Annihilation Page 5

  Ryan was in much worse shape than she. He must have been thrown from the car when it hit the tree. His limbs lay at strange angles, his breathing shallow, and the pulse she found at his neck grew weaker with each beat. She’d barely dragged herself into position beside him when he stopped breathing.

  “No, no, no.”

  Salina instantly cut the healing flow through her own body. Pain which had been deadened, swept through her with new intensity. Her mind reeling, she threw the last of her energy into Ryan.

  Was it a stupid move? Ryan was dead. She’d seen his last breath, felt his last heartbeat. Emotion had caused her to throw the last of her magic into his motionless body. She’d given him everything she had, including a piece of herself, a small bit of her own life force even though she’d desperately needed it for herself. She was now defenseless and riding the edge of consciousness.

  A year ago, the death of the Templar leader would have been seen as an advantage—a good thing for the Arcanists. While technically now allies, there was so much distrust that, even a week ago, the death of a Templar would not have affected her in the least. But things were different now. She’d just begun to know Ryan Chamberlain as a person—a person she was beginning to like.

  Tears came unbidden as she laid her head on his chest. Her body shuddered. A gasping sob escaped her lips. How could this have happened?

  Thump.

  It was soft, so quiet she almost didn’t hear it over her weeping.

  Thump, thump.

  Stronger now, the heart began to beat again. The chest she’d laid her head on expanded as the body drew in a deep breath.

  “Ryan?”

  She dragged herself up, ignoring the pain. With one hand she brushed back the shaggy hair from his eyes, praying they would flutter open.

  “Live, damn it, live.”

  She reached for more power. She knew she’d be going over her limit. One more casting would render her helpless, unconscious.

  Still, she threw another charge of healing energy into Ryan as the darkness closed in on her.

  As her head spun, she sensed a rustling in the brush to her right. The sniffing sounds sent a chill up her spine. Red demonic eyes glowed in the darkness.

  “Shit.” She fought, refusing to give up, but had no power and no strength left. The demons would have them. All their struggles, all the pain, had been for nothing.

  The dark form that rose up out of the underbrush was horrifyingly familiar. The wisp’s light illuminated the long snout and gleaming canine teeth of the Whargan demon. The creature’s red eyes were the last thing she saw before the darkness claimed her.

  Though things are not always as they may seem, usually they are. – Musings of a Mad Witch by Magda P. Emmons, 2007

  Chapter 6

  Confusion clouded Salina’s waking mind. Reality and the dream world collided into a collage of images. A Whargan demon carrying her limp form…automobile headlights casting their beams on the side of a hill in the darkness of night…then being placed on the backseat of a van.

  She had to focus; claw her way back to consciousness. Where was she? She was lying comfortably on a bed and would’ve given anything to snuggle under the thick comforter that covered her and go back to sleep.

  She didn’t dare.

  The air around her smelled of herbs and flowers. She nestled in clean, crisp bedsheets. This was not at all what she expected to wake to.

  Slowly, carefully, she opened one eye just enough to survey her surroundings. There was no reason to let her captors know she was awake. Her gaze was drawn to the Himalayan salt nightlight sticking out of a power receptacle that lit the small chamber with a dim orange glow.

  An overstuffed occasional chair stood empty beside a large chest of drawers. Flowered curtains framed a shaded window. The digital clock on the nightstand next to the bed read 11:27 PM. This certainly didn’t look like a demon prison facility.

  A trap of some kind?

  Salina risked a slow rollover to get a look at the other side of the room. Hopefully, anyone watching would think she was just turning in her sleep. Her leg, the one she knew she’d broken, seemed fine. Her body, tired and sore, appeared whole and functional.

  From this new vantage point, she confirmed she was alone. The door was closed, but she could hear muffled conversation coming from the other side. Someone was pacing—staccato steps reverberated on hardwood flooring. Shadows flashed back and forth in the light that flooded underneath the doorway from the room beyond.

  “…long enough,” she heard a feminine voice say as the door creaked open.

