“I’d like to look at it with my mind first. It would be beneficial if you could do the same.”
“I’m not sure I want to connect with the demons again,” she said, biting her lower lip and willing the flashbacks to Calais to stay away.
“You might not find demons,” he replied. “It’s possible they haven’t been here and you’ll only find the staff that care for the home.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
She looked across the low rise in front of them and felt hunger, heat, exhaustion, satisfaction at finding its prey, the need to stalk silently, then the thrill of death. She gasped.
“It’s just a snake,” Darian said.
She looked up at him to see his face turned in the same direction, with his eyes closed.
“How do you see it with your mind?” she asked. “Can you also feel their emotions?”
He opened one eye and looked down at her. “I see an outline of the snake, but I don’t feel what it does. What about you?”
“I can’t see it at all,” she replied. “I can only feel its presence somewhere in the distance. Do you know exactly where it is?”
He pointed to one of the large trees on the top of the rise. “It’s hunkered down in the tall grasses. I suspect it’s hunting.”
“It is. I could feel its intent,” she explained.
He looked at her with interest, then a frown. She knew what he was thinking without even getting into his head. He could locate them, and she could feel their intent. But he hesitated sharing, and she didn’t blame him.
“If you can tell me what’s at the house and where it is, I’ll determine their mental state,” she suggested. “And I promise to stay out of your mind.” She watched his features change again. “I understand your need for privacy, Darian, and I will respect that. Besides, I need to practice minding my own business.”
His lips turned up at the corners, and she thought she saw his eyes watering. But then he cleared his throat and coughed. “Deal.”
He closed his eyes again, and Sara tried to focus on the spot over the rise, but she couldn’t grasp it.
“I don’t think I can reach that far, Darian.”
He remained silent for several moments. “I don’t see any demons, but there are way more people at the house than should be.” He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Let’s get you a little closer.”
He laid his hand on her shoulder again, and the world lurched forward. They reappeared next to the tree he’d pointed out earlier. A low hiss and rustle of grass betrayed the snake’s disapproval, but it didn’t attack them.
Sara looked down at a sprawling ranch style home built in an L shape. Several tents littered the yard, and people milled about between them. Two children, a boy and a girl, made a running circuit around three tents clustered together. The sweat on their dark skin shined in the bright sun. Sara tentatively reached for their minds. There was no sense of fear or anxiety from the little ones as they played.
She moved towards the couple she assumed were their parents. Fear was at the forefront of their emotions. Exhaustion was a close second, but she could see that from their slumped posture as they moved slowly towards the front door of the house. It opened and let them in. Sara lost them when she lost visual.
“It seems I cannot read people if I can’t see them,” she said with a huff. “The couple who just went into the house are afraid of something, but the children aren’t.”
She focused on another grouping of tents. Six or seven adults sat on the ground in front of the makeshift homes. One woman stood, swinging her arms in the air as she spoke. Sara felt not only her fear but also her anger and frustration. The man next to her was barely in control of his desire to hit her. Sara skipped around the circle of people, realizing they were all angry at this woman. They felt justified in their anger like the woman wronged them somehow. They all stood and inched closer to the one they hated. Yes, it was hate and revulsion. They wanted to beat her to death at the very moment.
“No,” Sara whispered. Her hand rose into the air, and the tendrils of light reach across the grassy plane. She had to stop them. Killing each other would solve nothing.
“Sara,” Darian’s voice interrupted her thoughts, but the light continued to surge towards the small group. “Sara, stop!”
He grabbed her hand, pushing it to her side. She shook her head and looked at him. He stood directly in front of her, blocking her view of the scene below.
“I think…” She paused, not wanting to think about what she had intended to do just now. She had a fierce desire to stop the impending violence, but her uncontrolled reaction scared her more. What would her power have done if she didn’t even know her own intent? Her mouth opened and closed several times, but she could not articulate what she felt.
“I don’t think you would have hurt them, Sara,” Darian said, seeming to understand her confusion and horror at what she might have done.
“I believe you’re wrong.” She looked up at him. “My desire to stop the violence blocked out all other emotions, both mine and theirs.” Her lip quivered, and she bit it. She already promised herself there would be no more tears.
“That’s why I’m here,” he replied. “To balance your power. We just need to do a better job of listening to one another.”
“I don’t think you need anyone to balance you,” Sara said, wiping her eyes with her fingers. “I’ve never seen you lose control like that.”
He chuckled. “When this is over, talk to Magdelin about how many times she had to heal me from self-induced injuries.” He released her hand and moved back to her side. “If I would’ve had you to balance me, I could’ve avoided most of those incidents and probably saved a fortune in clothing. I learned a lot of lessons the hard way.”
“If you say so,” she replied.
“Has the situation below de-escalated?” he asked, turning his head to look at her.
“I’m afraid to check,” she replied, not trusting herself.
