The Complete Lost Children Series

by Krista Street

  None were black. That was the telltale sign of an evil person. A serial attacker’s cloud would no doubt be pitch-black.

  I shuddered.

  “Oh my gosh!” Gracie exclaimed. “We’re going to be late!” She jumped from her seat after checking the time on her phone. Her half-drunk smoothie tipped precariously from her hand.

  I’d completely forgotten that we were supposed to hurry to our next lecture. I grabbed my bag and jogged out the door behind her.

  But as we raced to our next class with our smoothies gripped tightly in our hands, my mind kept returning to the article in the paper. Each day it seemed more and more likely that a serial attacker lived on campus.

  And anyone could be his next target.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The apartment Flint and I lived in was a mile off campus. I generally walked every day to and from class. Even in the winter.

  After growing up in the Forbidden Hills, I didn’t think a walk in the winter was anything out of the ordinary. As kids, my adopted siblings and I would play for hours outside in the freezing cold. That was one of the few forms of entertainment we’d had.

  But today was warm even though it was technically still spring. The sun beat down. Sweat beaded on my forehead as my T-shirt stuck to my lower back, where my backpack pressed against it.

  In a way, it reminded me of my homeless days from two years before. For several months, after waking in an alleyway with no memories of who I was or what had happened to me, I’d walked everywhere then too, with only my backpack for company. That same pack was hanging from my shoulders.

  I smiled as I hopped off the sidewalk to cross the street. A breeze flowed across my skin as I giggled, remembering Jacinda’s horror when I’d refused to buy a new bag for school. One of the zippers on my pack was broken, and I’d had to patch a hole in the bottom of the bag, but it still worked.

  And that backpack had been with me through so much. It held more than just my textbooks. It held memories of who I really was.

  Two blocks later, I was climbing the steps to our apartment building. Even in town, the Rockies loomed all around us, like gigantic pyramids scattered on a precipice. Their familiar snow-capped peaks betokened cool winds and frosty mornings. At the moment, I felt so hot that I would have lain down in a big pile of snow and buried my face in it.

  “You’re home.” Flint’s deep voice greeted me when I stepped into our apartment. He sat on the couch, reading the newspaper. His chestnut hair was tousled as if he hadn’t bothered to brush it.

  I smiled and let my backpack fall to the floor. In the next second, the air rustled around me.

  Flint stood directly in my path.

  Since I was used to his inhuman speed, all I did was fling my arms around him and plop a big kiss on his lips.

  “Mmm . . . sweaty.” He chuckled more as I pulled back.

  Another giggle worked its way up my throat. “I thought hot and sweaty was your favorite way to have me.”

  His eyes darkened. “It is.”

  I squealed when he scooped me up with another lightning-fast move. The next thing I knew, he was tossing me onto our king-sized bed before peeling his shirt off in a blurred move.

  The sight of Flint’s hard, chiseled chest always got my pulse racing. It did so even more today. Perhaps the lingering frustration over my professor’s unethical behaviors, or my fear over the thought of a serial attacker, or the sight of Flint’s breathtaking physique made me feel the emotions coursing through my chest. Whatever it was, pent-up energy was built up inside me, wanting to be unleashed.

  And extracurricular time with my boyfriend in our bedroom seemed like the perfect way to get it out.

  ~ ~ ~

  Thirty minutes later, we lay in a tangle of sheets.

  “I’m not the only sweaty one now.” I ran a finger down his chest, making his muscles jump in response.

  He gripped my finger gently before turning on his side. Propping his elbow on the bed, he cupped his head and gazed down at me. His dark eyes flecked with gold studied me intently. His firm lips, straight nose, and smooth skin made him so achingly beautiful that my breath stopped.

  I expected a smile to tug up his lips. Instead, he frowned.

  “Have you seen the newspaper today?” His eyebrows knit together.

  “Yeah, I have.”

  Letting go of my finger, he pulled me closer to him. “Then you know there was another assault on campus.”

