Immortal Cascade 01 Immortal Companion

by Carol Roi

  Part 6

  //Lobo! It's okay. Stop that howling, it hurts my ears.//

  Blair closed his lupine jaws with a snap. That was Dee's voice, but it was inside his head. //Dee?// He thought the question, giving it a little mental push outward.

  //Not so loud, wolf, I hear you.// The underbrush rustled, and a black mare entered the small clearing, head lowered in greeting. The mare touched noses with the wolf, snuffling loudly. //See, it's okay, it's me.//

  The wolf sat back on his haunches, gazing up and up at the huge midnight horse. If he'd had any doubts they were dispelled by the mare's brilliant blue eyes. //Oh, wow, Dee, you're beautiful!//

  The mare swished her tail and nudged him with her head, nearly bowling him over. //Glad you noticed. Now we have a job to do. Put that nose of yours to work, Lobo.//

  //My nose?//

  //A figure of speech, Blair. Jim is here; the jaguar is here. Listen with your heart. It will lead you to him.//

  Blair stood, and slowly turned round in a circle, focusing all his energy, all his thoughts, all his heart on Jim. //Jim,// he thought, //if you can hear me, give me a sign.// Nothing. He shook his head, and whined low in his throat. //I can't find him!// he cried to Dee.

  The mare lowered her head, nipping at the ruff of fur on the wolf's neck. //Try again, Lobo. Just relax. Pick the direction that calls to you most strongly, and we will go that way.//

  Again Blair slowly circled the clearing, searching for some sound, some sign, some feeling... There! Something was tugging at him, wrapping fingers around his heart, urging him to follow. //This way!// he called gleefully, dashing into the forest.

  With a snort, the mare followed. The wolf quickly out paced her in the thick underbrush, the mare's bigger size forcing her to take the long way round obstacles the wolf dashed over, under or through. She would catch up to him when he paused to check his direction, then he would take off again, tail flying behind him, tongue lolling. She was picking her way through a particularly dense thicket when she heard Blair calling her anxiously. //Dee! Over here! I've found him!//

  Breaking through the last stand of trees, she galloped down a steep hillside, sliding to a stop in front of a very strange sight. Plopped down in the middle of a field was part of a building. No, she decided, it was more like part of a room with the black jaguar in the center of it. A curving brick wall rose from the meadow behind the cat, and a concrete floor was underneath his feet. The rest of the room was open to the meadow and sky. The silver wolf lay alongside the prone cat, his muzzle resting over the jaguar's shoulder.

  A whine escaped the wolf's throat //He's hurt, Dee, hurt bad. You have to help him.//

  The mare concentrated, and then her image shimmered, like ripples on a pond. When the shimmering stopped, Dee knelt beside the silver wolf, clad in the tunic and armor of an Amazon warrior, a sword strapped to her back. She ran a hand over the wolf's shaggy head.

  //Wow! How'd you do that?// Blair asked.

  "Just visualize yourself as human again. It takes some concentration, but... " Blair's form shimmered under her hand, and she found her fingers buried in brown curls instead of silver fur.

  "Oooh," Blair said. "That's gross. It's like walking through jello." He glanced down at himself. "Not the shaman outfit again," he groaned.

  "I think you look kind of cute in that loincloth, um, thing," Dee said. She reached out toward the black jag, "Now let's see how bad this... " With a roar, the cat lunged at her, his claws narrowly missing her throat. Dee scrambled back a few feet. "Okay, Lobo will see how badly you're hurt. Go ahead, Blair. He trusts you." Blair moved closer to the cat, gently rolling him on his side, so Dee could see the long, deep wound that ran diagonally down his right flank. She also noted the heavy metal collar around his neck, and the chain leading to the wall.

  "How's his pulse, Lobo?"

  Blair laid his hand on the great cat's chest. "Fast, but thready. He's wheezing when he breathes, too." He turned anxious eyes toward her. "Is there anything we can do?"

  "I don't know. I've never tried healing from the spirit world before. And he's not gonna let me get close enough to touch him, let alone I don't think my touch is going to affect him. Let me try something. Just hold on to him in case I'm wrong." Dee moved around behind the jag, and grabbed for his tail. Her hand went straight through it. "That's what I thought. You can touch him because you are bound to him, I can't."

  A frown creased Blair's forehead. "But you said before you were bound to him too."

  "Through you, Blair, only through you. If you weren't here, I wouldn't be able to see Jim, let alone help him." Dee sat back on her heels, her mind turning their options over. Ellison was severely injured, and they still were no closer to finding out where he was. She suspected the sentinel was probably unconscious, and that was why they were interacting with the jaguar.

  "Dee," Blair said, interrupting her thoughts, "if your only connection to Jim is through me, can't you heal through me, use me as a conduit?"

  "It's worth a try. If this works, I don't want to hear another word about you not knowing any of this shaman stuff." She moved over beside Blair, placing her hands over his. "Just hold your hands about an inch above the wound. We'll start at the bottom, and move to the top very slowly, okay?" He nodded, and Dee closed her eyes in concentration, reaching deep inside herself and projecting her Quickening out through her hands. She quickly found it took an extra effort to push the energy through Blair and into the jag, but it was working. She could feel the edges of the wound beginning to knit together. She knew she didn't have enough strength to completely heal him, especially if she wanted to bring both of them back safely from the spirit world, but what she could give him was enough to stabilize him, to keep him hanging on until help arrived.

