by Ciana Stone
The man grunted and started to cry out. Wyatt kicked out and the sole of his boot met the man’s nose. This time when the man when down, he didn’t get up.
Wyatt took a quick look around. There wasn’t anyone moving about. He bounded to his feet and continued around the garage. Ahead in the darkness he could see lights. Staying as hidden as possible, he continued until he could see the two men who stood guard outside the entrance of the barn. For a moment he stayed perfectly still. There was a good chance there were men posted at the rear of the barn. If he rushed the guards at the front it would attract attention. He had to find a way to distract them from their post.
* * * * *
Chance looked at Iris again and they stared at one another for a long time. “Nothing to say for once, princess?” Iris broke the contact.
Chance looked over at her father’s body. She wanted to feel grief but there was nothing but a hollow empty feeling inside her. Maurice had not loved her. She had known that since she was a child. She had been a decoration to be put on display when it served his purpose but little more.
She thought back to how it had been when she was a child. She had wanted to love her father. For years she had tried. But her love had never been accepted and whatever feelings she had for him had died when he had her unborn child murdered. Now she could only grieve for what might have been had they been able to be a real family.
The thought of family made her turn and look at John and Tsa’li and she realized that for the first time she did have a family, a family she loved and would do anything to protect.
“Aren’t you going to tell Greg about your real plans?”
“What real plans?” Greg looked at Iris.
“Didn’t she tell you?” Chance smiled.
“Don’t pay her any attention,” Iris ordered. “She’s desperate and will do anything to save her worthless skin.”
“And what about your plans with Wyatt?” Chance asked then cut her eyes at Greg as if she had let the cat out of the bag. “Oh, sorry. I guess you don’t know about that, either, do you?”
Greg looked from her to Iris. “What’s she talking about?”
“Nothing. She’s just trying to throw you off. Pay her no attention.”
“That’s right,” Chance said. “Why listen to me? After all, you can trust her completely, can’t you, Greg? I mean, I’m sure she’s told you all about trying to seduce Wyatt.”
Greg looked at Iris suspiciously. “I told you all about it!” she snapped. “I was just throwing him off guard so he wouldn’t suspect I was part of your plan. She’s just pissed off because he was so damn interested. Seems like our highness can’t keep her lover satisfied and it wounds her little ego to know that he wanted me more than he wanted her.”
Chance laughed and drew Greg’s attention as well as Iris’. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Your girlfriend,” Chance answered. “She really does have a problem. You should consider convincing her to seek professional help. Wyatt never wanted her. In fact, he turned her down flat. And Iris,” she turned her gaze, “just for your information, he’s not my lover. He’s my husband.”
“Husband?” Iris’ eyes widened in surprise. “Husband? That rotten—”
The sound of gunfire outside made everyone jump. “Check it out!” Greg ordered his men who stood guard inside the barn. “And give me a gun.”
One of the men pulled a handgun from his belt and gave it to Greg as he passed. With another man falling into step with him, he continued to the door. Both of them stepped outside. Within moments the people inside could hear the sounds of a struggle.
Greg smiled at Iris. “Looks like wonderboy’s here.”
She flashed him a smile in return then looked at Chance. “Well, looks like your husband made it just in time to see you die.”
The sounds outside abruptly stopped and for a few seconds no one spoke or moved. Then Greg called out. “Boys? Bring him on in. There’s some people who want to see him.”
The barn door opened and Wyatt stepped inside. Greg whirled around, taking aim at him with the handgun. “Don’t move!”
“Or what?” Wyatt raised his hands, each of which held a weapon. In his right hand was a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, in his left he gripped a military assault rifle.
“Or die,” Iris said in a brash voice, raising her gun. “You’re outnumbered.”
Wyatt cut a look at her and smirked. “Outnumbered? I don’t think so. It looks to me like it’s a fair fight.” He wiggled the weapons in his hands. “Two against two.”
