similar twinge of fear in his gut. He hoped the dosage had been correct and that Kai would regain consciousness soon enough.

***

My throat was parched. I tried to swallow, but it just made the scratchy feeling worse. I wanted to cough but no sound left my throat. I blinked and was relieved to find that my eyelids opened. My eyes felt gritty though, sand-papery, and blinking hurt.

A sound beside me made me go still. A sough of breath I recognized as belonging to Logan. He was still here? I turned my head to face him and he looked up at almost the same moment to meet my gaze.

He grinned. "Welcome back."

"How long have I been out?" I croaked the words out.

"In all, about an hour and a half. I'd expected you to be out for a whole lot longer. Darian left about half an hour ago." He leaned closer and smiled. "How do you feel?"

"Weird," I said. "My throat feels raw, and my arms and legs feel like rubber."

"Rubber is good considering the condition of your arm." Logan's face darkened and his expression worried me. I glanced at my forearm to see the thin line of skin stitched together with a handful of elegant stitches. It was a pretty neatly finished job, so I was happy the incision would heal nicely. "It looks good."

"Mmh, if you were the one watching while Darian did his little surgery, you might think otherwise."

"Okay then, spill." I stared at him, daring him not to speak. But he seemed relieved to tell me what happened. I let him talk without asking too many questions and when he rounded up saying Darian had offered his services to me whenever I wanted them, all I could manage was a soft "wow."

After a few moment I said, "That actually sounds pretty cool. I'm sorry I missed seeing it."

Logan shook his head and snorted. "You never fail to surprise me."

"I like keeping you on your toes." I grinned.

Logan stared at my face. "I like it when you keep me on my toes." He leaned forward and kissed me on my temple. And though his voice had turned husky and his eyes smoldered he did no more than that. I couldn't deny I was disappointed, but it was neither the time nor the place for a make-out session.

Footsteps in the hall announced Tara and Lily's arrival. "You're awake," Tara said as she looked from me to Logan. "So quickly?"

Lily remained oddly silent.

Logan nodded. "Must be something to do with those Alpha Walker Hunter genes she has."

I snorted not feeling distinctly Alpha Walker Hunter at the moment. I had to admit I did feel much better than I had expected, though. My worry that the drug would have adverse effects was unfounded, although it was disconcerting to know I'd been pumped up with an animal tranquilizer. Despite my panther's constant company, despite my transformations into full animal form, I'd never really considered her to be a true animal.

A hybrid creature sounded better than pure animal. But what was it that I became when I changed if not pure animal? I blinked the thoughts out of my head and pulled myself up to rest against the headboard.

"Hey, you should take it easy," Logan admonished.

"I'm feeling much better actually." And I truly was.

"How about some food?" Tara asked.

I nodded, suddenly ravenous. Logan stood. "I'll get it. Burgers from O'Hagan's all round?" He looked from me to Tara to Lily and grinned when we all nodded eagerly. "I'll be back soon. You
, don't go anywhere." He shook a finger at me and then left.

I leaned against the wooden headboard at my back and sighed. And for the first time, I noticed something that wasn't there any longer. The persistent ache, the ever-present throb in my arm, the dull pain within the muscles of my body. Now that it was gone, it was so clear to see how bad a burden the poison had been.

I lifted my arm and pressed the flesh around the wound. Nothing. No pain, no ache, no tenderness. Just a normal, healthy arm again. I was more than thrilled.

"Feeling better?" Tara asked as she sat beside me.

"Absolutely." I nodded. "I'm back to normal now. I really hadn't realized how much of a toll that wound and the poison had taken on me."

"You do look a lot better," Tara said, nodding at me. Then she patted my wrist. "Maybe get a little more rest until Logan brings the food."

I nodded then reached for her hand. "Tara, thank you. For staying with me. And Lily…" I turned to my side-kick who had a moist sheen to her eyes. "Thank you."

"You're my friend. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you." My breath hitched at her words. It meant more to me than I could say knowing the depth of my friendships.

***

Logan arrived a few minutes later bearing food, and from the look on his face, bearing bad news.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and Lily turned her gaze from the paper-wrapped burgers to Logan's face.

"I'm going to have to e
at and run. We have a problem."