And he had no control over the stream of energy, no shut-off switch.
He tried to remember how he’d stopped it while in Honduras. He remembered running, but the power still trailed from him, and reached for anything living as he ran forward. He’d become a vampire killing machine.
Duncan had escaped because he’d warned him to fold the hell out of the region, otherwise he would have died that day as well.
He’d reached the top of a hill and screamed his rage until he’d fallen unconscious. And maybe that was what he needed to do right now. He started to shout but Sharav placed a hand on his head and he couldn’t move.
“Just stay focused, just like this.” Samuel couldn’t move, couldn’t do a damn thing.
He met Vela’s gaze and mouthed, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Me, too. My fault. I was stubborn. I should have listened to you about who I am. Now it’s too late.
He agonized as his dark power streamed toward her, hurting her, driving toward her heart, seeking her death.
How he loved this woman.
He grew very still in his spirit and his thoughts took a new direction as in how he’d ended up here. What had he done wrong? Not seen?
He’d tried to avoid this exact situation, yet here he hung, the flip side of hi s grayle power pummeling an innocent woman. He thought he’d had a good handle on protecting those around him, by restraining his power and refusing to allow Vela to mind-dive.
He understood now that Sharav had been using him as some kind of experiment, to transform him perhaps into a Third Earth warrior that could be controlled, made into a weapon for Chustaffus or one of the other faction leaders.
As past images flowed through his mind, a shadowy figure emerged and he knew then that Chustaffus had been to Honduras Two on more than one occasion, maybe even directing the experiments. A feeling of age flowed toward him and around him as he remembered Chustaffus. An ancient evil.
He recalled Vela saying to him so recently that he had a real problem connecting and suddenly the pieces fell together in his mind. He’d refused to let her in because it seemed the safest bet, but not because of his dangerous power, but because he’d never let anyone in before, not once in his long life. His rugged man’s life had taught him to keep close connections at bay, with everyone.
And she’d been right about the Warriors of the Blood. A close knit group like that demanded connection, deeper than he’d ever had with any of the Militia Warriors, not Duncan, not Gideon, not any of them.
I want you to mind-dive, Vela.
She lifted her weary head to look at him, her breaths in shallow pants as his grayle stream pressed into her. “You want me to mind-dive?” she said aloud.
Sharav laughed. “Yes, do that Vela.
Mind-dive and let all that power take out your brain.”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you, Sharav?” Samuel asked.
“Very much. Death can be a beautiful thing to watch, a kind of thrill that never ceases to please.” A red hue colored his cheeks as he licked his lips, as if hungry for more.
Samuel turned toward the woman he loved, his breh, and then he understood what needed to be done, how he fit with Vela, how their powers could mesh, if he would only let her in. “Mind-dive, Vela.
Don’t listen to him. See who I am. All of me. Just as you wanted to. Take this one last adventure.”
Vela could feel that Samuel’s power was only a few millimeters away from piercing the muscle of her heart.
He’d asked her to mind-dive, to take that trip within his mind that she’d been asking for, to connect with him, to be close to him.
Was Sharav right? Would his power stream into her mind and take her apart?
Or would something else happen?
She would die anyway, so it didn’t matter which way she went. At the same time, Samuel seemed different and determined about allowing her to mind- dive, but it was also clear he had a reason for wanting her to do it.
“What are you waiting for,” Sharav said. “Jump into his mind.” Then Vela got it, the real adventure she needed to take, if she had enough courage.
She recalled what had happened with Alison the night before, how Alison’s healing empathic power had flowed, easing Vela, then suddenly how Vela had comprehended Alison’s power and returned the favor.
At the time, Vela had thought she might have emerging empathic abilities, but now she understood the truth; she could join herself to another power and reflect it, perhaps even make it stronger.
Did Samuel know? Was that why he’d suggested a mind-dive?
But this wasn’t about mind-diving; it was about connecting. And Samuel was ready.
And what do you know? She wanted this adventure, too.
With the current stream of energy so close to taking her life, Vela released the last of her fears and embraced all that her powers could mean in her life. She thought about how she had reflected Alison’s healing power and with that thought, she took hold of Samuel’s grayle power, bringing it into her fully so that the stream, instead of punching through her heart, disseminated and flooded her body with tremendous strength and purpose.
Still holding Samuel’s gaze, and fully aware that Sharav had no idea what had just happened, she lifted her hands and focused Samuel’s stream of power, now greater and stronger, in Sharav’s direction.
T h e grayle stream hit him unprepared, and the look of horror that crossed his face as the blast struck home, told Vela all that she needed to know.
She gave full rein to her reflective power, not hesitating for a moment, not even with the knowledge that Sharav would die because of it. He staggered on his feet, then flew backward, his eyes rolling as an anguished sound burst from his throat.
A dark mist boiled from the center of his chest.
Vela let it run until she saw that a deep cavity remained where Sharav’s ribs, lungs, and heart used to reside, the stench in the room almost overpowering.
But the moment she wanted the stream to stop, it stopped.
She stared at Sharav for a long moment, then shifted to Samuel to meet his gaze, then upward to the ropes that still bound him.
Samuel gathered his strength and began to pull. He grunted and shouted, tugging on the bindings. “We’ve got to get out of here, before a crew shows up.”
“But what about the ropes?” Her gaze traveled to the ceiling hook.
Samuel smiled as he started straining against the knots. “Here’s the good news.
The power inherent in these bindings, belonged to Sharav, now he’s dead.” The ropes started to snap so that within a few seconds, he’d freed himself.