Lunar Bound, page 32
part #4 of Sky Brooks World: Ethan Series
That evening, most of the pack gathered at the club. By the time I arrived, most of them were well into their drinks. They were spread throughout the club, many on the dance floor. Josh had booked an up-and-coming rapper who was putting on a good show for the crowd.
It was good to see Winter with a date. Since Abigail had betrayed her, Winter had seemed reluctant. I met them at the bar. Like all of Winter’s dates, Esmine was gorgeous, a curvy redhead in a form-fitting black dress. I knew by the way Winter introduced her that Esmine was likely to be around for a while. Despite Winter’s practiced indifference, she was a romantic at heart.
Leaving them to the dance floor, I looked around for Sky. Not finding her, I settled into one of the reserved tables at the back that gave me the best view of the dance floor. It wasn’t long before an attractive brunette tried to flirt her way onto the seat next to me.
I let her down politely. “I’m with someone.”
Some time later, Sky arrived. I sipped my Scotch, watched as she took in her surroundings. Before she reached the bar, Josh had walked onto the stage to perform with the band. I watched her rising anxiety for him with some amusement. My brother was a talented ham. She’d yet to hear him sing, but he was more than capable of holding his own. Her cheeks turned pink as the two performers slid into a practiced, well-performed duet.
Esmine surprised me, taking the seat next to me. Glancing out at the dance floor, I noticed Steven had taken her place with Winter. Tracing my look, she laughed.
“She’s like the Energizer Bunny, she just keeps going and going. Where does she get the energy?”
Her animal.
I smiled. Human, Esmine had no idea about were-animals.
Sitting next to me, she struck up an easy conversation. After a moment, I felt someone’s intense stare. Sky glared at me from the bar. Her gaze flicked to Esmine before she strode toward the exit.
I made my excuses and followed, catching up to Sky outside, near her car.
“Sky, where are you going?”
She frowned, more sad than angry. “Home.”
She’d yet to meet Esmine. I couldn’t blame her for coming to the wrong conclusion. For a moment, I tried. I didn’t exactly deserve her trust. Irritation and regret intermingled until I couldn’t sort the two.
“Why?” I asked.
Her hair fell across her eyes as she sagged against the car door. Frustration boiled into anger. “Because I don’t want to spend the evening watching you try to get laid.”
With a gentle touch, I brushed the strands of hair from her eyes. The hurt behind her anger cut me. I struggled with my own disappointment until I could summon a heartfelt apology. “I’m sorry.”
She scoffed. “Sorry for what?”
I glanced aside, gathering myself. In life, I faced everything head on. An apology shouldn’t be this hard. “My past. I’m sorry that it makes you jealous and insecure. I don’t want you to feel that way. You don’t have anything to worry about with us. We’re good.”
Her arms folded over her chest as she settled into her newfound power. “What do you mean?”
I chuckled, then kissed her. My tongue lightly caressed her lips before I pulled back. Backing toward the bar, I said, “I’m going back in, I really hope you join me.”
“It’s too loud in there,” she complained, “and we have more to discuss.”
“We’ve discussed it enough.” I smirked. “This conversation is over, Sky. I’ll see you when you decide to come in, okay? I’ll order you a French martini, you seem to like those.”
I turned and went back inside, leaving her to make up her mind. At the bar, I picked up her martini and another Scotch for me. When I returned to my table, Winter had joined Esmine. We chatted for a moment before Esmine sparked at the song change. She took Winter’s hand, guiding her toward the dance floor. They passed a bewildered and somewhat humbled Sky on the way. She acknowledged the two, then slid into the seat next to me.
Avoiding my gaze, she sipped at her martini. “You could have told me.”
“You could have asked.” I grinned. “It’s a moot point now, but a better question is, why do you smell like Demetrius?”
She flinched as if caught, then shrugged off the question. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“But we will.”
After a moment, she abandoned her reservation. “Michaela was forcing Quell to leave Chicago. It’s my fault. I wanted to make things right for him.”
Quell, again. She just couldn’t let him go. I chewed on that for a moment, letting the irritation settle. “What was Demetrius’s price?”
Sky’s expression turned sour. “Chris. He wants me to bring her back to him.”
I nodded, stared at my Scotch as I turned the glass on the table. “And what did you say to him?”
“I declined,” she stated, offended by the question. “Why would I agree to something like that?”
“It’s funny, when it comes to Quell, you don’t seem to have a lot of boundaries and logic seems to be absent from your decisions.”
The uncomfortable silence between us lasted well into our second round of drinks. I chewed on what to say, whether to let the matter sit.
“I want Quell gone, too,” I admitted, remorseless. “I don’t like what he does to you and everything you are willing to do to keep him safe.”
She gave me an appraising look, not entirely displeased. Before she could respond, Josh plopped into the seat next to her with two shots in hand. He knocked the first one back, chased it with the second.
I frowned at the empty glasses. “That’s six.”
He offered me a miscreant grin. “You’re counting my drinks now? You’ve taken big brothering to a new level, you control freak.”
“I don’t care how many drinks you have while you are working. We are going to see Logan tomorrow and I don’t need you hung over.”
A slight shiver passed through Sky at the reminder.
“I’ll be fine.” Josh took a sip of her drink, then leaned into her until his lips brushed her ear. “I will find a way to get her out and keep you.” He grinned at me for a moment, then led her to the dance floor.
I spent the rest of the evening watching them dance and talk and throw conspiratorial glances in my direction. At least they’d returned to their normal, sibling-like relationship. The rivalry between Josh and me had come to an end.
I glanced at my Scotch, checked the time, and pushed the drink aside. I’d need to be sharp for the morning.
