Touched by Light

by Spangler, Catherine

  And there were several—the specter of William Bennett, both past and present, hanging over her; the horror of a powerful Belian unleashing its bloodthirsty malice on innocent people; and her own awakening libido and attraction to a man who was way out of her league.

  She shouldn’t even be thinking about herself, or sex in any form, at a time like this. But her body was still tingling from the raging lust generated during the conduction. The conduction itself had been overwhelming, both horrifying and intriguing. She could deal with the chakra energies and the images—she hoped. What she didn’t need was for her body to come awake sexually, or to have these carnal thoughts which focused on one man. Adam.

  It was simply the Sanctioned/conductor link. She knew that on an intellectual level. She and Adam were on two completely different planes of existence, their only commonality a bond that couldn’t be explained by any known science. Logic, reason, and routine was Julia’s life mantra—the only things that had kept her on an even keel the past twelve years. She didn’t need—or want—sex to upset the balance of her carefully ordered life.

  Sure. Tell that to her body. It was humming to life, sexual need becoming a relentless craving. For the first time in twelve years, she actually began to think she might be able to have a nonplatonic relationship with a man. But not with Adam Masters. He was too far out of her realm. She needed to find a nice, staid professor or engineer. Until then, she needed to exercise her considerable self-control.

  She gulped down a generous portion of her margarita. Like that was going to help anything. “Ready for a refill?” Miriam asked.

  It was tempting, but Julia shook her head. “No. I guess I’d better stay reasonably sober, in case Adam wants to do a third-eye link tonight.” Or another conduction.

  She hoped it wouldn’t be the latter. She wasn’t sure she could control herself if her hormones ramped any higher. She had a sudden mental image of Adam nude, of him sliding over her and inside her, his eyes hot, and that incongruous diamond stud in his ear glittering. Get a grip, she told herself. But that didn’t stop the heat wave that swept her body.

  “Are you okay, Dr. Reynolds? You look flushed.”

  “It’s just the drink.” Julia picked up the copy of Journal of Numerical Mathematics she’d been flipping through earlier and fanned herself with it. “And please call me Julia. I think our relationship has advanced beyond professor and student.”

  “Sure . . . Julia.” Miriam capped the polish. “It feels strange calling you that. But I guess it’s not any stranger than all the stuff you’ve been telling me.”

  Over their first margarita and the food, Julia had related the story of the Dallas bomber/Belian. She’d filled in some of the information gaps on Sentinels and Belians and conductors, and answered Miriam’s questions. They’d skimmed along the edge of the sexual aspect of conductions. Julia didn’t have all the answers there, and Miriam didn’t seem anxious to discuss sexual matters with her professor.

  Julia had to admit it was a relief to be able to discuss the situation with someone who was a “normal” human—well, normal compared to Adam and Sean. Miriam was open-minded, laid-back, and her brilliant mind quickly assimilated and correctly interpreted the data. Probably because of her own abilities and experiences, she hadn’t batted an eyelash at the details, not even at the possibility of possession.

  Miriam had a few choice things to say about Sean, and Julia had found herself laughing at Miriam’s narrative and her opinion of him. She was relieved to know that Miriam understood some of the demons driving Sean’s abrasive behavior, and could hold her own with him. Julia wasn’t so sure she could say the same in her dealings with Adam.

  “I think I will have a third margarita,” she decided, when Miriam got up to refill her own glass. To hell with staying sober. Being clearheaded hadn’t helped her thus far.

  “Good decision, Julia.” Miriam brought over the pitcher, poured with a flourish. “It might make this news crap more bearable. Or not. Hey, want me to paint your nails for you?”

  Julia wasn’t quite ready for purple nail polish—yet. “Maybe after this drink.”

  “Sounds good.” Miriam settled on the love seat, took a healthy swallow of her drink. “So are all Sentinel men hot?”

  “Hot, as in good-looking?”

