Death Springs Eternal: The Rift Book III (34 page)

“What’re you talking about?”

Katy screamed, as did the Doctor, and a harsh wind stinking of rotten meat blew against Robert’s face. A creature shrieked, and his cheeks were splattered with something warm and wet. Panic heaved through him, and Robert dashed for the door. He slammed into
it,
pounding his fists and peering through the small window into the hallway beyond, watching Bathgate and Jackson walk away, ignoring his pleas.
Jackson
nodded at the general,
then
sprinted up the stairs. The general followed very soon after.

“Don’t leave me here!” Robert shouted. “Come back! I’m sorry! It’ll never happen again! I promise!”

Gnarled, spiky fingers dug into the back of his neck. He felt those fingers snap his collarbone, and then teeth bit into his side. He was jerked away from the door, just as something pierced his stomach. His intestines flopped to the floor with a sickening thump.

Robert Lumley screamed.

-3-

It wasn’t so much the pain, but the repetitive yet inconsistent nature of it, that was slowly driving Marcy insane. She sat on the floor of her room at the University Forest Apartments, knees cradled to her chest, rocking forward and back. She felt like a child again, taking the same position as when she’d sit awake at night, awaiting Percy’s inevitable taunts and advances. But now Percy was gone, and a
new
horror gripped her. The old demon seemed kind by comparison. At least she knew what she was getting with that one.

The flow of thoughts passing through her brain were constantly in flux, sometimes virtually nonexistent, other times as crowded, busy, and tedious as rush-hour traffic on an eight-lane highway. The latter experiences, when her head felt full to the point it might pop like an overfilled balloon, made the lighter moments that much more stressful. She couldn’t control when the breaks came, and another episode of torment was always just around the corner.

And now she found herself in one of those episodes, listening to the thoughts of others, seeing what they saw, feeling what they felt,
experiencing
loss, pain, fear, heartache, dismay. It was the worst one yet, made even worse by the fact that she was alone this time. If only
Leon
had been there with her. Other than a strange occurrence seven days ago, when the voices suddenly stopped for no reason for a span of thirty hours, it was only in his presence, with his comforting hands on her flesh, that she was able to hold them even remotely at bay.

The front door opened, and soft footsteps treaded across the carpeted floor. Swallowing her pain, she struggled to cease her rocking and open her eyes. There he was,
Leon
, as if answering her prayers, his smooth black skin shimmering in the faint afternoon light.

“Why are you here?” she whispered, barely able to form words.

Leon
shrugged. “Don’t know. I just wanted to see how you were. You want me to leave?”

“No.”

He knelt down and placed the back of his hand on her slick forehead.

“Damn, girl, you’re burning up. You should be in bed.”

Marcy nodded. Her throat felt too tight to breathe, let alone speak.

Leon
’s strong hands slipped beneath her armpits, clasping behind her back. He lifted her to her feet, grunting while he did so. She wanted to help him, but every time she tried to move another spasm of thought would paralyze her. So instead,
Leon
slung her over his shoulder and carried her to the bedroom. It actually felt good to succumb to the strength of another, and for the first time possibly ever Marcy gave in. The images and notions in her mind withdrew ever so slightly.

Once in the bedroom,
Leon
gently positioned her on the bed. His face was close to her neck as he did so, and his hot breath against her skin caused goose bumps to rise up on her arms. The voices retreated further. His lips brushed against her cheek when he went to stand up, causing another swell of light, giddy sensations, and the voices drew back even more.

Excitement filled her and she regained use of her extremities. The pounding in her ears became but a dull thud. The blotches before her eyes crammed into the far corners of her vision, allowing her to see the man above her clearly.
Leon
gazed down on her, a look of confusion on his beautiful face.

Marcy smiled.

Reaching up, she twined her fingers behind his neck and pulled him toward her. She closed her eyes and kissed him, savoring the taste of him, the silky texture of his lips, the bitterness of his breath, the wetness of his tongue. She moved against him with the sort of passion she’d never released before to even the closest of lovers, as if a reservoir of desire had erupted from her center, dousing her entire being. She shivered, caught up in the moment, and all outside stimuli drifted away, save one. She saw herself through Leon’s eyes as her body writhed, heard the pounding of his heart in her ears, felt the rush of blood to his abdomen, listened in on his innermost thoughts.
This isn’t right
, he was thinking.
She is in pain, she is not herself,
I
would be taking advantage.

Yet the desire he felt for her rose above all else.

“I want this,” she whispered.

He kissed her softly, and something within her snapped. She shuddered and sat up, so quickly that
Leon
almost fell off the bed. He gawked at her in shock and surprise, but she didn’t care. She was like a wild animal
released,
the wantonness inside her not letting her rest until it was allowed to roam free. Forcibly placing her palm in the center of his chest, she shoved him down to the bed.

