Dalir's Salvation (19 page)

“To remind you how far you’ve come.” Taliana reached out to her. “And all that you have.”

Ari swallowed against a lump in her throat as she took Taliana’s hand. Radiance, like a soothing balm erased the sad memories. Happy moments with her grandmother. Laughing with Lauren and Celine. Ari’s love for Dalir replaced them.

Taliana released her. “You can’t be afraid anymore. Your gift isn’t a weakness. It’s your strength. You must embrace it.” Her expression saddened. “If you don’t, you’ll cause more pain for you, for Dalir, for others.”

Ari’s recollection of Dalir lying on the altar swept in. “I’ll embrace it. I mean I do embrace it. Please.” Tears stung in her eyes. “He means the world to me. I’ll do anything. I love him.”

Taliana’s gaze narrowed as if weighing Ari’s confession. “There is a way, but it won’t be easy.”

The trees rustled behind Ari. Her breath caught. It was only the wind, not Dalir. “I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?” A hint of empathy shadowed Taliana’s expression. “Once fate is set into motion, you won’t be able to stop it.”

If Dalir had found her there, he wouldn’t have let her go through with what Taliana was suggesting. He’d try to protect to her, but now he needed her help. If her curse could transform into a gift to rescue him from harm, she’d accept every part of it. Good and bad. Ari squared her shoulders. “Yes. What’s the plan?”

“You have all that you need. When the time comes, what you don’t have will be revealed to you.” Taliana faded and shrunk into a ball of blue light. “Trust that you’ll know what to do.”

The sphere morphed into a tunnel similar to the one Dalir had shown her when he’d explained his power. A portal into time.

The tunnel widened. A force beckoned.

Ari leaped.

Radiant. Peaceful. Not at all like her phase with Dalir. A strong push landed her in a grassy plain near a small herd of grazing bison. Wildflowers swayed in the cool breeze. The expanding yellow rays of the rising sun peeked through jagged mountains, cutting across the sky.

She definitely wasn’t in Florida anymore. Ari trekked across the plain toward trees. Her tennis shoes, perfect for jogging, proved inadequate for the uneven terrain.

The sun rose higher, burning off the morning haze.

As she trudged forward, her lungs burned from exertion. Sweat caused her shirt to stick to her heated skin. She crossed into a wooded area, thick with bushes and trees. The shade provided some comfort, but her mouth was dry. Taliana had instructed her to trust that she had all she needed to do this. “All right. I’m trusting.” Ari wiped her brow. “But could water rise a little higher on that needs list?”

She hiked on. By now, Dalir was awake. Instead of breakfast, he’d find her gone. Tightness tugged in her chest. He had to forgive her, especially once he understood what was at stake. His life. Their future as a couple. Her legs started to feel like Jell-O. She flopped down under a tree. Celine, but especially Lauren, wouldn’t believe she was actually hiking in Nowhereville. Something she’d sworn never to do.

Leaves rustled nearby.

Ari jumped up.

A squirrel scampered up a tree.

It was harmless, but what else was out here? Snakes? Bears? Mountain lions? Ari dusted off her butt. The dagger. Crap. She’d lost it. Ari dropped to her knees. It wasn’t there.

“Well, what do we have here?” The man’s voice came in from behind.

Ari’s breath caught. She moved to turn around and felt the barrel of a gun pressed to her neck. “I’m unarmed.” She lifted her hands.

The man hauled her to her feet. “Let’s make sure you’re not carrying any surprises. Keep your hands where I can see them.” He roughly squeezed and patted her down.

Ari’s knees shook.

He spun her around. The dark-haired guy dressed in camouflage tactical gear kept his automatic rifle trained on Ari. He raked her over with a hard gaze as he spoke into the mic of his headset. “This is Hawk One. I found an intruder.”

A moment later footsteps shuffled through the woods. Another man burst through the foliage carrying a weapon. Even though camouflage markings covered his face, she recognized him. The police officer who’d dragged her to the warehouse had called him Henshaw.

“You just keep crashing the party.” Henshaw invaded her space.

Ari flinched away. He followed. Sweat and funk from too many days in the sun without a bath assaulted her.

The guy behind pushed her forward. “You know her.”

“She caused problems at the warehouse in Florida.”

“Is she a federal agent? Why else did she track us here?”

Henshaw towered over her. “Who brought you here?”

