Dark Warrior (18 page)
Authors: Rebecca York
“I see it all around you. Like a gray cloak.”
That wasn’t reassuring news. Tessa considered asking for more information. Perhaps this woman could help her. And do something that the Ionians had not? She dismissed that notion quickly.
After a polite, “No thank you,” she moved off, wondering if she had made the wrong decision about coming here as she turned the corner and hurried past horse-drawn carriages waiting along the curb. When she saw a man striding purposefully toward her, she stopped short.
Dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, he was young and good-looking, with dark hair and an arrogant posture that told her he was very sure of himself.
She was certain she had never met him before, but she was instantly certain who he was. The Minot who had stopped Sophia on the road. She had described him, but knowing who he was now had more to do with his attitude and posture than his looks.
Glancing wildly around for an escape route, she spotted the cathedral again and realized why she had seen it in her future.
She could take refuge there.
Before the man got within twenty yards of her, she turned and ran, dodging tourists and locals alike as she made for the church. If she could get inside, she’d be safe. He wouldn’t dare do anything in a house of worship.
Or would he?
She pounded down the sidewalk, hearing him keep pace with her and wondered why. Probably he could catch her at any time, but he was letting her run.
Had he done that with Sophia?
Tessa had vowed not to tell her sisters where she was. Now, in desperation, her mind went out to Sophia.
He’s found me. I’m in New Orleans. He’s found me here. You’ve got to help me.
He’s found me. I’m in New Orleans. He’s found me here. You’ve got to help me.
She had no idea if the message got through. Probably not, because she was so far away.
But she had to try, because she realized she’d been a fool. She’d run away from the one place where she might have been safe.
He’s found me. In New Orleans. Help me. Please help me
, she repeated as she ran, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs.
, she repeated as she ran, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs.
She climbed the steps to the main door of the church and pulled. When the door didn’t open, she cried out, dodged to the side, and went running down an alley along the side of the building.
“Hey,” someone shouted behind her. “Leave the lady alone.”
There was some kind of angry exchange. Maybe even a fight, but she didn’t stop to find out what was going on. She just kept running. If she could get around the building, she could disappear, and he wouldn’t find her. Then she’d leave her bag at the B and B and take the first plane home where she’d be safe. Or would he look for her at the airport? Maybe she should take a taxi out of town. It didn’t matter how much it cost. She had the money.
How had he found her in New Orleans? She didn’t know. She only knew she had to get away.
After turning the corner, she kept going along the back of the church, heading for the next street. Her side hurt now, her chest burned, and she didn’t know how long she could keep running at this pace.
She thought she might have escaped until he came up behind her again, his hot breath rasping in her ears. Reaching out, he drew her to him, pressing the front of his body to the back of hers.
“It’s all right. Everything’s going to be all right,” he said in a voice that sounded strangely normal.
“No. Please, let me go.”
“It’s not what you think. I’m not going to force anything on you. You’ll like being with me.”
He pressed something against her arm, and she realized he’d stuck a needle in her flesh. Then everything turned hazy, and she sagged against him.
Behind her, she could hear someone speaking.
“Is she all right? What’s going on?”
“Everything’s fine. She’s not used to the big city and she had one of her panic attacks. Haven’t you, darling?”
She tried to answer, tried to call out for help, but she knew her words were garbled.
“I’m going to take her back to our hotel, where she can relax.”
She was too limp to fight him. He lifted her into his arms and carried her away, striding around the corner. She wanted to struggle, but she felt too warm and woozy.
“That’s it, darling,” he murmured. “Just let me take care of everything. You’re going to be fine. I promise.”
Would she?
They’d always told her that the Minot were dangerous. Could she have been mistaken?
No. He had drugged her. That was why she felt so weird. So confused.
SOMETHING
jolted through Jason. He couldn’t say what it was. Something that had zinged into his brain. Like when he and Sophia had been in the cave. He’d read her thoughts then. Now he sensed another mental message, but he couldn’t make it come clear. All he knew was that she needed him, and he had to go to her.
jolted through Jason. He couldn’t say what it was. Something that had zinged into his brain. Like when he and Sophia had been in the cave. He’d read her thoughts then. Now he sensed another mental message, but he couldn’t make it come clear. All he knew was that she needed him, and he had to go to her.
He had driven past the spa a few minutes ago. Reversing directions, he headed back toward the access road, then continued toward the front gate.
The guard came out of his house and stopped him. “We’re closed until further notice,” he said.
“I know. I’m Dr. Jason Tyron, the veterinarian. There’s an emergency down at the stables.”
“I wasn’t informed.”
“They might not have called you, but you’d better let me through
.”
.”
“I’m going to check on that.”
With a silent curse, Jason waited tensely while the guard called up to the main building. Jason had told a stupid lie, but it was the first thing that had popped into his head. When the guard got off the phone, his expression was stony.
“There’s no record of them having sent for you.” Jason balled his hands into fists. He could pound the man into the ground, then break through the wooden barrier and speed into the compound. And then what? Prove that he was the barbarian they thought he was.
“All right,” he said, backing the truck up. He shot the man another glance and saw the guy was watching him carefully. Maybe getting ready to call the cops, and Jason wasn’t going to be very effective if he was in jail.
Teeth gritted, he turned his vehicle around and drove back down the road, making it look like he was going away.
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
NINETEEN
SOMETHING BAD HAD happened. Sophia felt it in every fiber of her being. Tessa was in trouble, and she had tried to call out to her sister.
