The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (79 page)

With that, he wrapped his arm around me and led me down the sidewalk. I glanced back to see Rivin watching us with an unreadable expression.

“I guess you know each other?” I ventured.

“He’s an asshole. You’ll hate him.”

“Yay! Another James?”

“Let’s just say Rivin does what he wants when he wants. He doesn’t like to conform and he’s not reliable.”

“He left you hanging?”

“Something like that.” He walked more slowly now, relaxing the farther away we got from Rivin. Pulling me over to a park bench, he tugged me down to his lap. “Come here, wench.”

Laughing, I let him pull me into a flirty kiss. His lips just grazed mine and I rested my head on his shoulder. We sat in comfortable silence and watched two little kids play in the water of a bronze fountain in the park in front of us. They laughed wholeheartedly as only toddlers do. The random squirts of cold water had them giggling and howling with laughter. Their nanny sat with a close eye on them. Every now and then one would run to her and shake water over her summery dress. She was young, with fresh pink cheeks and ivory skin. Her eyes sparkled with love as she chased them around with mock ferocity.

“Pretty little babies, don’t you think?” I asked.

“Ours will be prettier.”

I laughed and turned to see him better. He looked rested. His face had filled out again and he’d lost the dark shadows under his eyes. His natural color was back and he glowed with the healthy energy that sustained the Primani. His cheekbones were still visible, but not as sharply cut as they were when he wasn’t taking care of himself. Finally, his fascinating mouth tilted up into a smile. His eyes twinkled at me with humor for a change.

“Are you taking inventory? Am I missing anything important?” He looked down and hinted, “Maybe you should look lower?”

“You’re taking better care of yourself. I’m surprised.”

Resting his arm across my shoulders, he said, “Well, the last time I didn’t, you lost your mind. You’re scary when you’re mad. I don’t want to piss you off.”

A fat drop of rain plopped down on my nose and I started with a girly squeak. One at a time, huge drops started to fall around us. My hair! Frantically looking for shelter, I spotted a little archway in the stone wall that ran along the park. Running to it, I dragged him with me. A rumble of thunder echoed overhead and fleeting flashes of lightning sizzled in the air. All around us the rain poured like a curtain over our alcove. Laughing and wet, we huddled under the arch catching our breath. Water ran down his face and black hair lay in spiky clumps along his cheek. He looked innocent and young laughing down at me. A drop of rain ran between his eyes and I reached up to catch it with my finger. In a split second his eyes darkened. I took one look at the heat in those eyes and threw myself against him. Molding me against the stone, he kissed me until I couldn’t remember my name.

The rain had slowed to a gentle drizzle. Our hearts had slowed to normal. We stood leaning on each other under the tiny arch, content and warm. I felt safer than I had in a long time. This was perfect. He kissed the side of my temple and I sighed and burrowed closer into his shoulder.

“That was some friggin’ storm! I nearly missed you two. So what’s the plan?”

Killian snapped instantly alert, shoving me behind him and turning to face the intruder at the sound of his voice. Once he saw who it was, he said, “Rivin, get out of here.”

Rivin stood loosely outside of the archway. His leather jacket was barely wet so he hadn’t been running around in the rain. He’d probably stood in the flower shop across the street watching us. His eyes roamed knowingly over us and he smiled tightly. “Sorry, Leahy, I’ve got orders to help you since your team’s been compromised.” He choked over the word ‘help’ and spit on the ground. “So let’s get moving. I don’t have all fucking day.”

Killian’s eyes narrowed and he said, “Meet us at the hotel in two hours. We’re staying at The Five on
rue Flatters
.”

Rivin started to argue and Killian glared pointedly at him until he closed his mouth. “Did you have a question?” Killian’s tone was cold.

Turning on his heel, Rivin left without another word. Killian ran his hand over his wet hair making it stand up in spikes. I stifled a grin and smoothed it down for him. Poor baby was all discombobulated.

