Beyond the Darkness (10 page)

Her emotions twisted him. He understood that failing all too well, and he sat with it in silence. She was his greatest weakness. And his greatest love. He could tell her neither. But he could tell her what she needed to know. That would cost him little.

“I was born before the government program, so I didn’t inherit the Essence of Pope’s father.”

She reclined next to him, face-to-face, her left hand still working his neck. “You said you didn’t like to kill
humans
. As though you’re not one. You’re from Pope’s dimension, aren’t you?”

He shook his head. “No, but my father was.”

“Pope said something about knowing what your father was doing here.”

“Some Callorians have found ways to escape the oppressive world the Collaborate has created to come here. Many become corrupted once they are allowed to express their emotions and carnal lust. DNA testing could expose the other dimension, which would cause chaos and fear here.”

She was listening intently, her blue eyes hardly blinking. So he continued.

“My father briefly worked for the C hunting down Scarletts, but found their rules stifling. It was the SCANE that pushed him beyond the edge of the law. He had a friend who underwent SCANE and survived, but with no memories of his loved ones or his past. He spent five years stumbling around reciting the law books until he mercifully died. My father wasn’t an emotional man, but some things bothered him. It was why he became the very thing he was hunting.

“He made the mistake of joining the government program here, though, thinking he was helping mankind. He felt the Essence invading his psyche but didn’t understand what it was. He already had tremendous powers, so it didn’t enhance them. But the Essence affected him in other ways. It made him be unfaithful with Lucas’s mother. He loved my mother too much for a casual dalliance.”

“Your mother is a human.”

“My father fell in love first with the Hopi, their beliefs and ways. He came through a portal near Sedona. The Hopi knew he was different, even though he’d taken on the human guise of one of them. But, of course, he wasn’t one of them and had to keep his past a mystery. He and my mother had a bond like none I’ve ever seen in any other couple.” He knew the bond well. “She knew what he was, what he did, before they married. She was willing to put up with all that it meant to be with him, but I saw what it cost her. In the end, it cost her her mate.”

“He died when you were how old?”

“Seven. But he came to me, first in my dreams and then later in waking consciousness. He had already been teaching me the warrior ways during the times he was home. My mother didn’t like it, so I didn’t tell her he was still training me from beyond.”

Her expression hardened. “Your father was training you to take his place?”

He nodded.

“That’s just wrong. What kind of father wants his son to engage with deadly beings?”

“It was his purpose. Now it’s mine.”

He saw her struggle to push down her anger at his father. “You grew up with the Hopi people?” she asked.

“Not really. Though they came to accept my father, once he started killing they sensed the darkness in him. The Hopi are a peaceful people. When my father joined Darkwell’s program, we moved to DC. My mother and I returned after he died, but the shame of a suicide taints the whole family. And I was different. I had the darkness, too. I didn’t take well to being bullied by kids who felt threatened. Especially when I got good with knives. We moved to a cabin my father had built out in the forest. Now she’s back with her people at Orayvi in the Third Mesa. She’s a silversmith.” He turned the pendant she’d made for him on his sixteenth birthday over to show her the back side. “See the sun? That’s her hallmark. Every artist stamps their hallmark on their work.”

She touched it, and he released the pendant at the heat between their fingers. He felt every stroke of her fingers on the metal. “She does beautiful work.”

His pride made him smile. “She’s one of the best artisans in the tribe.”

Her expression froze as she took him in. Then a smile transformed her face. “I’ve never seen you smile, really smile. It’s . . . amazing.”

He tamped it down. “Do you know enough now?”

She released the pendant, her own smile wilting. “I don’t think I’ll ever know enough, and I know you won’t tell me what lies in the deepest places in your soul.” She tilted her head. “Is there anyone who knows you so well? Your mother? No, you probably keep your distance from her to keep her safe. Your father, then?”

“My father is my teacher, my guide. Do you share confidences with your father?”

“No, but—”

“I need to decompress, clear my mind for a few minutes.”

He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. He felt the familiar dizziness that preceded his father’s visits. He floated through the ethers, meeting him halfway.

“Did you get a warning?” he asked before Wayne could say anything, the two of them conversing as if they were indeed face-to-face.

