Catherine Spangler - [Sentinel 02] - Touched By Fire (v5.0) (html) (20 page)

That harsh voice was extremely annoying. “What are you doing here?”

“Southwest flights from Corpus usually come into Love Field.”

She halted, resigned to having to take time to get rid of him. “I meant, what are you doing at my gate? How did you even know what flight I was on?”

He gave her a raised brow look.

“Oh, right, let me guess. You did something illegal to find out my flight number. I should report you to the authorities.”

“It would just be a waste of their time and taxpayer money.”

God, he was arrogant. She moved around him. “Don’t you have better things to do, like following cheating husbands or something?”

He walked beside her. “I’ve already explained to you, Julia. The agency exists to track Belians.”

“Oh, yes, that delusional dribble. Why don’t you go bug someone at
Ripley’s Believe it or Not
, or maybe the
National Enquirer
? I’m sure they’d be fascinated.” She tried to speed up the pace, her leg protesting.

“How would I explain to them the unique energy between a Sentinel and a conductor?” He slid his hand over her upper arm, halting her steps. “How, exactly, would I show them this, Julia?”

It felt like an electrical current was flowing from his hand into her arm, then dispersing into a wave of startling warmth targeting her chest and lower body. At the time Julia had been attacked, she’d been twenty-five and sexually active with a steady boyfriend.

Although since then she’d been seemingly frigid and the boyfriend long gone, she still remembered what that heated rush of desire felt like; the breathless sensation coiling with a thrilling tension. And she felt it now, a one-two punch that sent her staggering.

“Let go of me!”

He released her, and the electricity receded, although her body still throbbed with sensation. “There is no logical explanation for this attraction between us,” he said. “At least not in physical terms.”

“You’ve got something on you,” she insisted. “Something that’s creating a current when you touch me.”

“Tell me how. There would have to be a closed electrical circuit to create a current, which you probably wouldn’t feel. Unless of course, we’re creating a magnetic field between us, and you’re the other part of the loop.”

So the man knew something about electricity—and unfortunately, he was right. “I don’t care what the explanation is. You go create all the magnetic fields you want. I’m here to see my sister, and my plans don’t include you.”

“The situation your sister is involved in does indeed include me.” He matched his gait to her faltering one. “Don’t you think you should rest for a minute?”

Her leg was burning, and she knew he was right—again—but that only made her more determined to put some distance between them. “I only have to get to the rental car agency. I’m not an invalid. You can just go on about your business.”

Her leg chose that moment to spasm, and she lurched forward with a gasp, her cane the only thing that kept her from hitting the floor.

“Stubborn woman,” Adam muttered. He swept her off her feet and into his arms, no easy feat since she certainly wasn’t a lightweight. Yet he didn’t appear at all strained.

Stunned, she struggled to get free, heedless of the pain. “Put me down!”

“I plan to, in a minute. Stop fighting me.” His arms felt like bands of steel around her as he carried her to a nearby seat and lowered her into it.

Her leg was drawn up, the muscles knotted and the pain so intense she could barely think. Gritting her teeth, she reached blindly toward the leg, but Adam beat her to it. Kneeling before her, he took her leg in his large warm hands, pushed up her pants leg, and began kneading it. It hurt so badly, she couldn’t keep back a groan.

“Easy. Just give it a moment.”

A curious, tingling warmth began spreading through the screaming muscles. It wasn’t the same sexually charged energy as before, but soothing and calming. Almost immediately, the muscles relaxed and her foot stopped cramping. The pain receded as the warmth spread up into her thigh, and she managed to draw a full breath. Adam kept massaging the leg. She stared at his bent head, at the thick dark hair faintly streaked with white, and at the long, elegant fingers rubbing her calf.

The pain was completely gone now, and she leaned back with a sigh. She hadn’t had an episode this bad in years. She’d also never gotten relief this fast. It had always taken two Vicodin, moist heat, and an hour of intense pain before the leg settled down. But he’d calmed it in less than a minute. How?

