Touched by Darkness (20 page)

mediation doesn't snap all the chakras open like

that. It's gradual and regulated." He tapped his

fingers on the arm of the chair. "I did get a sense of

water during the conduction."

She remembered seeing flowing currents in some

of the swift flashes of scenes. "I did, too. It could

have been the Blanco River."

"Yes," he agreed. "It was clear water that looked

green because of the rocks. I also got images of a

road running beside the water."

"That would probably be River Road—an original

name." Kara rubbed her forehead, now battling a

sudden headache. "Do you think what you saw has

to do with David's death?"

"No, they're not the same images I got at the place

where I believe he went into the water. More likely,

they're related to the Belian."

"Perhaps it goes there a lot?" she asked.

"Maybe. Either that, or it lives there. One way or

another, it is a connection to the Belian."

"Oh, well, then." She made an effort to turn on her

side and face him, wincing as the movement made

her head throb worse. "If it lives there, that narrows

the suspects down to about one or two hundred

people who reside along River Road."

"It's still a clue, and it gives us a place to start

looking. I also saw a live oak tree."

"Only a few thousand of those," Kara muttered.

"Smart-ass," he said, with a hint of a smile. "No,

this tree is very odd looking. It's missing a big

branch, but not a clean break, and most of the bark

on that same side is splintered off. The tree was

probably hit by lightning. It's unique, and I think I'll

know it when I see it." He drummed his fingers on

the chair arm again, seemingly lost in thought.

"This is a very strong Belian. It's got some solid

blocks in place. It's going to be a challenge to

identify it."

"I have a feeling you're used to challenges." She

tried to stifle a yawn. How could she suddenly be

sleepy when she was still sexually wired and had a

four-ibuprofen headache working?

"I don't object to a challenge, but any delay could

result in more deaths. How are you feeling?"

"I feel great," she lied, swinging her legs to the

ground and trying to get her body vertical. Her

head protested violently, forcing an involuntary

groan.

He was instantly up, moving like a great cat.

"What's wrong?" He sat on the couch beside her.

She didn't want his concern, or his disconcerting

touch. She was ready to be away from him, to be

alone with her pain and grief. "Just a small

headache. Some drugs and sleep and I'll be as good

as new."

"Let me help you." His hands slid upward, one

possessively grasping her neck, the other cupping

her forehead.

"No, really, I don't need—"

"Just hush and be still."

A soothing warmth penetrated the tension in her

neck and drifted inside her head. Immediately the

pain eased. She relaxed, and for a moment, savored

his trademark sandalwood scent and the stroking of

his fingers along her neck. Until she felt the subtle

mental push.

"Stop that!" She tried to squirm away.

"I said be still." He slid closer, pinning her against

the side of the couch while he continued massaging

her neck and sending the warmth into her head.

"What is it you want me to stop?"

"I can feel your mental manipulation, and I don't

like having my mind invaded."

"I'm merely calming and relaxing you, nothing

more. And you object to this after the mental

intimacy of a third-eye meld in a conduction?"

"Well... yes."

He dropped his hands. "Fine. Some aspirin or

ibuprofen ought to be sufficient to keep the pain

from coming back. If you'd allowed the conduction

to be completed properly, the energy would have

been fully dispersed, and you wouldn't have a

headache,"

"Spoken like a typical guy." She rubbed her neck,

marveling that the pain was gone. "Most men think

sex is the solution for everything."

"I wouldn't disagree with that." The silky seduction

in his voice sent a shudder through her. She wasn't

sure if it was the human or Sentinel side of him, but

the man oozed raw, animal magnetism.

He rose from the couch and stared down at her.

"And in this particular case, with such a powerful

Belian, sex might be a necessity. It all depends on

how badly you want to help me track it down."

He strode to the dining room to retrieve his duster

from the back of a chair. He slid into it, picked up

his suit coat. "I need to spend some time with Alex

this weekend, especially after this latest

occurrence."

Alex.
A sudden memory shot through her. "He felt

it."

"Who felt what?"

"Alex sensed the energies when we went inside

Doris's house this afternoon." Kara stared blindly at

the fireplace, reliving the horrendous events of the

day. "He said it felt really bad in the house. He was

frightened." She looked back at Damien. "I think it

was the Belian he sensed."

"I have no doubt of it. This is another example of

how quickly Alex's powers are developing, with or

without direction. It drives home how important it

is that Alex gain total control of his abilities, so he

can manipulate them, rather than the other way

around."

"I know." She sighed. "You've made that point

quite clear. But I still expect you to keep his

exposure to the Sentinel existence to a minimum."

"He chose this," Damien said quietly. "His soul

exercised its free will, and came into this Earth

plane, choosing the path of a Sentinel."

"He's just a boy! He's not old enough to choose

anything.
I'm
his mother, and I have to make

decisions for both of us. He's too young to fully

understand being a Sentinel, and I intend to protect

him as long as I can."

