Power (Soul Savers) (22 page)

Crap
. I understood
now and knew that we really didn’t have much time. Because Vanessa wouldn’t
simply lie back and take the conversion if she was starving. She was still
evil. She’d attack. I had the best blood for her and probably Tristan did, too.
But if she was too scared or weak to fight us, she’d go for Owen or, worse,
Sheree. And from Owen’s comment, he seemed pretty confident she wouldn’t attack
him. Once she drank, she’d be a lot more difficult to contain for the
conversion. Worse yet, if this was a trick and she attacked and strengthened
herself, the whole village, the whole island and Sanibel, too, would be at
risk.

I cursed Owen for putting me in this situation, but, at the
same time, I understood the lengths he’d gone through. He’d carefully planned
this to ensure I’d say yes and to force me to move quickly and on their terms,
but he’d also done what he could to make it as safe as possible for me. Right?
Well … unless this was all part of the set-up … unless
he
was part of the set-up and they were reviewing their plan of
attack right this very minute.

I turned to Tristan and he opened his arms. I walked into
his embrace, and drew on his love and strength.

“You knew the best solution all along,” I mumbled against
his chest. He didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. “So why did you insist on
arguing?”

“Just because I know the best answer doesn’t mean I like
it,” he said. He paused for a long moment, then added, “Besides, this is a
decision you need to make. You deserve a choice in the matter.”

I sighed. “I don’t really have a choice. As much as I
want
to hate her, as much as I have in
the past, I’m Amadis and can’t turn her away. I won’t let her suffer any longer
than she already has. This really is the best time for all of us.”

“If they’re even telling the truth. You know what you need
to do.”

I hated invading people’s private thoughts, and Rina had
taught me to use my gift responsibly, which meant only when necessary. But I
had to know, and, really, this
was
necessary, not simple curiosity. So I found Owen’s mind signature in the next
wing and took a quick peek into his thoughts.

Get out of my head,
Alexis
, he silently growled at me. I cringed as I immediately let go of his
mind.

“
Owen’s
telling
the truth,” I said to Tristan. If Vanessa was tricking us, Owen was completely
unaware. I gathered that much before he kicked me out.

“And Vanessa?”

I sought out for her mind signature, but it was distorted
and I couldn’t hear her thoughts. Only muted screams. The shield Owen put up to
block out the noise apparently muffled her thoughts, as well. Either that or
her mind was completely focused on yelling her head off.

I shook my head. “Won’t know until I get in there with her.
But first, I want to see Dorian. Just in case … you know.”

“You can’t think that way, my love.”

My shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I can’t help it.”

“You’re running out of sunlight.”

“I only need a few minutes. An hour. Then … we’ll do this.”

We found Dorian in the family room at home, sitting on the
floor and playing some kind of war video game with Heather. Sasha sat between
them, closely watching the screen and growling every time Dorian groaned when
his character died, as if he himself had been hit. Tristan slipped away to his
man-cave to check on a few financial things before we “disappeared” for the
next day or so, but I stayed in the family room and watched the kids for a few
minutes, basking in their normalcy after this morning’s surreal events, until
Blossom sauntered out of the kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” I asked with surprise, and my
nose twitched with the sweet smell of a cake baking.

She wiped her hands on a dishcloth before giving me her
usual hello hug. “I was kind of lonely, and we were supposed to hang out this
weekend, so I came over a little early.” I sagged in her embrace. “You have
something going on, don’t you?”

Guilt curled its fingers around my heart. “A, um, mission,
yes.”

“No worries. We’ll do it another time.”

I hugged her tighter before pulling back and giving her an
appreciative smile. “What kind are you baking today?”

“Your favorite,” she said with a teasing grin.

“Chocolate and raspberry?” I licked my lips. “Is it done
yet?”

She laughed. “You’ll have to wait until after you eat your
dinner tonight, young lady.” When I made a face, she said, “You won’t even be
home for dinner?”

I led her into the kitchen so we wouldn’t be overheard.
“Something’s come up. Owen’s back—”

She let out a squeal, but I held my hand up.

