Touched by Darkness – An Urban Fantasy Romance (Book 1, The Sentinel Series)

by Catherine Spangler

  That couldn’t be good, but she was too frazzled to consider the implications right now. “All right,” she said. “I’ll call Chief Greer.”

  “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  She put down the phone and sank into a chair, her heart pounding from both the stress and sheer joy. But another part of her knew this wasn’t a random event, that it was somehow tied to the Belian.

  Bringing them one step closer to the edge…and the darkness.

  * * * *

  Kara was watching anxiously out the window when she saw the flash of headlights turning into the driveway. She was instantly through the door and running toward Damien’s car. She had the passenger door open before he even had the car in park, unhooking Alex’s seat belt and sweeping him into her arms.

  “My baby!” she cried, holding him tightly. “Thank God you’re safe! I was so worried.”

  “Mom!” He held on to her, wrapping his legs around her waist and pressing his head against her shoulder. “Someone was after me. It was awful.”

  “You’re safe now.” She stroked his hair with a trembling hand. “I’m not going to let anyone get close to you.”

  She carried her son inside, but couldn’t bear to let him go, so she sank onto the couch and continued to hold him. She inhaled a deep breath of little boy and tears filled her eyes.

  Damien’s hand came down on her shoulder. “Easy now. Alex is very shaken up, and he’s affected by your feelings.”

  She nodded, getting his clear message. She needed to be calm, for Alex’s sake. Dabbing at her eyes with one hand, she looked up at Damien. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for my son.”

  His expression unreadable, he stepped back. “He’s all right, but he’s cold and in shock. A hot bath and some food will help. I’m going back to the school.”

  “No!” Alex squirmed away from Kara and lunged for Damien, grabbing his duster. “Don’t leave! Please!” He stared up at Damien, his face even whiter. “I don’t want you to leave.”

  Damien’s harsh expression softened, and he squatted down so that he was eye level with Alex. “I won’t be gone for long. You won’t be alone tonight.”

  “But what if that person comes looking for me again?”

  “It’s not a real person, Alex. It’s a Belian that looks like a person. Your mother will be here with you until I return, and then we’ll discuss what happened today. You’ll tell us what you can remember, and we’ll decide what to do. All right?”

  Alex nodded, his eyes haunted.

  “Don’t talk about it yet,” Damien repeated as he stood. “Give it time to settle, to let your mind be thinking about what happened. Take a bath and get warm, eat some dinner. When I get back, you can tell us everything. Kara, a word with you.”

  She rose from the couch, touching her son lovingly as she walked past him. Damien turned his back to Alex and spoke in a low voice. “Where’s your gun?”

  “In the nightstand by my bed, first drawer. The magazine is in the second drawer.” She hated having them that reachable, but knew the gun offered no protection if she didn’t have ready access to it. Fortunately, Alex didn’t know how to load the magazine or chamber a cartridge. Plus she’d threatened him within an inch of his life if he even looked at the gun, and made her bedroom off-limits unless she was there.

  Damien strode into her room, and returned a moment later with the gun and the loaded magazine. He slid the magazine into the pistol, racked the slide, and gave the firearm to her. “Keep this with you until I get back. And don’t hesitate to use it if you feel threatened in any way.”

  The gun felt cold and lethal in her hand. She glanced toward Alex, saw his wide-eyed gaze fixed on the weapon. Swallowing hard, she nodded. Alex’s safety took precedence over his childhood innocence being irrevocably shattered.

  * * * *

  Alex was in his Batman pajamas and eating dinner when Damien returned, with a wheeled suitcase and a briefcase in tow. “I’ll be staying here for a while,” he told Kara, and Alex perked up at that, his relief evident. Damien set his things in the dining room, then joined Alex at the kitchen table. “How’s it going?”

  “Fine, I guess.” Alex played with the macaroni and cheese Kara had fixed for him. His other hand patted Mac, who sat hopefully by his chair, on the lookout for falling food. Normally Mac wasn’t allowed in the kitchen during meals, but she had made an exception tonight.

