See No Evil (The PSI Trilogy Book 2)

by J. R. Rain

I nodded, although I didn’t like it, and started trekking back down the steps, making my way back to the cave that I last saw Hope in, knowing that this would be the likely spot she would return to. I stepped over a few dead bodies and noticed that their weapons were indeed Russian. Was Orlenda working with the Russians? I thought she was double-crossing Ivan Propokensko. Hope had heard her tell Echidna that. None of this was making much sense to me.

  Not to mention, there were a lot of downed men. Had my team really been able to take this many out? My gut tightened into one big knot. What the hell was going on here?

  As I entered the cave, gunplay erupted from the far side of the compound. All my training screamed at me to go back up Ayden, knowing he was trying to get Noah out of his situation and my fear was that the two of them had been discovered. They were my partners, for God’s sake!

  I spun around and crouched. I was sensing Hope’s energy close by, but I didn’t see her, and I was picking up a great deal of fear from her, too.

  She wasn’t coming through the cave, though. I ditched from my hiding spot and tore down the narrow path toward where I’d heard the gunfire. I listened but nothing came back to me.

  I took a hard left and ran until my lungs burned. Why hadn’t she come back to the original location? Then I realized that she had probably left from where she’d found the scrolls, if she had indeed found them.

  If she was back, which was what I felt, I was sure that had to mean she’d been successful. A cold block of ice settled in my stomach and I had a really bad feeling that this was not going to end well. It was already spiraling out of control with Noah’s injury.

  A scream wrenched the air. It was Hope! I immediately sent my lioness to find Hope’s horse or hummingbird. Her energy was nearby, but something was holding her back. I knew it.

  I’m coming, Hope. I’m coming. Hang in there, babe.

  Hope didn’t answer.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Hope’s arm hurt but she couldn’t twist from Gary’s grasp. “Gary! Let me go!”

  He laughed. “It’s Geryon. From now on, I’m your leader, your teacher, and everything to you, and you will call me Geryon!”

  Together, they’d traveled back to the present. Geryon had used his guide to do so. Hope had lost contact with her own. The fact that her former teacher had used a rattlesnake to break through time barriers sure told her something. It terrified her. Not finding Kylie right there increased the terror. What if she were dead? There were no dead bodies in the area, and she hadn’t seen her sister at all. It hit her that they hadn’t returned to the real present. She looked up at him. “Where are we? What time line are we on? This isn’t where we’re supposed to be,” she said.

  He laughed. “1910, I think. Don’t worry. We’ll get you back to 2014. You can spend Christmas with us.”

  “Us? No! I want Kylie.”

  “Yeah. That’s not going to happen, kiddo.”

  Geryon dragged her through the ruins of the Dead Sea Caves and the ancient city of Khirbet Qumran, and into another cave. Inside it, stood a woman over a small table, a grouping of black candles lit atop of it. Hope didn’t recognize the woman, but she didn’t have to. She knew immediately who she was. Echidna. “Good job, Hope. We need the scrolls.”

  Hope quickly scanned the space. It was remarkably similar to the one she’d left, but without a roof. There was no way for her to escape them. If she even tried to make a break for it, she knew they would capture her before she ever got past the entryway, as Gary what’s-his-face stood breathing over her. Echidna reached out and gripped Hope’s arm tightly, her ice-blue eyes staring at her. “Don’t even think about escaping, child.”

  Hope yanked away. “You’ll never get what you want. You’re supposed to be dead!”

  “Oh?” she said. “First off, I think you’re not in a position to make that claim, young lady. I will get exactly what I want. Secondly, as far as me being dead…” she smiled wickedly at her. “For a gifted child, I’m surprised that you didn’t pick up on my own special abilities. I can make people help me do things that one might never believe, and they don’t even recall doing it. My darling Noah covered up my death, and he doesn’t even remember doing so. It’s all very cloak and dagger kind of stuff, and I simply don’t have time to go into details right now. What I need from you are those scrolls.”

