When I opened my eyes, I sat with Dec and Killian in our little circle. I blinked in a daze and sagged against Dec. His face was red and he was sweating from the effort to keep us grounded. His body was pale gold and the glow was just fading as he retracted his saol. Killian’s eyes were black against the chalkiness of his skin. Mine must’ve been pale too because he looked alarmed when his eyes cleared enough to see again.
“Are you okay?” His voice was shaky and his eyes still unfocused. He opened and closed them trying to reset his vision.
It took me a second to find my voice. I wasn’t sure if I was okay or not. What just happened here? My brain felt like tissue paper and my hand burned like fire. I opened my hand and held it up. Killian held his up too. In the center of both of our palms was a perfect imprint of the heart-shaped locket. It was branded into our skin.
Where was Sean?
“We were so close! I saw him. I felt his hand. What happened?” I was thrashed. This sucked.
Killian slowly shook his head in confusion. “I don’t know. It should’ve worked.”
“Damn it! This sucks!” I stalked to the window and bounced my forehead against the glass. Oh God, what happened to him? Where was he? We were so close. I swiped at the tears that threatened to fall and sighed. I wanted to get angry, but there was no point in railing against fate now. It didn’t change things. We were close so we would try again. I would never give up on him. He was my other half. I wouldn’t be whole again without him. The click of the door closing told me I was alone with my thoughts and I sagged against the window.
Suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed and a blue charge of electricity zigzagged along the outline of the window frame in front of me.
A sheer reflection took shape.
I whipped around to see him hovering unsteadily in the doorway. He wasn’t quite standing on the ground but he was solid. His eyes blazed with familiar blue fire but they were unfocused. He was holding out one hand trying to balance. Shrieking his name, I threw myself into his arms and knocked him into the wall. Completely unchecked, the current inside of him careened through me nearly stopping my heart. I gasped at the pain in my chest but kissed every inch of his beautiful face.
“Oh God, it’s really you!” I repeated over and over again.
The more I kissed him the more he seemed to steady himself. He wobbled a bit as his body became more solid, more real. The fire in his eyes dimmed to the normal midnight blue and his skin to a healthy golden tan. Still wobbly, he shook his head from side to side and sucked in a deep breath. With his saol under control and his feet on the ground, he finally smiled his heartbreaking smile at me and I dissolved in happy tears.
“Killian! Dec! Come quick!”
They ran into the room and skidded to a stumbling halt. Breaking into huge grins, they swept us both into a group hug. Poor Sean was so overwhelmed with sudden life he couldn’t control his saol. He flickered on and off like a lightning bug.
“Oh, man, it’s a miracle! I am so glad to see you!” Dec vibrated with happiness and hugged Sean so hard he lifted him off of his feet.
Killian pulled me aside. “Put him to bed before he falls down. He’s going to need some time to recover.”
I grinned like an idiot and he broke into a rare smile. I swear he winked at me but I’ll never be sure. It happened too fast.
“Good job, babe. I knew you could do it,” he added with look of respect.
Sean took my hand and I led him back to the room we’d shared last year. He was really quiet. In fact, he hadn’t said a word yet…I shut the door behind us and drank in the sight of him. It was a miracle.
“Come on, let’s lay down. You’re exhausted.” I gently pushed him to the bed. His movements were stiff and awkward as if he wasn’t familiar with his body.
I curled against his side and ran my hands over him. I couldn’t stop touching him. He was real! I’d imagined him and remembered him a million times this year, but my imagination wasn’t up to the real thing. He was muscular and strong and even totally exhausted, he was incredibly beautiful and sexy. I couldn’t stop touching him just to be sure he was really here. Up on my elbows, I smiled into his eyes. I was ridiculously happy. Grabbing him by both cheeks, I kissed his whole face again.
Stiffly, he pulled my lips to his and kissed me softly. “Mica?” he whispered before falling into a deep sleep.
