I inserted the f-bomb here and there in her message in my head and it sounded just like Jack. “He can hear me?”
“Right now, yes.”
“Thanks a fucking lot, Jack.”
She clapped her hands over her mouth, covering a giggle. “He’s laughing.”
I kept an arm around her as we walked, knowing she needed the comfort far more than I did. At least, that was what I told myself.
The sun wouldn’t set for another hour or two, from what I could tell, but to be honest, I was so messed up with all the veil jumping I just knew I needed to sleep. Fatigue didn’t even begin to cover how I was feeling. A roll of nausea swept through me as if to imprint the fact that I hadn’t been taking very good care of myself lately. None of us had.
The house was quiet, and I supposed that made sense. No ogres other than Mer were left to keep Doran and Faris company—if the asshat had the balls to stick around. I Tracked the two vampires, but only picked up Doran. Which meant Faris was across on the mainland most likely. Or maybe even all the way back in the States.
Following Doran’s threads, I led the way through the house to the large library. He was slumped in a chair, his back to us.
“Miss us?” I said as I crossed the threshold.
He spun, his eyes wide, and I knew then he really had been worried if we’d snuck up on him. “Rylee, how the hell did you get here?”
“Little help from Frank, Pamela, and a shit ton of luck.” I tried to give him a smile, but I couldn’t. I was worried about Liam, about Pamela and Berget.
“Where are the others?” He didn’t name them, didn’t have to.
Erik stepped up and filled Doran in on everything that had happened. The coven, the guardians, the castle on fire. With each word, Doran’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m glad you made it out safely, but the danger is far from over. The demon packs are here, Rylee. Three of them, anyway. They are busy tearing up and down the coast, but seem stymied by the water crossing. They are causing some serious problems.” He sighed. “Most notably, a new strain of small pox seems to have erupted. The humans are freaking out, and rightfully so.” Doran offered me his chair and I took him up on it. India climbed into my lap and put her head on my shoulder. I thought about Talia and Milly, about how they’d made the fourth demon pack work for them. That must have been how they’d come to our side of the ocean; Talia must have brought them. No matter what help Talia had been, I had to remember she was not on our side, she would always help Orion first.
“Why wouldn’t she be made to take the rest of the packs to North America?” I mumbled softly to myself.
India gave a yawn. “Jack says it’s because they are waiting for you.”
I wrapped one arm around her and looked to Erik. “That makes sense.”
His eyebrows shot up. “What are you talking about?”
“The packs are here looking for me, for those who Orion wants to control. He might not want to kill me for the moment, but he’ll try and wipe out the rest of my support. And he fucking well knew we were coming here, where else would we go? The small pox breakout though, that is for something else.”
I recalled all too vividly our discussion about the bubonic plague, how the demons used it to weaken the human’s natural immunity to them. Fuck, that’s what was going on. A new plague to open the world to demon possession. The words spilled out of me as the realization hammered home.
There was no argument Erik or Doran were able to come up with. Erik helped me to my feet. “Go get some rest, Rylee. You need it. We all do. When Liam gets here, we’ll make a plan.”
With India sound asleep in my arms, I headed for the door. “We have to draw the packs to us. You think we can do that?”
Erik nodded, his face grim as he clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I know we can. You see, if you haven’t already figured out, demons love chaos. And you, more so than anyone I’ve every met in my life, have a knack for chaos.”
Doran let out a snort and I glared at him. He did nothing but wink and blow me a kiss. “Your uncle is right. You and chaos….” He smacked his hands together as if he were going to clap for me.
Much as I hated to admit it, they had valid points. Frowning, I headed for my old room, the one I’d shared with Liam. Doran agreed to keep an eye out for Liam, the wolves, Pamela and Berget.
I gave India Pam’s room, and Frank and Kyle went off talking still about some sort of electronic thing that was of no interest to me. There was a bathroom attached to the bedroom and I made good use of it, running the shower as hot as I could. The dirt, sweat, blood, and sea salt washed from me and down the drain. I let the water pour over me, wishing it could wash away the feeling I was going to lose someone very close to me. India’s words echoed in my head.