JUMP (The Senses)

by Cindy Paterson

  A loud crash sounded upstairs and Waleron instantly vanished. Why his Taldeburu was intent on sticking his own ass on the line, he didn’t know.

  “Will you let go of me, for Christ sake, and tell me what is going on?” Danielle asked. Her face was as white as the Wraith of Water and he could smell her fear radiating off her skin. He didn’t have time for this.

  “I will explain on the way. We must leave. Now!” Balen said.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Danielle said, backing away. “What the hell was that woman? The water. I mean . . . okay, that isn’t possible, right? Water swirling around and . . .” She put her hand to her head.

  Another loud crash and then what sounded like a howl.

  Jedrik came back out of his room dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt. He headed for the stairs. “Good luck, man,” he said to Balen and winked at Danielle. “Welcome to our world. It’s so much fun.” With that he took off up stairs to wherever the loud noises were coming from.

  “Little one.” He deepened his voice and grabbed her arm in a vise-like grip. “Do you want to die? Because that water shit you just saw is nothing compared to what is happening as we speak. If we stay here, they will take me away from you.” His eyes were fierce, determined, willing her to listen to his words. “Separate us.”

  Her eyes widened. “But that would . . .” She looked to Keir and Anstice and they both nodded. “Okay. But you have some serious explaining to do. And if you try to hide shit, I’ll . . . I’ll . . . well, I don’t know yet what I’ll do, but something you won’t like. You can bet on it.”

  Balen hid his grin by turning his head away from her. He loved that about her—honest, blunt, and even when her world was crashing around her, she still had common sense. Yeah, he sure as shit liked this woman. And good thing too, since they were Bonded for God knows how much longer.

  “Hey, Keir, get your ass up here. Galen’s getting the shit kicked out of him,” Jedrik shouted from the main floor.

  The house began to shake, and the balls on the pool table danced around on the green felt. Glass shattered upstairs onto the hardwood floors. “Fuck.” Keir looked at Balen and Danielle. “We will try to calm them, but . . .” He shrugged. “We will hold them off long enough to get you out of here. Be well.”

  “And you,” Balen replied. He wanted to say thank you, but the words were lodged in his throat. They were risking retaliation for Danielle, not him. He had to remember that. The warriors no longer trusted him and they were right. He deserved nothing from any of them.

  Balen smelled fire, which meant Edan was near and he was one hell of a pissed-off Wraith.

  Balen propelled Danielle in front of him and they ran down the hall.

  ****

  Danielle needed no further urging as she jumped into the Audi and fastened her seat belt. Balen punched a code in a box next to the garage door and a cabinet opened. His body hid what he was doing, but he was putting something in his pockets. He slammed the door closed and then jumped in the car.

  Okay, remain calm. Wait until we’re at least a mile away before asking what the hell is going on. No, can’t wait. Hell, this was more than she bargained for when she’d painted Balen’s portrait.

  He raced the car down the driveway and gunned it towards the gates.

  “Balen. Balen.” He wasn’t slowing. “Balen,” she screamed.

  His hand came down on the back of her head and he pushed it between her legs, just as he crashed through the gates.

  The car skidded and groaned as he whirled around the corner, two tires lifting off the ground. His hand came off her head and she turned in her seat to look at the mangled iron.

  “Balen, I like fast, but you’re scaring the crap out of me.” Bungee jumping, parachuting, rock climbing, even a go at a racetrack, but those had precautions, safety devices. She felt as though her heart was going to beat right through her ribs. Yeah, sure as shit she was pee-your-pants scared.

  She glanced over at him and saw the fierce determination on his face, rainforest eyes focused, jaw tight, and his knuckles white as his hands gripped the steering wheel. He looked like a different man than the one she had slept with. Eyes hard and cold, scowl severe with a flicker of a murderous glint. He knew exactly what he was doing and he was determined to get it done. No backing down with that expression.

  She had seen far too much for her mind to comprehend. She liked mystery and believed in ghosts, spirits and fate, but to actually see people appear out of nowhere, well, that was . . . okay, pretty damn cool, but totally fucked up.

