Sentinel Lost (Mind Sweeper Series Book 5)

by AE Jones

  I steadied my legs and shook my head like a wet dog once the portal plopped us in a field. I checked on Dalton, who was leaning forward, hands on his knees again.

  “You okay?”

  He nodded and straightened up shakily. “Feel like I’m getting the flu or something.”

  Naya paused next to us. “I will take you to a place where you can rest until your team is able to call you back. It is not far.”

  We walked for about a mile before we saw several small buildings. On closer inspection, they reminded me of English cottages.

  As we approached, two demons dressed in armor similar to Naya’s stepped into the clearing and stared at us. Or rather glared at us. Dalton tensed and positioned himself slightly in front of me. God love him for his protective streak, but what did he plan to do, crush them by collapsing on top of them?

  The taller demon crossed his arms and moved in front of the middle cottage’s door to block our path. He spoke in demon-tongue, that reminded me of Klingon, which officially meant I had been spending way too much time with Misha and his Star Trek marathons. First the green blood, now this. There was a ridiculous pattern forming.

  Naya frowned and answered the other demon sharply. Nothing made sense to me, but I didn’t care at that moment, since I could tell Dalton was indeed ready to fall on his face. I wrapped his arm over my shoulder and my arm around his back. Then I reminded myself to be nice so I wouldn’t land us in demon jail.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but he needs to lie down right now.”

  Naya glared at the mammoth demon until he stepped away from the door. We entered the cottage, and Naya directed us through a door into a bedroom with a double bed, a small table and chair, and a trunk as the only furnishings.

  I helped Dalton sit on the bed, and then I pushed his shoulders until he lay flat.

  “I’m okay, McKinley.”

  I smiled to hide my worry. “I know you are. Just rest for a bit. There isn’t much to do right now anyway. We have to wait for the team to get us out of here.”

  He sighed and closed his eyes. “Just give me a few minutes. I’m sure I’ll be fine once I rest.”

  “I’ll be right outside.”

  I went into the living area and closed the bedroom door. Naya was not there, so I snooped a bit. A hearth filled one wall, with pots hanging nearby, and a kettle hung from a hook next to the fire. A small table and chairs were clustered in the corner, and in the other corner were piles of books. Hundreds of books. I read a few of the spines. They were all classics: Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Byron.

  The outside door opened, and Naya came back in. She removed her armor and placed it on a low table next to the door, along with her sword. She was wearing some sort of one-piece jumpsuit under the armor, and now that the armor was gone, there was no mistaking that she was a she. Why I kept meeting—and having to stand next to—tall, drop-dead gorgeous women was a question my ego continued to badger me about.

  “How is he?”

  “He’s resting for now.”

  She pushed the kettle over the flames. “I’ll heat water for a special tea for him. It should help with some of the symptoms.”

  “But it won’t cure him?”

  “No. His system will not be fully restored until he returns to earth.”

  “How will we get back to earth? Can my friends find us here in the in-between?”

  “If they have one of the demons you spoke of in custody, he should be able to sense both your energy and Dalton’s. You will stand out from the other energies here in the in-between.”

  I hoped so. “Did you calm down your friends outside?”

  “Yes.”

  “I hope we didn’t get you into trouble.”

  “After I explained that you were sent to the realm by a rogue demon, they stopped asking me why I had not locked you up. I would introduce you to our leader, but he is on patrol now.”

  “Is this your home?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you for bringing us here.”

  She shrugged. “It is for purely selfish reasons. Very little changes here. This is the most excitement I have had in decades.”

  I laughed. “I like your honesty.” I pointed to her books. “May I?”

  She gestured for me to go ahead, and I picked up a leather-bound edition. It was Beowulf which, if I remembered correctly, was about knights battling a monster. Which seemed very fitting. “How did you get these books?”

  “The demon council meets with our leader several times a year. He brings back items we can use.”

  “So mechanical and electrical items don’t work?”

  “Correct.”

  “What is the in-between?”

  “The border patrol lives here when we are not on duty in the demon realm. It is the space separating earth and the realm.”

  “Most demons don’t have the ability to escape the realm. How do you move around?”

  “The patrol has been given a device that allows us to pass back and forth between the in-between and the realm, but not to earth.”

  “What happens if a non-patrol demon gets ahold of the device? Can they use it to escape?”

  Naya shook her head. “The device is implanted in us. They cannot take it. If they try, we will die, and it will be useless to them.”

  “And you’re stuck here. That sucks.”

  Naya’s eyebrows raised. “What does ‘sucks’ mean?”

  “It means it isn’t fair that you protect earth from harm but you aren’t allowed to see it for yourself.”

  “I see it through my books.”

  I set the book back down and joined her at the table. “From what I understand, demons from the twelve clans on earth are part of the border patrol. You must be Pavel?”

  She frowned. “Why would you assume that?”

  “You have purple skin, which is what Pavel demons have on earth. Although your black eyes threw me.”

  “The patrol is one clan here, Kyle. There is no separation of clans for us. We protect each other.”

