The Choice (37 page)

“Isabel didn’t believe you until the end.”

“Marcie, it was a different time and place. She had no rights, no say and no resources. You have legal rights now that didn’t exist for her. Even though corruption has woven a thread through your legal system. Remember, there are those watching from the sidelines who’ll help you, all of you. You already know what he is.”

“Dan’s a wizard.”

“He’s more than that, Marcie. He’s a master of deception. Dark entities deluge him. He can no longer exist without them. Your teacher knows. You’re still learning. In human form, he’s a true sociopath, mimicking emotions without feeling them. His explosive charm is what seduced you to him. He becomes an addiction, keeps you completely off balance. He sought you out. He chooses carefully each of his victims, going after the weak who lack self-esteem, and those filled with self-doubt. Then he reads your thoughts. And he knew just how to feed your ego with compliments, flooding you with bewitching attention. Remember how he seemed to understand you? And his thoughts were completely in sync with yours? He could see into your weak aura. You’ve never healed from your parents’ abuse, and that raw hole is how he got in. He saw it. He reeled you into his web of lies, and you did anything for him. But the choice was still yours. You weren’t listening to spirits around you. They screamed at you, posting signs and roadblocks, while you stumbled blindly over them and chose to ignore what sat right in front of you. I’ve come to guide you now. You have help on this side. More angels will come, as you need them. You have help on the physical plane too, from your teacher, Sam and your friends.”

“This is your lesson: be strong, seek out hope and innocence. Block out Dan. Gather your love and fire that powerful energy back at him. Keep your circle of protection around you and your friends. Keep your thoughts guarded. When your aura has healed, you’ll see him as he truly is. And you’ll be repelled. You’ll see the scam he projects, as a teacher to help those around him, and leader to those who follow him. He has cords appearing like black hoses in his aura, attaching to the weak and vulnerable. It’s what gives him power. It’s how he feeds. You keep the cords cut, or he’ll drain all your energy.”

“In New Orleans, your memory loss was a gift. I cut his cords for you. He knows they’re cut, and he’s scrambling to reattach to you.”

“Dan practices his craft alone and portrays himself as someone who picks up vibes. But he’s much more. Remember after he sucked you in, all the emotional pain he hammered onto you? Then after, he was genuinely sorry he hurt you. But this is only to keep you off balance, from seeing what he truly is—a monster with no remorse, no conscience and no sense of responsibility. He takes the credit but never the blame. And how many times has he done this? When he hurts you emotionally, it was your fault, or you made him do it. And he truly believes you’re fortunate to be given his time and attention. Think back to when you met him, the attraction and starry-eyed illusion that he was your Mr. Right. Remember the feigned interest in everything you did. Merely an illusion he created. It really was an outstanding performance, and the act dropped when he was convinced his control over you was secure. Even though I know you see it, all that good in you cannot grasp the concept of this being pure deception. Instead of walking away, you stayed and tried desperately to rescue the wonderful person you were sure was buried deep inside. What’s hard for you to grasp is that ideal man never existed. Dan lives by self-serving rules, and he will change without warning. Here’s your warning Marcie; he knows you’re onto him. He fooled you again when you got on that plane. And he’s preparing himself now to repeat a desperate performance to win you back. His goal is to destroy you emotionally; it is the only way for his darkness to survive—to become stronger. Your prayers are setting him back, and he’s fighting you. His purpose and pleasure is to create as much emotional turmoil, guilt, self-doubt and depression as possibly and ultimately, eliminate your power.”

“He’s a human being, can’t he be saved?”

“Listen to you. Understand this. It goes against your every natural instinct to turn your back on one of God’s children. You can’t change him. A dark entity cannot be turned light. Flood him like a fire hydrant filled with the unconditional energy of love, and that darkness will scurry away. Then you let go, and you leave. Finish with him and get him out of your head.”

“Was he always like this, was he born this way? I don’t understand.”