  “They weren’t there. I don’t have the scrolls. They were already gone.” Hope crossed her arms. Noah wasn’t going to be too happy about her being alive.

  Echidna stiffened. “What do you mean, gone?” Her eyes tightened into little slits that made her look demonic and frightened Hope even more.

  “I didn’t find any scrolls.”

  “You’re a liar,” Echidna growled, but Gary/Geryon/jerk held up his hand to stifle the accusation. “Let her speak. I want to hear her story.”

  Echidna didn’t say any more, but moved to the far corner of the room and crossed her arms, watching Hope with a menacing glare. Hope knew she needed to come up with a brilliant lie that they’d both believe.

  Geryon sidled closer to Hope and lowered his voice. “Is that so? Tell me what else, Hope, and remember, no one lies better than I do.”

  Hope swallowed. All she had to do was buy some time. She knew—knew—Kylie was coming for her. She’d sensed the stalking of her sister’s lioness and even though there was some sort of block that was keeping her from being able to reply, she knew that Kylie would come for her. Kylie would save her. Kylie was her hero.

  Hope stood straight, pulled back her shoulders. Heck, she’d watched Grant Simms lie to her for years, she’d studied his body language and knew what tells liars always used. Geryon or Echidna might think they were the best, but they’d never seen Hope lie.

  Hope had a bunch of tricks up her sleeve that she’d never, ever let anyone at the school know. Even Grant didn’t know about this little twist in Hope’s audial abilities. Not only could she listen from miles away, but when she was in a room with someone, she was as effective as an empath. She’d practiced in secret and made sure no one had ever found out—like Simms had with the traveling when she’d first been toying with it. From then on, she’d been very careful about when she practiced her other talents. And now, she was so glad that she had, because they might be the only thing that kept her alive.

  First, Hope tuned in to Geryon, listened intently to all the things he said with his body that were sometimes in conflict with what came out of his mouth. To be a great liar, Hope knew that she needed to know exactly what the other person was thinking as she was talking.

  What Hope heard from Geryon shocked her at first, but then she realized that it should come as no surprise that Geryon hated Hope. Hated everything she could do because he was jealous of her, and Hope needed to figure out how to twist that and use it to her advantage. Geryon was barely restraining himself from doing harm to Hope—his anger and fury were so strong. Hope’s heartbeat quickened and she fought the urge to bolt. That wouldn’t help her and she needed to stay put now that she sensed Kylie’s lioness somewhere nearby. The compound wasn’t that big—eventually, Kylie would make it here and she’d save the day.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Kylie couldn’t find Hope anywhere.

  She stopped and listened for the sound of gunfire or hand-to-hand combat, but the area was silent as the tombs in the graveyard to her left. It was as if everyone had disappeared. But that couldn’t be true.

  Kylie turned in a slow circle, ears open and scanning for the slightest noise. Hope’s scream had come from the north, but as she’d run through the twisting maze of rubble, she’d found nothing to indicate that Hope really had come back. Maybe Ayden or Noah had picked up something. That is...if they were still alive. They had to be. She’d know it in her gut if they weren’t. Her heart ached for Noah and she wanted to do whatever she could to help Ayden keep him alive, but she had to get to Hope and be sure she was safe.

  “Kylie!”

  She swung around and poin
ted her gun straight at Ayden’s face. “You scared the hell out of me! What are you doing? What about Noah? Is he okay?”

  “I don’t know if he’ll be okay. The wound is bad. He’s been shot and a piece of scaffolding punctured his leg. I got everything off of him and moved him to where I hope he’ll be safe.”

  “You shouldn’t have left him!”

  “I don’t know if he’ll make it, Kylie, and we have to find Hope. She’s our priority.”

  “He’s on our team!”

  “I can’t argue with you now. We’ve gotta move if we’re going to save anyone at all.”

  We moved quickly down the narrow passage, guns drawn, checking every single alcove and shadow, but nothing moved.

