Refuge (14 page)

Without warning, coldness slammed into my
chest, leaving me almost gasping for breath, and I had to hold onto
a stair rail for support.
Not now.

“You okay?” Seamus asked, and it took me
several seconds to nod. He helped me into the van’s second row of
seats and got in behind me. We had plenty of room because everyone
gave me a wide berth.

As soon as the van started Jordan raised the
question on everyone’s minds.

“What the hell are lamprey demons doing in a
movie theater? Don’t they live in sewers?”

“Yes,” Seamus responded. “I’ve never heard of
them attacking humans in the open like that.”

“Do you think they were after us?” In my
experience, bad things like this did not happen by coincidence,
especially not to me.

“I doubt it,” Niall said, but I noticed a
slight pause before he spoke. “Lamprey demons are not known for
their intelligence. They are more like leeches, and they’ll latch
onto the nearest warm-blooded creature. They attacked a few humans,
too, so I don’t think they were targeting you specifically. You
were just the last unlucky ones left in the theater.”

The ride home was a lot less fun than the one
to Boise. When the van pulled up to the main entrance, Tristan came
out to meet us. He asked if we were okay and walked with us to the
medical ward where a small team of healers waited. One of them
ushered me into a room with an attached bathroom where I
immediately stripped and showered. I couldn’t help but shudder as
the water ran off me in black streams until I was clean. I dressed
in a hospital gown and lay on a bed while a healer tended to the
bite on my leg. She cleaned the wound and applied a special salve
that drew the pain from the wound even before she had finished
dressing it in a light gauze bandage. Then she gave me some of the
dreaded gunna paste and told me to get some rest before she left
the room.

Tristan entered the room a minute after she
left, and he gave me a quick hug. “How are you feeling?”

“These guys have good drugs. Not even feeling
an ounce of pain.” He did not look convinced, so I gave him a
reassuring smile. “Trust me; I’ve been hurt a lot worse than this.
It takes more than a bloodsucking demon to keep me down.”

His expression was serious. “It must have
been very frightening.”

“Are you kidding me? Have you seen Jordan
with a sword? That girl is scarier than a dozen demons worms.”

Tristan laughed softly, and some of the
tension left his body. “Niall told me about the demon that
exploded, and he said no one could tell him what happened. Do you
want to tell me about it?”

I started by telling him what I had done to
the bazerat a few days ago, followed by my fight with the lamprey
demon. “I honestly don’t know how I did it,” I confessed. “It feels
like my healing power – only different if that makes sense. It’s
like it’s amped up on steroids, and I don’t think it likes
demons.”

“Elementals are very powerful beings and
natural enemies of demons. It is very likely that you are beginning
to come into some of those powers. Unfortunately, we know very
little about them.”

“Aine said she would visit me. I hope she
comes soon because I could really use some answers.”

“Well, I doubt she will come tonight, and you
need to sleep so your body can heal.” He stood and tucked the
blanket around me. “I’ll come back later to check on you.”

I tried to sit up. “Can’t I go to my room?
I’d sleep much better in my own bed.”

He gently pushed me back down. “The healers
want to keep you all here overnight for observation. The bacteria
in a lamprey demon’s mouth are very potent, and we need to watch
for signs of infection.”

The healer came in then and gave me a glass
of sweet smelling liquid to drink. I looked at it warily, and she
said, “This is takhi juice. It will help you sleep and fight
infection. Drink it all.”

I drank it obediently, and Tristan nodded in
approval. “Sleep now and we will talk about it tomorrow. Is it okay
if I come back to sit with you tonight while you sleep?”

I smiled sluggishly, already feeling the
effects of the takhi juice. “Okay.”

My dreams were filled with zombies with large
round sucking mouths full of teeth. I tossed fitfully and tried to
wake up, but the sleeping potion held me in its grasp. First, I
felt like I was freezing and warm thick blankets were laid over me.
Then my body felt like it was on fire, and I cried out until
someone pressed a cool wet cloth to my face. A few times I almost
gained wakefulness and heard people talking softly nearby, but I
was pulled under again before I could open my eyes.

