Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) (20 page)

I kicked hard with my right leg, trying to catch him in the groin. When I missed, he picked me up off of the floor by my throat. I watched my own face in the mirror, seeing his face right next to mine. I think this was his way of making the moment that much worse for me, in that I was able to see the joy shining on his face as I watched him squeeze the life out of me. I struggled for more than a minute trying to remove his steel grip from around my neck and kicking in all directions.

Ultimately, I wasn’t able to get him to loosen his grip, and darkness fell all around me. My last conscious thought was - so this is what it feels like to
really
die. I stopped struggling as I saw my distorted face in the mirror and thought to myself - I thought it would hurt more.

I felt nubby little pieces of polyester under me as my fingers stretched out to feel what I was lying on. It smelled of mildew and feet. My eyes fluttered open, but the scene wasn’t registering properly in my mind. I heard a blood-curdling scream right behind me, as if a banshee were trying to wake the dead. I was sprawled out on the floor. It felt like only minutes ago Samael had me suspended in the air, strangling me. I coughed hard and the wind in my lungs burned. I willed myself to roll over on my side, to take whatever this sadist had in store for me, confident that this had to be a game he was playing.

As I turned, I could feel two warm hands on me. Someone was speaking Spanish faster than I could listen to English. I saw the wide eyes of what I could only guess was the cleaning lady. She made a cross over her chest and spoke quickly and quietly. I couldn’t tell if she was praying or talking to me. I stayed on the floor scanning every inch of the room. Samael was gone.

Had he left me to die or just cut off oxygen to my brain long enough for me to pass out? The lady started pulling me up from the floor. Of the thousand or so words streaming out of her, the only thing I understood was, “Policia.”

I responded quickly and with what little authority I could muster, “No Policia.” Four years of high school Spanish class and the only Spanish fragments I could say to this day were: Where’s the bathroom? I need a beer, and No police. Pretty sad, but I always told myself if I ever made my way south for spring break, those phrases would be enough to get me by.

I forced myself off the floor and told the woman, “I’m okay, I just fell, No police…No policia.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at my neck, but she didn’t argue with me. Maybe she assumed it would be fruitless. Maybe she was illegal and didn’t want to get tossed back to whatever country she came from, or maybe she just didn’t care. Whatever the reason, she agreed and darted out of the room. I looked around. I didn’t have any luggage to begin with, so checkout would be a snap. The lady rushed back seconds later with a plastic baggie filled with ice. She motioned to my neck and said, “Cuello, Hielo por cuello.”

I turned back to the mirror, hoping that in some strange mix of fate I wouldn’t see Samael in it this time. I looked at my neck and the outline of ten very distinct fingers were as visible as if they had been drawn with a purple magic marker. I put the ice on my neck and headed out the door.

I found myself surprised again. My van was waiting exactly where I left it. He didn’t kill me and he could have. Why did he let me live? His plan all along was to kill me, why would he just let me go? It didn’t make any sense. As I got behind the wheel and cranked the engine, I could still hear Rewsna’s voice echoing deep in my mind. This time I answered. “
Rewsna, I’m here, I’m okay
.”

Her voice came back so loud a megaphone might as well have been pointed directly in my ear. “
Lauren, where are you? You aren’t with Max. It is the Beast. He isn’t Max. Get away from him now!
”

“
Rewsna, relax. He’s not here. He left.”

“
You got away? How did you escape?”

“
He showed me who he was, then choked me until I was unconscious. I don’t think he wanted to kill me. He has Max somewhere. We have to find him.”

“
Can you find Max? Is he alive?”

I hadn’t summoned my tunnel, but I knew Max was alive. I would have felt it if he weren’t. I didn’t have a clue where he was, but I knew deep down that he wasn’t dead. “
I don’t know where he is; we’ll find him.”
I put the van in drive and made my way to Rewsna’s house.

****

It’s strange how a single mission can unite people so deeply. Our entire focus was centered on one mission, finding Max. I still wanted to destroy the Beast, but that was secondary.

