Through The Veil (6 page)

The
surgery concluded in a relatively quick fashion. Marcus released a breath he
didn’t realize he’d held as they closed the final suture. He continued stroking
her hair as they worked, and somewhere along the way, he’d grabbed hold of her
small hand.

“It
doesn’t look like the bullet did too much damage.” Malcolm glanced at their
entwined hands with a raised eyebrow. “It amazingly missed all her vital
organs, but she’s lost a lot of blood. If she doesn’t get an infection, she
should recover. I have a powder she needs to drink every day which should help
her pain and to stave off an infection.” He looked down at her. “Now, do you
want to explain where she came from?”

Marcus
frowned in consternation. “I was patrolling the eastern shore along the gorge
when I sensed something and looked across that rickety bridge. Suddenly, she
appeared out of the mist.”

“She
just appeared?”

“It
seemed that way, but you know how the fog distorts things. Regardless, we need
to check the Veil in that area. It may have developed a fissure.” He turned to
Brooklyn. “Is Garrison back from patrol?”

She
nodded.

“Okay,
send Eric and Garrison to check it out.”

“I’ll
send them the message.” She worked to clean up the equipment while she
communicated silently with the other two Warriors.

In
the meantime, he turned back toward Malcolm. “So, what do you think?”

“It’s
odd to see someone without wings after all this time. What if, in the ES, they
weren’t affected by the Veil at all? We’ve always just assumed the same thing
happened on both sides. If that’s not the case, then what does that mean,
especially now that someone has managed to get across?”

Marcus
frowned in thought. “I don’t know, but until we know something for sure, let’s
not panic. We’ll get some answers when she regains consciousness. Do you have
any idea how long that will take?”

“No.
In fact, I have no idea why she’s still out. There’s no reason for it, but she’s
not in a coma. I think she needs the deep sleep to heal.”

Marcus
nodded and went back to stroking her hair.

“Okay,
seriously, what’s up with you?” Malcolm asked. “I haven’t seen you react to a
woman like this since…” Malcolm’s voice trailed off.

Marcus
tensed with a hefty mix of guilt and pain at the sudden thought of Audra. He
still thought about her every day. But today, from the moment he’d found this
girl at the bridge, the need to protect her consumed him. But it was more than
just protection. He felt a connection to her somehow. Now, the knowledge of
that fact hit him like a blow and he suddenly couldn’t breathe under the force
of it.

He
looked at her and then his concerned brother. Malcolm had been there and knew
how devastated he’d been and continued to be since Audra died. She died and
something within him died with her…his hope. But something was different with
the sudden appearance of this girl. Why?

Maybe
his brother could make sense of it, because he sure as hell couldn’t. All he
knew was that the futility he’d felt for so long had lifted, at least a little
bit. Was it the girl or the knowledge that maybe they were on the verge of
something more? She made it through the Veil.

“I
don’t know what it is, but I need to protect her. I don’t understand why. I
just feel it with everything I am. Her appearance here means something. I just
don’t know exactly what that is yet.”

They
both looked up as Brooklyn strode back in. “The guys are on their way to check
out the situation at the bridge. They’ll report in as soon as they know
something.”

Marcus
nodded and refocused on the still-unconscious, mysterious stranger. Who was
she? What did her arrival mean to them?

Lori could hear the rumble of hushed voices. Her side screamed
with pain, but it felt better than it had before. She hoped that meant the
bullet had been removed. But did that mean she’d been caught?

Panic and fear surged and she tried to grasp onto what the
voices said. She had to get away.

Move.

Run.

She couldn’t go back into a cage. But she was just so tired.
 
Her exhaustion pulled her once again
into the world of black.

* * *

The next time Lori awoke, someone tugged at her arm. She
slowly opened her eyes to see a man taking her pulse. He was breathtaking with
short blond hair and a sculpted bare chest which showed his amazing physique. He
also had white wings with purple tips

She was in Heaven.

For a moment, she sighed in relief. At least her torture
would be over, but
No!
She couldn’t abandon them. She had to get the
Others out. As she tensed, pain flooded her side, flaring in waves across her
torso and spreading down her legs.

“
Ow
,” she moaned. “I always
assumed being in heaven would take away the pain.” She gasped and her throat
sounded scratchy, weak.

The man looked up at her with surprise in his vibrant green
eyes. “You’re awake.”

“It seems like a logical assumption, but…” She eyed his wings
and the huge sword strapped to his back between them. “I have my doubts. Are
you an angel? Did I die?”

A low feminine laugh surprised her and she turned to see a
beautiful woman standing on the other side. Even while lying in a bed, Lori
could tell the woman was tall. She had long dark hair and golden brown eyes
filled with humor. She wore what looked like a sports bra and had the most
amazing, gorgeous turquoise blue wings. This woman’s fitness definitely rivaled
the white angel’s as her six-pack appeared just as defined as his.

“Oh, girl, he’s definitely no angel. None of them are.” She
smirked at the third angel who stood at Lori’s feet with a frown on his face. She
remembered him from the bridge, the one with the purple wings.

