Eyes to the Soul (42 page)

Brandt picked up
the phone for what had to be the fiftieth time this morning – as soon as he’d exited his meeting with the captain. That had been a hard sell. Yet the look on his face as if something crawled over his skin when he’d understood – priceless.

God, how horrible.

He knew that the chance of getting the information he needed without a warrant wasn’t good, but he’d also found this morning that Dr. Maddy’s name opened doors, windows, and probably safes if he tried. He shook his head and waited for the clerk on the other end of the line to answer.

“Yes, we have records in that name. Tissues were collected on June seventeenth – almost a year ago.”

“That’s a match. Is there any chance that any of that tissue is still here? I understand you are always short, but just thought I’d ask.”

“No, sorry. Some of it was deemed not viable when it was taken for transplant, and the rest was used about ten months ago for a Vanessa Coller.”

“Perfect, thanks. That matches my records.”

He hung up the phone and realized it all lined up. A horrible, nasty line that made him reconsider the possibility of something like that happening again. He had the organ donor system set up in case anything happened to him, but the last thing he wanted was to wake up fractured like that into an existence of only time and space – and endless awareness.

He shuddered.

Now to check with the organ bank. Maybe it was a good thing that there was always a shortage on organ donors, as it would mean all this man’s body parts had been placed in people already. According to the chart on the wall, most were dead too. The few he knew to still be alive were Eric and Vanessa. Thankfully. But what he couldn’t do was connect Celina to the same man. Then again, he hadn’t been able to get any information from her eye surgeon either. He’d contacted Dr. Maddy for that.

If she could confirm that it would be perfect.

But he’d learned a long time ago that nothing in life was perfect. And as he looked at what this man had gone through he realized death was no final answer either.

*

Dr. Maddy got
off the phone and considered the information she had on file with the information Dr. Jorgensen had provided. Both matched and provided little that was new. The car accident had broken several of the occipital bones around Celina’s eyes and there’d been some damage to the surrounding tissue from the swelling. One optic nerve had partially detached and was successfully reattached. Even then she should have had vision in the other eye. Instead, she was blind in both.

The bottom line was that Celina had never had a transplant.

That surprised Dr. Maddy. She’d been sure that something of the predator had been given to Celina. But apparently not. The surgery had been simple and shouldn’t have affected her eyesight at all. She’d had poor eyesight going in, but after the surgery, when the swelling had gone down her sight should have returned.

So they were still missing that one bit of information.

Why her eyes? Why had the predator settled in her eyes?

And that deep into her system. Unless it was someone she’d loved. Who’d once loved her. Who was in her heart chakra already.

Because she’d loved him.

Because he’d loved her.

And why her eyes?

She realized it was likely very simple.

Because he could.

She’d been injured, but the facial injuries had been the worst. Therefore the weakness.

Giving him more power. More control.

The accident gave him an opening and he took it. Settling into the one area he, with his stronger energy, could dominate.

And once he’d grabbed hold he’d been able to control everything – except what was around her.

Because she couldn’t see.

Now, at least, Dr. Maddy knew why she couldn’t.

C
elina heard Stefan’s
loud groan as if from a long way away. Then again, she’d been in a fog herself since Lissa had delivered her hefty blow. It certainly explained Lissa’s animosity towards her, but nothing in that explanation made Celina feel any better about herself. Was she trapping ghosts? Was she so lonely, so unstable, that she’d had to trap people who didn’t want to be here beside her so she wouldn’t be alone anymore?

She leaned back, her mind consumed with the number of ghosts she’d kept just out of reach. Had she brought them in only to push them away? Chained to her at her own convenience?

Was she such a pathetic, horrible person? Just then she heard an odd sound. “Stefan?”

“I’m here. Give me a moment.” His voice strengthened to the point that it sounded almost normal at the end. “That was quite the trip.”

“What happened? Lissa said you’d gone off to save a little boy. Was that Eric?”

“Yes. The predator went to kill off the part of himself that was inside Eric’s body. Given his methodology that would likely mean killing the donor recipient at the same time.”

“A part of him was inside Eric? Donor recipients?” Fear seized her heart and squeezed. “Oh please, no. Please don’t tell me this predator, this nasty parasite, is my dead fiancé?” She shook her head as an awful panic swept through her. It was too horrible to consider. “No, I won’t believe it. That’s so wrong.”

“Why don’t you believe it?”

She shook her head. “Because he wasn’t like that,” she cried. “Peter was gentle. Besides, being an organ donor was something we were talking about. I was only fulfilling his wishes. Why attack those people? Why me?”

“Your eyes.”

She reached up to her eyes. “My eyes. So?” she asked in confusion. “What does that have to do with him?”

“That’s where he’s centered. The weakest part of your body. The easiest place to set up control. And the best location to kill you – given his options.”

She stared at him, uncomprehending. “What? That’s not possible. He loved me.”

“And that’s something else we have to get to the bottom of – and fast. He may have loved you at one time but he hates you now.”

