His Magic Touch

by Cynthia Cooke

  “What about the juju? The candles?” she asked, trying desperately to understand something she’d never be able to comprehend.

  “I thought they would stop him. I can’t believe he could grab her with her wearing the amulet.”

  “Oh, God. She wasn’t.” Sera pulled the amulet still sealed in a plastic bag out of her purse. “They took it off her at the hospital.”

  His lips thinned, and she could sense the rage rippling through him.

  “Can you sense him?” she asked.

  “Faintly.”

  She could hear the fear in his voice, and it made her that much more terrified. He was all she had to believe in; if she lost her faith in him, then she truly was lost.

  “Look!” She pointed far down the street. Shirley was running as fast as her little legs would carry her, chasing something she couldn’t see.

  “That’s my girl,” he said. They jumped into the car and sped up to catch the dog. “She can smell the beast even better than I can.”

  Sera turned to him. “Seriously? How would she even know to go after them?”

  “That’s what she’s been bred for. Her mom is a master.”

  Sera stared at him wide-eyed. And here she thought he had brought the dog to worm his way into Aimee’s heart. Embarrassment warmed her cheeks. “But Shirley’s so young,” she said in astonishment.

  “And good.”

  Hope filled Sera, though she knew it was crazy. Putting her hope in a little bundle of fur that would most likely tire of the chase at any moment and drop was stupid. But at this point, what choice did she have?

  The nightmare that Trent and Mary had warned her about was true. There really were monsters, and one had taken her baby. She swiped at the tears in her eyes. She couldn’t go on without Aimee. She couldn’t do it.

  Trent reached over and grabbed her hand. “We’ll get her back, I promise.”

  She grasped onto the hope he offered, even though she realized he couldn’t offer her any guarantees. Not really.

  “I shouldn’t have left you.” Trent’s voice was full of anguish. “This was exactly what I was hoping to avoid, and instead I’ve made things worse. Now she has no idea who she is and how to protect herself. All she knows is some evil son of a bitch has taken her. And that she’s all alone.”

  “No, she’s not! She’s not alone. She knows we’re coming for her. She must.”

  “You. She knows you’re coming for her. She doesn’t know anything about me. She doesn’t even know—” His voice broke, and he swallowed hard.

  Sera squeezed his hand tight. “She will. We’ll tell her everything as soon as we find her. And we will find her.” Now she was the one offering empty guarantees. But she didn’t care. They would make them true. They had to.

  He turned to her and the suffering in his eyes broke her heart.

  “Stop it,” she demanded. “If you don’t believe we can save Aimee, then we won’t. You have to believe because I have to believe in you. Do you understand? I need to trust you. I need to know you won’t let us down.”

  He stared at her for a moment, then nodded, and was about to say more, but up ahead, the puppy turned down a dirt road Sera had never been down before. They moved at a crawl, pacing the tiny dog, but Sera’s heart pounded in her chest as if she was running for her life.

  Soon they came to a shack at the end of the road. The old structure was built on stilts that jutted out over the water. Trent stopped the car as Shirley bolted toward the open door.

  “Do you sense anything?” Sera asked.

  Trent shook his head. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

  They hurried forward, moving toward the shack as Shirley rushed inside. Something crashed. Wood splintered. A high-pitched yelp broke the stillness of the early morning air.

  “Oh, my God, Aimee!” Sera bolted after the dog. Trent yelled a warning, but it was too late. She burst into the shack, then grabbed hold of the doorway, teetering on the edge of a gaping hole in the wooden floor.

  Just below her, Shirley treaded water furiously, as the murky swamp lapped at the stilts beneath the house. The puppy’s little paws paddled desperately. Her snout crinkled as a growl rumbled through her.

  “Trent, something is in the water with her!” Sera called.

  Trent dropped to his belly and stretched over the jagged edge of the broken floor. His hand shot out and he grabbed the dog, launching her through the air just as the snapping jaws of an alligator broke the surface.

  Sera caught her, instinctively pulling the pup against her chest. Her shirt immediately soaked through with foul swamp water and blood.

  “She’s bleeding, Trent.”

  The puppy’s side had been split by a shallow slice. Either from the fall, or from sharp, gnashing teeth, she couldn’t be sure.

  Trent carefully got to his feet and looked at the puppy’s wound. “She will be fine as soon as we get her stitched up.”

  “Where’s Aimee?” Sera stared down into the water, as terror rushed through her.

  “This was a trap. For me.”

  He pointed to the shirt floating in the water. “He left that there, hoping I’d follow his scent. He must have sabotaged the floor.”

  A lump filled Sera’s throat. What were they dealing with? “We have to find her.”

  They hurried out of the shack and back onto the road. Sera held the puppy in her arms. Trent stood still, his head cocked to one side. Shirley whimpered.

  “Do you sense anything?”

