Cross Waves, page 4
“We will, Officer.” Rolf checked the time on the dash. They needed to get a move on. He used the pause to nudge the officer’s mind. The energy level was so high near the vortex it didn’t take much to enforce the command. Geneva squirmed in her seat next to him.
Without another word, the officer touched his hat, turned, and made his way to his vehicle. Rolf waited for the man to pull away from the curb and head in the opposite direction from Bell Rock.
He didn’t look at Geneva. If he did, he might find himself pulling her back into his arms. My God, he’d almost lost her tonight. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
His hands clutched the wheel, although they weren’t moving. He focused on a point in the distance. “Has this happened before? Your getting disoriented in the colors?”
She shrugged like it didn’t matter. Like her safety wasn’t important. “Once or twice. It’s worse because of the vortex, I’m guessing. Don’t worry. I’ll be more careful next time.”
A hot coal of fear burned a hole in his belly. A muscle ticked in his jaw. He sucked in a fierce breath. His voice rumbled. “There won’t be a next time. It’s too dangerous. You should have told me you were having issues tracking.”
Geneva shot him a frustrated look. “You were the one who wanted me to go to a vortex, remember? I warned you what could happen.”
He turned his head and fastened his eyes on hers. “No, you warned me you might blow me to smithereens. You said nothing about getting lost in the energy streams.” Sweat beaded on his brow, and he swiped a hand across it. “You could have been killed. You should have stayed behind and let me handle this.”
Her lips formed a thin line. “And abandon my best friend? Not happening.”
“Then you can’t do that again.” Rolf’s voice shook before he could control it. Energy flooded his fingertips, causing him to tighten his death-grip on the wheel. He had just enough control to keep it from blasting the dash into nothingness.
“Rolf, I need to trace Julia if we have any hope of finding her. That was the whole point of me coming to the vortex. Her energy is likely to be here.”
She touched his thigh as if she understood on a psychic level her touch had the power to satisfy the darkness. Dark to light. Light to dark. Her hand was only there for a second, but blood rushed to the spot, and his energy settled.
“Rolf?”
He frowned at his white knuckles on the wheel. Geneva was safe. Alive. He stole a breath and then another, slowing his heartbeat into a normal rhythm. Power stilled in his gut. He turned toward her, keeping his face devoid of emotion. “You’re right. We don’t have much time. Hang on.”
He shifted the car into drive and moved back on the highway, punching the gas pedal. The seatbelt tightened around his neck like a noose. They were heading to Bell Rock, and he’d managed to keep his secret safe for another day. Score one for Jorgensen. He almost groaned in relief.
Bell Rock was so named for the bell-shaped stone, rising in the distance, a dark giant in the night. During the day, the rock would be the orangish-red color Sedona was known for, but in the dark, the vortex looked like the rest of the landscape.
Five minutes later, they arrived at the base of the hill, and he pulled into the empty parking lot and shut off the engine. The hairs at the back of his neck stood at attention. They had reached the vortex. Did he really want Geneva risking her life even for his sister? Could he handle it if something happened to her? He curled his hands around the steering wheel.
Geneva unlocked her seatbelt, the noise breaking the silence between them.
He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t risk it.
“Are you ready?” She touched his arm, forcing him to turn and acknowledge her.
He released his hands from the wheel and dropped them to his seat. The car was dark—too dark to make out her expression.
“Rolf, I’m sorry if I scared you.”
Something loosened in his chest. He swallowed. “You could have died back there.”
She shook her head and lowered her voice. “I wasn’t prepared for all the colors. I’m fine now.”
He leaned toward her, his arm brushing her chest. Her sweet breath warmed his face. A sudden chill racked his body, and unable to stop himself, he breathed her in. Her power infiltrated his lungs. His gaze registered the wariness in hers before she looked away.
“This is the closest we can get by car. We’ll need to walk from here,” she said.
