Chapter 9
Tanit
Tanit sensed the energy contained within the objects above her. Though she did
not understand the power, she knew that the man there found it intoxicating. He
thrilled at the vision of fire and heat, and regretted only that there would be no screams
and blood this time. She knew this man and his desires. She would help him soak his
soul in the blood of his enemies and he would be hers. He would help her become
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Zarzuela House
Kymberlee had realized that retreat was the most prudent course. If she had fought longer to stay with her husband, Major Boyle would have escorted her back to Aggie's and she would have been stuck. She had slammed the screen door with extra force and had made certain that the two men heard her departing footsteps. Then she had darted to the side of the house, waited a couple of minutes, and crept back onto the veranda.
Cautiously peeking through the french door, she could see that Johnny was inspecting Derek's eyes, but she couldn't hear what was being said. "Please, God, let him be OK," she murmured, wondering if her husband's condition was more serious than either of them had let on. Why isn't he getting up? She noticed that she was very nearly holding her breath, and exhaled with a sigh. Why did all those people disappear when Derek broke his link? Suddenly Kym wondered if she was seeing the entities through her own "gift"... or, was her special link to her husband becoming stronger... allowing her to see them through Derek's "Sight"?
* * *
"Are you ready for this?" Johnny questioned, intently looking into Derek's face, as he checked his precept's pulse rate.
Taking a deep breath, Derek replied, "I have to be." Slowly, tiredly, he climbed back onto the love seat to sit beside Diana.
As soon as he focused his concentration and took the girl's hands in his own, Kym could again see the ghostly throng. It was her link to her husband that was enhancing her own "Sight." She tried to center her thoughts the way she believed her husband did. The vague specters became more solid. She saw Derek throw his head back as his spine went rigid. Her fear rose, but, since he seemed all right, Kym managed to control it. One by one, she watched the entities, all teenaged girls dressed clothing that seemed to date from the mid-nineteenth century through the more recent decades, enter Diana then pass from her to Derek. Where they went after that, Kym had no idea, but her husband seemed in no distress. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of so masculine a man somehow housing or channeling the spirits of more than a dozen pubescent girls. She sincerely hoped there would be no residual effects. Surely they must be leaving, but how? Kym didn't see them after they entered Derek's body. Her fear was overpowering the amusement of the situation. At last, all were gone but the three older entities, who seemed reluctant to pass from Diana to Derek.
Seeing that Johnny was totally absorbed in watching his precept's actions, Kym pushed the french door open a crack. Now, she could hear.
"Come," said Derek, looking directly at the aged figures. "It's time to go... pass through... there is nothing to fear."
Kym understood what he was doing, but not how he was doing it. Though she had grown up in a family possessed of psychic talents and had known of many others who were gifted with one ability or another, she had never heard of someone able to do this in quite this way. Her father had said that the Legacy considered Derek Rayne to be their most psi-adept member, but to be able function so proficiently in such a variety of mental disciplines was unique.
She pushed the door wider to watch as the three specters, the man and two women, began to dispute amongst themselves. Wanting to exist alone within Diana, they fought each other and to resist Derek's lure. She saw her husband focus more intently... sweat broke forth upon his brow. "This is not your place," he said hoarsely, drawing deep breaths as he tried to concentrate and speak at the same time, "...not your time." His hands began to tremble as the entities resisted. "Leave this child," he commanded. "Go to the destinies you earned for yourselves... face your purgatories."
Suddenly, the three seemed to turn upon Derek. They knew that if they did not rid themselves of this intruder that he would drive them out of their comfortable home, cast them onto Fate's scales, where they would most certainly be found wanting. Fear and anger seized them.
Johnny knelt by Derek, but did not attempt to steady him. "Fight, Derek! You're stronger than they are," he said. "I've seen you battle a demon and win... these aren't even ghosts fit to haunt a house. They're just jumped up, wicked little spirits that are afraid they're bound for hell if they cross over."
Kym panicked as she saw her husband begin to struggle against the shades, who pummeled him with blows that only he and Kym could see. He gasped for breath when one of the women gripped his neck and dug her nails into his flesh. The other bit his hands as he clung tightly to Diana.
Derek could feel at least one of the specters weakening, making her peace and preparing to move on, but he reeled at a blow from the male entity. He swayed, struggling to maintain his focus. His head snapped back from a second blow and he nearly lost his grip on the girl, who seemed oddly unaffected by the brawl occurring around her.
At the last blow, Kym burst through the french door. If Johnny wouldn't help Derek, she would. "Derek!" she cried.
