Cynful

Chapter Five

Bear stared at him, his furry face inscrutable. Julian stared back.

To Bear, patience really was a virtue.

“‘Two becomes one, one becomes three. Bear knows the way, but Fox holds the key.’”

The deep, rumbling voice after waiting for so long would have startled a much younger Julian, but he’d learned the ways of Bear and wasn’t surprised by much anymore. The spirit dropped a map at his feet, got to his feet and waddled off, leaving behind one very confused Kermode. Julian picked up the map and tried to study it, but it flared to bright life, flashing in his hands, soaking into his skin until nothing was left.

“Huh.” He stood, brushed off his naked ass and turned back down the path that led back to his body. He nodded to the great white Fox on the way, again unsurprised to find him there. Chloe was tied tightly into whatever message the spirits were trying to impart, whether because of their odd bond or because she’d been on the paths and come back. He wasn’t sure, but he’d figure it out. Eventually.

There was one thing he was certain of. Chloe had nearly died. That affected a person on deeper levels than most understood, especially after what he’d done to guide her back to her body from the dark paths. She was closer to the spirit world than most shifters would ever be, and the tie between the two of them had only deepened it.

He’d have to talk to Tai, find out what his leader thought about all of this. If his hunch was right, Chloe was changed in more ways than he could see right now. Unfortunately, that meant answering one of Tai’s phone calls. Julian was certain whatever Tai wanted to say to him wasn’t going to be pleasant.

He followed the path that led back to his body, ready to put an end to this walk through the spirit realm. It hadn’t been nearly as difficult as the one he’d taken when he pulled Chloe back into her body, but it still drained him. If his mate had been there, she would have been on the paths as well, lending her strength, borrowing his own. They’d be much stronger together.

He couldn’t wait until he could take her down the paths. Once Bear accepted her, their mating would be complete.

There. The veil between this world and the physical, a misty barrier he crossed through easily. He landed in his body with a sigh, pulling his skin and bones around him like a familiar, comforting blanket. He opened his eyes—

—and jumped a foot at the sight of bright blue eyes staring into his.

“Hey, Jules. Went spirit-walkies, did we?”

He tried to get his racing heart back under control. “Fuck, Jamie.”

“No thanks. You’re not my type.” Jamie put his stethoscope back around his neck. “I’ve never seen that before.”

“Seen what?” Julian got up from the chair he’d nodded off in and went straight for the coffee machine. He’d fallen asleep in the break room.

“A Kermode in a trance.”

Julian poured himself some coffee. “Yeah, well. I was summoned.”

“Could that happen when you’re driving?”

“Hasn’t yet.” Julian added enough sugar to send a six-year-old into spasms. “Bear’s usually pretty good about that sort of thing. Now, Coyote, he’s a real bitch. When he’s got a message, you’d better be ready to hear it. Lucky me, he doesn’t like to talk much. He’s more a doer.” He poured creamer until the coffee was nearly white, just the way he liked it.

Jamie shook his head. “You want some coffee with that?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Julian took a sip, moaning under his breath. God, Jamie made some damn good coffee. “How long was I out for?”

“About half an hour.”

Shit. There went lunch. “Damn.” He glanced at his watch and grimaced.

“Take some time. Eat. Your hair still has some white in it and that will freak the patients.”

“Thank you.” Julian pulled his sandwich out of the fridge and sat his ass at the table.

“What did Bear have to say?” Jamie sat across from him and snagged one of Julian’s chips.

“Two becomes one, one becomes three. Bear knows the way, but Fox holds the key.”

“Chloe?”

“Possibly, since she had the same dream.” Julian took a bite of his sandwich and tried to ignore the stare Jamie was giving him.

“Since when does Bear speak to Chloe?”

“He doesn’t.” He took another bite and tried not to smile at the frustration on Jamie’s face.

“Then who did?”

