The End of Darkness

by Jaime Rush

“I left at sixteen, stayed with some people who let me work at their store to earn my keep. I was okay then.”

  But she wasn't okay. Now her shields made sense, as did her need for human connection. When she reached out though, she had no idea what to do, especially with her shields up. If only he'd known, but it wasn't like she would tell some guy she'd met in a bar. Aye, maybe he was a drummer psychologist.

  She swiped at her face. “Why are you being so nice? I probably ruined your chance to escape.”

  “You're free.”

  She seemed to just realize she was no longer cuffed to the bar. She took a step back, and he had to force himself to let her go. She held out her hand but still couldn't produce a glow.

  He let his arm remain aloft. “And my hand is free. It's a start.”

  She studied him, as though she wasn't sure what to make of him. “You're not like anyone I've ever met.”

  “I could say the same.”

  She went to the cell door and tried it. “I'll bet.” She turned to face him, her eyes red and wet. Somehow it was beautiful on her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I'm glad you told me.”

  She shrugged, but her cheeks reddened. “What does it matter? We're going to die here anyway.”

  “We don't have to.”

  He nodded to the vent in warning, and she came close again. He wished he could pull her closer but that was probably pushing it. He did put his mouth to her ear, letting his jaw brush hers. “We've got three people to deal with: cold, crazy, and horny. We need to play their dynamics to our advantage. Lanna is our best hope. She's got a weakness we can exploit. And she doesn't have a deadly ability.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Copeland told her to shoot us if that guy comes here. Why would she need a gun—or knife—if she can blast us?”

  Erica nodded. “True.”

  “If I can make her believe that I'd take her away from two men she obviously doesn't like, she'll release me. But I've got to convince her I want her.”

  “But that means I have to let her into my head.”

  “I don't like that part either, but it's the only way she can live this fantasy of hers. And it weakens her.”

  “No, I can't. I can't go through that again. It's too much like Jerryl, making me do things…”

  He lifted her chin to make her look at him. “But I'm not Jerryl, and I won't do anything you don't want. Let her get caught up in the heat of it. Before she goes too far, I'll tell her I can't touch an unwilling woman. While we're discussing it, you knock her to the floor and nick her keys. Once I'm out of these cuffs, I can Become.” She still looked terrified. “You know you can kick her out.”

  “That's because I took her off guard. Next time she'll be ready to fight me.”

  “If there's some other way, I'll try it. Any ideas?”

  She studied the cell, chewing her bottom lip. After a minute, she shook her head. “I can't come up with anything else.”

  He ran his fingers down her arm, circling her wrist gently. He felt the raised scars. She was a fighter. And potentially someone who had wielded her power to kill. “Do you want to survive?”

  She glanced at the tunnel door. “I want to stop whatever's going to happen.” She would do it to save others.

  He turned her hand so that her palm faced up. She bore a scar there, too, of her power. “You're not afraid to die?”

  She shook her head.

  “You're not afraid to kill either.”

  She shook her head again without hesitation.

  A weird combination of fear and pride twined through him. “Was that why you were following me? To kill me?”

  “Only if you were the Heart Ripper.”

  “You thought I was the serial killer?” He almost laughed at that.

  She, however, looked dead serious. “Because you said there was something wrong with you. Then you went to the park where two of the victims were found.”

  “Two of the victims? Are you investigating the murders?”

  “I was hunting the killer.”

  “Hunting…”

  Confidence and pride shone in her eyes. “I hunt killers.” She flexed her hand. “And I kill them. Eight of them so far. I almost got Nester.”

  “Holy hell.” He'd thought she was this vulnerable woman, and here she was killing killers.

  “It makes me feel like my life here has purpose. That everything I went through made me strong enough to stop murderers.”

  He could hardly wrap his mind around her.

  She kept that fierce expression when she said, “I suppose if I'm strong enough to do that, I can do what you suggested.” The ferocity melted away though as she looked into his eyes. “Can I trust you?”

  His heart broke for the fear in her eyes at the prospect of trusting anyone but herself. Of being let down again. “With every cell in your body.”

  CHAPTER 12

  It took about an hour before Suza stopped staring at Pope. Sometimes he glanced her way, but he didn't seem to mind her gawking.

  “My great, great grandfather was a shaman,” she said. “There were rumors that he spoke to aliens out in the desert. I've always believed there's life on other planets. Maybe those 'planets' are actually other dimensions.”

  “There's something you haven't told me about your life?” He gave her a smile that told her he didn't mind all the chattering she'd done over the phone. “I'm amazed.”

  She gave him a coy smile. “There are a few things you don't know about me.”

  His long fingers tightened over the top of the steering wheel. “Until this trip, I didn't know about the sensitive spot beneath your ear.”

  She recalled the feel of his mouth on her neck, when she thought he was the inappropriate brother. “I have a lot of sensitive spots. I don't want to tell you about them.” She fought to keep a straight face at the disappointment on his face. “I'd rather show you.”

  “Oh.” His cheeks actually reddened. “Oh.”

  “Later,” she added with a smile as the full impact of what she'd insinuated seemed to sink in. “Do you have any sensitive spots?”