Two days later, he was still asleep and I was back in bed with him. It was nearing midnight and I couldn’t fall asleep. I was too happy. Instead, I sat on the bed and stared at Sean. Pale moonlight drifted across his face and highlighted the strong cheekbones and heavy lashes. His face was softer in sleep and his body was relaxed. I lightly traced the shape of his face with my finger and held my breath as the faint glow followed my touch. Years ago I’d discovered the quirky little reaction. When his guard was down, as in sleep, the energy flowed close to the surface. He controlled it when wearing his human façade but the golden light was always just below his skin. Inspired, I trailed my finger around the hard muscle of his bare shoulder and across his chest. I kissed the tiny freckle under his collarbone and smiled. He was perfect and he was here. I would never want anything else. I meant to kiss him and go to sleep but when I touched my lips to his, his mouth held mine and deepened the kiss. Little lights flashed behind my eyes as my head swam and I melted against him.
Sometime later, he held our joined hands behind my head and smiled down at me. The amazing connection was still there. Our individual bodies were gone and there was only one.
There was no Mica and no Sean.
There was only us.
“You’re so beautiful. I must be dreaming,” he murmured sleepily. Tightening his arm around me, he kissed me one last time and fell asleep.
The sounds of birds singing woke me the next morning. Sunlight streamed into the room and a soft breeze trickled in through the screens. I stretched lazily across the bed and reached for a sheet. Mm, I was so comfortable and closed my eyes for more sleep. Then I remembered today was a new day. I sprang out of bed so fast I stumbled into the dresser and ricocheted off of the door jam.
Running to the kitchen, I called his name. Did I imagine the whole thing? It wouldn’t be the first time that I’d dreamed about him…I skidded around the corner and stopped dead at the sight in front of me. Dec and Sean sat with their heads together at the kitchen table. From their expressions, they were talking seriously about something and I hesitated to interrupt. Instead, I hovered just outside the doorway and chewed my lip. Should I go in or not?
“Spying, Mica?” Killian observed behind me.
I jumped with a squeak and Sean glanced over at me. I elbowed Killian in the ribs and bounced into the room. Sean stood and met my eyes. Smiling, I went to him and kissed him good morning.
“Are you all right, Sean?”
“Considering where I’ve been, I’d say I’m much better!” He laughed but there was an edge to it. He was still freaked out.
“Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you for a year,” I said.
He frowned and looked sharply at Killian. “A year? What do you mean?”
It was my turn to frown. “You’ve been gone for almost a year. We’ve been crazy without you.”
Shaking his head in denial, Sean sat down. “That’s impossible! What day is it?”
Concerned, Killian answered him with narrowed eyes, “She’s right, Sean. It’s been nearly a year. Where have you been?”
“I don’t know…everywhere? Maybe nowhere?” His mouth was set and his eyes reflected his pain. He looked out the window and reined in his emotions.
My heart squeezed in sympathy. “What happened to you?”
He hesitated. “I don’t really know. One minute I was in the basement of the farmhouse and the next I was…scattered.”
Dec blanched. “Scattered?” He shuddered and shut his eyes in sympathetic pain.
Killian inhaled sharply and said, “No!”
I looked uncert
ainly from one to the other, but none of them would meet my eyes. They were all in their own private hell as they absorbed Sean’s words.
“I don’t understand. Someone tell me what you’re talking about.” My voice trembled as I tried to resist the strong emotions swirling around me.
Sean shrugged off the shock and started his story. “Being scattered is bad, Mica. We can only die if our saol core is vaporized. We call it being ‘scattered’ because all of the particles are scattered into the winds. A lucky demon can kill us this way…and apparently other things can cause it too.”
I interrupted him, “You can’t heal yourself?”
“No, we don’t survive it because we can’t usually find all of the scattered particles. Our core is unique to each of us, Mica…like your DNA is. Without all of it, we’re missing essential parts. It would be like you losing a chunk of your brain or an organ. You’d have a hole there. You might be able to function like that. But what if you lost vital strands of DNA suddenly? You would have serious problems. It’s the same thing with us. As far as healing ourselves goes, well, when the saol is gone, we have no way…no energy source…to heal ourselves. It’s just too overwhelming for us to do.”
