Awaken (Divine Hunter Series) (18 page)

His dream had felt so real. He felt really bad about the way he’d kissed her, not that he hadn’t enjoyed it,
really
enjoyed it. He was so ashamed and annoyed at himself.

He
’d spent the next few hours watching her sleep. The sound of her deep breaths had soothed him, and every now and again she would quietly moan words he didn’t understand. It made him smile though. It was like she had her own sleep language. She made his goddamn heart swell.
Shit!
He hardly recognized himself at the moment.

When he looked out of the driver’s side
window, he was surprised to see the airstrip beside them. He’d been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed the distance they’d covered. Evo must have sensed his mood because he’d kept quiet for the last part of the journey which Michael was grateful for. He suddenly felt bad for feeling irritated by him, he hadn’t deserved it.

Now Michael was back to being aware of his surroundings
, he realized there was another reason he was glad he’d been pre-occupied by his inner-turmoil over Lacy: Evo’s musical taste hadn’t improved in their time apart. “What the hell is this you’re listening to?”

Evo shot him a look of utter bemusement, like Michael was supposed to know who the female country singer coming out of the stereo was.
“It’s Faith Hill. . . What? She’s talented.”

“
Jeez buddy. As soon as we get back, I’m buying you some new music.” Thank God they were nearly there.

He needed a distraction and fast.

After checking the arrival time on the information screen−to make sure Evo’s woman’s plane would be landing on time−the two men walked through the small airport towards the arrivals lounge. They still had a little time until the plane was in so Michael ordered a coffee-to-go from the Wild Bean kiosk in the corner. They took a seat near the window.

“
I have a feeling this Varesh is going to be a piece of work.” Evo said, as he removed his sunglasses. It was the middle of October, and they were expecting snow any time, but Evo was always wearing those damned wraparounds no matter what. Usually only took them off at night when his vision was restricted.

“
Yeah. How does your lady friend know so much anyway?” Michael was eager to know more about the woman he was about to meet. A little prior information would have been nice. Why was Evo being so vague about her?

“
Alethia.” Evo said.

“
What?”

“
Her name is Alethia. And she’s not my lady friend. I’ve never met her before.”

Michael
’s eyes narrowed. “Then why would she come all this way to meet us, and at such short notice?” It seemed strange that a complete stranger was willing to do that. He assumed Evo knew her. He guessed that corrected his earlier assumption that the guy had slept with her.

Evo sat forward, arms leaning on his knees.
“I told you already, I’m owed a favor.”

He was beginning to get on Michael
’s last nerve with his short, uninformative answers. “Not from
her,
though, right? Come on man, you’re not giving me anything here. I’m about to meet this woman and I know nothing about her. I’m not comfortable with this.”

Evo scrubbed his hand down his face
and his eyes scanned around the lounge as if to make sure no one else was in earshot. “She’s different.”

Michael
’s eyebrow raised and he gave Evo a look that urged him to continue. “Different how?”

“
She’s. . . kind of powerful. And my
friend
said she may be able to help us. In fact, when I spoke to her on the phone, she was already on her way to the airport. She seems keen to meet us. This is a good thing Mike, buddy. You trust me, right?”

He never mentioned it was her he’d
spoken to on the phone. And what did he mean by powerful? Someone working for the government powerful? He gave Evo a quick nod of his head. “Powerful like how?”

Evo
’s voice dropped to a whisper. “She’s not human.” Then he got up and joined the small group of people who had gathered waiting to greet the throng of passengers who’d begun to come through the exit doors, weighed down with luggage. Most of them had companions or were in small groups.

Michael went over and stood by him. The only person who had come through alone so far was a short, very round man with a thin
mustache and a Yankees cap until. . .

Michael saw Evo’s eyes light up as a tall, slim, brunette−who was dressed in a knee length, tan, double breasted coat with fur around the collar−came through the
doors, pulling along a small suitcase. Her tight black pants were covered by brown, knee high boots. She was the picture of elegance as she stopped to fumble with her coat before her eyes scanned the room.

“That’s gotta be her.” Evo said before almost sprinting towards her.

God help her,
Michael thought as he followed him.

“Alethia?”
She looked straight at Evo and smiled tentatively.

Michael noticed she had a small dimple in each of her cheeks. She looked to be in her early thirties and very human, but then again, so did he.

“Yes. You must be Mr O’Reilly?” The woman outstretched her hand to Evo who took it immediately, gently shaking it while his gaze never left hers. “I’ve had quite an interesting chat about you with our mutual friend,” she said wryly.

Evo seemed to like it. “Please. Call me Evo, and this is my good friend Michael.”

She looked at Michael, her blue eyes narrowed with curiosity while it was his turn for the handshake. She lowered her voice. “Ah Yes. You’re the one Varesh is looking for. He’s not the kind you gain as an enemy easily. You must have really pissed him off.”

Michael was surprised by her words. So she did know who Varesh was?
Well, that was a start. The fact that she was here with no hesitation, worried him though. Three things he would need to find out about her before he trusted her: one, how well did she know this Varesh? He needed to be sure that she wasn’t working with him and had come here because she planned to deceive them. The second thing, Is she as powerful as Evo said? And finally, if she’s not human then what the hell is she?

“I haven’t done anything to him.” Michael replied coldly, informing her where he stood with the trust issue.

Her eyes narrowed with her irreverent smile. “I highly doubt that,” she said before turning her attention back to Evo. “How long till we can eat? I’m starving.” She began to walk towards the exit, suitcase in tow, not bothering to look back to see if they followed.