Boyle swung about to grab her around the waist, dragging her back before she could reach her husband. "Kym, get out of here," the major commanded as he hauled her back toward the door. "He ordered you out... now obey him... dammit!"
Kym wriggled free and pushed herself away from the soldier. "Don't touch me!" she screamed. "Derek needs me."
"He doesn't," Johnny countered. "He knows what he's doing.... Stay away from him," he said, making an unsuccessful grab for Kym's wrist as she surged forward. "Don't touch him!" Major Boyle yelled. No more kid gloves. He grabbed Kym and physically lifted her from the floor to heave her away from her husband. He lost his balance for a second and both stumbled.
As Kym fell sideways, she braced her hand on Derek's back. At that instant, Derek felt the specters turn their attention away from him and toward his wife. In a group, they moved toward Kym. Breaking the link with Diana, Derek spun about to shove Kym away. She stumbled and fell backward, hitting the floor with a thud as the back of her head connected with wooden planks.
"Come to me," called the precept, opening himself.
"What? No! Derek, stop it!" Kym cried.
Johnny was at a distinct disadvantage. Obviously, both Derek and Kym were seeing things that he could not, but he knew that whatever Kym was witnessing was terrifying her.
Through the fog of his mind, Derek knew his security chief's handicap. "Kym... get away from here," he ordered. "Johnny... get her away from here."
Obeying Derek, Boyle seized Kym's arm and began to pull her away once again. Remembering the lessons of growing up with four older brothers, she clawed at him to free herself. She had to help her husband. The entities had turned back to him and had entered. Kym froze as she saw Derek slip from the sofa. She heard his head hit the floor. His limbs began to tremble as he seemed to near a state of seizure.
Spinning away from Johnny, Kym tried to break free from the soldier's viselike grip. "Let go of me, you son-of-a-bitch," she screamed, only to find herself slung toward the door as Johnny let go to dive toward the young precept. Her foot went from under her and she ended up on her knees.
Johnny slid to Derek's side, thrust a pillow under his head, and attempted to steady him through what seemed to be a burst of pain. "Bitch!" yelled Johnny. "Get out!"
Kym started to crawl forward, but the tone of utter disgust in Johnny's voice stopped her short. "I can help," she said.
Johnny turned toward her. "Your damned disobedience may kill him.... He lost focus... threw away his barrier to protect you," he said angrily. "They are not leaving him like the others, are they? He invited them in to keep them away from you."
Kym crawled closer and in a single lunge reached Derek's side. She grasped his hand. "Take me," she wept.
Through weakness and pain, and a fading sense of self, Derek's consciousness thrust itself to the surface. He broke his wife's grip and, with the last of his strength and will, shoved Kym away. Johnny caught him as he fell forward.
In that brief second of contact, an image of the hair wreath flashed through Kym's mind and she realized that she really could help her husband. She broke away to grasp the wrought iron poker beside the fireplace. She shielded her eyes and smashed the glass case above the redwood mantle. Using the poker, she yanked the heirloom wreath from the wall and flung it into the fireplace. Behind her, she heard Derek struggling for breath in what sounded frighteningly like a death rattle.
"Derek! Fight!" pleaded Johnny as he rolled the precept onto his back. "This should have been an easy one," he mumbled. "Fight! Dammit! Like you always do."
As she grabbed for the tin match box that sat on the shelf, Kym, in her haste and anxiety, spilled them all. "Fight... like you always do," stabbed through her mind. She bent to retrieve one of the wooden matches, struck it against the rough brick of the fireplace, and tossed it into the tangle of hair. It caught immediately and burst into flames. Diana slumped to the floor as the wreath disintegrated.
Derek groaned and went limp. "Derek!" the major cried. His fingers searched the precept's neck for a pulse, but he couldn't find it. "Derek! ...Goddammit! I can't find a pulse.... Kym.... get my bag," he said in a tone of controlled panic. "It's behind the chair.... Now!" he screamed at Kym, who stood looking blankly down at her husband. Johnny feared he was losing Kym to her terror. "This time follow orders," the soldier yelled with a viciousness that jarred Kym from her shock.
Kym found Johnny's pack and, as anger surged over her fear, tossed it at him.
"Check the girl," he commanded harshly. "Derek?" he whispered. "Come on... Derek."
Suddenly the precept took a deep breath. "Thank God," Johnny said with relief. That second in which he had been unable to detect a pulse had seemed like an eternity. "Call 911... and get some blankets."
| CHAPTER 10 |
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