Hunted by the Past, page 25
I nodded. Then realized he couldn’t see me and said, “Got it.”
Getting to my feet, I flicked the light back on and stood. “Okay,” I kept my voice low. “Let’s see if this works. You reading me?”
“Five by five.”
My nerves settled at the military version of ‘loud and clear’ in Kayden’s voice. I ran the beam of light both ways and tried to figure out which one didn’t feel off. Since they were both gaping maws of darkness, I snorted.
I walked forward, counting my steps. At three hundred, I stopped. No change in temperature, no change in the clinging darkness. There was some rustling noises, but I couldn’t make out what caused them. I retraced my steps back to my original starting point, and then repeated my actions in the opposite direction.
This time, the temperature dropped, the darkness surged, and the rustling noises and the static in my head increased with each step. At two hundred, I stopped and bent over, hands on my knees, sucking in air while sweat dotted my forehead. Okay, this way sucked. It also made my decision easier, even as it scared the crap out of me. “Let’s take choice number two.”
Kayden’s energy spiked with reluctance, but before he could respond, I explained, “This route is scary as hell, but I think that’s the point of this. If I take the easier one, I think it draws me deeper away. Remember, whoever’s behind this gets off on scaring me. Great way to make sure I don’t poke at what he’s doing.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“Then I come back and try again,” I muttered.
“If you can make it back.”
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Hurt and angry, I pulled back.
“Don’t! Look, I’m sorry, okay? I just…” he trailed off, his emotions tangling.
It was hard to hold onto my anger when I could feel his emotions. It also showed me something I wasn’t sure he wanted me to see. Woven in his frustration and worry were other feelings, ones that stretched deeper than I expected. Ones I wanted to explore with him. Later. If my courage didn’t take a hike. Stunned by his unintentional reveal, my hands trembled and the light shook.
I gave what I could and admitted, “Yeah, me too.” I straightened my shoulders and sucked it up. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 22
As the alley stretched endlessly before me, I wondered at the wisdom of my choice. My teeth were tapping out their own version of Morse Code at the unnatural drop in temperature. Granted, desert temperatures could go from sweltering to freezing, but this was ridiculous. Faint noises echoed around me, not yet making sense but some sixth sense told me when they did, I was going to be in serious shit. Even as I tried to ignore them, they chased me down the narrow confines. Even worse, the undecipherable words circled my brain like hungry vultures just waiting for an opening.
You’re not going to make it. You’re not strong enough.
You’ve failed how many times already? What’s once more? So stupid. You’re doing exactly what he wants.
Keep running, Cyn, I’ll be here waiting.
The last one really unnerved me. My connection to Kayden seemed to thin which made it difficult not to pay attention. I tried singing at the top of my lungs. Not an easy feat when you’re stumbling through a midnight-drenched alley. It didn’t help. The deeper I went, the louder the whispers grew, and the closer those intimidating noises became. Kayden tried to stay with me, but eventually even his voice was swallowed by the dry, rattling accusations. Some of those voices found their mark, drawing blood from past choices and current insecurities, until I was running blind, praying for an end.
I stumbled and fell to my knees, the flashlight flying out of my hand and winking off into darkness. I knelt on the ground, my breath nothing more than ragged sobs. I finally reached a breaking point. “Shut up!”
My strangled scream cut through the rising tide of whispers and haunting din, leaving behind a heavy silence. Then an explosion of light seared my retinas, leaving indelible afterimages. Gunshots, shouted questions, the thud of flesh on flesh, and grunts of pain filled the darkness. Then came the scream that chased the others back.
“Flash!” Blind, I reached out.
A mocking voice filled the tunnel. “Go ahead and fight, Captain, I don’t mind.”
Horror stripped everything away. Ellery. That was Ellery’s voice.
No, it couldn’t be, he wasn’t telepathic. He couldn’t be here.
