Carrying the Torch: Complete Trilogy

by Dinia Steel

  James could hear thoughts from the outer door guards. They had automatic weapons and would not hesitate to kill the three of them, so they would have to be rendered useless. Leo would probably be able to do that. In fact, Leo's talent would be utilized with a boost. All was planned and if their plans came to fulfillment, the three of them would walk out the door and go back to their daily lives.

  Stefan wasn’t at all subtle in his thoughts and it became very evident he intended to try and kill Josephine, Leo and James before they left the audience room. He was also planning to take out as many of the Inner Circle as he could on his own. He realized his chances of living through the afternoon were slim, but Stefan was tired of being a servant. He wanted to sit in that middle chair. In a word, he'd become unhinged.

  This fell right in with the trio's plans. All it took was them knowing how and when to act to get Stefan to start, but without killing Josephine, Leo and James.

  Josephine nodded, it was time now, and the trio went to work.

  James slipped into his trance like state and began to build their defenses around them.

  Everything happened very quickly, but to Josephine, James and Leo, it seemed like slow motion.

  It started with a buzzing sound filling the audience room.

  It could have been mistaken as single engine private plane passing low overhead.

  The volume increased until it sounded like a million angry hornets. With the sound, a swirling of golden flecks of light coalesced around the three.

  James could hear gunshots ringing through the audience room, but either they were not aimed at himself and his friends, or the bullets were unable to penetrate the shield surrounding the trio like a tornado of light. One part of James’ mind recalled the story of a Pillar of Fire in the desert.

  As soon as Josephine indicated the time was now, Leo turned his attention to the armed outer guards, causing them to become extremely angry with each other. The arguments led to fighting between them and soon, their own nature took over totally and they began shooting at each other. They managed effectively to kill themselves.

  Leo next turned his attentions to those inside the audience chamber.

  Stefan already agitated by the gunfire outside, pulled his brace of Glocks from his shoulder holsters, and began firing at the members of the Inner Council, taking out Sarah first, since she was the elected head of the Order, then those who came after her in turn, until he'd murdered everyone except the Americans.

  When Stefan realized what he'd done, he turned his attention to the Americans whom he'd begun to hate almost as much as he did anyone. It was entirely their fault. If they hadn’t shown up...

  He didn't have a chance to finish his thought as Leo turned his attention to Stefan fully.

  Stefan's whole world collapsed. His mind was awash with grief and sorrow. He'd just murdered the only people in the entire world who knew about him, who cared about him. What was wrong with him? He didn't deserve to live. He calmly checked the bullet clips, and found he had one round left. Just enough to finish what he'd started. Stefan put the barrel of the Glock he held in his right hand into his mouth and pulled the trigger.

  It took both Josephine and Leo to get James from the building where the massacre had just taken place. James was still in a trance and couldn’t be brought back easily. Between them, Josephine and Leo got James outside, and into one of the vehicles waiting.

  That same night, they were on their way back to the States. James was back, more or less. Josephine was keeping track of him; she knew that he'd undergone a psychic shock with the amount of power and energy he'd been channeling. She knew the chances of him being his happy self again were good…it would just take time. A lot of time.

  Coming back to the States and their former lives, Josephine and Leo decided to get married. The memories of what had taken place in Germany becoming fainter by the hour. Soon, it would be totally erased from their memories.

  James left the school to go live in a cabin in the woods somewhere in the mountains of Montana. He ‘had to get away from it all.’ His memories of what had happened that night were also becoming fainter. What he was remembering was the strong feelings he'd felt about Reggie Adams. He was still in love with her, and he had hopes that someday, they could meet again, and maybe pick up where they'd left off.

  Maybe...

  ~o0o~

  Part Two

  Keeper's of the Flame

  “I'm the keeper of the flame

  My torch of love lights his name

  Ask no pity about my shame

  I'm the keeper of the flame”

  Nina Simone

  ~o0o~

  Chapter 26

  James walked the quarter mile from his cabin to the mailbox. When he got there, he discovered not only his monthly magazines were there, but also a very official letter from Washington State Justice Department.

  He opened it on his way back to the cabin. The first paragraph had him stopping in his tracks. The gist of the letter stated that since James was Dr. Regina Adams’s contact person, he was being informed she was being transferred to a state facility which would house her at a lesser cost to the taxpayer.

  James walked back into the cabin, sat down and thought for a while. Finally, he picked up his cell phone and scrolled through his contact list. Finding the number he was looking for, he made the call. “Josephine, hey, it's James...”

  ~o0o~

  “Mr. Franklin, I understand that you and Dr. Adams were very close at one time. Are you sure, you want to see her? She's—she isn’t what or who she used to be.” Dr. Banner tried to talk James out of seeing her.

  “I understand Dr. Banner. I was present when Dr. Adams had her episode, and yes, we were quite close.” James dropped his eyes to his hands. “I'm in love with her, Dr. Banner. I need to see her.”

