Scorched Fury: A SkinWalker Novel #5 (DarkWorld: SkinWalker) (13 page)

I sighed.
 

"Darcy?" Clearly he could read me very well.

"Yes." I squeezed his arm. "I'm sorry. I think she'll come by to talk to you when you're awake. Right now, I want you to know that she reversed what she could now that Omega can't stop her."

"How could Omega stop her?"

His expression was odd as he asked the question. As if he knew that answer couldn't possibly be a straight and easy one.

"They threatened her family. She was so young when they recruited, only sixteen when she treated you, and though she tried to remain neutral, she couldn't ignore the threat to her family. So she did what she could, and still ensured your memories would return. Had Storm not done this to you, you'd have regained the memories quite soon."

Logan was deathly still and I glanced at Nerina. I was surprised at how easily I'd forgotten that she was there. That despite the different voice, I still felt like I was talking to Logan.

Nerina remained impassive so I returned my attention to Logan whose chest rose as he took an eerily silent breath.

"What did she do to me? I have more memories . . . images in my head now . . . and they don't all make sense."

"Darcy said she removed more of the blocks and she thinks you should be able to communicate with your sister. With you being twins-"

"How does she know we were twins?"

"From what she heard at her debriefing sessions, and what she saw from your memories. You two were inseparable. You communicated on a more ethereal level than most people. She said that you managed to rein her in just by touching her mind with yours."

"If I kept her out of danger then what would have happened to her without me?" Logan was finally understanding the point of this conversation.
 

As mercenary as it sounded, we weren't here to help him.

"That's what we're all afraid of. Darcy suspects they may have wiped her mind too, but we need to know what you're seeing through this link with her. Your connection would have gotten stronger now, and you should be able to access her mind. It may not make much sense to you but you need to learn to figure it out." I squeezed his hand again. "Logan, we have to find her. Omega had her hidden somewhere but they've been shut down. I'm guessing their off-the-books agents are still guarding her."

Nerina's voice rose, anger, determination, sorrow. "I'll try, but I can't promise anything. I haven't done this before."

"But you have," I said softly. When he frowned I continued, "All these months that's what you've been doing. Finding your way through to her. Only, it may hurt more now than it ever did."

"I'm not afraid of the pain," he snapped.

"Pain of the mind is a whole different level than pain of the body." I spoke calmly, ignoring his curt tone.

He didn't answer but he didn't oppose what I'd said. I took that as a good sign.

"Look. Nobody here can even imagine what you're going through. All I can ask is for you put your feelings aside and think of her safety. We have to find her. And soon. Horner said already that Omega will not go quietly. There are pockets of them still working away beneath the radar. We can't let them continue keeping her."

Logan nodded. "You don't have to convince me, Kai." He smiled gently and I felt it like an embrace. "I'm just not sure if I can reach her. What I've seen so far was purely by chance."

"Maybe it will be different when you actively look for her. This time you have a reason to find her and you know what you're looking for." I rubbed his arm. "You can only do the best you can. If you want, I can stay right here with you."

He nodded and I was grateful. I'd been about to argue with him, expecting him to demand some sort of privacy while looking for her, but maybe he'd forgotten that it was Nerina who linked us together.

I didn't plan on reminding him.

I sat on the bed beside him, not letting go of his hand, watching as his lids fluttered, as he concentrated deep inside himself. Nerina too sat very still beside me and I hoped she was okay.

"Sienna," he whispered. "Her name is Sienna."

It was a beautiful name and I wondered if I should respond but I was a little afraid of disturbing him.

He smiled sadly. "She's grown so much." And, as if in response to the question I wanted to ask, he said, "She seems unhurt. And she doesn't seem to sense me. I think this is what's been confusing me these past few weeks. She's thinking about the past so that's what must have brought the memories up for me. Every time she accesses the past she stirs something inside me."

I listened in awe, filled with a deep sense of sadness for what Logan and Sienna had lost, what Omega had taken from them.

"She's walking along a beach. Barefoot." Logan paused as if looking around. "White sand, gulls, blue sky. The sun is hot. There's a lighthouse on a rocky point in the distance. There is something sparkling in the sand. Like glass or some kind of crystal."

Logan frowned, the vision strange enough to confuse him.

"Nothing on the horizon to tell me where she is." His voice softened. "She's sad. Lost."

I cleared my throat softly so as to not shock him with my voice disturbing his thoughts. "Can she sense you?"

He started to shake his head. Just one jerk and then he stopped. "She's standing, looking around . . . as if she heard someone call her."

"Try to talk to her. Mention your name, maybe your Mom?"

Logan nodded, and then fell silent for a while. After a long while he took a deep breath. "She's afraid. I don't think she knows it's me."

