He stopped short as he approached and saw a tall, gorgeous woman peering into Willow’s window. He blinked and made sure he closed his mouth so he didn’t start drooling. She could have been a model. Regal, long legs in a short, black skirt, chestnut-colored hair pulled up in a clip. He cleared his throat. “Can I help you?” he questioned.
She turned at his voice and flashed a killer smile. “I was looking for Willow Avaris. Is she here?”
He licked his lips as desire flared to life inside of him. Holy cow, she was perfect. A ten, for sure. Full, pouty lips, creamy skin. He met her eyes and his heart faltered and stuttered in a way that made him gasp for breath. It caused him momentary concern because it didn’t feel like a good heart-stopping moment. On the contrary, adrenaline suddenly surged through his body like he was about to fight for his life. He tried to shake it off, because it made absolutely no sense, but his heart continued to thunder in his chest. He cleared his throat. “No, she’s not here. Who are you?” He winced as his head started to hurt again.
She smiled. “Oh, I’m her sister.”
He frowned. Willow had a sister? Dang, did she have more than one? Because if they were all this hot, he was moving in. Forcing his body to obey him, he shoved the strange fight or flight feeling down and sauntered up to the brunette beauty. He grinned. “She had to run an errand. Said she’d be back tonight. I’m one of the counselors here. If you want, I can show you around.” He bit his bottom lip in that way that always got him what he wanted… Well, except when he was with Willow. He shrugged. “You know, keep you company until she gets back.”
The woman grinned and pressed closer to him. “Well, I could think of worse things to do with my time.” She looked up at him from under her lashes. “I’ve never seen my sister’s camp before. I’d like a tour… Especially of your cabin.”
His body flamed. It burned. It chased away every other bizarre thing he’d been feeling and he drew in a deep breath, relishing the rush. This feeling, he could deal with. It was an old friend. Desire and lust he could handle. He reached up to touch a strand of her hair. “I think that can be arranged.” He met her eyes and smiled. Dang, he still had it. Thank goodness. Willow had almost convinced him that he really was about as appealing as a banana slug. “I’m Logan,” he said. “What’s your name, gorgeous?”
She slid her gaze to the side and smirked as if thinking of something devilish, then returned her eyes to his. Her smile grew. “Circe.”
Chapter Twelve
Willow couldn’t remember ever driving so fast in her life. She’d probably broken every traffic law known to man. She screeched into the camp parking lot and jumped out of her car, breaking into a run as she headed towards the camp. She had a horrid, ominous feeling.
“Whoa, Miss Willow, where’s the fire?” Colt’s voice called as she tore past a group of kids.
She ignored him and kept running, aware of the fact that it caused obvious concern. She noticed Colt, Darien and the rest of his group start to run after her, and she knew she should stop and tell them that everything was fine before the entire camp was in an uproar, but she couldn’t. Not until she knew that Logan was all right, and something inside of her said that he was in danger.
She rounded the older kids’ bunk and sprinted to Logan’s, barreling in the door without so much as a knock. Her concern mounted as she spotted him sitting in a corner, looking ashen. “Logan,” she murmured as she knelt down next to him. “Logan, are you all right?” He looked up at her and the unease she saw in his green eyes made her already pounding heart race even faster.
“I feel really weird,” he whispered. “Something’s wrong.”
She put her hand on his shoulder and tried to remain calm, even though her body was shaking. “What happened?”
He pointed towards the door. “Y-Your sister was here and I was—”
Her eyes widened. “Sister? Logan, I don’t have a sister.”
He looked up at her and blinked. “But she said—”
“I don’t have a sister!” she exclaimed. She put both of her hands on his shoulders and forced him to look at her. “Logan, what happened? What did she do?” She sounded close to hysterical. If anything happened to Logan it would be her fault. Her fault for being careless. Her fault for underestimating Cyrcinus. He was a human, for crying out loud! He had no idea he was half Alveda d’Kai. It didn’t matter that he acted like he was a tough guy. She should never have left him alone.
If it was possible, he turned even paler. “What’s going on?” he whispered. “Something’s going on, isn’t it?” He let out a cry and wrapped his arms around his midsection in obvious pain.
Tears burned her eyes and she shook him. “Logan, you need to tell me what happened!”
“Some woman was here,” he gasped. “This beautiful woman who said she was your sister. She was looking for you. I told her you’d be back later, but I could show her around. She was…hitting on me.”
Willow rolled her eyes. Of course she was. Men were such gullible fools.
“I brought her back here and we…”
“You what?” His body started to shake uncontrollably and her eyes widened in fear.
“I’m really dizzy,” he whispered. “My stomach hurts… Everything hurts.” He let out another strangled cry.
“Logan, you need to tell me what happened. Please.” She was begging. She didn’t care. She had no idea how to help him if she didn’t know what had happened.
“We-we were just making out. I dunno. I started to feel really funny.”
Willow’s heart squeezed in her chest to the point of pain.
