Realm Walker rw-1

by Kathleen Collins

  She eyed the body near the symbol, the wash of color protecting her from the grisly details of his demise. “Most likely they didn’t tell him. The Master may not have told anyone.”

  He scratched his head. “Wouldn’t the Summoner be in charge?”

  Crouching to get a better look at one of the symbols, she shook her head. “Not necessarily. Have you looked at our vics? They’re young.”

  “So?”

  Standing, she brushed her hands off on her jeans. “This is old magic. Fae magic. They shouldn’t have known the spell, let alone attempted to perform it.”

  She gestured to the symbol for Master again. “Masters don’t become hosts. They give the commands, they don’t take them. The Summoner would have called the demon, the Master would have told the demon the reason he had it summoned and the Sacrifice would have tied the demon to the Master. Either of them might have killed the Sacrifice depending on the nature of their agreement.”

  “And why exactly do you suppose it was called?”

  “Why are they ever called? Either someone was stupid enough to think the demon could grant a wish, or to think the demon would give him power, or smart and sadistic enough to know precisely what the demon would really do.” She shook her head. “They summon them to go on killing sprees, to kill wives, to murder bosses, who knows. We obviously aren’t going to get any answers out of the practitioners.”

  With a sigh she ran a hand through her hair. “I would assume once the Sacrifice was killed, that’s when the other one ran. Nathaniel must have heard something, came to investigate and ended up demon-ridden for his efforts.”

  “Wrong place, wrong time?” Jeremiah asked. “Yeah, that sounds about right for Nathaniel.” As much as she didn’t want to agree with him, she had to. Nathaniel had a knack for getting himself into trouble. Unfortunately he wasn’t as skilled at getting himself out of it.

  The summoning circle was complete, whole, except for a foot-long gap where the Master’s symbol stood. She tapped next to the opening with her foot. “Whoever wanted this demon called up is the one that broke the circle. He never planned on the other witches living. Or it’s possible he’s not even a practitioner, that he hired them to do the work. We need to get James over here to look at this.”

  James, Thomas’s brother-in-law, was also an inkmage and the leader of the Gathering. The Gathering was the mage equivalent of the vampire Council, only much larger and more structured. The mages made the mafia look like amateurs. It was also what they called themselves as a whole. Mages were much more into the whole solidarity and unity thing than the vampires were. Community was very important to the mages, but Juliana had never been able to decide if she wanted to be a part of it or not. Hence, the reason she was still untrained despite James’s many offers to teach her.

  “Look at this,” a voice said from the side of the room, drawing her attention. One of the agents—human from the looks of his signature—pointed at something on the far side of the room. A book with dark pages, a large tome of some sort, lay open on top of a box. Its pages fluttered in the breezeless room. Just the sight of it enraptured her, enthralled her. Too late, she noticed it had the same effect on the agent. He reached a gloved hand forward.

  “Don’t touch—” The words were sucked from her throat along with the air from her lungs as one finger touched the page and power swamped the room in a wave. Colors blazed across her vision. Pain exploded behind her eyes. Wincing, she shut her gift down. Even without it, the room was lit in a putrid green light.

  Arcs of power shot from the page and wrapped around the arm of the agent like lightning bolt snakes. A wind swept through the room howling as it went and bringing with it the smell of ozone and rain. It made it impossible to hear anything less than a scream. “Get everyone out,” she yelled at Jeremiah and moved toward the human.

  “What are you doing?” Jeremiah shouted back, only to scream, “No!” as she threw herself at the other agent.

  The power released its hold as contact was lost but the trap had already been sprung and the spell continued to rage around them. A crack of thunder boomed in the room making her ears ring. Cold rain began to fall from nowhere, the brutal wind turning each drop into a blade slicing into her skin. Jeremiah hurried over and she pushed the shell-shocked man into his arms. “Get him out of here.”

  Jeremiah shook his head. “Not without you.”