  The voice was soft…familiar.

  “Salina? You awake?”

  Anna Hughes?

  Salina sat up in bed. “Anna, my God. How…?” She had to choke back a lump that formed in her throat. Anna was an Arcanist, and one of Salina’s closest friends.

  Tears in her eyes, Anna swept across the room and pulled Salina into a warm hug. “When Jack found you and Ryan, you were both almost gone.”

  Anna’s husband, Jack, had the unique ability to change into a Whargan demon. He must have been who she saw just before she blacked out. Suddenly her fractured visions made sense.

  Anna pulled back and ran her hand along the side of Salina’s head. The woman’s cool hands were soft and comforting. “Baby, we almost lost you. What happened?”

  JJ and Kim Wakefield followed Anna into the room and crowded around the bed. Their looks of concern told Salina just how close she’d come to dying. She related all she could recall of the events at the casino.

  “I don’t know how we crashed. I was so exhausted I must have passed out when I got in the car.”

  JJ leaned in, supporting herself on the footboard of the bed. “You’re sure it was Senator Stanton?” The portly redhead had intense worry lines in her face, so different from the carefree Arcanist she was when she’d mentored Salina just a few years ago.

  “It was him, and Ryan said he was definitely a Ballor. He has that true-sight some of the Templars have.”

  A chill filled Salina’s gut. “Is Ryan…?” She left the question hanging. She couldn’t bring herself to say the word. There’d been too much death lately.

  “He was still alive when the Templars took him from us,” JJ said. “We’ve had no word to the contrary since, but he was in worse shape than you.” JJ paused in thought, then added, “He’s really not such a bad sort, for a Templar. I hope he makes it.”

  No, Salina agreed wistfully, not such a bad sort at all.

  * * *

  The bright sphere of light filled his vision. Ryan felt the comfort and release that awaited him on the other side.

  “Not yet, my son.”

  The hand placed on his shoulder looked young and smooth, yet Ryan sensed ancient wisdom in the being behind him. He turned to look into wizened eyes.

  “Lord!” Ryan instantly went to his knees. He lowered his eyes and stared at the feet of his deity.

  “Rise up, Ryan Chamberlain. I have not earned, nor do I deserve, your worship. Within you is the best I could have hoped for humanity. In my pettiness and vanity, I would have thrown it all away.”

  Then the High Lord went to his knees before Ryan. “You have richly earned the peace and serenity that lies beyond the light. But I must beg you to return to the darkness of a dangerous world.”

  Ryan’s heartbeat quickened; his ears rang. It was wrong. His Lord should not be on his knees.

  A woman in green appeared beside the High Lord. “We have both failed our children and, though we are once again united, we are trapped in a prison of our own making. Please, do not pass over. Return. The world will suffer greatly in the dark years ahead. It needs your strength…we need your courage.”

  Ryan felt the pull toward the light. Blessed release lay just steps away. Still, in the back of his mind lay the unfinished business he’d needed to attend to. The world struggled in such chaos. The Templars could be a force for good, yet remained so disorganized.

 
And then there was Salina.

  With vivid clarity he felt again the passionate caress of her lips on his. Gaia smiled and nodded, as if she could read his thoughts. The High Lord rose to stand by her and clasped her hand.

  Ryan felt the world around him begin to spin. His vision faded. “I have so many questions…”

  The voice of the High Lord resounded in his ears as white light washed over him. “Elvis is dead. Oswald acted alone. The rest, you will find answers for on your own…in time.”

  The stiffness in his joints and the insistent throbbing in his head told Ryan he’d returned to the waking world. Had it all been a dream?

  Eight Templars stood around his bed, their hands resting lightly upon him. Bright light filled the room as they bathed him in healing energy.

  He squinted in the brightness and focused on his old friend, Benjamin Butler. The man beamed a smile when he saw Ryan’s eyes open.

  “Welcome back to the land of the living, commander.”