Adam looked up at her. “I tapped into healing Earth energy and directed it into your leg,” he said, as if he’d read her mind. “Otherwise, you’d still be in agony. I can reverse it, if you’d like further proof.”

“No,” she said quickly. “That won’t be necessary.”

His well formed mouth quirked at the corner. “You don’t believe I eased the pain, but you don’t want to test your theory.”

She stared into his midnight eyes, thought she saw tiny starbursts of light. Man, she must be more tired than she realized. “You can let go of my leg now.”

“Not even a thank-you. Well, then.” He rose gracefully, dusted off his expensive charcoal slacks.

He straightened his suit coat and walked over to retrieve her cane off the floor. He returned and took the chair beside her, propping the cane on the other side, where she couldn’t reach it. “It would be best to let your leg rest a few minutes.”

“My leg and I can rest just fine without you. May I have my cane?”

“When I think you’re ready to stand, I’ll give it to you. Until then, I will keep it over here, in the interest of self-preservation.”

Frustration roared through her. “This is ridiculous. Give me my cane and go away. Otherwise, I’ll call security.”

“Julia.” His tone was implacable. “I am here for two reasons. The first is to help track down a being that is more evil than you can comprehend. The second is because of you.”

“I don’t—” Her voice froze midsentence. She stopped, tried to speak again. But her vocal cords were so constricted, she could barely whisper.
What the
—
?

“You’ll have your voice back in a minute. But first, you will listen to me. I know I’ve thrown a lot of information at you. I also know you’re brilliant and logical, and what I’ve told you goes against known science. And I know you’re worried about your sister, and you want to see her.”

Finally, they agreed on something. She tried to talk, to no avail. She rubbed her throat, panic flaring.

Adam appeared oblivious to her distress. “I suggest we agree to a truce for now. We’ll go see Marla, and maybe she can put some of your doubts to rest.”

Or maybe Julia could get Marla away from these crazies and somewhere safe. She nodded, tried to agree and allay his suspicions, but the words came out as a harsh croak.

“Try it now,” Adam said.

“What—” She cleared her throat. “What just happened?”

“I’d like to think you’d accept my ability to keep you from talking as further proof that I really am a Sanctioned. But I’m not overly optimistic.”

Still dazed, she could only stare as he stood and offered his hand. “I think we can make it to my car now.”

“I already have a reservation for a rental car,” she said, ignoring his hand. “I can find my own way around Dallas.”

“It would be much simpler if we rode together, I think.”

And that much harder for her to get Marla away from these guys. But she was learning that opposing him openly didn’t have a high success rate.

“I might want to do some sightseeing and shopping while I’m here. I need my own car.” She struggled to stand and he took a firm grip on her arm and pulled her up.

Her leg tried to give and she instinctively reached out, locking her hand around his free hand. As soon as their hands connected, she felt a flare of energy, and then a scene flashed into her mind, at a location she didn’t recognize.

What she saw next sent her reeling. Stumbling back in shock, she hit the seat behind her and fell sideways. She barely felt Adam’s arms come around her and jerk her upright. She was too caught up in the event unfolding in her mind to be aware of anything else.

As quickly as the images appeared, they faded into gray. For a moment, she saw nothing but the void. Then edges of color seeped back, and her vision cleared. The next thing she saw was Adam Masters hovering over her.

He watched her, his eyes so black, she couldn’t tell where his pupils began and ended. “You had a precognitive vision, didn’t you?”

She’d never experienced anything quite like this before. “I don’t know.”

“Tell me what you saw, Julia.”

She stared at him, fear beginning to take root. Fear that he might really be telling the truth about who he was . . . and that the horror of what she had just seen might actually come true.

FOURTEEN

MARLA was beginning to discover just how extensive Luke’s powers were. They’d been to five sizable churches this morning. The churches had administrative offices that were open, and it was easy enough to walk in. But it wasn’t quite as easy to roam the building or the grounds without being approached and questioned.