Rewsna and I met at her house on the beach. To my delight, Mike and Peanut were waiting when I arrived. I felt awkward as I approached. If I had trusted Mike and Peanut, the Beast would have been destroyed yesterday. But if he had killed the Beast, wherever Max was being held, we might never find him. Mike had to have seen my action as a betrayal. But as I replayed the whole situation in my head, if given the same circumstances a second time, I doubt I would do anything differently. I had always trusted my own senses so implicitly, yesterday is the only time I can remember that I completely ignored them.

Mike stepped toward me. The uncomfortable feeling I had felt when I pulled up began to morph and I felt self-conscious. I knew I deserved whatever it was he wanted to say to me, so I braced myself. He stood less than two feet from me. To my surprise he reached out with both arms and took me in a strong embrace. “Lauren, I’m so sorry, it was my job to keep you safe. I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, but I failed you and I’m sorry.”

As I stood in Mike’s embrace I was thrown completely off guard. He somehow thought I would be upset with him that I made an idiot out of myself? Mike was a real piece of work. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I made a mistake. I should have listened to you.”

“I could see you believed it was Max. I knew it was the Beast. I should have just told you. I had never been that close to him before, and I froze when he first came up. If only I had reacted more quickly. Lauren, I’m really sorry.”

I looked at Rewsna, not believing my ears. He blamed himself for my mistake. His guilt over what I did only made me feel worse. I kind of wish he had come out of the house yelling, accusing me of being a moron. That would have been more accurate, and I wouldn’t feel like such a jerk. “Mike, you were really brave, and I was really stupid. Could we just leave it at that and drop it?”

“I just want you to know it won’t happen again. I won’t freeze up like that. I’ve played the whole scene over and over. I know if I got a do-over, I would have taken the shot.”

“I don’t think you froze up, and it’s good you didn’t kill him. If I can’t find Max, Samael might be the only. . . one on earth that knows where he is. Killing Samael might have been a death sentence for Max.”

Mike looked more hopeful now. I don’t believe this had occurred to him. As bad as he felt about the whole situation, at least there was a ray of hope that he had done the right thing. Had Mike killed Samael yesterday, when I was so convinced he was Max, I’m not sure what I would have done, or how I would have reacted.

“Are you two done blaming yourselves yet? I didn’t know I was here to attend a ‘Pity party.’ I thought we were meeting to try to figure out how to save Max? Let me know when you’re ready.”

My cheeks flushed, and I was glad to see Rewsna was her usual obstinate self again. We sat at the table together for hours coming up with plans, assessing the likelihood that each one would work, what the risk was, and who we needed to involve. I had stepped away from the table several times to summon my tunnel and try to locate Max, each time finding myself at the same dark place with no idea where it really was. I questioned whether I was losing my edge, that my tunnel vision was somehow on the fritz.

Hiding my thoughts from Rewsna was useless. She was in mid conversation with Mike about putting surveillance outside each of Samael’s houses when she stopped in midsentence, turned to me, and said, “Do not question your gifts. I can feel Max through your thoughts. I too feel him in that basement. The Beast knows how your gift works. He hid Max in a place that would be difficult for you to find.”

Basement? There weren’t any basements in Charleston. He couldn’t be in one. She continued, “Maybe it is a storage shed or a room within a room that is blocked from the sunlight. I, too, know he is alone in the dark, Lauren. You must be his light. I know you can find him. You found him before, you can do it again.”

Rewsna had always been a voice I had heard in my mind. This time as she was sharing her thoughts with me, I watched her face distort. She put both her fingers to her temples, as if she were concentrating on a math formula long forgotten. As I watched her, a burst of light shot through my head, unlike the demon that had tried to possess me before – this flash of light was more like a sunrise bursting through a blanket of clouds, soft and inviting.

I saw myself, but I was dressed strangely, as if I were taking a picture in one of those old time photo studios. I was me. I looked the same, my features hadn’t changed a bit except my hair was tied up in a tight bun. I was walking along a dock, standing by a post as hundreds of people started spilling off the gangway of a large ocean liner. It looked as if I were waiting for someone, and as the influx of people began to diminish, I saw Max walking toward me up the dock. Our eyes locked. He had a different hair style, was in some seriously strange clothes, but it was absolutely him. This image faded and another took its place.

