Unmasked

by Dale Mayer

  “I don’t know,” Sebastian admitted. “That’s what brought me here this last time. To keep an eye on the site and to figure out what exactly was happening. Instead I got sidelined with you.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to take you away from your work.”

  “It’s not taking me away from my work,” he said gently, “because I’m pretty damn sure it’s all connected. I just have to figure out how. And, like everything, when tearing stuff apart, it looks messier until you put things back together again. It’s only then that we’ll find out exactly what’s going on here and who’s behind all of it.”

  “You think somebody’s behind it all?” she said, her footsteps slowing as she turned to look up at him. “Is it one of us?”

  He shrugged, his lips twisting into a lopsided grin. “Maybe,” he said. “It definitely involves you. That we know for sure.” He leaned over and kissed her.

  *

  It was all Sebastian could do to get her back to her apartment building, especially when she demanded to walk on her own two feet. Sebastian frowned at Hunter but otherwise kept his gaze locked on her. She was groggy and shaky still. By the time he had her inside, he’d taken her to his place.

  She sagged onto the couch and shot him a look. “I can’t say I’m feeling very good again,” she confessed.

  “Just rest,” Hunter said, sitting down beside her.

  Sebastian walked into the kitchen and poured her a large glass of cold water and brought it to her. “Do you need to see Juan?”

  She looked at him blankly.

  “The doctor?”

  She shook her head. “No. Unless he’s a spiritual doctor.”

  “No,” Sebastian said, “he’s not. He’s a regular flesh-and-blood doctor.”

  “I don’t think whatever’s wrong with me is a flesh-and-blood issue.”

  “You don’t know though,” he said. “It could be your electrolytes are off balance, making you dizzy.”

  Her grin slipped out, charming him, even as it disappeared quickly again. “He’s more likely to label me a lunatic when I tell him about the things I see and that barrier I went through, even before I get to the black-energy mask.”

  Sebastian frowned, tapping his foot gently on the floor as he contemplated the issue. “We really do need somebody who is more of a psychic healer.”

  Even as Hunter nodded, she chuckled at the thought. And then she realized they appeared to be serious. “Are you for real right now?” she asked.

  Sebastian nodded. “Absolutely. I mean, if there are psychic investigators and mediums and all the rest of the psychic specialties out there, there must also be psychic healers.”

  “I do know somebody,” Hunter said, “but she’s extremely busy.”

  “And we won’t bother her,” Lacey said firmly. “Nothing’s wrong with me.”

  “Something is definitely wrong with you,” Hunter said. “But I’m not sure it’s serious. I think it’s more about your energy needing to rise to the vibrational level being required of it.”

  She stared at him, her mouth dropping open, and then she slowly closed it, reached for the water and drank half of it in one gulp. “I’m going to forget you just said that.” She looked at Sebastian. “I need food. Remember how I had almost no lunch. I’m probably just feeling the effects of the heat and the lack of food and water too.” She held up the half-empty glass, then finished the rest of the water and handed it to him. “Refill please.”

  He obediently refilled it for her and came back watching as her energy faded quickly.

  “I’m not sure I’m up to going anywhere right now.” She glanced around and yawned. “Maybe I should have a nap instead of food.”

  “No, you need food,” Hunter said. “At least another granola bar.”

  “Do you carry anything else in that backpack of yours?”

  He shrugged. “Only food that’s packable and easy to travel with.”

  She nodded. “The others are all going out for dinner soon, right?”

  Sebastian checked his watch. “They should be showering right now.”

  She thought about it. “If I have a quick nap and a shower, then we can all go together.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Sebastian said.

  “It is a good idea,” she insisted. “You need to make things as normal as possible.”

  “Why is that?” Hunter asked.

  “Because there’s already unrest with me supposedly too attached to Sebastian. It’s never a good idea for the newest employee to come and have an affair with the boss man,” she said drily. “And, although that might be fun, it isn’t exactly what’s happening, and I don’t like the insinuations or the suspicions that something like that is going on.”

  “Work romances happen all over the place,” Hunter said. “It’s hardly an issue here. And what does anybody else care? You’re both consenting adults.”

  Sebastian was interested in her answer. He was also interested in what she’d said earlier because he thought an affair would be just fine too. But he wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

  “We are consenting adults, but I do get a sense of unrest because of us being together so much,” she said. “The jokes are more pointed, as if people are not happy about it. I didn’t come over here to cause trouble. I had hoped to have a wonderful vacation, fulfilling a dream for me, not living this nightmare I’m currently embroiled in.”

  “Understood,” Sebastian agreed. “But, like Hunter said, even if we were dating, there’s no reason anybody else should be upset about it.”

  “But they are though, aren’t they?” She put him on the spot.

  He nodded slowly. “From the sideways glances, the nudging and some of the tones when people speak with me, potentially yes. But I’m not sure why.”

  “Neither am I,” she said, stifling a yawn.

  “Let’s get you back to your place so you can nap, take a quick shower, then we can all go out for dinner,” Sebastian said. He turned to Hunter. “Do you want to join us?”

