“What’s she doing?” Mike whispered.
“Damn it...she’s going to confront Omar.”
They quietly tip-toed back inside and knelt down behind a desk, poking their heads up so they could see. They watched as Michelle glanced behind her, saw them and shook her head. She pointed at the door, motioning with her hand for them to leave.
“No way,” Heather called out stubbornly to Michelle. She turned to Mike and said softly, “She’ll do anything Omar askes to keep us safe.”
“Five of us against one angry warlock,” Mike said. “Rod and Vincent are on the way. How can we help her?”
Heather shook her head. “I have no idea. We’ll just have to wait for an opening. See what happens.”
They could tell when Omar arrived. The room temperature lowered at least ten degrees, but the scariest thing was that although they could only see a large shadowy form coming through the door from the bridge, his eyes were clearly visible. They were lit up strangely, like squinting oblong twin yellow lights shining in the darkness. He was moving stealthily and slowly forward into the laboratory. As Omar turned his head, his eyes moved around the room. It was the scariest thing Heather had ever seen. She felt like she was living inside a real horror movie.
“What is he?” Mike whispered. “Some kind of alien? Do you see his eyes. They’re like creepy lanterns. Like he can see us in the dark.”
Heather moved closer to Mike, leaning against him, shivering. “Not an alien. Maybe a demon.”
“Right now I wouldn’t be surprised if he sprouted horns,” Mike commented.
“And a tail. With a fork at the end of it,” Heather whispered.
Lucifer started screeching angrily and loudly as Omar moved toward Michelle. He sounded like a wailing banshee. Heather knew the banshee in Irish mythology moaned when someone was about to die. Lucifer’s cry was so shrill Heather clapped her hands to her ears. The screeching cat made the scene before Heather and Mike even more surreal.
Then Omar turned.
Rod and Vincent were coming briskly through the door from the bridge walkway, unaware of the danger.
Their ignorance didn’t last long with Lucifer creating such a howling disturbance. They stopped in the doorway, trying to adjust their eyes to the darkness.
Michelle saw Omar start to turn to look back at Rod and Vincent. She had to provide a distraction fast. Omar might try to eliminate the two men before claiming her. She didn’t think he sensed Heather and Mike were near, and she wanted to keep it that way.
“Come and get me, Omar,” Michelle called out. She tried to sound commanding, but was aware her voice was high and squeaked a bit. “Or at least you can try.”
As soon as she spoke, Lucifer stopped yowling.
Omar’s laughter was low and sinister, barely audible as he stalked toward Michelle. “Love, honor, and obey. That’s what you promised last night.”
Omar was slowly moving closer to Michelle, seemingly forgetting the two men behind him.
Michelle laughed back at him mockingly. “Promises, promises. A drugged up bride? Your vow was to honor, respect, and take care of me. So you immediately kidnap me to a foreign country and have parts of my body stolen away. All I see are empty promises.”
Omar was moving closer to Michelle, “In time you’ll be glad you’re married to me.”
“Never. Your vows included, ‘forsaking all others.’ You plan on giving up all your devoted little witches? Like Leilanie and the hundreds of others you have under your thumb?”
Now Omar was standing right in front of Michelle. “Give it up Michelle. I’m stronger than you.”
She was glad his eyes were back to their normal dark color. Still, Omar was an overpowering presence up close. She felt an overwhelming urge to back up, flee, move away from him because he was so frightening and dangerous. Another intense urge, warring against the danger and urge to run, was for her to move closer to the beautiful man. She knew he was mesmerizing her with his eyes, his amazing charisma, and quickly lowered her gaze.
Michelle shook her head. “No Omar. I’m stronger in all the ways that count. I have friends and a family that I love. I have a man I love, and live in a beautiful place. I’m so much richer than you. All those things arm me, make me stronger and more formidable than you because I’m happy with my life, just as it is.”
