Darkness on Fire Page 8

  His voice dropped. “I’ll need to pick up the rest of my things from the motel where I spent the first night. I’m thinking that town is too small for us to hide in.”

  Then he shot her a quick glance. “Jora had to leave her cabin unexpectedly, so we’ll need to stop by there, too. It won’t be safe for her to go back alone.”

  The sick feeling in her stomach worsened. “You’re thinking I won’t ever be able to go live there again, aren’t you?”

  Once again Penn’s blunt honesty didn’t fail her. “It will all depend on how this plays out. Either way, I’d feel better if you pack up the important stuff and get it out of there until we know for sure.”

  Jora wrapped her hands around her mug of tea, soaking up its warmth. “I really, really hate this whole mess.”

  Larem said, “If you do have to leave your home permanently, at least you’ll be able to take your belongings with you and the memories they hold.” His smile was laced with such sadness.

  What had he left behind that still held the power to haunt him? Again, a question she wouldn’t ask. Instead she listened as the three men chatted among themselves, taking note of any names they mentioned. Devlin Bane had sent more cash in case Penn was running short. Lacey, Barak’s wife, had not only packed food for Barak and Larem to eat on their long bus ride, but also included a box of homemade cookies for Penn.

  “Of course, there will be a delivery charge involved.” Barak’s dark-lashed eyes gleamed as he set the package on the table out of Penn’s reach. “I’m thinking at least half a dozen of the chocolate chip and the snickerdoodles.”

  “That’s each, by the way,” Larem added.

  “No way. I’m betting Lacey gave you your own batch of cookies. It’s not my fault if you pigged out on them on the way here.” Then in a lightning-fast move, Penn snatched the box from Barak.

  He shot Jora a triumphant look as his friends laughed. “Never, ever get between a Paladin and a box of cookies.” He popped open the box and counted his booty. Then he counted again.

  “Okay, Lacey always—always—packs cookies in even dozens. I’m missing one.” He eyed his two friends with great suspicion. “Explanations, gentlemen?”

  Jora watched the two Kalith warriors successfully maintain stoic expressions, but unless she was mistaken, Larem was laughing on the inside. Her father had often had that same twinkle in his eyes when he found something amusing but wanted to hide it.

  She decided to call the handsome Kalith on it. “Penn’s not short just one cookie, is he, gentlemen? I’m thinking the real number is closer to thirteen.”

  All three men stared at her, two looking surprised and the third looking outraged. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

  The two Kalith looked at each other, then Barak dropped a plastic bag of cookies onto the table. Penn shoved it into the box before setting it on the seat next to her. “Jerks. I would’ve shared, but not now.”

  Barak punched his companion on the arm. “I told you to leave an even number.”

  “Yes, but where’s the fun in that?”

  The waitress appeared with a tray full of plates, and the four of them concentrated on eating their meals. When Penn was finished, he stretched his arm out along the back of the bench behind her. Larem didn’t seem to notice, but Barak definitely did. Jora shifted a little farther away, unsure if Penn was merely getting comfortable or quietly staking a claim.

  Jora was relieved when they finally paid the bill and walked outside. She normally spent most of her time alone, and right now she needed a break.

  “Penn, I’ve been shut in for the past twenty-four hours. If you don’t need me, I’m going to take a walk. I won’t be gone long.”

  Before she’d gone five feet, her path was blocked by three male bodies. “What?” she asked.

  Penn crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m thinking that’s not a good idea. I want you to come back inside with us.”

  “I disagree. I’ve already said I won’t be gone long, thirty minutes tops. I have my cell phone. I’ll call you if I’m going to be gone longer.”

  “Have you forgotten those men who are hunting you?”

  “No, but there’s no indication that they’ve followed us this far.” She tried to step around him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, you and your friends have stuff to talk about. Secret Paladin stuff, I’m sure.” She threw some gas on the fire. “So why don’t you run along and do that?”

