Touched by Darkness (9 page)

and direct energy. Kara could only watch, knowing

they were locked in mortal combat.

Her breath hissing out, she forced away the

memory—and those that followed.

"Turn around, Kara. I don't want to have this

discussion with your back."

The way Damien said her name in that husky voice

of his was reminiscent of intimate, whispered

conversations in the heat of the night. She refused

to fall under its spell. "There's nothing more to

discuss."

With a sound of exasperation, he grasped her

shoulder, pulled her around. His touch sent tendrils

of sensation spiraling through her. She damned the

innate chemistry that existed between certain

Sentinels and conductors, damned the fate that had

visited such a curse on her.

She jerked away. "Don't touch me."

"Then don't ignore me. And look at me, damn it."

She lifted her chin, glaring at him. "I've heard what

you have to say, Sentinel. I've already made my

contribution. I conducted for two years. The

Sanctioned have gotten more than the designated

pound of flesh from me."

"You haven't heard everything. There's a lot more at

stake here than you realize."

"And you haven't been listening.
It doesn't have

anything to do with me.
Even if you're right, even if

there's a Belian in Zorro, I won't help you."
She

wouldn't watch anyone else she loved die, lying in

a pool of blood.

"What about Alex?"

Everything inside her froze. That was the million-

dollar question, wasn't it? "I don't know. I have to

think about that situation some more."

"He was broadcasting today, as he came out of

school and got on the bus."

Adrenaline churned through her. "He couldn't have

been. We had a long talk about it last night, and he

promised to be more careful—"

"I told him I'm a Sentinel, and that he's one, too."

His words had the impact of a physical blow.

Staggered, she reached out to brace herself against

the house. He definitely knew how to pull the

trigger of an emotionally shattering weapon. Fury

rose swiftly.

"Damn you!"
She swung at him.

He grabbed her arm before she could land a punch

and dragged her to the wooden bench glider at the

east end of the porch. She tried to dig in her heels,

but his superior strength won out.

"Sit," he ordered, backing his words with a small

push. Making contact with the hard seat, she glared

up at him, debating the wisdom of leaping back up

and kicking him. It might be crazy, but she had no

doubt it would be very satisfying.

"Don't do it," he warned. "Stay there and calm

down."

She clenched her fists. Was the man a mind reader

as well? He took his duster off his arm, shook it

out, and tossed it over her. She didn't realize she'd

been shivering until the first wave of warmth hit

her.

The consideration of his action diffused some of

her anger, but didn't diminish the intensity of the

situation. She huddled into the garment, breathing

in the tantalizing scents of sandalwood and male,

and tried to collect her racing thoughts.
What

should she do about Alex?

The glider jolted and swung backward as he settled

next to her, his large body sending another source

of heat her way. The wood creaked as he sat back.

She glanced sideways at him.

He stared straight ahead, his jaw tensed. He

probably hated dealing with overly emotional

females as much as she hated acting like one.

Normally, she was calm, the logical voice of

reason. But after the seismic shocks of the past few

days, she'd been batting zero.

"Are you always this emotional?" he asked.

"No, I'm usually very rational," she shot back. "But

arrogant, domineering men tend to bring out the

worst in me. Are you always such a bastard?"

"Yes, actually, I am."

"I already figured that out," she muttered.

A movement at the comer of her eye caught her

attention. She saw that the blinds in the large

picture window were raised; Luz stood there, still

holding the phone and baseball bat. She looked at

Kara questioningly, held up the phone. Kara shook

her head in the negative, mouthed
"It's okay."

Damien turned his head, stared at Luz, who gave

him an evil-eye look. He shrugged dismissively,

and the glider shimmied as he shifted back to face

Kara. "Calmer now?"

Her anger flared at his condescending remark.

"How would you feel in my place?"

"You need to put aside your personal feelings about

Sentinels and let me help you and Alex."

"I don't want your help."

"How are you going to protect Alex? Keep him in

an insulated, underground chamber?"

Doubts plagued her. "How strongly was he

broadcasting today?" she asked. A terrifying

thought occurred to her, and she leaped to her feet,

the duster sliding to the porch. "What if a Belian

has already picked up on him? I can't let him go to

school any more!"

"Whoa! You're getting ahead of yourself. Alex is

definitely broadcasting, but it's not very strong yet,

and it's still on the higher chakra frequencies. I'm

probably the only one who can pick it up right now.

But if he gets excited or feels threatened, the signal

will project more. As he gets older, his projections

will become stronger and more erratic—unless he

learns how to control them. Eventually, it will only

be a matter of time until a Belian can sense him.

Then he'll become an easy target."

A target... Oh, God...

The Belian/trooper and Richard rolled around on

the bloody street. The Belian was larger, and

Richard was weakened from blood loss. Kara saw

the sudden flash of a knife in the Belian's hand,

saw him plunge it into Richard's chest. Saw her

beloved jerk from the shock. Saw the knife go in

again and again...