  “We are called Senses,” Balen said before she had the chance to ask. “The woman in the blue gown is a Wraith. Wraith of Water. There are four of them and normally you don’t mess with them.” He looked at her and gave a half-smile. “Yeah, that’s just the beginning.

  “When any of us break a law, those are the ones who decide judgment along with Waleron and Zurina. They sent me to Rest. We have just defied that.” Before she could ask what that meant he answered. “Rest is being put into a . . . for humans it would be comparative to a coma. No feelings, no movement, and in limbo between death and the living. But with one anomaly—in Rest all you envision is your past and never the good parts. Since Waleron didn’t put me to Rest, they are retaliating.”

  “But that woman, she came to warn you,” Danielle said.

  Balen sighed. “Genevieve is loving. She reads emotions well and supposedly detests conflict, although I’ve never met her before now. They rarely appear in form when out of their realm, unless it’s absolutely necessary. She must have sensed our . . . dilemma and wanted to assist us.”

  A bright white flash burst across the sky. Balen swore beneath his breath and the car lurched forward. “We’re in some serious shit, little one.” He glanced over at her. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. If I could . . .”

  She reached over and squeezed his hand. When she looked into his eyes, she saw what she had painted in her portraits, a haunted look, eyes tortured and lips pressed together. God, she knew that face so well, and in an odd way it comforted her because she knew it, knew him.

  “Danielle—”

  She interrupted, “You treat me like a little kid, and I’ll belt you one. Give it to me straight. Okay? And the beginning would be nice. That stuff you just told me? Yeah, like mashed potatoes in my brain.”

  “Yeah, okay. No hand holding and from the beginning. Got it. Interrupt if you don’t understand something,” Balen said. “I’m what we call a Tracker. A Senses of scent. This may be a little . . . shit, I’ve never had to explain us to anyone before.” He took a deep breath. “Straight up, I can smell emotions, their fear, their love, everything. I can track real well too.” He hesitated, taking a quick glance in her direction. “And speak telepathically—read thoughts.”

  “For real? I mean you guys are speaking with your minds without opening your mouths?” That would explain the weird connection Anstice and Keir had. They always seemed as if they knew what the other was thinking.

  “It is limited, of course. A few miles maybe. Some of us are stronger at it than others, and we are able to block other Senses from reading our minds when we want to.”

  “Yeah, freaking me out weird. So you guys are just parading around Toronto,” Danielle said.

  “More like all over the world,” Balen corrected.

  “Great. Just great,” Danielle mumbled.

  Balen heard her. “Humans do not know about us. We’re damn careful about that. So don’t think you’ve been ignorant all these years.”

  “I should have noticed something. Anything. God, my best friend is one of you.” She had thought she was a pretty observant person and now she discovered she’d been walking around in a haze of oblivion. “So where do you guys . . . Senses, what’s their deal?” Danielle asked.

  “The short of it is—we evolved from witches in 1610. You may have heard of the Spanish Inquisition?” Danielle nodded. “Well in Zugarramurdi, Spain, a handful of women confessed to bein
g witches to the Spanish Inquisition. Since they confessed to the crime, they were exonerated. Others were not so lucky and with their refusal to admit any guilt . . . well, they were burned at the stake.

  “Afterward, the Goddess—yeah, I know, difficult to grasp, but her name is Enid. Well, she approached the pardoned witches and in exchange for their sworn fidelity to protect civilization, gave them immortality and extraordinary abilities from the five senses.” He paused. “The witches burned at the stake also were given a reprieve by the Goddess. She saved their spirits and gave each of them one of the four powers of the elements—water, earth, fire and air. Together, the Wraiths and the Senses spoke the identical oath to the Goddess, swearing to protect humanity from any darkness that walked in the shadows. However, we had one curse to deal with.”

  “Nice,” Danielle mumbled. “Bring on the streamers and birthday hats.”