“The mysteries of the universe; you have a lifetime of learning ahead of you. He was born with the darkness attached to him. With his veil thinned. He is the same dark entity who destroyed Isabel and me on the physical plane. You all have a battle ahead of you. You work together in the light, and you’ll be victorious. Just don’t fall prey to his trickery. His charm is thick, and he still has the ability to surpass your defenses. You need to resist and be strong, or he’ll win. Use those gifts your granny and Sally taught you and listen to what spirits are telling you. You’ll be guided as long as you remain open to the light. You mustn’t doubt.” The mist filled around him. She reached her pale hand out. She had more questions, but he moved away
.

A gentle pull on her shoulder brought her spiraling back into the dim room. The early morning light crept up on the horizon, and Sam stood dressed beside the bed.

“Jesse’s down at the dock picking everyone up.” Sam, dressed in a long sleeved black shirt and his usual jeans, leaned down and took his time kissing her good morning—the way a man’s supposed to. Marcie ran her fingers through his damp hair as he deepened the kiss. “Good morning,” he said in a sexy voice before pulling away, smelling fresh and clean.

He left her to dress, which she did, pulling on dark capris and a matching T-shirt, and then she shuffled barefoot into the kitchen without her crutches. Sam handed her a steaming mug of coffee just as Richard, Maggie and the children burst through the door. Diane and Jesse brought up the rear. Both hefted two large backpacks along with two boxes of food, which they dumped onto the cluttered kitchen table, pushing aside an empty plate.

Marcie sipped her strong black coffee, but her nerves were frayed as if she’d already downed a pot.

“You okay, babe?”

Sam didn’t miss much. He slid closer, gently massaging her back.

“Sam, move it. It’s show time.” Richard kissed Maggie on the cheek, shooed the casually dressed children into the front room and then glanced at Marcie. When he did, his eyes widened right before he smirked. Marcie looked down at the floor. She couldn’t hide anything from Richard.

Diane tugged down her black jacket to cover the bulge of her weapon. She pulled out a folded piece of paper from her back pocket and dangled it for everyone to see. “Search warrant, so whatever we find out to jam up this bastard will not get tossed out. No one else on the team knows about it except the judge, Dexter and the six of us in this room.” Diane folded the paper and stuffed it back in her pocket.

“Good job, Diane.” Sam was all business.

Jesse checked his ankle holster. Diane handed out microphones and earpieces. Marcie knew they were hiking over to Lance Silver’s to plant some kind of listening device in the house or as close as possible so they could hear when Dan made contact with Mr. Silver himself.

“Let’s go.” Sam leaned down and kissed Marcie on the top of her head. He didn’t linger. He followed Jesse, Richard and Diane out the door to her truck, which they’d confiscated. Then as an afterthought, turned back and yanked open the screen door.

“I want both of you to stay inside until we get back, no wandering off.” His alpha male side took over again.

“We’ll be here, Sam, but we’re not staying cooped up indoors on this beautiful day. The sun’s out and there’s not a cloud in the sky.”

“I’d feel better if you didn’t go out period.” Sam glanced over Marcie’s head at the kids and then sighed. “Could you at least keep everyone close to the house?”

Marcie hobbled to the door and touched his hand. “I can do that.”

Sam kissed her again. This time on the lips, and then he was gone. She waved as her truck disappeared up the narrow driveway.

Marcie moved to the propane stove, lit the burner and put on a kettle of water. Maggie sat in the front room with Lily, in the overstuffed easy chair. Ryley kneeled on the hardwood floor, and rifled his Game Boy out of his dark blue backpack. What struck Marcie when she hobbled in toward them were the dark circles that appeared overnight underneath Maggie’s brilliant eyes. Even her alabaster skin appeared pale in the bright light against her dark blue sweatshirt.

Lily wore a bright pink Dora the Explorer shirt and pants. When she pulled away from Maggie, she wandered unfettered with the body of a headless Barbie doll. She bounced from the chair to the table to the old, worn couch in front of the window, in socks and shoes, which was something of an anomaly, and then back to the floor to repeat her circle.

Marcie leaned against the bookshelf and gazed out the large picture window. The birds danced in circles, flapping their wings, skittering in and out of the trees. The happy chirps carried through the window, as if they were beckoning their friend to join them under the peaceful blue sky.