As Michelle and Omar spoke, Heather saw Rod move off to the side of the room. He picked up a chair, swinging it around, hefting it in his his hand. Probably checking to see if he could bash Omar with it. That was good. They sure needed someone with a weapon, although she was afraid it might not work against real psychic powers.
Heather had expected that Rod would attack Omar immediately, which would have been very unwise. Omar would surely kill him.
Heather watched Vincent as he went off in the opposite direction and pick up a heavy microscope off of a desk.
Good, she thought, they’d close in on Omar in a pincer, one on each side. Maybe they could take him by surprise. Maybe she could help distract Omar. Heather stood up.
Mike glanced at her and then stood up beside her. They went toward Michelle and Omar.
The three, Michelle, Heather and Mike stood in a line in front of Omar.
“If you value your friends, Michelle, you’ll go quietly back to your hospital room,” Omar said ominously.
“Where they’ll stuff me with hormones and do surgery again? Just let me go home, Omar. Leave my friends alone.”
Omar shook his head. “You can’t fight me on this. You need to see a little demonstration? You think you have power? Just watch me ‘stir the air’.”
Omar waved his arms above his head.
It was like a hurricane hit. Papers from scientific reports, journals and books flew around the place like giant snowflakes, coming so forcefully at the three standing in front of Omar it was like being smacked by something much more substantial than mere paper. Scientists in the lab evidently stored a lot of paper, journals and books. They were all battered, wacked, and pummeled. Trying to fend off the torrent, they bent forward, protecting their faces from the flying objects.
Glass beakers tumbled and broke, a large bookshelf toppled over with a crash. The smell of strong chemicals tainted the air.
Vincent was hit in the head by a heavy flying book and he went down. Rod, too, was battered and he dropped the chair so he could use his arms to protect himself.
Omar raised his hands again and the deluge stopped. All the papers and books fell, littering the floor.
“How about a little lightning?” Omar said. “Or, maybe a fire?”
Mike turned around and walked out the front door, away from them all.
Heather turned, watching him leave. She felt the blood drain out of her face, she was so shocked. In a way she could understand. This was frightening stuff. But Heather truly believed he would stand by her. Her disappointment was so profound she felt her eyes prick with tears. Surprised at her emotional reaction, not wanting anyone see her cry, she blinked hard to keep tears from falling.
Heather didn’t have much time to contemplate the unique sensation: what true heartbreak felt like. Omar was speaking again.
“I know you, Michelle. You love your friends. How about I give them a little hug? Spread the love around. My kind of hug. A tiny squeeze.”
Heather felt herself hurl face forward to the floor, and then it seemed like she was being pressed into the floor by a heavy object. It was suffocating. The breath whooshed out of her lungs. When she tried to breathe, it seemed pulling in air took all her energy, like her lungs had collapsed.
She turned her head and could see Vincent and Rod were also on the floor. Rod was making weak swimming movements with his arms, trying to get up. Vincent was quiet. She hoped he wasn’t badly hurt, because he wasn’t moving at all. He’d already been knocked down by a heavy blow to the head.
Michelle was screaming, over and over, “Stop it, Omar. Let them go, you sadistic bastard.”
“Heat
her is like a pretty little flower. A fragile doll. So very delicate,” Omar said, softly. “When her ribs crack with my hug, it will sound like the snap of chop-sticks breaking.”
Chapter 29
Michelle could hear Heather wheeze painfully with each slow, excruciating breathe she managed to draw in. She was afraid Heather might pass out, then stop breathing altogether.
She gazed over at Rod. He was able to move a little. Looking straight into Michelle’s eyes, his mouth turned up on the corners in a slight smile and he mouthed, Love You. He probably thought he would die and those would be his last words, his last thought.
Vincent wasn’t moving at all. His eyes were closed.
“Stop it. Let them go,” Michelle screamed at Omar.
He lifted one eyebrow and shook his head indifferently. “No can do, my darling wife. They know too much.”