Greg looked nervously at Iris who was staring at Wyatt with eyes narrowed and a calculating expression on her face. Without warning she turned and fired twice. One shot passed through John’s right shoulder, sending him crashing backward into the gate of one of the stalls. The other bullet found its mark in Tsa’li’s thigh. The old man stumbled and fell to the ground.
Wyatt’s finger was already tightening on the trigger when a bullet grazed him high on his left arm. Greg’s hand shook as he held the gun trained on Wyatt. “One move and you’re dead.”
Chance had thrown herself down beside John as soon as he fell. She looked up from where she kneeled, busy trying to stop the bleeding from John’s shoulder. “No!” she shouted at Greg.
Iris bounded over and jammed her gun in the back of Chance’s head. “Put down your weapons,” she ordered Wyatt. “Or she dies.”
“No!” Chance screamed. “Don’t do it! They’ll kill you.” She knew that Greg and Iris would not let any of them live. For their plan to succeed they would have to kill everyone. The knowledge that she was going to die filled her with an irrational courage and determination. At that moment she didn’t care anymore. All that mattered was saving Wyatt.
Turning suddenly she struck out, hitting Iris’ arm. The gun went off and she heard the sound of an enraged roar coming from the other side of the barn. Along with everyone else, she looked in Wyatt’s direction.
Wyatt was lost in a world of his own. Seeing the gun pointed at Chance and hearing it go off had sent him hurtling into a black void of rage. Inside the void he was captured in another time. In the blink of an eye he saw the truth of a memory long buried.
The woman was lying on her back on the floor with her arms above her head. D.J. was kneeling on her hands and holding a knife at her throat while Fish was pumping away between her legs.
Wyatt’s eyes took in the welling blood on the woman’s face from fresh cuts and the lacerations that ran down her legs and a cloud of black rage billowed inside him. His eyes burned as if they were on fire and a pressure swelled in his chest. Without warning he felt blackness begin to build around him.
Suddenly he felt himself being sucked deep within. The fury was so strong that it was like a physical sensation. He could taste and smell it. It grew and swelled and took on substance. Overwhelming pain took control of him, making him paralyzed with agony. It felt as if his entire body were being torn apart, like something was growing inside him that was too small for his skin. He wanted to scream but his voice was no longer his to control.
Abruptly it ended. Wyatt could see what was happening before him. He could see the knife cut into the woman’s flesh as DJ applied more pressure. He could see her struggle against Fish as the rape continued and he could feel her fear and pain. He wanted to put an end to what was happening but he couldn’t make his body respond. It was like someone else was controlling him.
“You always were too weak,” a voice spoke to him that he realized with surprise came from his own lips. “It was always up to me, wasn’t it? You were never strong enough to do what had to be done.”
Wyatt felt such a profound shock race through him that he was sure he’d lost his mind. The voice was his brother’s. He didn’t understand how that could be. Walker had been dead for over twenty years. And yet it was Walker.
Feeling like a captive audience, Wyatt could only watch as his own body moved under Walker’s control. He felt his hands reach ou
t and grab Fish by the back of the neck, pulling him off the woman and holding him aloft.
“Hey, man!” DJ protested as Wyatt held Fish dangling off the floor. “What the fuck’s the matter with you? We was only having a little fun.”
“Put me the fuck down!” Fish shouted. “You crazy Indian motherfucker!”
That was the last thing Fish ever said. Wyatt saw his other hand move. He tried to stop the blow but he couldn’t. Fish’s body convulsed once as the iron-hard fingers tore through the flesh and muscle of his diaphragm. A gurgling scream of agony cut the silence but lasted only a moment. Wyatt’s hand emerged holding a quivering heart.
Fish’s lifeless body fell to the floor. “Jesus fucking Christ!” DJ exclaimed in shock. “Get the fuck away from me!”
He pulled the woman up in front of him, holding the knife to her throat. “Get the fuck back!” he warned as Wyatt advanced. “I mean it, Magnet. One more step and the bitch dies.”
Wyatt screamed at his body to stop. He could not risk an innocent life. But Walker could not be controlled. Now that he had drawn blood he was consumed with the lust for more death. A harsh laugh was all the reply DJ received.