  “I had a clear vision of Noah being shot at a split second before it happened, and then, a wall slammed up in front of me. I don’t know who shot him. I’ve been getting nothing but that wall since. It’s like I’m blind,” Ayden said.

  “I have to ask you something. Did you yell at me to duck at one point during the gunfire and then drop one of the guys next to me?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know if Noah did?”

  “I don’t know. Why?”

  “It must’ve been him. It’s just there’s a lot of carnage and I know we’re good, but between the three of us, we took out more guys than we ever have, and someone had my back and yelled at me. It didn’t sound like either one of you, though.” I didn’t want to tell him who it sounded like. My mind had to be playing tricks on me. I shook my head. I needed to stay focused.

  Without Ayden’s ability to predict the future, he was at a distinct handicap. And I was completely deaf, so we were just about screwed and in the back of my mind, I was sick over Noah, anxious about where Hope was and what had happened to her.

  Yeah. We were looking pretty screwed. Not because we weren’t great agents, but because we all relied on our abilities to help us out of situations. Losing our psychic advantages was like losing a limb, but there was no prosthetic to help us get through.

  “Listen, I know I shouldn’t have left Noah, but he insisted I find and help you. He knows what’s at stake.”

  I sighed. “I don’t like it. I don’t like leaving him.”

  “We’ve got to be real, Kylie. There’s a lot at stake. You saw what was in the contact that we put on your phone, and there’s more on it that I didn’t have time to decipher. The scrolls are the key to tying in what’s on the contact in your device. There was much more there than the map. We have a lot to look through and it’s going to be vital we get us out of here and translate that intel.”

  “I know. Okay. Okay. Let’s find her.” The facts were dismal. Ayden and I were running through a maze that had swallowed everyone else. “Any ideas?”

  Ayden shook his head and released my arms. “One last careful pass through the entire compound. You listen and I’ll try to pick up on something, too.” He brushed his fingers across my cheek. “Stay alert.”

  We’d stopped at the corner of a building. Ayden signaled that I should cross the opening and continue on in the same direction. He was going to go the other way, then we’d meet up on the far side after our last pass.

  And that’s when I got a flicker of a conversation. Just a flash. I grabbed Ayden’s arm. “Wait,” I whispered.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  “You saw all the scrolls in that room when you found me, Geryon.” Hope said his name as sweetly as possible. “I’m just a kid. I couldn’t have known which one was the right one.”

  “You’re not just any kid. And, something tells me that you’ve been schooled. That group—PSI...” Echidna nearly spit out the name. “They wouldn’t have sent you in there without intel. You’re a bright kid and we know you work with guides and such. I know because, have you noticed how your pretty little bird and your big bad-ass horse didn’t come through with you? You see, I have powers, too, and I have ways of blocking all sorts of things. I also have ways of knowing that you have exactly what we need.”

  The lady scared her. “I don’t. I really don’t.”

  Echidna took a step closer to her and got in her face. The candlelight on her face made her look even scarier. There was a demonic look in her eyes and Hope’s heart raced. “You are a little liar. Geryon, do what you have to do. She’s got the scrolls on her. I know it.”

  Geryon’s anger nearly filled the room. Something was making his control slip. He turned to her. “Hope, we are going to ask you one last time, and if you can’t be honest, we are going to have to try other methods to get what we want.”

  Hope crossed her arms. She had a good idea about “other methods.” She was pretty sure they involved needles. She’d heard stories from a couple of kids at school who had upset Grant Simms. They thought they’d been drugged. She’d been abducted by Orlenda and her group and been subject to their cruel means. Fear ran through her body at their words. She had to think fast. “The only time I tested my traveling was with you. I don’t think I can do it without you. I mean you were there with me just now. You traveled back at the same time, Geryon. Let’s go back together and find the scrolls. Echidna can help. We can all go together.” Hope smiled and focused on him instead of herself because that was one of the toughest lies she’d ever told. If she could get Geryon to believe her and Hope had a pretty good idea that if the jerk thought he was needed, his fury and jealousy with her would slip away. He had been her teacher at the school, and he had taught her a good share of what she knew about time travel. It was obvious to her, though, that things had now changed. She had no idea where Orlenda was, but she’d known that Echidna had worked for her, and she figured now so had Gary/Geryon. She didn’t know anything at this point about Grant Simms. If she could make Geryon believe that he was important to her and that they could travel back to where the scrolls were to get them, then maybe she could get away.