Thrashing like she’d been possessed by a demon, Marcy unbuttoned his belt, yanked off his pants, and grabbed him, hard, where it mattered most. Thoughts and images projected from her, leaping from her head into his.
Leon
shot up, just as violently as she had, and ripped away her nightgown. Her panties were off her hips and strewn across the room a second later.

She grabbed him by the ears and forced him between her legs. He devoured her like a ravenous beast. His forcefulness hurt, but in a way she wanted. She gritted her teeth, threw her head back, and doused herself in the greed of the moment.

When her body began to tremble out of control, she pushed him back with her legs, then leaned forward, grabbed his arms, and pulled him toward her. Their lips met once more, his glistening and slick, just like her inner thighs.

He entered her, and Marcy howled.

Their flesh collided time and again in rapturous brutality.
Leon
’s eyes squeezed shut as he plunged into her. His lips peeled back, baring his teeth. Yelping with each thrust, Marcy closed her eyes. Her mind started to drift, floating away from the present and into a place where time ceased to matter. She was in the sky, soaring with the birds, pushing against headwinds that wanted to shove her back into her mortal body. The incorporeal forms of random people appeared, but she passed through them, never stopping, never considering, never caring, until she reached the end of the line—a deep, black void.
Nothingness.

She snapped back to reality right in the middle of a whole-body quake. She screamed, and so did
Leon
. He stiffened inside her. She pressed her lips to his neck and accepted it, the vibrations that shook her body slowly fading. A warbling sigh escaped between her clenched teeth as wetness seeped between her legs. Tears formed in her eyes.

No more alien images perverted her
vision,
no more chatter overthrew her own thoughts. She’d been set free. She felt relieved.

That relief faded when she looked at her lover, at beautiful
Leon
. He’d moved from atop her and sat on the far corner of the bed, his underwear dangling in his hand, sweat pouring down his chest. Marcy sat up, leaned forward, and traced her finger down his glossy, muscular back. He shifted away from her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he muttered, not looking at her.

She draped her arms around him from behind, a motion he rejected by frigidly removing them and standing up.

His voice was somber when he asked, “What did I just do?”

“Um, you made love to me.”

“That’s not what I mean.
Why
did I do it? I didn’t want to.”

Those words hurt, and Marcy shook her head. “You know what?
Fine.
Whatever.”

“Oh, don’t you get like that,” he shot back. “You
forced
me to, didn’t you? And that was
not
making love. That was…that was…
dirty.
”

She withdrew, crossing her hands over her bare chest. “But you said you wanted to.”

“I did not.”

She tapped her temple with her finger.

“Oh.”

In that moment, he looked so dejected it was pathetic.

Marcy tried to stand up, wobbled for a bit on shaky legs, and grabbed a towel from the dresser, using it to wipe the sweat and bodily fluids from her belly and thighs. Her insides felt like jelly, but it was a welcomed sensation. She then went to her bag—which she hadn’t really dived into since they arrived—and took out a fresh pair of panties, jeans, and a tank-top.

By the time she finished dressing,
Leon
had as well. He resumed his position on the corner of the bed, hands clasped in his lap, staring at the floor. Marcy sat down beside him and ran her fingertips along his forearm.

“I feel violated,” he whispered.

She rested her head on his shoulder.
He’s
right
,
said her newfound clarity.
You took advantage of him, just as he feared doing to you.

“I’m sorry.”

Her chest hitched. Tears of disgrace were close to breaking through her ducts.

Leon
’s arm inched its way across her back. He drew her closer and his warmth permeated her, even through their clothing. The steadiness of his heartbeat brought a quickening to hers. She suddenly wished to be naked again, to explore his body and the healing effect sex had on her state of mind.

Instead, she simply accepted his embrace.

“It’s all right,” he whispered. “It really is.”

“No it’s not,” she replied. “And you’re right, I wanted it, so I made you do it.”

Leon
laughed. It was a hearty, calm sound. He took her shoulders in his hands and moved her away from him. His deep brown eyes stared into hers, composed and thoughtful.

“I don’t get what’s going on in your head. I don’t understand whatever kind of ability you have, what kind of pain you’re going through, how much influence you can have on people. Honestly, it’s a little unbelievable…but I believe it. I’ve seen too much crazy shit to not at least think it
could
be real. And it’s a little scary. But no matter what it is, no matter what it means, please know that you’re right, what we did I wanted to do. Maybe not in that way, but I still wanted it. Just please…let me go about it in my own way next time, okay?”