Ian had no choice. “There’s only one chance and I need your help.” He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the noise outside the room. “I need to use your psi. We have to bring the portal to us.”
Dani let out a strangled laugh. “Did you hit your head? I’m human remember? I don’t have the voodoo.”
Ian grabbed her upper arms. She struggled but there was no where to go. He squeezed tighter. “I didn’t hit my head, listen to me. When I healed you, in the pool, something happened.”
“Yeah? Something happened last night too, as I recall.”
“I’m sorry. Dani, you possess massively powerful psi. Armond and Ria have both sensed it. And last night…” Guilt stabbed him when he saw the look in her eyes. “I had to work to keep the connection closed. But you felt it. I know you did. The pleasure, remember?” Her smell intoxicated him. This was the last thing he should be doing. It was also the only thing that could save them.
Another blast. Dani screamed and the door fell in from the top, pushing him toward her. They crouched down, Dani’s knees between his.
“Stay with me, Dani. We have to do this.”
She cringed when another blast shook the room. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I remember the feeling. You do that to me. When you’re not being a jerk.”
He wiped the tears from her face.
Another blast, and she shut her eyes and covered her ears.
“I’m doing what I have to, Dani.” He took her face in his hands. “Look at me, please.”
She sobbed, anger and fear showing in her eyes.
“I don’t expect you to understand. But you have to trust me now. We have one chance of getting out of here alive and I need your help.”
She pushed his hands away and rubbed her face. “Tell me what to do.”
“You don’t have to do anything, just let me in. We know you can because you’ve already done it, right? The pleasure?”
“I guess. I don’t know. Oh God, I’m scared, Ian. I hate being scared. It pisses me off.”
“You’re beautiful when you’re angry, luv.” He smiled at her then. She gave him a determined smile back. The door collapsed, bending from the top. He inched forward on his knees, moving away from the door now pressed against his back. Their heads were nearly touching as the space shrank.
“Close your eyes and try to keep your mind clear.” He gently caressed her shoulders and reached out to her. Once again the sheer force of her psi astounded him. He grabbed hold this time instead of backing away. The instant they connected, his psi and body erupted in euphoric emotion.
“That’s right. You okay?” Ian said telepathically.
“What happened? Are we dead?”
“Not yet. Just stay with me. It’s time to work.”
He tried not to let her feel his fear as the door forced him closer. Ian reached out with his psi and sensed the walls around them. He pressed farther and found the portal. He tugged. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. Dani’s psi was here but not helping.
“Shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t use your psi, I can feel it, but—”
Another blast pushed him against her and Dani screamed, “Here!”
That did it. He had it. He pulled with every ounce of strength.
“It’s working, Dani.” Dizzy, his arms and legs shook. The door pinned them against the wall, his face now next to hers. Another blast and they’d be dead, their bodies smashed. His strength slipped and he knew they were done when another presence entered his mind.
“Mordo.”
“Yes,” his uncle responded. “You can do it Ian. Just a little farther…” He knew his uncle’s confusion when it touched Dani’s psi. “There’s two of you? Interesting. Pull Ian. Armond and I are doing all we can from here.”
Ian sensed the portal, so close, but not enough.
“Pull.” His uncle’s voice exploded in his head. Another blast sent the door slamming into his back and he sunk into darkness.
Chapter 9
Dani couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Something pressed down on her. Raised voices, frightened, all talking at once, but nothing made sense. A male voice boomed nearby, sending a stabbing pain through her head. Just as she slid toward unconsciousness, the weight lifted and her body reflexively inhaled, air filled her lungs to capacity.
“Check for broken bones.”
“Get the carrier.”
“They will pay for this.”
Angry, worried voices swirled around her. She opened her eyes only to find it impossible to focus.
Slowly, her memory filtered back. Cat Island, the attack in Como, Ian, the storeroom… Unable to focus, Dani flexed her fingers. She touched something soft and plush.