“Shh. I don’t want Dorian to know yet. I don’t know how long
he’s staying.” I waited for Blossom to nod her understanding. “Anyway, Owen
brought us, um, some information that we need to check out. If all goes well,
we should be home tomorrow night, but it might not be until the next day. Can
you—?”

“Of course I’ll take care of Dorian.”

She watched me as I began pulling out sandwich makings for
an early lunch. I wasn’t really hungry myself, but having lunch together gave
me a reason to pull Dorian away from the game and spend time with me. And if I
could manage to get anything down, it’d probably be good—I’d need the
energy.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,”
Blossom said, and I didn’t miss the careful way she spoke. I looked up from the
bread I’d been smearing with mustard. “Dorian’s been talking about his ability
to fly a lot lately, and I had an idea. Actually, part of it was his.”

“Uh-oh,” I muttered as I went back to my task.

“Wait. It’s a good one, actually. He said he thought you
were unfair to not let him practice—these are his words, not
mine—because if the bad guys ever tried to get him, he’d be able to get
away.”

I nearly dropped the knife with shock. We’d warned him once
that bad men might want to take him, but I didn’t know we’d actually scared him
this much—enough that he’d been thinking about how to defend himself.
Crap.
Had I gone too far? Well, a little
fear was good. You couldn’t have courage without it. No fear, especially for
the Daemoni, was just plain stupid.

“So you think it’s a good idea?” Blossom asked, and she saw
on my face that I’d missed something she said. “A cloak. I’m able to cloak
him—I’ve done it before, remember? Then he could practice right outside. I
know you’re teaching him Aikido and other ways to defend himself, but if he
could fly away, no one could even get him in the first place.”

“Um … I don’t know,” I said as I tried to consider the
possibility. My mind was too distracted, though. “I’ll talk to Tristan about
it.”

“I’m strong enough to cloak and even shield him, if that’s
your concern. I mean, mine aren’t a level five like Owen’s, and I can’t leave a
permanent shield or cloak, even if there are other mages around to keep it up,
I have to be close by for my temporary ones to stay in effect, but they aren’t
bad at all. Good enough to where I’ve done a level—”

“Hold up,” I interrupted. Something she said in her rambling
caught my attention. “Do we have
any
mages in the colony who can do a permanent shield?”

“Only Owen, now that he’s back. The colony’s never needed
one before, though. But, honestly, I’m not sure if the other mages would share
their power with Owen to keep a permanent shield up. They’re all pretty wary of
him. They’re finally coming around to you and Tristan, especially knowing
there’s a safe house they can flee to if necessary, but they’re not sure what
to think about Owen, since you know, his dad and everything …”

She finally trailed off and took in my expression. What my
face said, I had no idea, but it had probably paled. The safe house really
needed a permanent shield, especially with its new VIP occupant. Perhaps the
colony hadn’t attracted Daemoni attention before, but Vanessa’s disappearance
might have them searching everywhere, including here. And if Owen took off
again …

“Surely the local mages would keep a permanent shield up
over the safe house, even if Owen was the one who put it up in the first place.
Wouldn’t they?” I asked. “Whatever they think about Owen, we’d only need them
if he wasn’t here anyway. And it’s a
safe
house, after all. If they want to feel safe there, they have to help.”

“Oh, they’d do the right thing when it came down to it,”
Blossom said quickly. “I was only saying that some people have lost a little
trust in Owen. I’m sure they just need to see him again, be reminded of what a
great guy he is.”

I harrumphed at that. Owen
was
a great guy, but I wasn’t so sure about his intentions anymore.
One thing was for sure—he needed to stick around at least long enough for
his little present to fully convert. We needed his shield.

Blossom gave me a questioning look. I waved it off as I took
the sandwiches and a bag of chips out to the family room, made Dorian turn off
the game, and we all sat on the floor for a picnic. He complained that it was
too early for lunch—he’d eaten breakfast only an hour ago—but when
I told him Tristan and I were leaving for a couple of nights, he agreed to at
least sit with us. Being a boy with food in front of him, he quickly forgot
he’d said he was stuffed full of cereal and dug into a ham sandwich.

