Love Beyond Loyalty

by Rebecca Royce

  "She's having a vision."

  A vision? So that was what Eden could do. Loraine realized that she didn't know what any of the others could do with the exception of Gabriel and Jason. She was going to have to learn on her feet—and fast—if she wanted to get through the next few weeks.

  Charma grabbed Eden's arm. "I can't get in her head at all."

  "Is that something you can usually do?"

  The blonde-haired Charma nodded. "I'm an emotional healer. She's totally blocked off from me right me."

  Isabelle kneeled down next to Eden. "Why are all the men frozen?"

  Marina shook her head. "No idea."

  Eden opened her eyes wide, pulling on Loraine's shirt until she was forced to bend down to her eye level. "Listen to me." Eden's voice sounded rough like sandpaper. It grated on Loraine's ears but she didn't dare look away.

  "I'm listening."

  "I see you and Gabriel. You're in a room; a darkly lit room with lots of books on the shelves. Laying out before you are the journals. They're glowing—the books are glowing—a deep fire red. Gabriel is reading from them, and you are sobbing. You're not alone. Someone else, the demon, he is with you. There is so much pain…"

  Eden's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and Loraine reached out to catch her before she fell over. A blast of cold air hit Loraine, and she realized she'd begun sweating. When had it gotten so hot in the room?

  The men seemed to spring to life. Jason reached Eden first and took her from Loraine's arms. Gabriel grabbed Loraine and pulled her to him.

  Everyone seemed to talk at once. Gabriel picked her up and carried her to the windowsill.

  "Gabriel, I'm okay to walk." What was going on?

  Gabriel set her down. "Fuck, Loraine, I couldn't move. I could not make my body move. I was completely frozen. What the hell was that?"

  "You're asking me? I'm the new one here, remember?"

  "I could hear what she was saying, but I couldn't get to you. I don't think my heart has ever beat so fucking fast in my life. I thought for sure something bad was coming into the room, and I wasn't going to be able to lift a finger to protect you."

  Like a nervous tick. Gabriel's language disintegrated into the pits of profanity. She now knew he did this whenever he was scared, worried, or feeling insecure. She shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about all the fascinating little tidbits she kept learning about the person fate had picked out for her.

  Unable to resist the urge, she reached out and stroked a hand down his long brown hair. "You wanted to protect me?"

  He nodded. His eyes were awash with emotions she didn't yet know how to identify in him. "Very badly."

  Leaning forward, she didn't think, she just acted as she pressed her mouth to his. Maybe it was stupid to share a kiss in a room full of people but she wanted to be close to him, needed it like she required air and food.

  She felt him hesitate for a moment before he pulled her close and kissed her back. Even though the room was noisy and their future so unclear, at that second there was only him and the feel of his warm, soft lips against hers as they claimed each other's future in an unspoken pledge she could feel in her bones.

  Jason's loud voice interrupted the moment and she moved back, bereft from the lack of Gabriel's warmth against her.

  "I can't rouse her at all. Wherever her mind has gone, I can't follow her."

  Loraine watched Gabriel's strong neck muscles clench. With her index finger, she touched his throat gently and he smiled before he grabbed her hand and turned around.

  The sound of Gabriel's voice sent shivers down her spine. "Is she going to be okay?"

  Jason nodded. "I don't sense any big problem but, then again, I don't know why she's unconscious. It might just be part of what happens to her."

  Gabriel swore. "I hope she's okay. At least we now know where the books are."

  "We do?" Leonardo looked up from staring at Eden. "All I heard was dimly lit room."

  "It's Sebastian's father's study. He always keeps the lights down and he has leather bound volumes on the desk that no one is allowed to touch."

  "Then he already has them?" Leonardo clenched his jaw so tightly Loraine could see the muscles work. "We have to get them back."

  "Hell, yeah, we do." Gabriel moved forward still holding Loraine's hand. "I'll go get them."

  "You'll go get them?" Leonardo laughed. "Not without me you won't."

