Tears fell from her brown eyes as she lowered her head. How could she have been so wrong about Jeroen? She knew now that he had murdered this young woman and... maybe he had killed Derek as well. The thought of it was too devastating to consider, so she clung to the hope that she would find Derek alive.

"My God, to think, I spent the afternoon with Jeroen, had lunch and dinner with him. How can I not have 'Seen' this part of his nature? Why didn't my 'Sight' pick it up?" she berated herself.

A chill ran through her body as she reflected on the young Dutchman. They had even climbed a mountain together... He had given little clue that he was anything but the interesting man whom he pretended to be. And yet... thinking back on it, she had been a bit apprehensive about him, but she had simply written it off as a reaction to his earnest interest in her.

Alex tried to ingest this startling realization. But didn't anyone miss this poor woman and search for her? Is that why she had survived her day with Jeroen and his victim had not? Because he knew that her friends would have investigated him if she had gone missing? Alex shook her head. She had to admit that she had a wonderful time with him and he made her feel very special...

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to the body as she knelt beside it. "I... As soon as I reach civilization, I'll report this to the police and you can be returned to your family." Her voice shook with bitterness when she spoke again. "And they had better find that bastard before I do."

She stood and stumbled on. Had he buried Derek too? She had to consider the possibility that he was dead. Tears trickled down her face. Would she find his body? What if Jeroen had thrown Derek off the...? Alex balled her fists. No, no, it wouldn't do any good to think that way. Besides, Jeroen was in a hurry to get away so he probably didn't bury him. But did he move him?

Crying quietly, unable to stop the tears and the terrifying images her mind conjured up, the dark woman continued her search. She spotted a mound a short distance ahead, and her heart stopped. Derek... She almost breathed a sigh of relief as she walked closer and bent to touch it. It wasn't big enough to be Derek. Yet it did...

She gasped as her head slammed back at the vision. Her eyes watered as another young woman enjoyed a day in the mountains with Jeroen, and another young woman died as he strangled her. Alex barely had time to recover when other spirits rose from the ground around her. She stepped back, horrified at their various stages of decay.

"Avenge me," the one nearest her whispered. Alex groaned as the spirit passed through her and a new vision assaulted her. This was his first victim from the islands, murdered and tossed off a cliff four months after his arrival. As that one departed, another entered the Legacy member and showed her the unrestrained elation on Jeroen's face as she died. The next was a vision of an attractive woman who had been slain on a hike with Jeroen when he had fatally struck her from behind with a rock. Each spirit came forward and the process was repeated. "Avenge me..."

The air around them grew heavy as the sickening violence of each death seemed to add to the growing intensity of the storm. Fighting her own anger, Alex steeled herself as the last of the six women entered her. "Avenge me..."

He had brought her up the mountain to see a different side of the island and culture. Walking hand in hand, he had shown her the flowers growing wild on the hillside before they had made their way to the marae. She had heard about these holy sites, but this one looked as if no one had been here for many years. Her fingers traced the engraving on the stone. Her smile showed her delight at being in this sacred place, but his...

She suddenly realized that she had told no one where she was going, and she was with a man she barely knew. As he came within walking distance, she casually moved away to look at something else. Her instincts told her to flee, but she felt foolish. After all, he had been a perfect gentleman. And he remained so... until he raped and then shot her in the head a short time later. Jeroen dragged her out of the marae and buried her close to the others...

Alex shuddered as the spirit left her, and her pain for what this hateful man had done made her scream out in fury and grief at the terror the young women had suffered. She wanted to make the bastard that inflicted such cruelty suffer ten times the amount of agony that he had caused them. These women were those whom he knew would not be missed for some time, and their bodies might have been lost forever had she not gone searching for Derek. But a cold flicker of fear made her tremble as well. Jeroen had entered the marae from the opposite direction from which she and Derek had. Her vision had also shown her that they had missed the consulate worker burying the young woman by only a short time...

She battled the hatred that once more threatened to overpower her. How could any man do this? These women weren't his only victims; there were others before he arrived in Tahiti. And there was Derek... Alex wanted his death avenged most of all. Her heart constricted when she thought of him. She was almost certain that Derek was dead, though a shred of faith remained. But would Jeroen have killed these women and left her to die in the pit, yet allow the older man to survive?

The psychic shut her eyes and focused on showing the spirits why she wanted Jeroen to suffer for his crimes. He had charmed her, used her, and he would have likely taken her to this marae and murdered her too if it hadn't for her friends. She showed them how she and Derek had innocently stumbled upon the marae, how Jeroen had threatened her with strangulation and a gun, and how she had gotten away from him only to fall into the pit. Ignoring the falling rain, Alex showed them how she had foolishly not relieved him of the weapon, and how he had then used the gun to hurt someone she loved.

