Blind Warrior (The Weavers Circle #3) - Jocelynn Drake Page 0,80
tell Grey when he tapped into his powers; he gasped as a surge of energy washed through him. Where Clay had always been more hesitant to tap into all the energy the earth seemed to offer up, Calder embraced it, letting it pour through him completely.
With his eyes closed, Grey attempted to pull some of that power into himself the same way he did with Clay. To his surprise, it flowed just as easily into his own as if he were made to simply plug into each of the different Weavers. When he’d spotted Lucien in Savannah all those weeks ago, he’d not actually seen the man with his eyes. His presence had been more of a bright light in his brain. By contrast, the pestilents were more of a dark smudge or sometimes a blankness among the clusters of humans.
“To the left, there’s one,” Grey murmured softly.
“The coffee shop. There’s outdoor seating, and a man is watching us,” Calder replied. He grunted. “Oh, he knows who we are. He’s smiling right at us.”
“Wonderful,” Grey muttered. He continued to search the area, but he couldn’t get a sense of any other pestilents. Was this man really the only one? “I’m not getting any others.”
“I think he was at the beach. I saw someone on the upper ridge watching the fight.”
“What’s he doing now?”
“Lounging in a seat at a small table. Drinking coffee. Smiling as he watches us.”
Grey chewed on the inside of his mouth for a moment as he tried to decide what to do next. Should they just leave? Would he let them walk away?
But wasn’t it better to talk to him first? At least try to figure out what his game was? Determine what he knew about the Circle?
“You want to talk to him, don’t you?” Calder’s tone was flat and not happy in the slightest.
“You and Cort, both mind readers.”
Calder snorted. “Doesn’t take a mind reader to figure out the smart solution is to try to uncover what they know.”
Grey, still able to sense him, started walking in his direction.
As they neared the man, Grey began to wonder if it was wise to reveal that he was injured. Unfortunately, it was too late to change course.
“I was hoping you’d stop over to say hello,” the man said as they came to stand near him. Grey struggled not to gag on the horrific smell surrounding him, but even that wasn’t enough to take away from the twisted pulse of power that dripped off him in thick, sticky clumps. “I understand you’re called Grey now.”
“I take it we’ve met before. In one of my past lives,” Grey replied stiffly.
“Yes, we knew each other quite well in your last one, when you went by the name of Davian. You called me John then, so we might as well keep that name for the sake of ease. Why don’t you sit down?”
“I’d rather not.”
John chuckled low, and Grey hated that his voice did sound strangely familiar to him, though he couldn’t explain it.
“If I wanted you and your friend there dead, it would have been done already. We both know that. There are well over a hundred people in this shopping plaza alone. I don’t have to move from this spot to enthrall every last one of them. To make killing you and your friend their sole purpose in life. But I haven’t.”
A chill ran through Grey and Calder’s hand on his arm tightened as if he planned to jerk him away from John and the table.
“What do you want?” Grey bit out through clenched teeth.
“Just to chat. It’s been so long since we had a chat. Sit and talk with me, and I promise that I’ll let you and your companion leave unmolested.”
To his left, Grey heard the scrape of a chair being dragged across the concrete. He felt around until he could safely lower himself into the chair. Calder remained standing, one hand on his shoulder. Grey wasn’t sure if he was attempting to reassure him that he was covered or settling his own nerves. Poor Calder was not being eased into his new life with them.
“Are you…” John started and then stopped again. The air shifted in front of Grey’s face and he jerked back.
“Stop it!” Calder snapped, and Grey could suddenly imagine what had happened. John had waved his hand in front of Grey’s face.
“You’re blind,” John whispered in surprise.
“Yes. A relatively new development but temporary, I assure you,” Grey said sharply.