  Damien studied the boy. “Why don’t you finish your dinner, then we’ll talk.”

  Alex shoved his plate away. “I’m not really hungry.”

  Easing into a chair, Kara watched him, concerned. He was still pale, with dark smudges beneath his eyes. He’d been quiet since he’d gotten home, going through his bath and dinner with a frightening lethargy.

  “Then let’s talk about today,” Damien said. “Tell me what happened first.”

  “It was time to go home, and I walked outside with Mikey.”

  Damien’s ebony eyebrows rose. “Mikey?”

  “Yeah. His real name is Michael Thornton, but I call him Mikey. Only his best friends are allowed to call him that.” Alex paused a moment, then offered, “His dad died last month.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. So you walked outside with Mikey. What happened then?”

  Alex picked at his napkin. “He saw his mom’s car, so he went over there. I started to get on the bus.” His fingers clenched the napkin. “But I felt somethin’ funny.”

  “You felt something?”

  “Well…Mikey and I were talking about his dad, and I felt his sadness.” Alex twisted and untwisted the napkin. “I thought maybe I could feel some other stuff, so I ‘listened’, like you showed me.” He looked up at Damien, his small face pinched with remorse. “I kept my shields up, I promise! I just kinda imagined a screen, like on the window—just like you showed me—and lowered the shields just a little, so I could ‘listen’.”

  Damien placed his hand on Alex’s arm. “It’s all right, son. It’s good you kept your shields up. What did you feel?”

  Alex squared his shoulders. “It felt real bad, kinda like when we went in Mrs. Burgess’s house.”

  A chill swept through Kara, and she clenched her hands in her lap.

  “Okay.” Damien’s voice was pitched low and soothing. “Did you sense anything else?”

  Alex nodded. “Yeah. It felt dark, like I could almost see black. It was really scary. I dropped my backpack and my books fell out. I tried to stuff ‘em back in.” His lips trembled and he looked at Kara. “I left my backpack, Mom. I guess it’s lost. I’m sorry.”

  She forced air into her lungs, managed a weak smile for her son. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m not worried about the backpack. It’s probably in the school’s lost and found anyway.”

  “What else did you see or feel?” Damien asked.

  Alex looked back at him, his eyes wide and dark. “Something was coming closer, and it was looking for someone. I looked around, trying to see it, but I only saw regular people.”

  Kara knew one of those “regular people” might have been the Belian, and terror shot through her like an insidious infection. She leaned forward, stroked her son’s hair. “What grown-ups did you see there today?”

  “Mr. Martin, Mrs. Roberts, Mikey’s mom, Mrs. Williams…Principal Anderson…that’s all I can remember.”

  “Mrs. Williams? Belle Williams?” Damien asked.

  “Yes,” Kara answered for Alex. “Belle has a granddaughter she often picks up after school. Sal Martin has two grandchildren, so he’s frequently at the school as well.” She thought a moment. “And Luz was probably there, because she told me she decided to pick up Alex today.”

  “I didn’t see her,” Alex said.

  “All right, we know some of the people who were there,” Damien said. “What happened next?”

  “I could feel the bad thing getting closer, like it was coming after me. I got really scared.” Alex’s voice quivered. “I didn’t know w
hat to do. So I ran back into the school, and I hid in the closet by Mrs. Randolph’s room.”

  “That was a very smart thing to do,” Kara told him, grateful he’d had the presence of mind to hide.

  “It was very smart,” Damien agreed. “Did you feel anything else after that?”

  “No…the bad darkness kinda faded away, but then I was in the closet darkness, ‘cept it didn’t feel as scary.” Alex looked from Damien to Kara. “But I didn’t know what to do after that. I was afraid to come out, in case the badness came back.”

  “You did the right thing. Always stay where you’re safe until you’re absolutely certain it’s all right to come back out,” Damien reassured him.

  Alex nodded, obviously still replaying the day. “I stayed in there a long time, and then I heard your voice in my head, Mr. Morgan.” Awe replaced the fear in his eyes. “It was way cool! How did you do that?”