  The two Kalith immediately backed away. “We’ll go check in and meet you upstairs, Penn.”

  “You do that. It appears I’m going for a walk.”

  Jora was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but the truth was, she wouldn’t mind his company. “Fine.”

  He let her choose the direction, adjusting his stride to match hers. After a few seconds he took her hand, entwining his fingers with hers.

  “Good save on the cookies.” He held out the box. “Want one?”

  As a peace offering, it was a good start. “Two.”

  “Fine, but don’t tell them. They’ll be expecting equal treatment.”

  As she munched on a chocolate chip cookie, she decided to ask some tough questions. “You told me how Barak ended up in this world. I’m guessing Larem’s story is quite different.”

  Penn’s steps slowed. “It is. I’m not sure it’s mine to tell, but you can ask him. All I’ll say is that it wasn’t his choice, but he’s made a new life in Seattle.”

  Jora stared at their joined hands. “This is all a bit overwhelming. My parents lived their whole lives terrified that the Paladins would discover our existence.”

  “What did they think would happen?” Penn asked, but she suspected he already knew the answer to that question.

  She kept her eyes focused straight ahead. “At best, the Paladins would shove us back across the barrier. At worst, my parents knew very well what happened to most of our kind who cross the barrier.”

  A flash of anger crossed Penn’s face. “The crazies who cross the barrier are nothing like you, or like Barak or Larem. I’m guessing you’ve never seen a Kalith out-of-his-head crazy, and I hope to hell you never do.”

  Jora sighed. “It’s a sickness, you know. They can’t help it. My father lost both of his parents to it when he was just a child.” He never got over it, either.

  “We know that, but it doesn’t change a thing. If we don’t stop them at the barrier, they keep right on killing.”

  This was an argument neither of them would win. The real question was if it was a gap neither of them could ever breach. They walked on until her restlessness eased.

  “We should get back. Barak and Larem will be waiting for me to fill them in,” she said.

  As they turned back, Penn cleared his throat. “While we’re on the topic of rooms, where would you prefer I sleep tonight? If you’d rather, I can crash on the floor in their room.”

  Her first instinct was to be hurt by his willingness to leave her on her own, but she immediately realized he was trying not to make any assumptions. “If I let you sleep with me, will you share your cookies?”

  “Only the chocolate chips. The snickerdoodles are all mine.”

  She smiled. “It’s a deal. Now, let’s go check on your buddies.”

  Chapter 10

  They had a lot of ground to cover, plans to devise, and decisions to make. But as Penn sipped his coffee, all he could think about was when he and Jora could go back to the room and turn the lock. He watched as she spread out a topographical map of the park, showing Barak and Larem where the problem was and how she’d discovered it.

  He wasn’t surprised that the two males were impressed by what she had to say; Jora knew her park inside and out. They listened intently as she explained the normal geology of the area, and looked horrified at the potential disaster if they didn’t find the bastards quickly.

  Barak pointed at the map. “You are telling me that this caldera, as you call it, is forty-five miles in length?”

  Jora nodded. “S
ome call it a super volcano. If it ever blew, it would make the damage caused by Mount St. Helens back in 1980 look like a minor inconvenience. Over the past few years there has been a definite uplift in the elevation, which could mean it’s growing more unstable.”

  Larem spoke up. “As your best guess, what do you think these fools are trying to do?”

  She shrugged. “Penn and I saw signs that they’ve been dragging something heavy across the barrier. The only logical explanation is that they’re attempting to siphon off energy from this world into theirs. For certain, someone is deliberately damaging the barrier.”

  Penn set down his coffee and paced the room. “In all my years, I’ve never seen any stretch of the barrier look as bad as this one did and have it stay up. Even the frequency was off, making me feel sick to be near it. Jora described it as going feral.”

  The normally calm Barak slammed his fist down on the table. “What kind of idiot would deliberately do such a stupid thing? If Jora’s right, the barrier would have not only failed, it would have ripped the two worlds apart. There’s no telling how much of either world would survive.”

