by Dale Mayer
Giving his eyes a few moments to adjust, he studied the small room they were in. And in the far corner, discarded for later…was it? He rushed to the vamp’s side. Sian!
Jewel’s gasp of joy resounded in the room. David searched for another door. Had she really been carried up the way they’d come or had someone found a different entrance? What were the plans? Leave her until later? Wait until the rush to find her was over then come back and move her? Move her where?
He gently ran his hands over her to check for injuries while Jewel struggled to untie her hands and feet. He couldn’t see any injury, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have any. It was so hard to see in here. He gently stroked the side of her cheek. She lay on her side, her pregnant belly cuddled between her knees and arms as she lay curled in a protective fetal position.
“Sian, can you hear me?”
He continued to talk to her, trying to reach her.
“Jewel, text Serus. Let him know we found her.”
“I already have.”
“We might need help getting her out of here. I don’t know if we should move her or not. I wish she’d wake up.”
“The bastards,” she cried. “Why would they steal her?”
“It’s not the first attempt on her life, you know that. None of us are safe.”
“It’s wrong,” she said quietly. “The baby doesn’t deserve this.”
“No, but many people won’t be happy if it’s born.”
“It’s still innocent, and I don’t blame Sian for wanting Taz’s child either.” She glanced over at David. “They love each other. Taz is aging and her time with him is coming to a close soon. Of course she wants his child.”
“And if the child is more human than vamp and she loses it young, too? Then is it still worth it?” David asked, studying her face. He’d never thought to have children. Down the road, centuries away, maybe. As he studied the moving belly in front of him and Jewel’s hand so protectively held against it, he realize how ingrained it was in a woman’s psyche to want a child.
“We need to get her awake and see if we can get her downstairs.”
“David?” Sian’s voice, low and slurred but easily recognizable, shocked them both.
“Sian, oh my gosh,” Jewel cried. “Are you okay?”
She opened her eyes, but they were cloudy, unfocused. “I don’t know. What happened?” She reached her hand down to her belly. She stroked the child within and smiled. “She’s fine.”
“She?” David asked worriedly. Who was Sian talking about?
“My daughter,” she whispered, smiling. “I can sense her. Feel her. She’s okay. I was so worried…” and her voice broke.
Jewel wrapped her arms around Sian. “You’re going to be fine. I don’t know how you got here, but we need to get you back to the main hall. Taz is freaking out.”
“Poor Taz,” Sian said as they helped her into a sitting position. “This has been so rough on him.”
“On all of us. Poor Serus is in command downstairs. I don’t think he’s enjoying it much.”
David watched Sian’s gaze widening as she digested his words, then her humor was followed by horror. “Oh no. We have to get back. He’ll terrorize everyone to the point they will disappear and nothing will get done.”
She struggled to her feet, wavered for a long moment as she took several deep breaths, then said. “Lead the way.”
*
Ian raced behind Rhia. He had no idea if she was to be trusted or not, but she appeared to have a plan and he was happy to go along with it – until it came to killing their own people. Then he’d see what she was up to. With Wendy behind him trying to urge a very groggy Jared along in their wake, Ian struggled to keep close to Rhia and not disappear too fast in front of the other two. No more splitting up.
“Rhia, slow down,” he urged. “I don’t want to get separated from the others.”
She shot him one desperate look. “You look after them. I have to save Seth.”
And she ran even faster ahead of him.
He slowed long enough for Wendy and Jared to catch up. Ahead, he watched Rhia take a left. He looked at Wendy and she shook her head. “They gave him quite a cocktail. He’s not doing so well.”
Grimly, Ian eyed Jared. His skin was gray and his steps wove as he struggled to follow them. Ian had no intention of leaving the man behind, but this pace was going to kill them.
He walked closer and scooped Jared up into his arms. He was surprisingly heavy. But at least this way they could move faster and with Wendy running alongside, he raced after Rhia.
The left turn she’d taken was just ahead. He bolted around the corner after her and came face to face with huge double doors. He stood Jared up and leaned him against the wall. When he was sure he wouldn’t fall over, he peered through the large windows.
Shit.
Rhia was backed against a corner, her fangs as long as he’d ever seen them and her eyes…well, she was going to save Seth, if that was Seth, or go down right now.
He had to help her.
Chapter 13
At the side entrance, Cody jumped ahead to push the door open. It wouldn’t move. He pushed it harder but it still wouldn’t budge, then Motre jammed his shoulder up against the steel door.
It refused to move.
Tessa stood back a few feet. For some reason, and it had been building for a while now but she’d been trying to ignore the odd sensation, she’d been feeling slightly…woozy. The last thing she was going to do was faint. She had a reputation to uphold now, and fainting wasn’t on the list of things she’d like to be known for.
Then again, she wasn’t sure it was a faint that she was feeling. Just kind of off. While the men fought fruitlessly with the locked door, she closed her eyes and brought up her vampire genes, telling them to get rid of this sensation in the pit of her stomach. Instead, it made it worse. Frowning, she walked around slowly, trying to ease that sensation. She no longer felt like she was going to keel over but that she might lose the contents of her stomach.
