The Darkness Beyond (24 page)

B
y the time Reggie and Javel scrambled to the top of the hill, the clash of weapons was already echoing through the air. Each clang of steel against steel made her flinch. She was a coward for running away with Javel while D.J. was back there fighting for his life. For
her
life.

Even if she'd only be in his way, it still meant that she'd left one man to face a mob of killers. She turned back to watch, Javel at her side. He held his sword in a death grip as if he, too, wished he was down there in the midst of the fight.

Oh, God! Even from this distance she could tell D.J. was badly hurt. His black clothing hid the blood, but the maroon-stained mud at his feet told the real story. For the moment, it appeared that he was holding his own. Only a couple of his enemies were still standing, both of them wounded as well. Maybe, just maybe, he'd hold out until help arrived.

No sooner did that cross her mind than the Kaliths double-teamed him, their blades flashing bright in the sun. D.J. fell forward, still fighting even as he went down. She screamed, ready to kill anyone and everyone who got between her and her fallen lover.

Before she could run one step, a rock-hard arm clamped around her waist and a callused hand gripped her gun hand. She was left with her feet touching nothing but air.

She fought. God, how she fought. She was sick and tired of being manhandled. This time was the worst because her captor was keeping her from getting back down there to where D.J. lay crumpled and so horribly still. From out of nowhere even more Kalith appeared beside her. Javel lowered his sword.

Was he going to surrender rather than fight? Then, with a shout, he led the charge down the hillside. Everyone was moving except her and her captor.

“Let me go! I've got to get down there!”

A deep voice spoke right next to her ear. “Reggie Morrison, if you will stop fighting me, I will take you back to D.J. as soon as it is safe. Those are my men with Javel. I am Sworn Guardian Berk. I'm sure that D.J. mentioned my name.”

His patient words wormed their way past the panic in her head, stealing away her need to fight. When she went slack in his arms, Berk eased her down to the ground long enough to remove the gun from her hand. Once she was disarmed, he gently lifted her in his arms and carried her back down to where the man she loved lay sprawled in the dirt like a broken toy. She could only pray he wasn't beyond repair.

Ten minutes later she knelt in the dust. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't talk. It hurt so bad. The pain just wouldn't stop coming.

The Kalith who'd introduced himself as Sworn Guardian Berk had felt for D.J.'s pulse. Then Berk immediately removed his cloak and used it to cover D.J.'s still form.

Even if the Sworn Guardian didn't speak English, the message was clear. D.J. was dead. And all because of her. There was so much she hadn't told him—how he made her feel, how much she loved him. She was a coward two times over. Once for not staying to fight by his side. Then again for not 'fessing up to how she felt about the man.

He'd died not knowing. Somehow she was going to have to live with that.

Berk stepped between her and D.J.'s body and offered her a hand up off the ground.

“There's nothing left for us to do here. My men will handle the dead. Your people will be waiting for you.”

“They aren't my people.”

But she supposed they were, at least more so than the men and women who now surrounded her.

“Can you walk or do you need me to carry you?”

“I can walk.”

Or would die trying. She almost hoped she would. Berk and Javel flanked her as they started the long trek up the hill. About halfway, she glanced back.

Four of Berk's men had spread out a blanket and were gently lifting D.J. onto it. They folded his hands over his chest and placed his bloodstained sword at his side.

What had she been thinking? She tugged on Berk's sleeve. “We can't leave him here. D.J. needs to be buried in our world, not here.”

Berk flinched and looked horrified. “Why would you do that?”

She would've thought the answer to that question was obvious. “Because he belongs there. His friends will want to say good-bye.”

Berk appeared puzzled. “You do know that he is a Paladin.”

“Of course.”

He stared at her for a few seconds and then looked back down at the slow procession of his men as they started up the path to where they stood. “It is my guess that he never fully explained what that means.”

She wasn't in the mood to play guessing games. “What are you talking about?”

“I believe it is best to let D.J.'s friends explain what happens when a Paladin dies. Suffice it to say that, with luck, all will be well.”

He glanced up at the suns overhead. “But now, time is running short, and we must get to the barrier if we are going to be there when Barak brings it down again. My own talent for working with the energy is less predictable. If we miss the opening, it could be another twelve hours before you see your homeworld again.”

Before she could protest, he marched up the path, leaving her no choice but to follow.

Her eyes, still swollen from crying, had a hard time adjusting to the dark interior of the cave. Berk and another of his men pulled out blue gemstones about the size of golf balls and murmured over them. A spark flickered deep inside the stones, gradually growing in intensity until the stones cast a soft glow throughout the cavern.

Once again, she stood facing a shimmering panel of light that stretched across the back wall of the cave. This time she didn't see its beauty or feel any desire to reach out to touch it. All it was to her was a means to get back home. Maybe someday she'd make sense of all that had happened during the past few days. Right now, she was too tired, too shattered, to do more than stare at the shifting patterns.

Berk and his men hovered nearby, neither crowding her nor offering her platitudes that would do nothing to ease her pain. Berk had told her one last time as they'd entered the cave that all would be well. She'd snapped at him to shut the hell up.

The familiar sickly green streaks appeared in the barrier as the other colors faded in intensity. She could sense growing excitement in those standing near her. Perhaps they were as happy to see her leave as she was to be going.

With a quiet whoosh, the barrier disappeared altogether, revealing a bunch of men spread out over the width of a cavern that mirrored the one she stood in. All were armed with swords, but immediately sheathed them as soon as they got a clear look at Reggie and her companions.

One limped forward. “Berk, I see you found Miss Morrison, but where's D.J.?”

Then he spotted the burden that four of Berk's men still carried. “Oh, shit, no.”