We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. We made it. I’m on Sandaria. The thought swam about her head, increasing her nausea. She opened her eyes again. Better. Something on a flat surface floated out of the room. Ian. Please let him be alive. She closed her eyes against the pain throbbing in her head.
“It’s unclear…should have killed them….”
The loud voice penetrated the fog. “How could you possibly want her to stay? Get her out of here.”
“Rucon.” A woman’s voice. “She saved his life. Our son would be dead if not for her.”
“None of this would have happened were it not for her,” the man growled back.
“We don’t know that. Without her, Ian could not have moved that portal. Even with Mordo and Armond’s help. We must honor that, regardless of the consequences. I am sorry, my love.”
Their son? She didn’t know who the others were and didn’t care as the voices faded to nothing.
* * * *
A quiet conversation drifted into her consciousness.
“I heard he hasn’t moved a muscle, but he’s breathing.” It was a high pitched voice, like a young child.
“Correct.” This voice sounded deeper and scratchy. Unlike the other, it held confidence.
An old maid and a mouse. Dani groaned, even the thought hurt.
“At least this one is making noises. Have you ever heard of anyone severing their psi like that?” the mouse asked.
There was a long pause before the elder woman answered. “It’s very rare Koora, and it can be deadly. So, mind your tongue and pray to our Mother Goddess for the boy.”
Dani wondered if they were talking about Ian. She hardly thought of him as a boy. She opened her eyes and blinked while the room swam into focus. The walls were a soft white with thick blue curtains drawn closed. She lay nestled in a four-poster bed with impossibly soft sheets and a thick comforter.
“Well, well. Look who’s awake.” The old maid turned out to be a short brunette, dressed all in white, a rough voice belying a more youthful appearance. Next to her stood a slightly taller, much younger woman wearing a blue uniform. Her sand-colored hair needed brushing. Must be the mouse.
“Where—” Dani coughed, her throat burned.
“Here, here now. Don’t try to talk just yet.” The woman in white fluffed her pillows and helped her sit up a little before handing her a drink with a clear straw. “You’re weak. A few more days and you’ll be good as new.”
Dani swallowed gratefully. The liquid tasted like diluted grape juice and soothed the burn as it went down.
“I’m Healer Kane,” the woman said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you. This is Koora.” The brown-eyed mouse smiled at her. “Her Ladyship has assigned her to you while you’re here. If there’s anything you need, ask her. Are you hungry?”
Dani nodded. “Where’s Ian? And the rest? Are they okay?” Her voice came out scratchy and rough.
The two women exchanged a look.
Healer Kane sent Koora off to get some soup before answering. “Ian’s alive for now. We’re doing all we can for him. Moving a portal all by himself is an unheard-of feat.” She fluffed Dani’s pillow some more and straightened
out the covers. “His uncle tried to help, but still. If you believe in the Goddess, or any other deity, it wouldn’t hurt to pray. The others are fine. They’ve been asking about you.”
Dani thought back to Lago Como, being attacked, the sim room. Making love—or had it been only sex? He’d been a real jerk ever since then. Except when he used her to save their lives. Maybe she was just an object to him. “How’s Marco? Is he going to be all right?”
“That flirt? He’s fine. It’ll take a lot more than a missing limb to slow down that boy.”
Relieved, Dani closed her eyes as her thoughts drifted back to the store room where they nearly died. He said I have psi. And he was right. Somehow, in that closet, she’d thrown it at him. How can I throw something that has no form? Dani opened her eyes when Koora returned with soup. The smell made her mouth water. Koora set the tray on the side table and helped her sit up more fully. Unfortunately, this caused the pounding in her head to start up again so she pressed her palm to her forehead and waited for the pain to subside.
Healer Kane reached into a small bag sitting on the side table. “Just relax dear, this will help your head.” The woman pressed a small pen-like device to Dani’s arm. The pain instantly decreased, but she was woozy.
“That will help you sleep as well after you’ve eaten something,” Kane said. “Sleep is the best thing for you right now.”
