Kat scrambled off the bed and rushed to Lann’s side.
“Piranha,” Lann said, spitting the words at their assailant. “Gift hunter.”
“Money can’t buy you love,” the man said, his eyes fixed on Kat, “but it’s not love I’m after, is it, darlin’?” He looked at Lann. “Silver bullets?” The man sneered, flashing his filed teeth. “Godfrey made me immune.”
“Ah. The rumour is true,” Lann said. “Then it’s also true that the fire experiment didn’t work. Get ready to burn in hell, David.” Sparks formed at Lann’s fingertips.
The man laughed. “I’ll be back, aeromancist.” With a poof, the man called David was gone.
Kat stared at the spot where he’d been standing.
“Quickly,” Lann said, holstering one of the guns and taking her hand. “We have to get out of here. He’ll be back with reinforcements.”
She was shaking from head to toe. Lann pulled her behind him down the stairs. In the foyer, the bald man lay on the floor in a pool of blood.
Lann sheltered her, blocking her view. “Don’t look.”
In the street, he started running, dragging her along. They didn’t stop until they reached a lone car on a deserted street.
“Get in,” he said, opening the door on the passenger side.
He rushed around and took the wheel, glancing in the rearview mirror as he peeled out of the parking spot.
Only when they were a few kilometers away, finally taking a bigger road again, did he speak. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head.
He pursed his lips. “You have no idea how lucky you are I found you.”
The sun appeared on a washed-out winter horizon when Lann took an exit that led them back to the city. The night was gone. Too shaken to speak, she sat quietly during the drive, only daring to ask, “Where are we?” when Lann parked in front of a posh-looking apartment building.
He didn’t answer.
After helping her from the car, he kept a firm hand on her arm as he led her into a building and up the stairs to a single door on the top floor. The door opened immediately. Eve stood in the frame, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
She looked past Kat at Lann. “Did they bite her?”
“No.” He pushed Kat inside and closed the door.
Eve punched a code into an alarm panel on the wall.
Did they bite her? What the hell did that mean? What had happened back there? Kat’s mind was reeling. “Where am I?”
Lann’s golden eyes were dangerously dark. “A safe house.”
“We need to call Joss,” Eve said.
“First make sure she’s all right.”
Eve took Kat’s hand. “Did they touch you?”
“Only when he threw me onto the bed.”
Fisting his hands, Lann turned away.
Eve tilted Kat’s head sideways, inspecting her neck. “I want to get your vitals. Let’s go to the main bedroom.”
“I’m fine,” Kat said. “Who were those men?”
“You’ve been through a stressful experience,” Eve said. “I need to make sure—”
Kat turned to Lann. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”
Lann regarded her. For a second, he seemed conflicted, but then a look of determination came over his features. In one step, he was next to her. Before she knew what was happening, he’d scooped her up in his arms and was carrying her down the hallway.
“Put me down,” Kat exclaimed.
“I will. In the bedroom.”
She pushed on his chest. “I said, put me down.”
“Damn you, Katherine.” He tightened his grip. “I’m trying to help you.”
In the room, he unceremoniously dumped her onto the bed. Her back hit the mattress with a thump.
Eve approached with a stethoscope.
“You called him Piranha,” Kat said as the doctor unbuttoned Kat’s coat and pushed the instrument against her chest.
“Quiet,” Eve said, “I’m trying to listen to your heart.”
“That’s what we call them,” Lann said, crossing his arms. “It’s a gang name. To them, it’s an insult.”
“What is he?”
“Gila shifter.”
She couldn’t have heard right. “What?”
Lann only stared at her.
She’d read about them in legends and verses, but they weren’t supposed to exist. “Do they bite like vampires? He said he couldn’t bite me but—”
“I heard.” Lann clenched his jaw. “They’re cannibals. David is one of the most powerful.”
“He knew my name.” Kat shivered at the memory. “Why?”
“He’s a gift hunter.”
“Like human trafficking?”