  Satisfied she'd done as much as she could, Diandra ceased her work, and leaned heavily on Blair. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

  She nodded. "I'll be fine. See if you can connect with him enough to talk to Jim." Blair gave it his best shot, but he couldn't get the cat to change into Jim, or to communicate mentally with him the way he and Dee had done in their animal forms.

  "Damn it," Dee said. "What we need is some outside help, someone in the spirit world who is not bound by the constraints we are, who is not tied to Jim." As if in answer to her plea, the shrieking cry of a falcon came from over head. Dee stood on unsteady legs. "Goddess," she whispered, "Lydia!" And then the black mare was bounding across the field, her hooves churning up great clods of soil as she galloped after the soaring bird.

  It took Blair a moment to figure out what was going on, then he shifted into wolf form, and loped after her. Dee's trail led him to the top of a rocky cliff, where he found the mare staring down below at another cliff, this one with the surf beating at its foot. //He's there,// she said, nodding her head in that direction. //In the tower.//

  A powerful beam of light swept across horse and wolf and on out to sea. //A lighthouse!// Blair exclaimed. //I recognize this, I know where this is!//

  //Then we must hurry back. Are you ready?//

  //Yes,// he replied, then looked skyward before the spirit world faded around him. //Thank you, Companion,// he called after the red falcon. Wheeling in the heavens, the bird screamed in joyous response.

  //Thank you, my love,// Dee whispered, then the world faded to black.

  She opened her eyes to a topsy turvey world. Someone was calling her name, but it seemed like they were a long way away, and she was tired, so tired. She closed her eyes again, and the annoying world went away.

  The second time she awoke, she kept her eyes closed, reaching out with her hearing first, finding the familiar beat of the Guide's heart. She let the sound wash over her, each beat grounding her, giving her strength, calling her back from the darkness. She breathed in his scent, finding it comforting, but tinged with the metallic odor of fear. That knowledge gave her the motivation to push the darkness the rest of the way back, finally opening her eyes.

  She gazed
up into the worried face of her Companion, (Companion? Where did that come from?) seeing relief flood his features as he realized she was awake. "Hey, Dee, you're back," he said softly, considerate of sensitive ears.

  "Mmm," she managed, "how long was I out?"

  "About 30 minutes, give or take." Blair helped her to a sitting position, and she realized they were still on the workout mat in the studio. "You gave me a real scare. I figured you were just exhausted from healing Jim, but I was about ready to call for help if you didn't wake up soon. Do you have a headache?" he asked, reminded of the last time she had healed.

  "A little one, not bad." Leaning over her legs, she stretched. "What time is it?"

  "Almost seven," he replied. "We were in the... " he hesitated, "the spirit world for a long time."

  Looking up, she smiled at him. "Well, we had a lot of work to do. Help me over to the sofa, and let's put all our information together and come up with a plan for rescuing Jim."

  Blair did as she asked, getting her settled on the cushions, and bringing her the info they'd gotten from Joe on Phillipe Seis. While he fixed some soup for her, figuring she would need to replenish the energy she had expended, Dee went over what they knew, and drew up a plan of action. When Blair came back to the living area, she handed it to him, taking the mug of hot liquid in exchange. He sat down on the sofa next to her, and she flipped her legs over his lap. Giving her a bright smile, he rubbed her knee with one hand as he perused the paper she had given him.

  Finally, he looked up at her. "So you figure Kendall isn't going to contact me until tomorrow at the earliest?"

  She nodded at him over the rim of the mug. "Immortals are nothing if not creatures of habit. According to the Watcher chronicles, Seis liked to let the families of his kidnapping victims worry and fret over at least 24 hours. He won't change that pattern now, especially since he thinks we have no idea what happened to Jim. That's our big advantage. We know who and where he is. He thinks we're gonna be tripping over ourselves in the dark until he drops a clue our way. That's why a rescue tonight will catch him completely off guard."

  For the first time since he'd realized his partner was in danger, an expression of hope crossed Blair's face. "Okay, I'll call Simon and let him know where Jim is... "

  Dee's hand on his arm stopped him in mid-sentence. "Blair, I don't think it's going to be that easy. First of all, Kendall is Immortal. He's not going to give a shit about the Cascade PD. Yes, he is isolated, and pretty much trapped in that lighthouse but right now, it's looking more like a fortress. The PD surrounds it, he kills Jim, gets his jollies, and takes a dive off the cliff in back. Simon thinks he's dead, and Kendall's knocking on your door tomorrow while they're dragging the cove for him. The only way you're going to be certain he's not going to come after you is if ... "

  Blair cut her off. "Is if you kill him. I can't let you do that, Dee. Jim is my partner not yours. I can't let you risk your life for him."

