Darkness Awakened (Primal Heat Trilogy #1) (Order of the Blade) (16 page)
Read Darkness Awakened (Primal Heat Trilogy #1) (Order of the Blade) Online
Authors: Stephanie Rowe
“Oh...so, you’d know if Ana killed him?” Hope flared in Grace’s eyes. “Or, you’d know if someone else did it?”
He nodded. “I’d know.”
“Then we find the
mjui
.” She looked around the room. “So, if he was killed in the bar, the stone would be in here, right?”
“Yeah.” He caught her arm as she started to slide off the chair to search the bar. “The
mjui
is difficult to find, unless you know what you’re looking for. I’m blood bonded with Elijah, so I’ll sense it if I get close enough to it.”
She wrapped her hand around his and squeezed. “I’m sorry you have to wonder if he’s dead. I know how much it sucks to lose someone you care about.”
He saw the sadness in her expression, and he suspected she was talking about her parents. He had a sudden urge to pull her into his arms and take away her pain. He had an insane urge to tell her how much it had sucked to be betrayed by a man he’d long considered his brother, that he got what she’d gone through. He got her, and he knew she’d get him. And—
Shit.
Get a grip, man. Toughen up for hell’s sake.
He pulled his hand out of hers and gave a quick inspection around the bar. The men in the corner were gone, and his sword had quieted. He could feel no threats, caught no scents that were out of the ordinary. “I’m going to do a walk-through of the bar to see if Elijah’s
mjui
is in here. If it’s not, then I’ll need to check the woods where you saw Ana’s illusion dust.” He held out his hand again. “Come on.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I saw a bit of Ana’s dust near the ladies room, so I want to sift through it first. If it’s uncontaminated enough, I might be able to figure out what her illusion was. Since she’s my sister, I can often get a hit off her dust and can see whatever illusion left the residue.”
He frowned. “What would that tell you?”
“Illusions are often based on whatever is going on with the Illusionist at the time, either strong emotions they are dealing with, or something in their physical environment. Like at your house, I’d been standing by the fire and feeling the heat from it, so when my illusion came forth, it was fire. Ana’s illusion might have some clues about her current situation.” She stood up. “I’ll meet you back here, okay? If you’re outside already, I’ll come out because I want to check the woods, too.”
Quinn scowled. “I don’t like separating. Stay with me. Just because I can’t sense any threats in the area doesn’t mean it’s safe.”
Her wary gaze scanned the room again, but she shook her head. “It’s more efficient to split up. I can’t help you find Elijah’s
mjui
and you can’t help me read Ana’s dust.”
He ground his teeth, realizing she was right, but hating the thought of walking away from her
. Get over it, Quinn. Treat her as a partner, not a mate. Get in, get the information, and get out. Stay focused on the goal.
What the hell was wrong with him? Elijah was his priority, not defending Grace against some threat that might not even exist.
Not to mention, she could pretty much kick the shit out of anyone who messed with her. The fire illusion had been some serious weaponry. He scowled at her, not liking the decision but knowing it made sense. “Fine. You check the ladies room and meet me back here. Don’t leave. Don’t go outside. Don’t talk to anyone, and keep your mind open to me. If we’re close enough, I’ll be able to connect with you.” He started to turn away, then spun back, grabbing her wrist and hauling her against him, so he was in her space. “I will be extremely pissed if you get yourself killed. If you get in trouble, throw up an illusion. I’ll get us out safely.”
She tensed, but didn’t pull away. “I don’t need an illusion. I’ll be fine.”
“Promise me, Grace,” he ordered.
“No, I won’t. You don’t have the right to order me around just because you’d fall apart if I die.”
“I didn’t say I’d fall apart. I said I’d be pissed.”
She gave him a steady look. “It’s the same thing, Quinn. I know because I feel the same way about you. The thought of you dying makes me so crazy I can’t concentrate. So I get it. But we can’t let that control us. Right now, we make the right choices, and that’s for me to go find my sister and you look for Elijah’s
mjui
…or whatever you can learn about him that will give you answers.”
The thought of him dying made her crazy? Stunned by Grace’s admission, Quinn released his grip on her without another word. No one worried about him dying. That wasn’t how his life worked. He was always in danger of dying. It was who he was, and it was his way of life. The way of life for the Order. It simply was.
But the way Grace had said it, with so much emotion in her voice, rocked Quinn back on his ass. It made him feel something. What, he didn’t know. He couldn’t know, because he couldn’t go there.
She touched his arm. “Quinn. No one’s after me. It’s just the Calydons who are being murdered. I’m not the one in danger.”
He ground his jaw. “Gideon could be after you by now. If my team shows up—”
“Don’t they have to see you first before they’ll know you’re bonded?”
He scowled. “Yeah,” he admitted.
