by Tanya Holmes
The man shifted from one foot to the other. “It’s Mr. McBride.”
I pushed to a stand. “Is he okay?”
“Uh, he’s fine. Just a little agitated. He’s refusing to go to his daily treatment until he sees you.”
I looked at Angela and we said in unison, “He knows.”
CHAPTER 31
MORTAL VISITING/VIEWING ROOM
TORRANCE HOSPITAL
ASPEN, COLORADO
Denieve
____________________________
Ian was pacing up a storm when I got to the observation room. It was just like Xavier. Same intensity. Same frenetic energy. As soon as he saw me, he dashed to a chair and snatched up the phone. His eyes were wild.
“You can’t leave yet,” he said.
“I have no choice. We’ve already got our orders.”
“Caryn,” he said breathlessly. “This is about Caryn.”
“What?”
“Ever since I told you about that video she faked, I’ve been wracking my brain, trying to figure out what she was really after.”
Once again he’d staked a claim on something one of the twins had said. This time, though, it wasn’t as jarring.
He switched the phone to his other ear. “They just gave me another update on Luke about twenty minutes ago. He’s adapting well to the body, but that got me thinking about the Ëâpsut I did. In English it means ‘soul transference.’ It’s how I extracted Luke right after he died. This may be what she’s been after all along, D. Possession. Of your body.” At my doubtful look, he leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Think about it. You’re pregnant, something she’s always wanted. At least it’s what she told me. That she wanted children but couldn’t have them.”
“Yes, I know, but she wouldn’t—”
“That crazy bitch tried to burn me alive. You don’t think she’s capable of stealing your body? You’re having a child. My child. And you’ve got me—a man she’s obsessed with. Not to mention, you’re damn near immortal, something she probably envies. Consider how she planned all this. Bringing us together. Urging you to stay. The lies and manipulations.”
“But there’s a hole in your theory. She had plenty of time to possess me. Why didn’t she do it before now?”
“She obviously had access to information you and I don’t have. She knew what I was, that without a Join, I would die, that without me, you would too, so maybe this was what she was waiting for. Us to fall in love. Me to do the Join, and after that, baby makes three. Meanwhile, she’s waiting and watching. Studying how we interact with each other—then and now. And once she has all the info she needs, she can slip into your body undetected and take over.”
His points were sounding way too plausible. Caryn had done nothing but lie from the start. Even before that, when we were coming up, she’d always been cagey and distrustful. Harboring resentment for years, keeping secrets from me about herself and her feelings….
Maybe she did have a hidden motive.
“You said you had unfinished business,” Ian continued. “Well, what did she say the last time she saw you? That she was about to get everything she ever wanted! What if this is her coup de grâce?”
Fear burned the pit of my stomach. “Can she do that? Just take me over?”
“While you’re still in transition? Yes, because you wouldn’t be strong enough to fight her off. But she’s running out of time because once you fully turn, it’ll be impossible for a foreign entity to enter you. That is, unless you perform Ëâpsut.”
Now I was officially terrified, but not for me. For my baby. “So what are you saying? I’m a sitting duck?”
“Not necessarily. We need…” He glanced around the room. “I need something of hers. A possession. A keepsake. Any object she handled or used—”
“What about this?” I held up the charm on the necklace. “I got it from Rachel’s PI when I took Braeden’s case. Caryn wore it when we were teens.”
Silence echoed. That I’d said “Braeden’s case” and not “your case” didn’t escape his notice. My latest Freudian slip made it clear I still hadn’t come to terms with the Join…or his personhood.
Ian tore his eyes from me and shoved to a stand. He pressed a button on a panel so he could hear and speak without the phone. “Excuse me,” he called to O’Rourke who was lurking in front of the exit behind me. “I need you to let her in here.”
“You know I can’t do that, Mr. McBride.”
“Then let me come out to her.”
“That’s even worse. Besides, I can’t remove the quarantine wards.”
“Wards?” I asked.