I paled and swung around to Killian for confirmation. He grunted his agreement. “Oh my God! It’s a miracle we got you back then,” I said through fresh tears. It was a miracle.
Dec got up and hugged Sean hard and sniffed back tears. Hesitantly, he asked, “What was it like?”
“At first there was nothing and I just floated. I didn’t even know what had happened. My thoughts were scattered too and I couldn’t remember anything. There was nothing…just mist. But then after a while, I felt Mica out there, somewhere. I didn’t realize it was her though. I just felt a connection…an anchor…to a place.” He paused, thinking of something more. “Did you cry for me?” He cupped my face in his hands searching for the answer.
I was crying now. “Yes! I cried and I prayed and I pleaded and I begged for you to come back to me…It was a…dark time.”
“I felt you…your sadness.”
Killian scowled at the memory and got up to pace. “It was…difficult…especially for Mica. She saw everything that happened inside the house that night. She watched you explode and disappear. She relived the nightmare every night.”
And he had been beside me for most of this, but he didn’t need to mention that now.
“And we couldn’t find you. We searched for you everywhere, but no one knew what happened or where you went,” Dec added. “Killian and I took turns looking but you were gone.” His voice broke and he coughed to cover it.
They had been gaunt with fatigue and lack of food. They hadn’t slept or eaten for days at a time while traveling all over the world trying to sense Sean. I finally convinced them to slow down and eat; to take care of themselves too. When Dec collapsed one night, I put my foot down and demanded they eat. After that, they still went out looking but they ate and slept in between trips. Traveling, as they call teleporting, takes a huge toll on their energy stores and it was only a matter of time before one of them burned out.
Sean turned to Killian and said in a voice swelling with emotion, “I felt her, Killian. Like a chain holding me to this plane, I felt Mica’s hold on me even when I floated. I wanted to let go and drift away but Mica, I heard you. I felt your pain. I don’t know how, but it’s true. Your voice anchored me and I couldn’t let go. Then I heard you call my name and it was irresistible. Every part of me was drawn to you--I guess you really are my other half.”
I fingered my locket and considered Killian’s plan, his magic. He was a genius; there was no other explanation for him. He always knew what to do and how to use our powers. We would be lost without him here. To his intense surprise, I grabbed Killian and kissed him on the mouth before he could say a word of protest.
“I love you! You’re amazing!”
Dec explained to Sean, “It was his plan that brought you back to us. We’re all grateful that it worked.” He grinned at Killian’s scowl.
Killian just grunted and said, “It wasn’t just me. It took all of us to bring you back. I’ll fill you in later. For now, why don’t you two go do something outside of the bedroom? I don’t need any more of Mica’s porno memories in my head!”
“Killian!”
He laughed at my outrage and pointed to the back door.
An hour later, we left the house and wandered off into the woods. There was a pretty creek nearby and we used to hike to it all the time. We headed towards it now. Shyly, I peered up at him from under my lashes. It was no use. I was going to cry again. Damn it! I was really trying to get a grip on my emotions, but they were all over the place since he came home.
Sean gently tugged me to him and wrapped his arms around me. I sank against him and took a deep breath. He rubbed my back and rested his chin on my head.
“You’re scared of me,” he observed quietly.
“No, I…” I started to protest but stopped. He was right. I was afraid. I didn’t know how to act after all of the pain I’d been through this year. I didn’t really believe he was actually here. Surely this was another dream.
“Why don’t we just take things slowly? We can get to know each other again.”
“Slow is good.” I pulled back and gazed into his eyes. I could feel the imprint of his hands against my back. He was definitely real and he was here. “Kiss me?”
He hesitated for a split second and lowered his mouth to mine. I wrapped my hands around his neck and kissed him back until I ran out of oxygen and had to gasp for air. I pressed against him like a cat and he groaned against my neck. Every thought in my head disappeared until there was only him.