“Then she just left. I got lightheaded and she laughed…and left.” He shook his head. “What’s going on, Willow?” He looked up at her in desperation, then cried out and doubled over again.
She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, tears trailing down her cheeks. Nightmare images invaded her mind from when she’d been a child. All of the dear Alveda d’Kai her people had loved had died in the same kind of agony Logan was currently displaying. She’d used poison darts back then. Attacked them all while they slept. Willow had been only a child, but she remembered their screams. She’d poisoned them all at the same time so they would be unable to heal one another. Cyrcinus must have somehow managed to poison Logan with her kiss.
“Who was she?” he rasped. “What’s happening to me?” He buried his face in the crook of her neck and moaned as his body trembled even harder. “She said her name was C-Circe.”
Willow squeezed her eyes shut and she reached up to stroke his hair as she cried.
The door burst open again and Colt, Darien, Aki and Doug flew in.
“What’s going on?” Darien asked as he ran to Willow’s side. “What happened?”
Willow looked up into his eyes and she breathed a small sigh of relief. Darien was safe. Cyrcinus didn’t know about him yet. She couldn’t tell what he was because he hadn’t yet come to full power. She forced herself to come to some sort of calm. She would be no use to anyone if she let the fear gripping her take over. “I-I think he’s having some sort of allergic reaction,” she said. “All of you, back to your bunk right now.”
“But—” Aki started forward.
“Now!” Willow bellowed. She fixed Darien with a stern look. “I’m taking him to the infirmary. Do as I say!” She couldn’t have all of the kids knowing that a cold-blooded killer fairy was running around on the loose and that their head counselor just happened to be the queen of the race she was targeting. They also didn’t need to know that one of the other counselors—as well as one of their friends—was part of a mythical race of warriors who’d been extinct for the last twenty years. She’d figure out how to tell Darien about his heritage after she took care of Logan, and there was no time to waste.
“Can you stand?” she murmured as the kids reluctantly filed out.
“Please let us know if he’s okay,” Darien said softly.
Willow looked back at him. “I will, Dar
ien. I promise.” He left and she looked back down at Logan. “Logan, can you stand? I need to get you to the infirmary.” She stood and tried to hoist him up. He got to his feet, but staggered and slumped against her, letting out a smothered groan.
There was no way she could support his weight. He was tall and had a lot of muscle mass. Getting to the infirmary was obviously not going to happen. She eased him back down to the floor, where he continued to shake while perspiration beaded on his forehead. She looked around in panic. She couldn’t leave him there. If it rained again, he would get soaked. Maybe she could support him long enough to get him to her cabin.
She knelt down next to him and touched his face. “I know you’re in pain,” she murmured. “I’m trying to help you, but I can’t do it by myself. Do you think you could help me get you back to my cabin? After that, I promise I’ll get you well.” Yeah right, how was she supposed to manage that? She had no idea what to do for this kind of poison. It had wiped out an entire race. What was she supposed to do to keep it from killing one person?
Logan closed his eyes and took several breaths, shaky and shallow as they were. Then he fisted his hands and let out a growling roar, forcing himself to stand. Her eyes widened at the determined, steely look on his face. His entire body was shaking; he was as white as a corpse, but he stood and he walked straight to the door, his back rigid in resolute strength.
She stared after him in shock and amazement as he yanked open the door and plunged outside. She blinked rapidly, her mind returning to the task at hand, and she ran after him. She made to put his arm around her shoulders, but he pushed her away.
“Just go open the door to your cabin,” he snarled. “I’ll get myself there, but I won’t be able to go much farther.”
She didn’t hesitate to obey. She ran ahead, unlocked her door and hurried to help him up the stairs and inside. Once she led him to the bedroom, he promptly collapsed, gasping and wheezing and shaking worse than before. He let out another growl of pain and curled himself into the fetal position, clutching his knees to his chest and squeezing his eyes shut.
Willow ran to her medicine cabinet and pulled out a syringe and some of an herbal remedy she’d taken from one of the healers at home. It was supposed to calm the nerves and help with pain. She had no idea if it would do anything to combat the poison in his system, but she had to try something.
Filling the syringe, she went to Logan and gave him the shot, praying that, at the very least, it would ease some of the agony he was in. She picked up her cell phone and dialed the guard at the Oregon Vortex. “This is Willow,” she said when he answered. “I have an extreme emergency situation at my camp. I need a healer sent here immediately.” When she’d received an affirmative reply, she hung up and sat on the bed next to Logan, stroking his hair off of his face and trying her best to just let him know she was there. She felt so lost. She had no idea what to do for this and she knew that there was a very good possibility that he could die. She felt sick as she thought about it. Sick to her stomach and sick at heart.
“Willow?”
She swallowed, forcing her tears to stay at bay. His voice sounded so feeble. She looked down at him.
“What’s going on? Please tell me.”
“I will,” she promised. “Once I get you well, I will.”
He closed his eyes as she continued to thread her fingers through his hair. “Keep doing that,” he whispered. “Feels good.”
She forced a small, sad smile and prayed the healer would hurry.
