Dealers of Light (40 page)

The remaining eight Takers rushed into the room.

“What is it, Master?” Chuck said, brows pulled together.

“Take care of the mess outside and quickly.”

The Takers flew out the door and Desmond slammed it shut behind them. He punched in the code for the alarm again, but it stayed yellow. He beat the pad with his fist.

He swirled to face the stairs
, a shock of fear running through him.
The stone!
He rushed up the steps two at a time and ran down the hall to the library where the stone rested in its regal gold statue. Frozen in horror, he stood in the doorway and watched an older man and a woman clawing at the stone.

“You will die for this,” he said in a low snarl. His anger burned like an inferno
that urged him forward. He would destroy them.

###

“I don’t think so,” Cara said and her eyes shifted to the right of Desmond where Rolf waited.

Desmond
glared, and he swung around to face Rolf.

“You
,” Desmond screamed, his hands coming up, fingers curled into claws.

Rolf launched himself forward and landed on
Desmond. They fell to the floor, Rolf’s hands clenched on Desmond’s neck.

“Run, Cara. Take the stone,” Rolf said between gritted teeth
as Desmond clawed at his arms.

Cara pried the stone loose from its holder with
shaky fingers. It finally came out, and she shuddered at the absolute coldness radiating from its smooth surface.

She grabbed Alistair’s arm and
yanked him from the room as Rolf and Desmond wrestled on the floor, grunting and cursing.
At least we have the stone now
. Marc, Tor, Shana and Amber rushed into the hall from the side room housing the computers.

A car’s tires squealed out front. Cara ran to the window overlooking the street. The gang had taken down about half of the Takers. The
Takers lay battered and bleeding on the street, but a car had pulled at an angle to the curb and four men jumped out to join the fray.

“Bad news,”
she said. The front door slammed open and yells echoed up the stairs. “They must have realized the Rolf sighting was a decoy and come back.”

Cara thrust the stone into Alistair’s hands and pushed him further down the hall
. “
Get ready to fight
,” she yelled to the others.

Tor didn’t wait. He jumped on the man in
the lead coming up the stairs. The impact sent him and the man behind him crashing down to the landing. Cara, Shana and Marc ran after them, down to the foyer and living room. The bodies tangled and flailed, finally separating, and the fighting started in earnest.

The front door
hung open and the fight flowed in and out as Takers struggled between the street gang outside and the Dealer gang inside. Cara kicked and hit, her body instinctively falling into the rhythm of the techniques they’d learned. Amber creeped down the stairs holding a black stone statue in her hands with Alistair behind her. Cara pressed the attack, forcing the man she fought back toward the staircase. Amber brought the stone figure down on his head, and he dropped to the floor.

Cara gave her a thumbs
-up and whirled to help her friends when a few of the outside Takers rushed inside. Tor’s round-house kick lifted his man from his feet and slammed him against the wall. When she saw the man crumple to a heap it gave her a surge of hope. 

Shana punched her opponent in the stomach
, and he doubled over. She brought her knee up under his chin, snapping his head back. Cara grabbed the poker from the fireplace and swung it with all her might at the man’s head. She flinched as a curtain of blood erupted from the impact and splattered the walls. The man went down drenched in red. Her stomach heaved, and she staggered backward. Shana caught her arm and kept her from falling, but it didn’t stop her scream of horror at what she had done.

Marc
struggled with a Taker in the doorway and finally flipped the man over his hip to send a blow to the man’s head. The Taker grunted and twitched. Tor and Shana ran to the other Takers and checked to see if they were all dead. Outside, the battle raged on.

Marc
knelt beside his victim who still moved and put his fingers on the bend of his elbow. Marc’s portal.

“
Marc, what are you doing?” Cara screeched, her heart turning to ice.

Shana and Tor’s footsteps
echoed behind her. Amber and Alistair gaped, frozen on the stairs. Marc looked up and the mask of ecstasy melted from his face, replaced with guilt. He jumped to his feet, backing toward the open door, pale and trembling.

“
Marc?” Shana walked forward, eyes wide. She glanced at Cara. “What’s going on?”

“Tell her,
Marc.” Cara crossed her arms, hoping to stop her shivering and keep the contents of her stomach in place.

“Dude, were you taking his
Light
?” Tor moved up beside Shana, frowning.

Shana turned back to
Marc, mouth hanging open.

“Oh, God, Shan!”
Marc reached out shaking hands to her. “I’m so sorry. But you don’t understand. It was the girl in the ER. The one I saved. During the process of saving her, some of her tortured Light passed into me. I saw all those images of what was done to her and I felt what the Takers felt.” He put his hands to the sides of his head. “God help me, but it was addictive. Torture. I had to have it again and again.”

“You’ve been
killing
people?” Shana pressed her hands to her face, and tears rose in her eyes.

He nodded and tears coursed down his
own white cheeks as he grimaced. He tugged at his hair, eyes gone wild. “Yes, I’ve killed people. It’s horrible. Me, a doctor. I don’t want to do it, but I can’t escape the need. You don’t know what it’s like. I’m tortured from morning till night. If I don’t have it, I’ll die. Shana, please understand?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Shana’s voice quivered and a sob escaped her lips. “We could have helped you.”

“No.” Marc shook his head back and forth like a crazed animal. He hugged his arms around his chest. “There’s no help. You heard what Rolf said. I’ll just keep killing until I turn completely evil. I’ll be one of
them
. A Taker.”

He sank down on his knees
, sobbing, and Shana stepped forward, arms outstretched, body wracked with sobs, but Tor grabbed her elbow. “No, Shan. It’s too late. Stay away.”

