The Guardian (Chronicles of Dover's Amalgam Book 1) (34 page)

“Listen to me,” Jareth commanded as he caught up to her. He grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. “Do not call to him. Do you understand?”

Beau jerked her arm, but could not shake him off. She swallowed as she looked up at Jareth. Elizabet knew he could be scary to behold when he was angry, but Beau would not expect him to appear so fierce and strong. Someone with his beauty was not supposed to look as though he could kill her where she stood if she disobeyed.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” she shouted. Beau had never been overly smart, or one to follow rules. Jareth stood over her and surrounded her with his presence. Elizabet sensed the lethal grace he held back not to truly hurt her into submission.

“Beau,” Elizabet said, and took a step closer. She held her hands up as if to calm her. “Listen to Jareth. Jeremy is sick, and it’s important that we don’t force him to do something that could hurt us.” She stopped talking to bring her hands to cover her ears. She looked up at the electric lines, searching for the source of the noise.

Beau twisted her arm until Jareth reluctantly released her.

“Do not call out again or I will tape your mouth shut,” Jareth warned, pointing at her.

Beau’s mouth fell open to speak, but the humming grew louder. It hurt her ears.

“What is that noise?” Elizabet asked.

Jareth maintained eye contact with Beau, his eyes narrow and threatening. “He is close and he is afraid.” He motioned to Beau. “She is giving off vibes of fear, and he can sense that.” Beau tensed to run, but Jareth sprang on her like a jungle cat. He was quick and precise, and pinned her in his arms before she could gasp a startled breath. “Easy,” he murmured. His arms were like a vice around her.

Beau met Elizabet’s gaze, and mutely implored her for help. Being restrained would bring up terrible memories for Beau.

“Be still and stay quiet,” Elizabet said—not what Beau would want to hear. “You’ll scare him away.” Beau answered her by throwing her head back, effectively head butting Jareth. She pierced the air with her best rendition of a scream worthy of the Bates Hotel.

“Bloody hell,” Jareth cursed. Beau fought against him. He looked at Elizabet, his face enraged, his lip curling with anger. A smear of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. “Get the tape from the glove box. The heavy, nasty silver tape.”

Elizabet frowned and did not make a move. “She’ll behave. She just doesn’t understand.” She leveled a look at Beau. “Stop it. Stop or you’ll hurt yourself. You’ll get us all hurt. Jareth is not your dad; he won’t hurt you like that. You’re making a ninny out of yourself.”

“He wants to tape my mouth and you’re okay with that?” Beau asked. The noise got louder and she threw up her hands to cover her ears. “You’re
my
family.”

“Jareth is my family now, too,” Elizabet said. “I don’t have to choose. I love you both, and he wants to help you. You don’t understand what’s going on and you could be hurt. Trust me.” Beau lips wobbled as she held back tears. She twisted in Jareth’s arms and spit in his face. Elizabet looked at Jareth’s shocked, disgusted expression. “I’ll get the tape.”

Beau screamed and the humming got louder. So loud that Jareth instinctively released one arm to cover his ear. He pressed the other ear to the top of Beau’s head, while she used the advantage to cover both of hers instead of escaping.

“He hears us,” Jareth said over the humming. “And he thinks we are going to hurt Beau.” He released Beau and reached for his wife instead. Elizabet was hunched down, clasping her ears. She reached out to Jareth and he jerked her into his arms. The volume of the drone was so profound that it was difficult to hear.

“We won’t hurt her, Jeremy,” Elizabet called. Someone had to try to calm the force that was either angry or scared. And Elizabet knew Jeremy. He was a reasonable kid, but he was crazy about Beau. “I’ve never lied to you!” she threw in for good measure. “I swear that we are only here to help you. We won’t tape her mouth shut. I promise!”

The noise reduced as if a stereo dial had been turned down, but there remained a deep, pulsating throbbing. Elizabet uncovered her ears and slowly stood, as did Jareth. Her plea worked, which met he was close and could hear them. Jareth’s arms curved around her as he surveyed the area.

Beau circled, searching for Jeremy. Her features perked, as though she sensed he was near. She started up the narrow dirt pathway that led to the canal bank and small shed that housed a water pump the area farmers used to flood fields.