  “Not from the demon, but I’m getting something from Aimee.”

  Hope surged through Sera. “What?”

  “Fear.”

  Sera’s stomach lurched.

  “She’s close and she’s still alive. Let’s focus on that.”

  He gestured down a path that led along the water’s edge. “She’s down that way.”

  Sera followed his gaze down a small path leading through the woods. “If you can sense her, can Aimee sense you?”

  “I doubt it. She doesn’t know what to focus on. But he can. That’s what worries me.”

  “Then, stay here,” Sera insisted. “Let me go first. We can’t afford to walk into another trap. If he can feel you coming, then he has the upper hand. I’ll find out where he has her and what he’s doing, then I’ll come back for you.”

  Doubt filled Trent’s eyes.

  “Come on, Trent. You know I’m right.”

  “I know it’s dangerous. You don’t know the first thing about how to protect yourself from a demon.”

  “I’m a mom. I’ll face anything to protect my daughter.”

  She followed close behind as he hurried to the trunk of his car and opened it. She locked the puppy in her cage, then took the walkie-talkie he handed her. “Take this and tell me everything you see. And if he finds you—” He handed her a wicked-looking knife. “Use this. Don’t be squeamish. He may look like someone you trust. But he isn’t. Remember that.”

  Sera stared at the heavy serrated blade in her hand, and felt the first doubts trickle through her.

  “Don’t let him see you. Promise me, Sera.”

  “I promise.”

  “You’ve got five minutes, then I’m coming after you. Now, let’s go save our daughter.”

  Sera ran down the path though the woods without looking back. Within moments, she saw another hunting shack on the banks of the swamp. As quietly as she could, she stepped up onto the dock that ran alongside the shack and extended out into the water. She peered through the window and smothered a gasp. Aimee was inside with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her hands and feet were bound and a gag covered her mouth.

  She couldn’t let Aimee see her. She ducked down and gasped a deep breath. She took another quick peek and saw Dr. Gibbons move in front of the window. He stopped next to Aimee and drew his thumb across her forehead, leaving it streaked with blood.

  Sera crouched down as bile rose up in her throat. She shoved her fist against her mouth to stop from crying out. Not hi
m. It couldn’t be. Had he been lying to her at the hospital the whole time?

  She stiffened as anger surged through her, and she fought down the urge to run into the shack and attack the bastard. She trusted him and he’d stolen her daughter. Adrenaline pumped through her. She could take him. She would take him.

  If he were human.

  She took another steadying breath and crept away from the shack, careful not to make a sound. When she was a safe distance away, she called Trent on the walkie-talkie and told him what she’d seen.

  “Stay there, Sera. Wait for me. I’ll be there in a second,” he said, his voice crackling over the radio.

  “All right,” she whispered. But she couldn’t get the image of her daughter’s tear-streaked face out of her mind. What if he was hurting her right now? She had to know what was happening. She hurried back to the shack, back to the window.

  But Aimee was gone.

  Sera ran around to the front of the shack and skidded to a stop.

  “Hello, Sera,” Dr. Gibbons said, and smiled. He was standing in dirty brackish water up to his thighs, holding a frightened Aimee in his arms.

  “What do you want with my daughter?” she asked, still unable to believe what she was seeing. This man delivered Aimee. He brought her into the world and had taken care of the two of them their whole lives. Surely Trent was wrong. Please let him be wrong.

  But as she saw coal-black eyes shining in the predawn light, she knew the ugly truth. Dr. Gibbons was gone and a demon was about to kill her baby. She’d seen this moment, seen it in her mind the day Trent had kissed her back in Mary’s shop.

  The demon started chanting in Latin and lowering Aimee into the swamp water, as if Sera weren’t even standing there. As if she was powerless to stop him.

  But she wasn’t.

  She felt the weight of the demon dagger in her pocket. From a distance, she heard Trent calling to her. Aimee screamed behind her gag, her eyes pleading for help. Sera looked for Trent but couldn’t see him. She couldn’t wait any longer.

  She pulled the knife and jumped, throwing herself off the dock and onto the demon. She knocked him off balance, the knife grazing his shoulder. He dropped Aimee and she sank beneath the surface.

  Sera frantically reached for her, pushing through the water. Fingers grasping, she touched Aimee, but before she could grab hold, the demon backhanded her with a dizzying blow that sent her flying back toward the dock. Brackish water filled her mouth and burned her eyes. She pushed to the surface, struggling once more to find her footing.

  The demon yanked Aimee back out of the water and raised a knife high above her head, all the while whispering…chanting.

  He was going to kill her. Sera hadn’t been fast enough or strong enough to stop him. Anguish rose in her throat and choked her.

  In stunned horror Trent saw Sera fall below the surface. The demon raised the knife high above Aimee’s head, and Trent knew he had mere seconds. He dove off the dock. A wide smile cut across the demon’s face as he dropped Aimee and turned, pointing the knife toward Trent.

