Level up, Daz thought. It was his only mental thought as his body, controlled by Lamoreux, walked through the open screen door and into the house. Daz set his modified M1 on the couch.
Level up, level up, level up. Keep that thought uppermost, don’t let him in further.
Lamoreux came out to greet him. No wonder no one had suspected him. Guy was about ordinary height, ordinary weight and ordinary brown hair.
Level up, level up.
Lamoreux drew closer and studied him. “Charlie looks like you. And he’s more resistant to mental tampering, like you. I expected to be able to get your son to come with me easily after a week. Instead, he’s become more difficult at school with each passing day.”
“So you took time off to regroup.” Renee had mentioned Charlie’s regular teacher was out with a supposed broken leg.
“I have patience. My saint has foreseen my eventual victory.”
“How the hell did you get involved in all this?” Daz ground out the words between his teeth. “You’re not Russian.”
“No, but my mother was. She was one of the saint’s emissaries to America. Once she saw how powerful I’d become, she took me back to him for training.”
Lamoreux’s eyes began to glow. Just like Rasputin’s eyes. And, once again, Daz was helpless. But he couldn’t fail, not this time. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to the guy, would you?”
Weird, to have this conversation half out loud, half telepathic. He wouldn’t have to talk out loud to Beth. She’d just hear him.
He wondered if Lamoreux was weaker than he was letting on.
Level up, level up.
“I would happen to be related to the guy, yes. And, like my saint, I recover quickly. I can’t say the same for Charlie’s mother, however. We’re still connected and I have the upper hand.” Lamoreux grinned.
“Fuck you.”
“You shouldn’t be so worried about Charlie. I’ll take good care of him. Maybe you and Renee can even stick around. You might be valuable in keeping him calm. Once my control over the three of you is complete, of course.”
Lamoreux raised his hand. Fire glowed in his palm. Daz tried to step back, to get away from that glow, but he was frozen in place. It was happening again. He was helpless to get away, helpless to save the people he cared about.
Level up, level up, level up.
He twitched his hand, to make it seem involuntary. His captor didn’t notice, probably too focused on burning Daz’s shoulder, reinforcing the wound made by Rasputin.
Good. Daz twitched his wrist again. It responded again. Now. It had to be now.
Daz slammed his wrists together, activating the LRAD remote button on his wrist.
A shriek cut through the air.
The sounds made Daz’s ears throb but he expected that. He’d endure.
Lamoreux couldn’t. He put his hands his ears. Yes, concentrate on your telepathy through that, you bastard. The telepath’s vise grip on Daz’s mind slipped. He clenched his fist. Yes, he could move a little now. He drew back his hand and punched Lamoreux, a solid uppercut across the jaw. Lamoreux fell to his knees.
That broke the telepathic hold on Daz’s mind. He grabbed the M1 and shot Lamoreux point blank in the chest with the tranqs.
Lamoreux stared at Daz. For a second, Daz wondered if the tranqs would be enough. He chambered another set. Lamoreux’s eyes stopped glowing.
“You’re nothing special, you’re ordinary, you’re…”
“I’m Batman, asshole,” Daz said over the siren’s whine.
Lamoreux’s mental voice faded out. He collapsed in a heap on the rug. For good measure, Daz pumped the second round of tranqs in him. If he could heal like Rasputin, he might recover from the drugs fast. I’m not taking any chances.
Daz clicked off the LRAD and secured his captive.
He curled the comm link around his ear and tapped it for the first time. “Target secure.”
“Roger that,” Drake answered.
“Dad! Mom’s awake! She’s okay,” Charlie cut in. “You got him. You saved her.”
About time, Daz thought.
Chapter Fifteen
Drake came out to help collect Lamoreux. He used a needle to pump another set of powerful sedatives into their captive.
“It could kill him, but we can’t afford to have him wake up,” Drake said.
“No argument here,” Daz said. “I’d have just killed him if we didn’t need him for information.”
They drove back together, with Drake watching over their captive in the back. Daz tried to shake off the feeling of being controlled. He’d won, hadn’t he? Damn right he had. And no one was going to ever manipulate him again. He’d talk to Beth about those “controls” Rasputin had placed in his mind.
Drake took charge of Lamoreux once they reached the Institute.
“Call Richard,” Daz said. “I bet the Court will know how to keep him compliant.”
“Already called him, just after you left,” Drake said.
Daz raised his eyebrows. Drake apparently had gotten over his grudge against the Court.
“Good,” Daz said.
He stowed the gear and went down to see Renee and Charlie.
Charlie ran into his arms the minute he stepped inside Renee’s room. “I made this for you!”
He held up a drawing of Daz dressed as Batman. “Awesome job, kid.”
“I thought so.” Renee was sitting up in bed, smiling.
It was his turn to rush over and hug someone. For a long moment, he just held her and enjoyed the feel of her warmth against him that proved she was real and alive. “Dammit, I’ve never been so terrified in my life,” he whispered.
Renee set her jaw. “He wanted to take Charlie. I wasn’t going to let him. Ever. I’d do the same thing again.”
