King 02 - Breathless (31 page)

Then just as suddenly I was out of the water, and once again he had me by the arms.

“Water cleans the body, but it takes more than that to purify the soul,” Rev. Pryce muttered. The glaze over his eyes terrified me; it dawned on me that he was moving even further beyond the reach of rationality, and I was in very real danger.

“Reverend Pryce—please!” I begged. “I’ll repent or whatever you want me to do. Only—please, let me out of here.”

“Yes, you’ll do anything to save your life. But what are you willing to do to save your soul? Don’t you understand that sacrifices are required? If you give up this life, you may gain eternity.”

Even in the midst of the intense afternoon heat, I shivered. My back was to the shore, but since I couldn’t hear any other thoughts, I knew we were still isolated. Desperation gripped me.

He pushed me down again so that I could only just barely keep my face above the water line. Through gritted teeth, he ground out, “Do you REPENT?”

“Please—yes, I repent—” Tears were running down my face and my breath came in sobs. Whether he heard me or not, I don’t know, for in the next instance I was under the water again.

This time I hadn’t been able to take a breath in preparation, and within a very few seconds my lungs were screaming for air. I thrashed about in a fruitless attempt to gain footing. My head was fuzzy, and I had a weak thought that it might just be easier to give up and draw in the gulp of water that would end all of this. Images of Michael… my parents… Marly and Luke flashed through my mind, but they all seemed so very far away.

As I teetered there on the edge, I vaguely heard a voice… was Reverend Pryce speaking again? What did he want now? But then I thought it wasn’t him. The voice was almost familiar, but even that realization couldn’t distract me from the suffocating pain in my chest.

“Daddy, no!” Cara’s scream cut through my haze. I wasn’t certain if I heard her inside my head or without. There was a disturbance somewhere near me, and then other hands were grabbing at me, pulling me up.

“Tasmyn!” Somehow, incredibly, Rafe was there, and bless him, he was holding me above the lake.

I gasped in a long sweet breath, and my head cleared a little. Water was still pouring from my hair, over my face, but I saw that Reverend Pryce was screaming at Cara, who stood waist-deep several feet away from us.

“Get away from here!” he shouted. “You have no idea what kind of evil she is. Let me finish my work!”

“Tasmyn, are you all right?” Rafe’s face was intent with concern for me, and I could feel his worry. I pushed it away even as I continued to cough and choke. A strong wind blew over the lake, and my teeth chattered.

“Please,” I begged. “Just get me out of here. Just to where I can put my feet down…”

Swiftly Rafe gathered me closer to him and sloughed through the water onto the beach. I heard him debating about whether or not to set me down.

“I’m all right,” I insisted. “P-put me down, please.”

He obeyed reluctantly, but my feet weren’t quite ready to hold me up. I swayed unsteadily, and he pulled me against him again.

“Whoa.” Carefully, Rafe lowered me so that I was sitting on the rocky ground. “Is that better?”

I nodded and hugged my legs to my chest, trying to stop the shivering. I looked back out at the lake. Cara still stood in the water, pleading with her father.

“Are you okay for now? I’m going back out there. He’s crazy. I don’t want Cara—” He didn’t finish the sentence, but I was already shaking my head.

“Go. Get them out of there.”

I watched Rafe run awkwardly through the water. He took Cara’s arm, but she shook him off impatiently. I could hear her mind clearly, and my heart broke for her.

Daddy, please. Stop this.My father is insane. He tried to kill one of my friends. What am I going to do? How will I save him?

“Reverend Pryce,” Rafe called. “Come on now. Come out of the water. You’re upsetting Cara.”

“EVIL CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO SPREAD!” Rev. Pryce’s voice carried across the lake. “You cannot see it. It’s my duty—my obligation—to stop this here. It has to end here.” His eyes darted toward me, and I could hear him thinking wildly about how he could get to me again.

Just as I was considering whether or not my legs would support me yet, I heard the rumble of a car engine from the woods behind us. Doors slammed, and a rush of wonderfully familiar thoughts flowed into my head. Marly and Luke.

A moment later they were there on the beach. Marly spotted me right away and was at my side in an instant.

“Luke! Grab a blanket from the car!” she yelled back over her shoulder. She pulled me into a tight hug.

“Sweetie, are you all right? You’re dripping. What happened? Michael called, said he was sure you were in trouble—something about the phone and Reverend Pryce.” The person in question chose that minute to yell once again. I saw that Rafe had reached Cara and had one protective arm around her shoulder.

“Reverend Pryce—he took me. And he said—” My teeth were still chattering, and I was having a hard time talking around them. “I-I needed redemption or repentance. He kept putting me under the w-water…”

Marly held me tighter, and I heard her swear softly under her breath. “Are you hurt anywhere? Should I call for an ambulance?”

“No!” I almost shouted. “No ambulance. I’m just wet and cold.”

Marly was looking out at trio still in the lake. “Who’s that with Cara and Pryce?”

“His name is Rafe. He’s a friend of ours. He pulled me out of the water—got me away from Reverend Pryce.”

Luke ran down the beach to us and wrapped a thick blanket around me. Marly pulled it tight and leaned toward Luke to fill him in on what was going on.