  “In Zugarramurdi there is a stream in a cave where the witches would gather outside of town. That is where they held all their meetings. Well, the water from that stream takes away our abilities. We become weak as humans.” He shrugged. “Not so bad until others learned about it. Like Ryszard.”

  Danielle gasped. “The water. In the cages. You were always wet.”

  “Yeah. He must have transported it over and used it to weaken me. Never thought it would actually work so damn good.”

  “And yet we’re headed there,” Danielle said. “Oh, joy.”

  He ignored her comment and continued, “Some of us can move objects; telekinesis. Keir’s specialty and Damien is pretty good at it too, though erratic. Others like Anstice have the ability to Heal.”

  “Jedrik?”

  “Visionary. Senses of Sight. And before you ask, no, he can’t see into the future. He can see through things, like walls, wood, and he is capable of seeing in complete darkness.”

  “And Galen?”

  “Senses of Taste. Certain sensors in his mouth give off warnings. Like if a vampire is near, he’ll get the taste of black licorice.”

  “Black licorice? Ryszard. Like Ryszard.” This was real. What he was telling her was all in the face real. She was speechless. What do you say when a guy you’ve slept with tells you that he is a Senses besides holy fuck—you need a psychiatrist.

  But after seeing the Wraith tonight and Waleron appear out of a cloud, well, she believed every word he uttered. “Yeah, sounds pretty messed up. So, can Anstice really heal people? I mean, when we were kids, she was pretty ordinary. Okay, she had this thing with touching injured people. Said it freaked her out. She said her hands got really hot and images came into her head. We both just forgot about it. Well, I did, cause she never talked about it.”

  Balen nodded. “Healers are rare and are always females. Our mother was an incredible Healer, but she, just as Anstice and all Healers, suffer what we call the Healer’s curse. When a Healer lays her hands on a wound, images surface of how the injury came to be. A Healer feels the pain, lives it, and it is a difficult process to withstand.” He ran his hand over his leg. “She saw and felt firsthand what Ryszard did to me. But without her to heal me, I would have died.

  “Waleron erased your memories, like he does with any human when there is a risk to our kind being discovered. Down in that place with Ryszard, you saw shit. What would you have done if you remembered Ryszard’s fangs, him taking your blood? Tell the police? The doctors? They’d have thrown you in a padded cell, or, if they’d had believed you . . . imagine what would happen if we’re discovered. We’d be rounded up every way possible and tested on, lab rats. We had enough of burning at the stake hundreds of years ago. It is for the safety of us and of mankind. The only ones who know about us are the animals, and they aren’t telling anyone.”

  Danielle jerked in her seat. Spain, they were going to Spain, and she’d forgotten all about him. “Splat. Oh crap. We have to go back.”

  “Excuse me?” Balen asked his brows lowering.

  “My cat. What about my cat?” How could she forget him? She couldn’t just up and leave. He’d have a coronary without his meals. “We have to get my cat.”

  Balen pointed at the sky. “You see that storm following us? You hear the wind and see that white burst in the sky a few minutes ago? Wraiths. Waleron is holding them back, or we’d be dead by now. I’m not going back for a goddamn cat.” He knew the minute he said the words that he made a mistake. He sighed and then said, “I will contact Anstice and Keir as soon as things settle down and have them look after your cat.”

  “Through the mind thing?” she asked.

  Balen chuckled. “No, cell phone. I can’t use my telepathy right now. The Wraiths can feel the energy.”

  “So, can you read my thoughts?” She bit her lower lip and waited, watching him carefully. “So you know how damn sexy I think you are?”

  “I’d rather hear it from you,” Balen said.

  She laughed. “Hmm, I bet.” She leaned her head back against the leather seat, listening to the sound of the car that was revving maximum speed up the Don Valley Parkway. “So, if we escape these spirit things, what next?”

  Balen cleared his throat. “Waleron has a plan.”

  “Which is?” She looked at him and saw his frown. Okay, this wasn’t going to be good.

  “He wants to do a transition. Make you one of us.” He held up his hand as he heard her suck in air to speak. “Let me explain before you decide to jump out of the car. If you go through a transition, the Bonding spell may be broken.”

