Dark Defender (19 page)

Jarvis dropped his voice to a low whisper for Trahern’s ears only. “I’ve got two men in position if he retreats. They both know not to make a move unless they hear from one of us.”

“Good. I’m going in. He won’t be able to take a clean shot at me without showing himself. Don’t miss.”

“That won’t work. From this angle it will be too close. I might hit you instead.”

Jarvis was right, and they both knew it.

“If that’s the only shot you’ve got, take it. Once I go down, you should be able to take him out.”

“Like hell. You can’t afford to die. You might not make it back again.”

Blake forced a small smile. “It’s got to happen sometime. Today’s as good a day as any.”

He holstered his gun in the back of his jeans and laid down the sword. “I’m going to walk out as if I don’t suspect anything. He probably won’t buy the act for long, especially if I get too close to Brenna. And Jarvis—take care of her for me.”

“Will do.”

“One more thing. If I die,
don’t
let Brenna near me in the lab. She doesn’t need to see what happens to us. To me.”

Jarvis saluted him with his sword, one warrior to another. Then Trahern stepped out into the cavern, prepared to die if that’s what it took to save his woman.

With feigned casualness, he walked toward Brenna. If this was to be his last sane moment on Earth, at least he was spending it with her. “Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you’d run off to.”

She nearly jumped out of her skin at his sudden appearance. “Go away, Trahern. I’m not speaking to you.” But she was; the fear in her eyes spoke volumes.

“You’ve got to get over being mad sometime, woman. And if I were the jealous type, I’d have to do some serious injury to your computer geek friend here.” He strolled toward them, wishing like hell that one of the Paladin gifts was telepathy.

As Mr. Doe spun around in his chair, a series of shots rang out. A splotch of blood blossomed on the front of Doe’s jeans’ leg as Brenna screamed. Blake charged forward and dragged her to the floor, but not in time. She went down in a boneless heap, holding her arm, blood oozing between her fingers.

Bellowing in rage, Blake charged toward Ritter. Ignoring the stabbing pains in his leg and chest, he chased the bastard down and tackled him. Straddling the panicked coward, Blake wrapped his hands around the man’s neck and squeezed.

In a harsh whisper, Ritter begged for mercy. “I’ve got money! It’s all yours if you get me out of here.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck about your money. You shot my woman, you slimy bastard, and for that you die.”

But Blake’s fingers refused to cooperate. As he tried to crush Ritter’s windpipe, the light of the cavern faded into darkness, and he felt nothing. With the last gleam of his eyesight, he glared down at Ritter. “God damn you—you killed me.”

“Blake! Blake!” Brenna’s arm dripped blood on his shirt as she tried to revive him, blending with the growing red stain on the soft flannel.

Strong hands pulled her away from Trahern’s body, but she fought them off. “No, he’s hurt! Get the doctor!”

This time Jarvis wasn’t so gentle. “Damn it, Brenna, he’s dead. You’re the one who’s bleeding like a stuck pig. Blake’s beyond any help you can give him right now.”

Oh, God, he’s dead! He’s dead, he’s dead!
His beautiful silver eyes, now a dull gray, stared up at her, empty of life

“Come on, Brenna, we need to get you up to the lab. The doctor will take care of your arm and give you something for the pain.” He all but dragged her down the tunnel toward the elevators.

No, they couldn’t leave Blake lying on the stone floor in a pool of his own blood! Besides, she’d never told him that she loved him. She’d known that he lived in constant danger, yet she’d let him die without hearing those words.

Jarvis punched the buttons on the elevator and then produced a clean handkerchief to wrap around her arm. “By the time we get that arm stitched up, they’ll have brought Trahern in.”

“And they’ll bring him back from the dead.”

The breath of hope was a sweet relief.

Jarvis nodded, but he didn’t look as happy as she would have thought.

“What’s wrong, Jarvis? What aren’t you telling me?”

He kept his eyes focused over her head. “It’s true that we can come back, but not forever. From what Trahern’s told me, his test results show that he’s pretty far gone. It’s impossible to guess when the end will come, or why it’s different for each of us.”