“So, now’s the time. I can actually manage to walk down the hall to the bathroom without being in danger of being attacked, okay?” She shook her head at his protest. “I have to do this, Quinn. I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes. Go do your thing, I’ll do mine, and we’ll be on track to find the people we care about that much sooner.”
He gripped her arm. “Grace, there’s shit going down and I don’t have answers. I don’t know what the hell’s up, but since your sister is involved, I wouldn’t be so quick to assume you’re not of interest to someone as well. Be careful.”
Acknowledgment flickered across her face. “You have a point.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be careful.” Her expression determined, Grace turned away and walked down the hall.
“Screw that.” Quinn sprinted past and intercepted her before she reached the bathroom door. He motioned for her to stay back and opened the door. He stepped inside and did a careful scan with all his senses. No one was in there, and he sensed no threat.
“Are we good?” Grace was standing in the doorway, an indulgent expression on her face. “All clear?”
“Yeah.” Quinn strode over to her, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up against him. “Be careful.”
She nodded, her amusement fading. “I will.”
He kissed her hard, once, and then stepped back before the lust could take over. “I’ll be in the main bar and then out in the woods. The minute you’re done, you go to the bar, and if I’m not there, go out the back door. I’ll be right out there.”
She raised her brows. “Can’t I just call you in your mind?”
“No. Not until we’ve done the blood bond. For now, we have to be within close range.”
She blinked. “Blood bond? Like vampire stuff?”
Arousal pulsed through him at the idea of bonding with her and he swore. “Later. Now’s not the time to get involved with that topic.” His instincts were calm, his sword not burning, his mind knew it was the most efficient choice to part, but he was not happy about it.
“Or not.” She shook her head. “No blood bonding, thanks so much.”
For now.
She glared at him and walked past him into the bathroom, giving him a gentle shove into the hall and shutting the door behind him.
Quinn stood where he was and watched the door, waiting to make sure no one went in after her.
No one did. No one even came out in the hall.
She’s safe, man. Do your thing. She’s not going anywhere.
“You good?” he called through the door.
“I need to concentrate. Go away.”
Quinn laughed softly, then he forced himself to turn away and focus on what he’d come there to do: track Elijah. As he strode back into the bar, he knew that he had to find a way to stay away from Grace and focus solely on his mission, or else the
sheva
destiny would commence the slow death spiral of everything that mattered to them both.
Grace grimaced at the stale odor of cigarettes and dirty toilets in the small restroom. There were two stalls, and the wooden doors were barely covered with chipped black paint. Metal fish-eye hooks hung loosely to keep them closed.
There was only one sink, with a cloudy mirror and porcelain stained with rust from years under a dripping faucet.
Grace tried to ignore the stench and the depressing sense of abandonment of the room, and instead focused on her sister. She softened her mind and took another look around the room using her Illusionist senses. The moment she shifted awareness, the room literally glowed with violet dust. It was all over the floors, kicked up more thickly against the walls. “Ana.” Grace whispered her name, as if she could bring Ana to life right there in that moment, simply by connecting with her.
Grace walked over to the corner, crouched down, and brushed her fingers through the dust. The pads of her fingers tingled, and she smiled with relief. The dust was still active. It hadn’t been that long since Ana had stood right there, living and breathing. Alive.
“I’m coming for you, Ana. I promise.” Excited by her progress, Grace cupped her hands and scooped up a handful of dust. She lifted it to her face and breathed deeply, letting the dust float into her nose, throat and lungs, dispersing through her body and spirit. A tingling began to spread over her body, and she felt a pulsing deep within her as her own Illusionist spirit rose to meet her sister’s, recognizing Ana’s presence.
Grace closed her eyes, opening herself to experience the joy of Ana’s illusions, then suddenly darkness ripped into her. Images of death, blood, and tortured bodies burned in her mind. Grace stumbled to her feet, horrified by the torment flooding her senses. Dear God, she was going to do an illusion! “Quinn!” She backed toward the door, gripping her head… and then realized her head didn’t hurt. There was no pressure building inside her. The poison wasn’t coming from within her. As she stood there, it faded away, like a gentle wave on a beach at low tide.
She frowned and looked around the small bathroom. What had she just felt? There was no shift in pressure indicating an illusion building nearby, but she’d definitely felt the brutality of a dark illusion.
Quinn?
I’m going outside, sweetheart. I’ll be out of range when I’m in back. You all right?
She rubbed her forehead.
Fine. Is everything okay? Do you sense anything wrong?
Quinn was quiet for a moment, and she knew he was double-checking.
I’m not picking up anything.
His voice became more urgent.
What’s wrong? I’m coming in there.
No, no. Everything’s okay. Keep looking. I want to get out of here as soon as we can.
Chills slithered down her arms as Grace looked around the unkempt bathroom. Had that darkness been her imagination?
You’re sure?
Quinn didn’t sound convinced.