  That’s what Penn had feared: that this whole mess was more than a few blue gemstones being ripped off from Kalithia. “I’d call Devlin and tell him to send more of the guys over, but I don’t think it would help. Besides, if all hell does break loose, he’ll need to keep his men right where they are. There are stretches of barrier scattered along the entire Ring of Fire around the Pacific. The Paladins are spread thin enough as it is.”

  The three men pondered the possibilities. Finally, Penn had an idea. “Larem, does Hunter still get messages across the barrier to Berk?”

  Jora looked from Penn to Larem and back. “Who are Hunter and Berk?”

  Penn answered. “Hunter’s a Paladin who protects a small stretch of the barrier north of Seattle. He keeps in touch with Berk, who is one of the Kalith warriors we’ve been working with on a common problem.”

  Larem stared at the map. “I’ll call Hunter when we’re done talking. I’m not sure what Berk can do, but they should be warned, sooner rather than later.”

  “Sounds good.” Penn gathered up the papers. “Is there anything else?”

  “I have a couple of questions for Jora.” Larem turned back to her. “I’m sorry, but I’m not familiar with your clan.”

  “Why not?” Penn asked.

  Larem explained, “The letter before our last names designates what part of Kalithia a clan hails from. Jora’s family would have originated some distance from where my family lives.”

  Penn winced at the obvious pain in Larem’s voice. The warrior never complained, making it easy to forget that he’d been ripped out of his world through no choice of his own. If he tried to return home, he’d face possible execution at the hands of those he’d sworn to protect.

  Larem’s face was once again expressionless as he asked Jora, “What are the gifts granted your bloodlines?”

  Jora frowned as she thought about it. “Given enough time, I can heal the barrier. If that was the only problem I would’ve handled the situation by myself, but the repeated attacks on it have destabilized the surrounding rock. Again, I can often reverse the damage, but I can’t do both without draining myself dry.”

  Barak joined in. “Why has no one noticed there’s a problem? You can’t be the only geologist working in the area.”

  “No, I’m not. However, low-level earthquakes are common in the park, and often come in swarms. Only someone with our sensitivity to the barrier and the stresses on the rock would have realized these weren’t natural in origin.”

  Larem nodded as if she’d confirmed his suspicions. “Barak’s talents are similar to yours, but mine are just starting to manifest themselves and lie in a different direction altogether. It may be that I’ll be able to assist you with my energy, but it’s doubtful I can do more than that. I will, however, stand guard while you and Barak work in tandem.”

  Penn listened as the three Kalith continued talking about their various spooky abilities. Despite the dire situation, it was clear that Jora was enthralled with sharing trade secrets with the two males.

  He glanced at his watch and was surprised to see five hours had passed. It was time to take charge. “Let’s grab an early dinner and then turn in. We’ll want to leave before first light, which should get us back to her place before midmorning. Any questions?”

  Jora was already folding the map and stowing it in her pack. “I’m not particularly hungry. Why don’t you three go without me?”

  Rather than being disappointed, Penn was startled to realize he was relieved. He didn’t particularly like having to share Jora with the two Kalith males.

  He had no business thinking that way, but too damn bad. Given his uncertain future, what he and Jora were sharing might not survive beyond the next few days. Hell, he didn’t know if the world would survive that long, but as long as he was breathing, he wanted her all to himself.

  Until she told him otherwise, she was his. Which made him hers as well, he supposed. Odd thought, that. He’d never belonged to anyone who wasn’t a blood relative. But as he poked at the concept, he decided he was all right with it.

  “I’ll bring you back something, if you’d like.”

  At Larem’s words, Penn’s hands knotted into fists. He got right up in the other’s face. “Back off, Larem. I’ll be taking care of any needs Jora might have.”

  Jora’s face turned red, then white as her own temper took over. “Penn Sebastian! How could you? I’m not some bone for the two of you to squabble over.”

