“We’re supposed to help her, right?” I asked, looking at Owen. I knew little about the Amadis, but Rina once said the Daemoni tried to destroy human souls and our job was to protect them, to save them. Owen nodded. “How?”
His body noticeably relaxed. “I hoped you could—”
“Are you crazy?” Tristan growled. “She can’t do anything! She’s not ready!”
My eyes went wide and I shook my head. “Owen, I don’t…I can’t….”
I didn’t know what he expected me to do. I had no idea how to convert souls. I knew Mom used her power of persuasion and I also knew the physical actions she used to lead people to do as she said. But I didn’t know how she actually persuaded them. I didn’t have that power. At least, I didn’t think I did.
“She just needs Amadis power right now, to keep her subdued,” Owen said. “I’ll call for Amadis help when we leave for Atlanta in the morning. For now, just share your power.”
I stared at him with disbelief. The girl’s eyes jumped back and forth between us, her expression mixed with hope and fear. I felt bad for her and wanted to help her. But what Owen asked…I didn’t know if I could do it.
“She’s not strong enough,” Tristan said and I looked at him.
“You said you could feel it,” I reminded him.
He shook his head. “Not enough to do what this…this thing needs.”
“Please,” the girl said. “Just try. Anything.”
I looked at Owen and he nodded. Then I looked at Tristan. The fire in his eyes had died down to just sparks. He was coming around.
“She’s not a thing. She might not be exactly human, but—”
“She’s evil!” Tristan said.
“Which is why I have to try,” I said to him and then I looked at the girl. “What’s your name?”
“Sh-sh-sheree.”
“I make no promises, Sheree,” I said. “I have no idea what I’m doing. And if you try anything, these two will stop you in an instant. Understand?”
Her head twitched again, but she still couldn’t move it. I wasn’t willing to take the chance of asking Tristan to lift his power. He might be right. This could truly be a trick. I just took the twitch as a nod of understanding. I raised my right arm and turned my palm toward her, pushing that warm energy out of it.
“AAAAHHHH!!!” She screamed. Her body convulsed as if in agonizing pain, even against Tristan’s power. I jumped back, jerking my hand to my chest.
“No! Don’t…stop!” She begged through panted breaths. “It hurts…but…it’s working. I can feel it.”
I tried again, but even I could tell the energy came weakly. I barely felt the pull through my arm and out my palm. Sheree trembled, her face twisted in pain, but the quivering quickly slowed. Tears fell down her cheeks. I strained, pushing harder, but nothing more came. I, too, began to shake, all of my muscles feeling like jelly.
“That’s all I have,” I said weakly. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s all you can project,” Owen said. “It’s harder from a distance. Maybe if you touched her, held her hand, like Rina does….”
“No!” Tristan roared. His free hand twitched and I soared into the circle of his arm. He held me tightly against him. “You’re not going anywhere near her! She could kill you, Alexis. Hell, for all we know, you could kill her.”
“I don’t care,” Sheree said, her voice rough and pleading. “They’re going to kill me anyway, after this. I’d rather die trying than die…evil…damned to Hell.”
Her words struck me like a mallet hitting a gong, reverberating throughout my body and into my soul. If she died right now, would she be damned to Hell? I didn’t know the answer, but that wasn’t a risk we could take. We had to help her. Her soul lay on the line.
“You can handle her easily if anything happens,” I said to Tristan.
“You have no idea what the process is like,” he said through clenched teeth. “It’s draining. It sucks your energy dry. Both of yours. And you’re already unstable as it is.”
“But between the three of us, we can at least help her fight it,” I said. “You can help me.”
Tristan looked at Owen. “Why don’t you just call for someone right now? Someone who can handle this better?”
“The Amadis are all fighting. There are attacks everywhere, remember? The closest ones are finishing the battle I just left to make sure you two were okay.”
Tristan swore under his breath. He looked down at me and I raised my eyebrows in a silent plea. He gave in with a groan.
“Let’s get out of the damn trees, at least. Owen, take the Were to the balcony. And Owen…” Tristan paused until he knew he had Owen’s full attention. “I swear, if anything happens to Alexis, you will live a long life full of painful regret. I personally guarantee it.”
Owen inclined his head in acknowledgement, then helped Sheree to her feet. Her knees knocked together and I was surprised she could hold herself up. She looked so weak. She pulled the shirt tightly together in the front, but she was so tall, Owen’s button-down shirt barely reached far enough to cover the important lower parts.
Tristan strode off toward the house, his hand wrapped around mine, tugging me along with him. He slammed the door as soon as we were inside.
“I can’t believe this,” he growled. “This is insane.”
“It’s not for long. We’ll get help,” I said. “Right?”
“I just don’t get it. This is not like Owen. He wouldn’t jeopardize your life like this. What is he thinking?”
I gently pushed on Tristan’s chest, backing him against the kitchen counter. He slumped down and pulled me into his arms. I placed my hands on each side of his face.
“He’s thinking like an Amadis,” I said.
“No. He’s thinking with his dick.”
“Tristan!”
“There’s no other way to explain it.” He put his own hands on the sides of my face and pulled it up toward his. His lips pressed down on mine, but he broke off too soon. “I think we’re too much for him.”
“I wasn’t done kissing you.” I’d felt something besides normal desire when he kissed me, so I crushed my lips on his. The longer we kissed, the stronger I felt. His love boosted my Amadis power. I finally pulled back, though, before I passed out from lack of oxygen. I forced myself to remember how to breathe. “That’s how we’re going to do this. She needs to feel love again.”
“Then let Owen give it to her. We’re busy.” His lips left an electric trail down my chin, around my jaw and down my neck. His hands slid over my back, one traveling lower, squeezing my cheek. My hands glided along his head to the ponytail and pulled him back.
“I don’t think it works like that,” I murmured over the pounding of my heart. “She needs love. Not lust.”
“Mmm…it makes me feel better.” A small smile tugged at his delicious lips and, to be honest, I wanted to let him take me right there on the kitchen counter. Apparently, he wanted the same thing because his thought of lifting me up and yanking off my panties floated in my mind. But Owen paced the balcony outside, making impatient sounds with each turn. Tristan sighed and gave a sideways glance out the sliding glass doors. “At least he put some clothes on her.”
I peeked out the window. Sheree sat on the balcony floor, her knees pulled to her chest in a ball. Seeing her human form in a different setting made it even harder to believe she shifted into a killer cat. She still wore Owen’s shirt, the sleeves rolled up to just above her wrists, and she now wore a pair of red-and-blue-plaid boxer shorts, as well. I couldn’t have provided any better. Not only were nearly all of my clothes dirty, but she was tall and thin. I was short and, at least when I came here, fat. My own shorts only fit me by rolling the waist several times or with a pin. They would fall right down to her ankles.
“Is that what started this? Her being naked?” I asked.
He chuckled. “No, my love. Seeing your naked body through that little dress is what started this.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Is that another power you haven’t told me about? X-ray vision?”
“No. I don’t need x-ray vision to know what you look like under there.” He tapped his temple with his forefinger. “I have the memory firmly locked in right here. A very nice memory.”
“A very distracting memory.”