"I will make Jeroen pay for all your deaths and for what he did to Derek," the Legacy member spat with revulsion. "If he's still alive after that, I may hand him over to the authorities if I don't bury him up here myself." One by one the spirits swirled around Alex before they slowly sank back into the ground.

She slumped to her knees, drained of what little strength had remained. This had to be a nightmare; it couldn't be real. All these dead women... The rain continued to pour down upon her as she sat on the wet ground and raged at the injustice. Alex clenched her fists as she tried to stop the weeping that seemed to come from her soul. There was no time for this, her mind tried to reason; she had to find Derek and find someplace to spend the night.

Making her way down the mountain at this point was an impossibility, especially in the shape she was in. Despite how much she wished she could flee from this place of death, she knew she couldn't risk it in the dark with her sore ankle and the awful fatigue. Between the downpours and the slippery footing, Alex knew that she wouldn't get very far, and if she fell... She would have to wait until morning to leave, but she vowed that she wasn't going anywhere until she found Derek.

She had to find his body, no matter how weary she was, no matter how much rain was falling, no matter... anything. He might be dead, as she was beginning to fear he was, but she couldn't leave him out in the rain. She'd find him, then find shelter for them. The cave in the vision... It was close by, she was sure, but it had to be hidden by the overgrowth. Should she find that before Derek? No, she shook her head, he was the most important thing; he came first.

Taking a deep breath, Alex squared her shoulders and wiped her eyes. Where to look? It was best to keep going forward since Jeroen seemed to have buried his bodies in this area. Tears rolled down her face anew. Shit, how could Jeroen do it... He was obviously some sort of psychopath or sociopath. She'd leave that up to Rachel when... Her head rose in shock. Rachel! Oh God, she had to tell Rachel and Nick about Jeroen! Could Rachel possibly be in any danger? Please let Nick be by her side tonight...

"Oh, Derek, whatever became of our wonderful, relaxing vacation?" She slipped and fell then, though whether from exhaustion or despair she couldn't tell. The thought of spending the night here alone, in the increasing fury of the tropical storm, in the darkness, without knowing where he was...

"Derek!" Alex gave in once more to her grief, sobbing as she rocked back and forth. The flash of lightning and the boom of the thunder startled her, and she uttered a small scream. Anger rose within her and she looked up to the sky. "Why? Why did You take him? Can't You see how much evil there is in this damn world? But then he did what You needed, so his usefulness was done, wasn't it?" There was no reply but for another quick flash of lightning followed by the echo of thunder.

"Dammit," she angrily balled her fists again and inhaled sharply. "Okay, come on, you can't fall apart," the dark woman chided herself. "I have to find him." She looked up to the sky, closing her eyes as the rain mixed with the tears on her face. "Please, God, I'm... I'm sorry. Just... help me find him. Please help me find him."

Another bright flash filled the sky, more dazzling than the last. For a moment she worried that she would be hit. Alex instinctively took several steps back, waiting for the electrical charge to strike her. She crossed her arms and waited, knowing there was nothing she could do now to avoid being hit. Strangely, however, there was no explosion of thunder, and after several seconds she opened her eyes.

The world reeled and her legs threatened to go out from under her. A small rush of air fluttered from her mouth as she somehow managed to remain on wobbly legs. Her body unconsciously carried her over to the burial mound from which Derek's body lay halfway out of its grave. "Oh my God, oh my God..."

Alex stumbled nearer to it, then finally collapsed to kneel before him. Was he real? She tentatively reached out and rested her hand on Derek's chest, hoping he wasn't, that he would disappear under her touch, but his body was solid beneath her quivering fingers. "Derek, no..." She sat in the mud, the chilly rain falling on her, as she stared at the corpse before her. It wasn't possible...

"Oh lord, he buried him," she murmured in shocked horror. "Jeroen buried him..." For some reason she was grateful that the young man had had the decency to close Derek's eyes. She wasn't sure if she could take seeing those beautiful golden eyes as lifeless orbs... Cradling Derek's upper body, her arms gently folded around him as his lower half remained covered in mud, leaves and debris. She rocked back and forth, his head resting on her breasts. "You can't be dead; this can't be happening," she whispered over and over.

A vivid flash of lightning followed by a terrible rolling boom brought her out of her stupor. A small scream escape from her lips when the huge clap of thunder echoed around them. She frantically turned her head around. They were getting soaked... They needed shelter... She had to move Derek out of here; the storm was intensifying. With a tenderness he was unable to feel, Alex cleared off his face as best she could before she leaned down and kissed his cold forehead, tears spilling from her eyes. "I'm going to have to move you, Derek."

She started to sob as she uncovered the rest of his body, gently moving the mud and leaves aside to free his long legs. Were these the same legs she had discreetly admired as they played at the beach only a few short days ago? The dark woman smiled sadly at the wonderful memory. And she had rarely seen him without a shirt on before this trip, so seeing his chest that day... Her shaky laugh ended in tears as she sat next to his body and cried before biting her lip.

