by Ciana Stone
Out of nowhere, a wall of light appeared before them. The black energy rammed into it, spreading out like spilled chocolate on a table before it gathered and attacked again.
Over and over, it flew at the light, battering it. The wall began to dim, their combined strength failing. The dark energy started to take form. Vacher. He paused and laughed. “Now let’s see who’s weak. I’m coming for you, bitch.”
Vacher approached the light, drew back one fist, and struck. Sparks flew and the light flickered.
Give it all you’ve got. Delilah’s voice sounded in their minds.
Cia knew it wouldn’t be enough. She could feel them weakening. Vacher struck again and the sparks that flew were dark and red, carrying a sting with them like acid, burning whatever it touched.
She heard a yell and realized that Kade had regained consciousness. He was on his feet and running toward Vacher.
“No!” She broke free, running forward. “Kade, no!” She dove at Vacher at the same moment as Kade.
“Cia!” Delilah screamed as Cia and Kade disappeared into the churning darkness that bore the face of Vacher. “Cia! Oh god, Travis, we have to do something.”
The dark mass of energy grew larger, swirling like a tornado, the insane howl of Vacher’s laugher overpowering every other sound.
“Travis!” Delilah clutched his hand in a white-knuckled grip. “Do something!”
Before Travis could respond, light flared. When the flare died, Joe stood before them.
“They’re trapped!” Delilah screamed.
Joe smiled, turned, and stepped into the darkness. It twisted and writhed, swirling with even more force, forcing the three people watching to retreat.
“What do we do?” Delilah yelled to be heard over the roar of the wind.
“Pray?” Travis shouted in response.
That’s exactly what Delilah did.
“Look!” Butch threw his arms out in an encompassing gesture.
“What the hell?” Travis exclaimed.
From all points around the writhing miasma, ghostly lights moved from the distance like streaks of incandescent mist, all headed for the darkness.
“Spirits!” Delilah gasped when four of the trails of light sped by.
As one, the lights penetrated the darkness. For a moment, all sound ceased. Then a roar like a great beast erupted. The darkness swelled, whirling with increasing speed, its force so strong they had no choice but to retreat yet again. Travis pulled Delilah, running for the car.
“No, we can’t leave them!” Delilah broke free to turn back in the direction of the dark force.
The sudden explosion of light blinded all three of them, knocking them off their feet. When it faded, Cia and Kade lay on the ground, unconscious. There was no sign of Joe.
Delilah jumped up and ran to them as Travis called in the sheriff and Butch went to work searching them for the remote to disarm the explosives in the house. Cia and Kade were both breathing but unconscious.
“Cia?” Delilah crouched beside Cia. “Can you hear me? Cia, come on, wake up!”
Cia opened her eyes and Delilah fell back, sitting down hard. Cia’s eyes were so pale a blue they were almost white.
“Kade?” Cia whispered.
“He’s alive. Joe saved you.”
“Yeah. He did. ” Cia smiled and promptly passed out.
Chapter Twelve
Her first reaction was fear. The moment she realized she was conscious, Cia started to struggle at whatever held her immobile. Where the hell was she?
“Shhh.” Joe’s voice soothed from beside her.
“Joe! Where am I?”
“Hospital. Now settle down, child. Unless you want that mob of doctors and nurses running back in here.”
“Why am I strapped down? Get this shit off me!”
“Okay, okay, just settle down.” Joe quickly unfastened the padded cuffs that had her strapped to the bed.
“Thanks.” She rubbed her wrists even though they did not hurt. “Kade?” Sick dread bubbled in her gut.
“He’s fine. A bit lighter in the eyes but fine.”
“He’s blind? Oh my god. I have to see him!”
“He’s not blind.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Joe’s mouth twitched into an expression she’d often seen when he was trying to decide the best way to explain something to her. He suddenly smiled, snapped his fingers, and hurried to rummage in the drawer on the stand beside the bed.
When he handed her a small mirror, she was hesitant to accept it. “Is my face all fucked up? Just tell me, Joe. I don’t think I can handle the surprise.”
“Your face is fine, Gracie.”
Cia accepted the mirror and angled it to look. The eyes that stared back at her were not her own. Blue so pale they didn’t look real, the pupils a shocking contrast to the lightness.
“What happened?” She brought the mirror closer.
“Call it an aftereffect.”
Cia lay the mirror aside and reached for Joe’s hand. “I remember what happened in there, Joe.”
He nodded and squeezed her hand. “You did good, Gracie. You and Kade both. Vacher is gone. He won’t be hurting anyone else.”
“I know. We couldn’t have done it without you, Joe. I know that. You saved us.”
