STEP (The Senses)

by Paterson, Cindy

  STEP

  By

  Cindy Paterson

  Published By Cindy Paterson

  Copyright © 2012 by Cindy Paterson

  Toronto, Canada

  ISBN: 978-0-9917327-0-8

  Copyright © 2012 Cover design: Mark Paterson

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  *This book contains offensive language and sexual content.

  For my family,

  Thank you for your love and support through the most difficult time in my life. I am alive because you saw clearly, when I didn’t. Without your helping hands I wouldn’t be who I am today. I am the strong and courageous woman I was always meant to be because of you.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my editor.

  Any mistakes are my own.

  My deepest gratitude to Katherine for reading STEP and giving me honesty and insight, but most of all for loving it. You made me dig deeper. Thank you.

  To my brother who designed my incredible cover for STEP. Your support as a brother is boundless.

  Authors Books

  JUMP -Book 1 in the Senses series

  STEP- Book 2 in the Senses series

  FALL- Book 3 in the Senses series

  Authors Note

  Stop!

  Have you read JUMP? Step is the second in the series and you will not understand what is going on if JUMP has been skipped. If you’ve read JUMP, enjoy your read and I hope I can take you away into another place for a few hours!

  The Senses are waiting:)

  Glossary of Terms (alphabetical order)

  CWO: Center World Other. Numerous organisms that survived the Ice Age. For thousands of years they remained unknown and hidden, until three hundred years ago when they began emerging to the surface in the form of insects. They were intelligent and figured out how to link themselves to human bodies, possessing the humans’ bodies and souls. The possession takes seven days. Each species has unique qualities, depending on what insect they are. They have shields that make them immune to the Wraiths’ powers. Best guess is that the minerals and heat from the center of the Earth protect CWOs from the elements of nature.

  Dreamstep: Dreaming with another person. A Senses can lead another in a dream, being able to manipulate it. Dreamstepping is best done when linked together by touch, however if a connection between two people is strong enough they can meet in a dream without touching. One can die and/or fall into a coma-like state during Dreamstepping.

  DS: Deep Sleep. A state where one can be put into sleep for short periods of time. It can only be done by a Taldeburu.

  The Goddess: The Goddess Enid who created the Senses from witches in 1610.

  GQ (CWO): Derive from the cockroach. No scent (which makes them difficult to locate). They are arrogant, determined males that use their good looks to lure women to their beds. Tend to dwell in the city areas. They survive by sucking air from the lungs of humans, which gives them a week of life. They heal within seconds, therefore must be decapitated.

  Healers (Senses): Rare and always women, they are capable of healing other Senses with the touch of their hands, but healing comes with a price. Healers will feel the pain of the injury and see how the injury occurred. This can be severely traumatic and cause temporary weakness. On occasion, a Healer is capable of healing humans, animals, and other entities. Have telepathy.

  Lilac (CWO): The Lepidoptera insect. Lilacs are always women and striking, even if they take over the body of an unattractive woman from a grave. Lilacs go through metamorphosis, just like the Lepidoptera insects that turn into butterflies, gradually over days becoming more beautiful and younger until they are at their full potential of beauty. Lilacs are deadly, considering they trap men in cocoons in order to feed off of them until the men die. They have a powdered substance on their skin and smell like lilacs. Lilacs shoot webs from their fingers to trap their prey.

  Long Necks (CWO): Derive from the beetle. Long Necks are followers. They sometimes link up with Vamps in order to eat bodies that Vamps kill. Unusually long necks, bad crater-like acne, hefty and muscular, therefore slow moving. Very foul smelling—often compared to rotten garbage.

  Maite: A Senses husband or wife. However, if a Maite breaks any of the Senses laws and are found guilty by council then the Maiting is considered void. A Senses doesn’t have the right to be a Maite is he/she fails to uphold the laws.

  Pests (CWO): Derive from the mosquito. They come from wet, swamp-like areas where graves are near. Always wear sunglasses to hide their yellow eyes. Amazing eye sight. Can be heard by Sounders by a distinct buzzing sound. If you touch their skin it makes you extremely itchy. Fairly harmless.

  Realm: The home of the four Elemental Wraiths. It is considered a fantasy land and what you see is not always what is. It is where council meets to make decisions and judgments regarding all Senses.

  Reflections (Senses): Have strong empathy towards emotions. Some Reflections can take in emotions and alter them, however this can weaken them and cause them pain. They have the strongest telepathically.

  Rest: A coma-like state where a Senses dreams their worst memories repeatedly. Only a Taldeburu can put a Senses in Rest for a predetermined amount of time. However, council can vote for a Senses to be put to Rest.