The dark green leaves were beginning to turn, and soon, in the autumn chill they’d begin to fall, another cycle ending. Marcie glanced at the front deck she rarely used and the large Sitka spruce with her rope swing tied to a sturdy branch. As a shell-shocked twelve-year-old girl, she’d swung for hours under that tree. She’d dreamed she could soar with the birds fluttering above her, taking her into a dream world free of shame. And right now she felt compelled to wander out in the sunshine, with the children. This property was her safe haven, and she believed nothing could harm her here.

“Maggie, let’s take the kids out front. I think Lily would love to swing. Marcie watched Lily bounce on the chair and wondered if, in fact, she understood even as she dangled lost between worlds. Maggie didn’t answer. She bit her lower lip and stared vacantly out the window. Lily dropped her naked doll and raced to the door. Marcie went after her. By the time she staggered with one good foot down the stairs without her crutches, Lily had hopped on the wooden swing.

Ryley’s voice echoed through the open window. “Mom, I want to play my Game Boy.”

“Bring it with you. It’s nice out, and you’re not staying inside with your head stuck in that computer game.” Maggie snapped. She must really be tired.

By the time Marcie reached her granny’s worn picnic table near the swing, the explosive pressure in her broken ankle ached terribly. It was her fault. She kept leaving her crutches propped against some wall in the cottage.

“Where are your crutches?” Maggie hovered as Marcie sank onto the plank bench and groaned.

“I forgot them, so sue me. I’ll just make you wait on me, and I’ll stay right here and watch the kids for you.” As if on cue, the kettle whistled.

“That would be my water boiling for tea.”

Maggie rolled her eyes and marched into the house.

Marcie laughed lightly. Still grinning, she turned back to the kids. Her stomach tightened when panic chilled her blood and plugged the easy flow through her veins. Her heart lurched and jammed her throat with something thick and gooey, cutting off all sound and means of speech. Dan McKenzie towered over Lily with a wicked smile while he gently pushed the tiny girl on the swing. Her thoughts scrambled while glued to the bench.
Breathe.
But it was damn impossible as her pulse burned down from the crown of her head, pinning both feet to the ground. How’d he gotten past her circle onto this land without her knowing?

“Hey Marcie, how’s your leg?”

He never missed a beat while pushing Lily with a skillful, loving touch. This was a direct conflict with what she knew he was. She felt herself slip, mesmerized by this split in his personality. And wondered if, in fact, two different people resided in him. Lily appeared happy and comfortable, and that confused Marcie.

“Hey Lily, that’s a good girl, you just keep swinging. Uncle Dan’s going to have a little talk to Marcie and your Mom. Hey Ryley, I didn’t see you over there hiding. How’s it going, bud?” He crossed his nicely tanned arms over his light T-shirt and sauntered with an intense interest over to Ryley, who sat under the old cedar, cross-legged playing his Game Boy. For just a moment, Marcie was swept away in the warm charm he focused on children, one of the things that first captivated her. What a magnificent father he’d be, or so she thought. But it was a ploy, the explosive charm, which sucked her in each time. And innocent children couldn’t see past his deception.

Dan squatted in his light khaki pants beside Ryley, draping one arm across the boy’s shoulder, while he watched him engage the buttons on his handheld game. Dan chuckled and warmly jabbed his finger at the screen, both he and Ryley cheered.

“Right on board, give me five.” Dan held out his hand, and Ryley slapped it. Marcie couldn’t remember the last time Ryley had beamed with such joy.

“Ryley, come here!” Maggie dropped the ceramic mug of hot tea and bolted over to Ryley.

It wasn’t until Maggie crossed in front of her that she felt the snap, breaking the link Dan focused on her with such ease. A chill climbed up her spine. How could she be caught again so easy?

Dan and Ryley glanced up. And Marcie didn’t miss the sudden change in Dan. His shoulders stiffened. The light in his face faded into something cold and dark. His hazel eyes blazed the color of a cheapened rye, and locked onto Maggie, irritated and full of fire.