Through The Veil (29 page)

Lori clenched Marcus’s hand, but didn’t ever take her eyes
off Malcolm. “Okay,” she said, but her hand trembled through their grasp. “You
can do some blood work. I would never want my blood to harm them in any way,
and if you can keep that from happening, that’s fine with me.”

The initial blood work didn’t show anything abnormal, but
Malcolm needed to find the scientific explanation for the link between the four
of them with further comparisons of their blood analysis. But that would have
to wait as the four of them planned a dream walk with the Others in the ES.

Waves of stress poured over Marcus, leaking from Lori at the
prospect. His need to help and protect her pulled at him.

She’d never initiated a dream walk on her own and having so
many people in on it added an extra level of stress for her. But the four of
them needed to know what they’d be walking into and this proved the best way to
do it. They also needed to know if anything had changed in the last couple of
weeks since Lori had been in touch with them.

Secretly, Marcus worried that they hadn’t heard from any of
the ES Others in so long. He understood so much better about the labs and what
they did there after seeing it via the dream walk from before. Hopefully Lori’s
friend, Savannah, would be open to them when they tried again this time.

* * *

To ensure the success of the dream walk, the four of them
slept in the same room with Malcolm monitoring them in case he needed to pull
them out of it early. This time they were attempting the dream walk without the
aid of Savannah, so Marcus just hoped this worked and didn’t go horribly wrong.

Since Lori had the strongest connection to the Others and
the ES, she took the lead. Without relying on Savannah, they were able to start
the dream at the exterior of the BET-labs building. From the outside, the
building looked simply like an abandoned old warehouse. But camouflaged,
heavily-armed men hid in the forest surrounding the building. In this dream
state, they were able to watch the men and their rotations without being seen,
making notes for their plan of attack.

While Marcus and Lori observed the guards in the forest,
Brooklyn and
Griff
examined the building from above
for ways to get in once they were here in physical form. They’d all decided
beforehand that the most viable option would probably be from the air since no
one would be expecting that. When they were finished doing their respective
jobs, they joined up mentally, and Lori pulled the four of them into the
laboratory section of the building.

The lights were low when they arrived, but at first glance
little had changed since the last time he’d been here. Savannah stood at the
bars of her cage, her eyes wide with terror. Somehow she’d sensed they’d be
coming.

“Lori,” Savannah whispered, looking around at the four of
them frantically, “they took
Shar
. I don’t know
what’s happening to her, but she needs help. I can feel it.” Her brilliant blue
eyes filled with tears. “Something’s changed here, and I don’t think we have
much time. They’re trying to get the last bit of information they can get out
of us any way possible and then they plan to kill us.
Shar
is dying. Please…” Her voice broke as the tears flowed freely.

“Where is she?”
Griff’s
voice
sounded harsh and the planes of his face grew fierce. “What are they doing to
her?”

Marcus laid a restraining hand on
Griff’s
arm. “We can’t do anything right now. We aren’t really here, remember?”

He turned with a ferocious growl. “What the fuck? We’re just
supposed to stand by and let them die?” He gestured at the cages in disgust.
“What kind of people do this to human beings? We can’t just leave them here.”

“We’re not,” Marcus told him, trying to calm him down.
“We’re gathering
intel
so when we come back, we do so
smartly and don’t end up in those cages right alongside them. We
are
coming back, so just chill for a moment.”

Griff
yanked his arm out of
Marcus’s grasp and went over to the computer terminal in the corner to see what
he could find.

Marcus threaded his hand through his hair and glanced around
the room trying to cool his own temper and guilt. They shouldn’t have left them
here as long as they had.

Lori comforted Savannah. Brooklyn stood between the men’s
cages, frowning while she flipped through their files. Neither one appeared to
be in very good condition.

“What’s your evaluation of them?” Marcus asked her.

