Falling Blind: The Sentinel Wars Page 13

  His mouth opened in shocked silence, then closed again. His dark brows dipped low and his jaw bulged with frustrated anger. “You’re going to pass? That’s not how this works, Rory.”

  “Who says? Is there some kind of manual or something you’ve failed to share with me?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Good. Then it’s settled.”

  “Are you saying that you would rather remain tied to me for eternity? Because that’s what will happen if you never find this person you’re seeking. I told you to word your vow carefully. The words you chose tie you to me until you’ve found the one who makes your visions go away. Your words. Not mine.”

  Rory took a long step back, needing some space to think. Cain loomed too large, overpowering her with his mere presence. She was too aware of him, and it was taking up a portion of her brain that she really needed free to work on an escape clause.

  Mrs. Wittle’s gnarled hands shoved their way back into Rory’s head as she added pasta to a pot of boiling water.

  The old lady’s home was half a mile away. Rory had never been able to see through the eyes of someone that far away before. And it scared her.

  Cain’s low, gravelly rumble cut through her fear just enough to keep her steady. “What just happened?” he asked.

  She didn’t want to answer that question—not even to herself. If her visions were getting worse, she wasn’t sure what she would do. She’d no longer be able to drive or see her computer screen. How would she take care of herself if she couldn’t earn money or go buy groceries?

  Rory swallowed down her fear and tipped her head back to look him in the eye. She wouldn’t let him know she was afraid. She’d faced bigger problems than this and survived. This would just be one more. “Tell me exactly what I’ll be able to do with all this magic bullshit.”

  He winced at her wording. “Many things. Where your skills lie is still a question, but chances are you’ll be able to defend yourself at the very least.”

  Rory remembered the woman Cain had shown her from his memories—the one who had used some kind of invisible shield to stand in the way of attack. “What about finding people? How do I use magic for that?”

  Cain shook his head. “I don’t know. I can have you talk to Andra. She’s a Theronai and has the ability to find lost children. Perhaps she could give you some pointers.”

  Okay. That was a good start. “What about offense? Am I going to be able to sling fire around like that chick you showed me?”

  “It’s likely. You should learn to defend yourself first, though, don’t you think?”

  “Boooring. I’d much rather blow shit up. If you show me how to do that, then we’re on.”

  He stood there for a long minute, staring at her. “If that’s what you want to learn, then I will do my best to show you. Outside.”

  “Good idea. If I lost Nana’s house, I’d have nowhere to go.”

  “That’s not true,” said Cain as he stepped closer, filling her sight. “You’re family now, and we look out for our own.”

  The throb of emotion that lodged in her throat was completely unexpected. She blinked fast to hide her tears, unsure as to why his simple statement had caught her so off guard.

  Maybe she’d been alone for too long. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d spent this much time with anyone—definitely not since Nana had died. Even Matt had been too grating on her senses for her to be around him for long.

  “I do better on my own,” she told him, but the wavering in her voice made it sound like a petulant lie.

  “Too bad. Those days are over.”

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

  “I’m not trying to. I’m simply pointing out a fact. You and I are joined now. Even when we’re separated, I’ll still be able to feel you, to hear you if you call for me.”

  “Yeah, right. How?”

  She was pushing him. So far he’d been pretty easygoing, but she could see the way she strained his control—the way she made the veins in his temples pound, and the tendons in his neck stand out. She was grating on his nerves, the way she did with everyone sooner or later.

  He reached for her, his movement so smooth and fast, she didn’t even think to dodge.

  “Like this.” His hands cupped the sides of her face, hot and too big for her to have a prayer of escaping. The rough patches along his palms reminded her just how capable he was with that sword, and how much stronger he was than her. That strength was under control now, but if she kept pushing him, he might not remember to be so gentle.

  A second later she felt him slide inside her mind, and her worries of his physical strength evaporated.

  Basking in his presence was like standing naked under a warm sun, making her feel exposed and caressed all at the same time. He was too intense to look at directly, and yet she was drawn to him, wanting to get closer to his heat.

  “Can you feel me?” he asked, and she heard the words echo within her thoughts.

  “Kinda hard not to.”

  “You don’t have to be afraid.”

  “I’m not,” she said automatically, even though it was a lie. All of this was so new and strange, it terrified and delighted her.

  “You can’t hide anything from me like this.”

  Which made her wonder if it worked both ways. What if he was hiding the knowledge she needed to find the cure for her visions? She could feel how important it was to him that she’d taken his luceria—that it helped him in some way. What if he didn’t want her to give it back?

  Rory wasn’t sure how to find the information, but as soon as the desire to look for it bloomed into reality, she found that searching through his thoughts was as easy as searching through her own. Sure, the walls here were different—harder and darker—but the space was basically the same. Navigating it was intuitive, as if she’d been here before.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Hush. I’m busy.”

  She spun through the data in his head, seeking out knowledge of magic and its uses. She found memory after memory of things he’d seen other women do, as well as a few men. Battle, healing, creation of magical devices—it all swam together in a blur of information. She sensed leads here, and maybe some ideas she could try, but as he said, there was no definitive knowledge of how to solve her problem.

