Beyond Fearless (25 page)

Get ready to grab the gun.

Jordan's voice echoed in his mind. He wasn't aware that the other telepath had disappeared until Jordan stepped from the trees directly behind of the man.

“Don't move.” As he spoke, Jordan clamped a hand on the guard's shoulder.

Hoping to hell that Jordan was controlling the man with his mind, Zach rushed forward, grabbed the gun hand, and pointed the weapon toward the ground.

The guy made a strangled sound. Quickly, they moved him back into the shadows.

“Stop. You don't understand,” he gasped.

“Oh yeah?”

“I'm here to save your…lover.”

“What the hell do you know about it? And why did you hold a gun on us?”

“I wasn't sure who you were—not at first. Then I felt your desperation. Are you Zachary Robinson?”

“Jesus. He knows we're coming.”

“No! He doesn't expect you. He doesn't even know I'm here. I asked the saints to send you to this place. And they have honored my request. They are on my side, not the side of San Donato.”

“What the hell does all that mean? Who are you?”

The man drew himself up straighter. “I am Joseph Hondino. I am a priest of the Vadiana religion. The people used to follow me. Now they are following the false priest, San Donato. Because he promises them things that are impossible.” He looked at Lindsay, who was at Jordan's side now. “You have powers—like San Donato. All three of you have powers. But you are the strongest. Go into my mind and see if I am telling the truth.”

Lindsay stared at him, then stepped forward and put her hands on his head. After several moments, she looked at Zach. “He came prepared to die, if that's what it took to stop San Donato from joining with Anna. San Donato's lover warned him about what was happening. He arranged for her to get off the island, then came here.”

Zach sucked in a sharp breath, wondering what the hell he was doing, standing here talking.

“You don't have to sacrifice yourself. I'll save her.”

When he started to push past the priest and run up the hill, the man grabbed his arm.

“You're going the wrong way.”

He whirled around, his pulse pounding

“She's not up there. Raoul's in too much of a hurry now. He's moved the ceremony down here—so he can get it over with as fast as possible.”

Zach's gaze shot to Lindsay, who still had a hand on the priest's head. “Is he telling the truth?”

“Yes. Anna's…” She pointed toward one of the houses. “She's behind there.

Zach saw a high fence. From beyond it, lights flickered.

“San Donato uses his gifts to do evil. And you do not. Use your powers to save her. Quickly. Before it's too late.”

Zach started running again, praying he was in time.

 

THE
women carried Anna to one side of the enclosure. In the flickering torchlight, she saw an altar looming above her. Like the one she had seen before in a vision. Only this was no dream. This was reality. A horrible reality. Where her life as she knew it ended.

They laid the stretcher down on a table in front of the altar. Quickly the women unfastened her wrists and ankles. They pulled her hands up and refastened them above her head.

The stretcher was removed, and her hips were positioned at the edge of the table with her legs pulled open and secured with ankle straps. She wanted to pretend that it was happening to someone else, but the flames leaping inside her body anchored her to the table.

They slipped a pillow under her head so she could see the crowd around her. She would have been horribly exposed, but one of the women had pulled the cloth down so that it dangled between her open legs.

It was all happening in a blur of unreality. Then a stir at the back of the enclosure made her go rigid.

The crowd parted, and San Donato stepped forward. He was naked to the waist, with a kind of long white skirt knotted around his hips. She could see his erection under it, and she cringed away.

A horrible tattoo fanned across his chest. It seemed to be a montage of faces spread across the front of him and onto one arm. And she thought it must be a living symbol of the horror that festered in his mind.

Tall men stood on either side of him. One of them was Bertrand.

Oh, Lord, Bertrand must be one of his most trusted men. And he had brought her to the island—for this twisted ceremony.

The throng went absolutely silent as San Donato and the other men walked toward her.

She shuddered. Were they all going to rape her? What?

San Donato had a look of satisfaction and anticipation on his face.

Even the faces on his damn tattoo looked satisfied.

No. Oh, God, no.

Bertrand and the other men moved to the sides of the table, standing at her shoulders.

San Donato knelt before the altar, speaking in a strong, confident voice.

“Ibena, I thank you for all the power you have granted me in the past. And I thank you for bringing my bride to this place. We will join together and we will be stronger than any who have come before us.”

This was it. Her last chance to get away. She focused on the thongs that bound her wrists, trying with every ounce of concentration to free her hands.

Nothing happened, and she held back a sob. But she kept trying, desperate to free herself, and all at once she felt something change.

Zach?

Yes.

He was here. Or was she just grabbing at a fantasy because it was her only hope of comfort?

But it felt like he was lending her his strength.

Still, what could the two of them do against San Donato and his mob?

Her mind zinged back to her surroundings as a hum of approval rose from the crowd when San Donato stood again and walked to her, his hand brushing her erect nipples through the thin fabric, sending a surge of arousal through her.

As he did, hatred shot through her. And energy. He thought he could join his mind with hers with this sick ceremony. But he was wrong. She would fight him with every shred of determination in her mind.

Zach. Please, Zach.

I'm coming. Hold on. Just hold on.

Help me.