  Hunter was already up and walking toward the front door. “No, I’m fine. I’ll see you later tonight.” And he walked out.

  Sebastian helped Lacey to her feet and walked her to the door. Outside he led her down the hall to the other apartment.

  “You know if we walk in together that they’ll say something.”

  “It doesn’t matter what they say,” he said briskly. He opened the door, and the conversation that had been light and jovial came to a screeching halt. He led Lacey inside and motioned to her bedroom. “Remember what the doctor said. Take a nap, then a shower before we go out for dinner.”

  Chana jumped to her feet and came running over. “Did she have another accident?”

  “No, but she passed out on the trail,” Sebastian said. “The head injury appears to still be an issue.”

  Chana led Lacey into the bedroom and out of sight.

  Sebastian turned and looked around at the rest of them, gathered together before dinnertime. “It seems like the entire gang is here,” he said lightly. “That’s a good thing. I’m asking you to keep an eye on Lacey, in case she passes out again.”

  “Should she even be out there if she’s in danger?” Mark asked. “That’s hardly safe for her or for us.”

  “I don’t think it’ll be an issue after this, but she didn’t eat her lunch and neither did she have water.” Somebody snorted in the background. He wasn’t sure who. “She wasn’t prepared, and we all know what that means. In this case hopefully she’s learned her lesson, but, combined with the head injury, I don’t want any more incidents.” He checked his watch. “I’ve got time to grab a shower myself. I presume dinner is at the usual time?”

  “We’re thinking about pushing it back a bit, if that’s all right with you,” Tom said.

  “Better for Lacey definitely,” Sebastian said, “and easier for me too, considering I haven’t showered yet. I’ll be back in about an hour and a half then.”
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br />   He walked out, staying close to the door in the hall, but he couldn’t hear the conversations going on inside. In his own apartment he stopped at the door, surprised to see Jeremiah in the living room. “Hey,” Sebastian said, striding forward. “I wondered where you got to.”

  “Bloody business stuff,” Jeremiah said. “How’s the girl?”

  Sebastian shrugged, not sure if Jeremiah meant after today’s incident or just in general. “She’s improving,” he prevaricated. “But we certainly had a bizarre day.”

  “I hear you there.” He motioned at the books on the table in front of him. “That mask drawing is downright freaky.”

  Sebastian flipped a chair around and sat on it backward, facing Jeremiah. “Let me tell you what happened.” And he told him about Lacey’s experience with the black energy and the mask forming on her face.

  Jeremiah was stunned. “Holy shit. This is happening all over again, isn’t it?”

  “I’m hoping not. But I can’t tell yet. Although there were no masks back then – at least none I saw.”

  “We don’t want to wait until it’s so bad that we can tell,” Jeremiah said.

  “But what can we do?” Sebastian’s tone was heavy. “We saw it happen in front of us ten years ago, and we couldn’t stop it then. What are you expecting we can do this time?”

  “She’s going to die, you know,” Jeremiah stated.

  Sebastian’s heart clenched. He gave a hard shake of his head. “Not if I can stop it.”

  Jeremiah searched Sebastian’s gaze. “You’re sweet on her, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not exactly sure what I am,” he said in a short-tempered tone. “But I would like to know where our relationship stands and what we have and where we may be going, and I need time for that to develop.”

  “That energy didn’t give us any damn time at all at the Mayan site. From the very first, we knew something supernatural was going on. We had people dying shortly thereafter, like in a handful of days.”

  “I know,” Sebastian said. “And, from that time frame perspective, it looks like we’re heading into more serious events than minor accidents and broken or missing tools. However we have no proof that these two events are going to follow the same timeframe.”

  “How can you say that?” Jeremiah asked. “Since she first saw these buildings, it’s already been six days. For all you know, people will start dying tonight.”

  “Things are similar but different. Nothing from then can be used as anything as a guide. No one has died yet, for one.”

  Sebastian hoped not. He hoped nobody would die. But he knew he definitely didn’t have any plan in place to stop an attack so fast. After all, at the Mayan site, all they saw was the negative energy. One very strong and powerful male energy and very, very, very angry. “I have to send a message.” He pulled out his phone and sent Stefan an update on the situation. As he pocketed his phone, Sebastian said, “I’ll grab a shower, and then we’ll join the crew for dinner.”

  Jeremiah nodded. “I’m not going though,” he said. “I don’t like being around so many people. And I don’t want to get to know anybody any better. They’re all going to die.”

  Chapter 19

  Somehow Lacey managed to grab a fifteen-minute power nap. When she woke up, she had to admit that she felt a hell of a lot better. She made her way to the shower and adjusted it to a cool-water spray, quickly rinsing off, not wanting to hold everybody up for dinner. By the time she was dressed again and went out to the living room, it was to find the others impatiently waiting.

  Chana jumped to her feet. “There you are.”

  Lacey smiled at her. “Done and ready to go.”

  The others grumbled a little, but they all raced to the door.

  “I gather everybody’s hungry,” Lacey said lightly.

  Mark nodded. “Absolutely.”

