The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (115 page)

He rolled his eyes at me. “Pot. Kettle.”

“So not true! I’m ridiculously easy to please.”

“Ha! Whatever! Your mood swings make Stalin look like Tinkerbell!”

It was my turn to gasp and sputter. “You...you...that’s not fair! I can’t help it. I’m not just having a baby--I’m having a litter! It’s so bad that Domino’s giving me advice!”

He laughed so hard he nearly sideswiped another car. The driver leaned on his horn and we swerved back to our lane.

Wiping his eyes, he finally managed speech. “Killian always was a show off! Could he have one kid? Nooooo, he has to give you three at the same time. He prob--” He stared at me with horror in his eyes.

“What? What’s that face for?”

His eyes dropped to my lap and he said slowly, “Did anyone touch you right after you conceived? Anyone with powers?”

“Besides Killian? Only you and Dec. Remember Christmas morning?”

Silence.

Fingers tapping the steering wheel and more silence.

“Sean, what are you hiding? You look so guilty right now.”

Flushing even more, he dragged his fingers through his hair so violently that it stood up like a Mohawk.

This couldn’t be good news.

He glanced sideways and swallowed hard. “I, uh, think maybe we...” He stopped talking and waved a hand in the general direction of my uterus.

“Oh, no you didn’t! What did you idiots do to my egg?”

“Well hell, I think we split it up.”

“WHAT??”

“It was an accident!” Backpedalling now, he smiled down at me and deftly captured my hand before I could hit him. “Look on the bright side. All three have magical blood...and you can name them after all of us! No one gets their feelings hurt.”

I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. “You should both be shot! What were you thinking? Didn’t you know better?”

“No! How was I to know? I haven’t personally known anyone pregnant by a Primani...well fuck, now I can add Aisling to that list, can’t I?”

I leaned my head back and tried to be mad. The expression on Sean’s face was just too funny though. Killian’s reaction was priceless too. Watching him faint was worth it. How hard can three babies be?

“It’s no biggie. Just don’t do it again! I think three are enough! So back to you and your woman problems. What’s going on?”

“Look, I promise you that I’ve been nice to Aisling. I gotta tell you it’s hard though. She won’t talk to me and she’s got no sense of humor. Sometimes I catch her looking at me, but every time I try to tease her or lighten things up, she gets all serious and pissed off. I can’t win for losing.”

“Well, what do you want from her?”

He snapped very succinctly, “Nothing. I want to be a father to my son. If her and I can be friends, than that’s great.” He rubbed his fingers over the short spikes of his hair in a gesture I knew well. “Don’t you see? I don’t
know
her. I barely knew her when I slept with her. I’m relieved they’re safe, but I’m not ready for more.”

His voice had turned wistful underneath the frustration. I reached over and squeezed his hand. Surprised, he glanced over and smiled that old heartbreaking grin that tugged my heart to his. He said softly, “I don’t love her. I don’t think I ever will.”

“Never say never, darlin’. I couldn’t stand Killian when we first met.” I rubbed my fingers across the rune on my hand. It glowed happily. “Look what happened to us.”

“Yeah.” Lost inside his head, he stared at the road for a minute. His tone was a little sad when he finally admitted, “I think she might be too broken for me to fix. She’s not quite right.”

“Yeah, there’s something going on there.”

He thumped his fist on the steering wheel and changed the subject. “Besides, I just got back from more near-death experiences than I’d like. I still have to murder me one crazy-ass fallen angel, and I need to get used to the idea that I’m a daddy. Shit, Mica, I need some fucking me time before my head explodes!”

“Don’t say the f word. I don’t want the babies to hear it.”

He lifted both eyebrows and said, “Don’t say fu--“

“Don’t say it!” I held up my hand and tried to look stern. “It’s not good for them to hear bad language.”

He grinned at me. “Oh, sure, I see how you are. For the record, I’ll be filming you when you go into labor. Try to be creative.”

The grocery store was just up ahead and I pointed to the corner. He pulled in and parked.

“Can I wait in the car?” He rubbed his palm over the leather in manly bliss.

It was a beautiful, powerful machine. The black and silver paint gleamed in the sun. The music surrounded us like a full body headphone. He missed his Camaro.

“No! If I fall over, I’ll never get up! Geez. You can pet the steering wheel when we get done!”

