“Do you know how to do that?”
“I think so. Hold on.”
Again, Madoc felt a flow of power falling out of him. The tiny connection between them flared, allowing her to take on more of the energy stretching his insides.
As she did whatever it was she was doing, the strain he’d been carrying around for years began to ease. For the first time in decades, he felt like he could pull in a full breath.
He was so thrilled by this victory that he hadn’t been paying attention to the images.
They stopped, and he felt Nika’s body tighten even as he sensed her fear invading his thoughts, like a dank little tendril of smoke.
Madoc put his attention back where it belonged and saw what had scared Nika so much.
It was the face of a man who wasn’t quite a man at all. The top of his skull was a bit too wide, his black eyes too deeply set. His bloodred lips were peeled back in a hideous smile, displaying two rows of pointed teeth.
Zillah.
The name echoed in his mind like a shotgun blast. This was the thing that had stolen Tori. The creature who had hurt her. Raped her.
“Don’t look at him,” he told Nika. “Change the image to something else.”
Her voice shook with fury. “I want to watch him die.”
“So do I, but that will have to wait until we can find him. Show me something I can use.”
Nika was trembling, though whether with fear or rage, he couldn’t tell. He swept his hands up and down her back, hoping to calm her. The feel of her slender back under his palms managed to soothe something inside him, too. She was here, in his arms, safe and sound, and nothing and no one was going to change that.
The image shifted; this time, it was a close-up of the open, salivating jaws of a sgath. Nika swiftly went through several blurry images as if wanting to get away from that one. The next one she stopped on was of their childhood bedroom.
“That’s before the attack,” she said. “The window isn’t broken yet. I’ll move forward a bit.”
The next time she stopped, he saw what it had looked like for Tori the night she’d been taken. As a sgath pulled her out of her window, she stared back at a much younger Nika.
She was just a girl. Her hair had been dark then, not the fear-bleached white it was now. Blood leaked from a wound on her leg, but she ignored it. She was reaching out toward Tori, her lips parted as if speaking.
“Okay. This is it,” she whispered. “You need to find where she went. I’ll move through the thoughts one by one.”
What Tori had seen that night flowed past Madoc like a movie. He scoured each image, searching for landmarks, signs, or anything else that might lead him to where Tori was.
He saw nothing familiar. There was still some kind of distortion happening. So much of what he saw was simply . . . wrong.
Failure bore down on him, crushing the breath from his lungs. How was he going to admit his inadequacy to Nika? He didn’t want her to see his failures. He wanted to be her hero.
“You’re not a failure,” she said. “We’ll just have to try again.”
Already he could feel her shaking with fatigue. She was new to his power, and no matter how badly he wanted to find Tori, Nika had to be his first priority.
“We need to stop.”
“We can’t,” said Nika. “We’re too close.”
“We have time to figure this out. It will take at least a day to get everyone home and ready to move.”
“I want to go tonight.”
“I realize that, but if we move too soon, we won’t have enough manpower to save her. I know you don’t want that.”
Her gaze hardened and her mouth tightened. “He’s just one man—one creature. I could kill him myself if I got close enough. All I need is a weapon.”
“I’m not going to let you risk yourself like that. We’re going to do this right. No one is going in alone. Period.”
“You’re not going to hold me back from Tori. No one is.”
“I’m not trying to. I’m trying to help you see reason. I can’t seem to control the images without you, and you’re too tired right now to be much help. The best thing you can do for Tori is to get a nap on the way home; then we’ll try again.”
“I won’t be able to sleep. Not now that I know what they’ve done to her. I should have known before now.”
“Why? You said she’d been pulling away for a while.”
Nika nodded. “That’s why. She didn’t want me with her when he raped her. I should have been there.”
“No,” said Madoc, his voice too loud and angry. He reminded himself to be gentle. “She protected you out of love. Don’t cheapen her gift by regretting it. Besides, how do you know that it wouldn’t have been worse for her had you been there to witness it, to suffer with her?”