  The child within cries out for nurturing. Hug and be hugged. – Touch by Alice Kimble, 2016

  Chapter 7

  “Yes, I really saw Kelly and Geoffrey, and get this…she’s pregnant!” Salina was propped up in the bed in Anna Hughes’ guest room, enjoying the comfort, but itching to get up and go, once again. There were things that required her attention: that kiss with Ryan and the power it had generated being at the top of her list. She was getting stronger by the day, but Anna and JJ had insisted on another few days of bed rest.

  Anna sat in the overstuffed chair, nursing her two-month-old daughter, Callista. The child was…well…beautiful. The whole scene touched Salina’s heart, and tugged at something maternal she tried hard not to acknowledge.

  “You actually got that shimmer to work?” Anna put the baby on her shoulder, gently patting. The child’s sudden, bold belch surprised both women and they chuckled. It felt good to laugh. Salina couldn’t remember the last time she had.

  “They looked happy together…Kelly and Geoffrey.” Thinking about her friends—Anna with Jack, Kelly with Geoffrey—how happy they seemed to be, now that they’d found that special person, Salina allowed herself to ponder a future with someone special in it.

  Her mind’s eye focused on Ryan and that amazing kiss. Was there something there? Certainly, a power like she’d never experienced before.

  What the hell had that been all about anyway?

  The Templars sent word Ryan had survived his injuries and was expected to make a full recovery. The thought of seeing him again made Salina’s stomach do a flip. She knew her feelings for him had changed drastically and she was suddenly desperate to see him again.

  “Would you like to hold Calli?” Salina knew Anna’s offer was a distraction. Her friend must have read impatience in her aura. Still, the offer warmed her heart. Callista was asleep, newly changed, fed and happy. The best situation Salina could think of, to be offered a two-month-old. The warm bundle settled in her arms and she brought the child up to her face. So small, so precious. Salina placed a light kiss on top of Calli’s head and breathed in that wonderful scent of baby.

  This was what they were fighting for—the future. Little Calli shouldn’t have a world full of demons to grow up in. Yet, they were here—had been here for thousands of years. Could the threat truly ever be eradicated?

  Well, they’d taken the first step. The Demon Gate, the portal between Earth and the demon’s realm, was down. Now they just had to find a way to eradicate the demons that were already here.

  “You know…” Anna was pacing…thinking. Salina could almost see her mind working. “If you could locate Kelly and Geoffrey in the shimmer again, I might be able to bring them home.”

  The idea sent a thrill shooting through Salina. “Really?”

  Kelly and Geoffrey had been trapped on the other side when they destroyed the Demon Gate, so there’d been no way to retrieve them.

  “I’m a summoner, baby. It’s what I do. The problem is always finding your target in the demon dimension. That’s why I have to take whatever I can snag. Using the shimmer, maybe I could home in on whatever it displayed.”

  Salina considered what Anna was suggesting. To have Kelly back would be incredible. Salina, Kelly and Anna had all been apprenticed to JJ early on in their indoctrination to the Arcanists. The three had gotten into their share of trouble and had always leaned on each other for support. Since Kelly had passed over to the demon world, Salina felt as if a part of her was missing.

  “I’ll need someone to help me pulse the power.”

  There was no way she would ask Tom Johnson.

  Anna smiled. “We’ll get Kim.”

  Kim Wakefield was JJ’s latest apprentice. The young girl was already quite knowledgeable, even at the tender age of sixteen. Salina knew she’d be able to blend power pulses seamlessly with her.

  “Yes, Kim would be perfect.”

  Anyone but Tom!

  * * *

  “I’m glad you could make it today, Ryan.” Joyce Jorgens’ smile was genuinely warm and welcoming. The woman had actually hugged Ryan when she’d seen him. Yes, things had certainly changed.

  “They wanted to keep me locked up for another week.” Benjamin was insistent in trying to keep Ryan in bed and away from any work or worries. Ryan actually had to sneak out of the complex that, theoretically at least, he was in charge of.