As usual, Logan’s door swung open just before we knocked. The scent of mint, cinnamon, and oak greeted us as we walked inside. The smell was stronger than normal, perhaps to cover the faint smell of blood in the air.
He greeted us with a deviant twinkle in his eyes. As usual, his attention fixed on me. His eyes narrowed and the tattoos on his arms spun excitedly. He stepped closer, hand rising as if to touch me. I held out an arm to stop him. I’d had enough of his shit.
Logan hesitated, his hand twitching in anticipation. “May I?”
“No.”
His breath quickened with excitement as he took another step closer. His eyes took on a strange glow as he examined me. He whispered, “Remarkable.”
I growled, “Get away from me.”
Sebastian intervened, stepping between us. “We need to talk to you.”
Reluctant, Logan turned his attention to Sebastian. “Of course you do or you would not be here. You want me to find the Tre’ase that created Maya. Am I correct?”
Sebastian nodded. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough. He turned to me for confirmation. Something was off. He was confident, like someone with an ace up his sleeve.
I sighed, my irritation plain. “Yes.”
Sky walked deeper into the house, her attention fixed on the closed room where we’d previously discovered a young woman hiding. Looking around, there was no sign of her. I didn’t pick up her scent in the air.
“It’s empty,” Logan told her. “And if it weren’t, I’m sure you’d just meddle again. It has to be rather exhausting to not only deal with your own problems—and from my understanding there are many—but with those of others.”
His gaze flicked to me, eliciting a smirk.
Sky wasn’t impressed. “Sorry if we find your kinks disturbing.”
“No need to be judgmental,” he scolded gently while his gaze remained annoyingly fixed on me. “Some might think your little liaison with Quell—it is Quell? The Lost One?—is worthy of judgment, too.”
Sky jumped ahead of Sebastian, asking, “Can you help us find Maya’s creator?”
“Of course.” He gestured to his table. “Have a seat.”
She didn’t move. “Is Maya a Faerie?”
Josh, Sebastian, and I exchanged glances. Our plans for the conversation had just taken an unexpected turn.
Logan considered whether to answer. “Half. Her mother was a witch, but the combination didn’t decrease her strength significantly.”
The answer surprised Sky. “What about Ravyn, Emmalesse, Leonel?” she said, listing the most infamous of the Faeries. She’d picked up the names from the book I’d given her. “Are they still alive?”
Logan’s gaze returned to me with a curious look. “Alive is relative.”
“Are they spirit shades?”
“Emmalesse is dead; it was quite violent from the rumors.”
Sky asked, “What about the others?”
“Leonel is a spirit shade. Ravyn is still alive, but his whereabouts are unknown.”
“Does Leonel have a host?”
Logan took a step closer to me, his fingers twitching. “I think I’ve answered too many of your questions without requesting anything in return. Would you like me to answer the others?”
His tattoos came alive once more, swirling toward his fingertips as he extended a hand toward hers. Magic flooded the room. I turned to Sky, hoping she sensed the danger. A wrong word now could seal a bargain she’d no intention of making. Once sealed, there was no appeal from the consequences.
She wanted answers, needed them, but caution got the better of her. She backed away from his touch. “What are you asking from me?”
Logan chortled, gestured again to his table.
Sky looked to me. With some reservation, I nodded. She sat while he gathered and placed on the table a small bowl, a knife, a powder, and resins. Satisfied with the items, he crossed to a small box on the other side of the room, returned with a peculiar candle that reeked of blood and honey.
Josh’s eyes widened. “How did you find one?”
“When I said I needed days to get what I needed, this is why. Would you like it when I’m done?”
He answered quickly, “Yes.”
“It’s the strongest thing you can use to source someone without using their blood. And it can enhance any spell.”
Sky eyed the knife with suspicion. “If you don’t need blood, why do you have a knife?”
“It’s for me.”
Logan poured the resin and powder into the bowl and then lit the candle before closing his hand around the knife. He seemed to savor the pain as he drew the blade across his palm. With his uncut hand, he grasped Sky’s. The invocation was quick, followed by a few droplets of his blood dripped into the bowl. A foul odor arose. Colors sparked to life over the bowl, became a face—Logan’s face—looking back at her.
Sebastian roared, furious, “We do not have time for your games!”
The outburst amused Logan. “Tsk. Tsk. We will have none of that.” He rose to his cabinet, removed a cylindrical jar. Floating within was a fist-sized heart, still beating. His grin widened. “Meet Kalese, Maya’s creator.”
I was at his throat in an instant, pinning him to the wall. “What kind of games are you playing?”
Logan continued to grin even as he struggled for breath. “I…die…Skylar…too.”
Disgusted, I had no choice but to release him. Logan collapsed to the ground. He sucked in a few breaths before returning to his feet.
“As long as I am alive,” he said in a strained voice, “so is the heart.”
Regaining his composure, he directed his miscreant smile to Sebastian first, then to me. “As long as I’m alive,” he repeated, “so is the heart. It’s probably more important than ever to keep me alive. Now, let’s get down to business. You all have something I want and something I need. Let’s make a deal.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, I'd first like to thank McKenzie Hunter for allowing me to play in her world. She took a big chance on an unknown writer, and I am forever grateful. I would have never been able to finish Lunar Bound without the patience and honest feedback from my beta readers, Elizabeth Bracker, Stacey Mann, Sherrie Clark, Robyn Mather, Halimo Farah, and Priscilla Moxey.
Lastly, but most important, my thanks to you, the reader. Fans of McKenzie Hunter and the Sky Brooks series have been very supportive of Ethan's POV, and I couldn't feel more fortunate. Without all of you, I wouldn't be able to do what I most love to do, write. You're the best!
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Emerson Knight, Lunar Bound
