"He wouldn't want you to see those things, Sky," Josef said gently. "You know that, don't you? Carpathian males, especially the hunters, they're like stone, total warriors, and if he thought he wasn't protecting you from that creeping shadow, he'd be very upset."
Skyler smiled at Josef. "I can't help what I see, Josef. I'm not exactly like everyone else. What kind of a concoction am I? Psychic. Mage. Partly Carpathian. Daughter of the earth. Dragonseeker. I see things I'm not meant to see. I feel things I shouldn't. I know he was nearly taken from me. I felt him. I called to him. Sang the healing chants I've heard Francesca sing. I lit candles, and I cried for days when he was so far away I couldn't reach him."
She looked into his eyes, letting him see her grief. Josef was definitely underestimated by most people, but she saw his genius, and she valued their close friendship. She could talk to him, tell him anything, and he never betrayed her confidence.
"I need him," she admitted simply. "And I have to find him."
Josef slung his arm around her shoulders. "Well, little sister, that's exactly what we're going to do. Paul should be here any minute. He texted me and said he had everything ready."
"Did he cover his tracks? Didn't he tell you once that Nicolas took his blood? If he did, he can track Paul."
"Baby, any of them can track us, and they'll be hot on our trail the moment they realize you're missing."
"I know that. I'm just saying it can't happen until we're ready." Skyler glanced again at her watch. "He's late."
"His cover is perfect," Josef assured. "He flew over with the De La Cruz families, and he told them we were going to go exploring the mountains on the Ukraine side. We're camping for a couple of weeks. Of course they were happy to get rid of us, and no one is going to question that we'd want to do something together. We talked about it endlessly for the last couple of years. This would be the perfect opportunity for us to get together so they bought our story easily."
Skyler gave a little sniff. "Of course they don't mind if you two go off camping in the wilds together. Remember when I wanted to go on one of your camping trips? The world almost came to an end."
Josef laughed and leaned one hip lazily against the coffin. "Gabriel turned into the big bad wolf and nearly ate Paul and me for dinner just at the suggestion. I was surprised he allowed you to go off to college. You were so far ahead of your age group in school."
Skyler shrugged. "I went home at night the first year. I needed to. That had nothing to do with Gabriel and Francesca. I don't know what I would have done without them. I needed them so much in the early days. And they really came through for me." Tears shimmered in her eyes. "I hate to repay their love and kindness with lies, but they left me no choice."
"You tried talking to them about Dimitri?" Josef asked.
Skyler nodded. "I knew something was wrong, that Dimitri was troubled the last time we talked. He left abruptly for the Carpathian Mountains a few weeks ago and then he was in a terrible battle. I felt him slipping away from me. He was so far away, and I almost couldn't reach him. By the time I did, he was nearly gone. I could feel his life force fading." She looked up at him. "You remember that night? I called you to come and help me."
"You were in the college library and fortunately I'd come to visit you, so I wasn't far away," Josef said, "but you didn't tell me what happened. Only that Dimitri needed you. You were wiped out."