  It was my turn to frown. “But your parents are from one clan, right? On earth, the demons can’t have children unless they marry within their clan. And there are the small few who have mated and have children with humans.”

  “In the realm, they cannot procreate across clans either. We do not know if any of the realm clans have ever mated with a human, or if it would be possible to do so. But here in the in-between, we can procreate regardless of clan. Before we combined clans, my father was Shamat and my mother was Pavel.”

  “What does your human form look like?” I cringed. “I apologize if that was rude. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

  “It was not rude to ask, but I do not know the answer to your question. I cannot bring out my human side. Most of the patrol are unable to do so. We have never been to earth, so there is no need for our human side in any case.”

  “You give up a lot to protect us.”

  “It is what I do.”

  “Maybe we could help each other?”

  Her eyebrow lifted haughtily. “And how exactly could you help me?”

  She was cocky, but then so was I most of the time. “You are not allowed to go to earth. We could be your eyes and ears there.”

  Naya got up to pull the kettle off the flames with long metal tongs. She wrapped a thick cloth around the handle and poured boiling water into a mug, then dropped some leaves into the steaming liquid. “How long have you been hunting the demons who cross over?”

  “A week,” I answered.

  She smirked while she stirred the tea. “A whole week? I have been on this patrol my entire life. I was born to protect the border.”

  “Then I would think you would want to help stop this,” I said.

  “In less than a week you have been trapped here by a demon. I am not sure you would survive the fortnight if you continue on your quest.”

  I laughed. “You aren’t afraid to speak your mind, are you?”

&n
bsp; “I have a feeling the same can be said of you.”

  * * *

  I opened the door to check on Dalton. He was worse. Sweat streamed down his face and neck, and he had kicked the blankets off and was moving restlessly in his sleep. I put my hand on his forehead and he was very hot.

  He opened his eyes at my touch and tried to sit up. “No, McKinley,” he mumbled.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t want you to get sick.”

  I tsked him. “You silly man. You’ve already exposed me to your cooties. If I’m going to get sick, it will happen whether I help you now or not.”

  His eyes widened. “Cooties?”

  “Yep. I need you to drink some of this tea. It should make you feel better.” I braced his shoulders up a couple of inches, and he took several sips before his face scrunched up.

  “Tastes awful.”

  “Take another sip for me.”

  Naya brought me a basin of water, and I dipped a cloth in, wrung it out, and ran it across his forehead and down his cheeks. I laid the cold cloth up against his black eye.

  “How does that feel?” I asked.

  “Better. Thanks.” He stared at me with those ridiculous turquoise eyes of his. “You don’t strike me as someone who forgets much. I’m going to owe you big time when we get back to earth, aren’t I?”

  I ran the cloth over his face again. “I won’t make you squirm too much.”

  He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, and I blinked to stop a tear from escaping. I sponged his face and arms for a few more minutes until I could tell by his even breathing that he had fallen back to sleep.

  Damn it. I couldn’t forget anything. Seeing him this weak was too much like last year and the torture he endured. He was not going to die in some crazy-ass demon dimension. He needed to get back to earth so he could get his life together again.

  We both did.

  Chapter 22

  I stared at the flames dancing in the hearth until my eyes burned. Or at least that’s what I told myself when I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

  Naya blocked my view of the flames as she stirred the pot cooking in the hearth. “Tell me your story, Kyle.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I sense powers in you, and you keep them a secret from Dalton. Yet he is aware of the supernatural.”

  I blew out a harsh breath. “I’m human, but for some reason I have the ability to manipulate memories. I use my powers to stop humans from finding out about supernaturals living on earth.”

  “And how does Dalton fit into your world?” Naya asked.

  I looked back at the fire and bit my lip.

  “When you leave here, we will never see each other again, Kyle. Your secret is safe with me.” She ladled some stew on a plate and handed it to me. “You love him.”

  “Yes. I did, or I do… Oh, hell, my life is too damn complicated. Even the explanation is too damn complicated. I met Dalton last year on a case. He was tortured to the point of insanity, and the only way I could save him was to erase his memory of the case and of me. And he went away and started a new life. But the Fates brought him back into my life on this new case, and now I have to pretend like I don’t know him.”

  “And that you don’t love him.”

  “Yes,” I said, my heart pinching inside my chest.

  “It sounds like one of my Russian novels.”

  I smirked and then studied the stew on my plate.

  “Don’t worry, you can eat it. It’s just vegetable stew.”

  “You’re using contractions. Before you were speaking differently. Now you’re using contractions.”

  She tilted her head slightly as if puzzling my words.

  “Before you said ‘do not’ and now you say ‘don’t.’”

  “Ah. Yes. I adjusted my speech after I listened to you and Dalton. I learn languages through my books. Speaking it can be very different from reading it.”

  “Wow. How many languages can you speak?”

  Naya shrugged. “Maybe a dozen or so.”

  “Amazing. I would love for you to meet Jean Luc. He speaks seven, but refuses to use contractions in any of them. He sounds like he’s from the Middle Ages half the time.”

  “I wish I could meet him as well. Now eat while the food is hot.”

