Destined for Dreams

by Susan Illene

  His gut clenched. “It appears like everything is still here.”

  “Yes.” She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and used it to cover her nose and mouth. “I came in here so many times thinking the demon must have cleaned up after himself—the same as the authorities—but then a few days ago I found this.”

  “Even the smell…” Bartol could handle a lot, but he feared this might be the first time since his youth that he might lose his lunch.

  “It’s dreadful.”

  He ran his gaze around at all the blood and decaying pieces of flesh. They were on the floor, the altar, the front pews. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

  “What did the authorities find exactly?” he asked, wondering how they’d known there was a slaughter with most of the evidence hidden.

  “Only the carcasses of the human bodies and the bones. They were in pairs.” Sofia began pointing to various points of the cathedral with her free hand. “There, there, and there.”

  “The humans can’t see this—even at this time of day?”

  She shook her head. “No—only those with angelic blood and only for an hour each day. He is mocking God and us.”

  Haagenti was cleverer and even more demented than Bartol expected.

  “Caius and Tormod will be here tonight.” His jaw hardened. “We will return together tomorrow to clean this up.”

  Sofia’s shoulders sagged in relief. “I was hoping you’d offer to help. In this city, I’m the only one who can see the mess, but I just couldn’t do it alone. It’s too much.”

  “We should acquire masks and gloves to wear as well.”

  “That would be wise,” she agreed, eyes glistening as she stared at the carnage.

  Sofia was strong, but she had her delicate moments. One thing she could never stand was the suffering of others and had often made a point of rescuing those who were weaker and unable to help themselves. Having empathic abilities like a sensor, she was more sensitive to tragedy than most. Cleaning this up was going to take a heavy toll on her.

  Though Bartol would have preferred to limit his time around her, he could not leave her to do this kind of work alone. This wasn’t only a horrible way to die; it was also a terrible way for one’s remains to be left. If they didn’t clean it up, these people—or at least parts of them—would go on rotting in the church forever, unbeknownst to the parishioners. Bartol might not be religious himself, but he would not leave a holy site in such a horrible state. No matter how long it took, they’d remove every trace of the evidence in the hope it would give the victims some sort of peace.

  Chapter 15

  Cori

  Monday had arrived. It was the big day for Cori to prove she could control her new ability to bestow special gifts with her tattoos, so she’d arrived at the shop early to get things ready. While she felt reasonably confident about the test, her luck hadn’t been that great lately. Anything could go wrong. She prayed it went smoothly or else her business would be lost.

  Her phone rang just as she finished her opening prep. As soon as she saw it was an unknown number, she quickly answered it. “Hello.”

  “It’s me,” Bartol said, his familiar voice coming over the line.

  “You’re late.”

  “My apologies.” He sounded exhausted. “I told you before that I couldn’t always call you on time. Sometimes things come up, and this search has been…more than a little difficult.”

  Her shoulders sagged in relief after finally hearing from him. She’d barely gotten any sleep the night before when he didn’t call. Today’s test with Derrick was bad enough but not hearing from Bartol made things worse. She’d tossed and turned. When Monday morning had arrived and he still hadn’t sent her so much as a text message, she’d been both angry and worried. But now all those feelings went away listening to the exhaustion and stress in his voice.

  “Want to talk about it?” Cori asked, taking a seat on the barstool behind her shop counter.

  He sighed. “I’m not certain you want to know.”

  “I’m right here, Bartol. Whatever you need.”

  The longer he was away, the more strongly she felt about that. It had already been a week since they last saw each other, and she felt every mile that separated them. It was far more difficult than when he’d just avoided her for a month but still been around Fairbanks. She could feel the bond between them stretching like a taut rubber band.

  “The demon’s kills are less than pleasant,” he admitted. “And due to some unusual time constraints, it has taken us two days to clean up one of his latest messes.”

  She frowned. “Messes?”

  “It was rather gruesome. Perhaps massacre would be a better word, but even that doesn’t quite fit. I don’t know what to call it.”

  Cori knew she shouldn’t ask anything more, but she also wanted to understand what he was going through. “What do you mean?”

  Bartol was quiet a moment. “The demon compelled thirty humans to consume each other until they were dead. The carcasses were left for the authorities to find, but the blood and other…leftover scraps were hidden so that only those with angel blood could see, touch, or smell the remains at a specific time of day.”

  “Wow.” She was at a loss for words. “Where did this happen? When?”

  “A little over two weeks ago in Romania—inside a cathedral.”

  Her stomach rumbled with nausea. “That’s horrible. And you’ve been cleaning it up?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  If thirty people had torn each other apart in some sort of zombie feast, the mess left behind had to be terrible. She could imagine what it might be like within the confines of a church. Then another thought occurred to her—this had happened weeks ago.

  “So none of the humans coming for mass every day were aware the remnants were all around them?” she asked.

  “Yes. That is why we’ve taken the time to clean it up when we really need to get back on the hunt. We could not leave the remains like that, and there is only one other person in the city who can see them.”

