by Karen Lynch
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Tristan told me he’s sending the jet. Wait’ll you see this thing; it’s like the whole rock star treatment.”
“I can’t wait.”
“And don’t forget Oscar.” I couldn’t wait to see him again, although the imps probably wouldn’t be as happy about his arrival. I still needed to pick up a litter box and food for him, and I made a note to ask Tristan if I could go shopping in town. Terrence and Josh went into Butler Falls all the time and no one seemed to have a problem with it.
“Don’t worry; he is at the top of my list.”
“List? What else are you bringing?”
There was a noticeable pause before he answered. “A box of things from your old house.”
I felt my brow crease. “What things? I have all my dad’s stuff.”
Another pause. “These are some things your father kept of your mother’s. I held onto them because I thought you might want them someday.”
“I don’t,” I replied stiffly, too shocked by his revelation to say more. I’d always assumed Madeline had taken everything of hers when she left us. Now to find out that Nate had kept some of her belongings all this time . . .
“I know but I thought Tristan might like to have them. It’s just some old books and photo albums and a few letters, but they may be of sentimental value to him.”
I started to say something not so nice and stopped myself. I felt nothing but animosity for Madeline, but she was still Tristan’s daughter and it was clear he cared about her. I saw the pain he tried to hide whenever I refused to talk about her. Madeline’s belongings meant nothing to me, but they might mean a great deal to him.
“I’m sure he will appreciate that, Nate.”
We talked for another ten minutes, mostly about his book. He told me that a reporter from a New York literary magazine had contacted him yesterday about doing an interview. The woman was coming up from New York next week to meet with him, and I could tell Nate was pretty excited about it. He promised to tell me all about it when he came to visit.
I hung up and started to log into my computer when I heard a soft knock on the door. Glancing at my clock, I saw it was after nine thirty, and I wondered who was visiting me this late. I was surprised to find the hallway empty, except for a small flat box on the floor in front of my door. Who would leave me a package? I picked it up and shook it, but it didn’t make any noise.
Closing the door, I carried the box to my desk and lifted the top to reveal a folded sheet of heavy linen stationary lying on top of the tissue paper that concealed the contents of the box. I opened the note and felt a second jolt of surprise when I saw who had penned it.
I hope you will come to love these as I do. Desmund.
The handwriting was elegant and precise with a slight flourish in the D at the beginning of his name, just how I would expect an English lord to write. I sat there for a full minute, staring at the note and marveling that Desmund had actually sent me a gift, before I pushed aside the tissue paper to see two CDs of Beethoven’s and Shubert’s greatest hits.
Touched by his gift, I popped in the Shubert CD before I sat down at my computer again. My good mood lasted as long as it took me to log into my favorite message board and see the flurry of activity there. The vampire watchers were out in full force tonight, exchanging stories of suspected vampire-related disappearances all over the country. Something was up and everyone was on edge. People went missing all the time, but vampires were usually discreet about their involvement, taking care not to hunt openly and attract too much attention. But according to the stories I was reading, missing persons cases had almost doubled in Los Angeles, Vegas, Houston, and a number of other large cities. I chewed my lower lip as I read each disturbing post. Could vampires really be responsible for all those disappearances? If so, why weren’t they being more careful to hide their tracks? Weren’t they worried at all about bringing the Mohiri down on their heads?
An email from David arrived as I was about to log off for the night. It was brief like most of his correspondence, just a note to tell me he thought one of his new leads might pan out and he’d let me know if anything turned up. He also mentioned the increase in vampire activity and told me to make sure I kept my head down. I rolled my eyes as I signed off. As if I need to be reminded of that.
Later, as I lay in bed trying to still my racing thoughts, I felt the softest brush against my mind. It made me think of Nikolas, and a feeling of security settled over me. It was strange how he was still the only Mohiri I could sense that way.
Maybe if I learned to connect with my Mori I would be more attuned to others. What do you think, demon? I asked it as I drifted deeper into sleep. You ready to make some other friends?
It could have been my imagination, but I swear it said, No.
Chapter 11
“WE’RE NOT GOING back to the lake?”
“Not today.”
I followed Nikolas around the corner of the main building, waiting for an explanation that did not come. Scowling at his back, I hurried to keep up with his long strides as I wondered what the hell was eating at him this morning. He’d barely said a word to me since he had shown up in the dining hall five minutes ago, and his stormy expression was even worse to deal with than his mood last night. I’d been laughing at something Terrence had said when Nikolas arrived and glared at us so hard that poor Terrence and Josh had actually cringed and hurried off to their own table. Even Jordan had refrained from teasing me about Nikolas when she caught sight of his expression. I had no idea what was up with him, but surely he wasn’t still upset about the kark incident. We’d been through a lot worse situations and I’d never seen him in such a black mood after any of them.
“Will you slow down? I’m not going to chase you all over creation because you’re too cranky to walk like a normal person.”
I did not expect him to stop and turn so suddenly, and I ran right into him. Stepping back, I rubbed my nose and met his steel gaze squarely. This – whatever it was – might scare everyone else, but I’d felt the brunt of Nikolas’s moods too many times to be cowed by them.
