Into the Light (The Admiral's Elite Book 2) (24 page)

Returning the phone to his pocket, Michael leaned back against the wall, facing where Becca slouched. They didn’t have time to feel overly awkward. Michael’s phone buzzed and was in hand in seconds.

“Sir.”

“Have you heard of ley lines?”

Michael’s face froze. His worried gaze shifted to Becca then back before he could shut himself down.

“I will take that as a yes,” Black surmised. “Then you know what walks them and how they work.”

There was no reaction on Michael’s face and Becca felt her insides clenching. Predictably, the spots started to dance in front of her eyes.

“It has already found your party and most likely has detected what you are, which is why it has latched on to Gabrielle. It needs energy to survive and a werewolf has far more than any human. The witch is sensitive to them, more than you or the others. You can use her to track it, but be careful. A powerful source of energy such as this will know how to tap into each of you. It will feed from your fears and from your passions, any strong emotion. It will drain you to nothing if you let it.”

“Sir, is there another way we can track it?”

“Not unless you have an experienced diviner with you. The only thing you have is the witch. Her energy is raw, but it is from the same source. She will feel its vibration when she steps across it. If she follows it to where it grows stronger, she will be able to track it and you can destroy it.” Black paused and his tone changed. Was that regret? No way. “You
must
use her. The potential for loss is too great for your personal feelings to be primary. Entire cities have fallen prey to these energy suckers. Rome burned and several of America’s western cities fell to lawlessness and degradation before their transgressors were stopped. You must be successful or face a potential rift that could swallow the city and all those in it.”

“Yes, Sir.” The call ended and Michael stared at the dim face of his phone.

Becca cleared her throat and found her voice, though it didn’t sound like her. It was shaky and thick. “What is this thing?” In her head she already knew. She wanted to hear the words for some sick reason. Like hearing it out loud would make it any less painful to bear.

It didn’t. The words rang out as a death knell. Hers. There was no question this time that she would fail. She’d seen what it did, felt its power. The players in her vision remained a mystery, though now she understood its message. This thing was going to ask her to kill her own.

“It’s a ley line demon.” Michael’s confirmation was anticlimactic.

Becca made a vow to herself that she would track this thing and she would find it. But she would do it alone, far from anyone she loved and she would not allow it to use her to harm any of them. If she failed, she alone would die.

Chapter 24

The four of them gathered in the parking lot at a coffee shop not far from the police station and the main strip of the downtown area shortly before the sun rose over the tree line. The bright orange ball rose behind the evergreens, their green boughs imposed as skeletal outlines etched in black against the fiery backdrop. Becca wondered if it was a sign that this would end like the last time she’d faced a demon and everything ended up as ash.

She’d faced rogue vampires and weres and all were challenging adversaries, but nothing had been anything like the demon that had nearly killed her. The sheer power in that hellish creature continued to haunt her almost nightly. It seemed somehow right that she would face one again. Only this time she feared she might not be as strong. This time she knew what she was facing and what it was capable of, whereas her last battle had been fought in ignorance. Not for the first time, she wished she could erase the entire fire demon experience from her mind, although presently, it was for an entirely different reason. If she could face it blind again she might not freeze and get herself or one of her unit members killed, because surely that was what was destined to happen this time. Knowing what she was up against had her shaken before she even saw the thing.

“Are we clear on what we’re doing?” Michael was leaning back against the hood of the car, one foot propped up behind him, hands folded over his stomach.

Everyone nodded. They’d gone through it earlier at the motel after he’d spoken to Admiral Black and they’d all gotten a few short hours of rest before heading out. Detective Salvo would be at the station within the hour at which point Michael and Becca would be allowed access to their systems. Their job was to pinpoint “hotspots” where the demon had been draining energy and use those as starting points to try to locate their demon. Whether or not it was active during the day was yet to be determined, though the admiral’s source believed that ley line demons were limited to location, not hour.

Ley lines, Michael explained after a long and informative conversation with Black, were straight lines or lines making up geometric shapes along the Earth’s landscape where metaphysical energy was strongest. In the ancient world, monoliths such as Stonehenge were erected along the lines to draw people to where their power would be most effective when they needed it for festivals and rituals. Becca’s genetic heritage as a witch, previously unknown to her, had a special tie with the lines putting her on the same wavelength, so to speak. The admiral’s working theory was that if they put her on the one that the demon was using, she would vibrate right to him. More or less.

Becca figured the demon was just as likely to find
her
since she had made a personal connection with it. Surely it would come looking for her before too long if she didn’t find it first.

Ryan and Gabrielle had the more generalized task of going into town and doing some more recon work. By listening and watching they hoped to identify any spots the demon was using that maybe hadn’t made the police radar. If anybody got a lead on actual real-time demon activity they were to contact the others immediately.

“Don’t forget our coats,” Becca reminded Ryan. “If you end up making it down to the club.” She hoped they would get that far, far away from her and where the demon was sure to be before long. What better place to raise passions and then drain them? After all, wasn’t that exactly what it had done the night before when Michael was attacked by horny women?

He snorted and shook his head. “We’re tracking a demon and you’re worried about the cold?”