“Fox.” He took a sip of coffee and arched a brow at Jamie. “Chloe’s different now.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think she was that different.” Jamie got to his feet and began to pace, his expression going from friend to concerned doctor. “Will this affect her recovery?”

“Not that I’m aware of. But when I went to visit her last night she was more tired than she should be.”

“Hmm.” Jamie stroked his chin, his gaze distant. “I want to be kept apprised of her new abilities, even the dreaming. It could impact other areas of her recovery, especially if it drains her of energy.”

Julian nodded. “I’ll do my best, but if she doesn’t tell me there isn’t much I can do.”

“Agreed.” Jamie looked at his watch. “Think you’ll be ready in about ten minutes?”

He felt better already and he hadn’t finished half his sandwich. “Yup.”

“See you out there.”

Julian scarfed the rest of his sandwich and headed back to work, Bear’s words still bouncing around in his head. What the hell had he meant, and why had he given Julian the same riddle that Fox had given Chloe?

“Aw. How pretty.” Glory practically cooed at the glass vase sitting on the counter. The little white envelope dared Cyn to open it, but she refused to touch the damn thing. She kept her nose buried in the magazine she was reading, ignoring the two insane bitches cooing over dead vegetation.

Cyn snorted. What the hell was that moron thinking?

“They are pretty. Two dozen roses, mixed colors.” Tabby sighed. “Alex never sends me roses.”

“I don’t think Alex was the one who sent flowers to Cyn.” Glory waggled her eyebrows.

“If I remember my flower language correctly—” Tabby tapped the glass, “—red is for true love. Pink is admiration. Lavender is—”

“Frou-frou.” Cyn grimaced. “Flowers? At my age?”

“First off, Crabby Patsy, you’re only twenty-four. Second, what woman alive hates getting flowers?” Cyn opened her mouth to respond but Tabby cut her off by clearing her throat. “And lavender means love at first sight.”

Cyn clenched her jaw. Julian had to have guessed how she’d react to roses delivered at work, which meant he’d done it deliberately. She tried to ignore the girls as they continued discussing the flowers, but part of her couldn’t help but listen in.

“What does yellow mean? I thought they meant true love, but there aren’t any in the arrangement.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Glory stroke one of the lavender roses, a wistful expression on her face. Maybe Ryan was getting to her more than she wanted to let on.

“Nope. Yellow is friendship, orange is passion.” Tabby tapped one blazing orange rose. “Which explains why they’re in here but the yellow aren’t.”

“Friends with benefits sounds nice.” Glory sniffed the orange rose. “But there are a lot more red and lavender ones than any other color.” Glory flipped her hair back over her shoulder. “Cyndi’s got a boyfriend!” she sang, grinning at Cyn.

Cyn flipped her off. Bitch knew how much she hated being called Cyndi.

“Oh, yes, I will read the note, thank you!”

Glory grabbed for it, but Cyn was fast, snatching it away from her at the last second. “Ha!”

Glory waved her hands. “Fine. Now you have to read it.”

Cyn held it like she was going to rip it in two. She wasn’t certain she’d have gone through with it, but Tabby was even quicker than she was. Tabby grabbed it and opened it, bursting into laughter. “What happened after you two went home last night?”

“Give me that.” Cyn took the note, biting her lip at the image of Share Bear. That stupid purple bear with two heart-shaped lollipops on its tummy grinned at her. The note said Thanks for sharing in the kind of neat, extremely precise handwriting only a sociopath could possess.

Goddamn it. Now she was going to like flowers. Son of a bitch.

“Let me see!” Glory took the note from her and frowned at it. “Huh? What the hell is that? It’s creepy.”

Cyn took the note back. “None of your business.” She took the card and the flowers back to her office, ignoring the idiots behind her. No way would she admit to them that she knew what the fuck a Care Bear was, let alone the name of one. She set the flowers where she could see them but wouldn’t accidentally knock them over.

The card, she tucked into her secret drawer, along with a photo of her mother and the first set of keys to Living Art.

After all, no one had to know she’d kept it, right?

