Through The Veil (12 page)

Bethany answered, “We can either move Lori to another
location or you could sleep elsewhere.”

Before she’d even finished her sentence, Marcus shook his
head in denial. “No, I promised Lori I wouldn’t leave her alone and I don’t
plan to go back on that promise.”

“Marcus, be sensible. This isn’t worth the risk,” Bethany
said.

“I’m not going to debate this with you.” He crossed his arms
over his chest. He wouldn’t give on this. He’d failed a woman before and it
cost her life. That wouldn’t happen again.

“May I suggest a compromise?” They all turned to Malcolm.
“Marcus and I have a pretty good telepathic connection. How about while he’s
sleeping, I monitor him mentally? If he starts to drift into Lori’s dreams, I
can wake him up.” He turned toward Marcus with a smirk. “But you’re not allowed
to have any wet dreams or I am so out of here. There are just some things I
refuse to be subjected to.”

Marcus rolled his eyes at his little brother. “I think I can
handle that.” He turned to the others and asked, “Is this satisfactory for you
two?”

Both Bethany and Aaron nodded. Bethany placed her hand on
Marcus’s forearm as she headed out. “Marcus, I know she seems very nice, but
remember we don’t know anything about this girl. Don’t get caught up in her
drama before we know how much we can trust her. I need you to keep your
distance.”

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “It won’t be an issue.”

Lori needed their help right now, but he could do that
without getting any more emotionally involved. He wouldn’t allow that to
happen, although, damn, it was nice to have a connection with someone again.
But that way just held heartache and hurt. Something he never planned to
experience again.

* * *

Marcus was surprised early the next day to find his cousin
and best friend,
Griff
, on the porch. They didn’t
expect him back for a couple more days. He’d been gone for several days
checking on the villages to the North.

Marcus had barely greeted him, before
Griff
laid into him. “What’s this I hear about you moving a female from the ES in
here with you?”

“And hello to you, too. What could I do? She collapsed at my
feet. I couldn’t just leave her there.” Marcus shrugged, but gave his friend a
welcoming guy-hug.
 

He could honestly say he wasn’t sad about the turn of
events. He just wished she felt better.

“So you moved her in with you? What makes you think you can
trust her?” One of
Griff’s
eyebrows cocked up. He had
let his beard grow since he’d been gone. Now he had the look of a marauding
pirate, if pirates had chocolate brown wings, blond tipped short hair, and
molten chocolate eyes.

“Honestly, that’s part of the reason she’s here. I don’t
know if you’ve heard, but I’m a Warrior. My job is to protect, so I’m
protecting the village from her.”

Griff
just continued to scowl at
him.

“Seriously, she was hurt and scared and I found her, so
naturally I want to help her. It’s nothing more than that.” It couldn’t be
anything more than that. He wouldn’t allow it to be. But it might be a good
time to change the subject. “I’m glad you’re back,” Marcus told him. “How are
things with the other villages?”

Even giving him hell, which
Griff
loved to do, Marcus liked the village better when
Griff
was home. As his best friend, he wanted
Griff
to meet
Lori.

“They’re fine…normal, but don’t deflect. I want to know more
about the girl. So is what they’re saying true? Is she from the ES? How’d she
get through?”

“Yes, it’s true, and we don’t know all the answers yet. When
I found her she’d been shot and has been sick ever since, but I trust her.
She’s been through a lot.”

Griff
gave him a skeptical look.
“This isn’t like you to trust so easily.”

“There’s something about her. I feel connected to her. In
fact, I am connected to her. She can hear my telepathy with anyone in the
village. She also managed to pull me into a dream walk with her.”

“And you don’t find that somewhat suspicious? This girl just
shows up from the ES, several days later you still don’t know how that
happened, but somehow you have this incredible connection to her?”
Griff
threw his hands into the air. “I’m sorry, but I just
don’t buy the convenience of all this. It sounds to me like she’s leading you
around by your dick, Marcus.”

“Fuck you,
Griff
. You haven’t even
met her so you don’t get the right to judge.”