  Adrenaline and a giddy feeling of expectation pumped through her veins, helping her ignore the pain in her arm. This was the part of the job that she loved, that she was good at. She grinned at him. “I’ll be along in a moment, Dad. Go.” When he hesitated, she added, “That’s an order.”

  The muscle in his jaw twitched, but he nodded once and did as instructed. Turning back to the book, Juliana squinted against the force of the wind and the rain. Another peal of thunder rolled through the room and an involuntary cringe had her hunching over in response. This was screwed up. And it was obliterating her evidence.

  If she closed the book, there was a possibility the spell would terminate. Maybe. But closing the book without touching it, that would be the real trick. She studied it, deciding on her next move. Large bolts of lightning shot from the page to the ceiling with an electrical hiss. She was out of time. Hopefully no one was directly above this room.

  If the summoning spell came from the book, then at least part of its magic was dark fae. Dark fae magic wouldn’t kill her. She hoped. “Screw it.” She dived for the book. Her hands wrapped around the edge of the covers as she tried to force it closed. It resisted with every ounce of its power. Shards of pain shot up her arm and fresh blood started to run from her wound.

  Whips of lightning wrapped around her body and lifted her off the floor. Tongues of fire lapped her skin. Her heart sped and the soles of her feet tingled as she neared the ceiling. The floating didn’t worry her near as much as the landing.

  Blood trickled down her arm and she twisted, trying to keep it from touching the book. Some spells were fed with blood and she didn’t want hers adding to the power if that was the case. Despite her struggles, the magic kept her bound to the tome in her hands. She watched helplessly as one red drop ran down her wrist and onto the page. Instead of fueling the spell as she’d feared, it had the opposite effect. The book slammed shut with a resounding bang.

  She wrapped her arms around it to keep it closed. The force of the spell terminating tossed her backward through the air. Her head bounced off the wall. Stars flashed across her vision. Nausea welled.

  Jeremiah’s face popped into view. “Juliana?”

  “Don’t let anyone touch this book,” she heard herself say. Then everything went black.

  Chapter Six

  Thomas hung up the phone convinced his conversation with his fellow Council member Catalina had been a success. The Council would place a call to the Agency and suggest Juliana would be better suited for less dangerous work. She would never have to know he was behind it. And the gods help him if she ever found out.

  The phone on the table beside him buzzed and he frowned. Michael had been most displeased when Thomas had taken possession of it. He supposed it had been a petty thing to do, taking away the easiest way for Juliana to contact her lover, but Thomas found himself unable to work up any guilt over his actions.

  He snatched it from the table. The screen showed a text from Sara Piper. His sister.

  J’s in the infirmary. Nothing serious. Just letting you know.

  Thomas’s stomach tightened in aggravation and fear. There was no question in his mind that “J” was Juliana. And his sister was texting Michael about it instead of him. Even though she knew he was in town. He’d told her himself last night. His sister and he would have words later. But right now, he needed to check on his bride. He knew if she had a choice she would be anywhere other than the infirmary.

  * * *

  By all the dark gods, where was the infirmary? He’d been walking this cursed hallway forever. He could never remember where anyth
ing was in the Agency. He got turned around every time. Finally he came to a garishly decorated room with the sign Waiting Room hanging beside the door. The four people inside were clearly worried about someone.

  “Where’s the infirmary?” he asked, the words coming out sharper than he’d intended. All four of them looked at him, the three men narrowing their eyes.

  “Can we help you?” one of them asked. He was one of two younger men who had to be twins.

  “I believe I already made that clear. Where is the infirmary?”

  “Why do you want to know?” the other twin asked.

  He did not have to answer to these men. But perhaps if he told them why he was here, they’d take pity on him and just give him directions. “It is my understanding that Juliana Norris was injured. I am here to check on her.”

  “You’ll wait here like the rest of us then.” This came from the bald man with red skin. Undoubtedly a fire elemental of some sort.