  "Fine, we'll go together." Gabriel looked at her. "You'll be safe here while I'm gone."

  "No way," Loraine answered him. "You heard Eden. We were both in that room."

  "And you were crying. I'm not putting you in any situation where you can get upset."

  If Loraine had had something to throw, she'd have hurled it at Gabriel. "What is the point of having Eden's visions if we're not going to listen to them? She said, 'I was in that room.' I need to be in that room."

  Isabelle spoke from behind her. "By trying to thwart the Great One's prophecies our parents made them come true. Leaving Loraine here might be what brings about that bad future where she's crying."

  Leonardo scoffed. "This is the problem with having someone tell you prophecies; they never tell you what you're supposed to do with them."

  Jason stood up. "Well, all I know is that Charma and I are not going. We need to stay here with Eden and try to rouse her. Even if we can manage that, she's going to need some recovery time. We'll stay here behind Marina's wards. Though, I would like a chance to beat the hell out of that demon."

  Nodding, Charma rose from the floor. She looked at Loraine "Since he's been with all of our lunatic men, Jason has developed a real bloodthirsty side to him."

  Following Jason, who still held the unconscious Eden, she left the room.

  Kal finally spoke. "I'll come too. Isabelle and Loraine can stay here."

  "Like hell I will." Isabelle moved forward and clasped arms with Loraine. "Where you guys go, we go. That's how the whole soul-mate-work-together-in-pairs thing works."

  Marina stepped forward. "I'll go too."

  "No, you won't." Leonardo glared at Marina. "You have a job, and it's to find Drew. Locate your soul mate and bring him back to us."

  Marina's look could have melted snowcaps. "Who died and elected you leader?"

  "Veli, right after I killed him, remember?"

  Without another word, Leonardo stormed from the room leaving silence in his wake. Loraine wasn't sure what that was about but she knew she never wanted to underestimate Leonardo.

  Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "So I guess that means you're coming whether I like it or not?"

  She grinned at him. "You might as well get used to the idea that I'm not going to be left behind."

  And she wasn't. Whatever happened, they were in it together.

  Chapter Nine

  Alexa waited until she was certain she'd heard Sebastian go to bed before she crept out of her room onto the front porch. As soon as she stepped outside she felt the heat of the New Orleans' night air hit her feet and legs under her pink cotton nightgown. She rubbed her arms. Goosebumps appeared on her skin as if it she was cold instead of sweating.

  Wow. What an interesting conundrum she'd found herself in. Never in her life would she have imagined Sebastian was interested in her romantically. It wasn't that he was ugly. No, she hadn't lied when she'd told Sebastian she thought there was something wrong with her. She just never felt anything for anyone.

  What she wanted was to be able to talk about all this stuff with Gabriel like they had when they were children. They'd understood each other almost immediately, each one knowing that the other had powers their peers simply did not have.

  If he'd been her protector, she had civilized and comforted him when life got too hard. But these days she'd lost her best friend to a devil-worshiping cult, and it looked like he'd found a woman who might be involved in it too. More and more, she'd started to believe Sebastian when he said Gabriel would not be coming back to them.

  She bit he
r lip. But to do what Sebastian wanted her to do and help him destroy Gabe to save humanity? Was she capable of that kind of violence?

  "I'd pay a million dollars for one of your thoughts."

  Alexa jumped a few inches. "I didn't hear you come out."

  "Obviously." There was always such a sensuous quality to Sebastian's voice. Maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised he was interested in her the way he said.

  "I was thinking about Gabriel."

  "He takes up far too much of our time. He's not even here, yet he is all we talk about."

  She nodded. That much was true. However, Gabriel and Alexa had come together as foster children adopted by Sebastian's family. It had always been the two of them together. Even with Sebastian being as close as she ever got to having a family, it wasn't the same thing as Gabe. Sebastian took two steps toward her until he stood directly behind her body.

  Sebastian's hands gently massaged her shoulders. She closed her eyes as heat from the pressure he applied to her shoulders entered her body. Sebastian was always that hot. Vaguely she remembered how warm it had been when she'd stepped outside. How was it that Sebastian was hotter? How was it even possible?