“But his latest results were better,” she said stoutly. “What can I do to help him?”

“Pray and keep your fingers crossed.”

In the lab, the doctor motioned her toward the examination table as soon as he saw the bloody handkerchief on her arm.

The next quarter of an hour was a blur of white lab coats as the medical staff cleansed her wound and stitched it shut. The doctor asked surprisingly few questions; maybe he was so used to the Paladins’ horrific wounds that a bullet wound seemed like nothing.

“That should do you, Ms. Nichols,” he said as he clipped the last of the stitches. “Keep the wound dry and clean, and check back with your regular doctor in a week. Be sure to take all of the prescription I gave you. You don’t want infection to set in.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Jarvis stepped forward. “She’ll have to come back here to have the stitches taken out, Doc. If her regular physician recognized it as a gunshot wound, he’d be required by law to report it. None of us want that happening, especially since the same gun was used to kill a cop today.”

The doctor merely shrugged. “Fine, I’ll see you in a week. And don’t try to be brave: take those pain pills I gave you.”

Before she could thank him, the doors to the lab slammed open and John Doe was brought in.

“What the hell happened?” Dr. Crosby asked Jarvis. “I didn’t hear any alarms. How many more are coming?”

“It was a random attack. Besides Brenna, there are only two more patients. Jake took one in the leg.” Jarvis’s expression turned grim. “Trahern was the only fatality.”

The doctor motioned for Jake to take Brenna’s place on the table. Two of the Paladins carried him over and set him down, then two med techs moved in and started to cut his pants away.

“Hey! These jeans are almost new,” Jake complained.

“So what? They’ve got a bullet hole in them.”

“One little hole doesn’t matter.”

The technicians rolled their eyes but helped him pull the jeans off.

“Brenna, are you going to hold my hand while they stitch up my leg?” He winked at her and tried to smile, though it was a bit shaky.

Jarvis answered, “Trahern finds out you’ve been flirting with his woman, you’ll have more than a hole in your leg.”

“Aw, he wouldn’t begrudge a man a little bedside comfort.”

Jarvis gave the wounded man an incredulous look. “Hello? This is Trahern we’re talking about here. If he finds out—and he will, because I’ll tell him—he’ll have your hide.”

The good-natured banter helped to keep Jake distracted from the work being done on his leg. Judging by the sweat rolling down his face, the local anesthesia they’d injected hadn’t taken effect yet.

Brenna moved closer and took his hand in hers. His eyes widened in surprise.

She smiled down at him. “Jarvis might be afraid of Trahern, but I’m not. Believe me, he’s not so tough. Besides, people who get shot together should stick together, don’t you think?” She brushed his hair back off his forehead.

He winced in pain again. “Damn straight.”

She could tell when the anesthesia started to take effect because his death grip on her hand loosened. Finally, he let go. Her own arm was starting to throb, so she asked Jarvis, “Can you hand me one of my pain pills?”

He brought her a glass of water and the medicine. “They’ll be bringing Blake in any minute. You don’t want to be here.”

“Yes, I do.” And no one was going to push her away until she knew he was on the road to recovery.

“He specifically said that he didn’t want you to see him like this.”

“Too bad. He can yell at me when he’s better.”

The doors opened again as a gurney was shoved into the lab with Blake’s body on it.

“One, two, three.” The doctor counted as they lifted Trahern onto a stainless steel table. “Strip him down.”

This time no effort was made to save anything. Even his boxers were cut away, leaving him naked on the cold metal table. Then they brought out a set of chains and began tying him down.

Brenna looked on in horror. Blake had warned her how it would be for him, but the reality was so much worse. “Does it have to be this way, Jarvis?”

“Yes. I told you not to watch, Brenna. This is how it is for us—so either deal with it or get out. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

He walked away without looking back, the other Paladins right behind him.

As much as she wanted to escape the harsh reality, Brenna stayed right where she was. She’d gladly face Blake’s fury if it meant he was alive and well again.

Y
ou need to leave,” Dr. Crosby told her.

“I won’t abandon him. Blake needs me.”

“May I remind you that this is a medical facility, Ms. Nichols? What I say, goes. Patients, especially dead ones, are not allowed visitors.”

