Mind Game

  "Dahlia, I'm going into that house, and I'm bringing Calhoun out. You damned well better be here when I get back. I'd find you, and believe me, you'd see that I'm not always in control, so get it out of your head that you're sneaking off to save me from myself." He caught her shoulders and gave her a small shake. "I'm a grown man. I make my own decisions. I'm not having you 'protect' me any more than you want my protection. Got that?"

  Dahlia sighed, wanting to be upset that he knew what was in her mind, but inexplicably pleased that he was insisting she wait for him. "I've got it. Just don't go getting yourself killed. That would make me mad, and God knows, I'd probably burn down half of Louisiana."

  He pulled out his cell phone. "Don't melt this. We need it."

  "Then why are you giving it to me?" She dropped the small cell onto the sheet.

  "You may need it. Lily's number is programmed in."

  Dahlia looked with interest at the cell. Lily was just on the other end of the phone. Real-life Lily, not a figment of her imagination. Not the one in her dreams. The temptation to pick up the phone was nearly as strong as her sudden fear. Her mouth was dry. "Be careful, Nicolas. Don't get over-confident. You have a tendency to be that way."

  "I'm never over-confident," he denied. Nicolas caught Dahlia's chin and brushed his mouth gently over hers. "You listen to me this one time, Dahlia. If something goes wrong, anything at all, you haul butt out of here fast. You have the cell phone and the number. Call Lily. The GhostWalkers will be here as soon as possible."

  She caught at him before he could turn away. "You listen to me this one time, Nicolas. If anything goes wrong, don't be a hero. Haul your butt out of there and in one piece. We'll call Lily, and she can send the others."

  He looked down at her for what seemed an eternity, a moment stretched out in time. His hard features softened. Tenderness crept into the black obsidian of his eyes. "I hear you. I'll come back."

  Nicolas felt her fingertips cling just for a moment and then slide from his arm. He went with the minimum amount of equipment, wanting to get in and out as quietly and as fast as possible. He slipped into the water, a dark shape moving upriver, toward the house. He made no noise, not even a light splash to give away his position. The current was strong but he stayed close to the bank, maneuvering in the reeds and brush and rock. He allowed only his head to surface, his gaze wide open and watching the guard facing the river. With the boulders behind him and the bushes screening him, he knew he was in a good position to remain hidden.

  Tension rose in him. A bad sign, one he'd come to recognize as a warning signal. The guard stared at the black surface of the water for some time before turning away. From watching earlier in the day, Nicolas knew the guard would blind himself temporarily by striking a match and lighting a cigarette. He waited for the inevitable moment, and as soon as the match flared, Nicolas slid from the water onto the embankment, yards from the house. There was no cover whatsoever. He laid on the ground, in the open, a part of the rocky terrain, moving a scant inch at a time.

  He had already crawled the path he would take in his mind throughout the day while lying in the river, and he knew precisely where he would go and what he would encounter. There was no dog to sense his presence and the guard was bored and irritated with his assignment, but Nicolas didn't rush. There had been one man on the alert, watching diligently and occasionally reprimanding the other two guards.

  He worked his way to the parameter of the house and discovered a thin wire stretched low to the ground between two trees. He'd caught a flash of light from the area twice and suspected something had been strung up as a hasty security measure. It was lower to the ground than he would have liked. He couldn't simply ease his body beneath the wire as he would have preferred. He had to go over it, and that meant rising without so much as a blade of grass to give him cover.

  Nicolas waited in the darkness, breathing lightly, his senses flaring out to "feel" movement in the night. Something crunched in the rocks by the corner of the house. Footsteps coming his way. The one guard who paid attention to his duties was making his rounds with his usual thoroughness. Nicolas eased his hand down his leg until he felt the familiar grip of his knife. Careful to make no noise, he drew the weapon from the sheath strapped to his calf. Using psychic pressure was always a dicey proposition. He willed the man to look the other way, careful to keep the suggestion a light one. If he met with heavy resistance, he would have to stop instantly. Some people had very light resistance and agreed readily with every suggestion, no matter how subtle. Others had stronger barriers and often resisted and even became suspicious, or uncomfortable, looking around, shaking their heads, obviously fighting the "push" to act out of character.