After a few moments of silence as we all chewed (and I
forced myself to swallow), Heather reached for a handful of chips and somehow a
piece broke off, flew in the air and hit Dorian square in the forehead. They
stared at each other for a long moment, but Heather couldn’t keep her face
straight, so Dorian picked up a whole chip and threw it at her head. Another
moment of silence passed before they both busted out laughing, and the next thing
I knew, chips were flying across the room. At least, until Sasha started
catching them in her mouth in mid-air, then their game became how high they
could toss a chip and Sasha could jump to catch it.

“Lex, we really need to go,” Tristan said from the doorway,
grimacing at the mess.

I’d been so engrossed in watching the kids play, I hadn’t
heard his approach or even noticed Blossom had gone to the kitchen after her
cake. With dread, I rose to my feet and called Dorian over to me.

“I’ll see you in a couple days, okay, little man?” I said as
I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly.

“And then we’ll talk about Universal again?”

Wow. He really wasn’t letting that one go.

“We’ll see.” I squeezed him tighter and kissed him on the
head, which I couldn’t help but notice came up to my chin now. “You guys clean
up this mess. Don’t leave it for Blossom.”

“Sure, Mom. Love you.”

“I love you, too, little man.” I picked up the lykora next
and nuzzled my nose into her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. Then I whispered
in her ear, “Take care of him, Sasha.”

Heather followed us to the door, obviously having something
to say. “Thank you for letting me talk to Sonya today. It meant the world to
me.”

I forced a smile for her. “Thank
you
for being such a good friend to Dorian.”

She gave me a real grin. “You sound like it’s a
chore—”

“Well, he’s not exactly your age.”

“No, but he’s awesome. More mature than most kids his age
and a lot more fun. Those Norman kids are so boring to me now.” She managed to
pull a small, but real smile from me. “So, um, do you think I’ll get to see
Sonya soon?”

I frowned. “I’d hoped so, but … uh …” I looked up at
Tristan, lost at what to say. Sonya would surely be telling her that we’d
considered an actual visit. With Vanessa in the house and no telling how this
could turn out and how long she’d be there, I wasn’t about to make any
promises.

“We told Sonya it might be possible soon,” Tristan said,
“but we don’t know how soon. Alexis and I have some important Amadis business
to take care of, but we want to be there. Just in case.”

Heather’s eyes widened at the implication, and she nodded
with understanding.

“Thanks again,” she whispered, lifting her arms from her
sides awkwardly, then she scrambled off, back to Dorian and their mess.

Once we returned to the safe house, I made a stop in my
office to retrieve my dagger. Wearing it 24/7 felt over the top and a little
ridiculous with my typical attire of shorts and tank tops, but I did try to
keep it close by in case of emergencies, so in my office when I was at the safe
house, or under the mattress when I was home. I wanted it on me now, though, if
anything, for Cassandra’s extra power.

“
You can do this
,”
she whispered in my mind, sounding like Rina. “
You will be fine.
”

I strapped the holster around my waist, then rubbed the
amethyst to make the dagger disappear. The weight felt funny on the elastic
waistband of my shorts, but I’d have to deal with it. I hoped Cassandra was
right. I certainly felt comforted about the foreboding task ahead with Cassandra’s
presence within me.

As I left my office, I mentally called out for Sheree.

Can you hold the fort
down here for the next day or two?
I asked her when she responded.
Tristan, Owen, and I have a mission we need
to do for Rina.

I hated lying to her—this wasn’t exactly for Rina, who
had no clue what we were even up to—but I had no choice. And in the end,
it
was
for Rina and the Amadis,
because defending souls was our purpose and that’s what I was doing. At least,
if everything went the way I hoped it would.

“
Of course. Going out
of town? Does this have to do with the trunks?
”

Um … no and yes. I’ll
tell you all about it later
.

“
Don’t worry about a
thing here. But I can’t wait to hear. Are we going to have a new patient? I’m
getting a little bored …
”