Three Kings for Sarah by Noa Xireau Page A

mean.”
    “Then it’s true—someone is draining her power and sending it
to the creature, correct?”
    The shadow-walker nodded.
    “How close would they have to be to drain her?”
    “Quite close.” Xiu scowled. “They’d have to be in the same
building, if not in the same room or even touching her.”
    “Shit, it must be someone working at the hospital or someone
very close to her.” Duncan cursed. “Samgar?”
    “No, he loves her. I’m sure of it. The elderly woman is like
a high-powered antenna for emotions—through her, I can feel the intensity of
Samgar’s devotion to Sarah. I don’t think any of them would betray our girl,”
Gedeon explained, shaking his head.
    “However, it could be somebody related to them, someone they
trust enough to let him or her be near or even alone with Sarah,” Xiu said.
    “So…what do you suggest we do?” Gedeon asked, already
running through the possibilities.
    “We must return and hunt down the son of a bitch who’s
draining her. Remove him and whoever is helping him. See how we can restore the
power she’s lost. Take her with us to the real world and, once she’s safe and
out of danger, we’ll kill the fucking creature,” Duncan stated without batting
a lash.
    “The being is energy. There’s no physical body, just
powerful, otherworldly energy,” Xiu informed them somberly. “You can’t kill
energy.”
    “But you can transform it, can’t you?” Duncan asked.
    “I’m not sure… I suppose… Einstein said so… The idea could
have potential.”
    “I think I might know how… I mean, maybe there’s a chance to
restore her power,” Gedeon murmured.
    The others stared eagerly at him.
    “Do you recall the moment she gave you her hand in the
clearing?” Gedeon glanced at Duncan. “It was as if she was draining you. Maybe
she’s capable of recovering her power by taking energy from other people. Could
that be a possibility?” He looked at Xiu.
    Instead of answering straight away, the shadow-walker
brought his hand close to hers, careful not to touch her. “You could be right,”
he said slowly.
    Suddenly, Xiu’s eyes rolled back and went blank. Gedeon
shifted uneasily. The clock was running too slowly for him. After almost two
minutes, Xiu began to blink.
    “You were right; she’s able to take the energy and it has a
real effect on her health. Her heart is already beating more vigorously.”
    “Already? In such a short time?” Duncan asked, obviously
surprised.
    “Well…not exactly.” Xiu’s lips rose slightly. “At the
hospital, we are still touching her, remember? She’s draining our bodies—not
much, and considerably slowly, but enough to restore herself little by little.”
    “Can the energy she’s taking cause a problem for us?” Gedeon
didn’t really care, as long as she was recovering, but it was something to take
into account.
    “As long as we eat regularly and keep our bodies strong and
healthy, no. I don’t think so. We only need to be cautious with the
palm-to-palm contacts. But if you’re aware of it, you can block the flow of
energy,” Xiu affirmed.
    “Are we talking about eating regularly here or in our
world?” Gedeon wanted to clarify.
    “It will be enough for Duncan and me to return every two or
three days to get a good meal there. In the meantime, we should be able to
restore our energy with whatever we can find to eat here.”
    “And me? I noticed you didn’t include me in your little
plan.” Gedeon clenched his jaw.
    “There’s not much on the menu for you here, is there?” Xiu
returned Ged’s glare.
    Gedeon had to fight back the urge to hurt someone. There was
no need to elaborate. Sarah was too frail for him to take her blood; the shadow-walker
obviously had no intention of offering his neck, and Duncan couldn’t sustain
Ged for long without growing weak.
    “All right, I’ll leave at the end of the night,” Gedeon
agreed, keeping a straight face.
    “It could be for the best. Maybe Duncan should