Lust (19 page)

“Do you know where the cat is?”

I sighed. “He left when they

took Daisy. Maybe he couldn’t find

his litter box.”

She rolled her eyes. “Or he was

following them. That’s great news.

He won’t let them get all the way to

the Force.”

“The cat is going to stop them?”

I raised an eyebrow. Clearly the cat

was more than the usual household

variety pet. Maybe the ability to

speak wasn’t his only skill.

“Yes. He has plenty of tricks up

his sleeves.”

“Even if he has no sleeves…” I

hoped she had a better plan than

simply relying on the cat.

She shook her head at my weak

attempt at a joke. “Let’s find our

girl.”

“Our girl?”

She lifted her chin. “Yes. I want

to help Daisy too.”

“Even though you can’t feel. I’m

never going to understand that.”

And I was always going to question

her motives.

“It shouldn’t matter. We both

want to get her back.” She hurried

out the door, and I didn’t see any

alternative but to follow.

It was still dark, but I could see

the barest hint of the sunrise. I

wasn’t sure if the morning was

going to bring any relief from our

situation. All I could think about

was finding Daisy.

“Why does the Force want her?”

I still didn’t understand what was

going on. “And why did they take

you and Hugh?”

“Louie. He turned us in. All new

Allures must be checked in with the

Force.”

“Then why didn’t they take

Daisy right off?”

“She isn’t full Allure, so they

couldn’t grab her when she

transported.”

“They can grab Allures when you

transport? Isn’t that a little

extreme?”

“Or convenient for them,

depending on how you look at it.”

“Or incredibly annoying.”

“Yes, that’s another way to look

at it.” She smiled at me over her

shoulder.

I followed Violet out of the

Allure village. We walked across a

large clearing and toward the

jungle again. Neither of us said

anything as we moved at a fast

pace. I didn’t know the landscape,

so I put my trust in Violet. No

matter what her intentions were,

she seemed intent on finding Daisy.

That meant, if only temporarily, our

goals were united.

“I’m not trying to double cross

you.” She broke the silence.

“I never said you were.” I only

thought it.

“Not with words, but your eyes

and body language say it all. You

don’t trust me.”

“Can you blame me?” She’d

started the conversation, so I went

with it. “You brought us to a new

realm and disappeared. Did you

think we’d be happy about that?”

“That wasn’t by choice.”

“Oh yes, because you were

picked up by the Force.” I was tired

of excuses and the runaround.

“I assure you that wasn’t our

plan.”

“Then what was?” I pushed

through some long and tangled

vines.

“To get Daisy to Mount Majest.

You know that. Seeing the Force

wasn’t part of the plan, but they are

one of the inconveniences we have

to deal with.”

“Then why did we come this

way? Wasn’t it supposed to be

easier than going straight to

Energo?” So far it was anything but

easy.

“There’s complications with

cutting through other nations, but

we won’t get noticed this way.”

“Whatever you say.” I continued

to trample through the jungle. I

saw no sign of Daisy, and I

sincerely hoped this wasn’t a trap.

“Is this to avoid being seen too?”

“It’s a short cut. I know which

way Gabriel is going.”

“Sure. Speaking of where people

are going, where’s Hugh?” I didn’t

miss the guy, but his absence didn’t

go unnoticed.

“He’s procuring us

transportation.”

“So you didn’t leave him

behind?”

“No.” She smiled. “I’m sure you

would have been disappointed if I

had.”

“He doesn’t bother me as much

as Roland.”

“I wonder why?” She laughed.

“At least Hugh knows his

appropriate boundaries.”

“I find it interesting that you

haven’t asked what kind of

transportation he’s getting.”

“I’d assume he’s getting a boat.”

“Yes. You understand we’re on

an island?”

“Yes, the whole water

surrounding us thing made it

obvious.”

“You haven’t seen more than

one shore.” She gave me an

annoyed look over her shoulder.

“True, but I figured it out, and

we need to get to another island so

a boat sounds reasonable. If you

want to fly I have my own wings for

that.” I’d never grown to like

planes. I always felt stifled.

“Fine, you’re right. We don’t

have much time before we need to

meet him.”

“We need as much time as it

takes to get Daisy. There’s no point

meeting him without her.”

“It’s going to be easier since you

have wings.” She turned, and we

moved into a less lush area of the

jungle.

Now that was a plan I could get

behind. “My wings are part of your

plan?”

“Yes. Gabriel won’t be expecting

an air attack since he will assume

the shadow still has you.”

“Good point.” I bent down and

ran my hands over new footprints in

the dirt. “We caught their trail.”

“And you’re a tracker too.” She

grinned.

“I have many skills.”

“Lucky Daisy.”

I ignored the sexual innuendo in

her statement. “Let’s go.”

I took the lead, following the

footprints. They veered north

before zagging off in a strange

direction. The trail wasn’t leading to

any shore.

“Water.” Violet explained. “He’s

taking her to the stream.”

“He’s concerned with getting her

drinking water?” Somehow I

doubted that.

“Probably. Daisy can be mighty

persuasive.”

“To humans and some

paranormals, not to Allures.”

Violet shrugged. “You don’t

know that for sure.”

I sped up my pace. Knowing we

were getting closer gave me new

motivation.

We were almost there. I could

hear the flowing water. I released

my wings and flew up to a tall tree.

I didn’t wait to confer with Violet.