  Anger again coiled in my belly, like a snake that wanted to strike. “Yeah. I saw it. That’s the fifth one this semester.”

  “Exactly. Maybe I should start picking you up from class. I could skip a few classes to meet you on the days I end after you.”

  “You know I can walk myself home just fine.”

  He frowned. “I think it would be safer if I joined you.”

  I arched an eyebrow and switched my vision. Flint’s pulsing blue, green, and orange cloud came into view. It was larger than normal, having grown from his worry. Pulling his cloud from his shoulders, I disengaged my own cloud and joined it with his.

  Only a few seconds had passed from when I’d switched my vision. Flint was still looking at me expectantly for an answer.

  Using the cloud, I flicked it behind him and, with a slight shove, smacked his ass.

  He jumped.

  I buried my head in the pillow so he wouldn’t see my grin.

  “Lena . . .” he growled. “Are you trying to make a point?”

  I lifted my head to see his annoyed expression.

  “Perhaps.” I let the clouds dissipate. They automatically returned to our shoulders. “I know you worry about me, Flint. I get that. Asking you to not worry would be like asking you to stop breathing, so I won’t. But you do know that I can take care of myself. I think I’ve proved that time and time again, so while I’m worried about this guy too, it’s not me I’m worried about. It’s all of the other women on campus that he could catch unawares.”

  His scowl didn’t lessen.

  I cupped his cheek. “You’d be better off escorting Mica to and from class every day, although I doubt she’d let you.”

  Flint grimaced. “She’d probably slug me in the shoulder and tell me to stop following her.”

  I laughed.

  The twins and Mica also attended the University of Colorado in Boulder. The three of them, Flint, and I were all sophomores, but we were soon to be juniors. The semester would end soon, which meant all of us were officially halfway through college.

  “Should we get up and make something to eat?” I asked.

  The smoothie I’d had with Grace seemed years ago. And I knew the longer I let Flint dwell on this topic, the more likely he was to start showing up at my classes when they finished. As much as I loved him, I didn’t want him shadowing me everywhere I went.

  Flint ran his hand along my hip. His brow furrowed.

  I bounded from the bed just as he opened his mouth. “Want to order a pizza?” I asked.

  I grabbed one of Flint’s shirts and dashed from the room. In the living room, the newspaper Flint had been reading still lay open to the local news. The same article I’d read earlier flashed across my vision.

  I bit my lip. From what the article said, all five women described the man similarly: stocky build, dark hair, and vicious. He’d left all of his victims with more than just bruises and traumatic memories. A few had broken bones and deep cuts.

  Tension welled up inside me again. I just hoped the police caught him soon.

  ~ ~ ~

  I met Grace the next day at our usual spot before class. Since we were both studying sociology, we had most of our classes together.

  Her long legs dangled from the concrete planter box she’d hopped onto. Bright pansies bloomed behind her. She ate an apple while reading a textbook. I swear she didn’t even know when I approached her. She was that engrossed in it.

  I cleared my throat.

  Her loud, crunching chewing stopped. When she peeked over the
top of the book, her eyes widened. “Oh! I didn’t see you there.”

  She hopped off the planter and slipped her backpack over a shoulder. After one last bite of her apple, she tossed the core into a trash can near the curb.

  “You’re on time.” From the smile that beamed across her face, she seemed pleased.

  “I’m not always late. I believe I was on time three of five days last week.”

  Tucking her book into her pack, she raised an eyebrow. “I’d almost think you’re becoming responsible.”

  I laughed. “Perhaps I am.”

  She giggled and looped her arm through mine. Together, we strolled down the sidewalk to our next class and rounded the corner to enter our building. Another beautiful day in Boulder loomed: clear skies, bright sun, and the hint of summer in the air. A smile spread across my face as I switched my vision.

