Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) (13 page)

“
I’m close. Rewsna, I need some straight answers. Can you help me?”

“
I can try, but some answers you seek are within you. You hold the answers.”

“
This power of sight thing, I like it and I am pretty good at it now. This Beast thing that attacked me, if I try to see him will he know that I am watching?”

“
No, I don’t think that he will.”

“
Max can tell when I’m watching him.”

“
That isn’t surprising, Lauren. He is your other half. You two are connected spiritually – there are many connections you share. The Beast should not have the same type of tie to you.”

“
How do I destroy him? It can’t be as simple as shooting him, right?”

“
Ah, that was the correct question. You may kill him with a weapon, a stick, a knife, a gun - it does not matter, you can kill whatever form he is in. Human is by far the most fragile, but his life is vulnerable in any organic form. But you did not ask how to kill him - you asked how to destroy him.” She paused as if contemplating my question and finally responded, “I can only tell you how we destroyed others of his kind. Trust is a powerful element. If you trust in an outcome so deeply you do not need proof of its existence, it exists. Conversely, if you trust that something you can see, touch, and feel is nothing more than a figment of your imagination, then it ceases to exist. You must slay the Beast in any form it presents itself in, then trust that it has been erased from existence – that it is nothing more than a memory. If your trust waivers, the Beast will survive.”

“
After I destroy it, I will be free of it, right? It could never come back to hurt any of us again?”

“
If you destroy it, yes – it will cease to exist. But if you waiver, it will find you again. So far each time it or one of its minions has found you – you have held the upper hand and you have weakened it. Should you be unsuccessful, the roles will reverse and it will be the one to grow stronger. You should not attempt to destroy it until you are certain that you can.”

A plan began to form in my mind and Rewsna watched it unfold. “
I think that is unwise, Lauren. It seeks you and will anticipate that action.”

“
You told Max that the Council would help me. Where the hell are they? All watching from afar? Let me guess: they have full schedules and can’t be bothered?”

“
Lauren, the Council is all around you. They have not left you, but they do not intend to interfere with your destiny.”

“
That’s frickin’ great, all around me but a hands-off policy? I’m supposed to beat this thing on my own and then what? Someone jumps out of the bushes and yells April Fools – we were here the whole time?”

“
That would be inappropriate, it is September.”
Rewsna had never tried to make a joke before and this one caught me off guard. Her sense of humor was drier than the Mojave.

“
You are hysterical. So I do this on my own?”

“
Do you feel that you are on your own? Did a stranger not seek you out and help you communicate with your protector, Peanut? Did that same communicator offer you a way to contact Seth? Did you not notice the cell phone store that you stopped at with Seth at ten p.m. closed at nine? Did you think it not strange that a park ranger has not bothered you in two days, though you are clearly not camping? Of course, you did not. All these things you attribute to luck or your own good fortune are the things the Council assisted with. They will not interfere with your destiny, but they do not leave you alone and are moving you toward your correct path. I see your plan. I tell you now that it is unwise, but you will decide what, if any, action to take.”

My mind spun. Mike from the rest area was on the Council? He wasn’t creepy: he looked like a regular guy. The cell phone store? It was true, we were the only customers there. I had come and gone from the park today several times never seeing a park ranger. “
Rewsna, why is it such a big secret? Why wouldn’t one of the Council have told me who they were, or offered to help me?”

“
They did offer to help you. You just took it for granted that it was nothing out of the ordinary. Even if you had cornered them, they would only have guided you to the correct path. The decisions you make are your own.”

“
You told Max you didn’t know where I was?”

“
You were watching this morning?
” She waited as if she expected me to deny it, then continued, “
I did not lie to him. I knew you were in a park – I did not find out until this afternoon which park.”

I wasn’t upset with the idea that she had lied to Max, but it made me feel better knowing that she didn’t. “
You saw my plan. Why do you think it isn’t a good one?”

“
As I said, the Beast has a good understanding of your mind. He will anticipate your plan. It does not mean you will not be successful; it just means there is a possibility you may fail.”

