by T. G. Ayer
Steph snorted. “Funny. But do go on. I don’t have all day.”
Snippy much.
I bit back a smile. “That blast of electricity didn’t only send me to Mithras, and zap my brain cells, it also managed to blast away the entire room at Elite HQ.”
“What the actual fuck.” Steph stared, eyes wide.
Drake cleared his throat then wriggled in his seat. “And the rest of the mission with Kai? Celeste?”
I nodded. “I got back, Horner was shock—er, surprised at my handiwork, I explained, then went to attend to Kai. Would have been an easy grab-the-panther-bring-her-home sort of mission but, yeah. It ended up a little more complicated. Turned out Celeste had been abducted by Omega—again, I know—and they pretty much worked her over looking for baby-panther to mommy-mage DNA-transfer. I went looking for Celeste, tried to save her, got the crap zapped out of me a second time,” I paused, not for effect, or to take a breath. I was struggling to deal with the reality of this part of my tale, too. I cleared my throat and continued, “And this time I was sent to a weird place. Not anywhere on the astral plane, that much I can confirm.”
Drake scowled. “So where was this, if you weren’t there physically? We know your body was at Elite HQ the entire time.”
I nodded. “Most of the time, yes. It seemed, for some reason, like the electric energy boosted my abilities. Either I was always that powerful and just didn’t know it, or the electrical jolt gave me the added power. At any rate, I knew that such a thing was possible, technically. But to see it with my own eyes?”
I shook my head, still somewhat dazed at the reality of what I’d just experienced.
I took a deep breath. “And I’m still a little in shock as to who I ran into.”
“Would you just tell us already?” Steph yelled, her cheeks now pink with frustration.
“Samuel isn’t dead.”
“What?” Steph’s pink cheeks turned bloodless. “That is so not what I was expecting you to say,” she whispered. From her expression, I was pretty certain that had she been standing she’d have surely fallen.
“Yeah, me either. That energy sucked me into this strange dimension, and from the resonance of the place, I could tell it was not normal. When I arrived, I didn’t really understand what about the place was setting off those alarm bells. But when I saw Samuel, I understood. He—or someone directed by him—created a perfect replica of his family’s entire estate. House, lawns, orchards, the lot.”
“Why would anyone do that?” asked Drake.
I gave a shrug, not wanting to guess at Samuel’s motivations right now. “Maybe it’s a comfortable virtual prison? Or maybe he did it himself in order to feel at home.”
“This is so weird.”
“It gets weirder.” When Drake lifted his eyebrow, I knew I’d held them in suspense for too long.
“So, the other person I ran into in the strange dimension was Ari.”
“You have got to be shitting me.”
“I wish I was,” I said, giving Drake a rueful smile. “I’m still a little shell-shocked right now. I’m not even sure that I’ve processed it at all.”
“You sure as hell don’t appear to have processed it considering you’re looking pretty normal and un-hysterical to me.” Steph was beginning to sound a little hysterical to me.
“Yeah, well, I’ve been looking for my sister for almost all my life and somewhere along the line I think I forgot who I was looking for. Arianne was so young—not more than a baby when I lost her—and for so long I truly believed she was dead. But when I finally understood how real the possibility of her still being alive was, I changed my focus to just finding her. I guess I didn’t spend much time thinking about Ari herself, and what kind of person she is, what she wanted.”
“And that long-winded explanation was because you didn’t recognize her, or because you didn’t know her?” asked Steph softly. Her question earned her a confused look from Drake, who at least had the presence of mind to say nothing.
I let out a sigh.
“Exactly. But now what we really need to do is to concentrate on Saleem. I can figure out what I’m going to do about the Ari/Samuel situation once I at least have the ball rolling with getting the team together.”
Drake nodded, back to business now. “What do you need from me?”
“What you do best? Give me the lowdown on weapons, military tactics, and security for the djinn realm.”
Drake slapped his thighs and got to his feet. “Just my kind of gig. So, do you want the actual weapons they are currently using, or do we merely want to defend against their assaults any way that gets the job done?”
I considered the options for a few moments and then shook my head, “I don’t want to delay our preparations any further, so if we can just make sure that we are capable of defending ourselves against their weaponry, then I can be comfortable taking a team in.”
Drake made a face. “It’s not as if the team you’re taking with you are green, Mel. I think you can at least expect that Kai will come ready to pull the trigger.”
I let out a weary laugh. “That reminds me, I do need to pay her a visit.”
“You think you’re ready to make a jump?” asked Steph, her eyes narrowing.
“Of course not. I’m going to have you drive me,” I said with a wicked smirk.
Oddly enough, Steph didn’t appear affronted or annoyed that she was now going to have to drive me around. In fact, she looked relieved.
As Steph cleared the dishes, and Drake did his research, I headed back upstairs to jump into the shower and change into something a little more presentable than pajamas.
Although, given the choice, pajamas would have been my preference.
Chapter 18
The real reason Steph had agreed so easily to go with me to Tukats to visit Kai, turned out to be their resident hacker, Baz. The dark-haired enigmatic vamp was all charm when we arrived, having himself only just returned from a journey that was shrouded in mystery, as he refused to divulge his destination.