“Mystical symbols.” Ian pointed at the ceiling. “They’re invisible to mortal eyes. Like the runes at my safe house. They’re what’s keeping me in here. Even if a door were to open, I couldn’t walk through it.” He spoke to O’Rourke again. “Listen very carefully. You see this woman? She’s got orders to leave today. The moment she steps outside of Torrance, she’ll be vulnerable.”
“To what?” O’Rourke asked with a laborious sigh.
“A rogue human entity. That’s why I have to protect her, but I can’t do that unless I perform a shield enchantment. And I can’t do that unless I can touch the necklace she’s wearing.”
When O’Rourke just looked at him coldly, I said, “What if I take the necklace off, and have them give it to you?”
“You need to be wearing it,” Ian grumbled, then glared past me at O’Rourke. “She needs to be wearing it. You know this.”
“All I know is you’re in quarantine and she’s not coming in there.”
Ian tossed a hand. “Why not?”
“Are you dense? No mortals allowed.”
“She’s transitioning, which means she’s vulnerable—”
“Yes, to you.” O’Rourke spat. “That’s one of the reasons you’re in isolation.”
Ian raised his voice. “Clearly you’re not hearing me. If I don’t spell that necklace—”
“I don’t care.”
“But—”
“No! Nej! Níl! Non! Nein! If that’s not clear enough for you, McBride then I’ll say it in Yoreck. Hez!”
Ian’s eyes narrowed venomously as black fog suddenly appeared on the other side of his chamber. It crept along the floor like a leopard on the prowl.
“Ah, Ian?” I swallowed hard. “W-what’s that?”
He didn’t turn around, just continued glowering at O’Rourke. “What’s what, sweetheart?”
“Over there.” I pointed. “Behind you.”
With his face flaming red, O’Rourke snatched a device from his pocket and stabbed a button. “Security to chamber 8. STAT.” Then in the same breath he barked, “What are you doing, McBride?”
“Why don’t you come in here and find out?” Ian said darkly.
“I’m warning you…”
Ian feigned a shiver. “Oooooooooh. That’s sure to put the fear of God in me. I’m all warm and tingly now.” His expression hardened. “You protect your staff against enchantments and you attempt to keep your containment chambers spell-free, but Yoreck hospitals are no different than mortal ones. No matter how much they sterilize an area, bacteria always find a way in. Well, it’s the same here with magic. You tried to ward every crevice of this room, but I found a few spots you missed.” He glanced at the medical equipment behind him. “I hope everything is waterproof because ‘weather-resistant’ ain’t gonna cut it.”
An alarm went off as another man stormed into the viewing area. This one was at least twenty years older than O’Rourke. His name tag said “Greely” and he had an air of authority. “What the hell is going on?”
Ian didn’t look impressed. “You’ve lined the walls with steel, placed ward enchantments on the glass and everywhere else—all in a pathetic effort to contain me. Well, mission accomplished. I’m thoroughly trapped, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fuck shit up while I’m in here.”
Greely turned to O’Rourke. “What’s he talking about?” After the young atte
ndant gave him the gist of it, outrage blazed in his ice-blue eyes. “Mr. McBride, you will cease and desist right now.”
Ian lifted a defiant chin. He had Braeden’s stillness and Xavier’s intensity. Lightning sparked within the gathering fog, fog that had turned black as soot and climbed the walls. Thunder rumbled as humidity dotted the Plexiglas. A gentle wind howled and papers skipped around the room.
That’s when I remembered Xavier’s words.
“Braeden’s eighty percent of who you won’t see because he operates behind the scenes. He’s what’ll keep Ian from going batshit. He’s our self-control. Our sanity. Our logic. Our restraint. But he’s also our wrath and when he’s angry, watch out. That’s when I get free rein. See how that works? He’s our wrath, but I deliver it because he…the restrainer, yields.”
Braeden must’ve given Xavier a green light because Ian had the makings of a dangerous tempest.
“All these wards,” Ian remarked in a bored voice, “and no one thought to protect the room from a simple weather spell?” He mocked the guards with a tsking sound. “Very sloppy indeed, gentlemen.”
“Typical.” Greely shook his head in disgust. “From the time of The Tree up to now, Halved Immortals have been the bane of this race.”