I contemplated that for a minute. She had been more help than I had a right to expect. I decided to end our visit, “
Thanks, Rewsna, I get it.”

“
Good night, Lauren. I wish you all the continued luck you have been afforded.”

I awoke to a bright sunny day nearly blinded by the rays of light shining through the windshield. My back was stiff, and sometime during the night, Peanut must have gotten scared or something because he was lying on the passenger side floor with his head stretched onto the bench seat. He saw me stirring and quickly licked my face and stretched.

I opened the door and stepped out to let him relieve himself. As I stood in the early morning light, I was ready to put my plan in motion. I put Peanut back into the truck and grabbed my shower gear that I’d bought from a convenience store yesterday and made my way to the bathrooms. I took a shower, pulled my hair into a wet pony tail, brushed my teeth and headed back to the truck. Peanut reminded me of Max in that he was a nervous wreck anytime I was out of his sight.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, I closed my eyes and thought of Max. The familiar tunnel appeared in front of me, and I stepped in quickly. He was again sitting on his front porch with his cell phone in hand. I knew I needed to call him again, and let him know I was okay, but not until I finished my first errand. Ripping myself away from Max when every fiber of my being wanted only to be near him, didn’t get any easier. Every time I peeked in on Max, I knew I had to stop all this and find my way back to him.

I put the truck in drive and headed back to Joe’s house. I had pulled the truck right up to the porch, made my way up the steps, and walked through the front door with Peanut at my side. Taking my cues from Peanut, I watched the hair on the back of his neck: as it stayed flat against him, I decided it must be safe, at least right this second. Joe was at the table eating a bowl of cereal and smiled, calling, “Loraine, I wasn’t expecting you!”

His enthusiasm was welcomed, but I only held my hand up in a quick wave as I walked into the bedroom Max and I had shared to retrieve my purse. I had it in my hand and tried to leave as quickly as I came. I was two steps from the front door when I heard Peanut release a deep angry growl. Crap!

In a voice I did not recognize, very low and gravely, I heard, “Lauren, my dear, we have been looking for you. Please make yourself at home.” Joe motioned for me to sit on the couch. As I tried to walk past him to the door, he caught my arm. His grip was forceful with his fingers constricting my arm to the point of pain. Peanut witnessed the exchange and lunged. Joe’s grip didn’t loosen, but we both fell to the floor, Joe landing with Peanut’s mouth around his neck.

I screamed, “Peanut, No Halt.” I knew whatever had taken possession of Joe’s body was evil, but I also knew that Joe was in there somewhere.

Joe smiled as Peanut’s mouth remained on his neck. In that same slow gravely voice, “Very nice of you, Lauren, to keep the dog from killing me. This body is on loan. I’m sure the owner would be none too thrilled to find himself in a cemetery. Now, are we ready to be cordial with one another?”

Pretending to be stronger than I was feeling, I answered, “I don’t want to speak to you, or your master, I’ve just come to gather my things and be on my way.”

Joe laughed, a sadistic horrifying laugh that made my skin crawl and every hair follicle on my body stand at attention. Joe maintained his rigid grip on my arm. With his free hand he reached up and grabbed Peanut by the throat and threw him across the room; Peanut’s body smashed hard against the far wall. A whimper escaped, and I knew he was hurt. Joe stood up from the floor still gripping my arm in his hand. “Lauren, he has waited long enough to see you again. I knew if I was patient, you would return. Your predictability is your greatest weakness. We’ll just take a seat here on the couch and wait. He will be here momentarily.”

“Who is this ‘he’? Do you mean the Beast? Not quite a man, not quite an animal, stripped of his powers by a girl – this is who you serve? You would be better off hooking up with a bartender; at least at the end of the night you would have some of that liquid courage.”

“Be careful, young one. You know not of whom you speak. He has been very good to you. I do not recommend you anger him again.”

“I know exactly of whom I speak. You know why I wasn’t fearful to come back here today? Because I took his power of sight. I know where he is all the time and he is blind to me. He couldn’t find me in a crowd at the mall - this is why he uses you. You think he’s all mighty and powerful? The truth is he is getting weaker by the day. I say - bring it on; I say - tell him I’m here waiting: I say - he’s nothing more than a coward!”