  God, he hated having to crawl in front of his brother-in-law—not to mention his smirking companion. It was bad enough that Barak would tell Lacey he was making a total fool of himself over a woman, and a Kalith woman at that. She’d never let him live it down, considering how much grief he’d given her over falling in love with his enemy.

  But Larem would tell Lonzo, which meant it would spread like wildfire among the Seattle Paladins. He might as well rent a billboard and post the news for everyone to read.

  “Sorry, Jora. I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”

  Then he glared at Barak and Larem. “Wait out in the hall. I’ll be right with you.”

  Larem planted himself in a chair, stretching his legs out to show he wasn’t going anywhere. “I’d rather watch you grovel.”

  Luckily, Barak interceded. “Larem, you might want to remember that Paladins have long memories and revenge is their favorite pastime. Let’s go.”

  “You’re no fun,” Larem groused.

  When the door closed behind them, Penn gingerly approached Jora. “I really am sorry. And I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

  She held out her hand to stop him. “Fine—but don’t do it again. I’m already a little uncomfortable with them knowing about our relationship. Shoving it in Larem’s face wasn’t necessary.”

  Relationship. He liked the sound of that, even if he didn’t know quite how to handle it. He wanted to kiss her or at least get a hug, but her body language was a mixed bag of messages. Rather than force the issue, he backed away.

  “Are you sure you’ll be all right alone?”

  “I’m a big girl, Penn. All I’m going to do is run a hot bath and relax.”

  The images that conjured up made leaving even more difficult. She knew it, too, the brat.

  He gave her a hopeful smile. “You know, I could get my dinner to go. That tub is really big.”

  “Go, Penn. I want at least an hour to myself. I need some downtime.”

  He knew when to retreat. “Okay, but one hour’s the max. Anything more would be cruel.”

  Penn stepped out of their room and looked for his friends. Barak and Larem were far enough down the hallway to prevent them from overhearing Penn’s conversation with Jora. Good thing—this wasn’t Paladin headquarters, where fistfights broke out on a regular basis. If Larem pushed him too far, they could both end up cooling off in the local jail.

&nbs
p; “So where shall we eat?” he asked the others.

  “Italian always works for me,” Barak said as they walked out of the hotel. “Or a pancake house, if there’s one close by.”

  Penn headed over to his truck. “We’ll cruise around and see what we can find.”

  Twenty minutes later the three of them were seated in a small restaurant, the air rich with the aroma of marinara sauce and hot, yeasty bread. Penn glanced at his watch, marking off the time before he could safely return to the motel.

  “Do you have an appointment we don’t know about?” Barak broke a breadstick in half and took a healthy bite.

  There was no good answer to that question, so Penn asked one of his own. “So what do you think of this whole situation?”

  Larem leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. “I think Jora is beautiful and smart. She’s also from our world—not yours.”

  “That’s not what I was asking.”

  “Yes, it was, and I answered. She has no male relative here to stand for her best interests. If she were my sister, we’d be having a long discussion about how unsuitable you would be for her future happiness.”

  Penn closed his eyes and prayed for patience. “Whether or not I’m good for Jora is none of your damned business. We’re not having this discussion just because she makes you feel all brotherly, Larem. She’s not your sister.”

  Barak interceded. “That may be true, Penn, but it doesn’t change anything. She’s obviously a nice woman who is in over her head with what’s going on around here. And I’m not just talking about the barrier and the earthquakes.”

  “Stuff it, both of you,” he snapped. “Larem, are you telling me Sasha’s father was thrilled when he found out about you and her?”

  Then Penn pointed a finger at Barak. “As for you, it’s not like you listened to anything I had to say when you decided to get involved with my sister.”

  At the time, Penn wanted to kill him for daring to touch Lacey. It had taken kidnappers and a mountain threatening to kill all three of them for him to accept that Barak loved Lacey more than life itself. Penn had had as much chance of stopping a volcano from erupting as he did preventing his sister and Barak from building a life together.