Whisper Cape (33 page)

“Time for
us
to fight Eidolon,” Cael added.

Remembering the injuries Cael had already sustained on her behalf, she thought again about leaving while he slept. She wanted to be far away from Cael when she faced Eidolon. Alone.

“I’ve already had to save your life twice now, haven’t I? I’m the one he’s after. I’m putting your life at risk. You’re the one who should hide.”

“Save your breath, Addison, it’s not going to work. Do you expect me to sit idly by while you try to destroy him on your own? I know what you’re thinking and you’re not going after him alone. This is our fight, not just yours, and I won’t let you take on Eidolon single-handedly. I’ve spent my life training for this and you need me—you can’t deny that.”

“I don’t deny anything. I just couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”

His eyes twinkled and he took her hand. “I'm glad you feel that way and I feel the same about you, but it doesn’t change the fact that we need to face him together. Tomorrow we’ll spend the day at the Sectory, and refine your skills. We’ll work on them all day if we have to. You do have tomorrow off, correct?”

“Yes. One thing, though. I have to wonder; why did my dad have to die? Why couldn’t he have stopped Eidolon? Why did he leave it all up to us?”

“One thing? That's three. Why do I find that quirky little trait of yours so charming?”

“What quirky little trait?”

“Never mind. I don’t know, to answer your questions. It’s been puzzling me, but I do know one thing: your father underestimated you when he kept you hidden all those years. You’re a hell of lot stronger than he seemed to give you credit for. By the way sweetness, we are even on the life-saving score.”

“What are you talking about? You haven’t saved my life twice.”

“Yes, once at the bathroom, the other at the cliff when you were taking pictures.”

“You can hardly count the bathroom incident as saving my life. All you did was put your arms out and catch me while I was falling backwards.”

“Falling and nearly hitting your head. You could have struck your head on a rock and died. You were heading straight for one.” He took a sip of his water and grinned.

“Oh, please, I was not.”

“Yes, my sweet, you were.”

Addie glanced around. “Whatever. It's near closing and most of the customers are gone. I guess Darcy and Duane left. Did they leave together? Oh well, I suppose it's none of my business.”

“No, it's not, and we should leave, too.” Cael pushed his chair away from the table as Gerry and Maia walked over to them and sat.

“Cael, you
will
be joining us for dinner tomorrow night, right?” Maia asked.

Gerry frowned; Cael glanced at him and pulled his chair back in. “Thanks. Yes, Addie did mention it to me. I’d love to.”

“Great. I hope you eat meat—I’m making a pot roast.”

“That sounds great. Pot roast is one of my favorites.”

Addie stood, saying, “Excuse me, I’ll be right back. Um, nature calls.”

Maia stood and followed Addie to the restroom, leaving the two men alone at the table.

***

The distrust Gerry felt toward Cael poured out thicker than molasses and seeped into Cael's senses, overpowering all his other emotions. Why was Gerry so interested in what Addison was doing? He didn’t care for the way Gerry was always looking at her. Addison had tried to reassure Cael that Gerry had nothing more than brotherly affection for her, but there was something about the way the man looked at her. Cael just wasn’t sure what. Ever since he’d met Addison, his perception had been off. He knew Gerry suspected something and Cael had his own suspicions about Gerry.

“Addie is a beautiful woman, but she’s also naïve in the romance department,” Gerry said.

“I’m not sure what you’re implying.” Cael was worried that the man was going to admit he’d been intimate with Addison when she’d already denied it.

“What I mean is, Addie hasn’t had many dealings with men. She’s not the most experienced of women. She’s fragile. Maia says she had a few dates during college, but never a serious relationship with anyone.”

A great sense of relief came over Cael. “Oh. And you think it’s your place to tell me this? I don’t think Addison would appreciate it.”

“Look, I know you don’t like me since I slugged you ...”

“You mean sucker-punched me.”

“Well, okay. I suppose it was a cheap shot, but I assure you that my intentions were only to protect Addie. Look, before dinner tomorrow night you and I need to get one thing straight. I love Addie.”

Cael's neck muscles twitched and his hands fisted. He wanted to pound Gerry right there.