“You’re right, I haven’t met her, but that just means I can
still look at this whole situation objectively. Something you seem incapable of
doing right now. I never thought you would be that guy especially after all
that you’ve lost.”

“Do you honestly think I need reminding of all that?” As his
best friend,
Griff
knew better than most how he’d
suffered after Audra died and Shane left. Marcus clenched his fists as he
fought the urge to lay
Griff
flat on the floor for
even questioning him about this. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

Logically speaking, what
Griff
said made sense, but he hadn’t met Lori. Marcus knew deep down that he could
trust her.
Griff
couldn’t understand her or the pain
and fear she felt from what she’d endured. That same pain and fear he could
feel right now emanating from her as she slept.

Griff’s
embittered view of women
skewed his opinion of Lori, but that didn’t mean he should be allowed to turn
others against her before she’d even had a chance to explain herself.

Griff
gritted his teeth as he
watched Marcus. Marcus still weighed the merits of hitting him when Brooklyn
suddenly landed on the platform.

“Whoa, boys. What’s with all the testosterone flying around
here? You two aren’t having a little squabble, are you?”

Griff
answered, “No, we were just
discussing Marcus’s new lady-friend.”

Brooklyn immediately turned to Marcus. “How’s Lori doing?”

Griff
threw his hands up in the
air as he turned wide eyes toward Brooklyn. “Seriously? She’s gotten to you,
too? What is it with you people? We know nothing about her. She could be here
scouting for a takeover by the ES.”

Brooklyn just rolled her eyes at him. “Grow up,
Griff
. She’s a very nice lady who’s had a really rough time
of it.” She turned back to Marcus. “Has there been any change?”

He shook his head. “Not really, although her temperature
dropped a little bit this morning, so Malcolm is hopeful that maybe she’s
coming out of it.”

“Good. Please let me know when she does. She’s going to need
some girl time. In fact, I probably should see what I can do to find her some
clothes.” Both men looked down at her chest, barely hidden behind her sports
bra. “Hey, I have to accommodate the wings and the weapons.”

Marcus grinned at her. “It’s okay. I think Bethany’s already
been working on finding something for her.”

Brooklyn nodded. “Of course she is. Bethany always thinks of
everything.” She frowned at
Griff
who continued to
scowl at the two of them. “Come on, you. Have you even reported in to Bethany
since you got back?”

At his chagrined expression, she pulled him up with her as
she took off. That said something about Brooklyn’s strength because
Griff
was no lightweight with his 6’2” muscular frame. “Go
take care of your patient, Marcus. I’ll take care of this one. He’ll have a
better attitude the next time you see him, I promise.”

“Hey!”
Griff
yelled as they took
off into the sky. Brooklyn knew he never liked to be man-handled. That’s why
she did it every chance she could. Marcus shook his head.

As they left, Marcus felt a sudden urgent need to be by
Lori’s side. He shot into the sky, pushing his wings to get to her quickly. He
landed on the platform outside her room and worked to calm his out-of-control
emotions. Sensing him near, her psyche reached out to him.

He entered the room and gently lowered himself onto her bed.
He brushed his lips softly against her forehead to check her temperature. Her
forehead felt several degrees cooler. What a relief. He reached around and
pulled her onto his chest…a position he’d come to love with her over the last
couple of days.

As her fever lowered, he could sense her mental state
calming, too. He lay there, savoring the comfort of her in his arms when her
muscles tightened. He glanced down and found her eyes open and watching him.

“Marcus?”

“Hey, beautiful. Have you decided to come back to us
finally?”

“It wasn’t a dream? I’m actually free, aren’t I?” Her voice
echoed her astonishment.

His heart ached for what she’d been through and he’d just
seen a tiny glimpse of it. What would it be like to be imprisoned and tortured
for so long? He tightened his arms protectively around her.

“No, you didn’t dream it, although you have been having lots
of really bad dreams.”

She stiffened and her eyes widened. “You were there with me,
weren’t you? In the lab?”