  “May?” She raised her brows. “Not too promising a plan. And it would be nice to know what you mean by Bonding spell.”

  Balen explained the ancient spell and it made sense. Perfect sense actually, but when bombarded with a whole new world within the world you lived in, it made it difficult to know if anything really was making sense at all.

  “It’s all we have at the moment. We stay here, the Wraiths will find us. They catch me . . . shit, Danielle. It’s not good.”

  She knew why. “Unless I do this transition and the Bond is broken, I die. Right?”

  Balen groaned. “Something like that.”

  The idea scared the shit out of her, but it also held a tiny bit of an appeal. I mean, who wouldn’t want to speak telepathically. Of course, as long as the transition stuff didn’t hurt. But would it mean she’d have to commit to them? What happened when she wanted out? When her feelings for Balen died just like they had with every other man she’d ever been with? “I . . . I don’t know if I want to.”

  “There’s no choice. If I’m taken from you, you will die. Even if the Bond isn’t broken by the transition, you will still have a chance of surviving if you’re a Senses. I can’t take the risk of not doing this. I won’t.”

  “But—”

  “No discussion,” Balen said.

  She saw the muscles in his shoulders tense, his brows lower. Okay, she was scared. Becoming something she knew jack shit about, running for her life from some spirit things. Crap, this was more than she bargained for. She trusted Balen, felt the strong connection between them, but was it this Bond thing? What would happen when the Bond was broken? Would her lust for him break too? Would she no longer care about him?

  He reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I will protect you. Nothing will hurt you again.”

  “I can’t commit to you. Or them. Your friends,” she blurted out. “Okay, Anstice maybe, but this Waleron guy is an asshole. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take orders from him.”

  Balen’s hand tightened. “You will.”

  She pulled her hand from his grasp and he let her. “Don’t tell me what I will or won’t do,” she said. He had an arrogance about him that got her riled. She’d decide what she’d do, not him or anyone else, for that matter. She’d lived by her own decisions all her life and never was she going to let a man decide anything for her. Forget that. “You know. You piss me off.”

  Balen raised a brow. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah, and if we were
n’t Bonded, I’d walk away right now.”

  “No you wouldn’t.”

  Her mouth dropped open at his audacity. “Where do you get off telling me—”

  “It won’t change, Danielle. What is between us . . . it will always be. Bonded or not.”

  She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead. “I give it six months.”

  Balen chuckled and then leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Eternity.”

  ****

  Waleron tested the thick gold bands circling his wrists and ankles. Solid and impossible to abolish. He growled as he paced the room back and forth, his footfalls driving into the floor. The room was completely bare, not even a door. Gray marble walls, ceiling and floor. A cage with no bars. His nightmare.

  They had taken his weapons and his Pez. He fought them on the latter, but defeating Wraiths was complicated. They had Traced him here hours ago, and he’d been left to stew. Unable to penetrate the cell with his mind, he had no clue if Balen and Danielle had escaped or not. The problem was he had to meet them in Spain for the conversion.

  The rage was building, he felt it in his bloodstream, the muscles tensing and his volatile nature eager too erupt. Confinement made the situation intolerable. He was furious with them. How dare they attack before seeking answers from him. Edan had started this. He riled them up and had them attack. If it hadn’t been for Genevieve’s warning, Balen would be in Rest and Danielle dead.

  Genevieve. She had something to do with this. He knew there was something odd about her behavior at Balen’s judgment. Her turmoil, the unease, the hesitation to decide on Balen’s fate. Then the sudden change.

  He jerked around and stopped pacing. Speak of the hellion.

  Genevieve’s figure emerged out of a spiraling mist of water, and she stood before him in a classic long blue gown, low cut and sweeping across her curves like a caress.

  “Come near me and die,” Waleron said when he saw her take a step towards him.

  She stopped and lowered her head, her golden hair falling forward to cover her breasts. “I didn’t want this. My intentions were—”