Chapter 34
Legacy Base Camp
"Shit fire!" Johnny swore as his screwdriver slipped. He glanced over at Derek,
who stirred in the bed beside him. He had taken over Kym's post, when Sloan had
carried her off to his own bed once she was too exhausted to object. The major wasn't
yet strong enough himself to go out and help Omar with the chopper, but he could sit
here, keeping an eye on his friend, and try to jerryrig a badly shorted circuit board
pulled from the "Huey's" electrical system.
"How's he doing?" asked William, pushing aside the canvas flap as he stooped
to enter.
"Better... still a little feverish," said Johnny. "The shot put him into the deep
sleep he needs."
"And you?" the precept asked as he bent over to feel Derek's brow with a
father's practiced hand.
"Tired and sore," he sighed, "but I'll be up to speed by tomorrow."
Sloan reached into his shirt pocket to pull out Derek's ring, which he slipped
back onto his friend's finger. There... it all looked "right" again... and maybe having
things somewhat normal would help bring Derek around more quickly. "What about
him? How long til you think he's ready to go back?"
"Hard to say," replied Johnny. "His tank was running pretty low before all this...
and only he and God know what really happened with Tanit." Gazing at Derek's face,
he hesitated a moment. "Have to wait and see how he is when he wakes up."
"And how rapidly he thinks we need to deal with Tanit," William added as he
dragged a crate over to sit beside Boyle. "Want to tell me what the hell happened?" he
asked, looking directly into the soldier's sunburned face.
"I wish I knew," he replied wearily. "I only know pieces.... They made me stay
with the chopper. Derek didn't tell me all the details, but he did say Tanit was a real
threat." He paused to tighten a dainty copper wire around a screw. "He told me how
we can stop her... said we have to break her link with her temple by destroying the
symbol on her altar, but he's not sure how. He said that it looks like living metal...
that's the only way he could describe it.... It's her earthly link.... She still has no
physical form... and...," he hesitated, searching for Derek's words, "...he said she feeds
from hate and terror... that the best way to cope with her is to shut down emotionally
and psychically.
"Evidently, they had a go-round," the major added. "He said his mind wandered
for a second and Tanit found him... he didn't have enough strength to keep her out.
Personally, I think he went in there too exhausted and distracted... thanks to Mrs.
Rayne... to maintain his focus and fend her off." Johnny stopped to clear his throat,
which was still parched. He reached for the cup of water he had sitting on the floor.
Finally, he continued, "I sort of pieced it together from his nightmares and
hallucinations that he got virtually no sleep the night before."
"Kym's nightmares?" William prompted. "She freaked on me, but didn't give
me any solid information, except, of course, for finding you two."
"I doubt she told you about trying to sabotage the helicopter," said Boyle.
"What?" asked Sloan, suppressing an anger that threatened to flare.
"She tried to wrap chain around the tail rotor mechanisms.... He caught her....
They had a big fight, of course. He was acting that out, and his fight with Tanit, in his
dreams and hallucinations. It sounded like she knew who and what he was... and tried
to have him for lunch. He fought... managed to get away... that's when I grabbed him.
He looked like hell.
"William... you've got to do something about Kym... she's damned near as
dangerous as Tanit. She's going to get somebody killed... and I don't like the idea that
it could've been me."
Sloan was beginning to feel the same way. It was a shame... for some reason he
couldn't comprehend, Derek cared for her and she was obviously mad about him....
She had talent... untrained and emotionally dominated, but real. Unfortunately, he had
seen that Johnny was right... her terror of losing Derek was going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It all went back to Bernardo's death. The Legacy should have seen that she was
damaged goods and far too immature to deal with the consequences of being married
to someone like Derek Rayne. But that was hindsight....
"William...," said the major, rousing him from his musings. "There's something
else."
"Yes?" Sloan was almost afraid to hear it.
"Something weird happened out there... twice," Johnny continued. "Has Derek
ever shown any talent for anything but the 'Sight'... you know... dreams, visions, and
so forth?"