* * * *
“His human antibodies are trying to fight the poison,” the healer said to Willow after examining Logan and then giving him something to make him sleep.
“Will he be all right?” she questioned.
The healer shrugged. “There’s no way to know. Either his human antibodies will be strong enough to combat it, or they won’t. I’ve done what I can for him. You’ll know in twenty-four hours.”
Willow nodded and thanked the healer, then shut the door and returned to Logan. He was sleeping quietly now, but his breathing was shallow and his brow was furrowed. She sat down in a chair next to the bed and reached out to brush back his rebellious hair. His face relaxed a little at her touch and she sighed. She couldn’t believe this had happened. She’d been so cavalier, thinking Cyrcinus would not attack during the day. She should have been so much more careful.
A knock sounded on her door and she went to it cautiously, peering through the peep hole. She let out a breath of relief when she saw it was just the kids. She opened the door.
“Is he okay?” Lucy asked immediately, her face etched in worry.
Willow sighed. “He’s sleeping right now. The doctor said he had a really bad reaction to something, but that we shouldn’t move him and just let him sleep.” It was close enough to the truth.
“Is he going to be all right?” Darien persisted.
She swallowed. “I hope so.”
“Can we see him?”
She met Darien’s eyes and the worry she saw reflected in them made her heart ache. Logan was his brother… She looked down and stepped aside. “All right, but don’t disturb him, please.”
The kids filed in and stood around Logan, looking lost and concerned.
“What did he have a reaction to?” Aki questioned.
Lucy spun, tears hovering on her lashes. “Was it the arrow? Did his wound get infected?”
Willow reached out and touched Lucy on the shoulder. “No, sweetie. He had a reaction to something he…tasted.” She rubbed at the bridge of her nose.
“Shouldn’t he be in the hospital?” Colt questioned. “I mean, being monitored or something? It’s kind of weird that the doctor would tell you to just keep him here.”
Willow sighed. These kids were no fools. “I didn’t ask questions, Colt. I just did what I was told.”
He still looked unsettled, but let the subject drop.
Darien sat down on the edge of the bed; Lucy sat next to him. “Hope you feel better soon, dude,” Darien said quietly. “You’ve had a rough couple weeks.”
Lucy sniffed. “Yeah, get well. When you do, I promise I’ll tell you more about the dragon warriors.”
Willow’s interest piqued. “Dragon warriors?”
Lucy looked at her over her shoulder. “Yeah, the Alveda d’Kai legend. He was asking about it earlier today.”
Willow frowned. “He was?”
Lucy nodded and looked back to Logan.
“You can’t die on us now, man,” Darien said, trying to sound like he was teasing. He reached over and touched his hand. “We just started to think you had potential. You always act like such a tough guy. You can deal with a little allergic reaction, right?”
“Yeah, this should be a walk in the park for you,” Colt said.
Willow’s gaze was drawn to where Darien had his hand on Logan’s. Her eyes widened as the skin on Logan’s hand around where Darien’s rested began to take on a strange, subtle glow.
“Please get better soon,” Darien continued.
The glowing got stronger.
Willow cleared her throat. “I think that’s enough for now,” she said. “You can come back and see him in the morning, okay?”
Darien looked back at her and nodded, then looked at Logan again. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest and let that nasty stuff you ate work out of your system.” He pulled his hand away right as the glowing turned a platinum white shade.
Willow glanced at the other kids, thankful that no one had seen that but her. All of their eyes were focused elsewhere. Even Darien had been looking at Logan’s face, not his hand. Almost immediately, Logan frowned and let out a pitiful sounding moan as his peaceful slumber came to an end. Willow began to usher the kids out. “All right, thank you, guys,” she said hastily. “I appreciate your care. So will he when he finds out you came to see him.” She snatched Darien’s wrist as all of the kids headed out. “Listen, this is going to sound kind of strange,” she said quietly, “but I don’t
want any of you to answer the door for anyone tonight unless the person on the other side is me. All right?”
He frowned. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, there was a prowler around here earlier. Tried to break in my house, I think. I just want everyone to be careful and be safe, all right?”
He nodded. “Okay, Miss Willow.” He arched his back and made a face. “Man, my back is killing me. Has been all day. Feels like it’s on fire.” He rubbed at his lower back. “Must have pulled something.”
Willow felt her heart plummet, once again, as Darien turned to go. His back… It was the mark. It had to be. She just hoped no one saw it. Especially Lucy. She would flip. From this moment on she had to keep an extra close watch on Darien. Obviously he had become full Alveda d’Kai.
Chapter Thirteen
Logan screaming her name brought Willow out of her stupor and she slammed the door, running back into the bedroom. He was shaking and sweating profusely. She remembered the strange, glowing light Darien’s touch had produced and she knew what it was, but that wasn’t necessarily a relief. Darien had wished Logan well, had used his healing power without even knowing it, but Alveda d’Kai healing powers were tricky and very specific. Darien had said, “…get that nasty stuff out of your system.” Willow could only imagine what that entailed.
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