He could see his father’s stern face, mouth tight. “The woman with you, she will cause great trouble. You will be killed if you stay with her
.
”

“I will be leaving her with Pope tomorrow
.
”

“Good. She weakens you.”

“Yes,” he had to admit. “Do you see any danger coming to her?”

Now that Petra was with him, bonded to him, he probably wouldn’t get warning visions about her future. Or about Pope’s either, though he would know if something happened to either of them the moment it happened. But would it be too late then?

“I see nothing where she is concerned. Which, as you know, means neither good nor bad. I can feel that you care about her, but do not let your feelings put you, or her, in mortal danger. You have two worthy adversaries, and teamed up they are more than twice as dangerous. They cover each other’s weaknesses. Be on your guard at all times.”

Cheveyo heard his own weariness when he said, “I always am. But I must recharge now
.
”

“Go. Be safe.”

He disengaged, returning to his body. He didn’t open his eyes for a few minutes more, trying to clear his mind. It was all he could do not to look at Petra, lying next to him. He could feel her breath softly pulsing on his shoulder, her gaze on him, and her tangled energy.

The only way they would be safe was to be apart. Now. Forever.

Chapter 8

E
very time Cheveyo passed the turnoff to the Mesa where his mother lived, he felt a pang. He passed her road many more times than he turned down it.

He glanced at Petra, dozing on the seat next to him, an open magazine in her lap. He was a man at war, as much internally as externally, wanting to be with her and wanting to protect her by being away from her. Soon he would leave her with Pope and backtrack to find the enemy he was sure was on his trail.

She would have a crease on her cheek again. He would fight to not rub it away again.

He turned onto the unmarked road flanked by signs that warned about trespassing at the risk of imminent death. Petra woke when they hit a rough patch in the road.

“Are we there?” Her voice was husky with sleep.

“In time for lunch.”

She scrubbed her fingers through her hair, slowly coming awake. Yep, a crease. “Sitting in a moving vehicle sure makes me sleepy.”

“Rest is good. You’ve been through a lot lately.”

“So have you, but you’ve hardly had any rest.” She looked around at the dense forest of pines. “Where’s the desert?”

“Flag is higher up in the mountains. Flagstaff,” he added. The locals called it Flag. “The whole state isn’t desert, you know.”

“Oh.”

“You’ve never been out West, have you?”

She shook her head, her hair brushing her shoulders. “I haven’t really been anywhere. I went to New York City once.” She took in their surroundings like a kid, her eyes wide, the haze of sleep still clinging to her eyes and voice. “Wow! Mountains!”

“Those are the San Francisco Peaks. No, not related to the California San Fran. Those are dormant volcanoes. The largest is Mount Humphrey. Great skiing.”

“They’re absolutely beautiful. It looks like God threw gold dust on green mountains.”

They
were
beautiful, the aspens and ponderosa pines interspersed with the deciduous trees that were turning gold. He saw them through her eyes, fresh and vivid.

After passing Flag, civilization faded away again. She was still watching their surroundings. “The sand isn’t all red either. Kind of a mix of red, dark gray, and rocks. I’m going to guess your place is in the middle of nowhere.”

“Yeah. My father had it built before he met my mother. He used it as I do, as a respite between bouts.” Acres of lonely, pine-covered land. “I called Pope, but he wasn’t answering his cell phone.”

She pulled out her iPhone. “I’m surprised there’s service out here.”

“I installed a personal cell tower. Unless he’s out in the woods somewhere, he should get a clear signal. I left a message letting him know we’re closing in.”

“I remember hearing you talking. I thought it was a dream.”

She’d stayed up through most of the night with him, though they hadn’t spoken much. He was beginning to like having her there. Good thing he was dumping her off today.

She went into the back to gather her things. The passenger seat looked emptier than it had before. Toto sat wedged at the corner of the dash, staring at him.

When he finally pulled up to the cabin, he saw a bright blue Ford F10 parked out front. “My cleaning lady is here.”

The dark wood house sat in a clearing, far enough from the trees for fire safety. The windows across the upstairs room, his bedroom, reflected the afternoon sun.

Petra came back up to the front. She took in his home, leaning forward and biting her lower lip. “I like it. Rustic but modern, blends in with the surroundings.”

