Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (94 page)

Brandt made a funny sound. She
glanced over at him, but he'd already reached her. His arm wrapped
around her shoulders. "You look like you're ready to pass out. Come
sit down."

Stefan moved ahead of them both. "You
two get comfortable, and I'll put on coffee. It looks like we have
a lot to talk about."

3:45 pm

Stefan
walked into his kitchen, happy
to escape the emotional energy of the other two. Coffee made for a
great excuse.

Sam was an interesting development.
As was Brandt's reaction to their meeting. Stefan wouldn't have
said she was Brandt's type, but then she didn't fit his own type
either – and he found her fascinating. That she'd managed to see
and communicate on the etheric field was impressive all over
again.

He stayed in the kitchen until the
coffee dripped to a full pot. Pouring three cups, he carried them
out to the sitting area. "Anyone need cream or sugar?"

"No, black is fine. Thank you." Sam
reached for her cup and huddled over it as if needing the
warmth.

Stefan considered her for a moment
before sitting on a chair between them. He understood power
positions and being between these two wouldn't be his normal
choice, yet they obviously had issues.

"Sam, are you always
cold?"

Both Brandt and Sam turned to stare
at him. He allowed a small smile. "Not a trick question, just a
simple inquiry."

Sam nodded. "Yes, I am. And that's
getting worse with every vision."

"Is there any particular time when
you are colder than others?"

Her head cocked to one side and
Stefan studied the fleeting expressions washing over her face as
she considered his questions. She had no guile, this girl. She was
a newborn babe in the world of ageless freaks. He sighed inwardly.
She needed a lot from him. Her survival potential, without it,
didn't look good.

She was powerful but open. Her energy
shone and flashed with no control. Worse, she didn't even seem to
know there was such a thing. She bled energy like a hemophiliac
bled blood.

She shook her head. "No, I don't
think so. I'm cold all the time."

Settling deeper into his chair,
Stefan ran a few basic tests. First, he checked her life force.
Strong, this girl was a fighter. Next, he checked her aura. Right
now, it spat in several directions while being conspicuously
reticent about going in Brandt's direction. Interesting. She didn't
want Brandt to see too much.

He smiled to himself. While everyone
was busy not looking at each other, Stefan took advantage of the
uneasy energy and opened his inner eye.

He turned to focus on Sam. And found
Sam staring at him. He reared back in surprise. She frowned at
him.

"What's the matter?"

Stefan quickly switched to his normal
sight to find she still stared at him. Could it be? Could she flip
between the two views or did she not know the difference? With a
quick glance at Brandt, who hadn't appeared to notice anything,
Stefan decided to ask.

"Do you recognize when you are using
your inner eye?"

His question seemed to surprise her,
only she answered readily enough. "Yes. I use both equally and
switch between them easily."

That made sense, given what he'd just
seen. It also elevated her skills another notch. This was a very
interesting woman. Without any formal training, she'd found her own
way. Without anyone to say right or wrong, she'd developed in ways
that worked for her. Stefan could count on one hand the number of
psychics the world over that could switch their inner vision as
simply.

"Brandt has told me something about
your visions." He stretched out his legs, crossing them, and with a
quick glance at Brandt, he centered on Sam. "Maybe you could
explain to me exactly what happens to you."

Sam winced. She stared at her coffee
cup. It didn't take long to fill him in. Stefan didn't interrupt
her. He waited until she ran down before asking
questions.

"So you have no trigger that you know
of? You have no awareness outside of the vision when you're in one,
and you've been having these particular visions during the
night?"

"Right. There have been a couple of
other odd insights as well." Quickly, she filled him in on when she
thought the killer had been hunting a new victim, and the car
accident where she'd seen Stefan.

Stefan considered what he'd heard.
"What would you like from me?"

Sam's face became a mix of
contradictions. She looked hopeful, confused, and even full of
trepidation.

Stefan leaned forward. What did she
want?

"I was wondering if you could help
me."

Stefan shifted, surprised. That's not
what he'd been expecting her to say. "Help? In what
way?"

Sam glanced toward Brandt.

Was she gaining strength from his
presence, or expecting criticism? Stefan filed her action away to
contemplate later. "The visions are extremely violent. My recovery
takes quite awhile. I'm wondering..."

"Yes," he encouraged.

"Well." She stopped again, as if
gathering her thoughts. Then the words rushed out. "The visions are
hard on my system. My blood loss is huge. I was skinny before, now
the pounds are falling off. I can hardly sleep." Her stream of
chatter slowed down. "I'm scared these visions will kill me," she
admitted softly.

Stefan didn't know what to say. She
was right to be concerned. "Normally, the psychics with physical
manifested visions, don't show the blood loss to a dangerous level
– at least not for long."

She didn't seem to hear the last
part, for she leaned forward, her eyes intent on his face. "There
are others like me?"

"Absolutely. Some people will wake up
with blood on their hands and not always know why. In this case,
they've had an empathetic episode." He rubbed the side of his
temple. "Some people walk in the gray area between life and death
and will become comatose depending on how long they stay there.
There are some who have died because they couldn't return to their
bodies in time."

With a quick glance at Brandt – who
sat quietly listening – he refocused on Sam. "I've often discussed
with Brandt the number of misdiagnosed patients in mental hospitals
who have psychic talents they never knew they had."

Sam did a double take. "Are you
serious?"

Brandt nodded.
"Unfortunately."

