The End of Darkness (11 page)

“Don't go any higher,” she whispered. “That's my spot, just under my ear.”

“Your 'spot'?”

“My 
spot
. The place that drives me crazy.”
 

He stilled his movements, shifting so that he could keep an eye on the two men who were deep in conversation. They walked closer as they talked. He had to push past the feeling of Suza in his arms, her warmth and scents and the amazing newness of it, and concentrate on his hearing. 

“Why haven't you told Torus how bad it's gotten here?” Yurek asked.

“I just discovered how fast the volatile behavior has escalated in the last few days.”

“Be ready to depart at a moment's notice.” Yurek glanced their way.

Pope didn't hide his face, knowing that would look suspicious. But he pulled Suza close and kissed her because that's what a man who was in an embrace like this, in an alley like this, would do. All the while he kept an eye on the two men who had continued on and were moving away. They gave each other the slight bow Callorians used for greeting and departing and headed their separate ways. Pope rolled what he heard around in his mind. Whatever was going on here was escalating fast. That was obvious by the erratic and wanton behavior of those in town. Their base emotions, Suza had said. Yes, he could understand how easily, with some influence, one could give into those desires.

“Cassius? They're gone.”

He pulled back, clearing his throat. “Yes, they are.”

Suza appeared to be dazed but blinked to clear it from her eyes. “And they have something to do with this weirdness.”

The 
whoop
 of a siren pierced the air from the direction of Main Street. Someone on a loudspeaker ordered the crowd to disperse, and people began filtering into the alleys. Laying his hand on Suza's shoulder, Pope pulled her close as blank-faced people passed by. She didn't object, her fearful gaze taking them in. 
 

What did the Callorians have that was making people into zombies? 

Pope picked up a Callorian vibration right before a man behind him asked, “Do I know you?”

Pope turned to see Yurek wearing a suspicious expression. Pope held back his instinct to attack. It was in Suza's best interest to bluff Yurek and get rid of him. “I've recently been sent to check on things. My name is Cassius.”

Yurek flicked a glance at Suza, but his steely gaze returned to Pope. “I’m Yurek, also recently assigned here.” He held out his hand.

Pope eyed it. Yurek had no interest in participating in this dimension's custom. He wanted to sense Pope's energy. Could Pope pull it off? He clasped his hand briefly and released it just as fast. “I'm sure we will see each other again.”

Yurek's voice lowered. “Yes, we will.” Then his face morphed into Pope's former visage, tall with a shaved head and violet eyes. “It 
is
 you, Pope,” Yurek growled, staring at his reflection in a window before turning back to Pope. “I sensed your energy but thought it couldn't possibly be because I killed you. But here you are.” His puzzlement changed to rage.
 

Suza let out a startled gurgle. “Pope? But how…
killed
?”
 

Beyond the bizarreness of seeing his former visage was the fact that using their powers in public was forbidden. Pope pushed Suza out of the way and knocked Yurek's hand from where it was about to touch his neck. Yurek had physically connected with him, which meant he could now mimic Pope's abilities the same way he could mimic his looks. Odd that he'd picked up Pope's default visage and not his current one.

“Suza, get out of here,” Pope managed as he used his outstretched hand to use his Flare before Yurek could do the same. Yurek flew backward, sliding across the asphalt, but he managed to send a Flare at Pope. He couldn't dodge it because Suza was right behind him. So he grabbed her and threw them both to the ground. 

He rolled them so he was facing Yurek, who was on his feet and stalking toward them. He had gone back to his normal visage and was rubbing his palm where the Flare had initiated. “Your powers are weak. But somehow you managed to implant false memories. That's why there were no bodies to bring back. So the hunter and his girl are alive, too, I imagine. I will remedy that as soon as I kill you.”

Pope pulled Suza to her feet and pushed her away. “Go.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw her run. She was no fool, thank goodness. The thought of her being hurt…

Yurek called out to the people who had paused to watch the show. “Get her! And bring her back to me.”

To Pope's horror, they did as Yurek bid and ran after her. Suza had obviously heard Yurek because she picked up her pace. One man in the small mob was faster, tackling her. Pope sent a low-dose Flare at the people who fought her efforts to break free. It worked like a force field to knock them away from her. 

