Blood Moon_A SoulTracker Novel 5_A DarkWorld Series

by T. G. Ayer

  After a few moments of dedicated chewing by all three of us—including a concerted effort to eat as much as possible of what Steph had provided—I sat back and let out a deliriously sated sigh.

  “Damn, I didn’t even know I was that hungry,” I said pouring another cup of coffee and sitting back as Steph cleared plates and neatened up the table. She didn’t leave though, just settled back and waited as the silence thickened within the room.

  “Okay, okay, I can take a hint,” I muttered and got to my feet, feeling a disturbing energy rippling through me, as though I was still experiencing the electric rush that I’d been zapped with so many times. “So, what do you know? So I don’t repeat myself.”

  Steph shrugged. “Chloe and the Chief dropped you off. Chloe’s been back regularly to treat you, but she’s been a bit reticent.”

  “So nobody has said much? Have you guys spoken to Kai?”

  Drake nodded. “Briefly. She’s been holed up with her mother, so I didn’t harangue her. I just felt they were a little preoccupied. And I knew you would tell us what happened when you did wake up. Things are a little crazy with everyone.”

  “You did get a couple of visitors though,” Steph said.

  I lifted a brow in question as I sipped my coffee.

  “Cassandra and Nerina both dropped by. Said they wanted to ensure you were okay, see for themselves,” Drake said, his tone sober. “Problem is, they too didn’t want to say anything. Nerina said you’d tell us. And she also said they were all waiting to find out what happened to you when you disappeared.”

  “Why do I feel like I recall telling Chief Murdoch what happened?” I said with a frown as a hazy memory popped into my head.

  “Yes, you did. But even he thought it was rather strange and I have a feeling he wasn’t exactly sure himself—suppose it’s not hard to question a person who sounds a little like a raving…er…. So. I suggest you tell us before we die of curiosity, or frustration.” Drake smiled evenly and waited.

  “Or both,” said Steph.

  “Okay, fine, I’m assuming that since you already know about Celeste, there isn’t a need for secrecy in terms of Kai’s mission any longer. She’d been targeted by a small group of Alpha council members and from what we could understand they had a strange and suspicious relationship with a man who we’d previously crossed paths with. A human agent who had once belonged to an organization called Division 7 that performed experiments—attempts to create a super-powered soldier. All in all, it meant Kai’s life was in danger, and we had to keep her safe while still pulling the wool over the bad guys’ eyes.

  “Unfortunately for us, the Alphas had no idea who they were in bed with, nor the slightest clue how dangerous Jones and Division 7 are. We wanted to get Kai away so we could draw Jones and his cohorts out, help us identify what was going on, fix the whole situation with Kai’s death-threat, and hold the two council members responsible. But as usual, things never went to plan.”

  “No kidding,” said Steph and Drake in unison.

  Chapter 17

  “Cassandra disguised herself so she could be Kai, and we arranged for her to be taken to a high-security prison outside of the city, as though Kai was out of his hands. Murdoch then arranged for Kai to be taken by a different transport, in a different direction. On the way, we were attacked by what Drake and I already know as the Shadowmen, or ShadowWraiths. They’re elf-demons, a sort of mercenary assassin-for-hire type of supernatural.”

  Drake scowled at that, though he remained silent.

  “A couple of these shocking dudes attacked the van. Knocked Kai out with an energy blast. Did a whole number on me too, I might add. I tried to stop them from taking her, but…. “ I paused and looked at the two of them. “Ever hear the term ‘got the shock of my life?’ Well, anyone using that phrase…they don’t know shit. This jolt of electric power was a real doozy. Blasted me back into the astral plane. Even when I tried to jump back, I couldn’t. It was as though every molecule of my body was vibrating and I was no longer solid.”

  Steph sat forward. “Could it be because you are a jumper anyway? That ability may have amplified the effect of their power on you.”

  “Yeah, I can get my head around that. The problem is what happened next. When I tried to attack them, I was—for want of a better word—transported.”

  “Where?” asked Drake warily. His expression was the one he usually wore when he knew he was not going to like what I was about to say.

  “Mithras.”

  Neither Steph nor Drake replied.

  I chuckled. “Yeah. I was a little surprised, to say the least.”

  “What happened?” asked Steph.

  “That jolt shocked the shizzles out of me. My brain was kinda fried for a while. Had to wait until I regained a bit of energy.” That met more silence, so I kept going. “But that unexpected trip to see Saleem wasn’t the shocking part.”

  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 ev
en 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?”

  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 bein
g 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 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?”