  “She’s a good little liar,” Echidna said.

  The timepiece that Sister Marie-Luce had given her remained in her pocket and she remembered that the nun had told her she would know when to use it. She was sensing that the time was close for her to utilize the gift.

  “What are you saying?” Geryon leaned close. He glanced at Echidna. “I want to know what she means. Talk to me Hope.”

  “I’m not sure I went back to the right time.”

  Echidna’s eyes gleamed. “I think she’s still lying. Search her!”

  “I’m not so sure. Maybe she’s telling us the truth. She is just a kid,” Geryon said. “She missed the 1940s, that’s for sure. I had to go back centuries before I found her.”

  “Then why didn’t you make sure she had the scroll before you brought her here? I don’t care if she’s a kid. Search her!” Echidna screamed.

  “I thought she had it. She was digging in the dirt when I found her,” he said.

  Echidna shook her head. “There was a plan and you didn’t follow it.” She took a step closer to him, and ironically enough, Hope swore she spotted fear in his eyes. Geryon was a lot bigger than Echidna, but yeah, that was fear.

  “I’m sorry. There’s a lot that’s gone into this.”

  “You’re a fool. You’ve been duped by a child! How could you be so stupid? Now, you’ll have to go back with her and that only ups our risks. We need to get out of here! I don’t do time travel well! Damn you, Geryon!”

  As the two of them argued, Hope wrapped her hands around the gift that Sister Marie-Luce had given her. She silently prayed to St. Eligius and she worked to connect to the horse on the clock. Seconds later, a hot pulse shot through her like what it has to feel like to be struck by lightening—harsh, electrical and pure energy—and she pushed Geryon with a strength she didn’t know she had, causing him to fall into Echidna. She bolted out of the cave.

  She had to keep running, or she knew she risked being killed by them. She hated leaving the spot where Kylie knew she was, but she had to trust that her sister would figure it out. Her lungs burned, but she ignored it and ran
as fast as she could. Nothing was going to keep her from being with her sister and making sure that Echidna and Geryon didn’t get the scrolls. Hope turned it on and ran faster.

  She darted left, then right, then backtracked for an entire alley. She could barely breathe and her lungs were tight and screaming in pain, but Hope ignored it all. She tried to think of how Kylie would react, how tough she’d be in this moment and that spurred her on, encouraging her.

  Hope passed a small cave and she thought for a split second about hiding either herself or the scrolls in there, but she didn’t want to take the chance of being found. She had to keep running until she found Kylie.

  While she ran, Hope listened for someone that could help her, but there was nothing here.

  “Oh my gosh!” Hope skidded on her feet and looked around. “It’s not a tourist spot anymore,” she whispered in awe as she looked at the ruins again, now, no longer restored, but left to degrade and disintegrate. Geryon had lied. He hadn’t taken her to 1910. Did he know that?

  Did he know that he had taken them into the far future? A future that didn’t include Kylie being in this exact spot anymore?

  Chapter Thirty-four

  I eased forward.

  Of course, what I wanted to do was run headlong in the direction of the conversation, but I couldn’t get a tight lock on it. It wavered in and out as if it was traveling at a much further distance across the compound.

  Ayden kept his head on a swivel and checked our surroundings constantly. There were multiple voices, all jumbled up together. Where was Hope? I needed to find her.

  Terror rose up in my chest and I was helpless to stuff it back down. All my training had fled when my baby sister got involved. I felt like I’d never spent a day in the field and with both of us nearly stripped of our abilities, it might as well have been true.

  “Focus on her, forget about who might be lurking. Let me cover you.”