by Anne Hope
“Unfortunately, no. He gave me this convoluted speech about some important decision I’ll have to make that will affect the outcome of the future.”
His profile appeared carved in marble, his chiseled features unreadable in the dim light. “What kind of decision?”
“Wish I knew.” Like Adrian, her father was a man of few words. “All I know is that it’s going to be soon. And I don’t think I’m ready for it.”
Compassion softened the hard contours of his mouth. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together.”
Emma smiled, grateful for his support. She turned to her mother. “While you were being held prisoner, did you ever hear the name Kora?”
Her mom wagged her head. “No. There was a woman there, but she never gave me her name. All I know is that she’s grossly deformed. She’s got these lumps on her face, and her skin is lined with blue veins.”
Emma looked to Adrian for guidance, but he merely shrugged. “As far as I know, Kora doesn’t have any deformities. But that doesn’t mean she’s not involved. This woman could be one of her followers. I doubt my mother would perform her own inquisitions. She doesn’t like to get her hands dirty.”
Huffing in defeat, Emma deposited her mug on the coffee table and snuggled into the couch. “I wish he’d told me more,” she grumbled. “Like how the hell I’m supposed to defeat this woman when I’ve got no special powers.”
Surprise had Adrian pivoting to face her. “You’re kidding, right?” At her silence, he came to sit beside her. “Don’t you remember what you did before you blacked out?”
She shook her head.
He ran a jerky palm over his face. “Did you notice that hole in the bedroom wall, right next to the door?”
“Yeah, what happened?” She’d seen the damage on her way out of the room and assumed Adrian had had something to do with it. “Did you lose your temper?”
“No. I went flying into it.”
Shock rioted through her at his words. “How?”
“Before you lost consciousness, you started to glow. I’m not talking about the usual glow a soul emits. This was different, powerful. I could feel the light flowing off you, this bright, pulsing current of energy. Next thing I knew, I was lying across the room covered in plaster.”
Emma’s pulse picked up speed. “I had no idea. How did I do that?”
Silence was his only response.
“You shattered the wall.” It was Christina who spoke. “And I’m not talking about the bedroom wall. I’m talking about the barrier in your mind. Since it was the only thing holding your abilities in check, it makes sense that you’d have some kind of physical reaction when it collapsed.”
Emma turned to Adrian. “I could’ve hurt you.”
“You didn’t.”
“But I could’ve.” She didn’t want to be a danger to him, to anyone. All she’d ever wanted was to help people. Instead, she’d become some kind of weapon of mass destruction. “I have to figure out how to control it. If I don’t, I’m liable to hurt someone.”
“The Watchers may be able to assist you with that,” Adrian said. “But that would mean going to their complex in Oregon.”
She clutched his fingers in a death grip. “Only if you can come with me.”
Shadows fringed his eyes. “I’ll give Marcus a call, see what I can arrange.”
He covered her hand with his free one, and suddenly everything made sense. She could do this. She could save the world, as long as Adrian stood by her side. They were destined to find each other, regardless of what her mother said. She felt it.
The sense of rightness only lasted a heartbeat. Then a cold finger slid down her spine. Adrian must’ve felt it, too, because he sprang to his feet and made a beeline for the kitchen. Following his lead, Christina hastened to the window and aimed a worried glance at the sky.
Thunder boomed, and Emma stood and joined her mother at the window. She wondered what Adrian was doing in the kitchen. She could hear drawers being flung open and doors being slammed shut.
“A storm is coming.” Dark foreboding laced her mother’s tone.
Boiling clouds rolled in from the north, their bellies thick and bloated. “What do you think it means?”
“They’re coming.” Adrian returned with an armful of knives.
Emma’s heart took off at a gallop. “The Kleptopsychs?”
He gave a brisk nod, then tossed the knives on the coffee table. “Quick, coat these with your blood.”
“What about the guns?”
