Unbinding by Eileen Wilks Read Free Book Online Page B

Or would have, had the cast iron doors been open. Looked like the patio had been evacuated, save for a couple cops who seemed to be sweeping the flagstones. That’s why the place was so crowded.
    “Gods!” Seabourne groaned. “Those idiots! Sweeping up the—you!” He grabbed one of the silent agents. The man, as it turned out. The woman had been left behind to explain about sign-in sheets. “Come with me and get rid of those clowns!”
    “Uh—I don’t know if—”
    “Do it,” Ackleford snapped.
    “Don’t you be telling my people—” the lieutenant began. “Hey, you! Stop!”
    Dell had waited as long as she was going to. The chameleon darted past the lieutenant, who tried to grab her. Fortunately for everyone, he missed.
    Nathan followed Dell. That was the easiest way to find Kai.
    One thing about this particular hiding-form. It might not be as powerful as Dell’s original body, but it was not really weak. Dell shoved, elbowed, and—once—lifted people out of her way. Nathan had to pause when Dell knocked one young man to the floor right in front of him, so he heard Kai before he saw her. “I told you I was fine. And you cannot just yank the EMT out of—sorry, sorry, she’s a trifle anxious. You’re done, though, right? There’s nothing more to check . . . all right, Dell, you’re here, so see for yourself that I’m fine.”
    Nathan helped the young man to his feet, apologized quickly, and at last saw Kai.
    She sat at a tiny round table against the west wall. Dell sat across from her, holding Kai’s hands with both of hers, her eyes closed and her face blank. An irritated young woman—the EMT who’d been evicted from the chair Dell now occupied—crouched nearby, packing a blood pressure cuff back into her kit.
    Kai’s jeans and tank shirt were still tidy, aside from some pink smears. So was the hair she’d pulled into its usual braid. Her glasses were intact. But her beautiful, coppery skin was covered in some shiny ointment . . . and in tiny red welts. Hundreds of them, looked like. Arms, cheeks, throat, hands. They were everywhere.
    She looked up. “Hi, there. Do I look that bad?”
    “Like you have a bad case of measles.” He moved close and squatted down beside her, wishing he could hold her hands instead of Dell, which was silly of him. He couldn’t do what Dell could. He smiled at his own nonsense, and Kai smiled back. He loved her smile. The corners of her wide mouth curled up at the ends like quotation marks, giving her the look of a satisfied cat. It was adorable, an adjective he’d learned she did not care for, so he didn’t mention it now. “A really bad case of measles. Do they hurt?”
    “No, and they haven’t raised my temperature or my blood pressure, but they itch. Clara—she’s the EMT—gave me some ointment that’s supposed to help. So far it hasn’t.”
    “Itching can drive you mad,” he agreed, and frowned. “You smell funny.”
    “You do know you aren’t supposed to tell a woman that?”
    “Could be I’m smelling the butterflies on you.”
    “Could be. A lot of them got smushed against my skin. Clara washed off the pink dust and butterfly guts, but the smell probably lingers enough for your nose. Um, Dell thinks that since you’re here, I should pay attention. She expects this to be tricky, so would you watch over us both?”
    Tricky? Nathan frowned, but there didn’t seem much point in questioning Dell. He stood and laid one hand on Kai’s shoulder. “Of course.”
    Her breathing slowed. So did her heartbeat, which he could hear when he stood this close. His Kai. She felt
safe
with him. Safe on a level thought couldn’t reach. Even in a room this crowded with noise and strangers, she could trance deeply when he was touching her.
    Nathan called up power and settled himself to guard. He took a slow breath, carefully noting the scents, then scanned the room so he’d have a baseline image—out, around, up, down. It amazed him how often people