  Dr. Banner nodded and stood up. “In that case, Mr. Franklin, will you please follow me?” He motioned for James to lead the way out the door. In the hallway, Dr. Banner went over Reggie's chart and explained to James what course of action the hospital had taken since she'd been there. They went down two floors and through a couple of double doors and into an area that wasn’t only locked, but double locked. They also had to pass through a full pat down for weapons before James and Dr. Banner were allowed into the ward Regina Adams was in.

  They found Reggie in the common room. She was just sitting in a chair by one of the many windows staring outside. She didn't acknowledge Dr. Banner or James when they walked up to her. She just continued to stare out the window.

  James turned to Dr. Banner. “Would you please leave me alone with her Dr. Banner?”

  “Of course, Mr. Franklin. You may stay as long as you like. When you’re done, just go to the door and the guards will let you out.” Dr. Banner sighed. “James, I'm sure you must be feeling that if she sees you or hears your voice, she'll snap out of it. She won't. She's had a complete psychotic break and coming back from that severe a break is not likely.”

  James looked at Dr. Banner and smiled a little, then nodded. He turned away from him and reached for a chair. He hauled it over next to where Reggie was, and sat down.

  To anyone who was watching, it looked as if James was just sitting there staring at Reggie, but in truth, he was trying to get into her mind. Reggie, it's James. Can you hear me?

  Reggie didn't even blink an eye.

  Reggie, please hear me. I miss you. Please come back to me. I—I love you, Reggie. I'm so sorry Baby, please hear me.

  James stayed beside Reggie for almost two hours.

  Dr. Banner finally came back when he realized that James hadn't signed out yet. “James, what are you doing?”

  James looked up and sighed. “I want her moved into a facility closer to me. What can I do? How can I do it?”

  Dr. Banner shook his head. “I don't think it'll be possible, Mr. Franklin, but I'll look into it. It shouldn't take too long to find out. Do you want to wait here?”

  James was still
staring at Reggie and only nodded to Dr. Banner.

  An hour and a half later, Dr. Banner came back to the day room, shaking his head. “James, who do you know, or maybe I should say, who are you?”

  James gazed up at Dr. Banner. “You know who I am...”

  “You knew that you'd get permission to have her moved closer to you, didn't you?”

  “Why would you say that, Dr. Banner?”

  “Because you have the permission to move her. In fact, you've been given guardianship for Dr. Regina Adams. You knew of course, that she doesn't have any family or anyone…period. That's why she's been a ward of the state. How did you do it?”

  “Simple. It's a matter of economics, Dr. Banner. She's costing the state and I offered to pay for her care. She hasn’t committed any crimes, so there is no reason not to let me have guardianship since I have the means to take care of her.” James stood and took Reggie by the elbow, helping her to rise from the chair. “Can I take her with me tonight?”

  An hour later, James and Reggie left the psychiatric unit.

  ~o0o~

  Chapter 27

  James found a wheel chair. He helped Reggie sit down, so he could wheel her into the facility that agreed to house Reggie for the time being. James’ plan was to find a large enough house so Reggie could stay with him. That way, he could work with her for as long as needed, and whenever he wanted to. He would need to find a nurse who would live with them to help take care of Reggie.

  The facility’s manager met them at the door and ushered James into the office to finish signing paperwork and making the deposit for Reggie's care. He didn't like the place; it smelled of urine and vomit. He wouldn't let Reggie stay here any longer than absolutely necessary.

  Two weeks later, James found a house and a nurse, and moved them all into it. It was a very nice place; not too close to town, but still close enough to not have to travel hours to get supplies.

  Tonia Rae, the nurse, was nice. She seemed very efficient and asked no questions. She liked the idea of only having to deal with Reggie on a limited basis and wouldn't have cared if James had evil things envisioned for Reggie, so long as she didn't see or hear any of it. The thoughts she had disgusted James.

  Reggie had lost a great deal of weight she could ill afford to lose. James’ first priority was to find some way to make her want to eat. He still had that “connection” with Reggie. He could faintly feel her mind and the chaotic jumble it had become. He felt very strongly that he would be able to help her sort through it and save herself, and with her, himself too. He was the reason her mind was in such an awful state...

  No! He couldn't think that way.

  He was just the focal point through which The Seven worked. He didn't understand how he knew that, but he did. Sometime in the near future, he would have to see what he could find on the Council of Seven. He knew they were also called The Brotherhood of Light.

  Reggie had brought it all down upon herself and in turn, the twins. At least the twins weren't catatonic or worse, dead. From what he'd been able to find out before he left the University, they were just normal hell raising teenagers now. No special abilities. They would be happier for their loss.

  Try as he might, James could only remember one thing about that night in Germany. He wasn't even sure now how Josephine, Leo and himself got to Germany or why they'd even gone. The fragment he did recall was talking to someone who was a member of the Council of Seven and being given permission to be a “Flame Bearer.” None of it meant anything to him now, but it had at the time. Whenever he tried to remember, he would get an awful headache that forced him to stop thinking about it.