  Scar: The Goddess Enid embedded an ink drawing on each Senses. The Tattoos come alive when called upon by their Senses in need. Scars must stay within a certain distance of their Senses and will weaken their master. Scars are fierce and some even deadly.

  Senses: The Senses originated in 1610, in a Navarre town called Zugarramurdi, Basque Spain. Witches would gather in a subterranean cave cut through by a river called the Inferukeorreka, “Hell's Stream.” The Spanish Inquisition came to the town and accused men, women, and children of being witches. After weeks of torture, those who confessed to the Inquisition were exonerated. However, twelve of the accused refused to admit any guilt and, as a result, were burned at the stake.

  The Goddess Enid later approached a handful of pardoned witches and made them a covenant; in exchange for their sworn fidelity to protect civilization, they would have immortality with extraordinary abilities that derive from the five senses—vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Most Senses have the ability to sense others’ emotions, however a rare few can manipulate emotions and/or change them.

  Sounders (Senses): Can detect high frequencies. They must learn to block out sounds as very high pitches can cause them severe pain. Have telepathy. Excel at telekinesis.

  Sublymns: Children living in the Realm that have died horrible deaths on Earth. The Wraiths have a play land for the children and they can eat anything they want as their bodies don’t require nutrients. They live in perpetual happiness.

  Talde: Group of Senses.

  Taldeburu: A leader of a Talde.

  Tasters (Senses): Distinct tastes occur to let them know of what others are feeling around them. Telepathy (poor ability). Telekinesis (poor ability).

  Tracing: The ability to teleport from place to place. Can only Trace to destinations he/she has already been to. Cannot Trace if severely wounded, except to the Realm. Usually cannot Trace with others. Wraiths can Trace anyone to and from the Realm.

  Trackers (Senses): Able to track shed skin cells, making them highly valuable. Telepathy. Telekinesis.

  Transition: The state where an individual is turning into a vampire.

  Solitary
: A Senses that is not part of a Talde, but instead chooses to live on his/her own.

  Visionaries (Senses): Able to see through certain objects. Some have the ability to use their eyes to burn objects and/or read in hyper-speed. Telepathy. Telekinesis.

  Wraiths: The four Elemental Wraiths were created in order to assist the Senses in protecting mankind from darkness that walks the Earth. They each have the ability to manipulate their element. Wraith of Earth, Fire, Air, Water.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Epilogue

  Message

  Bibliography

  Chapter 1

  Rayne huddled on the bathroom floor, knees to her chest, arms wrapped around them. The footsteps drew closer. Fear tore through her insides like a helicopter blade. She rocked back and forth, tears streaking her cheeks.

  The steps stopped.

  She raised her head and gasped.

  “Fuck, babe,” Chocolate Eyes said, stepping forward. He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet off the tiled floor. “You look like crap . . . worse, actually.” He wiped her tears with the calloused pad of his thumb. “You want to get out of this pisshole or not?”

  He came back? For her? This had to be an aftereffect of the drugs her husband forced her to take. A hallucination. Chocolate Eyes had escaped the compound with his friend Ryker weeks ago.

  He grabbed her chin and forced her eyes to meet his. “Are you hurt?”

  She stared, transfixed, heart pounding so violently she feared it would break through her ribcage. His fingers dug into her flesh and he gave her a shake, eyes glaring and fierce.

  “Answer me,” he growled. “Do I need to carry you, damn it?”

  “You came back,” she whispered.

  He ignored her statement. “Listen, woman, I don’t feel like becoming some guy’s lab rat, so goddamn answer me?”

  “I . . . no . . . I can walk,” she said. Just dizzy, weak and scared as a guppy in a tank with a piranha. Anton always said she was pathetic.

  “You still want out of here? Cause if you don’t, damn well tell me now.”

  “I . . . I hate him,” she blurted. Why did she say that? He didn’t ask her that.

  His grip on her chin eased while his eyes flashed darker, if that were possible. “Yeah, figured that. And I’ll take that as a yes.” He grabbed her sweatshirt draped on the sink and pulled it over her head. “It’s cold out,” he muttered. His gaze roamed from her head down to her feet and back up again. “Walking won’t cut it, can you run?”

  Could she? She had no idea. Her legs felt like uncooked spaghetti ready to crack in half at the slightest push. Her heart pitter-pattered erratically having to work hard to keep her body functioning. She was falling apart, so probably the truth would be a firm no, but she nodded anyway.

  Their eyes met and he paused and then nodded as if satisfied that, regardless of her lie, he thought she’d be able to at least keep up. He straightened and strode out of the bathroom, knife in one hand and a gun holstered to his right hip.

  He opened the door to her room and she wondered how he managed to get past the code box. How had he even known where she was in this place? Had he wrestled the information out of Ben? Or Anton? Were they dead? Please let them be dead.

