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Aleka shrugged and tucked the slip of paper into her small crossbody purse. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
“Thanks.” He gave Sabre a friendly fist bump and then found Kynan coming out of the surf with his board.
“Water’s great,” Ky said as he shook out his hair, flinging cool droplets everywhere. “You getting in?”
“Nah. I didn’t bring my suit.” Logan picked up a mollusk shell and tossed it into the waves, which was as close as he was getting to the ocean today. “Can we talk?”
Kynan snapped into pro-mode, propped his board in the sand, and listened to what Logan had to say.
He was not happy to hear that Draven had devolved so much. He was even less happy to hear about the dangerous complication of adding Lilith to the mix. And he definitely didn’t want to keep the new information from the Horsemen.
“If anyone can help us find Lilith and Draven, it’s them,” he argued. “And they’re among the few people in existence who can defeat her. I know you’re worried about Draven. We all are. But the Horsemen need to know what they’re up against in their hunt for Lilith.”
Dammit, Kynan was right. So, while he took off to consult with the Horsemen, Logan headed back to Eva.
He kicked through the hot sand and considered summoning Cujo to play with Aunt Cara’s hellhound, Hal, who was frolicking in the waves, probably trying to catch a shark. Logan could properly introduce Eva to the mutt. He felt bad that he hadn’t been there when she’d run into him. It must have been terrifying. Having grown up in a household from the time he was only a couple of weeks old, Cujo was friendlier than most hellhounds, but he was still an unpredictable asshole sometimes.
If that introduction went well, he’d let her meet his parents.
He almost stumbled in the sand at the thought. He’d never introduced his parents to a female. And now he was thinking of throwing a human Aegi at them? His father would be happy to see every one of them exterminated, and his mother had disavowed the organization before he was even born.
Still, his parents were pretty cool. Usually. Meeting Eva shouldn’t betooawkward.
Hopefully.
“Hey, Eva,” he called out. The females were all gathered around his sister, and at first, he thought they were looking at her sketches. Then Scotty’s barely audible curse carried, and he realized something was wrong.
Amber.
His sister had turned the milky gray color of a carnage maggot, her gaze lost somewhere beyond the human realm as she swayed in her seat.
He sprinted to her, the other females parting to make room for him. “Amber? Hey, sis. Are you okay?”
Her tortured moan wrecked him. He’d been her self-appointed protector from the day she was born, and it killed him to see what the visions put her body through. Some were rougher than others, but even the mildest episode often left her with a migraine and nausea.
He’d cleaned up a lot of puke and blood over the years.
He sank down next to her and took her hand. “It’s okay. I’m right here. Everyone is here for you.”
“I saw the sky bleed,” she whispered.
Everyone automatically looked up. “Nothing but blue sky, hon,” Dawn said.
He brushed Amber’s hair back from her eyes. “Her visions don’t usually manifest for weeks. Sometimes, months.”
But he’d learned that the intensity of the postictal phase, as Eidolon called the immediate aftermath of a vision, was an indicator of the timing. The sooner her vision was to become reality, the worse the toll it took on her body.
Eva sat down on Amber’s other side and dabbed at her upper lip with a napkin. “Her nose is bleeding.”
“At least it’s not her ears.” Or eyes.
“She said something about Heaven.” Dawn reached blindly for her drink. “Oh, shit. Her ears.” She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Hereyes.”
As if his words and thoughts had triggered it, blood began trickling down her cheeks. Suddenly, she went taut, her jaw clenched.
“Seizure. Get Eidolon!”
Raika took off, shouting for the doctor as Eva helped him ease Amber to the ground. But she screamed and wrenched away before he could position her the way Shade had shown them. He heard the distinct crack of bone and the tear of flesh as a gash sliced through her biceps. Another in her thigh. And again, in her calf.
