Love Beyond Sanity

  Why had she thought it was herself?

  "Because I am you, silly." The other woman laughed and winked at Charma before she vanished before her eyes.

  Hell, maybe it made sense. If the stories were to be believed, they had lived many times. She and Jason had been chosen for this task and for each other, or maybe they'd chosen each other. Charma wasn't very clear on how that exactly worked, so maybe it was possible she'd had something to do with demon destruction before.

  Sweating and itchy, Charma knew she had spent too much time in the creature's subconscious. She needed to get out. Turning around she searched for the light to find her way back to herself. Only blackness surrounded her. Where was the tunnel that would lead her back home?

  Jason.

  She called out but only silence met her. No, no, no. She couldn't be trapped. It wasn't possible. The snickering sound of the other woman's laughter did nothing but make her really angry.

  A sickening thought brought a bad taste to her mouth. If she was stuck in this thing's mind and Jason didn't know it what would happen to her when he completed his plan?

  Closing her eyes, she sent her energy, what little there was left, outside of herself. This was an entity like any other. If she could soothe her way out of the evil that possessed the earth, she could get herself out of this one too.

  Quiet.

  Like any animal, this one needed to calm down. If she could talk down Kal when he was in a rage, she could handle this. She hoped.

  Quiet. She instructed again and felt a strange shift. It's quiet time.

  These were her pre-school moments. All is well in your world.

  In the distance she saw a white light form and she moved herself towards it. Her body remained, she knew, safe on the ground next to Jason. But in here, this body—real or not—still needed to walk, to move towards the light and out of the darkness. The exit wasn't quite big enough for her yet.

  She took a deep breath. This was going to be awful and she'd hoped not to have to do this but if she wanted out, it was her only available option. Give me your pain.

  The surge of electricity that shot into her body nearly blinded her. Everything was blurry and her eyes burned.

  She kept moving forward. There was no choice and no time. Either she could die trapped in the thoughts and feelings of pure evil or she could get to herself.

  Wanting to scream from the torture that was a million tiny needles driving themselves into her skull, or at least it felt that way, she instructed again, more. I can take care of you. Give me more of your pain.

  The images that filled her nearly made her gag. People with their throats slit, souls sucked out through their noses, consumed for energy. Endless screaming. Never ceasing pain.

  Charma.

  It was Jason's voice. Strong. Loving. Calling to her. A beacon in the misery. He knew she was still inside.

  It worked. Come back to me.

  She could see the light more clearly now. Gasping for air, she pushed her way through and found herself collapsing into her own body.

  But the pain was still there. She'd taken it with her. Her head felt funny. Clogged, like it wasn't her own anymore. Closing her eyes, it all felt like too much.

  * * * *

  Jason stared at the demon that was holding 'her' head and rolling around on the ground. While most people responded favorably after a soothing by Charma, it seemed to be having the opposite reaction. He smiled. That would make his job even easier.

  Concentrating his focus on the wickedness in front of him, he placed all his attention on the creature's body. If she needed a body to live in, she could die in one too. Or at least that had been the general idea. Confuse it with Charma's ministrations so it didn't notice as he destroyed it.

  The first time he'd done this it had been all but a mistake. He hadn't even known he could do it. Now their lives depended on his getting it done. Saving Drew's life had meant pushing his energy to him. It had been the same sensation when he'd healed Charma earlier.

  Taking a life meant pulling energy outwards. Stopping her heart. Ceasing her brain function. And if he recalled correctly, it hurt like hell.

  He put his hand out in front of him and turned it upside down like he was grasping something that had mass. The air stirred around him, coming to life, answering his silent call.

  Jason pulled it towards himself. Like a picture book opening up, he could see her internal organs. It was time for them to stop. The air made an invisible cord, only he could see, and he tugged on it. Her heart was the easiest organ to manipulate.

  Almost as if it formed a lasso around the beating heart, the air began to strangle it under his command. Self-loathing gagged and grabbed her chest. Her eyes got wide as realization dawned on her.

  He resisted the urge to smile. This wasn't done yet. Not until she left the body would they be rid of her, at least in this capacity.

  "Don't send me back." She choked on the words and he felt Charma rise behind him. Placing a hand on his back, she steadied herself as he continued to tug the demon's life force out of its body.

  "If she dies, she goes back there a failure." Charma's voice sounded hoarse and she cleared her throat. "Finish it."

  "As my lady commands." He winked at Charma before giving a final pull. Self-loathing's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the ground.

  Moving forward quickly, he bent over her body. "I'd say complete cardiac arrest."

  Charma was silent and he turned to look at her. "Are you okay?"

  "No."

  Jason narrowed his eyes and stepped forward even closer. He pulled her into his arms and did a quick scan of her body. "What's wrong?"

  "It's still inside of me."

  "And will be for a while, right?"

  She rubbed her nose. "For how long, I have no idea."

  He took her face in his hands. "It won't stay, and it won't change you."

  "When it's inside of me, it feels like it will."

  The thought turned his insides cold. "I'm sorry I had to ask it of you."

