Winter Halo (Outcast 2)

me.

Bear, connect, I said silently. I need to see.

His energy instantly whipped through me, connecting us on a level far deeper than mere speech, because when he pulled free, the connection lingered, allowing me to see and hear through his eyes and ears. It was a connection that wasn’t without some danger, because if we held it too long, it could drain us both.

But I needed to see who was behind all this for myself.

The door behind us opened and a tall, thin-faced man with shadowed skin, dark hair, and magnetic blue eyes stepped through. Both Bear and Cat stirred uneasily. This was the man Sal had met, and one they didn’t like the feel of. I couldn’t say I blamed them. Even in my disconnected state, there was something very cold—and very alien—about him.

There was a slight shimmer around his body, which was the only indication that there was a light shield in play. Which meant neither the cameras nor my spiky-haired companion would see him. They’d only see me, collapsed against the wall.

Even so, why didn’t my fellow guard come running to help? Or at least raise the alarm? She had to at least see I was in trouble.

Bear drifted backward as the stranger approached, not only wanting to keep his distance, but also not willing to risk the stranger sensing him. We knew one of Sal’s partners was an earth witch, so it was more than possible that the merging of their DNA could have passed on the ability to sense the dead. Just because Sal apparently hadn’t been able to didn’t mean this man wouldn’t.

He pulled a small medikit out of his pocket and undid the zip as he knelt beside me. He chose a syringe, then grabbed my arm and quickly—but professionally—found a vein and filled several blood collection tubes. He briefly put pressure on the site and then sprayed the area with something that stung like blazes. Within seconds there was little evidence of needle entry on my arm.

He carefully placed the blood samples in another kit, then took a small knife out of the first. After spraying it with sterilizer, he pushed my head to one side to reveal my neck. With little flourish, he made two small cuts near my throat. As blood began to ooze down my neck, he replaced the knife, zipped up both kits, and walked away. It was all very quick and efficient, which I guess was to be expected, given he’d been doing this for at least a couple of years now.

Bear, break the contact. I need you and Cat to follow him. I hesitated as Bear’s energy whipped back through me and broke our connection. The dizzy confusion hit full force again and it was all I could do to add, But be careful. Don’t take any risks.

They raced off after the stranger. As much as I wanted to do nothing more than drop into the healing state and chase the drug from my system, I couldn’t. Not just because I had to react as Sharran would react, but because I could barely concentrate. All I could do was wait for whatever I’d been injected with to wear off. It took another five minutes for my limbs to start obeying my orders, and even then I still felt very shaky. I leaned back against the wall and slid the rest of the way to the floor. My head was still pounding and the brightness of the lights was making my eyes water, but my heart had stopped racing and my mind was at least a little clearer. I closed my eyes and concentrated on healing myself.

It didn’t take all that long to erase whatever the hell it was they’d used on me, but I didn’t immediately get up. The cameras were still on me and my companion might be watching, so when I did finally rise, I made a show of rising shakily and then stumbling back to the security office.

And discovered my companion was out of it.

I stepped closer, swept her hair away from the back of her neck, and saw a small needle mark. Which was odd, given they’d gone to the trouble of hiding any needle evidence from my arm. But this was obviously why there were no collaborating reports; they just knocked both guards out. It did, however, still leave the question of why any of the secondary guards didn’t at least report the loss of consciousness.

I moved across to my station and hit the rewind button on the foyer screen. Just as Kendra said, the playback showed little more than me entering the foyer, checking the surrounds, and then moving on. Maybe this was why the attack hadn’t happened earlier in the night; maybe they needed to record the material that would later be spliced into the live recording.

The other guard began showing signs of recovery. I moved back to the door, being careful to keep out of the line of sight of the cams in the hall.

“What on earth . . . ?” she muttered.

“Did you see it?” I said, forcing fear into my voice as I stepped forward and gripped her arm tightly. “It happened again. The bastard attacked me!”

She shook my grip from her arm and scooted her chair away from me. “I didn’t see a damn thing. And why are you even here? Go downstairs and report it, and get a grip, for God’s sake.”

“You didn’t see it?” I all but wailed. I had no idea if I was overdoing it, but Sharran did seem the type to wail.

“I didn’t see it last night, and nothing has changed tonight.” She glanced at the time. “Go report it. I’ll finish up here.”

“But it happened in the lobby and it might come back!”

She growled low in her throat, then thrust upright. “I’ll fucking escort you. But I better not get into trouble for leaving my station, or there’ll be hell to pay.”

She pushed past roughly and I scampered after her. Of course, nothing else happened. When the elevator arrived, I thanked her profusely and stepped inside. Once the doors had shut, I closed my eyes and released a breath. Playing someone close to neurotic wasn’t exactly easy.

“Floor,” the metallic voice said.

“Um, three.”

Once I was there, I stumbled across to the main security office to report what had happened. Interestingly, few of those who remained in the glass maze even bothered looking at me. These attacks had obviously become so regular they were no longer of any interest.

A stern-faced woman in her mid-fifties looked up as I pushed the door open, and her expression switched to one of frustration. She slammed her palms against the desk and pushed upright. “I wish the bastards upstairs would actually do something about these damn attacks. This is getting ridiculous.” She walked over and placed a comforting arm around my shoulders. “You okay, love?”

I nodded. “Just shaken.”