After what seemed like forever, the flames
subsided and all I could feel was the warmth of a hand encasing
mine where it lay on the covers. There was comfort and safety in
the touch, and I reached for it instinctively until the strong
fingers entwined with mine. I sighed as the nightmares were
banished, and I sank at last into a deep healing sleep.

I awoke slowly, listening to the sounds of
people talking and moving around outside my room. My body felt
stiff, my throat was parched, and my head pounded with a fierce
headache. I moaned and lifted a hand to rub my forehead.

“Here, this will take care of your
headache.”

I turned my head toward Tristan who sat by my
bed, holding a glass of brownish liquid. After the sleeping draft
from last night, I was hesitant to take any more medicine.

He smiled as if he read my mind. “You had a
bad fever last night from the demon bite, and you are dehydrated
now, which is causing your headache. I promise this will only ease
your pain.”

My head was pounding, and his words were all
the reassurance I needed. I accepted the glass and downed the
contents, then lay back on the bed. “I heard someone here with me
last night. Was that you?”

“I came in a few times. Your fever made you
very restless.”

“What about the others? Are they okay?”

He took the glass from me and laid it on a
table. “Olivia also had a fever from her bite, but Mark and Jordan
were okay. They have all been released. Once you are feeling
better, you may leave, too.”

“I feel better now.” I tried to sit up, but
he pushed me back down.

“Give it a few more minutes. While we wait, I
want to talk to you about your training.”

I groaned. “Are you trying to torture me
after the night I just had?”

He did not laugh as I expected him to, and
his expression grew serious. “You could have been hurt a lot worse
than you were or even killed last night. You have to learn to fight
and to harness your Mori’s power so you will be better prepared the
next time you face danger.”

“I think I did all right.”

“Yes, but we don’t know exactly what you did
or if you can summon it at will. We live in a dangerous world, and
I need to know you can defend yourself before you go out into it.
So I am making changes to your training routine.”

I fidgeted with the blanket. “What does that
mean?”

“Nothing bad, I assure you. We are just going
to try you with another trainer and see if a different technique
works better for you.” He patted my hand. “Don’t look so worried. I
have a feeling this will be just what you need.”

Why didn’t I feel as confident as him? “When
do I start with the new trainer?”

“Tomorrow. Today, just rest and get your
strength back.”

It was noon before the healers finally let me
leave the medical ward. I was ravenous, which the healers said was
normal after such a fever, so I headed straight for the dining hall
after I showered and changed. Lunch was over by the time I got
there, so I begged a plate from the kitchen staff and ate alone in
the dining hall.

“Hey, Sara, what are you doing in here by
yourself? Aren’t you going to the arena?”

I looked up at Michael who stood in the
doorway. “What’s going on at the arena?”

“Some of the warriors are dueling.” His eyes
flashed with excitement.

“Dueling?”

“For fun. They do it every now and then, and
it’s so awesome to watch. Come on, I heard Tristan is joining in
this time.”

I carried my plate to a bus tray and followed
Michael. I hadn’t seen Tristan fight yet, and I was eager to watch
him in action. A man who garnered the kind of respect he did had to
be more than a good leader. I bet he was an amazing fighter,
too.

“Everyone’s talking about what happened to
you guys last night.”

I gave him a sidelong glance. “I bet you’re
glad you decided not to come with us, huh?”

He nodded quickly. “Yeah. You could have been
killed. Why would lamprey demons do something like that?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

The arena was half full when we entered, and
I saw the other trainees sitting and standing together near the
door. Looking past them, I caught sight of Niall and Seamus
standing with Tristan in the middle of the floor. I felt a surge of
pride when I saw Tristan holding a long slender sword and looking
every bit the fierce warrior.

We weaved through the crowd to the other
trainees. “What did we miss?” I asked them.

“Tristan is wiping the ground with the
others,” Terrence replied without talking his eyes off the older
warriors. “And here comes his next victim.”

