The Dark Rising (18 page)

“Come back to me, Portia,” he said as I moved my hand to airily brush my fingers over his lips, and he closed his eyes in response to the contact, his breath catching for a moment before he exhaled deeply.  “I need you,” his voice pleaded with me, desire laced through it.

“I can’t,” I responded, but I closed the gap in between us, wrapping my arms around his neck.  “Not yet.”

“You’re speaking again,” he said, though he still didn’t open his eyes.

I couldn’t help myself.  I reached up and placed my lips against his, rubbing them back and forth as I attempted to kiss him in the way which I so desperately wanted too.

I was totally lost in the sensitivity of that moment and I imagined myself being solid in his arms.  Instantly I was.  He grabbed me around the waist, pulling me roughly to him and I groaned out loud when he deepened the kiss, assaulting me with heated lips.

My hands tangled into his hair and I clawed at him, trying to get even closer to him, starving for his touch.

He let out a soft moan and he pushed me backward until I found myself pressed up against a tree.  His hands moved to cradle my face, twisting his tongue together with mine in a time old dance and I thought my heart would pop out of my chest.

“I want you.  Here, now,” he spoke into my mind.  I felt him shuffling through my thoughts.

I released him in horror, trying to break the link he’d created.  Realizing the whole thing had been an illusion, my heart sank to my toes.  He’d managed to tap into my mental awareness somehow, conjuring a fake little make out session for my benefit while he tried to gain information to my whereabouts.  We still stood in the exact same location we’d previously been, neither having moved an inch.

“Stop!” I yelled, crushing my head between both of my hands, trying to find a way to close him out.  “Leave me alone!” I cried pathetically.

“Ah, now … you don’t really want me to do that, do you baby?” he said seductively.  “I can taste your desire.  Come back to me, Portia.  I need you.”

I needed to wake up to break the connection and quickly.  I forced myself to take several steps away from him.  His eyes popped open and I knew the second he lost the direction of my location because he wasn’t inside me any longer.  He glanced about, searching for me.

“Hold still!” he said gritting his teeth, frantically trying to sense me again.

I sobbed to myself, taking one more look at him before turning around to run back through the bayou.

I sat straight up in bed, panting, my chest heaving with heavy sobs.

Hex was at my side in an instant.  “You’re okay.  It’s just a dream,” he said, attempting to calm me with his soothing voice.

I tried to compose myself enough to speak.  “No.  It was way more than a dream.  I linked with him somehow.  He got into my head.”  I moaned as I buried my face into my hands.  “It was all so real.”

“What happened?”

“He used his magic to trick me,” I whispered with horror.

“Then we need to make sure it never happens again!” Hex stated firmly.

Learning to close my mind against Vance’s probes was brutal.  The first thing I learned, was Hex was a tough teacher.  He expected, no, demanded my complete attention and concentration.

He taught me ways to build mental barriers and then attacked those barriers using several different forms of distraction, the foremost being he would use his jinn powers to slip into my head and possess my thoughts.  Every time he succeeded in doing it, I was rewarded with a painful shock down my spine, and I had to start all over again.

It was helping though.  I felt my resistance to him building, causing him to take longer to get through my psychological blockades.  The mental exhaustion was beginning to overtake me after working at this for two days solid, only breaking for meals.

At night I would plop onto the soft cot made up for me, covered in a sheen of sweat, looking like I’d done an intense aerobic workout for hours, often too exhausted to even dream, let alone reconnect with Vance.

During our breaks for eating, Hex would fill me in on anything and everything he knew about the jinn.  Most of his information had been gathered from myths and folklore, then tested on himself to see if he could do them.

He’d discovered he had the ability to evaporate, as he called it, and re-appear in a new location.  He was only capable of doing it for small distances of a few feet, but he could do it in rapid succession which helped him cover more distance. 

He also learned by trial and error he could to slip into people’s minds enough to control their thoughts for a brief moment.  Most times he was only able to affect one thought, maybe two, before he needed to exit the space.  He attributed that to the fact he was still mostly human and couldn’t fully possess someone like an actual jinni would be able to.

