Authors: Lara Nance
“Who’s closest?”
Marc’s white face appeared unchanged. Cara placed the stethoscope to his chest again. His pulse might be a fraction stronger, it was hard to tell.
“Tor. He’s only a few minutes from here at the dojo.”
“Marc’ll end up killing himself one day.” Cara frowned. “He always thinks he can go to the edge saving somebody.” Last year Marc’d nearly died when he sent his Light into a young boy who came to the ER at Norfolk General. But this was worse.
“I bet he didn’t eat today either
.” Amber bent over and picked up a crumpled candy bar wrapper that must have dropped from Marc’s limp hand when they put him in the chair. “He probably tried to eat this at the last minute.” She waved the paper in the air, a hand on one hip.
Cara rolled her eyes. “Like
a candy bar would save him from that draining.”
The doorbell rang and Cara rushed to the door. It was
Hatori, Tor for short, Amber’s husband, still in his
gi
from karate class. After a worried glance at his wife, he hurried to Marc’s side.
“Dude, you look like hell,” Tor said before finding his portal just under the chin.
A squeal of tires outside announced another arrival. Cara opened the door, a smile tugging at her lips when Shana exited her red Miata amidst a tire trail of dust and slammed the car door. The girl’s rumbling complaints floated across the lawn. She stalked to the door, her hands tightened into fists.
“Damn him, I knew this would happen again. He just won’t listen. Idiot! I
gotta come over here and save his sorry ass in the middle of my shift. Like I don’t have other people who need my help. I got a floor full of palliative care patients dying, I don’t need this crap.” She strode into the house and cast a quick glance about the room until she located Marc slumped in the chair. She froze.
“
Holy shit,” she whispered, eyes wide.
“So far
, I started and Amber gave. Tor’s on him now. You’re next.” Cara motioned her forward. “Hurry, he’s in bad shape.”
Shana’s normally glowing ebony skin turned
almost gray. She tossed long braids over her shoulder and threw her purse on the sofa.
Tor still had one hand
under Marc’s chin. His slanted eyes narrowed and his lips formed a tight, thin line.
Amber watched him
, brow furrowed. “Enough, Tor.”
He
removed his fingers, shaking his hand. Shana fell to her knees beside Marc’s chair. Her hand cupped his cheek for a second before she moved her fingers behind his ear. The doorbell rang again and the door swung open. Alistair Wickham strode through the threshold, nattily attired in a double-breasted navy suit. He frowned, eyes centered on Marc’s limp body.
“Alistair, honey,” Amber
took his elbow. “I’m so glad you made it.”
“Young fool. Do you know how long it takes to drive to
Virginia Beach from ODU at this time of day? It’s a good thing I was on my way to dine with a friend near here.” Alistair’s British accent had become more pronounced in his agitation. “Trying to save someone’s life again, I take it?”
“Seems so.
” Cara placed a hand on Shana’s shoulder to warn her against draining. “We don’t know the whole story yet. He showed up on my doorstep and collapsed.”
“
Bloody typical.” Alistair crossed the room to the chair. Marc blinked his eyes and slightly raised his head. Shana backed off, allowing space for Alistair.
Shana sid
led up to Cara and wove an arm through hers. “Is he going to make it?”
“I don’t know.
” Cara patted Shana’s hand. “Maybe with Alistair’s energy…”
After scrutinizing the younger man’s face, Alistair reached out and placed his long
, thin fingers on the inside of Marc’s left wrist. He closed his eyes, still frowning. When Alistair again opened his eyes, Marc did, too. Alistair dropped his hand and glanced at the others. “If it’s not too much trouble, I’d love a glass of that red wine you’re drinking.” He moved to a wing chair at the other end of the couch from Marc and sat. “Unless you have something a bit stronger? Brandy perhaps?”
Cara let out the breath she’d
held captive, and Shana’s shoulders slumped.
Marc
rubbed his head. He sat up further in the chair and leaned over, groaning. “My head—”
“
Gonna be your ass when you get better and I kick it.” Shana glared at him.
“
Aww, Shan, you here?” Marc raised his head and blinked at the group eyeing him.
“I’ll get him something to eat.” Cara
slipped her arm from Shana’s and walked past the couch along the short hall to the kitchen. With Marc revived, he’d need food to speed his recovery. Too bad he hated veggie pizza.
Shana trailed behind.
“Can you believe how bad off he was?” She leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over her chest, brown eyes wide, a frown tugging at her lips.
Cara opened her refrigerator and
gathered the makings of a sandwich.
“
He was almost…dead.” Shana rubbed her arms.
Cara withdrew
a bottle of white wine from the fridge and handed it to Shana. “The brandy’s in the cupboard when you finish pouring the wine.” She placed two slices of bread on the counter and smeared on mayonnaise.
Beside her,
Shana poured wine and her shaking hands spilled some on the counter. “Damn it.” She set the bottle down and slid a hand to her forehead. “I just can’t stand the thought of something happening to him. It’s horrible.” Tears streamed down her face and sudden sobs wracked her body.
Cara
stopped spreading mayonnaise and placed the knife on the counter. She’d thought Shana wasn’t over her feelings for Marc and it seemed she was right. She gathered Shana in her arms. “You still love him, don’t you?”
Shana
twisted away, wiping her cheeks with her hands. “Yeah. Stupid me. I can’t help it. I don’t know how to explain it, but when Dealers have—uh,
make love
, a bond forms. They become a part of you. No matter what happens, Marc will always be a part of me.”
“It’s obvious you guys still care for each other. It’s not just you. I see it in his eyes, too. Maybe you should give it another try.” She squeezed Shana’s shoulders.