He rubbed a hand over his forehead, forcing himself to consider their options. They needed to trace Julia tonight. But after witnessing Geneva’s near-death experience, could he allow her to trace his sister’s energy from a vortex, knowing she might never wake up? Unless… “I have a condition.”
“Condition?” She cocked her head and frowned. “I don’t do conditions.”
He firmed his lips and prepared himself for battle. “If you want to trace Julia, I’ll need to be in your mind.”
Her eyes latched on to his. “No.”
“It’s the only way I’ll let you risk your life.”
“Rolf, if something happens to me, you’d be trapped.”
“I won’t be trapped. I’ll get you out.”
“I can’t let you. I can’t…”
He held up a hand. “This is non-negotiable. I won’t let you trace her otherwise.” He held her gaze, allowing her into his mind, so she could understand the extent of his stubbornness.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Fine. But only because it’s Julia we’re talking about. I won’t waste precious time arguing.”
He nodded, the pressure around his heart easing. “All right, then. Let’s get started.”
The second the words left his tongue, power swelled in the atmosphere. One by one, Geneva released the safeguards in her mind.
He latched on to her energy, pushing past her brain’s natural defenses to slip into her thoughts. Darkness surged through his veins at the intimacy, urging him to stake a claim in her mind. To link them together in the way of their kind. The air around them shimmered in silent expectation.
Geneva grabbed the door handle and pushed, almost falling out in her haste to exit the vehicle.
He sat there a moment, eyes closed. He should be relieved she’d had the good sense to get away from him. He should be grateful he hadn’t created a portal in her mind where they could share thoughts freely. A portal was for lovers, and they were not that. Could never be that.
He got out of the car and locked the door, stretching his legs and moving toward the vortex, which seemed to understand his dilemma. With his mind locked with Geneva’s, he knew the instant she began to search for a trace of Julia’s energy.
The vortex beckoned with fingers of blue light. The tendrils wrapped around him, easing the tension in his body. Comforting, not threatening, reminding him of Nonna’s hugs.
A movement caught the corner of his eye. Geneva walked past. He lengthened his stride until he reached her, pointing toward the vortex. Although he couldn’t see it well, the giant red rock, the heart of the vortex, couldn’t be far. They were maybe ten yards away from the base now. “Any trace of Julia?”
She shifted to face the direction of the vortex and tilted her head to the side. “No. Strange…”
“What is it?”
“A warm feeling. It seems to be coming from the vortex. Can you sense it in my mind?”
He stilled. “Yeah. It’s powerful. Let’s get closer.” Rolf touched her arm. “Follow me.”
He shined his flashlight toward the trail to the side of where they were standing. “Stay close and don’t move off the path. I don’t want you getting stung by a scorpion. Or worse.”
He didn’t spell out what could be worse, but sent her a glimpse of rattlesnakes, javelinas, and desert cactus.
They hiked a few more yards. Geneva paused mid-stride, forcing Rolf to stop, too. She sniffed the air and squinted, her slim form tense as if the vortex represented some unknown danger.
He stepped in front of her. “What is it?”
“Dream waves.”
He flashed the light on the landscape in front of them. Nothing moved—no hint of life. “Impossible. No human being can produce a vast quantity of dream energy in the middle of a desert.”
A cold wind blew through the hillside, chilling his insides. A rock came loose and tumbled in front of them. His neck tingled. Tentacles of dream energy reached for him, brushing his mind, seeking entrance.
Geneva gasped. “Don’t believe anything you see next.”
The strange energy sucked them deep into a nightmare.
6
Rolf
Next to Rolf, the landscape changed, going from rocky and expansive to a dark and narrow city street. Geneva’s body morphed, expanding and exploding outward into tiny beads of light. In her place stood streetlights and a series of storefronts. Someone called his name. A familiar shape stepped from the shadows of one of the buildings.
Cynthia Torra? The blonde bombshell news reporter he’d escorted to a party or two over the course of the year he’d been hired to protect her slipped by him. Cynthia was the daughter of a prominent US senator. She showcased long legs, high heels, and a form-fitting dress on a body that could grace the front cover of Sports Illustrated. She flipped her hair to the side and gave him a come-hither look from wide green eyes.