“Eddie took them after the ambush in Maryvale. Not sure what he did with them. I tried calling him, but he’s not answering his phone. These knives are all we’ve got.”
She grabbed one of the blades, a small paring knife, and slid the cold metal across her palm. Burning pain erupted at the incision site, and she winced. Adrian watched her with a grievous expression, loath to see her in pain but knowing they had no choice.
Next she coated a carving knife, followed by a bread knife. By the time she was done, they were each armed with two blades. Since rain was imminent, Adrian had instructed Emma to wrap each knife in plastic wrap to keep her blood from being washed away.
“What now?” she asked him, as her mom cursed in the background.
He put on a pair of leather gloves and a matching jacket. “Our best chance is to try to outrun them. But we’ve got to hurry.”
The sky issued another garbled warning. Rain pummeled the windowpanes, screaming to be let in. Emma’s muscles turned to stone. She didn’t need Adrian to tell her the Kleptopsychs were minutes away from darkening their doorstep.
She grabbed her own jacket from the closet and selected a raincoat for her mom, tossing it at her. “Let’s go.”
Christina’s movements were labored as she slid into the raincoat, and Emma realized her mom had not yet recovered from her ordeal. There was no way she could go another round with the Kleptopsychs. Emma laced her arm around her mother’s, helping her to the door.
Outside, rain beat angry fists against the ground, and she aimed a sympathetic glance Adrian’s way. Water was as detrimental to his kind as copper or angel’s blood. Now that she’d reclaimed her old memories, she recalled how close he’d come to drowning that night in the East River. The rain would freeze him to the bone and eventually weaken him. That was the curse he bore, along with the rest of his race.
“Are you all right?” she asked him, noting his stiff jaw and the bone-white hue of his flesh as the rain struck him. The jacket offered some protection, but from the looks of it, it wasn’t enough.
“I’m fine. Keep going.”
When they reached the Tahoe, he handed her the keys. “Take your mother and go. There’s a town about three miles south of here. You’re cloaked, so the Kleptopsychs won’t be able to track you.”
“What about you?”
His mouth flattened, his expression as dark as the storm clouds raging overhead. “I’ve got to warn the others. I’ll meet you there when this is over.”
The idea of leaving without him chilled her. “No. The others will sense the threat. You don’t have to stay.”
“They’re unarmed,” he countered. “Eddie has all the weapons, and he’s not around. If I can get into his place and find them—”
She propelled herself into his arms, crushing him to her. A shudder coursed through him, whether it was a result of the rain or her fervid embrace, she couldn’t say. “I’m coming with you.”
“Like hell you are.” Christina clutched her arm and yanked her toward the SUV. “I didn’t vacation in hell so they can get you now.”
“No.” She tore free from her mom’s grasp. “This is my battle. Not his, not yours.” She gave her mother the keys. “You take the car and go.”
“I’m not leaving without you,” Christina threatened. “So make your choice.”
Was this the decision she had to make—escort her mother to safety or stay and fight with Adrian? She looked at Adrian, his features drawn, his body sh
ivering as the rain took its toll on him. His eyes urged her to leave, even as her heart ached to stay.
Then she looked at her mother, thin and brittle and ready to break. Christina wouldn’t survive another encounter with the Kleptopsychs. Emma was certain of it. Now that she’d finally gotten her mother back, how could she risk losing her again?
There really was only one choice she could make. “Get in the car,” she ordered her mom, retrieving the keys from her. Christina had taken care of Emma her whole life. Now, the time had come for her to return the favor. She would drive her mom to the nearest town, then come back for Adrian and the others. Three miles was nothing. If she floored it, she could make it there and back in no time.
Christina did as she was told, sliding into the passenger seat. Emma took her position behind the wheel, aiming one last beseeching glance at Adrian. Stay safe.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, he nodded, right before he disappeared into the thick shroud of rain.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Thunder boomed, seconds after lightning lacerated the sky. Adrian fought the chilling effect of the storm and forged ahead. His first stop was Ralph’s place. Twilight pressed down on him as he knocked on the chaplain’s door.
