by Ayer, T. G.
"Knew. Past tense." Logan sighed, a deep exhalation that sounded like he'd been holding it for weeks. "A long time ago. His name isn't Blake. It's Brett Nevins. He's an air mage."
At last. Something concrete. "An air mage. That makes sense. Daniel--Daniel Chou, the agent you shot Cicero, remember?--said things got a little cold when Blake got angry."
Logan rubbed his chin. "I haven't seen him in years. He probably doesn't work for Omega anymore."
Why was I always the bearer of bad news? "Yes, he does."
"Who says?" His voice was hard, as if he was straining against the need to scream.
"Agent Chou."
Logan nodded, his eyes bleak.
"He insisted that Blake--Nevins worked for Omega, and that Chou's superior, Jones, thought Nevins was a loose cannon. The 'big-guy' mastermind wasn't happy with his performance and said so when he visited the site after we left."
Logan tightened his jaw, the action visible beneath under his unshaven cheek.
I sighed. "Forget it. If you don't want to investigate, I'll find another way. But I promise you I'll find the truth and hold the people responsible accountable for their actions."
Logan continued to stare at the wood floor, his jaw muscle ticking.
Screw maturity. "Look at me, Logan." I waited until he did so and then stared him straight in the eye. An alpha stare. "I don't care how you know him. Nobody will care. But your reactions are making me wonder why you do. It's not like you to be so protective of Omega, especially when they've had a big fat question mark hanging over their heads since the debacle with Mom. How can I ignore that?"
He blinked but didn't speak. Then he turned his back on me to look out the window. "You're right."
About time. I folded my arms and waited.
"Your family needs you."
Right.
"I think it's best we take a break from each other."
That's-- What?
He swung back to face me, eyes cool, jaw hard. "I've complicated your life for long enough."
I should have been shocked and upset but all I felt was a simmering anger. Logan had never backed away from me. Not once. That he would do it now, when all hell was breaking loose, meant one thing.
Somehow he'd found out about a certain marriage proposal.
"How long have you known?" I asked, my lips tight.
He didn't answer that question. "We got the message within hours of the meeting. I didn't want to talk about it because clearly it wasn't something you were prepared to discuss. But ... Justin Lake would be much better for you."
"Is that so?" What was is about men that made you want to bash some sense into them?
I watched him, knowing he'd never struck me as the jealous type. And even if Omega knew so much about me that they had files on how in love I'd once been with Justin Lake, it didn't matter.
Logan took a step back and lowered himself onto the windowsill, then spread his hands out in front of him, as if the action was his apology.
"The ruling isn't a small thing," he said. "The high council is playing games with your families, but those games could have permanent consequences for your future."
I wanted to rant and rave but I tightened my fist, clamped my own jaw shut.
If I'd ever thought I could live the rest of my life without being an alpha I'd been kidding myself. It was who I was. Who I'd always been. Yes, I'd fought against what I'd once seen as a burden but it had only taken the experiences of the last few months to force me to wise up.
Heat flared in my cheeks and I took a shallow breath.
Control.
"You're wrong." The air vibrated with the emotion in those two words and I tightened my fists. Control. "I don't need to be an alpha. I am an alpha. There isn't a distinction."
He tilted his head, obviously waiting for me to continue. The look on his face telling me what he expected me to say. That I needed him. Well, I wasn't going to. I refused to use the word need with reference to Logan. Not when he sat there cold and hard without a sliver of his own heart showing.
Maybe it was pride. I didn't care. How had this meeting degraded from heartfelt reunion to ice-cold goodbye?
I let the silence stretch. Thin.
Logan moved, restless. "Yes. You're an alpha and I'm human. Whatever our personal difference of opinion, I'll still do what I can to figure out what Omega has to do with this situation."
Generous of him, I thought and then chastised myself for being bitchy.
I refused to deal with his emotional baggage right now. Or mine. There were more important issues.
