Sentinel Lost (Mind Sweeper Series Book 5)

by AE Jones

  We sat Dalton down slowly, and he took a couple of deep breaths once he was sitting.

  “Is that your normal sky?” I asked.

  “No. Those colors mean the portal is forming. Normally, we don’t know where it will show up, which is the biggest stumbling block in our battle against the traffickers. This time, we have a pretty good idea it will be here.”

  “Knowing my friends, I think you’re right.”

  Naya gestured for me to follow her. I leaned down for a minute and checked Dalton carefully. He didn’t look like he was going to pitch out of the chair, but I wanted to make sure. “You okay to sit for a minute while I say goodbye to Naya?”

  “Yep, I won’t flop onto the ground.”

  I walked over to join Naya a few feet away.

  Naya spoke softly. “When he gets back to earth, it’s going to be a shock to his body. He may get worse before he gets better.”

  “Okay. Is there anything we can do for him?”

  “Fluids to flush his system. Also, strip and bathe him right way, so anything remaining from the realm and in-between is cleared out completely.”

  “Thank you for helping us. You could have simply killed us back in the forest.”

  “And miss all this fun?”

  I chuckled. “The next time your leader comes to earth, I’m going to make sure he brings you some reading material that is more recent than the 1800’s. I’ve got some interesting stories in mind.”

  Naya smiled and grasped my hand, pressing the crystal in my palm. The air started to sizzle with energy, and warm tendrils danced across my skin.

  “It’s time.”

  I went to Dalton and pulled him from the chair as the air in front of me started to undulate. We stumbled forward, Dalton leaning heavily on me.

  “I wish we could meet again sometime, Kyle.”

  I looked over my shoulder at Naya and smiled. “Me too.”

  I stepped into the shimmering light and held tight to Dalton while we catapulted into the void.

  Chapter 23

  My breath hitched as if I was on top of a rollercoaster hill right before the car plummeted. After several seconds, I dropped, my screams stuck in my throat until we landed with a thud on the ground, Dalton sprawled on top.

  Dalton rolled off of me with a moan, and I pushed myself up from damp grass. I shook my head to clear it, trying to focus on where we were, but our surroundings were still blurry, wavering as if we were underwater. Finally, the air stopped shimmying. I blinked. We were on a lawn outside a high fence. It was night, but floodlights illuminated the area.

  Multiple shouts rang out, and I looked behind us. Doc and Jean Luc ran in our direction while Misha guarded one of the demons from the warehouse. He must have been the one to open the portal for us.

  “Are you okay, Kyle?” Doc asked.

  “I’m fine. It’s Dalton.”

  “Is he hurt?” Doc turned to him and ran her trained gaze over his body.

  “The realm was toxic for him. We need to get him out of these clothes and scrub him down. We also need to flush his system.”

  Doc knelt next to him. “I’m Doctor Miller. I’m going to take care of you. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I have some super-flu bug. I’m weak and achy, and I’m pretty sure I’m running a fever.”

  “Let’s get you cleaned up and start an IV to flush that demon toxin out of your system.”

  “Okay. But check McKinley over too.”

  Doc smiled at him. “I’ll do that as soon as we get you settled.”

  Dalton attempted to sit up, but he was as wobbly as a newborn colt. Doc nodded at Jean Luc, who picked Dalton up and carried him to the open doors of a van.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “We’re outside the Shamat compound. Irina wanted you close to their medical facility so we could help when you returned. She was afraid of what the demon realm would do to you. But we didn’t want to risk opening the portal inside the compound walls.”

  Sabrina gave me a quick ER-Doc-mode exam as well.

  “I’m fine.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that. Let’s get you in the van and up to the facility as well.”

  I didn’t bother arguing. After I climbed inside the van, Talia drove us through the gate into the demon compound, turning right toward a building I hadn’t noticed the last time we were there.