“Well?”

“Well what?”

Julian suppressed his growl. “Did you like them?” He was weary to the bone, but he refused to give up a date night despite the emergency that had forced him to use his powers. The man would have died right in Jamie’s office if Julian hadn’t stepped in. Jamie was both appalled and grateful, but the patient had no clue how close to death he’d been.

Two more minutes. Just two more minutes and the aneurysm would have burst, and the resulting stroke would have killed him instantly. Jamie ordered the patient in for a round of tests and Julian to the break room until his hair and eyes returned to normal. Thank God it had been a shifter patient; a human would have run screaming from the room or declared the second coming.

“Like what?”

He pulled over. He was too tired to play the game tonight, damn it. “I’m sorry. Could you drive?”

“Jules?” Cyn put her hand on his forehead. “Are you sick?”

He stared at her.

“Bears catch colds like everyone else, right?”

He blinked. She had to be joking.

“Fine. Keys.” She held out her hand and he gave them to her, sighing gratefully when she climbed out of the passenger side. He managed to pull himself out of the driver’s seat and took her spot, but his knees were wobbly.

Damn. He was a lot more tired than he’d originally thought.

“Jeez, you look like shit. Let’s get you home, okay?”

He closed his eyes and nodded, leaving everything in her more than capable hands. Within seconds she was gently shaking his shoulder. “We’re here.” Julian opened his eyes. He must have nodded off. She’d taken him back to his place, thank the ancestors. He wasn’t up to dealing with Glory’s perkiness right now. Cyn got out of the car and held up her hand when he tried to follow. She opened his door and helped him get out. “In case you were wondering, we’re going to order in pizza and watch chick flicks.” She held up a bag and shook it, the videos she wanted to watch rattling around inside.

He couldn’t help but smile. “If you have a real chick flick in there I’ll let you tattoo anything you want on my ass.”

“Define real.” She opened her front door and tugged him in, plopping him on the sofa before turning on the lights and shutting the door.

“My idea of real, not yours. The Devil Wears Prada does not count.”

“Damn. There goes my vision of My Little Ponies dancing down your rainbow colored butt.”

He kicked off his shoes and lay down, his head beginning to pound. “Could you bring me some aspirin?” Back home he would have requested another Kermode help him, but he wasn’t home, and while he could call Alex or Ryan for help, he was strangely loathe to do so. He’d rather take aspirin and spend the evening alone with his mate than have his well-meaning friends come “help” him.

God forbid they called and told their family he wasn’t feeling well. He shuddered at the thought of his house filled to the rafters with yappy Foxes and growling Grizzlies. He’d dealt with that while recovering from saving Chloe, and the noise levels alone had his landlord threatening him with eviction. Any night where he’d had time to prepare for the onslaught would be fine, but he just wasn’t up to it right now. “So what is your idea of a chick flick?” This he had to see. He doubted it would be either sappy or sentimental. Maybe First Wives’ Club? His mother loved that film. Hell, even his father chuckled at the window washer scene.

She brought him his medicine and smirked. “You’ll see.” She picked up the phone and called for two pizzas, one Hawaiian, one pepperoni and mushroom.

He must have dozed off again because the smell of tomato sauce woke him. He hadn’t even heard the doorbell ring. His stomach growled. “Damn, that smells good.”

Cyn put the pizzas on the coffee table and brought them some sodas. “Ready for the horror?”

He grinned. He was beginning to feel better. “Sure.”

Two slices later he was staring at the screen, wondering what the hell he’d gotten himself into. “Your idea of a chick flick is She-Devil?”

“That pink palace princess deserves everything she gets.”

Cyn’s grin was chock full of childish, evil glee. She munched her third slice of pizza, her gaze glued to the screen as Roseanne Barr blew up her own house with a happy sigh.

He smiled and settled back down, pleasantly full of good pizza. He watched his mate enjoy her movie and hid his grin.

His mother was going to adore Cyn.