by Dee, Bonnie
Miller’s head shook. “Darcy wouldn’t harm a woman. He wouldn’t.”
Carr noted the old man hadn’t denied he or his son were turned Terrans. Proven guilty by his own silence.
“He did exactly that,” Carr said, his voice guttural and close to the predator he became when hunting enemies. “Lily managed to fight him off. Your son tried to kidnap her after the Indiana quake when she was weak and couldn’t fight him. Only her bravery allowed her to escape.”
“No … Darcy said she was his girlfriend,” Miller said, his eyes turned downward.
“You lie, Ben.” Donovan’s voice was filled with anger at Miller and disgust that he had not read the man correctly. “His aura is off. I’d never noticed that before now. I never even thought to look.” He took Miller’s arm. “Look at me.” His voice swelled with the power of the Spirit Talisman. “Tell us the truth.”
The old man spilled his guts, helpless in light of Donovan’s power. “I’ve been feeding information to Brody for almost a year. When the Earth Talisman arose, Brody instructed my son to bring her to him, but … but…”
“But what, Miller,” Carr said, a sneer in his voice. “You and your son got greedy? Figured having an Earth Talisman under your control was a way to get money and power.” He spat at the ground, hitting Miller’s boots. “You Destroyers are all alike. Narcissistic assholes, all of you.”
“All right, Darcy wanted her.” Miller turned his head away from Carr’s disgust. “Felt she was his because he’d seen her first. And, yes, he was going to keep her for himself—because he desired her, not because she’s powerful. But Brody is more cunning than all of us. He had his people break into my home and take my wife Molly to New York.”
Miller turned first to Donovan, then to Carr. He began to sob. “They hurt her. Tortured her in front of me.”
Brenna gasped, reaching for Donovan.
Donovan said, “He’s telling the truth about that, at least.”
Miller’s shoulders shook; his tears rolled down his ashen face unchecked. “Brody’s men told me to make sure Darcy got the Earth Talisman. He was to take her to Brody or they’d kill Molly.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “Darcy … was furious with me … livid … for being weak, for not protecting his mother. He’s going to New York, taking the Talisman. He’ll get his mother back. He does not intend to leave the Talisman with Brody.”
“What a bloody clusterfuck.” Holding on to his need to pummel the man into the ground for his perfidy, Carr paced in front of the tent. “Darcy will get them all killed. The fucking fool.”
“Where’s Brody’s estate?” Donovan’s voice sought the truth once more.
“Somewhere near the Finger Lakes region. Darcy knows.”
“Well that’s a goddamn lot of help. Darcy isn’t here to tell us.” Carr ran his hands through his hair and winced when he hit the bloody knot on his head.
“I can’t breathe.” Miller sank to the ground. His face went even whiter. He grasped his chest, gasping for air.
“Medic!” Donovan called. The young man came running and knelt by Miller’s side.
As the medic examined Miller, the others moved back inside the tent, along with Morrissey who said over and over, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
Carr sought Donovan’s eye. In his book, any friend of a Miller was suspect.
The KOTE leader understood the silent message. “Morrissey’s being truthful. He didn’t know.” Donovan turned to the elder Earth Keeper. “Will you take Miller back to San Francisco? Have Claire place him under house arrest until the Elder Council and I can deal with him.”
“Yes, of course, but what will you do? We can’t lose the Earth Talisman. She is valuable to all Terrans.” Highly agitated, Morrissey wrung his hands and paced.
“She’s more important than that. I love her. She is my life,” Carr said, his patience gone. Territorial instincts long buried rode him hard. “Anyone who keeps her from me dies.”
“Carr.” Donovan’s voice touched his soul, soothing the serrated edges of his anger and fear. “Hear me. We will not stop until we have Lily back in your arms. Trust me?”
“I don’t doubt your words and resolve, but she’s alone … weak … probably unconscious. I can’t touch her mind. It’s killing me not knowing whether she is hurt, scared. I fear the exhaustion from fighting the quakes has weakened our mind link.” He raised his hands, imploring Donovan’s understanding. “She needs me.”
