Touched by Darkness (28 page)

signature that was at Doris's house."

Fresh terror sent her heart racing. "And now, he's

directly in the path of this monster."

"But he's not without resources, Kara. If he hadn't

been able to shield himself today, and to sense the

Belian, then he most definitely would
not
have

been safe."

Meaning Alex would not have
survived
today, had

it not been for Damien's instruction.

"I know what you've taught Alex probably saved

his life today," she said, feeing mentally an

physically exhausted—and a whole lot afraid. "I—

I really appreciate you showing Alex how to shield

himself, and finding him at the school this

afternoon—" Her voice broke and she turned her

face away. She was
not
going to cry in front of this

man.

She started when he reached out and took her cold

hand. His warmth seemed to radiate up her arm,

along with a jolt of sparking awareness. "I'm glad I

found him, too. He's a great kid."

"Yeah." She sniffed. "He is." She faced Damien

again. "He can't go back to school, now that that

thing knows about him."

"I'm not convinced the Belian knows that Alex was

the one broadcasting. I think it knows there's a

fledgling Sentinel in Zorro, and is searching for

him. But if it had known for sure, it would have

tracked Alex down today. It would have been able

to lock onto him, and follow him into the school."

She couldn't even bear to think about what might

have happened. But she had no intention of taking

any chances. "You don't know that for sure," she

argued.

"No, I don't. That's why I'm moving in with you for

the time being. If the Belian has tagged Alex, then

it's likely to come here after him. And you will be

its next target—as will I, since we've spent time

together."

Richard lay in his own blood, his eyes open, pupils

fixed. She knelt beside him, numb with terror and

grief and took his blood-splattered hand. It was

still warm...

No!
She couldn't go through that again. "We can't

take a chance, not if there's the slightest possibility

it already knows Alex is the one," she said, her

voice thick. "He can't be alone at any time. He'll

have to come to my office every day until you track

the Belian down."

"And you can keep Alex safe at your office?"

Damien's silver gaze bored into her. "Are you

willing to take your gun to the office? How will

you explain Alex's absence from school, and his

presence at your office?"

Suddenly overwhelmed by it all, she stumbled to

the couch and sank down. "I don't know. I'll have to

think of something."

The couch sagged as Damien sat beside her. "Is

there anywhere you can send Alex until this is over

with?"

Would it ever be over?
she wondered wearily. She

didn't want Alex out of her sight, but Damien had

some good points. "I could send him to my mother

and stepfather in Alabama..." she said slowly.

"They adore him, and he feels the same way about

them. It's just that I would— I would miss him so

badly."

"But he would be away from this Belian, and safe."

"How do I know there wouldn't be a Belian in

Huntsville, and that Alex might accidentally

broadcast while he's there? Is there any place on

this Earth that's safe?"

"I won't allow Alex to go without protection,"

Damien said. "First off, I'll work with him more

tonight, and be sure he has the control he needs.

Secondly, I'll get someone to keep an eye on him."

"Another Sentinel?" Kara felt torn, wanting Alex to

be protected, but not further exposed to the Sentinel

world. "What if he starts giving Alex information

on Sentinels?"

"I can't make any promises, but I'll forward

instructions that Alex is to be guarded, but not

mentored, unless it becomes absolutely necessary."

Again, he pinned her with his intent gaze. "That's

the best I can do."

She knew she'd have to settle for that. "Well, I

guess it's the best offer I've had all day."

His lips twitched. "Some days are like that."

She looked away from his mouth, appalled that she

could find it enticing at a time like this. "I'll have to

call my mother, then figure out how to get Alex to

Alabama. And then I'll have to tell him."

"We'll explain it to him together. He'll understand.

As for getting him to Alabama, he's old enough to

fly alone, if we can get a direct flight." Damien

stood. "You call your mother, and I'll use my laptop

to search the Internet for a plane ticket."

Kara felt a wrench at the thought of Alex leaving,

much less flying by himself. She
knew
it was the

best thing for her son, but he was her world, and

she would be bereft without him.

Damien must have sensed her mood, for he said,

"You're doing the right thing to keep Alex safe. You

know that."

"Yes, I know."

But she felt as if her heart were breaking.

And the darkness was growing closer.

Damien paused in his Internet search—being

conducted with Alex's assistance—and listened to

Kara talking to her mother.

"No, Mom, I'm fine, really. Nothing's wrong. I'd

just like to send Alex to you for a week or two....

No, he's fine, too, but there's a serious measles

epidemic in this area.... Don't you remember? He

had a bad reaction to his first MMR shot, so he

never received a booster, so he might not be

immune.... Yes, that's the time he had a

convulsion.... That's great! I really appreciate it. Let

me check the airlines and I'll get back to you when

we have flight information.... Oh, that's right. He

might have to fly into Birmingham. Would that be a

hardship for you and Frank?.... Good. Thank you.

You're the best.... All right. Love you, too."

Damien couldn't help but wonder if he'd have been

having telephone conversations with his own

parents if they were still alive. But they weren't,

and he'd learned to function very well without a

family safety net. He returned his attention to his

search.