He’d witness Dalir swooping her up and Kell phasing after them. The other guy hadn’t. Chances were everyone besides Henshaw didn’t know the full story about who Kell was. Or didn’t care.

She breathed against the tight sensation in her chest. “I came alone.”

“Liar.” Henshaw jabbed the barrel of his weapon under her chin. “Tell me.”

Nausea rose. Nothing she could say in her defense would change his mind. “I have nothing to say to you. Only your boss.”

“He’s busy.”

“Too busy to find out about his brother?”

Henshaw nostrils flared. “What do need to tell him. Be specific.”

“Like I said. I’m only talking to your boss. Tell him it’s about Dalir.”

Henshaw’s jaw hardened and his eyes went cold. His gaze held even more cruelty than when she’d met him at the warehouse. “If you’re playing me, I’ll kill you. Slowly.”

Ari resisted shirking away, but her heart pounded against her ribcage so hard it almost hurt. What was she thinking coming out here alone? Where was Taliana? She had no clue what she was supposed to do now. “Just take me to Kell.”

Rays of sun seeped through Dalir’s eyelids. He rolled to a sitting position in the hammock. It took a moment for his head to clear. He’d overslept. Shit. That never happened. His internal clock always woke him before dawn. Not even Ari getting up had awakened him. He should have left hours ago. Dalir stood. He found his sweat pants and put them on. Instead of leaving her with good memories from last night, now she’d face a difficult goodbye. Who was he kidding? Ari wasn’t the only one who’d suffer. He’d rather fight a battalion of retributionists on his own than stand in front of her now.

Heaviness weighed his steps from the porch into the kitchen. The coffeepot sat empty. The counters were bare. Ari had mentioned making breakfast last night. Maybe she’d changed her mind. He glanced in the living room. Everything remained undisturbed. “Ari.” Silence greeted him. As he tore down the hall, he prayed to find her in bed or lounging in the tub. She wasn’t. The lake. Prickles spread over him. He quick phased right into the water. It lapped around his waist. “Ari!” His bellow echoed through the trees.

Flying fish leaped across the placid surface, reflecting the mountains and a beautiful blue sky.

Adrenaline fueled Dalir’s phase around the perimeter of the cottage, and then to the main house. He tracked water over the tiles as he rushed from the living room to the kitchen to the hall. “Ari! Are you here?”

Lauren peeked out of the sunroom, holding a hammer.

He grasped her by the shoulders. “Have you seen Ari.”

“No. I thought she was with you?”

Mace clomped down the stairs. His boots thudded on the tiles. “Dalir, what’s up?”

“Ari’s gone.”

Lauren stiffened. “What do you mean by gone? Did the two of you have an argument?”

Dalir released her. “No. Of course not.”

Mace and Lauren gave him puzzled looks. Mace came forward. “Maybe she went for a walk. She couldn’t have gone far.”

Lauren stripped off her tool belt. She tossed it and the hammer in the sunroom. “Mace is right. She could have gone into the woods and gotten lost. We’ll search for her.”

Dalir grasped her elbow. Until he sorted this out, he couldn’t have her and Celine wandering the woods. “The house is easier to spot from the mountains. She may come here. Check the backyard and the garden, but stay close.”

She nodded then ran off.

“Mace. Is Thane around?”

“Yeah. We’re meeting at the range.”

“Tell him what’s happened. Then, I want you to do a wide perimeter sweep around the house.”

“Copy that.” Mace phased.

Dalir’s hands shook as he raked back his hair. Any minute, Ari would walk in. She’d brush off his concern, and say something to make him laugh about it. The emptiness of the house mocked him. He phased through the woods around the cottage.

Thane’s energy zipped past as he joined the search.

Dalir soared down. It was time to face the truth. Leaves crunched under his feet. Tree limbs scraped his arms.

Thane materialized. “I didn’t find her.”

Dalir’s chest squeezed so tightly it felt as if his ribcage would crack. “That’s because she’s not in The Drift.”

“What are you talking about? She can’t leave on her own.” Thane’s gaze met his. “Do you think Kell swept in and took her.”

Kell couldn’t have. He would have sensed him. “No, but her powers may have led to her finding a way out. Yesterday, when I left Ari to meet you at the house, she had a vision. She saw Kell standing in front of a cave.”

“She saw where he’s hiding? You should have told me about Ari’s vision instead of freezing me the fuck out.”