  Thomas fisted his hands at his sides to keep from clawing out the man’s throat. Who were they to keep him from Juliana? “You will tell me where she is.”

  The twins stood in unison, one of them moving toward him. “Listen, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care. You’re no more important than the rest of us. Either sit down or leave.”

  Fury clouded his vision. The muscles in Thomas’s legs tightened in preparation to launch him at the infidel’s throat. A hand pressed against his chest, pushed him into the wall.

  Confusion tore through the anger. He managed to corral his rage enough to realize Michael had intervened. His fury flared again, this time with a new target.

  Michael leaned forward, stopping inches from Thomas’s face so he could see nothing but the man before him. “Enough. This is her family in all but blood. She’ll never forgive you,” he said in a voice pitched so only Thomas could hear.

  Thomas looked beyond his second to the others in the room and his heart flooded with unwelcome sorrow. He’d been her family once. Her whole life. Now he wasn’t even welcome here. He pushed Michael’s hand away and straightened from the wall. Michael looked at him for a minute more and then turned and nodded to the family.

  “Jeremiah, Anna, boys.”

  Thomas clenched his teeth together so hard, his jaw ached. Michael knew them. Of course he did. Thomas turned and walked out of the room without uttering a word.

  * * *

  Juliana opened her eyes to find a depressingly familiar stain above her head.

  “You know,” a voice said from beside her, “as much as you hate the infirmary, you’d think you’d try harder to avoid ending up here.”

  She turned her head to find Dr. Oliver Daniels frowning at her as usual.

  She sighed. “I’ll work on that, Doc. What’s the damage?”

  “You somehow managed to avoid a concussion, but the power drain from that spell was massive. And your arm should have been treated here, not in the field.” He flipped through her chart, avoiding eye contact. He was keeping something from her.

  Her right arm lay strapped against her chest so she pushed herself up with the left. The arm was blessedly numb. Juliana figured it was mostly healed already, but if Doc wanted to make sure she felt no pain, she wasn’t going to argue with him. She’d had enough of that for a few days. She swung her legs off the bed and sat on the edge to get her bearings.

  “Take it easy. You aren’t fully recovered yet. You’ll be weak for a couple of days at least.”

  He was overestimating her recovery time. At least she hoped he was. She healed fast. She ran a hand over her face in an attempt to wipe the weariness away, but it didn’t help. Fatigue penetrated to her very bones. No part of her wanted to move. She squeezed her eyes shut then opened them as wide as she could. Anything to feel more alert. A coffee IV wouldn’t have been remiss at that point. “Just how extensive was this power drain? And what can you give me to fix it?”

  “Not everything has a quick fix,” he snapped at her. “That spell leached an enormous amount of energy off you. I’m surprised you’re even sitting here talking to me.” His voice turned quiet, reluctant. “The agent who triggered the spell died hours ago and his exposure was much shorter than yours.”

  Her chest tightened at that bit of news. She didn’t even know the guy’s name but she’d done her best to save him. She never understood why humans wanted to work for the Agency. There was a time when they hadn’t been allowed, but an anti-discrimination lawsuit killed that policy. Now plain, ordinary humans were allowed to sign up and go through the program to become agents. Their life expectancy was decidedly short once they finished training.

  “What about me? Did I die?” she asked. When he didn’t answer, she glanced over her shoulder at him.

  He studied her for a moment, his salt-and-pepper goatee twitching in agitation. “I’ve never understood how you can be so blasé about that.”

  She shrugged one shoulder. It was better to pretend it didn’t bother her. If they knew the truth she’d be waiting on psych clearances more than she was in the field. “I’m resilient and that doesn’t answer my question.”

  He ran a hand through his hair and tossed her chart on the table. “Not this time, but it was close. When they brought you in your heart rate was fifteen beats per minute. It remained steady until about an hour ago when it returned to normal.”

