On the Hunt (Sentinel Wars #3.5)(38)
Author: Gena Showalter

Chapter Five

Viviana was weighed down by the loss of her friend, but even through the foggy haze of grief, she could tell Neal was hiding something from her. "It’s magic, isn’t it? Like the disks?"

Neal nodded, his dark eyes glittering with hope.

"What does it do?"

"The luceria is two parts of a whole. We each wear one. It will connect us and allow you to tap into the stores of power inside me. You can use that power to fuel your ability, which will amplify it."

"You think that if I wear that necklace, I’ll be able to sense where the second disk went?"

"I do."

That artifact had caused enough pain and suffering. She needed to find it and put it where no one could ever get hurt again.

She held out her hand. "Give me the necklace."

"That’s not the way it works. You have to take it off me."

Viviana’s hand shook as she reached for the luminescent band. The swirling display of earth tones intensified the closer her hand got. Of all the Sentinel artifacts she’d seen over the years, this one was the most intriguing. It felt . . . alive. She could almost feel some kind of intelligence working within it.

She slid one finger under the band, enjoying the supple warmth and the slippery texture. A flowing plume of bronze spiraled out from her finger and it seemed to heat. It was going to feel so nice against her skin and look so pretty around her neck.

The band broke open and slipped down beneath Neal’s shirt. He pulled it out and took the loose ends in his blunt fingertips. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Viviana nodded. She wanted to know what it felt like to wear something so beautiful and magical, even if it was only for a little while.

Neal reached around her neck and she heard a subtle click as the ends locked shut.

He leaned back, his eyes fixed on the band. His voice was a reverent whisper. "You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment. I don’t want to mess it up or scare you."

"Why would you scare me?"

"I’m going to cut myself a little now and offer you my promise."

Confusion swept over her as she watched him strip off his shirt. "Cut yourself? Why?"

"It’s the only way to finish the process of connecting us." He drew his sword, making it appear.

He sliced a shallow cut over his heart with the edge of the blade. "My life for yours," he said, then gathered a drop of blood on his fingertip and pressed it against the necklace. "You have to give me a promise of your own now to complete the process."

"I don’t understand."

"I know. I’m rushing you. I didn’t want to, but I can’t seem to stop myself," he said. "Just follow your instincts."

A promise? She had no idea what kind of promise he wanted, but she could sense the magic of what they were doing surrounding her. With the snow falling outside, there was a hushed kind of reverence in his actions, the quality of an ancient ceremony. She really didn’t want to ruin that. "I promise to help you find the artifact and put it somewhere safe so that no one else can get hurt."

She saw disappointment flash across Neal’s face a second before the band around her neck shrank until it fit close to her skin. Her vision wavered until the confines of the truck disappeared and she was suddenly somewhere else. Overlooking a valley. It was dark—the kind of dark one found only well outside the light pollution of cities. There was an old log home nestled below. It was a tiny, one-room structure with smoke billowing up from its chimney. There were no security lights, no propane tanks, no vehicles. It appeared to be a scene from sometime long ago, though she couldn’t imagine how that was possible.

A few yards away, a small barn sat huddled against the roaring wind. The prairie grass was brown, the trees bare. She could smellspring on the wind, but it had yet to take hold of the land.

A man on horseback was on the opposite hill side, outlined against the starry night sky. The sword in his hand reflected moonlight as he sat there, still and silent. The horse beneath him quivered, as if sensing danger. She had no idea what he was doing out here in the cold when there was a safe, comfy cabin not far away.

She opened her mouth to shout at him to get inside, but nothing came out. Wherever she was, she had no body. She was simply a presence hovering in the night sky.

The man turned his head and the moonlight fell over his features.

Neal. The man standing in what looked like a scene from the long-dead past was the same man sitting next to her in the truck.

Viviana struggled to make sense of that, but like a dream, there was no logic to be found.

From the hill top to her right, she saw several low shapes slink forward. An eerie howl split the air, making the wind seem quiet in comparison. The horse stomped nervously for a moment before Neal spurred it forward.

The shapes rose up, solidifying into the form of those things that had attacked her earlier tonight. Neal charged them. The first sgath leaped into the air, lunging for Neal’s throat. Instead, it was his blade that hit, and the monster flew past him in two spinning pieces.

Two more of the sgath attacked, and Neal cut down each one with the same competent efficiency. Never once did he do anything showy. Every movement was smooth and easy, with no wasted effort. The lethality of his grace stunned Viviana even after she’d seen it before.

Neal wiped his blade clean on the dead grass, remounted his horse, and rode away.

Below in the valley, the door to the cabin opened. An old, bent woman stood there for a moment, staring in confusion into the darkness. She never saw Neal or the threat he’d eliminated.

Viviana’s vision wavered again, as another battle was shown to her. Then another, and another.

In each one, she saw signs of different eras, different times and places—none of which Neal was old enough to have lived in, and yet there he was. He fought off dark, terrifying monsters for people who didn’t even realize he existed. He never once asked for thanks or praise for his deeds; he simply left when the job was done.

When the interior of the truck finally came back into focus, Viviana was exhausted. She felt like she’d been gone for years and was just now coming back home.

Neal was staring at her with the oddest look on his face. It was part sympathy and part pride, and she wondered if he was upset by what she’d seen.

"What was that?" she asked.

"The luceria shows us pieces of each other—things it thinks we need to know to help us grow closer and speed up the bonding process."

"What bonding process? You never said anything about that."

"It’s how we connect. It’s how you reach my power. The luceria makes that connection possible, but the amount of power that can flow between us is directly related to how much we trust each other."