Blood Promise (A SkinWalker Novel #4) (A DarkWorld SkinWalker Novel) (42 page)

"I'm fine . . . I think." She stared around her. "How did I get here?" Lily asked, her expression perplexed and a little disoriented.

"Logan traded himself for you." I watched her response.

"He set me free?" she asked, her voice faltering.

"Who was he?" I asked softly, wanting to hear if she too couldn't recall Storm.

"I . . . I don't . . ." Then she gazed up at the sky. "Funny, but I just don't know. I know him. When I look at him, I
know
I know him. But now, I just can't put my finger on a name."

"Her memory has been erased," said Jess from behind us. Her voice was soft and filled with regret.

Nerina touched my arm. "Kai, the blood promise . . . It's fulfilled. You did kill the man who murdered Mika, didn't you?"

I nodded. "Yes, I've fulfilled my promise. Nevins is dead." I smiled at her. "You can go tell Kira that her daughter has been avenged."

Nerina nodded. "If you don't need me any more?"
 

I shook my head. "If I need you, I'll call." I managed a breezy smile and she got to her feet.

"Make sure you get those wounds looked at." The sound of her voice faded with her.

 
I'd fulfilled my blood promise, yes. And Lily had been returned safely, if a little shocked and confused. But Storm had taken Logan.

I turned to Jess. "He may have been able to mess with everyone else's mind, but we saw him."

Jess let out a ragged sigh. "The Immortal High Council wants him alive. They will mete out the appropriate punishment."

"That's not fair," I said, shifting to sit upright. Even as I spoke I knew we'd all be better off with the immortal high council meting out Storm's punishment and yet a big part of me wanted the satisfaction of seeing him charge, and judged and punished.
 

"I apologize, Kailin. These are not my personal wishes. The Laws of the Immortals are too powerful to disobey."

I clamped my mouth shut and gave a tight nod. Safer that way. I'd gotten a little but of vengeance today. I guess I'd have to be satisfied with that.

"This is so weird," Lily said, holding the side of her head and wincing. "Okay, I think I'll pass out now."

She fell sideways and Jess grabbed her, settling her gently on the ground.

I crawled over to Lily's side, thinking about Anjelo and how relieved he'd be to know she was safe. Now, if only we could get a hold of the damned kid.

"What happened to you, Lily?"

"He hid me in . . . his apartment," Lily mumbled "There's a secret room behind the kitchen in his apartment."

"Whose apartment?" I asked, not wanting to push her too hard.

Jess moved me out of the way. "Let me," she said, and placed her hands on either side of Lily's head. "Hold still and do not be afraid."
 

Good luck with that.

Lily stared at me, eyes wide, her expression more like 'what the hell is going on?' than fear. But she allowed Jess to do her mental examination and only let out her breath when the Titan sat back.

Lily glanced at me, puzzled. Then she frowned, her expression darkening. "Oh," was all she said, and her jaw went tight. "
Oh
!"

"Do you remember?" I asked, studying her hard features.

"The bastard." She looked up at me, outraged. "I can't believe he did that to me . . . and those kids . . . Dear
Ailuros
."

Jess shifted to her feet. "Let me know the moment you feel anything unusual."

"The only unusual thing I feel," Lily snapped, "is the urge to kick Storm in the balls."

I snorted and I grinned at her. At least she was getting back to her old self.

Then her fierceness died away and she met my eyes, hurt filling her face. "He told me himself that he hated humans . . . It didn't hit me then that I was talking to him. It was like I knew him all along, but his face wasn't recognizable. Not until Jess did her weird mind mojo."
 

She made circles with her finger beside her head and Jess smiled. "No offense," Lily said, her cheeks going pink.

"None taken," Jess assured her.

I cleared my throat, finally having gotten enough strength back to get to my feet. "You said he was in his apartment? We have to find him before he hurts Logan." I dusted myself off. "
Ailuros
only knows what he wants Logan for."

"He knows who Logan is," said Jess, her voice dead.
 

I arched an eyebrow. "Who
is
Logan?" Maybe now she'd tell me.

Jess shook her head.

Not happening, then.

"I cannot tell you, Kailin. All I can say is that his identity is one well worth concealing."
 

"She's right, Kai. He hates Logan. He's been the target all along." Lily's voice broke.

I turned to Jess. "Can you find him? Sense him or something?"

Jess nodded. "I can sense him. I can tell you he is still alive, he is very angry though, so I hope he does not do something stupid."

"Can you tell where he is?"

Jess shook her head. "Not exactly. It depends on whether Logan has any thoughts that he has consciously decided not to block. From this distance, I would need him to
want
me to hear him."

"Like he projects his thoughts?" I asked, frowning.

"Yes, and at this point I am getting a sense that they are at Storm's apartments. Logan is familiar with the place and so am I."

"You've been there before?" I asked, recalling that someone has told me they'd seen Jess with Storm.

"Unfortunately. I have to confess that we were friends. I had thought I understood him and that we trusted each other. In truth, I was mistaken."

"Not mistaken. Used." My voice was hard.