I watched as a Korean man approached Tristan,
carrying a similar sword. Something about him seemed familiar, and
it wasn’t until he reached Tristan and the twins that I recognized
him as one of the warriors I’d met in Portland. His name was Erik,
if I remembered correctly, and he was in the unit that had helped
clean out the mansion where Remy’s cousins had been held. He had
also accompanied me here along with Nikolas and Chris, but I hadn’t
seen him since I arrived.

The twins moved back to give the dueling
warriors room, and Tristan and Erik saluted one another. Tristan’s
eyes gleamed like I had never seen before, and I realized he was
looking forward to the fight as much as the spectators.

They came together in a clang of metal, and I
caught myself holding my breath more than once as they parried and
thrust, dancing around each other with deadly grace. Eric was a
skilled swordsman, and once or twice I thought he was going to get
the better of Tristan until I realized that Tristan was just toying
with him. Tristan might not hunt as much as he used to, but he was
as good a warrior as anyone else there, which he proved when he
suddenly disarmed his opponent.

I clapped and cheered with everyone else.
Tristan’s eyes met mine in the crowd, and I gave him two thumbs up.
“Wow, he’s so good!”

Josh’s face glowed with excitement. “You
haven’t seen anything yet. The main attraction is just about to
start.”

“What could be better than that?” I asked a
second before I felt a soft telltale flutter against my mind.
You have got to be
kidding me.
I fumed as the last person I expected to see
walked through a doorway at the far end of the room. All eyes were
on the commanding figure who strode toward Tristan, muscles
rippling beneath his T-shirt and a sword grasped in his right hand.
His mouth was curved into a brotherly smile for Tristan.

Around me, the trainees and younger warriors
were riveted on Nikolas and Tristan, and their excitement was
almost palpable. All I could feel was anger. I couldn’t forget how
I felt when I found out he’d left after dumping me on someone else
like I was their problem now. I shouldn’t care what he did, but for
some reason it bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

No longer entertained, I turned to push back
through the crowd, but Olivia grabbed my arm. “Where are you going?
You don’t get to see Nikolas fight every day.”

“I’ve seen him fight plenty.”

Terrence turned to give me an appreciative
look. “That’s right. You’ve seen him in action. Man that must be
something.”

“It is,” I replied grudgingly.

The ring of steel on steel stopped me when I
would have taken another step, and I stood there for half a minute,
refusing to look until I heard small intakes of breath around me.
Unable to help myself, I turned back toward the room.

It was immediately clear which of them was
the superior swordsman – not that I was surprised after seeing
Nikolas fight more than once. Tristan was a fine fighter, but where
he moved with the smooth grace of a fencer, Nikolas’s movements
were like a lethal dance, so beautifully controlled that you could
not take your eyes off him. His long blade glinted in the sun
shining through the tall windows as he rained blows on Tristan,
keeping his opponent on the defensive and circling him like a lion
preparing for a kill. If I didn’t know this was a friendly duel, I
would have been afraid for my grandfather’s life at that
moment.

Nikolas saw an opening and moved in, bringing
the tip of his sword to Tristan’s chest and just like that it was
over. Tristan smiled and bowed, then slapped Nikolas on the back as
everyone clapped. The two men stepped aside to let the next pair
duel, but it was anticlimactic after the thrill of watching them. I
couldn’t help but notice that my companions were more interested in
watching what Nikolas was doing than the current fight.

“Someday, I’m going to be that good,” said a
worshipful voice beside me.

I turned to face Jordan, who stared at
Nikolas like he was a rock star. “Good and when you are, you can
kick his ass. In fact, let me know so I can be there to watch.” She
looked at me like I was nuts, and I shrugged. “Spend a month with
him and you’ll sing a different tune.”

Jordan started to respond but stopped when
her eyes went to something behind me. I turned to see Tristan and
Nikolas walking through the crowd toward us. My jaw clenched. I had
plenty of choice words for Nikolas, but this was not the place to
share them. His expression as he approached was neutral, but when
our eyes met I saw the familiar arrogant gleam and it fed the angry
embers smoldering inside me. Did he really expect me to greet him
as if all was well between us?