“That one.” Brooklyn gestured to the man curled in the
corner of the cage. Lori had called him Tim the last time they were there.
“He’s just under heavy sedation from what I can tell. It looks like he’s been
recently beaten or tortured, though, so I would guess he’s very weak. There
doesn’t appear to be any lasting damage…this time.” She crouched in front of
his cage to try to examine his many wounds, bruises, and old scars. “I think I
can bring the right mix of medicines so we can transport him fairly easily so
he’s not in a lot of pain.”

She stepped over in front of the cage that held the panther
shifter. He was sprawled naked and unconscious, like he’d been thrown in and
discarded where he fell. “This one, though, I’m not so sure about. His files
say he’s extremely dangerous. He’s also sedated right now. When they take off
his restraints, he immediately shifts to his panther form and attacks. I’m not
sure what will be the best way to get him out of here without him killing all
of us.”

 
“If we can get
Shar
,” Savannah called across the room, “she and I have
worked together to calm him, but he’s so far gone now that it takes both of
us.”

Brooklyn pressed her lips together and nodded. “How long can
you all hold the connection? We have a few hours’ journey from here to the Veil
boundary.”

Savannah, eyes filled with hurt and compassion as she looked
at the two men, squared her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll do it however
long we have to. No one can stay behind. No one. That’s not even an option
anymore. They plan to kill all of us.”

Marcus could feel the external tug from Malcolm. They needed
to end the dream walk. “Okay, everyone, we have to finish this up. Make sure
you’ve gotten all the information you need, because we won’t be coming back
again until it’s the real deal.”

Lori turned her tortured expression to him as her hand
stroked over Savannah’s. Her eyes filled with tears. “We’ll be back the day
after tomorrow,” Lori whispered to her. “Just keep everyone hanging on until
then. We will be back and get all of you out.”

“
Shar
?” Savannah asked, doubt
showing in her expression. It was obvious she didn’t expect them all to make it
out.

“
Shar
, too. I promise, Savannah.
Look at these badass Warriors. They can do the job. We will get
everyone
out. Two days.” Lori held up two fingers. Savannah mimicked the gesture and
pressed her fingers to Lori’s as they faded out of the dream.

When they woke up in Malcolm’s lab, Marcus was once again
shaken by the barbaric treatment the Others received in the ES. How could
anyone treat another human being that way?

Brooklyn shot off her bed and dove for a trashcan, heaving.
Griff’s
head hung down against his chest.

Marcus pulled Lori to him to comfort her. “We’ll get them
out. All four of them,” he said to the others, putting as much conviction in
his voice as he could. They had to succeed at this mission. Failure was not a
viable option.

Malcolm’s eyes were wide as he rushed to help Brooklyn.
“What the hell happened?”

Brooklyn shoved past him. He’d been trying to soothe her,
but she didn’t want any part of it. “I need your help figuring this out. They
have two people, maybe three… Hell, by the time we get back it will probably be
all four of them. They’re in really rough shape and it’s going to be hard to
transport them. I need your help to make up a medical kit that will sustain
them until we cross through the Veil.”

“Maybe I should go with you, if it’s that bad.”

“No.” Marcus shook his head. “We can’t risk you that way.
You’re too valuable to the WS.”

They all planned for a successful mission, but that didn’t
mean they could take unnecessary risks with one of their most valuable
citizens. Malcolm was too vital to WS life.

Marcus glanced over at Lori who stood lost in thought
chewing on her nails and experienced a frisson of alarm. She had to make it out
of this unharmed and whole, too.

Would she still want to be with him after that? They hadn’t
discussed the future, because they were so focused on getting the Others out.
But he fully planned and wanted her in his life for the foreseeable future. Did
she feel the same way? He wanted to discuss it with her, but didn’t want to
change her focus which right now needed to stay with her friends and the goal
of the mission. They’d have time later to discuss their future. He hoped they
would, anyway…

* * *

Mid-day the day after their dream walk, Lori was practicing
her mental abilities in the yard out in back of the cabin when
Griff
walked out to join her. Her powers were growing by
leaps and bounds now. Every time she worked, she got better, stronger, and
faster at manipulating the elements and energy it took to use her talent.

He watched her for a moment which was odd.
Griff
didn’t search her out if he could help it.