What the hell…she took several deep breaths but this horrible sensation of wrongness…wouldn’t go away.
She spun back to the men to realize that they had picks out, trying to unlock the door.
“Stop,” she screamed.
Cody looked at her, startled, the knob in one hand and the pick already jabbing in. He withdrew and backed up.
Boom.
The door exploded.
Cody was picked up and tossed backwards. Smoke billowed up to engulf all of them. Motre flew several feet to the opposite side before landing hard. He lay still.
Tessa raced into the cloud to find Cody.
He lay on his stomach, his shirt ripped open and his back scorched.
She dropped to her knees. “Cody!” She poured healing energy into his back, willing him to sit up and say it was all okay. That he was fine. She reached down to his neck to search for a pulse and couldn’t find one. Panicked, she rolled him over.
His heart chakra was black. Cold. She ripped his shirt open, searching for an injury. Something she could see to explain this, but there was nothing. Outside of shock and the fall, he should be fine.
Instead, his heart wasn’t beating. The blood not pumping. She shot a bolt of energy against his heart, feeling his body jolt from the surge, but he still wasn’t breathing.
She did it again.
Nothing.
Tears in her eyes, she kept pouring more and more energy into his body. What was the good of having any abilities if she couldn’t use them to help the person she loved? Beast whimpered at her side.
Dimly aware of Motre struggling over to where she worked on Cody then dropping to his knees at his side, she heard him ask, “Can’t you save him?”
“He’s not responding,” she said, unable to hold back the tears.
In the very back of her mind, she could feel a weird knocking sensation. “What,” she cried.
And realized it was Hortran.
; Let me help, he whispered. I might be able to save him.
Save him, she whispered. How? What more can I do?
Watch…
Her hand lifted on its own accord and laid flat on Cody’s chest. The energy around him bubbled up to encompass the two of them. The black energy of Cody’s, the blue healing energy from Tessa. As she watched, her hand seemed to sink deeper and deeper into Cody’s chest.
“Is this really possible,” she whispered.
“It can’t be,” Motre cried out. “Your hand is in his chest.”
That was when she realized she’d spoken out loud. And that for all the energy she could barely see through, he likely saw only a portion of what she saw.
Her hand slid all the way inside Cody’s chest.
Now…you say you love him…
I do, she whispered in awe. Cody was in here. She was inside Cody. She could sense the tiny spark of his essence. She had no idea what had happened, but he was still there. A tiny spark only.
“The blast splintered his energy. He needs your help for him to pull the pieces back together again.”
She blinked. “How?” She was beyond asking if such a thing was possible. Her gaze focused on Cody and the blackness in his system. She could get rid of that. She quickly pulled and tugged and wafted the darkness from his body, realizing that for her, he had no body. She couldn’t see his form in a physical sense, only the energy that ran through his bones, the different energy that ran through his veins. It was like a 3D holograph where Cody had only lines. No form, no edges. At the same time, kneeling beside him, she realized she couldn’t see her knees either. It was like there was no distance between what was Cody and what was Tessa. Nothing separating them. As if they were one together.
Remember, we are all one, Hortran said. In this world, we are all made of the same stuff. This view of what you’re seeing right now is the type of vision you need to connect with to cross that highway I showed you. You must see all the energy around you. Not just one layer. We are all layers. As Cody is connected to you, he is also connected to the ground beneath him. He does not start and stop. He does not only exist in his physical body. He is one of the world. One with the world. And so too are you.
And how does that help him? she whispered, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. He isn’t breathing on his own. His heart isn’t beating.
Yes, they are. But they are moving to the same tempo of the life force around him. Cody is here and he is alive, but he’s one with all things. You must ground him. Help to pull him back to his physical being.
I don’t even know what you’re talking about, she cried.
She sensed Motre at her side, but he was the same as Cody, energy zinging and zagging throughout his body. His brain was a huge orange ball of seething thoughts and emotions. Were they all like this? Her glance landed on Beast and she found her own answer. Yes. Only Beast’s head was a wild violet color that deepened as he dropped his head to rest between his paws.
Yes. You are all energy. When you come to my state, my energy is weak as well. I’m using your energy to prolong my existence so that I can help you with your transition. But make no mistake, all energy is meant to go back to the source. And I will eventually too.
Help me save Cody first. Please.
I will help, but it’s for you to do. He’s lost. He’s not even aware that something happened to him.
Was this a new weapon then? If it was, she planned to dismantle every damn one these assholes had created.
Possibly, but also likely that Cody at that moment was attempting to do something in his mind, maybe even communicate with you, and at the time of the blast, his energy was already reaching for you and it blew him further away than he expected.
Who knew that could happen? She stared down at the tiny spark of Cody, and she leaned forward and blew gently on the tiny light. Now that Hortran had explained, she could see the faintest of blue all around her.
Cody, she whispered.
