Winter Halo (Outcast 2)

Order the vampires . . . Three simple words that were going to provide a whole world of pain to Jonas. Whatever had been done to her, whatever changes had been made to her DNA, those words made it obvious she was now connected to either the vampires or those who controlled them. Maybe even both.

But if she was connected to Sal’s partners, why hadn’t they ordered her to finish me off?

Was it simply a matter of them needing Penny more than they wanted me dead?

“Where is she?”

She runs, Bear said. Do you want me to follow her?

I hesitated. Given that Penny was in thrall to either the vamps or Sal’s partners, it could become very dangerous if they became aware of his presence. Which they very well might, thanks to the fact that Penny, as a seeker, could see ghosts. But I couldn’t just let her disappear, either.

“Yes,” I croaked. “But keep your distance, Bear. If you think she might have spotted you, run.”

Will do. As he raced off, Cat said, What can I do?

“Warn me if the vampires come into the room. I need to heal.”

Her energy left me. I didn’t move for several minutes and certainly couldn’t concentrate. My head ached, my body ached, my damn hand was throbbing, and my stomach just wanted up and out. But after what seemed like ages, I somehow dragged myself closer to the wall and pushed up into a sitting position.

It was an effort that left me panting and dizzy. But I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax, to ignore the pain and the hurt, and concentrate on breathing. Eventually, I was able to slip into the healing state, but it felt like a tenuous thing—something I could lose at any moment.

Nuri comes. Cat hesitated. Jonas is with her.

Not what I needed right now, especially when the healing had barely begun and my strength levels were still dangerously low. But I forced myself back to consciousness and tried to open my eyes. I couldn’t, so I raised my good hand and discovered there was something crusting them together. Blood, no doubt. I gently rubbed it away, then opened my eyes and glanced down at my damaged hand. Ugly pink scars ran the length of both my thumb and index finger, and only half an inch of skin had stopped the two cuts from joining in the middle of my palm. I’d come so close to losing a portion of my hand altogether . . . I flexed my fingers and moved my thumb, relaxing a little when both responded. I’d been lucky. Again.

Nuri swept into the room, all anger and fury. The force of her energy was so great it felt like I was being hit by lightning, and a gasp escaped. She reined it in the moment she saw me. “What the fuck happened? Where’s Penny?”

I didn’t immediately answer, instead waiting until Jonas stepped int

o the room. There was a long cut above his eye and another down the length of his calf, but neither was currently bleeding. His gaze met mine; there was no emotion in his face and nothing but ice in his eyes.

“Answer the question, Tiger.” His voice was flat, tight.

“She’s gone—”

“Obviously,” he snapped, “but where?”

“At a guess, wherever the hell the vampires want her to go.”

“What in Rhea is that supposed to—”

“Jonas, enough.” Nuri knelt beside me and grabbed my hand. She ran her fingers along the vivid scars, and then her gaze rose to mine. “What happened here?”

She wasn’t referring to the scars.

“Penny happened.” I didn’t look at Jonas. I didn’t dare. “I was intending to get her out of Chaos before the vampires found her, but I was too late.”

“Then the vampires—”

“Jonas, shut the fuck up and just listen.” Nuri’s voice was sharp.

Jonas’s fury swept over us, sharp and acidic. But he didn’t say anything; he simply crossed his arms and glared. And even though I knew his anger stemmed more from his fear for Penny than anything I’d done, it nevertheless sent a shiver down my spine.

“They were already in the bar when I arrived. I cindered the ones Branna was battling, but the bastard turned around and tried to shoot me.”

“Which explains why he is currently sprawled unconscious on the floor. Your ghosts took him out.”

I nodded. “Bear told me Penny was up here, but more vampires hit us and others were on their way. I decided our best bet was staying in this room, under the protection of the UVs, and hope like hell the vamps didn’t find a way to cut the power.”