But she was far away. Sophia had gotten only the glimmer of a message. And at the same time, she had sensed the touch of Jason’s mind. But how?
“Jason?”
He wasn’t here. She’d sent him away. Maybe she’d only
wanted
to think she felt his presence.
wanted
to think she felt his presence.
She hurried back to her room and got out the candles and cloth that turned the table in her room into an altar. Then she knelt before it, eyes closed and hands clasped in supplications.
“Help me,” she whispered, calling on the life force of the earth. “Help me know what has happened to my sister, Tessa.”
JASON’S
vision blurred. One moment he was driving his truck away from the spa, staring at the road ahead. In the next moment, he caught a vision of Sophia kneeling in front of an altar. In her bedroom, he thought.
vision blurred. One moment he was driving his truck away from the spa, staring at the road ahead. In the next moment, he caught a vision of Sophia kneeling in front of an altar. In her bedroom, he thought.
He hadn’t seen her since she’d left him yesterday on the road after their mind-blowing encounter in the cave, and he wanted to stop and marvel at his first view of her since they’d parted, but he knew this image wasn’t coming to him for his enjoyment.
Before he ran off the road, he skidded to a stop. His heart pounded as he eased the truck onto the shoulder, cut the engine, and sat behind the wheel.
Eyes closed, he tried to open himself to Sophia, softly calling her name.
She didn’t answer, not in words, but he sensed some of her thoughts. Something had happened to Tessa. He knew that much.
An image came to him. An image of the Minot he had encountered in the desert not far from here. He saw him with Tessa. Or was he just making that up?
He tried to ask Sophia, but the vision of her snapped off as quickly as it had zinged into his mind, leaving his head spinning and his chest heaving as he struggled to drag oxygen into his lungs.
For long moments, he sat in the truck; then he started driving again, heading off the road and into the open desert. He didn’t have to go in by the front gate. There were other ways into the estate.
SOPHIA
blinked, coming out of what felt like a trance. She had seen Tessa, with the same man from the road. She still didn’t know who he was, but she could see his face more clearly this time. He was dark haired. Dark eyed. Aggressive.
blinked, coming out of what felt like a trance. She had seen Tessa, with the same man from the road. She still didn’t know who he was, but she could see his face more clearly this time. He was dark haired. Dark eyed. Aggressive.
In the background she saw a large white building that looked like a church and formal-looking palm trees. The scene was somewhere tropical, but she didn’t know where.
And she had sensed Jason, too. He was nearby. Closer than she thought.
But not close enough.
Scrambling up, she stood on shaky legs. Then she automatically followed one of the rules she had learned from childhood, carefully putting away the altar objects before leaving her room.
Tradition and training still guided her as she hurried to Cynthia’s office. When she found the high priestess at her desk, she breathed out a sigh of relief.
“I need to speak to you.”
The high priestess looked up. She was sitting at her desk in front of her computer, and her expression turned sympathetic as she took in Sophia’s anxious expression.
“You look distressed.”
“He has Tessa,” Sophia blurted.
“Who?”
“The same man who stopped me on the road.”
Cynthia nodded. “You had a vision of her with him?”
“Yes! But it wasn’t clear. I don’t know where they are. Somewhere with palm trees and a big church. I think that was the building in the ceremony we shared. But it was mixed up.”
Cynthia nodded.
“I was in contact with her. Then the connection broke. If the rest of us join me in the temple, I may be able to get more information.”
She expected Cynthia to jump up, but the high priestess stayed where she was, sitting behind her desk.
“Aren’t you going to call the others together?” she asked.
“Like we did when I came back from being ambushed on the road?”
“No.”
Shock reverberated through Sophia. Had she really heard that correctly?
“Why not? We have a chance to get Tessa back.”
Cynthia sat up straighter in her seat. “And put all of us in jeopardy. If you’re right . . .”
“I am!”
“Then he has what he wants. One of the Ionians. If he’s taken her, then the rest of us are safe.”
Sophia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’re going to sacrifice her?”
“She wanted to leave. Maybe that’s what she had in mind. Sometimes the sacrifice of one is necessary for the good of the order.”
“You mean if I hadn’t come back the other night, you would have just left me with him?”
“I would have thought carefully about the incident. And I would have tried to get more information. Before you came back, we didn’t know what had happened. When you got to the spa, it was clear that you wanted to be with your sisters.”
“Please, can’t we ask the others what they think? Don’t we get a vote? Like when we voted to close the spa.”
“In that case, I wanted a consensus. But that was my choice. The order is not a democracy. In times of crisis, my word is final.”
Sophia wanted to scream. Forcing her voice to an even timbre, she said, “Do you know about Julia or Chandra or Linda?”
She couldn’t tell from Cynthia’s face if she recognized the names or not. Did a high priestess pass on secrets to her successor, things that an ordinary Ionian didn’t know?
When the other woman didn’t speak, Sophia went on. “They all left the order and didn’t come back.”
“How do you know?”
“Tessa found the record of their names in the great book, but there was no mention of their deaths.”
“If they left the order, then it’s over. Whatever happened.”
Sophia was aghast at the callous answer. At the same time, she wondered what she had intended to say. That she’d met Julia’s son, and maybe he could help get Tessa back?
Realizing that was the wrong tack, she pressed her lips together. If a previous high priestess could let one of the sisters go, Cynthia could do the same thing.
In the face of Cynthia’s stony stare, she turned and walked out of the office, stiffening her legs to keep from toppling over.
She hurried down the hall, out of the building, and into the sunlight, surprised that it was so bright after the dark atmosphere of Cynthia’s office.
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