Blood Moon: A SoulTracker Novel #5: A DarkWorld Series (DarkWorld: SoulTracker)

by T. G. Ayer

  Kai grinned, but there was a distinct lack of amusement in her expression. “I have a feeling we’re going to have a full team on this.”

  “That’s right. Count me in,” said Lily as she walked in from the hallway across from the living room. Baz and Steph were close on her heels.

  “Make that two,” said Baz as he strode in, his smile bright.

  Steph snorted. “You two think you can outshine me, think again,” she said with an eye-roll that was backed up with a sharp snap of her gum.

  Lily laughed, and Baz merely shook his head.

  I waved a hand. “Okay, no need to fight. We’ll need all hands on deck, and technical info is one of them. Although, I may have to have one person remain behind in order to coordinate and cover our absences, as well as to call in reinforcements if something should happen and we don’t return.”

  Steph made a face, but Kai chuckled. “We’ll have to let Mom and Grams duke it out on that front, though I have a feeling Mom’s already picked the short straw. She just doesn’t know it yet,” she said with a snicker.

  We shared a laugh at Celeste’s expense, and then I said, “Time to go, guys. I need to speak to Nerina and get this whole thing lined up.”

  Kai nodded and walked me to the door where we hovered on the threshold as the younger group huddled. I leaned in and whispered to Kai, “Is Lily really up to it?”

  Kai smiled. “There’s a lot I need to update you on, but rest assured, she’s good to go.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad. I’ll have to find a minute to chat with her before she thinks I’m an uncaring bitch.”

  Kai snorted. “She kinda worships you, so you’re pretty safe there.”

  I smiled at that, a little unsure how to respond to that kind of knowledge. I knew Steph loved her job and cared deeply for me, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever been in a situation where I was admired to that level.

  Still, the news gave me a small boost, and I called out to Steph who continued to dawdle, “Steph, you delay me even one second, and you’re going to have to stay behind.”

  I grinned and headed out to the car as Steph let out an impatient growl and scampered after me.

  Chapter 23

  As I sank into the seat for the ride home, I studied Steph’s profile. Her blonde hair was free of her usual messy ponytail, now framing her face and brushing against her cheeks. Odd. She was usually fussy about her hair, always needing it up and out of her way.

  I frowned and lifted my head to peer at her. “What happened to your glasses? Don’t you need them to see?”

  Steph rolled her eyes. “You know, when Dark Magic bled into the Earth-World and left wanton destruction in its wake, it didn’t take away the technology for contact lenses.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Smartass,” I muttered as I studied her face some more. “Hairs down, contacts in, and I think I see a touch of purple eyeshadow. And a hint of peach blush.” I straightened and peered closer. “And the most subtle dab of rose lip-gloss.”

  “Shut up, Mel,” Steph griped, though she kept her eyes focused on the road.

  I gasped loudly in mock-horror, slapping my hand over my mouth for special effect. “You like him. You really like him,” I said in a stage whisper, finding that I was most enjoying the idea that Steph liked a guy. Even if he happened to be a dead one.

  That thought made me stiffen, and my smile faded a touch.

  “And that,” said Steph with a wave of her hand, “was what I was waiting for.”

  I shook my head, cursing myself silently. “I didn’t mean it that way, kid. I’m just a little concerned.” I made a face. “I know he’s a good guy, but he’s kind of...not...breathing. As in...he’s dead.”

  I stared at Steph, and remained unmoving until she glanced over at me briefly. Then, eyes back on the road, she said, “So what? It’s not as if I’m about to head off into the sunset with him and go make a brood of vampy-demon-hacker babies. I’m pretty sure that must be illegal somewhere in those supernatural realms of yours.”

  Brow furrowed, I considered my next words carefully. “Well, as long as you go in eyes open, Steph. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  She shrugged, pretending nonchalance, though her jaw clenched a fraction; just enough to negate her feigned indifference. “It goes where it goes,” she said, tone high. “For all I know, it’s just a crush, and he’ll snort or fart or something, and I’ll be grossed out and wouldn’t want to see him again.”