I didn’t have a list but figured we’d need milk and cereal. I shoved a basket into his capable hands and waddled ahead. We slipped into the old rhythm of shopping together and were bickering over the ripeness of melons when an odd sensation crawled between my shoulder blades.

Something dark watched us.

With one hand protectively covering my belly, I sidled closer to Sean until I was nearly inside his clothes with him.

Sean stopped talking in mid-sentence and glanced around the aisle. The creepy feeling raised goose bumps on my chest and I stomped down a feeling of panic.

Slipping into soldier-mode, he angled his big body in front of me and scanned for threats. A slight lift of his mouth was the only sign he’d found it.

“Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart,” he murmured under his breath. “I’ve got you.”

He relaxed and headed to the checkout. I followed quickly behind, unwilling to put any distance between us. Still fighting the dark feeling, I shoved money at the cashier. As soon as we were in the parking lot, I rounded on him. “Who’s here? And why aren’t you freaked out?”

Instead of answering, he towed me carefully to the car. “Is there someplace public around here where we could go meet someone? We need neutral ground like a park or something.”

“Uh, yeah, okay. You’re scaring me.”

“Just tell me. I know what I’m doing.”

The demon wasn’t at all what I expected. Short, wiry, and humanoid, he walked with a hurried, shuffling gait and kept his eyes focused on the ground in front of him. He wore a blue baseball cap jammed onto his head, but wispy blond hair escaped to blow around his pale face. There wasn’t anything obviously demonic about him, but I smelled him. He smelled like burnt earth.

Demons were bad, especially around pregnant women. Like me.

Was Sean nuts? What was he doing?

I glanced at my Primani and he stood with arms folded in front of him and sunglasses hiding his scalding eyes. His long frame was casually draped against a tree, showing no tension at all. I leaned just behind him and rubbed ruefully at my lower back. One of my little buggers was kicking my kidney again. For the millionth time I wondered how on earth they could all fit inside of me. I still had four months to go...I was going to explode.

The little demon stopped a few feet in front of us. He seemed to be trying to gather his courage before he spoke to Sean.

Sean didn’t encourage him. “Kyrrin.”

Kyrrin lifted his chin and said haltingly, “I know you’re surprised to see me here. I didn’t know who else to go to. It’s been bad. I mean, really, really bad since you left.” His fingers worked against each other in agitation. “The Commander’s put Irku in charge of Dagin’s soldiers. There’s only one battalion now. They, uh, killed yours. All of your soldiers are dead.”

“They were evil so you’ll forgive me for not caring.”

Kyrrin flinched. “Irku’s put out an SOS on you. Thought you should know.”

Kyrrin’s emotions were all over the map. Mostly he was terrified. Terror was mixed with a little courage and a lot more fear. Waves of desperation drifted towards me and I understood him completely. He wanted out. Sean was his only hope.

Wait a second. Since when did my empath powers work on demons?

“What do you expect me to do?” Sean’s bluntness wasn’t making Kyrrin feel any better.

Kyrrin’s eyes darted around the park and he gulped. “I have information.”

On the way home, I had to ask, “What’s an SOS?”

Sean barked a laugh and answered, “Shoot on sight, or in this case, probably ‘skin on sight.’ Skinning is the kill method of choice. Those fuc...er, jerks love to skin things. Preferably while they’re still alive so they can struggle. It’s messier with blood flying all over the place. Sends them into a feeding frenzy.”

Ewww! “Gross!”

“You’ve got no idea. It’s barbaric. J. ordered Dagin to skin me when one of my patrols messed up. He changed his mind just as the first strip of skin came off.” He held out his right arm to show me the faint ribbon of a scar that ran from shoulder to wrist. About a half inch across, it was faded to a pearly white against the beautiful tawny color of Sean’s Primani skin.

It was just the width of Dagin’s favorite obsidian athame.

“Pull over!”

So much for lunch.

In the strange red light of dreams, the four horsemen stood shoulder to shoulder atop the rise of a dry rocky hill. Red dust swirled around the wicked black hooves as the horses stamped and snorted. The setting sun threw them into shadow so their faces were featureless and stark--empty skulls atop powerful bodies. Standing on the barren plain far below, I studied them without fear.

“Why do you summon me?” I called out. I stood loosely with my hand gripping the hilt of a blade. I wasn’t afraid.

