Dark Embrace

by Angie Sandro

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Estrada stand. I edge sideways, and Anders turns with me, putting his back to the desk. My mouth opens, shuts, and opens again. I want to warn Estrada to run, but I can’t say anything without reminding Anders of his presence. Estrada’s eyes widen as he darts from the room.

  So much for being rescued. With a deep breath, I return my attention to Anders, afraid but also glad he didn’t notice Estrada leave. He no longer seems fully of this world. With each passing second, he fades, growing more wraithlike. His body is barely visible. Only the green glow of his eyes, still locked on my outstretched hand, prove he’d once been…or rather looked…human. The problem is he’s not Ashmael either. I don’t know how to communicate with this…this…

  Ferdinand said Death didn’t think or feel, but I sense its rage. That’s the only reason why I know Anders is still in there. Fighting. He hasn’t lost the battle for control of his body. Yet.

  I choke on a helpless sob.

  Unnoticed by Anders, Estrada reenters the room. I almost cry out in relief. His eyes narrow in warning, and he raises a finger to his lips. He creeps behind Anders, and in a lightning quick move, sticks a needle in his neck.

  Anders’s back arches, and his mouth gapes wordlessly as he convulses. He claws at his neck, pulling the syringe free and throwing it against the wall where it shatters. Blood-tinged flecks of foam dot his lips as he half turns. The vibrant green in his eyes and the rolling cloak of darkness bleed away as he glares at Estrada. He sighs, and his legs fold as he collapses. I catch him before he hits the ground, sitting so his head rests on my lap.

  Anders’s eyes focus on my face. “What happened?” he murmurs, but he’s unconscious before I can answer him.

  I glare at Estrada. I want to be angry, but all I feel is relief. “What did you give him?”

  Estrada purses his lips. He crouches beside us and checks Anders’s pulse. “Just a sedative. A very strong one.” He sits back on his heels, and his lab coat brushes the ground. “How long have you known he’s the one responsible for the murders?”

  “He didn’t murder anyone.” I can’t help the tremor in my voice.

  “Ha. My dear, I am a genius and an expert in my field, something you keep forgetting in your personal distaste for my quirks. Put aside your bias long enough to study this problem logically. Look at Anders.” He waves a hand at the prone man. “Did he seem normal to you? Unthreatening? Or did he seem like he was seconds away from burning you alive?”

  I brush Anders’s hair from his face. He looks so young sleeping.

  Estrada pushes to his feet. “Don’t worry. There is a scientific explanation behind what we witnessed. And just like I found a way to neutralize him, I’m also close to discovering a cure to reverse the effects of the pathogen infecting your bodies.”

  My eyes widen. “Bodies?”

  “I found the substance on Anders first. He accused me of putting him together wrong. My dear, he’d already healed by the time I was able to perform the operation.”

  Estrada chuckles at my stunned expression. No modesty there, the egotistical prick, but if he’s actually discovered a cure—a way for us to go back to living a normal life—then he has the right to be arrogant.

  “Detective Anders needs to be moved to a more secure location,” he says. “I don’t know how long the sedative will work on him.”

  My arms tighten around Anders. “Alonso, I appreciate the help, but I won’t let you squirrel him away somewhere or let you dissect him like a lab rat.”

  Estrada’s head twists in a birdlike manner that’s unnerving. “He’s too dangerous to be set free.”

  “He doesn’t remember what he’s been doing,” I whisper, but only because I can’t think of anything else to say, or do. The idea of agreeing with Estrada about anything sets my teeth on edge, and I prolong the moment as long as possible.

  Estrada leans forward, obviously sensing he’s wearing down my resistance. “Which makes him even more dangerous. If I hadn’t stopped him, you would be a burnt smudge on the floor. You can’t save him from himself. And the Anders we both know wouldn’t want you to.”

  He stares at me a moment longer, and I’m forced to nod. He’s right. I don’t want to admit it, but I know it. Right before Estrada entered the room, Anders didn’t recognize me. It would devastate him to find out he was responsible for murdering Ivanov’s men, but to be set free to kill again would be unacceptable.