Tessa?
She smiled through her tears. He can hear me.
Yes, he is you. As I am you. He needs your help before it is too late to stop him from becoming like Deanna and myself. He is too young for such a future, and you are too young to carry yet another.
I don’t want him to be like you, she cried. I want him back in his body, healthy, happy, and giving me hell once again.
Then help him…now, Hortran ordered.
How? she cried.
Close your eyes and take control. This is energy, and you work energy. That is your destiny.
But I’ve never done anything like this.
It doesn’t matter. Those who work energy must learn to control it. Or it will control you and as the world is energy, to save yourself, you must save him. Or all is lost.
She stared down the thousand blue bits floating around her head, dimly registering Motre’s grief at her side, and closed her eyes. She opened her arms wide and arched her back so her face was up to the sky. And she started chanting an old song. She didn’t know where it came from. It felt like it was deep in her bones. She cared not as long as it did what she knew needed to be done. As her voice modulated to a specific tone, she sensed a change. Opening her eyes, she could see the blue vibrating.
Good, keep it up. Hortran said. Take control of that energy and make it to what you want it to do.
She needed the energy to pull itself together and heal Cody.
He will heal…don’t stop.
She smiled sadly and kept it up. There was a weird sensation in her hands as she sang, a stronger vibration building of power.
Remember, you need to be detached and will it to happen. Casually. In control. Don’t be sad. Don’t be confused. Or angry. Be happy. Come from a position of love. Of being in the right. Let no one defy you because you are the one.
At that, her back arched more and the tempo in her head hit a fevered pitch. Suddenly, like an elastic pulled back and for as long as possible—she released it—whatever it was.
She dropped back onto her ankles and slowly opened her eyes. And stared. She could see the roots of the grass under Cody’s back down into the ground and the working ants – rather, the energy of those critters down deeper.
She wasn’t meant to be restricted by the physical. She wasn’t meant to be locked into the now. She was connected to all things all the time. And Cody was a big part of that connection. With a deep releasing sigh, she waved her arms and ordered the cells to reform, to rejoin and rejoice in this connection. His connection. To refill the well that was Cody with his essence.
Like Hortran said. It wasn’t a request.
It was a calm and caring, loving…order.
As she willed – her will be done.
*
How did one explain a sense of connectedness to all things – yet a sense of loss to the one thing that he really cared about? Tessa was still there. She was everywhere. He was everywhere, but she was a solid pulsing warm magnet. He couldn’t get close enough. He was there but not there. He was part of her, yet separate. He was conflicted by all the mixed messages – and yet he was okay with it. As if he were taking a giant step in a new direction. One he was meant to travel.
Only did it have to be now? Emotionless and wondering at the state of finality to this, he posed that question more with a gentle rumination than expectation of an answer.
But an answer came.
No. It doesn’t have to be right now. You have a choice here. You always have a choice. In this situation, you have more than you know. You are in a unique position. You can go on and be one with the world forever…
Or, Cody asked curiously, what else is there?
And if he had a choice, how did he actually take action on the choice he made? He was nowhere. Had no physical body. No voice to express his wishes. But he had a mind that could think – otherwise he couldn’t make a choice and with a mind he had everything. Right. No, that was foolish. He gave a whimsical laugh.
How bizarre. Surely he’d wake u
p soon to find this nothing but a pleasant dream.
This is no dream, and there will be no waking up from this state unless you choose that option.
No waking up?
How did that work? And did he want to wake up? If he didn’t, was this what the rest of his life would be like?
Your life would be over. This would be your existence, yes…and it would drift into more of a dream state than now. Your thoughts would become softer, less clear. You will care less and less until you dissipate into the world around you as the others who have gone before you.
A heavy sigh rippled through him, a rolling wave of feeling that washed through the whole area. Wherever he was, the air rippled.
A soft brush of another energy sent him into a gentle rocking motion. So peaceful here. Soothing. No war. No fighting. No friends. No Family. No Tessa.
He frowned. He couldn’t leave her. She was his. But then she was here with him. Right? So it wasn’t like he was leaving her?
Yes, as all things are here with you. But she isn’t in the same endless state like you. She’s alive and well and physically strong. In fact, she’s stronger than ever. Of course, without you to protect her, to keep her strong when she missteps, to hold her when she’s hurt…someone else will do that job. Someone else must do that job. She must always be protected. If it’s not you, then the universe will put another in your place.
Cody’s warning sense went off like huge flashing red lights. Someone else will be chosen to guard her? To spend their life with her? To be her loving partner? Hell no. That was his job and his job alone.
But if you’re not there…
I’m there, he snapped. Decision made.
And pain like he’d never experienced before filled him, his back arching as his energy regrouped and his physical body started to pulse with life again. A guttural groan like he’d never heard before erupted from his mouth. He opened his eyes.
*
David had wanted to carry Sian down the stairs. She wouldn’t hear anything of it. So he’d gone first in case she fell and Jewel had stepped into last place, with Sian safely tucked in between them.