Possessed (2 page)

“Keva?
This is Jen in scheduling. I know it’s a lot to ask but we’ve got a call in for
a Channel. You’re going to have to drive out for this one. Level A is the
estimate.”

“Why
aren’t they coming in?”

“They
can’t get him to come in.”

“Are
you sure he wants a Channel?”

“He’s
in a lot of pain according to his friends. He’s going to need you.”

“All
right. Send the address to my tablet.” Keva grabbed up her tablet. She’d log
her notes at home. She waved good-bye to the receptionist on their floor as she
entered the elevator to go downstairs to the basement garage. The garage was
cool and dark despite the track lighting above. Her Prius was parked near the
elevator doors. She put all her stuff in the passenger side before climbing
into the driver’s seat. Waiting until the air was pumping, she checked the
tablet to see if Jen had sent her the address.

Keva
swore when she saw it. The house was off in the fucking mountains. It would be
dark before she got there. Just her damn luck.

She
exited the garage. It was about a mile to the outer guard gate. The sun blazed
down on the dark blue roof of her car. She slowed as she approached the chain-link
fence. An armed guard checked her ID before she was allowed to drive out. Many
people thought that the gates and the security were to keep people inside. The
opposite was actually true. The security measures were to protect the employees
and the psychics from those who objected to their work and felt that the
psychics were genetic freaks.

Keva
popped in a CD and let the GPS guide her to her destination.

Several
hours later Keva pulled up in front of the two-story cabin. There was an SUV
and a truck in the driveway. Grabbing her tablet and her phone, she got out and
approached the front door. It swung open before she had the chance to knock. “Hello,
I’m—”

“Keva.
You’re from IOP.”

She
arched an eyebrow. “They told you I was coming?” They didn’t usually give out
names.

The
man stepped back into the light. He was tall with light brown hair and green
eyes. Scratching his thin beard nervously, he said, “No. It’s a thing.”

“Ah.”
She nodded. She didn’t sense any energy coming off him. So, though he was
obviously psychic, he wasn’t her client. She’d judge his level to be slightly
above D. She stepped inside. Another man, this one with dark hair and brown
eyes sat on a couch. The television was on but the sound was muted. He stood when
she entered. “Hello.”

“Hello.”
He held out his hand. “I’m Mike, and that is Ken.”

Keva
shook his hand. Like the first man, Mike exhibited no extraneous psychic
energy. “So, where is my client?”

“He’s
in the bedroom. But we should talk first.” Mike sat back down. Ken joined him
on the sofa, so Keva took a seat, also.

She
placed her tablet on the coffee table in front of her. “So do you know what
type of talent he is?”

Both
men shook their heads. “He’s strong as a son of a bitch, though,” Ken offered.
“We’ve tried all we could to convince him to go in for help.” He broke off as
thunder sounded. “Shit,” he swore under his breath.

“His
name’s Sebastian Michaels,” Mike said. He leaned forward. “We’ve been friends
since high school. He’s always been good at hiding it, but the last year, it’s
gotten worse. I don’t think he’s been letting it out. It’s so bad, even I can
see it.” Thunder rumbled again and both men tensed.

Keva
frowned. She didn’t recall hearing anything about storms in the forecast, but
then when she’d checked the weather, she hadn’t been in this area. “Are the
storms here bad?”

“No,”
Ken replied.

Then
why did the two of them seem on edge each time the thunder sounded? She
shrugged aside her confusion. She wasn’t here for the two of them. “Where is
Sebastian?”

Mike
nodded toward a closed door upstairs. “The bedroom.”

“And
you’re sure you don’t know what his talent is? You’ve known him since high
school. How could you not know?”

“He’s
never said. His parents disowned him when he couldn’t hide it from them
anymore. He was sixteen.” The sky outside the windows lit up. “Shit. He’s
listening to us.”

Keva’s
eyes widened. She pointed to the window. “He’s doing that?”

Mike
nodded, his expression grim. “He’s losing control.”

“
Weather
?
He can make weather?” What the hell did she classify that as?

Ken
shook his head. “We don’t think so. He doesn’t usually. He’s never been like
this.”

“He’s
not dangerous, is he?” Both men shook their heads, but she was unsure. She’d
never heard of any psychic being able to affect weather with their moods. She
should get back in her Prius and drive out of here. But she couldn’t do that
with a clear conscience if she didn’t at least see him first. “All right. I’ll
talk to him.” She stood on unsteady legs.

“I’d
better come with you,” Mike volunteered.

Keva
held up a hand. “No need. He probably already knows I’m here.” She climbed the
stairs. She knocked on the door and received no answer. She glanced back over
the banister at Mike and Ken.

“Go
on in,” Ken said. “He hasn’t been responding to us either.”

She
opened the door. The first thing to gain her attention was the strange
lighting. It was a weird, flickering blue that didn’t reach the corners of the
bedroom. A glance at the ceiling showed her that it was not the overhead light.
She found a switch by the door and flicked it on.

A
groan emanated from her right. A man wearing only briefs stood with his hands
braced on the bureau. His body was hard and muscled, his shoulders broad, his
waist narrow. Even hunched over as he was, Keva could tell that he was very
tall. His thighs and legs looked as though they could have been carved from
wood, their perfection was so complete. Keva gasped. His skin glowed blue. The
light ebbed and flowed, burning brighter and then dulling in cycles. She’d
never seen such a physical manifestation of psychic power. She’d always been
able to feel it, sense it, but it had never been visible.

Sebastian
turned. She could barely make out his eyes. His head was lowered and his hair,
longer than her shoulder-length tresses, obscured his face. There was a flash
of pure silver in the area of his ocular cavity. “Keva,” he growled. “At last.”
A sliver of fear skated down her spine. No fool, she backed up a step and felt
behind her for the doorknob. Then his entire body seemed to shudder and he
curled in on himself. Pained growls became groans. The blue glow dimmed and
faded altogether.

