The Haunting (Immortals) (24 page)

Nick didn’t like letting Mai out of his sight, but she didn’t seem concerned. Nick watched her leave and then turned back to find the Immortal eying him closely.

Mai couldn’t think of a more embarrassing situation as she hurried into her room to find another pair of Ricco’s sweatpants. She didn’t even think Nick was aware that his clothes had been shredded when he turned into the bear. That had been an impressive sight seeing him standing there, so tall and powerful. Of course, having him standing buck naked in her living room was also an impressive sight and likely one to tease her awake at night, leaving her hot and bothered.

“Where did you find that hunka-hunka burning love?” Lexi asked, trailing her into the bedroom.

“It’s not like that. We’re just working together—unofficially.” Mai let the towel she was wearing drop to the floor and quickly pulled on jeans and a top. Then she dug through the box of Ricco’s clothes in her closet.

“So, you’re telling me you’ve never slept with him?”

Mai’s hand froze in the process of reaching for a pair of pants. It was a fair question to have asked the old Mai, but the new Mai didn’t make a habit of sleeping around anymore. Not that Lexi had been around much to know that and not that it made the answer to her question any different. It had been an accident, but that didn’t change the facts. “It’s not like that,” she said again as she pulled out a pair of pants. “He’s not interested in me that way.”

She didn’t succeed in keeping the bitterness out of her tone and Lexi, of course, picked up on it right away. The teasing light left her eyes to be replaced by a look of sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“Because I can see you like him.”

Mai had a feeling the conversation was about to get too deep for her to swim out of easily, so she pasted a smile on
her face and let a little of the old Mai shine through as she shrugged. “Win some, lose some. It’s no big deal.”

She didn’t wait to see whether Lexi believed her, but turned and left the bedroom.

Nick and Darius were still standing in the same spot. There seemed to be a battle of wills taking place between them.

“Better put these on,” Mai said, pushing the pants at Nick. He took them without taking his eyes off Darius and pulled them on.

Mai noticed everything in the room had returned to normal. The burning floor and river of molten lava were gone. The wailing from the mirror had stopped. Everything was—normal.

She wanted to cry. She knew what they’d all think of her if she told them the truth. They’d think she was crazy. And she had no idea how to prove she wasn’t.

“Well, it was sure great to see everyone again,” Mai said in her most upbeat voice, grabbing Lexi’s hand and leading her over to Darius. “I wish you both could stay longer, but I know you have to get back home.” She gave them each a hug they didn’t return and then took a step back. “Bye.”

Three pairs of eyes stared at her.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get rid of us,” Darius said. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not Kalen, so I can’t just teleport us out of here. The lightning bolt is part of me and that’s why I was able to come when you threw it. As for Lexi, well, she hitched a ride when she realized what was happening.”

Mai looked from him to Lexi and back. “So how long are you staying?”

“Until my mother decides to bring us back.”

Knowing how unreliable Sekhmet could be, who knew when she’d summon them?

“While we wait,” Darius continued, “let’s talk about why you’re in a hurry for us to go when you just got through summoning us. Something must have frightened you pretty badly to convince you to use the lightning bolt in the first place.”

Nick crossed his arms and stared at her, looking almost as intimidating as Darius. “I’m with them—I want to know what’s going on. When I opened that door, you looked scared to death. What happened?”

Mai realized she wasn’t going to be able to satisfy them with anything but the truth. She sighed. “All right.”

They listened quietly as she explained. After she finished, she saw Lexi and Darius exchange meaningful looks. “You told us you weren’t having any more hallucinations,” Lexi said.

“This wasn’t a hallucination. It’s something else. Something real.” She was almost positive now.

“The therapist said that post-traumatic stress hallucinations can seem extremely realistic,” Lexi reminded her sympathetically. “I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to deal with this, but you have to try to recognize when you’re having one.” She looked at the remains of the wall after the lightning bolt had struck it, then glanced significantly at Nick. “This could have been a real tragedy, Mai.” Lexi put an arm around Mai’s shoulders. “Maybe you should come to Ravenscroft with us. I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay here by yourself.”