He traced her jaw with his fingertip. “Wonder Woman.”
“I think she wants to be Captain Marvel now, Dad,” Charlie said.
“She’ll always be Wonder Woman to me.”
Eventually, Renee rested but it was a real sleep, not the coma-state that Lamoreux had induced. Charlie settled down with her again. His family. Daz watched over them for a while, until he was sure he wasn’t dreaming and that they were truly all right.
Later, once he was out of earshot of the sleeping pair, Beth tried to apologize to him.
“I should have checked you after the mission in Germany, Daz. I knew theoretically there could have been controls placed inside your mind and I—”
“I’d have never let you in then. I was too torn up about being a failure. Forget it.”
“I can’t forget that I let Renee and Charlie be attacked,” she said.
“You’re human and learning. We all make mistakes. What matters is what we do to fix them.” Daz said the last while looking through the glass to the room where Renee and Charlie slept.
“You’re not the only one who needs to level up,” Beth said. “After I do a deep probe on you for Rasputin’s controls, I’m going with Alec and our captive down to the Court. I’m going to learn everything they know about telepaths. And I’m going to get this son of a bitch who fights wars with children.”
“I know you will. We all will.”
She kissed his cheek. “You’re a good man, Daz.”
The next day, Daz was able to move Renee back to their temporary quarters. She seemed to be recovering without any ill effects, but he and Charlie insisted she stay in bed. Thor and Loki slept on the floor beside the bed. Odin even crept into the room and watched from the safety of the top of a chest of drawers.
“The cat’s okay?” Renee asked.
“Beth and I cleared out his mind to get rid of all the traces of the mean man. She said I was pretty powerful.” Charlie grinned.
“Don’t I know it. You better be designing a cost
ume for yourself too.” Renee ruffled his hair.
“Good idea.” He rushed out of the room. Odin hopped down and followed him.
Renee closed her eyes and sighed.
“You’re never going to have to do that again,” Daz said.
“Do what?”
“Fight the bad guy alone. Renee, if you hadn’t acted inside Charlie’s mind, if you hadn’t tossed Lamoreux over the edge, we might have lost Charlie. I can’t ever repay you for our son’s life.”
“You don’t have to repay me, silly.” She swallowed hard. “You just have to stick around this time, okay?”
“Definitely.”
He settled on the bed next to her and held her.
“Did Drake ever find out if that bear attack in Turkey was related to this?”
“No, he’s looking into it. But he found something else.”
“What?”
He told her what Drake had reported to him earlier today. “Remember how we could never figure out what those guys who hijacked the rescue plane in Turkey wanted? Well, Drake did.”
The guards had been part of an installation Lansing had been running in Eastern Europe. He’d made contacts there years ago, when he’d been a CIA mole infiltrating a Russian program investigating psychic powers. But the earthquake had damaged the facility. Lansing’s people had bribed the pilot and sent out his goons to grab the plane’s passengers and supplies.
“Wanting the supplies, I understand that. But why would he want the people?” Renee asked.
“Lansing was running a biological research facility. I’m guessing he was going to conscript the doctors and it’s possible he wanted the others as test subjects.”
“Damn,” Renee said. “Lansing sounds evil.”
“Not completely, but he was crazy, in a little bit of the same way as Rasputin.” Daz sighed. “Anyway, that’s how I got on Lansing’s radar. He investigated who helped take out his guards, found out it was me and decided I was competent enough to teach his firestarter.
“Plus, with his ties to the CIA, Lansing had access to my service medical records. He could’ve checked my DNA. I’m guessing he knew that I carried a gene that sometimes results in psychic powers. By hiring me, he got a teacher for Alec and a chance to keep an eye on our son.”
Renee closed her eyes. “Seems like everyone wants my kid. Well, except the school.” She smiled.
He brushed hair out of her eyes. “I’ll help you handle the school.”
“We’ll figure that out together.”
“Damn straight,” Daz said.
They lapsed into companionable silence for a few minutes.
“What will happen to Lamoreux?” Renee asked. “Is he really Rasputin’s son?”
“We’re looking into it. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Knowing he’s connected to Rasputin gives us another whole avenue of investigation. Richard’s excited at the prospect to get the bastard once and for all.”
“He can join the club.”
“Yeah.”
“I have a lot to learn. You’re not the only one who needs to level up, Daz.”
“You’re doing fine, Wonder Woman.” He kissed her.
Charlie bounded back in, Thor and Loki at his heels. The well-trained dogs stayed off the bed. Charlie didn’t. He clambered up between them and held up a new drawing. “What do you think, Dad?”
The drawing featured Charlie as a superhero that he’d dubbed “Animal Wrangler”, with much the same blue, red and yellow costume coloring as Captain Marvel. Flanking Animal Wrangler were Batman and Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel.
Below them, he’d written “Higher. Further. Faster. More.” in crayon.
“That’s how you see our family, Charlie?” Daz asked.
“Well, yeah! Mom saved me from the mean man and then you saved her. We’re all superheroes.”
Beating Rasputin had been satisfying. But winning over his family? That was the best leveling up Daz had done or would ever do.