Donovan nodded. “I know your pain, share your fears. She’ll seek you once she is conscious. You have to be patient.”
“Screw patience.” He rubbed a shaky hand over his face. “Sorry. I know she’ll try to contact me, but…”
“If we get you in the area where she’s been taken, could you sense her?” Brenna asked.
“Yes.” No doubt in his mind. “We need to go.”
“Sir,” the paramedic said from the opening in the tent. “The old man wants to tell you something.”
He and Donovan left the tent and knelt next to a very sick-looking Miller.
Miller grasped Donovan’s arm. “Plane in Eugene. Darcy has a chartered jet. He’ll go there first.”
“Thanks, Ben.” Donovan removed the hand from his arm. “We’ll try to get Molly back.”
Miller nodded weakly. “Thank you … she is innocent … just as the Talisman is.” He closed his eyes and slumped onto the ground.
The medic shoved them aside to begin CPR. “We need a defibrillator. He is in cardiac arrest.” Two other paramedics moved in with equipment. Carr and Donovan moved out of the way.
Mark strode up to them. “I’ve got a helicopter waiting. The police blockade reported someone matching Darcy Miller’s description passed their roadblock about an hour ago. We need to scoot and make up time.”
“You good to go, Mark?” Donovan asked.
“I’ll do.”
The three men and Brenna ran to the helipad.
“It’ll be close. We should get to Eugene airport about the same time Miller does,” Carr said. “Weapons?”
Mark leapt into the ’copter, taking the passenger seat behind the pilot. “This bird is fully loaded. It’s an Air National Guard ’copter, sent to rescue people stranded on the Sisters. I called in a few favors.”
Carr took the pilot’s seat with Donovan flying the co-pilot’s seat; Brenna sat behind her husband. He put on the headset and did a down-and-dirty checklist on the ’copter. “I’m gonna push this baby. So hold onto your seats.”
Before anyone could say a word, he took them up and with one wide swoop over the airport he turned due west toward the Coastal mountains and the Willamette river valley where Eugene lay.
Chapter Twenty
Tuesday, 6:15 p.m. (PST), Eugene Airport.
Darcy parked next to the Eugene airport charter terminal just one hour after leaving Sisters, Oregon. He’d pushed the Hummer, taking roads only meant for sixty-five at ninety-plus miles an hour. Luck had been on his side. No cops. No accidents. No traffic.
Lily hadn’t roused at all during the trip, nor was she awake now. He’d be worried except for the fact her color was good and she breathed normally. If his good fortune held, he’d have her on the plane and in the air before she awakened. He had no clue how she’d processed the megatons of energy from the quakes, but imagined it had to be the reason for her debilitation.
He gazed at her naked breasts peeking out from the folds of the blanket in which he’d swaddled her and smiled. Maybe somewhere over mid-continent he could take her and mark her with his scent. Madoc’s made him sick to his stomach.
Lily was his now. Satisfaction permeated his body like the heated aftereffects of a good glass of scotch. She was everything he needed—beautiful and strong in her power.
Once he rescued his mother he would take his two women to Canada where he could protect them. His father, Brody and Madoc could all go to hell.
He checked his surroundings before getting out of the Hummer. The charter term
inal was strangely quiet. No air traffic at all. Disquiet skittered down his spine. Something was not right.
He exited the vehicle, locking all the doors. He proceeded to the hangar where the jet leased by Brody should be parked. Through the open doors of the hanger, he could see no jet, his or any others.
Anger was his first reaction, anxiety quickly followed. “Fuck! This is not fucking happening.” Darcy ran to the charter terminal office and slammed his way inside.
Behind the counter, a lone human female looked up, startled. “Sir? May I help you?”
He glared at the young woman. If looks could kill, she would’ve been lying on the floor, bleeding and gasping her last breath. “Name’s Miller. Where’s my charter?”