Later, I commented, “I’m so glad we’re getting to know each other again. I feel better already.”
A cross between a laugh and a groan greeted me. Sean stretched and said, “You’re going to need to work on your shyness, Mica.”
I laughed and flopped down across his stomach just to hear the air whooshing out. He rolled me over and pinned me on my back with his nose pressed to mine. “I love you.” He kissed me with a smile. “Near or far.”
“Don’t leave me again. I couldn’t breathe without you. My heart was broken.”
“At least it wasn’t every molecule in your body.”
Chapter 3: Reunion
DINNER WITH FRIENDS should be fun. Unless your boyfriend was a supernatural being who had been in limbo for a year. My friends weren’t too happy with him at the moment. After the, uh, accident, I couldn’t bring myself to tell them he had died. For one thing, I didn’t know that for sure; and for another, I didn’t want to jinx him. So I had to say he left me. If I had been cheerful about it, there might not have been a problem. As it was, the past year sucked; and I was by turns, depressed, militant, and secretive. Once in a very great while, Dec or Killian made me socialize in public. Dec nagged at me and bribed me with pizza. Hanging out with Killian was fine for me, but he tended to clear entire rooms with just a glance. Besides, he didn’t really like people. He thought humans were annoying. We didn’t go out too often.
Our little group of friends had shrunk to a couple. Ricki and Kevin were in college in Ohio as was Tyler. Dani and Aric still lived in town and went to the Plattsburgh campus of New York State University. Dani helped out in her mom’s little shop Zen. Aric worked on his dad’s farm and at Peabody’s as a bartender. Everyone was very busy these days. Dani was still mostly my best friend but I didn’t see her too often. What with my new career as super-secret special agent for the Forces of Good…I was a little busy training to kill bad guys and learning to use really cool gadgets like night vision binoculars or NVBs. These were not activities I could share with Dani.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked for the third time. We were sitting in the car waiting for the others to show.
Sean chuckled at me and said, “Sweetheart, you love Dani and want to see her. I’m back for good now. You’ll need to tell her
eventually. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, but let’s put it off--”
“Chicken!” He pulled me up for a kiss and I gladly joined in.
He set me away from him and scanned my face with curious eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re not glowing anymore. Remember when you used to glow every time I touched you?”
“Oh, yeah, that was awesome. So glad that’s stopped. Don’t worry, I still feel like I’m on fire!” I smiled seductively and fanned my cleavage.
Killian joined us in the car. “She’s really mastered her powers this year. You’ll be amazed when you see what she can do now.”
I blushed at the compliment. “Wow, that’s so sweet. Thanks, Killian. I didn’t think you’d noticed.”
Dec snorted from the back seat. “You’ll never get another compliment, darlin’. Are you recording this?”
Killian added, “Well, she’s worked hard and she doesn’t complain. I’d say this compliment is earned.”
We pulled into the parking lot and I immediately spotted Aric’s car. Damn, they were here. I was hoping they’d forget. I fidgeted with my locket chain until Sean’s fingers closed over my hand.
“She loves you, remember? She’s not going to be upset with you about this.”
“No, she’ll be upset with you!”
“I’ve been through a lot this year. I think I can handle one pissed off female. Give me some credit, okay?”
“Okay, okay. Let’s get this over with.”
As usual, Killian went in first and Sean and I went in next. Dec brought up the rear. Old habits die hard and none of us went anywhere without practicing security measures. Scanning the room for bad guys and exits was second nature to me now. Correction: usually I did it too. Tonight I only had eyes for Dani. I sought her out from across the room and held my breath as she discovered Sean. Dani’s face went through a series of expressions when she spotted me and then saw Sean with me. Her eyebrows went straight up and her clear grey eyes narrowed. Aric flinched as she dug her nails into his arm. Mouth set and eyes hard, Dani marched over to me and hauled me off to the patio for a little chat. I looked helplessly behind me at Sean who just shrugged and waved me out the door.
The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) Page 30