  “Yeah. You know—” Miriam waved her hand, with its color coordinated dark green-and-purple-striped fingernails. “Attractive, magnetic, and sexy as hell. I’ve only met these two Sentinels that I know of—Adam and Sean, but both of them are prime. They’ve got that ultra-bad-boy vibe that has the attraction factor of a black hole. I don’t even like bad boys, and I can feel the pull. I can only guess the draw would be much stronger for a conductor, and very hard to resist.”

  Tell me about it, Julia thought. She remembered Damien Morgan, a Sentinel she’d met in Dallas. Yep, he had the sexy-as-sin aura, too. “I think they all have a magnetic appeal,” she said. “It’s not just looks, but more of an intangible quality. And yes, it seems the attraction is more powerful between Sentinels and conductors, even more so if they’re matched.”

  “You should know,” Miriam said. “You and Adam have really heated vibes when you’re around each other. He looks at you like he could eat you up in one big bite. It’s kind of cool.”

  So now that they were on a first-name basis—or maybe it was the third margarita—Miriam wasn’t as shy about the sexual talk.

  “It’s not like that with Adam and me,” Julia protested, resisting the urge to fan herself again. “Our relationship is strictly platonic.”

  “If you say so.” But Miriam didn’t look convinced.

  The sound of the front door opening caught their attention. Sean came in, followed by Adam. Both men looked grim, and the air around them practically crackled with negative energy.

  “Uh-oh,” Miriam said. “The auras don’t look so good. Lots of red and orange going on there.”

  Sean stalked to the wet bar, checked the mini-fridge. Finding nothing there, he grabbed the margarita pitcher and a glass. “I hope this stuff has juice.”

  “It does,” Miriam said. “But probably not enough.”

  Julia’s focus was on Adam. His face set in hard lines, he took off his trench coat, tossed it over a dining room chair. His body was as stiff as his expression.

  “Did you find anything helpful?” she asked, although she suspected not. “Or maybe I should say useful?”

  “Not a goddamn thing.” Sean downed the contents of the glass.

  “Too many people there to get a clear reading,” Adam said. “I’ll have to go back later for that. But we picked up traces of the Belian. It was definitely there.”

  “In the vision tonight, we saw a dark-haired man shooting the gun,” Julia said. “We thought at the time that wasn’t the Belian. Does that still hold?”

  “Yes.” Adam paced around the table.

  “So what does that mean?” Miriam asked.

  Sean clutched his glass. “It means Matt wasn’t the one pulling the trigger.”

  “That’s not completely true,” Adam said. “What happened tonight makes the situation trickier. It appears the Belian has been able to tap into Matt’s Sentinel abilities, which combined with its own abilities, makes it very powerful and formidable. I believe that with that combination, it’s able to dominate other minds—something a Sentinel or Belian couldn’t normally do. And tonight it used mind control to force a police officer to draw his gun and start shooting.”

  “So that’s what happened,” Julia said, feeling sick inside. Knowing the Belian had used an innocent person as the instrument of its evil made the situation even worse. “That’s why we didn’t see Matt in the visions and dreams.”

  “It wouldn’t have been Matt you were seeing,” Sean said. “It was the fucking Belian.”

  “In Matt’s physical body,” Adam pointed out. “But yes, we all need to remember that. We might come face-to-face with someone who looks like Matt, but it might not be Matt who’s in
control.”

  Julia watched Sean turn away, his shoulders slumping. He was facing the possible destruction of a man who was the only father he’d ever known. “What a mess,” she said.

  “One positive thing is that Matt is fighting back,” Adam said. “I felt his energy again tonight, tried to phone him. He didn’t answer, but he was conscious longer this time. We have to hope he gains the strength to overcome the Belian.”

  Miriam sent Sean a sympathetic glance. “What do we do now?”

  “We need to keep our focus on the Belian,” Adam said. “There will be more attacks, and they will probably escalate. Belial’s thirst for blood is never sated, and as a result, Belians constantly crave the thrill of disaster and human suffering. We have to figure out where this one will hit next.”