I knew them. Knew
of
them.

One by one, they peeled off and picked their way down the rocky slope. The first horse to reach me was as pale as the witches’ moon.

The rider’s eyes were bright gold in the deep sockets of the skull. His face melted and morphed into something beautiful and human before he answered, “We are here to claim our warriors.”

“They’re not yours to claim.”

The rider’s voice rose and he demanded, “It is time. Give them to us.”

Digging my heels into the packed sand, I said, “No. You can’t have them.”

A hot wind whipped between us forcing me to cover my eyes against the driving sand. Harder and harder the wind blew, pushing me backwards and away. Only seconds passed, but it felt like hours. When at last I opened my eyes, the miles of land between us gleamed as flaming glass. Blinded, I cried out and fell to my knees.

As soon as I hit the ground, the earth swayed and buckled, rising up to form a mountain behind me. The screaming of a million souls thundered in my ears. I swayed and stumbled onto my hands and knees, trying to keep from slipping down to the melting sands.

Unable to see or hear, I finally managed to stand and face them with the single glowing blade. Its blue stone burning like a tiny star,
Sgaine Dutre
vibrated against my fist ready to defend what was mine.

I
would
protect what was mine. They would have to kill me first.

And that they would never, ever do.

A long shadow blocked the heat and I knew I was no longer alone. Reaching out with my mind, I saw the Red Horse of War bearing down on me. Its rider pulled him up short, sending shards of glass into my skin like shrapnel.

“You cannot stop what is to be,” he roared down at me.

“Go back to Hell and leave us alone!”

Just as I lifted the blade, a strong hand captured mine and gently took it from me. A familiar voice spoke from just behind me. “We’re ready.”

London, England:

THE GROWL OF THUNDER DRAGGED HIM out of a restless sleep. Lying still, Killian measured its distance. It was close. The rain would start up again soon. The curtains were closed but he could hear the branches brushing against the house to the beat of the wind. Great. Another stormy morning. A blue flash lit up the wall sending shadows jumping. Shit. He just washed the car. Careful not to wake Mica, he squinted at the clock and eased back with a sigh. It was too early to be awake. They’d been up until 2 a.m. and his eyes were gritty.

Mica’s fingers twitched, followed by a low groan of pain deep in her throat. She’d thrashed around until she was perched against the edge of their bed. The dreams were bad again. He knew it, but she didn’t want to talk about them. She didn’t want to worry him, but she worried him more by keeping them to herself. Giving up on falling asleep again, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. She was warm and pliant with sleep, her silky hair piling up against his chest. Breathing slowly, he inhaled her scent and smiled at the immediate reaction on his body. His heartbeat sped up and the rune on his hand shimmered in the half-light of early morning. Her own heart was galloping in her chest as she faced the demons in her dreams.

She mumbled under her breath and suddenly stiffened with a cry, “No! You can’t take them!”

Damn. It was the same dream every night this week. She’d toss and turn tonight, but tomorrow she’d wake up and not remember a thing. That was the part that worried him the most. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles, her face pale. She was exhausted. Last night he’d found her staring fixedly into the mirror. The darkness seemed to draw her in. She peered inward as her body arched against the glass. The blank look in her eyes scared the hell out of him.

He’d asked what she was looking at and she’d mumbled something about a horseman. Her eyes kept drifting back to the mirror even as he’d put his body between her and it. She’d nodded woodenly at his words but she was miles away from him. Yeah, that was freaking him out just a little. Horsemen, strictly speaking, usually didn’t herald happy events. He’d thrown out that mirror as soon as she’d gone to bed.

She jumped abruptly and elbowed him hard in the gut. Sucking his breath through his teeth, he latched onto her arm--any lower and they wouldn’t have to worry about make-up sex again. The dream was pulling her under again; he could smell her fear and her heartbeat was ringing in his ears. What was freaking her out? Okay baby, you’re not gonna like this much, but I’ll apologize later.

Wrapping her delicate hands inside one of his own, he traced the shape of her rune and closed his eyes. Using his own sight, he let his mind connect to hers and slipped into her dream.

What the hell was going on?

Eden:

“You’ve lost your mind.” Raphael struggled to keep a serious expression, but his mouth curled up despite his best efforts.