But Luke could redirect the thoughts of anyone who questioned them. He could convince a questioner that he and Marla were there legitimately, or make the person forget they’d been there at all. It was both amazing and unsettling. No wonder she slept so deeply when he willed her to.

They not only went inside the churches, but they walked the grounds as well, on the chance the Belian had been doing advance surveillance. Neither of them picked up any energy traces indicating it had been there.

The process was slow and tiring—at least for Marla. Sitting in Luke’s truck, she slipped her shoes off and wiggled her toes. Luke checked off the church they’d just visited and consulted his Mapsco.

“It’s going to take too long, isn’t it?” she asked, thinking about the beautiful sanctuaries they’d seen, the wonderful stained glass windows, and the people who would be attending services there. “It will strike again before we can find it.”

“I hope not.” Luke shook his head. “But there are hundreds of churches in Dallas. Plus the Belian might not necessarily pick the largest. He could go for a medium-sized church, or for a church where the pastor is well known, or any number of variables. We just have to keep looking.”

Marla groaned inwardly. “Where to next?”

“We’ll stay in north Dallas. The next church is only a few miles away.” Luke started the truck just as his phone rang. He retrieved it from his leather jacket. “Hey, Adam . . . She’s with you? . . . Oh, I see. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Marla knew he was talking about Julia. She wondered what the warning had been about—the stubbornness of Reynolds women, or Julia’s emotional frailty, which she’d tried to explain to Luke without telling him about the attack.

“Don’t do that yet. Maybe Marla will have better luck with her.”

That answered that. Adam must have run up against Julia’s ultrastubborn streak.

“We’ve checked out five churches, but no luck so far,” Luke was saying. “I thought I’d wait for you before we went to that monster church in Plano. That would be a prime target . . . Okay. Where should we join up?”

He listened a moment, looked at his watch. “It’s almost noon. Why don’t we meet at a restaurant? I’m sure the ladies are hungry and I can always eat.” He grinned. “Yeah, I know. There’s a Carrabba’s Italian Grill right off the Tollway, just south of Frankford. Should take you about twenty-five or thirty minutes from Love Field. We can eat and discuss our plans, then head north on the Tollway. It’s just a few minutes from there to the church . . . All right. Walk in Light.”

He closed the phone, glanced at Marla. “Julia is with Adam, and I don’t think he’s too happy with her right now.”

“Is she okay?” Marla tried to keep the worry out of her voice, but didn’t succeed very well.

“Of course she is. Adam would never mistreat an innocent woman. But I don’t think he’s ever been challenged like this, either. Apparently, your sister is giving him a hard time.”

“I wonder why. Maybe because she doesn’t like overbearing, arrogant men telling her what to do.”

“How do you know that Adam is overbearing or arrogant?”

“Call it an educated guess. He’s a Sentinel, isn’t he?”

“I resent that.” But Luke was smiling as he said it. He knew very well he could be a poster boy for macho men everywhere. “Actually, Adam is a Sanctioned.”

“You’ve mentioned that word before. What is it?”

“He’s a step above Sentinels. He’s in a human body, but he’s more powerful. He doesn’t do conductions and normally doesn’t track Belians. He supervises the Sentinels in his area, coordinates their locations and activities.”

“So he’s the big boss.”

“Well, I guess you could say he’s my boss, in a way. But he’s not at the top. Above him are the High Sanctioned—who don’t have physical bodies—and above them, The One, whom most people refer to as God.”

She guessed it wasn’t surprising that there would be a celestial hierarchy, but it was still mind boggling. A week ago, she hadn’t even met Luke, couldn’t have imagined this secret world.

They reached Carrabba’s before Adam and Julia did. It was peak lunchtime and the restaurant was crowded, with a waiting list. Since the April day was balmy and the sun was shining, they elected to wait outside. A short while later, a big black Mercedes rolled into the lot and parked in one of the few available spots at the far end. The vehicle’s tinted windows prevented them from seeing inside, but Luke came to attention before the car was fully stopped.

