The Black Tide (Outcast 3)

“I can and I will.”

“She was given wraith blood. She has to be monitored—”

“She’s a child, Jonas. A baby.” I balled my fists into the light sheet that was covering me, fighting to remain calm. “I’ll not allow her to be raised in a sterile environment, being prodded, poked, and examined every single day of her existence. I saw what it did to my little ones—”

“Your ghosts are remarkably well-adjusted for beings who were created and raised in such conditions. I don’t—”

“They’re well-adjusted because I was able to give them at least some affection and caring!” I exploded. “And because they’ve spent the last century with me.”

“Yes, but—”

“There is no ‘but’ in this. There is no negotiation.” I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “She’s both a seeker and a witch. I can help her control the former, and Nuri can help with the latter. But I can tell you now, the worst thing anyone could ever do is put that child into a military situation.”

“Is that your psychic instinct speaking?” he asked, voice flat. “Or the maternal one that has driven your actions ever since your failure to save the children in your bunker?”

I opened my mouth to say it was my seeker self, and then saw the compassion in his eyes. If there was anyone who could understand, it would be him. Thanks to the fact he could now converse with my ghosts, he not only knew the full horror of how they’d been killed, but had also glimpsed the cold aloneness they’d felt whenever I’d been assigned another mission.

“To be honest, it’s both.” I paused and scraped a hand through my short h

air. Someone must have washed it, because it felt decidedly clean. “Have you told Nuri about her?”

“She knows you came out of that place with a child, but that’s it.”

“Then don’t tell her the rest of it—”

“The child has wraith blood in her,” he cut in. “I know where you’re coming from, and I do understand, but you cannot expect—”

“Your niece has vampire blood and Rhea only knows what other pathogens in her system,” I cut in. “And yet you fought Nuri tooth and nail to keep her with you in Chaos because you believed it was the only way to save her.”

“That is different—”

“How is different, Jonas? Because she’s kin?” I waved a hand toward the wall that separated Raela and me. “There is a connection between that child and me that is every bit as strong as blood.”

He studied me for a second, his expression troubled. “I still don’t think—”

“Bring her in here,” I said flatly.

He blinked. “Why?”

“Because I want you to see—to understand—why I can’t let anyone else raise her.”

He frowned, but nevertheless pushed from the chair and walked out of the room. I listened to the soft echo of his footsteps and, after a few minutes, heard the soft hum of a motor kick into gear.

Cat and Bear rushed into the room and spun around me, their energy and happiness flooding my mind and making me smile.

I like the little one, Cat said. She’s funny.

Though I had no idea why, the rift that had hit Jonas and me had not only given him the ability to hear my ghosts, but me the ability to converse with them directly rather than via touch. It not only made our conversations a lot easier but also a whole lot less taxing on their strength. I raised my eyebrows. She can talk to you?

Well no, Bear said. She makes lots of funny sounds and tries to catch our energy.

She tried to catch the sunshine too, I said with a smile.

She likes the light, Bear said. She cried when they dimmed them.

I wondered if that was due to a fear of darkness, or something else. I guess none of us would know that until she was able to speak.

Jonas reappeared, guiding the air-powered miniature medicot with one hand. I pushed up into a sitting position and tugged the sheet back over my breasts. I wasn’t normally so modest, but for some weird reason, I was in Jonas’s presence.