Instead, he convinced Steph to join him in his study so he could show her a program he’d written for the Odel security system.
As the pair disappeared down the hall, Kai entered from the living room and paused on the threshold. Her eyes were dark, and she looked about as tired as I felt.
“Hey,” she said with a small sigh. She beckoned me and then turned to head back to the fireside. The flames crackled, and the fire was higher than it should have been if warmth was the end goal.
Apparently, it wasn’t, given the almost suffocating heat within the room.
I frowned as I studied Kai. She’d sunk onto the floor and had folded herself into a yoga-sit, brushing her long black hair out of her face.
“How you holding up?” she asked, glancing up at me briefly before turning her attention back to the weapon she was cleaning.
I sank down beside her, enjoying the warmth of the fire on my back. “I’ve been better.”
“Yeah, having the crap shocked out of you would do that,” Kai said with a grin which faded quickly.
“How is your mom?” I asked, my voice soft, careful.
Kai stiffened for a brief moment and then laughed. “Mom’s a fighter. She’s not taking anything lying down, and she’s giving Dad a hard time of it, too.”
“I can imagine.” From what I’d already learned of Celeste Odel, she wasn’t the damsel in distress type and having been kidnapped and then rescued would have her put her well and truly out of sorts.
As if reading my mind, Kai said, “Mom’s furious that she had to be rescued. Again.” Kai rolled her eyes.
“Not like the first time was her fault,” I offered.
“You tell her that and see what she says.” Kai shook her head and then boosted herself to her feet in one smooth motion. “Speaking of which, Mom made it quite clear that should you drop by, you were to be brought up to see her.”
“That sure sounds ominous. Do I need to be worried?”
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Kai chuckled. “Anyone else and I’d say no.”
I laughed at that, then got to my feet and followed Kai upstairs to her mom’s bedroom.
The door was ajar, and Celeste was sitting on the bed, her fingers moving swiftly as she drew a needle through a square piece of cloth.
“I’m impressed. Is that embroidery?” I asked, eyes widening as Celeste turned the creation around and rolled her eyes.
“Cross-stitch. Someone—who shall not be named at this time—thought a cross-stitch kit would be a brilliant way to keep my mind off my insanely slow recovery.”
Kai rolled her eyes. “Come on, Mom. You have to admit that my choice could not have been better.”
I laughed softly and closed in to peer over at the white woven fabric, covered in little crosses made with a variety of colored thread, mostly in shades of purple. A group of majestic horses raced along a shoreline, sending plumes of water splashing as their hooves crashed into the edge of the sea.
“That’s quite beautiful.”
“Not you, too,” muttered Celeste, gifting me with a dark glare. I tried hard to suppress my smile, and succeeded. Mostly.
“Don’t you dare laugh, young lady. You even crack that smile, and I’ll have you finish the damn thing for me.”
That sent both Kai and me into a chorus of giggles, and we were still laughing as I went to Celeste’s side and went over to sit on the chair beside her bed.
“So tell me really, how do you feel? Have you recovered, at least enough to feel a little more like yourself?” I asked, still worried about her time in the astral plane.
Celeste paused and glanced over my shoulder at the now-closed door. Kailin had left us alone, and I hadn’t even registered her departure.
I looked back at Celeste and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Not anything that isn’t already wrong.”
“Is it what they did to you? Does everyone know?”
Celeste shook her head. “That’s what I wanted to speak to you about. I don’t want you to tell anyone what happened.”
I rolled my eyes. “That isn’t going to result in anything good, Mrs. Odel.”
Celeste uttered a rude word. “After everything we’ve been through, especially the part where you saved my life—twice, if I were going to be specific, which I’m not—I hardly think you need to stand on ceremony.”
I pursed my lips. “Well. Then there are only two other options.”
“Which are?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as her lips twitched.
“Mom, or Aunt Celeste,” I said airily.
Celeste snickered at that. “Ha, that would be like you calling Ivy Grams.”
“I do call Ivy Grams,” I replied, biting my lip to prevent the smile that threatened to break through. “In fact, I was only recently gifted with Ivy, gifted by her own granddaughter, no less.”
After shaking her head, Celeste grunted then changed the subject. “I know you, Mel Morgan. You’re a woman with a lot of heart. And a valuable asset to the Ni’amh.”
I stiffened, unused to the name being spoken out loud, and shocked that Kailin’s own mother was the one to speak it.
I cleared my throat to respond. Then I fell silent as my vocal chords—and my mouth—refused to obey.
Celeste patted the bed beside her, and I shifted from the chair and sank down onto the mattress. “What do you know of the Ni’amh?” she asked softly, the kindness in her tone tempering the almost interrogatory question.
I shrugged. “Only what I know from the prophecy. I’m still of the opinion that it’s partly a whole lot of hogwash,” I said as I made a face.
Celeste sent me a disapproving look as she jabbed her needle into the fabric. “I’ll have you know that it is as far from hogwash as you can get. My only objection is in how the education of the Ni’amh is being handled.”
I glanced up and met green eyes filled with frustration. “How do you mean?”
Celeste let out a snort. “How did you find out?”
