A Hidden Element (8 page)

Laura wasn't being chased this time. It came as a delicious dream she had dreamt many times over the past year when she'd dozed on her bed, alone, under cotton striped blankets. She was naked and her breasts throbbed. She remembered how small they had once been before pregnancy. She had been ashamed of their size the night Ben first took her so long ago, thinking he wanted a full breasted woman as so many men did. But he had convinced her otherwise of their perfection. She lay back and stroked them now, enjoying the feel of her body as it held her child.

She closed her eyes luxuriating in content slumber, wondering about getting up, when hands covered hers. Ben. She smiled and kept her eyes closed. He gently pulled her hands away and caressed her. Slow warmth spread through her groin. Lips pulled on her nipples, fingers drawing them to intense arousal. She gasped, fighting the urge to open her eyes. Ben remained silent, fueling her fantasy.

Fingers trailed down her belly and pried her thighs open. She groaned and cried out when a hot tongue lapped at her in expertise as it had many times. It played with her as she liked best. Hands cupped her bottom, stroking, stroking. She twisted the sheets, legs trembling as she yearned for release. The heat flamed an unbearable ache, stabbing her with need and want.

The tongue fell away and she whimpered in loss, but then she was being pulled toward Ben. He opened her up wider to receive him. Her legs shook. She pushed into him. Hot flesh plunged into her core and she screamed, her need met. He thrust rhythmically, slow then fast, teasing her swollen sex bud that painfully throbbed.

"Ben, oh, Ben."

He covered her body with his, sinking into her, pressing his hard chest to her soft skin. His hand placed possessively across her swollen belly. She wrapped her arms and legs around him. Their sweat mingled together. Ben pulled on her breasts in sweet agony. Her body rose in the air. Breezes blew around her, embracing her, filling every crevice. She was so close. So close. Nothing bound her to Earth but this primeval fire. Space surrounded her, carried her. And still she refused to open her eyes. The dream was hers.

The explosion swelled in her and Ben held her tight. Her body bucked and he drove deeper inside her than he had ever been.

"Laura, open your eyes. I want to see you."

That voice.

The soft dream disappeared. Her eyes flew open. The pale demon stared down at her, covering her body with his. His yellow eyes burned in hers. Her body betrayed her, shaking with orgasm as she tried to claw out from under the monster. He held her fast, grinning down at her then plunged into her faster and faster. She screamed again and again. He arched his back and shot his dark seed into her with a mighty groan. It filled her womb and poured out of her, a gushing torrent of evil.

"It will be our son, Laura.
Ours
. He has been all along."

She woke up. Terror pulled at her. Her heart raced. She sat up and reached for the light, knocking it over. She pulled up the lamp. Finally, sweet light. The clock glowed 2am. She clasped her belly. It pulsed as if her child had been a witness to her dream. But her child was safe. Hers and Ben's.

A breeze tickled her face. The curtain blew up from the open window. She hadn't remembered opening it. She couldn't shake the dream. Her sex throbbed with heat. She put her fingers to herself. She was so wet and swollen there and her breasts ached. Could she be reliving the terror associated with her twin brother fifteen years ago in her dreams? Perhaps being pregnant drove her intense dreams and paranoia, as Ben had said.

She got out of bed and went to the guest bedroom where Ben now slept since the awful night where he tried to strangle her. She didn't resist his move. She had to protect her child.

She slid into bed beside him. He rolled over and pulled her to him.

"I miss you," she whispered.

"I miss you, too."

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Tell me."

Laura shook her head. "This one was different," she finally said. "It was you but then it wasn't you."

"Was it the man who chases you?"

She nodded, unable to speak.

"I've seen him chase you in my dreams. Like…your twin, X-10, did long ago. Only this man wants our unborn child."

"The man in my dreams wants our child, too," Laura whispered.

"X-10's gone, Laura. It's been over for fifteen years. There's no one chasing us here. Just in our dreams. It's natural to worry when you're pregnant. Your hormones are raging along with your fears our son won't be…normal. And
that
is all normal. It's been a long time since you had Charlie."

"I know, but we've had a good life for so long now. I don't want it taken away. Like everything was taken from me back then."

"It's just fear. Nothing else. Don't let it overshadow the good we have now. The bad doesn't have to come back."

She wanted to believe it. "Charlie! I have to check on Charlie." Laura threw back the covers and swung her legs to get up, but Ben stayed her with his hand.

"I just did. He's asleep in his bed."

"You're sure?"

"I checked on him right before I came in here."

Laura eased back on the pillow and closed her eyes. She pulled the blanket tighter to her, chilled even though the furnace had kicked on warming them against the early fall chill. "Something is happening. I can feel it. My migraines are back. My nightmares are back. Someone is here. Someone who wants to harm me…and our child."

"Laura, how can you be sure?"

"I can't."

"There's no physical proof. No murders of those you love. No cryptic notes telling you this time to use your powers."