They did though.

Michael looked at Evo who was happily enjoying watching her walk on ahead. “I think I’m in love with her which is bad.” Evo said, to which Michael rolled his eyes. “No, I’m serious. I mean, how am I going to concentrate on anything she has to tell us when she looks like that?”

Michael shoved his elbow into Evo’s arm. “I’m sure you’ll manage, you sexed up asshole.”

* * *

T
he journey back was an interesting one. Michael had learned nothing more in the time spent with Alethia and Evo, except that Evo’s flirting was something to behold. . . Or not, in Michael’s case. His buddy had tried every which way he could with Alethia but she wasn’t succumbing to his pretty impressive−as much as it was hard for Michael to admit−attempts to woo her. He’d never seen Evo have to try so hard. Alethia seemed amused by him, not at all bewitched, which was the case for most females who got in the way of Evo’s infamous charm. Poor bastard wasn’t used to it.

Michael hadn’t quite figured the woman out yet. She was a peculiar character; that much he’d already established. Sometimes when she
spoke, she sounded mature, wisdom poured from her suggesting she was much older than she appeared. Other times she was playful. The way she teased Evo, playing him in a mischievous way, resembled the behavior of a teenager. Not unlike Evo himself.

They finally arrived back in Oakland. Michael had said he wanted to swing by Lacy’s before anything else, to make sure she was ok
ay. He’d promised he’d go with her to the hospital and he still would, but it would have to be later on tonight. The meeting with Alethia was number one priority; if he was going to let her help, then he wanted to know everything about her first.

As the SUV pulled up outside Lacy’s, it took less than a second for Michael to
realize that her car wasn’t in the drive. She’d promised him she’d stay at home until he got back and she wasn’t the type to go back on her word. Even though she could’ve just popped to the store, or something as simple as that, his instincts were telling him there was something wrong, and he usually trusted them.

“Evo. Buddy. Have you got that special knife on you?” he asked, his heart rate increasing slightly, preparing for the worst.

Evo turned to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Just being
cautious, that’s all.” As he walked up Lacy’s driveway, he heard the sound of two doors closing shut behind him, then the footsteps of Evo and Alethia following him to the house.

He got to the front door which was open slightly. By this time he’d slipped his own knife out from inside his jacket and, holding his breath, he slowly pushed the door and walked inside. “Lacy?”

Silence.

He pointed down the hall, silently gesturing for Evo to check the other rooms which his buddy did with no hesitation. Michael went into the living room, still no sign of her. He noticed a cup on the coffee table which was half filled with coffee. He reached down and touched it with the back of his hand. Cold, so it had been there a while. He didn’t like it one little bit.

“Lacy. Are you here?” Again there was no reply. He checked the kitchen. Then a woman’s voice called out from the hall. Alethia’s.

“Uh, I think you need to see this.”

Michael raced out of the room catching sight of Evo doing the same thing at the other end of the hall. Evo shook his head as he left Lacy’s room, confirming she wasn’t there. When Michael looked down at what Alethia was pointing to on the floor, he sank to his knees. He stared at the droplets of blood trailing off towards the door where they stopped suddenly. Michael found it hard to breathe as he imagined Lacy being hurt and then probably carried out to her own car and taken somewhere.

He barely registered Evo as he spoke. “Shit. Man. That doesn’t look good.”

“Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?” Alethia asked.

Michael couldn’t seem to find his voice for a moment, but through the deep mixture of anguish and rage now pulsing through his veins he managed to produce some sort of sound. “That bastard has her, Evo.”

“Who?” Alethia demanded, her voice ringing in Michael’s head.

Evo was quick to answer her this time. “That shit of a demon we captured. He must have taken Lacy and no doubt”−he hesitated−“Varesh will have ordered it.”

All of a sudden Michael couldn’t hear beyond his own thoughts.
How long has she been gone?
What if they’d killed her already?
His head started to pound. He was so filled with fury that his vision began to distort. Then his whole body started to vibrate. The walls around him appeared to rumble and through the haze he heard Evo’s voice.

“What the fuck. . . ?”

What was happening to him?

Evo’s voice cut through again, this time with the kind of urgency that he’d never heard coming from his friend. “Do something Alethi
a!” He sounded. . . scared?

The vibration continued, like he had two thousand volts of electricity travelling through every inch of his skin. Through his now severely reduced vision, he saw the walls moving. He was hallucinating, had to be. No. Wait. . . This was real. He caught the fear in Evo’s eyes, his shocked expression confirming that Michael wasn’t the only one seeing what was happening.

Michael gripped his head on either side as a strange pressure began to build inside of it, as though someone had a foot pump on his brain and was seeing how far they could inflate it before it burst. He couldn’t stop it. Whatever was happening was beyond his control.

Everything seemed to blur into one, spinning around faster and faster until he couldn’t make anything out anymore. It was like he was in the eye of a hurricane with everything rushing, circling around him then. . .

Darkness.

Silence.

Nothing but the sound of his hitched breaths in his ears.

Then he was consumed by light; bright, white hot light that stung his eyes. He threw his arm over his face and heard his friend’s voice groan beside him. When Michael removed his arm, and after blinking a couple of times until he
could see properly, he looked down to see Evo crouched over, his guts doing a damn good impression of Niagara Falls.

“What. . . the. . . fuck. . . j
ust happened?” Evo said in between retching.

When Michael looked
around, he saw that they were alone in a long bright room with alabaster columns running along each side. The floor was covered in marble, also alabaster, and there were pale, delicate drapes across the far end.