Claimed by Light (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Justin shook his head as Halena opened the refrigerator and swiped a beer. “If you say a word, I’ll finish what the demons started on you.”

“Yikes.” Justin patted his chest and inched his chair closer to Yvonne, then whispered, “Cradle robber.”

Halena looked at the happy couple, and the usual envy didn’t bubble to the surface. Now that she had Slade, she had that same…happiness. Security.

Love.

She leaned against the granite countertop and twisted off the cap to her beer. “Anyone hear from Theo?” she asked, hoping to deflect their attention.

Justin’s crooked grin curved the corner of his mouth into that all-too-sinister smirk.

“Not
one
peep about my taking a Mate, or I
will
kick your ass!”

He straightened up and said, “Yeah. Checked in with Theo a little while ago. All is well. Sadie’s fine. Baby Noah is fine.”

“Normal?” Halena asked as she eyed the hallway leading from the kitchen. Where was Slade? She’d left him in the shower, expecting him to follow her out soon.

“By normal I’m hoping you mean something…nice?” Yvonne asked, her eyebrows up.

“Magical. Is the baby magical? Since they’re the first-ever Shomrei to have a baby, I’m curious.”

“True. Too early to tell, but he was pretty magical while in her tummy, considering he brought her back to life after she was almost beheaded,” Justin said.

Halena moved toward the doorway.
Slade. You comin’?

A wave of nausea hit her gut, and she palmed the wall beside the fridge and closed her eyes.

The darkness faded into bright light, and an image formed. Unmistakably Slade.

“Slade?”

“Yeah.” He stepped closer, and his stunning features came into focus. “You found me?”

“What’s going on?”

He gestured past him. Miles and miles of trees surrounded them. Sunlight trickled through, but not enough to chase away the lurking shadows.

“We’re in a vision?”

“I can control it…them.” He reached for her. “I was searching for Addie and landed here.”

She melded her fingers with his and stepped beside him, taking in her surroundings. “She’s here?”

“That’s what has me confused. I focused on her, and I came here. There’s nobody around that I can tell.” He glanced at her. “How’d you get here?”

“I’m in the kitchen, waiting for you. When you didn’t come, I tried to reach you telepathically. And here I am.”

“Wow.” He combed his fingers through her hair and smiled. “I think I’m linked into your Shomrei strength or something, because you’re packing some serious power.”

“Benefits of mating…”

“Like your neck now being vulnerable.” He shook his head. “That’s so
not
a benefit, Lena.”

“Those assholes might be able to detach my head now, yeah, but I’m stronger than I ever have been. I’d like to see them
try
to touch my skin with a blade.”

“Lena—”

“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about that vision. You’re mated, you can’t turn demon. No matter what we saw—it can’t happen.”

He looked at her and took a long breath. Halena wasn’t exactly sure he couldn’t turn demon after being mated. Theo’d never heard of it, but…his grams was dead, Addie was missing, and if they managed to kill Halena—could that push Slade over the edge? Somehow make him turn his back on The Great One?

Focus.
She cast another look over the jungle, straining to see something. Anything. A clue to what their next step should be. Either Slade needed to tap into where Addie was or they’d all have to wait until Votar contacted them to discuss a trade.

If that’s even what he wanted. He needed all of the Artifacts to face Lucifer. Without—Yvonne! “Shit, Slade.”

“What?”

“Yvonne’s an Artifact.” Halena dropped his hand and jammed her fingers into her hair. “I thought Votar would trade Addie or something, use her to get you to show them where the Gem was, then offer to trade her for the rest of the Artifacts they didn’t get.”

“Some are still at the compound?”

“Yes. Let’s go back and talk this through with Justin and Yvonne. Can you send me back and join us in the kitchen?”

“Let’s give it a try.”

In the next breath Halena found herself in the same position she’d been in when Slade brought her into his vision.

“What happened?” Justin yelled. “Your eyes went all white, like Slade’s.”

Yvonne stood beside Justin, hands and arms covered up to mid-bicep with leather to avoid dusting anyone she didn’t mean to. “You shared a vision with Slade, didn’t you? Tapping into his power a little now that you’re mated, huh?”