  Aura clouds appeared around the other students bustling along the sidewalks. Most were white or ivory. A few were light gray. Grace’s was bright white—not surprising. That cotton-ball cloud swirling around her shoulders was what had drawn me to her in our freshman year.

  The warm and content feeling was still flowing through me when another cloud entered my peripheral vision. Even though it was far away, it stood out among the sea of white, ivory, and dull gray.

  Its color made me stop cold.

  Black.

  Not only pitch-black, but pulsing black. And the cloud around the occupant’s shoulders was growing in size.

  That only meant one thing.

  I spun in a circle, getting a few disgruntled comments from students who bumped into me from behind. Grace also muttered an expletive since we’d stopped mid-stride in the middle of the sidewalk.

  Straightening, I pulled my arm from Grace’s. I shaded my eyes and frantically searched the crowd of students.

  There!

  The black cloud belonged to a person hurrying away. He appeared to be a man, from his stocky build and broad shoulders. He also had dark hair. I couldn’t see anything else about him. Jeans covered his lower half, and a hooded sweatshirt adorned his top—warm clothes for warm weather. Odd.

  “Lena? What the heck are you doing?”

  Grace stood at my side, her long blond hair flowing in the breeze. Her hands were on her hips, a frown on her face. The rest of the students entering the building behind us didn’t give me a second glance.

  “I . . .” I continued watching the man. With every second that passed, he was escaping, and if his cloud was pulsing, that meant one horrible thing.

  He was going to hurt somebody.

  I can’t let that happen!

  “I have to go, Grace. Fill me in on what I miss!” I took off.

  Keeping my vision switched, I sprinted down the sidewalk. Some other students cast me a few peculiar glances. Most didn’t seem to care. They probably thought I was late for a class and running to it.

  If only that were the case.

  My legs pumped rhythmically as the man rounded a corner, disappearing between two buildings. I couldn’t be sure, but he seemed to be following a woman. She seemed oblivious.

  No!

  My lungs burned as I caught up to the area where he’d disappeared. Another sidewalk separated these buildings. The tall brick walls rose on either side. Strips of grass lined their perimeters, and birds chirped in the trees above.

  For all intents and purposes, the day looked like another normal one on campus as the school year drew to a close.

  Where did he go?

  I ran down the sidewalk, glancing every which way. When I reached the backs of the buildings, I spun in a circle. More students were mingling about. Some sat on the grass. Others were still walking to class, but the numbers were dwindling. Lectures had started.

  “Dammit!” I muttered angrily. I’d lost him.

  Hefting my bag up higher on my shoulders, I slung my hands through the straps and debated my options. It was possible he’d followed the girl into one of these buildings. In which case, I could stay out here on the grass, waiting for one of them to emerge.

  But that will only work if they exit from one of these doors. If they take a back door out, I wouldn’t know.

  Biting my lip, I considered the other option. It was possible he hadn’t followed that woman at all, and it had simply appeared that way, in which case, either he’d entered one of these buildings to attend a class, or he’d begun running when he rounded the corner and by now was long gone.

  However, there was one thing I felt certain of. His cloud had been pitch-black and pulsing. That meant either he was intending to hurt someone soon, or thoughts of hurting someone had been foremost in his mind, manipulating the aura around him.

  Either way, my brow furrowed in worry.

  On shaky legs, I walked back to class so I could join Grace. I debated calling the police, but what could I say? Hey, I saw a black-clouded man, and since his cloud was pulsing, he’s planning to hurt someone soon.

  Yeah. That would go over well.

  It didn’t help that I also had to come up with some fabrication to explain my erratic behavior to Grace. It wouldn’t be the first time.

  My backpack banged against my lower back as I worried my lower lip.

  A memory of the newspaper article I’d read yesterday turned over in my thoughts. A man who repeatedly attacked women was on campus. Everyone knew that. And the man I’d just seen fit his description.

  Now, I had to figure out if this black-clouded man was him.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “You’re certain the person you saw had a malevolent cloud and was intent on doing harm?” Di’s words rolled across the living room in her Denver home. As usual, she wore black from head to toe.

