The laugh vibrated the air and hurt his ears. From the corner of his eye he saw Tessa wince and try to protect her ears. Troth didn’t seem to be expending any energy with the shield or throwing his voice.
“I knew you were my match. I knew you would figure it out. The problem, old friend, was I couldn’t get to you. But I’m smart too. I knew if I set up a high-rated agent they would bring you in. I have to admit you threw me a curve ball when you took off with Agent Clark. I never took you for softhearted.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, at the Jersey Shore or here, it makes no difference to me. I’ll get what I want.
“Your right and wrong boxes don’t mean anything to me. I only care about strength. I’m the strongest and so I have the right to prey on the weak. Today you are my goal, you are the weak one. Today I get to claim the ultimate prize.”
Joshua was still looking for the angle. What had Banta learned in the last year? How was he going to penetrate his barriers? Both he and Tessa had their minds closed off. He didn’t have to open his mind to shoot the lightning. What was this guy after?
“Great, now what, Troth? Where do we go from here?”
Another booming laugh cracked the air. “Now I kill everything you love and then I take that sweet little talent you just used to kill most of my men. Or you can just come quietly and I’ll let them live.”
“You’ll have to kill me and if you could have done that I’d be dead already.”
Banta’s mouth twisted into a crooked grin. Joshua’s stomach turned as well. There was something he didn’t know. Some important fact only Banta knew.
He lifted his mental barriers enough to get the familiar sense of Troth Banta’s presence. It was the same as that of the man he’d known years before, but twisted as if he were a vine allowed to grow wild and take over the garden.
Immediately Banta pushed his mind forward and tried to invade. Joshua shut it down before he was breached.
At a hundred feet it was impressive Banta could have gotten so close. It had been worth the risk. He’d learned something important. As whatever power Troth used to transfuse psi energy snapped back, his shoulders had slumped slightly. It may not cost him anything to keep the barrier up, but gathering appeared to take its toll.
Banta reached out one hand to lean on the Apache. The reason his enemy remained by the helicopter. Stealing the aura of another was draining. Pushing his mind across space also took a lot out of him. Joshua had a suspicion. “What happens when you succeed, Troth? I assume that chopper whisks you away to rest from the exertion.”
Troth looked inside and made a spinning motion with his finger. The propeller started to spin slowly and then picked up speed. “Make it easier on yourself, Lakeland. I’ll let your brother and your new friend live if you come quietly.”
Without the same psi gift of voice Banta had, Joshua was forced to scream over the engine and propeller noise. His entire body was on a spring waiting to see what would happen next. “That’s quite an offer but I don’t think so.”
A rifle fired from near the dojo. The wounded soldier had taken aim and fired at Joshua. In the same moment everything slowed down. He tried to turn toward the gunman and even his movements were slowed down. He saw Banta’s eyes widen. The bullet meant for his heart spun in a path and he could see the air around it displaced as if it were shooting through water.
Tessa’s mind was open. It had to be. No one else had the ability to interrupt an instant in time. She pressed her hand forward, forcing the bullet out of its trajectory. She kicked out a leg and swept his right calf, sending him to the ground. Her movements appeared inhumanly quick while he was stuck in slow motion.
As the hard ground crashed into his backside time slipped back into normal speed.
Her mind was open!
Joshua tried to force his own walls to encompass Tessa too. He heard gunfire but ignored it.
Too late. Banta seized the opportunity as soon as he’d recognized the value of her gift. Agony stretched across her face. A piercing scream split the night and poured from her open mouth. Her skin paled to almost gray.
Joshua did the only thing he could. He sprinted in Banta’s direction, hollering his battle cry and ducking under the path of the helicopter’s propeller. In no time he had closed the distance. He didn’t know if he would come up hard against the barrier, but he suspected the gathering would require all Banta’s energy. No walls stopped him. Head down Joshua barreled into Banta’s gut and forced him into the gaping door of the Apache, breaking his concentration.
