Lost Soul (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 2) (2 page)

Logan could feel the heat surging throughout his body. He hoped his magic wouldn't be as destructive as the last time he'd tried this. He needed to know there was some hope for Kailin. Two weeks had passed since she'd returned from Wrythiin, two weeks since they'd discovered the poison infecting her system, and two endless weeks of suffering. His visits to Kailin always ended with him returning to the lab and working himself half to death. He hated seeing her suffer.

The mouse squeaked again and Logan blinked. Now, he stared at his palm and the forgotten rodent struggling within it. He grasped the mouse, thumbed the skin below its eye, and pulled it down to examine the whites. Clear. He turned the mouse over in his hand, examining the skin closely. Only the faintest threads of grays and blues and purples remained, and they were fast disappearing. Seconds later the mouse, re-energized, twisted within his hand, trying to gain his freedom.

Logan gave a half smile. "Sorry, dude. You're alive, but probably only long enough to die another day." Logan scanned the lab and wondered what other experiments they had in store for the little naked mouse. He preferred not to know.

After securing the mouse in its cage and making the necessary notes on the file, Logan shucked off the white lab coat and slipped on his black leather jacket. He couldn't wait a moment longer to get to Kailin.

The fire worked.

Now he just had to make sure it worked on Kailin.

***

Despite the warmth of the wood floors, cold seeped into my flesh and bones. I shivered but I couldn't move; I just lay there and stared at puddles of water and glass shards, listening to the thud of my heartbeat in my ear.

Useless. That's what I was. Totally useless until I found a way to rid myself of this poison. Until then, I wouldn't be able do anything about saving Greer or my mother or even Anjelo.

A growl ripped through my throat, my anger and frustration finally spilling over. Long pent-up emotions battered my defenses, shoving through, releasing in the sharp snarl of my panther. She'd had enough. She'd taken the beating of the poison too, hated feeling useless as much as I did.

I'd longed for release and maybe my panther form would be the best way to achieve that. A little question hovered at the back of my mind. What would happen to my body and the body of my panther should I change while the poison was so prevalent in my system? Would I harm my panther?

But she didn't seem to care about the danger. My ears lifted, pointed, flared out. My eyes burned, the particular sensation of my panther eyes coming forth. Another growl and my jaw lengthened, hardened, my nose now picking up every odor surrounding me, including the sickly
scent of the poison flowing thick and strong beneath my skin.

My hands transitioned smoothly into paws, my fingernails curving into deadly-sharp claws. I stretched out, lengthened my back, and let the panther take
charge.

My feline was about to take full control when my ears flicked, angling toward the door to my apartment. A sound filtered through from a lower floor in the building. Someone was coming up the stairs. My nose twitched, scented the air.

Logan.

I began to sink back into my human form as he knocked hard at the door.

***

Logan frowned as he climbed the last few stairs to Kailin's floor, laden with bags of Chinese takeout. He'd been so sure he'd heard a very feline growl come from the apartment just a second ago, and though he strained to hear more, the sound didn't come again. Still frowning, he reached Kailin's door and paused.

Taking a deep breath, Logan knocked.

***

Logan rapped on the door again and waited. He knew Kailin would take a bit of time to answer. He hated seeing her so weak. Her strength was one of the things he'd always admired about her.

He frowned, then dug into his pocket for her key and shoved it into the lock, thankful she'd relented and given him a spare. He'd visited her a few times, bringing her food or just coming over to keep her company.

At least today he was able to give her some good news.

He entered, kicking the door shut with his heel, his hands full. He'd brought Chinese since they'd both be famished after the treatment. Kailin wasn't in any condition to have cooked today, and he wondered if she'd eaten at all.

The door to her room stood ajar, the view to her empty bed unhindered. He scowled and hurried to deposit the food on the kitchen counter. As he turned to search her room, a low moan caught his ear.

He rounded the counter to find Kailin sprawled on the floor surrounded by broken glass and splattered with water. More water puddled on the floor around her.

"What the hell happened?" Logan's stomach tightened as he rushed to her. He knelt at her side, lifting her up to support her head.

She gave him a sheepish smile, her face pale and drawn. "I needed a drink. Room service didn't answer."

He snorted, noting the feline peak to her ears and the enhanced almond shape of her catlike green eyes. "What were you trying to do? You know a transformation could sap whatever little energy you have." He knew he nagged, but seriously, the girl had to be forced to take good care of herself.

The last two weeks had been an endless battle that had everyone, including her family, hovering between frustrated and helpless with her pig-headedness.

"Come, let me get you back in bed." She was silent as he scooped her up and strode to the room.

Safely tucked in, she gave him an inquiring, hopeful look. "Any progress with the fire?"

Logan nodded and hid a smile. Kailin never wasted a second getting to the point. "That's why I came. It's working so I thought I'd come over and administer a treatment. At least you can feel a little better until the process is perfected."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" She raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head and spun on his heel. Heading for the kitchen he said, "First, I'll get you that drink before you die of thirst."

"I wasn't dying of thirst." He could hear the pout in her voice.

"Yeah, I wonder why you forced your way to the kitchen when you're so weak." He shook his head as he returned from the kitchen with two full glasses of water. Handing one to her, he set the other on her nightstand. By the time he turned back to her, she'd drained the glass.

She gave him an ironic glance and handed him the glass back. "Funny that. I must have been thirsty."

"Okay, now that you're ready, we can begin." He rounded the bed to sit on the empty side, closer to her left hand. He got comfortable, shucking off his shoes and curling into a lotus position before reaching for her hand. His chest tightened at the sight of the purple and blue skin, the veins so dark they appeared black, crawling ominously along her arm, up to her neck, even tracing its way across her temple.

