LogansEmpath (17 page)

Bree’s grip on the knife hilt tightened as years of pain,
guilt and grief bubbled to the surface. “You killed my parents?”

Crystal shook her head. “You’re really not getting it, are
you? Let me spell it out for you. I’m the one controlling
all
the lesser
demons. I have been since I slipped through a tear in New Orleans decades ago.
Crystal Briggs was only five or six when I took her. I’ve been building my nest
ever since. Your land would’ve made a perfect breeding ground, so large and so
close to my own. If only you weren’t there.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed, her hands going to her hips.
Crystal stomped her foot and pouted. “But you had to go and ruin everything.
Now you’ll pay.” Her full lips curled up into a cold smile. “I should be able
to get your land once it’s put up for public auction, what with none of you
having any heirs.”

Bree kept a steady eye on this demon-possessed woman.
Crystal had to be strong to have stayed hidden so long. Who knew what powers
the woman had? “Jordan will stop you. He’s at the house where your demons won’t
go, not with so many other people around. He’s through with you and you’ll
never get what you want.”

“Silly woman. Do you really think killing a few more people
matters to me?” Crystal’s laughter sent chills down Bree’s spine. “I plan on
having the flood take you all anyway. No bodies to deal with that way. Of
course, I got in a fight with Jordan and left for higher ground before the
house got swept away. I never wanted that house anyway, just the land.”

Anger filled Bree, momentarily fighting off the chill of the
rain. “Bitch.”

“Thank you. From you, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Bree started to charge Crystal but froze as the sound of
large bodies crashing through the underbrush made it through the noise of the
storm.

She moved back, putting the rock at her back while Crystal
stood grinning at her. As the first wave of demon-led imps came into view, Bree
closed her eyes. With every ounce of power she had, she did the one thing that
she felt she should if these were to be her last moments.

Bree sent a wave of apology to Logan. With death facing her,
her only regret was in how she’d treated him.

Chapter Twenty-One

Logan held his free hand against his wounded side as he ran
through the trees in the direction Bree had taken Crystal. Pain threatened to
bring him to his knees as blood oozed between his fingers. But he couldn’t
stop. He wasn’t sure what had happened but the pure despair and regret Bree had
sent him didn’t bode well. He’d managed to tear through the pack of demons
holding him at bay, even with their reinforcements. But one had gotten a good,
deep swipe into his side. Worse, Logan had used almost all his energy for mage
attacks. He barely had enough left to keep his wound from pouring blood.

He could only pray that he’d be able to help Bree.

As he broke through the trees Logan almost tripped over the
disemboweled body of an imp. The area was littered with demonic corpses and
piles of ash. Bree had put up an amazing fight, worthy of the woman she’d
always been.

But it seemed her luck was running out.

She lay on the ground, her hands locked around Crystal’s
wrists. The blonde sat on Bree’s stomach, Bree’s own knife in her hand, pressed
against Bree’s heart.

“I’d stop where you are and lower that sword of yours,
hero,” Crystal called out, not bothering to look up. “I don’t think you want to
end her life sooner than necessary.”

Logan let his arms drop to his sides but he didn’t release
his sword. Not when he had no idea if all the imps in the area were dead.

“Good boy.” Crystal turned her head slightly to grin at him.
“I have to say, I’m not overly impressed. Your groups of Three are the
boogeymen of my race and yet here you are, taken down easily when only one
member is absent. That’s all it takes to defeat you, a bit of good timing.”

Logan fought to remain calm and keep the woman talking. He
needed time. “But we come back. We always come back. And when we do, we destroy
more of you.”

“True, but do you think you can keep up with the load?”
Crystal giggled. “Look around you. The mortal realm is not exactly known for
its peace and caring, is it? More and more wars. More and more hopelessness. I
give us a few decades and we’ll own this world.”

“A demon apocalypse,” Bree muttered, tightening her grip as
Crystal pressed the knife down.

“The world is due for a good culling,” Crystal taunted. “And
we’re just the ones to do it.”