  "I'm an Outsider too. It's as much my job as it is yours."

  "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

  She smiled and he saw her eyes liven up. The sight allowed him to take a deep breath. If she could do that, she'd be okay.

  "Charma, I…" His thoughts were cut off by a bloodcurdling scream from down below.

  Her eyes became huge and she grabbed his arms, her fingernails digging into him through his shirtsleeve.

  "It's Marina."

  He didn't need to ask how she knew that. Her tone of voice made it clear she was sure of what she said.

  Running to the edge of the building, he looked down. Marina laid strewn out on the lawn. Jason wasn't sure what he was seeing happening. But a large number of Sebastian's minions had formed a circle around her. Drew knelt on the ground next to her and Gabriel was behind the demon with his hands on both of its shoulders.

  After a second, Drew raised a hand and flung Sebastian backwards as Jason had seen him do earlier inside of the building. Gabriel took to the sky stopping right in front of them.

  "Drew says to get you."

  Jason nodded and grabbed Gabriel's arm. Charma held onto Jason's waist.

  "Is she dead?"

  Charma made a horrified sound and he felt her body tighten around his.

  "I think so."

  The trip down to the scene seemed to take forever although Jason felt it probably wasn't taking more than mere seconds.

  How the hell were they going to get around the minions?

  As if his thought commanded it, a slew of lightning came down from the sky eliminating the group around Marina. Jason watched in wonder as they turned into nothing more than ash.

  "What the hell?"

  "It's Kal." Charma's voice shook.

  Feeling it was close enough to the ground, Jason let go of Gabriel and ran to Marina.

  "I can't…" Drew looked up at him, his eyes wide. Jason nodded. There was no doub
t about what he meant. He couldn't save Marina and if he couldn't then it was all on Jason.

  Bending over her, he searched her body for a moment. Only the faintest glow of life remained inside the woman.

  "What the hell happened, Drew?" If Charma was cursing, she was really upset.

  Jason tried to tune out the voices around him as he concentrated. Most of his energy had been used up in his fight with Self-loathing. Behind him he heard running footsteps approach.

  "Charma, she threw herself in front of me. He was aiming for me."

  "Quiet."

  Jason needed it silent. He wasn't good enough at this to do it while distracted. The air stirred again at his command. Saving Marina wasn't an option, it was a necessity, and not because of some prophecy. No, it was because Charma wanted it, needed it. He could feel the importance of it to his love in every pore in his body.

  Reaching out, he knew he'd have to use every bit of power within himself that he could find. There could be nothing held back. He'd saved countless patients on the operating table but nothing mattered more than this moment.

  He pushed his energy into Marina. A barrier formed around her. It was almost too late to bring her back. He struggled against it and sighed when he felt it finally give in to him.

  Slowly, so slowly it almost made him scream, he felt her heart begin to beat. One beat, two. Then it stopped. No, god damn it. No. One beat, two. A hand on his arm almost threw off his concentration.

  But then he was stronger. One beat, two, three. It was steady. He watched her chest rise and fall. She was breathing. Her head moved back and forth on the ground and her eyes flew open.

  He let out a breath and almost fell backwards. Two sets of hands grabbed him. Looking around, he tried to take in his surroundings. Who were these people who were helping him?

  Charma laughed, as she rubbed his arm. "It's Kal and Leonardo. They're family."

  Nodding, he tried to smile at her but found he was too dizzy. Her face changed to seriousness. "Jason, are you okay?"

  "You helped me." He spoke to the brown-haired man on his left. Leonardo.

  "I'm a power enhancer. It's what I do."

  "Jason, are you okay?" Her voice was more forceful this time.

  "Think so." He looked down at Marina. She was in conversation with Drew. They were keeping their voices down.

  The darker of the two men, Kal, let go of his arm. Jason watched him as he looked around, taking in everyone who was there. A dark-haired, petite woman grabbed his arm.

  "So who are all these people?"

  Charma's laugh started as a snicker and got louder. Jason shook his head. If he'd had the energy, he might have laughed too.

  "Kal, it's been a crazy day. Did you have a nice flight?"

  * * * *

  Jason raised an eyebrow at Leonardo. The other man was clearly trying to size him up and Jason couldn't blame him. Even though they all claimed to want him on the island with them, he had just stepped onto their turf and he was sleeping with a woman who was, essentially, their sister.

  Internally, he shrugged. He really didn't care. The only one who mattered was Charma. If he could develop relationships with the rest of them, that would be wonderful and he would embrace that, but she was his world and the axis it rotated on. For her, he would make an effort.

  All of a sudden he was overwhelmed with a memory. As a child, he'd hated hearing about Leonardo and Kal when she talked about them in their shared dreams. Even then he'd known he wasn't going to like sharing her.

  "So, you're a power enhancer and Kal has warrior abilities that let him call electricity from the sky. I can stop someone's heart. Drew has an accumulation of power and that other guy… what was his name… he can fly."

  Leonardo nodded. "Gabriel, yes, and I'm not sure what to do about him. Why does he keep leaving? Why does Drew leave? Why don't they see that we're so much stronger, and safer, together?"

