Page 87 of Sidhe
“He could not have truly harmed you, Nathan,” Walter said, “not with you like this.”
“Right,” Nathan huffed, not feeling particularly safe from Malak or untouchable considering he could still feel the remnants of Malak’s lips on his. He tilted his head to look at Walter.
“You are still my charge, Nathan, whether human or otherwise.” Walter stared at his folded hands hanging between his knees. “Even an incubus has a Spirit Guide.”
Nathan stared. “But…I thought—”
“What everyone thinks, but you never actually asked.”
So that’s why Walter had never corrected Iain about having a Spirit Guide. And by now Iain must have met him, or her, whoever it was. That had probably been a real thrill for the guy, and the thought quirked a corner of Nathan’s mouth up. He had the sudden urge to tell Jim—no, Sasha first; he’d always wanted to know whether or not he had a Spirit Guide.
“Nathan, it is not anything at fault in an incubus’ existence that makes you unworthy of your destiny.”
Nathan sighed. “Don’t suppose you’d care to elaborate on why I have to be human, huh? All everyone keeps telling me is that I’m the one who’s supposed to save the day. No one says why, no one sayshow.”
“That is something, Nathan, you must—”
“Figure out on my own. I figured.” Nathan sighed again. “Look, I’m not gonna try and justify this to you, Walt. I know I’m risking a lot. I’m sorry I was a jackass about it before, okay, but I’m gonna ask you the same thing I asked Jim. Let me have a chance.”
“Nathan…” Walter shook his head. Nathan really wished those brown eyes would look up at him and actuallylook at himso he didn’t feel like such a dick right now. But he realized he didn’t only see sorrow on Walter’s face. He was pleased he couldn’t see pity, but there was something else in Walter’s expression.
“He scares you a little too, huh?” Nathan bucked Walter in the shoulder, remembering as he did so that he was sitting in just his boxers while Walter was fully clothed. He tried not to think about it.
Glancing away at first, Walter finally looked up at Nathan, his head cocked slightly to the side as he tried to smile, very faintly. It was admittance, Nathan realized.
He bucked Walter in the shoulder again, wheedling out at least a little more of that smile. “You were pretty badass that time you stood up to him, all wrath of God and everything. I kinda figured you’d be thrilled I won’t get the chance to…mess this up now.”
The smile that had been growing on Walter’s face immediately fell. He looked so young right then in the dark, on the steps, despite the age and experience in his eyes. “Nathan,” he said, leaning closer, “it is not that I do not believe you can accomplish the impossible. You have many times in the past done just that. But this is not your destiny. Not like this, not yet.” He tore his eyes away with difficulty. “Time is short, and you are missing one very fundamental lesson.”
“And what lesson is that, Walt?” Nathan asked.
“That, Nathan…is something else you will have to understand for yourself.”
Chapter 31
Newarrivalsstartedpouringin far faster than Nathan expected. And not all of them were people they had called; some were regular seals passing through that got roped into staying when Alex started explaining the details of the battle ahead. It was amazing to Nathan how seals could so easily accept that the apocalypse was upon them, but he figured it went with the territory.
The rest of the Sex Squad was on their way, meaning Cam, Charis,andLindsey—though Nathan would believe the twins about that when he saw it. Shiarra was anxious to reach them as well but had to finish making sure Adrian was secure and safe before she headed their way.
It was the sudden arrival of Ula that made Nathan a little wary of seal/non-human interactions going south. It had unanimously been decided that until they had to spill the news that not every recruit was human, they weren’t going to. Ulablended in fine at first glance, but some of her friends were, well…obvious.
“Jim…” Nathan hissed a whisper at his brother when he spotted Ula and her companions coming through the door. “What am I looking at, coz…I don’t know if it’s just the incubus thing or not right now, but…none of those people are human, are they?”
Jim was close to Nathan, sitting at a table where they had started to inventory all of their supplies. Jim glanced at Nathan and then over at the door. His eyes widened. “Uhh…well,” he cleared his throat, “the guy—”
“You mean the one who kinda looks like a Greek Keanu Reeves?” Nathan ventured.
Jim choked on a chuckle. “He’s another shapeshifter.”
“We said bring your friends.” Nathan shrugged, rising from his seat to wave Ula over, who looked very out of place and like she didn’t know where to step in case a landmine was placed beside every one of the seals she saw. Then she spotted Nathan and very gratefully made her way over to his and Jim’s table with her friends following.
“Nathan, Jim.” She smiled, her face only going mildly red as she came to stand in front of them.
Nathan made the bold gesture of hugging her before she could start fidgeting. She had really helped them out in Maine after all, and Nathan had way gotten over her being dark fae. He trusted Jim and Sasha’s opinion, and hey, now Ula was here with reinforcements. Jim had risen as well to hug Ula, blushing a bit actually which Nathan attributed to the mantra of ‘this girl saw me acting like a five-year-old andbabysat’that was probably running through his head.
“Wow,” she said, laughing a little, “it’s so good to see you both. I was really happy when Sasha called and filled me in. Of course I wanted to help right away. You look good as an incubus,Nathan,” she leaned in and whispered, her face going a little redder.
“Yeah, well, suits my personality, or so they tell me,” he smiled back at her. “Who are your friends?” He was having a hard time not staring at the two girls with her. The Keanu Reeves guy looked normal enough, being a shapeshifter, but the others were interesting.