It took a moment for the insanity in Banta’s eyes to transform into rage. When that happened he roared as if he were a wild beast. He thrashed against Joshua, who pinned him to the floor of the craft. Joshua’s weapon tumbled out the door. It would have been difficult to take the much bigger man in hand-to-hand combat on a good day. The effort Banta had just made to steal Tessa’s psi power away from her must have weakened him.
Joshua straddled his chest and threw punch after punch against his face. His own anger pushed him harder to batter the monster Troth Banta had become. Blood splattered across the metal floor when Troth’s nose broke after one crushing blow.
The lights across Will’s property were exploding. Joshua knew it was his doing. Rage and regret swamped him and he lost control. Glass was always the first thing to go when Joshua lost his temper. If he didn’t get it under control stronger materials would bend and pop as well. He could hear the instruments in the helicopter’s cockpit sputtering and crackling.
The ground was falling away as the helicopter took to the air. Banta was only half conscious, spread-eagle on the deck. Joshua wanted Troth dead but there was no time. Standing, Joshua gave him one last kick to the ribs and stepped to the door. He had to jump before they got too high. On the ground Kane cradled Tessa in his arms. Will looked up at him. Trip and Wanda knelt at her side.
He stepped out onto the runner, shimmied down so his legs dangled and then gripped the metal with his hands. His legs dangled and he hung there a second and took a deep breath.
He let go.
It was a ten foot drop but he’d fallen from greater heights. As soon as his body hit the ground he collapsed and rolled. He would hurt for a few days. He would be battered and bruised. He didn’t care. His hip ached and his ribs were likely bruised, maybe broken. Ignoring all of it he rushed toward Tessa.
Chapter Nine
Kane cradled Tessa’s upper body as if she were a sleeping child and looked up at Joshua. “She’s alive, Josh, but it’s not good. I don’t detect an aura.”
His brother could also sense the psi vibration more commonly referred to as an aura. If she had no aura then she was not inside the shell of her body or she had retreated so far into her mind she might never find her way out. Either way Kane was right, it wasn’t good.
Joshua knelt next to her and gripped her face with both of his hands. “Tessa.”
Why he thought yelling in her face would help he didn’t know. It didn’t work. The beautiful vibration that made Tessa unique was quiet. Joshua couldn’t detect any of her essence. He couldn’t get his brain to accept what he was seeing. He waited, knowing at any moment she would open those pale-blue eyes and smile up at him.
“I’ll call an ambulance,” Wanda said.
The brothers stared at each other a long time. No words were spoken nor did they communicate psychically. This was not a psi moment. What passed between them was purely emotional, one brother crying out for help and the other being there.
Kane finally responded. “No, it won’t help. She needs a different kind of medicine.”
Joshua’s chest and stomach ached. His heart pounded in his ears. “You could heal her.” He grabbed Kane by the shoulder.
“No. I wish I could.”
“I’ve seen you do it. You can heal people. You can go inside her mind and lead her back to me, Kane. You have to do it. You have to.”
“This is beyond what I can do, Josh.”
“You’ve done it
before.” If his brother hadn’t been holding Tessa he would have punched him in the face.
Kane must have known Joshua was close to losing his temper. His voice was eerily calm. “Those people had lost their way or suffered some tragedy that needed suppressing. This is not the same. I don’t know where she is and I could do more harm than good.”
He wanted to hit someone. He wanted to lash out and make someone hurt as badly as he did. His mistake had caused this. He should have seen the gunman. He shouldn’t have underestimated Banta. He should have shielded Tessa or made her stay away. His mistake had cost her life. She was a vegetable. She would wither and die and it was his fault.
His brother was talking but Joshua didn’t hear the words. His brain had completely shut down to everything but grief. Pain cracked across his cheek.
That snapped him back to the present. Kane stood in front of him. “Did you hit me?”