The precept hesitated. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
"When he was a kid, was there any poltergeist activity centered around him...
anything of a psychokenetic nature?"
"No," William replied. "Not that anyone was aware of.... Why?"
"Out there in the desert... I think he pushed me... mentally," the soldier
explained. "The first time when he was dreaming about his fight with Tanit.... The
second time right before you found us. He was struggling to get away from me. First,
I thought it was my own imagination and fatigue, then, when it happened again, I
thought that it might be my body reacting to the heat and dehydration. But I've been
sitting here thinking... I know what I felt... a pressure that went through my chest to
push me away from Derek."
"Interesting," said the elder precept. "I've never heard of it suddenly developing
in adulthood, when it hasn't been present before, nor do I recall that it was ever a
talent known in the family."
"Interesting?" said Johnny, stealing a sideways glance at Derek. "There's
more... just before you found us... he was pretty disoriented... hallucinating, but it was
freaky... scared the shit out of me... cause I'm not sure it wasn't real. He saw and
heard the angels... said they wanted to show him something... that God wanted him to
see. He was going into heat stroke, but he was so damned strong. I've got to admit...
it's still freaking me... when I'm not thinking about what I'd like to do to that little
bitch he calls his wife."
"Hello, Johnny... William," said Kym frigidly as she stepped through the tent's
flap. "Still sleeping?"
"Like a baby," replied the major, ice for ice. He damned well wasn't going to
let this little 'princess' take over. He stole a glance at both precepts.
"Thank you for watching him, Major Boyle. I'll take over."
Johnny stood up and collected his tools. "Nice of you to relieve me," he said
sarcastically. "Watching his back has only been my job for the past five years."
As Kym pushed by the former soldier to feel her husband's forehead, she quietly
responded, "Well, he's married to me now." Her heart sank as she noticed the blue and
gold ring on Derek's finger... they couldn't even wait for him to put it back on himself.
"Right. How could I forget?"
"Maybe you were too worried about picking on someone smaller than you," she
answered with disdain.
"Oh! Good shot, Mrs. Rayne... couldn't think of anything more original? I'll
leave him to you...."
"Better my hands than yours," said Kym, recalling the blow she'd seen him give
her husband in the dunes.
"Try not to kill him before I get back," retorted the major over his shoulder. "By
the way, I checked the bed for sabotage."
Kym ignored the barb, but felt a mild surge of panic. How could they know?...
Derek, of course... in his condition God only knew what came out of his mouth. She
knew with certainty that he wouldn't consciously tell anyone what she had tried to do,
but why should she care? She was right, and would do it again.
"Derek... honey?" she said as she brushed her fingers through his hair. She
frowned at the lack of response.
"He's fine," William assured her.
"Are you sure?" she asked with concern. "He's sleeping so deeply."
"Johnny gave him a shot," Sloan explained. "He needs the rest, not the
nightmares."
"He did what?" asked Kym, appalled. She couldn't believe they could have so
little regard for Derek, or for her rights as his wife. These ass holes had no respect for
anything except their precious Legacy!
"He gave him a fairly strong sedative... to make him sleep."
"Without consulting me first?" Damn their audacity!
The possessiveness of her tone irritated Sloan, but he said calmly, "You needed
the rest... and so did Derek... and, he consulted me," he added with a dose of acid as
he rose.
"I'm his wife," Kym retorted hotly. "If Derek isn't capable of making his own
decisions, then you come to me. You don't shoot him full of drugs and just happen to
mention it later." She glanced down as her husband stirred slightly, then bent to run
a soothing hand along his temple. "Shhh... it's OK," she murmured.
"Madam," Sloan responded in a lower voice, "as senior precept here, I do what
I deem is necessary for the good of the mission and its members... it is my call... not
yours... not Major Boyle's... not Derek's. He needs the rest... and I need him on his
feet and ready to go as soon as possible."
"Go where?" asked Kym, certain she already knew the answer. "Al-Kufrah?