  He paced the dining area, apparently deep in thought. Halting, he said, “We can’t do much more tonight. We picked up only a trace of the Belian’s energy, not enough to amplify the psychic signature we already have.”

  It was pure cowardice, but Julia felt a surge of relief that they probably wouldn’t do another conduction tonight.

  “Sean, I want you to feed what little Belian energy you absorbed to Miriam,” Adam said, and then looked at Miriam. “I’m sorry to do that to you, but I’m hoping it might generate some information through the cards or the pendulum.”

  “I can handle it,” she said, “but we might want to hit a drugstore first and stock up on some Pepto-Bismol. That Belian stuff makes me nauseous.”

  “Sean can help you with the nausea. And, Miriam, thank you. Your abilities and your cooperation are appreciated.”

  “You’re welcome. I know I was sent here for a purpose, and I hope I can help.”

  “You already have,” Adam said. “Sean, I also want you to monitor the police scanner through the night, and contact me if you hear anything that’s the least bit suspicious. I’m going to shift my attentions elsewhere.”

  “Okay,” Sean said. “But I still want to go with you when you return to the BCS.”

  “I’ll think about it and let you know. For now, let’s call it a night.”

  Sean opened the door and waited while Miriam gathered up her stuff. “Hey, how do you like my nails?” she asked as they walked out.

  “You really don’t want to know,” he said.

  Adam closed the door and sighed. Julia suppressed a laugh. “She’s learning how to yank his chain.”

  “It’s probably good for him. He’s too closed-minded in some ways, and in others, mature beyond his years.” Adam sat on the couch and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “This is a hell of a mess, and it’s my fault. I’ve got to get a handle on it.”

  He’d never sounded this shaken before, or at least, he’d never allowed her to see it.

  She sat next to him. “You’re blaming yourself?”

  “I’m responsible for everything that happens in Texas, and for this current situation. I should have kept a closer eye on Matt, should have taken action faster when he started fading out.”

  “Someone always has to be responsible. Someone has to be in charge and make the executive decisions. But that doesn’t mean this is your fault,” she pointed out. “Texas is a big place, and you’ve told me there’s a lot of Belian activity, and you have numerous Sentinels and conductors to coordinate, keep track of, and generally meddle in their lives. Don’t force me to remind you yet again that you’re not God.”

  “I’m well aware of that fact. But it’s good to know you won’t let me forget.” Despite the light tone of his words, he still radiated tension, and his eyes were shadowed.

  She had the absurd urge to comfort him, to rub the tension from his shoulders, and ease the weight of his responsibilities. Not a good impulse, and one she would avoid. “So now what?”

  “I don’t know yet.” He tapped his fingers on his thigh. “I need to work with the energy I picked up tonight. It’s not much, just enough to tell me that the Belian was on the Riverwalk during the shooting. But it might be enough to trigger one of your visions.” He held out his hand. “If you would.”

  “Oh, you know I live to see images of carnage and terror.” She drew a deep breath and steeling herself, took his hand.

  She waited for the disoriented sensation, for the gray fog preceding her visions, but it didn’t come. She felt the usual tingling sexual energy, but that was all. After several moments, she opened her eyes, looked at Adam. “There’s nothing. I’m not seeing anything.”

  “I was afraid of that.” He released her hand. “There’s nothing to see yet. The Belian hasn’t decided its next move. When I can get closer to the actual crime scene on the Riverwalk, I’ll pick up more energy, and then perhaps we’ll be able to glean more information. Right now, I’ve got to check in with my Sentinels and check on Belian activity in the rest of the state. Later, I’ll probably go for a swim.”

  “A swim? It’s October.”

  “So it is. The Omni La Mansión has a heated pool, and I always use it when I’m here. Water is our element. It centers Sentinels and Sanctioned, energizes them, fosters mental clarity. At this point, I need all the help I can get. You know what really worries me?”

  Somewhat surprised he’d reveal his concerns to her, she asked, “What?”

  His expression turned deadly serious. “That the combined abilities of Matt and the Belian makes this Belian more powerful than a Sanctioned.”