“Let her go,” Jareth said when Elizabet started to run after her. He grabbed her arm and slid his hand down her arm until they were holding hands. “I think he heard us and he is angry.” He peered down at her. “You were right to reason with him.”

“What if hurts her?” Elizabet asked.

“He cares for her.” His hand squeezed hers. “He will not hurt her, but we will follow at a short distance and keep watch.”

Elizabet looked ahead at her cousin who was not hurrying, but wary and watchful. They began up the trail in Beau’s wake. “I heard you talking to Gabriel.” She peered over her shoulder at Jareth, then tugged on his hand for him to keep up. “You said host are unstable when they first turn.”

“I have a dagger in my boot. If he even breathes wrong where Beau is concerned—he is dead.”

Elizabet halted. Was this why Jareth was so calm? Because he could kill Jeremy if he had to? “You can’t use her as bait,” she hissed. “And I don’t want you to kill him. It would be all my fault.” She thrust her arm in the direction Beau had gone. “You heard me tell him we were here to help. I practically threw my cousin at him.”

“Have a little faith in me, love,” Jareth said, his lips turning down. “Of course, I know how to kill my host, but it should not come to that. I think you underestimate the pull of the heart. Jeremy is tied to Beau somehow. We will use it to get him to safety. That is what is important right now. We must remove him before he really gets angry or frightened.” His expression turned grave. “That would be nasty for all mankind in the general vicinity of say . . . a hundred miles or so.”

“You always know what to do. How do you do that?” Elizabet asked as they started walking again. She kicked a clump of clay that was in the way. “Is there anything you can’t do or reason through?”

“I cannot, for the life of me, learn to speak German.”

Elizabet was shocked. Partially because it was the last thing she expected to come out of his mouth, and partially because it was such a random confession at a strange time. “You’re a natural translator.” She narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. If only it was the time to dig into the subject of his learning deficit—obviously, his
only
learning deficit. “I thought you could speak whatever language you tried.”

Jareth shrugged. “Who am I to understand the depths of my own gray matter?” He tapped his temple. “There’s a kink in there that blocks German receptors. And probably mathematics to a certain degree, although perhaps I simply have a keen dislike—or laziness—for numbers.” He rolled one shoulder to dismiss the topic. “But I digress. You digress.” He tipped his chin to the shed they were approaching. “Jeremy felt that Beau was near. One of his abilities is that he can sense what someone feels—specifically if it is someone he cares about. That is how I know he will not hurt her. I can sense his emotions. She is safe with him, as are we. As long as we play nice with Beau, all should end right as rain.”

“He can feel . . . things?” Elizabet asked.

“Under the best of circumstances, he must be touching someone to communicate through his senses, but in cases where he is connected emotionally—it is different.” He glanced down into her face and must have noted the combination of wonder and annoyance that he had not already told her this.

“You do know that I do not deliberately keep things from you?” he asked. “The issues of the Amalgam are so vast it would take a library to fill its theories. I am addressing them as they present. The fact Jeremy can siphon emotions never presented itself earlier, but it has now.”

“I hate surprises,” she said. “Especially those that involve people I love. Jeremy means a lot to Beau. I don’t know how she will handle all of this.” Her gaze followed a line of ants in the dirt. The trail was long and looped up toward the levy and the pump shed. There must have been a million ants marching in single file. Beau was nowhere in immediate sight. “What in the world?” Elizabet muttered as she hunkered down to study the trail.

“Hey!” Beau called. “He’s here! I found him!” They could hear her, but not see her.

Elizabet stood and bumped into Jareth as she turned toward the shed where Beau’s voice came from. They made their way up the slope of the levy, following alongside the army of ants that seemed to be leading the way.

“Stay close,” Jareth said. He took the lead with her tucked behind him, one hand on her so she would not dart ahead.

Rounding the shed, they saw Beau on her knees before Jeremy. He was sitting, knees bent and head bowed, with his back to the shed exterior. The ant trail did not end there, however. They merely circled around Jeremy and came back to form their line like an endless form, an infinity sign. It was the strangest thing. The tiny creatures were scurrying and frantic, but remained in formation.

“He can’t talk,” Beau said. She leaned forward to peer into Jeremy’s face. “And he doesn’t want us to touch him, either.” Jeremy nodded.