“Just a little pinch,” Eve said when she inserted a needle into Kat’s arm.
Kat flinched. “Shit. Is that needle for humans or horses?”
“Sorry,” the doctor said. “I need a blood sample.”
“Not human trafficking,” Lann said. “He only wants people with special gifts.”
“He’s hunting your ability?”
Lann’s gaze was flat. “Yes.”
“But how?”
“David’s job is to deliver us to people who can harvest our gifts,” he said.
“How is that done?”
“They have to kill us.”
Eve removed the needle and pressed a cotton swab to the wound.
But… “He said he wanted the baby,” Kat said through dry lips.
“I’m calling Joss.” Eve moved to the door. “We don’t have time.”
Lann nodded. When Eve left the room, he sat down next to Kat. “A stolen gift is always less powerful than one that remains with its natural owner. It’s a lot more effective for power hungry people to steal babies, to raise them, shape them as they want, and abuse their power.”
As the meaning of his words sunk in, she turned even colder than what she already was. “Whoever he was going to sell me to was going to keep me hostage until the baby was born.”
“Now do you understand what I was trying to protect you from?” he asked with a note of soft anger.
There were too many things Lann had kept hidden from her.
“You should’ve told me,” she exclaimed. “I had a right to know.”
“I didn’t want you to worry more than you already are. You’ve suffered enough.”
Her voice rose with anger. “It’s not for you to decide.”
“For a terrifying, sickening moment back there, I thought I was going to lose you.” He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “Why did you run?”
She closed her eyes and turned her face away from the touch. “I couldn’t. You won’t understand.”
“God, Katherine.” Something like hurt or worry flashed in his eyes. “Why didn’t you talk to me?”
Biting her lip, she considered her answer, and then gave him the truth. “Because I don’t trust you.”
His head jerked as if she’d slapped him. “When we made love, you trusted me with the very air you breathe.” He flexed and clenched his fingers. “You said you’d trust me with your life.”
“That was before I found out you deceived me. You should’ve told me who you are.”
He turned away from her and lifted his face to the ceiling. After a moment, he looked back at her with regret. “I couldn’t tell you. I never wanted you to suffer with the knowledge.”
“That’s not true.” She got up. “It didn’t matter to you because it was never your intention to see me again.”
She made to move past him, but he blocked her way.
“I’ve already told you it was because I didn’t want to ruin your life,” he said. “What did I have to offer? A sure way for you to be as hunted as I am? Death? Is that what you wanted me to give you?”
She lashed back with words. “Well, you have now.”
He flinched.
She immediately regretted the childish accusation. Making an ef
fort to control her temper, she said, “I know you didn’t mean to, but I had a right to decide, based on all the facts.”
“Would it have changed your decision?” he asked. “Would you have given me thirty days if you knew the truth?”
“No,” she cried out, “and that’s exactly the point I’m making.”
A muscle ticked in his temple. He studied her for a while with a bunched jaw before saying, “If I’m to help you, you need to trust me.”
“How can I do that if you hide things from me?”
“Fine.” He lifted his palms. “No more secrets. I’ll play open cards. Will you give me your cooperation?”
Hugging herself, she whispered, “I’ll try.”
He gave her a stern look. “No more running away. You don’t know what I went through when I realized you’d run right into the middle of Piranha valley.”
She suppressed a shiver and pushed the memory away. It would haunt her for the rest of her life. “How did you find me?”
“Satellite.”
“Oh, satellite.” She couldn’t help her wry smile. “At this point, nothing should surprise me any longer.”
Eve walked back into the room, her face solemn. Catching Lann’s gaze, she shook her head.
Lann paled. His expression turned into a mask of fury. Turbulence reflected in his golden eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Eve whispered before leaving the room.
Removing his glasses, Lann rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm.
Kat studied him with growing dread. Whatever news Eve had quietly delivered wasn’t good. “What’s going on?”
