The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (18 page)

That was close. Too close. Thanks to a sharp jolt of adrenaline, my heart was pounding a hundred miles an hour. I was struggling to take a deep breath, wheezing as I gasped for air. Bright spots of color danced in my eyes, my head bobbed forward. Biting my lip, I slammed my eyes closed and tried not to faint.

Killian grabbed my knee and squeezed it hard. “Get it together! Now! There’s no time for you to lose it. Are you hurt?”

The smell of iron was overpowering. Someone was bleeding. I couldn’t see anything in the dark but felt around for bullet holes. My jacket sleeve was sticky with blood. I couldn’t tell if it was mine or not because I was so full of adrenaline I couldn’t feel anything. Surprised at the blood, I held up my hand to Killian. He brought it to his nose.

“Not yours. It’s his. Finish checking yourself and hurry up. You could be bleeding to death right now.”

Yikes! Wouldn’t I know if I were bleeding to death? Maybe not... I did as I was told and took some of my layers off. Under the jacket and fleece, I found a neat little hole in my arm. It seemed to go right through my bicep. There was a hole on both sides. That was good. Probably I wouldn’t bleed to death right now. Even so, I was bleeding
a lot
. My shirt was soaked. My stomach churned, and my head started to swim again.

“Uh, guys, I have a problem back here…”

Cold hands on my face woke me up. I opened my eyes to Killian’s dark face pressing into mine. His scruffy cheek rasped against mine as he whispered urgently in my ear, “Mica! Don’t pass out on me! You can be sick later!”

He tied a ripped piece of his tee shirt around my arm before strapping the other guy into a seat belt and covering him with a blanket. Probably a smart move since Sean’s driving left a lot to be desired. The car slid wildly to one side throwing Killian against him hard enough to make him grunt in pain. The guy in the blanket didn’t make a sound. That wasn’t a good sign.

“Please tell me this guy isn’t dead. He’s not moving,” I said.

“Not yet,” Killian replied.

Sean’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “Don’t worry about him. Keep pressure on your arm and don’t pass out! You might have to run.”

Killian seconded that order and added that there might be more shooting… while I was running… Don’t pass out? It was easy for them to say… They weren’t bleeding all over the place with a possibly dead guy strapped into the seat with them.

We had to slow down once we got into Burlington. The streets were mostly empty due to the crappy weather, but we still had to be careful not to slide into anyone. Sean was swearing softly in another language and tapping the steering wheel impatiently as we idled at a red light. Killian systematically scanned the area. An ambulance with its lights flashing drove by to the right, and a police car sat in the opposite lane. The officer looked into the car with interest. I slunk lower into the seat and crossed my fingers. Sean and Killian looked like suspicious people on a good day. Right now they looked worse. They were splattered with blood. The side of the car was riddled with bullet holes, and one of the side windows was spider-webbed with broken glass. Sure. We were completely innocent. The light changed, and we pulled forward at the same time as the police car. The officer stared at Sean as he passed by. Sean stared intently back, murmuring under his breath. Amazingly, the police car kept going.

“What did you do?” I asked, fascinated. I swung around to look behind us, but the police car was gone.

“I just reminded him that he had something important to do back at the station.” He turned onto the interstate with a tight smile.

We had to go a few more miles to the ferry, and then we’d be back in Plattsburgh in about 15 minutes. This was too easy… I had a bad feeling about this… Time was running out. My chest was heavy with dread. Something bad was about to happen. Unable to resist the urge, I scanned the road behind us as if the boogey-man was going to jump out of the trees. A pair of headlights appeared, and they were moving really fast. Oh, crap!

“Sean! Go faster! We’ve got company!”

Killian swung around. “Sonofabitch!” He pulled out his Sig and checked the rounds. “Get to the ferry!”

The headlights were attached to a HUMVEE, and it was closing in fast. Sean punched the gas. The HUMVEE wasn’t as fast but stayed close. There was no way we’d be able to out run it forever. I saw the sign for the ferry station and turned to peek out the back window. It shattered directly above my head. I screamed and threw myself across blanket-guy as another bullet crashed into the window. Chunks of glass rained down as I frantically unbuckled the seatbelt and dragged him to the floorboards. I pressed myself on top of him and squeezed my eyes shut.