She inhaled sharply and straightened. "I'll take you back to Chicago, and I must alert the High Council. I'll be back immediately."

"Why do you need to tell them? Can't we just take him down now?" Lily asked angrily.

"I'm afraid only Immortal bindings can hold an Immortal against their will. Only the High Council possesses the necessary means to hold God, Immortal or Titan."

"Oh," said Lily, as Jess held out her hand.

Jess spirited us away, back to the front room in Storm's apartment building where we'd left Baz the last time we'd been here. She disappeared immediately and I turned on my heel and ran to Storm's office, on the off-chance that he would be there.

He was.

He was sitting behind his desk, as calm as always, head bent over paperwork. He looked up as I opened the door and entered. Lily had stayed in the front office, clearly unable to deal with facing him down.

"What's going on, Kailin?" he asked rising to his feet, the picture of concern.

"Why?" I asked, my voice vibrating with fury.

He tilted his head. "If you want me to answer a question, you will have to ask one."
 

His words made me remember that my mind was blocked from him. He couldn't tell what I was thinking and surely he'd be wondering why.

"Why did you do it?"

He sighed and leaned back, his blue eyes bright. "I'm really sorry, but I have no idea what you're trying to ask me." His expression remained clear, not a hint of concern or fear, nothing to indicate he was guilty.

I frowned, wondering if I'd had the wrong person all along. Had I made a huge mistake?

"I--" I paused and swallowed, blinking against a wave of fatigue. My jacket hid the worst of my injuries, but my hands and face bore the bloody marking of the battle.

He rounded the desk, his gaze traveling over my body.

"What happened?" He came to stand in front of me and I blinked as I tilted my head up to look at his face. "Are you hurt?"

All I saw was Storm's concern, the care he'd always given to us. Our Storm, not a killer.

I inhaled and looked down, my cheeks heating up with shame.

And saw his shoes.

Black sneakers. A Stygian darkness--that contrasted sharply with a fine layer of red sand.

I backed away, my gaze lifting from his shoes to his face.

He frowned as if confused. Then he looked down at his feet and let out a laugh, his expression now apologetic.

"Let Logan go," I said, proud that I hadn't screamed the demand at him.

He smiled.

An invisible hand closed around my throat, its fingers gripping hard, cutting off my air as it lifted me off the floor and held me suspended. Terrified to swallow, I stared at Storm as he watched me, a cold smile on his lips.

The air in the room shivered, moving faster and faster, rising like a thunderstorm. So apt for the Immortal named after that furious aspect of the weather.

The wind ceased and I fell to the ground. My hand went to my throat as I coughed and hacked, sucking in air, the sound wheezing out of my mouth.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice ragged.

 
"I am Ares." He took a step back. "You may have heard of me."

"The god of War." I laughed harshly. "That explains a lot."

I was beginning to feel lightheaded so I perched on the edge of his desk while I waited for it to pass. We'd heard Ares had been banished from the heavenly realm centuries ago for a bunch of unnamed crimes. "Wasn't he sent to this plane to serve mankind as part of his rehab?"
 

He shook his head, his blue eyes now so dark they looked almost black. "Nobody tells me what to do. I am the god of war and I will avenge myself against the creatures who took everything from me. They took my power, the devotion of my followers, my godhood. They will pay."

"Nice speech. Doesn't explain why you took Logan."

He laughed, the sound echoing in my head. "If you only knew."

I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant but Jess solidified next to me.
 

"I am here to take you to the High Council," she told him without expression. "Your presence has been requested." He stared at her, not moving a muscle. "Please come peacefully. I do not wish to shame you by taking you back in chains."

"There is no such thing as peace," Storm said. "Surely you know that you are all chasing a dream."

"Is that the reason you have been killing paranormals. I am afraid I do not see the sense in it."

"When every last one of them is removed from the earth, then and only then will there be peace. They are the reason the gods fell from favor."

He paused to look at me.

"You people are the reason I have lost everything."

"O
NLY
WHEN
WE
REMOVE
EVERY
paranormal from this plane, then there will be peace. The paranormals are the reason the Gods fell from favor."

Jess shook her head. "You are confused. The paranormal were created at the same time normal humans were made. Why do you now want to kill them? They have existed all this time."
 

His lips twisted in maniacal fury. "It would have been fine if they had just existed, but they are growing stronger. Soon they will rule."

Jess stared at him without expression. "You are talking nonsense. Has your brain become addled?"

Storm shook his head. "What about Logan? You know his true identity. Do you not see that the power will be too much for him. Just like the Niamh had to be given to five different hosts, so the power he has should be disbursed."

Jess frowned. "That why the power is dispersed between
two
hosts right now."

Storm smiled. "I'll have it all when I find her."

"You won't find her."

"The High Council knows where she is. Sooner or later I will find out where they have been keeping her."

Jess shook her head. "Not if I have anything to say about."

"You cannot stop me. I am a God."

"Watch me." She raised her hand and lightning sparked from a fingertip. When she aimed her hand at Storm the lightning wove a cage of gold around him. Its energy throbbed as if in time with his heartbeat.