“Ari saw me dead. She believes she’s supposed to stop him. If death is my fate. I’ll accept it but I’m taking Kell with me. I wasn’t going to risk her life or anyone else’s.”

Thane’s expression turned grim. “Your plan of going on a suicide mission isn’t happening. We’re going with you.”

Dalir forced his heart to slow down. He had to stay calm and think straight. He also needed all available help to find her. “We leave now.”

* * * *

Dalir phased into the woods on the side of the mountain, swords drawn. Sweat beaded along his spine under the tactical clothing he’d worn in deference to the team. They’d talked him into wearing the armored gear and a communications device, but no way in hell was he giving up his swords.

Thane, Reid, Colby, West, and Mace landed backs to each other in a circular formation. They immediately took a knee, their MP5’s at the ready.

Thirty minutes to wait for the team to gear up and wait for West to gather intel was too damn long. What if West was wrong and this wasn’t the right area? They needed to find out. Dalir ramped up his phase energy.

Thane clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t.” His tone was forceful but still a whisper. “West said these guys are well trained. You don’t know what you’re phasing into.” A flash of empathy appeared in his golden-brown gaze. “I know you’re worried, but if Ari is in there, you go in without a plan, you could get her killed.”

Dalir backed off. He’d do it Thane’s way for now. They’d already wasted too much time.

Thane gave Colby the go-ahead signal to scout the area. The blond man had tied his hair in a camouflaged scarf. His boots silent, dark shirt and camouflage pants blending into the shadows, he disappeared into the trees.

Silence engulfed them.

The passing minutes stretched Dalir’s patience, tortured his sanity. It was as if he could hear Ari crying out for him. He should have watched her more closely after he’d found her in the lake. He’d been so focused on Kell he hadn’t considered Taliana. She should have reached out to him not Ari. Why would she involve Ari in this? She was ill-equipped to face Kell. A sick feeling swam through his gut. He’d prepared to face his own death, but not Ari’s.

Leaves rustled.

Reid and Thane swiveled their aims to the left.

Colby emerged from the trees. He stopped, waiting for someone to give him the challenge word.

Reid edged a bit forward. “Kentucky.”

“Jack Daniels.” Having issued the all-clear word, letting them know he wasn’t compromised, Colby stalked to the group.

The team took a knee.

Dalir joined the huddle. “Did you see Ari.”

“No. But they’re protecting something or someone. Possibly Kell.” Colby pulled a map out of his protective vest. He laid it on the ground, then pointed. “Three sets of guards, two men each at the base and midway up the mountain, here, here and here. Whatever they’re concerned about is between these positions. From their patrol patterns, they’re looking for trouble coming up to them from the south or the east, not coming straight down. We own the high ground. It’s quiet. We still have the element of surprise.”

But for how long? Dalir stood. “I’m faster and stronger than all of you. I have the best chance of finding Ari and catching Kell off guard.”

Thane shook his head. “It’s too risky.”

Nothing was too big of a risk if he could save her life and minimize anyone from the team getting hurt. “Two objectives, remember? Take down Red Path Anarchy and my brother. Kell is mine.”

Henshaw hauled Ari through the trees.

Branches and stones littered the ground. Heat baked the woods. Sweet and earthy smells mixed unpleasantly with the odor of sweat.

Ari’s legs were heavy, her feet numb.

Henshaw and the other man were barely winded. The two men dragged and shoved her up the rocky, mountain trail.

Partway up, guards with guns stood outside an opening.

No. Not a cave. She stumbled.

Henshaw glared. His fingers bit into her arm. “I’m not carrying you. Stay on your feet or I’m dropping you off the ledge.” He jerked is chin at the other man. “I’ve got this. Get on the radio. Tell the others to haul ass. We need them up here now. Tell everyone to keep their eyes open for trouble.”

Henshaw shoved her into a gaping hole in the mountain.

The top and sides, reinforced with wood beams and metal braces, seemed to close in on her. Round lights, hanging every few feet from up above cast shadows.

Ari’s heart pounded faster. She grew lightheaded. Heat rushed over her, but a chill clung inside her. She forced her legs to cooperate. One step. Then another, deeper and deeper into the cave.

As they moved forward, the tunnel widened into a chamber.

Kell sat in a large wood chair dressed in black tactical gear. The back of it had points rising up as if he wore a crown on his golden head. “I’m surprised she’s still walking, Henshaw. I would have expected you to have her pleading for mercy by now.”