“She makes a good point. But forgiveness comes with trust and trust must be earned.”

“But hasn’t he though?” Leo asked tightly. “Hasn’t he earned it? When I look at all he’s done this past year, the effort he has made has been tremendous. He’s almost been trying too hard.”

“He is passionate about correcting the mistakes of his past.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Leo ran his fingers down the long length of her arm until he was linking his fingers with hers. “It’s hard to shake the injuries of the past,” he said quietly.

“It’s up to you, Leo. You have to choose to do it for your own reasons, not for anyone else’s. Viève’s a sweet thing really, and her heart is in the right place, but she doesn’t get to dictate when you should be ready to forgive what was a truly heinous act.”

“He didn’t do it himself,” Leo heard himself saying, much to his shock. “He was responsible for what happened to me, but he didn’t actually stick his hands inside my body and root around. That was Chatha. And Chatha is gone now.”

“Yes. He is. But as you say, Kamen was responsible. He sent Chatha on you like a master commands a pitbull to attack an innocent bystander.”

“Yes. But maybe that distance is what I need to come to terms with this. And maybe if I come to terms, the damn nightmares will stop.”

“They have gotten to be less and less ever since Chatha was released from this earth,” Faith pointed out.

“Yeah. It helped knowing he was gone. Knowing he wouldn’t somehow find me and put me under his knife again.”

“No. He is gone and it is over for good,” Faith said, stepping into his arms and giving him the comforting nearness of her body.

“Come on,” he said after clearing his throat. “Let’s go play.” He kissed her on her temple, turned her away from himself and propelled her forward with a smack on her ass. She yelped and then purred, rubbing the spot suggestively. “Why do you always tease me in public?”

“Because it makes the private so much more fun. Now get going, dirty girl.”

She shot him a smoldering glance, then moved out of the house and onto the playing field.

Chapter 18

Kamen left the Shadowdweller sleeping peacefully, and shut the door behind him. He was surprised to see Viève standing in the hall waiting for him. One look at her tensionriddled face and he knew something was wrong.

“What is it?”

“Is he going to be all right?” she asked.

“Yes. He’s already almost completely healed.”

“Good. That’s good,” she said, rubbing her palms together anxiously.

He took her hands in his and met her eyes as he squeezed calmness into them. “What troubles you?” he asked directly.

“Time. Time troubles me,” she said. “If what we suspect is true, then Apep knows what has happened and that the curse is broken. He could attack at any time.”

“Yes, this is true. Are you frightened?”

“Yes, but that isn’t what troubles me. If time grows short then we have to go back to the Doyen as quickly as possible. We need to tell him what has happened and secure more Wraiths for the coming battle. With Wraiths on our side the odds will shift considerably in our favor. Especially if you want to try to keep the body count low, to give Templars a chance to redeem themselves. We can incapacitate with just a touch, without the need to kill. Because they are Bodywalkers and have advanced healing abilities it is less likely that the plaguetouch will actually kill them. And, if necessary, the deathtouch is still an option. But we must secure them as soon as possible. We must see if the Doyen is willing to keep his word.”

“You do not believe he will?” Kamen asked her.

“I…I do not trust my own people to do anything that isn’t selfishly motivated. If what he says is true, if Apep has approached him to fight on his side and he doesn’t want to get caught up in all of that, then he may believe that siding with you is the better option. But he also may just want to see if he can stay out of the altercation entirely. He may want to sit back and let us do all of the dirty work for him.”

“If what he says is true, he may not have that option. Apep will not take kindly to a refusal.”

“Perhaps. But he might just be willing to take his chances. I don’t know. The only way to know is to meet with him now.”

“All right. Let me tell Valera that I will be back shortly and then you and I can go to the Doyen. Go find Jackson and Marissa and tell them where we are going.”

She nodded and hurried to do so. He found her outside a short while later, talking to Jackson and Marissa on the sidelines of the game that was being played.

He came up behind her and placed a hand at her small waist. She looked up at him at his touch, worry etched into her features.

“Has she told you where we are going?” he asked Jackson.

“She has, but I was just telling her that I’m not certain I like the idea of you going alone.”

“It has to be alone. Any more than just the two of us and the Doyen might feel threatened,” Viève said.

“She has a point,” Kamen said. “The Doyen is a little on the slippery side. I wouldn’t want him to escape us on the basis of a technicality.”

“If he is that touchy, then perhaps we don’t need his help,” Jackson said. “Thanks to our own little Wraith, the curse has been broken. Perhaps we no longer need the Wraiths for the battle to come.”

“You know that we do. Every advantage on our side makes it more likely we will be victorious over Apep. Also, I am afraid it is just as likely the Doyen will side with Apep if we do not secure him first.”

“All right. Go to him,” Jackson said. “Come back quickly with his answer. Viève…” Jackson turned to her and rested his hands on her shoulders. “You have been invaluable to us. We could not have broken this curse without you. I hope that you will return with Kamen regardless of your Doyen’s decision.”

Viève looked surprised.

“I had not thought to do otherwise,” she said.

That made both Jackson and Kamen smile. “Good,” Jackson said. “Come back quickly. Very quickly.”