Circle of Dreams (The Quytel Series Book 1)

by Jane S. Morrissey

  Cole would leave that part out of his explanation to Bri. It was a hell of a way for an empath to live. The man maintained a silent, deadly vigil, living in the background as events unfolded, coming forward when there was a need and protecting them all whether they wanted it or not. It was good to have someone he trusted with his life watching his back.

  “This is Bri.” Cole introduced her.

  “Nice to meet you.” Nathanial watched her through hooded eyes, remaining horizontal.

  “You too.” She smacked Cole on his bicep. “You could have warned me.”

  He didn’t even try to wipe the goofy grin off his face. He must seem ridiculous, but he didn’t care. Smiling was automatic for him when he looked at Bri or thought about her. He leaned over and kissed the frown off her lips because he couldn’t help himself.

  That earned him an additional cuff. “Watch the road,” she warned, yet her tone held a sultry note that heated his blood.

  Lake Superior stretched before them as they drove out of town. The dark water appeared cold and forbidding even in the relative warmth of the late morning.

  “You were hard to find.” Nathanial’s dark eyes flickered with amusement as he sat up and buckled himself in. “What did I miss?”

  “Turns out latent psychics are being targeted.” Cole figured he may as well dive right in. “There are people all over the world who have psychic abilities triggered only under special circumstances.”

  “Come again?”

  “When a psychic is destroyed, it upsets some sort of global balance.” Cole glanced at Bri’s pale face and they exchanged a grim look. If her latent ability had been triggered, it meant another psychic had lost his or her life.

  “Apparently I’m a latent,” Bri said quietly. “And a dangerous one.”

  Cole laid his hand on her knee.

  Nathanial scratched the side of his face. “All right.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared out of the window.

  Dark water stretched out on one side of the car. The sun glinted off the surface like diamonds. Bri held tight to his hand as Cole began to explain what he knew about the Quytel, his bizarre fight with Mack, the injuries Mack suffered, and their encounter with the men in the forest.

  An hour later Bri’s body jerked next to him, too violent for a dream. She’d drifted off to sleep a few moments earlier. An especially spastic swing of her arm a moment later had Cole’s blood pressure racing with fear. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he slowed the car and shook her gently. No response.

  “Bri.” he ordered, shaking a little harder. “Bri, wake up.” Nothing. Panic dried his mouth.

  Nathanial leaned forward between the front seats. “What is it?”

  “This is too intense for a nightmare.” Cole pulled the Jeep to the side of the road. “This might be the first manifestation of her psychic abilities.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face her. “We have to be ready for anything.”

  Nathanial, always calm, reached for his gun and held it steady.

  Cole frowned. “You don’t need to shoot her.”

  Nathanial shrugged. “I protect you.”

  “Well don’t shoot her, okay?” He looked pointedly at the gun.

  A trickle of blood dripped from Bri’s ear, and Cole’s heart slammed against his ribcage. The pearl joined in, making it hard to breathe.

  “Bri!” He grasped her upper arm and felt a wrenching deep in the core of his body, his very soul. “Shit!”

  He gritted his teeth against the pain. Bri’s energy seemed to feed on his, ruthlessly consuming everything he was. Fighting to hold himself together, man and wolf grabbed for anything that would stop the hemorrhage of his life force.

  “Ground out the energy,” Nathanial ordered. “Send it into the earth.”

  Cole heard the command, the reminder, although his friend’s voice sounded tinny and far away. He’d never felt pain like this. His mind almost couldn’t process it as his very being ripped to shreds. His soul shattered. The temptation to give up and let the wave of destruction float him away was almost too strong. In a corner of his brain, he knew he wouldn’t survive this.

  “Cole!” he heard Nathanial shout.

  The voice was faint, an echo. Bri’s soul shuddered against his like a frightened bird and she tried to pull away. Somehow he felt her confusion, her horror. It gave him a surge of strength and the will to resist. Pushing the pain to a corner of his mind, he concentrated on the earth beneath him. His connection to it quickly slipping away.

  He imagined himself as pure light, a conduit through which energy could move without harming him. Siphoning off the overwhelming destructive force pouring through him, he directed it into the soil and dirt below. The denseness of the earth accepted the gift, shuddering silently with the force of it. With that small triumph, the wolf howled, coming to life and adding his considerable strength to the fight.

  Completely focused, Cole reached for Bri’s soul, for the part of her he had touched, come to know, and cherish—more than obsession, more than compulsion. From somewhere deep inside, he needed her to be safe and alive in the world. She retreated from the pain, from the destructive forces insidiously eating away at her.

  Catching her was like trying to capture a cloud, wisps of her energy barely snagging on his fingers. He needed something solid to attach to, hold on to. If he couldn’t bring her back, she would take him with her.

  In his mind’s eye, Cole sent everything he had left of his life force, every bit of energy he had access to from the earth, directly into Bri’s solar plexus. A pulse of deep green radiated from him into her. It grew in power, channeling destructive energy, smashing it into compact soil and rock, creating molten lava where it met a denser frequency before it was absorbed.