“By design.”

He approached a large outbuilding that was connected to the house via a covered walkway and hit a button. The door opened and he pulled in. She met him by the side door a few minutes later and he took her bag.

“How long are we staying here?” she asked.

“I’m only staying long enough to get a game plan.”

Her expression sagged. “Not long at all.”

“You and Pope will hang here until I’ve taken care of Yurek and Baal, which hopefully will be sometime today. If there’s trouble, Pope should be able to teletransport and take you with him. He said he was going to work on getting that ability back. Remember, you won’t be able to bring anything but what you can fit in your pocket.”

She pressed her iPhone to her chest. “I’m going to
wear
this thing.”

The walkway led to a side entrance, but he continued around to the front door. “Pope’s nearby,” he said. “I can feel him.”

Pope walked around the far corner of the porch that ran along the front of the house. Cheveyo started for his knife, a habit engrained in every cell of his body. Releasing the breath, and tension, he relaxed his fingers.

Pope noticed the movement and cracked a smile. “I come in peace.”

She nudged him. “Pope made a joke.”

“Humans are rubbing off on you,” Cheveyo said, unable to help the wry grin on his face.

A board squeaked when Pope stepped on it. He stepped on it again, as though to verify where the sound had come from.

Cheveyo said, “It’s an alarm. I was on a mission in Kyoto, Japan, and did some sightseeing after I was finished. At the Nijo Castle, I learned they’d installed these squeaky boards to alert the shoguns of intruders. I liked the idea.”

Pope stepped on it one more time, nodding in approval. “Yes, primitive and yet timeless.”

Cheveyo nodded toward the wrinkled map Pope was holding. “Been out exploring?”

“Studying the land in case I should have to flee on foot.” He pressed the squeaky board one more time. “Like you, preparing for invasion.”

They walked the final few feet to the front door. It was locked, just as Cheveyo had instructed Suza to do while she was there alone. He opened it and gestured for Petra and Pope to walk into the massive room. They stopped within a foot of the door. Maybe taking in the dark oak beams and the floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace. He stepped up beside them and saw that no one was looking at the fireplace. All eyes were on the woman posed on the back of the brown couch, wearing leopard-print panties and bra, black high heels, and nothing else. Her long black hair was artfully draped over her shoulder.

Her eyes popped when she saw the three of them. “Oh, hell in a coffee cup!” She fell backward, long legs flying, and landed on the other side of the couch. Her hand reached out and grabbed the discarded clothing on the floor.

Petra looked at Cheveyo, and he couldn’t miss the edge in her voice. “I think you should have warned her you had company.”

Suza rose from behind the couch fully dressed, embarrassment in deep blue eyes fringed with dark lashes and framed by bangs. “I am so sorry. Obviously I had no idea you had company or”—her gaze shifted briefly to Petra—“a girl. It’s not what you think. Well, it is and it’s not. It started that day a couple of months ago when you came back while I was still cleaning.” She turned her attention back to Petra. “He looked ragged and worn, but it was what I felt from him . . .” She shook her head. “I know this’ll sound a bit whoo-whoo, but I can feel people’s emotions, and I felt this bone-deep loneliness and sadness. It about broke my heart.”

She leaned back against the couch, her words still pouring out. Interesting that she was looking at Pope and Petra and not him. “When he interviewed me for the cleaning job, I felt something different than anything I’ve felt from a guy.” She splayed her hand over the left side of her chest. “I could feel that he had a good soul. But that day his soul was hurting, and the need to take away the pain was overwhelming. He declined, told me he had a dangerous job and didn’t want to jeopardize anyone. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, though, so every time I came here, I put on my underpretties just in case.”

Her gaze slid to Pope but came back to Petra. She blew out a breath hard enough to ruffle her thick bangs. “If you’re his girl—and from what I’m picking up, you are—don’t get your skivvies in a twist. He’s innocent.”

Well, innocent was not something he’d been called in a while.

“I’m going to stop babbling now and finish up.” She finally looked at him. “Unless you’re firing me.” She waited for a second.

“I’m not going to fire you.”

“You don’t know what that means to me. I need these cleaning jobs till my shop gets established.”