“Not true.” Killian pointed at the sketch again and said, “Look at the layout. It’s perfect for what I have in mind. The structure is the right shape. It’ll work. I know it.”

Raphael studied the drawing for several minutes without comment. Killian stepped away from the altar and left him to his thoughts.

Tick tock.

Killian did a mental eye roll as he waited for his maker to approve the op plan spread across the stone altar. Come on now, you know it’s a great plan...Raphael would see the brilliance of it. It would take him a minute as he thought through all the pros and cons. That was his way. He never made snap decisions. He was the angel of science and knowledge after all. He was also one of the angels of the apocalypse and the end of the world, among many other things. Archangels wore a lot of hats. Killian was glad he had a more limited focus: Primani, priest, husband, father. Not a bad life for the simple man he was at heart. His magic and his family were his life. They were both his strength and his weakness. He was prepared to kill and die for them.

He and Raphael had met in Eden so they’d have uninterrupted privacy to put together this op. In the time since Jordan had trespassed a couple of years ago, Killian had cleansed the plane of evil and bolstered the protective spell that kept it hidden. So far, no one had found it. This was a good thing since the plane was Killian’s home away from home. He felt most comfortable here, and his powers were at their strongest. Letting his eyes drift around the temple walls, he went over his mental checklist. He had a lot to do over the next few days. He’d been away from the safe house for a week already and he was ready to get back there. But before he could go, he had to review intel he got from Rivin, map out the attack plan, coordinate with other key players, and figure out a way to evacuate the humans from the building they were about to hit. He needed a plan to reduce collateral damage.

God, he was tired. He’d been traveling non-stop all week and his batteries were shot. He needed to eat something and recharge before taking off again. At this point, he wasn’t sure he’d make it back to the human plane without scrambling some molecules. Stretching his neck, he closed his eyes and relaxed for a minute. Instead of the comforting emptiness that normally preceded sleep, his mind was abruptly filled with the vivid image of a red horseman glaring down from a mountain top.

Jolting upright, he snapped, “Get out of my head!” The image vanished.

Raphael frowned down at him from the other side of the room and said, “Who was it?”

“War.”

“Ah.”

Well that didn’t explain much, now did it? “
Ah
? Forgive my bluntness, Raphael, but what does that mean?”

With a slight chuckle, the angel gave him a nod and a non-answer. “The op plan looks good. I’ll make arrangements.” He straightened from the drawing and considered the expectant expression on his friend’s face.

“War is better than famine or plague,” he added with a note of finality in his voice.

“Oh. Yeah. Sure,” Killian said to the empty cave. “That makes me feel a lot better. How do I tell Mica that?”

No comment other than a soft chuckle inside his head.

Shit.

An hour later, he finished making his notes on the map. Too exhausted to stay awake another minute, he got comfortable and released his
saol
to recharge while he slept.

Killian!

Her voice launched him to his feet with weapons drawn. Crouched in the dim light, he searched for the threat.

Killian! Help!

Hold on! I’m coming.

Closing his eyes, he focused on her essence and dematerialized.

London, England:

He rematerialized in the shadows of a tree line in the countryside. It was midafternoon, sunny, and picnic-perfect in the trees. No sign of demons anywhere. In fact, there were no people around either. What was going on?

He smelled ozone and stiffened.

Where are you, Mica?

Concentrating fiercely, he picked up her voice. Mica was here. But where was she? He did a 360 and didn’t see her. He did another 360, but more slowly this time.

Ah, there it was.

A faint rippling in the air gave it away. Going ghost, he moved invisibly to the barrier and listened. She was just behind it.

She was arguing with someone. “You don’t want to do that. Trust me. I’m protected. You don’t want to meet my husband.” She was strong, but her voice was strained, scared. “Seriously, he’s getting tired of people trying to kill me. He’s going to lose his mind on you.”

A deeper gravelly voice sneered, “I’ll be gone before your heart stops beating. He’ll never find me.”

The deceptive peacefulness of the park was ripped apart as lightning arced overhead with a deafening crack of thunder. A blast of freezing wind raced through the trees sending branches flying down onto Killian’s back. Whipping
Sgaine Dutre
from its sheath, he slashed through the barrier, parting it like the Red Sea.