Blue white flames snapped to life, illuminating Flash’s body suspended before me, writing in agony. Every cruel detail was crystal clear. The horror on his face. His eyes pleading for help I couldn’t give. His mouth stretched wide in a soundless cream. The flames eating him, inch by inch.
Next to him, Ellery laughed as he brushed his flame-covered hands in a mockery of affection over Flash’s head. His eyes were pitch black, his lips twisted into a sadistic grin.
Reality receded and was replaced by this all-too-real nightmare. Driven by a fury honed by time, I launched myself at him, determined this time to make it stop. To save my friend. Yet feet from my goal, my body jerked, and my knees slammed to the ground, held in place by something I couldn’t see. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t escape. Tears pooled and my desperate, furious scream tore through the nightmare. “No!”
The puppet master laughed. “Poor Cyn, falling apart so soon?” His voice struck like fangs, and sank their poison bone deep. “How disappointing. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would. You’re not a strong as people think, are you? Add a little pressure and you break.”
Hatred boiled over. “Fuck you!”
Flash’s screams peaked. The mocking laughter and taunts picked up volume as Ellery stalked forward. “Not interested.” He covered the distance between us between one blink and the next. He was so close, the warmth of his breath brushed my skin. “However, there’s something else I want.”
Every instinct protested his nearness and I scrambled back, barely realizing that the invisible force holding me in place was gone. Even as the fire and screams faded to phantom echoes, Ellery’s laughter followed.
The only good thing my frantic movements produced was my flashlight. I grabbed it and swung out, my intention to embed it in Ellery’s skull. Instead, there was nothing there. Off balance, I fell forward.
Kayden’s voice broke through my panic. “Take a breath, Cyn. Focus.” It faded in and out. “He’s just playing with you.”
Right, this was not real. It’s in the past. Already done. Flash was beyond saving. I got to my feet, my body shuddering as I tried to piece things back together. The dark rippled around me, then disappeared, only to be replaced by a shockingly bright light. The change was too abrupt and I threw up an arm to shield my eyes.
“Playing with you? Interesting choice of words.” The words were casual.
I dropped my arm and blinked frantically, as the world resolved into focus. No more alley, no more darkness, no more dirt walls. Instead, Ellery sat across from me in a nondescript chair in an empty, blank room, watching me with a taunting half-smile.
The worry that he could hear Kayden pinged across my mind, but there was nothing I could do about it. Not yet. Right now, I didn’t dare take my attention away from him.
He watched me like a coiled snake. “What do you think you’re doing, Cyn?”
I pressed my lips tight, refusing to answer. My mind spun through various scenarios on how to get the hell out of here. This was my mind, right? So whatever this was, it wasn’t really him. It couldn’t be him, because something about him wasn’t right. I just couldn’t pinpoint it.
“Are you sure?” His eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “How much do you really know about psychic abilities? You spent so much time running away from yours, you’re nothing but a babe in the woods. I, on the other hand…” He leaned back with a smile. “I’ve got quite a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Shaken by his apparent ability to read my mind, I tried slamming up my mental walls.
His corresponding laugh left me floundering. “You really think that will work? It was such an epic failure last time. Nothing’s changed. I’m in your damn mind, bitch. Too late to lock the door now.” He stood, and behind him, his shadow shuddered and stretched. “You’d be amazed at what the mind can accomplish.”
The walls wavered, then steadied.
But he didn’t appear to notice. “Every time I acquire a new ability, I play with it, stretch it, then merge it with the ones I already hold. I can break you into little pieces and reform you into exactly what I need.” His smile widened and the evil lurking inside began to seep out. “And no one, not you, not that dick Shaw, or even the almighty Delacourt, can stop me.”
Maybe he could break me, but there was no telepath in his list of victims, so he had to be lying. it was a wafer thin hope to hold on to, but I’d take it. His rising maliciousness sent a tremor through my should, but I lifted my chin, refusing to submit. “You sure about that?”
Something sneaky and sly stared back. “You’re going to do what I want you to do.”