The passenger door swung open, and Marla saw her sister slowly pulling herself out. She headed for the car. A tall, dark-haired man got out of the driver’s side and walked around to Julia. Marla got there in time to hear him say, “I don’t suppose you’d allow me to assist you.”

“I’ve got it,” came Julia’s testy reply.

Knowing how important it was to her sister to maintain her independence and dignity, Marla didn’t offer help, either. As soon as Julia stood on the pavement, she closed the distance and hugged her tightly. “Jules, it’s so good to see you.”

Julia hugged her back, and they simply held on for a moment. “You scared the daylights out of me,” she told Marla. “But I’m glad you’re all right.”

“I’m fine.” Even though it appeared the world was going to hell and back. Marla pulled back and smiled at Julia, who looked tired and strained. “I’m sorry I had you worried. I have a lot to tell you.”

“I’ll bet you do. But it can’t be any wilder that what I’ve already heard.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Linking her arm with her sister’s, Marla turned her toward Luke. “Julia, this is Luke Paxton. Luke, this is my sister, Julia.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Luke said.

Julia studied him. If she was impressed by his size and looks, she didn’t give any indication. “I should take my cane to you for getting my sister involved in this.”

“Wait a minute—” Marla started to say.

“I understand,” Luke interjected. “If it were my sister, I’d do more than that. But I give you my word that I’m doing everything in my power to keep her safe.”

“I’m holding you to it.”

Rolling her eyes, Marla turned toward Adam, who’d been quietly taking everything in. He was Luke’s height, but had a leaner, more elegant build. His black hair was cut short, and his features were sharp, autocratic. His eyes were like bottomless black pools. His life force was so vital she could feel it across the five or six feet separating them.

“Marla.” His voice had a strange rasp, like he was permanently hoarse.

He stepped forward, held out his hand. It could have been the simple courtesy of a handshake, but she instinctively sensed it was more. Shaking his hand would allow him access to her personal energy, to her being. Yet to refuse would be rude, and there was no sense in alienating him.

Resigned, she placed her hand in his, startled by the jolt of energy, even though she’d expected it. Luke radiated power, but this man
was
power. It flowed through him like blood pumping through a heart, a powerful life force. It was almost overwhelming.

Thankfully, he wasn’t projecting any emotions, or she probably would have passed out, like she had with the Belian. He held on a moment longer and she felt certain he could see into the depths of her soul, could read her innermost thoughts. It was not a warm and fuzzy contact.

He dropped her hand, and she thought she saw approval in his eyes. “It is my pleasure to meet you.”

“Um . . . thank you.” She resisted the urge to rub her tingling hand.

Adam looked past her. “Luke.”

“Adam.” Luke stepped forward and the men shook hands, then Luke dipped his head in a sign of deference and respect.

Julia tugged Marla farther away. “What is going on here? Who are these guys—really?”

“Exactly what they say they are.” Marla wondered how she’d be able to convince Julia. “We need to talk.”

“Maybe you can persuade your sister to tell me about the vision she had at the airport,” Adam said, “since she refused to discuss it with me.”

Julia’s expression hardened. “You don’t have any idea what happened at the airport.”

Adam ignored her, his disconcerting gaze on Marla. “I believe what she saw had something to do with the Belian because she had the vision after we linked hands. I spent yesterday afternoon in Austin, at the library crime scene, and absorbed the Belian’s signature. She probably tapped into that.” He took a step closer, his harsh voice deceptively soft. “I will retrieve it, if I have to. But better if it’s given voluntarily.”

Whoa.
Julia might be oblivious to this man’s power and his implied threat, but Marla certainly wasn’t. “I don’t care who, or what, you are. You leave my sister alone.”

“I will do what I have to,” Adam said.

Great
. She tightened her grip on Julia’s arm and moved them toward the restaurant. “Let’s find a place to talk, Jules.” She glanced at the men over her shoulder. “
Alone
. You guys get us a table, and we’ll be there in awhile.”

There was still a wait for a table, but there were some seats at the bar. Perfect, Marla thought, even though it was a struggle for Julia to hoist herself on a stool. At least they could drink.

