The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (113 page)

His cover was useless now. Irku knew him.

Remembered
him.

His fate would be worse than death if he went back to Jordan.

Damn it, he’d ask for forgiveness later.

He entered through the same door and scanned for Dagin in the darkness. Okay douche bag, where are you? Pausing to get his bearings, he considered Jordan’s plan. What’s the best way to release an aerosol? His brain threw that around for a minute and the light bulb went off.

Sean headed for the air handling system. The big building had to have a furnace down here...that meant air distribution. Best way to spread the virus: quick, simple, effective.

The sound of metal hitting the concrete floor froze him in place. The sound was close. He blended into the wall and listened. He could just make out the sound of soft breathing in front of him. He slid his blade from its hidden sheath and focused on Dagin.

He glided forward and hissed as a gleaming pipe nearly took his face off. Jumping back, he ducked as the air whooshed past his ear. Dagin laughed meanly as he swung the metal pipe at Sean’s head like a baseball bat.

“Did you really think you could follow me? Christ, you’re an idiot!” He’d switched back to his MMA fighter persona, dark eyes gleaming in the darkness, muscles bulging in a red muscle shirt.

Ducking and dodging lightning fast, Sean lunged at Dagin’s gut and slashed him with the blade. The demon grunted at the pain but kept coming.

Sean laughed with cockiness that Killian would beat his ass for. “You played right into my hands. This is perfect. You. Me. Shiny weapons.” He considered the knife and casually wiped the blood on his pants.

Growling with fury, Dagin swung the pipe at his ribs, Sean twisted out of the way but not fast enough. The impact sent him staggering into a table. Piles of old newspapers went careening to the floor in a cloud of dust.

Springing back to his feet, his eyes went flat and he ground out, “Now you’ve gone and pissed me the fuck off.”

He felt the heat in his eyes and let his powers take over. Ignoring the pain in his side, Sean unleashed his strongest weapon. As the killing energy rushed to his fingers, he feinted to the left and threw the bolt of energy into Dagin’s chest just as he lunged. The hiss of pain put a smile on his face.

“Awww, did that hurt?”

Acrid black smoke poured from the hole, but he still had fight in him. Throwing a fireball of his own, Dagin snarled, “Weak, Primani. That’s the best you got? You’re gettin’ old.”

Sean held up a hand and the fireball bounced off of the invisible barrier and hit Dagin in the chest sending him stumbling backwards. Sucking air through his teeth, Sean said, “Shit, man. Bet that hurt!”

Dagin touched the burning hole with an expression of complete shock. His claws curled against his flesh as the truth hit him. He was screwed.

Surprise, motherfucker. “Didn’t see
that
coming, did you?”

Sean kicked him with a roundhouse that forced the demon to his knees.

Playtime was over.

Time to burn and bolt.

With one last grim smile, he pointed his index finger at Dagin’s eye.

“Bang!”

Panicked, Dagin tried to shimmer. His body grew transparent as Sean released the beam of energy. The light hit Dagin’s eye just as his molecules expanded for flight. Halted in mid-shimmer, his form tripped and his features became solid and then transparent again. The demon fought against the force holding him to the ground. His body arched and twisted in pain. Tendrils of flame licked at the hem of the muscle shirt before engulfing it in phosphorus fire. His mouth opened in a howl as the brilliant strands of energy whipped around his body, faster and faster, until he exploded into a million particles of glowing ash.

The echoes of his howl lingered in the basement.

There was no coming back from that one.

Sean smirked coldly at the settling flakes and said, “Totally worth the wait.”

The moment was ruined by the sound of voices in the stairwell behind him. Oops. Outta time. Quickly scanning the room, he found three canisters sitting near the table.

The voices were coming closer. Nothing else seemed to be out of place. Holding open his backpack, he waved the cans inside and vanished just as a group of men came around the corner.