“I thought you’d never get here.” Her silky voice slid over him, seducing him where he stood under the streetlight.
Before he could react, she grabbed his hand, pulling him closer, her voice a sexy whisper. “You can’t imagine the things I want to do to you.” Her warm breath touched his cheek, and her lips were upon his, drowning out a response. Cynthia wrapped her body around him like an exotic dancer around a pole.
This couldn’t be real. He’d only ever exchanged a kiss with Cynthia, and that was purposeful and in front of witnesses. Afterward, he’d made it clear to her he wasn’t looking for a relationship. No, the nightmare wasn’t his. It must be Geneva’s. She had warned him not to believe whatever they saw before she disappeared.
Geneva! Where was she? Panic shook his slumbering talent. Dark tentacles came to life inside him, twisting and churning toward the surface. He needed to find her. He pulled away from Cynthia, but she held him in a death grip. A hum of energy vibrated on the psychic plane. What the hell? The vibrations were all too real.
Rolf gave a mighty heave—enough to break the hold Cynthia had on him. He peered into the darkness. Geneva must be somewhere. He cupped his hands around his mouth so his voice would carry. “Get a hold of yourself. This isn’t real.”
Power collected and was gathered by a single source. An electrical charge raced along the back of his neck. Time seemed to stop—a familiar silence descended. A silence fraught with danger. He aimed his voice toward the darkest section of the street.
“Control your energy, Geneva. This is a dream, remember. Don’t believe what you’re seeing. Your subconscious is magnifying your emotions. Cynthia is not real. Fight this.”
“Babe, why are you saying these things?” Cynthia caught his arm. “I know how you like it.” She blew in his ear. “We’re meant for one another. You know it.” She faced the darkness, pointing. “She knows it, too.”
“No.” Rolf tore himself from Cynthia’s clinging fingers. He strode forward until he caught a glimpse of Geneva, her smooth face pale and eerie in the moonlight. Power shimmered in the air, rattling windows next to him and shaking debris from who knows where. “Fight, Geneva.”
She trembled and stared at him with helpless eyes. She raised her hands. Light streamed in and around her. The light meant she had trouble controlling her emotions. Lack of emotional control loosened her power—he’d not escape the dream unharmed. His dark gift beckoned, taunting him to erase Cynthia from existence. He clenched his jaw and sucked in a furious breath, trapping the roiling energy deep inside. He would not release the dark power. Not with Geneva in the vicinity. Not when she could be hurt. He braced himself. What will it feel like to die?
A crack filled the air, splitting the night sky into two equal and brilliant halves. Or maybe that was his head?
Pain followed—a crushing, aching, endless sort of pain. The kind of pain that made grown men cry. He slipped into unconsciousness, the sound of his own screams filling the darkness.
7
Crystal
“Rolf, wake up!”
Geneva clung to Rolf’s body, her arms and hands stretched across his chest and gripping his shoulders, preventing him from rolling off the side of the hill and suffering further injury. His chest rose and fell. She steadied herself and laid two fingers across his neck. He still breathed. He still had a pulse. She had not killed him, despite the way his body twisted and writhed before he fell. And his screams.
Dear God. She suppressed a mighty sob. His screams had pierced the dark. A stab of guilt attacked her consciousness. She’d nearly murdered him. She’d managed to deflect the worst of the dream energy but not before sending a blast Rolf’s way. Where had the dream waves come from? She’d nearly unleashed her full power. Thank God she’d kept some control.
“Rolf, please.” If he heard her plea, he didn’t respond. His body lay still and silent.
She scrambled in the dark for the flashlight. Rolf must have dropped it when she struck him. Thankfully, it hadn’t rolled far away. She flicked the switch, sweeping the flashlight beam around his body before settling on his face. Rolf’s eyes were closed, and a jagged red gash ran across his forehead. Blood matted his hair and more smeared the rock his head rested against. He’d struck the boulder when he fell.
