he’s a very important part of your future from now on.”
-SEVEN-
Very important part of my future. Ridiculous. I flipped over and glared at Ann’s arm flung halfway across my pillow. Since Mister Mysterious was still sacked out on Ann’s bed she was sleeping with me. Yay me. I hadn’t appreciated having the king sized bed to myself until tonight.
Damn. I rolled again, my mind sticking on the soul in the other room and the danger he posed to my family and me. Could the Skriven come to my house to grab him? Would he? I’d sent Ellison out to spy on the Theleoni but how the hell did I know if he was actually doing what I asked or jaunting off gaily on his own? If he came for Jasper and killed him, then I’d be forced to face him down in the arena. I’d gotten lucky last time and I’d had Arsinua’s help. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to kill another Skriven without her.
Hell.
Maybe I would have to visit the swamp sooner than I thought. The problem with that was time went by slower in Midia. I might spend a day there but lose a couple here on Earth. There was no way I would leave the kids that long, not right now. Christmas break was coming up soon though. Maybe they would like to spend a few days with Alice and Bill and I could pop off to the swamp to fix the barriers and hide Jasper. Ugh. The thought of it made me tired. And scared.
I needed training. I’d survived by sheer gumption and help from the witch riding in my head, with a sprinkling of assistance from Ty and Marantha. I didn’t think I could count on getting lucky this time around. It wouldn’t be easy.
I rolled out of bed and dressed in jeans and an old t-shirt. Then I padded across the hall to the guest room, expecting the guy to still be asleep. He wasn’t. He sat in bed looking right at home as he stared across the room at the muted TV, watching some claymation cartoon about Christmas. The moment I poked my head in, he slid off the bed and knelt on the floor.
“Knock it off.” I slipped in and eased the door shut behind me. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”
“ I am a fast healer. And you are my mistress.”
“ No. No I’m not.” I waved my hands at him and finally grabbed his arm to pull him up. He straightened and I realized he was taller than I thought. “I need to ask you some questions. If you don’t know the answers, fine. But I really don’t want to die anytime soon or watch you die so I’m hoping we can figure some stuff out.”
He nodded. Standing next to him made me antsy and I didn’t want to spend the conversation craning my neck at him so I sunk down on the comfy chair by the door. “Might as well rest. Fast healer or not, you should relax.”
Once he was seated, albeit stiffly, I asked, “Can the Skriven come here and take you? I mean, how does that work, exactly?”
“ They aren’t allowed on Earth or Midia without your approval. They can, however, buy corporeal time from other Originators.”
Great. If Ellison went to Amara, I had a feeling she’d grant him whatever he wanted. Yeah, she’d been nice to me but damn it, I didn’t trust her. “Do the other Originators often do that?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“ How safe are you? Can you tell if he’s coming to grab you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know that either. I know when he’s corporeal. He is right now, in fact, though the feeling is muted. I believe he’s on the other world. Midia.” His grey gaze slid over to me then he eased back onto the bed into a more relaxed position, though he still looked like he might bolt at any second. “When he thinks about me I can feel that as well. It might allow for a bit of a warning were he to turn his thoughts to finding me. He’s enjoying himself though.” His face went distant as if he were listening to a far off whisper.
“How did Ravana hide you from her spawn?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. She did not see fit to explain
-SEVEN-
Very important part of my future. Ridiculous. I flipped over and glared at Ann’s arm flung halfway across my pillow. Since Mister Mysterious was still sacked out on Ann’s bed she was sleeping with me. Yay me. I hadn’t appreciated having the king sized bed to myself until tonight.
Damn. I rolled again, my mind sticking on the soul in the other room and the danger he posed to my family and me. Could the Skriven come to my house to grab him? Would he? I’d sent Ellison out to spy on the Theleoni but how the hell did I know if he was actually doing what I asked or jaunting off gaily on his own? If he came for Jasper and killed him, then I’d be forced to face him down in the arena. I’d gotten lucky last time and I’d had Arsinua’s help. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to kill another Skriven without her.
Hell.
Maybe I would have to visit the swamp sooner than I thought. The problem with that was time went by slower in Midia. I might spend a day there but lose a couple here on Earth. There was no way I would leave the kids that long, not right now. Christmas break was coming up soon though. Maybe they would like to spend a few days with Alice and Bill and I could pop off to the swamp to fix the barriers and hide Jasper. Ugh. The thought of it made me tired. And scared.
I needed training. I’d survived by sheer gumption and help from the witch riding in my head, with a sprinkling of assistance from Ty and Marantha. I didn’t think I could count on getting lucky this time around. It wouldn’t be easy.
I rolled out of bed and dressed in jeans and an old t-shirt. Then I padded across the hall to the guest room, expecting the guy to still be asleep. He wasn’t. He sat in bed looking right at home as he stared across the room at the muted TV, watching some claymation cartoon about Christmas. The moment I poked my head in, he slid off the bed and knelt on the floor.
“Knock it off.” I slipped in and eased the door shut behind me. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”
“ I am a fast healer. And you are my mistress.”
“ No. No I’m not.” I waved my hands at him and finally grabbed his arm to pull him up. He straightened and I realized he was taller than I thought. “I need to ask you some questions. If you don’t know the answers, fine. But I really don’t want to die anytime soon or watch you die so I’m hoping we can figure some stuff out.”
He nodded. Standing next to him made me antsy and I didn’t want to spend the conversation craning my neck at him so I sunk down on the comfy chair by the door. “Might as well rest. Fast healer or not, you should relax.”
Once he was seated, albeit stiffly, I asked, “Can the Skriven come here and take you? I mean, how does that work, exactly?”
“ They aren’t allowed on Earth or Midia without your approval. They can, however, buy corporeal time from other Originators.”
Great. If Ellison went to Amara, I had a feeling she’d grant him whatever he wanted. Yeah, she’d been nice to me but damn it, I didn’t trust her. “Do the other Originators often do that?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“ How safe are you? Can you tell if he’s coming to grab you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know that either. I know when he’s corporeal. He is right now, in fact, though the feeling is muted. I believe he’s on the other world. Midia.” His grey gaze slid over to me then he eased back onto the bed into a more relaxed position, though he still looked like he might bolt at any second. “When he thinks about me I can feel that as well. It might allow for a bit of a warning were he to turn his thoughts to finding me. He’s enjoying himself though.” His face went distant as if he were listening to a far off whisper.
“How did Ravana hide you from her spawn?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. She did not see fit to explain
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