Koora situated the tray on her lap. Dani took a whiff of the warm soup before tasting it. “Umm, that’s good. What is it?” It tasted like chicken soup only different.
“That would be Cook’s famous vegetable soup,” Koora said. “It’s good, yeah? Course, I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen a lot of the vegetables in there, being as you’re a human and all.” She said the word human with something resembling awe.
Dani paused with the spoon halfway to her lips.
“That’s enough Koora,” Healer Kane said. “Don’t worry dear, nothing in the soup is going to harm you. Quite the opposite.”
Dani finished the bite. “Can I see Ian?”
“Gods, no. Nothing personal, but he’s gravely ill. And he is the Cavacent heir after all.” Healer Kane gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I have received a request, however, for an audience with you. Most unusual.” The healer appraised Dani as though trying to figure out a puzzle. “It’s his lordship’s brother, Ian’s uncle, Mordo. He’s a very powerful man. Don’t know what he’d want with you. Perhaps tomorrow you’ll be up for a visit?”
“Yes, of course.” Dani hoped so anyway. She finished nearly half the bowl when her arms started to get heavy.
“After you’ve met with Mordo,” Healer Kane said, “we’ll let the others see you. The entire Earth crew have been clambering for a visit. It’s quite extraordinary having humans here, let alone so many.”
Dani took a few more bites and let Koora take the tray away. She wanted to ask how long she’d been there and to see outside, but sleep claimed her first.
* * * *
The room was dark and silent the next time Dani opened her eyes. She propped herself up on her elbows, taking in her surroundings. Koora slept on a couch by the curtains. She listened to the girl’s breathing, slow and steady. Something was wrong. A bad feeling tugged at her insides. She sat up, relieved to find her head not pounding for once. Koora was the only other person in the room, but—Ian. A ghost of his essence echoed through her but faded fast. If she didn’t get to him, he would die.
Okay, now I’m just paranoid. The part she was learning to recognize, her psi, ached. She knew it was the truth. She rubbed her face and watched Koora sleep. An eerie green light seeped through the the curtains behind the woman. Much as she wanted to see the alien landscape, she had to do something for Ian. She slid out of bed. They’d dressed her in white cotton pajama bottoms and matching shirt. Quietly, she plumped up the bedding to make it look like a body underneath and crept toward the door. Like a fish being reeled in, she couldn’t resist. The knob was cool in her hand and her heart skipped a beat as Koora mumbled something in her sleep. She pulled the door open a crack, listening for any sound. Nothing. She checked both ways down a long, wide corridor. The place seemed deserted as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. Deserted and very posh. Cream-colored carpet prickled on her bare feet. End tables and flowers dotted the hallway. Portraits of different sizes adorned the walls. To the left was a stair case leading down, to the right an ornate window with hallways going off in both directions.
Ian, where are you? A mental nudge. Right, it is then. She navigated carefully between areas of shadow and light, listening. Her muscles ached, like when she had the flu. What the hell am I doing? I’m probably not even allowed out here. She stopped, thinking to go back when she sensed him again. She had the distinct impression he needed her, but didn’t want her. There was definitely something wrong with him and it scared her. She struggled to understand. The impression was thin, almost ghost-like. He really is dying. Fear clenched her heart.
This is seriously messed up. She moved as quickly as she could. She reached the end of the corridor, turned left and there it was. Ian’s door. Whatever it was she picked up from him was behind its smooth polished wood. She stood still, closed her eyes, and reached out to him. He was aware of her presence, in some part of his mind, but his body was shutting down. There was something terribly wrong with his body-psi connection. She heard the chime of a clock somewhere in the distance. Time is running out. Knowing there wouldn’t be another chance, she silently opened his door and slipped inside.
Thank God. On a couch on the far wall, a male figure slept while Ian lay in the center of a bed, much like the one in her room. She closed the door, trembling both from fear of being caught and from her proximity to Ian.
“Stop.” His voice in her head, weak and empty. “No closer, Dani.”
