“She really absorbed a book,” she confirmed. “When she did that, she became one of the most powerful beings this world — and frankly, all the others — have ever seen.”
“I don’t understand what that has to do with you.”
“She’s dangerous to you.”
“No she’s not.” On that I was firm. “She’s my friend.”
“The child is dangerous. She’s even more than the mother. She is a being of multiple worlds, with the attention of a god walking in her shadow, and she has more power to wield than could ever be considered healthy.”
“I think all she cares about right now is destroying a few shifters, and maybe a few evil vampires. Oh, and getting her father to let her date.”
She made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. “You’re not seeing the bigger picture here. Beings that powerful were never meant to exist.”
“Perhaps people say that about me. I’m a Child of the Stars, right? What does that mean? In comparison to mages, where do I stack up? Does it even matter in the grand scheme of things?”
Frustration, lightning quick, sparked in her eyes. “It all matters. Why can’t you see that?”
“Because I was left out in the cold and you like to play games.” I was officially at the end of my rope. “Unless you’re willing to tell me why you’re here, there’s nothing I can do for you. This conversation should be over.”
“I’m not done.”
“Well I am.” I moved to go ... somewhere. I figured heading into the woods would serve as a wakeup call of sorts. Before I could cross the barrier, she was on me. “Hey!”
I fought back against her, trying to slap her hands away. It was too late. She’d managed to grab both sides of my head, and that’s when she started showing me a series of bloody visions that brought me to my knees.
“You never could do anything the easy way,” she hissed, anger pouring out of her and into me. “Remember you asked for this. Maybe next time you’ll be less of a pain to deal with.”
It no longer mattered what she said. All I could see were images, hundreds of them flashing by, each one bloodier than the next.
My world was definitely changing. It was no longer a given that things would turn out okay.
Evil was coming, and I was at the epicenter of it. If what this woman showed me was true, things were about to take a horrible, horrible turn.
Nineteen
I woke up shivering.
“You’re okay,” Gunner murmured into my hair, tugging me tighter against his chest. He made a hissing sound when he registered the temperature of my skin and immediately shifted to stare at my face, the early morning light offering him dim illumination. “Are you sick? You’re so cold.” He pulled the blanket around me. “Are you crying?”
It was only then that I realized the wetness on my face was tears, not sweat.
He put his hands to the back of my head and tilted up my chin. “Baby, what’s wrong? What’s happening?” He looked frightened.
“Nothing.” I forced a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. “I’m totally fine.”
He didn’t look convinced. “Scout ...”
“I’m fine.” I pulled away because I hated feeling vulnerable but he kept a firm grip on me. I quickly gave up fighting. “I just had a weird dream.”
“Tell me.”
I did. There didn’t seem to be a reason to hide what happened. When I was finished, he was thoughtful.
“That’s ... interesting.” His fingers were gentle as they brushed through my hair and I could practically hear the gears in his mind working. “Do you think she’s really alive somewhere?”
That was a good question. “I don’t know. I’ve thought about it, and it could go either way. It’s possible she’s dead and her spirit is somehow communicating with me. It’s also possible she’s simply on another plane and it’s easier to break through when I’m asleep and my defenses are down.”
“She’s obviously related to you.”
I bristled. “We don’t have proof of that.”
“Come on, it makes the most sense. She obviously has a vested interest in your future.”
“Unless that vested interest is simply that she wants to use me to wage a war on some other faction.”
“Is that what you think?”
I shrugged. “It makes the most sense, doesn’t it? Why else would she show me a series of bloody images and warn they could come true if I don’t learn to trust her?”
“I don’t know that I believe that. I want to know what you think.”
“I think ... I don’t want to deal with this right now.” That was the most honest thing I could say. “We need to focus on Rafael, getting him back. The longer he’s missing, the more likely it is that Zoe will do something crazy to get him back.”
Gunner held my gaze a moment longer, as if he was going to push the issues, and then he sighed. He was obviously picking his battles. “I’m more worried about Sami. She’s at an age where she can’t control her impulses. What happens if she flies off half-cocked? She could burn this entire town down with just a simple thought.”
I’d considered that, too. Since he’d brought up the subject, I figured it was a safe tangent for us to focus on. “What do you think it was like raising her?”
He lifted an eyebrow and leaned back, tugging me so I was cuddled in close at his side. “I think her parents did the very best they could to be normal, but they were likely tense a lot of the time.”
“I think they learned to hide stuff like that from her.”
“Maybe, but they’re still human, at least on a basic level. They wouldn’t be able to hide everything from her. She’s an intuitive kid, even if her emotions often take over.”
“That’s because of her age. She can’t help herself. She’ll grow out of that.”
“Really?”