Kane’s mouth was turned down and he took Tessa from Will’s arms. “You need to wake up, Josh. We need to get her help and I need you.”
Ever since his brother stepped back into his life Joshua had been the more reasonable of the two. Kane was impulsive and brash. Joshua took care of business and followed all the rules. Suddenly their roles were reversed. He needed his brother’s help and not the other way around.
Joshua tried to clear his mind. “We need a plane fueled up.”
Kane said, “Now you’re thinking.”
“I’ll take her,” Joshua said. Not waiting for a response, he took Tessa in his arms. Her body was warm against his chest. He felt her heart beating but she was otherwise still and lifeless. His throat tightened and it was hard to breathe.
Will said, “My jet is already fueled up. Go put Tessa inside and I’ll run the flight check.”
“I’ll fly,” Joshua said.
“No,” both Will and Kane said at the same time.
“You keep talking to Tessa. Will can fly us to Nevada.”
Will took a look around his property at the blood and bodies.
Trip said, “Wanda and I can clean up here. Someone will have heard all the gunfire. The local police will get calls and eventually make their way here. We’ll take care of it.”
Wanda nodded.
“Thanks,” Will said.
Jess and several others ran across the tarmac toward them. Jess took one look at Tessa and his frown deepened. “We lost Lon and Brady is shot, but it’s not too bad. Where are you taking her?”
Will said, “Nevada. There’s a place southeast of Vegas.”
“We’ll follow as soon as we can. I get the impression Banta is not done with this.”
Joshua locked eyes with Jess. He could see the other man’s accusation. Everyone knew this was Joshua’s fault. He had failed, Lon was dead and Tessa was lost.
Kane said, “We’ll need all the help we can get.”
Jess gave a nod and Will, Kane and Joshua with Tessa ran toward the hangar. A few minutes later they were taxiing down the runway and then heading northwest.
As jets went, Will’s was all luxury. The Gulfstream G550 heavy jet could seat up to sixteen with its large luxury seats and couches.
There were seats with tables and they all reclined so passengers could sleep. Joshua placed Tessa down on the long couch, grabbed a pillow from the overhead compartment and knelt beside her.
His brother was sitting in the copilot seat, assisting Will with the flying of the plane. The cockpit door was open but he felt alone. Tessa’s chest rose and fell evenly and her expression was serene and peaceful. She looked as if she were merely asleep and would wake up at any moment.
From the moment he’d met her it was her aura that let him see she was the one. He couldn’t feel anything from her now and yet he knew he had to have her back. He knew no one else would ever make him feel as complete. Without Tessa there was nothing for him.
He rested his forehead on hers. Can you hear me? Please come back to me, Tessa. Are you in there at all?
He’d probably repeated those same things a hundred times when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the sympathetic eyes of his brother.
“Let her be for now, Josh. Adianca will know what to do.”
“You don’t understand. This is my fault. I should have protected her.”
“She didn’t think so. That bullet was headed straight for you. It would have killed you and she knew it. She wanted to protect you and she did. She saved your life and her decision came at a cost.”
“The price is too high, Kane.” His voice cracked. “I’m not worth it.”
His brother squeezed his shoulder. “I know you feel that way, but Tessa disagreed. Frankly so do I.”
Joshua couldn’t stand the idea anyone would sacrifice themselves for him. The fact it was Tessa made it a hundred times worse.
Kane said, “You should rest. I have a feeling this is going to be more difficult than anything we’ve ever done before.”
Kane was right and Joshua knew it. If the shaman could help there would be another price to pay. They would be stationary and vulnerable.
He didn’t even want to think about the very real possibility Banta would recover and find them.
“Go lay down, Josh. I’ll keep an eye on her until we get close to landing. Will is going to try to put down on the reservation.”
He wanted to stay there and keep trying to reach Tessa but it was irrational. His brother was right. He needed to rest and she couldn’t hear him anyway. She was too deep if she was in there at all. His chest clenched at the idea all their efforts might be for nothing. If Tessa’s soul had moved on or been damaged too severely by Banta’s gathering power she would not come back.