His eyes immediately sought hers. “Miss Morrison . . . Reggie, I'm so sorry. My name is Hunter Fitzsimon, and I'm a friend of D.J.'s. We all are.”

A tall silver-eyed man brushed passed them, along with another man who was obviously a Kalith. She'd spent enough time around his brethren in the past few days to recognize him for what he was. They replaced Berk's men as pallbearers. Everyone stepped aside to allow them to pass. The silence in the two caves became oppressive.

Hunter then offered her his hand, leading her across the line in the cave floor that marked the border between Kalithia and Earth. He quietly spoke to Berk in a voice that sounded as if his vocal cords had been badly damaged at some point in the past.

“We'll be in touch. Thanks for . . . well, just thanks.”

His words reminded Reggie of her own manners. She sought out Javel in the cluster of Kalith warriors and mustered up a small smile for him.

“Javel, thank you for your help.”

Although he might not have understood her words, he clearly understood her meaning, offering her a shy smile in return. Next she spoke to Berk.

“I appreciate everything you've done, even if I haven't always acted like it. Thank you for bringing me—” She stopped, choking on the words. “For bringing
us
home again.”

He bowed his head to her before turning his attention back to Hunter. “I don't think D.J. ever told his woman the truth of what it means to be a Paladin. I fear she is in for a shock if someone doesn't warn her about what is coming.”

Hunter closed his eyes and slowly breathed in and out through his mouth. “I'll see to it. Tate can help with that. She's had experience in that area.”

Reggie let their words flow around her, not really caring what they were talking about. She already knew that she could never tell anyone about what had happened. Most people wouldn't believe her in the first place, and it was no one's business what she and D.J. had shared.

Rather than linger to see what else Hunter and Berk had to talk about, she walked toward the circle of sunshine that marked the opening to her home planet. She breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the heavy, cool air of the Pacific Northwest. It tasted sweet to her senses. The first real step back to her life.

The one that would have a huge, gaping hole in it without the Knightwalker.

She stepped out of the cave to find herself perched on a rocky ledge halfway up a cliff. Good thing she didn't have a problem with heights. Even if she did, sidestepping along a narrow ledge was small potatoes compared to everything she'd been through the past few days.

When she reached the main path, she looked at the beach below and the wooded hillside above. Up or down? Seeing that the tide was running high, she opted for up. Maybe she was supposed to wait for Hunter, but if she stopped moving, she wasn't sure she'd ever get started again. The thread of stubbornness that held back her rage and grief was frayed and stretched to the point of snapping. If she was going to go into a complete meltdown, she wasn't going to do it out here on this godforsaken hillside.

As the trail wound upward, the trees gradually thinned out. As she reached the edge of the woods, a familiar figure came into view.

She screamed his name and took off running. “Cody!”

When she reached his waiting arms, he crushed her against his chest and she held on with all her strength.

She was finally home.

Reggie closed her eyes and counted off the firsts she'd experienced since that night D.J. had appeared at her door. She'd met her first Paladin and visited another world. Aliens had kidnapped her and then she'd been rescued by some more. She'd seen her first fight to the death, and then made love with a man outside, under the stars.

The list went on and on.

But as weird as all of that was, the strangest part was listening to Tate Justice explain how Hunter had died out in those very same woods that bordered her backyard. Not only that but he'd somehow pulled through despite being dead or maybe just mostly dead. An image from the movie
The
Princess Bride
kept playing out in Reggie's head. Who knew, maybe Westley had been a Paladin. He sure had the sick sword skills to fit the part.

She must be losing her mind. Here she was, being whisked back to Seattle in a helicopter, and all she could think about was a movie. She wished Cody had been able to come with her. There hadn't been room for everyone, just her, Trahern, and D.J.

For the hundredth time, she had to pull her eyes away from the plastic body bag stretched out on the floor at her feet. Up until now Trahern hadn't said more than a handful of words to her, but then he took her hand in his much bigger one. Some part of her mind noticed that his calluses matched the ones on D.J.'s hands. For whatever reason, that comforted her.

“You'll be good for him.”

She whipped around to look at Trahern directly, definitely seeing a lot less ice in his silver-gray eyes than had been there earlier. “What do you mean? We hardly knew each other.”

That was a lie.

She studied her companion. He and the others obviously believed D.J. would come back from death. God, she hoped they were right, and not just because if they were delusional, she was surrounded by crazies. But either way, if Trahern was also thinking there'd be some kind of future for her and D.J., he was mistaken.

Wasn't he?

“Don't play coy, Reggie. We all know that you've had our boy there tied up in knots for a while now. Hell, I've known him for years, and I've never seen him act like that. He took pride in being able to outdance any other hacker out there.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that's a basis for a long-term relationship—seeing which one of us can outhack the other.”

Trahern shook his head. “That's not what I meant. It's that you
get
each other. In our little corner of the world, do you have any idea how rare that is?”

She noticed that he wore a wedding band. “You found someone.”

For the first time, he really smiled. “Yeah, I did. I know Tate talked to you about what she went through with Hunter. Brenna saw me die, too, only she was also shot in the process. If it hadn't been for her pigheaded stubbornness, I wouldn't be here with you today.”

He looked away, as if afraid of letting too much of what that had meant to him show. Then he leaned to the side to get a better view out of the window.

“We're almost there. Devlin's wife, Dr. Laurel Young, is waiting for us. She's our best Handler—that's what they call the docs who patch us up. If anyone can pull D.J. through for you, she can.”

“Is she the one who brought you back?”

“Yeah, she was.” He stared out the window, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “I obviously was in no shape to know what was going on, but I have it on good authority that Laurel and my Brenna kicked some serious butt to make that happen. Grown men quivered in their boots and ran for cover.”

He squeezed her hand one last time. “I have a feeling that you and Laurel will do the same for D.J.”