  I cleared my throat. “Er…that brings me to my next question.”

  “Which is?” Steph gave me a brief wary glance.

  “About vamp-demons...are they all…I mean...is everything accounted for…you know,” I said waving a hand at my lap while trying—and failing—to hide a smirk.

  “Shut up, Mel. That’s gross.” My crude gestures must have been easy to spot—her peripheral vision seemed to be working just fine.

  “What’s gross?” I asked, eyes wide and innocent. “Hanky-panky? Knocking boots? Horizontal lambada? Boin—”

  “Mel!” Steph yelled, her eyes rounded as she glared at me.

  “Eyes. Road,” I said firmly, hiding my grin for a paltry three seconds. “Sorry, Steph. I couldn’t help it. I mean, seriously, I don’t know anything about the anatomy of vamp-demons. Not certain I’d be able to offer big-sisterly advice you know. Birds and the bees and all....”

  “He’s not a vamp-demon. He’s only been bitten by one.”

  “So he has some sort of vamp-virus?” I asked, hoping this wasn’t going to get worse the more questions I asked.

  “Yeah. I’ve been helping him figure this out. He’s been speaking to a vampire, a kind of mentor guy who knows what Baz needs to work on in terms of strength and knowledge.”

  “So who is this guy?”

  “Some Special Forces mystery type. Name’s Asher,” Steph said and then slowly turned her head toward me, eyes wide. “No…it can’t be,” she whispered.

  I was so shocked I didn’t even remind her to keep her eyes on the road. Thankfully she looked back in time to avoid a head-on with a horse-and-trailer.

  I didn’t even blink.

  Moments later, I cleared my throat. “Agent Asher is a fracking vampire?” I said the words slowly, attempting to absorb the revelation.

  Steph made a choking sound. “Could be why he made us all swoony and drooly.”

  “Speak for yourself,” I muttered as I thought over our run-ins with Asher while we were in New Orleans. Then my eyes widened. “Asher works for the FBI,” I said, my tone so shocked it was entirely free of all emotion.

  Steph popped her gum. “I’m not sure what to think right now. Why would a vampire work with the government? And how could he even work for them without them knowing who and what he is? And, in the first place, how is there even such a thing as a vampire in the Earth-World. I thought they were like mythical ghost stories or something?”

  I snorted. “Er…like feline shifters and gargoyles and djinn?”

  Steph grunted in reply. “Touché.”

  I shook my head and tried to focus, so much so that I pressed my fingers to my forehead—as though it would help. Who was I kidding? “Yeah, my mind is blown.”

  “Don’t blow all those pretty brain cells, tracker. You got to get a few more people on board, save that sexy djinn of yours and then you can go all mush-brain.” Then she paused. “Oh, wait, before you do that, you also need to figure out the mystery of the undead master teleporter and the missing sister. And that’s as Nancy Drew as it can possibly get.”

  I shook my head. “Thanks for reminding me, Steph. I was trying really hard to not think about that.”

  “Sorry,” Steph replied.

  She didn’t sound in the least bit sorry.

  Chapter 24

  Not too much later, we arrived home, and I settled on the sofa in the study with a cup of chocolate on a tray table beside me. The sweet drink was cloying in my throat, and I was glad when Steph left, claiming an errand;
the moment she’d exited the room, I’d set the drink aside and sank against the cushions on the sofa.

  I sent a quick message to Nerina—marking it urgent—and then closed my eyes, intending to rest both brain and body for a few moments. When I blinked and opened my eyes again, I found I’d sunk lower on the sofa, my head now at an awkward right angle.

  My lids were heavy, but I scrunched my eyes to shove past the pull of fatigue, and found myself looking straight at Nerina who was currently sitting cross-legged on the other side of the sofa, staring at a tablet.

  I grunted and swiped at my mouth—praying I hadn’t drooled—then glared at her. “You could have woken me,” I muttered as I straightened, scraping my fingers through my hair.