“Ian, I can help you. I know I can.” She sensed his conflict again. For some reason, he both wanted her and resisted her. She took another step.
“You’ll die too. You’re not strong enough for this.”
Is that why he was conflicted? “You’re wrong.” She didn’t listen anymore, she simply climbed under the covers and pressed against him. His body, both familiar and foreign, smelled like the Ian she remembered. His heat permeated her soul and her physical world shifted. She was falling, or more like sliding, down a large, smooth tunnel. It wasn’t freefall but it was close. Ian’s arousal washed over her again, but this time it wasn’t her body that responded. Like on Lago Como.
“You shouldn’t have done this Dani,” Ian whispered in her head. “I can’t stop it now.”
“Stop what?”
A pleasure so intense it terrified her flowed over them. “Ian?”
Impressions danced across her mind. She had no words to describe what was happening, but there was a terrible problem. Her psi was connected to her on some level, not physical but somehow equally secure. As their psi caressed and folded together, she found only a tenuous link between Ian and his own.
I can fix this. Using her psi, she experimented with different movements and motions. Finally, she imagined dipping their combined psi into Ian’s body and back out again. Yes. Over and over, she wove through him until she was sure it was working. Like string dipped in wax again and again, each time the connection between his psi and his body grew stronger. Little by little she backed off and simply guided his psi in and out. Time was impossible to measure but slowly her strength waned. Have to keep going. Her thoughts became increasingly disjointed and incoherent. Images flashed in her mind. Places she’d never been, people she’d never met. Healer Kane was there, younger. A young couple, the male carrying a woman in his arms and laughing. Then, they were arguing over humans. That can’t be right. Confusion filled her with fear. The smooth motions of their psi became sporadic and uneven. She couldn’t control it anymore, couldn’t stop. She wanted to scream, needed to scream. She fell instead, into nothing.
* * * *
A d
eep rumbling voice penetrated the fog in Dani’s brain. A one-way conversation, something about Ian. Phone. Bed!
Dani bolted upright in a panic.
“What the hell are you doing here?” A shorter, stockier version of Ian stood near the bed, glaring at her. Words escaped her. She sat and stared at the man, waiting for her thoughts to line up. They weren’t cooperating.
Ian sat up next to her, groggy and confused.
“Good God, son, you’re awake!”
The man’s booming voice worked like a slap in the face to sober her up. She grabbed the covers and looked down, intensely grateful to find she still wore her pajamas. Her head swam with disjointed memories of last night.
Ian rubbed his eyes and glanced at the figure towering over the bed, then back at her.
For a fraction of a second, something akin to sadness glazed his eyes, but anger immediately followed. The look stabbed her like a knife. Why would he react like that?
He flung off the covers and stood. His shirt and briefs, damp with sweat, clung to his muscled body. The man on the couch rushed over, looking thoroughly perplexed. Dani wasn’t sure if it was because of her existence in the bed or Ian’s being awake. Probably both.
Ian swayed a little, and the man moved to help, but Ian waved him off and told him to fetch his clothes.
“Father,” Ian said with a gravelly voice. Avoiding eye contact with anyone, he staggered through a door and slammed it shut.
Ian’s father stood bolted to the floor, his face a mask of disbelief.
Join the party. She looked back at the closed door. The servant, or whoever he was, rushed in with a bundle of clothes. Steam billowed out around the sound of running water.
Dani placed her hand over her heart. The pain was real. Bastard. She swung her legs off the bed and stood. The room spun a little, but she was better than before. Her brain finally got the message nap time was over. That was no nap. Dani shivered. She pulled her shoulders back and lifted her head. “If you will excuse me,” she spoke through clenched teeth, “it appears I am no longer needed.” And I’m sure as hell not wanted. She headed for the door. Her clean exit marred only slightly when the door frame moved four inches to the left and pegged her on the shoulder. “Son of a bitch,” she said under her breath. She made her way back to her room, clutching her arm.
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