Mai shook off her friend’s arm, stunned at the suggestion. “I’m not someone’s crazy aunt to be shuttled from home to home where relatives can keep an eye on her. What happened here was real.”

Lexi and Darius looked around the room. Mai knew they were making a point. If what she’d described had been real, then where was the damage? “Do you know how much magic it would have taken to create that kind of illusion? It would have to be a very powerful witch,” Darius said gently.

“Or a bogeyman,” she said, eager to share her revelation. “Who came to this dimension and pulled me into the dream realm without my knowing it.”

Instead of sharing her excitement, they each looked at her with pity in their eyes—as if she were not only crazy, but crazy beyond help.

“You’re talking about a Keltok demon,” Darius finally said. “No one’s seen a Keltok in centuries. I’m not even sure the species still exists.”

“Of course they exist,” she scoffed. “Tell him, Nick.”

“It’s true that one hasn’t been sighted in a very long time,” Nick said thoughtfully. “But what you’re describing is within the bogeyman’s capabilities.”

“If one existed,” Darius added, shooting Nick a scowl.

Mai looked at Nick and saw that he was frowning. He didn’t believe she’d seen a bogeyman any more than Darius did. She turned away from them, not sure she could hide the sharp disappointment and frustration that cut through her.

At that moment, a shaft of bright light appeared in the middle of Mai’s living room. At first, Mai thought this was the start of another hallucination, but then Darius said, “Looks like Mother’s ready for us.”

Lexi gave Mai a hug. “Are you sure you won’t come back with us? We could have loads of fun and you wouldn’t have to worry about working ever again.”

“Thanks for the offer, but no.” She stepped away and Darius held up the necklace with the lightning bolt once again dangling from it. He smiled as he placed the necklace around her head.

“It doesn’t matter what the circumstances, if you need us, throw it and we’ll come. Okay?” He kissed her forehead and took a step back.

“It’s nice to have met you both,” Nick said, shaking hands first with Darius and then Lexi.

“Keep an eye on our girl,” Darius told him.

Nick nodded, but Mai noticed that he didn’t say anything.

Darius took Lexi’s hand in his. Mai had just enough time to think what a nice-looking couple they made before they stepped into the shaft of light and disappeared.

If Mai thought the situation was awkward before, that was nothing compared to how it felt now that she and Nick were alone.

“So now you know my secret,” she said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

“The post-traumatic stress?”

“And the hallucinations.”

“And there never was a friend, was there?” It was a statement, not a question.

“No.” She gave a wry laugh. “Just me and my twisted nightmare.”

He smiled, which she thought was an odd reaction.

“I wish you would’ve told me sooner,” he said.

“What? And have you think I’m crazy, too? Or worse, feel sorry for me?” She shook her head. “I’m getting enough of that already, thanks. Look, I appreciate you coming to check on me and I’m sorry my friends tried to kill you.”

Noticing his torn clothing on the floor, she busied herself with picking up the things that had spilled out of his pocket. He stooped to help.

Their fingers brushed when they both reached for his wallet at the same time. She was acutely aware of the contact and, looking up to see if he’d noticed, found herself drowning in his gaze.

Time stopped—and so did her breathing as she looked deep into his eyes.

“Mai, we need to talk.” His tone was suddenly very serious and Mai had been in enough relationships to recognize the opening line of the It’s-time-we-went-our-own-way speech.

She was afraid that if he rejected her right then and
there, it would be more than she could handle at the moment. Especially when all she desperately wanted was for him to hold her so she’d feel safe and protected. “Not tonight, please. I…I just want to go to bed. It’s been a long day.” She didn’t have to fake the weariness in her voice. She was exhausted.

He looked torn but then he nodded. “All right. But first thing tomorrow, I’m coming over.” He let her walk him to the door, which now hung off its hinges at an angle. “I’ll call someone tonight to have that fixed. Maybe I should stay until it’s finished?”

“No. You go on. I’ll be okay.”

He looked around the apartment. “You’re sure?”