The tires left the ground as Sean whipped off the interstate to Hwy 2. The car landed hard but stayed on the road. Killian was calmly firing behind us, the sound deafening inside the car. I guess he hit someone because the bullets stopped hitting us. He reloaded as we raced down the bridge to the ferry platform. I peered up between the front seats and was relieved to see the ferry was mostly empty and just about to pull away from the dock. The car fishtailed down the lane and onto the dock with the HUMVEE close behind us. A ferry worker was about to hook the chain across the back of the boat when Sean punched the gas to launch us forward. The poor guy dove out of the way and rolled to the other side of the deck. We skidded to a stop without killing a single person. The ferry was already moving when the HUMVEE skittered onto the ramp. It was going too fast to stop and went off the edge into the lake with a splash.

The ferry crossing only takes 12 minutes. The police would probably be on the way to the Plattsburgh docks. We were trapped on this boat and no way to get off without being seen. I didn’t dare get out of the car because I was covered in blood. I had to pee but now wasn’t probably a good time to bring that up. I would have to wait.

“Killian, what are we going to do now?” I asked.

“Be quiet, I’m thinking.”

“Sean?” I asked.

“Be quiet. I’m thinking too!”

Geez. Fine, I’ll be quiet and think too. An idea popped into my head.

“What if you call Dec and he distracts the police? Could he do that?”

My idea was met with stony silence. Okay, so maybe that’s not a good idea…

Killian ruffled my hair, and announced, “That’s a brilliant idea. And it might even work too.” He closed his eyes and sent a message to Dec.

Sean turned around and tried to smile reassuringly at me but failed. He was wound like a spring and ready to fight. Instead of smiling, he said, “Good idea, babe. I hope it works. We’ve got to get out of here and get him some help.”

“Who
is
he? What happened to him?

“I don’t know his name, but he’s Primani like us. He’s been tortured, and I don’t know if he’ll live or not. We need to get him to a safe house.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to teleport him somewhere?”

He sighed long and hard. “Yes, it would. But I can’t leave you here alone; especially now that you’ve been seen by Dagin’s crew.”

“Dagin?”

“He’s a demon. We go way back. We have a few clashes with him every so many years, and then he disappears for a while. We haven’t been able to vanquish him because he runs every time we close in. He’ll use you to get to us if he can.”

Killian spoke up. “That’s why I will take him to the safe house, and you two will drive down with Dec and our supplies. We’ll probably be in the city for a while so we’ll need things. Mica, make an excuse to your parents so they don’t send out more police. We don’t need more complications; this is going to be hard enough.”

“Where are we going?”

“Manhattan.”

Chapter 18: Escape to New York

“MY DAD IS GOING TO BE PISSED!” I used my good hand to throw clothes on the bed while fretting over the fine points of our escape plan. Because I knew my dad would never let me leave for God knows how long, I wasn’t going to tell him in person… I was going to leave a note. Yep, the note would explain it all, and we would be long gone before he could kill me.

It was getting late already, and my place was the last stop. Dec was lounging on my bed rubbing Domino’s belly. He looked so young and sweet. His blond hair was darker in the winter sun and desperately needed cutting. It was curled up around his ears and fell across his forehead in messy bangs. He had a peaceful expression as he watched me run around the room. He was like a brother to me now, and I felt a wave of love for him. I bounced over and hugged him quickly. He looked surprised, but squeezed me back. I guess he could relax for now. He was already packed and had packed things for Sean and Killian before we got to their house earlier tonight. The car was already loaded with their bags and weapons. Everyone was waiting on me. I was moving as fast as I could. I scribbled out a note and gave it to Sean. He read it over, snorted at me, and left.

“What did you tell him?” Dec asked.

“I told him I had a science project on reindeer so we were going on a trip to the Great White North. I’m over 18 so technically he can’t forbid me to go. Hopefully he won’t be too pissed off.”

He peered down his nose at me. “Reindeer? That’s the best you can do? I don’t think they have reindeer in Canada--”

“Hey, it’s the best I can do right now! These pills of yours are messing with my head.” I was doing my best to stay awake after downing two pills that Dec brought from their place. He said they were just for pain, but they were making me sleepy too. That was good because I planned to sleep all the way to Manhattan so I wouldn’t have time to think about the hole in my arm.

After a last look around my homey little space, I slipped a very irate Domino into the main house and kissed her good-bye. Sorry baby girl, the big city’s no place for a princess.

And just like that, we were on I-87 heading south. I looked at my watch. It was 12:15. I curled up in the backseat and tried to sleep.