The voice inside her head seemed louder. Yet maybe it was already too late.

San Donato reached for the cloth.

She raised up as far as she could, looking from San Donato to his followers and back again.

“I curse you, you disgusting animal,” she shouted, aloud and in her mind. She knew he felt the words as well as heard them because she saw pain flicker in his eyes. He gave her a murderous look and yanked the cloth away, the touch of the fabric like fire against her flesh.

The cloth fell to the ground just as someone in the crowd let out a shriek. Seconds later, cries of fear spread all over the enclosure.

“Fire!”

“Fire!”

Anna's head jerked to the side as she saw the stockade fence erupt in flames.

THE BURNING TORCHES
were suddenly dwarfed by the tongues of fire shooting up from the walls of the enclosure—flames that reached for the sky and turned the arena into an inferno.

People who had been waiting for the show in happy anticipation made a mad dash for the exit, screaming and crying and trampling each other in their haste to get away.

Some of them screamed in pain. But she spared them no sympathy. They had come here to see her ravaged and humiliated, and they were paying a high price—and getting a performance they hadn't anticipated.

In some part of her mind, Anna knew it wasn't real. Couldn't be real. Someone had turned the ceremonial ground into a nightmare inferno.

Not Zach. Someone else.

The man and woman who had contacted them before? Yes, they must be here, too.

With a new surge of hope, she struggled against her bonds. Triumph welled inside her as she pulled her hands free and struggled to a sitting position, bending to free her ankles. Then Zach was beside her, and she sobbed out his name.

“He didn't…he didn't…” She wanted him to know that right away, even if she still felt like she was going to jump out of her skin.

“Thank God.”

Zach had found her. And everything was all right. She was just about to sob out her relief when a new fear leaped inside her. One man hadn't made a run for the doorway of the flaming enclosure. It was San Donato, and she saw his shadow towering against the wall as he loomed behind Zach, a wicked-looking knife in his hand.

“Watch out!” she screamed.

Zach dodged to the side as San Donato lunged. The knife came down on the table, inches from her thigh.

“You bastard!” Zach would have sprung at the man, but Anna's silent shout held him back.
Don't…I want him to know he should never have gone after me. Help me.

The need to free herself from San Donato—finally and completely—gave her purpose. And for the moment, she was able to ignore the horrible heat that still held her body in its grip. She flexed her fingers, and Zach reached for her hand. The moment her body connected with his, she felt energy surge through her.

Zach!

Right here.

He let her do what she wanted, and she wanted justice. Or maybe it was revenge. For leaving Zach lying lifeless on the beach. For the whipping. For the horrible way he'd displayed her to his followers. And for the fate he'd tried to inflict on her.

As Zach opened his mind to hers, she gathered power from the flicker light of the fire—the fire she knew had no basis in reality—and turned it against the man who had wanted to enslave her.

Flames engulfed him.

“You bitch,” he shouted, his anger surging up to meet hers. He came rushing toward her, looking like his body had been doused with gasoline.

When Zach started to step in the way, Anna warned him with a mental shout to stop, then turned her attention back to San Donato.

But he must know the fire had never been real. That was why he had stayed in the enclosure when all of his followers had run.

She had turned his body into what looked like a flaming torch, but she was new at this, and she hadn't made him feel the pain of the fire. Realizing her mistake, she struggled to add that sensation—using the power that Zach lent her and the power of the man and woman who had come here with Zach.

They were there—in the back of her mind. They had conjured up the fire in the first place, and now they helped her make it as deadly as it looked.

And someone else was here, too. A man she didn't know. But he wanted to help them.

She knew she had succeeded in her goal when San Donato screamed and staggered back, dropping the knife and rolling across the ground as he beat at his body with his hands.

His anguished shrieks rose into the night as he rolled over and over, trying to put out the fire. But there was no way he could do it, because the flames had come from her mind.

He stopped rolling. His body jerked and twitched.

Finally, he lay still and lifeless. His body untouched but his chest no longer rising and falling.

As quickly as the inferno had engulfed him, it faded away.

Zach folded her into his arms.

“Thank God,” he breathed.

She clung to him, relieved yet hardly calm. With her focus off of San Donato, she felt the full force of the terrible arousal that she had banked.

“I need…oh, Lord, Zach…I need.”

“I know, love. I know,” he murmured. And he did know, because his mind was tuned to hers now, and he felt the terrible heat burning her from the inside out.

They were still out in the open, and he bent over her, shielding her body with his own as his hand pressed between her legs.

She should feel abashed at the intimacy. Yet she was incapable of stopping him. Incapable of doing anything besides responding.

She needed his touch. Burned for it.

As he rubbed his fingers against her clit, her hips surged upward, rocking frantically against him. It didn't take much to send her over the edge.

She climaxed in a great welling burst of sensation, pressing her mouth against his shoulder to keep from screaming as aftershocks zinged through her.

Thank you, Zach. Oh, Lord, thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for being the one to do that.

Do you feel better? I…

She did feel a little better. But she knew the terrible wave of arousal wasn't over. Even as relief left her weak, she felt strong needs gathering again.