Michelle knelt down and grabbed hold of Heather’s shoulder, trying to turn her over so her breathing would be easier, but it seemed like Heather was stuck to the floor and weighed a thousand pounds. She was afraid she would dislocate Heather’s shoulder if she pulled any harder.
“I’m glad Mike left,” Heather struggled to say. Tears were running down her cheeks as she fought for air.
Michelle felt tears on her own face, looking down at her best friend, who was slowly suffocating and dying.
Red-hot anger, like molten steam, flowed through her. How could anyone be so cruel? Omar was standing there nonchalantly, as though causing suffering and death meant nothing to him. Heather’s lips were turning blue. She couldn’t get in enough oxygen.
The depth of her distress made Michelle’s protective instincts come to the fore, filling her with a sensation of supreme energy that fizzed throughout her body, starting where her heart was located and quickly spreading to her arms and legs. It was an even stronger sensation than when the diamond gave her body a new supply of power after surgery.
This particular bubbling sensation she’d felt intensely once before, when her gift of psychic ability turned on. It was the last time she had confronted Omar, at the beach on the island of Kauai. She and Omar had fought then, physically, each a master in the Martial Arts. Then, like now, she was so furious at Omar she wanted to kill him. He had dropped her and Vincent into the ocean from his helicopter and they’d almost drowned. That was just to see if she could pass some kind of witchy test of endurance so he could be assured she was the perfect genetic and psychic mother for his children. Omar had also intended to kill Vincent, who couldn’t swim.
That night, after a short time, Michelle knew she would lose the battle. Omar was more powerful physically, and simply a better, more experienced martial arts fighter. But Vincent had survived the drop from the helicopter and was hiding at the back of the beach. He bashed Omar on the head with a large piece of driftwood he’d found while she and Omar were struggling. Then Michelle and Vincent had buried the unconscious Omar in a big hole they dug into the sand and waited there until help arrived.
Omar was a powerful person. Michelle knew physically attacking him now was useless, but she was frantic. Omar was slowly suffocating her friends. They were dying in front of her eyes.
She threw the diamond, not even thinking, just helplessly furious at the sadistic, merciless, inhuman creature in man-form standing before her.
When the diamond hit Omar in the chest, Michelle could see a kaleidoscope of multicolored sparks fly, like tiny bright stars, all around him. It was like he was hit with an explosive device or missile. She could almost hear a sizzle, and the bright display looked like the sparklers she had played with on the Fourth of July when she was a little girl. The diamond might be small, but it sure packed a wallop, she thought, surprised when Omar stumbled backward.
When he did so, Michelle saw Heather take her first deep draught of air, and then start panting, gulping in great chunks of life-giving oxygen. And in that moment also, when she looked up, she could see Rod moving. A strong agile man, he was able to jump to his feet.
Omar was dazed only momentarily. Then he bent down quickly to snatch up the diamond on the floor in front of him for himself.
Michelle felt like cheering when the diamond seemed to skitter away. It rolled right to her feet and she picked it up, holding it up like a shield.
A burst of white light shot out of the diamond, hitting Omar directly in the chest. As he stumbled backward, away from the funnel of light, there was an excruciatingly loud alarm that went off in the whole building. It was the noisy, awful kind of sound that grade school children hear when they have to go back inside after recess. It blasted on and on.
A fire alarm.
Michelle slowly moved forward, still holding the gem up, so the cone of light was hitting Omar square in the middle of his chest. And he was backing away, like it scalded him.
On top of the screaming of the alarm, there was another added distraction. The sprinklers in the ceiling, responding to the fire alarm, started hosing everyone down with a showering dose of cold water.
The shrieking alarm would galvanize the whole hospital. People would be coming to search where the fire was located. That was a good thing. They could use all the help they could get. Michelle was pretty certain Mike had run out of the room to set off the alarm in the hallway so the hospital personnel would have to come to this particular floor to investigate.
Omar was sneaky. He wouldn’t want to be caught here, although the hospital could only accuse him of trashing the laboratory. They’d never conceive he’d tried to kill anyone. He could act very charming and fool people into thinking he was a wonderful person, as well as being extraordinarily handsome.