The dream caught me by surprise. I was dreaming something pleasant and soothing when the images changed to a familiar terror. I was back in the forest with a dark creature pacing my steps. Instead of running blindly this time, I walked with intention and tried to ignore the darkness that hovered on my left. My skin prickled though, and I was tense with dread. Any second now it would attack… but it didn’t. Instead, it paced my steps, shadowing me… waiting. In front of me was a clearing filled with light. Sean! I moved towards it with relief. There was no reason to be afraid now; the light promised safety. But as I approached, the light changed. It expanded and contracted oddly. It flickered like an old star. I started running. It expanded and contracted faster and faster. No! Wait! Don’t go! I dove towards the light as it imploded in a blinding flash. As I landed on the forest floor, the darkness closed in.

“Mica? Wake up, darlin’. You’re dreaming.” a faraway voice called my name.

The darkness pressed me down on the wet forest floor. I struggled to free myself, but the force was relentless. I was slowly sinking into the ground. Screaming for help, I twisted my face to the side to keep from choking. The ground continued to rise, covering me, cloaking me in the heavy black dirt, burying me. My mouth filled with it as I screamed for help. Then the world slammed to the right, and I was falling…

Someone hit me in the chest once, then twice. I couldn’t breathe and gasped for air. Oxygen. I need oxygen. I tried to sit up, but something heavy was holding me down. Panicked, I started thrashing at my unseen attacker. Someone grabbed both of my hands and held me still.

Urgent voices finally broke through the fog of the dream. Someone was pleading with me. Oh, thank God! I’m not dead after all!

“Damn it, woman! You come back to me right now or I’ll hunt you down wherever you go!” Sean resorted to threats since pleading wasn’t bringing me around. The desperation in his voice tugged at my heart.

I opened my eyes and coughed. Sean and Dec grabbed me at the same time. They hugged me so hard I broke into another painful coughing fit.

“Don’t ever do that again! You scared the hell out of us!” Sean was yelling at me and rocking me against his chest at the same time.

“Wow! That was some dream. Tell me, were you in a forest?” Dec’s voice sounded oddly pained.

“How could you know that?”

He rubbed his finger down my cheek and held it up. It was coated with spongy black dirt.

Ewww! I staggered over to a clean-looking snow pile on the side of the road. Yes, it was freezing cold and dark as hell out in the middle of nowhere. But I was absolutely
not
getting into the car covered with dirt that shouldn’t exist in the first place. I was totally freaked out and wanted answers. Sean and Dec were answerless at the moment and looked apprehensive as I stripped off my clothes and took a snow shower.

“Well?” I asked Sean.

He frowned, puzzled. “No dirt in the car. It’s bizarre.”

“We’re nearly to the city anyway. Don’t fall asleep again. We’ll get answers from someone at the safe house.” He held the door, and I gingerly climbed into the front seat. I didn’t trust the back seat anymore.

By the time we reached the Tappan Zee Bridge on the Hudson River, the sun was starting to rise, and I was bouncing on the edge of the seat with excitement. Near-death experience aside, I was ever the optimist. We were going to have fun in the city.

“This is so cool you guys! Look at that river!” My head was swiveling from right to left, trying to take in everything at once.

Large sheets of ice floated against the banks, the shimmering water visible underneath them. The snow from last night glowed ghostly white in random places. The dark water looked decidedly uninviting in the early morning light. The long roadway rose gradually as we approached the middle of the river and leveled off under the main bridge structure. I craned my neck to look into the cobweb of steel beams above us. Dec grinned at me. He was driving the last bit of the trip so Sean could focus on security. Sean was in the back with his eyes closed. He
said
he wasn’t sleeping; he
said
he was trying to pick up any traces of demons in the area. Hmm. For someone who was
not
sleeping, he was pretty relaxed…

“Believe it or not, this is my first time down here too. Can you feel the energy? It’s so
alive
!” Dec drove casually with one wrist balanced on top of the steering wheel, beaming as he navigated through morning commuters.

Traffic was building as we got closer to Manhattan. It was stop and go until we got onto East River Drive. Roosevelt Island loomed darkly on our left. Tall buildings crouched as far as I could see. Were those apartments? I gazed at them as we made our way up the side of the island. Lights twinkled in some windows, but most were still dark. Dec made a series of turns to bring us westward. The sun was fully up now, and the buildings cast shadows ahead of us as we made our way across the city. I had no idea where we were going and asked Dec.

A grumpy Sean answered, “Gramercy Park, and I can’t wait to get there. This place screams ‘demons’ every place we turn. It’s a disgusting city.”

“Well, look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” I observed.

He gave me a sour look and grunted something I didn’t quite hear. To Dec, he said, “Okay, you’re going to pull into that parking garage on the next block and park in a penthouse spot. They’re marked.”

In front of us was one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen. Old and quaint, it was made of red brick with some kind of curling trim around the top of the main floors. Was that a gargoyle? The unique building charmed me immediately.