London, England:

It was just before dawn when he popped into the foyer of the safe house. The protected house was silent except for a light creaking of the upstairs windows as the north wind swirled around them. Outside, the rose bushes scraped against the wall near the kitchen. Somewhere nearby a cat cried out, its yowl fading as it ran off. Sean stood in the doorway just breathing as his body settled down from traveling. His heartbeat settled into a normal rhythm and he savored the sensation. It had been four months since he could breathe easy, could sleep without waking every five minutes, could eat without fear of poison. Damn, he was exhausted. Food. Shower. Sleep. In that order. Sex would be nice too, but that would have to wait. He was waaaayyy too tired to give that any real thought.

With eyes closed against the grit of the city, he rolled his shoulders in a stretch and thought of the lives he sensed sleeping upstairs--his family. Swaying slightly, he leaned against the wall and tried to ID the bodies. Mica and Dec would be here for sure. Mica was under house arrest and Dec was playing nanny. That was some funny shit right there. He’d give anything to see Dec babysit. Mica thought he was so sweet and innocent...He was Mr. Patience and the Perfect Angel in her eyes. Yeah, right. Dec had her so fooled.

He couldn’t wait to see her all big and pregnant. Knowing her, she’d be bending every rule that Killian laid down and would be working out every day. She’d hate sitting still. Dec probably had to handcuff her to the couch to make her sit. He smiled at the image of Mica handcuffed which led to other images that he shoved out of his head. With a mental head slap, he kept scanning...here was another body--probably Killian.

No one knew he was coming today. There hadn’t been time to call or text. He’d left the cathedral and brought the canisters straight to the lab in The City. Thank God the lab rats were around! After three hours of debriefing Alex, he finally got cleared to take off.

A slight sound brought his head up, knife in hand and body poised to kill. Killian frowned at him from the stairs. He was dressed in a pair of half-buttoned jeans and nothing else. Mica’s pendant glittered on his chest. Unimpressed with Sean’s show of force, he padded down the steps, his eyes never leaving Sean’s face. A wave of calm washed over him and he relaxed. Feeling like an idiot, Sean re-sheathed the blade and scowled at his brother Primani, daring him to comment.

“Good to see you in one piece, my brother,” Killian’s voice was soft as he shook Sean’s hand and then clapped him on the back. “You want coffee?”

Shaking off the tension, Sean tried to smile but was just too damn tired. Instead, he groaned as he tried to stifle a yawn. “I need to rack out, man. I’m about to fall down.”

Killian’s lips twitched oddly and he turned to the kitchen. “You stink. Get a shower and crash. We can talk when you wake up. The third bedroom’s ready.”

With that, he started making coffee and left Sean alone. Huh. Okay...nothing’s changed here. Killian’s still not a morning person.

A few minutes later, he stood steaming in the tiny shower and dozed off until the water ran cold. Yawning hugely, he dried off and slung the towel loosely around his waist. Padding down the hall, he cranked open the bedroom door and stopped dead.

“Mama! Who’s that?”

What the hell? Sean blinked and rubbed his eyes. Nope, he wasn’t seeing things.

The kid was still there.

He was sitting on the bed next to a shapely lump under the covers. His wide blue eyes stared in wonder at the stranger who’d just walked into his mommy’s room.

A soft husky voice mumbled, “Sean, honey, it’s too early to get up. Come back to bed for a bit.”

Clearing his throat, Sean drawled, “If you’ll move over, I’ll be glad to climb in.”

The screaming woke everyone in the house.

Dec got there first and nearly tackled Sean into the wall before he recognized him.

“Dude! You’re back!” Grabbing him in a bear hug, Dec swung him around and hollered for Mica and Killian. Sean desperately hung onto the towel that suddenly seemed way too thin.

Mica waddled in next; Holy shit, she was all stomach! Relief clear on her face, she exclaimed, “Sean! Oh, thank you, Michael!”

