Page 45 of Into Darkness (Night Prowler 6)
Morgan’s laugh followed him. “Now you know how my husband feels!”
Magnus felt a deep wave of sympathy for Xander, which was quickly overtaken by a pressing need to get horizontal; Lumina’s hangover had given him a respite for a few minutes while he talked with Morgan, but judging by the pounding in his temples, and the strange noises emitting from his stomach, his time was up.
He strode through the shifting shadows toward his cave, his mind a tangle, his stomach in knots, his head feeling as if it weighed a thousand pounds, completely unaware of the blinking red glow that had begun to emanate from Beckett’s darkened lab on the other side of the colony.
FOURTEEN
The bath was sublime. Cold
, but sublime.
Morgan had taken Lu to a breathtakingly lovely pool, fed by a fast-running stream that dropped into a waterfall. The water was so clear she could see the silver glint of minnows swimming near the rocky bottom, and after Morgan left her so she could have some privacy, Lu floated on her back, staring up at the constellation of stalactites on the shadowy ceiling high above, pondering all that had happened in the last few days.
Then, alone in the cool, echoing dark, she finally allowed herself to cry.
She had to eventually get out of the water to do it because the sobs were too strong, wracking her body until she could hardly breathe. She sat on a rock, wrapped in one of the soft towels Morgan had given her, with her arms wrapped around her knees, wretched and homesick and soul-bruised, letting it all go.
“I’m sorry, Father.” Her whisper carried over the water, bouncing softly off the cave walls until it died under the rush of the waterfall. “I’m so sorry. I love you.”
Though Magnus had said her birth mother was alive, and her birth father might possibly be as well, her heart was broken. The man who’d raised her had died because he’d taken her in, protected her, and sacrificed for her. He’d been killed because of her.
I’ll never let that happen again. Even if it meant never getting close to another living soul, she wasn’t going to be the cause of anyone else’s death. From now on, she would take care of herself.
She might, however, do a little killing of her own. The memory of the Grand Minister’s cruel, sneering face flashed before her eyes, and her hands clenched.
The can’t-die thing might prove to be useful.
The thought of what else it might prove to be was too much for her to consider. And she took a little solace in the fact that at least there was one other person she knew who was afflicted with the same thing: Honor.
Frigid, sword-wielding, Bitch of the Universe Honor.
She dressed in the clothes Morgan had left for her and headed out, determined to have a cozy little one-on-one chat with her sister. But she was quickly intercepted by Beckett and a group of a half dozen other young people, trailing behind him like admiring puppies.
Even the three guys looked at Beckett as if he were some kind of luminary. It could have had something to do with the soft yellow light emanating from his head.
“Hi!” Beckett enthused, flashing his thousand-watt smile. “We were just headed out; you’re coming, right?”
Before she could answer, Beckett said, “Oh, sorry! My bad manners again.” He began introducing the group, pointing each one out in turn, the guys first. “Sean, Dash, Oz, Kali, North, and Sayer.”
If Lumina’s own name hadn’t been so strange, she might have felt the impulse to question each about the origins of his or her name, but she only nodded at them, receiving a mix of hesitant smiles and looks of outright intimidation in return.
She guessed they’d all heard about what happened last night with Honor.
Wonderful.
Sidestepping the awkward silence that had descended, Lu asked, “Um, Beckett? What’s up with . . . that?” She gestured to his head.
“My Gleam, you mean?” As he spoke, the sunbeam glimmer around his head spread to his entire body, until the air all around him was aglow. She had to admit it was a pretty spectacular Gift. And she wasn’t the only one who thought so; two of the girls actually sighed. “Yeah, it comes in handy around these dark caves.” He shrugged, but Lu could tell he was pleased she’d mentioned it.
In light of her recent vow not to get close to anyone, she made a mental note not to mention it again. She didn’t want Beckett getting the wrong idea.
She said, “I bet. Anyway, have you seen Honor? I need to talk to her.”
He blinked in surprise at the change of subject, and Lu wondered how often someone turned the conversation away from him. Never, judging by the way everyone else was blinking in surprise at her, too.
“Uh . . . yeah. She’s already topside.” He seemed disoriented for a beat, then straightened his shoulders. “I’ll take you to her, okay?”
His self-confident, charming smile was back, and though she guessed it was the exact same smile he sent in every girl’s direction, Lu had to admit it was pretty irresistible. She smiled back. “Great. Thanks.”
