As the truck went by the front, Talaith let out a spine-chilling keen and curled within herself.
“A stór?” He reached for her arm, but couldn’t touch her. She’d shied closer to the seat. “Drive off, hurry.”
Vallen sped on. Three blocks ahead, the light changed, and he was forced to stop.
“This is good,” Kailen said. “We’re out of range. Can you pull to the curb?”
As soon as the shifter parked, Kailen went around and jumped in next to Talaith. Shushing her with soothing sounds, he embraced her trembling body. Though she didn’t resist, the soft keens didn’t stop.
“It’s okay. I’m here,” he murmured, rocking her side to side. “Come back to us. Let go, sweetheart. Let it all go. Come back.”
“What happened?” Vallen asked, looking through the rearview mirror.
“Dubtach isn’t taking any chances. His death magic is all around the building, and its presence hurts Talaith. Gods, I’m losing my touch. How can I go out on a hunt so damned unprepared?”
“Hey, this was only meant to be a casual drive,” Vallen said.
“That’s just it. Nothing is casual with Dubtach and his followers. They’re always on the offensive, and we should be too. If we lose our focus, they have us. Keep that in mind.”
Several minutes passed as he stroked her hair and gently caressed her temples. When color returned to her face, her eyelids flickered. In the next breath, she gazed up at him. Her lavender eyes filled with the trust that melted his heart. He cupped her cheek. “Better?”
She nodded.
“Can you talk about it?”
“He’s here.” She pointed over her shoulder. “Death fills the space. Evil magic taints the air.”
“I understand, sweetheart,” he murmured, stroking her cheek. “Stay here. Vallen will keep you company. I have to go back and walk around the property. It’s important to get a feel for it.”
“No, no, they’ll see you.” She grasped his wrist, shaking him with every word. “Tell me you won’t. Your magic is meant to heal, not fight a necromancer. The laser sword is good for minions and lieutenants. A mage will melt your weapon while you hold it. You need me, but I have to bolster my magic to confront him and any of his cronies. Please, let’s go.”
“Um…excuse me,” Vallen intervened. “We’re already here. Why waste the trip? Kailen, did you bring your cell?”
“Yes. Right here.” He tapped his pants pocket.
“Excellent,” Vallen said. “I can survey the perimeter without anyone noticing me.”
Kailen cocked his head. “How?”
“No one’s expecting to see a lynx. I’ll phase and go around. If a window is available, I can jump in.” He stepped out of the car. “You’ll have to drive home when I return.” The shifter moved to the space between the truck and the curb.
“Vallen, wait.” But as Kailen exclaimed, a flash of light nearly blinded him. A stunning full-sized lynx stood where Vallen had. With a low growl, the feline bounded across the street, rushed into the bushes, and hid out of sight.
“That was…fast,” Talaith said, wide-eyed.
“Amazingly so. I’ve seen others phase. The process can be long and painful for some, like Patty from the bar.” He slipped to the side, giving her space to stretch and move. “How’re you feeling now? You look almost recovered.”
“Almost. Thank you. But shouldn’t we worry about Vallen?”
“He understands what he’s dealing with. I know he’ll be careful and remain unseen. Any supernatural inside that school building will recognize him for what he truly is, lynx shape or not.”
“I guess.”
“Come.” He patted his chest. “Lean right here and take a deep breath. You had a rough patch.”
She snuggled without hesitation. Her sweet fragrance swept to his nostrils… In a second, and despite the danger they were in, he was overcome with desire. The need to penetrate her wet warmth and stay forever conquered his mind. A vivid fantasy surged: a breathless gasp, full lips begging…
The timing was all wrong for such ridiculous imaginings and wants. Slamming the thoughts down, he focused on easing her tension and fear. Twirling a long platinum tress around his finger, he dropped his head on the headrest, conceding to the truth. Clarity had come in a soft whisper. Talaith had taken him, engaged his emotions, made him hers, and she’d done it effortlessly.