When he met her gaze, he looked ten years older. “Tell me about the men, anything you can remember.”
“Lann, you said you wouldn’t hide—”
“This is important, Katherine.”
The tenseness in his tone shut her up. She thought back to last night, trying to remember. “I saw them in the alley. They must’ve seen me entering the hotel. I fell asleep, and only woke just before dawn, when they broke down my door.”
“An attack outside on the street could’ve attracted unwanted attention,” he mused. “They wanted you to rest before kidnapping you. Miscarriage isn’t uncommon with gifted babies.”
“How did they know? How could they know about me, and where I was heading?”
Lann scrubbed a hand over his face. “Despite our precautions, someone in the clinic must’ve leaked the information. The Piranhas couldn’t have been far when you left. In fact, if you hadn’t left when you did, they would’ve gotten to you right there, in the clinic. They followed your trail after you’d left. They have a sense of smell stronger than the best bloodhounds. They would have sniffed you out anywhere.”
Kat walked to the window and looked down at a square lined with Indian Lilac trees. “I wish I could wake up from this nightmare.”
“We have to leave. The sooner the better. The safe house is protected with anti-smell devices, so we’re safe for now, but the Piranhas are powerful. I have to take you someplace safe where Eve can work undisturbed.”
She turned back to him. “Work undisturbed?”
Lann crossed the floor and took her hands. “It’s too late. We had a very small timeframe to work with. That’s why Eve needed a blood sample.” The pained expression on his face made him look haunted. “Your body has already altered. If we terminate the pregnancy now, you’ll die. You’ll have to carry the baby to term.” He dropped her hands. “I promise you, Katherine, we’ll do everything we can to find a cure.”
When she’d run, she’d already come to the conclusion that death was inevitable, but hearing him say it was still like a punch in the stomach.
“I’m sorry,” he said, saying the apology not only with words, but also with his otherworldly eyes.
She wanted to say that she knew the risk she’d taken, and that she couldn’t have done otherwise because she already loved the little being growing inside her, but Eve entered, holding a mobile phone to Lann.
“It’s Joss.”
He nodded and took the phone. “Did Eve brief you?” He paced the floor, a frown marring his brow as he listened to the reply.
“Yes,” Lann said, glancing at Kat, “she’s six weeks along. If David knows, we’re open targets for any gift hunter.”
Lann stopped in front of her, not breaking their eye contact. “He did mention a name. Godfrey. Ring any bells?”
He listened to Joss’s reply before saying, “We need a safe place to keep her. How’s security at the castle?”
After a while, he nodded. “Good. I agree. It’s best to send Bono in. We’ll be ready.”
He hung up and gave the phone to Eve.
“I’ll get my things,” she said, leaving quickly.
“What’s happening?” Kat asked.
“I’m taking you to a castle up north, in Brittany. It’s safe there. We’re going in by helicopter. There’s less risk of us being traced.” He gripped her shoulder and pulled her away from the window. “We have to go now. The helicopter will land soon.”
“Whose castle?” she asked as he buttoned up her coat.
“It belongs to friends, Joss and Clelia de Arradon. You’ll like them.” Catching her off guard, he kissed her lips, stealing a forbidden caress, before leading her back to the lounge where Eve waited with a doctor’s bag.
A tall, muscled man with smooth, dark skin, wearing an eyepatch and a diamond earring, met them in front of a helicopter at the airfield where they’d landed. He wore a leather jacket with matching gloves, a red scarf, and heavy boots.
He gave Kat a warm smile and shook her hand. “I’m Bono Black, your pilot,” he said in a deep voice with a distinct French accent. He nodded at Lann, and pecked Eve on the cheek. “Hey, Doc.”
Lann helped Kat inside the back.
Once they were settled and their safety belts secured, Bono turned in his seat. “Do you get airsick, Kat?”
“She doesn’t,” Lann said.
Under normal circumstances, she would’ve been thrilled with the ride, but all she wanted was for the nightmare to end.
