by Kay Hooper
Marc was frowning. “Wait a minute. Wasn’t it your vision that caused Bishop to make sure his wife was protected and far away?”
“Yeah,” Dani replied. “How about that. It’s like Miranda says. Premonitions are tricky beasts.”
It was the chill that woke her, Hollis realized. She lay on a cold table in a room that was cold in every sense. She didn’t open her eyes at first, because she was very afraid she knew what she would see and wanted to delay being forced to deal with that.
She had faced death more than once, and it wasn’t getting any easier.
I’ve got to get a different job.
What had happened? She’d gone with Jordan to get breakfast, and…and what? She dimly recalled a distraction but couldn’t remember what it was. Then something stung her leg, she reached down, and she found herself holding some kind of dart.
Shit. No wonder there were no signs of a struggle where the women disappeared. He’s using drugs.
And just like with all the other women, Hollis had apparently been exactly where the killer expected her to be, and he had been ready for her.
Not that the discovery was a hell of a lot of help to Hollis now, except to provide the answer to one of the questions that had nagged at her.
And to give her a couple more minutes’ grace before facing the inevitable. But just a couple, and by then Hollis was wide-awake behind her closed eyes and could hear him, somewhere nearby, humming.
The monster had her.
And if there was anything they knew about him, it was that her chances of survival had just dropped to something close to zero.
The best part about facing death, Hollis had discovered, was that after the first moments of skin-crawling, soul-shivering terror, it was curiously liberating, at least for her. A kind of survival mode kicked in, and all her concentration and energy went into whatever effort was required to better her chances.
She did not want to die.
It was, perhaps not coincidentally, also exactly the right state of mind necessary for the best use of her mediumistic abilities. So Hollis wasn’t terribly surprised, when she finally opened her eyes, to see Becky Huntley bending over her.
“Be very still,” Becky whispered. “And you can’t get loose anyway, we all tried our best. He thinks you’re still out. As soon as he knows you’re awake, he’ll want to get started on you. And you don’t want that.”
Instantly, Hollis closed her eyes again and forced her body to go limp, and it wasn’t just because it was still unsettling to her, this absurdly easy communication with the dead.
Is there anything else you can tell me, Becky? She knew she didn’t have to ask out loud, which was a good thing but also still strange to her.
“We’ll try to help. But…we don’t have much energy. Karen is so sad because she wanted to be a mother, and Shirley can’t believe it’s over for her. And he’s…he’s not human anymore, Hollis. Do you think he knows there’s a hell? Do you think it would matter to him?”
Not if he isn’t human anymore…
But Hollis wasn’t sure about that, so she didn’t dismiss the information. Any bit of knowledge could be a tool, a weapon that could save her life.
If she figured out how to use it.
And when to use it.
“Your friends are trying to find you,” Becky told her. “We think there’s a chance…maybe. If Dani remembers what she can do.”
Without asking what that was, Hollis merely thought, Go remind her, will you?
“She wouldn’t see me. Or hear me. Just the way he can’t see or hear me. I’ll try to make him see me, because it might take some of his attention off you, but so far it’s taken more energy than I have, than any of us has, to break through. Be very still, Hollis. He’s coming over here. Try not to let him know you’re awake.”
Oh, Christ.
Dani said, “I don’t think he caused or altered my premonition. I could be wrong about that—easily—but I don’t think so. I think he had targeted Paris, and when I showed up, when he realized, then he decided it could work to his advantage.”
“That sounds an awful lot like luck.”
“No, I don’t think he leaves much to chance. His original plan was to take Paris’s abilities, especially the one that let her channel energy. The one ability that can become a weapon in the right hands. Or the wrong ones. He wanted that potential weapon. That never changed; he just added to the blueprint.” She shook her head. “But I meant what I said: I don’t really care how he’s doing this, or why, not now. I just want to find him and stop him, hopefully before he hurts Hollis and before he has a chance to go after Paris again.”
“All right. Look, we both know following the paper trail and searching warehouses is going to take longer than Hollis has, probably longer than Paris has. So why don’t we take a shortcut?”
“What kind of shortcut?”
“Dream-walk.”
“Marc…we might not have gotten much sleep last night, but we did get some, and I can’t do anything in my dreams unless it’s a natural sleep. Trust me, I’m about as far from sleep as I’ve ever been in my life.”
“I don’t think you have to sleep, Dani. Not anymore—and maybe you never did. I may not know a lot about psychic abilities, but one thing I do know is that psychics have been putting themselves into trances for a long time in order to tap into their abilities.”
“I’ve never been able to do that. I was taught all the right meditation techniques, we all are at Haven. It works for a lot of psychics. But I could never put myself into a trance.”
“How hard did you try? Be honest.”
She hesitated. “I don’t know. I mean…I thought I was trying, but…”
“But you were still running. Then. Not now. And now you have every reason in the world to put everything you have into the effort. I’m betting that’ll be more than enough.” He took her hand and led her into the living room and to the sofa. “I’ll help.”
“How? Have you ever tried this before?”
