Free Desire the Banshee by Ella Drake Page B

never force his way into someone, but it was all he had left, to protect her. And he’d just proved it by scrambling Vince’s mind. Daisy had to wake up, get out of here and leave him to his fate.
    He shoved. Hard.
    Nothing but more lethargy and pain responded. He was too drained to use his talent.
    A shadow stooped over him.
    Sean screamed in his head.
    Daze!

Chapter Eight
     
    A soft call lifted Daisy from her sleep.
    She scrunched up her nose and sniffed. Fresh air, leaves and the distinct smoky smell of a campfire. It all rushed back at her. The damn electro mage had knocked her out. The soothing brush of fingers through her hair could only be one man.
    “Sean?” She tried to sit up, but dizziness assailed her. Clutching her head, she sought to make sense of the blurs in front of her.
    “Take it easy.” That was not Sean.
    She tensed, ready to shove at the dark shape that knelt next to her, but the recognition seeped in through her muddled head. “Griffin.”
    “Yeah, Ray’s right behind me. Let me help you sit up.” His gentle voice should have soothed her, but Griffin didn’t do gentle soothing. That was Ray. Something was terribly wrong, but though her vision had cleared some and she could make out color, she couldn’t puzzle out the blurs. She blinked to clear away the fog.
    “Where’s Sean?” Damn, but if her voice didn’t shake. She refused to be weak.
    “What happened here, Daisy? We got here and found the three of you passed out on the ground.”
    Trying to see something, she wiped at eyes. Her hands shook so badly she skimmed right over her face. She cleared her tight throat and put all the force she could behind her question.
    “Where. Is. Sean?”
    Not waiting for an answer, she pulled in on herself, closed her eyes and reached for him in her mind. She came up against a wall. A black space filled with emptiness. A bloodcurdling cry filled her ears and she knew it was her. A hum settled over her to match the terror ripping into her chest. So hollow, her soul emptied into an agony-filled void.
    Sean was gone.
    “Gone.” Her tone rose, undulating, uncontrollable.
    “No. Daisy, calm down. Please, listen.”
    “Sean.” She couldn’t breathe. She sucked air into lungs that wouldn’t expand, like a heavy weight crushed her. She curled up and put her arms around her knees, rocking. “No. No. No.”
    The pain built. The hum gained momentum. A prickling ran up her neck and she snapped her eyes open.
    Sean on the ground, pale, lifeless. That asshole traitor lay next to him. At that moment, Vince—a dead man to her—opened his eyes and groaned. His hand flew to his forehead as he winced and looked around in confusion.
    “You.” She screamed at him. On her feet in a flash, her banshee grace returned to her. Her handler wasn’t able to soothe her, never would again. Her partner, her man, gone forever. Rage strangled her to get out. Her lungs filled.
    With slow precision, arms held out from her side, she glided over the ground toward her prey. Her lungs filled; she was ready to let go, ready to watch with grim satisfaction as his head vibrated from the inside out.
    “Daisy, you have to stop. Listen to me.” Griffin grabbed at her arm and she threw him off. She didn’t stop when her friend crashed to the ground.
    “Leave, Grif. You don’t want to be here for this.” She’d give him about ten seconds. “Run.”
    “Ray, get the shielding.” Griffin huffed behind her.
    She laughed. They wouldn’t get it in time. Vince shuffled away from her, crabwalking with a panic tightening his handsome and refined face. “You should be scared, asshole. I’m going to wail until your body turns inside out. You’ll feel it too, bastard.”
    That scum took Sean. Her Sean. She hadn’t been able to tell him she loved him. That she was giving up other men for him. She’d never, ever be able to tell him now. Tears filled her mouth, the salty taste surprised her enough to put a hiccup in her growing