“Ralph? You in there?”
No answer. Adrian knocked again, harder. “Ralph?”
Unbolting the lock with the power of his mind, he willed the door open and stepped inside. It felt good to get out of the rain, even for a few seconds. He was glad Emma had listened to her mother and left. He couldn’t have done what he needed to do had she remained at his side.
“Ralph?” He scoured the house, but the place was empty. Strange, the chaplain’s car was out front. Where would he go without it?
Leaving Ralph’s place, he hastened next door to William’s, only to find his townhouse deserted as well. William’s Nissan was parked in the driveway. A bad feeling began to fester in his gut. Where the hell was everybody?
Crossing the street, he breached Eddie’s townhouse, hardly surprised when this unit, too, proved empty. Something wasn’t right here.
He vaulted up the stairs and barreled into the spare room, where he knew the cop kept his arsenal of weapons. The room had been stripped bare. That was when he knew he’d been betrayed by one of his own. There was no way the Kleptopsychs could’ve tracked Emma or her mom here, which meant someone must’ve tipped them off.
“Damn it, Eddie. What did you do?”
The storm picked up speed, pelting the roof, punching at the windows. The glass proved too weak to withstand the assault, and one window exploded in a shimmering display of diamond-like shards. An angry gust howled through the opening, spitting rain into the vacant room.
Tightening his grip on the butcher knife he held, reassured by the solid feel of the hilt in his gloved hand, Adrian bolted down the stairs and prepared to brave the storm.
There was no point staying here a moment longer. He’d jack one of the abandoned cars and follow Emma to the neighboring town. There was still a chance they’d survive this, Eddie’s treachery aside.
Filling his lungs with cold, damp air, Adrian shot outside, where rain slashed the air as storm clouds continued to mourn the dying day. Chills racked his body, but he ignored them, plowing toward the nearest vehicle—Norman’s Jeep Cherokee, which was parked at the curb.
He jumped behind the wheel and willed the motor to life, but it sputtered and died. “What the hell—” Concentrating, he ran a quick scan of the Jeep and noticed that the gas line had been cut. A black, greasy stain blotted the concrete beneath the SUV.
Someone had gone to great lengths to ensure Adrian didn’t suspect a goddamn thing, while cutting off all possible escape routes.
Too late he thought of Emma and her mother. If the Jeep had been sabotaged, there was a good possibility the Tahoe had been, as well.
With a colorful oath, he shot out of the SUV and hurried down the road after Emma, determined to catch up to her.
He barely made it around the corner when a horde of Kleptopsychs spilled from the trees to block his path.
The road curled ahead, cutting a swath through the forest, but Emma could hardly see the thin ribbon of gravel past the rain curtaining her windshield. Wind shook the Tahoe, fierce and relentless in its attack. Thankfully, the truck held its ground, maintaining traction despite the quickly flooding landscape.
The dry, clay-like soil wouldn’t be able to withstand this kind of downpour for long. Soon, the numerous arroyos lining the valley would fill and overflow. She’d only lived in Arizona for a short while, but she knew when a flash flood was imminent.
Their only hope was to make it to the main road before that happened. But what about Adrian? He’d never survive a flood. He’d grow gradually weaker until he drowned.
Emma floored the gas pedal and spun the Tahoe around, urgency shooting through her system. She didn’t have time to make it to the nearest town. She had to turn back.
“What are you doing?” Christina clutched the armrest, as though she feared the sudden change of direction would rip the door from its hinges.
“Going back for Adrian.”
“You can’t.” Panic laced her mother’s tone. “You need to save yourself.”
Emma’s fingernails dug into the steering wheel. “That’s what you’ve been telling me my whole life, and I’m sick of it.”
Since she’d been reborn, she’d done nothing but flee and hide. She’d changed schools more times than she could count. She’d left friends behind, even a boyfriend or two.