In spite of the throbbing in my arm, I was still trying to see everything at once. After we parked, the guys grabbed our bags and quickly shuffled me into the building. I tried to protest that we were moving too fast, but Dec shushed me and gave me a nudge to keep walking. Geez! These guys were like hot and cold today! I barely had time to see the lobby. The walls were covered in stained glass artwork and blood-red velvet draperies. Elegant crystal chandeliers sparkled in the dim morning light. The floors were black and white marble and were covered with red carpets. Pretty little seating areas were scattered around with antique tables and chairs. I wanted to look around, but Dec firmly guided me to the nearest elevator. Sean was on my right side, scanning everything we passed. A smiling concierge approached to ask if we needed any help. Sean’s fierce expression relaxed into an easy smile. He casually explained we were meeting friends and were expected. He waved a hand over our general disreputable appearance, and commented that we’d had a car accident and really needed to freshen up. The nice man swallowed the story and wished us a good day.

Once in the elevator, I collapsed in laughter. “How do you
do
that?” I leaned up to kiss him.

Smiling a little smugly, he draped an arm around me. “Mind control. It’s no big thing.”

Dec rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “Show off.”

The elevator crawled to the top floor and spit us out into an opulent foyer. The walls were rich blue and dotted with geometric paintings in bright colors. The black marble floors glistened in the dim lights. The penthouse door was made from a very dark wood and had an antique brass knocker in the center. A spunky golden cherub smiled up at us from an alcove beside the door. Everything was elegant… maybe too elegant.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

“This is the place.” He knocked on the door with enough force to make me jump.

A well-dressed older man pulled open the door and waved us inside.

“Good morning, young ones! I’m Jordan. I’m the house manager here. Everyone has been waiting anxiously for you to arrive. I’m very glad to see you made it safely. Follow me, please.” With that greeting, he swept regally into a dimly lit hallway.

He pulled open a set of polished French doors and led us into the living room where several men were talking. I recognized two of those men immediately. I breathed a sigh of relief at Killian’s tense face. Unconsciously, I squeezed my locket. Oh, thank God you’re okay!

His head snapped up, and his lips twitched with a suppressed smile.
Aw, I didn’t know you cared!

Loudly, I said, “Of course I do, you idiot!”

Conversation crashed to a halt. Everyone looked at me. Oops. Did I say that out loud? I blushed beet red. Killian’s wicked eyes latched onto mine as he strode over to me. Dec looked confused as he glanced back and forth between me and Killian.
I
was definitely confused. What did I do now? The other three men came over to listen with curious expressions.

Killian was beaming with pride. “Do you know what just happened?
Do
you?” Vibrating with energy, he was searching my eyes again.

Irritated, I shut them.

“Knock it off! I don’t know what you’re talking about. You said, ‘Aw, I didn’t know you cared’ in your typical smartass tone, and I called you an idiot. What’s the big deal?”

Smiling like a cat that just ripped the canary to shreds and ate him with Sriracha sauce, he said patiently, “No, Mica. I didn’t
say
anything to you. You picked up my thoughts and answered me out loud.” I must’ve looked stumped because he added, “You still don’t get it? Your psychic ability is getting stronger. Good job, girl!”

He patted me on the head like a dog, completely ruining the praise. Typical.

Before I could kick him, Raphael interrupted us, “Sean, help your Mica over here so I can look at her arm. I can smell the blood from here.” 

I’d almost forgotten about my arm, but now the throbbing came back in full force. It
did
seem to be bleeding again. My sleeve was sticking to my arm. Yuck. Raphael took one look at the mess and got down to business.

“Scissors, please.”

Jordan brought him a pair of scissors and a first aid kit. While he worked on cutting my sleeve away, the other two men introduced themselves. They were Zadkiel and Alex. Zadkiel was a trim older man with a mane of silver hair that framed a soft cherubic face. He had green eyes that sparkled when he shook my good hand. He explained that he was here to help the injured Primani and was very glad to meet me since he normally didn’t get out among humans. I was the topic of a lot of speculation right now. I glanced at Sean who simply shrugged. He had no comment.

Raphael interrupted Zadkiel. “Well, the bullet went straight through the muscle without tearing a lot of the fibers. That’s good because it’ll heal more cleanly. But I can help it along if you’d like.” He was leaving it up to me this time.

“We have a lot to do while we’re here, darlin’. If I were you, I’d take all the help I could get!” Dec winked at me.

“As usual, Dec is right. Do you want me to lay down first?”

“As you wish.” Raphael waved a hand toward the couch.