  “You can ‘talk’ the same way you ‘listen’ with your senses. But that’s another lesson. Besides, you answered me, at least enough that I could figure out where you were.” Damien ruffled the boy’s hair. “You did good. And you’re safe now.”

  Still radiating tension, Alex didn’t seem convinced. “But what about tomorrow?” he asked. “What if that person or bad thing comes back tomorrow?”

  “We’re going to come up with a plan to prevent that,” Damien told him. “Your mom and I are going to figure out a way to keep you safe. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

  Alex visibly relaxed. “Will I still get to play soccer?”

  Kara’s heart went out to him. He was just a boy, and it was patently unfair that his life had been disrupted, tainted by evil. He deserved a normal life, damn it!

  “Of course you’ll play soccer,” she said, determined he would continue to have a regular childhood, even if she had to subject herself to a hundred conductions to make it so. But her first priority right now was his safety. “We just have to find the person who’s doing all this bad stuff and send them away.”

  Alex considered that. “Like to jail?”

  Kara looked at Damien, noted the hard set of his jaw and the steel determination in his eyes. “Something like that,” she said. Or something much worse, akin to a super-hell. She certainly wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of a Sentinel’s dispensation of Atlantian justice.

  Damien pushed his chair back and stood. “I need to talk to your mother now,” he told Alex.

  The fearful expression returned to Alex’s face. “Are you going to talk on the porch again?” It was obvious he didn’t want to be left alone, even with the close proximity of the porch.

  Damien glanced at Kara. “No, I think we can talk in the front room. You can stay right here in the kitchen with Mac, if you want.”

  “And you can rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher,” Kara put in. Now that chore would definitely make it seem like life was returning to normal.

  Alex scrunched up his face. “Ah, Mom!”

  She rose from her chair. “It will just take you a minute. Get a book from your room, then you can sit at the kitchen table and read after the dishes are done.”

  She walked into the living room, with Damien behind her. She whirled to face him. “It was—” She stopped, seeing Alex walking through the dining room and into the hallway to his bedroom.

  She lowered her voice. “It was the Belian, wasn’t it?” She saw the acknowledgement in Damien’s eyes before he answered.

  “No doubt about it. I picked up the same psychic signature that was at Doris’s house.”

  Fresh terror sent her heart racing. “And now, he’s directly in the path of this monster.”

  “But he’s not without resources, Kara. If he hadn’t been able to shield himself today, and to sense the Belian, then he most definitely would not have been safe.”

  Meaning Alex would not have survived today, had it not been for Damien’s instruction.

  “I know what you’ve taught Alex probably saved his life today,” she said, feeing mentally and physically exhausted—and a whole lot afraid. “I— I really appreciate you showing Alex how to shield himself, and finding him at the school this afternoon—” Her voice broke and she turned her face away. She was not going to cry in front of this man.

  She started when he reached out and took her cold hand. His warmth seemed to radiate up her arm, along with a jolt of sparking awareness. “I’m glad I found him, too. He’s a great kid.”

  “Yeah.” She sniffed. “He is.” She faced Damien again. “He can’t go back to school, now that that thing knows about him.”

  “I’m not convinced the Belian knows that Alex was the one broadcasting. I think it knows there’s a fledgling Sentinel in Zorro, and is searching for him. But if it had known for sure, it would have tracked Alex down today. It would have been able to lock onto him, and follow him into the school.”

  She couldn’t even bear to think about what might have happened. But she had no intention of taking any chances. “You don’t know that for sure,” she argued.

  “No, I don’t. That’s why I’m moving in with you for the time being. If the Belian has tagged Alex, then it’s likely to come here after him. And you will be its next target—as will I, since we’ve spent time together.”

  Richard lay in his own blood, his eyes open, pupils fixed. She knelt beside him, numb with terror and grief, and took his blood-splattered hand. It was still warm…

  No! She couldn’t go through that again. “We can’t take a chance, not if there’s the slightest possibility it already knows Alex is the one,” she said, her voice thick. “He can’t be alone at any time. He’ll have to come to my office every day until you track the Belian down.”