  “And starve you of much-needed rest?” Nerina said, an eyebrow curving as she glared at me. “I’m not sure what’s so urgent, but I will categorically refuse to go out on a mission with you if you are not as close to one hundred percent as we can get you.”

  I cleared my throat. “I’m fine. I can manage.”

  “I’m not worried about you just managing. We are in this as a team—whatever it is—and we can’t afford the person running point to be the weak link.”

  I glared at her, then let out a defeated sigh. “When did you get so smart?”

  “Always was. You just never realized it.” She smiled—a tad brighter than usual.

  “You look different,” I said peering at her face. “You’re more...colorific. What gives?”

  Nerina smiled, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “I’m finally reaching Level Three which means I’m no longer a neutral. I get to reaccess my true nature again.”

  I shook my head and narrowed my eyes. “No clue what that all meant.”

  Nerina chuckled. “When a DeathTalker receives her powers, she is overwhelmed by the ability and what it requires. The first stage is total immersion within the Graylands which means the Initiate must become one with the In-between, essentially stripping themselves free of their natural elements.”

  I nodded. “That explains why you’re all gray? But I thought all DeathTalkers are physically that way.”

  “No. The gray is the appearance we assume when performing the communing with the dead. Over the centuries it has become a calmative that the DeathTalker appear as somewhat of a nonety. I’m told that those left behind find it easier to witness a DeathTalker in the Gray commune with the deceased.”

  “So you guys hide your true selves from us because we’re not strong enough to deal with you as real people because you happen to talk to the dead?” I asked, somewhat riled up at the thought.

  Nerina chuckled. “Perhaps there is an element of truth in that observation, but it’s only part of the reason. We wear the Gray to respect the Order of the Graylands, to show our obeisance to the voices of the dead. In a sense, we divest ourselves of our own identity in order to fully commune with the departed spirit for both the comfort of the living and the peace of the dead.”

  I nodded. “I see. I’ve been to the Graylands, so I admit this does make some sense to me. I guess I just feel people should suck it up. It’s not always about them.”

  Nerina tilted her head. “And so what about you?”

  “Me?”

  “When you project through the Veil, when you travel through the Ether and when you emerge somewhere else after you jump…do you burst into solidity in front of people or do you soften the blow first with a few words of warning, so you don’t startle them and frighten them to death?”

  I sighed. “Yeah. It’s easier to deal with a calm person than one who is hysterical and who fights back.” I nodded, giving Nerina a smile. “Sorry. Guess I’m a little out of it.”

  “Not really. That’s the initial reaction of most people when I first explain.” Nerina smiled serenely then lifted her eyebrows in question. “So what was so urgent?”

  “Right yes, I’m sorry. How long have you been waiting?”

  Nerina shrugged. “Forty minutes? Give or take. Gave me time to catch up with my email correspondence.”

  I wanted to ask if they were personal or business, suddenly bitten by the curiosity bug where Nerina was concerned. She’d opened a tiny window onto her life and had only created a need to know more. But I’d have to wait to question her. For now, Saleem was our focus.

  “So, I’m putting a team together to help me rescue Saleem?”

  “Rescue? What happened to him?” Nerina’s expression darkened.

  “He went back to Mithras, hoping to check on his brother, just make sure Rizwan was alive and well, but he didn’t return. I was starting to worry and then I ended up dreaming about him. Saleem was sending me a message, though I still have to figure out exactly how that works.”

  “He’s in the djinn plane?” asked Nerina.

  I nodded. “But he’s trapped there. He’s been captured by whoever has taken over the city and its people. And we need to get him out of there as fast as possible, or I’m afraid they may end up taking their beatings a little too far.” Then I let out a groan. “Plus there’s the whole window thing.”

  Nerina squinted. “Window thing?”

  “Yeah, Saleem’s given us a strict window of entry. No earlier and no later.”

  The DeathTalker’s eyes brightened. “That’s a good thing then. Things are falling into place.”

  With a dramatic roll of my I eyes, I slumped back. “Not you too….” Then I grinned as Nerina just shook her head at me.