Elizabet took in the battered form of the boy she had known for many years. His clothing was ripped, dirty, and hung from him as if he had taken it off and tied the pieces back on. Jeremy, the neat freak, was a mess. But being a mess was not the clincher—it was him not seeming to care.

Beau cast his gaze at Jareth. “I can hear him talking in my head.”

Jareth passed Elizabet a concerned glance before he crouched next to Beau. “I am Dr. Jareth Tremaine, Jeremy, and I am here to help you. I know that you are scared, but you have to trust me.” He motioned for Elizabet to come forward. “I know what has happened to you. Everything will be all right.” Jeremy flexed his fingers in a claw-like fashion. “Are you hurting?”

Jeremy glowered.

“He doesn’t like you,” Beau stated. She sounded pleased, as if Jeremy had impeccable taste. “Thinks you’re too young to be doctor.”

“You can trust him, Jeremy,” Elizabet said. She put her hand on Jareth’s shoulder. Beau looked away, her chin jutting out. “He’s my husband and he really is a doctor. A good one.”

Jeremy’s filthy face screwed up in a scowl.

“He says he can kill you like he killed the rest of them,” Beau sneered, then her face fell, as though what she said registered with her brain. She gaped at Jeremy, who still glared daggers at the doctor. The smugness was gone from her tone. “
Huh?
What are you talking about, Jeremy?”

“That’s enough! Harness your anger,” Jareth demanded in a voice filled with authority. His countenance changed from guarded friendliness to such a level of sternness that even Beau flinched. “If you do not, then you risk the safety of these ladies. Is that what you want? For Beau or Elizabet to be hurt?”

Jeremy’s chin came up a fraction and he stared at Beau. His gaze held a child-like worship as it wandered over her as if checking for damage to her person. His intentions were heard by all of them, the intensity of his emotions so raw.

“It’s okay,” Beau assured him. She offered Jeremy a fractured smile. “You won’t hurt me.” She addressed Jareth with tapered eyes. “He thinks you will hurt us, not the other way around.”

Elizabet’s jaw hung open after being mind-raped for the first time. They did not need Beau’s commentary. They had heard it directly from Jeremy’s mind.

A grunting noise came from Jeremy, calling them to his attention. He thrust his arm out and pointed to the adjacent field.

“He wants to show you something,” Jareth said. He turned his eyes to Beau and inclined his head in the direction of the field.

Elizabet nudged Beau and followed her in that direction. Beau halted and drew her breath in sharply. Elizabet put her hand to her mouth so she would not scream. In the field lay hundreds of dead animals. A multitude of them—raccoons, neutras, minx, armadillos, possums—too numerous to count. Their bodies were twisted in piles, each carcass disfigured in a violent throe of death.

Jareth came up behind them. “He did not mean to kill them,” he murmured. He put his hand on Elizabet’s shoulder. She reached up and squeezed his fingers. “He does not know how to control what is happening to him. He hid rather than return home and hurt a human being.”

Beau peered up at Jareth, blinking tears from her eyes. “You can hear him too?”

Jareth nodded. He and Beau shared a kind glance for the first time since meeting. “Yes, Beau, I can hear him too.”

Epilogue

THEY WERE FLYING
coach. Not first class, as a duke should, but they had managed to rake together enough funds for the lowest priced tickets available. Three one way tickets to the Cayman Islands toting a wild force of nature. It was a bargain, considering what could have happened if they had stayed in Louisiana.

Jeremy had nearly killed his father.

Elizabet peered down at the boy who had a violent storm churning inside his small body even as he slept peacefully. His black hair was a mess, but his face was serene as he rested against Jareth’s arm.

They were going to a safe haven located on the Brac of the Cayman Islands where Jeremy’s uncle, Eddie Cameron, had a mission for the Presbyterian Church. Eddie was a scientist as well as a pastor, and had been one of the leading explorers who studied the eruption of Mount St. Helen’s back in the 80’s. And he had never been the same, Pastor Jed told them. Jed did not have to embellish that statement. His look, his sneer, and the way his body went rigid—all was enough to give them the information they needed.

It had been easy to take away a child when his parents were eager to give him up; that fact was not lost to either Elizabet or her husband. Even if the child was stricken with the same mutation that plagued his Uncle Eddie, it was not reason enough to abandon him with such zeal.