  He knew the instant she felt him. Her retreat halted. A breath. A reprieve. They stood together in that moment holding on to the power of their connection because it was all they had.

  Without warning, they were thrust into the vision-world, and Cole knew he was out of his body, once more in the crystal cave. Mist swirled and light flickered off hard surfaces. Raw power pulsed in the thick air, demanding his heart beat to its rhythm. It came on slowly this time, drifting, whispering of destruction, a command of pain and torture. Beside him, Bri cringed, anticipating more agony than could be borne. Here, in this place of ancient magic and lost souls, he had been helpless to stop it, helpless to protect her.

  A woman floated before them, illuminated by the immensity of her power, cold and heartless. When she zeroed in on them, a glimmer of another shivered beneath the surface. Her face blurred and a single crease marred the perfection of her pale forehead. She turned away, and Cole could breathe again, a momentary reprieve.

  “Talk to me, Cole.” Nathanial’s voice floated to him as if from a great distance.

  Cole tried to respond. Nothing happened, then he felt his body being lifted and gently laid down again.

  The earth lurched and his eyes jerked open. Instantly blinded by bright daylight, Cole slapped a hand over his eyes and took stock of his body and mind. He was alive, the vibration of the earth resonated within him, and the wolf was there, mighty mad and ready for a fight.

  Lowering his hand, Cole blinked past the needles piercing his eyeballs, and focused on his friend.

  “Bri?” He croaked out her name. His throat scorched.

  “There.” Nathanial gestured with a tilt of his head.

  Her slender body lay curled in a ball in the front seat. Crusted blood had hardened in her ears and along her upper lip, but she was alive and a beautiful sight.

  “She’s okay, I think,” Nathanial told him. “You’re both okay. Just rest. I need to find a more protected place for us.”

  Nathaniel rounded the jeep to the passenger side and pulled Bri into his arms, whi
ch must have cost him greatly to feel whatever she felt. He gently laid her down on the backseat. Cole grabbed for her hand weakly, and held on.

  He trusted Nathanial to keep them safe until he could pull himself together. His body felt wrecked, energy completely depleted, like he’d been run over by a truck and dragged along the pavement for miles.

  Cradling Bri with one arm, he stroked her silky hair. While Nathanial drove them to safety, Cole replayed the vision again in his mind. Bri had been there with him, draining his life force and nearly killing him. He’d been close to death. Had she been triggered or had it all been connected to the vision?

  And if she had been triggered, what the hell was her ability?

  Bri rose to consciousness on a wave of nausea. Swallowing the bile rising in her throat, trying to figure out her bearings and remember what had happened to her, she realized she was still in the car.

  Someone held her hand. Cole.

  Her eyes felt glued shut. She pried them open, thankful for only the dim overcast haze of fog outside. Her head rested on Cole’s lap, his fingers tangled in her long hair. Nathanial drove them in silence.

  No one said a word even though she knew both men were aware the moment she woke. Bri closed her eyes and curled her legs closer to her body for comfort. The featherlight brush of Cole’s thumb gently stroking her arm offered no comfort this time.

  She’d built a bridge to his soul and then tried to kill him. Something in her had latched on to his life force and fed on it. In a trancelike state, she’d been unable to stop herself. And it had been an incredible high, addictive. The heady, intoxicating shot of pure energy had made every nerve ending flare with power. She’d wanted more.

  The nightmare was her.

  It lived and breathed inside of her.

  She’d nearly killed him.

  Bri shuddered at the thought, her mind protesting the truth she couldn’t deny. Sitting up abruptly despite the pain in her bones, she scooted to the opposite side of the backseat.

  “I’m sorry.” She didn’t look at either man as she attempted to pull her hand away from Cole, curling in on herself. She didn’t deserve his comfort, not after what she’d done.

  He tightened his grip, refusing to let go.

  “It’s okay, we’re all okay.” He denied her the retreat she needed, and instead traced the line of her jaw with a strong finger, coaxing her to look at him. She wanted to sink into the seat and disappear.

  “Sweetheart, you aren’t going to use this as an excuse to get away from me.”

  Her eyes snapped to his. “Cole, I could have killed you. I tried to kill you, and I couldn’t stop myself,” she burst out angrily.

  He wasn’t accusing her or blaming her, just holding her, and that was almost more than she could bear.

  “But you didn’t. You managed to stop it. We stopped it.”

  “What if we can’t next time? I don’t even know what this is, what I’m capable of, or why. How can I begin to control it?” Questions came on fast as her panic settled in. She needed to get away, far away from anyone she was a threat to, especially him.

  “We’re in this together. We’re a team, okay? I won’t leave you to face this alone.” He held her face between his large hands, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you understand?”

  She saw the sincerity in his glittering silver-gray eyes, and something more, something this morning she would have run toward. Right now it was an iron clench twisting her heart with bittersweet pain. She would never allow herself to be with someone if she had the capacity to destroy him. How would she live with herself if she was so dangerous?

  “You don’t have the choice of leaving me though, do you?” She threw the accusation at him.