She felt better simply connecting with Quinn and hearing his voice. His immediate focus on her made her feel not so alone, more empowered to take a risk.
I’m sure. Let’s just both hurry. This place is giving me the creeps.
Okay. But be careful.
You, too.
They cut off communication, and Grace felt a little tense realizing that Quinn was moving out of range. Yes, he was close, and it wouldn’t take much for her to get his attention, but she still felt increasingly nervous. Something deadly had just brushed against her, and she didn’t know what it was.
She cleared her throat, facing the room again. “Okay, Grace, focus. Read Ana’s dust and then get out. That’s all you need to do.” She walked back across the room and scooped up another handful. Her skin began to tingle right away, and she bent her head and breathed it in again—
Darkness swirled through her. Pain. Fear. Death. Blood. She saw the flash of a blade and stumbled back. The dust fell from her hands and the deadly images stopped.
She stared in growing horror at the dust floating so gently back to the dirty floor. “Ana?” No, no, it couldn’t be. Ana wasn’t like that. She hadn’t been cursed. Numbly, Grace dropped to her knees and ran her hand through the dust. “Please God, don’t do this to her. Don’t give her my nightmare.”
Grace scooped up the dust and tried a third time. This time, she was prepared. This time, when hell came again, she was ready. She closed her eyes as the nightmares took over, grief for her sister welling in her chest. It was Ana’s dust that was so tainted. It was her sister who had created such terrors. “Oh, Ana,” Grace whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
The pain, the fear, the horror pervading the illusion was what Ana had been feeling at the time she’d created it. Ana wasn’t just creating darkness, she was living it. “Ana.” Grace’s heart ached for the anguish she knew her sister was facing, the terror she’d tried so hard to protect her from all these years.
Grace pressed her lips tighter, fighting against the tears. It wouldn’t help Ana to cry for her. She didn’t have time to grieve for her sister. It was now even more urgent she find Ana, before things became worse. Jutting out her jaw, Grace opened her senses more, trying desperately not to think about how much Ana must have been suffering in order to generate such a dark illusion. What must have happened to her to make her cross that line? What was happening to her right now?
Grace shook her head, knowing that she couldn’t afford to go there. She had to focus. She clenched her fists, reaching with her inner eye through Ana’s tortured emotions, past her fears...and then Grace saw the face of a man. A long, narrow face, haunted eyes, dark hair and a smile so evil it make her skin crawl. That was who was hurting Ana. The man who had killed Elijah. It hadn’t been her sister. It was him. “You bastard—”
“Excuse me?”
The image vanished and Grace jumped to her feet, startled. A man stood in the doorway...the man from the corner table who Quinn had stared down. It wasn’t the man in her vision. This intruder was grinning, his teeth yellowed and crooked, his hair greasy, his clothes smelling like he hadn’t washed in far too long. Ignoring the racing of her heart, she set her hands on her hips and gave him her hard look, the one that always set men back at the distance she felt comfortable with. “This is the women’s bathroom.”
“My name’s Red.” He didn’t move away. “I was here that night.”
She had no idea what night he was talking about, and she didn’t want to know. He was blocking the door, but at least it was still open. She could see into the hall. She could see freedom behind him, if only she could get past him. “Not interested.”
A woman with a brown ponytail and a black rain jacket tapped his shoulder. “Hey. This is the women’s room. Out.”
Red stepped back to allow passage, and Grace bolted instantly for the door, keeping the woman between her and Red as she darted out. As she ducked past him, Red flashed a grin at her, still looking far too comfortable. “You look like the girl who was here that night.”
A trickle of nervous sweat dripped down Grace’s back, and she glanced over her shoulder at him as she kept walking down the hall, back toward the bar. “What night?”
“The night the Illusionist made the sky fall. You look like the girl who did it.”
A low undercurrent in Red’s tone caught her attention and she tensed.
He was hunting her.
Holding out bait she’d be unable to resist.
But he was right. There was no way she’d ignore even the smallest chance that he had information that might help her find Ana. Ever so slowly, she turned to face him, even as she kept moving toward the bar area.
Red leaned against the wall, propping his shoulder against the knotted pine, his eyes narrowed as he watched her sidle away. His body was tensed and ready, waiting for her to make a quick move, but he seemed perfectly content to allow her to ease away from him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She gave him her coldest stare
. Quinn? Can you hear me? I have a problem here.
Silence.
Red dangled the lure a little further. “She said you’d have silver eyes, like hers.”
“She said...what?” Grace stopped walking. He’d really met Ana? “You talked to her?”
Red nodded, his eyes gleaming with triumph. He’d snared Grace, and he knew it. “She told me a girl with dark hair and silver eyes might come looking for her. She said you’d know to go into the bathroom. Grace, right? That’s your name?”
Grace’s heart began to race. Had Ana left the dust behind on purpose? “What did she say? Is she okay? Was she hurt?”