Well, no more. Adrian needed her, and she’d be damned if she tucked tail and ran again.
“I can’t allow you to do this.” Her mom scanned their surroundings with a wild-eyed stare.
“Mama, you really don’t have a choice.”
Christina visibly wilted. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Maybe so, but it’s my mistake to make.”
The SUV lost speed, and Emma pressed on the gas, urging it forward. The engine coughed and choked, then died altogether.
“Shit.” The Tahoe’s sluggish advance slowed to a crawl, finally coming to a stop beneath a blustering tangle of trees.
Emma rested her head against the steering wheel, her heart beating in tune with the storm. As desperate as she was to get to Adrian, it seemed fate had other plans for her.
Rain hissed and rattled as it struck the now-useless SUV. The wind released a hysterical cackle, and Emma couldn’t help but feel nature was laughing at her.
The sudden gale nearly lifted Adrian off his feet. He fought to hold his ground as the Kleptopsychs closed in on him. Rain penetrated the fabric of his clothing despite the jacket he wore. It plastered his shirt to his body and made ice crust along his bones.
But the Kleptopsychs remained as dry as the desert. Wherever they stepped, rain ceased to fall.
For a second he thought his eyes were deceiving him. Rain blurred his vision as rivulets of water streamed down his face. He blinked, but the illusion persisted. That was when he saw the woman.
She stood at the heart of the procession, her hands turned toward the heavens, her fingers bent like claws. Pin-straight black hair streamed down her back, stopping at her waist. Her skin was bruised and mottled, and a pair of tar-colored eyes peered out of a warped face.
This had to be the woman Tina had spoken about, Kora’s accomplice.
The downpour accelerated, grew more violent. She was doing this, he realized. This creature, whoever the hell she was, had cracked open the clouds and was willing Mother Nature to drown them all.
Kora had chosen her team well.
The ground beneath his feet shuddered, and a flash of water rushed toward him, littered with rocks and debris. A fallen log smashed into Norman’s forgotten Jeep. Another slammed into the line of acacias bordering William’s townhouse, toppling them over.
Without a second thought, Adrian turned and headed for higher ground.
He wasn’t fast enough.
The ground rolled out from under him, as a violent current swept him off his feet and sent him lurching through the quickly flooding valley.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
They couldn’t stay in the Tahoe. If they did, they’d be sitting ducks. Emma swung the door open decisively. The wind resisted, but eventually she prevailed.
“What are you doing?” her mother asked.
“We have to move. The motor’s dead, and a flood is coming.” There was an odd current in the air, a dark static that prickled her skin and made goose bumps spring from her pores. “I can feel it.”
“We won’t get far in this weather.” Christina gestured to the turbulent scene beyond the windows.
“Maybe, but it beats waiting here to be ambushed.” With those words, she exited the vehicle and plowed into the storm. A reluctant Christina joined her, and together they labored uphill.
“I’m not sure I have the strength for this,” her mom groaned.
“Sure you do. You’re the strongest woman I know.” Emma gave her mom’s arm an affectionate squeeze, encouraging her to keep moving.
The clouds boiled overhead, the rain increasing in fury, and Christina stumbled.
Emma tightened her hold on her mom. “I’ve got you. Just keep moving.” A few yards ahead, a small wooden structure caught her eye. Emboldened, she trudged toward it, half-carrying, half-dragging her mother up the steep incline.
When they drew nearer, she realized what she’d seen was an abandoned group of stables. Two barn-like buildings sat side by side, each equipped with stalls. A large enclosure, surrounded by a dilapidated fence, flanked the stables.
Quickening her pace, Emma squeezed through the broken gate and led her mom inside one of the buildings, where rain ceased to assault them. Her mother instantly collapsed in the nearest corner, hugging herself to keep from shivering.
She squatted beside Christina. “You’ll be safe here. The flood won’t reach this high.” Which was probably why the stables had been built so far uphill.
“You’re not thinking of leaving me, are you?”