Geneva smoothed his hair and felt the large lump on the back of his skull. He let out a groan, the sound loud and reassuring in the quiet night. She released her breath in a whoosh. “Are you okay?”
Rolf opened his eyes and blinked. Pain radiated in their icy depths. “God, that hurt,” he moaned, raising his hands to his head and covering his eyes.
“Thank God you’re conscious. I’m sorry. I’ve never had to funnel dream energy so close to a vortex.”
Rolf remained motionless, as if he held his head together. Geneva studied the dull, bright pink of his aura. “I’d better get you to a government hospital.”
He moved his hands, and his irises glittered a metallic blue-gray. “No hospital.”
“Let me help you.”
She grasped his hand, and Rolf winced. Geneva closed her eyes and set herself to deaden the effect of the dream energy.
Oranges flittered across the canvas of her mind. Healing energy. Breathe in. Orange energy appeared in the center of her closed eyelids. Breathe out. The energy pulsed and glowed. Breathe in. More orange energy joined the image in her mind, which now had a heartbeat. Breathe out. Geneva transferred the beating heart from her mind to his. While she couldn’t heal him, the transfer of energy would act as a painkiller and ease his recovery.
Rolf’s fingers brushed her cheek. She blinked. His touch conveyed his thanks and something more. Something unspoken. “Honey, you sure know how to take a man to the depths of hell and bring him to the gates of heaven.”
Geneva pushed his hand from her face. “You’re delirious.”
Rolf groaned. “You won’t get an argument from me there.” He sat up slowly and leaned toward her ear, his breath cool on her hot cheeks. “Thank you.”
The sound of his rough voice sent a tremble through her body. A solid wall of muscle surrounded her, seeming to absorb all the oxygen in the air. “You’re thanking me for almost getting you killed?”
He placed his fingers under her chin and raised her face toward his. “I told you I’m hard to kill.”
His eyes locked with hers, probing, intense. Geneva held her breath. Rolf’s lips were so near hers, if she leaned a few inches closer and to the right, they’d meet. Like she’d longed for once upon a time. A tingling formed in her belly then traveled outward until her whole body lit up. What was the matter with her? It must be the high energy and stress of the evening. This wasn’t high school.
She removed his fingers and turned her head toward the rocky landscape, away from Rolf and the unholy temptation he represented.
An odd shade of deep purple blasted from the hill now only about ten yards away, catching her attention. They weren’t alone. She stood, opening her mind to Rolf, her psychic senses on full alert. “Someone’s out there.”
He rose carefully and faced the hill. Although she knew the movement was painful, he didn’t make a sound. And despite his weakness and the extra drain on their energy to share thoughts, he spoke in her mind to avoid being overheard and detected. “Who is it?”
“I’m not sure. Probably whoever sent the dream waves.” Geneva shared a mental view of the purple light and its location and passed him the flashlight.
Rolf pointed the beam toward the hill. “I don’t see anyone. But I don’t like this. Let’s get a little closer and introduce ourselves.” He took a step forward.
“Uh, Rolf, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure it’s human.”
Rolf paused. “An animal?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. The color—it’s like nothing I’ve seen before—at least not around a person. It’s strong and deadly.”
“Does it want to harm us?”
Geneva closed her eyes. Deep violet flooded her senses, strong and steady. She opened them. “I don’t think so, but it’s difficult to tell. Whatever is generating the color contains an endless amount of energy. There’s no break in the pattern and intensity of the waves.”
Rolf focused on the hills, motioning behind him. “Stay here. I’ll check it out. If you see or sense a struggle, get the hell out of here and call Peter.” He dug in his jacket pocket for the car key.
She shook her head. “Rolf, you’re weak, you’ve lost a lot of blood, and you’ve got a lump the size of a fist on the back of your head. No way are you going in there alone in your condition.”
