Blind Warrior (The Weavers Circle #3) - Jocelynn Drake Page 0,39
that since I lost my sight.”
“So for you, losing your sight is much more with it being tied into your powers. Oh, Grey.” Cort reached for his hand and held it between his two. “I have to say you’ve handled the loss of your vision well, then.”
“Oh yeah, tearing up the apartment is well,” Grey grumbled under his breath.
“Every single client of mine deals with the loss in their own way. Grief, depression, and anger are common, and a lot of them don’t take it nearly as well as you have been doing. And now I understand that your sight is an integral part of your powers.” He let out a bark of laughter. “Never thought I’d say anything like that. Powers.”
“Well, the loss of mine has put my brothers in danger. They need me to have my sight to fight this upcoming battle—all of the upcoming battles. Those pestilents you saw will keep coming after us. They won’t stop.” And now, they’d be after Cort, too. His heart clenched at the realization he’d put Cort into danger.
“I suppose if my world was dying, I’d do the same.”
Surprise filled Grey. “You’d steal someone else’s world? Sacrifice the lives of billions of people to save yourself and your world?”
Cort was silent for a moment. “No, probably not, but I understand their desperation.”
“They don’t give a shit about the people who live here.”
“I wonder if the man in the suit, the one I saw watching everything, was one of them.” Cort’s shiver was so hard, Grey felt it move the couch. “He made my skin crawl. There was something about him I can’t explain, but evil comes pretty damn close.”
“Could you describe him to the others? It’s possible he’s one of the wizards.”
“The pestilents have magic, too? Great.”
Grey threaded his fingers through Cort’s, noticing that Cort’s were slightly sweaty. He could only imagine Cort’s emotions right then, not picking up on them at all. “They do. We were in a battle against a powerful witch when I was hit with that explosion that took my sight. She could compel animals much like Baer can.”
Cort blew out a breath. “If I hadn’t seen the vines, the fire, and the sand sinkhole, I wouldn’t believe a word of this. It’s just too…crazy, you know?”
“Oh, believe me. I didn’t want to believe any of it at first myself. I’ve only had my powers about six months and before that, I had no idea that anything like this existed. The night I met the guys, Clay created an earthquake that knocked powerline poles right out of the ground. The pestilents were after us—as they always are.”
“You constantly live in danger.”
Grey shrugged. “There’s a spell that keeps them off the property.”
“Yet you said someone attacked you guys here.”
“They can do something to humans. Possess them or enthrall them, we’re not sure how it works. But we didn’t kill the guy who attacked us—just had him arrested.”
“For something he had no control over.”
“Yeah, that part sucks.” Grey wondered if Cort realized they were still holding hands. Damn, it felt nice. Grey tightened his fingers. “I should have never agreed to let you come here.”
“But you thought this place was safe.”
“Yeah, and I never thought you’d go with us to get one of the last two Weavers.”
“There’s only one left?”
Grey nodded. “The Air Weaver is the only one who hasn’t shown up. I’m sure Calder is getting an earful right now.”
“Kind of like I am.”
“Yeah, and now that the pestilents saw you, you’ll have to stay here.”
“What, now?” Complete shock laced Cort’s voice as he jerked.
“You can’t just go back home. They’ll come after you, and you could be sleeping or something. Not that you could fight them off if you weren’t.”
Cort laughed. “Hey, I’m tougher than I sound.”
“Not against these things, and they don’t give a shit about you. Hell, they would probably enthrall you and send you in here to kill me.”
“Shit.” Cort pulled his hand free and stood up. “Shit,” he repeated, his voice and footsteps telling Grey that he’d started pacing again.
Feet pounding on the stairs filled the small apartment before someone banged on the door. “Grey!” Clay yelled, voice muffled by the door.
He didn’t even wait for them to answer and came inside the apartment. “Did you tell him everything?” Clay asked.
Grey stood up, fists clenched at his sides. “What choice did I have? He saw a lot on that beach.”
“I know, but did you tell him he’s now in danger and has to