Her racer tee hid nothing. Blackish veins tracked their way across her throat and neck, disappearing into her cleavage. He bent to her feet and turned her instep to get a better look. The poison had left not a single part of her body untouched. She let him inspect her body without a fuss. Strange for Kailin. He studied her face, took in her sunken eyes, the dark circles around them.

Logan gritted his teeth, more determined now than ever to help relieve some of her agony. Simple pain-relieving drugs were pointless given her walker species, and tranquilizers weren't an option unless he wanted her permanently unconscious. Once he'd suggested using a Synthe strain to relieve some of her agony. The look she'd given him had been enough to chill his blood. Fury had turned her eyes feline in a heartbeat and he knew never to mention such a thing again.

"Right. Get comfortable." He held her hand within his palms as she shimmied down among the pillows to lie flat. She looked at him and waited, her eyes expectant. "Ready?"

At her nod, Logan breathed deep and hissed it out. He shut his eyes and let the calm filter through him, centering his thoughts, his energy, his power. Her skin was feverish against his fingers but he kept his eyes closed and soothed the hitch in his breath.

He moved his hands up to cup her arm from the elbow to the wrist. Placing one hand on either side of her forearm, he breathed in and out, bringing his ever-present, simmering fire to the surface in a controlled stream. Heat pulsed through his body and pooled within the palm of his hand as he directed the energy to Kai's arm.

His skin touched hers and electricity sparked between them. The bed shifted and Kailin moved beside him. He didn't open his eyes. He sent the energy into her arm, channeling the power in small, concentrated bursts into her flesh.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, sure of the flow of energy around his body and through his palms into Kailin's arm. His hand covered the worst of the infection and he steeled himself against the urge to peek.

The heat simmered and pulsed between their skin and he met Kailin's eyes. Her expression was languid and sleepy. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Tired. And calm." She swallowed and shifted. "It's hot."

"Uncomfortable hot? Or manageable hot?"

"I can handle it." She smiled and sighed.

"Tell me if it becomes uncomfortable." She nodded but he wasn't sure he believed her. He trusted Kailin to bite down on the pain no matter how bad it was. That was Kai.

He bit back a smile and concentrated on her hand, sending stronger pulses of heat into her arm, alternating them with short bursts of faint fire. Slowly, he began to increase the strength in every pulse. He snuck a quick glance at Kai. Perspiration dotted her forehead, a few droplets running down her neck.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded but her cheeks were pink and her pupils dilated. Her body was reacting to the stress of the treatment and he had to keep a close eye on her. But he didn't stop. Not yet.

He examined the skin of her forearm. The network of black veins had faded to a dark blue and what purple blotches that still covered her bare skin had paled.

It was working.

He watched Kailin but kept up a strong, steady stream of energy, unrelenting. Steady, strong pulsing of the fire made for a more lasting effect of the treatment. Not that it would cure her. That would hopefully come later after he'd fully perfected it.

He glanced up and met her tired eyes and she smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. The process isn't perfected yet. This is just maintenance." He kept his voice measured and controlled, but when she frowned, he knew she had sensed his frustration.

She shook her head. "Don't rush it, Logan. You can only do what you can do. No more." Concern gleamed in her eyes. "Besides, I don't want you to get hurt. Or to hurt me for that matter." She tempered her admonition with a smile.

Logan tensed his jaw, his hand still firmly attached to hers, fire still pulsing through her arm and through her bloodstream. "Yeah. The thing is I do need to rush it. You can't be lying about here for weeks on end. You have important things to do."

"So you feel that by taking your time with the fire, you're delaying me?" Kai shook her head again. "Don't be silly. If I have to wait, I'll wait. I'm still not sure where I'll go first—back to Wrythiin for my mother and Anjelo, or to wherever it is Greer got to. So don't be hasty and rush. You want to get the process right so I'm strong enough to bring them back, to fight if I have to."

It was the most that Kai had spoken in days and it exhausted her, her face growing paler, the corners of her eyes tightening.

"Okay, don't get all worked up." He raised both his eyebrows.

She threw him a glare and he merely smiled back then turned his attention to her arm. At last he felt it was time to take a peek. He raised his palm and peered at the bruised skin, at the wound left by the broken shards of the Wraith's sword. He sighed, relieved and removed his hands, revealing her forearm. "It worked quite well."

She examined her arm, tilting it this way and that. The purple and blue splotches had faded to a light dusting of color, the dark veins now looking more normal and green as they should. "Well done, Mage. I can't thank you enough."

"How do you feel?"

"Exhausted. And starving." She laughed as her stomach chose that moment to emit a growl.

"I've got it covered, Ms. Odel." Logan rose from the bed and headed out to the kitchen leaving a perplexed Kailin staring after him.

***

I watched Logan leave the room and suppressed a small burst of laughter. He never ceased to amaze me. Propping the pillows up behind me, I leaned back and relaxed, exhaustion pulling at my eyelids.

"Hey. No time to sleep yet, lazybones. Eat first, then rest." Logan returned with a tray filled with takeout boxes, chopsticks, and two glasses filled with juice.

He threw a napkin at me and resumed his position on the bed, this time settling the tray between us. I ate until I was sated, noting Logan's hunger and the lines of exhaustion on his face. The treatment had taxed him as well.

We didn't speak until we'd finished eating and Logan placed the empty tray in the kitchen. He returned and sat beside me on the bed, propped against the headboard, his bare feet crossed at the ankles.