Red-Line: The Shift (Volume One) (25 page)

He breathed deeply and relaxed his body, letting all his emotions quiet. As his energy calmed and his mind emptied, he reached out to her. Remembering how she felt that first time he touched her hand, such a short time ago, he recalled the rush up his arm and the tingles on his skin. He used that memory to search for her now. He sought for her energetic signature, and he let that energy build within him. He used his abilities to increase his own energy in order to build the power he would need to connect with her, when, or if, he found her. His mind, focused singularly on Sarah, slowly lost its connection to the external world. The room, the bed, the sounds, the smells all disappeared from his consciousness as Ramsey moved deeper and deeper into a trance-like state. Within minutes, he’d drifted away from the outside world and, letting go completely, was lost in his search for her.

Eight minutes later, Leroy returned, ready to drag his friend out by the ears if necessary. It surprised him when he saw the empty chair. Leroy scanned the dark room as his eyes adjusted to the faint light that drifted in from the main part of the house. He glanced at the mound under the bedcovers, but ignored it as he wondered where his friend had disappeared to. As soon as he had the thought, his eyes shot back to the bed. He leaned over and flipped on the bedside lamp. Soft light flooded the room, and he saw what he’d feared—two heads instead of one.

“Damn it,” he muttered to himself. He knew he should have been suspicious when Sherlock had not argued with him earlier about leaving the room and getting some rest. “What have you done, Sherlock?” he said to no one as he watched the unconscious forms in the bed, one wrapped around, and embracing, the other. “What the hell have you done?”

RAMSEY LUMBERED THROUGH the stillness, his limbs as heavy as tree trunks. The air felt weighted, and he fought the urge to lift his arms to part it. Devoid of color, his surroundings carried only the hues of browns and grays as if he walked through a foggy moonscape, the only difference being the heaviness he carried with him as he walked. Despite his weariness, he kept moving forward, Sarah’s energy signature still tingling through him. He could feel her nearness, but she’d closed down considerably, and making his way toward her only increased in difficulty as he got closer. He continued to move, though, determined to force his way through. He felt her shutting down, and despite his mental fatigue, he picked up his pace.

After what felt like hours, the fogginess began to lift and some of the weight in his limbs eased. He slowed his pace and stilled himself, reconnecting to her. Feeling her proximity, he continued in the direction in which he felt pulled. As he moved, the fog continued to clear and his movements became easier and faster-paced.

Suddenly, the air around him lifted, and he became aware of her presence. He couldn’t see her, but he sensed her. He’d managed to breach the defenses she’d erected around herself, and he now slowed his approach, gently moving toward her through her waning energetic field. As he did so, the tingling within him increased and the essence of her surged through him. It was exactly what he’d felt when he’d taken her hand before, as if she knew he was there. Without a second thought about the consequences to himself, he stepped toward the coalescence that appeared before him as his proximity to it increased. He felt her warm presence and, without hesitation, merged with it as it surrounded and enveloped him.

Now connected with her, he found himself ignited with heat, power, and desire, and its intensity overwhelmed him. It lasted only seconds before it waned. It was if she’d recognized him, and in her excitement, her energy had flared, but unable to sustain it, she began to deteriorate again. He felt her weakness and knew she had no remaining reserves. With his added presence and stability, though, he hoped to help her find her way back. He shivered as he felt the cold for the first time.

**

THE SUN BROKE through the clouds as it rose above the horizon. Slices of light pierced the curtain edges as the dawn broke, and the house brightened. Hannah had awakened earlier and, after a quick shower, had moved through the house opening a few strategic curtains to let in the light. She suspected Declan would disapprove, but she was tired of walking through a dreary house. Besides, the house had plenty of cover from the front fence and the large shrubs and trees surrounding the property, and if anyone were snooping around, Declan would realize it.

She started a cup of coffee for herself and debated going to the bedroom to check on Sarah. Everything was quiet, and Leroy had not awakened her during the night, which he’d promised to do if anything changed. She hoped Ramsey was getting some much-needed sleep. The coffeemaker slowed its dripping, and she pulled out her mug and added some cream. When she turned, she almost dropped the cup, startled to see Declan standing behind her.