“I don’t get cranky,” he declared as if I had insulted him.
“Really? Could have fooled me.”
He started walking again, but slower this time, and I was able to keep abreast of him.
“So where are we going?”
“The arena.”
“You’re not going to make me fight bazerats, are you? Because I have to say that was not one of my favorite experiences.”
“You are going to work with your Mori some more.”
“Oh, okay.” A small thrill passed through me at the thought of talking to the Mori again after our first conversation – if you could call it that.
When we got to the arena, Nikolas opened the door and I entered the building ahead of him. He flipped a switch, turning on the overhead lights, and casting a bright glow over the large room, which looked a lot less creepy with the lights on.
The center of the arena was bare except for some thick chains and weights on the floor, and I eyed the chains, wondering what they were for. But Nikolas ignored them and led me over to the bottom row of the bleachers. I sat and he took the seat beside me, putting us so close our shoulders touched. Needing a little more space, I moved down one seat and turned sideways to find him watching me with an almost bemused expression.
“What?”
He looked at me for several more seconds. “How do you feel after yesterday?”
“Do you mean training or the kark thing?”
“Both.”
“Talking to my Mori was not what I expected. I’m really not sure how I feel about it.”
“And the kark attack?”
I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know; I haven’t really thought much about it. Compared to some of the other stuff I’ve been through, that was nothing.”
His face lost some of its hardness. “That is true.”
“Well, you did call
me a danger magnet once.”
A small smile hovered at the corners of his mouth. “I believe I said disaster magnet.”
“The kark incident could hardly be called a disaster, so I think my luck is improving.”
“Maybe it is, but let’s work on training you so you don’t need luck. Do you think you can talk to your Mori like you did yesterday?” I nodded. “Start with that, and then I’ll tell you what I want you to do next.”
I closed my eyes, because it felt more natural that way, and opened my thoughts to the demon crouching inside its cage. Even before I started to lower the wall, I felt the demon’s mixture of anticipation and fear. Come out, I said as the wall disappeared. I won’t hurt you.
The Mori did not need more encouragement than that. Instead of rushing out like it had the first time, it emerged from its cage cautiously, and I could feel it searching for the glow as it called it. When it realized that my power was still locked away, it relaxed, reminding me of a cat sitting back on its haunches. It was hard to believe this small, seemingly timid blob of darkness was the same one that had tried to fill me with violent urges and could give me strength and speed to match a vampire’s.
Now that we’re here, I’m not sure what we are supposed to do, I told it. I don’t suppose you would know.
The demon looked at me with its featureless face but said nothing. Great, neither one of us was a conversationalist. This should be interesting.
Nikolas’s voice cut through the silence between us. “How are you doing?”
Solmi? The demon asked eagerly, and I wondered if maybe it sensed the other Mori nearby.
“I’m good,” I replied without opening my eyes. “What should I be doing?”
“Touch it.”
My eyes flew open. “Touch it?”
He smiled at my reaction. “Yes. If you ever want to tap into all of its powers, you will have to learn to merge with it. Touching it is the first step.”
Merge with the demon? Fuse our minds together the way he’d described yesterday? I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to do that.
“We will take this as slow as you need to.”
I shut my eyes again and looked at the demon that hadn’t moved at all while I was talking to Nikolas.
I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to touch you. I reached toward it slowly, and it shrank back at the last moment.
Look, Nikolas says we have to do this if we’re ever going to work together.
The demon perked up. Solmi?
Yes, Solmi. Maybe if my Mori thought the other demon wanted us to do this, then it would be okay with it. It was worth a try.
It worked. The demon started to lean toward me as I reached for it. This time, it did not flinch away and my mind made contact with the dark shapeless blob.
There is no way to describe the sensations that flowed into me through that single touch. Colors, sounds, and smells bombarded me along with a wave of emotions: fear, love, rage, joy, loneliness, and so many more. It was how I imagined a prisoner would feel, emerging into the sunlight after a lifetime of solitary, a blind man seeing for the first time, a deaf man hearing music. It was the joy of freedom, the fear of losing it again, and an overwhelming need to connect with another living creature.
I absorbed every one of the Mori’s emotions and felt how much I had been hurting it by imprisoning it all these years. It was a demon, but it was also a sentient being and as much a part of me as my heart or lungs. I’d treated imps and bazerats with more compassion and kindness than I had the demon living inside me.
I didn’t know I was crying until a hand touched my face. “Sara, what is it?”
“It hurts so much.”
“You’re in pain?”
I shook my head without opening my eyes. “Not me, my Mori. It’s so lonely and sad.”
“You’re crying for your demon?” There was surprise in his voice along with something else I could not identify.
Pulling back, I turned my face away from him. “You wouldn’t understand.”
It took him a moment to answer. “Do you want to tell me what is happening?”
“I feel so many things it’s almost too much.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I don’t know how you do it, how you live with this all the time.”