  Her breath hitched as she considered the ramifications. “Are you saying it would have more power than you?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. And it means I might not be able to defeat it.”

  TWELVE

  HOURS later, Julia found herself unable to sleep. The absence of her normal routine, along with a jumble of thoughts about Bennett and tonight’s shooting, made sleep impossible. Giving up on tossing and turning, she slipped on her robe and went into the living area to get her magazine.

  The room was empty, but the light was still on. She saw Adam’s bedroom door was open and a light was also on in there. Curious—okay, maybe nosy—she walked over. But he wasn’t in his room, and the bathroom was dark.

  On the bedroom desk, his laptop was closed, and his papers put away. He’d been on his third hour of reading e-mails and making phone calls when she’d told him good night. And that had been almost two hours ago.

  He must be swimming—at one thirty in the morning. Wondering if he was related to the Energizer Bunny, she sat on the sofa and tried to read. But she was restless and couldn’t concentrate. Her thoughts wandered to Adam again. Maybe if she went down to the pool, walked around, and took in some fresh air, it would help relax her. It was better than sitting here.

  She changed out of her pajamas, got her jacket and key card. She also pocketed her gun and the permit to carry it. At this point, she wasn’t going anywhere unarmed, and she fiercely resented the necessity.

  The hotel pool was outside, in a lovely enclosed court-yard that was beautifully landscaped with a terra-cotta and sculpture fountain against one wall, and palmettos and huge pots of flowers around the perimeter. It had wrought iron tables and chairs and a row of chaise lounges, and was well lit.

  Adam was doing laps in the illuminated pool. It was like watching a sleek dolphin—or perhaps a shark would be a more apt description—in motion. He moved through the water as if it was his natural environment, strong and sure and smooth. For a few moments, she just stood there and enjoyed the flowing grace and power of his body.

  Finally she stirred herself and decided he didn’t need to catch her gawking. She drew in a breath of the night air. It was fairly balmy, winter not yet encroaching on San Antonio. Although watching Adam swim was more appealing, she started walking the perimeter, hoping to work off her insomnia.

  The sound of laps stopped. “I see you decided to join me.”

  She turned, saw Adam at the ladder. “I couldn’t sleep. I thought maybe some fresh air might help.”

  “Why don’t you come in? The water is hea
ted.”

  Julia hadn’t brought a bathing suit, which was just as well, since she always felt self-conscious wearing one. She liked the water, though, and had been an avid swimmer when she was younger. She’d used aquatic exercises to regain her strength after Bennett’s attack.

  “I don’t have a suit.”

  His dark eyes glinted. “You could strip down.”

  Her heart stuttered. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I just meant down to the bare essentials, although I have no objection to nudity.” He flashed a pirate’s smile. “Besides I’ve already seen all of you.”

  Her heart went from stasis to a fast trot. She was playing with fire, but found the bantering invigorating. “Reminding me of that fact won’t win you any points on the final exam.”

  “Then come over to the steps. You can at least dip your feet in. Being near the water should calm you.”

  “Do I look like I’m not calm?”

  “One never knows with you, Professor.”

  She scowled at that, but made her way to the end of the pool. Adam swam the pool length and rose from the water and up the steps like an ebony-haired Adonis. The water sluiced down his body, and what a body—beautifully sculpted muscles and smooth golden skin, with the perfect amount of dark chest hair, tapering down his flat abs and disappearing suggestively beneath his bathing suit.

  Oh, man. Suddenly warm, she stopped to take off her jacket and drape it over a wrought iron chair. She kicked off her shoes. “I’ll probably regret leaving this here,” she said as she leaned her cane against the table.

  “I know I’ll feel better with it out of your reach.” Adam stepped out and offered his hand. “I’ll keep you steady.”

  Steady wasn’t the word she’d use for what she was feeling at the moment, as she took in his muscular legs and the way the wet suit clung to the front of him, highlighting the bulge there. She didn’t need to see him naked to know he was on the positive side of well endowed.