  “Another nephilim?” Cori had thought most of them were stuck working in the nerou training camps since quite a few had led the campaign to bring the supernaturals out.

  “Yes, she lives here.”

  She couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. “Do you know her?”

  “We were once friends—long ago.”

  Cori clutched her cell phone tightly. “What happened?”

  Bartol hesitated. “Does it matter? That was many centuries ago.”

  “It does to me.”

  “We were friends for a long time, and then we became lovers.” He paused, and she could hear his footsteps pacing across a wood floor. “Sofia wanted more than I could give her, so I broke things off. We didn’t see each other again until a couple of days ago.”

  Cori took in everything he told her, feeling both jealousy and frustration. She wished she could see his face. Hell, she wished she could be in Bucharest at that very moment. “Is that what you’re doing to me? Pushing me away?”

  “It’s not the same thing at all,” he said, disgruntled. “You’re my mate.”

  “You still went through the effort to see if our bond could be broken.”

  He let out a sound of annoyance. “That was for your benefit.”

  “I don’t want it to be broken,” she admitted.

  “Neither do I.”

  Cori closed her eyes, relieved to hear that. “Whatever it takes to earn your trust and make this work—I’ll do it.”

  “We’ll discuss that when I return. For now, I need to focus on what I’m doing here.”

  “What about Sofia?” She cleared her throat. “Does she still mean anything to you?”

  “She knows I’m mated and have no interest in her.”

  Cori hated sounding like a jealous woman, but she couldn’t help it. “She hasn’t tried anything with you?”

  “No, I assure you she has not.” Bartol was being patie
nt with her, but his tone was beginning to take an edge. “Sofia already has a lover. She also understands lives are at stake, and we must focus on more important matters.”

  Cori could take a hint. She had to let the subject drop for now and be grateful he’d at least opened up more this time around. He could have chosen not to mention Sofia at all, and she would never have known about the woman. Instead, Cori had gotten one more nugget into his past, and it made her feel better that he’d come forward with it rather than her finding out some other way later.

  “Any idea where the demon went next, or where he is now?” she asked.

  “This city was the last confirmed stop.” Bartol paused, and she heard the squeak of a mattress. Had he just sat on a bed while talking to her? “The other clues we’ve gotten on where the demon might have gone aren’t confirmed, so we’ll have to check all the possibilities one by one.”

  Cori dropped her head. “This is going to take even longer than you expected, isn’t it?”

  “It appears that way.”

  She stared at the shop counter morosely. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”

  “I made my own choice.”

  “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “I will.” Bartol was silent for a moment. “Today is the day you’ll test your new tattoo abilities, isn’t it?”

  Cori sat up straighter, having nearly forgotten while talking to him. “Yeah. Derrick will be here in a few hours after it gets dark.”

  His voice softened. “You will do fine—I’m certain of it.”

  “I hope so.” She sighed. “But this is all new to me, so I have no idea if I can pull it off.”

  “I’d be there if I could,” he said.

  Cori took a deep breath, fighting the emotions swirling through her chest. “Thanks. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”

  “I’ll call again soon.” He made a shuffling sound. Blankets, maybe? “I must get some rest for now. Tomorrow will be another long day.”

  “Do you have any idea where you’ll go next?” she asked.

  “Most likely, Budapest.”

  “Keep me updated.”

  “I will,” he promised. “For now, take care of yourself and just do your best with the experiment. Text me with the outcome.”

  “Okay. You take care, too.” She wished she could reach through the phone and touch him. “I miss you.”

  Bartol cleared his throat, and his voice came out raw and barely above a whisper. “I miss you as well, Cori. More than you can possibly know.”

  Before she could respond, he ended the call.

  She lowered her cell phone into her lap and stared at it. That was the longest conversation they’d had since he left. He’d even admitted to things from his past and showed more emotion than she could ever remember. Did that mean he wasn’t angry at her anymore or was this demon search taking an even bigger toll on him than he let on? Cori didn’t know, but she wished she could be there. More than anything, she was beginning to realize she cared for Bartol far more than she imagined possible.

  ***

  The next few hours passed slowly. Cori had hoped closing her shop for a week would mean more customers showed up on her first day back, but the only person who came was the delivery guy for a shipment she’d ordered weeks ago. Her only employee, Asher, came in for an hour. She finally broke down and told him some of the things that had happened to her and why they were losing business. She promised him she’d work it out, and then let him go for the day.

  Asher needed money since he was getting married soon and had a baby on the way. Cori couldn’t afford to lose him in case things got better, so she gave him a check to help him get by in the meantime. Usually, he earned sixty percent of the commissions for the work he did, but in recent weeks, that hadn’t been much to live off of for him and his soon-to-be wife and their unborn child. They were getting married in two weeks, which added to the pressure. Cori would do whatever it took to help Asher since he’d been totally loyal to her throughout the craziness of recent months and had covered for her whenever she needed it. But if things didn’t look up soon, she was going to be in trouble and might have to let him go.

