Touched by Darkness (16 page)

rather have pills?"

He made another face. "Yuck."

"Let's run the test first. Why don't you two go ask

Miss Bonnie to let you pick out some stickers while

I do that?" Kara opened the exam room door and

watched the children scamper toward the reception

area. They were thin and dirty, although they

showed no signs of malnourishment or abuse, and

Sara seemed to genuinely love them. The woman

just wasn't coping well.

"Sara, it's been over two years since you came in

for a checkup," Kara told her. "You need to come in

for a Pap smear, at the very least."

Sara brushed her dark hair out of her eyes. "I know,

but money's been tight—and I've been busy."

"You still have the health insurance from David's

job, and I'll waive the co-pay, just like I will today.

But you have to take care of yourself, so you can be

there for the children."

"I know," Sara whispered. "It's just so hard with

David gone—" She sniffed, scrubbed her hands

over her eyes. "I can't stop thinking about him.

Can't sleep, most nights."

Kara would have offered medication to help her

sleep, but she was reluctant to because of the

drinking. "You might try warm milk or herbal tea,

and going to bed by ten every night," she

suggested. "A regular schedule will help. Have you

considered counseling?"

Sara shook her head. "No, I don't have the money,

and it wouldn't help. Nothin' will."

Kara gave her a quick hug. "You can call me any

time you want to talk, any time at all. You have my

home phone number."

"Thank you." Sara drew back and picked up her

purse. "We're lucky to have you, Dr. Kara. You

really care about folks."

Guilt swept through Kara. She didn't feel very

caring. She hadn't done anything about her dream,

hadn't reported it to anyone. But she knew such an

action wouldn't help—if it followed the pattern of

her past visions, it was already too late. She turned

toward the door. "Let me run these tests."

Later, when she got home, she felt tired and

defeated. As much as she adored Doris, she didn't

feel like baking cakes and having to be upbeat and

pretend everything was all right. But she had

promised, and Alex was eager to go. Luz had just

left to deliver a baby, promising to call Kara if

there were any complications. Kara wasn't wild

about home deliveries, but knew many of Luz's

patients were very superstitious and didn't trust

western medicine. At least Luz had been well

trained by her mother.

So Kara put on a cheerful front for Alex. They got

their coats and let Max out in the back yard. Then

they raced each other, laughing, over to Doris's,

with Max barking madly after them. It was a

gorgeous, almost-spring afternoon, and the sun

beamed down benignly. The crisp air and revelry

revived her sagging spirits. Letting Alex beat her to

Doris's house, she collapsed on the front steps,

pretending to be totally winded.

"Beat you!" Alex crowed, his face flushed and his

eyes bright with pleasure.

"Yes, you did." Smiling, feeling better than she had

all day, she rose and dusted herself off. She

admired the pretty pansies bursting out of two

terra-cotta planters on the porch. Doris had an

amazing touch with plants and flowers.

"But I bet I'll decorate more cakes than you," she

teased.

"Uh uh," Alex said. "I'm the fastest helper Mrs.

Burgess has. She told me so."

"Well, then I challenge you to a cake decorating

contest." Kara climbed the steps and opened the

storm door to knock on the ornate wooden door.

She knocked again, then rang the bell. She didn't

hear the sound of footsteps or other activity. "That's

odd. I know Doris was expecting us."

"She's probably in the kitchen," Alex said. "She

told me she doesn't hear too good sometimes."

"Doesn't hear too 'well'," Kara corrected

automatically, a dark twinge niggling her. She tried

the door handle, found the door unlocked. She

opened it and stepped inside. "Doris! It's Kara and

Alex."

The silence that answered had the static sound of

an empty house. Kara walked further in. "Doris?

Are you here?" She heard a plaintive meow, as

Doris's cat, Tom, padded into the room. He

meowed again, twined against Kara's legs, then

moved on to Alex, who squatted down and gave

him the attention he demanded.

A heaviness settled in Kara's body. Something felt

wrong. "Stay here with Tom," she told Alex. "I'll

look for Mrs. Burgess."

"Mom, wait." He stood and scooted to her side. "I

don't want you to go. It feels bad in here."

The fact that he sensed something wrong only

deepened her own uneasiness. "It's all right," she

said, although she didn't believe it. "You'll be fine

right here."

He shook his head. "It feels
really
bad. Kinda like

that time I watched
The Sixth Sense."

"Which you borrowed from Ben Martin without my

permission," Kara reminded him. "Stay here by the

front door, and leave it open. If you see or hear

anything really scary, run next door and get Mr.

Roberts. Okay?"

He nodded reluctantly and squatted by Tom again.

She walked across the living room and through the

dining room to the arched entryway to the kitchen.

A quick glance told her the kitchen was empty. The

table was completely clear and spotless, as were the

counters. No baking items were out. Very strange.

Her apprehension growing, Kara went through the

kitchen and breakfast nook to the neat den, which

was also empty. She headed for a hallway she knew

led to the bedrooms, although she'd never been in

that part of the house. Entering the hall, she froze.