"Very clever to think of a measles epidemic," he

said when Kara joined them at the dining room

table.

"Mom, is there really a measles 'demic?" Alex

asked.

"No, sweetie, I had to tell a fib. But I didn't think

we should discuss Sentinel stuff with Grandma and

Grandpa, or scare them. Don't you agree?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah. I guess." He wasn't at all sure

he wanted to go off to Alabama, much less fly on a

plane by himself, but he was being a real trooper.

Damien had spent an hour working with him more

on shielding and safely sending and receiving

thoughts. Alex was shaken up, and he was fearful

and tired, yet he still exhibited an amazing ability

to focus. He was rapidly becoming very proficient

with the skills.

"Was your mom making up the bad reaction to the

immunization, too?" he asked Alex.

"No, I wasn't," Kara interjected. "Alex had a

convulsion after he got the first shot in the series.

Fortunately, there wasn't any permanent damage."

She paused, gave her son a teasing smile. "Oh,

wait, maybe there was. It would explain a lot of

things."

"Mom!"

Kara laughed and hugged him. "You know you're

absolutely perfect. Just stay away from anyone with

mumps or measles."

"You don't have to worry about Alex getting sick,"

Damien said. "Sentinels have very powerful

immune systems."

"So I noticed. He's always been healthy as a horse.

Have you two found any flights?"

"Yeah," Alex said. "Mr. Morgan's computer is

really cool. Look." He showed her what he and

Damien had lined up. There were no direct flights

to Huntsville from either Austin or San Antonio, so

Alex would have to fly into Birmingham, with one

stop in Houston.

Kara phoned her mother back and confirmed that

the grandparents could pick up Alex in

Birmingham tomorrow.

"Maybe I should fly with him," Kara suggested.

"Make sure he gets to my parents safely."

"You can," Damien replied. "But I don't think that's

necessary. There's no way the Belian can know our

plans, and I'll make sure no one follows us from

Zorro to the Austin airport. Even then, there would

be no way to know what flight Alex is taking. And

he can shield himself completely now. No other

Belians will be able to pick up on him. He'll be

fine, Kara, and we'll draw less suspicion if you

remain here."

His logic was sound, so Kara conceded. She

phoned her mother back and confirmed that the

grandparents could pick up Alex in Birmingham

tomorrow, and the ticket was booked.

One fire put out, Damien thought, as he powered

down his laptop. But there was another matter that

had to be handled tonight: a conduction. They

couldn't put it off, not with the possibility that the

Belian might have identified Alex. If that were the

case, then all three of them were at risk. Damien

had to push for any information that could give him

the jump on the Belian.

He would wait until Alex was down for the night

before he approached Kara. So he bided his time

through the bedtime rituals— snack (he and Mac

participated in that one), brushing teeth, and

reading a book, along with a lengthy question-and-

answer session, because Alex was anxious about

going to Alabama, and the flight.

When Alex and Mac were ensconced in Kara's bed,

her usual concession when Alex was upset, she sat

on the edge of the bed and kissed her son. "Good

night, you two," she said.

"I don't want to go to sleep." Alex pulled the covers

under his chin.

"Why not, sweetie?"

"I might not know if the bad person comes back.

And I might have bad dreams."

"I don't think the Belian will come back, but if it

does, I'll make it go away," Damien said.

Permanently.
"And you won't have any nightmares.

I want you to close your eyes and think of

something fun— like winning a soccer game."

"Okay." Alex closed his eyes. A mischievous grin

flashed on his face. "Hey! I just scored a goal."

"Great." Damien sent him a mental push toward

sleep. His guard was down, and he went under

readily, as did Mac. Damien deepened their sleep

level, gave Alex a powerful, subconscious

suggestion that he wouldn't remember any of his

dreams.

Kara watched her son a long moment. "I hate that

you have to do that."

"And you know I don't do it without good reason—

in this case, two reasons. Alex was exhausted, and

he needs a good night's sleep, without disruption

from fears or nightmares. You know the other

reason."

She looked at him steadily. "Yes, I do." She stood,

squared her shoulders. "Let's get this done."

He had to respect her determination and grit. She

was practically swaying on her feet from

exhaustion. She'd eaten very little dinner, and her

skin was as pale as fine porcelain. Fatigue clouded

her eyes and created dark circles beneath them. A

conduction would wipe her out completely.

The feelings of concern and regret over pushing her

to do this tonight caught him off guard. While he

had certainly never mistreated a conductor, he'd

never before hesitated to do what had to be done.

He couldn't allow himself to feel regret, or to care.

Any weakness could get him—get all of them—

killed. There was no option of delaying the

conduction, and Kara knew it as well as he did.

He followed her into the living room and pulled the

chair up as she settled herself on the sofa. As he

slid his legs on either side of hers, he caught a

whiff of her Chanel perfume. It was faint, probably

put on this morning, but his sense of smell was

many times keener than a regular human's. The

fragrance was subtle, Earthy and rich, like Kara

herself. Mingled with her natural scent, it was

enough to send the first flare of sexual awareness

through him. And he hadn't even initiated the

chakra energies yet.