“Jeez…” she said, checking to see if any of her coffee had spilled, “you scared me.” She sighed at him. “Where did you come from?”

He looked at her with a smile and reached for his own coffee mug. “Sorry, bad habit. I tend to be in stealth mode most of the time.”

She moved out of the way as he cleaned out the small filter to start his own cup of coffee. “How long have you been up?” she asked.

“About an hour. I got a shower and checked the house and the perimeter and did some calisthenics.”

“Really?” She studied him. “You sure you and Ramsey aren’t biologically related?”

He smirked at her when she said that. “Completely sure.”

“Could have fooled me,” she said to herself.

“What?” he asked, hearing her murmur.

She walked to the kitchen table to sit down. “Nothing.”

He doubted that, but he let it pass.

Declan wondered about Sarah’s current condition. He’d received no threatening signals in the night, so he assumed that Leroy was with her and that his brother was getting some downtime, which he sorely needed, considering his mood the previous day. His own coffee ready, Declan picked it up and sat down with Hannah at the table.

He noticed the brightness in the house and the sunlight streaming through the windows. “The curtains are open,” he stated.

Hannah couldn’t help herself. “My, your powers of observation are impressive.”

He ignored her sarcasm. “Why are they open?”

She narrowed her eyes at him as he went into security mode. “I think it was the curtain fairy.”

He looked at her strangely. “The curtain what?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Come on, Declan. This house is like a tomb. We’ve got to get some sunlight in here. Things are gloomy enough without having a depressing atmosphere, too. Besides, you said yourself, everything was clear.”

“It’s clear for now. But things change. We don’t need anyone looking though our windows and seeing objects flying around or women with red skin bringing people back to life. It could cause a few problems.”

This time, she gave him an annoyed look. “Granted, Declan, we don’t need that, but circumstances are slightly different at the moment. Nobody’s healing anybody, much less heaving objects around the room. I think we can allow ourselves a short period of daylight for the time being.”

He didn’t say anything and seemed to quietly debate the matter. He relaxed a little before deciding. “All right,” he said, “they can stay open for now. But if anything changes, they close. Okay?”

She smiled and relaxed her own posture, grateful to have won the small battle with him.

They drank their coffee in relative silence, appreciating the sun as it warmed the room, until Leroy quietly entered. He approached the table and sat down with them, but seemed distant, staring off as if distracted.

“Good morning,” she said, but when he didn’t say anything, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Declan worried the worst had happened. “Is it Sarah?”

Leroy sighed at Declan’s question. “Your brother is a damn fool.”

“You mean my stepbrother,” Declan replied, furrowing his brow. “What’s he done now?” Leroy’s irritation was evident, but beneath it sat a layer of worry, and Declan felt it. He sat up higher in his chair and waited for Leroy to answer.

“He’s connected with her. Or at least I assume he has. Damn idiot. He knows better.”

“Connected with her? What does that mean?” asked Hannah.

Declan didn’t say anything.

Leroy answered her. “He reached out to her to connect energetically to try and bring her back.”

Declan sat back in his chair and looked down at the floor.

Hannah didn’t understand. “Isn’t that a good thing? Don’t we want to bring her back?”

“It’s one of the first rules of protection,” said Leroy. “You never connect with a Shifter. Their energy is highly unstable. Their energy fluctuations can affect the connected individual. They can suck you dry or overwhelm you and cause your whole system to short-circuit. Once you connect, you’re unlikely to disconnect until the Shifter releases you. It’s dangerous. And that’s just with a Gray-Line. With a Red-Line…” He didn’t continue. The implications didn’t have to be spelled out.

Declan finally responded. He raised his head and put his coffee cup on the table. “I told him not to compromise himself for her.” He stared back at Leroy. “Now what do we do? Can we get him back?”

Leroy’s face did not look hopeful.

“Where is he?” asked Hannah.

“The bedroom.”

Hannah and Declan stood at the same time. Heading into the room, they both stopped as they took in the sight in front of them. Ramsey lay behind Sarah, wrapped around her as if in a warm embrace. The blankets enveloped both of them.