The girl gulped. “The pilot was recalled to Portland, sir. His boss didn’t want any of his planes in the area because of the quakes and such. The airport has been under a ‘no-fly’ order…” At his snarl, she rushed to add, “But it has been rescinded, I can get your pilot back…”
He swore and slammed his hand on the desk, making the girl jump back and eye him warily. “I can’t wait.” He all but growled, causing her to take another two steps away from him. “I-I-I … can call and have him ready for you in Portland,” she said. “The Portland airport is only about an hour and a half from here by car.”
He paced in front of the desk, working his anger off before he sacrificed the puny human for something that wasn’t her fault. “Fine. Do that. Tell them I’ll be there in an hour.”
“But-t-t it takes at least an hour and a half…”
He cut her off. “An hour. Got it?”
“Yes, sir. An hour.” She reached to pick up the phone and began dialing. Satisfied she was doing her job, he turned and stalked from the office.
At the door to the Hummer, he stopped and got out his sat phone. Before he drove to Portland, he needed to call Brody and give him an update—and to check on his mother’s welfare. He didn’t want the sadistic son of a bitch to hurt his mother because of an excusable delay.
“Brody here.”
The Destroyer’s voice chilled him even over the phone. He had to swallow the bile threatening to climb his throat and shake off the frisson of evil that snaked down his spine. The man’s malevolent power came across the phone’s connection just as strongly as if he were standing in front of him.
“It’s Darcy. I have her.” He took a breath at Brody’s rumble of satisfaction. “How’s my mother?”
“Molly is fine. When will you get here?”
“There’s been a minor problem…”
“What problem?”
“The company you leased the jet from called the pilot back to Portland because of the seismic activity.”
Brody swore foully. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m driving to Portland and picking the plane up there.”
“Good. Get to it. I want Lily here as soon as possible.” A sinister laugh reached over the airwaves and dug into Darcy’s gut, making him want to puke. “I have plans for the little Earth Talisman. She’s a beauty. I’ve seen pictures. She’ll take the place of my Autumn admirably.”
He grimaced. He understood what that meant. Rumors had it that Brody’s wife had been the receptacle of all sorts of depraved abuse at her husband’s hands. Brody would never get to touch Lily if he had anything to say about it.
Darcy would go to New York, play along with the old fucker, rescue his mother, and take both women with him when he left. If he had to kill Brody to accomplish all that, he would. Of course, first, he had to figure out how to get around Brody’s power. But he was smart—and cunning—he could do it. “We’ll be there when we get there.” His tone was sharp, determined.
“Finding a spine, Darcy?” Brody chuckled, a rusty sound filled with evil and the confidence of a master predator. “Don’t.”
Pain tore through him, making him dry heave. He went to his knees, dropping the phone onto the asphalt parking lot, his hands going to his head.
“Darcy!” Brody’s forceful tone had him picking up the sat phone even though he dreaded what he’d hear.
“Yes-s-s?” He choked on the stomach acid burning his esophagus.
“Don’t get a spine.” Brody cut the connection.
“Fuck. Just fuck.” He bent over and dry-heaved for at least thirty seconds. Time he couldn’t afford to waste.
Finally, when he could catch a breath and didn’t fear falling on his face, he stood, using the handle on the driver’s side to aid him. He leaned his over-heated body on the cool metal of the vehicle for a few seconds until the world around him stopped whirling.
When he could walk without stumbling, he checked on Lily through the passenger side window. She was still unconscious. She looked so frail and helpless. Something akin to guilt added to the chaos in his body and mind. He didn’t want to turn her over to Brody, but after the bastard’s display of power over the fucking phone, he wasn’t so sure he could keep her and still save his mother—along with his own hide.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He slammed his hand on the vehicle’s hood so hard he left fingermarks. There had to be a way to have it all. He’d just have to find it.
He circled the car, unlocking it with the remote, and got in. He offered prayers for luck, skill and the nerve. He would need all those things and more if they were all to survive Brody’s plans.
He buckled up. Turning on the engine, he programmed the GPS for the Portland airport and peeled out of the lot.