“Should I go out there?” Luke wondered. “Are they in danger?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Not Cara and Rafe, anyway. There’s a part of Reverend Pryce that still wants to come out here to me and put me under the water for good.” I could hear his mind very clearly now. “But there’s also a big part of him that realizes what he’s done—and is horrified. Cara…” I listened silently for a moment. “Cara is getting through to him. She used Jonas… it’s working.”

“Who’s Jonas?” Luke asked.

“I’ll tell you all about it later,” I murmured. “I think they’re coming now.”

And they were. Rafe and Cara were on either side of her father, leading him slowly out of the water and onto the shore. Neither of the Pryces would meet my eye, but Rafe cast me a meaningful glance, and I heard what he was thinking.

They’re in so much pain, Tas. Both of them. I could help them. I could make it so they know they have to leave you alone but can’t remember… what happened out here.

I didn’t have to consider for too long. The anguish pouring out of father and daughter hurt my heart. I gave Rafe a small nod.

Okay. You need to get out of here. If I’m limiting the adjustment to a few people, it’s easier if there’s no one else around. Tell me where you’re going and I’ll meet you there.

I turned to Marly. “Could we leave? Take me home to Sawood, please. I just want to be away from here.”

“Of course, sweetie.” She helped me stand, venturing one glance back at the Pryces and Rafe.

“Are they okay?” she asked in a low tone.

“Rafe will take care of them,” I replied. “It’s all right. Let’s go.”

The ride to Sawood was mostly silent. I could hear Marly and Luke’s curiosity and concern, but they were giving me space. I loved them all the more for it.

All the afternoon’s events spun through my head. I flashed back to the clearing and the absolute headiness of connecting my energy—could I say my power?—with Marica’s. It was easier to remember that than what happened afterward.

I shuddered, and once more I heard Marly wondering how I had come to be at the lake with Reverend Pryce. It dawned on me that only three people knew that he had taken me from the clearing—Marica, Reverend Pryce and me. If Rafe did his job, Reverend Pryce wouldn’t be able to remember that, and I knew Marica wouldn’t say anything. I could avoid that complication, for now at least.

We were back in the cabin before anyone began asking questions. Marly had given me some of Lela’s sweats in exchange for my sopping wet clothes, and I was wrapped in my favorite worn quilt, huddled on the sofa with some of Marly’s cocoa.

“So…” Luke began. “Do you think you can tell us what happened this afternoon?”

I bit my lip and squirmed a little. “He… Reverend Pryce just… he came and he was acting so strange… he forced me into the car, and that was when Michael called. I thought if he heard me talking, he might figure out I was in trouble. I guess it worked.” It dawned on me that I hadn’t called him since we left the lake. I looked from Marly to Luke in alarm. “Oh! I need to call Michael!”

“Don’t worry. I talked to him while you were changing. He said he’s been trying to call you and he was pretty frantic. It kept going right to voice mail.”

I frowned, trying to remember where my phone was. Had I left it Reverend Pryce’s car, or was it at the bottom of the lake?

“Why did he take you to the lake?” Luke wanted to know.

“He said that I needed to repent and find redemption. I think he was trying to… to drown the evil in me. He said something about sacrificing my life for eternity.” I recalled the madness in his mind and my chest tightened.

“Oh, Tas…” Marly crossed the room and sat down next to me, pulling me into her arms. “I’m sorry, honey. I can’t believe this. He seemed—”

“So normal?” Luke finished wryly. He sighed heavily. “The truth is, we all knew what he thought about Tasmyn. We just didn’t realize he was going to act on it.”

There was the sound at the door, and I heard Rafe’s mind before he knocked. He was tense and brooding.

Luke opened the door and threw me a quick glance before ushering Rafe inside. I pulled myself together to make introductions.

“Marly, Luke, this is Rafe Brooks. You did that party for his grandparents, remember? Rafe, these are Michael’s parents.”

The three of them nodded to each other, an air of cautious acceptance flowing all around. Rafe turned to me.

“It’s all done. They’re back at home. I told Cara’s mom that Rev. Pryce went crazy on you at school, that he was accusing you of some pretty wild stuff. Cara said that it had gone too far. They were all very shaken.” He fished in his pocket and tossed me something. My cell phone landed in my lap, and I heard Rafe again clearly.

Found it in Pryce’s car. It’s been buzzing the whole time.

The Sawyers were looking from Rafe to me in bewilderment. I laid my head on the back of the sofa and closed my eyes.

“Rafe, I have to explain to Luke and Marly,” I said. I heard the quick flare of rebellion in his mind before he grudgingly agreed. Without lifting my head, I opened my eyes and swiveled to look at Marly.

“Rafe can manipulate the perception of time. He... adjusted Cara’s and Rev. Pryce’s memories of what happened today so that they don’t know how bad it was. With my full agreement,” I added quickly.

There was silence. Rafe, still standing near the door, shuffled his feet nervously. Marly finally spoke.

“You’re from one of King’s first families, aren’t you?” she mused. “I see. And I suppose he knows about your ability, too?” She turned to me with raised eyebrows.