The light was there.
Panic blurred the edges of her vision as she flashed to Pompeii. Stonehenge. The Great Wall of China. And everywhere, the light followed. A sob of desperation escaped her as she squeezed her eyes closed tight and flashed to the parking lot at Underworld General. Shaking like a nervous Chihuahua, she peeled open her eyes and turned in a slow circle. No light.
Which, now that she thought about it, made sense, since the human ghosts had been trapped in the demon-built hospital because the heavenly light didn’t penetrate.
The sudden rumble of a vehicle engine sounded like a dragon’s growl in the underground space. A black ambulance eased out of its stall and rolled toward the far wall, which began to shimmer like a Harrowgate. Of course… that would be the opening through which vehicles came.
Sure enough, it seemed as though the entire wall became glass, allowing the ambulance to pass through and into the human-built parking garage on the other side.
A parking garage where a focused beam of light lurked. Waiting for her.
The vehicle gate closed, leaving a solid wall once more.
The fact that she could no longer see the light didn’t comfort her, because it was still there. It would always be there, and her father’s words came back to haunt her.
Do not run.
Lore went straight to UG. The second he stepped out of the Harrowgate, Eidolon was there. His shock and joy at seeing that Rade was alive was followed immediately by concern at his condition.
“Damn,” he whispered, as he took the child. “What was done to him?”
“Nothing,” Lore said. “I don’t think he was fed or taken care of at all.”
“He’s definitely hypothermic.” Eidolon told a nurse to call Shade and instructed another to fetch heated blankets as he rushed the boy to one of the trauma rooms, his dermoire glowing. Eidolon assessed the baby, who had pinked up a little and was already looking better after an infusion of whatever Eidolon had done to him with his power.
“Can I do anything?” Lore offered his left index finger to the infant, and Rade’s tiny hand curled around it.
“What you’re doing is perfect.” Eidolon very carefully started an IV, and by the time he was finished, a physician assistant had arrived with blankets.
Lore helped swaddle Rade, and once he was completely mummified, Lore sat on the bed and held the boy to his chest, figuring the extra heat couldn’t hurt, and Eidolon didn’t tell him otherwise.
“Is he going to be okay?”
Eidolon smiled. “Once his body temperature is up and he nurses, he should be fine. He’s a tough little guy.”
Lore peered down at the baby, who lay calmly in his arms, staring up at him with big, brown eyes. A twinge of longing was like a pinch to the gut. Could Idess have children? Did she want them?
Shade had told Lore that human-Sem offspring were sterile, but if Idess wanted kids, Lore would move the sun to make sure she had them. “Has Idess come back?”
“Haven’t seen her.” Eidolon checked Rade’s temperature with an ear thermometer thingie. “Looking good. I’m going to go check on Shade.”
Lore wasn’t sure how long he sat there alone with Rade, rocking him and talking to him in an idiotic, hushed baby-talk voice, before Shade and Runa arrived with their other two sons. They rushed into the room, and right behind them were Tayla and Eidolon, followed by Wraith and Serena.
It had been almost a month since he’d last seen Wraith’s mate, when she’d been lying in a bed, only hours away from death. Now the gorgeous, tall blond was holding a very young baby.
Standing, Lore handed Rade to Runa, who was crying so hard he couldn’t understand anything she said to him. He did his best invisible impression as he backed away from the crowd, only to halt when he bumped into a solid body. He knew who it was before he even turned around.
Kynan. Gem stood beside him, holding his hand.
For a long moment, they all stared. And then Gem hugged him. Wrapped herself around him the way he would have killed to have her do just a month ago. Now all he wanted was for Idess to do the same thing. Where was she?
“Thank you.” Gem pulled away and stepped back to Kynan. “You saved Rade, and I don’t think any of us can thank you enough.”
It was Sin who deserved the thanks, but he wasn’t going to ruin the happy reunion by announcing Sin’s sacrifice. Instead, he got in a jab at his former rival. “I saved Kynan, too, you know.”
“Yeah,” Kynan drawled, “but we’ll just try not to dwell on that.”
“Oh, I intend to rub it in. A lot.” Lore laughed at Kynan’s curse. “Congratulations on the new spawn, by the way.”
“Well,” Gem said, “that was better than what Wraith said.” She lowered her voice and did an imitation of Wraith. “Way cool about the fuck-trophy.”