Ian cracked his neck from side to side. “Was that supposed to hurt my feelings? Because all it did was piss me off.”
O’Rourke held up both palms. “McBride, look. There’s no need for any drama. Just calm down and—”
“I will. After you open the damn door.”
I had to diffuse the situation and fast. “Here’s an idea. Why don’t we get Mr. Greely to do the spell? That way—”
“Because, sweetheart,” Ian said, still staring daggers at the men, “he couldn’t care less about you. None of them do, so any spell they’d perform would be lackluster at best.” He cut his eyes to me. “I’m in love with you. That means my magic will be twice as powerful as anything they could ever conjure up. An enchantment mixed with love is an invincible weapon.”
His words nipped at my heart, warming me.
He pointed at the necklace. “If I spell that thing, it’ll be impossible for Caryn to possess you.” Then he went back to glaring at the men. “I need a couple minutes. That’s all.”
Greely was actually sweating. “I understand your concerns, but mortals—even those in transition like Ms. Knight—are forbidden to have any contact with the newly Joined.”
“Why?” I asked.
“For the very reason he wants you in there. He intends to do a spell. Well, that comes with a number of risks. His condition is still too precarious—”
“He’s dangerous,” O’Rourke piped in. He glared at the fog crawling up the glass. “This proves it.”
“And it’s precisely why you’re in isolation,” Greely finished, speaking to Ian. “Until she’s fully Yoreck she has no power to defend herself against you. She can be harmed. You may not mean to hurt her, but given your unstable condition….”
As Greely prattled on Ian calmly walked away, kneading the bridge of his nose. For several minutes, he appeared to listen intently, even nodded in agreement on occasion, but somewhere between the third mention of “wayward magic” and “safety measures,” he clasped his hands at his back, raised his head, and a lightning bolt slammed into the floor. Then the window. A wall. The ceiling. Another hit a monitor. It exploded.
“Maybe I haven’t made myself clear, gentlemen.” Thunder crackled, spiking his words. “The only thing keeping me from tearing this place apart are my better angels.” He tilted his head. “Problem is, I don’t know how much longer I’ll feel like listening to the little bastards.”
“Stop it, McBride!” O’Rourke screamed. “Or you’ll be sorry!”
Ian dismissed him with a glare. “I sincerely doubt that.”
“You’re mad,” Greely spat.
A menacing grin curved Ian’s mouth. “And that’s why you’d better open the fucking door.” Thunder growled as a light drizzle fell in a small circle beside him. “And while you’re at it,” he said, motioning toward the back of his chamber, “erase that ridiculous anti-magic ward in the left corner so I can perform the spell. Now!”
Scowling, Greely motioned to O’Rourke, who shot to the door panel and punched number codes in.
“I take no responsibility for your safety, Ms. Knight.”
“Duly noted, Mr. Greely,” I said rushing up behind O’Rourke.
Once the chamber opened, O’Rourke dashed in, said some words in Yoreck—an incantation to do what Ian had asked, I assumed—then scampered back out.
The restless energy he had earlier—Xavier’s restless energy—had evaporated. Now he seemed eerily self-possessed. He stood motionless on the other side of the room as pandemonium circled him. It was almost as if it were leeching out of his body, leaving him calm while his emotions wreaked havoc out here. A niggling fear whispered that maybe this was the instability Mr. Greely was talking about.
Controlled chaos is what it was.
I ventured inside, heart thrashing, knees shaking. Black fog crawled the walls and floor. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and multiple alarms blared.
Ian stepped into the unwarded area, and with one jerk of his head, slammed the door shut. The control box exploded in a burst of smoke and sparks as two burly security guards raced inside the viewing area, crowding around a second entrance. They frantically punched buttons on another control panel, but Ian was way ahead of them. The other box exploded. Darkness blanketed the room for a few moments before the emergency lights kicked on.
We stood opposite each other, me with my heart in my throat and Ian with a haunted look in his eyes. I was reminded of the first time I met Braeden in his suite and Xavier in the foyer—the wariness, the curiosity, the awe. I felt all of that, but now it was magnified. It was one thing talking to Ian through a window and quite another being face-to-face with no barriers.