  Jason actually felt like he could answer that question. He squeezed Charma's hand. "When we children, Charma was always trying to get me to come and join all of you. I couldn't. I had this life and I was dependent on it." He paused realizing he hadn't told the whole truth. "I still feel somewhat connected to it, well more than that, I'm still incredibly connected to it. You can't just let go of what you are devoted to, even if you want to, for something that seems so completely impossible."

  Leonardo nodded. "But both Gabriel and Drew know what's going on."

  "That doesn't mean they still don't have things they have to handle or come to terms with before they can come and join us. Hell, I had to be trapped in my own mind by a demon." Charma's blue eyes bore into his and his chest got tight. "If the prophecy is real, they will come when it's time."

  The door opened and Kal, Isabelle, and Marina came through. Marina looked more distraught now than she had when they'd been in mortal danger. Was this how Charma had felt? God, he'd never be able to make up for the time she'd spent in agony.

  "I don't want anyone to speak his name. Not for a while." Without another word, Marina crossed the room and headed up the stairs.

  Isabelle sighed. "There will come a time when we'll all be happy. I know it. Someday we'll all sit in this living room and do something like play cards."

  Leonardo crossed to the window, placing his hands on the pane. "Listen, if we can't talk about 'he who will not be named' then I want to talk about Gabriel, soon." He turned around and for the first time Jason thought he and Leonardo might actually be kindred souls. They were clearly both driven and task oriented. Leonardo wanted a plan of action, so did Jason. Yes, he could start to see where he might fit in this group.

  "Later." Charma interrupted. "I have plans for Jason right now."

  * * * *

  "I can't believe he left her, again."

  Jason smiled at the amazement in Charma's voice. He sat behind her in her bathtub, and for the past ten minutes, he'd slowly rubbed her back with a washcloth. The hot water was the best possible sedative to end the adrenaline rush they'd been on for the last two days.

  "Gabriel left too."

  "Yes, but he didn't have a soul mate here who died on the ground saving him."

  Jason remembered Drew falling dead at his feet and nodded his head. "Drew is a complicated guy."

  "To say the least."

  "Unlike me."

  "Unlike you?" Charma snorted.

  "I am as easy to understand as a small baby."

  "You're so complex, half the time I need a road map, and I can read your thoughts."

  He kissed the top of her blonde, wet hair. "I never want to be boring."

  She took a deep breath and leaned further against him. The feel of her naked backside against his groin made him harden. They were getting out of the tub soon or else they were using it for different purposes.

  "Leonardo is so excited about your powers; I thought he was going to float home."

  "Don't want to talk about Leonardo right now."

  He kissed the edge of her neck and thanked his lucky stars, or fates, or whatever it was he was supposed to thank, that Charma had come to save him.

  Against him, he felt her stiffen. "What's wrong?"

  "We don't have to stay here, if you don't want to."

  "Where would we go?"

  "Back to your practice, your family, wherever you want."

  He nodded. "We will have to see my family, eventually." He rubbed her back one more time with the washcloth. "But this is what we're doing now. Your destiny is my destiny, your life is mine. We're in this together."

  She turned around in his arms and smiled at him before kissing his chest. "Then let's get out of this tub."

  He never argued with a smart woman.

  Epilogue

  Fate took a deep breath and smiled. The Outsiders who surrounded the Panel of Sight seemed to take a collective sigh. Four down. Fourteen to go. It was far from over and even Destiny didn't know where to go from here.

  * * * *

  Sebastian sat on his
porch in New Orleans smoking his cigarette. Next to him, Alexa stared quietly out into the night. Cars zoomed by on the nearby busy street but he was unconcerned with them. His sister was gone, that was a good thing. But the rest of it made him want to cause a plague.

  He would get them. One-by-one. Whatever security they thought they were forming by finding their people would be over soon. He'd killed two of them. Now the key was going to be keeping them dead.

  Reaching out he hugged Alexa in what he hoped was a brotherly fashion. The little woman next to him would make all of that possible. Next time they wouldn't be so lucky.

  * * * *

  Charma stared out into the night. It was calling to her again.

  "Haven't you done enough for, oh say, the next three or four weeks?" Jason's voice filled her inside and she felt warm and relaxed.

  "It needs me."

  He nodded. "I know. But it's always going to need you. At some point it's okay to say no."

  "Maybe, but not tonight."

  "Whatever you have to do Charma, I'll always be here."

  And she believed him, which was the best possible feeling. Turning around, she wrapped her arms around his strong body.

  "We're going to win this you know."

  "Prophecy is a new gift you've acquired?"

  "No." She smiled into his chest. "I think I'll leave that to Eden. But I just know it. When this is over, we'll be the ones left standing."

  * * The End * *

  About the Author

  As a teenager, Rebecca would hide in her room to read her favorite romance novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework. She hopes, these days, that her parents think it was worth it.

  She is the mother of three adorable boys, and she is fortunate to be married to her best friend. They live in northern New Jersey and try not to freeze too badly during the winter months.