“Naw, just added…moral support.”
Cia felt tears welling in her eyes. “I know I’ve been a pain in the ass, Joe, and I don’t know why you’ve stuck with me, but I want you to know that I’m grateful. Without you…without you I don’t think I’d have survived.”
“You’re stronger than you think, Gracie.”
“No, not alone. I realize that. It’s something you’ve been trying to teach me. I’ve been so afraid that I deliberately shut out everyone who tried to get close. But you didn’t let me, did you? You stuck with me even when I was a total bitch.”
“Well, I admit there’ve been times when you’ve been a handful.”
She chuckled. “That’s a nice way of putting it. Look, I’m not good at this, but I want you to know that whoever or whatever you are or wherever you come from, it doesn’t matter. You’re my best friend and I don’t want to imagine life without you. I love you, Joe. And I need you.”
“I know, child. I love you, too.”
Joe sat on the bed and gathered her in his arms. She let the tears come, clinging to him as she cried. When she was spent, she remained in his arms. Why had she never noticed that he was the one person in the world who made her feel safe and loved? He was more than her friend. He was her family.
“You feeling better now?” He gently released her.
“Yes. No. I need to see Kade.”
Joe looked toward the door then at the IVs and monitors attached to her. “I think we might stir up some trouble if we take this stuff off.”
“Trouble’s what I’m best at.” She gave him a smile and started disconnecting herself. “Come on, help me.”
By the time they made it to the door they were met by two nurses and a man who was obviously a bodyguard.
“You shouldn’t be up,” one of the nurses announced.
“I’m fine. I need to see Kade Lawson. Now.”
“I’m sure the doctor will let you see Officer Lawson when he thinks you’re strong enough,” the man announced and added, “I’m Agent Rogers. Director Wade assigned me to watch you until your release and told me to advise you to do as ordered.”
“I’m plenty strong enough.” Cia pushed past them, directing her next words to the agent. “What room’s he in?”
“Not until the doctor clears you.” He stepped in her way. “Shall I contact Director Wade?”
She definitely didn’t want to get into an argument with her boss and knew it would be fruitless. Still, she protested as the nurses started herding her back to the bed. “I’m okay. I have to see him.”
The nurses tucked her back into the bed and reattached everything she’d removed under the watchful eye of Agent Rogers
.
“No, please.” She pleaded when one of the nurses took her hand and started to fasten the restraint. “I’ll behave.”
“I’ll make sure of it.” Agent Rogers came to her aid then gave her a pointed look. “I’ll be just outside the door.”
“Fine.” Cia lay back and closed her eyes. When she heard the door close softly, she opened her eyes. Joe stood beside her.
“I need to see him, Joe.”
“You will, Gracie. But for now, sleep.”
“I’m not sleepy. I don’t want…” She never got to finish the sentence. Joe smiled, laid his hand on her forehead and she was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
Cia rubbed her hands on her jeans as she stopped in front of the hotel room door. She was nervous. How would Kade respond to seeing her?
It had been nearly a week since that night at the Smith farm. The moment they’d released her today she’d headed straight for the hotel. Kade had been released as well and she was told he’d been taken here.
She tapped on the door and waited. Finally, she heard his voice. “It’s open.”
Cia walked in. An open suitcase lay on the bed. Kade was packing. “Kade?”
At the sound of her voice, he looked in her direction. Joe wasn’t lying. Kade’s gray eyes were now as light as her own.
“Cia.”
She’d never heard anything as beautiful as the sound of her name coming from his lips. Heedless of what his reaction would be, she ran to him and threw her arms around him.
His arms closed around her, pulling her tight. Neither of them spoke for a long time. It was enough just to hold and be held. Finally, he pulled back.
“Do you remember?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He sat on the bed, taking her hand to pull her down beside him. “Although to be honest, I have a hard time believing I actually experienced it. It seems--”
“Impossible?”
“Yeah.”
“I know. But what do you remember, exactly?”
“Being in total darkness. A putrid smell and a feel that I can’t describe as anything but evil and pain like nothing I can even find words for. You. You were with me. In me or around me, or both. I can’t describe it.”
“I know.”
“I thought we were goners.” His hand tightened on hers.
She nodded. “Until Joe came.”
“Yeah, until Joe. He brought them.” Kade’s voice dropped to a whisper. “All the spirits of Vacher’s victims.”
“Good thing he did considering that Vacher had all the souls of the evil people he’d inhabited with him, all lusting for blood and death.”
“Including Dwayne,” Kade commented. “And that couple, Cia.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Does this change things for you, Cia? Knowing they were evil?”