The sight that greeted him threw his mind into straight-up kill-mode and his eyes caught fire. A greasy-haired man stood behind her with a hunting knife pressed against the mound of her belly. He had his other arm wrapped around her neck holding her still. The man had blood all over his face; probably from the broken nose he was sporting. He also dripped blood from fingernail gouges down both forearms and his cheek. She hadn’t made it easy for him.

Her face was ashen except for the purple bruise on one cheek and the red blood running from a cut on her bottom lip. She clutched at her belly with both hands.

“Killian, stop him!”

Killian snarled, “Get your hands off my wife!”

“Uh, let me think about that...No, can’t do that,” the cocky asshole grinned. “I’m getting paid to kill her off. Gotta touch her to do that. Sorry.”

Before Killian could say another word, a swirl of golden lights appeared and took form just behind the man.

“Not on my watch!” The grey-eyed angel shoved the man to the side with enough strength to make him stumble to his knees.

Killian dove forward, hitting the guy dead center. They went airborne before crashing hard into the ground. The guy grunted with the impact and his eyes fluttered in their sockets. Killian ripped the knife out of his hand and punched him in the face.

Once, twice...

Aaaand once more for good measure.

Before the bastard could react, he was knocked out and trussed up. Killian wanted him alive for questioning. Who was he working for? How did he set up a barrier like that? That kind of magic comes from the angels. He would answer some questions and then he would die. The speed of his death was up to him.

He threatened my family. Fate sealed. Too fucking bad.

“Killian!”

He turned as Mica slid to the ground, with Dani straining to break her fall. He jumped to her side and caught her in his arms.

Grimacing with pain, she said, “Get me to a hospital!”

He smelled the blood. His gut clenched with raw fear. Oh, God. Not now. Not the babies.

Not Mica. He couldn’t lose her again.

He caught Dani’s eye. Where had she come from? Dismissing her, he turned his full attention to Mica. He didn’t have time to worry about Dani right now. He was glad she’d shown up though. He’d ask her about it if his family didn’t die tonight. If they did, Dani’s resurrection was the last thing he’d care about.

Dr. Lopez motioned for Killian to come into the private room. The lights were dimmed and the curtains pulled against the window. He didn’t hesitate, and stalked past the doctor’s outstretched arm before he could say a word. Dec and Sean followed him and the doctor frowned.

“She’s very tired. I’d like for her to rest now. She shouldn’t have visitors.”

Sean started to argue, but Dec put his hand on his arm and shook his head. Sean clamped his mouth shut. Dec reached out to the doctor and touched his hand with a small smile. The scent of fresh leaves filled the air. A minute later, Sean and Dec joined Killian at Mica’s bedside.

Mica lay tiny and fragile against the stark white sheets. The nurse had propped her into a sitting position to keep pressure off of her back. Even her bellyful of babies seemed smaller, shrunken somehow. She kept her face turned away from him, eyes staring at nothing and filled with worry. The sight of her lying there, scared and hurting, cut him like a knife. He wanted to punch that bastard again.

He pulled up a chair near her head while the other two hovered at the foot of the bed. Dec wanted to hug her but gave Killian his space. Instead, he shifted his weight from foot to foot and bit his lip. Sean scowled at the air above her head. Killian could hear the Primani’s teeth grinding together but said nothing to him.

The silence stretched.

He didn’t know what to say to her. He wanted to help, but he wasn’t sure how to do that. The three of them looked at each other and shrugged helplessly. In the end, they all sat and said nothing. Finally she sighed and held her hand out to him.

“It’s going to be okay, Princess. You’re strong and these babies are fighters.” He gently brushed her bangs away from her eyes and kissed her forehead. “They have to be.”

She rubbed the top of her belly and frowned before looking into his eyes. “The doctor says I’m in premature labor. Probably from getting thrown to the ground by that asshole, but it’s hard to say what triggered it. I have to stay on bed rest for the next two months. If I’m very careful, and we’re very lucky, all three of them will be born alive.” She choked back a sob and added, “I’m so scared. They’re so little. I don’t want to lose them!”

They weren’t ready to be born. They needed at least another two months before it would be safe even as preemies. He’d talked to the doctor earlier and the news wasn’t great. Wanting to comfort her, he tried to gather her against him for a hug. Her shape made it impossible to hold her and he tried switching positions. That one didn’t work either. He tried again and finally she laughed at him.

“You’ll have to climb up on the bed if you want to hug me.”

“That’s what got us into this mess!”