  We stopped in front of the facility, and the doors opened to a group of people in scrubs pushing two gurneys. Jean Luc placed Dalton on the first one.

  I shook my head when one of the orderlies came up to me. “Nope. Take care of Dalton, I’m fine.”

  Doc said, “I’ll check you later. But I still want you to shower and bag up all your clothes. Boots too.”

  Talia spoke up. “I’ll make sure she does.”

  A nurse led us down a hall to a lounge area with a large shower. She took towels from a cabinet and set them on a bench; then she gave me a biohazard bag for my clothes.

  I sighed. I did not want to throw away my steel-toe black work boots. This was the second pair this week. They went with everything and let me wade through the messiest supe cleanups unscathed.

  “Did you guys find Stanley?”

  “Yeah, Misha has Stanley, and Dalton’s gun, too. You steady enough to shower, Kyle?” Talia asked.

  “Yeah. I can scrub my own back.”

  She chuckled. “I’ll sit out here and wait for you.”

  I washed my body and hair twice before toweling off and dressing in the light blue scrubs and canvas shoes that had appeared on the bench while I was in the shower.

  When I went into the lounge area, Talia looked me over. “At least you’ve got some color back in your face.” She held up a cup. “Orange juice.”

  “I want to see how Dalton’s doing.”

  “We’ll go find out, but drink this first.”

  I took the cup, gulped it down, and then found Dalton’s room. There were a lot of people coming and going, and I had to stand on my tiptoes in the doorway to see what was going on. Dalton was lying on a gurney. He was stripped with the exception of a towel draped across his manly parts, and nurses were bathing him. His eyes were closed, and his head lolled to the side. An IV ran to his arm, and he was wearing an oxygen mask.

  My heart hammered and I had trouble swallowing. “What’s going on?”

  Doc pushed me into the hall. “He’s been having trouble breathing, Kyle. We’re giving him oxygen, and we’re washing him down a second time. Then we’ll transfer him into a clean room.”

  I started into the room again, but Talia steered me a few feet down the hall to a set of chairs.

  “You’ll be in the way. Sit. You’re white as a sheet again.”

  The backs of my knees met a chair, and I folded onto it, resting my head in my hands. The orange juice churned in my stomach. He couldn’t die.

  “Kyle!”

  Griffin ran down the hall toward me and I stood. He grabbed me and pulled me against him. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.”

  He held me away to look me over, his hand still grasping my shoulders. “You’re not okay. You’re in pain. Where’s Sabrina? Why isn’t someone taking care of you?”

  “I’m not hurt. I—” I stopped talking when I caught sight of Sabrina coming out of Dalton’s room. “Is he okay?” I blurted.

  She put her hand on my shoulder and nodded to Griffin. “Joe’s fine, Kyle. The oxygen helped. And the IV is flushing his system. His fever is also going down. Irina has some ideas to help him as well.”

  I took a deep breath, and my heart started up again.

  Griffin stood quietly next to me. I didn’t know what to say to him. My emotions were in the nuclear meltdown stage, so there was no hiding anything from him right now. His shifter senses were more than likely begging for a hazmat suit.

  “I want to check you now, Kyle.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Griffin grasped my hand. “Please, Kyle. Let her examine you.
”

  I stared into his green eyes. Sparks of amber broke through his pupils, and I squeezed his hand. He was trying so hard to control his emotions.

  “Okay. I’ll do it for you.”

  I loosened my grip and tried to take a step away from him, but he held on for a moment longer. I smiled at him and he slid his hand away from mine. I flexed my fingers, closing my hand into a fist to try to hang onto the heat of his touch, to keep it from bleeding away as I walked down the hall away from him.

  Chapter 24

  “I’m fine,” I said for the third time.

  Griffin simply stared at me. We had moved to the main building to meet with Irina. We were waiting in a small sitting room, Griffin on a chair across from mine. Why wasn’t he sitting next to me? Maybe he’d decided that chair gave him a better angle to glare.