Dr. Crosby glared at her impatiently over his glasses. “Young lady, you were wounded yourself and need to rest. We’ll send word if there’s any change in Mr. Trahern’s condition.”

“Jarvis said I could stay.” She crossed her fingers at the lie, but was pretty sure he’d back up her claim.

The doctor clearly didn’t appreciate the challenge to his authority. “He’s not in charge of the lab. I am.”

The doors behind them flew open and the irate doctor turned his temper on the new invaders, two men and a woman. “I don’t know who you people are, and I don’t care. Get out of my lab and take Ms. Nichols with you.”

He was already reaching for the alarm button, but the closest man caught his wrist before Brenna even realized that he’d moved. Dr. Crosby froze. Considering his captor was almost twice his size and obviously another Paladin, it was the wisest response.

“Sorry, Doc, but the last thing we need is a bunch of trigger-happy guards swarming in here right now.” The man kept his voice low, his tone reasonable. “I’ll let you go, but please give us a chance to explain before you call for help.”

The doctor looked past him to the woman holding out an ID badge. He nodded, but he clearly wasn’t happy about it.

The woman said, “I’m sorry about our unexpected arrival, Dr. Crosby; let me introduce myself. I’m Dr. Laurel Young, from the Seattle lab. We’ve spoken on the phone before. And this is Devlin Bane, a friend of Blake Trahern’s, also from Seattle.”

Brenna stepped forward. “Dr. Young? I’m Brenna Nichols.”

The woman smiled warmly. “Please call me Laurel, and I am so pleased to meet you. I only wish it was under happier circumstances.”

Her kindness was almost Brenna’s undoing. “They…he…won’t let me stay with him. They’ve chained Blake down like an animal, and nobody is doing anything for him.” She shot the doctor a venomous look. “Why are you here?”

“I was about to ask that same question,” Dr. Crosby said.

“Devlin Bane and my friend are here on Paladin business; Jarvis is expecting them. Since I’m the Handler for both Bane and Trahern, I came along to see how Blake was doing. Now, Doctor, if I could see my patient?” Laurel spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her to invade his domain and take over.

“This is most irregular, Dr. Young. But I would appreciate your expertise with this particular patient,” Crosby said. “However, I
am
the Handler in charge of this facility, and I’ve been treating Paladins since before you were born. My decisions about his care will be final.”

Devlin Bane stepped past Laurel to glare down at the doctor, his hands fisted at his side. “That man’s chances of making it back this time are close to nil. If having these two women at his side increases those chances by even a hair, they’re going to be there. Now are you going to quit being an asshole, or do we need to take this discussion out into the hall?”

Silence hung over the room as everyone held their breath.

Dr. Crosby glanced at Blake’s cold, still body and slowly nodded. “I want what’s best for my patient, and I know he’s precariously close to the end.” He turned to face Dr. Young. “Any suggestions you might have will be most welcome.”

Bane nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Crosby. Then my associate and I will get out of your way.”

“I’ll have one of the guards show you the way to Jarvis’s office.” He pushed the intercom button and requested an escort.

Bane gave Dr. Young a quick kiss. “Call if you need me, no matter how things go. I want to be here for him.”

“I will.” She looked past him to their companion. “Keep
him
safe.”

Devlin looked disgusted. “I said I would. But Jarvis is
not
going to be happy about him being here.”

“I know—but Barak will be able to answer questions no one else can.” She gently shoved Devlin toward the door. “I have work to do and so do you. I’ll see you later.”

Brenna and Dr. Crosby had been following the conversation with a great deal of curiosity. Barak bore their scrutiny with mute stoicism. As Barak followed Devlin and Dr. Crosby out of the lab, it finally hit Brenna who—or rather, what—he was. The man was an Other! No wonder Laurel was worried about his safety. Considering Jarvis’s mood when he’d left the lab, he was likely to kill first and ask questions later.

Laurel turned to Brenna. “Let’s see what can be done for Blake.”