  As Rory was leaving, pulling herself out of his mind, she felt something brush against her, so bright with hope and yearning that it nearly burned. She wasn’t sure what it was, but curiosity had always been one of her flaws.

  She went back to that place, seeking out the raging energy of it. She thought she might get burned if she touched it again, but instead, she was drawn in, compelled to slide inside the thought or memory or whatever it was.

  There was a man there, possibly even more beautiful than Logan. He injected something into Cain that burned like acid, but Cain had felt only hope and a sense of joy as glittering and fragile as a crystal snowflake.

  “What did he do to you? Were you sick?” As she asked the questions, she sped through his mind toward the answer.

  A pretty woman stood there, her gray eyes brimming with happiness. Around her neck was a shimmering, golden band—a luceria like the one Rory now wore. This woman smiled up at Cain, her hand splayed over her stomach in a gesture of maternal joy.

  Rory had thought Cain said that his daughter wasn’t his by birth, but the feeling she had now was unmistakable. The child that woman carried was his.

  As Rory watched, the edges of the thought wobbled, crumbling away. The woman’s hand fell. Her smile faded. The hope and happiness this image created withered and died. And then, an instant later, the woman reappeared as she had been before, vibrant and glowing with eagerness. The whole cycle played out, over and over.

  It was then that Rory realized what it was she’d stumbled upon. It wasn’t a memory, but some kind of dream. A wish. This image was something that Cain had wanted. Badly.

  “It doesn’t matter no
w,” he said. “She’s with another man. A good man.”

  Rory felt him trying to push her away, and she didn’t like it. “You wanted her to have your baby. That’s why you got that injection.”

  He pushed harder, making her head throb with the strain of staying where she was.

  “As I said, it doesn’t matter.”

  Only it did. It mattered a lot to him.

  With one final shove from Cain, Rory landed firmly back within her own mind. Her physical body was shaking and exhausted, as if she’d just run a marathon. Cain was panting with effort, his face red and his body quivering with tension.

  His hands slid down to her shoulders, holding her steady. “Why did you fight me?”

  “Why did you try to shove me out? You were the one who wanted the mind-meld thing to happen. Not me.”

  “It was a mistake to let you see that. I’m sorry.”

  Fatigue bored down on her, but she refused to let him see her weakness. “That whole brain-bending thing is messed up. All this magic stuff. Memory surfing.”

  His green gaze darkened as his pupils expanded. “Being in your thoughts is easy. Peaceful.”

  Oh, crap. She hadn’t considered that it would be reciprocal. “What did you see?”

  “Less than you, I imagine.”

  “No deep, dark secrets?”

  “My desire to have a child isn’t a secret. I simply thought that it might freak you out.”

  “Why? It’s not like it was me you were picturing as your baby mama. So what if you’re pining after some woman? I don’t really care.”

  Only she did. She had no reason to care, but she liked having Cain’s attention to herself. Sure, eventually he’d get in the way and drive her bonkers, but right now, it was nice having him around. Not that she’d ever tell him that.

  He let go of her and took her coat off the back of the chair where she’d left it. Once again, he closed up shop, leaving her wondering what was going on inside his head.

  As the urge hit her, she felt a fluttering presence brush her mind, as if she’d simply reached out and found it. For one fleeting second, she felt a faint hint of something dark and sad, but then it was gone as fast as it came, leaving her wondering if she’d imagined it.

  He draped her coat over her shoulders. “Come on. There’s not much time until sundown. We should go outside and see what you can do.”

  * * *

  Rory was far more intuitive than he’d given her credit for. She’d simply walked right into his thoughts as if she owned the place and dug up his deepest, most private fantasies.

  Cain had wanted Jackie to be his. She’d offered him a union, but things had not gone as either one of them had anticipated. Jackie had ended up with Iain, and the child they were now expecting was Iain’s.

  Jackie had given him a few precious hours of hope—of dreaming of what his life could have been like with a wife and child to cherish—and the loss of that hope had nearly killed him.

  He refused to make the same mistake with Rory. She’d been very clear that their union was to be temporary. He had to accept that and not get sucked into some pretty fairy tale.

  Why not? asked a little, hidden part of himself. Why not enjoy the fantasy while he had the chance? Rory would be leaving him soon, and when she did, his chances of having found another woman to keep him alive were slim. He was going to die in the end. Why not enjoy the ride while he could?

  He’d been given the serum to restore his fertility. All he had to do was seduce Rory and let nature take its course. Whether or not he died, at least there would be a chance that some part of him would live on.

  But could he really use her like that? Was that the kind of man he was?

  Cain wasn’t sure anymore. At one time, he would have been appalled by the idea, but a lot had happened since then. His lifemark had yet to be restored. His soul was still in jeopardy. Sibyl was gone. A cure for the infertility of their men had been found. And now here was Rory, so tempting and sweet.