  I took a bite. The stew was rich, the vegetables reminding me of carrots and potatoes. “It’s good.”

  “Tell me of your case on earth.”

  I leaned closer. “You mean we can work together?”

  Naya sat across from me with her own plate. “I haven’t agreed yet. Tell me what’s happening.”

  As we ate our dinner, I told her about the demon in the art museum and what we’d learned so far.

  Naya picked up our plates and set them next to the washbasin. “And the demon had multiple powers?”

  “Yes. The clans on earth don’t have multiple powers. And the blood sample didn’t match any of the demons found on earth.”

  “What did his demon form look like?”

  “He never turned into his demon. Stayed human. But his eyes glowed white.”

  Naya frowned. “White?”

  “Yeah, it confused us, too. Does it mean anything to you?”

  “No.” Naya busied herself with the dishes. After a few moments she spoke again. “I’ll help you with the case. But it will be difficult since I can’t come to earth.”

  “Difficult, but not impossible.”

  She walked to a shelf and picked up a bowl that she brought to the table along with a small metal hammer. Naya extracted a piece of red crystal the shape of a quarter from the bowl.

  I leaned closer to look at it. “What is it?”

  “It will allow me to communicate with you.” She placed the crystal on the table and rapped it once with the hammer. The crystal broke into two, jagged, half-moon pieces, like the forever friend charms kids wear.

  “Why did you break it?” I asked.

  “Because you need to carry half and I’ll keep the other half. It will connect us so we can communicate telepathically.”

  “And you think it’ll work on earth?”

  “Yes. I believe so. I’ve never tried to communicate as far as earth before, which is why I’m giving you the crystal to provide a conduit.”

  “So you’re telepathic.”

  “Yes. I’m surprised you didn’t ask me what my power was before now.”

  I shrugged. “On earth it can be a touchy subject, and I didn’t want to alienate you.”

  Naya chuckled. “Why do I get the feeling you don’t normally worry about alienating others?”

  “You’re right. But I’m trying to be a new and improved Kyle McKinley. Think before I open my mouth. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been working very well with Dalton.”

  “Because your feelings are involved. You’ll figure out what to do with him.”

  I stood. “I better go check on him.”

  “And I’m going to leave for a few minutes to check on some things as well.”

  When I entered the bedroom, Dalton was sleeping, and the sound of his even breathing settled my nerves. I touched his forehead lightly. Still hot, but no worse than before. When I ran the washcloth over his face, he didn’t stir, so I sat in the chair and watched him sleep. After a couple of minutes, my eyes drooped, and I crossed my arms on the bed and lay my head on top of them.

  A tingle ran along my neck. Someone was watching me. I opened my eyes slowly and found Dalton staring at me, his eyes almost iridescent in his pale face.

  “That doesn’t look very comfortable.”

  I sat up and cringed. “It’s not.”

  “How long have I been asleep?” he asked.

  “A couple of hours…I think.” I stared out the window into the dark sky and then at the burning lamp next to the bed. “I’m not sure how long I was asleep.”

  “Naya brought the lamp in here a couple of minutes ago and made me drink some more of her nasty tea. You were sleeping so sound
ly she didn’t want to disturb you.”

  I kneaded my stiff neck and shoulders. “How are you feeling?”

  “Weak. Leave it to me to get the damn flu when we’re stuck in a demon dimension.”

  “Bad timing for sure.”

  His eyes sharpened on me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I answered, looking away from him.

  “Has anyone ever told you you’re a bad liar?”

  “Yeah. You. Two days ago.” Except I couldn’t be that bad a liar, or he’d already know the whole truth, so help me God.

  “What’s going on, McKinley?”

  “Naya thinks you’re sick because this dimension is toxic to you.”

  He frowned. “It’s poisoning me?”

  “Kind of. Humans aren’t exactly made to live here.”

  “What about you? Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m okay so far. And Naya said once we get back to earth, you’ll be fine.”

  “Have we heard anything from the team yet?”

  “No, but I’m sure they’ll be coming for us any minute now. Misha, Jean Luc, and Talia won’t rest until they find us.”

  “You have a good team.”

  I jerked back in shock and then tugged on my ear like it was waterlogged. “I think I heard you compliment us. It must be the fever talking.”

  He smirked. “Maybe.”

  Naya came into the room in time to interrupt my heart palpitations triggered by Dalton’s almost smile. Almost.

  “I thought I heard talking. Your friends are coming for you. The patrol has sensed an energy disturbance for several hours now. Usually it means someone is attempting to pass through the portal. You will need to be ready to move quickly once the portal opens. I’ve set a chair outside for Dalton.

  “I should be fine.” Dalton sat up and swung his legs to the side and swayed forward.

  I grabbed him before he face-planted. “Whoa. Maybe a chair is a good idea.”

  Naya and I each took a side and draped Dalton’s arms over our shoulders.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  “Yep.”

  We walked slowly through the cottage and out the door. The night air was warmer, almost a thick blanket, compared to what it had been during the day. A glow lit the sky in purples and pinks and blues, reminding me of the aura borealis.