“She’s just a girl.”
Madoc drew in a calming breath and smoothed his hand over her hair. “We’ll bring her home soon.”
“Tori doesn’t have much time.”
“I know.”
“If that baby—or whatever it is—comes before we find her, she might not make it.”
Madoc couldn’t let Nika’s imagination go there—not when there was still a chance. “She’ll make it. We’ll get the Sanguinar working on a way to get her through the birth and make it safe for her.”
“And the baby?” asked Nika, shuddering.
Madoc had no answers. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
“I can’t even imagine what she’s been through—how she was strong enough to endure it and still try to protect me. Who was protecting her?”
“As of now, we are. All of us. She’s one of our own and we’ll find a way to bring her home.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told Andra she’s alive. Maybe it would be kinder for her to never know what really happened to Tori.”
“Andra’s strong. And Tori’s not dead yet. There’s still a chance.”
“You think so?”
“You found a way to save me when I was sure I was a lost cause. I’m sure we’ll do the same for her.”
Nika snuggled against his chest, tucking her head under his chin. “You keep telling me that, okay? I have a feeling I’m going to need to hear it more than once.”
Madoc tightened his arms around the most precious woman to have ever existed. She hadn’t given up on him when there was no reason to hope. The least he could do was keep her hope alive long enough to help her get through this.
Whatever happened, she wasn’t going to be alone. He was going to be right here with her, giving her hope, holding her close, and, if need be, drying her tears.
Nika was his now, and for as long as she was, he would not fail her.
She’d stayed up last night, watching over him while he was injured. She needed her rest. He still wasn’t convinced she was completely healthy.
“Sleep for a while,” he whispered. He gathered up minute sparks of power floating in the air and used them to put the faintest hint of compulsion in the words. “We’ll be home soon.”
Nika’s body relaxed against his and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep.
Madoc leaned back in the seat, closed his eyes, and forced himself to go through those horrible images again, one by one. He needed to learn how to control them, remove whatever was distorting them, and make sense of them so Nika never had to see them again.
He knew that if anything happened to Tori, these images would be the things that haunted Nika most.
Chapter 17
D
abyr was buzzing with activity when they arrived. The underground parking lot was nearly full. Curious teens tried to appear nonchalant as they eavesdropped for a clue as to what was going on.
Madoc ignored all of it and carried the still-sleeping Nika straight to his suite. He wasn’t sure if he did it because he was worried she’d park herself in the hall again, or if it was because he liked the idea of getting her in his bed. Maybe a little of both.
He tucked her in, safe and sound, and simply stared down at her.
So pretty. So perfect. His chest ached just looking at her.
He wished there was more time to linger, but there was too much work to be done. It was time to face Joseph.
Madoc strapped his old, familiar sword around his hips and had just left his suite when he nearly ran into Nicholas.
The man’s face was hard to read behind the network of fine scars, but his eyes said plenty. He stared at the space where Madoc’s necklace had once been, his hand idly sliding over his own luceria.
“I had to see for myself,” he whispered. “It’s true.”
Madoc nodded, fighting down the odd mixture of pride, joy, and grief swelling inside him. “Yeah, it’s true.”
Nicholas clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re one hell of a lucky bastard. And I expect you to buy me a beer for playing matchmaker.”
“Matchmaker?”
“Sure. I’m the one who kept opening up doors so the two of you could be together. And don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did to my camera last year. You owe me.”
Something warm opened up inside Madoc, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable. He swallowed a couple of times to free his vocal cords of whatever had locked them up. “Thanks,” he finally managed to get out. “You’re a real friend.”
“’Bout time you finally realized that. Asshole.” Nicholas’s face cracked around a smile. “Come on. Joseph just got in. He’s going to need a briefing. Better it comes from the horse’s mouth.”
By the time they got to Joseph’s office, it was already crowded with people. Drake and Helen sat quietly to one side. Gilda was huddled in the corner, crying. Angus stood near her, but hadn’t offered her any sort of comfort, which was odd. He’d known those two for centuries and they could hardly keep their hands off of each other.