Logan locked eyes with Bree. There wasn’t any way he could
reach her before Crystal stabbed her. A rush wasn’t an option. And he didn’t
have the strength for a mage blast.

But maybe there was another way.

He kept his gaze on Bree and focused on calming any
unnecessary emotions. Nothing could block his intent.
Please understand me.
Please pay attention.

Please let this work.

What little strength he had, he concentrated on his free
hand. He felt the telltale prickling as the magic swirled and heated his skin
before actively glowing. It wasn’t much of a mage blast but he hoped it would
be enough.

Crystal snarled, jerking her hand from Bree’s grip and
raising the knife above her head. She moved to kill Bree before Logan had a
chance to strike at her.

But Crystal’s attention was focused on the wrong human.

Bree’s right hand took on a ferocious blaze of energy, all
the mage magic she’d never harnessed before focused into a single blast. The
energy slammed into Crystal’s chest, hurling her into a large rock on the other
side of the glade. As her body fell in a heap, a mass of dark smoke rose from
her.

Logan grabbed Bree’s hand, dragging her to her feet and over
to the darkness. “I don’t have the strength to do it but we can’t let that
thing get away. Project your energy into me just like you would project your
emotions. I’ll do the rest.”

Bree nodded, closing her eyes and clenching her fists.

As Logan felt Bree’s power flowing into him, he pushed it at
the smoke demon, obliterating it.

Kneeling, Bree felt Crystal’s neck for a pulse. “She’s
alive. Even after being possessed for over twenty years, she lived through the
separation.”

She might wish she hadn’t survived.
“Crystal’s been
possessed since childhood?” He shook his head as he looked down on her small
form. “She’s alive but who knows how much damage has been done to her soul in
that amount of time. She’ll probably be little more than a vegetable.”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t want to think I killed a person.” Bree
gave Logan a critical look, reaching out to touch the growing bloodstain at his
side. “You’re in no shape to carry anyone so I guess I’m the pack mule. Help me
get her on my back. The rain might be letting up but I’m soaked to the skin. I
want to get home.”

“I’m all for dry. But are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m not hurt or anything. Just my pride got bruised.
Letting a little piece of work like that get the drop on me after years of
fighting off the demon horde.” She adjusted Crystal’s dead weight on her back,
hooking her arms around the woman’s knees. “Damn. How am I going to tell
Jordan?”

“With all of you there for him, he’ll be all right.” Logan
pressed on his wound again, using what was left of the power Bree lent him to
seal it somewhat. It wasn’t healed but it would hold until he had a chance to
rest and recharge. “It won’t be easy but Jordan will handle it.”

“Yeah, sleeping with the demon who killed his parents is so
going to be easy to snap back from.”

Logan stared off into the clearing sky. “It will be when you
think of what else he has to consider now.”

The one word neither one of them wanted to think about
lingered, wrapping itself around them like a dark shadow.

Apocalypse
.

Chapter Twenty-Two

As the last of their guests headed back to their own homes,
the Colliers and Logan gathered around the dining room table over a pot of
coffee. Crystal lay in the second guest room, the local hospital having been
contacted by Matt. As soon as the river allowed an ambulance would be there to
transport her. As yet, she hadn’t regained consciousness.

Bree doubted she ever would.

Jordan was shaken, to say the least. He hadn’t spoken a word
since being told everything. The out-of-character behavior worried Bree, his
emotions a tangled mess impossible to fully read. But Ty and Aaron pulled her
aside to tell her to let him be. Jordan would handle it. He just needed time to
deal.

So as much as she worried about his emotional health, Bree had
to leave Jordan alone. And frankly, she had her own problems to deal with.

She pulled Logan to the side while her brothers were
rehashing battle stories to distract Jordan. “So, what are you planning to do
now?”

“I need to find my Third.” He stared down at her, so much
raw emotion in his eyes that she didn’t need to waste her strength using her
powers to read them. “After what the demon possessing Crystal told us, we need
all the help we can get. There are more active tears than I thought. We have to
start preparing if it’s going to come to war and I need Brandr to do that.”

“So you’re leaving.”