Eardrum-ripping screeches shattered the silence. Kailen jerked upright. Talaith went with him. He turned to see the lynx in an all-out sprint, racing down the middle of the street to the truck. Vallen was clearly beyond caring if humans saw him.
Instantly, Kailen pitched a glamour bubble over Vallen.
“We’re leaving,” Kailen shouted as he left the back door open, then climbed behind the wheel. He started the engine and watched through the rearview mirror as the lynx vaulted over Talaith’s body and landed between the seats.
Talaith shut the rear door, Kailen hit the gas, and they sped away. He made a few random turns, then stopped when he didn’t see any creatures following them.
He glanced at Talaith. “Is he okay?”
“He keeps licking his paw. He may have been hurt,” she said, patting Vallen’s head. “And he has something hanging from his neck. I can’t see what it is.”
“I have his address in my phone. GPS will guide us back. We need to check if he has any wounds, and he won’t shift with you in the truck.”
“And why not?” She actually looked offended.
He laughed. “Because he has no clothes. The phase vaporized them.”
Talaith blushed deep red. “Oh, right. I knew that.”
Kailen brought the address up. He sighed with relief when the phone’s feminine, English-accented voice gave directions.
“Hang in there, Vallen.” He spoke loud enough for the lynx to hear. “I’ll have you back home in minutes.”
CHAPTER NINE
Kailen eyed Vallen’s lynx form with admiration. Its stubby tail, long, powerful legs, triangular ears with tufted black wisps, and green eyes made for a stunning feline species. It also weighed a ton. More than he could lift, and he was no weakling.
Mindful of the creature’s injured rear paw, Kailen struggled to slide the large cat to the edge of the seat. After a loud huff of exertion, he decided to go no further. The lynx glanced at him with those mysterious upswept eyes and curled on its side.
I hurt, leave me. The message was clear.
“I’ll be right back,” he said to the shifter, then grabbed Talaith’s hand. “Let’s get you settled first.”
“But what about Vallen?”
“I’ll fetch him some clothes.” He led her out of the garage. “Once he phases, I’ll help him walk to the house. In his lynx form, he’s extraordinarily heavy.”
“And the wound?”
“I don’t think it’s too bad. I can also examine him better in human form. I’m sure he’ll heal in minutes.”
Once Talaith was seated before the fire, Kailen went straight to his closet, where Vallen had left him several garments. He chose a set of field pants and a gray Henley similar to the set Kailen borrowed. By the time he returned to the garage, the lynx had already phased to human. He stood on his left leg. His right foot was certainly hurt, a burn from a daemon weapon, most likely.
Setting his pants before him, Vallen leaned his butt on the truck’s back seat to keep his balance. He slipped the injured leg into his pants last, careful not to rub the burn, then straightened to speak. “They were up to no good. I’m still trying to understand what I saw.”
The garage lightbulb directly above the shifter’s head illuminated his chest. A sparkle caught Kailen’s attention, and he inhaled a sharp breath.
“Where the…where did you find this?” He lifted the ankh to look at it more closely. The flawless diamond centered between the sunset and sunrise ends of the cross gleamed in a strange personal way, as if it teased him with a wink. “Talaith is not going to be happy. Let’s go in
side.”
“Don’t you want to know what happened?” Vallen asked, perplexed.
“I do.” Kailen dipped a shoulder under the shifter’s armpit and trudged forward. “I’d rather hear it behind closed doors. I have to say, the way events are developing, I don’t know if anywhere is private or safe anymore.”
Khnurn without his pendant presented the kind of disaster that required alerting the High Council and smaller supernatural species without representation in the ruling body. Creatures that would be affected by said problem. Hell, if not for the strict bans, he’d warn the human governments. This mess touched everyone.
“How can I help you?” Talaith met them at the front door.
“Take his other arm and help me guide him to the kitchen.”
The ankh swung into view and Kailen winced. Second time he’d messed up. Maybe he should retire from the hunt. Forgetting to tuck the pendant away until he broached the sensitive topic showed carelessness. In the next minute or so, she’d see it, and the inevitable freak-out would ensue.
Vallen huffed. “I’m not an invalid, you two. Shifters heal quickly.”