He got up off the floor and sat down in the bucket seat just across from the couch.
“Take these.” Kane handed him two aspirin and a bottle of water. “I’m betting you’ve got a few aches and pains from that fight and jumping from the helicopter.”
“Thanks.”
Kane didn’t acknowledge the thanks. He turned toward Tessa. “Her parents are safe. I found them in a hotel about fifteen miles from their home. Pretty clever to have left home when they did.”
“Tessa said her mother was intuitive.”
Kane nodded. “I moved them to the safe house with Lena and everyone. They’ll wait this out there until one of us contacts them.”
Joshua’s throat tightened, he gripped his brother’s arm from across the aisle. Kane turned and looked at him. It took Joshua a moment to put it into words. He offered his hand. “Thanks.” He struggled for another moment. “I mean it. I couldn’t do this without you, Kane. Thanks.”
Kane took his hand in a firm grip. “You call, I come. We’re brothers, that’s how it works. Right?”
“Right.”
With a nod Kane sat on the couch beside Tessa.
* * * * *
Joshua had no memory of closing his eyes but Kane’s voice came through the speakers, letting him know they were about to land. He looked across the aisle. Tessa hadn’t moved an inch.
Hang in there, beautiful.
He pulled his seat upright and looked out the window. Will was setting down on a dirt road. It was a road Joshua had traveled many times to get to the reservation and meet with Adianca. The shaman had brought him to a peaceful place when his mind was without rest. Now his world had collapsed and he had to beg her to build it back up. She was powerful but this might be too far beyond even her scope of psychic healing. The shaman could call on forces beyond their world. Her abilities were closer to magic than psi. Joshua’s gut tightened and his chest ached. Worry wouldn’t bring Tessa back. They couldn’t get on the ground fast enough.
The road was clear but the uneven ground caused the plane to bounce severely. Joshua got up and rushed to keep Tessa secured to the couch. He pinned her with his body until the jarring stopped and they came to a halt.
“Sorry about that,” Will called from the cockpit.
“You two okay?” Kane asked.
Joshua looked down at her inert form. His heart clenched. “Yeah, we’re okay.”
The engines powered down but a new sound could be heard outside. Both Kane and Will were up and out of the cockpit in an instant. Joshua didn’t move from the couch. He would protect her body even if he had failed to protect the rest of her.
His brother pulled a rifle out of the overhead bin. He removed it from the case, grabbed the magazine and loaded it before moving to the back of the plane where he could see the approaching vehicle. “Black Hummer.”
Joshua relaxed. “It’s Adianca. That’s what she drives.”
“If you don’t mind I’m going to hold on to this until we get the all clear.” Kane patted the stock of the weapon.
“I would prefer if both of you would load up all the weapons and ammo that Will probably has stashed in this bucket. We may be safe for now but Banta will not move on without getting what he’s after. He’s a predator. He’ll find us.”
Joshua’s words hung in the air. The engine noise outside stopped and Will opened the hatch, lowering the steps.
Picking Tessa up, Joshua headed for the stairs after his brother. He whispered, “Did you call her?”
“No.”
“How did she know we were coming or that we would land here?”
“No idea.” Kane still held the rifle but he kept it slung over his arm.
The woman standing near the large vehicle was just over five feet tall. She had long black hair that was streaked white, and deep wrinkles creased her weathered skin. Her bright eyes focused on them as she crossed her arms over her chest and waited until the travelers were several feet away.
Putting one hand up was the only thing needed for the petite woman to stop them in their tracks. Joshua gripped Tessa tighter as Adianca stepped toward them. She put her hand on Tessa’s forehead and a frown creased her already wrinkled face. “Yes. You have done right bringing her to me, Lakeland. If she is willing we can find her.”
Joshua relaxed the tiniest degree. “Thank you, Shaman.”
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