"Then you can start by finding us a mage with memory skills."
He nodded, obviously relieved I was being reasonable. "What type of memory skills?"
"The ability to find missing memories. The ability to remove memories from a person's mind." I scowled at the possibility. "The ability to tell us if such a thing is possible and, if so, what the process is."
"And what type of person would have that particular type of ability?"
I thought of Storm.
"Exactly." I nodded, then said, "Oh, and I may want to take them with me to the Graylands."
"What for?" He didn't ask how I'd carry off such a crazy plan.
"It's probably the best way the mage will have of accessing the minds of the agent--Daniel Chou--and the two kids. The kids were both pretty sure something had happened to their memories." My fingers curled into fists at my side. "Whatever it takes, I'm damn well going to do it."
Logan made a soft grunting sound which I took as his agreement. "Just know that it will take a little while to get the right person on board."
My brow furrowed. "Why?"
Logan cleared his throat. "My security clearance has been downgraded. I don't have the access I did. I think it's best we move covertly so we don't alert the wrong people at Omega."
"Shit." How could I have forgotten Daniel's warning?
"What's wrong?" Logan was frowning.
"I'm not used to this level of intelligence gathering," I said, my tone angry, both at myself and Omega. "They have their eyes on all of us. Be careful at your apartment too."
"Why?"
"Chou said we're all being watched, and he mentioned your name. You have agents watching you. Probably listening too."
"Great." Logan scratched his head. "I'll sweep for bugs when I get home." He looked around the apartment, raising a questioning eyebrow. When I nodded he began to do a sweep.
I followed slowly.
Whatever we'd said up to this point was incriminating enough that I didn't care what else they hear. Our personal dramas had no impact of the greater scheme of things.
"We still have unfinished business between us." I spoke softly, but with a rock-hard firmness "I'm putting it on the back burner for now but we will revisit it."
He merely raised an eyebrow and continued his scan of an air vent.
"And," I continued, "When this is over, even if you don't want me in your life anymore, I plan to help you find the truth behind your dreams."
He didn't respond just headed into Grams bedroom, his expression bland.
Another few minutes and he returned with a handful of listening devices.
Crap.
Well, it wasn't as if they hadn't already heard everything else that had gone on in our apartment.
And how the hell had they managed to install them without leaving a trace of their own scent behind? I sighed silently. This was Omega we were playing with. I wouldn't put it past them to come in wearing hazmat suits.
Logan put a finger to his lips and went to the kitchen. In a cupboard beneath the counter he found an empty canning jar and placed the devices inside it. Then he put the whole thing inside Grams' glass cookie jar, and dusted off his hands.
"That should dull the sounds," he said, "but still make them think the devices are functioning."
And that, apparently, was the end of the our conversation because he dug into his pocket for his phone and began
to make a flurry of calls.
While I listened in I made coffee and then sliced some apple and cinnamon cake I found in the fridge. Caffeine and carbs. They weren't a cure for frustration but they made it possible to handle in the short term.
Logan's calls consisted mostly of requests for an 'Eraser'. When he mentioned a Darcy Graham who contracted to both Omega and Sentinel I felt a jolt of relief.
He ended his call and I pushed the plate of cake and a mug of steaming coffee towards him.
He keyed in another number as he took a seat, and as soon as someone answered he asked for Darcy's assistance at an external location. I mouthed Dad's and he nodded before he made arrangements for Saleem to bring the mind mage to the location. Perhaps he thought Dad's place should remain secure, but I didn't ask.
No doubt Omega had cameras on all their agents.
My cheeks went hot at the thought. I'd visited Logan at his hotel room a couple times already so our personal relationship was probably general knowledge at Omega. But I hoped our physical activities weren't.
When he ended the call Logan inhaled his cake, slugged back his coffee in a gulp, and shoved to his feet.
"Come on. Saleem will get Darcy and be there before we do." He fished inside a pocket for his keys. "Sometimes I hate being plain old human."