When he interviewed her a year ago, he’d felt her wild, frenetic energy. He also felt her attraction to him. She was a beautiful woman, but her need for love and loyalty ruled her out as someone he could get casually intimate with.

Suza asked, “Do you want me to freshen up the guest room? I haven’t gotten to that part of the house yet.”

Which was why she didn’t know someone had been staying at the house. “We’re fine,” Cheveyo said. “Why don’t you call it a day?”

Her smile wavered, but she revived it for Petra and Pope. “Have . . . a nice visit.”

She grabbed the long handle on her container of cleaning equipment and wheeled it to the door, her gaze still on Pope. Maybe because he was unusual looking. Then again, with that tiny smile, maybe it was more.

She paused in front of Pope and held a hand a few inches from his chest. “All of you have a buzzing energy I’ve never felt before, but you have it even more.” She looked him right in the eyes. “You’ve got a good soul, too. And . . .”

Pope tilted his head, an expression of curiosity on his face. “And?”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “I’d better go.”

With that, she walked out, closing the door behind her. Pope raised an eyebrow, and once the door closed, said, “Interesting. Me, a good soul? But she was right about our energy.”

Cheveyo said, “I wonder what she picked up.”

Petra was watching her through the front window. “She’s not an Offspring, is she?”

Pope was watching her, too. “No, I didn’t sense the Essence in her. But humans have innate psychic abilities, some more than others. She definitely has them.”

Suza was halfway down the drive when Cheveyo realized he’d better have her wait a few weeks before coming back. He ducked out the door.

“Suza.”

She was already at her truck, and she swiveled to face him, her expression tensing. “Shoot, you are going to fire me, aren’t you? Not that I blame you. I probably got you into a sandstorm of trouble with your girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Yeah, right. Wait, you’re serious.” She pointed at her upper chest. “You’re talking to a third gen empath. If she’s not now, she will be. What I sense between you two is deeper than anything I’ve ever picked up before.” Melancholy tempered her smile. “I’m happy for you. Gives me hope.”

He wasn’t going to correct her. “What did you sense from Pope?”

Her gaze flicked to the house, and a spark flared in her eyes. “I felt a deep yearning, but I didn’t want to say that to him. Seemed a bit too personal and, well, we already got pretty damned personal already.” She flashed a chagrined smile. “He’s got the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen, even if they are a bit freaky. There’s something different about him.”

Cheveyo nodded. “That there is.”

She waited for him to elaborate. When he didn’t, she said, “It’s a good kind of different.” She hefted the square plastic container of supplies into the bed of the truck and gave him a contrite look. “So, am I fired?”

“No. But I may have some trouble here in the next few days. I don’t want you to get hurt. Call me before you come.”

Her expression got serious. “It has something to do with the woman in there, doesn’t it? I can sense your fear for her. Is everything all right?”

“We’ll be fine. I’ll be in touch.”

She surprised him by giving him a hug. “Be careful.” Just as quickly, she backed up and got into her truck.

He returned to the house. Petra had been looking out the front window but quickly turned as though to pretend she hadn’t been. Suza’s emotions were simple. In the house, things were more complicated.

Pope’s head was tilted like a puppy who had heard an odd sound. “I’ve never sensed these emotions before. They’re quite interesting. What are they?”

Petra’s cheeks were pink. “What emotions? There are no emotions here. We had an awkward little situation, but it’s over,” she added in a high-pitched voice.

Cheveyo leaned against the back of the overstuffed sofa, studying Pope. “You sense our emotions. How?”

“They come in pulses, like sound waves. I’ve sensed hatred and love and fear, but this woman caused emotions in both of you that I’ve never picked up before.”

So Pope could pick up his emotions, even though he masked them. Interesting. “What do these emotions feel like?”

“Do we really have to go there?” Petra said, rolling her eyes. “Really?”

He hid his grin. These awkward situations were nothing in the scheme of things to him. He had to remember that Petra was a different person, with different perceptions and insecurities. “I’ve never met a Callorian that I didn’t have to kill, so I’m curious, too.”

She let out an endearing sigh and dropped down onto the deep red chair catty-corner to the couch, her arms crossed in front of her.