She ordered them each a margarita. Then she leaned close so she could keep her voice low and told Julia everything, from meeting Luke at the Red Lion Pub, him taking her and Bryony to Needville, the events there, the trip to Austin and the events there, and the trip to Dallas.

The only things she left out were Luke’s personal family situation and her foolish infatuation with him. From time to time, she glanced over to the table where Luke and Adam sat, deep in their own conversation, yet keeping a watchful eye on Julia and her.

“It’s all true, Jules, I swear,” she finished.

“Oh, that’s great.” Julia downed the rest of her drink. “I so don’t want to hear this.” She squeezed Marla’s hand. “And I don’t like you getting close to this Belian thing.”

Marla finished her own drink, thought longingly of ordering another one, but nixed the idea. “So do you believe now?”

Julia stared at her glass. “Believe? That’s a word I associate with God, not that I’m sure there is one. I’ve certainly never associated it with reincarnated Atlantians with superpowers.”

“But there are many unexplained things in the world,” Marla said. “What about my ability to feel people’s emotions and your ability to see things before they happen? Those things aren’t considered normal.”

Julia sighed, shook her head. She stared off into space. “What I saw at the airport today supports what you’ve told me.”

“So you
did
see something. Why didn’t you tell Adam?”

“Because he’s an arrogant bastard, and I don’t like him. I also refuse to jump when he tells me to.”

“Good for you—until he decides to put the whammy on you. I’m not sure you understand how much power these guys wield.”

Julia waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t cave to power. I’m not afraid of many things anymore. I’ve already died once.” She noted Marla’s surprised expression. “I never told you, did I? At one point after the attack, they pronounced me dead. I saw the tunnel and the light at the end, just like you read about. I went through that tunnel. I felt wonderful—weightless, flying, free. And I felt loved, like the light was unfolding and reaching for me. Then suddenly, I was jerked back. I didn’t want to go, not back to the horror and the pain. Guess we can’t always have what we want, huh?”

Marla’s eyes filled with tears. She swiped at them, then leaned forward to give Julia a fierce hug. “I got what I wanted,” she whispered. “I got my big sister, and I’m
so
glad you didn’t go into that light, Jules.” She drew back, dabbed at her eyes. “Maybe we both survived so that we could come to this time and place and fight this evil.”

“I don’t know.” Julia cast a glance toward the men. “Maybe I’m supposed to take Adam Masters down a notch or two.”

Marla found herself smiling. “That applies to all men. So tell me, what did you see today? Was it a vision?”

“Yes. And like Adam said, it occurred when I was trying to stand and grabbed his hand. It came on like a video clip. I saw a church. One second it was sitting there, the next it was exploding. The stained glass windows blew away, and there was smoke and some flames.” She clutched her glass stem, and then shoved it forward. “Bartender! I’ll have another margarita.”

“I need one, too,” Marla told the man behind the bar and turned to Julia. “Do you think you saw that because we suspect the next target will be a church?”

“The thing is,” Julia said slowly, “you told me about the school bus, and you told me about the library. But you didn’t mention a church, Marla. You just said you were going to Dallas. No one mentioned a church until Adam and I were in the rental car, and he told me. If he’s right about me drawing on the Belian energy he absorbed, then what I saw is linked directly to that thing.”

She took the margarita the bartender handed her and drank a healthy swallow. “Yes,” she said. “Now I believe.”

 

 

THEY were all in the Mercedes. After they’d discussed Julia’s vision, Adam thought that for the time being, they should check the churches together. He pointed out Marla might feel something at one of the churches, and Julia might see something, and both could be equally important. They drove north on the Tollway to check out the largest church in the area.

The Baptist church was a huge modern structure, situated on acres of beautifully landscaped land. As they pulled into visitors parking, Julia shook her head. “No. This isn’t it. This is not the church I saw in the vision. The building that exploded was smaller. It was older and more traditional in style. It did have an unusual front that bowed out, but it wasn’t contemporary.”