  He sat with Joyce and a small assemblage of Arcanists in one of their research chambers. The room was near the surface, and the roof was open to the night sky. Overhead, a full moon crested the stone walls and cast wan light into the chamber. Burning torches further lit the grassy floor of the open cavern.

  It was eerie, but Ryan felt completely comfortable here. His dream…vision…whatever it had been—seeing his Lord together with the Earth Mother—had changed him. Accepting the Arcanists as his true allies had suddenly become easy. They were different, yet the same in so many ways. Now if he could just convince the other Templars of that.

  He shifted his view to the shimmer. The device was mounted securely on a wall in the large chamber. They were going to attempt to contact the demon dimension. His eye was drawn to Salina as she conferred with Anna Hughes and a young woman Ryan didn’t recognize.

  Salina’s dark, exotic beauty pulled at his soul and aroused him on a primal level. As he watched, her eyes shifted toward his. Their gazes locked for only an instant, before they both turned away, but in that instant, something flashed between them—invisible, yet shocking—a tingling that shook him to his core.

  He took a deep breath, trying to center himself.

  Concentrate. This wasn’t about their attraction, or whatever it was between them. He did need to pursue that, but not now. Not here.

  Evidently, Salina and Tom Johnson had been able to use the shimmer once before, to contact the other side. That would’ve been interesting to see. It must have happened just before he’d barged in on their conversation the other day.

  Today there was a small group of Arcanists in attendance. Ryan was honored they thought to invite him, but he had a feeling there was more to this meeting than just a demonstration.

  “I think we’re ready,” Anna Hughes announced. She took a position in front of a small stone altar in the center of the room, directly in front of the shimmer. The young woman Ryan didn’t know took her place facing the shimmer at an angle. Salina took up a position on the opposite side of the room.

  Ryan leaned closer to Joyce. “Where’s Jack?” He’d rarely seen Anna Hughes without her husband close at hand. Yes, it was just idle conversation, a distraction from what he was feeling toward Salina, but still, he was curious. He’d also hoped to have the opportunity to thank Jack for saving him after the crash.

  “Home with little Callista. He’s volunteered to stay away from headquarters, and out of our information loop for a while, as we look to see if there is a spy within our midst.” Joyce frowned as she spoke.

  “Surely you don’t suspect Jack Hughes of being
the spy?”

  Joyce shook her head. “Not in a million years, but he is a demon, at least partly, so he doesn’t pass our entrance test to the compound.”

  Jack had been possessed by a Whargan demon. His father had also been possessed by a Whargan and had somehow passed demon DNA onto his son even before Jack was possessed himself, which was why Jack could shape-change into the demon form, even though he’d been exorcised of the demonic spirit.

  Ryan had a lot of respect for Jack, with all the man had been through. He also owed Jack his life, and he wasn’t about to forget that. “From what Senator Stanton said, they have some new way of getting around our tests. I would think Jack would be less suspect than just about anyone else.”

  Joyce patted Ryan’s hand. “We all feel that way, but this was Jack’s choice. It also gives him a chance to spend more time with his daughter.”

  Jack and Kelly were about five years younger than Ryan, yet they’d already started a family. Having a child, probably more than one, was something Ryan had always desired, but the timing had never been right.

  Well, the woman hadn’t ever been right either. And now with his responsibilities to the Templars, it would be selfish to even think about something like that.

  Still, thoughts of Salina and that kiss filtered through his mind.

  “Who is that other young woman out there? I don’t think I’ve met her before.” Anything to keep from thinking about Salina. He hadn’t realized how painful it would be to watch her. Something inside yearned to talk with her once again, touch her…

  “That’s Kim Wakefield…a student of mine,” Joyce answered.

  The verdant scent of fresh herbs suddenly filled the room, and a low hum of power vibrated through the air. Ryan looked up to see waves of green arcane energy flowing toward the shimmer from Salina and Kim. At the same time, Anna started to chant as she sprinkled powder into the flaming brazier on the altar set up in front of the shimmer.