  Thank the gods. She hated when she died, especially when she didn’t remember it. So far the count was three. If she was limited to nine lives like a cat, she was going to be seriously screwed in a few years. She rubbed a hand across the back of her neck and sighed. “I’ve got to talk to Ben,” she said and stood. Her knees buckled as they took her weight and she caught herself on the table with her elbow.

  Doc grabbed her other arm and pulled her upright. He kept his hand there until it was evident she wasn’t going to keel over. “You almost died, Juliana. Surely you can take a break for, oh I don’t know, ten minutes or so?” The bitterness in his voice surprised her and she studied him. He dropped his head and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but you have no idea how tired I am of patching you guys up only to have you back in here a day or two later. You just keep putting yourself in danger, damn the consequences.”

  Her mouth curled in a smile. “It’s kind of our job. Besides, you haven’t lost me yet.”

  “Yes, we have. More than once.” He shook his head. “And when you do recover, we don’t have anything to do with it. We just assess and treat, then stick you in a corner to see if you come around or not. I’ve tried to figure it out, to discover the science or the magic behind it and I can’t. It’s odd.”

  Nothing made her day quite like having her oddities pointed out. It was time to go.

  “Juliana,” he said, stopping her when she got to the door. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I just don’t like not knowing what’s going on with my patients.”

  She thought for a moment, not wanting to make promises she couldn’t keep. “I’ll try to be careful, but I have to go after Nathaniel.”

  She walked out of the room without waiting for a response. The cool tile under her feet reminded her she was barefoot and in scrubs. Juliana didn’t care as long as it wasn’t a gown. She and the doc had a rather loud discussion about it the first time he treated her. She’d woken up in scrubs ever since. She tried not to think too much about how she got into them or how much was on display in the process.

  She would find Nathaniel and bring him back, of that she had no doubt. She just wasn’t sure the condition he would be in when she did. The odds were against her. Fewer than ten percent of hosts survived intact. Fewer than thirty percent survived at all. But she’d never been one to play the odds.

  The waiting room for the infirmary lay on the path to Ben’s office. Not only would Jeremiah be there, so would his wife and both boys. Jeremiah might not look a day over thirty but he’d been married to Anna for seventy years. And his boys were in their fifties.

  Hushed whispers drifted out of t
he room. She couldn’t make out the words, but she picked up the worried tone easy enough. She stepped into the doorway and leaned against the frame. They were so focused on each other they didn’t notice her. The boys sat at one of the pale blue tables playing cards while Jeremiah and Anna occupied two of the bright orange chairs lined up against the pea green wall. The color combination made her eyes hurt. The Agency really needed to hire new decorators.

  Jeremiah slumped forward, his head cradled in his hands. Anna rubbed circles on his back with one thin hand. “She’ll be okay, my love. She always is.” Something about the way she said the words told Juliana it wasn’t the first time they’d passed Anna’s lips. A fist of regret lodged in Juliana’s breastbone.

  She accepted the risks her job brought with it, the price she had to pay on occasion to bring in her target, but she hated what it did to those who loved her. While the list was small, the people on it were fiercely loyal and every time she hurt, so did they.

  Jeremiah shook his head without looking up. “One time I’m going to get to her too late and she won’t be. It’s been over a day.”

  Her jaw clenched at that bit of news. All kinds of unpleasantness had probably gone on while she took her extended nap. She wanted to argue with Jeremiah’s grim assessment of her future, but she couldn’t. He was right. Besides, he’d worn a lot of her blood. He’d earned the right to freak out a little when it came to her.

  “Gods, Jeremiah. Don’t you ever sleep? You look like crap,” Juliana said.

  All four of them locked gazes on her. There was a moment’s pause and then they swarmed her. “Easy,” she warned the brothers when they went to wrap her in their usual bear hugs. Despite their gentleness, pain coursed through her body with every jostle. She forced her face to remain relaxed, to let none of the discomfort show. They’d be devastated if they thought they’d hurt her.

  The boys stepped back. Anna placed her hands on the sides of Juliana’s face and looked into her eyes. “All right then?”