"You can't control the unfolding of his powers,

Kara. Nor can you control what Alex senses, or his

natural instincts. Better he learn to master them."

She could find no reply as he walked to the front

door and opened it. He cocked his head toward her.

"I'll call you tomorrow to arrange a time to come

over. Think about what I said about tracking the

Belian. I know it took a lot of guts for you to agree

to a conduction, in light of your previous

experiences. But what we did tonight may not be

enough. The safety of Zorro's residents could well

depend on your willingness to have sex with me."

#

Ah, the power coursing through me! It is like the

nectar of Belial, giving me new vitality. The old

woman had more life force than I expected. Why

did I wait so long to again feel the glorious rush of

claiming a life to strengthen my own existence?

There is no need to be so cautious—they'll never

know. Not even the Sentinel can identify me; I'm far

too powerful.

But he tried, oh yes, he did, I could feel the surge of

power, and a sexual surge at that. So, there is a

conductor involved, as well. Very intriguing, and

much to consider. A Sentinel and a conductor

working together will pose more of a challenge, but

I have the supremacy of Belial behind me. I am

more than a match for them. I will watch and listen

carefully, so I can determine the identity of my

enemies and destroy them.

To prepare for battle, I will need more power. To

that end, I will experience the rush of the kill again

soon. Very soon.

#

Kara locked the door after Damien; she also

checked the back door and all the windows,

although nothing could keep out a Belian. She

didn't get much rest that night, plagued by vivid

images of Doris's stiff, cold body and the sense of

evil that had permeated her house. Those images

led to Kara's first hand memories of the terrors a

Belian could unleash on an unsuspecting human

population.

Whenever she tried to vanquish those visions,

Damien's last words took their place:
"The safety of

Zorro's residents could well depend on your

willingness to have sex with me."
The hell with

that, she thought, tossing and turning, while Alex

slept soundly beside her.

And yet, she was hard pressed to come up with a

single, logical reason for refusing to enter into

conduction-induced sex, except for the fact she had

never been one to indulge in sex with no emotional

attachments. There was certainly no emotional

bond between her and Damien Morgan. Just her

personal ghosts and the fact he was a trained

assassin.

Her thoughts went in circles most of the

interminable night, and during that time, she

decided to do something she had sworn she'd never

do. With the decision made, she finally drifted into

an uneasy sleep, where she was plagued by

nightmares of Richard and Doris being murdered,

and ghosts chasing Alex.

When they got up the next morning, Alex was

clingy and still upset by Doris's death, so Kara let

him go to her office instead of school. She felt

better having him close by, anyway. She drew

comfort from his presence, especially when her

first order of business was a phone call she dreaded

making.

Alex spent most of the morning in her office,

working on school assignments and playing games

on her computer. Once she caught him researching

ghosts on the Internet. She put an immediate stop to

that, threatening to take away all computer

privileges if he didn't stay within permitted

boundaries. She was amazed a six-year-old even

knew how to surf the Internet, but then Alex had

never been an ordinary child, and he had been

reading since he was four.

Around noon, she was finishing up with Tina

Meyers's six-month immunizations, her ears

ringing from the baby's screams of pain and

outrage, when her nurse, Susan, cracked open the

examining room door. "Dr. Kara, you have a phone

call from Damien Morgan. Do you want to take it?"

"Yes, I do. Please have Bonnie tell him I'll be with

him in a moment." She turned back to Amanda

Meyers. "Be sure and give Tina some baby Tylenol

when you get home. She'll probably be fussy for

the rest of today. Take care, and call me if you have

any questions."

She stepped out of the room, thinking her ears

might never recover, but she preferred to give the

babies their shots rather than letting Susan do it.

She loved doctoring children, and had almost

chosen pediatrics over family medicine for her

specialty.

Entering her office, she glanced over to see that

Alex was playing an approved computer game.

"Hey sweetie. I need to take a phone call in here."

"Sure Mom." His attention never deviated from the

screen.

Resting her hip on the side of the desk, she picked

up the phone and pushed the line button. "Hello."

"Are you okay?"

Somehow, Damien's deep, rough voice was oddly

comforting, made her feel less alone. "I'm all

right," she replied. "What about you?"

"No closer to knowing anything than last night.

Can you estimate how long it might be before the

autopsy on Mrs. Burgess comes back?"

Just the mention of the autopsy put Kara's stomach

into knots. The subject had come up earlier today

when she called Doris's daughter to offer her

condolences. Sharon Wills had been distraught with

grief, made worse by the fact that she couldn't plan

her mother's funeral until the body was released to

the funeral home.

It had been an upsetting conversation, made worse

by Kara's guilt from the knowledge that she'd been

the one to insist on the autopsy. She sighed, forced

her thoughts back to the present. "Unless they have

a big backlog, the medical examiner's office should

do the autopsy within two or three days. The report

might take longer, maybe to the end of next week."