At this last statement the thing that held Joe’s body flinched and was so surprised by my demeanor he loosened his grip slightly. Slightly was all I needed to wrench my arm away, kick him hard in the chest and run like hell for the door. “Peanut, Fus!!”

Peanut was up, off of the floor, and sprinting alongside me to the truck. Déjà vu swept over me. We were screaming down the gravel driveway just as we had the last time we left Joe’s house. We were ten miles away before I let the speedometer slide below ninety mph. I watched my rear view mirror and saw nothing. I powered up my cell phone and heard it announce thirty-four unheard messages. I dialed Max’s number. He picked it up on the first ring.

“Lauren, please don’t hang up. I really need to see you. I am so sorry. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. I just really need you.”

I ignored Max’s plea and forced out the words, “You need to go check on Joe. He’s hurt.”

“What did you see? Gramps is hurt? Was he attacked?” Max’s sorrow was quickly replaced by rage, and I knew Max was talking on the run. He had an old farm truck in his garage that he could use to get to Joe’s quickly.

As calmly as I could, I explained what had happened. Max was silent before he choked out, “You were there? You went to Gramps’ house? After what happened before? Why would you do that? Lauren, you could have been killed. Why wouldn’t you have come here? I would have gone with you.”

“Max, just get to Joe and make sure he’s okay. I am so sorry.” I hit the disconnect button and powered the phone off. Bile rose in my throat. I pulled over and stood there on the side of the road puking my guts out. I got back in the truck and closed my eyes, my familiar tunnel appeared, and I went to see Joe. He was, as I had imagined, lying on the floor. I knew in my heart I had killed him. I knew, no matter what else happened, I was responsible for his death. I laid my head on the steering wheel and cried. Not sad little tears, but huge powerful emotions draining from me, snot running freely, and I couldn’t breathe.

I shouldn’t have kicked him. I should have just waited for the Beast to come. It was all my fault. Max would never forgive me for this. Who was I kidding? I would never forgive me for this.

I sat in the truck replaying what had happened. I closed my eyes and my tunnel appeared but I couldn’t bear to see Joe lying on the floor or Max kneeling over his body. I looked at the purse sitting beside me on the seat and was furious with myself. I had risked my and Joe’s life today and Joe paid the price, for what? My stupid purse.

He wasn’t going to die in vain. I was going to get my life back, starting right now.

*****

Three hours later I had emptied my bank account. There was over $18,000 I had squirreled away – most of it the result of being shot in my senior year of college. I was surprised and thankful my parents hadn’t raided it to cover medical expenses from my “Bear Attack.”

I bought a used Dodge Caravan, stocked up on non-perishable food items for myself, and got 30 pounds of dog food for Peanut. Once I was all set, I went to the library to surf the net, looking for a place to rent that was as remote as possible.

I found the perfect place, 20 miles off of the interstate, 50 acres of wooded area and a small cottage. I went to the post office and mailed Max his keys with a note. For such a simple note it took forever to write.

Dear Max,

I’m really sorry about Joe. I didn’t mean for it to happen. Your truck is in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot where we got groceries. I won’t let anything hurt you like this again.

Love, Lauren

I re-read the note several times. I knew this was it. I wouldn’t contact him again – not until I knew it was safe. I could feel that same hole in my chest beginning to open again, the emptiness I hadn’t felt since before Max walked back into my life. I silently embraced the pain because it was mine. I would gladly accept the pain knowing that this was a small price to pay to make sure Max stayed safe. I looked at the phone setting beside me and longed to dial Max. I didn’t.

*****

The rest of the day was enough of a whirlwind that it was easy to drown out the emptiness. I met the property manager at the remote furnished cottage, paid the first and last month’s rent and the security deposit, had the electricity turned on, and went to a Wal-Mart to buy all the things I needed for the house. Peanut had been in and out of the little house as if he were a hired sentry. He knew he was on guard and somehow understood it was just the two of us. The isolated place, despite its location, felt welcoming.