Shine: Season One (Shine Season Book 1)

by William Bernhardt

  "First responders will be here soon. What do you want me to do with her?" the cop asked.

  Camille jerked her head up. "No," she moaned.

  Lochmier stood next to the car, three other officers behind him. Blood dripped down his face, creating a morbid mask beneath the flashing police lights that lit up the night.

  He reached out and caressed her cheek. "Put her in the trunk of your car. Make sure you gag her and turn the band back to motion. Let her hear how close help is. How close, yet out of reach, help will always be," he ordered, his voice like steel.

  Camille attempted to twist out of the cop's arms, but he was too strong for her in her weakened condition. The pain in her side blazed, taking her breath so that she couldn't even get more than a hoarse yell out as the cop moved over to the trunk of his police car and lowered her into its sweltering heat. He flipped the switch on her arm and Camille locked every muscle in place.

  He pulled clothing out of a gym bag next to her head. "I hope you don't mind sweaty socks, darlin', because nothing else will fit in that sweet little mouth of yours," the officer said with a smirk as he shoved it into her mouth, triggering the band.

  When the pain stopped, she lay enclosed in dark heat. She fought her gag reflex as the salty sweat of the sock mixed with the saliva in her mouth. The cop had used a pair of sweatpants tied around her face to hold it in place. The sweats left little room for air to reach her nose. She fought the panic clawing at her mind that insisted she couldn't breathe. She forced herself to count the thundering beats of her pulse. Slowly, she calmed down enough to listen to the sounds from outside the trunk.

  Sirens wailed, voices called out, and feet crunched over gravel past her prison. She tried kicking at the trunk lid to gain the attention of one of the emergency personnel passing by, but no one heard and she was left alone to ride the waves of pain caused by the band. She screamed, trying to push the sounds out around the sock in her mouth, but no one heard her. Where were her friends? Where was Jeremy? She listened to the ambulance and firefighters turn their sirens off and drive away one by one, each taking her last remaining bits of hope. Sweat drenched her clothing, her side burned, her parched mouth was desperate for water. The heat pressed against her. She floated on a sea of delirium. Images of her parents, Jenni, Jeremy, Michael, and her collection of Shines floated around her. Their faces were painted in disappointment.

  "I tried," she screamed in her mind. She met her dead best friend's accusing eyes. "What more do you want from me?"

  The others disappeared, leaving Jeremy's image wavering before her. His expression was the same one she'd seen two nights ago at the airport, his eyes begging her to believe that he hadn't betrayed her. Tears dripped from the corners of her eyes. "I never really believed you had," she whispered behind the gag.

  The images of her loved ones faded, replaced by her growing need for water. Her mouth was dry beneath the gag. Her throat scratchy. An itch on her left arm competed with her thirst to drive her crazy. Her blood seemed to boil.

  The trunk lid opened, letting in fresh air. Camille sucked in as much through her nose as she could get. Lochmier held a flashlight and reached in to pull the sock from her mouth. "Poor little firecracker. Look at you, all sweaty and bloody." He held a bottle of water up in front of the flashlight. "I bet you'd give about anything for some of this right now, wouldn't you?"

  Camille's eyes latched on to the bottle as she ran her dry tongue over equally dry lips. Her mind was fuzzy, pain was her constant companion, but overshadowing even the pain was the need for even a drop of sweet, life giving water. "Please," she begged, voice barely a whisper.

  Lochmier moved the bottle behind his back. "Look at me." Camille reluctantly pulled her gaze away from the last place she'd seen the water bottle and met his amused gaze. "I'm going to move you to the car's back seat. If you can be a good girl until we get where we're going, I'll give you a drink when we get there."

  Lochmier messed with the band on her arm, then picked her up. A wave of dizziness washed over her. She could feel her calf muscles threatening to cramp. She had nothing left. Every part of her body hurt. She couldn't even muster the strength to lift her head away from his chest. The water bottle pressed into her side, its coolness teasing her as he'd no doubt intended. She locked her gaze on it, praying that they arrived where they were going quickly. She'd do anything for a drink.