The other thing he’d discovered was he had incredible speed capabilities for a significant amount of time before physical fatigue set in.  He’d applied his swiftness to some intense weapons training, becoming a formidable fighter. 

These were all things he hoped to pass on and train me to do.  Every day he asked me if I was ready to try it out and I kept putting him off, telling him to ask me the next day while I continued to consider.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him.  I just worried there might be unseen side effects.  After all, he was born with these capabilities, I was altering my DNA.  I tried to weigh out the pros and cons of such a decision. 

Hex decided to go into one of the neighboring towns to purchase some supplies.  He was also going to contact my family for me to help alleviate any worries they were experiencing. He left strict instructions for me that if I heard a knock on the door, not to open it under any circumstances.  He knew how to get back in without detection, so anyone who came knocking would not be him.

I asked him if he’d had visitors come strolling by before. He told me I was the only person, beside him, who’d ever seen the place.  I found this information interesting.

My mind wandered over thoughts about why he felt he could trust me enough to bring me here.  What if I’d been some crazy witch who would’ve told all of his secrets? 

Of course, there was the fact of my being chased by a demon warlock and he’d probably slipped into my head to read a few thoughts long before I awakened.

I didn’t know how I felt about that.

I sat up, and stood to walk around the bunker a bit.  The place was comprised of five rooms.  This one, the main living quarters, held a small but tidy kitchen area down one wall with a dining table out in front.  In the middle of the room sat a single sofa and one end table with a lamp.  The sofa faced the opposite wall from the kitchen pointing toward a tiny television, with a built in DVD player on a table.  A few documentary DVDs occupied the shelf beneath.

On the two remaining walls were our respective bedrooms.  Those consisted of a cot and a nightstand with a couple of drawers for belongings.  Both of the nightstands were Hex’s, but he’d emptied one and moved it to my wall after my arrival.  Not that I had anything with me, my drawers were empty. 

Hex scrounged up some old sweat suits of his, giving me something to be my personal wardrobe.  They were way too big for me, but I didn’t complain because, well, they were clothes.

I asked him to please let me wash out Vance’s bloodstained shirt because I couldn’t bear to let it go, it being the only thing I had left of his.  I’d awakened the next morning to find it freshly laundered and repaired—a kind gesture that brought a bit of moisture to my eyes.

Continuing on my way down the hall, I passed by the tiny bathroom/laundry area to Hex’s office.  This room was full of shelves, from floor to ceiling, and every available space had been crammed with books except for the spot which held a tidy desk.  It was clear he spent most of his free time reading.

I perused the books, dragging my fingers over them.  They were all heavy subjects.  This guy had a serious head on his shoulders, he was definitely smart.

I soon grew bored of browsing through the titles though, so I left and wandered into the doorway of Hex’s science lab.  I didn’t dare enter for fear I would do something to disturb some of the sensitive equipment or a possible experiment.

I turned away and walked across the hallway into the gymnasium, which was what I had dubbed the space since there always seemed to be some kind of workout going on here.

Walking over to the mirrored wall, I popped out the panel containing the refrigerated vials.  I knew exactly what space the item I looked for was lying in. 

I reached in and pulled out the clear test tube with the blue swirling liquid, rolling it gently back and forth between my fingers.  I contemplated what doing this could possibly mean for me.

Hex was the only reason I was even alive now.  He had no responsibility toward me.  He didn’t have to bring me here.  He’d made a conscious choice, taken a risk.  Didn’t he deserve the same from me? 

He had been nothing but kind and helpful to me from the moment of my arrival, earning my trust, easily, naturally.  What was I afraid of?

If I left this bunker right now, Vance would find me and kill me.  Even though my blood had regenerated, and I felt closer to my old self, I was no match for him.

Could these jinn powers work for me?
I thought to myself while I studied the contents of the tube.