  Estrada leaves the room and returns with a wheelchair. I lift Anders into the chair, earning a grin from Estrada. “Is super strength one of the unusual side effects that you neglected to inform me about? What other powers have you mastered?”

  I grimace in response. “It would’ve been easier if you’d explained what the mystery substance was doing to my body, Estrada. Why did you keep it a secret the day I came in?”

  “Silly girl,” he laughs. “Would you have believed me if I told you?”

  “Point made.” I follow Estrada as he wheels Anders into the hallway. “So what have you learned in your research, other than figuring out a way to cure me?”

  He gives a quick look at the patients and nurses walking the hallway. “I’ll tell you everything once we reach my secret lair.”

  “God, you’re creepy.” I let out a huff. “You’re acting like this on purpose. Just to annoy me, aren’t you?”

  Estrada pushes the wheelchair to the elevator while I follow in silence. I won’t leave Anders alone. I’ll protect him as much as I can.

  Estrada brings us down to the basement. Stepping out of the elevator, I’m assaulted by bad memories. I hate this place. The walls close in. The ceiling presses down. Underneath the dank, dark paint, mold grows. And under that, the scent of blood lingers. The twisty turns soon have me completely lost, but we end up in an older section of the basement that must’ve been built in the early half of the twentieth century. This is where Estrada has built his secret lair…lab.

  He smiles and points to a door with a blacked-out window. “This is mine. The hospital promised me a place where I could conduct research in private. No one comes down here anymore.”

  “So no one will hear if I scream,” I joke, but the look I receive in response is not amused. “Okay, tell me what you’ve learned about the substance you found on our bodies. And how do you intend to fix us?”

  Estrada smiles. “Of course.” He unlocks the door to his lab. The light is already on, and I follow him inside.

  A cry jerks me to a halt.

  Gabriella throws herself into my arms, a boneless weight that I hold effortlessly, despite my shock. Victor steps from a shadowed doorway, and I stumble back. My heart races as he stalks forward, takes control of the wheelchair from Estrada, and rolls Anders out of the room.

  “What the hell?” I gasp. “She’s been here? The whole time? You sold me out to Ivanov.”

  “I’d hoped you were smarter than you looked,” Estrada says with a chuckle. “I thought you would’ve figured it out sooner. Gabriella was with me when she disappeared.”

  “I warned her you’d be a horrible date. Sucks to be right.”

  “Wrong. I treated Gabriella like a queen. She had no complaints about the first half of our date. Not even when I tied her up. It was only afterward, when I wouldn’t let her leave, that I had to drug her. Tell me the truth: you really didn’t suspect me?”

  “I thought Ivanov’s men had you both.”

  “And then I came to your rescue? Saved you from big bad Anders and you forgot everything in your gratitude?” Estrada chuckles again, a sound I’m thoroughly beginning to loathe. Why do bad guys always feel the need to gloat?

  I hug Gabriella protectively against my body. “Fine, you’re the super-genius. I’m your dimwitted protagonist. I never seriously thought you were involved.”

  “After everything that happened, I would have thought you’d be questioning everything and everyone associated with you. Obviously, Detective Anders is not the person you imagined him to be. Why
would you trust me?”

  “’Cause you’re my doctor, Estrada. Sure, you’re an arrogant jerk, but I thought you lived by certain ethical standards. Even I know doctors follow the Hippocratic Oath: First do no harm.”

  “That’s a common misconception. First, that’s not part of the actual oath. Second, an oath is optional and unenforceable. Totally nonbinding. I chose to opt out, since my morality is a bit ambiguous.”

  “Good to know. A little late, but I won’t forget.”

  Gabriella’s head rolls back. She smiles, as if she trusts me to get us out of this mess. Anger makes me quiver. “Will she be okay?”

  Estrada gives a negligent shrug. “Of course. I wouldn’t do anything to harm her. That would ruin my plan to get you to sacrifice yourself for your friend. I didn’t think you’d be so…difficult to procure. But now I have another hostage to use against you.”