  His eyes darkened. “Don’t do that.”

  The image of the vision-woman flashed into Bri’s mind before she could respond. Green eyes, much like her own, staring at her from the ravaged face of a monster bent on destruction. Her heart lurched, the thought forgotten in the horror of her memory.

  “It was my mother, Cole. I know it for sure.” She couldn’t stay with him, or with anyone. She desperately needed to know everything about her mother, her past. The Quytel.

  Damn Jonah and his secrets. Why had they kept his from her? Was her mother completely evil and responsible for the deaths of psychics all over North America? Had someone died and triggered her own psychic powers? Bri could only desperately hope this was all a mistake, a nightmare she would wake from.

  “Looks like rain,” Nathanial suddenly commented in a matter-of-fact tone from the front seat. “It’s late, and we should all get some rest before we move on. There’s a town not far ahead.”

  Cole pulled her tight against him despite her protest, his fingers massaging the tension in her neck. She leaned on the hard strength of him. What was she going to do?

  “Sounds good. Thanks, Nathanial.” He brushed a kiss across her temple. “This will all seem better in the morning.”

  Giving in a bit, Bri tried to smile. “I like your confidence.”

  “See, this is something you’ll learn about me.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close; it felt so good she wanted to cry.

  “What’s that?” She forced the question out as a whisper.

  She felt his smile, even though she couldn’t see his face. “I’m confident, and with good reason. I always win.”

  Bri snuggled into his embrace, wishing it were that simple. As her plan took form, a painful vise clamped down on her heart and wouldn’t let go. As much as she hated running back to Jonah after all of this, he had answers for her and could likely teach her how to control her power so she didn’t hurt anyone else. If anyone could help her, it would be the Quytel.

  She’d head south to Arizona and keep trying to reach Jonah. Cole would be angry when she left and would try to follow her. She needed to get away from him with enough of a head start that it would take him a while. Her heart was so heavy, she thought it might sink into her stomach. She’d just found him, and now this. Bri wanted to rail against the universe for the cruel joke her life had become.

  Cole’s arms tightened around her, and he gently kissed the top of her head, maybe sensing her distress or that she’d wanted to pull away. Helplessly Bri leaned into the heat of his body. She would take the next few hours with him, cherish them, and hold those memories close for the rest of her life. She inhaled deeply, drawing his masculine scent into her lungs and felt the burn of desire building inside her. She cared about him so much, an admission that warmed and dazzled her.

  How that had happened so fast, she wouldn’t question.

  Chapter 17

  Hard rain pounded the windshield and popped off the hood of the jeep; the sky a black void. The streetlights of the town they drove through barely penetrated the darkness.

  Nathanial stopped at the first motel they saw. Pulling into the nearly empty parking lot, he parked right next to the main office.

  “Wait here.” Cole opened the door and hit the ground at a run, tugging the back of his leather jacket up over his head in a vain attempt to protect him from the downpour.

  He disappeared inside, and Bri was left with Nathanial in the car. His steady, quiet presence more onerous than comforting, she swore he knew she planned on leaving his friend, and mostly agreed with the decision. It made her nervous that he could feel what she was feeling.

  “Cole told me you’re an empath.” She changed the subject, needing to keep her mind from panic.

  “Did he now?” Nathanial responded, his voice devoid of inflection. Their eyes met in the rearview mirror.

  “How does it work?” she asked.

  He continued to stare at her reflection silently.

  Bri shifted her gaze to the wet, dark night. “I didn’t mean t
o pry. I just wonder what you feel from me.”

  “Confusion,” he answered a moment later. “But I don’t need to be an empath to feel that.”

  The car door burst open, startling her, and a drenched Cole jumped inside.

  “We have two rooms on the second floor over there.” He pointed to the adjacent building illuminated by bright fluorescent lights flickering in the heavy rain. With its open-air design, the motel boasted a covered balcony lining the row of upstairs units.

  Nathanial crossed the lot and chose a parking spot close to the staircase leading to the second floor.

  “Ready?” Cole grabbed their backpack from the space behind the backseat.

  Bri pulled on the door handle and dove into the rain, heading for the protection of the covered stairwell. When she was younger, and sometimes even now, she loved to dance in the rain, get soaked and not care. That impulse came from another life.

  Their room was small and utilitarian; a frayed orange comforter on the bed clashed with the red and green carpeting. The dull yellow glow from the lamp next to the TV didn’t help the room’s depressing aura.

  Cole closed the door against the freezing rain and set their backpack down on the chair near the window. “I need a hot shower.”

  “Sounds great. You first.” Bri flopped on the bed.

  Cole frowned down at her. “You could join me.”

  She tried to smile. “I’m sorry, I’m so tired I might not even make it to the shower.”

  He sat on the bed next to her and stroked the side of her face. “Don’t worry about what happened today, all right?”

  Tears pricked her eyes. “How can you say that?” She rubbed the neckline of his T-shirt between her thumb and forefinger, not looking at him. He tipped her chin up, forcing her to see his face, meet his eyes.

  “We made it, and if it happens again, we’ll do the same.”