  Dee made an impatient noise in her throat. "I'm not going to argue that with you now, Lobo. Let's just go over the rest of what we know. Kendall had help taking Jim yesterday, probably two or three guys. That help is probably also at the lighthouse. They are going to be Kendall's first line of defense. That's not a big problem. What is a big problem is the time. At a certain distance away, maybe 50-100 yards, Kendall will know I'm there. What we have to do is reach Jim before he does. It can be done, Blair, but its going to take perfect timing and teamwork. I am going to have to engage him in combat while you rescue Jim."

  Blair stared at the paper in his hands, her sketches of the area around the lighthouse and the positions of the participants in this drama now seen for what they were: battle plans. "You have this all figured out," he said softly.

  "Yes," she answered him. "Kendall won't refuse my challenge, and really all I have to do is be in his way. He won't get to Jim or you, before you can escape."

  He looked back up at her, tears burning his eyes. "Dee, I can't... "

  "I know this is frightening, Blair, and I know this isn't how you're used to doing things. You're used to Jim and Simon making all the decisions, and now it's just you and me. These plans aren't set in stone, Lobo. I have my champion senses, you have your guide abilities. We need to use them to check this place out, make sure this is something we can handle ourselves. If it looks like we can't, we call for backup. The only problem with that is it increases the risk of Kendall escaping."

  "And Jim dying," Blair thought. "What do you want to do?" he asked out loud.

  "We wait until it's full dark out, and take a run up there. Once we're actually there, we can decide what to do." Finishing her soup, she set the mug down on the table. "Eleven p.m. ought to be dark enough."

  "What do we do until then?"

  She shifted to a sitting position, and said, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to get some rest." Rising, she headed off to the bathroom, and came back a few minutes later to find Blair stretched out on the sofa cushions, having kicked off his shoes and set aside the plans. He patted the place beside him on the couch. A soft smile curving her lips, Dee lay down next to him, resting her head on his chest, and feeling his arms wrap securely around her. "What's all this for?" she asked, once she was comfortable.

  His fingers began gently stroking her back. ""Just... because," he said quietly.

  Dee hugged him a little tighter. She understood his fear only too well. He was having to face the possibility of losing both Jim and her tonight. She wished there was something she could say to him, some assurance she could give him that everything would turn out all right, but she knew from experience there was nothing she could do except hold him and hope that was enough. The sound of his heart underneath her ear, and his rhythmic touch soon lulled her to sleep.

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  By midnight they had reached the lighthouse, parking the Cherokee off the road a quarter of a mile away. They hiked the rest of the way in across the rocky ground, Dee guiding Blair, since they couldn't risk a light. Settling into a surveillance position at the outer limits of Immortal warning systems, Dee focused her senses on the tower, Blair crouched beside her guarding against a zone out.

  "There's only three of them, besides Jim," she told him. "Two of them on the bottom level of the lighthouse, one of them climbing the stairs to the top. Jim is in one of the ground level rooms." She cocked her head toward the building, listening to the other sentinel's vital signs. "He sounds conscious. Do you think you can reach him, Lobo, let him know we're coming?"

  "I'll try," Blair said. "Jim?" he called softly. "If you can hear me, say something, man."

  "I think he hears you, his heart rate's increased."

  "Chief? Is that you?" Jim said. Dee relayed his words to the guide. "Who's that with you, Blair?"

  "It's the calvary, Jim. We're coming to get you out of there," Blair replied, grinning from ear to ear.

  "Chief, what are you up to? Is Simon there?" Jim had a million other questions, but he knew his partner wasn't going to give him the answers.

  "Let's just say this is an unofficial party," Blair said. He glanced at Dee, who nodded. "Get ready, Jim, we're going to be there in a couple minutes."

  Dee stood, her katana in hand. "Ready, Lobo?" she asked.

  Blair tightened his grip on his staff. "As I'll ever be."

  She took a long look at him then, memorizing every line of his beautiful face, his fierce blue eyes, his full lips and strong jaw, the way the chestnut curls that had escaped his ponytail blew around his face in the sea breeze. Leaning toward him, she pressed her lips against his gently, and said, "I love you, Lobo," then she started down the slight hill toward the lighthouse.

  Blair remained where he was for several stunned seconds, then he raced after her, catching up to her as she said, "Kendall knows we're here." Breaking into a run, she sprinted the last 50 yards, an Amazon war cry spilling from her lips, Blair hot on her heels.

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  Ellison was on his feet, the wound in his side a dull ache mostly forgotten in his anxiety. "Blair, damn it, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" He yanked futilely at the chain leashing him to the wall of his small prison. He could hear sounds of combat from outside, then silence broken only by hurried footsteps. "Lobo, here!" he heard Diandra's voice call, and then she was outside the door. "Stand back from the door, Ellison!" she yelled. He pressed as close to the far wall as he could get, and with a crackle of energy and a loud crash, the door blew off its hinges.

  Diandra stood outlined in the opening for a moment, her electric gaze meeting his for a split second. Whirling around, she charged up the spiral staircase, her words ringing in the round chamber. "Evan Kendall! I, Diandra of Delphi, Champion of Cascade, challenge you!" The sound of swords clashing floated back down the stairs.