Her smile drew him straight to her. Everyone else disappeared as he looked into her eyes. She was positively glowing.

She threw her arms around him and burst into tears. He pulled her close and clung to her. God, she felt good. Her essence surrounded him and wrapped him in a peace he never knew with anyone else. She was still his anchor in any storm and the only person to ever soothe him. He was secretly glad she was crying because it gave him an excuse to hold her, to lean against her and soak up her strength. He was too exhausted to keep up a tough front. He just wanted to lose this horrible tension and be himself again.

Rubbing her back, he said, “It’s okay, darlin’, I’m alive. Don’t cry!” Glancing helplessly over her head, he tried to shrug in apology but she had a death grip on him.

Amused, Killian waved off the gesture and said, “She’s got a leak. What can I say? The hormones make her weepy. Weepier.” He handed Mica a tissue and pulled her away so Sean could breathe.

“Let the man catch his breath. You’re strangling him.”

Another voice piped up. “I have to go potty.”

Sean glanced down at the kid tugging on his hand. “Who’s this?” He glanced around at the amused faces circling him.

The woman on the bed cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her. She’d been so quiet, they’d all forgotten about her in the excitement of welcoming Sean. He didn’t get a good look at the woman when she started screaming earlier. Now he looked his fill and stood stunned into silence.

It couldn’t be.

Her dark hair flowed down her back and hugged the curves of her face. Tousled from sleep, it was damn sexy and he remembered exactly how silky it was running through his fingers. She’d slept in a pair of his old flannel bottoms and his favorite Metallica t-shirt. Everything was so big on her. She looked fragile and unbelievably tiny in his clothes. She stood now, a woman ready to do battle. She was just tall enough to nearly look him in the eye. With brilliant blue eyes shining with hurt, she gathered the boy close and glared at him.

“This is Sean Michael. I named him for his idiot father, and the great angel.”

No way. This couldn’t be happening. He had a kid?

Sean’s eyes drilled into hers, searching for the lies. She hardened her expression and he gulped. Totally confused, he stared at the thin child.

It was like looking in a mirror...2,000 years ago.

The blood left his head and his vision went dim.

“Grab him!” Mica’s voice followed him to darkness.

The dream was perfect. He lay on a field of grass with the gentle warmth of the sun lingering on his skin. The rock-hard tension was gone now. He felt at peace. His mind was calm, his thick muscles loose and relaxed against the ground. He breathed the salty air and let it fill his chest. Oxygen bubbled through his blood sending little tremors of pleasure through every part of him. His skin tingled, his heart beat gently. His
saol
simmered and flowed to heal and recharge him. Here in the dream there was no fear, no pain. He wasn’t hungry or aching. He wasn’t lonely.

He just
was
.

He didn’t know how long he lay there, but after a while, he was aware of another. Another
saol
had joined him.

He sat up and met his maker’s amused eyes.

“What are you doing here, Afriel?” Sean asked.

Raphael lifted one shoulder in an elegant Gallic shrug. “Does this disturb you, warrior?”

Hmm… Did it bother him that the archangel had slipped into his dreams?

“On so many levels, oh glorious one.”

Raphael chuckled at that and waved a hand in dismissal. “I won’t apologize for the intrusion. I needed to talk to you and this works for me. I understand you met an old friend. What news do you have for me?”

When he awoke again, it was twilight and a soft rain was falling. The pitter patter on the roof was seductive and he felt sleep dragging him under again. Stretching his limbs, he grabbed the pillow and buried his head under it.

Just as he was slipping into a sexy dream with a hot faceless female, someone tugged on his sheet.

“Are you dead?”

Without looking up, Sean growled, “No. I’m sleeping.”

“Oh.” There was a long pause and then, “Mommy says you might be dead.”

What? Ah, hell.

The memories came slamming back and he groaned and pushed himself up to find a serious little face next to him. The boy stared at him with a healthy dose of fear, as though Sean was the bogeyman