His presence swallowed every inch of space.
“Come here,” he said with quiet emphasis as thunder cracked.
I cautiously bridged the gap until less than two feet separated us. No use denying it. I was scared. Even with Braeden’s aloofness and Xavier’s unpredictability, I still had a general idea of what to expect. But Ian was a wildcard.
His emotional vibe was similar to what I’d first felt with Caryn. I couldn’t read ghosts because their energy was so unruly and disorganized. Well, it was the same with Ian. I sensed nothing but anarchy and turmoil, which seemed to prove Mr. Greely right once again.
As if he’d read my mind, Ian said, “What they told you, about me hurting you—”
“I know you wouldn’t.”
“Do you?”
I had to believe in him. “Of course.”
“I hope so, because you’ve got to trust me for this to work.” He gazed past my shoulder and whispered something in Yoreck, another spell. When he was done, he said, “That’ll buy us fifteen minutes at most. They’ll be teleporting in here after that.”
“I thought you said the room was lined with steel.”
“It is, but the glass isn’t.” Ian gave the window a wary glance. “They’ll get through it eventually.” He drew a shuddery breath. “Okay, let’s do this. I need you to be completely still.”
His wistful eyes held mine as he braced my neck, covering the necklace. The warmth of his palms kissed my skin. His touch was familiar, comforting, and weighty, like two hands stacked atop each other. I imagined Braeden’s hands on the bottom as the anchor, while Xavier was on top to seal it. The image was so real, so darn true that for a second I imagined I was back in my bedroom, listening to Braeden pour his heart out after he’d kicked my door in. I also saw myself standing in the hospital corridor clinging to Xavier in tears as we both professed our love.
Ian fired off words in Yoreck, whisperings spoken with ease and speed, with the end of one word disappearing into the beginning of another. All the while, Caryn’s necklace radiated heat. It didn
’t burn, but I felt the change in temperature as it first glowed red, then white.
Sweat broke out across Ian’s forehead and his breathing turned shallow as he squeezed his eyes closed in concentration. The way his brow wrinkled was so like Braeden, but his vocal inflexions were pure Xavier. A fierce tension vibrated in his fingers as unfiltered energy flowed out of him, infusing me with strength and power.
Finally, he sighed in exhaustion and lowered his hands. “It’s done. You’re completely protected. She can still come to you in your dreams, but as long as you’re wearing that necklace, she can’t touch you.”
As he was speaking, another alarm sounded, followed by more frantic footsteps. We had but a few more minutes together. There was so much to say and so little time. The only thing we could do was stand there and take each other in while all hell broke loose around us.
Through force of habit, I went digging for the familiar, digging for Braeden and Xavier, and just when I thought I’d found them, when I would’ve sworn a nest of butterflies had taken flight in my stomach, Ian frowned as if we’d exchanged a dark secret.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
A silent war raged behind his eyes. “I hoped it was my imagination, but now….” He released a weight of the world sigh and cupped my cheek, the way Xavier used to, but pulled his hand back immediately. “Why is it that when you look at me, it feels like you’re still looking for ‘them’? Like you’ll always be looking for ‘them.’ As if we’re lost. As if we left you.”
“It’s not that, it’s just—”
Ian gave his a head a somber shake. “There you go…lying again.”
Braeden? A chill raced down my back as hope stirred, but fear and uncertainty still loomed large.
Ian glanced off. He seemed to be having an internal debate with himself. Reaching a decision, he came straight at me, backing me into the wall, but not before waving a hand to clear a patch of black fog away. It vanished immediately.
Crushed against him, I marveled at the whirlwind of sensations. The comfort of his familiar scent. The warmth of his skin. The stiff ridge of his erection digging into my stomach. Though fully clothed, my body trembled in remembrance. He made no apology for it. In fact, he took things to the next level. Dipping so our pelvises were aligned, Ian reached around my waist to hike me up on tiptoe, and pressed himself against me. He was spike hard.