  Trent twisted in midair, trying to avoid the blade. As he hit the demon, the knife slid easily into his skin. A burning sensation spread through him as he and the demon rolled beneath the water.

  Trent grasped hold of the demon’s neck and squeezed. They struggled until the pressure in Trent’s chest was too much to bear. He pushed to the surface and gasped a deep breath. The demon thrust the knife at him again. Trent turned, going under once more as the knife sliced though his arm.

  Suddenly, Sera was there, thrusting the demon dagger into his hand. Trent crouched under the water, holding his breath until he thought his lungs would explode, then, as the demon drew near, he launched himself upward, slicing the dagger across the demon’s neck. The demon threw his head back and let out a roar. Black smoke poured from the wound and filled the air, as the body crumpled into the swamp.

  Trent turned and saw Sera struggling to get Aimee up onto the dock. He rushed toward them. Sera pushed the water out of Aimee’s chest, then breathed into her mouth.

  “She’s not breathing,” Sera cried as he reached them.

  A deep well of agony surged through him. He took over, giving Aimee CPR while Sera struggled to catch her breath. Aimee jerked, then water spilled from her lips as she coughed and started to cry.

  “It’s okay, baby. We’re both here. Nothing or no one can hurt you now,” Sera crooned, tears rolling down her cheeks as she held Aimee in her arms and rocked her gently.

  “You really should get some rest. The demon is dead,” Trent said.

  Sera smiled as giddy relief filled her once more. “I know. I just can’t seem to take my eyes off her.”

  They were lying in Sera’s bed with Aimee tucked between them. Neither one of them would be leaving her side for the rest of the day.

  “I had the nurse double-check Aimee’s tests. There was nothing wrong with them, the demon just wanted to make sure we weren’t going anywhere.” Trent pulled a strand of Aimee’s hair through his fingers, touching it as if he’d never felt anything like it before.

  So much warmth filled Sera’s chest, she ached with it. “And the pinprick on her finger was really just an accident?”

  “Looks like it.”

  “I never would have believed it was Dr. Gibbons.”

  “Like I said, demons can be dormant in their hosts for years and no one ever suspects.”

  “Until they have a reason to surface?”

  “Exactly.”

  “So there is no more threat, then?”

  “Not right now.”

  Sera bit her lip. “Then, I guess you’ll be leaving soon?” She cringed as she heard the tremor in her voice.

  “From what I hear there’s something big going down with the demon Kafu.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “No, he’s a nasty one. What’s worse, the priestess and her cult who we suspect of trying to raise him don’t live too far from here.”

  “A voodoo priestess?” Fear skittered down Sera’s back. “Aimee and I will leave. Move across country. Anywhere.”

  “I was hoping you and Aimee might like to come home with me.”

  Sera grew very still; she was afraid even to breathe, as if breathing or moving would somehow take his words away. She wanted to go, wanted to be with him. Her heart ached with the hope of it, but if she did, and he left them all over again.…

  “It’s different from here,” Trent continued. We don’t have swamps, we have horse farms. Aimee would like it.”

  She brushed her hand across her daughter’s. Aimee would love it. They both would. Which would make it even more horrible if they had to leave. “I think she took the news about who she is, and who you are, really well, don’t you?”

  “She’s tough. She’s going to be okay, Sera.” Trent carefully pushed himself up until he leaned against the headboard. “Sera, I don’t want to do this alone anymore. I almost died today, would have died, if not for you.”

  “You mean you would have died if I hadn’t made you go to the hospital and get stitches.”

  “Who knows how many more demons could be in this town.”

  Sera laughed. “Oh, yeah, our little neck of the swamp is just a hotbed of demon activity.”

  “Well, it is kind of dark, dank and moldy. Prime demon-breeding territory. Not to mention that voodoo priestess and her cult. All the more reason you should come with me.”

  Sera sighed. “I don’t know, Trent.”

  He took her hand and held it across Aimee, who was still sleeping peacefully. “I don’t want to waste another minute wondering what if things had been different. Alone we are vulnerable, but together we’re a family, we’re invincible.”

  He slid off the bed beside her, then took her hand once more and dropped to one knee. “I love you. And I love Aimee. I always have. I never should have left, Sera. Will you marry me?”

  Sera’s throat tightened as tears brimmed in her eyes.
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  “Say yes, Mom,” Aimee said, her eyes wide open and a huge grin splitting her face..

  Surprised, Sera laughed. She certainly couldn’t say no to both of them.

  “Yes, Trent, I’ll marry you.”

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  Looking for more paranormal romance? The sizzling and spine-chilling books of Silhouette Nocturne are available at www.eHarlequin.com or your local bookstore.

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  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4530-7

  His Magic Touch

  Copyright © 2009 by Cynthia D. Cooke

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