“What the hell is Alex thinking? This is a nightmare.”

I nodded in good girlfriend support and patted his arm. Yep, Rivin was going to be a problem.

Mother Nature had dialed back the rain and thrown out the sun again. The sudden blast of light bounced off of the water and blinded me as we turned a corner. Squinting into the sun, I wished for sunglasses as I bumped into the side of a wall. Halfway down a narrow cobblestone street, Killian stopped by a small green storefront. It was situated between a pretty little café and a shoe store. “Come on, babe. You need some things.”

By the time we’d finished, I had a much larger wardrobe. This one included a wispy piece of sapphire-colored fabric that could not possibly conceal anything. That was exactly the point, according to the extravagantly-dressed sales girl. She’d barely been able to tear her eyes off of Killian and insisted I buy lingerie.

She fluttered her delicate hands at his general largeness and amused blue eyes and giggled, “He is so delicious,
cherie
! You must dress for him! You will both thank me!”

As I adjusted my new sunglasses, I had to say, “I don’t care how much he begs, Rivin is
not
staying in our room. I want one night, just one night, with you, uninterrupted by demons or any other uninvited guests. I don’t want to sleep in a cave. I don’t want you to set me on fire. I don’t want to have any demonic nightmares. I don’t want you to leave me in the middle of the night. Just one time, I want to have a romantic night with you, in a bed. Is that going to be too much to ask?”

His eyebrows lifted and his lips twitched. “I’ll see what I can do.”

We took our time meandering through the city until we came to our hotel. The Five Hotel is a modern little hotel that sits inside one of the typical tall buildings that line the streets around here. I had to clamp my mouth shut to keep from gawking like a tourist as we walked through the brightly-colored lobby. Beautiful was too mild a word. It was a work of art! Killian slipped the key card into our door and held the door for me.

“Omigod! Is our bed floating?”

Our room was designed in an ethereal blue and white color palette. The blue ceiling glittered with tiny lights that looked like stars. The walls were blindingly white. The furniture was either glass or white leather. The sleek, silvery bed actually seemed to float off the floor. Cleverly hidden suspension wires created the illusion.  So cool. Awestruck, I ran my fingers over the glass desk.

“Do you like it?”

Grinning ear to ear, I said, “It’s amazing! How did you find this place?”

“Google.”

“I’ll never rag on the internet again. This is heavenly! Should I bother to unpack? How long will we be here?”

Not looking up from his laptop, he said, “Not long. We need to get moving again. We’ll divide and conquer when Rivin gets here.”

I figured as much, but still…I wished we could play tourists, just a little. Europe was so beautiful. I wanted to see it while we were here. Time always rushed with us. We never had
time
. I’ve been dragged all over the place hunting demons, but I haven’t
seen
anything. It was always so fleeting. Maybe that’s how it will always be. Bouncing from place to place, never experiencing it, and never really understanding the reason why.

The hourglass was turned over again.

I had a nagging feeling that my time was limited. It wouldn’t matter what I’d seen. I would be gone anyway. How long did I have? With that thought in mind, I turned away from him to hide my eyes.

The touch of his hand brought me out of my sad thoughts. Turning me into his arms, he kissed the top of my head. “Mica…” His voice was ragged with emotion and he hesitated before going on. “Stop looking. You see too much.”

Whispering, I said, “I don’t want to leave you.”

“It’s not written in stone. It doesn’t have to be that way!”

“But I feel it! My gut tells me I’m running out of time.”

Gripping my arms, he said, “You feel it because it’s a possibility, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. There are always forks in our roads. You have choices; you know that.”

“Don’t lie to me! Lying won’t protect me. I have to trust something. Do I trust my gut or you?”

He looked into my eyes and whispered, “You trust
me
.
Always
trust me.”

A loud knock broke the tension. Rivin was here. I slipped into the bathroom to wash up while Killian let him in.