  Her eyes burned, gritty and dry. She'd run out of even the small amount of water needed for tears. Hopelessness dragged at her. How could she have ever thought she had the strength to lead other Shines when she couldn't even save herself? With the band on her arm and the remote in Lochmier's hand, she was powerless. She glanced away from the water bottle to his other hand. It took a second for her mind, slow from heat exhaustion, to register that he didn't hold the remote to the band. He thought her cowed. And wasn't she?

  Camille clenched her jaw. She wasn't done yet. She put every ounce of strength she had left into her arm as she swung her fist at his nose. The bone gave a satisfying crunch. He screamed in pain and collapsed to his knees, dropping her in the process. Pain exploded through her side. She struggled to suck in a breath through the pain. The four cops jumped out of the car. Camille willed her Shine to hide her and rolled over onto her hands and knees. Gasping through the pain at her side, she focused on her quivering arm muscles and willed them to hold her up long enough to find a hiding place.

  She crawled along an unfamiliar dark four lane highway, Lochmier's wrecked car in front of her. They couldn't be too far from the Grahams’ neighborhood. Lochmier's black car was parked at an angle, its front right tire crumpled into a guardrail on the side of the road. The cop's car was pulled up in front of it. Various businesses lined either side of the road, their windows dark. Camille could see a lit fast food restaurant ahead, a convenience store was open down the street, and a small dark side street led into a sleepy neighborhood behind them. She glanced over her shoulder, afraid they'd hear the displacement of the gravel as she crawled as far from her captors as she could get.

  Lochmier stood and leaned against the trunk of the cop car, head tilted back and one of the cop's shirts pressed to his nose. "The remote is in the car," he said in a voice muffled by the shirt. "I'm growing tired of your antics, my dear. I'm afraid you'll not be getting that bottle of water, after all.

  Camille froze, her horrified gaze swinging toward the band on her arm. Collapsing to the ground, she clawed at it. Her fingers hooked between the smooth material and her arm. A scream ripped from her throat as one of the cops pushed the button on the remote, nulling her Shine and making her visible only feet from where Lochmier stood. She didn't try to hold back her cries, instead pouring all of her fear and frustration into making them as loud as possible.

  Lochmier grabbed her long, tangled hair and dragged her toward the cop car's back seat. "Lift her up into the seat," he ordered.

  Camille tried to kick at the uniformed man. Her muscles jerked from the repeated use of the band, ignoring her commands. Camille shook her head as the officer pulled her up.

  The first cop whispered in her ear. "You've nearly pushed him too far, little girl. Others would have been dead already." His gaze met hers, full of pity. "You're going to wish he'd killed you." He shoved her into the car's back seat.

  Camille slumped to the side, unable to hold herself up, her head resting in one of the cops’ laps. Lochmier stood by the open door, studying her crumpled form. She met his eyes, green chips of ice in his blood-smeared face.

  She lifted an eyebrow. "Do I still intrigue you?"

  His face remained cold, his eyes hard. "I'm curious to see how much longer you can go before you break." A humorless smile spread across his face. "I'd wager you're fairly close to that point. It's so deflating when your efforts prove futile, no?"

  Camille moved her eyes over his bloody face. "Not totally futile."

  His smile softened as a bit of humor leaked back into his eyes. "I can't decide if you're brazen or jus
t lack any semblance of self-preservation."

  Camille closed her eyes and smiled. "If I have it my way, you'll never figure it out."

  The cop against whose lap she rested cried out. "Look out."

  The crash of glass and metal ripped his attention away from her as a car crushed one of Lochmier's cops. Tires screeched to a stop around the police cruiser. The cop she rested on opened his door and yanked his legs from beneath her. Lochmier backed up against Camille's legs, pulled a gun from his pocket, and used the door as a shield. Camille's heart thundered in her chest as weapons fired all around her.

  "You're done, Lochmier," Jeremy yelled. "Put down the gun."

  Lochmier dragged Camille out of the car and held her in front of him as a shield. She sagged against him, her legs refusing to hold her up. Her chin on her chest, she struggled to regain control of her body. She willed her body to listen to her and opened her eyes to see the hated remote to the band in his hand that was wrapped around her waist.