  She opened her eyes, and Sebastian let go of her shoulders. The night seemed darker, as if it were not as beautiful as she originally thought.

  "Shall we continue to speak of Gabriel?"

  "Oh, yes, that sounds like a good idea." It did. But different than it had originally. Sebastian was right. It was time to stop making him the center of her life. He needed to be dealt with. As it turned out, her particular 'gift', the one that let her find all the people in the world with the powers she and Gabe had been born with, would actively let her assist Sebastian in saving the world.

  She raised an eyebrow as she saw him in her mind's eye. Looking up at Sebastian, she smiled. "He's on an airplane. He's coming home to us."

  "How convenient."

  * * * *

  Eden didn't want to open her eyes. She could hear Jason and Charma whispering in the distance. They were so cute, so obviously in love, which was important, Eden supposed, since they were soul mates and they'd been through hell to be together. Still, she wasn't sure she could open her eyes to the lovey-dovey behavior they exhibited and not actually throw up.

  This had been a bad episode. She hadn't had a vision hit her so powerfully since she was a child and she'd learned to cut herself off from the intensity of the experience.

  It was like dreaming. You could, if you practiced, keep your dreams under control and not let them consume you like they did when you were a child.

  She could blame Marina and Leonardo for insisting she open herself up to her powers, but the fault was her own. It was pathetic really. She was an Outsider, yet she was all but worthless since her power nearly crippled her when used the way it was meant to be implemented. How on earth was that supposed to help with anything?

  "Don't beat yourself up, gorgeous."

  It was that voice. She hadn't heard it since she'd been all but comatose in the mental institution in New Jersey where Marina had found her.

  Lately, she'd decided she'd imagined it. When she'd been stuck in her chair, unable to move, it had told her the demon was coming, and somehow it had altered her outward appearance in such a way that the demon was so disgusted it left her alone rather than kill her.

  "You're real or am I imagining things again?"

  She heard gentle laughter in her ear. "I'm real. Although I'm afraid this will be the only way we ever communicate."

  "Why is that?"

  There was a silent pause. "Let's not talk about upsetting things right now."

  "What should we talk about?"

  "You opening your eyes. Clearly, you still have work to do."

  "No, I already told them my vision."

  "Yes, but it sent you into a deep sleep for hours. You need to work on your powers. How else will we ever beat the demon or punish your family who abused you for all of those years?"

  Now, this was getting ridiculous. "You can't possibly be real if you know all of that about me."

  She'd never even told anyone here what happened to her as a child.

  "I've always watched you. You belong to me."

  Gasping, she opened her eyes. "That would make you my…"

  "Yes. I've got to go. Work on your powers, Eden."

  * * * *

  Leonardo sighed and looked out the window of the airplane. He could practically feel the newly blossoming love taking hold of Gabriel and Loraine, who were seated in front of him. If he wanted to, he could help it along by pushing some of his enhancement powers at them. It made everything stronger than it might otherwise be.

  He wasn't going to use his ability that way. Not when it came to interfering with other people's love lives. That was just gross and wrong on so many levels.

  Sitting further back in his seat, he tried to deny that he wasn't somewhat jealous of all the success everyone around him was having with love, with the exception of Marina, of course. On one hand, he knew it was great. It meant they were fulfilling the prophecy and might actually beat the demon before he got too much stronger.

  On the other hand, he had to wonder why Fate dictated that his soul mate was actually living with, and believing, the demon they needed to kill. Hadn't he done enough to earn an easy 'falling in love' scenario?

  He'd, to steal a word from Gabriel, frickin killed Veli for the group. Hadn't that been enough to earn his future? He closed his eyes.

  Maybe Fate didn't work that way. Maybe it didn't matter what you did.

  "What are you thinking about?" Isabelle's voice interrupted his not-so-pleasant thoughts.