Yurek took advantage of his diverted attention and slammed into his back, sending him to the ground. Claws sliced toward his neck, and he turned to find Cheveyo's black jaguar leaning down to finish him off. Once Yurek had absorbed another's ability, as he had with Cheveyo, he kept it, talented son of a bitch.

Pope thrust his hand out, pushing away the jaguar's jaw. Its hot breath moistened his fingers, the tips of its teeth grazing his skin. Where was Suza? He heard the struggle continuing, with her screaming, “Bastards, let me go!” Pope summoned his power, feeling his palm heat. No, he still hadn't recovered his full power, but he had enough to throw the panther several yards where it hit the back of the building with a satisfying 
thwump!
 

He lurched to his feet and spun to Suza where, incredibly, the mob had obeyed her. They stood in a confused state, staring at their hands.

Yurek commanded, “Get her and do not listen to anyone but me! Get both of them!”

The zombie'd people moved forward again, eager to do Yurek's bidding if the bloodlust in their eyes was any indication. Pope used his low-dose Flare again to shove them back as she dodged others who were trying to keep her from escaping. Seeing another group of people approaching, she ran back to Pope's side. He could grab her hand and 'port away, but what if it didn't work properly, and he left her there alone? Its reliability was still shaky. He would stay and fight.

“God, one's a kid. A kid!” Suza said, moving up beside Pope as they watched the people get to their feet and advance again. Their bodies were scraped and bleeding. Suza held out her hand. “Stop!”

This time they didn't obey her. They advanced with the single-mindedness of movie zombies but a lot faster. 

Pope turned to find Yurek leaping toward them in panther form. Pope grabbed Suza's hand and 'ported to her truck. He'd had to take the chance. She spun around with a gasp. 

“Suza, get in the truck. We need to get out of here.”

She opened her mouth to ask what was probably a thousand questions but clamped it shut and jumped into the truck. Once they were locked inside the cab, she patted her shoulder. “I don't have my purse!” She ducked down beneath the dash and groped around before extracting a key, which she jammed into the engine starter. Within minutes she was driving down the side street, slowed by clusters of people wandering aimlessly. Her fingers clutched the wheel, and her face was frozen in fear and determination to get out of there. 

“Suza—”

“Don't talk to me!” Hysteria edged her voice. “Not while I'm driving, 'cause I'm going to go friggin' nuts and then I'm going to go insane and bonkers right after that, and I'm trying not to do any of those while I'm driving a five thousand pound vehicle.”

“Don't 'nuts', 'insane', and 'bonkers' have the same meaning? Of course, 'nuts' can apply to other things, too.”

She shot him a look—and feelings—he didn't know how to interpret, which was probably just as well. They were soon out of the business district, such as it was, and heading down a road with a smattering of businesses. She drove into the parking lot of a pet store that was permanently closed, stopped the engine, and jumped out of the cab. Her blue eyes were wide as she paced, fingers tunneling through her hair and leaving it mussed. 

As soon as he came around the front of the truck, she stalked toward him. Within a foot of him, she stopped, fear and confusion in her eyes. “What the hell just happened? Who are you? Who was that man who 
changed
 into Pope? Where is Pope?”
 

“Please, you must calm down.”

She laughed, the kind of sound that could shatter glass. “Calm down? Seriously? After what I just saw, what I went through, you suggest I calm down. Oh, that's priceless.”

He wanted to touch her, at least put his hands on her shoulders, but that didn't seem wise at the moment. “I need to return to downtown and follow Yurek, the man who attacked us. But I cannot leave you in this state where you might go nuts, insane and bonkers all at once.”

“He called you Pope, and then he turned 
into
 Pope.” Her eyebrows furrowed, half hidden by her bangs, as she studied him. “He said he killed you, or thought he killed you. This sounds so crazy coming out of my mouth, but…you're Pope, aren’t you?”
 

He decided that confirming that would be more beneficial than denying it. “Yes. When we met you the day you were in your underpretties, we were in the middle of a battle with Yurek.”

“My underpretties?”