  "No, I don't think that's how this is going to go at all," Lochmier said, rubbing the gun against Camille's cheek. "You're going to put down your weapons, allow us to get into this car and drive away or I'll shoot her right here in front of you."

  Her gaze locked on the remote, she straightened her legs and locked them under her so she didn't sag against him. She glanced up, met Jeremy's narrowed blue eyes, and smiled weakly. She dropped her chin back to her chest and buckled her knees so that her weight sagged against Lochmier's arm with a jerk.

  The unexpected weight shift pulled him forward a step, then Camille threw her head back and shoved her body backwards while clawing at his fingers for the remote. Her head connected with his chin, making stars explode in front of her eyes. Lochmier lost his balance and they fell into a heap of tangled limps. Camille kicked out in an attempt to disentangle herself from his grasp. More gunshots were fired around her. The last standing cop went down on the other side of the car and didn't get back up. She lay on her back, on top of Lochmier on the ground, legs and one arm clamped tightly around her body. He pressed the gun against her temple.

  "It's over, Lochmier," Jeremy called.

  Camille squeezed her fist around the band's remote, her gaze locked on the gun in his hand.

  "I'm sorry, my dear, but they've forced my hand," he apologized.

  Then he lowered the gun and fired at her foot. She screamed and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the pain. Lochmier's bellow nearly deafened her. She opened her eyes and looked down. Though blood spattered her legs, she realized none of it was hers. The bullet had entered his thigh as though it'd somehow arched from its original path. Camille pulled at Lochmier's arm still clamped around her waist like a steel band.

  "You're mine," he said in her ear.

  Then he moved the gun back up to her temple. She kicked at his wounded leg. Lochmier arched his back and cried out. Camille knocked the gun from his hand and struggled to get out of his grasp. She'd managed to get to her hands and knees when Lochmier grabbed her ankle and dragged her back over him. Camille kicked at him and lunged away. She looked back over her shoulder to see Lochmier's gun moving away from him by itself. A smile stretched painfully across her face.

  Sophia appeared beside her. "Eyes shut, buttercup."

  When she opened her eyes, she lay on the ground beside Rachel's truck. She looked over to see Jeremy flip Lochmier to his stomach, shove his face into the ground a couple of times, then cuff him. Camille clenched her fist and realized she still held the remote.

  She clawed at the band on her arm. "Help me get this twice-cursed thing off."

  Sophia pushed her hands away and released the band. Blood leaked from the tiny holes made by two prongs on the underside of the band. Camille glanced toward where Jeremy jerked the injured Lochmier to his feet. With Sophia's assistance, she stood on her shaking legs and walked over to Jeremy, Rachel on her other side.

  "Rachel, you have your pocket knife on you?"

  The magnetic Shine lifted an eyebrow and nodded.

  Camille gestured toward Lochmier. "Cut the sleeve of his jacket and shirt off at the shoulder."

  Rachel made quick work of the request and Camille strapped the band tightly around Lochmier's arm. She met his empty gaze and shivered. His were the eyes of an emotionless predator. She yanked the band tight so he'd feel the bite of the prongs. "I want you to remember me every time you feel this go off." She handed the remote to Jeremy.

  Lochmier smiled, an evil thing that didn't reach his eyes. Camille shivered and fought the urge to step back away from him. His unblinking gaze pinned her where she stood as he strained against Jeremy's hold to lean toward her. "I'll remember you just as you'll remember me, while alone in our beds at night. We'll each imagine all the ways I would have gone about breaking your indomitable spirit. Me, with pleasure. You, with pain. And when they release me," he glanced back at Jeremy, "and they will release me, I'll find you and we'll live out our dreams in reality."

  Camille jerked away. Jeremy yanked Lochmier by his handcuffed arms and shoved him into the back seat of his SUV. The images Lochmier's words created danced behind her tightly squeezed eyelids. She knew they'd play in many future nightmares. She cursed the fear that weakened her and straightened her shoulders. The brush of calloused fingers on her face pulled her focus from the flashing images of herself at Lochmier's mercy. She opened her eyes and met Jeremy's concerned gaze. She sank into his bright blue eyes, lost in the longing he didn't even attempt to hide. His big hands cupped each side of her face, one thumb pulling her lip from the abusive grip of her teeth.