She had spent the last few days thinking about that and realized that she had been wrong to kill, but not wrong in trying to rid the world of that kind of evil. Cia knew that the work she did helped to save rather than to destroy and that she had work left to do. And most of all, she realized that she loved Kade and had been willing to trade her life for his.
And that was when Joe had come. She’d seen his light and it had given her strength. It gave Kade strength. Their energy combined with Joe’s and the evil could not withstand it. It was destroyed.
Vacher was finally gone.
And she was here, with Kade, wondering what came next.
“Yes, it changes things. Everything has changed because of that night.”
“Yeah, it has. Cia, don’t leave.”
She looked over her shoulder at his half-packed suitcase. “Looks like you’re leaving.”
“Just the hotel. Don’t leave me, Cia. Stay. With me.”
The question prompted a war within her. She was split between wanting to say yes and knowing that her work with the SACU was not done. She had more to do. Much more. She couldn’t turn her back on that.
“I can’t.”
“Can’t or don’t want to?”
“Can’t. I want to, Kade. I…I love you. But my work isn’t here. What I do makes a difference. I can’t walk away. But…”
She paused to gather the courage. “You could come with me. After what we’ve been through it has to be clear that your psychic abilities are evolving and growing. The SACU wants you. I’ve already talked with the Director. There’s a place for you. If you want it.”
Kade shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Can’t or don’t want to?” She gave his question back to him.
“I don’t know.”
“Okay.” She leaned over and kissed him gently. “I understand.”
Cia got up and walked to the door. She turned as she opened it. “I love you, Kade.”
Then she walked out. She made it to her room before she broke down. Telling herself that she was foolish to believe that she and Kade could have made a life together, she quickly packed and checked out of the hotel.
She unlocked the rental car and tossed her suitcase into the backseat, then got in behind the wheel. In the passenger’s seat was Joe, bag of cheddar popcorn in hand and Mountain Dew wedged between his legs.
“I guess you’re ready to ride?” she asked.
“Whenever you are, Gracie.”
She nodded and but did not start the engine. She looked over her shoulder at the hotel. “Seems like I can’t win for losing, Joe.”
“How so?”
“I finally open up and let myself feel and I’m silly enough to think that maybe I’d found something, something lasting.” She turned to face Joe. “Just goes to show how adept I am at fooling myself, huh?”
“Oh, I don’t know about that, Gracie.” He pointed toward the hotel.
Kade was running across the parking lot toward her. She rolled down the window and he leaned in. “Don’t go.”
“We’ve already walked this path, Kade. I have to.”
“I mean not yet. Give me a week.”
“What will a week do but make it harder?”
“It’ll give me time to go home and pack. I talked with your director. I’m to report for duty in eight days.”
Cia was stunned. “You’re…you…but I thought—”
“I love you, Cia. Where you are is where my life is. If you want me, that is.”
“Yes,” she said around a smile. “Oh yes, I do.”
“About time,” Joe commented.
Cia and Kade both laughed. “So, you’re sticking with us, Joe?”
“Well why break up a good team?” Joe asked. “I mean, whoever heard of the Two Stooges, or the Two Bears, or Two Dog Night or the Two Musketeers or—”
“I think we get the point,” Kade interrupted with a chuckle and then added, “And I’m glad, Joe. Really glad.”
“How ’bout you, Gracie?” Joe asked. “That what you want?”
“You better believe it,” she replied and meant it with her whole heart. She’d arrived in this place a broken woman who thought she was beyond salvation, incapable of loving or accepting love. She would leave healed, knowing that she had what she’d wished for all along.
She had been redeemed. By love.
A note from the Author
I've been a reader my entire life, finding solace, excitement, happiness, fear and love in the pages of books. If anything has been a constant in my life it's reading.
I also remember all of the times in my life when being able to buy a book was a luxury, a treat that I didn't get every week. I've never forgotten those times.
That's why I am so grateful to you, the readers. Regardless of your level of income or profession, I understand how precious your reading dollars are and I feel humbled that you've used some of those dollars to purchase my books.
I hope my stories prove worthy of your investment and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Many blessings.
Ciana
You can find all of Ciana’s books on Amazon. Visit her author
page:
http://www.amazon.com/Ciana-Stone/e/B002BLJNUY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1410121040&sr=8-2
Books by Ciana Stone
Hot in the Saddle
Untamed: A Three Book Box Set
The Whisperers: Simply Irresistible – A Three Book Box Set
Holdin’ On for a Hero: A three book set
Tales of Betrayal, passion, danger and love
Hunger: The V’Kar Series – A three book set
Renegades
Coming of Age