He nodded and rubbed her back again as her mental distress
spiked.

“They caught William again.” The despair in her voice tugged
at him. “I have to help him.” She sat up suddenly, immediately swayed and
closed her eyes against the dizzy spell.

 
He lowered her back
down to the mattress.

She groaned as her body fought the sudden movement. “Whoa,
how long have I been lying here?”

“About three days. You’ve been up briefly to answer the call
of nature, but this is the first time you’ve been really aware. I’m glad you’re
back.” He kissed her forehead. “I know you want to help your friends, but let’s
get you sitting up on your own before you go charging off to save the world.”

“Thank you for taking care of me. I’m sorry I’ve been such a
demanding guest.” She looked up at him again and her eyes softened. “I could
hear you. You sang to me and soothed me in my dreams.”

“I promised you I wouldn’t leave and I haven’t.”

She gave him a gentle smile. “Can we try that sitting up
thing now?”

“Sure.” He sat up first and leaned his back against the
headboard of the bed. He pulled her so she sat in between his legs with her
back leaning against his chest. This felt so natural, and combined with their
mental connection, it seemed like something more was being forged between them.
She belonged here with him. He savored the comfort of her closeness, while at
the same time, he worried that he was setting himself up for another
devastating fall.

“Do you have any family or anyone waiting or looking for you
back in the ES?” he asked her.

Her muscles tensed and she ducked her head. “No, I was an
only child. My parents died when the Veil fell. Luckily, the kids who used to
babysit me lived next door and were older since I was only ten years old when
it happened. They took me in until I hit puberty and left because I decided I
was smarter than everyone else. You see how well that worked out for me in the
end.” She gave a wry, sad chuckle that ended on a half sob.

Getting her upset right now wouldn’t help her recovery any,
so he decided to drop it for now. He drew a hand lightly down one of her arms.
“I need to call Malcolm and let him know you’re conscious.”

“In just a moment.” She snuggled tighter against him and he
tried to control the burgeoning interest from his groin. “Let me enjoy this for
a little bit first before he comes to start poking and prodding.”

He chuckled low. “I don’t think Malcolm would appreciate
your interpretation of his doctoring skills.”

“Don’t tell him I said that. He’s actually very good. It’s
amazing what he’s been able to do here with very few resources.”

He looked at her shrewdly. They needed to talk about what
he’d seen when he dream-walked with her. “We need to protect what we’ve built
here, too. You need to talk to Bethany.”

She closed her eyes in pain. “I understand. I do.”

He saw the tears build in the corner of her eyes. “
Shhh
,” he kissed her forehead. “We’ll try to figure out
something, but for now, you need to relax. You’re still recovering. It’s not
good for you to get so worked up. Let me call Malcolm.”

“Okay.”

He gave her a hug of reassurance.

Fifteen minutes later, Malcolm and Marcus both grinned at
her. “You’re definitely getting better,” Malcolm said.

Relief flooded Marcus.

“Your fever has broken and your sutures look good. I want
you to take it easy the next couple of days and if you do that, then you’re
going to be feeling much better. Do you have any questions?”

“I really would love a shower. Can I take one?” He shook his
head so she added in a really sweet voice, “Please?”

“Tell you what. You can have a sponge bath today. I can send
Brooklyn over to help you with that. Right now you’re too weak and will just
hurt yourself more if you use all your energy or fall in the shower. I’ll check
you again in twenty-four hours and we’ll re-evaluate then. Will that work?”

She grinned at him like he’d just made her queen. “Yes.
Thanks, Malcolm.”

He turned toward Marcus. “Keep her calm. No excitement and
for now, let’s continue with broths and bread for food. She’s probably going to
start getting antsy. You can carry her down to your living room, but I don’t
want her doing anything more strenuous until I see her tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry. After the last few days, I’m not going to let
her do anything that could jeopardize her recovery.” Marcus looked at her with
a domineering smirk.

“Brooklyn should be here in the next thirty minutes or so.”