  He looked at her for a moment before he answered her. She really was the perfect mate for Kal: tough but also kind. She had felt like Leonardo's long lost sister. Now, however, they were trying to fit new people in. Neither Gabe, Eden, nor Loraine had been raised in their house. It was complicated dealing with everyone's personalities, and he knew he wasn't doing a good job.

  "I'm wondering about a lot of things, but I think my most bothersome thought is about why Fate thought the best person to pair me with is the one who is in league with the demon."

  "Ah." Isabelle shifted in her seat, and he watched as she gently squeezed Kal's hand. His fellow Outsider was fast asleep in his seat with an unread magazine strewn on his lap. "How do you know she's yours?"

  "I started to have a feeling a few years ago that my soul mate had turned to evil."

  "What do you mean you started to feel it? How does that work?"

  He raised an eyebrow. "How do you travel back in time? How does that work? It's hard to explain what is just natural to me. I'm a power enhancer, it means, in a strange way, I'm connected to all of the Outsiders. I guess you could say, I've always been acutely aware of… her… even if I didn't know who she exactly was."

  Isabelle sighed. "I think, that for those of us who were raised as humans, you have to expect that we'll make human mistakes. Believing the wrong person, falling for well constructed lies, that is a big-time human mistake."

  "Are you suggesting that we, who were raised knowing we were Outsiders, are somehow less capable of mistakes?"

  Isabelle threw her head back in mirth. "Oh, no, you're all capable of making massive mistakes, but they're so uniquely… Outsider. Do I think any of you would go and live with a demon and begin to believe the rest of us are in a cult? No, you wouldn't do that because you were raised knowing the truth, knowing what Sebastian really is. Give the girl a break. I'm sure she's worthy of you."

  He shook his head. She'd misunderstood what he meant, which wasn't unusual. Most people took his meaning the wrong way. When he'd been teaching it hadn't been a problem. From the front of a college classroom, he'd been able to make himself understood. With others in familial or personal relationships, he often felt like he spoke a foreign language.

  "This isn't an ego thing. It's not that I think I'm so fabulous." Just the opposite actually.
>
  "Then what did you mean?"

  "If all of us are as well matched as you and Kal are then what does it mean that I've been paired with her. Am I also bound for the Darkness?" He liked the way she brightened when he said that. At least in this instance, what he'd said had translated correctly.

  Her face fell as she digested the other part of what he said. "Leonardo, you are not evil."

  "I was the one who killed Veli."

  She interrupted. "It wasn't so much that you killed him as you saved all of us when he became possessed by the Darkness. Kal was being tortured, and Veli wanted to leave him to die."

  Leonardo tried not to think about what happened on that day nine months earlier. Kal had been kidnapped by Gabriel, Alexa, and the demon. Veli had wanted them to leave him to his death and when they'd objected the man who had raised them, Veli Destrand, had tried to kill Isabelle.

  There had been no choice, no time to think about the consequences or eventualities. Leonardo had reached out, using the power he tried to forget he had and stole Veli's powers, the life energy from the other man, knowing it would end Veli's life.

  Afterward, Leonardo hadn't even felt sorry he'd done it. The thought startled Leonardo. Maybe he and Alexa were well matched.

  "Here's the thing, Isabelle, we're not the good guys. Not really."

  "What?" Isabelle spoke so loudly Kal opened his eyes.

  With wry smile, Kal looked Leonardo's way. "Can't even get a little rest on an airplane, Leo?"

  He'd always hated when people shortened his name. "Sorry, Kalmari." By contrast, Kal hated it when people used his full one.

  "Leonardo just said we aren't the 'good guys'."

  Kal laughed. "That's distressing. I never thought of myself as being the villain. Actually, it's kind of a fun thought. Should I start wearing all black and laughing maniacally?"

  Sighing, Leonardo shook his head. "We're the balancers of the universe. We keep order. We keep good and evil in check. Sometimes it's possible for good to get too out of control. Look at zealots."

  Isabelle seemed to be considering this as she chewed on her lower lip. "So what are you saying Leonardo?"