  “I don't know.”

  “What do you mean, you don't know? Everybody has at least one of those spots. Beyond the obvious ones, of course.”

  “In our dimension, intercourse is for a purpose, such as physical release or procreation. Sex does not sell, and we are not preoccupied by the attributes of naked bodies. We are taught that those here are obsessed with such things, that their sexual desire corrupts them, causes them to act in immoral and illegal ways. That we are lucky not to have those desires.”

  His gaze drew down her body. “But we are not lucky. We are deprived, though I never felt that way until I met you. The sight of you posed on the couch in your underpretties has been a preoccupation ever since. It is a new thing for me, desire, wanting to kiss a woman, and do more than kiss a woman.”

  “When you say 'new,' do you mean…new?” She flattened her hand on her chest.

  He shook his head, filling her body with heat. “Desire is yet another emotion we have been bred to repress and deny. But I cannot deny it with you. The people in my life cannot bear to be apart from the object of their desire, but it goes deeper. The thought of that person being hurt causes them physical pain. They go to extraordinary and dangerous lengths to save one another. I did not understand this until you.” He reached for her hand, thoughtfully lacing his fingers with hers. “It's baffling and disturbing and wonderful all at once.”

  She looked at those strong, sexy, and capable hands, and then into those mysterious eyes. “You're saying you've never desired a woman before me?”

  “I'm afraid all of this is quite new to me. Other than textbook learning. I understand, for instance, that sex is inserting the man's penis into the woman's vagina, but I don't know what elements transcend the act into 'making love.' I do know there is a great difference. If we were to continue interacting, you would have to teach me, w
ell, everything. You would need to show me what pleasures you, and I would have to practice over and over to get it right.” He took her in, completely serious! “It's troublesome. I can see by your expression and by…I'm not sure what your feelings indicate.”

  She threw herself against him and kissed him.

  He tried to keep an eye on the road, and Yurek's car, but still managed to participate in the kiss. When she sat back, he said, “That is not a troublesome prospect then?”

  She laughed, the only way to release the bubbles of joy building in her chest. “You've never been in love with a woman before? Or had sex with a woman?”

  He was clearly perplexed by her reaction, but then again, she had trouble getting her head around it, and she was feeling it!

  “No, but I do have curiously strong feelings about you that might fall into the 'in love' part. Having nothing to compare, I suppose it will take time to figure out what they are. You may have to teach me about emotions as well, as I barely have a handle on the array of them. My friends find it exasperating to explain what I feel from them.”

  “What you feel from them? Now you're sounding like me.”

  “Yes, I too pick up human emotions, experiencing them in the same way they are. But I don't always understand them, so I ask what they mean. I want to learn.”

  “I'll have to explain what I'm feeling?”

  “The subtle ones. If you're upset or hurting, it helps me to understand, so I can make things right. I understand the basic ones, but there are many that perplex me. Like yours right now, for instance. I get this odd mixture of surprise, elation, and other emotions I've never sensed before. Curiously, none are frustration.”

  “Oh, no, darlin', I'm not experiencing frustration. I'm wrapping my mind around this. You. So you'll want to know what I'm feeling, so you can help me feel happy all the time?” She stifled a sigh. “And I get to teach you everything about making love, being loved?”

  “I will need thorough instruction, yes. The parts work fine. I have experienced the physical manifestation of desire with you a few times already.”

  She thought she might already love this man, who was not a man, which made him all the better.

  He gestured to his gorgeous body. “I want to use this to pleasure you in many ways.”

  A small mewling sound she'd never made before came out of her mouth. A man who listened to her, really listened, and would take learning how to pleasure her as seriously as he took his former job as an officer. A man who probably couldn't lie or deceive to cover his emotions. Holy schmoly.

  “I'm in.” She took his hand and kissed each finger, and then turned it over to tickle his palm with her tongue. “I'm so in.”

  He growled low in his throat. “As eager as I am to start our lessons, now is not the time. Yurek's turning off the main road,” he said, his voice still strained. “We should probably—”

  “Yes, you're right.” She released his hand. “We can talk about this later.”

  “I see why the Offspring males were so adamant about not falling in love during a mission. This is all very distracting.”

  She was eager to meet his sort-of family who all had psychic abilities.

  Pope passed the road where Yurek had turned, and the sign that read, CAL ENERGY RESEARCH CO.. Beyond that, another sign warned that trespassers would be prosecuted. “These people will kill me once they find out who I am. I'm afraid they would kill you, too, if given the chance. You have already seen that. We must keep our concentration sharp.”

  The thought of him being killed—hell, of either of them dying—shot adrenaline into her veins. “Then that's what we do.”

  “This never worked with the women I've known, but I must give it a try. You should stay in the car and be safe.”

  “And leave you to figure this out for yourself? No way.”

  He released a long breath. “I suspected that would be your answer.”

  He pulled down the next road and followed it to an abandoned factory. He got out and surveyed the hills in the east. “There's a finestra somewhere around here.”

  She joined him. “A what?”

