by Lark Brennan
“Don’t push your luck,” her cousin warned. “You’re not doing him or yourself any favors by opening doors you won’t be able to close again.”
In other words, telling Bodie too much about the Durand was dangerous to everyone’s well-being.
Bodie leaned in toward the ComDev. “If I’m right and someone’s figured out how to send matter through the planes, continuously scanning the Caribbean and recording all delphic and orphic activity is the way to pinpoint the location of the laser.”
“Can you do that from Jost Van Dyke with the equipment you have?” Adrien asked.
“Absolutely, assuming these people use that sucker again.”
“Which they will,” Adrien replied. “What were you planning to do then?”
Lex hadn’t thought that far ahead. Her training for military operations aside, a direct assault on an unknown enemy powerful enough to build the laser was likely to get them killed.
Bodie had no such reservations. “We’ll find the weapon, figure out how it works, then destroy it.”
When Adrien didn’t ask for details or offer to plan their strategy, Lex’s heart sank. As much as she respected Bodie’s intelligence, the Sentier’s genius for planning complex missions was legendary.
“You’re going to need back-up to handle the authorities,” Adrien said. “Victor can be there by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll brief Mark when he gets back.”
“Thanks,” Lex said.
“Good luck and be careful.” Adrien ended the call.
• • •
Bodie rubbed his hand over the top of his head and considered his options. Clearly he’d be arrested on his own and his sensor research seemed to be a high priority to the Durands. The question was why?
The only time he’d met Adrien in person had been years ago at the Durand family penthouse in New York. Mark had been called away at the last minute and Adrien had shown up in his place. Over dinner Adrien turned the topic to the sensor Bodie was working on and surprised him with his detailed knowledge of the project. Adrien had not only accepted delphic as fact, he’d posed questions that broadened the focus of Bodie’s thinking. By the end of that evening, the missing piece of the puzzle that had stumped him for months fell into place. He wasn’t sure how or why, but the truth became crystal clear… the key to measuring the delphic was to aim the sensor at the primary energy concentrations and record their wave-lengths and differences. Everything else evolved from there.
Now, Adrien Durand was back in the picture. Bodie wasn’t sure if he was glad or worried.
“So who’s this Victor?” he asked.
Lex picked up the ComDev and wiped the screen on her sleeve. “My cousin.”
“What can he do?”
She fidgeted with her device and didn’t meet his eyes. “Hire a good lawyer.”
“You know what I mean. What are his psychic abilities?”
She looked up and her expression hardened. “Look, I just got my ass chewed on for telling you about my own abilities. There’s no way I’m discussing anyone else’s. Clear?”
“If we’re going to find this laser and destroy it, you can’t hold out on me. When you asked Adrien who he thought could channel delphic and orphic energy, he shut you down and I’m guessing not because he couldn’t produce names. Did you ask me to try to push the orphic out of the dolphins because you know people who can do that?”
“Not orphic, no. Only delphic from their specific Source, and for the most part on a very limited basis.”
Humans controlling energy with their minds? The physicist in him had a hard time believing that was possible. “What do you mean by Source?”
“Mark never mentioned the Sources?”
“No.”
She shook her head. “Unbelievable. How did you come up with the starred points on your master map then?”
He started to answer then stopped. How exactly had he discovered those points? Had it been Mark or Adrien who’d given him the coordinates? One of them had pushed him in the right direction. “I discovered them with my sensor.” Or thought he had. “Adrien told me to look for concentrations of delphic to use as a baseline. Why are you calling those points Sources?”
Lex swore and grimaced. “Because that’s what we call them. There are seven primary Sources of what you call delphic energy on the Earth’s surface. You’ve identified them, even if you don’t know their names and know that each has its own psychic fingerprint. Someone who has strong abilities and a bond with a specific Source can, in some cases, channel his own Source’s energy.”
“How do you get a bond with a Source?”
“Usually you’re born to it. Please don’t ask me to go into detail because I can’t.”
“So you can channel delphic energy at a Source?” he asked.
“Yes, I can channel delphic at my Source. If you promise to attempt to help the dolphins, I’ll teach you how it feels so you can try it.”
“Teach me how?” he asked warily. How it feels sounded like more hands-on instruction than he was up for.
“I’ll project the feeling of channeling into your mind.”
“No. You’re not getting into my mind.”
She fell back into her chair. “Come on, Bodie. Projecting will only share my perceptions with you. I’m making myself vulnerable to you, not the other way around.”
“Okay, say I can learn to channel the energy, I still have that little problem with my physical reaction to the negative orphic. I can’t push it if I’m incapacitated.”
“Which is why I’m also going to teach you to build a psychic shield.” When he opened his mouth to ask what that was, she raised her hand to silence him. “Same process as the energy channeling tutorial only this skill will change your life. The shield will protect you from any psychic attack or invasion. No more problems with spirits, and you won’t have to worry about anyone reading your emotions or casting spells on you.”
His jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. My gift to you for helping me.” Nothing about her posture said happy. “You in or not?”