Daz hugged Charlie and Renee close. “Can’t argue with that.”
About the Author
Corrina is a former newspaper reporter with a degree in journalism from Boston University. A mom of four, she now works from home writing romance novels with a geeky twist and as the Content Director and co-founder of GeekMom.com. She’s also the cowriter of The GeekMom Book: Projects, Tips and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st Century Families.
And, every now and then, she’s Wonder Woman.
You can reach her at her website, www.Corrina-Lawson.com, on Facebook as Corrina Lawson, on Twitter as @CorrinaLawson and on Tumblr as Corrina Lawson.
Look for these titles by Corrina Lawson
Now Available:
The Curse of the Brimstone Contract
Freya’s Gift
The Phoenix Institute
Phoenix Rising
Phoenix Legacy
Luminous
Ghost Phoenix
Ghosts of Christmas Past
The cure they desperately need just rose from the ashes of evil…
Ghost Phoenix
© 2014 Corrina Lawson
The Phoenix Institute, Book 3
Richard Plantagenet, self-exiled prince of an immortal court, is content living the uncomplicated life of a California surfer. Until his brother’s sudden death and his Queen’s wasting illness wrest him from his ocean-side solitude for one last quest.
The Queen needs a cure. To get it, Richard needs assistance from someone with a singular—and slightly illegal—talent.
As the latest of a long line of ghost-walkers, Marian Doyle can, literally, walk through walls—bringing objects with her. Her gift comes in handy for her family’s shady antiquities business, but Marian’s had it with breaking the law. She wants a life of her own choosing.
Instead, she gets Richard.
Their mission seems simple: Find the body of Gregori Rasputin and procure a small sample of his DNA. But when they discover the Mad Monk of Russia is very much alive, the prince and the phantom must form a bond to battle a man who desires to remake the world in fire.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Ghost Phoenix:
It was as if he was in the tunnel of a wave, enveloped by a wall of water, with one wrong move meaning a wipeout. This would be exhilarating or a disaster. That was the fun of it.
Richard grasped Marian’s arm as she pretended to protest and pulled her past the silent, unmoving carousal. He put one hand in his pocket, to signal that he had a weapon to whoever was out there.
Marian did her part, struggling in his hold but not too hard. Curls fell in front of her eyes as she continued the mock struggle. “It’s a good act,” he whispered in her ear.
She clenched her jaw tighter. “I’m trusting you.”
“I know.”
His angel. She was a bit overwhelmed by his presence but not intimidated. Not entirely certain she wanted to be with him, either. A nice challenge. He liked having her close, liked the smell of vanilla that clung to her, liked her intelligence and even her skepticism.
And her courage. This was not without danger.
The attack came from his left. He saw the man an instant before fingers clamped down on his wrist, yanking his hand out of his pocket.
Richard dropped his hold on Marian. She spun around to face them.
“Lady, get out of here. I’ll handle this,” the attacker said.
Richard sized up Marian’s rescuer. The man was nearly his own height, all solid muscle, dark hair, intense eyes and features that hinted at a mixed-race origin, possibly black plus some Asian heritage. Not a spy, he guessed. A soldier, and a good one.
“Your plan worked,” Marian said.
Richard grinned, wishing she sounded less surprised. “Believe me now?”
“Definitely.” She look
ed at the solider, who maintained the tight hold on Richard’s wrist. “Who are you?”
The man looked from him to Marian and back again. “I’ve been had. Fuck.”
“Only because you cared about her welfare,” Richard said. “There’s no shame in that.”
“You used her as a blind to get to me. You Genets don’t seem to give a damn about pulling innocent women into your schemes, do you?”
That explained where the soldier was from. The Phoenix Institute had opposed Edward’s scheme. They’d been part of his death. Richard curled his hand into a fist.
“I take it you’ve met my brother?”
“Only his corpse.”
Richard’s fist shot forward. Whatever else he’d done, Edward had been his brother.
But before Richard could make contact, his angel wrapped her hands around his chest from behind and pulled him off balance. He missed his opponent by several inches.
“I thought you wanted to talk to him and find out why he was following us,” she said. “I thought that was the point of getting him to show himself. You keep this up, we’ll all get arrested.”
How dare she? “He doesn’t want to talk. He’s made up his mind about who and what I am. And he insults my brother.” Odd. He hadn’t thought that would matter. But it did.
The soldier looked around, probably assessing whether someone had seen their altercation. Richard did the same, but so far, if anyone had seen, they didn’t plan to interfere.
Marian stepped between them.
“Lady, you shouldn’t be protecting him,” said the soldier.
“You were following us. And then when you reveal yourself, you get snide and mention his brother’s corpse. No wonder he took a swipe at you. Hell, I didn’t even know his brother and I wanted to hit you. What’s your deal?”
“I guess it does look bad on my end.” The soldier backed off several paces. “Let me start again. Miss Doyle, right? My name is Daz Montoya. I wasn’t following you, I was following him. We’ve had some trouble with his people and I was assigned to watch and make sure he didn’t cause any more.”
Phoenix Inheritance Page 27