It was hard to comfort Shana when her own heart ached to bond with someone so badly, but she’d wanted to say this to Shana for a long time.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure he can still care for me
as anything other than a friend.”
“It’s worth it to try.
You guys are super, crazy perfect for each other.”
“
Really?”
“You know how hard it is to have a relationship with someone who’s not a Dealer.” Cara’s tone sharpe
ned more than she’d intended at the thought of Tom. Sadness crept in and she pushed it away.
No time for self-pity
.
“Plus, you’re a nurse and he’s a physician. Seriously, girl, there has to be some common ground there.”
She forced a smile and stabbed the butter knife into the mayo jar. “Take the drinks and I’ll bring the sandwich.”
When
Shana left, Cara leaned against the cabinet and squeezed her eyes shut. She balled her fists and pounded the granite counter top until the pain in her hands overtook the pain in her heart. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she erected a brick wall around her emotions. She had to stay strong. For the group. For her sanity.
S
he returned to the living room. Marc sat straight in his chair, blue eyes open, a sheepish grin creasing the pale skin around his mouth. She handed him a glass of milk and the thick sandwich. He took them and gave her a nod.
“
What happened, sweetie?” Amber sat on the arm of the couch beside her husband. “I detected an awful lot of fear in you.”
“
Guys, I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t mean it to go so far.” Marc stuffed a massive bite of sandwich in his mouth. He gulped his milk and raked shaking fingers through his blond curls.
“
Yeah, you never do!” Shana stood beside the sofa, wine glass in hand, tapping one foot.
Cara coughed and poin
ted to the glass. “Sit. Drink. Chill.”
Shana rolled her eyes but complied with a “
humph
.”
Marc
sent Cara a look of gratitude, and continued his story. “This young girl came into the ER, only fourteen, and she’d been viciously raped and cut. Based on her vitals, I thought she was in shock and had lost so much blood we wouldn’t have time to get a transfusion going. So, I hoped I’d get her stabilized with the Light. I do stuff like that all the time. But when I connected to her I got this rush of mental images. Horrific stuff.” Marc shook his head and took another bite of food.
A tensed hush settled over the group, only sounds of
Marc’s chewing disrupted the silence.
“The images were from the girl?” Amber r
ubbed her hands over her arms.
“Yes. I saw the attack from her eyes.
I felt what she felt. I can’t describe how ghastly those visions were. There were four men all dressed in black hooded cloaks. They had her tied up and took turns cutting or raping her—very ritualistic. After each attack, they would put their hands on her and just watch.” Tears welled in the corners of his eyes. He tilted his head back, facing the ceiling. The muscles along his jaw twitched.
The air grew heavy
and Cara shuddered at the mental picture of the poor girl being tortured so viciously. What kind of monsters would do such a thing?
Tears formed in
Shana’s eyes and her stiff shoulders slumped.
“Did they find who did it?”
How like Tor, the policeman, to worry about catching the bad guys. “I’ve been at the dojo all night so I haven’t been listening to my radio.”
“I don’t know. I was so involved with working on the girl I didn’t pay any attention to what the police were saying. They came in with the family and were talking to them while the EMT’s wheeled her in.”
“What happened after the images started?” Alistair brought them back to Marc’s tale, his brow furrowed behind his glasses.
“
The flow of images drew me in and I couldn’t break the connection. I knew it was too much, but the drain was powerful. Maybe the Light was being used for mental healing as well as physical. But I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life.”
Marc
eyed each person in the room. “I’m really sorry, you guys. I know I swore I wouldn’t let it happen again, but this was something different. When I collapsed, it broke the contact, otherwise I think I
would
be dead.”
“
It’s okay, Marc,” Amber said, her green eyes gentle. “We’re only upset because we’re so concerned about you. You couldn’t have known this would happen. It’s unheard of.”
Tor took his wife’s hand and kissed it, his gaze tender.
Cara’s heart ached at the loving gesture.
“I want to see if I c
an find out about the perps.” Tor stood, pulled his phone out of his
gi
pants pocket and moved into the kitchen.
Marc
shifted in his chair. “You know, that girl was like a shell, sucked dry, with only the tiniest spark left.”
“Strange,” Alistair said. “How
did she lose so much Light? Even in death the residual of Light only fades after a few days.”
“Her vitals were in the toilet, but I thought it came from
blood loss. Now I know it was loss of Light.” Marc finished his sandwich and Cara motioned for him to set the plate on the side table.
“Thanks, C.” He chugged the remaining milk and a flush of pink tinge
d his formerly chalk-white cheeks.
Alistair
patted his sparse gray hair, and pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Hmm. I did a lot of research about our kind many years ago when I first found out about what was going on with me. There’s something about all this stirring a memory. I can’t quite put a finger on it.”
Tor
returned to the living room, brow furrowed. “Looks like the dudes got away. The police have no idea who did it.” Murmurs and sighs of disappointment ran around the room.
“But there is
some good news. The girl survived. So your efforts were not in vain, pal.” Tor slapped Marc on the shoulder.
Marc
let out a deep breath. “Thank God.”
Tor rubbed his chin
and paced over to Amber. “This is weird and maybe not connected, but we have three recent unsolved deaths. The coroner can’t find a reason why they should be dead. No heart attack, no drugs, no trauma, nothing.”
Silence claimed the room and a shiver
coursed through Cara’s chest. “Are you suggesting someone is killing people by draining their Light?”
“Think about it, guys. Everyone in the department is baffled by these killings.” He frowned and scratched his head. “Now, draining a person of Light, man, it’s the only possible method of killing that makes sense. It’s the perfect murder.”