His words soothed her. She knew she sounded like an irrational, hormonal pregnant woman, but his actions the other night had truly frightened her. She opened her eyes to Ben's kind face, trying not to see the face of another. A face filled with hate and revenge. A face like her dead brother's. He had been the hunter and she had been his prey. She didn't want to be hunted again.

"Stay with me, Ben." She reached for him and he pulled her to his chest. "I need you."

He lay her down then and placed a hand on her belly, claiming her child as his like the monster in her dream had. "I won't fall asleep, I promise."

She looked up at him, eyes shining. "I don't want to sleep."

He smiled at her, rubbing a breast that swelled from her nightgown. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I want you in me."

She needed to chase the monster from her mind. She needed Ben inside her, stroking the terror away as he filled her with his purity and strength. She undid her buttons, offering herself to him. He undressed quickly and she pulled him closer, eager for him to be inside her.

"Now, Ben." She pushed into him, needing him to fill her with his goodness. He sunk deep, his face buried in her breasts, and took her in all the gentle ways she needed.

She made sure to keep her eyes open.

The crowd moved away. The community members went back to their daily chores. Washing, child care, compound repairs, cooking. They all had their jobs to do. Now Caleb had his job to do. Taking out the trash. Only Rachel wasn't trash. She had been loving and alive. Someone's mother. Someone's lover. She had his heart once.

He stared at her figure in death.

He had no time to waste if she were to live again.

He unlocked the stoning gates and gently removed her from the iron braces and wooden neck collar. Her pale, bruised body fell into his arms. Her heart no longer beat against his chest. Her breasts no longer pressed warm to him. He picked her up, cradling her head to his. Her hair fell in the waning sunlight, the one sheath adorning her. Time hung precious. He strode across the yard, when his father stepped from the shadows. His robe's hood covered most of his face.

"Take her far past the perimeter fence. Bury her."

Caleb nodded as twisted emotion burned through him. He had to close off his thoughts so his father didn't see his true plans for Rachel. He continued through the courtyard.

"Caleb."

Caleb turned and faced his father again.

"Watch yourself." His father pulled back his hood and smiled at him. "And when you're done report back to me."

"Where?" It came out a deep whisper.

"The whipping shack. Penance for Thomas."

Caleb nodded again. He turned and strode off. He turned back once. His father still watched him. Caleb turned a corner. His legs pumped faster.

Time was running out to bring Rachel back to life.

Charlie slowly pushed open the back door, looking for signs of his parents. Both cars sat in the driveway. He stayed in the woods most of the day again talking with Adrian. Ghost Man seemed so real since he now had a name. He was out there, somewhere in a real place, waiting to meet him. It all tumbled inside Charlie. He didn't know how he felt about it, but anticipation for something filled him up. For what, he didn't know, but it rose inside him waiting to spill out. He couldn't tell his parents about this. Not yet.

He shut the door quietly behind him. He wasn't supposed to be home for another twenty minutes, but he had been freezing in the woods all day and was starving. He had practiced his powers for a while. Then the temperature dropped. It felt almost cold enough for snow. He placed his hands on the radiator, warming them in the toasty kitchen.

He hoped the school hadn't called about his absence and he checked the new phone messages. Lucky him. The secretary had left a message. He deleted it. The second time this week. Running water hummed. His mom or dad in the shower. Probably his mom. When her back was killing her she said a hot shower made her feel better. His heart slowed a bit. He might get away with skipping school today.

And then screams hurdled through the house. He dropped his backpack and ran toward them. His parent's room.

Another piercing scream ripped through his gut.

His mom.

Charlie burst through the bedroom door. Steam curled out from under the bathroom door. He reached it in two steps, expecting to push the door open. Locked. He slammed up against it.

"Mom, I'm coming!"

The floor shook.

"Charlie…no." His mom's words came out a gurgled whisper. Glass shattered. Wild grunts called to him.

He kicked. The door cracked. The jamb shredded. He used his hands to pull the wood apart with his mental commands. Splintered shrieks filled the air.

"Mom, hang on!"

Wood exploded. Charlie pushed through the shattered door and fell into the bathroom—and a dark figure. He beat on him, grabbing his shirt. Steam billowed all around the mad man.

It was his dad.

And he was strangling his mom.

Caleb darted between trees toward the mountain bog. He passed the new well his father had recently ordered be dug. Its stone walls rose harsh and cold, an unwanted stranger in the woods. Why had his father built it? He'd said they needed it as a backup water source. It had to be a lie. Their other well was full. It had to be for a form of punishment. His father enjoyed finding new ways to punish and oppress. This had to be part of his plan. No time to think of what that plan involved now.

He moved away and headed east toward the road, a few miles away. It was the one road into the town of Benevolence—and away from it. His arms burned with the weight of Rachel. She grew cold. He had to stop soon and save her. A little further. He needed to be far enough away from the compound. He blocked his thoughts to hide his whereabouts. An icy wind cut ruthlessly across him with the promise of a harsh winter.

He forgot the bog began at the edge of the woods and plunged into wet muck. He stumbled and nearly dropped Rachel. He steadied himself and backed up to go around the marsh, when something stuck out of the mire before him. In the brown and green moss of the bog it jarred his brain. He stared at it. A pale, elegant hand. Female.