“No. But my passive psychic ability, remember, is to recognize the abilities in others. I have a hunch that it isn’t quite as passive as I’ve always believed it to be—or else it’s just evolving because I’ve used it so much more lately. Or because of the connection with you. No way to know for sure, but for whatever reason, I think I may be able to help you focus and channel.”
She didn’t have a clue if it would work, but the clock in her head was ticking louder; a glance at the clock on some of his electronics in the room told her it was now 9:05.
Paris and Hollis were both running out of time.
“Okay,” she said. “Meditation techniques. Deep cleansing breaths—”
“Screw all that,” Marc said. He took her other hand and held them, half turned toward her so that they faced each other. He was smiling slightly. “Energy follows intent; I think if you want something badly enough, you find it. Just close your eyes and think about Hollis and places monsters might hide.”
Dani would never have believed it could be that simple, but she closed her eyes, very conscious of him and of the connection between them that their night together had quite definitely intensified, and did exactly what he suggested.
She thought of Hollis and where monsters might hide.
Unlike all her past experiences, this time the transition was effortless and almost instant. She wasn’t sitting across from Marc in his living room, she was standing beside him on Main Street in Venture. A very recognizable Main Street, with noise and people and cars, and only one slight peculiarity.
“I meant to ask years ago,” Marc said. “Why is there always so much purple?” He was studying a purple fire hydrant plunked down improbably in the middle of the sidewalk near them and not far from where three purple cars were parked.
“I like purple.” She’d never really thought about it but supposed that was as good a reason as any other. It was, after all, her dream world.
Marc shrugged philosophically. “Work
s for me. Why are we in downtown, though? Oh, wait—you did this before, years ago. Picked a recognizable landmark to start off from. Said it anchored you.”
“Yeah. And now that it has…I need to know where Hollis is. I need to know where monsters hide.” It wasn’t like she was making a wish of a magic lamp but rather telling her own mind, her dream self, how her energy needed to be directed.
And, either because of the need driving her or simply because so much else had changed, the familiar scenery around them shifted in a rush of color and sound, and they found themselves in another not-so-familiar but recognizable spot on the very edge of Prophet County.
“Shit,” Marc said. “This is no warehouse. It was an asylum, back in the days when they were called that. And didn’t somebody try to run a hotel from here when we were kids?”
“I think so. Didn’t last long, though. Marc, the basement of that building has to be huge.”
“Searching it won’t be a cinch and won’t be quick,” he agreed. “We’d better get back and get started.”
She hesitated for just a moment. “I want to run in there and start looking for Hollis. Stupid, since it’s my dream. She’d be there, the way I want her to be. Unhurt. Not being held by a monster.”
Marc’s fingers tightened around hers. “We need to get back, Dani. We need to gather up the others and figure out how to cover the ground we have to cover. And if I remember right, dream-walking always takes more real time than you expect, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it does.”
“Then we should go.”
“You’re right. Of course, you’re right. I can’t stop time, can I? Maybe here, but not for real.”
“We’ll beat time,” he assured her.
Dani wondered if he was right, but there wasn’t really time—ironically—to ponder it.
“Okay,” she said. “Back home…” And didn’t realize until much later that by “home” she meant Marc’s.
Hollis thought she might have fooled him the first time he checked on her, but when he came back again, he stuck a pin in her arm.
There was no warning and no way for her to feign unconsciousness when the jabbing pain caused her to flinch and catch her breath.
“Ah. So you are awake. I thought you might have been playing possum, Audrey. So naughty. I’ll have to punish you for that.”
Audrey? So the name on the bracelet did mean something. Christ, the last time an evil serial killer was convinced I was another woman, it was Audra. What is it with me and variations of that name?
Since he knew she was awake, she opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the brightness of lights that hadn’t bothered her when Becky had leaned over her.
She wondered if that meant something.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he said softly, his mouth almost caressing the words.
She didn’t have a clue who he was, just what he was, and it wasn’t the first time she found herself wondering how it was that monsters could look so goddamn normal.
Like the “regular guy” neighbor next door.
Something evil dressed in human clothing.
He was not a tall man or an especially short man. Average height, average build, bland coloring. But his small, neutral eyes were…curiously shiny, almost metallic, and he didn’t seem to blink very often.
Other than that, he just looked…normal.
Don’t get distracted by what he looks like, dammit. If you want to survive this, work to make it happen. You have before, you can again. You’ve got fucking nine lives, just like a cat.
Quentin said so.
Of course, he also said you’d used up at least seven of them, and that was a few months back….
“Hi.” She didn’t try to fake a smile at her captor but did go for a quizzical expression. “So I’m…Audrey? Cool. Hey, have you ever considered that there really is a hell?”
Jordan offered Dani and Marc a sick smile when they met up outside the sheriff’s department, and his first words were, “Christ, I don’t know how I could have lost her.”
Marc shook his head. “Don’t blame yourself. If Dani’s right, this bastard’s been a step ahead of us all the way.”