Gerry put a hand on his shoulder. “Hold on now. I love Addie as a younger sister and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. She is Maia’s niece, Maia has always taken care of her, and since I’m with Maia, I look out for both of them. So remove the bloody chip from your shoulder. I just want you to know how vulnerable she is.”

Okay, so his perception
was
off. Maybe Gerry was just concerned for Addison’s well being. Hell, he would be, too, if he were in the guy’s shoes. Maybe Addison was right and he was jealous. He really needed to get a handle on things.

“I know she’s fragile, why do you think I thought I wasn’t good enough for her? That’s why I tried to pull away, but she’s a bright and strong woman, and I think everyone has underestimated her, including me.”

Gerry raised his eyebrows.

“Well, she may be bright and strong, but she’s still as sweet as they come.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Your uncle has nothing but the highest praise for you and I’ve known him for a long time, so I guess if Addie’s going to fall for a man, it might as well be you. Just watch your step.”

***

The moon hung high in the sky and clouds gathered around it like pillows cushioning a baby. Cael and Addie took their time going home, figuring it wasn't going to make a bit of difference. Eidolon knew where they lived no matter how long the trip took. As Addie drove, Cael kept his gaze focused on the sky and she wondered what Gerry had said to him to make him so quiet. She wished Gerry would mind his own business.

A large column of smoke rising a few blocks away grabbed Cael’s attention as he straightened. “There’s a fire. Turn here.”

She turned the truck down a residential street and pulled over. There were flashing lights from fire trucks in front of a two-story house engulfed in flames. The entire building emanated a flickering orange glow. A cacophony of shouts filled the air while onlookers stood by gaping as flames roared out through the windows. Firefighters held up hoses spewing water in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

Two firefighters stood at the front door holding axes, ready to enter the house when a blast blew them back about five feet, knocking both on their asses as flames burst out in front of them.

Sirens screamed past Addie’s ears as a rescue truck whizzed by.

A woman cried as she tried to break loose from the grip of a firefighter preventing her from racing back into the house, “My son, my son, he’s in there! Please let me go, he’s only four years old, won’t someone please go find him?”

Addie looked at Cael as he unbuckled his seat belt. “No, Cael, you can’t go in there.” She threw her hand out to stop him, but she was too late; he was gone.

She sat in her truck, stunned by what she was seeing. She unbuckled her seat belt to get out of her truck to help when a hand covered her mouth. She felt a knife at her throat as a raspy and muffled voice spoke close to her ear.

“It looks like your hero is a sucker for trying to save people. This time, though, maybe that fire’s just going to burn him alive.”

Addie stiffened, but wanted to see the face of her attacker and turned her head as the knife jabbed harder against her throat.

“Drive, bitch. Turn this fucking truck around and drive—and don’t try any of your little telekinetic or sparkler shenanigans on me or I’ll kill you right here.”

***

Cael materialized in one of the bedrooms upstairs, the crackle of flames hovering all around him as part of the roof collapsed. A beam clipped him in the shoulder—the same shoulder Addison healed the other day. Cursing, he clutched at it in agony.

“Hello! Little boy, where are you? Can you hear me?” He didn’t know the boy’s name but hoped he would respond.

He managed to get to the other bedroom, but couldn’t see anything for the smoke. He checked the bathroom, thinking maybe the boy was hiding in the tub. Where would a scared four-year-old boy hide? He teleported downstairs to the kitchen and called out again. Nothing.

The smoke choked his lungs. He grabbed a towel he found at the sink, ran water over it, and put it up to his face. He walked out of the kitchen and entered what was left of the living room. A table collapsed with a crash as the legs became charred stumps. The sofa roared with flames and glass exploded from the television as Cael heard shouts and the pounding of axes cutting through from outside. Fire surrounded him, but no sign of the boy.