Halena’s Mate strode into the room, a smile filling his face. “Sure is. Stepped in just by thinking about me. How’s that for awesome power?”

“Doesn’t mean much if it takes us to a random jungle and there’s no sign of Addie.” Halena guided Slade to the kitchen table.

Everyone sat and let out a collective sigh. The pressure and exhaustion of the attack, the loss of Mae, and Addie’s abduction hung heavy in the air.

“So, tell us what happened here,” Halena said.

“Halena’s call brought Justin out of the kitchen. Thank The Great One Addie was nosy.” Yvonne laughed. “She followed after him, curious, and I went to retrieve her, but all of a sudden she was yanked away. Some sort of splice—it was electrical, or something—sucked Addie in. But then six demons came through within seconds. Damn explosions started.”

Justin grabbed Yvonne’s hand. “I ran in just as Yvonne was ripping off her gloves to face the demons. Another four came through, smoking, like…like they were on fire. Confused almost.”

“Then the splice closed up,” Yvonne said.

“The demons plowed through us and headed straight for the Artifacts. They were old, Halena. Very strong.”

She gulped the last of her beer. “They knew they’d be subterranean somehow.”

“Traitor?”

“An Oracle might know that stuff, right?” Slade scrubbed his face with his hands.

“Especially with the help of a Mekhash witch.” Zander’s voice trickled into the room.

Brenton followed the witch into the kitchen, but branched off and leaned against the counter while Zander took the remaining chair at the table.

“You know the spell that allowed them to get Addie?” Zander asked. “A powerful witch could have performed something similar to locate lost objects. Once the protection on this compound was compromised, a witch could have used magic. It would have had to have been a powerful one, though.”

“Regardless, they got the Ring of Episteme, the Thata, and the Necklace.”

“Then you showed up…not sure how much time passed,” Yvonne said. “Maybe six to ten hours?”

“And we’ve been…recovering for another few.” Slade winked at Halena, and it nearly melted her insides.

“So it’s been about twelve or so hours since Addie was taken.” Justin tugged at his hair. “Zander, you can scry for Addie, right?”

“Or Votar. He’s demon. Aren’t you all connected some way?” Slade asked.

Brenton cleared his throat and raised his hand.

“Dude, this isn’t a classroom. Spit it out,” Justin said.

“I didn’t want to overstep my bounds, being the newbie Gatekeeper here. But…” He nodded at Slade. “Oracle guy here is hyped up on a new mating. He’s extra strong. I think we need to use him.”

“He did bring me into a vision just by me thinking of him.” Halena’s hope percolated again.

“Or you came into my vision because
you’re
so strong.” Slade grinned.

“Oh, look how cute they are,” Yvonne squealed.

Halena speared her with a stare, and she just batted her long eyelashes. Halena knew she’d never live this down. Justin once swore off Mates, too, but Halena had been even more vocal about it.

And here she was, mated.

“Okay! Zander scry. Slade, let’s give your power another shot. If we’re together, touching, your ability will amplify.” Halena glared at Justin. “And not a word out of you.”

He put up his hands, feigning innocence, but she knew where his mind went as soon as she’d said “touching.”

“It didn’t work the last time I tried. I landed in a random jungle.”

“We don’t know if it was random or not,” Yvonne said. “She’s got to be where you were. Somewhere.”

“Or the Gem is. We need that, too. Can’t let Votar get it.”

“Or let him get Yvonne,” Justin chimed in.

“Right. But if we had the Gem we might be able to bargain.”

“There will be no bargaining.” Theo’s voice boomed as he strode through the entryway into the kitchen.

“Theo!” Yvonne jumped up. “How are Sadie and the baby?”

“Fine.” He glanced at Halena. “And normal…for now.”

Halena couldn’t hold back a smile. “So, what’s your plan if we don’t bargain?”

Theo slapped Slade’s shoulder. “You’re up, brother.”