We were close, and I wasn’t losing

my chance.

I flew quietly and scoured the

landscape. Daisy was seated on a

rock by the water. The Allure held

her arm in a tight grip. I noticed

Glendale hiding in the brush nearby.

“I’ll be ready in a minute.” She

looked up. She caught my eye and

smiled for a split second before

composing herself. She didn’t seem

surprised to see me, and my heart

soared. She’d known I’d find her

eventually. Of course she didn’t

realize Violet had saved me.

“What? What did you see?”

Gabriel looked up. I quickly moved

lower behind a tree so I was out of

his view.

“Nothing,” she hurriedly replied.

“I was just looking.”

“You saw something.” Gabriel

grabbed her and yanked her off the

rock.

Watching him handle her

roughly was more than I could

handle. I didn’t pause to think. I

swooped down and pulled her from

his hold as I knocked him to the

ground.

I flew back up to the tree so I

could assess her. “Are you hurt?”

We didn’t have much time, but I

had to make sure she didn’t need

medical attention.

“No.” She rested her head on my

chest. “Are you?”

“I’m okay.” Other than a

damaged ego, I was fine.

“What do we do about him?”

She pointed down to where Gabriel

was now talking to Violet and

Glendale. She looked between the

figures on the ground and me.

“Violet? You found her?”

“Actually she found me.” I

wasn’t eager to relay how I’d had to

be saved by an Allure.

I listened to the argument

below. Violet wagged a finger in

Gabriel’s face. “How dare you. After

all these years, you turned on me?”

“It was a double bounty, Vi.

What did you expect? You want the

same thing.”

She shook her head. “I want to

help the girl. Stay out of my way.”

“Not this time. I need this.” His

eyes bore into hers. “I need it.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re going to

have to find another way.”

“No, you are.”

“You think you’re going to stop

me?” Violet put a hand on her hip.

“Yes.”

Glendale made a loud hiss, and

the ground started to tremble.

Within moments at least a dozen

striped tigers moved out from deep

in the jungle. The largest

approached Gabriel and roared loud

enough to shake the trees as the

other tigers circled around.

Gabriel groaned. “Really? Cats?

Is that really your plan?”

“Think you can fly one more?”

Violet called up to me.

“Yes.”

“And a cat?” Glendale flicked his

tail from side to side.

“Yes.” I would do whatever it

took. We had Daisy back, and as

much as I didn’t want to admit it, I

had Violet to thank for that.

“Violet, no. You can’t leave me

here.” Gabriel gazed at the tigers

surrounding him.

“You’re clever. You’ll find a way

out. Besides, they don’t like Allures.

They won’t eat you.”

I swooped back down and

picked up Violet and the cat. Flying

two people was new, as was flying

a cat. I wouldn’t mention that part

to the guys.

“Glendale?” Daisy asked as I

flew.

“Yes?”

“If you could summon giant cats,

why didn’t you do that when they

first arrived?”

“I cannot summon them out of

thin air. They live in this jungle.”

“Do they talk, like you?” Daisy

asked.

“No.”

“Fly to the north shore,” Violet

directed.

I tuned everyone out and

focused on flying toward the shore.

15

DAISY

Every few hours I reevaluated the

term crazy. As soon I was accepting

one situation I was hit with

another. They changed so fast it

was making me dizzy, but none of

that mattered as Owen flew us

away from the river. I was back

with Owen, and somehow

everything was going to be okay.

He flew for miles, and I forced

myself to keep my questions to

myself. Owen was using all of his

energy to fly us, and I wasn’t about

to make things harder on him by

flustering Violet or anything.

Instead I focused on how lucky I

was to get to spend a few more

minutes with Owen. Selfish or not, I

savored his touch and the feel of his

body against mine.

I closed my eyes, inhaling his

scent and every single sensation. I

wasn’t ready to give up, but even if

I failed, I wouldn’t forget. I’d find a

way to feel the love again. Not only

for Owen, but for my family also.

Finally he slowed and landed on

the sandy beach. The beach was

empty aside from a few sea birds

walking along the water’s edge.

Owen walked off a few feet, and

I assumed it was because he didn’t

want us to see how tired he was. I

still couldn’t believe he’d carried

Violet, me, and a cat so far. His

wings were strong, but that had to

have been pushing it.

I gave him space and instead

gazed out at the water. I noticed a

large yacht in the distance.

“That must be Hugh.” Violet

waved even though I assumed

Hugh was too far away to see.

I’d barely talked to her yet, and

I wasn’t sure what to say. Did I

confront her about her motivation

to glimpse memories with emotion

and watch her response? It all had

to tie back to that New Orleans ball.

It had to. The logical side of me

kept my mouth shut. Aside from

seeing the Elders, I had no plan. If I

confronted her she might not take

me to them. Whether she was

turning me in or not, I still needed

to get there. I could figure out what

to do next once we arrived.

“I missed you.” Owen’s arms slid

around my waist, and I leaned back

into him.

“I missed you too.”

“Does that mean you won’t run

off on me again?” he teased.

His teasing was exactly what I

needed. Things were so crazy that I

needed to find some normalcy

anywhere I could.

“I’ll try not to, but did you see

that Allure?” I teased him right

back.

“Did my heroic acts make you

forget him?”

“Yes.” I turned in his arms.

“Thank you. I’m starting to lose

count of how many times you’ve