Through The Veil (33 page)

Jonah breathed deep and seemed to make a decision. “I grew
up with Savannah and
Shar
…and it was my fault they
were taken captive.”

Her grip immediately tightened on the gun. “What did you
do?” she growled.

“I left on a mission, but it was a trap. They were taken
after I left. That happened three years ago and I’ve been searching for them
ever since.”

“So, who were those men with you?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not sharing any more
information with you until you share some with me. Where are we going? Her
mutation,” he gestured toward Brooklyn, “gift, whatever it is…is like nothing
I’ve ever seen before. She’s not an animal shifter, but she has wings. Where
did you all come from, and what were you doing at the labs?”

The truck slowed. “We’re out of time,” Lori said. “This is
where you have to take a leap of faith. Savannah is coming with us and if I’m
reading you correctly, that’s something you aren’t going to let her do alone.
Come with us and you’ll understand it all soon. I promise she’ll be safer than
she ever was in the ES. You will be, too.”

“Safer than the ES? You say that like we’re going to leave
it.” He glanced worriedly at Savannah.

Marcus opened the back of the truck and she held a hand to
hold him back for a moment.

She looked into Jonah’s slate grey eyes that were so devoid
of emotion except when he gazed at Savannah. Then they filled with absolute
love.

“It’s decision time. Are you going to take a leap and trust
us or stay here?”

“I go where Savannah goes, so I’m going with you.”
Determination filled his expression and he gritted his teeth like he expected
an argument.

She nodded. “Okay, I promise you’re not going to regret it.”

“Can we trust him?”
Marcus asked.

“I think so, because I’m almost positive he’s the only
thing that’s kept Brooklyn alive. But I’ve been wrong before, so be ready for
anything. Unfortunately, we have to trust him while we take care of the guard
and I get the Veil open so you can drive through.”
Her nerves jangled.
Please don’t let her be wrong about this guy.
“Let’s do this before someone
catches up to us.”

Leaving the truck, the two darted through the woods toward
the guard shack they knew was just around the bend on the bridge. The same
guard that had been asleep this morning was there, but someone must have
alerted him to the attack at the labs because he stood outside the shack,
eyeing the Veil and glancing around nervously, holding his gun at the ready in
front of him.

“I have an idea,”
Lori told Marcus.
“I’m going
to distract him by playing the damsel in distress. When he comes toward me,
drop in behind him and use his clothing against him like I did earlier.”

Marcus nodded and pulled her flush up against him in a hard,
frantic kiss.
“Be careful.”
Then he dropped further back into the
trees so he could slip behind the guard.

Lori dropped to a crouch on the ground and picked up two
handfuls of dirt. She smudged it liberally over her exposed skin and then took
another handful which she clutched at her gut. Using her gift, she changed all
the soil to blood and then staggered out of the trees. “Help me, please,” she
gasped and stumbled to her knees as if overcome by her injuries.

The man approached her warily, but as he got closer and saw
the amount of blood on her, he sped up and dropped quickly to her side. When he
crouched to help her, he set down his gun.

“Now, Marcus!”

As Marcus grabbed the man and sent his clothes to attack,
Lori grabbed the gun and flung it out of reach. Using the rope they’d brought,
they quickly bound and blindfolded the guard to his chair. To someone
approaching, everything would appear normal and might give them a few more
minutes if anyone was close behind them.

Hopefully, they’d make it across before anyone else came by.
They took off at a sprint back to the truck.

Lori crouched in front of the truck while Marcus revved
the engine and watched her. It had been a long day and he could sense her
energy was running low. She pulled the knife from her boot and his mind flooded
with the pulse of her manipulating the energy which held the Veil in place.

Lori moved smoothly and tingles of relief spread down his
limbs. She’d come out of this mission unscathed and he remained so thankful for
that even after it seemed every other fucking thing had gone totally wrong.

He tried one more time to communicate with
Griff
. “
Griff
! Come on.
Answer me. Let me know where you are.”
Nothing. No answer. Desperation
shredded at Marcus’s soul.

Leaving
Griff
behind…they
couldn’t, but he didn’t know what other choice they had.
Griff
had been communicating with them when his mental voice suddenly cut off when
the building exploded so he’d either been hurt or killed.

Pain ripped through Marcus’s chest at the grim possibility
of losing
Griff
. Besides Malcolm, he was the one
staple in Marcus’s life. He needed him.

But as the Veil separated, he had no choice. He put the
truck into drive.

As he drove through the hole Lori created, he felt her
soothing him. Her strength had grown so much in just a few weeks to be able to
hold that mental connection with him and the hole in the Veil wall at the same
time. She was incredible and he was so damn lucky to have found her. He’d come
to rely on her. She completed him. Simply put, he loved her. The realization of
that fact momentarily disoriented him.

After Audra died, he didn’t think he’d ever find that again,
hadn’t wanted to ever find that again. But Lori snuck into his world and snuck
into his heart and now, as he sat here with her stroking him mentally, he knew
he couldn’t live without her again. Their world existed on a questionable
threshold right now, but he knew that wherever they were, they needed to be
together. He loved her and thought she felt the same way about him, too.