"I can't do this. Derek, I have to get us out of the storm." She gazed around in a growing panic as lightning struck a tree a half mile away. "Come on, we've got to go." Alex placed her arms under his shoulders and dragged his body toward the area where she had seen the cave in one of her visions. She stopped to see if she could spot it. It should be behind her to her right. The next flare of lightning confirmed it. Yes, she could just make it out about ten yards away.

Positioning her hands under his arms again, she wished there were some other way to get him to the shelter, other than to drag him. But there wasn't... She was sobbing by the time they reached the cave. At this point she couldn't envision ever doing anything more in her life but crying. She gingerly lowered his head to the ground, then walked along the side of the mountain and brushed aside the overgrowth of ferns and palm tree leaves and other plants until she was able to find the opening. Once more being very careful, Alex pulled Derek's body into the grotto.

Lightning flared around them and she was surprised to see modern items in the cave. Did Jeroen... Was this a secret hideout for him? She waited for the next flash and she spotted a lantern in the back. Dear God, a flashlight a few feet away... "Derek, look what..." The rest died in her throat and the smile faded from her face. "Jeroen has all sorts of things in here," she said instead, her voice breaking as she grabbed the lantern. She quickly found a dry box of matches and lit the lamp, illuminating the large cave. At least they would be dry and have some light.

Carrying it, she walked back to Derek and put it down next to him, then gently gathered him in her arms for a second time. She kissed the side of his head. "Dammit, Derek, who the hell am I to even hold you, to weep over you." She pressed her cheek against his temple and tightened her hold. "I�m the one the Darkside used to try to bring down your House... first the vampires, then the Reed Horton mess. God... then Marcus came back to finish my vampire training. It�s been one nightmare after another for all of us, and they've been brought on by me and my weaknesses."

Alex kissed the top of his head before leaning her chin against it. "Yet you always forgave me, Derek. Would you have this time? It's my fault that we're here. It's my fault that you're..." Her voice choked, unable to say the dreadful word. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you at some better location. I... I should have arranged for another lunch on a motu to tell you. We could have spent the day on a beautiful beach. Maybe we could have continued where we had left off... if you had forgiven me for what I would have told you. Now you won't even know these awful things about me. Things that I needed you to understand..."

She gazed around the cave as she fought for control. "You know how you hated Jeffrey playing games with his Gift?" She lifted her head to gaze out at the rain and the words poured out of her. "I did the same thing, Derek. I abused mine. I knew the need, the thrill... That's why I empathized with him, because I had been there, I had done that. I used to impress Charlie and my college friends at parties with the tricks I knew. Good old, good time Charlie," she spat. "You died protecting a woman who once loved a drug dealer, who even used drugs. Did you know that? And I would have done anything to help him any way I could with this Gift to get those drugs. God, I was so stupid."

Her voice rose and the words tumbled out faster. "Did I leave the creep when I knew he was cheating on me, when I knew he was using me? No, I didn't take off until I found Javier and Crystal's bodies when Charlie swindled a Mexican cartel. So what did he learn from that? He decided to link up with the Colombians!" She closed her eyes as the scene of horror flashed before her eyes. Crystal and Javier were on their bed, their throats slit. Blood-soaked sheets had been carelessly thrown across their bullet-riddled bodies. Crystal's eyes were wide with terror... The utter carnage of it would forever haunt Alex and remind her of just how low she had sunk.

"Charlie said that I was safe in his friend's estate while he went off to handle some 'personal business.' Crystal was late so I went looking for her, wondering if she was Charlie's personal business. And then I found their bodies..." It could easily have been she and Charlie, and that thought had frightened her for many years. She had fled from the hellish scene back to her car and had fled home to Baton Rouge and Gramma Rose...

Her tears dripped on his face as she kissed the top of his head again. "I knew you'd hate me if you knew, that you'd want to have nothing to do with me." Her voice softened. "But you deserved the truth, Derek. I couldn't have a... an intimate relationship with you until... I couldn't love you until I told you the truth. I had done this... appalling stuff to you and yet you had forgiven me, so I couldn't..." She shut her eyes tight and rocked him once more.

"Rose knew Charlie was trouble and... tried to tell me, but I... wouldn't listen. She also knew that you were good for me. We were destined, she once told me." Her voice became louder as she began to weep once more. "I can't lose you, Derek. I don't know what I'm going to do without you, without your guidance. Why do I keep losing those I love? I lost Rose but I can't lose you. I can't lose you, Derek." She continued repeating the phrase as she held him ever tighter against her.

"Al... Alex..." the most beautiful voice in the world gasped out her name. "You're choking me."

End part 29