  "I'll make sure he's locked up for a very long time," Jeremy swore. "I won't let him hurt you."

  She rested her hands on his chest and clenched his shirt in her fists. "Make sure he isn't able to ever profit off another woman's misery."

  Jeremy nodded.

  Sophia tugged on her elbow and Camille glanced over her shoulder. "We need to release V from the Grahams’ basement."

  Camille flinched. She'd forgotten about V still suffering under one of the cursed armbands. Turning back to Jeremy, she let her eyes roam the strong lines of his faces. "I have to go. They need me."

  He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. "Try to stay out of trouble, Camille."

  She laughed. "I really do try, you know."

  He opened his eyes and her smile faded. "I love you."

  She relaxed the fist clutching his shirt and slid her hand up his chest, around to the back of his neck, and pulled him closer. Their gazes locked. She pressed her lips to his, then pulled back with a shake of her head as he sought to deepen the kiss. "If I could make disappear the fact that I'm a Shine and you're a Federal officer, I'd do so in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, that isn't how our world works." She slid her hands down until only their fingers touched and stepped back. "Goodbye, Jeremy."

  His gaze dropped to their entwined fingers. "Remember to visit the castle I told you about."

  She waited until his gaze jumped back up to hers. "Does it come with a prince?"

  A ghost of a smile lifted the corner of his lips, amusement warring with the sadness in his eyes. "Not a prince, no, but then, you just never know."

  Camille could feel her eyes burning. She gave him a wobbly smile and pulled her fingers from his grasp. Turning toward her friends, she forced herself to breathe past the pain in her chest. Sophia and Rachel gave her sympathetic glances, but remained silent as they climbed in Rachel's truck. Rapid footsteps approaching behind her made her whirl around. Jeremy yanked her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. She opened under his assault. This was no soft, loving kiss, but rather, a brutal pouring of emotion. His tongue dueled with hers. His fingers dug desperately into her soft skin as if he couldn't pull her close enough.

  As abruptly as he'd pulled her close, he pushed her away and growled, "Find the damn castle, Camille."

  18

  Camille's jaw hung open as Scotty's Castle appeared like a mirage amid the desert wee
ds. She pulled her car over a broken chain into a cracked parking lot.

  "Wow," V said. "It's like something from a Spanish fairytale."

  Camille smiled at her soft-spoken friend, ignoring the shiver that still rippled down her back each time she heard the other woman’s voice. Glancing in her rearview mirror, she shook her head. Annie hung halfway out the window of Rachel’s truck, her sister Sara holding onto the waistband of her younger sister’s shorts.

  She returned her gaze to the sprawling adobe castle. Had it really only been four days since she’d gone back to the Grahams’ to free V from the basement, only to find their adopted older daughter, Sara, also being held in the largest of the basement rooms? Annie had been horrified. Despite Sara’s Asperger’s and her Shine ability, maybe because of it, the two sisters had always been close. Now the older Grahams were being held by the FBI and the sisters were both listed as missing. It was indeed nice to have a connection in the FBI willing to turn a blind eye as she spirited the two young women away.

  Her smile faded as she studied the deserted castle through her dust windshield. "It's hot, there probably isn't any access to water, and I see no clue of any kind of resistance organization," Camille said in a flat voice. The hope that had been building with each mile they drove through barren desert collapsed into a bitter heap.

  She drove the car through the deserted parking lot past a crumbling building that Brenna's map said had once been the garage and bunkhouse. A few red Spanish roof tiles lay broken in pieces on the ground. She parked in front of a large arched opening big enough for her car to drive through, had its red gate not been barring the way. Rachel's truck pulled up next to her. Annie, Sara and Rachel stepped out of the truck and came to stand beside Veronica, Sophia, Brenna and herself. They all stood in front of the vehicles just looking up at the beauty of the castle amid the desert landscape. The soft sweep of the wind, the only sound to break the silence, blew through the deserted corridor of the courtyard beyond the gate.