He sounded so hurt that tears burned my eyes.

"Omega would have tampered with her memory too."

He nodded. "I'll need to take it slow. For now, you can start searching for beaches with lighthouses on rocky points."

I smiled. "I'll get on it."

I shifted away but he tightened his grip. "Kai." I paused. "Thank you for doing this for me."

I laughed softly. "You're so silly. You know by now that I'd do anything for you."

His smiled thinned. "And Lake?"

A chill skittered down my spine. "You heard."

"Some."

"It's not what you think."

"My ears work fine. When they are working."

"What I meant was Justin is the past. You are my present."

"And who will be your future?" he asked softly.

I opened my mouth to say that of course it was him. He was the light of my life, the person I wanted to spend my years with, but his face lost the liveliness that he'd had while talking to me and I sensed movement from Nerina.

When I glanced back at her she was lifting her face to the ceiling, readying herself to expel his spirit. I stepped away, allowing her to complete the process, watching in fascination as the gray smoke looped and curled, sinuous. Ominous.

When every last dreg of smoke had returned to its owner, Nerina shuddered, sucking in a long ragged breath.

Her shoulders drooped forward, and I touched her arm. "You okay?"

"Fine. Need a minute." She got the words out one by one and I let her have her space. Getting to my feet, I used my phone to search the Net.

Beaches with lighthouses on rocky points. To my disappointment there were dozens around the country, but I refused to allow myself to be defeated.

We had a certain hacker in our midst.

CHAPTER 18

Nerina got to her feet and I shoved my phone back into my pocket before righting Logan's sheets.
 

"You okay?" I asked, giving her a quick glance.

She nodded. "It was a longer session than I'd anticipated. But given that he wasn't dead, a much less taxing experience on the body."

I patted the mattress and smiled, although there was no cheer in the expression. More manic than cheery. "Any thoughts on what you heard?"

A blush of pink polished her cheeks. "Unfortunately, eavesdropping is part of the process. I didn't wish to intrude."

I waved away the apology. "Don't worry about it. I knew you'd be privy to private information. And I was fine with that. If not, I would have looked for someone else." I smiled but it didn't reach my eyes.

"Now what?" she asked as we exited the room.

"Now we research the location, then we go and find Sienna Westin."

We descended the stairs and came face to face with my parents.

"Hey you guys." I smiled. "We've made progress with Logan."

Both looked curious. So I pointed at Nerina.

"Nerina helped me talk to him. He's tried to communicate with her. We have to locate her before Omega realizes we're onto them."

Dad made a face. "Looks like every time I leave that boy's side something happens."

"Then next time don't leave him alone," admonished Mom with a wink. Then she turned to me. "Any idea where she is?"

"Logan said the seaside somewhere. Nothing significant to use to locate it." Something was bugging me. Something that Logan said that I'd missed. And I couldn't put a finger on it.

"That's disappointing. You must have gotten something to go on."

"Yeah. Sun, sea, sand, rocks and a lighthouse."

Dad laughed. "Well, that is something."

I nodded then shook my head. "Too many somethings. We have to weed out the right ones. Where's Baz?"

Mom pointed a thumb at the back of the house. "Library. He lives there. Your poor father is now 2IC."

I laughed.

"What's so funny," asked Dad, looking affronted

"You giving someone else reign over your domain."

He made a face. "The boy is too damned good to deny."

"Oh. I see." I raised both eyebrows and folded my arms.

Mom laughed. "Don't even start. Go see what Baz can find and I'll get dinner on. I'm not here for much longer. Knowing you, you'll be flying out of here as soon as Baz has something."

"Food is overrated, Mom," I said over my shoulder as Nerina and I headed to the back of the house to find Baz.

"What about success? Overrated too?"

I groaned. "What about nagging, Mom?"

Dad burst out laughing as they disappeared into the kitchen.

"Hey," said Baz, looking up as Nerina and I entered the den.

He was seated at Dad's ancient executive desk, the pale skin of his face glowing green and blue from the light of the laptop.
 

"Hey yourself," I replied, stopping at his side.

Nerina went to the window, her shyness with others seemed to extend to Baz and I made a mental note to dig further into her hesitation to become friends with him.

"Need help with something?" That's Baz for you. Straight to the heart of the matter, he lived for the opportunity to tackle the next big problem.

"Sun, sea, sand, a white lighthouse sitting on a rocky point."

"Huh?"

I grinned. "I need you to scan the coastlines and find me a place that matches that description."

"Okay." Baz nodded, his eyes sparking with curiosity. "Something to do with Logan?"

At his expression, I frowned. "You developing vamp hearing now too?"

He looked guilty.
 

"Good grief, Baz. You need to tell us these things." I met Nerina's gaze over his head and raised an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "It's not important."