The insidious whispers returned in a pounding wave. I gritted my teeth and dug deep. “It wasn’t you with Tito.”
“Sure of that are you?” He stopped inches away, knocking his knuckles against my skull.
I reacted on instinct, my hand moving before my mind could fully comprehend my action. I caught his wrist and twisted it into a wrist-lock. Utilizing the painful hold, I forced him down and away from me. Just for a second, I thought I had him. Then his image shimmered, just long enough to be a distraction. He struck out, ruthlessly targeting my ribs that were still sore from my previous beating. I lost my grip and stumbled back.
“Who do you think left those bruises all over your pale skin?”
I cradled my damaged ribs and sucked in air. Somehow I managed to gasp out, “Wasn’t you, dickhead.” And I believe that because that nagging thing that was bothering me about Ellery finally clicked. Someone else was hiding behind Ellery’s face.
What had Wolf said? My mind, my rules.
I concentrated on shattering the hold he had on me. On the periphery of my vision the walls undulated, and dark lines, like cracks in a mirror, snaked across the whiteness.
Fake Ellery’s head jerked up and his eyes narrowed on the phenomena. He turned back to me with a reptilian movement. “Nice try,” he murmured as light flared and the walls re-formed.
Agony burst through my head and dropped me to my knees. I thought I heard Kayden call out, but the cacophony of wanna-be Ellery’s influence shut my awareness of everything else out. I clawed through the pain and found myself staring into his face as he crouched in front of me, watching me with amusement.
“You’re not strong enough.” The quiet confidence in his statement shook me. “You can’t be, because I already broke you and you know it.
“Don’t touch me,” I hissed.
The words echoed between us and resonated in my battered mind, searing through the blankness. The pain was sharp, and I doubled over as a face I didn’t recognize replaced Ellery’s smirk.
“Don’t touch me!” My lips were cracked, hurting. Hands tied behind my back, wrists burning as the plastic cut through skin, I could no longer feel my fingers.
Sitting inches in front of me, the monster smiled. “Then give me what I want.”
Dark blond hair, military short, muddy eyes filled with hungry avarice, such an incongruous fit in his All-American face. Who the hell was he?
I shook my head and it screamed in protest. The movement fuzzed out the edges of my vision.
Water hit my face, and I reared back, gasping for air. Behind me, someone yanked my hair and snapped my head back.
Tito’s leering face stared down. “You with us?”
“Let her go.” The monster’s cold demand got Tito’s immediate obedience. He shoved my head forward.
Monster lifted my chin. “Don’t pass out on me. We’re just getting started, love.” He leaned forward, an empty water bottle held between his knees. “Brace yourself, this is going to hurt.”
Claws began ripping into my brain, tearing it apart a piece at a time. I locked my jaw, refusing to scream even as I tasted fresh blood that coated my lips.
Rejection of the memory roared through me. In front of me, Ellery’s image wavered and reformed into the monster who caused such damage. I wanted to shred the smug smile from his face, but I couldn’t.
Deep inside, hidden behind my mental blocks, not his, the truth rang with the crystal clarity of a bell. More memories poured over me. Hours spent tied to a chair, while he tore through every mental block I threw up with ruthless skill. In the end I was left raw and bleeding on so many levels, and open to his suggestions, his will, because mine was curled into a ball in a corner, battered and beaten.
The scream that tore from my throat was hoarse with rage and pain. A wail of denial.
The bastard laughed. “You’re mine, Cyn. All mine.”
“You’re mine,” another voice whispered under the horror rolling through me. “Not his, never his.”
“Kayden?” I was so scared he wasn’t real, even my mental whisper sounded weak.
“You didn’t break.” Faint, but there, he offered me a way out.
Even as the telepath’s influence pressed forward, I clutched at Kayden’s surety. “I did.” At this level of communication, I couldn’t hide my shame or the memories.