  “A portal that allows us to travel back and forth. I was never privy to what this group was doing here and had forgotten about them until now. Given what's going on in Strasford, and their obvious connection to it, I have to conclude that they are manipulating Darkness for ill intent.”

  “Yeah, what you said.”

  “The only way to find out what they're doing is to go in.” He lifted his hand. “I may have to kill one or more of them if we're caught.”

  He had told her about his powers and how they were coming back. She pulled her .45 caliber Springfield out of the glove box. “I don't have anything as wild as you do.” She tapped the side of the gun against her palm. “But I can blast someone the thoroughly human way.”

  His mouth twitched ever so slightly. “Have you shot anyone?”

  “Shot at my ex once, when I caught him trying to steal my truck. I missed him 'cause I didn't want to hit my truck. Hearing this baby go off did the trick though. He scampered like a little girl with her panties on fire. I have a practice range in my back yard. I'm not a bad shot.”

  She swore she saw a glint of pride in his eyes. “I imagine. Do you have binoculars in here as well?”

  “I do.” She dug them out.

  He surveyed the surrounding area. “I want to go up there where we will have a better vantage point.”

  She followed his pointing finger to a spot high up on the side of the hill in the distance. “I don't even see a road—”

  He put his arm around her, and suddenly they were at the spot he'd pointed to.

  She blinked, swaying on her feet. “Even though I know you can do that 'porting thing, I wish you'd give me some warning.”

  “I did.” And he was serious.

  She patted herself, making sure she was in one piece. “Okay, more warning. Like, 'I'm about to whoosh you to a whole new location in a blink of an eye'.”

  “I will keep that in mind. If I've got time. It seems to be working now, though there's a chance it will fizzle out. What worries me more is only being able to 'port myself, leaving you behind. That possibility frightens me, because these people have skills like mine. Even with your gun skills, you will have little chance of surviving.” He let those words sink in for a moment. “That frightens you.”

  “I'm scared, yes. Scared of a lot of things right now, to be honest.” Not the least of which was falling for a dude who wasn't quite human. “But being scared has never kept me from doing anything. Sometimes to my detriment, yeah, but knowing what's at stake, there's no way I'm backing down.”

  He nodded, then lifted the binoculars to his eyes and studied the community below. A few moments later, he handed her the glasses.

  She saw a large building off to the side, some smaller ones, and a neighborhood on the other side. “Reminds me of an old mining town.”

  “See the small building off to the side? A lot of people are coming out.”

  “Could they all be crammed into that small shed?” She glanced at her watch. “It's five o'clock. Quitting time.”

  He placed his hand over hers. “I'm going to take us down, to the back of that building.”

  “Thank you for the warning.” After another stomach-tumbling moment, they were standing behind the building. She could hear people talking, both men and women, though it wasn't easy to hear what they were talking about.

  The blast of a horn nearly shot her up in the air two feet. They'd been spotted!

  “Attention. Attention,” a man's droll voice came across loudspeakers all around the area. “There will be a meeting in the main hall at seven o'clock. Attendance is mandatory. Our deadline is being moved up. Repeat: our deadline has been moved up.”

  That had nothing to do with their presence. But it was probably connected with that Yurek character discovering how bad things were in Strasford.

  She and Pope held each other's ga
zes as they waited for the sounds of people to subside. He wrapped his fingers around her wrists and nodded toward the building.

  Here we go again.

  The building housed not much beyond an elevator. She and Pope both spun around, ready to encounter someone. She lowered her gun but kept it at her side as she followed him to an elevator.

  Pope pressed his finger to his mouth—like she would start chattering now—and approached it. A dizzying moment later, they were standing outside that same elevator, though the damp air indicated they were probably several stories down. Behind them a tunnel stretched interminably under the glow of green lights. He kept his hand on hers as they headed into the unknown. Her boot heels echoed on the stone floor. She removed them, tucking them to the side in a patch of shadow, and continued on. The floor was smooth and cool.

  After thirty minutes they stopped to investigate what looked like an escape hatch, with a ladder that led up into a narrow, dark opening. Nearby was a locked cabinet. They continued on, hearing an occasional drip-drip and finding a place where some underground spring was leaking down the wall. None of it was as bad as the sense of claustrophobia gripping her.

  Pope sniffed the air, slowing his pace. He raised his hand, and a glow emanated from his palm, enough to illuminate the dirt wall. He took several more steps, clearly on the trail of something. Then he found it, only she didn't know what it was exactly, other than a white, rectangular box. Beneath it was one of the bright orange paint marks they'd been seeing every so many feet. This, however, was the first such box they'd come across.

  Pope walked farther, coming upon another such device above the orange mark. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Explosives from my dimension.”

  Explosives. In a tunnel. A tunnel they were deep within. Let the panic breathing begin.

  He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Calm down.”

  She nodded, big jerky movements.

  Soft footsteps echoed down the tunnel, coming from the direction in which they were headed. Oh, great, throw that at me right now.

  Pope pulled her back to the hatch they'd passed, pointing up the steel ladder. She went first into the hole of pitch darkness. He followed close behind until they were above the roof of the tunnel.