Page 71 of Oracles Always Win

Jakewrenched the door open.Thehollow door clattered against the thin wall.ThenJaketrudged into the kitchen area.Ifollowed, not bothering with clothes or shoes, needing to keep him in my sight.Basedon whatI’dseen when he’d had his vision yesterday in the park,Iknew he was on the hunt for something to draw with.DidIeven have any pens or paper?Everyoneon the team—except for me—used their phones to take notes, whileIjust relied on my own memory.

NelsonandIsaacsat up and grabbed their weapons.

“Jakeneeds a pen and paper,”Isaid. “Doyou have—?”ThenIremembered the pencilIkept with my maps.Iwas about to retrieve it whenJakewalked right through the small living room and kitchen area and let himself outside. “Shit.”Ineeded to chase him.

Behindme,NelsonandIsaacscrambled out of their beds to follow.

Jakeexited the motorhome and turned to his right.Hisbare feet crunched over the gravel, but he didn’t wince or hesitate.Newofferings of flowers and gift baskets were stacked along the length of the dirty motorhome.Themere sight of them had my magic rejoicing, butJakedidn’t seem to notice them at all as he stepped on them.Hisbody pushed out a soft sigh, almost as if he was relieved, then he raised his hand.Hedrew his fingertip through the mess of mud, ash, and sootIhadn’t washed away yet.Itmade my eye twitch to see my poor motorhome look so dirty, butJakeseemed happy.Iguessed he’d found his new canvas.

Iscrambled to remove obstacles fromJake’spath, flinging trinkets, bottles, and bouquets out of his way so he wouldn’t trip over them.Eachitem landed with a thud, some accompanied by the sound of breaking glass.Onewas met with a grunt.

“Hey, watch where you’re throwing that stuff,”Isaacsaid.

ButIdidn’t stop until the area was clear.

Jakeseemed oblivious to everything around him, including me.Wasthat how he would be when his untethered magic finally overpowered him?Wouldhe be merely an unthinking, unfeeling zombie to his visions until he died?Andhow long would it take for death to seize him?Wouldanyone be able to coax him to eat?Tosleep?Todo anything but sketch out vision after vision?

Thethought was sobering.

Withhis fingernails,Jakecut through the dirt, and with broad sweeping motions, he covered the side of the bus with thin lines.Then, using his fingertips and every other part of his hands, he filled in more and more details.Heworked ceaselessly until every inch of space he could reach was covered.

Iwatched, mesmerized, as an intricate but grisly scene came to life on the side of thePinkLady.Thelight in the parking lot wasn’t overly bright, butIdidn’t need it.Oneof the benefits of being a demon was the ability to see in the dark, butIwondered howJakewas managing to do the same.ThenIremembered the vacant look in his eyes when he’d painted his vision earlier, andIknew that as a vessel to deliver theEternalMagic’smessage,Jakedidn’t need his sight.

NelsonandIsaacwere right beside me, and it only took a few seconds beforeJeremyandAdrianjoined us.Theyhad apparently been doing a sweep around the inn when we’d emerged.

“Arethose polar bears on his underwear skiing?”Isaacwhispered.

“Fuck,Isaac,”Nelsonreprimanded. “Whyare you looking at his ass?”

“What?Likeyou weren’t?”

“Turnaround.”Apulse of power ripped out of me. “Don’tlook at him.”

Ididn’t have to look at them to know my team obeyed.Ahint of fear tinged the air as they spun around.ButIstill drew on my demonic form, letting it wash over me, andIspread my wings to shield my mate from view of anyone else who might come upon us.

“Fuckingidiot,”Adrianmumbled. “Youknow better than to provoke an ancient fucking demon.”

“Whatever.Wewere all thinking it,”Isaacmuttered, then he didn’t say anything more.

Butnow thatIsaachad brought up my mate’s body, my gaze caught the way the muscles in his legs shifted as he stretched up on his tiptoes, the way the muscles in his back rippled as he swung his arm, and the way his graceful fingers danced with such sharp, precise movements as he brought the vision to life in front of me.Hewas gorgeous and talented, and watching him did something strange to the angerI’dbeen fanning to life all night.

Thosewho threatened him needed to be crushed, but doing so did not require any particular skill.Otherscould kill as easily asIcould.But… there was one thing that onlyIcould do: becomeJake’stether.Thatwould be protecting him too.

Myneed for revenge hadn’t faded, but my need to care for my mate was stronger.

Mymate was everything.

Theoppressive weight of my demonic anger slowly lessened.Mycontrol had slipped more in this one night than it had in years, but the possible catalyst for my final destruction—my temper—had subsided for the moment.

WhenJake’sarm finally dropped to his side, he sagged.Ashudder rolled over him.Hegasped, then wrapped his arms over his stomach.

“No, not again,” he cried out with a whimper, then ran toward the back bumper of the motorhome.

Hemust have felt the jagged edges of the gravel now because he cursed and staggered, but he didn’t stop until he rounded the corner.Idashed after him, only to find him hunched over, expelling the contents of his stomach.Istepped closer, but he held up his hand to stop me from getting nearer.Whenthe worst had passed, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and groaned.

“Fuck,” he said and pushed himself upright. “Ihate waking up like that.Iswear it’s getting worse every day.”

“Comeon,”Isaid quietly. “Let’sget you cleaned up and back to bed.”