…

Slade stepped out of the elevator into what remained of the main level of Theo’s compound. Still hazy from multiple explosions, the air felt thick, heavy with evil and death, but it was nice being aboveground again.

“You sure this’ll help?” Lena whispered into his ear.

The crunch of brittle wood crackled behind him as Theo led the rest of the gang into what was once a foyer.

“I got a vision once before when I touched Addie’s necklace. If we can find something of hers, I should be able to get a strong connection to her.” Slade cupped the nape of Lena’s neck. “Especially if you’re with me.”

“Her backpack.” Justin took off in the direction of the kitchen.

Yvonne darted after him. “She had Slade’s picture in there. Yeah. She was using that to practice locating him.”

Lena nodded. “This will work
.”

“Let’s just hope I can see where she is.”

“We.”

Yvonne came out from the demolished kitchen. “It’s not much, but hopefully you’ll get a vibe off it, if that’s how this thing of yours works.”

A half-burned pink backpack marred by soot and melted plastic was all he had of Addie right now.

“Her lip gloss survived.” Yvonne held up the red tube. “She was always using it.”

Strawberry. Her favorite.

“Before you touch it, let’s think this through.” Theo stepped forward, his commanding presence filling the area, and that was pretty impressive considering they were standing outside with the sky as their roof. “Can the demons sense your presence in a vision while watching them?”

“No. Not that we’ve seen.” Slade shoved his hand into his pocket. Lena securely held the other.

“Unless they have an Oracle present,” Zander said. “Right? Your sister can talk to you in your visions.”

“True. Same with my grandmother.” The pit of doubt grew.

“Both Oracle blood. That makes it easier to connect with. But yeah, if Votar has an Oracle with him, we have to assume they’ll know.” Zander shifted his weight.

“Who cares? If Slade can get a good fix on where Addie’s at, we’ll storm the place,” Lena said, her voice strong. “We have three Gatekeepers here. Yvonne with her lethal hands and Zander with his powerful magic. We’ll kick their asses.”

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Justin said.

“Oh, and Justin,” Lena added.

“Did you just joke with me?” He clapped his hands together. “Mating
does
agree with you.”

“Shut it.” Lena looked at Theo. “We’ve got the firepower to obliterate Votar.”

“One thing at a time.” Theo nodded. “You’re right, we’re powerful. But if Votar knows we’re snooping around, finding out where they are, they’ll have time to prepare. I’m not ruling it out, just weighing the options.”

“But Slade’s more powerful now,” Yvonne said, tapping her gloved finger against her bottom lip. “Maybe he can hide. Zander, you hid me with a pendant before. You know another spell to do that for visions?”

“No. But Slade might be able to mentally shield himself. He’s tapping into Halena’s strength now.”

She threaded her fingers with his and nodded.

They made it sound so easy. Didn’t matter what they faced. He’d do anything to save his sister. What if in the past twenty-four hours she’d been forced to do her final kill and become demon? Could she still be saved?

She’s not demon. She’s strong.

“Okay. Let’s do this.” Slade rolled his shoulders, working the tension from his neck.

Yvonne tossed the tube of lip gloss to Lena and joined the rest of the team. They formed a circle of protection. Slade didn’t deserve this new family he’d inherited through Lena, but at the moment, he couldn’t have been more grateful.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“It’s a mind thing. Steel your thoughts. Keep a laser-point focus on Addie and shielding your presence.”

“Not really sure how to do that.” He glanced around at the group.

Theo and Brenton held their Mavet daggers. Yvonne bared her arms. Zander just shifted his weight, wide eyes analyzing everything, probably zipping through every spell he knew.

“They’re just preparing.” Lena gestured toward Theo. “We know this is all a mental-vision thing, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Nothing to worry about other than the task at hand.” She slid her dagger out while a grin filled her face.

Her smooth skin nearly glowed, that brilliant light deep inside her shining. He bumped her chin with his forefinger and tilted her head back a bit.
I love you
.

She closed the distance between them until their lips met.
I love you, too, frat boy
.

At least there weren’t any snickers that time from the people surrounding them.