It was a way to even out the score and possess powers which Vance didn’t have.  This would give me added protection in addition to the things Hex was teaching me. 

The only real way I could ever move around without Vance always being one step behind me was to do this.  And the only way I could possibly hope to save him was to keep ahead of him.

I lifted his shirt, which I was wearing, and rubbed it slightly across my cheek.  Taking a deep sigh, I wondered if I’d ever feel the shirt on his body rubbing up against my skin again.  Would he ever kiss me in the heat of passion?  Would I hear him whisper he loved me in that soft, sultry voice of his?  Would I live long enough for him to remember our past together of his own accord?  Would he ever remember his past at all?

I came to my decision at that precise moment.

Not taking this opportunity meant the absolute death of our relationship and no chance at redemption for Vance.  It would mean my literal death too.  He’d continue to hunt me, even though my blood no longer contained the power he so badly craved.  It was just like Krista had said.  I had become his meal of choice.  He’d be on the rampage until he found me.

I replaced the vial onto the refrigerated shelf and pushed the mirrored door closed.  I leaned against the panel, letting out a sigh as I listened to the many thoughts ruffling their way through my head.

“So have you made up your mind?” Hex’s voice permeated the silent air around me, and I jumped slightly before turning to face where he stood in the doorway.

“Yes,” I said, looking straight into his gentle brown eyes.

“And?” he replied, lifting an eyebrow in question.

“I’m going to do it.”

Hex’s smile radiated out across his face.

“Good.  I’m glad,” he said.  “And not just because I get to use you as a guinea pig.  I really think it will help you, if it works.”

I nodded in agreement.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what made you decide to do it?” he asked curiously.

My eyes instantly misted up.  “I love Vance more than anything in this world, even myself.  I’m sure that’s difficult for you to understand.  How could a girl like me be so crazy over a demon warlock who has no sense of right or wrong?  But this demon part of him has always been there in some regard.  It was a lingering threat, a possibility.  He fought against it though, did his best to push it away from him.  I can’t help but think if he could access his real mind again, he’d react the same way he did before.  Right now he’s being driven by all these other emotions.”

I paused and I struggled for a way to continue, one which would help him see what I was talking about. 

“If our places were switched and I was the one suffering, he’d stop at nothing to try to find a way to save me.  Even if it meant he would die trying.  I can’t do any less for him.”  I ran a hand through my hair. “I love him more than I can explain, and if I don’t try this he’ll be lost to me forever.”

Hex stepped into the room, coming closer, his face a serious mask.

“And what will you do if it comes down to the fact you need to kill him instead?” he asked me point blank and my body shivered even hearing such words spoken aloud.

I wrapped both of my arms around my mid-section, trying to hold myself together.  “I hope I won’t ever have to cross that bridge,” I answered, slightly sick.

“You need to face this.  What happens if he’s an evil that can’t be stopped?” He pushed me harder.  “Could you do it?”

I started crying, and I lifted my hands to rub them over my face.  I hesitated in answering him.

“Portia?” he questioned again, not backing down at my obvious distress.

“You’re asking me if I can kill Vance!” I sobbed.  “I just told you he’s the person I love most in this world!”

Hex came right up next to me, placing his hands on each of my shoulders, squeezing firmly.

“Because you love him, could you free him from this, if death was the only way out for him?” he asked.

I thought about this for a moment before I answered.  “Perhaps, if it was the only way to help, I’d let him go and hope to the high heavens he’d take me with him.”  I shuddered.

Hex didn’t release me, but kept staring.  Something wasn’t right here.  There was a reason he was asking me all of this.

“What aren’t you telling me?”  I searched his face.

Hex dropped his arms away from me, and my heart clenched, tightening almost painfully in anticipation of whatever bomb he was about to drop on me.

“What’s happened?” I asked.

“Vance joined with the Hoodoo coven,” he said, watching me closely.

“Okay,” I replied, drawing out the word a bit.  I sat down on the soft mat because suddenly my legs were too wobbly.  “Did they hold an actual ceremony to bind his magic to them?”