  “Keep close,” he ordered in a low gravelly voice. “Lag behind and I’m not coming back for you. Understand?”

  She nodded. She didn’t dare believe they’d escape. No, she’d go because if Chocolate Eyes managed to get her outside, she’d at least have the chance to feel the wind in her hair, the rain or sun on her skin. That was worth anything. Being locked up in a windowless room for weeks felt as if she was suffocating beneath a blanket of soil.

  His eyes watched her for a moment as if sizing her up, wondering if he’d just made the stupidest mistake of his life. He muttered something incoherent, then stepped out into the corridor.

  He grabbed her hand, hot rough skin enclosing her fragile bones in a tight grip, and tugged her forward. They ran down the sterile hallway, hesitating at every intersecting corridor—there were three of them—as he watched the cameras up in the corners. She followed him like a loyal puppy on a leash, uncertain where or how they were going to get out of this place, but trailing behind regardless.

  Taking the elevator would be out of the question as it was a deathtrap on cables, and the south stairs led into the main living quarters. The guy had done his homework—triple marks on the intelligence scale—as getting into or out of the sub-basement was no easy task.

  He stopped dead and she collided with his broad back. Something cold was pressed into her hand—knife. He glared at her as if to say shut up and just do as I say, and then opened the door to the stairwell. He waited a few seconds listening for footsteps, and a few could be heard from the two floors below them. She began to back out when he grabbed her arm without turning around.

  He nodded to the camera up in the corner that was slowly turning in their direction. “It hits us in five seconds and then all hell is going to break loose. We can’t go back the way I came. There is no other way. We haul ass. Don’t stop no matter what you hear or see. Get outside and run to the north wall—that’s on the far right of the gate—someone will be there to help you.”

  Climbing over the wall was impossible. She knew from experience. Even with a rope to haul her up the twelve feet it would take too long, considering Anton’s buffalo guards would be hunting them like dogs. A bullet could travel fast and far.

  He grabbed her hand and tightened it on the hilt of the knife. “Use it. Don’t hesitate, for fuck sake. Jugular.” He pointed to the scar on his throat where someone had obviously tried to do the same thing.

  Just the thought of slicing the knife across the throat of another human being made her stomach lurch. Could she end a life? She’d done it once before and swore never to do it again, but if it meant escape? Freedom from her husband and what he had in store for her?

  Chocolate Eyes glanced up at the camera for a few seconds then shoved her ahead of him. “Go!”

  She ran as hard and fast as she could. Her legs shook, knees wobbled, and her lungs cried for more oxygen as the panic ate it up. She tripped on a stair and began to fall forward when his hand grabbed her elbow. His momentum kept them going as he half dragged her up the stairs.

  She stopped at the door leading into the hallway of the ground floor. A piercing alarm sounded. Running. From all directions. The place would go into lockdown.

  One more hallway. Steps away from feeling the sun or the rain beating down on her again. All she needed was a minute of freedom; sixty seconds of breathing fresh air; feel the wind caress her skin like a gentle hand.

  “I . . . I don’t have the code,” she said. Anton had changed them after the escape of the Senses, and this time, he hadn’t given them to her.

  He gave a curt nod. “Figured that. This doesn’t always work with security systems, but it did on your cell. If it doesn’t, get ready for one hell of a fight.”

  He called it a cell. Cold, sterile wit
h nothing personal. Since she was four years old, her bedroom had been four walls, a bed and a bathroom. Once, Roarke had given her a book—Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. She’d read it a hundred and fifty-two times and would have again if her husband hadn’t found it beneath her mattress.

  He let go of her elbow and stood in front of the code box. His face became a mask of concentration. Lips pressed into a thin line, jaw tense, eyes focused.

  Shouts. Running. Alarm blazing.

  Chocolate Eyes stood calm and composed, staring at the code box. What was he doing?

  She gasped as his eyes began to change, melting away the chocolate until they were solid gold with a red dot in the center. Her eyes darted back and forth from the code box to him.

  Footsteps running up from the basement.

  Shouts.

  The buffalos were going to be on them within seconds.

  The box began to burn with intense heat like an element on a stove. The numbers disappeared under bright orange heat, and smoke billowed up from the back of it. A click sounded, and the door unlocked.

  Oh my God. Could Senses do that? How could he do that? What had his eyes done?

  He yanked her through the door, down the hallway and then pushed her ahead of him. “Go,” he ordered.

  She hesitated, seeing him pull his gun from his holster and aiming it at the deserted hallway behind them. What was he doing? There was no one there. Suddenly, two men came barreling around the corner, and he fired off two shots. Both went down in quick succession. She stumbled forward.