He caught all of that in her mind. Reaching down, he picked up the cloth and wrapped it around her, then lifted her into his arms. “We're getting out of here,” he muttered.

The embarrassment broke through when she sensed two other people beside them. She had just reached orgasm, and the thought of sharing such a private moment with anyone besides Zach made her cringe.

Of course, in the back of her mind she knew that San Donato had wanted to share it with scores of his followers.

A voice spoke softly in her head—the woman who had contacted them earlier. On the island. The woman who had been with them when the plane went down.

Lindsay…West. The name came to her as the silent voice began to offer reassurances.

It's okay. It's not your fault. I know this is horrible for you. But can you hang on a little while longer?

I guess I have to.

We're going to get you out of here.

Okay.

The flames licking at the walls of the enclosure had died down. But their remnants remained, still bathing the area in an eerie light.

As they turned toward the entrance, a figure stepped out of the shadows.

Zach stopped short, but the man rushed past him and knelt beside San Donato.

Who is that?
Anna asked.

The priest who came here to stop San Donato. But we did it for him.

“He's dead,” the man whispered.

“Then you're free to get your people back.”

“I hope I can.” He swept his hand around the enclosure. “I can't offer them anything like this.”

“You can take over this place. And make it into something a lot better,” Zach said.

Anna couldn't focus on the conversation, because one phrase kept running through her head.
I killed him.

With our help,
Zach, Lindsay and Jordan instantly answered.
It's no more on you than on us.

She knew they were trying to comfort her. But in reality, she didn't have any regrets about killing San Donato. He had planned to take over her mind, and his death had been the only way to free herself from him.

Zach spoke again to the priest, who was standing again and looking around the empty compound.

“I guess the ceremony was too much for him. But maybe you'd better get out of here, before they blame you.”

“I stayed here to bear witness.” He turned and walked away, with his shoulders straight and his head held high.

Silently, Zach carried Anna toward the dock.

Outside the enclosure, the night was dark. Around them she sensed people watching. But nobody approached, and she thought that perhaps Jordan and Lindsay had put up some kind of shield around them. Or maybe the people understood their power and were afraid to mess with them.

She didn't know. And she was losing her focus on anything external. Her body had heated up again.

I can feel it inside me. So hot. Too hot.

Soon. We'll be alone soon. Just hold on. I'm right here. I'll take care of you soon.

The crunch of gravel under his feet changed to the sound of his shoes crossing wooden boards.

Where are we?

On the dock.

Zach was walking quickly now—practically running.

The stars above her swayed. And the solid surface seemed to sway below her.

No, that was a boat rocking. They were on a boat.

And Zach was climbing down the stairs, still holding her in his arms as he stepped into a cabin and slammed the door closed with his foot.

“Please,” she moaned.

He came down beside her on the bed.

“What the hell did he do to you?”

“The women washed me with something called…called fire soap.” She gulped. “As soon as it touched my skin, I started getting hot. And it must have sunk into me.”

“I'll kill him!”

She managed a laugh. “I think he's already dead.”

“Already rotting in hell.”

She lifted her head, hardly able to focus on her surroundings. Her body was clamoring for release again. But she needed to know that it was okay to let herself go. “Where are we? Are we safe?”

“Jordan and Lindsay rescued me after that guy hit me over the head. They saved my life.”

“Thank God.”

“We're in a cabin on the boat they chartered in Grand Fernandino. They paid a captain to get me and then come here.”

“Wasn't he afraid of San Donato?”

“Not everybody loved him. Maybe the guy was hoping they'd get rid of him.”

As he spoke, she felt the engines surge to life, and the boat headed out to sea.

“Thank God,” she whispered again. They were safe.

But she was still on the verge of madness.

Zach eased the covering off of her.

“I…need…”

“Anything. Just tell me.”

I've got to come again. Now.

With shaky fingers, she grabbed his hand, pressed it between her legs, rocking frantically against the pressure of his palm. He bent his head, closing his lips around one nipple, sucking strongly while he slipped two fingers inside her, stroking in and out as he used the other hand on her clit.

She couldn't hold back a scream as she came, lifted up on wave after wave of release that slammed through her system like a hit of some exotic drug.

For long moments she gave herself over to the roiling climax. When the sharp sensations ebbed, she lifted her hand and touched Zach's face.

It's you. Thank God it's you.

Thank God,
he echoed.

He's gone. I can feel he's really gone. I mean, he's not trying to horn in on…us.

He nodded against her hand.

“But it's hard to have you see me like this,” she whispered.

“It's okay. You're okay,” he murmured, easing down beside her on the mattress.

“No…I'm still out of control…” she sobbed out. “I can feel it coming back. I'm going to need to come again.”

“I'm here. I'll take care of you.”

“I need…”

She didn't have to tell him. He could read it in her mind. More than read it. He felt it as keenly as she did.

Standing, he stripped off his shirt and pants, taking his briefs along with them so that she could see his erection jutting toward her.

He came down beside her again. Gathering her to him, he stroked her tenderly but firmly, his fingers tightening on her swollen nipples. She found his mouth with hers, drawing on him for a long, greedy kiss as she reached down and clasped her hand around his erection.

In me. I need this in me.

Oh, yeah.