Why can't you leave him alone? He's exhausted and sick... completely drained... look
at him, for Christ's sake." Taking a step closer to the precept, she looked up at him,
then continued, quietly pleading, "Give it up, William. Let's go back to Cairo... let's
go home. Let London deal with it."
"We can't afford the time... Tanit could attain her full powers before the
bureaucratic wheels even begin to turn." He glanced over at his friend and saw, under
the sunburn, dark circles beneath his eyes. "I've known Derek a long time... take my
word... he just needs to sleep until morning... then get his strength back, which never
takes him very long. He'll be fine in a couple of days." Sloan pumped a confidence
into his tone that he wished he really felt.
"Fine? How often does he nearly die, William?... You sound very experienced
at this," said Kym, troubled at an implication that went far beyond her concern about
what had happened in Rome six years before. "How often do you throw him to the
wolves... hurt and wasted... so that he can stupidly endanger himself at your whim...
so that you can put another feather in your cap? This goes beyond protégé! This is
insanity!" Of all the arrogant bastards on this planet, William Sloan takes the cake!
"It's what we do," said the precept. Although he could force a quiet calmness
upon his voice, he could not control the temper that swelled beneath it. "...and while
we're discussing 'stupidly endangering'... let's talk about what you tried to do to the
helicopter."
"Excuse me?" Kym whispered nastily.
"We know what you tried to do to the tail rotor," he said flatly. "Have you no
concept of you could have caused? You could have killed them. They would have lost
control of the helicopter and crashed."
"But...," Kym began.
Continuing without allowing interruption, Sloan's rage was challenging his
capacity to control it. "The tail rotor has nothing to do with the chopper's ability to
fly... it's how the helicopter steers. They could have been at a thousand feet going a
hundred miles an hour when they lost control because of your trick. Helicopters don't
glide. They drop like a rock." He paused to curb his rising voice and to firmly grasp
his composure. "Johnny tried to warn me that you were dangerous.... If you weren't
Derek's wife... frankly... your head would be on Johnny's platter."
Although her own anger had wavered for a moment, it surged at the mention of
the former soldier's name. "Johnny Boyle can take his platter back to hell with him...
with you on it... for all I care," Kym hissed.
The precept straightened to his full height. His voice became icy. "No, Mrs.
Rayne," he said quietly. "If I didn't respect your husband as I do, I'd leave you here
until it snows in the Sahara in midsummer. As it is... I intend to see that you never
again accompany Derek on a field investigation... your childish prank could have killed
them both... or are your brains too addled to comprehend that? If you were a Legacy
member, I'd file charges."
"Listen to me... you pathetic, pompous little man," said Kym as she stepped
closer to Sloan and looked up into the precept's angular face. She could be a tiger if
it suited her and now William Sloan was about to see that you didn't mess with
Kymberlee Rayne and escape unharmed... especially where Derek was concerned. "I
don't give a damn about the Legacy! You're so caught up in protocol and in trying to
make Derek a carbon copy of yourself that you can't see him for who he really is.
Derek and I have a life now... and you're not welcome in it."
On the bed, the object of their dispute stirred restlessly. Kym glanced over her
shoulder and began to turn to calm his sleep, but William grasped her arm. He pulled
her outside the tent's flap, but kept it raised so that both could see the bed. She jerked
free, angry that he would have the gall to lay a hand on her.
"No!... You listen!" he continued in a hushed, but furious voice. "Don't try
these games with me. You might be able to play Derek and me against each other, but
don't try to pit yourself against the Legacy. Don't force Derek to choose between you
and it.... He won't turn his back on the innocents it protects, or on his own heritage.
He will turn his back on you. I promise you... you'll lose."
"I don't believe you," Kym said firmly as the hot wind snatched at her hair. She
stole a glance toward her husband.
"Normally, I'd say go ahead.... Try it and find out, but I don't want to see him
hurt that way," Sloan whispered harshly. "You will lose... and you'll take his chance
at happiness with you. Help him... the way Patty helps me... let him be Derek."
"He is Derek with me," she countered.