“We need to know.”
“Can’t we just walk down there and find out?” she asked.
“How will you perfect your skills if we do?”
“You’re infuriating sometimes,” she mumbled.
She knew he was right. She needed to practice. It wouldn’t do any good if she lost her mind during a battle when they needed her most. She looked back at the small group. They hadn’t attacked the woman, but their anger hadn’t subsided, either.
Sara moved on to the next cluster of tents. Sadness consumed the four women huddled on the ground. One of them was fearful, but the others couldn’t see past their loss. Sara’s heart ached for them, and her knees weakened. Would she have time to mourn her own family? Or would this crazy fight steal that from her? She suspected the latter.
She filtered through three more groups before sagging to the ground. The emotions of the people she touched overwhelmed her own, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
“They’ve lost whole families,” she said, and she folded her legs beneath her. “They’re afraid, but their sadness and heartache are stifling their fears.”
“Could you see their memories?” Darian asked. “Do you know if demons took their families, or was it the toxic bombs?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I’m not sure I’m strong enough to see their memories. The emotions themselves are overwhelming enough. We could just go down there and ask them.”
“I’m reluctant to show ourselves,” Darian replied. “I’m not sure it will do them any good to know the entire world is experiencing the same thing they are.”
“I suppose.” She looked down at the scene once more, trying to separate herself from the sadness. “Can we make sure the demons aren’t trailing them?”
“I intend to do just that if you’re up for it.”
“I am,” she replied, pushing herself to her feet. “I would feel awful if we left them and the demons attacked.”
Chapter 37
Darian
Unlike the desert plains, the foothills of the mountains were covered in tall trees and caves. There were plenty of places for a group of Csökkent to summon their demons.
“They’re here,” Darian said quietly, forcing his mindsight through a thick stand of trees ahead of them.
Sara stiffened next to him, fear and uncertainty rolling off of her in waves.
“I believe the Csökkent are with them,” he continued. “It’s possible that we’ve stumbled upon their summoning grounds.”
“What’s a summoning ground?” she whispered.
Had they really not discussed the Csökkent’s role in this? He thought back through the last several days and couldn’t remember a single conversation about how the demons arrived. Darian could hardly believe this had all started just a few days ago.
“Come with me,” he said, grabbing her elbow, teleporting them back to the last place they’d been. He needed time to explain without being discovered. “I realize your knowledge of our world is extremely limited, but you need to hear this before we engage the Csökkent.”
He released her arm and took a step back.
“The Csökkent are a cult who have been around for as long as anyone can remember. The Overlords are their masters, and the cultists are the ones who summon the demons into our world.” He started to pace back and forth in front of her but stopped himself. He looked at her bewildered expression for a moment, but she remained silent. “In order for the demons to leave Hell, a life must be traded for theirs. Depending on the type of demon, only one life is needed. For others, the sacrifice is much greater.”
“You mean they use human lives to summon the demons here?” she asked, her voice quivering.
“Yes, the Csökkent sacrifice humanity to bring this evil into our world.”
He watched her expression as she bit her lip, thinking about what he said. He needed her to see the Csökkent as the evil they were, not as humans. If she couldn’t, she may not be able to fight against them.
“These cultists are human?” she asked.
He nodded, allowing her to think it through.
“I don’t understand why they would sacrifice their fellow man for these creatures. What do they gain in doing so?” Her lip curled in disgust as she spoke.
“I will never understand their motivation,” Darian replied. “And I have no idea what the reward is for serving the demons. The Csökkent have their own magic, which is how they perform the rituals. They could easily use that magic for something good, but they choose not to. The only explanation is they are broken human beings.”
“You’re telling me this because we need to kill the ones you found.”
It was a statement, not a question. One he was grateful he didn’t have to explain.
“Yes,” he replied. “We cannot allow them to summon any more demons. There aren’t enough humans left to let this happen.”
She stuffed her hands into the front pockets of her blue jeans and looked up at him. “You want me to destroy their minds.”
“We’ll kill them, but I don’t care how,” he replied. “We can go in with swords swinging if you like. Or we can use our wall of flame, but that might burn down the forest.”
“But I suck at fighting with a sword, and we will certainly be outnumbered.” She bit her lip once again, and Darian wondered if she’d eventually bite through the skin entirely. “It would be safer for both of us if I could eliminate them before they realized we were there.”
He worried about her using that ability. Had she already forgotten her own pain and remorse over the last time? She all but begged him to not make her do it again.
“Or we can go back to Santuario and get help,” Darian replied. “I don’t want you in another ten-hour coma.”
“And I don’t want Adalina to lose those who are connected to her,” Sara argued.
And I don’t want to lose the one bonded to me, Darian thought. “Let’s find out how many there are, then we’ll make a decision.” He’d compromise for now and make a decision later. Mikel would be proud of his restraint.