  She shifted forward and unfolded her legs. “You know I’m with you. Whatever you need. Just call me, and I’ll come.”

  “What about your work? Can you get away? We may be gone for a couple of days…” I trailed off, more aware than ever of the position I was placing all my friends in.

  Nerina reached out and gripped my shoulder. “Mel? I can see what you are thinking, and you have to stop. Saleem means a lot to a lot of people. There isn’t much chance of you going it alone. And should you do that—even if you do so in order to protect the team—it will be seen as selfish.”

  I nodded slowly. “I hear you. And no, I don’t plan on going alone.” I smiled and only then did she release me.

  “Good. I must be going. I’ll clear my schedule, such as it is,” she said, her face darkening as though something troubled her. Then she brightened and smiled. “Just text me if you need me to go over things before we leave. I’ll be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

  With an abbreviated wave, Nerina shimmered away in a cloud of curling gray shadows, leaving me alone in the study. Alone with my thoughts.

  In that moment, I really did appreciate that I wasn’t alone in bearing my burdens.

  Most of them anyway.

  Chapter 25

  I headed up to bed, knowing that right now, I really needed to check up on Saleem. I’d been unconscious for a whole day, unavailable longer if I added the time on the mission with Kai.

  In my room, I lay on the bed and settled against the pillow. Closing my eyes, I focused on breathing, drawing myself up and out of my physical form, into the astral plane.

  I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t worried. In fact, a trill of fear rippled through me as I transitioned through the Veil, fear that I would again be pulled from my journey and thrust into some unknown plane with no hope of escape unless someone helped me out.

  And what if this time, there was no Samuel to set me free?

  I shook the thought from my mind and focused on moving through the astral plane, focused on Saleem and the ebb and flow of his life force.

  It didn’t take me long to reach him, his energy was strong, filled with pain and desperation, and I stilled. I’d been to see him not too long ago, albeit unintentionally, and then he’d appeared in control, filled with passion, still strong.

  Unlike the emotions, his aura emanated now.

  Saleem was not one to lose hope, or to falter in the face of adversity. He was the go-in-guns-blazing type who would never feel sorry for himself. Desperation was s
o unlike him that my fear ratcheted to the border of hysteria.

  Though a part of my brain had run on that tangent of fear, the rest of my mind remained focused, clutching to control with every fiber of my being. Because to lose control could easily mean that I could lose Saleem.

  Taking a slow calming breath, I followed his feedback thread and sank down into the room with him.

  At first, I didn’t register the sight that met my eyes. Not really. Not until the sounds and smells filtered through to me. Perhaps it was because I had walked in on an uncontemplatable horror, something I could never have imagined witnessing, least of all having to watch a loved one endure it.

  An auburn-haired woman leaned against one of the four posters of the bed, arms folded as she observed with a cool smile. A man, tall and heavyset, hovered over the djinn prince.

  Saleem was spread-eagled on what looked like a rack, something straight out of the history books on ancient methods of torture. The only problem was, it appeared that such methods were alive and well. In Mithras, at any rate.

  Saleem’s legs were roped tightly around the ankles, then lifted and secured to reveal the bottoms of his feet. What would have once been pale skin was now red and raw and bloody.

  I gasped, the sound rocketing through the room, but thankfully I still hovered in the astral plane. Heart racing, I hesitated, desperately wanting to surge forward, to throw his persecutors aside and save him from this horror.

  As I made to move to him, I saw Saleem’s lids flicker. And then he whispered, “As agreed. Not before.”

  I stopped cold, ice filtering through my veins as the man leaning over Saleem paused and straightened. He looked over his shoulder, suspicion flaring in his eyes, as though he expected to see a stranger standing beside him.

  The woman let out a dry laugh. “He’s delirious, and he’s making you jumpy?”

  “I suggest you keep your own council, halfling. Your presence was required to complete the meld. Your opinions you may keep to yourself.” The taller man leaned forward again, and placed his hands at Saleem’s temples. For the second time since I’d arrived, I had to suppress a gasp.