  Giving in would be easy. Now that they were connected, seducing her would be simple. All he had to do was invade her fantasies and find out what she liked, what turned her on.

  Even the thought of doing so made his cock swell.

  “Are you coming?” she asked. She was at the door, looking over her spiked, chain-clad shoulder at him. Her pink hair stood out in brilliant contrast against the black leather. Below that, her jeans clung in a loving hug around her ass and thighs. She was rounded in all the right places, making his hands clench with the need for just one long, lingering touch.

  Oh, yeah. Seducing her would be no hardship at all. And maybe, just maybe, if he made her feel good enough, she’d think twice about ditching him once her visions were gone.

  His people needed him. Humans needed him. It was his duty to live for as long as he could—to fight as long as he could—and if he had to tie Rory to him to make that happen, then who was to say that it wasn’t the right thing to do?

  Something about that line of thought bothered him, but he pushed it aside,

  “Be out in a minute.” He went into the bathroom to wash the dried flakes of blood from his chest down the drain. As he pulled his shirt back on and settled his jacket on his shoulders, the beginnings of a seduction strategy sprang to life.

  Rory wasn’t going to stand a chance.

  Chapter 11

  Rory didn’t wait for Cain to catch up with her. She’d seen a myriad of images in his mind—things that other women could do. The basic concept was there, too. All she had to do was put it all together and make things happen.

  The luceria around her neck hummed with eagerness. She could practically see the tiny thread of invisible power stretching between her and Cain. Like a shimmering strand of spider silk blown by the wind, it vibrated, drawing her attention. At the end of that thread she sensed a trickle of power. Barely discernible and flickering, she grabbed hold of it, feeling it fill her. It shoved her fatigue away as it passed, fading into the earth.

  Below her feet, dry grass crackled and swayed, bending away from her in a perfect circle.

  A vision of Mrs. Wittle slapped against her, showing her a plate of spaghetti and a gnarled hand winding a strand of pasta around a fork. This sight was stronger than the previous ones, lasting longer and blocking out the sight of all else. Usually it took at least a dozen visions superimposed on one another to blind Rory, but usually they weren’t so clear and solid, either.

  A moment later, the vision shifted until she was blinded by the sight of herself standing out in her back yard, huddled against the cold.

  Cain. That was what he saw, and based on the way she was growing larger, he was getting closer.

  His hand settled on her arm, and her own eyes started calling the shots again.

  “Are you okay? You were just standing there.”

  She waved it off as unimportant, rather than let her growing fear take over. “Just concentrating.”

  “I felt a little tug on my power a second ago. You figured that out fast.”

  “Comes from years of being self-taught. I couldn’t exactly go to regular school with the whole vision thing. Too easy to cheat.”

  “Can you do it again?”

  “Sure.”

  “Offense or defense?”

  She gave him a level stare. “What do you think?”

  He grinned and pointed to a dead clump of weeds at the base of the clothesline post. “Try to set it on fire.”

  “Really? We’re jumping straight to fire?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of it.”

  “Of course not. Don’t be an idiot. I only meant that there’s got to be something before that.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Levitating a leaf or something.”

  “How is that going to kill a demon? You’re the one who was all in favor of going on the offense. Well, here’s your chance to blow shit up, as you put it.”

  He grabbed her hips and turned her to face the
target. He stood at her back, his body right up against hers, all hot and hard.

  Yeah, right. Concentrating now was going to be impossible.

  “Care to give a girl a little space?” she asked.

  “You don’t need space. You need power. And I’m going to give it to you.”

  He reached around her body, wrapping his left hand around her neck. His iridescent ring clicked in place, locking against the matching necklace, and the instant it did, Rory’s whole body came alive.

  She could feel everything. The sway of each individual hair as the wind swept past. The warm brush of Cain’s breath near her ear. The tightening of tiny muscles along her skin as goose bumps hit her hard. The blast furnace of heat sinking into her back, battling the chill in the air.

  Energy pulsed through her body, making it swell and throb. A tingling ripple of power gathered in her belly, coiling tight with silent purpose.

  Cain lifted her hand toward the little clump of weeds. “My power is yours now. Tell it what to do. Make it obey.”

  His words made her feel powerful, filling her with confidence. She could do this. Right now, she felt like she could do anything.

  A bright bolt of sparks shot from her hand, igniting the weeds in a flash of flame and smoke. A giddy sense of elation exploded in her chest, screaming of victory. It shoved her up off the ground in an excited jump only to find that when she landed, her knees no longer worked.

  Cain caught her around the waist and pulled her back against his solid chest. She could feel his heart beating slow and steady, while the frantic little organ in her chest tried to flutter away.

  “You did it,” he said. The low rumble sank into her, easing some of the frenetic nervousness racing through her.

  “I did it.” Her words came out in weary pants, humiliating her.

  “It’s okay,” he told her, as if sensing her anxiety. “It’s supposed to be tiring at first.”

  “I’m not a pitiful weakling.” And to prove it, she forced her legs to take her weight and found another target, this time a few yards farther away.

  “You don’t have to do this.”