  “And you can keep Alex safe at your office?” Damien’s silver gaze bored into her. “Are you willing to take your gun to the office? How will you explain Alex’s absence from school, and his presence at your office?”

  Suddenly overwhelmed by it all, she stumbled to the couch and sank down. “I don’t know. I’ll have to think of something.”

  The couch sagged as Damien sat beside her. “Is there anywhere you can send Alex until this is over with?”

  Would it ever be over? she wondered wearily. She didn’t want Alex out of her sight, but Damien had some good points. “I could send him to my mother and stepfather in Alabama…” she said slowly. “They adore him, and he feels the same way about them. It’s just that I would— I would miss him so badly.”

  “But he would be away from this Belian, and safe.”

  “How do I know there wouldn’t be a Belian in Huntsville, and that Alex might accidentally broadcast while he’s there? Is there any place on this Earth that’s safe?”

  “I won’t allow Alex to go without protection,” Damien said. “First off, I’ll work with him more tonight, and be sure he has the control he needs. Secondly, I’ll get someone to keep an eye on him.”

  “Another Sentinel?” Kara felt torn, wanting Alex to be protected, but not further exposed to the Sentinel world. “What if he starts giving Alex information on Sentinels?”

  “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll forward instructions that Alex is to be guarded, but not mentored, unless it becomes absolutely necessary.” Again, he pinned her with his intent gaze. “That’s the best I can do.”

  She knew she’d have to settle for that. “Well, I guess it’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”

  His lips twitched. “Some days are like that.”

  She looked away from his mouth, appalled that she could find it enticing at a time like this. “I’ll have to call my mother, then figure out how to get Alex to Alabama. And then I’ll have to tell him.”

  “We’ll explain it to him together. He’ll understand. As for getting him to Alabama, he’s old enough to fly alone, if we can get a direct flight.” Damien stood. “You call your mother, and I’ll use my laptop to search the Internet for a plane ticket.”

  Kara felt a wrench at the t
hought of Alex leaving, much less flying by himself. She knew it was the best thing for her son, but he was her world, and she would be bereft without him.

  Damien must have sensed her mood, for he said, “You’re doing the right thing to keep Alex safe. You know that.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  But she felt as if her heart were breaking.

  And the darkness was growing closer.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Damien paused in his Internet search—being conducted with Alex’s assistance—and listened to Kara talking to her mother.

  “No, Mom, I’m fine, really. Nothing’s wrong. I’d just like to send Alex to you for a week or two.…No, he’s fine, too, but there’s a serious measles epidemic in this area.… Don’t you remember? He had a bad reaction to his first MMR shot, so he never received a booster, so he might not be immune.…Yes, that’s the time he had a convulsion.… That’s great! I really appreciate it. Let me check the airlines and I’ll get back to you when we have flight information…. Oh, that’s right. He might have to fly into Birmingham. Would that be a hardship for you and Frank?…Good. Thank you. You’re the best…. All right. Love you, too.”

  Damien couldn’t help but wonder if he’d have been having telephone conversations with his own parents if they were still alive. But they weren’t, and he’d learned to function very well without a family safety net. He returned his attention to his search.

  “Very clever to think of a measles epidemic,” he said when Kara joined them at the dining room table.

  “Mom, is there really a measles ‘demic?” Alex asked.

  “No, sweetie, I had to tell a fib. But I didn’t think we should discuss Sentinel stuff with Grandma and Grandpa, or scare them. Don’t you agree?”

  Alex nodded. “Yeah. I guess.” He wasn’t at all sure he wanted to go off to Alabama, much less fly on a plane by himself, but he was being a real trooper.

  Damien had spent an hour working with him more on shielding and safely sending and receiving thoughts. Alex was shaken up, and he was fearful and tired, yet he still exhibited an amazing ability to focus. He was rapidly becoming very proficient with the skills.

  “Was your mom making up the bad reaction to the immunization, too?” he asked Alex.