She nodded and held out her hand to him. He stared at it for a moment, wondering if there was a hidden meaning behind the offer. He discarded the thought, took her hand, and teleported them back to the demons.
Darian concealed them both when they arrived, still holding tightly to her left hand. He closed his eyes, pushing his mindsight into the tree line. A dozen demons paced back and forth in front of a low entrance to a cave. He forced his mind into the cave, watching the contours of rock float by him. The path turned several times before ending at the wide cavern he suspected would be there. Four men sat on wooden stumps at the edge of the empty room. There was no fire and no other demons.
“We may have lucked out,” Darian said quietly. He relayed to her what he saw. “The men in the cave won’t know the demons have been killed. It will give us time to make a decision about how to proceed.”
“Okay,” Sara said. “I can do this.”
He suspected she was trying to convince herself more than him.
“I’m going to lead you into a position where you can see all of the demons,” he said, tugging her along. “I won’t leave your side.”
“You won’t let go of me either,” she hissed. “Not being able to see you is very unnerving.”
He smiled and gently squeezed her fingers. Within a few minutes, they edged along the rock a few yards away from the mouth of the cave. Darian took a deep breath. Regardless of how he felt, he could not let her mind get lost like it did last time. He reached for her through their connection. Her hand jerked, but he tightened his grip.
They will hear us if we try to talk. Let’s keep the conversation between us, he suggested.
Ok, but I don’t feel good about it, she replied. I can’t always pull my mind away from you.
I’m confident we can do this and still mind our own business.
Sara’s mind was silent, but Darian could still feel the connection. She hadn’t pulled away.
Alright, I’m reaching for the demons, she said with forced conviction.
He felt the creatures’ anger and lust for violence as soon as she touched their minds. They whispered in a harsh language he didn’t understand. Sara gripped his hand even tighter, and he watched her eyes narrow. A red haze stole his vision, and he looked at his Sentinel. Her dark eyes were still her own, which meant she was seeing the world through the demons’ eyes. Her right hand stretched out and the connection to them died. All twelve demons collapsed at once.
Sara leaned against him and started sliding towards the ground. He caught her around the waist and held her up.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think so. It’s just tiring,” she replied.
“Do you want to sit down for a moment? The Csökkent have no idea we’re here. We can take a break if you need it.”
“No, I’m good,” she replied.
He eased her to the ground anyway, feeling the weight of her exhaustion. She didn’t fight him.
“Okay, maybe I’m not so good.” She chuckled softly. “I won’t be doing that often. It takes way too much energy.”
“I guessed that might be the case after your extended nap last time.”
“That reminds me,” she said, turning her face to his as he recognized her ‘I’m getting ready to rant’ expression, “I lost my favorite shirt during that fight.”
“You’ll have to find another favorite,” he said, not even trying to suppress his smile. He loved this side of her. It pulled him from the dark place he retreated to when he lost her to Andrew.
“I kind of liked that silk one I woke up in,” she said raising an eyebrow at him. “It felt amazing against my skin. How
much did you have to spend on that?”
“I’d rather not say,” he replied. “It was very expensive, and I was not pleased that you wore it to bed for over ten hours. I’m not sure how I’ll get the wrinkles out of it.”
“Really? You’re worried about the wrinkles?” she asked, the corners of her mouth lifting.
“I was going to say the smell, but I thought it might offend you,” he countered, knowing he would get another rise from her.
“I don’t smell!” She clasped her hand over her mouth. “Quit distracting me, the cultist guys will hear us.”
“Let’s go take care of the cultist guys, then we won’t have to worry about it.”
Her playful expression vanished, taking his with it. “I can’t do that again, Darian. Not without passing out.”
“I know. We’ll do it the old-fashioned way.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “I’m going to conceal us both, but I’ll have to leave you at the entrance to the last chamber. I think I can kill the first two before they know we’re there. Do you think you can create your throwing daggers and take one of them?”
“Yes, I can do that,” she replied. “Is there anything special I should know about them? You said they can do magic.”
“They use an offensive spell that creates a string of lightning. If it hits you, it will be very uncomfortable.”
She raised another eyebrow at him, and his smile threatened to show itself.
“Okay, it will be very painful. Discomfort doesn’t even come close,” he said.
“So, don’t let them shock me with lightning. Got it.”
“Let’s go.”
She still held his fingers in hers as he concealed them once more. He led her down the stone passage about five hundred yards before it opened into a wide cavern. The four Csökkent still sat on the same four stumps of wood. He pulled Sara back around the nearest bend in the tunnel.
I’m leaving you here. The concealment will fade as the distance between us grows. Count to ten before you summon your blades, and make sure you aim.
No, I think I’ll just whip them around the corner from here.
Sentinel's Rise: Book 1 - The Watcher and the Sentinel Series Page 23