  She was tempted to break something in frustration. Her father had always said he believed in her, which was why he’d left her enough money to start her business after he died. Now she couldn’t help feeling like she was letting him down.

  The bell on the shop door jingled, and she looked up from where she sat behind the counter. Derrick walked in with four humans and Kariann in tow. Cori glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was ten minutes until four. It had been dark outside for nearly an hour, but she’d been too lost in thought to notice. Her worries over her lack of customers had distracted her even more than she realized.

  “You’re early,” she said, getting off the stool.

  Derrick met her in front of the counter. “I’ve got four people for you. Figured it was best to make sure you’ve got plenty of time to work on them.”

  “We’re just doing small tattoos, right?” He nodded, and she went on, “Then it shouldn’t take long if the design isn’t too intricate.”

  Lucas flashed into the room with a large man in tow, drawing everyone’s attention. Cori assumed he was the nerou that Melena’s husband had said he’d bring. She’d seen him in passing, but she’d never spoken to him.

  “This is Ivan,” Lucas said, introducing him.

  The nerou was probably the most muscular of all the ones she’d seen. He had dark hair cropped rather close on his head, sky-blue eyes, and pale skin. She knew Lucas stood at about 6’4” in height, and the guy next to him was only about two inches shorter. He reminded her of a Marine with the way he stood so still and wary, assessing the room around him like anything could appear and he had to be ready.

  She moved toward the nerou and held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Ivan.”

  “You’re mated,” he said, glancing down at her outstretched palm.

  “Yes,” she said, trying not to be annoyed he was leaving her hand hanging. “And you’re a nerou, so what?”

  He gave her a hard look. “We were told it is rare for two people to mate and that we should avoid touching anyone who is mated because it might cause jealousy between mates.”

  This was a guy who took rules to the extreme.

  “My mate is thousands of miles away and not returning in the near future.” She dropped her hand. “But that’s probably not bad advice.”

  Even if she did think the idea was stupid. Then again, hearing about Bartol being near Sofia had made Cori consider all sorts of bad things—to include finding a way to murder the female nephilim. Melena had warned her that jealousy was a problem and especially in the early months when both mates were still adjusting to their new status. Cori had just been apart from Bartol for so much of their relationship that she hadn’t had to face the issue before.

  Ivan nodded. “You are new to our world. I understand.”

  He might be a big guy, but Cori was half tempted to pull the shotgun she kept behind the counter and shoot him with it. See if that took the arrogant look off his face. There was something about the nerou that set her teeth on edge, though she doubted he even realized how uptight and annoying he was being.

  “We ought to get started,” Derrick said, breaking the tension.

  Cori ran her gaze over the four humans—two men and two women. They were all quiet and stood unnervingly still with no emotion reflecting on their faces. “Who’s first?”

  The alpha pointed at a pale red head. “That one. She’s the female who was attacked by a vampire the other day.”

  “I assume I’ll be giving her compulsion protection when I do the tattoo?” she asked, casting a sympathetic gaze at the woman. Her skin was still sallow from blood loss. Cori guessed the human couldn’t be more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but she looked older at the moment.

  “You will,” Derrick confirmed.

 
“Okay.” She ran her gaze across the assembled crowd, doing her best to hide her nervousness. “I’m going to need most of you to take a seat in here. I work in a room in the back that isn’t very big, so I can’t have more than two extra people in there at a time. Derrick can be one of them, and the rest of you can rotate.”

  The alpha lifted his brows. “I don’t recall approvin’ this.”

  “My shop, my rules,” she said firmly.

  It was difficult enough that Cori had to prove herself, use an ability she’d only recently discovered, and make sure she didn’t screw up. If she was going to do it right, she had to make some of her own rules for this experiment.

  “Alright, I’ll allow it.” Derrick pulled a sheet of paper from his back pocket. “This is the tattoo you’re givin’ to the humans who get immunity to compulsion.”

  “That confident I can make it work?” she asked.

  He smiled, revealing a row of white teeth that reminded her of the wolf side of him. “I haven’t got any doubts on that. It’s more like I’m worried whether you can keep from givin’ the same protection to the humans who aren’t supposed to get it.”

  “Will I be giving them the same tattoo?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “They’ll get somethin’ else in case you do the job right.”

  She didn’t bother to say anything to that. Instead, Cori beckoned the red headed woman and had her follow her to the back room. The vampire victim settled on the plastic-covered chair, gaze unfocused. It was strange but not entirely unusual. Maybe these people were nervous about the experiment as well.

  Cori studied the paper with the design, noting it was basically a path of shooting stars. She glanced at Derrick. “Where should I put it?”

  “On the inside of her right wrist.”

  He certainly had it all planned out. “If this works, you’re going to require I do this same tattoo and in the same place on whichever humans ask for it, aren’t you?”

  “You catch on quick,” he said, nodding.

  Lucas came in and observed while she copied the tattoo so she could set the outline on the woman’s skin. Cori kept waiting for the vampire victim to say something, but she didn’t. All she did was lie in the chair and stare at the ceiling.