Was he really considering letting her project shit into his mind? “Maybe. If I help you, will you return the favor?”
“So what are we negotiating?” she asked.
He turned his attention to the screen of the sensor he’d linked to the laptop. “I programmed the sensor to scan continuously and dump the data on this machine. It’s linked to your laptop which will encrypt and dump everything to the remote server. I’ve set up a signal to notify my ComDev if there’s any sudden delphic or orphic activity anywhere in the Caribbean. Now all we can do is wait.”
“So what do want from me?”
“To fly me wherever I need to go to get the laser.”
“That simple?”
He shrugged. “We’ll need your plane, some weapons, and a lot of luck. You can use some of that bad-ass covert operations training of yours and I’ll play James Bond.”
She smiled. “It’s a terrible plan.”
“Got a better one?”
“Let’s see how you do on your energy training and I’ll think about it.”
He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his neck. “I haven’t agreed yet.”
“You will. I saw it in your eyes,” she said. “You want to know what kind of power you can command.”
“You’re right. I do.”
“So we have a deal.” Her gaze followed the bulge of his biceps stretching the sleeves of Mark’s golf shirt then slid to the hieroglyphics on the inside of his forearm. “What do those symbols mean?” she asked.
He studied her for a moment, wondering if she was testing him or genuinely didn’t know. “They’re none of your business,” he said and lowered his arm to cover the ink.
“That geeky, huh? We all make mistakes,” she said with a half smile. “But for the record they look very cool.”
”How does this projection thing work? Do I just sit while you invade my mind or what?�
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“There’s too much interference here for you to practice manipulating the energy. You up for a walk?”
“No. If we lose the sensor and laptops we’re fucked.”
“I can buy us a couple of hours.”
A quick dip into a hidden compartment inside her duffle produced a tiny remote control and a titanium cylinder about the size of a shotgun shell. High-tech security, with Durand Tech written all over it. She placed the cylinder on the table next to her laptop where it looked harmless enough.
He leaned in to examine it. “What does it do?”
“Emits sound waves kind of like a sonar. If anyone approaches within thirty feet of the table, a potent blast of knock-out gas will drop them for three to six hours. I’ll arm it with the remote when we get outside.”
His eyes widened. “You always carry this thing?”
“Not always. I picked it up from my cabin on the Ariel. After last night, I figured we’d sleep a little better with a silent sentry at the door.”
Not a point he’d argue. Hell, the more security the better as far as he was concerned.
She carried Earl to her bedroom and deposited him on her bed. Aside from a soft whimper, he didn’t even seem to notice his new environs. On her way out she closed the door behind her. “Ready to go?”
He reached for a faded blue Ariel baseball cap Sam had given him.
They started up the hill away from the shoreline. Only the trade winds carrying sea-cooled breezes from the east kept temperatures bearable. Beside him, Lex climbed easily up the steep path from the house to a gravel road. He tried not to notice the sleek tan muscles of her legs or imagine what those legs would feel like wrapped around his waist.
She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Are you checking me out?”
“Sorry.”
“We can have an affair, you know. Just sex, no strings.”
He nearly choked. “No, we can’t.”
“Why not? We’re attracted to each other. Two consenting adults, blah, blah, blah.” Something in her voice was off, less confident than usual.
“It’s a bad idea.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’re just bored and I’m here. You don’t want to get involved with somebody like me.”
Lex smiled up at him seductively. “What about last night?”
“A momentary lapse of sanity that won’t happen again.”
“Bullshit.” She turned away.
All he could do was stare at her back as she ascended the dusty road. They continued up the hill in silence until the road forked and they took the steeper road to the right. The terrain was rocky here with scrub and twisted bushes dotting the landscape.
He asked the question weighing on his mind. “You asked me if you could trust me and I said yes. Can I trust you?”
The question seemed to startle her. Then she straightened indignantly. “Of course. I’m the most trustworthy person you’ll ever meet.”
“How many years have you been lying to David?” he asked.
Her mouth tightened. “That’s different. He’s ordinaire and wouldn’t understand what I do.”
“And yet you told me a couple days after we met.”
“You told me about delphic and orphic energy minutes after we met. I knew you were one of us so…” She caught herself and hesitated. “I’ve been as open and honest as I can be with you, Bodie. I promise you can trust me.”
He wanted to believe her. And wasn’t that a shocker.
They were almost to the peak of the road and a small shelter. She looked down at the ocean below. Following her gaze, he took in the sea pounding the rocky coast at the foot of the steep cliffs.
“Quite a drop,” he said.
A cloud passed over the sun and she shuddered. “Can we move on?”
At the top of the ridge they entered the hut. Its waist-high stone walls and palm frond roof offered partial refuge from the sun and a view in all directions. He followed her inside. A wide wooden bench about eight feet long stood in the center of the floor.
A quick survey of the surrounding hillside confirmed they were indeed alone. The only things on the stark terrain were scrub and a couple of goats down the hillside.
