Free Demon Storm: Belador book 5 by Dianna Love

afraid to let go of the two notes, her one tiny connection to Storm.
    When Nicole reached the center of the living room, she angled her head back and forth, then looked over where a rug woven in the geometric Navajo pattern covered a spot directly in front of the fireplace. “He comes here to be with ... someone.”
    “We’ve, uh, spent some time out here.”  Could Nicole tell what they’d been up to the last time Evalle was here? That had started out in the living room and ended up in the bedroom.
    “No, someone else.”
    “What?”  Evalle’s stomach dropped at that. No way would Storm have been here with another woman.
    Unless maybe it had been before Evalle started coming here. But even that thought nauseated her.
    “Evalle,” Nicole called out softly. “I’m not talking a human or someone that Storm was intimate with, but an ethereal being.”
    Had she been that obvious? “Oh, sure, I know.”
    Nicole wheeled around and rolled over to her, taking Evalle’s hand. “I also feel his love for you here everywhere. When you were here, his happiness permeated the air and the walls. I’m not sure he’s ever been really happy until meeting you because of how strong his emotions had to be to imprint on a structure. It is clear he loves you, so no matter what we find, you must not doubt him or that you are ...”
    When Nicole paused, Evalle said, “I am what?”
    “Special. Very special to him.” But Nicole looked away, embarrassed over something.
    Special was nice, but Evalle felt certain that Nicole had wanted to say more. Nicole had never held back anything before. Why now?
    Evalle let it go in favor of focusing on their task. “What can you figure out by being in here?”
    “You told me Storm has a spirit guide. That’s probably who I’m sensing in this room and over here close to the fireplace. I’m going to try to reach that spirit and see if she has met with Storm.”
    “Whoa, hold everything, Nicole. Storm hasn’t told me everything about growing up in South America, but that’s where this witch doctor came from and Storm was forced to fight in beast games down there. I have no idea what else went on so there’s no guarantee the spirit hanging around here is friendly.”
    “No, this is a being of the light.” Nicole’s wheelchair sat in the middle of the rug now. “I have a sense of comfort in this area near the fireplace. I believe this might be one place that he meets with his spirit guide.”
    Evalle glanced around, feeling twitchy at the idea of a spirit visiting while she and Storm had been naked in his house. She dealt with ghouls all the time downtown. They were Nightstalkers who would trade their intel on preternaturals and humans for a handshake with someone like Evalle. The brief connection with a powerful being gave the ghoul ten minutes of corporeal form that most of them used to guzzle as much cheap wine or rot-gut whiskey as they could find.
    And if every Nightstalker she’d searched for, including her favorite one, hadn’t been hiding from preternaturals stalking the city, she might have gotten a sliver of intel.
    But meeting with ghouls downtown was business, where having a spirit here in Storm’s house was too close to home.
    Literally.
    “What’s wrong, Evalle?”
    “Do you think the spirit just popped in and out of here at will?”
    “No. With Storm being Navajo, I believe he and the spirit might have a bond that allows them to communicate with each other when needed. The spirit would not enter uninvited.”
    Nicole had answered Evalle’s unspoken question, which meant Nicole knew exactly what Evalle was actually asking. Life around preternaturals and psychic witches meant there were few secrets some days.
    “Why don’t you light some candles and give me some time to see what I can figure out,” Nicole requested.
    Evalle doubted that Nicole needed the candles so much as Nicole knew that Evalle had to do something to be of use.
    Once the candles were lit, Evalle