"Control." Sam jumped on that term.
"That's what I need to do. I need to learn how to control my
talents and to disconnect from the visions. The last time, I
managed to keep one foot in both realities, only for the briefest
of moments, then I lost it."

"Right. There are several techniques.
But it's not going to happen overnight. It will take practice. I
can help, but it will take effort on your part."

Sam smiled. "That's fine. The more
control, the more I can use my talents to benefit
others."

Brandt interjected for the first
time. "What do you want to do with them?"

A becoming pink blush that started at
her neck, washed upward. Stefan watched Brandt's mesmerized gaze
follow the color trail. No doubt about it, he had it
bad.

Sam licked her lips and Stefan almost
laughed aloud. Brandt looked like he was choking on
something.

"I want
to be able to help people. Or maybe animals." She told them about
the incident with the dog at the hospital. "I don't know yet the
best way to help. Partly because I don't know my own abilities and
therefore don't know what is possible
to
do. I just know that I don't want
to hide, and I don't want to be helpless."

Interesting. "First let's set up time
to work on your control. We'll sort out what your talents are,
which are strongest, and which need developing. You can go from
there."

Both Brandt and Sam
nodded.

"That makes good sense." Brandt
glanced at his watch. "We're going to need to go soon."

Stefan took note of the color
surrounding the two. Their energy danced around each other, close
enough to blend, yet staying separate – at least for
now.

Long fingers of sunshine touched and
warmed the atmosphere. Stefan watched the sunlight dance with their
energies.

Sam spoke again, interrupting his
musings. "Stefan, can I ask you about the vision where I saw you –
what were you doing there with Louise?"

Stefan smiled. "I knew her, years ago
before she married. By the time I arrived, it was too late for her.
All I could do to help was escort her to the other
side."

"Escort?" Brandt's curiosity jumped
out. "You mentioned this before."

Sam stared at him. "Crossing to the
other side. Death."

Brandt shifted in his seat, one
eyebrow raised, listening.

Sam turned back to Stefan. "Was this
an unusual occurrence for you?"

Stefan thought about it. "It doesn't
happen weekly or even monthly, but if there is a connection on any
level, then I usually know what's happening."

"Were you close?" Sam flushed. "I
don't mean to be personal, but when I was inside Louise I
felt...different."

Intriguing. "I loved her. But she
couldn't handle my life."

Sam nodded as if understanding what
he meant. Maybe she did.

"What was she thinking about?" He
admitted to being curious. He'd never experienced a psychic vision
like hers. He studied Sam's face, searching for the
truth.

"It's hard to say. My visions are
overwhelmed with the physical trauma, though a little of their
thoughts mix with mine. I don't remember much of hers, though. We
were both more concerned with the car that wouldn't respond, then
the crash, the fire...you know." Sam held her hands out. "That's
about it until I saw you. Then it was my thoughts. I wasn't sure
whom you were talking to – Louise or me." She waited for his
answer.

He frowned. "Louise mostly, trying to
get her to leave her body. Until the end, when I was talking to you
because at that point, you were holding her back."

Understanding dawned in Sam's eyes.
"That makes sense now." She cocked her head sideways. "Do you know
how she died?"

"She was in a car accident. Her
vehicle drove off the highway at Emerson Point."

"You know that?" Brandt shook his
head.

"Sure, I could see her memories. One
of the last things to happen before death is a rewind of the movie
of your life." He glanced at Sam. "Don't you see that
part?

She shook her head. "No. Mine are
always violent deaths, and they don't have much time." She sat up
straight. "Could you see why her car went over the
cliff?"

Stefan stared at Sam. She almost
vibrated with energy. "No, I came in later. What about
you?"

"Only that her brakes weren't
working. She pumped them hard." She shrugged. "Then she went off
the road."

"What connects you to your
visions?"

Sam shifted uneasily. "Usually
violence. Lately it's been murder."

Stefan studied her. "You think Louise
was murdered?"

"I think so, yes."

He frowned. "Did you connect with the
same killer, in her case?"

"I don't know. I think so. It's his
energy on the car."

"At the time of her death?

"Just before." Sam rubbed her hands
together to warm them up. "No. As we went over the cliff, I thought
I saw his signature. Once we crashed and burned, I wasn't looking
at anything, but the flames and then you."

"What does that mean to you?" Brandt
interjected, sitting on the edge of his seat. "I don't understand
this energy signature stuff."

Stefan explained. "When you touch
something, it leaves a bit of energy behind."

"This energy can dissipate quickly or
hang around, depending on the energy of the person touching it and
depending on how long the contact lasted."

Brandt jerked his head, urging them
to continue. "That still doesn't mean much to me. Are you saying
this guy owned or drove the car? Or did he just work on it for a
little bit?"

Both Sam and Stefan shook their
heads.

Stefan. "It's not that
easy."

"No. I'm not sure I can say very much
about his energy in this case. I only saw it long enough to
recognize it. For me that means he's responsible for Louise's
death." She wrinkled her nose at Brandt. "The how and whys, well, I
thought that was your job."

"Except, there's nothing left to
investigate. The car burned to a crisp."

4:45 pm

Brandt and Sam drove to Parksville in
almost total silence. Brandt's mind crowded with all he had to mull
over, and he could only imagine what Sam was thinking. She'd set up
the first session with Stefan in four days time. In the meantime,
she had homework to do.