  They filed out one at a time. Chana waited for Lacey to go ahead of her and then locked up the apartment behind them. Lacey couldn’t help looking down the hall to see where Sebastian was.

  Chana grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. “Forget about the boss.”

  “I get that nobody’s happy we’re friends,” she said, “but I don’t understand why anybody would really be against it. It’s not like we’re sleeping together, even though we are consenting adults. We’re both single and available.”

  “I think it’s that currying favor kind of thing that pisses them all off,” Chana said.

  “I’m only here for a couple weeks or so. It’s hard to curry lasting favor when I’ll be gone before the month’s end. I’m not on the payroll. I’m not trying to climb within the foundation,” Lacey said in a dry tone. “And, to repeat, we aren’t sleeping together.”

  Outside the heat wave slammed into her again. It took her several moments of deep breathing to catch her breath; then she followed along behind Chana.

  “Good point but, for some reason, ever since you’ve gotten here, there’s been nothing but problems.”

  “That’s not fair either. The problems started before I arrived,” Lacey said quietly. “And I would do anything to have changed the impression of me as being some weak, scatterbrained, accident-prone female because that’s not who I am. But, since I’ve been here, I know I’ve given nothing but a bad impression to everyone.”

  “Well, the longer you stay without any more problems on the site,” Chana said, deliberately keeping her tone light and bubbly, “that perception will change.”

  “Like I can stop the things happening on the site,” Lacey grumbled.

  They walked into a new restaurant for Lacey. “What do you guys have, a group of favorite restaurants you rotate through?”

  “Absolutely,” Chana said. “We’re going upstairs on the balcony. It’s beautiful up there.”

  Lacey was happy to know they were headed upstairs where there was room for all of them, and she found Sebastian already seated. He patted the chair beside him. She glanced at Chana to find her studiously looking away. Lacey thought about sitting elsewhere, for all of a split second, then realized she really did want to sit with him. And, if everybody else had a problem with it, well, that was their problem. Too bad. She walked over to Sebastian and sat down.

  “You look better,” he said.

  She smiled. “Thanks. I feel better.”

  And, for the rest of the meal, things seemed normal. She could eat, and her stomach wasn’t touchy. The heat didn’t bother her; the conversation appeared to be light and friendly. All in all, it was a great social gathering.

  When they were done, she went to stand up with the rest of the group, heading off to a pub. But Sebastian held her down in her chair. “I need to speak with you.”

  She glanced over at Chana, who shrugged and walked away.

  “Go with them if you want.” He stared deep into her eyes. “Is that what you want?” He withdrew his hand.

  She sighed, and, being honest with herself and him also, she said, “No, that’s not what I want. It always seems so awkward, and I don’t like that.”

  “I don’t either,” he said. “And I don’t know why it would be.”

  “Maybe if they just accepted that we’re friends, it would be easier.”

  He gave her a warm grin.

  “What did you want to speak to me about?”

  “I suggest you don’t go to the site tomorrow.”

  She frowned up at him. “That would not make me happy,” she said in confusion. “That’s the whole reason I came here.”

  “I get that, but you keep getting injured. And your body needs a chance to heal. A day of rest would do that for you.”

  Inside she could feel something urging her to ignore him. She frowned, her finger tracing the pattern on the tablecloth in front of her. “See my mind says that’s okay, but my heart is disappointed. And something inside me says I have to go.”

  “Where’s that feeling coming from?”

  She placed her hand over her solar plexus.

  He nodded.
“If you’re going tomorrow, I want to go with you,” he said shortly. “I don’t want you alone at any time.”

  She wrinkled her face up at him. “When I get caught up in my pictures, in my photographing daze, it can last for hours, which would be boring for anyone tagging along.”

  “I’ve seen you,” he confessed. “I often wondered what you see behind that lens.”

  “Very different things than you apparently,” she said with a light laugh.

  Just then their waiter came back around, offering more drinks. Sebastian ordered more wine for the two of them.

  She smiled and said, “This is almost a date.”

  “We can classify it as a date, if you’d like.”

  “I don’t think dates are supposed to be optional. Either it is or it isn’t,” she said with a laugh. “As it started with a gathering of coworkers, I hardly think this classifies.”

  “But sitting here and having a glass of wine under the moonlight definitely does.” He lifted his glass, clinking it gently with hers. “To us and many more interesting conversations.”

  She smiled, clinked her glass back, and they both took sips of the wine. Her face scrunched up. It still tasted off. Placing her glass down, she settled back. “What do you think it means that I have to go in tomorrow?” She played with the long stem of the wineglass.

  “I don’t know, but I suspect whatever is happening is building to something big,” he said.

  “Is that what happened at your old site ten years ago?”

  He nodded. “It seemed like there was nothing, nothing, nothing, and then things happened that we couldn’t really get a handle on. So we didn’t think they were major at first. But, all of a sudden, things became major, and then they became deadly.”

  “And how does that correlate to what’s going on right now?”

  “I’d say we’re in the major stage.”

  She could feel all the heat blanching from her skin. “That doesn’t leave much time before things get deadly.”