Flushing, she shrugged. “My mom gave that coat to me.” Her glance skimmed over Michael just in time to catch the faint smile that lifted his features, if only temporarily. Fleetingly, she wondered how many more of those smiles she would see. Angry with herself for wallowing in self-pity, she pushed those thoughts away. They were soldiers. This was what she’d signed on for. Okay, maybe demon hunting wasn’t foremost in her mind when she’d enlisted in the Navy and she hadn’t been given a choice in joining Admiral Black’s ranks, but she was here now and this was her unit. She would fight with them for as long as she could because to quit was to leave one unguarded. Hearing herself recite her father’s personal creed in her head gave her strength and Becca stood taller, taking a moment to look at each one of those who had become friends to her since meeting them. Even Gabrielle, aloof as she was the majority of the time, she would trust with her life. This time it was her turn to protect them with hers.

“All right then.” Michael surveyed them one final time. “We’ll meet here at fifteen hundred. Keys are in the usual place so anyone can retrieve the vehicle if need be.” They always stored a copy inside the front bumper both on missions as well as home. One never knew when a change in drivers would become necessary.

Nods all around and Ryan and Gabrielle struck off to get started inside the coffee shop, a wise choice at that hour. Becca couldn’t help watching their body language. Ryan’s was tense, while Gabrielle’s reeked of defeat, and the space between them was far more than just the hand’s breadth she could see. Poor Ryan, she thought. He was like a great big heart walking around and he’d invested himself in the one person who had locked hers away. A giant sigh escaped without her notice.

“Are you scared?”

She crossed her arms and watched the two enter the coffee shop, choosing to stare at the neon outline of a coffee cup in the front window. Funny how the yellow wavy heat lines made her think of fire, not coffee. It’s all where your head’s at, she surmised wryly. She could probably see a snowball and think about how long it would take for a fire demon to melt it right about now. She shook her head.

“Are you up for this?”

Becca automatically took a breath and wheeled, prepared to defend herself, only to let it out slowly when she saw the sincere concern on Michael’s face. He wasn’t locked down. He wasn’t being Captain Rossi. Sure, he was worried about their welfare and whether or not she would be able to hold up her end under pressure. There was a lot riding on her and he had to be questioning her ability to keep her head in the game after last night at the bar. But his concern in that moment was for her on a personal level. Lack of faith she could handle, even yelling she could take. This was different; this looked like love, and she wasn’t sure what to do.

Sex was simple. Physical, active, always urgent between the two of them; it was as easy as breathing. This new intimacy in their relationship was the hard part and completely new. Letting him see her weak. Opening up and showing him how frightened she was when they weren’t in the midst of battle or facing imminent danger was more than she’d given anyone. Confronted with such heartfelt compassion, her tough façade faltered and she felt her lip quiver.

Her voice cracked. “Yeah.” She tightened her arms, hugging herself.

Pushing off effortlessly, Michael approached. There was only a hint of the oozing sensuality with which he usually came to her. This side of him was different, harder for her to accept in its realness. Sensing her discomfort, Michael stopped inches from her and put his hands in his pockets, leaving the small space between them as a buffer. “You know, after I was changed, I wasn’t afraid of dying.” His voice was low, meant only for her ears, though he spoke over the top of her head.

Becca felt the sting of her inadequacy once again. This unit was so strong. Her prescience served as a warning system. Her physical capabilities were limited to her borrowed strengths until they ran out. Only a very little of what was useful about her even stemmed from her natural abilities. Forcing her shoulders back, she blinked hard and tried to appear brave.

“I didn’t have to be.” He continued, his voice low and soothing despite the heartrending words passing through his barely moving lips. “What was there for something like me to lose? My life was gone and Black took my soul. Death would have been a welcome release from my bondage.”

“Don’t say that.” It hurt to hear him talk that way about the worth of his existence. “You’ve saved countless lives. You’ve done so much good in this world.”

The body before her remained immobile. “It wasn’t until I had something to lose that I learned how to fear again. Not until I thought I’d lost you did I remember what it was like to be truly afraid.” He felt her stare and let his chin drop to give her a full view of his face.

Passion brought forth his beast while work made him hide behind a stoic, unfeeling mask. Letting her see him for the man he still was altered how he looked to her. She could see the suffering in his eyes, the miseries he’d bourne in silence and servitude. He let her see the extent of the anguish his losses had caused him. In seeing the toll being a vampire had taken, he was made all the more human.

Tentative, she reached for him, fingers brushing lightly against his sleeves as she pulled his hands from his pockets. Unable to convey her feelings into words, Becca stepped into him and slowly let the side of her face lay against his chest. Equally measured, his hands let themselves be freed and wrapped around her, pulling her close.

“You’re a strong woman, Becca,” he murmured in her hair. “You were before you met us and your strength makes us all stronger by its addition. My CO told me when I took my first command, ‘Don’t ever doubt yourself, because to do that is a disservice to us all’ and I want to tell you the same thing. We’re a team and we make each other better. That goes for us too, we’re more together than we are apart because we love each other.”

Her hands slid around behind him and she pulled herself in as close as she could get, seeking the comfort of his nearness. What he’d said was true; she had been strong
before
them. However, she would have argued that she was actually a subtraction. Not only did they have to worry about protecting her due to her physical weaknesses, she provided a significant distraction to Michael. And now she was a demon magnet.