“What now?”
“Sit. We should be facing each other so straddle the bench.”
He lifted his leg over the wooden plank and dropped his ass on the hard surface. With considerably more grace, she mirrored his movements, sliding toward him until their bare knees touched. His heartbeat thudded in his chest and the muscles in his thighs twitched under his cold fingertips.
“Okay,” she said. “Take my hands and close your eyes.”
He forced himself to extend both hands palms up on his thighs and enfolded her hands in them. A tingle of electricity surged between them, and he fought the impulse to pull back.
“Clear your mind and let it drift if you can,” she said quietly. “Concentrate on breathing deeply through your nose. Relax your muscles. I’m going to remember how it felt to channel the delphic and project that feeling to you. Ready?”
He swallowed past the dryness in the back of this throat. “As I’ll ever be.”
He focused on the sea air flowing into his lungs and out again. Awareness of the pressure of her warm hands in his swam somewhere in the periphery of his mind anchoring him to her. A new sensation seeped into his consciousness. A gentle warmth caressed his consciousness like a tender embrace, calming his anxiety.
Then he felt it, the sensation of willing the delphic molecules from the air to form an invisible wave and pushing that wave out to sea. The sensation was real and vivid.
Abruptly the sensation stopped while the warmth remained.
“Now you try it,” she said. “Feel the delphic around you and recreate the process I showed you.”
He let his body sense the energy around him and concentrated on reproducing the mental magnetism he’d felt through her. At first nothing happened. He tried harder with no more luck.
“Have faith in your abilities,” she urged softly. “Let go of doubt. Seduce the energy until it’s ready to do your bidding.”
Her voice stroked away his frustration and he breathed in deeply, seeking the delphic and tasting its nature. He pictured it as minute snowflakes swirling together gaining momentum and mass. Around him the energy intensified until he almost believed he could reach out and hold it in his hand. It was there. He’d collected delphic to him.
“Now propel it out to sea,” Lex said.
With only an instant of mental prodding from her, he blasted the mass and launched it into the atmosphere.
He’d done it! The realization stunned him. He opened his eyes and gazed into hers. She grinned at him and squeezed his hands.
“I knew you could do it,” she said, dropping his hands and snapping the connection between them.
The loss of her presence shot an unexpected pang of loneliness through him.
“With a little practice, you’ll be able to draw as much energy as you want,” she said, “and direct it with exact precision.”
He knew she was right and he couldn’t wait to hone his new skill. “But the dolphins weren’t infected with delphic and there’s still the problem of the violent effect the red orphic has on me.”
Her expression sobered. “I can’t help you manipulate the orphic but couldn’t it work the same way as the delphic? Since you can sense them both, why don’t you try directing your will to attract the orphic and see what happens.”
Easy for her to say. Still, this place of clear blue orphic—benevolent orphic—offered ideal conditions for experimentation. When he was running, the benign energy slid over his skin, flowed into his mouth and nose and lungs, seeped into his pores. His body recognized it and welcomed the positive energy as a tree welcomes a soft spring rain. Drawing orphic into him came naturally. Manipulating it externally? How the hell did that work?
“I’ve only ever absorbed orphic and not through a conscious e
ffort,” he said. “That’s why the red orphic makes me so sick. My body acts like a sponge whether I want it to or not.”
“Will you show me? I may be able to help.”
He held out his hands and she took them. Once again warm exhilaration washed over him. This time it was tinted with an unfamiliar emotion that lifted his spirits even though he didn’t understand it. These were her emotions—clean, clear, optimistic, devoid of the anger permanently etched into his soul. For an instant the intellectual realization overwhelmed him before he collected himself.
“Close your eyes and clear your mind of everything but the orphic,” she said. “Open yourself to the energy and use your will like a magnet.”
While she spoke, he felt her soothing presence in his mind and concentrated on smelling and tasting the energy he wanted to attract. He breathed in deeply, willing the orphic to flow into his nose and mouth and lungs. Energy poured into him, surging through his bloodstream, charging through his nerves and muscles until every cell vibrated with positive power.
As if from a distance he heard her gasp and opened his eyes to find her staring at him. The intensity of her gaze heightened his awareness of the connection between them, the pounding of her heart in the pulse of her hands in time with his and the oneness of their joined perception. He wanted more, though he had no idea what that meant.
“Push the orphic out of your body, Bodie.” Her voice came out strangely breathy. “Project it toward that tall bush in the distance in a strong beam of energy.”
As she spoke, her presence within him strengthened his ability to focus and expel the power. Once the purging was set in motion, his body took over and he needed only to think what he wanted to do for it to happen. The orphic streamed out toward the scrub until it was all expelled, leaving him both stunned and rejuvenated.
Across from him Lex’s shoulders rose and fell with each deep breath. Her skin glowed in the late afternoon sun giving it a surreal vitality. It took him several seconds to realize her hands trembled in his.
“Are you all right?” he asked, stroking the backs of her hands with his thumbs. He wasn’t ready to let her go.