  What happened to Reggie happened before that trip to Germany, in the lecture hall on campus, that he could remember like it was yesterday...

  Josephine, Leo and James walked into the lecture hall and sit in the back row. They knew that this was the day that Reggie planned on showing off the London twins to an agent for some company that deals in espionage, and that Reggie stood to make a very large commission if the demonstration with the twins went well. The plan was for the twins to either burn out or outright kill Josephine and or Leo.

  James had been practicing using his mind as a shield and had been very successful with it. What he needed to do was to be able to shield both Josephine and Leo from the twins’ combined mental attacks, while Reggie was planning to open the way for the twins to get into Josephine and Leo's minds.

  Since James had formed a strong rapport with Reggie, he'd learned what a shield was and how to use it. It wasn't something that he'd gone looking for, but it'd been there in the open. Reggie had been so arrogant about her abilities, that she really didn't shield herself from James in the beginning. That was how he knew so much about the planned demonstration.

  When Pat and Oscar realized that Josephine and Leo had come into the lecture hall, they didn't wait for Reggie to give them the go ahead and that's when it all turned to hell. They tried to burn out Josephine and Leo and maybe even damage their brains so much that they'd die. James was able to shield them and the attack rebounded back to the source. Since Reggie was in rapport at that time with the twins, the rebound hit her first and the hardest - then the twins got hit. It was powerful enough to burn out their psi abilities, but left their minds intact.

  That had been an awful day.

  Reggie, however, was a different story. Her mind had been completely burned out. She was catatonic and had been taken to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. There was no amount of drugs that would have been able to restore her mind.

  She had been quite insane before and if she'd survived the rebound she would have been pushed over the edge. She would have gone on to create more horror and pain. It had been necessary to stop her and the twins.

  James put his head in his hands and sobbed.

  God!

  Would he ever be able to forget that day? The look on her face when she'd realized what was happening the split second before the rebound hit her full on?

  Now, he was going to try and rebuild what he could of it. He loved her so much, even though she'd been so evil. He couldn't understand why he'd loved her that way right from the beginning.

  He loved her then, and he loved her now.

  He would work with Reggie every day and try to rebuild the pathway the blast of energy had burned out. Maybe he could rebuild it better. He had to. He wanted a life with Reggie. He would never love anyone else.

  James looked at Reggie sitting at his small kitchen table,

  She sat staring at nothing.

  He sat in the chair across from her and stared into her unseeing eyes. “Reggie, can you hear me? Blink your eyes if you can hear me. Please, Reggie.” I love you...please hear me. The last was a sob in his mind.

  James’ cell phone chimed, pulling his attention away from Reggie. He glanced at the caller ID, Josephine Wallace-Jordan. “Josephine, what's up?”

  “James, I know you have your hands full with Reggie right now, but I really need your help with someone else and right away.”

  “Well, sure Josephine, if I can. Who is it and why do you need my help with them?”

  “Do you still have your fax machine, or would you rather I email mail you the docs?”

  “Yes, I still have my fax. You have that number, right?”

  “Yeah, I do. I'm sending you the information as soon as we disconnect. Please call me back after you've read the file and give me your answer. It's kind of a priority, James. A young boy's life is at stake.” Josephine didn't even give James time to say goodbye before she hung up.

  The fax machine chimed then and the papers began to collect in the tray. When it finished, James pulled out the stack and started reading.

  Forty-five minutes later, James called Josephine back. “Why me Josephine?”

  “Because I saw what will happen if you don't at least try to help. And James, it MUST to be you!”

  ~o0o~

  Chapter 28

  To humor Josephine, James sa
id he would make the necessary appointment with the care facility in Seattle, and then set about doing some research, so he wouldn’t be totally uneducated on the problem.

  His Google search found the following on the subject:

  “Autism is a complex neurological disorder that affects the way a person thinks, behaves, communicates and interacts with others. Autism is a spectrum disorder. This means it affects some children mildly and affects other children much more. You may have heard these terms used to refer to autism: autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).”

  “Hello James.” Of course, Josephine knew he was calling.

  “Josephine, come on...you need to give me some idea why I need to see this boy who has autism.”

  “All right James, I'll tell you what I've been able to gather, and trust me, it hasn’t been easy. I see it only from your side because I can't see this boy's future at all. He's totally closed off and only into himself,”

  “So what you're telling me, in effect, is that this boy and Reggie have a great deal in common mentally speaking?”

  “Yes, basically that's it. If you can help him, you'll be able to help Reggie and vice versa,” Josephine replied simply. “I see you reaching the boy and Reggie in that order. I have no idea how you reach them, only that he's first. I can't tell you if you ever get either one of them communicating with others, only that they do with you.”

  “Wow. You sure know how to drop a bomb on someone. It's not fair that so much rests on me like this.”

  Josephine barked a laugh. “Oh, really James! You caused the virtual mind wipe of three people by deflection, so you should be able to reach minds by direction.”

  “Will you tell me who the boy is and how functional is he?”