Pain slashed like a physical blow. She felt her

knees go weak, reached out blindly to keep from

falling.

"Kara! Are you all right?" A strong arm grasping

her elbow steadied her and jolted her back to the

present.

But the images lingered on the edges of her

consciousness, like a nightmare in the darkest hours

of the night. Only it hadn't been a dream. It was

real—the reality she'd faced seven years ago, and a

powerful reminder she couldn't allow Alex to be

discovered. He would
never
become a statistic as

Richard had, not while she had a breath in her

body.

Playing ostrich hadn't worked, and she could no

longer selfishly avoid her personal pain. A new

wave of emotion barreled through her— steel

determination that she would do whatever it took to

protect Alex.
Anything
—including accepting the

help of a Sentinel, as much as she hated to.

"I want my son safe," she demanded fiercely,

staring up at Damien. "And I want your word on

that, Sentinel."

"You know there are no guarantees—"

"No!"
she practically screamed. She dug her fingers

into his sweater, pushed against him.
"My son will

be safe!
Do you hear me?"

He clamped his hands over her wrists, pulled her

hands to the side. "I will do everything in my

power to protect Alex. That's all I can promise."

She hated his calmness in the midst of her mental

chaos, hated the cool logic and total lack of

emotions he displayed. But he was a Sentinel,

trained to hunt and destroy evil, a killing machine.

He wasn't human, despite the mortal body he

inhabited. Yet Richard had been different.

Richard was gone.
And this man was Alex's best

chance for survival—at least for the time being.

She pulled her wrists free. "What are you

proposing?"

"That you allow me to act as his mentor, providing

basic instruction, until the Sanctioned can appoint a

permanent one."

"Leave the Sanctioned out of this," she said

sharply, a new concern wedging in with all the

others. "I don't want them involved. They might try

to take Alex away from me."

The resultant silence sent off warning bells and she

looked at Damien in alarm. "Don't tell me you've

already told them."

"I contacted them on Saturday, after I left your

house. It was my duty to do so."

Her body went rigid. She knew how the Sanctioned

operated, knew they were merciless in their quest

to defeat Belians, with no compunctions about

sacrificing their own for what they considered the

'higher cause'. And that would include Alex, if it

suited them. "Why did you do that?"

"It was my sworn duty," he repeated. "It had to be

done." Of course it did, in his mind. Sentinels

fulfilled their purpose of tracking Belians, and kept

compete secrecy and order by adhering to a strict

code of duty and honor. There was no gray in the

Sentinel world—only black and white. Kara felt a

sense of inevitability, like the moon's pull on the

tides.

The fight left her body. She turned and stared at the

dissipating sunset. "You know, when Richard first

told me he was a Sentinel, I thought he was joking.

Up until then, He'd been so serious and down-to-

earth."

Except in bed. The sex had been amazing,

electrifying, incredible bursts carrying them to the

stars. Multiple orgasms that should have left her

utterly exhausted, rather than burning to have

Richard inside her again. It had been exhilarating

—until he blew away her concept of reality.

They were in bed after a marathon lovemaking

session, him on his back, with her curled against

his side, when he dropped the proverbial bomb.

"Kara, there's something I have to tell you. I'm...

different. I'm not really human. "

"Hmmm, you can say that again. You 're definitely

superhuman in some areas."

"No, I'm serious. I'm a Sentinel. My soul originated

in Atlantis. I came into this life to track Belians,

other Atlantian souls, but very evil."

Still seeing the moment as clearly as if it were

yesterday, Kara pulled herself back from the

memory. "Then, when I realized he was totally

serious, I thought he was crazy."

Damien shifted behind her. She was hyper aware of

the heat and strength of his big body. Oddly

enough, his presence was comforting. "I'm sure it's

a shock to realize the world is not as you

envisioned it," he said.

That was an understatement. She let out a ragged

breath. "Yeah, it was a shock, all right." She turned

to face him. "There's so much Richard didn't tell

me, like the fact that Sentinels are born to other

Sentinels, although that's a logical assumption. He

also didn't tell me that sometimes the good guys

lose." She pushed away the sharp rise of pain. "I

guess he wanted to protect me from your world."

"Just like you want to protect your son."

Understanding softened Damien's harsh voice.

"The best way to do that is to educate him."

She hated it that he was so damn right. "That

doesn't mean the Sanctioned need to come

anywhere near Alex. You're the only one I want

working with him."

His face remained impassive. "I will suggest they

let me handle this without interference, at least for

the time being. That's the best I can do."

Kara didn't like it, but it was better than nothing. A

Sentinel's word was pure gold. She turned and

walked to the opposite side of the porch, letting the

cool air wash over her like a blast of chilling

reality. "I want you to show Alex only how to

control his powers. I think we should hold off

giving him information about the Sentinels."

"He already knows he's a Sentinel."

Damien's voice was right behind her. Startled, she

whirled and found herself facing his chest. She kept

forgetting how quickly and quietly they moved. But

it was impossible to forget the ever-present