  Victor returns to the room. He stands to the side of the door, blocking my escape. I can’t outrun him carrying Gabriella. Plus Estrada is right. I won’t leave Anders to his tender mercies. And I’d rather not wait for the cavalry to ride in. If anyone’s going to get hurt, it’ll be me. I heal fast.

  “Just hang on, Gabby,” I whisper. “I’ll get you out of here.”

  Estrada holds a syringe in his hand and motions me toward the operating table in the corner of the room. “If I’d wanted you dead, you would be. I need those samples you refused to give earlier. Cooperate and I’ll let you and your friends go.”

  “Please, like I’m gonna trust you now. Let them go. Put a stop to this before anyone else gets hurt.”

  “You’re wrong, Dena. It’s inevitable that someone will get hurt.” Estrada mops the sweat on his forehead with a tissue. Seeing it gives me a bit of hope. He isn’t as calm as he portrays. “I made promises to Ivanov. In return, he paid me a lot of money—I mean a lot—to come up with a serum from the substance I discovered on Anders’s skin. Ivanov calls it the super-soldier serum. Kind of a cliché, I know, but it’s accurate. What country wouldn’t pay to have soldiers who are stronger, faster, and able to regenerate from damage that would kill a normal person?” He laughs, but it isn’t happy. “Ivanov tried the first batch I came up with on his own men, but it caused some pretty negative side effects in the test subjects.”

  “Like mental instability?”

  “That was one. Look at Victor, for example.” He circles his ear with a finger. “Cuckoo.”

  Victor’s expression remains detached. I have to wonder whether Estrada’s been sampling his own product, ’cause he’s not right in the head either.

  Estrada motions me toward the table again. I step back, and his lips tighten. “Procrastinate all you want, Dena. It won’t change the outcome. You’re going to do as I ask.”

  “You still haven’t explained why you need samples from me.”

  “I have a responsibility to my employer. I promised Ivanov a viable serum without all the glitches.”

  “But Ivanov’s going to use it to kill people. Please, Estrada…Alonso.”

  “He’ll kill us.” Estrada nods toward Victor, finally letting go of his lackadaisical attitude. His body practically vibrates with fear and determination. “Do you understand now? Ivanov is not the sort of person who accepts failure. I don’t know how you and Anders got infected. Hell, I’m not sure I even know what Anders is. None of the men who have been given the serum have the ability Anders displayed.”

  I glance across the room to Victor, but super hearing doesn’t appear to be in his bag of tricks. The only thing Anders and I have going for us is that Ivanov doesn’t seem to want me because I’m the key to capturing the avatar. He’s just greedy for his own materialist brand of power. “We both saw that Anders didn’t exactly pass his sanity check,” I whisper. “He almost killed us.”

  Estrada holds up the syringe. “That’s why you’re my test subject. However you were infected, you’re the only human to undergo the transformation without any negative side effects. The key to reproducing a working serum is inside your body. Please, stop fighting this. If you cooperate, it will be much easier, but I’ll force you to comply if necessary.” His voice rises with conviction as he motions to Victor. “Take her to the table and strap her in. If she resists, hurt her friend.”

  Victor smiles and starts forward. I try to throw Gabriella over my shoulder, but she slips down, arms flopping. Victor grabs Gabriella by the waist, pulls her from my arms, and tosses her to the side. I cry out, lunging forward, only to be caught from behind by Victor.

  “I said hurt her friend, not kill her!” Estrada rushes to Gabriella and checks for a pulse. “If she dies, we have no leverage to induce Dena’s cooperation.” He turns a glare my way.

  I stop struggling and lean against Victor. “I’ll do whatever you ask. Just don’t hurt her anymore, please.”

  Victor lays me on the operating table. I stare at the ceiling, praying Estrada will keep his promise and let Gabriella go. Estrada lifts Gabriella and carries her from the room.

  “What’s he going to do to me?” I ask Victor. “Will it hurt?”

  Victor grunts, pulling the strap securely on my left arm. “You give your body to science. What is nobler than to die so others may live?”

  “That is not reassuring.” Tears fill my eyes. “Especially when the others you speak of are murderers.”

  “This is about money,” Estrada says, returning to the room. “Governments will pay a high price for this kind of power, and we will profit from their greed.”