She bristled. “I think I can manage to not have another
hallucination
tonight.” She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep it together.

“All right. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promised.

“Sure, that’d be great.” She didn’t really expect him to call her ever again, but if he wanted to pretend, that was fine with her.

She didn’t stand in the doorway like a lovesick fool watching him walk down the hall. Even she wasn’t that pathetic. Instead, she pushed the door closed as best she could and considered calling Will to see if there was something he could do. He was the last person she wanted to see, though, so she changed her mind. Instead, she grabbed a knife from the kitchen and went to sit in the same chair she’d been in all day. At the moment, it was the only place she felt safe. Curling her legs beneath her and ignoring how the horrible gash in her leg had mysteriously vanished, she turned on the TV so it would mask the sound of her crying.

Nick rode the elevator up to the top floor. From there, he found the stairs to the roof. Sometimes, it was necessary to
get away from people to think, and if ever he needed time to think and reflect, now was it. He breathed deeply as he took in the view of the city around him.

Next, he placed a call to have Mai’s door fixed, agreeing to pay a premium price if they fixed it within the hour. Then he stripped out of the pants Mai had loaned him and stuffed one leg into the other. After placing his cell phone and wallet inside the pants leg, he tied off both ends to make a small bundle.

Then he focused his thoughts on soaring through the open sky, shivering once, twice as the wind brushed over his naked body. He blinked, adjusting to the change in vision.

When the transition to hawk was complete, Nick stretched his wings. Already, he felt free of human worries and emotions.

Remembering his clothing, he clutched the roll with his claws and then, with a few downward strokes of his powerful wings, he rose into the sky, making large, lazy circles.

It was good to be free, he thought. No worries. No responsibilities. Up here, all alone.

Far below, he saw a rat scurry along the wall of a building. It had been hours since he’d eaten and in this form, the rat was tempting. It would be so easy to swoop down and take it.

The part of him that was man decided he could wait to eat. For the moment, he needed air and exercise. And time to think.

There were two truths he needed to come to terms with. First, Mai wasn’t crazy—which meant that as impossible as it was to believe, a Keltok demon had broken free of the dream realm and was harassing her. Nick knew this to be true because he’d fought the demon himself—though at the time he’d not realized it for what it was.

The second truth—and the one that was much more important—was that Mai was his spirit mate.

As the realization sank in, he felt its enormous impact settle around him. The woman he’d slept with in the dream realm and the woman he’d made love to in the physical world were one and the same. For someone who had dedicated considerable time and effort toward avoiding entanglement with his spirit mate, he couldn’t have become any more entangled with her.

And the amazing thing was that now that it’d happened, he wasn’t upset. In fact, the thought of spending the rest of his life with Mai was very appealing.

The struggle to accept the inevitable was over before it began. Nick felt an enormous weight lift and if he’d had lips in this form, he would have smiled.

Now all he had to do was convince Mai that he was the man of her dreams—in every way. That was certainly not something he was going to accomplish as a hawk.

He headed for his apartment, thinking he would pack a bag of clothes to take over with him when he went back to Mai’s place, because once he got there, he wasn’t leaving until they’d reached an understanding. From this point forward, the only men’s clothing in her closet would be his.

In her apartment, Mai finally gathered the nerve to leave the security of her chair and move cautiously about the place. Despite what Nick and Darius had told her, she knew a Keltok demon was tormenting her—she just didn’t know how to fight it.

After a thorough search of her apartment—without incident—she concluded that she truly was alone. The bogeyman, it seemed, was gone—for now.

Looking back over the day spent perched on the chair too frightened to move, it all seemed unreal.

She fixed herself something to eat and drink. Then she sat in front of the TV while she ate. The men Nick had hired to fix the door came and left. At that point, she could
have gone to bed. She was exhausted, but too wired to sleep and so she sat on the couch and watched TV.

Four hours later, Mai woke up. So deeply asleep moments before, she felt confused and disoriented. It took a full minute before she realized she was still on the couch. Now she wondered what might have awakened her.