Shana jerked away from him, fire coming back to her eyes. “It’s my
Marc. I have to help him. There has to be a way.”

“Shana, no!”
Alistair called from the stairs.

Everything happened in a flash.
Marc came to his feet. A flicker of hope shone in his eyes. Then suddenly his expression went dark, he snarled, and reached for her throat. Shana put up her hands to grab his and screamed. Marc gasped, his eyes went wide and his arms flew out to the sides. He fell toward Shana, taking her to the floor, falling limp over her body. A pearl-handled knife protruded from his back, and blood seeped from the wound.

Shana scrambled from underneath him and stared at the knife. A wail erupted from her and she fell over him. “No, no, no.
Marc.
Marc!
”

Cara’s knees gave out and Tor put an arm around her waist. Tears streamed down her face and she held onto Tor. Fog consumed her brain at the unreality of this situation.
Marc, her friend. One of the best people she knew.

Amber rushed down the steps to Shana, and
Nicki stepped through the doorway. Her eyes were round, staring at Marc. She yanked the knife out and backed away. Cara motioned for her to leave and mouthed a ‘thank you.’ Nicki gave a stiff nod, then turned and ran down the street.

Shouts from upstairs yanked Cara back into the moment
. “We have to help Rolf!”

Tor
released her. He rushed up the steps, and she ran close behind. Alistair backed down the hall, clutching the light blue stone in both hands. As they reached the opening to the library, Rolf and Desmond tumbled onto the landing.

The group retreated down the hall
, away from the steps, forced back by the two men locked in their deadly struggle. Cara crouched, ready to help. The others stood with arms out, poised as well, but the men threw wild punches, kicks, and moved so fast no one could make a move to assist.

Desmond
launched Rolf backward, and he crashed into Tor. Desmond’s eyes darted to Alistair and the stone. His lips curled in a sinister grin, and he reached out with one hand. Before anyone could move, the stone emitted a white glow. Alistair’s body trembled and his eyes bulged out. The stone tumbled from his hands and rolled across the floor toward Desmond.

“No!” Cara yelled.

Alistair’s mouth fell open, and he stood frozen, staring at the stone.

Cara launched herself and fell on top of the opal.
An incomprehensible coldness ate into her bones.

“Rolf
.” She reached out a hand to where he’d landed on the floor beside Tor. If she could just reach him and form the shield, they’d be able to stop Desmond’s power over the stone. Rolf crawled, throwing his body forward, hand outstretched.

Too late
. A white flash enveloped her and the world went black.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Three days later, Rolf stood on the side deck, gazing at the marina in their new location: St. Michael’s, Maryland.  Under the bright sunshine, a couple strolled down the dock holding hands, and a knife of pain sliced through his heart. Dusty whimpered and pressed his head against Rolf’s knee.

Too late
, Rolf had realized the depth of his love for Cara, and what he had wasted with his foolish fears. They could have had more days of happiness if he’d only trusted his heart as Sakhet had urged. “Cara,” he whispered and the breeze carried her name away, lost in the cry of gulls and the splash of water against the hull.

He hung his head and
, after a few seconds, entered the salon. Everyone stopped talking as he paused on the threshold. Amber’s eyelids appeared puffy and red. She leaned against Tor, and Shana sat on the couch beside Alistair, a droopy figure of grief. At least they helped each other through this tragedy. They all stared at him with sympathetic eyes, but none could ease his pain. Especially Shana, who still struggled with her own disturbing loss. His only companion, Dusty, shared his grief and followed at his heels night and day, a lost glaze over his big brown eyes.

“Hey, man,” Tor said. “You okay?”

“Do you want something to eat?” Amber leaned forward. “Tea?”

“I’m fine.” He closed the door behind him
as he faced the room.

Shana shifted in her seat.
“Rolf, what are we going to do now?”

“We can’t just sit here at the dock forever.” Tor rose from his chair and
crossed to Rolf. “We’ve been talking. We can help you clean up the rest of Desmond’s followers if you like. It needs to be done.”

It was something to do.
They only wanted to break him out of the fog he’d lived in since Cara’s destruction, but he had no heart for anything yet.

“You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.” He forced a half-smile. “But I can’t make a decision about anything right now.”

Tor pressed his lips together and put a hand on Rolf’s should. “I’m sorry, man. We all loved her.”

Rolf nodded and headed down the stairs, Dusty close behind.

It was only four o’clock, but exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he fell across his bed engulfed at once in a deep sleep. Dusty curled up by his side, a warm and comforting presence.

###

Cara stood naked in a field of reeds. The plants rustled in the soft breeze to brush her thighs. A bright sun in the distance cast soothing warmth on her skin. It seemed perfectly natural for her to be standing here without clothes.
Am I dead?
She gazed about her, but only reeds stretched out forever. Not exactly how she’d pictured Heaven.

Walking was like wading upstream. Her leg movements felt rusty. But with each step, her stride smoothed and lengthened. She strolled forward, her arms stretched out to the sides so her fingers trailed the tops of the reeds.
How long have I been here?

She
continued on but distinguished no passing of time. Raising her hand, she shaded her eyes from the blinding sun. Suddenly, before her an oasis appeared and she halted. Palm trees encircled a patch of plush, green grass. A small stream bubbled out of the ground in a basin of rock. Beside the stream, an old woman sat in a wooden chair, knitting.

Emmie
? Confusion warred with happiness in Cara’s breast.

A
beautiful Egyptian woman in a white linen shift stood beside Emmie with one hand on the old woman’s shoulder. Lustrous black hair grazed the Egyptian’s shoulders and bangs brushed her dark eyebrows