“My kind of gal,” Bono said, saluting her. He glanced at Eve. “Ready, Doc?”
Eve gave him a thumbs-up. Flashing them a grin, he turned to manipulate the controls. He obviously loved his job.
Suddenly seeming to remember something, Lann reached in his pocket and withdrew a packet of ground ginger. He offered it to her with soft, sad smile.
She took it wordlessly.
The blades started turning, and soon they were in the air. She stared at the city lights that grew smaller as they gained altitude. They donned earphones and mikes, but no one spoke. Bono whistled a tune after running a coordinate check with a control tower. Lann was tense. Eve looked nervous. As for herself, she didn’t know what she was supposed to feel. She was going to have a baby, but she’d never be a mother. She didn’t know how she felt about dying. Up until yesterday, she hadn’t given it much thought. She’d been preoccupied with expecting the baby of a man who didn’t want to see her again. Yesterday, being a single mother had seemed daunting, but today it was the least of her problems. Normally, she’d be coming apart. Strangely, she only felt numb.
An SUV waited at an airstrip in Larmor-Baden, Brittany. The man who got out of the vehicle was enough to make anyone run. He had black hair that reached his shoulders, and silver-gray eyes that seemed to simmer and brood.
Not waiting for the blades to cut, he came forward to meet them. A long leather coat flew in the wind from the rotors. Heavily muscled, he looked menacing. If Lann hadn’t told her Joss was a friend, she would’ve told Bono to fly her straight back to Paris.
Joss helped her from the helicopter, but it was Lann who sheltered her from the wind with an arm around her shoulder. Joss and Eve shook hands. Joss exchanged a few words with Bono while Lann led her to the vehicle. The pilot waved at them and climbed back into the aircraft. Joss watched Bono take off, following the aircraft’s progress with his
gaze until it disappeared behind the trees before he made his way to the SUV.
He offered Kat a friendly smile. “I’m Josselin.” He threw his thumb in Lann and Eve’s direction. “They call me Joss.” He spoke English with a heavy French accent.
“Thanks for putting me up.” What Kat really wanted to say was that she was sorry for potentially putting him and his family in danger.
“No problem.” He said it like he meant it. He put his hand on Lann’s shoulder. “Let’s go.” Glancing at Kat, he added, “It’s cold.”
They drove for thirty minutes before Joss took a dirt road that led to a lake. The castle was hidden from view by a forest, but as soon as they rounded the cluster of trees, an imposing gray stronghold came into sight.
All the lights in the windows on the ground and first two floors were lit. Only the upper level was dark. On the front porch stood a petite Japanese woman with four wolves by her side. Kat glanced at Lann, but he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. The touch made her freeze. Just like the kiss from earlier, it was a stolen caress.
Joss parked near the front, jumped out, and strode to the door. Oblivious to who was watching, he pulled the small woman against him as if he hadn’t seen her in years. Lann got her door and took her arm as he, she, and Eve made their way over. Joss released the woman when they stopped next to them.
“Welcome to Josselin Castle,” he said.
The Japanese woman stepped forward. She was dressed in a silk kimono with a white faux fur jacket. Her black hair was pulled back into a bun, wisps hanging around her heart-shaped face. Her skin was pale, making a stark contrast with her dark eyes. She was gorgeous.
“I’m Clelia,” she said, hugging Kat. “Joss’s wife. Welcome.”
One of the wolves sniffed at Kat’s legs.
“They’re really just big, fluffy teddy bears,” Clelia said. She flicked her fingers and the white wolf backed off. “Come, let’s get you inside.”
Candles in bat-shaped wall holders lit the entrance. A pleasant smell of night lilies filled the space. Vases filled with flowers so purple they were almost black stood on every surface.
“I’ve prepared a room for you.” Clelia smiled. “I’m sure you’d like to freshen up, eat something, and get some rest.”
Aeromancist (SECOND EDITION): Art of Air (7 Forbidden Arts Book 3) Page 5