  The rest of our non-traditional family, minus Susannah, sat on the couches or floor around her. Father leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. Outside, gray clouds covered the vast sky. Rain was forecast.

  I almost rolled my eyes but stopped myself. Di was just being her thorough self. I shouldn’t have been offended that she was questioning me again.

  Well, not too offended.

  “Yes, Di. I’m sure. His cloud was pitch-black and growing. You know as well as I do what that means.”

  Flint shifted beside me. His warm side pressed into me, and his unique scent of spicy wood and tangerines wafted toward me. A permanent frown was etched on his features. He’d been looking that way all week, ever since I’d chased the mystery man on campus and come home to tell him about it. And despite my insistence that I didn’t need him to escort me home from class every day, he’d started doing just that.

  I inched away from him. We’d had another argument about his over-protectiveness this morning, and again, we came to no firm resolution.

  Sighing, I turned my attention back to my family. Since the weekend had arrived, our entire family had met up in Denver—something we often did on our days off. I was thankful that everyone was here. All week I’d been waiting to get their opinions on what I should do regarding the black-clouded man.

  “So now what?” Jacinda’s brow puckered. “Do we tell the police or see if we can find him again?”

  My half-sister’s back was ramrod straight as she stood near Luke. Long flaxen-colored hair cascaded down her back in thick waves. Since she wore three-inch heels, she almost came to the bridge of Luke’s nose. The rest of her frame looked as it always did. Stylish. Chic. And very supermodel-like.

  Only one thing was different about her.

  A small bump was prominent through her loose, flowing top. She was five months pregnant.

  The werewolf, or “genetically enhanced lupine male,” to be exact, watched my sister with his piercing golden eyes. A low growl emitted from Luke’s throat when Jacinda twisted her hands in worry. Since they’d been a couple for over a year, Luke had grown incredibly protective of my sister, especially since she now carried his child.

  “I say we find the bastard,” Luke muttered. His eyes flickered again in a way that made him loo
k inhuman.

  “And then what?” Mica chipped in from where she sat on the couch. Her square teeth flashed in a sarcastic smile. “Stroll up to him and ask him why the heck he’s walking around with a black cloud around his shoulders? Oh, and politely ask him if he’s also going around campus attacking women?” She snorted. “Yeah, that will go over really well.”

  A bag of chips sat at Mica’s side. She popped one into her mouth. Loud crunches followed.

  Jasper chuckled from where he sat by her side, while his twin, Jet, also bit back a laugh. The twins looked identical: stocky builds, curly jet-black hair, and clear blue eyes.

  The twins and Mica lived together in Boulder, not far from the apartment Flint and I shared. Like us, they were also university students and had heard the rumors circulating throughout campus of the serial attacker, a rumor that seemed true, given that another assault had occurred last week.

  However, the rest of our family resided in Denver. Father lived in his sprawling mansion with Edgar and Amber, whereas Luke, Susannah, and Jacinda lived in a chic condo in the heart of the city. Raven and Di lived in the quiet suburban house we were currently meeting in.

  I eyed Di, Raven, and Flint. The full-blooded siblings had a natural affinity to each other. All three of them had olive skin, tall frames, dark eyes, and critical minds. I felt fairly certain that if Flint and I weren’t together, he would have opted to live with Di and Raven in Denver. He could easily have pursued his engineering degree at the university Di attended. But since Flint and I had been together since we were teenagers, I didn’t see that ever happening.

  Amber nibbled at a fingernail, her large brown eyes wide under her pixie haircut. She stood near Edgar, the two of them behind Father. Raven and Di’s living room was modest in size and furniture. When we all met here, some of us inevitably stood or sat on the floor.

  “What if Lena tries to find him again?” Amber stopped biting her fingernail and stood up straighter. “And then we start following him to see what he’s up to?”