  He had tried to get me to lie down, but there was no way I could relax. Talia had thankfully found me some real clothes, but I was still wearing the canvas shoes they had given me earlier. At least Dalton was doing better. According to Doc, he could breathe on his own now, and she had given him a mild sedative when he insisted he was fine and wanted to get up. His stubborn streak was in full force.

  Irina walked into the room and patted my shoulder. “It is good to see you, Kyle.”

  I smiled at her. “Thanks for your help.”

  She batted her hand in an it-was-nothing gesture before sitting next to me. “You had no ill effects from the demon realm?”

  “No. I was lucky. If I’d gotten sick like Dalton, I don’t know how we would have gotten back.”

  Irina stared at me for a moment and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Misha, who rushed into the room.

  “Kyle!” Misha yanked me into his arms like a rag doll.

  I let out a squeak from the depths of his bear hug. “I’m fine, Mish, honest.”

  Irina tsked. “Put her down, Mikhail.”

  He plopped me back down in my seat and then sat next to Griffin. “Glad you could get here, Griffin.”

  “I was an hour away when you called me, or I would have been here sooner.”

  I frowned. “Why did you wait to call him, Mish? We were gone for a day.”

  Misha shook his head. “No, little one. You were only gone for a couple of hours. Remember Eli said time is different in the demon realm.”

  “You can say that again. We got sucked into the portal at night, but it was daytime there.”

  “What was it like?” Misha asked.

  “It started out like a trip to Mars with dirt and red rocks, then the realm went all scary woods vibe. It reminded me of purgatory on Supernatural.”

  “Great show,” Irina chirped.

  I gawked at her.

  Irina chuckled at my gaping fish imitation. “Honey, even though demons get a bad rap on that show, it’s worth putting up with that part so I can watch those two mouthwatering brothers.”

  Misha clutched his forehead. “Babushka!”

  “I’m not dead, Mikhail.”

  I grinned. I should introduce Irina to Marie. They would get along really well. “The in-between reminded me of a small English village, but with no modern conveniences.”

  Irina tilted her head slightly in question. “How did you get to the in-between?”

  “We fought off the demon that sent us to the realm and then ran into a border patrol demon. She took us to the in-between to protect us until you could open the portal again.”

  “Did Dalton get the black eye fighting the demon?” Misha asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Damn. I owe Jean Luc twenty bucks.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I bet you’d clocked him one.”

  “I didn’t clock him!”

  Irina scowled at Misha and then said, “Tell us exactly what occurred, Kyle.”

  “Mish, could you go find Jean Luc and Talia so I don’t have to repeat this a gazillion times?”

  Misha stood to leave, but Irina held up her hand to stop him. “You better find Boris, too. If your father misses Kyle’s story he will pout for days.”

  Twenty minutes later, I had finished telling the story to a small room chock-full of people. Irina, Misha, Jean Luc, Talia, Boris, and Griffin listened intently to my story without interrupting until I mentioned what Naya had told me about the mating across clans.

  Misha sat bolt upright. “That isn’t possible.”

  Irina shook her head. “I have lived a long time, and so I can tell you with certainty that anything is possible. It is fate’s way of giving back.”

  “What do you mean, Babushka?”

  “She means that the border patrol got the short end of the stick. They spend their lives protecting us, and yet they can’t come to earth. So they’ve been given the ability to mate between clans as a way to continue their purpose.”

  Irina nodded her agreement.

  “Naya says she was born to protect the borders, and she’ll help us any way she can.”

  “If she cannot come to earth, how does she plan to help?” Jean Luc asked.

  “She can communicate telepathically. She’s going to keep an eye out on her side and tell us if anything happens there. She gave me a crystal to help link us telepathically. I’m supposed to keep it close to me.”

  “Where is it?” Irina asked.

  I pulled the crystal out of my canvas shoe, running my thumb over the jagged edge.