“Just in case you trip or something,” Kailen grumbled, staring at the damned ankh.
They made it to the kitchen table. Holding on to Kailen’s hand, Vallen turned to sit…
“Khnurn. No!”
It wasn’t a scream, but a piercing sound of disbelief and terror. He fortified himself as her pained confusion sought refuge within his heart. Grief had to go somewhere. Her magic short-circuited, and her aura darkened. Sparks began flying and zapping. Lightning shot out of her fingertips. At this rate, she’d self-ignite unintentionally.
“Talaith, look at me.” He grasped her shoulders, braving the electrical burn that threatened to cook his internal organs, and pushed her down on a chair. “Stop, a stór. We don’t know for sure.” He uttered the lie, hoping it would find its target.
Her lavender eyes opened wide.
“We don’t know for sure,” he insisted in a softer tone, then sat at her side.
She sniffed and nodded. “You think there’s hope?”
“I do. Always. Vallen hasn’t told us how or where he picked up the pendant. None of us know the circumstances of how Khnurn lost it. Let’s hear him first.”
Vallen removed the ankh from around his neck and placed it on the table. He glanced at her with sad eyes. “I had no idea this would bring so much grief to you. I’m sorry.”
“Tell us,” Kailen said.
“I hid within the bushes first. I had to be sure no one saw me approach. After a moment of silence and inactivity, I jumped through the closest window and landed in one of the classrooms. I was surprised to see a blackboard on the wall and several old-fashioned desks, the kind with a raised top where kids stored books and things. Cobwebs and a thick layer of dust covered everything.
“As I moved on, a profound sense of sadness grabbed my soul. I could hear echoes of young, happy voices asking questions and laughing. Time… No, people had given up on this place. No one had walked through these rooms in ages.”
Vallen rubbed his jaw with the back of his hand, and settled against the chair. He tried to hide it, but Kailen caught a slight tremor. Fear?
“The main hallway was empty,” he went on. “I continued down the corridor, until I reached the main staircase. I paused to sniff the ether for supernaturals. I didn’t have to strain. Soft voices engaged in conversation came up from the basement.
“The lynx half of my brain was curious and wanted to take its time exploring, but the human half reminded me you were waiting in the truck and to hurry it up. I descended to the basement level. Ten feet ahead, bright light from inside a room washed the corridor. The conversation was louder. I knew this had to be it.” Vallen’s voice cracked.
“And?” Kailen had come close to the end of his patience. Get to the point, fought to come out.
“Crouching low, I slipped to the door and peeked around the frame. Judging by the abandoned equipment, such as service pedestals, holders with empty test tubes, and sinks, this room once served as a lab. The elegant dark-haired lady I’d seen about town, and the mage you’ve mentioned, plus two lieutenants gathered near the center of the room, watching something. At first, I didn’t understand the scene. An elongated blurry form gyrated on a point that hovered, to my utter amazement, about an inch from the floor. As the mage tossed nondescript pieces into the spinning shape, he directed the beam shooting out of the ankh’s diamond into the mass. I got the feeling he was shoring up the final product with the ankh’s magic. Soon, the mass took shape.”
Vallen stared at Kailen as his skin lost all color.
“Please, go on,” Kailen said.
“It was a female, sort of. And because she was naked, the lines and seams where body parts had attached were defined. The grotesque entity reminded me of the monster in old Frankenstein movies, but smoother, less choppy. One thing, the smell…” He puckered his nose. “It was just awful.”
“Okay…but how did you get this?” Talaith grabbed the ankh, then abruptly dropped it.
“What happened?” Kailen asked.
She rubbed her hand and wrist. “The mage has defiled Khnurn’s talisman with his touch. Death and evil blasted out, and my insides got singed. I’ll have to take serious precautions before attempting a memory search.”
Vallen wiped an invisible crumb from the table, his expression uncertain. “Well, I was going to explain how I got that piece.”
“Sorry, please continue,” she said.