He called out again, his voice hoarse from the smoke. He tuned in his hearing, heard a faint cry come from around the corner and headed in that direction to a closed door. He entered a room he surmised to be a playroom—still unharmed by the fire. There was a large plastic slide, toys scattered all over the floor and three large plastic blocks interlocked together with a blanket draped over them forming a cozy little fort. He bent down thinking the boy was there. He frowned when he found it vacant, but then remembered … children will usually hide under a bed or in a closed space. The whimpering came from behind him—a closet. He swung the door open and saw the boy crouched on the floor inside, tears trickling down his freckled cheeks.

“There you are, come on; your mommy’s waiting for you.”

“Mommy, where’s Mommy?”

“It’s okay, don’t be afraid. Come with me, I’ll take you to your mommy.” He scooped the boy up in his arms and covered him with the blanket from the fort. He looked up and saw the ceiling was about to give way and heard it come crashing down as he teleported them to safety. The heavy smoke lingering in the air disguised their instant appearance behind the house. Cael ran with the boy to the front where firefighters helped them to the street.

Cael handed the boy to his mother and she cried, hugging the boy and thanking Cael. A firefighter escorted them to the medics.

“Come this way, you need help.” A firefighter tugged on Cael's arm.

“No, I'm fine.” Cael coughed, shooing him away, but when he tried to stand on his own, his knees buckled. He found himself relying on the help of the fireman as he hobbled over to the medic truck where he sat on the tailgate, breathing in oxygen from a mask one of the paramedics affixed to his face.

The fire chief came up to Cael. He was a burly man with a bushy gray mustache and looked as if he’d seen his fair share of fires. “That was a brave thing you did. Are you okay?”

Cael pulled off the oxygen mask. “Yes, how’s the little boy?”

“He’s probably suffered some minor smoke inhalation, but I think he’ll be okay. He was lucky you got to him when you did. Can’t say it was a smart thing, you going in there, but it was a brave one. Maybe you should think about a career in firefighting.”

“Right, thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Cael looked for Addison’s truck, but it was gone. Where did she go? Sheer panic ran through his veins. He closed his eyes, trying to feel her essence; she wasn’t close. He knew she wouldn’t just take off. Something made her leave. Eidolon.

Chapter 33

With a knife at her throat, Addie didn't dare move a muscle, and without her hands, her powers were useless. Strands of material brushed against her neck as her captor spoke with a muffled sound. Guessing he was wearing some sort of hood over his head, the recollection of her nightmares swamped her mind. Fearing the sharp point of the blade would pierce deeper into her flesh, she did as he ordered. Under the tip of the blade, something dripped down her neck. Her dry mouth made speaking—let alone screaming—impossible. Her plan to sneak out later to protect Cael mocked her as the impact of the situation floated to the surface of her consciousness. She’d be dead soon, but all she could think about was Cael running into the fire.

“That’s a nice fire I started, isn’t it? I knew your boyfriend would try to save that kid. He’s a real boy scout, that one. Drive faster, before I shove this blade further into your throat.”

Addie pressed down harder on the gas as the truck accelerated to fifty miles an hour. The speed limit was only twenty-five on the curvy road. She fought to keep the truck steady so she wouldn’t lose control and end up topside in a ditch, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea.

The blade of the knife pierced her skin deeper; the liquid she felt tickling its way between her breasts must be her blood. If she died now, Cael would be safe—assuming he survived the fire. She already knew in her heart he had. He wouldn’t have rushed into a fire unless he knew he could teleport out with the boy. Eidolon would continue to search for the journal, but she was the real key here. He wanted the crystal, the book, her abilities, and then he wanted her dead. But if she managed to kill them both ….

She thought of her powers, but couldn’t figure out how to wield them without using her hands. Every time she tried to move, the knife pressed harder, so she stayed still for fear of antagonizing him further.

“Pull over here, bitch.”

Addie slowed the truck down and pulled over into some gravel. The truck swerved and the front two tires landed in a ditch as the knife jerked, cutting her even more.

“Fucking bitch. Not the smoothest landing, but it’ll do.”

Maybe she could try something now that she no longer had to concentrate on driving.

Her cell phone rang and she prayed it was Cael.

“Keep your hands on the wheel. That’s probably your Mr. Sheridan; I bet he’s frantic right now, if he made it out of the fire alive. Don’t move your hands. Remember, I can take over your mind if I have to.”