* * * *
Something woke Lily. Caution had her keeping her eyes closed, her breathing slow and steady. Something was off. There was a noise that shouldn’t be there if she were still at the Sisters in a tent. Road and engine noise. A sensation of movement. She was in some sort of vehicle. Carr and Donovan had said nothing about driving out.
In a state halfway between waking and sleeping, she tested her body’s ability to move. Something warm and slightly rough wrapped her body tightly. She was naked under the covering. Carr would never have taken her out of the tent without clothing her.
Something was very wrong here.
She sniffed the air cautiously. Carr’s scent was on her, on the material surrounding her, but not in the air. The air smelled bad—tainted, not the smell of exhaust or gasoline or even the sulfur of a volcanic eruption, but more like something spoiled. The putrid odor was also familiar, a smell from her past. Nightmare images flashed across her mind. Sweet blessed Gaia, it couldn’t be. A frisson of impending evil traveled her spine. It was him.
Praying she was wrong and that her senses lied, she peered slightly to her left through slitted lids. In the periphery, she viewed the driver of the car.
Darcy!
Silently, she moaned. Somehow the bastard had found her, taken her away from Carr. What had he done to Carr?
Carr! Are you okay? Carr? Answer me. For several seconds, she held her breath. Was he alive? Why wasn’t he answering her? Maybe her signal was weak. She sought and ripped energy from the earth rapidly passing beneath the vehicle. Trying again. Carr. Answer me … please.
A faint, Lily? Baby? Are you hurt? Has the bastard…
I’m fine. The “for now” was understood and went unsaid. Just tired. In a vehicle with Darcy. She paused and peered from under her lashes at the dashboard GPS. Good, she was still in Oregon. Heading north toward Portland. The airport.
We are in a ’copter … behind you. We’ll get you. Don’t worry, love.
I’m not. I’ll stall him.
Don’t take any chances, baby.
I won’t. Love you.
Love you more.
Her panic at the knowledge Darcy had her abated knowing Carr and the others were on their way. Her mental connection to Carr gave her strength and a confidence she could never have achieved on her own. No matter what, she knew Carr would come for her.
Now, all she had to do was figure out a way to help him get her back.
Breathing out slowly, she turned inward, sending her es
sence into the earth. Her element welcomed her as if the battle she had fought earlier was a distant memory. Now the earth sought to nourish her rather than destroy. All she needed was a fault or a ley line she could tap into to gather just enough energy to stop Darcy from taking off in a plane with her.
Her lips quirked. She found several possibilities, minor fault lines that would put off just enough of a tremor to shut down flights out of Oregon.
Now, all she had to do was rest, conserve her powers and wait to make her move.
The son of a bitch would curse the day he’d set his eyes on her.
* * * *
“Fuck it all to hell!” Carr forced himself to take slow, deep breaths. While swearing might make him feel better, it was a waste of time and oxygen. He needed a plan to save Lily from Miller.
“Is she all right?” Brenna spoke over the helicopter’s intercom system.
“She said so.”
“But you don’t believe her?” Mark said.
“She tends to downplay danger.” He let out a frustrated breath. He’d learned that much from the quake in Indiana. His little Talisman had too much courage at times. It scared him. “I felt her fear, hiding in the recesses of her mind, while the rest of her agile brain plotted how to stop him.”
“At least she’s one of those people who doesn’t let their fear cause them to freeze,” Donovan said, admiration in his tone. “How will she stop him?”
The KOTE leader, having taken over the controls while Carr had been distracted communicating with Lily, made a slight adjustment to their airspeed to deal with crosswinds.
He looked at Donovan. “She plans to set off a small, but controlled, quake in the Portland area so the airport will shut down.”
“Good plan,” Donovan said, “if she can keep it small and limit the damage, that is.”
“She can.” He rotated his neck to get the stiffness out of it. Tension had him wound up tighter than a spring. “I just hope it will be enough to stop Miller.”
“Claire just texted me some information about the Air Talisman and her Consort,” Mark said. “They know where Brody lives. Now that they have the hurricanes under control, maybe they could detour to New York and with the help some of our New York people get old man Miller’s wife back from Brody?”