by Janean Worth
Chapter Fourteen
Bella sat in the back seat sipping her mocha double chocolate chip and nibbling at her lemon cake while David drove them out of Portland. Night had set in, shrouding the landscape in darkness, but as Bella stared out the window of the sports car, she was sure that she saw red‑eyed shadows everywhere in the night. As they passed by in the car, Bella could see them clearly. The shadows seemed to be meandering the busy sidewalks near pedestrians, crouching inside cars next to drivers and passengers, crowded up against patrons in busy restaurants.
To her eyes, they seemed to be everywhere that people were. After the events of the day, she no longer questioned whether she was crazy, or whether they were real. She now knew that they were. And she was slowly coming to terms with it. Slowly.
David and Velma seemed content to let her stew in her own thoughts as they drove toward the compound that would be her strange new home for the next few months if she chose.
She wasn’t sure that she was ready for that, but, if she were honest with herself, she really didn’t have much of a choice. With no money and no place to live, what else could she do but rely on their offer?
She’d borrowed one of their cell phones earlier, and, while waiting in the drive‑thru line at Starbucks, she’d called the Coopers and verified that her lease had indeed been paid in full and that her apartment was already rented out again. After hanging up, she’d logged in to her online banking accounts and checked the balance. Both her checking and her savings were empty. So, she really was very much at their mercy. She couldn’t even begin to fathom where else she’d get help if she decided to leave their company and rebuffed their offer of membership into their organization.
“Now, dear, that’s not—” Velma began, but she was interrupted by David.
“Let Bella think, Velma. She needs to sort this out on her own.”
Bella scoffed silently. They already knew what she was thinking, so what did it matter if they let her do it in silence?
She wasn’t used to this level of mental intimacy with anyone. She had always been very careful what she did and did not allow herself to say to people. She only allowed the thoughts that she had to pass her lips on rare occasion. Now, with the two of them able to read every single thought, it was as if her very soul was laid bare to for their perusal. She didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“No, go on, what were you going to say, Velma?” she asked, knowing that speaking was unnecessary, at least on her part, but doing it anyway because it seemed normal. And, today, she liked normal more than she ever had before. In fact, she dearly missed normal and desperately wanted it back.
“I was going to say that you do have a choice. We can relocate you to any city in the United States if you wish. You will not be forced to join our organization. We even have a special fund that we use for relocations, which we will happily give to you so that you can start over without financial hardship. The choice is entirely yours, Bella.”
That was good to know, Bella thought, but what she really wanted to know was how to keep her thoughts to herself. She didn’t like that David and Velma could read her mind, but it made her slightly ill to think of men like Lucien being able to read her every thought, too.
“You haven’t ever told me what the name of your organization is. And what it is exactly that they do.”
“We are called the Invisible,” David said, just a slight note of pride in his voice. “And we do many things. Mostly, we use God’s goodness to fight the evil that permeates the world.”
“And we seek out others, such as you, whenever our sources indicate that one of you may be coming into your abilities. That is when you are most vulnerable to the Quislings.”
“And, what is it that the Quislings do?” Bella asked.
“They spread evil, dear. They destroy goodness through any means possible, using their abilities to their own advantage.”
“And the shadows?” Bella asked. “What are they?”
“They’re manifestations of the Prince of Darkness’s minions. They can only inhabit the spiritual realm, as you know, and cannot physically affect us. As it says in the Bible, the Lord has delivered us from this domain of darkness. They often feed negative emotions—hate, avarice, rage—stoking them to unprecedented levels in those who are susceptible already.”
Bella realized that this made complete sense. Derek’s emotions on the night that he’d broken their engagement had seemed out of control and magnified, but she’d known that, deep down, he had felt at least a little resentful of her vow of chastity. And Mr. Bouthar’s response to her fainting had been beyond normal, to say the least, but it must have been based on some small grain of what he believed to be truth. The realization that these shadows, the Devil’s minions, were able to influence those already in the grip of negative emotion sent a shiver of fear down her spine.
Velma sought to comfort her. “There is nothing to fear, Bella. Anyone who asks for it has the protection of the Lord. These evil spirits must be allowed to influence people in this way, by those same people that they are influencing. They cannot take away a person’s freedom of will.”
“And your organization, the Invisible, they can protect others from this influence?”
David nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. “Yes, we can if they will allow it.”
“And what of those who fall under this influence? Are they . . . damaged?” Bella thought of Derek, and though hurt speared her heart as she remembered his treatment of her, she did not bear ill will toward him. She did not want him hurt, though he’d hurt her deeply.
“No, they are not damaged. But, most of them are extremely sorry for their behavior later,” Velma said.
David nodded again, then muttered, “Yes, be angry and sin not. Good words to live by.”
“And Derek. Will the Quislings leave him alone after I leave Portland?”
“We have taken precautions to guarantee that they do,” David told her.
“And how—” Bella’s question was cut off by the shrill ringtone of Velma’s phone.
The older woman mumbled, “Sorry, dear, just a moment.”
Velma answered the phone with a frown of concern, “Yes? What has happened?”
David and Velma shared a look across the front seat, and Bella wondered if they shared thoughts as well. Though it shouldn’t have, just the idea of being excluding from their mental exchange made her feel like an outsider, alone and on her own in a big, dark world. A world that had grown exponentially darker during the course of the day’s events.
“We are just leaving Portland, so we would be the closest available, since most of the others are out of the country,” Velma said, then paused to listen to the response from the person on the other end of the connection. “Yes, we will. Thank you.”
Velma pushed the icon to end the call, then stuffed the cell phone back into her pocket, looking upset and a little flustered.
“It seems that there is another who has exhibited the beginnings of extraordinary abilities, and he is currently in grave danger. We are the closest to his location. I’m afraid that our trip to the compound will have to be postponed, Bella. And, I apologize, but you’ll need to make your choice now, rather than later.”
Bella didn’t need to think very long. She again vividly recalled the fear and confusion she’d felt earlier in the day. If she could help David and Bella save someone else from experiencing a similar feeling, or rescue them from an even worse fate, such as the one that had loomed before her in that stark basement, she had to try to help. There was really no other choice to make.
She smiled, not even bothering to give them her answer aloud. She knew that they were already aware of her decision. Both of them were beaming at her from the front seat.
To be continued in Riches, Invisible, Episode Two. Find a free preview of Riches next:
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Riches
The Invisible
Episode 2