“When the form reached a shape that satisfied the mage, the spinning ceased and the gyrating point settled on the floor. The mage draped the pendant on a nearby pedestal, then focused on the abomination. He waved his palms over the creature. After each pass, the features improved, the joint lines disappeared, and the putrid smell faded. I was dumbfounded. I thought if I snatched the pendant and brought it back, you and Talaith might figure things out. My opportunity came when the mage and the woman fussed over the entity’s perfection and congratulated each other for their outstanding work.” He drew a long breath.
“I pounced on the pedestal, tucked my head in, and the chain hooked onto my neck as I jumped down. One lieutenant was faster than sound. He saw me jump and fired at me. I was lucky he only hit my back leg. By the way, thanks for the glamour. The rest you know.”
Kailen asked, “Besides the new creation and the four creatures in the room, did you see anyone else?”
“No.”
“Perhaps strewn clothing, or an older man pushed in a corner,” Talaith pressed.
“Hey, anything is possible. I’ve never seen death magic or any magic create an entity before. To say I was stupefied is an understatement. I honestly don’t remember anyone else or clothing, or any signs of struggle. I’ll swear on a million holy books, I saw four supernaturals, no more.”
“Can you describe the magic in the room?” Kailen asked. At his side, Talaith stiffened.
“The magic? How?”
“Magic takes many forms: vibrant, clear, hazy, scented, to name a few,” Kailen said.
Vallen frowned. “Well, I’ll be damned… Now that you mention it, I didn’t register any magic.”
“My guess is Dubtach spell locked the lab as a precaution. In essence, you could’ve stepped on or jumped over one or several beings and not remembered.”
“Damn, that’s frightening.”
“It is,” Kailen said. “The mage we’re dealing with is top of his class. Outgunned only by the owner of the pendant in certain situations.”
“Thus, the importance of learning his whereabouts or fate,” Vallen murmured.
“Yes.” Kailen turned to Talaith, posing a question in silence.
She answered immediately. “We have to go there. Now that we know, we need to check the school for ourselves, especially me. There must be intention trails.”
“Gods, this conversation is so far above me,” Vallen moaned, leaning his head on his palm.
“Sounds complicated, but it’s not. This is Talaith’s expertise,” Kailen said. “Her magic works like…is an enhanced radar. Conspirators, daemons, dark mages, and the like usually have an agenda, an intention, if you will. When they touch anything, a trace of their intention attaches to that surface, similar to germ contamination. The rest of us never see it, but to her, it’s a 3-D map that can tell us where Khnurn’s being held.”
“I just hope he’s not out of world,” she muttered.
“How about we deal with one difficulty at a time?”
“Yes.” She sighed. “I’m jumping way ahead.”
“May I steal a water?” Kailen asked Vallen as he stood.
“You know where,” Vallen answered.
He twisted the cap open and guzzled the liquid down. “First things first. I’m calling Soren, the Westerbergs need to know about Khnurn. What they do with the information is up to them. Later, we can plan tomorrow’s expedition.”
“Aren’t we going tonight?”
Frowning, Kailen shook his head. “No. That’s exactly what they’re expecting and hoping we do. I want to search the premises on a bright sunny morning. Enough of this darkness. He already has enough of an advantage over us. I don’t want to give him more. And another thing—the talisman stays here.” He pulled out his phone. “Be right back.”
Kailen strode to the living room as he tapped the call on the phone. Soren answered in two rings.
“Talk to me.”
“Khnurn’s MIA. His pendant was stolen, but we recovered it.”
On the other side, there was a sharp intake of breath.
“Soren?”
“Fuck. I’m thinking. I’m thinking. Gustaf and Fritiof must know.”
“Agreed.”
“What are you guys doing next?”
“Dubtach’s using an abandoned school as center of operations. I want to check it in the morning, but I’m not sure about taking Talaith. This is affecting her deeply.”
“Dubtach? I’d tell you guys to teleport home now, but I know I’m wasting my breath. Leave the overprotective, macho crap aside and take Talaith with you. She’s a fierce combatant.”
The Last Danann (Titanian Chronicles, #2) Page 19