"You don't even know who Derek Rayne is," said William. "I think you're a
little girl who sees him as your Prince Charming.... He's not. On second thought," he
continued, "perhaps, you should get out of his life before you do discover who he is,
because you're either going to get him killed or have your own heart ripped out... or
both."
Kym turned away to conceal the tears in her eyes and to steady the quiver she
knew would be in her voice. She looked down at her ring with the sapphire crescent
moon, side by side with her wedding ring. "I know the Derek Rayne you'll never
know... that nobody knows... the sweet, open, funny, loving Derek... the Derek I want
to save," she added as she again faced her rival.
Sloan glanced off toward the helicopter, where he saw Johnny, repaired circuit
board in hand, and Omar squatting in the chopper's shadow, probably discussing the
mass of wires that lay in the sand before them. He signed... the girl was in so far over
her head that she was going to drown and take her husband down with her.
"You think I could have been his friend for fifteen years," he said calmly,
"watched him grow into a remarkable man and not know that Derek? I do... that's the
one that bickers with me... that's the one that sent a roomful of roses to Patty when
each of our daughters was born. But you don't know the one that's on the other side
of the coin. The one that will face down Lucifer himself without batting an eye... the
one who never quits... that will drive himself to the very edge and beyond to do his
duty or to back up a friend... the cold, hard one that takes after his father." The precept
held her eyes by the force of his gaze and voice. "You don't know the scary one that
can 'see' horrors that he can't even describe. He's comforted you in the midst of
nightmares, but have you ever awakened to one of his? I guarantee yours pale by
comparison."
"I know the one that's the Legacy precept," said Kym. "It's you... it's my
father."
"Kymberlee... you know nothing... you understand nothing." The precept's grip
tightened on the canvas of the tent's door flap. "Derek has known what he wanted
from the day his father died. He has a destiny and knows it. Don't screw with his mind.
Don't force him to choose. I won't allow you to do that to him... you'll tear him in half
when he needs to be whole... make him doubt or hesitate... and then you will kill him."
"I have no intention of making him choose, but I won't let you choose for him
either," Kym retorted. "He's been told what he wanted since before his father died. He
told me everyone expected him to put on that goddamned ring that you've already got
back on his finger... expected him to put it on as soon as possible... and that he did. I'm
not going to let you push me away... I'm the one he clings to at night. I'm the one he
tells his dreams to."
"Then help him... support him," William pleaded. "Don't fight him at every turn,
and those who care about him. Trust that we do know what we're doing... trust that
we'll back each other up... Derek, Johnny, and I... just like always. He'll be fine."
"No, he won't... I don't know why we are even arguing about this," Kym said
softly. The strange resignation that filled her tone kindled a dread in the pit of the
precept's stomach. "It doesn't matter... none of this matters." Her voice became flat
and remote. "Derek is dying."
"What?" Sloan said in surprise. Oh, God!... the girl's as bad as her husband.
"What are you talking about? He's fine... he's recovering." The thought of cancer
flitted unbidden through his mind.... Patty had just lost her youngest brother to
leukemia. Was Derek concealing something? Was that what his mystical mood had
really been about? "He just had his annual check-ups at his birthday... everything was
fine," he said more to himself than the young woman in front of him.
"No... it's not like that," Kym interrupted. As a single tear dribbled down her
nose, she hung her head and scraped her toe in the sand. "My 'Sight' may not work
like Derek's... it may be more emotional... less reliable, but it does work. You saw. I
'feel' things more than I 'see' them." She sniffed, then continued without looking up.
"There is something wrong... I don't know what. Hell, I don't even know why I said
that just now... but, somehow, he's different. It feels like he's dying," Kym said with
absolute sincerity and certainty.
"Madam," William said firmly, though his gut was churning. "I have no idea
what you're talking about. You're as insane as when you tried to sabotage the
chopper."
"I'm not insane, Mr. Sloan," she shot back. "You've already nabbed the title of
the Legacy's reigning lunatic... or should I say megalomaniac? Derek is not fine. In my
mind, he feels different... in my fingers he's different. He's not the same Derek any
more."
| CHAPTER 35 |
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