He sucked in his breath, gripped Rachel tighter—and ran back to the safety of the woods. Trees flashed by. Far enough.

He fell to his knees, hugging Rachel to his chest. Dead pine needles cushioned his fall. Deep breaths. In and out. He had to be strong for her. He unbuttoned his robe and laid it out on the forest floor, placing Rachel on it. Her blue bruises lay ugly against her pale skin. He tucked the robe around her to warm her cold flesh. He kissed her chilled cheek and pressed her hand to his face. Then he began his healing.

He moved his practiced hands over her curves. Using the incredible powers of his mind, he willed warmth and life back into her. He caressed and kneaded her sweet limbs.
Please let her live.
Was there really a human god out there watching over Earth who could answer his plea? Did this god watch over Elyons as well? And would he doom Caleb to a human hell?

He wanted to redeem himself either way through sparing others pain. Sweat broke out on his brow. Was she too far gone? His stomach tightened. He moved his hands faster over her.
Come back, Rachel. Please.
Her head lolled to one side. He stroked her hair as he worked and spoke to her.

"I do love you, Rachel. I never stopped. I wanted more, but it wasn't meant to be. I had to think of our children first." She remained cold beneath his hands.

This gift he had. Perhaps it was not enough for her. Many Elyons had healing powers but not like him. He lived as an anomaly. The others could only heal the living. Caleb discovered at an early age how to bring the dead back to life. He did not share this information. It would be used against him, especially by his father. In secret Caleb had practiced on dead animals he found, learning the time limits of death for his power to still work.

The first time he attempted it on an Elyon the fear of being caught and punished ensnared him. It would be more than whipping he received. He might not survive, and he had to survive to use his gift to help those in need.

His first save had been a man caught stealing. Adrian used him as an example to warn the community by whipping him to death. Caleb brought the man back to life in the woods. He was so amazed he had brought an actual person back to life he thought he would have a heart attack and die in the man's place. The man had shook his head and stood up on shaky legs, like a stunned animal.

Caleb shoved clothes at him that he had stashed in the woods and told him to head for the road and away from Benevolence. Find another town. Suspicion would grow if deserters kept showing up in one place. Mind control would get them only so far.

The man, awaking from his shock, had fallen to his knees and kissed Caleb's feet. Caleb pulled him up and directed him away. No thanks necessary, just his silence.

Seven more times he had done this. He imagined those Elyons out there in the world having a second chance at life. Living and loving and being embraced by humans who cared. Caleb had never failed to heal one of them until now. He bent over Rachel and pulled her to him, straining to bring her back. He rocked with her, willing his life into hers. Giving his heart to her as he once had.

She trembled beneath him. Color rushed back into her. Her bruises faded. She arched her back and gasped.

He held her to him. Her breath infused his neck with warmth.

"I just wanted to set you free," he whispered.

"Caleb," she whispered. "How did you save me?"

He pulled her up and put his robe on her. He would pay for losing it later. He had stowed his extra one nearby. "It doesn't matter. You must go. Head to the road and away from town. You must reach another town and ask for help. Before night comes. Tell no one about this. Pretend you have no memory. Find a church. Someone will help you."

She looked at him with watery eyes. "My children."

He grasped her arms. "I will watch over them. You need to go.
Now
."

She just stared at him. He shook her. "We'll both die if you don't."

She nodded and hung her head. Caleb lifted her hair away from her face. It shone dark gold in the sun flickering through the trees.

She pushed her hands in his robe pockets and then drew out a piece of paper. He watched her unfold it and read it. He knew it by heart, this last poem he could give her like he'd once given her his love.

She read the last two lines aloud. "Wrapped up in my heart with no place to go. Come, unwrap my heart and set me free in you." She looked up, a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. "You unwrapped my heart too, Caleb Madroc."

He pulled her close. Pine cones plunked around them. The wind blew a sweet, mournful song through bare branches. Yellow swirled down. The last dying leaves of autumn. In that moment he believed they were together, out for a walk in the woods before heading home to mate by the fire. A normal life. Somewhere else. Not here. He bent down and kissed her. At first, she didn't move and then she pressed herself into him. He stroked her hair and took her mouth as a token then he let go and pushed her off him.

"Go. Now. Be free!"

She stared at him with wild eyes and stumbled away, his poem clutched in her hand. Then she turned and ran. His cloak flowed behind her, protecting her. He watched her go. He unraveled his full heart and sent it with her. It did him no good in this place.

He wanted to leave with her, but he had to think of their sons. If he left, his father would kill them. The sun faded behind clouds. He still had work to do. He headed for the tree line to dig a fake grave. He pushed the image of the hand in the bog away. He didn't want to know why it was there—or who put it there. There was just one person who would, but he couldn't face that now.

It was time for his punishment for saving Thomas from humiliation.

His father would add to Caleb's scars.

Those scars Caleb could suffer with.

The scars of Rachel and his sons seared his heart forever.