“What I call your under garments, which were very pretty on you.”

For a moment she smiled, then shook her head. “So when we met, this guy was after you?”

“Yes. That is why Cheveyo sent you away for a while, to keep you safe from any fallout. Yurek was sent to terminate me, and if we'd killed him, my government would only send another in his place. So we implanted a fake memory in Yurek's mind of him killing me, Cheveyo, and Petra, the woman who was with us. I had to change my looks in case he ever saw me.”

She searched his face. “You had plastic surgery?”

“In a manner of speaking.” It was a long, arduous undertaking to change his façade.

“But how did he turn into you?”

“He has an ability, a supernatural ability you'd call it, to mimic the look of those he touches. Somehow he picked up my former visage.”

“And he, he turned into a friggin' panther!”

“Technically, it's a jaguar. That is Cheveyo's ability, to become jaguar. But for good, never evil.”

“Cheveyo's like you?”

“Sort of.” 

“Why is this man hunting you?”

“I'm an outlaw. A Scarlett. Once I was the highest-ranked officer in my government's police force. But then I had to make a choice: lose my position or expose humans here who are like my family to certain death. I chose to save them.” 

She took his hand, turning it palm up. He bore no mark, no indication of his power. “You threw those people back with some kind of force. You tossed that horrible man several yards.”

Pope couldn’t help but smile at the relief that surged through him. “My powers are definitely returning. I haven't had to use them in the last few months, so I have not been working with them.” He also liked the way she was touching the center of his palm, searching for whatever produced the Flare.

Her gaze slowly lifted to his, her eyelashes fringing eyes filled with question. “What are you?”

“Suza, you can drive home and forget everything you saw. Including me. You will be safe and sane, and I will do what I can to find out what is going on here and free these people. I suggest that you do.”

She had not released his hand. “I sensed that you were different, you, Cheveyo, and Petra. I still feel your heart, Pope. I could never forget you, just like I couldn't forget what just happened. Whatever is going on here, I'm involved. Because of my friend. Because of that kid who's being used by them. And because of you. What are you? Tell me.”

She looked calm enough to handle it, but he wasn't sure she 
should
 handle it. Perhaps if she knew the truth, she would run screaming into the hills.
 

“I'm a form of human from a parallel dimension, as are the two men we were watching. Because our kind lived deep within the earth, near the magnetic field, our energy and physicality changed, as did our abilities. We lost the density of the human form. Our energy vibration runs higher, so we can change our form or use that energy in different ways. We use what you call the sixth sense with ease and regularity.”

“Parallel dimension? Really?”

“Your scientists, the smart ones, have already figured out that there are other dimensions besides this one.”

She sat on that for a moment. “What is your dimension like?”

“Much like this one, physically. But it is run more strictly. We are not allowed to express our emotions because our government believes they are the downfall of mankind. I suspect that what is affecting the people in Strasford is something called Darkness. It's an accumulation of the repressed emotions of our people. Many years ago it became a large energy field that men tapped into to gain darker powers. Two men did that and then came through a portal not far from here. I think Darkness may have come through, too. Obviously my people have learned they can use it to control the humans here.”

Suza swayed, her pupils so wide her eyes appeared nearly black. He lunged forward and caught her around the waist. She looked as though she was about to pass out from overload.

“I've got you,” he said. And she felt good in his arms in a way that nothing else had.

She put her hands on his upper arms. “I've never fainted before,” she murmured, looking into his eyes. She smiled, her eyes still dazed. “You kissed me. Pope kissed me.”

He chuckled. Her mind was definitely overloaded if that's what she focused on. “I've been wanting to do that ever since you put your hand on my chest and said I had a good heart.”

“Kiss me again.”

“Pardon?”

She gave him a stern look. “I think you heard me.”

“But did you hear me? You know what I am, what I'm involved in. And you still want to kiss me?” He felt an odd buzzing in his chest.

She nodded, then leaned up and kissed him, putting her hand to his jaw. Her mouth opened to his, lips soft and warm against his. Her tongue touched his, running along the length of it, and the buzzing grew louder. He mirrored her movements, momentarily losing himself in the sensations bombarding him.