Two steps more and the woman was between Wyatt and DJ, whose eyes were wide with fear. Wyatt saw his own hands reach out. At the same moment, the knife moved. A brief scream and a sudden jerk of her body signaled the woman’s death as DJ slit her throat and turned the knife on Wyatt.
But his attack was countered and moments later DJ was lying dead beside the woman.
Feeling as if he had just relived the entire event, Wyatt blinked. Now he knew the truth. Walker had not just suddenly appeared. He had been with him all along. That knowledge infuriated him. He had been used to commit murder, just like someone would use a gun or a knife, his body had been used to kill.
“Wyatt, no!” he heard Chance shout. “Don’t let him out. Fight him!”
But the rage had swelled too big to be suppressed and that was exactly what Walker needed to take control. Wyatt felt himself being pulled backward. It was like he was freefalling into endless night as control was stripped from him.
“What the fuck?” Greg involuntarily took a step. He never got an answer. One moment Wyatt was standing three yards away and the next his hand was wrapped around Greg’s throat.
Walker wrenched the gun from Greg’s hand and jammed it under Greg’s chin. Two sharp reports accompanied the jerking of Greg’s body. Walker flung the corpse aside and looked at Iris who had her gun trained on Chance.
“One step and she’s dead,” Iris warned.
“Go ahead. She means nothing to me.”
“But—” Iris was thrown off by his attitude. “But I thought—”
“She’s not my woman,” Walker said and looked at Chance. “Isn’t that right? That is what you said, isn’t it? That you only love Wyatt.”
“Yes. And so do you, Walker. He’s your brother.”
“He is a hindrance!” Walker shouted then looked at Iris. “Go on, pull the trigger. Kill her. Kill all of them. It saves me the trouble.”
Iris studied him for a moment then lowered the gun. “Walker, listen to me. You and I—we’re two of a kind. We’re strong and fearless and we don’t need the kind of love these weak pathetic fools offer. Just consider what we could do if we work together. Think of what we could accomplish.”
Walker sneered at her. “What do I need you for?”
“I know my way around,” she said. “I have contacts. I can open doors for you that would otherwise remain closed.”
“She’s lying!” Chance exclaimed. “She planned all of this, Walker. She’s Maurice’s daughter. He left her and her mother when he married my mother and she’s been bent on revenge ever since. She doesn’t care about you or anyone else. All she wants is to make us pay for something we had no part of. Iris feels like she was cheated and she blames us for it. She wants to hurt us because Maurice hurt her. You can’t trust her. You know that. If you trust her she’ll turn on you. She’ll make sure the police hunt you down for what happened here and you’ll be the one who pays while she goes on her merry way. Walker, you know I’m telling you the truth. You know Iris can’t be trusted. Look what she did to you last time, how she tried to use you.”
Walker looked at her for a moment. Just as he opened his mouth, Tsa’li spoke up. “The Woman with the Eyes of a Wolf is right, my grandson. This woman, Iris, she does not wish to help you. Listen to the space between her words and the lies shout to be heard.”
Walker turned on him. “And you, old man, I suppose I should listen to more of your foolishness?”
“Walker, he’s right,” Chance said as she moved over beside Tsa’li. “You know he is. He’s your grandfather, he loves you. Please, let this end now. There’s been too much death already.”
A flicker of emotion seemed to cross his face and hope swelled within her. For just one moment she saw Wyatt looking at her. Then the light died and Walker was once more in control. He gave her a hard look before returning his attention to Tsa’li. “Give me what I want and I will let you live.”
Tsa’li shook his head. “It is not for you. Only one who possesses purity of spirit may be named Keeper of the Uluhsati. You have no love within you. You are poison to the nature of the crystal.”
“Where is it?”
Tsa’li did not answer. He merely stared at Walker without expression. Chance was afraid that his silence would provoke Walker into action and she knew that if Walker hurt Tsa’li, Wyatt would never be able to live with it.
“Walker…” She started toward him but Iris cut her off, pushing her as hard as she could so that Chance stumbled back into Tsa’li and knocked him back down.
