Free Shifter Wars by A. E. Jones Page B

one. Was it one of Dalton’s memories?
    I closed my eyes and concentrated on images that danced just out of reach. Although they were only vestiges of the dream, they still made my heart pound in a staccato beat.
    As the vision took solid form in my head, searing pain shot from the back of my neck and black dots swam in my vision. Holy God. I clutched my neck, pressing on it as if that would stop the pain. Then Sebastian’s voice filled my ears.
    “Tell me where the Key is, Lieutenant, and the pain will stop.”
    I stammered, “I don’t have the Key.” But instead of my voice I heard Dalton’s, breathy and spiked with pain.
    “If you give me the Key, I will let you live. I might even let you share in its powers. You could help me knock those self-righteous angels off their pedestals. Would you like that?”
    “No!”
    Sebastian sighed dramatically. “I’m getting thoroughly sick of this white knight routine. If you don’t care about your own health, perhaps I should have Kyle join the party. Do you want me to do that?”
    “I don’t care what you do.” But the minute the words were out of my mouth, the pain exploded exponentially. Instead of dots, my entire field of vision went black, and I cried out.
    I could barely hear Sebastian’s next words, since the pain garbled them. “You are a bad liar, Lieutenant. I think it’s time to call your girlfriend.”
    The memory faded slowly. I drew deep breaths through my mouth so I wouldn’t throw-up. Hugging my knees to my chest, I rocked for a couple of seconds to calm myself. I had only experienced seconds of Dalton’s memory, but even that little bit was horrific. In reality, Sebastian had tortured him for hours. After a couple of minutes, once I thought my legs were strong enough, I got out of bed and stood in the shower, washing off the sweat and clearing my head.
    I couldn’t ignore these memories any longer. I needed to figure out what they meant. What the Key meant. It was time for some heavenly assistance. I had never summoned Dalton’s grandmother, but then again, I had never tried before.
    “Marie!” I waited and then bellowed again, “Marie!”
    After a few seconds, a voice answered me. “Girl, stop the caterwauling, you’ll wake up the dead.”
    I rolled my eyes.
    She chuckled as she materialized in front of me. “You have no sense of humor.”
    “Yes, I do. You’re not funny.”
    “What can I do for you this morning?”
    “I just had one of Dalton’s memories.”
    The laughter vanished from Marie’s eyes. “Oh, child. Are you okay?”
    “Yes. But I need to figure out what this Key is all about. Have you found out anything?”
    “Not really. It’s amazing to me how hush-hush everything is up there.” She huffed. “I mean, if they don’t trust us, why did they let us in to begin with?”
    I shrugged. It was a good question, but I didn’t have the answer.
    “Can you tap into any earthly type of help?” Marie asked.
    “I don’t want to bring Misha and Jean Luc into this right now.”
    “Okay…What about the priest who was helping you?”
    I gave the idea serious consideration. When the team had discovered the prophecy about the Key, Father Brown had translated enough of the lines to make it clear Dalton was the one who had absorbed it. But I had hoped to keep Father Brown out of danger as well.
    “I’m not sure it would be safe to involve Father Brown.”
    Marie drifted to the window and looked out at the snow. “Maybe it’s not supposed to be safe for him.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Didn’t you try to erase his memory last summer to protect him and you couldn’t do it?”
    I gaped at her. “How did you know?”
    “I was spying on you, dear.”
    “No wonder they don’t trust you in heaven.”
    “Pffft. I already told you I was worried about you after you erased Joe’s memory. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to do anything stupid. Now, back to Father Brown. Maybe the reason you couldn’t erase his