  Irina held out her hand. “May I see it?”

  I gave it to her, and she stared at it in silence for a long moment, turning the stone over and over in her hand.

  She gestured to Boris, who went to stand next to her. Irina placed my crystal in his palm.

  “What are you going to do with it?” I asked.

  “No worries, Kyle. I will bring it back to you shortly.” He left the room.

  A lull filled the room before I blurted, “What are our next steps?”

  Griffin frowned. “Don’t you think you should take a break?”

  “Doc said I’m fine.” When Griffin opened his mouth, looking ready to protest, I rushed on. “I need to do this.”

  He stared at me for a moment before nodding slightly.

  I turned to Misha. “Did you guys capture Eli?”

  “Yes. He and bouncer Johnny are being held in a cell in one of our outbuildings.”

  “What will happen to them?” Griffin asked.

  Irina answered. “They’ll face charges in front of the demon council.”

  “And the demon from the realm?” I asked.

  “He’ll be returned to the realm once we’ve finished questioning him,” Misha replied.

  I rubbed my hands together. “So let’s go interrogate us some demons.”

  Chapter 25

  Griffin, Misha, and I entered the one-story facility where the demons were being held, and Misha led us down the hall to a room with a table and monitors displaying live feeds of the cells. The monitor on the right showed Eli and Johnny, and the monitor on the left showed the realm demon.

  “Pretty fancy setup, Mish.”

  He grinned and sat in front of the computers. “It was easy to do. Since Father is one of the demon council leaders, he has a responsibility to be vigilant in guarding against those of us who break the rules.”

  I stared at the realm demon pacing back and forth in his cell. “How did you get him to help you?”

  “We persuaded him that it would be in his best interest.”

  “How could you tell he was opening the portal and not trying to trick you? What if he’d lied to you?”

  “Jason would have been able to tell if he was lying.”

  I spun to face Misha. “Jason’s here, now?”

  “Yes.”

  I couldn’t have heard that right. “He’s helping with the investigation? What made him come?”

  Misha smiled. “You. I told him you were stuck in a demon dimension, and he came to help.”

  My throat tightened. “I’m surpri
sed he didn’t say good riddance.”

  Misha clucked his tongue at me. “Kyle. He cares about you. That’s why he was so hurt when you kept the truth from him.”

  “But I wasn’t trying to hurt him, Mish! I just wanted to have more information before I told him the truth. If I’d been able to tell him more about his background, it could have helped with the news that he’s part shifter. Instead, he was blindsided. I was an idiot for keeping it from him.”

  Griffin shook his head. “I was the one who told you not to tell him the truth.”

  “It’s still my fault.”

  Misha held up his hand. “Talk to Jason, Kyle, and explain.”

  “I tried to before, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  “He’ll listen,” Misha answered in a tone that brooked no argument, and his gaze flicked away from my face to focus over my shoulder for a split second.

  I glared at Misha, who winked at me before I turned and saw Jason standing in the door.

  “Good to see you, Jason,” I said, my voice cracking at the end like a pre-pubescent boy.

  He nodded, his face not showing any hint of emotion. “Glad you’re okay.”

  “Thank you for helping.” I took a tentative step in his direction while I steadied my breathing. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d steered clear of us forever, but I want you to know I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth sooner. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time, and I certainly never wanted to hurt you. In fact, it’s why I waited.”

  “Of course you didn’t mean to hurt me, Kyle. But you know trust isn’t easy for me, and you broke that trust.”

  “It’s not easy for me, either. And it was stupid of me to not tell you the truth as soon as I found out about it.”

  Griffin walked over and stood next to me. “And I apologize for keeping it from you, and for the pain you suffered at my brother’s hand. If you ever want to learn more about your shifter side, I’m available to help. Or if you don’t want to deal with me, I can find someone else to work with you.”

  Jason cleared his throat. “I’ll keep that in mind.”