Chance knelt down beside Tsa’li as Iris turned to Walker. “Can’t you see what they’re doing? They know Wyatt can hear them and they’re feeding him, helping him grow strong from their words so that he can overcome you. Are you going to let them get away with that or are you going to kill them and take what’s rightfully yours? Are you truly a warrior or are you as weak as that ineffectual fool, Wyatt?”
Chance looked up and saw the play of conflicting emotions on Walker’s face. She was taken off guard when he suddenly reached out and grabbed her. Tsa’li reached for her but Walker jerked her to him. Wrapping one arm around her neck, he pulled her up against him and placed the barrel of the gun against her temple. “Give me the crystal or she dies.”
John struggled to rise but slumped back against the stall rail, holding his injured shoulder. “Walker, please,” he begged. “Tsa’li wasn’t lying to you. You can’t possess the crystal. Its power will turn on you. It will destroy you. I beg you, let Chance go and give up this dream of revenge. You can’t hold your brother hostage any longer. What was done cannot be undone. It was an accident, a silly fight between two brothers that ended tragically. If I could undo it, I would. But no one can. You don’t belong here. Let go of your hate and release your brother so that your soul can return to the Spirit World. Please, Walker, I love you. Do not condemn yourself.”
Walker pulled the hammer back on the pistol as his eyes moved from John to Tsa’li. “What will it be, old man?”
Tsa’li pulled himself up, standing shakily on his wounded leg. “I cannot give you what I do not have.”
“Where is it?” Walker’s voice rose to a shout.
“I have it.” Chance’s voice was soft.
Reaching inside the pocket of the old jeans she withdrew a worn pouch. From it, she took the crystal.
“Give me that!” Iris pounced on her, snatching the crystal from her hand.
“It’s mine!” she shrieked, dancing around with the crystal. “It’s all mine and all of you can go to hell.”
“It won’t do you any good,” Chance said. “Iris, you can’t win.”
Iris laughed at her. “You’re so pathetic, you know that? You don’t even realize that I already have. See, I have everything.”
“You have nothing.”
“No
thing? You think so? Well, what do you call everything your father owned? Is that nothing?”
“You’ll never touch his estate, Patricia’s too greedy, she’ll spend every dime fighting you.”
Iris laughed again. “Well then, it’ll be a short fight because as of now she’s broke.” She smirked at the confused expression on Chance’s face. “You don’t think I’d kill him before I made sure I’d inherit everything, do you? See, I’ve been real busy. When the attorneys get around to settling the estate they’ll read the will that specifically states that everything he owns goes to his legitimate daughter.”
“That kind of leaves you out then, doesn’t it?”
“Actually, it leaves you out. See, I made sure that they’ll find a marriage certificate with the names Maurice Davenport and Doris Stillwater. The date is one year before I was born. So, you see, princess, not only was your father a lying cheat, he was also a bigamist. His marriage to your mother and to that bitch Patricia were both illegal and you…well, you’re a bastard—a penniless one to boot.”
Chance stared at her for a moment. “I guess you think you thought of everything. But you’re forgetting one thing.”
Iris raised her eyebrows and Chance gestured to Walker. “You may inherit Maurice’s estate but Walker will never let you keep the crystal.”
“Then Walker can go to hell.” Iris pointed the gun at Walker. At the same instant she fired the ground shook beneath their feet. The shot missed its mark and everyone stumbled around, trying to stay on their feet. Chance ran to Tsa’li who knelt down beside John. The sound of the horses neighing in fear and pounding their hooves blended with the creaking and cracking of wood as the shaking grew stronger.
“We must get him outside,” Tsa’li said.
Chance nodded and took one of John’s arms as Tsa’li took the other. Between them they managed to get John to his feet. All around them the barn was being shaken apart. Iris was trying to make it to the door but she couldn’t stay on her feet. Every few feet she would be thrown to the ground as the earth buckled and split. Even Walker was finding it hard to stay upright as he chased Iris and the crystal.