He looked more serious than the other two as he watched her
with haunted, dark green eyes similar to the white winged man’s. He appeared
dispirited with that tragic glimmer of grief showing in his gaze. Even through her
pain, something about this brooding male pulled at her.

But even with the aura of sadness surrounding him, he was
gorgeous, too. He had sun-kissed blond hair that looked like it needed a trim
by the way that the ends curled. Like the other two, he didn’t wear a shirt and
his body emanated pure male perfection.

She took another look at the three people surrounding her.
She gasped as her brain connected. If this wasn’t a drug-induced hallucination,
then something was definitely off here. “You all have wings.”

And they all had really deadly-looking, huge swords in the
middle of their backs. Oh God, what had she stumbled into? “How? I don’t
understand.” She cringed at the panic rising in her voice. Hadn’t she learned
not to show vulnerability? She tried to sit up and examine her surroundings,
but pain and weakness overwhelmed her. “Where am I?”

The man with the white wings said, “Relax. You’re safe here.
Believe me, we’re just as confounded by the fact you don’t have them.”

“Wait, are you telling me everyone here has wings?” At their
slow nods, she whispered again, “Where am I?”

The other two glanced at the sexy man standing at her feet.
His serious expression turned into a scowl and she suddenly wondered if he planned
to lie to her.

“First, we need to know how you got here,” he demanded in a
low voice. “Who shot you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?”

Her stomach clenched with his aggressive line of questioning.
She’d spent the last six years of her life imprisoned. No way would she let
that happen again. She reached out with her mind. “
Savannah, can you hear me?”

The purple-winged man immediately raised his eyebrows.
“Who’s Savannah?”

Oh crap, how did he hear her? She immediately put up all the
walls in her mind which just made his eyebrows rise higher as he crossed his
arms across that amazing chest.

“You’re telepathic,” she said.

It wasn’t a question, but the purple winged man nodded. “We
all are. Now, I need you to answer my questions.”

The woman shot a censuring scowl toward the man. “Let’s slow
things down a little bit. How about some introductions first? I’m Brooklyn. The
stern-looking guy down there is Marcus.” Brooklyn waved her hand to the
purple-winged guy before waving toward the other who she’d first thought was an
angel. “And your doctor is Malcolm. He and Marcus are brothers.” Her voice
lowered with kindness. “What’s your name?”

She glanced around the three of them in panic. What did they
plan to do with her? Had she left one prison just to enter another? They were
all so muscular, even the girl. She wouldn’t stand much of a chance against any
of them healthy and right now she felt too weak to put up much of a fight. For
now, she needed to buy time so she could escape later.

“Thank you for taking care of me. My name’s Lori.” She took
a deep breath. “And I’m from the Eastern States.” Please let them be satisfied
with that. There wasn’t anything else she would share with them. She couldn’t
risk it, yet. Maybe she could put them off until she got strong enough to
escape.

Marcus wouldn’t be put off, though. “The ES? As far as we
know, no one’s made it through the Veil in eighteen years. How did you manage
it?”

She could feel him probing her mind and she glared at him.
“I appreciate your help.” She swung her legs off the side of the bed, ignoring
the white-hot pain that shot through her side, and clutched the sheet to her
chest. “But I don’t want to put you out any longer, so if you’ll just return my
clothes, I’ll be on my way.”

She lowered her feet to the floor and immediately swayed.
Marcus rushed to her side and pulled her against him. Her body flushed and
tingled at the impact of all that male hardness. She was suddenly very aware of
her nakedness beneath the sheet she held.

He gritted his teeth. It seemed he felt the electricity
flowing between them, too, and wasn’t happy about it. “Someone shot you. I
promise you, we’re not going to hurt you. You’re safe here, but you won’t be if
you leave, especially since night is falling. There are creatures here that are
extremely dangerous.” Still holding her to his chest, he turned to the other
two. “In fact, we all need to head to the trees before it gets much later.” He
turned to Malcolm. “Will she be okay to fly to the village?”

Malcolm reached forward and took her pulse. “How’s your
pain?”

“It’s fine.” She gazed at Marcus in disbelief. “What do you
mean by head to the trees?” she stuttered out. “Fly?” Even she could hear the
fear in her voice.
Show no weakness.
She knew better.

The smile he gave her appeared absolutely decadent. Even
though it didn’t make it up to his sad eyes, it still made her stomach flutter.
Why did he affect her this way? Was it just because it had been so long since
she’d been around a man without threat of torture? What did that say about her?

No weakness.
This man represented danger. She had
no idea what they planned for her. All she knew is that she couldn’t trust or
be tempted by him. Hadn’t the last six years taught her anything?

“The wings aren’t just for decoration,” he said.

She glanced at his huge wings again and realized exactly
what he meant. “Oh holy hell, you can fly?” She felt her eyes go wide in shock,
but she couldn’t help it. These people flew?

“We do and you’re going to fly with us.” He gently released
her and turned to Brooklyn. “Help her get dressed and then we’ll go.”