Leroy joined them in the room.

“We can’t just wake him up?” asked Hannah.

“If he’s connected with her, no, we can’t. If we pull him away with force, it could kill him.”

“You said ‘if’ he’s connected with her. What if he’s not? What if he didn’t succeed?” Declan asked as he watched the duo apparently sleeping in the bed.

“Then he’s getting a damn good sleep right now, which he better enjoy, because when he wakes up, I’m going to make him wish he’d slept forever.”

“Well, how do we know which it is?” Hannah was still trying to grasp this new information.

“We don’t. He’ll either wake up refreshed or he’ll stay that way until she lets him go. If we try to wake him and he is connected, it could be disastrous for both of them.”

Declan stood at the foot of the bed. He appeared calm, yet focused.

Leroy noticed. “What are you getting, Declan?”

Declan stood quietly for a few more seconds. He closed his eyes before opening them again, looking up at Hannah and Leroy. “He succeeded. He’s connected to her. I can’t feel him at all.”

His suspicions confirmed, Leroy rubbed a hand over his head in aggravation. “I figured he’d succeed. Damn fool never gives up until he gets what he wants.”

Hannah listened to the exchange between the two men. “So what do we do now?” she asked.

“We wait,” said Declan.

“For what?”

Declan shifted his gaze from the couple in the bed to Leroy, who returned his look and sighed as he answered Hannah’s question. “Wait to see if he can bring her back without getting hurt, or worse, in the process.”

“And if he can’t bring her back?” Hannah asked.

Leroy looked at her. “Then in all likelihood, he dies with her.”

The implications of Ramsey’s actions finally sinking in, Hannah appeared shocked. She walked over to Ramsey’s side of the bed and lifted the sheets.

“Careful,” said Declan. “What are you doing?”

Hannah gingerly touched Ramsey’s skin. “He’s ice cold.” She checked Sarah. “She’s sucking the heat right out of him.” Hannah took Ramsey’s pulse and then Sarah’s. “Their heartbeats match exactly. His vitals mirror hers”. She put the blankets back down to cover them. “He won’t be able to handle these conditions for very long. He needs food and water. He’s an icicle right now. We need to heat him up.”

Neither Declan nor Leroy said anything.

“Can we do that?” asked Hannah. “Can we work on him while he’s connected?”

“Whatever you do to him, you do to her, and vice versa,” Leroy answered.

Hannah considered that. “Well, throwing something warm on him shouldn’t hurt. We have an electric blanket.”

Leroy and Declan both looked at each other again, and Declan shrugged. “I don’t think it would hurt.”

Hannah started to leave the room but stopped as she neared the door. She hesitated.

“What is it?” asked Leroy.

She stared over at him. “We have to think of a way to get him back, Leroy. If this works and she starts to generate the kind of heat she did before…”

Leroy finished her sentence. “She’ll boil him alive.”

Hannah said nothing as she walked out of the room.

**

DECLAN SAT BY the bed while Hannah adjusted the blanket over Ramsey and Sarah. She had been monitoring both of them since the morning, with little to no change in either of them during the last eight hours. Restless with waiting but unable to do anything else, Declan listened to Leroy’s raised voice from the other room. Leroy had finally called to update Morgana on the situation, and he’d been talking to her for over an hour. If Leroy’s booming voice was any indication, the conversation had deteriorated.

Declan tuned him out as Hannah finished and joined him by the bed. “Any change?” he asked.

“Not really.” She stretched and rubbed her tired neck, looking as if her rest from the previous night now felt light years away. She watched the sleeping duo. “I suppose that’s good news. They’re not getting any worse.”

“Maybe.” Declan didn’t seem so convinced. Leroy’s voice reached them again. “I’m beginning to think Leroy may be in worse shape than those two,” Declan observed.

“Yeah, well,” answered Hannah, “at least the conversation won’t kill him.”

Declan made a brief chuckle. “You don’t know Morgana very well.”

Hannah threw a confused glance at him just as Leroy stormed into the room.

He dropped his phone onto the side table. “That woman is the most irritating, difficult, unpleasant, annoying...” He paced as he tried to think of another adjective.