“This is your first time opening yourself to your demon. The more you do this, the easier it will be.” He sounded like a trainer again. “Give yourself a few minutes to adjust, and then I want you to tell me what else you feel.”
I faced the onslaught from the Mori until I could take it no longer. Please, it’s too much, I pleaded, about to pull away. The Mori shifted, and the flow of sensations began to lessen until they became a trickle. We were still touching, but I was no longer overwhelmed by its emotions, which allowed me to start exploring our connection. The first thing I discovered was the intelligence of the demon. It had always felt like a mindless beast, lacking rational thought, and even when I had spoken to it yesterday, its halting speech had made me see it as less intelligent than I was. But I realized now that its lack of communication was due to it just not knowing how to talk to me, since I had shut it away for most of my life.
The second thing I found was a pulsing energy I had never felt before. Dark and coiled, it was almost frightening in its intensity and so different than my other power. Whereas my Fae power healed, this power felt angry, destructive. I knew instinctively that this was the essence of the Mori demon and the place from which all Mohiri drew their strength. Curiously, I opened our connection more to draw a delicate thread of it toward me, and the demon let it go willingly. I felt a rush of energy like pure adrenaline, and I took a deep breath, marveling at the strength coursing through me. If this was from our thin connection, I could not imagine what it felt like to become one with the demon the way Nikolas did.
“This is . . . incredible.” For the first time I understood how Nikolas was able to fight all those vampires at once.
“What do you feel?”
I opened my eyes, beaming. “I feel strong, like I could lift a car.”
He smirked. “I think we should start with something a bit smaller. See that small weight over there? It weighs forty pounds. Do you think you can lift that?”
“Do you think I’m that weak? I can lift forty pounds.”
“Yes, but how easily? Can you do it with one hand?”
I stood and walked over to the weights, stopping by the smallest one, a cast-iron kettlebell. Bending at the knees, I grasped the handle in my right hand and straightened up. The weight lifted about a foot off the floor before I lowered it back down with a grunt. “I don’t get it. I feel like I should be able to pick it up.”
“You are feeling your Mori’s power, but you aren’t actually tapped into it yet. In order to do that, you have to work with the Mori instead of trying to take from it.”
“You mean merge with it like you do?” I asked, hearing fear slip into my voice.
“Eventually you’ll do that, but it’s not necessary for this exercise. Right now, I want you to stop touching the Mori and let it reach out to you instead. Open yourself a little, and your Mori will know what to do. You already know you can control the demon, so don’t be afraid of it. Let it in.”
Sure, easy for him to say. I pulled away from the Mori and immediately my mind felt quieter and calmer without all the extra emotions of the demon’s energy. Okay, let’s do this, I said to the Mori that seemed more at ease with me now. It appeared to know what I wanted, but it moved toward me slowly as if it was unsure of what to do. The moment it reached me, its natural instinct seemed to kick in, and it began to stretch and press itself against my mind. I could hear it asking me to let it in, and taking a deep breath, I opened to it.
Tendrils of the demon’s power reached into my mind while others stretched along my spine and down my arms and legs, fusing with my muscles and strengthening my bones. I fought the urge to push it away and concentrated on studying it instead, observing how differen
t it was from my scorching Fae power. This power made me feel physically strong and agile, and it was a heady sensation.
My hand reached for the weight again, and this time I lifted it with more ease. It was still heavier than I’d expected it to be, but the fact that I stood there holding a forty-pound weight in one hand awed me. I let it drop and jumped in the air. “Yes!”
I spun to grin at Nikolas. “Did you see that? That was awesome!”
“Very good. You learn fast.” He had his trainer face on, but I could hear a note of pride in his voice. “Now, I want you to do that again five more times, with each hand.”
I did as he asked, and by the time I finished, a fine sheen of sweat covered my brow. I wiped it away with my sleeve and looked at him triumphantly.
He nodded in approval. “Tired yet?”
“A little,” I lied.
He got up and walked over to me, then bent and lifted a larger kettlebell as if it weighed nothing. “This one is sixty pounds. Think you can lift it?”
I chewed on my lip. “I don’t know.”
He laid the weight on the floor again. “If you need more strength, you just need to ask your Mori to give you more.”
“More?” My body hummed with the strange power filling it. I didn’t know if I could handle more than that.
“If you’re not up to it, it’s okay.”
I knew what he was doing, and still I let myself be goaded. “No, I can do it,” I said to him as I told the demon what I needed. Within seconds, I felt more power flowing into my body. I bent and gripped the handle of the heavier weight and tried to lift it off the ground. It might as well have been welded to the floor. I huffed and tried two more times, barely moving it each time. “I can’t,” I finally admitted, straightening to look at him.
“Lesson number one, demon strength is expendable. You use it up and you will need to let it replenish, just like your own energy.”
“But you never get tired.”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “I do, but it takes a lot more than lifting weights, and I have been doing this a long time.” He went to the largest weight, which judging by its size was at least one hundred and fifty pounds, and hefted it in one hand. “Lesson number two, using your demon strength takes practice. Don’t expect to lift cars any time soon.”