“Look around, Cyn.” Solid and sure, Kayden didn’t give me much choice.
I knew on some level that my tormenter was still crouched in front of me, his mouth moving, his voice blending with the others, but I didn’t dare listen. Instead I fiercely concentrated on the fragile link to Kayden.
The walls behind the monster were jagged puzzle pieces.
A fragile hope burst to life. “That’s me?”
“That’s you.” Pride and respect colored Kayden’s answer.
Did I dare believe him? Wolf’s earlier demand echoed through me. ‘No matter what, trust Kayden.’
Behind the telepath, the cracks spread faster. Each gaping piece reflected a different scene. It was like watching snapshots of my past, decisions I made, trials I endured, and people I loved.
Love, I thought as one particular piece twisted and fell carrying Kayden’s image with it. A burst of warmth pushed back my despair, and gave me a clear view of what I faced.
A sharp slap jerked my head to the side and the monster’s voice burst back in, severing my tentative link to Kayden. “Are you listening to me?”
Looking into his twisted, snarling face, the truth of Kayden’s statement settled and became fact. This was me, my world, my head, and no one else could come in unless I let them. My insecurities, my faults, were personified into the one person who scared the shit out of me. This man who tried to break me. Tried, being the operative word. With a confidence I thought forever lost, I said, “No.”
The sound of the word acted like a bomb and everything around me silently exploded in a blinding burst. When I blinked my eyes clear, I was back on the couch, lying in Kayden’s lap, his fingers tangled with mine, and his face inches away, smiling.
“Welcome back.” There was a world of relief behind his simple greeting.
“What happened?”
“You broke the telepath’s hold.” Wolf sounded tired.
Unable to see him, I started to push up from Kayden’s lap. He was there, helping me upright. The change in position caused a moment of light-headedness, but once sitting up, I let Kayden tuck me against his side, my head on his shoulder. Every stiff muscle protested. “So do we know what he was going to have me do?”
Wolf slumped in the chair. “Not yet, but you made it through the blocks.”
I wasn’t sure that was such a good thing considering those memories that lurked on the edges of my consciousness. Sleep would be taking a vacation tonight. I sighed. “Well, at least we accomplished one thing.”
Wolf pushed up and ran a hand over the back of his neck. His arms dropped to rest on his knees. “Now comes the fun part.”
My short-term relief faded under rising nerves. “Fun part?” The last half of my question squeaked.
“We broke his block on your mind. Now we have to figure out how to piece your memory together, so we can see who he is and what he had planned for you to do.”
Incredulous, I just stared at him. “I don’t think I’m up for another round of psychic cage fighting.” The pulsating ache in my head agreed.
Wolf shook his head, then stretched. The dull pops of his joints audible in the quiet room. “If a fight breaks out, you’ll only have yourself to blame. With the memory blocks down, we’re going to go back through what you remember from Friday through Sunday afternoon. Conversations, places, faces, all of it, until we have everything in your head.”
Worry niggled at me. “Why not just have me go back to where it all started, or where they held me, and let me do my Peeping Tom act?”
“A couple of reasons,” Kayden answered. “First, taking you back through your memories allows Wolf to see what you’re seeing. Once we put a face to our mysterious telepath, we’ll put Rabbit on confirming an ID. Linking him to Ellery or Hobbes helps us know who we’re facing. Second, after all you’ve endured, there’s no guarantee your ability will actually work right now, and we’re running out of time.”
Obviously, other things had been coming down the pike while Tito and his buddy were getting up close and way too damn personal with me.
“Whoa, back up,” I broke in. “Why couldn’t either of you see him this last time? You were both there. How will this be any different? Who’s Rabbit? What do you mean my ability won’t work, and did we get confirmation on the exchange?”
Wolf gathered an empty cup and headed for the kitchen, his voice trailing behind him. “You were back behind the blocks; the only reason Kayden could reach you was because of whatever tie you two have going on. Neither of us could see what you were seeing.”