“Is something wrong?” she asked. Things had gotten easier
between them but he still never chose to engage her unless he had to. This
couldn’t be a good thing.

His expression appeared sheepish as he examined the boulders
she’d been working with, not exactly meeting her eyes. “I need to apologize.”
He glanced up at her and pain filled his eyes. “I judged you harshly and you
didn’t deserve that. I didn’t realize until yesterday what exactly you came
from. I thought you were weak and making up drama just to get Bethany to bring
your friends here. Now, I’ve learned just how fucking strong you really are. I
had no idea. You’re good for Marcus. He’s happier with you than I’ve seen him
in years. You’ve healed something inside of him that I didn’t think would ever
heal again. I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you—”

“It’s okay,
Griff
,” Lori
interrupted him, hating to see him wracked with guilt over simply trying to
protect his friend from getting hurt. “You didn’t know me, and I can appreciate
you didn’t want Marcus hurt.”

“Yeah, maybe, but that still doesn’t excuse how I’ve treated
you. So, to make it up to you, I have a little gift.” His face turned red and
he rubbed a hand over it to cover his reaction. “Don’t worry. I’m still a
selfish bastard. By giving this to you, it helps me and all of us on this
mission.” He reached behind his back and pulled out a fabric-wrapped item from
the back of his pants. Laying it gingerly onto a nearby table they sometimes
used for outdoor meetings, he instructed her, “Go ahead. Open it.”

She untied the jute string and slowly unwound the coarse
fabric from the heavy item. She gasped aloud when she saw the long knife. The
handle was made from copper and inlaid with several gems. The blade appeared to
be carved out of the crystal from the
ley
lines. It
boasted of the incredible workmanship, skills of the artisan who made it…
Griff
.

“
Griff
, it’s amazing, but I
can’t—”

“Yes, you can. Believe me, this will help you harness your
power, which helps all of us in the long run. Use it to channel your energy and
it should be easier for you. The stones are supposed to hold their own powers,
too. The sapphires help to guide your judgment in what you’re trying to achieve
while the rubies help with protection. I’m not big into the whole Earth mumbo
jumbo, but Bethany and Brooklyn believe in it. I figure it can’t hurt to add a
bit of extra oomph with the gemstones.”

Emotion clogged her throat as she held the handle of the
knife gripped in her palm. She could feel the incredible balance of the weapon
as well as the power coursing through it. “It’s amazing,
Griff
.
Thank you so much. Can I try it?”

“Of course.” He gestured to the boulders she’d been
rearranging before. “Just point it at them and do what you normally do,
channeling the energy through the knife rather than through your hands.”

She nodded, lifted the knife, and a mere two seconds later
the huge stones sat in a completely different configuration. She hadn’t even
had to touch them. Her mouth dropped open in shock. Even more surprising she
didn’t feel any drain in her power at all. The necklace Bethany had given her
enhanced her abilities, but this knife was so much more focused and powerful in
its effect. Stunned, she stared down it and then back to
Griff’s
knowing grin.

“Better?” he asked.

She set the knife down on the table very gently and then ran
to
Griff
, throwing her arms around his neck. “Thank
you! It’s perfect. Oh wow, I’ve never had my gift work that easily, ever.”

“I know I’ve pushed you to get along better.” Marcus’s droll
voice echoed over the empty yard. “But I’ll be honest. I’m not sure I’m
comfortable with this level of affection between the two of you.”

She let go of
Griff’s
neck and
grinned at Marcus. She ran over to the knife and lifted to show him. “Did you
know about this? That he planned to make me this?”

Marcus’s eyes softened as he looked toward his friend with
gratitude. “No,” he said quietly. “I had no idea. Making one of those knives is
very difficult for him because the crystals are so hard. He only does it for
the people he cares about most. You won’t receive a better weapon than one of
his handmade knives. Even the ones made from normal steel are incredible. The
ley
line ones…well, they’re very rare, just because the
crystal is such a premium commodity for the power they channel. Thank you,
Griff
.”