  “What are you going to do to me?”

  Estrada puts a mask over my face. “Breathe in deeply. You’ll sleep, and when you wake up, it will be over.” He sticks an IV needle into my hand, and it takes every bit of my willpower not to thrash around. I’ve never liked needles, especially those wielded by money-hungry maniacs.

  CHAPTER 26

  Binding of the Three

  I fight the sedative he injects into my IV line, but it’s a losing battle. I fade away. My soul slips from my body, and I drift upward. This time I control where I want to go. I float in the corner of the room. When Estrada pulls out a scalpel and cuts into my chest, I can’t stomach anymore.

  I float through the closed door to the room where Estrada carried Gabriella. She’s laying on a cot with a blanket pulled over her. Another presence tugs my essence toward it. I follow the path to Anders. Victor has him tied to another operating table. An IV is attached to his arm, and he’s sedated. Around his body, the dark cloud rolls thick and angry, snapping with sparks, but it’s bound to his unconscious body by a thick tether. This is Anders’s rage, and it’s magnificent. His fury and fear manifested in darkness.

  I remember when the spirit and I joined while I was hypnotized. How hungry he had been when he fed off my energy. He teetered on the edge of insanity, but I brought him back. I can do it again. Ferdinand said we’re linked. I call it symbiosis. We need each other to survive, ’cause in my world there can be no light without darkness.

  I feed Anders my strength, my love, and my hopes. It pushes back his rage, leaving him bathed in a shimmering golden glow.

  Anders stirs on the table. His eyelids open to reveal orbs of otherworldly green—Ashmael’s eyes—full of love. He focuses on me hovering above him and blinks. The glow dampens, but doesn’t disappear as he brushes his hand though my spirit. “Dena?”

  I silently send a message to him. “Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty. Time to get up and save us from the evil madman.”

  Anders frowns and rolls his legs over the edge of the table. He jerks the IV from his arm with a wince. When his feet touch the ground, he staggers, almost falling, but regains his balance. He rubs his eyes, shaking his head. “Dena,” he whispers, “is that really you?”

  I kick an incorporeal foot at his perky ass. “Yes. Now get a move on before Estrada carves me up like a Christmas turkey.”

  “This can’t be happening,” he mutters. “You’ve finally driven me insane.”

  “You’r
e not insane. Anymore.” I float closer, focusing on pushing my thoughts into his head. “But you’re right about this being my fault. You’re as much a victim as the people who died in Magnolia LaCroix’s spell the night of the earthquake. None of this would’ve happened if not for her…and me.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying you’ve got some powerful mojo inside you. You can either let this break you or you can use it to get us out of here.” I concentrate and form the image of him in Estrada’s office. I focus first on his eyes, the glowing green shining from his face like lanterns in the darkness. I show him the ribbon of electricity rising from his body to strike my fingers.

  His breathing quickens. “No!”

  My heart bleeds for him, but he needs to know. It’s the only way for him to control what has been happening. He’s repressed this part of himself deep in his subconscious. But buried emotions always resurface. They wiggle up like night crawlers in a rainstorm—a veritable feast to be eaten by that which preys on the weak. Only by facing his rage will he find the strength to overcome Death.

  The memories hit Anders hard. He jerks in reaction and sinks to his knees, holding his head in his hands. Blackness thickens across his skin, coating every inch of him. I wish more than anything to be able to touch him. To be able to drape myself over his trembling body and protect him, but I can’t.

  I’m scared. So very, very scared.

  “Control it, Anders,” I beg, not knowing if he can even hear me anymore. “Don’t let the rage continue to feed off you. It’ll take over, and you’ll disappear. Please. I need you.”

  Wholeheartedly. I need his strength, ’cause I’m growing weaker. Thinning out. Death’s song plays in my head, growing louder with each passing second. Like a plucked harp string, the vibrations resonate along the silver cord connecting me to my body.

  If it snaps, I’ll drift away.

  “I’m not ready to die, Anders.” We have to stop Estrada’s experiments. He can’t get away with what he’s done. With what he’s doing to me right now. “Help me.”