Jarvis sat in his office and waited for the door to open. Devlin Bane was on his way down, bringing someone to identify the blue stone. Why the Seattle Paladin thought his man would know more than the local lab boys, he had no idea, but he’d listen to what the man had to say. Then he’d get back to grilling Ritter.

So far, the rogue Regent was holding his own in the interrogation. Jarvis wasn’t surprised; after all, the man had obviously been living a dual existence for some time. Well, Ritter could sit there feeling smug and superior all he wanted, but he’d left one little factor out of his equation.

He wasn’t in the custody of the police and the standard legal system. Even for a cop killer, there were procedures in place that kept scum like him safe. But Ritter was surrounded by Paladins, men who had lost friend after friend fighting the Others. That one of their own had betrayed them for cold, hard cash wouldn’t set well with them.

Jarvis wouldn’t let anyone kill the bastard, but Ritter would wish he were dead by the time they had wrung him dry. Trahern especially deserved some time alone with the bastard.

If he came back. Jarvis pinched the bridge of his nose and prayed for his friend’s continued existence. He wasn’t ready to write his friend off, despite the test results. The Fates couldn’t be so cruel—to allow Blake a little happiness, then snatch it away so quickly.

Besides, if there was hope for Blake, then maybe there was hope for Jarvis himself, too.

There was an abrupt knock at the door; no doubt Devlin Bane and his mysterious companion.

“Come in if you have to.” He sat back and waited, not bothering to look busy; he wasn’t happy about the Seattle Paladin poking his nose in where it wasn’t needed or wanted.

The two men entered, and when he got a good look at Bane’s companion, Jarvis jumped up and reached for his sword. An Other! As he charged around the desk to attack, Bane put himself squarely between Jarvis and his natural prey.

“Get the hell out of my way, Bane!”

He and Bane were the same height, though Bane had him beat on sheer muscle. That didn’t stop Jarvis from trying to get around him to kill their enemy. He almost made it once, which had Bane cursing as he struggled to control Jarvis.

“Why are you protecting that bastard?” Jarvis snarled.

Bane had him by the shirtfront with one fist while his other hand was clamped around Jarvis’s sword arm. “Because he saved my woman’s life, damn it.”

Some of the fight went out of Jarvis, but not all of it. “Explain.”

“Put down the sword first. We’ve got bigger problems to deal with than him.”

Jarvis glared at Devlin for another few seconds to show that he wasn’t easy to push around, then let his sword arm go slack. Devlin stepped back, careful to keep himself between Jarvis and the Other. Smart man.

Jarvis put his sword down within easy reach and returned to his desk chair. “Answer my question. Why is he here?”

“To see the stone Trahern said you found. Barak will know better what we’re dealing with.”

Jarvis pulled the blue crystal out of his pocket and laid it on the desk. “Give it your best shot,” he said skeptically.

Barak’s closeness felt like a burning itch. How many Paladins had this alien killed? He noticed that the Other moved with the same grace as the best of the Paladin fighters. It made him sick to think that they might have something in common besides a driving need to kill each other.

If the Other were human, he would have looked diseased with his pale skin and strangely colored eyes. His face appeared young despite his iron gray hair. Maybe his appearance was normal for his kind—not that Jarvis gave a damn. On
this
side of the barrier, their normal appearance was dead at the end of his sword.

“Do you recognize the stone?”

Barak approached the desk with grave dignity and not even a flicker of fear. Maybe he’d already lost so much that his life held little value for him anymore. He reached for the stone but then hesitated, asking without words if it was all right for him to touch it.

Jarvis nodded. “Go on. Pick it up.”

Barak hefted the stone, checking its weight, before holding it up to the lamp on Jarvis’s desk. A rainbow of blue-tinted light blanketed the room and the stone took on a glow of its own, one that continued even when Barak shaded the crystal with his other hand.

“It is indeed from my world. We use them for light and to focus energy.” He set the crystal back down on the desk. The glow dimmed and gradually disappeared.

Bane reached for it next and held it up to the lamp again. Although the light illuminated the crystal’s color better, this time it didn’t glow by itself.

“Why does it work for you and not me?” Jarvis demanded.

Barak shrugged. “We aren’t the same. The stone knows that.”