Angus’s jaw was clenched so tight, Madoc wondered if the man’s muscles wouldn’t pop out of his jawline.
Joseph sat at his desk, rubbing his temples. His eyes were sunken, his shoulders slumped.
He looked up at Madoc. “What’s the emergency?”
Madoc looked at Drake. “Didn’t you tell him?”
“He just got back from delivering Chris to the Slayers. We thought we’d give him a minute,” said Drake.
“Just tell me and get it over with,” said Joseph. “I’ve already had to take a friend to his death. This day can’t get any worse.”
Joseph looked so tired, Madoc decided to take pity on the man and keep it short and sweet. He straightened his shoulders. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to kill me, too. I killed Tynan. I realize this means my life is forfeit, but I ask that you let me help Nika find another Theronai to take my place before you carry out my sentence.”
“Tynan’s not dead,” said Nicholas, frowning. “I just saw him a while ago.”
“As did I,” said Angus.
Confused, Madoc said, “But I broke his neck. I felt it.”
Joseph’s face had darkened. “I will deal with this and you privately,” he told Madoc. “The rest of you, out.”
“Wait,” said Drake to Joseph. “Madoc hasn’t told you the rest. About Tori.”
Madoc really wanted his sentencing to be over, but what he wanted now wasn’t the issue. “Nika’s younger sister, Tori, is alive. And pregnant.”
The room fell into shocked silence.
“How do you know this?” asked Joseph. “Andra thinks she found her remains in that cave last year.”
“Andra was wrong,” said Madoc.
“How can you be sure?”
Madoc looked right into Joseph’s eyes and said, “I saw her.”
“Where? When?”
Madoc didn’t like this part. Nika had a reputation of being crazy. She believed Tori was alive, which made the idea tainted. “Nika took me to see her. We, ah, visited her mind.”
Everyone in the room stared at him like they were expecting a punch line. When it didn’t come, they all started talking at once.
Crazy
. Madoc heard the word several times, though he didn’t know who had said it.
“Stop it!” he shouted.
From the direction of his suite, he felt Nika wake up. His agitation had caused it and he wanted to lash out at everyone in the room for daring to disturb her rest.
Nika’s soothing presence cooled his anger, allowing him to pause before he did something he’d regret. She was getting closer, and by the time she got here, he wanted to be in full control.
“You’ve got to admit,” said Joseph, “it sounds a little far-fetched.”
“And killing things with magic isn’t?” he demanded. “What about Tynan living after I nearly snapped his head off his neck?”
Joseph shook his head. “Tori was taken most of a decade ago by demons known for killing and eating children. The chances of her still being alive are next to zero. Couple that with the fact that Andra and Paul found a corpse wearing the same clothes as Tori when she was abducted, and it gets even harder to believe, even without the mind-visiting stuff.”
“Nika does it all the time. Hell, she was in Helen’s mind last night, learning how to channel magic.”
Helen frowned. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, she was.”
“Do you have any kind of proof?” asked Joseph. “If we’re going to gear up for an assault, we need to be using good information, not the daydreams of a mentally challenged woman.”
Madoc felt a flash of anger explode below the surface of his skin. He forced himself to keep his hand away from his sword, though he had no idea where he’d found that kind of control. The need to make Joseph pay for the insult in blood was pounding through him. Only the cooling presence of Nika in his mind stayed his hand. “You need to stop right there before you say something I can’t ignore.”
From the doorway, Madoc heard a faint intake of breath. He was compelled to turn toward the sound and saw Nika standing there.
“No, Madoc. Let him go on. It would be nice to know what he really thinks.” She was breathing fast. Her cheeks were flushed, as if she’d run there. Her white hair was tousled from bed, and the imprint of a fold in the pillowcase creased her cheek. She came in and stood next to Madoc, and put her hands on her hips.