Heart of Vengeance (Alice Worth #6) - Lisa Edmonds Page 0,83

I wasn’t sure if they would work, given no other magic I had seemed to work right except the sorcerer power. Or maybe Lucy had kept her scars by choice. She seemed like the type who would.

Daisy was curled up on the sofa, her eyes half-lidded. “Where’s Malcolm?” I asked.

Lucy grinned. “He skedaddled when I took off my pants, bless his heart. I told him I didn’t care, but he muttered something about ‘the rules’ and flitted out of here like his ghost ass was on fire.”

“He’s really careful about not spying on people. He says he knows ghosts who do that and it really bothers him. Plus, when we were first together, he and I established some rules about not coming into my room unannounced after he scared me to death once when I got out of the shower.”

“I like your ghost. He’s got manners and a sense of humor. Most of the ghosts I know are jerks.” She collected her bloody clothes to wash and clean ones to change into. “Let me get cleaned up and then we’ll get the hell out of here. Joey will be up soon with our travel pack. It’s already paid for.” She went into the bathroom and shut the door.

I dressed quickly, opting to wear the same clothes I’d worn when I arrived in the Broken World rather than use my last clean shirt and pants. I’d only packed two sets of clothes, since that was all the room I had left in the backpack after packing the other items I needed. My toiletry bag was decidedly minimalist: travel-sized two-in-one shampoo/conditioner, moisturizer, soap, and deodorant. I also had a first-aid kit, my Smith & Wesson with silver bullets, assorted magic implements—which might or might not work here—and a photo of Sean and me.

I used my towels to wring as much water from my hand-washed clothes as I could and sniffed them. They smelled clean, thanks to the detergent. I put them in a plastic bag and reorganized and re-packed my backpack so I would be ready to leave when Lucy finished cleaning up.

With my packing done, I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Daisy. She raised her head. “We have to learn to communicate,” I told her. “We can talk to each other when you’re inside me, so there has to be a way to share thoughts. Either that, or you need to return to my body so you can explain what we’re doing and why you think Ronan should have come with us.”

She curled her lip. Clearly, she enjoyed her newfound freedom and didn’t want to give it up.

I reached for her. She growled.

“I’m not going to force you back in,” I promised. “I want to try speaking to you again.”

She remained still as I held her head in my hands, my fingers combing through her thick fur. I closed my eyes and reached for the golden thread I sensed between us. Unlike my strong connection to Malcolm, it was thin and insubstantial. Our bond was too new, too undeveloped to allow me to share thoughts with her. Damn it.

Maybe I could strengthen the bond. I lowered my shields and focused on that thin golden thread of shifter magic. I reached for the earth magic around me, and instantly regretted it.

The pain was like falling into a dumpster full of cheese graters. Everything hurt. My skin, my bones, every nerve and cell sent out distress calls to my brain. My earth magic—my body, even—was on a different frequency than the magic here, so much so that even using it as ambient energy was agonizing.

My instinct was to slam my shields back in place and end the pain, but I refused to give up. Magic was magic. I sensed it pulsing all around me with potential and power, and that meant I could learn to use it.

Until then, I couldn’t just funnel it into my tenuous bond with Daisy; it would do nothing to help, and might hurt her. Instead, I drew on the magic within me I knew I could use and tried to strengthen our bond.

Daisy snarled and moved out of my reach.

I raised my shields, blinked until I could focus, and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

She chomped the air between us, her eyes glowing.

“Alice? You okay?” Malcolm asked from near the door. He’d apparently returned while I was focused on Daisy.

I got to my feet with a grimace, using the couch to stand. “I’m trying to strengthen our bond,