Jarvis sneered. “You talk as if it were alive. We have similar crystals in our world, but they don’t shine for some folks and not for others.”

Barak touched the stone again. “This stone grows, its light getting more powerful as it does. Some of my kind have an affinity for working with it. It is much prized in my world for the light it offers in the darkness.”

“Someone in our world has gotten greedy for this little beauty.” Jarvis put the crystal back in his pocket.

“I know. They are greedy enough to tell my people that they can buy their way into this world with it. But all that awaits them upon crossing are the Paladins and their swords.”

Both Bane and Jarvis ignored that comment. “Why would we want the stuff if it doesn’t work for us?”

“I do not know the answer to that question.”

Jarvis stood. “I know someone who does. I’ve got the Regent who killed Judge Nichols and Trahern locked up down the hall. So far, he hasn’t had much to say for himself. That’s about to change. Care to join the discussion?”

Bane smiled wolfishly and cracked his knuckles. “Sounds good to me. Lead the way.”

“What about him?” Jarvis asked, nodding in Barak’s direction.

“I’m thinking that seeing an Other cooperating with us might shake up your guest a bit.”

Barak nodded gravely. “This man has betrayed both worlds. I want to talk to him myself.”

Jarvis followed the other two out the door, wishing that he hadn’t just felt a sense of kinship with his enemy.

Blake’s hand was cold and stiff as Brenna held it. How could these people chain him down to a bare steel table? Would a mattress be too much to ask for? At least they’d allowed her to cover him with warmed blankets. If Laurel thought it foolish of her to keep changing them as soon as they cooled off, she didn’t say anything. But then she was in love with a Paladin, too, so maybe she understood Brenna’s need to do something, anything, that might help bring Trahern back.

His leg jerked, the sudden movement startling her.

“Blake moved!” she told Laurel excitedly.

Laurel checked the time and made a note in the thick file she’d been reading for the past hour. “Let me know if it happens again, but don’t read too much into it. It could be hours or even days before he really starts to come around.”

Brenna gave Trahern’s hand a soft squeeze. She didn’t care how long it took. Her man was on his way back. Scooting her chair closer to the head of the table, she started to whisper to him. When she’d been unconscious, she’d heard his voice and reached out to it like a lifeline. She would do no less for him. She whispered the three words that she’d held back from him, and would keep repeating them until his silvery eyes opened to the knowledge that she loved him.

“Ms. Nichols, you need to go lie down for a while.”

The deep voice startled Brenna awake; she blinked up at Devlin Bane.

“I don’t want to leave him alone.”

“I know.” Devlin’s handsome face was all hard angles, but there was sympathy in his eyes. “I’ll stay with him for a few hours while you get some rest. He’s going to need you alert and strong when he comes back. I promise one of us will come get you as soon as he shows any sign of returning.”

Laurel joined them, leaning against Devlin. “The last time Blake was badly injured, it was Devlin who talked him all the way back. You can trust him to take your place for a while.”

Brenna’s body ached all over, her arm was throbbing, and her head felt as if it were filled with silt. If Blake were to awaken in the next few minutes, she wouldn’t have the strength to help him if things got rough. “Is there someplace close by where I can sleep?”

“There’s a patient bed through that door. I’ll get you settled and then get some sleep myself. Dr. Crosby and I are trading shifts until we know how it’s going to go for Trahern.”

Brenna looked into Laurel’s dark eyes and asked the question that had been hovering in her mind. “Tell me honestly, Doctor, will my being here help?”

Laurel surprised her with a quick hug. “I’m counting on it, Brenna.” She glanced back at Devlin. “I have to believe that we can find some way to reverse these changes they go through. Things will look better after a few hours’ sleep.”

Brenna crawled between the cool sheets on the bed, then murmured a short prayer for Blake and the rest of the Paladins. She was asleep almost before she finished saying amen.

The sound of running feet and anxious voices jerked Brenna out of a sound sleep. Through the closed door, she could hear people talking, but could only pick out an occasional word or two. As she sat on the side of the bed and tried to clear the sleep from her head, though, one thing came through clearly. Whoever was out in the lab was worried, maybe even scared.