Rivin whistled in appreciation. “Bloody hell! Look at that bed! Did you nail her in it yet?”

I heard Killian say, “Shut up, Rivin.”

When I came out of the bathroom, they were seated in the lavish red sitting area. The entire room was covered in blood red fabrics. The carpet, the walls, and the crushed velvet chairs were the same amazing red. The curved ceiling was gold. The tall, narrow window looked out over the river. The curtains were gossamer. This room was clearly designed for romance…it was no wonder Rivin and Killian looked uncomfortable sitting in the chairs. When I walked in, they both stood and moved to lean against the walls.

Rivin bowed gracefully at the waist. “Before we get started, I’d like to apologize for my behavior today. I had no idea who you were and I wouldn’t have been so forward if I’d known.” His words sounded sincere, but...

I walked over to him and stared into the shifting irises of his Primani eyes. His eyes widened and darted to Killian. Killian narrowed his eyes and nodded. Rivin was nervous but I sensed no evil in him. His eyes gave me a glimpse of his intentions. They seemed noble enough. I stopped at that. Even though I could delve more deeply, there was no need. Satisfied he wasn’t trying to derail our mission or kill me, I turned away and nodded to Killian.

Anything off?

Nope. He seems sincere.

To Rivin, I said graciously, “It’s cool, dude. It’s not the first time I’ve been hit on. You’re forgiven.” I offered him my hand with a twinkle in my eye.

Eyeing my hand like a grenade, he stepped back and said, “I’ve heard rumors about you. It’s true then? You can read minds?”

“She can do more than that. She can
scatter
you with her mind. You might want to remember that. Even the demons are afraid of her now.” Killian sounded so proud I had to laugh.

Rivin swallowed and eased away from me. Killian chuckled and got the meeting started.

“Rivin, I need you to dig up whatever you can find on the Première Institute in Lucerne. There are rumors they’re a front for the other side. Dagin’s probably not involved, since he’s East Coast, U.S., but someone else definitely is.” He handed Rivin a thumb drive. “Take this and see what you can decode. I took a quick look already; it’s not good. Lots of notes on Variola.”

Rivin whistled in surprise. “Bloody hell, that’s smallpox!”

“Very good. I see you paid attention in biology. Now you see the problem?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it. What else?”

“You can use Alex’s assistant, Marc, if you need admin help. The lab in Manhattan is on standby if you get your hands on samples.” He tossed him a cell phone. “This is fully loaded. Get familiar with the apps and use them. We have the same devices. You can reach either of us on them, no matter what plane we’re on. Oh, and you don’t need to charge it. It runs on your
saol
. So keep it close to your body and it’ll stay charged. Questions?”

With a sideways glance at me, he leaned towards Killian. “Is there any word on Declan?”

I flinched at the sound of his name. His face immediately came to mind and I bit my lip to keep from getting emotional again. Just hearing his name hurt.

Killian shook his head at Rivin. Quietly, he answered, “He’s gone.”

Rivin hung his head and scrubbed his hand over the stubble on top of his skull. The gesture was surprisingly human. He was silent for several seconds before he responded.

“That sucks. I liked him.” He paused and took a deep shuddering breath and sniffed hard. When he looked up again, his eyes gleamed softly. “What’s the word on Jordan?”

“Officially? You spot him, you call me. I’ll bring him to Michael.”

“And unofficially?”

Instead of answering, Killian grimly slid
Sgaine Dutre’s
brother blade out of its sheath. The golden blade hummed softly in his hand. Killian whispered to it and the red stone pulsed with fire and then glowed steadily. The red light reflected unnaturally in his eyes giving him a demonic air. He passed the blade from hand to hand watching it with a steady gaze. As if hypnotized, we all stared at the gleaming blade as it went back and forth.

Abruptly, he jammed it into the cushion of the chair.

The spell was broken.

Rivin smiled, canines gleaming like fangs…Killian smiled back. “I’m counting on his resistance.”