Michelle heard the door open behind her. She turned her head, careful to keep the diamond aimed at Omar, and saw Mike burst through the door. He ran to Heather, pulled her up off the floor, and gathered her in his arms.
Michelle smiled as she watched them. Mike was gently brushing Heather’s hair with his hand, holding her close. Heather had tears running down her cheeks. She probably felt such relief, both because she could finally breath, and realized that Mike hadn’t abandoned her.
They weren’t out of danger yet, though. How long the diamond light would be able to keep Omar at bay was unknown. They had to take advantage of the situation, but Michelle couldn’t think of what to do. If she moved the diamond light away from Omar, even for a second, she was afraid he would gain back his power and harm her friends.
She could tell Omar was fighting whatever spell the diamond cast with the bright light. His eyes would start to lighten to that scary yellow color, and then they would slide slowly back to his normal color. It happened several times, frightening Michelle. But what was worse was the expressions that passed over his face. Even though he couldn’t seem to move, his face muscles weren’t paralyzed like the rest of his body, and he was raging. Michelle knew the fury was directed at her.
At first Omar had appeared a bit bemused that the light was holding him hostage and he couldn’t move. Then portrayed on his face was smugness, like this was just a silly prank Michelle was playing at, one he could counter easily.
After about thirty seconds, though, Omar was finally showing some anger. It transformed his handsome face into a gargoyle-like mask, making him appear even more dangerous.
Now was not the time for hilarity, but Michelle almost snickered. Omar was not used to being controlled. He was always the one in control. It must be a totally unique feeling for him, and he evidently didn’t like it one bit. She could see him struggling mightily to move, and he was able to sway a little, but his arms remained clamped at his sides.
Michelle gazed over at Vincent. He was lying on the floor behind Omar. He was much older than the rest of them and he lay still, like he was asleep or unconscious. She felt desperate to go to him and see if he was all right. He’s the one who told her she had psychic healing abilities. He might be in need of those abilities right now, but she was stuck in this bizarre situation, afraid to move.
Miche
lle watched as Rod ran over to Vincent and helped him stand up. He was staggering a little. They walked over beside her. Heather and Mike also came over and they stood in a circle around her.
“He should be put down, like the sociopathic killer he is,” Vincent said softly. “Omar’s a menace to us all.”
“I don’t know how long this light will hold him,” Michelle whispered. “I’ll keep him here. You all make a run for it.”
“We’re not going to leave you,” Rod said. “I’ll hit him with something. Put him out of commission.”
“Please go,” Michelle begged. “I don’t want any of you hurt.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see them shaking their heads.
“Bravery will get you killed. Omar won’t hurt me because I’m useful to him,” Michelle said, dead serious. “I want you all to go right now. Run!”
Mike took a big roll of duct tape out of his back pocket. He’d used it to keep the door unlocked to the laboratory. Duct tape was always useful to scientists and he’d tucked it into his pocket almost without thinking earlier that evening.
He started pulling on one end of the tape and handed it to Rod.
Then he unrolled more and more, backing away from Rod. There were yards and yards of tape.
Rod winked at Mike and nodded, understanding exactly what Mike had in mind.
When they were about twenty-five feet apart they moved slowly toward Omar, Mike on one side of Omar, and Rod on the other. The tape hit Omar at his waist. Then the two men started walking in circles around Omar, around and around him, Rod counterclockwise, Mike clockwise.
They were wrapping Omar up in silver duct tape.
Evidently the spell the diamond cast upon Omar affected his vocal cords. He’d been totally mute. Now though, he was furious and a loud angry noise came out like a growl. He sounded like a raging, snarling lion.
Michelle winced, but continued to hold the diamond light on Omar, hoping Mike and Rod would be quick in making Omar helpless so they could escape. She expected the hospital already had people on the way to check the laboratory for fire.
Witchy Woman - Book 2 - The Necromancer Page 20