Letting out a short breath, I nodded. “I see what you mean. Receiving a random letter that spoke of a prophecy and then being left to figure it out for oneself is definitely not the most informative or encouraging method.”
“More like the most uninformative method possible. I’d have preferred that the entire Ni’amh be gathered together and told of what their destiny holds.”
“Is this destiny even something that is known?” I asked, frowning as the questions ran through my mind. “And how is it that you know about it?”
Celeste shook her head. “I was told of the details of the prophecy a few years ago when one of the Ancients was possessed of the wrong idea that I was the Demon Hunter mentioned within the text of the prophecy. He got that a little wrong, which, unfortunately, led to me fleeing in order to protect the true Demon Hunter.”
“Which would be Kai,” I spoke more to myself than to Celeste, but she nodded anyway. “Wait a second. You became a target merely because you were thought to be the Hunter in the predictions? Why would someone want to kill one of the Ni’amh? And who?”
“I’m not sure, although I do have my suspicions.”
“Well, at one point I began to wonder if the Shadowmen attacks had something to do with whoever wanted to eliminate the Ni’amh.”
“Oh?” asked Celeste, lifting one eyebrow as she stared at me, her needlework forgotten. “What made you come to such a conclusion?”
I shrugged. “It seemed as though these shadow assassins were attacking the Ni’amh. First Kai, and then me. But I wasn’t sure if I could just rush out and question the other three, especially when I wasn’t sure that they even knew anything about the Ni’amh in the first place.” I let out a sigh and sank forward, shoulders slumped as I picked at the knotted threads that edged the throw sitting over Celeste’s knees. Then I straightened and stared at her. “You’re talking to me about this. Why? And have you spoken to Kai yet?”
Celeste let out a sigh and leaned heavily against the pillows at her back. “Not yet. I’m just a little unsure of how she would take it.”
“Take what? That you knew she was the Hunter in the prophecy? I don’t think that would bother her too much—” I paused as I stared at Celeste, my eyes grazing her body. Then I cleared my throat. “Have we been able to ascertain yet what these people wanted from you? And maybe while we’re on the subject, why it is that you keep getting abducted and experimented on.”
Celeste snorted. “Why do you think?”
I stared at her, slowly understanding that she was trying to protect Kai from some piece of knowledge that would ultimately hurt her deeply. But it wasn’t something that Celeste herself had done to her daughter, but rather something that Kai may not easily handle when she was told.
Then I sucked in a shocked breath.
People were hunting Celeste, thinking she was her daughter.
That was so not going to go down well with Kai.
Chapter 19
Celeste ignored my shocked expression even as I asked, “There are elements out there that still believe you are the Hunter. Is that why you were abducted?”
She gave a jerk of her head as she jabbed her needle into her tapestry. “There was one attempt when Kai was very little. That particular incident is one we don’t talk about. In fact, I’m pretty sure that it’s tucked away so deeply that even Corin may be surprised when reminded of it.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “So Kai’s Dad is also involved? He knows?”
Celeste shook her head. “He only knew that my life was in danger and by virtue of that, my children’s lives. Of course, he eventually did come to understand that Kailin received my Hunter powers, and what that meant for her future, but he didn’t know about the Ni’amh or the larger meaning the prophecy holds for the five of you.”
“Which is what exactly?”
“That truth seems to oscillate depending on which side is reading the words of the Oracle.”
“Side?” I strai
ghtened and shook my head. “Why do I get the feeling that the people who are the most important, and probably the most affected, are the ones who know the least?”
Celeste chuckled and dropped the cross-stitch on her lap and reached for a flask on the nightstand at her side. She poured a glass of something rich and red and offered it to me.
I accepted silently, a little unsure if she’d kick up a fuss as she seemed to want to busy herself with something. One thing I knew about Celeste Odel was that she was a warrior, which led me to assume that being confined to bed would not make for a very calm hunter. Add that to the fact that she’d been kidnapped and experimented on for who knew how long, and I suspected I’d be dealing with a powder-keg ready to blow.
As I sipped, Celeste relaxed a little, then poured herself a glass and joined me in the enforced calm of sipping what turned out to be a very tart cranberry juice.
After I winced as the sour imploded inside my mouth, I cleared my throat and said, “I think it’s only fair that you tell her.”
Celeste snapped her gaze to mine, her eyes narrowing. I shook my head and said, “I know there must be a reason you called me here to speak to me.”
Celeste let out a huff. “I merely wanted to express my gratitude.”
“Bulldust.” Kai’s mother scowled at my response, but I did not miss the twitch of her lips. “I’ve dealt with enough mysteries and conundrums to know that this meeting has nothing to do with thanks. You’re getting the lay of the land, trying to get a feel for what Kai knows and how she is likely to take the news that her mother was abducted on more than one occasion and experimented upon only because those people believed said mother was actually Kai herself.”
“You’re very astute,” was Celeste’s only response.
“I keep good company.” I pursed my lips. “What makes you think Kai hadn’t already begun to figure it out? We’ve plucked you from experimental facilities twice already. I’m guessing you get caught one more time and your game will really be up. And then it won’t only be you who goes down.” I threw her a dark glare.