Logan reached out to tuck a strand of smooth brown hair
behind her ear, letting his finger drag down her cheek. “I have to. But I’d
like you to come with me.”

What?
Her heart skipped and her throat tightened.
Oh
who am I kidding? This isn’t exactly a surprise. I knew he would ask me to come
with him. I just don’t know what to say.
She looked over at her brothers.
Other than the couple of years away for college, she’d never been without them.

Before she could reply, Logan gave her a sad smile. Without
a word, he turned and left the room.

Bree couldn’t move, staring at the spot where he’d stood.
She’d felt the desolation mixed with acceptance that filled him before he left
and it ripped at her heart.

She cared about him, didn’t want him hurt.

Again, who am I kidding? I love the man. I might not want
to, it might not be smart right now, given the situation, but I love him.

A large hand landed on her shoulder, shaking her out of her
reverie.

“You’re not going to let it go like that, are you?” Aaron
asked, both brows raised over wide eyes.

She turned to face her brothers once more, not even
bothering to ask if they’d been eavesdropping. “What should I do? He needs to
go. He has to find the other member of his Three and try to stop what’s
happening to our world. But you need me here.”

Wes shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You got rid of the
ringleader. Do you think we can’t keep things in check here by ourselves,
little
sister?”

Aaron squeezed her shoulder before Bree could retort. “You
have to do what you feel is right. You aren’t tied to Browningsville. This
isn’t some kind of prison. Contrary to what most of us believe, none of us are
tied here. If you need to go with Logan, if you want to be with him, don’t let
us hold you back. Don’t let anything hold you back. Our parents wouldn’t have
wanted any of us to feel trapped here.”

“Like you guys always tell me, it’s not like you can’t come
home any time you want to.” Jordan stood between Ty and Matt. “So go with him,
see the country, the world even. You know you want to so stop thinking about
everybody else for once and just do what you want to do.”

Bree didn’t wait, afraid that if she did she’d lose the
courage her brothers gave her. She marched off to find Logan. It wasn’t a
difficult quest, not one requiring any powers. She could hear the stomping and
slamming coming from the guestroom.

She leaned on the open doorway, watching as he grabbed his
things and threw them into the saddlebags for his motorcycle. “You know, it’s
customary to wait for a reply when you invite someone to go on a trip with
you.”

Logan stopped, a shirt clutched in his hand. He didn’t
bother turning around. “I thought the reply was fairly obvious.”

“You know all about what happens when you assume something.”
She grinned, moving into the room. “Makes an ass out of u and me. Childish but
true.”

His shoulders hunched slightly, just enough that she
noticed. “Was I wrong?” he asked, a sliver of hope in his voice.

“Maybe. Why don’t you face me and find out?”

Slowly, Logan turned to her. He watched her for a moment and
must have liked what he saw. “You’re coming.”

Bree looked over at his bags. “Well, not right this minute.
I kinda thought I’d have time to plan and pack. Maybe even discuss where we’re
going to start looking. I’d like to have something to tell my brothers, you
know. Think you can wait long enough for that?”

“I’ve waited years already. Another day or two wouldn’t
hurt.” He folded his shirt and tucked it in his bag. “I’ll call Ryuu and see if
he can see anything about our Third.”

“So until one of you gets a vision, where are you thinking
of going?”

“New Orleans.” He buckled down the leather flap on his bag,
giving it a quick tug. He then turned to her, giving her a chance to see the
wide smile covering his face. Even considering the nature of their discussion,
he couldn’t seem to hide his happiness at her decision. “After what the demon
said about starting out there, it seemed as good a place as any.”

“Not a bad idea. I’ll make sure to pack warm and cool
clothes, with the season change and everything.” She gave him a bright smile in
return. “I’ve always wanted to travel the country and New Orleans seems
fascinating.”

He took a step closer, almost close enough to touch but not
quite. “So, with you coming and all, can I assume you’re not as opposed to
being in a relationship with me?”

“There you go with the assumptions again.” She moved into
him, looping her arms around his neck. “I’m thinking more along the lines of
taking things as they come.”