I snickered as I headed out the door.
Outside, Logan swung a leg over the seat of his motorbike and gunned the engine.
"Don't have a spare helmet so you'll have to use mine."
He handed it to me and I took it without argument. I'd survive a crash on this machine easier than he would, but there wasn't any sense wasting time in an argument.
I jammed the helmet on my head and swung up behind him, feeling the vibration of the bike beneath me as we started into the quiet street.
With the landscape of concrete and steel fast turning into trees and grass, we headed into the hills.
The ride was a too-brief respite from the turmoil of our world. But however brief it was, I savored every second.
CHAPTER 45
WHEN WE REACHED TUKATS AND entered Dad's house, the place was quiet so early in the morning. Not unusual in a building in which both Dad and Iain worked. Add the goblin kid to the mix, and it should be filled with noise.
I blinked, scrunching up my eyes. I hadn't had any sleep since I'd returned from the Graylands and it was bound to catch up on me soon.
I walked into the front room. My father crouched in front of the fireplace striking a match and watching the flame burn. He touched the match to the paper protruding between the lower logs, then looked up with a smile.
I rubbed my arms as I went to him, and was glad for his hug, however brief it was. My father had been slowly learning how to deal with the physical affection side of our relationship when Greer died, and for a while he'd retreated into his shell as he dealt with her loss.
With Mom back he seemed to be shedding more layers. It was all I could ask for.
I stepped out of his embrace and shivered. "It's cold here."
"Hence the fire," he said.
I rolled my eyes and spun on my heel leaving the Dad and Logan to their awkward greetings while I rummaged in the hall closet for one of Dad's old cardigans.
I was shrugging into it when rapid footsteps clattered on the kitchen floor tiles and a moment later a small body slammed into me.
"Hi," sang Alina, her arms around my waist, a wide grin on her face as she stared up at me.
"Hello, you," I said, tapping her nose. "What are you up to?" I picked a leaf from the mess that was her red hair.
"We've been rolling in the leaves," said Alix, looking on from the kitchen doorway. He was watching his sister with an almost jealous expression, as if he too wanted a hug but didn't want to admit it.
I walked over to him and knelt. "Looks like too much fun," I said, grinning. When I saw the tiny lift to the corner of his mouth, I took that as my cue. "How about a hug? I came all this way so I might as well collect."
He hesitated but I pull him close. He resisted for the briefest moment, then squeezed back.
Satisfied I'd breached at least one of his defences I let him go, not wanting to overwhelm him with emotion.
He wasn't the only one on the edge of emotional overwhelm. I found myself far too happy to see them too. It felt strange to find that my affection for them had grown since I'd met them. Seems I was a kid person after all.
The air beside me shimmered and Jess coalesced beside me, holding onto a young woman whose blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail at the top of her head. Was this really our Eraser Darcy?
Alina gasped as the two women solidified a foot from her, and Alix jumped back into the kitchen.
I squeezed Alina's shoulder. "It's okay. Why don't you and Alix go and clean up? I'll see you both later."
Alix watched Jess and Darcy suspiciously and didn't move until Alina went to him and held out her hand. Then together they walked past us and up the stairs without a backward glance.
They still needed to adjust to other paranormals but they seemed to be pretty resilient. I only hoped that we were able to help them in the long term.
"Hey," I said to Jess, giving Darcy a smile. "This must be Darcy?"
The girl nodded while Jess said, "Kailin Odel, meet Darcy Graham. I have already apologized to Darcy for the early morning request."
"And I've already assured Jacinta that I am happy to help Logan out." She glanced at Jess, and I sensed they were having a conversation that went beyond the words they spoke, as if they both knew something hat I didn't, and were reaching some sort of understanding.
"I'm so glad you're here because we seriously need your help," I said holding out my hand to shake hers. Her handshake was firm and confident and I found that I liked her already.