On
trembling legs, Keva approached him in concern. She silently chastised herself.
This man needed her help. She couldn’t do that cowering in a corner. He scooted
back until he bumped into the wall and could go no further. “Don’t. Don’t come
any closer, and don’t touch me.” His voice was husky but not the same guttural
voice he’d used only seconds before.

“Sebastian,
I won’t hurt you. Your friends asked me to come. I’m here to help you.”

He
lowered his head into his hands. “You can’t help me, Keva. I’ve been to IOP.
The traditional method doesn’t work on me.”

She
kept her distance but crouched down so that she was on his level. “Please, let
me try.”

He
laughed. “God, Keva, you should leave now. I’m losing control. I don’t know how
long I can hold it in.”

“What’s
your ability?”

He
groaned and slammed his back into the wall. “Telekinesis.” He was breathing
hard. “Clairvoyance.” He banged his head against the wall. His hair parted and
revealed his face. He was beautiful, his face that of a dark angel. Thick black
brows slashed toward his hairline. Above full and perfect lips, his nose was
perfectly straight. He opened his eyes. They were a deep intense blue. “Precognition.”

“No
one has more than one ability.”

He
grinned, revealing strong, white teeth. His eyes flashed silver before
returning to blue. “Telepathy.”

Keva
frowned, getting annoyed. He was toying with her when she was attempting to
help him. “Be serious.”

He
growled. “And something else…”

All
the growling was fraying her nerves. “Stop that.”

“Wish
I could.”

She
stood and crossed to him. Getting on her knees between his spread thighs, she
held out her hands. “I can help you. Just give me your hands and let go.”

His
eyes flickered over her face. “So pretty, Keva,” he said, dragging out the
syllables of her name. “I wish I’d met you sooner.” He leaned forward suddenly
and took her hands. His eyes turned silver and blue in rapid cycles that had
her dizzy. The blue light enveloped him again, and she braced herself for the
rush of power she felt whenever she established a connection with a talented
client. She closed her eyes and waited. And waited.

And
then nothing. She glared at him. “You’re not trying.”

He
smiled, baring all his teeth. When she tried to pull back, he wouldn’t let go. He
used his thumbs to rub circles on her inner wrists. His gaze dropped to her
lips and then lower, pausing at her breasts and the apex of her thighs. “I am.”
He sighed. “But that doesn’t work on me. Do you really want to help me?”

“Of
course.”

He
closed the distance between their faces until his moist breath warmed her lips.
She could feel them begin to tingle under his intense scrutiny. “You shouldn’t.
You’re a good person. Go home and forget you ever met me.”

“Please,
tell me. How can I help you?”

A
tremor shook his body, and his eyes went silver. Not the silver of a person
with pale gray eyes. No, his eyes were like mercury. Up this close, she could
see that his pupils were absent. “Keva,” he drawled, his voice so full of bass
it sounded more like thunder. He brushed his lips against hers, and he purred
like a cat. She attempted to withdraw once more but he was quick to pull her
back.

She
swallowed as apprehension once again tried to take hold of her mind. “Sebastian—”

“Bastian,
call me Bastian.” He licked her lower lip and then the upper one. “Taste so
good. Do you taste this good everywhere?”

“That’s
an inappropriate question. I don’t sleep with my clients.”

He
laughed, a rough, hoarse sound. “But you want to help me. You can help me by
spreading your thighs and letting me fuck you until I work this out of my
system.” Gasping, she fought to get free from him. “What’s the matter? You said
you wanted to help me. Suddenly, you’ve changed your mind now that you have to
give something of yourself. All you Channels are the same. You want to take but
you never want to give.”

“If
I thought it would help you—”

“Don’t
lie to me, pretty Keva. You haven’t let a man inside those panties in over two
years.”

She
gasped. “Let me go.”

“Truth
hurts, doesn’t it? You’re also wishing you’d never come all this way. I’ve got
news for you. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.” He released her
wrists, dropping his head. He closed his hands into fists. She scrambled to get
away from him.

Keva
stood when she was near the door. He was little better than an animal. She
weighed her options. Calling IOP seemed the best idea, but it would be hours
before anyone else could join her. He needed to be taken in for testing. He was
a danger to himself and to those around him until they could find a way for him
to control his ability. Possible abilities, she amended.

“Bastian,
I’m going to try to get you some help.”

He
leaned his head back against the wall and ran a hand over his hair. When he
looked at her again, his irises were blue. “Sebastian,” he corrected her
quietly. “Look at me, Keva. This is it for me.”

“Have
you been using your talent?”

He
shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“I’m
going to talk to your friends for a moment.” She went back downstairs. Mike and
Ken stood. They gazed at her with hopeful looks. She shook her head. “It didn’t
work. He said he’s been to IOP before. Do you know when that was?”

Mike
swore. “Yeah. He said it didn’t help but we ran out of ideas.”

“Hell,
what now?” Ken asked.

Keva
picked up her phone. “I can call in and get some more help out here. We can
have him transferred—” She broke off as thunder rumbled and lightning rent the
sky.

“He
doesn’t like the idea,” Mike said in a dry tone. “We told you. He won’t go.”

She
sighed and put her phone down. “Then I don’t know what to do for him.”

“What
exactly happened up there?” Ken questioned.

“We
couldn’t establish a connection.” She wrapped her arms around herself. She
should be logging the details but she was too shaky. “I’ve never seen the like.
The power he has is a visible aura around him. And his eyes.” She shook her
head. “It’s like he’s—”