There were still way too many unknowns between the two of
them. But for now, he needed to keep his concentration on the road in front of
him.

As they crossed the Veil the mist enveloped them. They’d
only been in the ES for twelve hours, and he’d already gotten used to being
able to see for miles. The change should feel claustrophobic, but instead it
felt like a warm misty hug. This was home. As soon as the truck cleared the
Veil, he could feel his brother’s presence in his head and knew he waited for
them at the end of the bridge.

“Malcolm, Brooklyn’s in the back of the truck. She’s in
bad shape and there’s a man named Jonah keeping her alive. I don’t know if we
can trust him, but we owe him for getting her this far.”

“Are there any other injuries?”
Malcolm immediately
moved into trauma mode.

“I’m not sure. The Others are all unconscious and we
haven’t had a chance to really evaluate their condition yet. We were trying to
get here as quickly as possible. We had…”
Goddess, he didn’t want to utter
those words.
“We had to leave
Griff
behind. I’m
not sure if he’s alive or dead.”

Stunned, pain-filled silence emanated from Malcolm.

Finally, Marcus could see the end of the bridge and the
comforting sight of the rest of the Warriors stationed there—armed, tough, and
ready. He wasn’t alone. Not only did he have Lori to comfort him, but these
people were his family…as much as Malcolm and
Griff
were his family. The thought of losing a single one of them sent a shudder of
dread through his system. Brooklyn.
Griff
. They both
had to be okay. Nothing else was acceptable.

As soon as the tires rolled to a stop on the solid ground,
Malcolm ran around to the tailgate of the truck. Aaron and Bethany met Marcus
at the door before he had it opened. Bethany’s pain over Brooklyn’s injury
broadcasted to all of them, but as their leader, she had to get an overall
status report before she could check on the more personal matter of her
sister’s health.

Marcus quickly explained all that happened, pulling Lori
into his arms as she walked up to him. He kissed her lightly on her head and
they moved to the back of the truck. Inside, both Jonah and Malcolm worked in
tandem assessing Brooklyn. He could sense Malcolm’s worry, but it didn’t feel
urgent enough for Brooklyn to be close to death.

He turned back to Aaron as they waited for the two men to
stabilize Brooklyn. “As soon as we get Brooklyn back to the village, I’d like
permission to return to the ES to find
Griff
.” The
unspoken
even if he’s dead
simmered just below the surface, but he
couldn’t put those words out there yet.

“
Griff
?” Jonah’s voice carried out
from the truck. “Was that the man with
Shar
?”

“Yes, he went to search for her.” He scowled at Jonah,
suspicion clouding his words. “What the hell do you know about it?”

Jonah ignored Marcus and glanced up at Malcolm. “I think
she’s as stable as we can get her until someone can operate to further
strengthen that artery.”

Malcolm gave a sharp nod in agreement.

But the movement in the shadowy truck drew Jonah’s full
attention so he truly took his first full look at Malcolm. “You have wings,
too?” he asked, his voice low with shock and exhaustion.

Jonah looked out the back of the truck with his eyes wide as
he took in the Warriors and Bethany standing there. “You all have wings.” He
looked past them into the mist of the forest. “Where the hell are we? Why can’t
I hear my people anymore? They told me
Shar
and the
man had been taken captive and then their voices just disappeared.” He made a
move to stand and swayed.
 
“Where the
hell are we?” He took a step forward, and then he crumpled to a heap and fell
off the back of the truck.

Luckily Aaron stood right there and caught him. “Malcolm,
he’s bleeding.” He lowered the unconscious Jonah back into the bed of the
truck.

“Damn,” Malcolm said as he rushed to Jonah’s side. “No
wonder there was so much blood. I thought it all belonged to Brooklyn.” He felt
Jonah’s throat for his pulse. “Fuck, that’s too weak. He exerted himself too
much keeping her alive. Marcus, get this truck moving again. I need them both
in my clinic as soon as possible, or else they’re both going to die.”

* * *

Five hours later, Malcolm dragged himself out of the
operating room, exhaustion radiating from every pore of his being. Without
Brooklyn to help, he’d been working with only one other villager to assist. She
just didn’t have the medical training to be much help.

Marcus’s stomach dropped. Please let him have good news.

Malcolm went immediately to Bethany and grabbed hold of her
hands. “Brooklyn’s young and strong. I think she’s going to be just fine. She
lost a lot of blood, but once she recovers from that, the actual wound isn’t
that bad. I predict she’ll be up and causing hell again within just a couple of
weeks.”

A round of sighs came from the Warriors, many of them
finally sinking into the relaxation of the chairs.

He pulled Bethany, Aaron, and Marcus over to the side for a
more private chat. “We owe Jonah thanks for that, too. Without him, she
definitely wouldn’t have made it. Not only did he manage to keep her alive to
get here, but something in what he did actually sped up her healing ability
even further.”

“What’s his condition?” Bethany asked, a frown of concern
marring her forehead.

“Surprisingly, his wound proved to be more life-threatening
than Brooklyn’s, but he’s stabilized now.”