"Was Saleem busy, Jess?" I asked, wondering what had happened to our expected transport.
"He was unreachable." She gave me a teasing smile "I was the second choice.".
I grinned, hiding my worry for the djinn. It was rare for Saleem to be unreachable.
I waved them inside the living room where the fire was crackling nicely, and where Dad and Logan were deep in conversation beside the floor-to-ceilings window.
Truthfully, I was surprised that neither appeared to be uncomfortable or want to rip the other's throat out.
Good.
We'd just completed introductions when my brother, Iain, arrived. I was tall, but Iain towered over me by a full head. His bright smile and fast, hard bear hug warmed me more than the fire did.
When I introduced him to Darcy, I didn't miss the rosy tinge to her cheeks, or the way Iain's gaze stayed on her face for a bit longer than was normal.
Since his wife Sonia had been killed, Iain had kept his relationships light and fun, and never too serious. But he seemed to have taken a shine to our Eraser.
Interesting. It could be a relationship worth prodding in the right direction.
But first, our current business.
"Darcy," I said. "Thanks for coming. We need help urgently."
At my words Logan and Dad ended their private conversation and joined us. "I have reason to believe," I continued, "that someone's memory has been erased against their will."
Darcy's gaze flicked immediately to Jess and again they appeared to share a look. "Such a thing is easy enough to accomplish if the subject is sedated."
"Is sedation necessary?" I asked.
She pursed her lips. "Not necessary, but recommended. Mind-melding in any form takes time, and with a conscious--or even semi-conscious--subject it's far too easy to lose concentration."
"How long would such a process take?" Logan asked. His expression was off--tense and strained as he studied Darcy's face.
I wondered if he too was taken with the lovely mage but decided his expression appeared to be more like he was struggling to figure out where he'd seen her before.
She hesitated then, her discomfort clear. "It depends on what I'm doing. For
a full erase it's quick, although extremely painful for both the subject and myself."
"And if you're just removing specific memories?" I asked.
"It takes much longer. Anything between eighteen hours and two days, depending on how intensive the wipe needs to be."
Logan frowned. "So you can remove specific pieces of information from a person's memory?"
Immediately I understood what he was getting at.
Could it be possible that the memories he was trying to recall had been wiped from his mind? I felt a little ill at the thought and had to focus to hear Darcy's answer.
"Yes," she said. "Imagine you're eating an apple and I go in and remove the memories of what you ate. And replace the apple with a peppermint." She smiled, yet the corners of her mouth didn't rise high enough, as if some form of tension still controlled her responses.
Logan thought about it. "I'll recall that I ate a peppermint?"
She nodded. "If I gave you a new memory of an actual peppermint, yes. But if I didn't replace the actual apple with an actual peppermint you'd recall eating an apple but not see it, and you'd recall the taste as peppermint, not the crunchy sweet apple itself."
"Sounds like a bit of a mind-fudge." I kept it clean since Jess and Dad were present. "Does it ever go wrong?"
She didn't hesitate. "It can. I could make a person recall eating a live snake instead of an apple. Or erase every apple they've eaten in their life. There are limitless possibilities, but few are ethical."
So all that protected us were the ethics of the practitioner. That was scary. "How long do the effects of such an erase last?"
Darcy considered. "It depends on the job and the particular need. It could be forever. Or I could make it only temporary."
"What are the signs that an erased memory is returning?" I asked, my heart beginning to thump harder.
"They usually begin with dreams that allude to what's been erased and odd flashes of memory that are usually sensation-related."
"Sensation?" asked Logan softly.
Jess glanced at Logan as Darcy answered. "Yes. Sensations are often the most difficult to erase. We can remove the apple but the experience of the eating is incredibly hard to remove and replace. Erasing is usually the only viable choice. In the 'eating an apple' case there you won't recall the apple but you'll remember the feel of eating it, the taste of the fruit and the juices. The context in which you ate it will also remain."