Dani was looking at Bishop, understanding now that the haunted expression with which she was so familiar through her repeated vision dreams came not from a threat to his wife but from the certain knowledge that his maneuvering, his determination to hunt this particular killer, had placed one of his team directly in harm’s way.
“Will it be worth it?” she asked him, not sure if it was curiosity or something else that drove her to. “If Hollis pays with her life, will it be worth it?”
“I don’t know.” He drew a breath, and his wide shoulders shifted as though under a heavy burden. “If we find this monster, catch it…cage it…kill it…How many other lives might be saved? I don’t know. This time, I don’t know.”
Gabriel said, “We can discuss ethics later. Right now I say we move. Dani, you’re sure about this old mental hospital?”
“I’m sure.” She looked again at Bishop. “Your guardian. Has she—”
“Reported in ten minutes ago.” His voice was steady, like his gaze. “It’s not looking good for Paris, Dani, but not from any outside threat. Brain activity has dropped to minimal levels, and some of her other vital functions have been deteriorating. Her doctors say you might want to be there.”
The pull to be with her sister, her twin, was inexpressibly strong, but Dani wavered for only an instant.
“And you can do what you have to, Dani. When the time comes. You’ll know. You’ll make the right choice.”
“I have to do this,” she said, as much to herself as to anyone else. “I have to. Paris knows that.”
Marc took her hand, saying only, “Let’s go.”
It was 12:35.
Hollis coughed and tried desperately to draw air into her bruised throat.
“Watch that mouth,” her captor said sternly. “One more thing I have to punish you for, Audrey.”
Okay, bad idea. Very bad idea. Note to self: Maniacal serial killer does not like smart-ass questions.
Oh, Jesus, I’m scared….
22
BETWEEN THE TIME Marc had called from his house and their arrival at the sheriff’s department, someone had managed to produce original blueprints for the old mental hospital, blueprints they unrolled on the hood of Marc’s cruiser when they parked all the vehicles at the base of the long driveway.
It was 1:15.
“I gather we think this guy’s expecting us,” Jordan commented as they studied the plans.
Dani was frowning down at them, wishing she could remember more details from the vision dream when she wasn’t actually in the middle of it. Wasn’t there supposed to be a storm?
That thought had barely crossed her mind when she heard distant thunder, right on cue.
Sometimes she thought the universe had a sense of humor.
This wasn’t one of those times.
“We have to assume he is,” Marc replied to Jordan. “Dani believes this was his goal all along, to collect himself a few psychics. Divide and conquer, so to speak, and build up his own résumé. He probably wanted to start with Paris because her ability could be used as a weapon, but…”
Dani finished, “But I think he wants any ability he can grab.” She eyed the darkening sky uneasily.
Gabriel was checking his weapon, and said with a grunt, “He’ll be disappointed in Rox and me. Each of us is psychic only when we’re asleep. A bit like Dani used to be. Hell. Dani—”
“Sorry.”
“You’re shocking all of us,” Jordan said, shifting just a bit to put another inch of space between his arm and hers. “All except Marc, that is.”
Dani and Marc exchanged glances, and she said, “Yeah, we noticed that. Sorry for the static discharge, guys. I don’t know if it’s the coming storm or…well, whatever we find in there, but I can’t seem to control it very well right now.”
Roxanne
said, “As intense as this is, I’m not surprised.” She took a closer look at the plans, and added, “Two main buildings, both presumably with basements. We split up to search?”
Marc was nodding. “No other way to cover the ground, not if we need to hurry. And we do. Dani, do you sense anything from the buildings?”
She frowned, concentrating, then winced. “General pain and sadness, old echoes. This was not a positive place at any stage of its life.”
“Bishop? Are you getting anything?”
He shook his head. “Miranda and I have each closed down the connection between us as far as we could. Without that, I’m at less than half strength. And the weather affects me more without the benefit of her shields. I can barely read Jordan, and he’s broadcasting like a beacon.”
Jordan blinked. “I am?”
“You are. Remind me to talk to you about shielding, if we have a minute at the end of this.”
“You mean if we’re still standing at the end of this? Because I got the impression that wasn’t likely.”
“Don’t be a pessimist,” Marc said. “Dani, if you don’t have strong feelings about it one way or the other, I’m picking the front building for you, me, and Bishop. Gabriel, Roxanne, and Jordan will take the one in the back.”
Roxanne exchanged a look with her brother, and then said to Marc, “I need to be with you guys.”
“Why?”
“Because if this monster is bent on collecting psychics, each group needs at least one nonpsychic with a gun ready who won’t be affected by any kind of mental attack. That’ll be me. When I’m awake, I have zero psychic abilities.”
“My ability is passive,” Marc pointed out.
“It’s evolved. Probably the connection with Dani. And, trust me, if this guy is collecting neat abilities, he’ll want yours; being able to identify another psychic can come in mighty handy when those are the folks hunting you.”
“She has a point,” Dani said.
“Meant to tell you,” Bishop murmured. “Right now you’re also a bit like a conduit for Dani. Which means he could get to her through you.”