A sense of déjà vu rushed at her. The length of

hallway became distorted, the walls wavering.

Suddenly light headed, Kara braced herself against

one wall with her right hand. She forced air into her

lungs, blinked to clear her vision. And stared down

the same hallway she'd see in last night's dream.

Oh, God, no.

While one part of her wanted to turn and run, she

knew she had to go down that hall,
had to know...

"Mom? Did you find her?" Alex's anxious voice

came from behind her, and she whirled.

"Uh, no, sweetie, but she might be sick." She

crouched down beside him, tried to keep her voice

level. "Do me a favor, and go wait for me on the

front porch. I'm going to see if she's okay."

His expression turned fearful. "It feels even badder

here. What if that ghost came over here and—"

"No," Kara said firmly. "The ghost didn't come

over here. Go sit on the porch. You can take Tom

with you."

"Okay." He turned and tromped back outside, with

a wheedling, "Come on, kitty, kitty, kitty." A

meowing flash of white and gray fur followed him.

Kara turned back and stared down the hallway,

which reverberated with an ominous energy.

"Please be wrong," she whispered.
"Please be

wrong. "
She walked slowly down the hall, barely

able to breathe, terror whipping through her, but

she had to keep going.
Not Doris. No.

Yes,
some inner voice whispered.
You know it's

true.
Her dream visions had never been wrong. Her

feet grew heavier and heavier as she approached

the last door on the left. Her pulse pounded in her

temples; the light headedness returned. The

doorway was just like her dream...
but she had to

find Doris.
She closed her eyes, opened them again,

stepped through the doorway.

And stared at the body in the bed. Stared at the

cream-colored pajamas decorated with colorful

cups and saucers, horror welling inside her like a

tidal wave.

She didn't need her medical training for a

diagnosis.

There was absolutely no life force in the room.

#

Damien browsed through Sal's Grocery. It was

almost six-thirty in the evening, but Sal stayed

open past his usual six-o-clock closing if he had

customers in the store, and apparently it had been a

busy evening. Damien had spent the day in

Fredericksburg, trying to determine if the murders

there were linked to that of David Thornton, but

hadn't found any psychic trails to confirm it. He

was of the opinion that Thornton was the first

victim of this particular Belian, which meant it had

recently come into possession of a body.

Tomorrow, Damien planned to revisit the river and

wooded area where Thornton had gone into the

water. For tonight, he was looking for something to

eat, while listening to the Zorro residents in the

store and simply feeling the energies. He'd also use

a police scanner to monitor violent crimes, but so

far, there wasn't much criminal activity in Zorro.

He got a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a quart

of milk, and a package of Oreos. It was a lot of

carbohydrates, but he had a super-fast metabolism

and could eat whatever he wanted, which suited

him just fine, as he had a definite sweet tooth.

He caught himself wondering what Kara liked to

eat. She was so slender, he suspected she was a

light eater. She probably exercised regularly, as

there was a hint of substance and muscle beneath

the neat slacks and feminine sweaters she favored.

She'd been in his thoughts a lot, and more than

once, he'd had to redirect his focus back to the boy

and to the Belian he was tracking. It was her

resistance, he told himself, the challenge of gaining

her cooperation that held the fascination. His

mantra of never getting involved with his

conductors was so ingrained, it was virtually

automatic.

He did everything in his power to ensure his

noninvolvement, to the point that he didn't kiss his

conductors, not even in the throes of hot, steamy,

conduction-induced sex. And it was only sex; he

would never allow it to be otherwise. He knew

firsthand and very painfully what happened when

things became personal between a Sentinel and a

conductor.

He'd have to hold a little more firmly to his resolve

around Kara, because they had the strongest

chemistry that he'd ever experienced with any

conductor. The longer they were together, the

stronger it pulsed and tantalized.

When—not if—she finally agreed to conduct for

him, he had no doubt it would be an incredible

conduction, which would require great care,

because this Belian was very powerful, and might

well be able to detect the sexual surge. But the

being wouldn't escape him. Damien had never

failed, and didn't intend to now.

He carried his items to the counter and set them

down. "Hello, Sal."

"Evenin'." Sal started to ring up the food. He

glanced sideways at Damien. "Hey, did ya ever find

Dr. Cantrell to give her back that scarf?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." Damien reached for his

wallet.

"I hear there was some bad news out her way

earlier this evenin'."

Damien froze, his wallet halfway out of his rear

pocket. "What happened?"

"Had a death out there. Your total is $9.71."

Damien's heart speeded up as his senses went on

full alert. "Who died?"

Sal peered over his glasses at Damien. "Dr.

Cantrell's neighbor, an elderly lady. Don't have any

details yet, exceptin' Doc Cantrell's the one who

found her."

Damien tossed a twenty onto the counter and

grabbed the bag of groceries. He strode from the

store, ignoring Sal calling out, "Ya forgot yer

change!"

As he left, an absolute, chilling calm came down

over him like a blanket settling over a bed. His

power began to throb, already tuning itself for the

hunt.

Heading for Kara's house, he slipped into full

Sentinel mode, ready to track and destroy the

enemy.