She started to shake. The tremors began inside her body and slowly worked outward. “It can’t be Peter then. He loved me. If anyone would hate me it would be Caslo,” she whispered. “I sent him away. Locked him out of my life. He loved me. And I treated him like that.”

“Why?”

There was an odd note in Stefan’s voice, but she was too tortured to sort through it all. “Because it’s what he needed. And I loved him too much to keep him chained to my side.”

Her own wording brought tears to her eyes. She refused to let them fall. She’d done enough crying these last days. After a moment, dry eyed and hanging onto the threads of her control, she said, “And Lissa was right. After losing Caslo, my parents, and then my fiancé, I couldn’t let them go anymore. Let anyone go anymore. I was so lonely.” Tears threatened. “God, I’m horrible. I was keeping the ghosts around so I wouldn’t have to lose them too.” She shuddered then cried out, “I didn’t know that I was doing that!”

She heard a chair being moved back, then felt her own chair being turned. Stefan wrapped his arms around her. “What you did was instinctive and out of pain. You didn’t mean to hurt anyone. You just were trying to survive.”

“Yes.” She burst into tears and buried her face against his shoulder. She cried for the last few years of roller-coaster emotions and despair, of loss and grief and death and ghosts. When the storm abated she pulled back slightly and looked into his face, wishing she could see the expression in his eyes. Because she couldn’t she had to ask, “Do you hate me?” Her voice was tremulous and low but she got the words out.

“No, Celina. I love you. I always have.”

She frowned. “Always. You’ve known me what, a couple of d–”

And the predator attacked.

She screamed and fell awkwardly to the floor. Stefan caught her and laid her down on the wood surface. She clasped both hands over her eyes and sobbed once. Then screamed, rage and anger and betrayal spilling over. “Is that you, Peter? Are you the one doing this to me?”

The answer came in through her mind.
Yes. It’s me. Finally, you know.

“You could have told me. Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?” Was there any pain like finding out the greatest love in your life was a fraud, and that instead of loving you he only wanted to possess you?

You killed me, and then not being satisfied with that you had me cut up into little pieces to live in endless torment.

What?
she cried.
I did not kill you. We signed those donor cards together. I never would have killed you. You died from a brain aneurysm.

I remember. And I also remember that you pulled the plug
, he snapped, something ugly in his voice.

Whatever he was doing, he tightened the screw more. Her body twisted in agony.

I remember you screaming at me. You wanted me dead.

We were having an argument at the restaurant. I never wanted you dead.
She didn’t know how to make him listen.
We were at Chico’s, remember? We were at the same damn place you had that poor man drive through the restaurant. Were you trying to kill me then too?

No! But if it had happened then I would have been okay with that. Of course I knew what the location meant. But he was coming to thank you. You gave him my heart! I was afraid you’d know it was me behind this. I didn’t want that. I wanted you to suffer. Like I suffered.

“I didn’t kill you,”
she said, sadly, desperately.
We got you to the hospital right away, but you went into a coma and they said you were brain dead.
Owen Dugar, the others, had all died because of him. Poor Owen. Poor Jacob. Oh dear God. All that pain… She said, still disbelieving,
The doctors said you were dead.

Silence.

Then in that horrible, nasty voice he said,
Guess what
 –
they were wrong
.
My body was sectioned off into as many usable parts as they could take, and I could only watch helplessly. I blanked out there and only came to a few months ago
 –
actually, I don’t know when I first regained consciousness, because there is no time in that existence. There is nothing but endless space. But I could sense more of me out there.

He gave a vicious laugh.
And I woke up inside you. A captive inside the woman who’d killed me. And took my eyes. Talk about nasty.
But it gave me an idea of what to do.

She couldn’t stop crying, but his voice pounded at her through her tears.
I never held you captive. I don’t have your eyes or any part of you. I loved you.

He snorted.
Lies. As a few of the recipients had died, I started to understand what was happening. As these people died, they ceased to be a drain on me, and I gained in strength. And I knew what I had to do. But it took time. And a lot of energy. Finally, I’m here.

Am I the last one?
she asked painfully.
Have you killed all those people whose lives were enriched because of the donation of your organs? Because I kept your memory in my heart.

I am all here now. There are a few tiny sparks of life out there, but they’re too small for me to grab onto. They are just wisps, like a memory I can’t quite reach out and touch. You might have tried to keep me trapped in your perfidious heart, but I escaped
 –
and went to your weakness where I could tighten the screw.

Celina didn’t know what to stay. She could sense Stefan in her mind, listening in, but he was exhausted from saving Eric. Peter would kill him too if he could. Or at least burn out Stefan in the fight to take out Celina.

I can’t believe this,
she whispered.
Who could even know that this was possible?

I’ve lived this reality for too long. I’m not planning on killing you
 –
at least not for a while, but I do plan on making sure you suffer for as long as I can. If I get a year, a month, or a week, it’s all a bonus. I’d wondered if I could have taken over your body permanently, but my energy is decaying. Slowly dying without something new to infuse it. I’ve tried so much and nothing changes, so as death was my ultimate wish, death is what I’ll get
 –
but not until you have suffered for what you did to me.