This time I was in a skirt to my ankles, with a thick wool jacket and hat, seated on a train. On my lap I held a large leather satchel as the train started moving slowly out of the station. I heard a familiar voice ask, “Is this seat taken?” I looked up. There he was again. Max, dressed as if he had stepped out of an old western movie, tipped his hat as he stood there. Our eyes met and my blood began rushing through my body.

The vision faded and Rewsna said, “You two have been able to find one another, lifetime after lifetime. This is no different. It just won’t be a surprise this time. Search for him, Lauren. I know you can find him.” The images had been so vivid. I knew they really happened – that this wasn’t our first lifetime together. Max had told me as much so many years ago when he came to me in my dream. Rewsna had pushed those images to me and it worked. Her knowledge gave me the strength to believe that I really could find Max.

Mike and Rewsna finished hashing out the plan as Peanut and I lay on the couch. Peanut didn’t have any leftover guilt from last night, so it was much easier to hang out with him. While I lay there, I decided to search for Max again. I watched the darkness through my tunnel until I wasn’t sure if maybe I had fallen asleep, or if the light deprivation to my senses had somehow anesthetized my mind. I had been sitting in this dark room near Max for a long time with no sounds, or scents, or anything to go on but the darkness.

Then with little warning I heard Max’s voice. It sounded so defeated. “You son-of-a-bitch, where are you? I know you’re out there. You think sliding me food and water and staying hidden in the darkness will save you? Scared of a fair fight, are you? Show yourself. I’ll rip your throat out myself.” It was Max. I could hear him clearly for the first time.

Samael’s voice was smooth and smug, “Those are pretty tough words for someone who begged to be locked up, begged me to leave Lauren alone. I just felt it necessary to tell you I saw her last night.”

“You lying pile of shit. You said you would stay away from her. You gave me your word that if I came quietly you’d never hurt her again.”

“Well, that is a bit of a tricky situation. You see I never meant to do her any harm, but it turns out I can shift into a pretty convincing Max. She took care of me, cleaned and dressed my wounds, she even offered to run away with me. Something else…what was it? Oh that’s right….she shared my bed last night.” I still couldn’t see anything, but could feel Max’s anger in the air at Samael.

“That isn’t possible. She would never believe that you were me. She can see through you. She can tell when you are within fifty feet of her, and I guarantee if you ever got within fifty yards she would put a five inch hole through your chest. Keep talking, Samael. The more you lie to me, the stronger you’ll make me.”

“Confident, aren’t you? Maybe she did know it was me and not you. You do realize she’s spent more time with me this lifetime than she has with you. I’ve always wondered what would happen if I interfered, and after my evening with Lauren last night, I can only tell you that I regret not bedding her centuries ago.”

Rage had a hold of Max when he shrieked, “Show yourself, you filthy animal. You can say anything you want in the dark, safely on the other side of the wall. You are nothing. You aren’t worth my time. She’ll find me - you know it and so do I. When she does, there won’t be a dark enough or deep enough hole for you to slither into to save your sorry ass.”

“Oh, the consummate submissive mate, aren’t you? Waiting for your girlfriend to come to your rescue. Pretty pathetic really. If I didn’t already have plans for you, I might just do you the favor and end your sad little life right now. No Max, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to be a little more patient with me. Don’t worry. After you’re gone, I’ll take really, really good care of our Lauren.” He dragged out the sound of the second
really
, and I could hear footsteps walking away. I still couldn’t see a thing, but this proved it. He did have Max. Max wasn’t a bit fearful of this Beast, and he knew I would never stop looking for him.

I stayed in that dark room, wherever it was, for a long while, hoping that I could recognize something. The same damp musty smell was there. The walls were cement and cool, and the floor seemed free of dirt, dust, and pollen. The place felt like a basement, but was free of furniture, crates and junk that seemed to find its way into every basement I had ever seen.

I reluctantly drew myself back to the beach house. Mike was sitting beside me silently. When he realized I was back from my trip, he asked, “Did you find him?”