  The sound of a scream burst from the house. Instantly the night insects went silent. The guard on the porch tossed his cigarette aside and leaned down to call to the one circling the house. "He's not going to tell Gregson anything. Why doesn't Gregson just kill him and be done with it?"

  "Shut up, Murphy and get back to your watch."

  Murphy cursed and spun away from the railing. "With all the screaming going on, Paulie, don't you think the neighbors are going to call the police soon?"

  "By the time anyone hears him way out here, Gregson will kill him, and we'll be long gone." Paulie stopped walking and backed up until he could clearly see all of Murphy. His boots were no more than five feet from Nicolas's head. "And you'd better stop yelling, the woman might show up."

  Murphy turned back to the railing, a snarl on his face. He glared down at Paulie. "I think all the screams coming from the house are going to tip her off that we're here."

  Paulie shifted his rifle. It was the smallest of gestures, but a clear signal. "You've always been too squeamish, Murphy. Just do your job."

  Murphy spit over the railing and walked away, his boots making an angry sound on the wood.

  Paulie stood for a moment staring up at the house before turning away to once more make his way around the parameter, just inside of the thin wire. He passed within inches of Nicolas. The guard wasn't looking down at the ground, but out into the darkness.

  Nicolas remained still until Paulie had turned the corner of the house. He eased himself up and over the wire. Almost immediately Murphy, up on the porch, returned. Nicolas froze, "pushing" him to look the other way. The cries in the house had died down, but Murphy was clearly uncomfortable with what was going on. He lit another cigarette, staring out over the river blindly. Only when he began to pace restlessly away from the railing did Nicolas gain the path to the house.

  The windows along the side were locked. It didn't present much of a problem. He could work uncomplicated locks. These were classic sliders. With all the practice Lily had made the GhostWalkers do, such a minor thing didn't even cause headaches anymore.

  Get the hell out of here, Dahlia. It's a damned trap. The male voice was weak and edged with pain, but carried the unmistakable command of a man used to obedience.

  Jesse Calhoun must have felt the surge of power when Nicolas manipulated the locks. I'm not Dahlia. Are any of the guards telepathic?

  Nicolas felt Calhoun's shock and instant withdrawal. Come on, man. I don't have a lot of time before the guard comes around to this side of the house. Dahlia's waiting close by.

  You're the shooter. In the sanitarium. Their plan went all to hell because of you.

  How many inside?

  Four. I don't know how many outside, but they've got the house covered. And they have sensors in the rooms. I'm dying anyway. You can't save my life, I've lost too much blood and my legs are hamburger. Just get Dahlia out of here.

  I'm coming in now.

  Calhoun cried out in pain, a long scream that tore at Nicolas's gut. He had no idea if Gregson was still in the room torturing Jesse, or if the scream was meant to cover any sound. Regardless, Nicolas took the opportunity to slide the window open and slip into the house. Using his enhanced abilities, Nicolas tripped the sensors throughout the house as he went up the wall
to the ceiling, knowing they would come for him. They wouldn't know which room he was in, and they would have to search each one. To do that would divide their numbers.

  He clung to the walls like a spider, pressing with his hands and digging with his toes, moving up in the corner until he loomed over the door. He didn't have long to wait. The door burst open, and the shadowy figure in the hall let loose with his weapon. Bullets chewed up the walls and floor, knocked out the pane of glass.

  The man stepped into the room, sweeping the area with his flashlight. Nicolas sprung onto the floor behind him, landing lightly on the balls of his feet, transferring his knife from his teeth to his hands as he did so. Others were pouring bullets into various other rooms. He loomed up behind the guard, a silent, lethal shadow and was gone just as quickly, rolling down the hall, away from the thud of boots toward the darkened alcove. Just above the window seat was a wide built-in cabinet. Nicolas went up and over the cabinet to lay in the darkness, fitting the familiar grip of the Beretta into his palm.

  "It's her, damn it," someone snarled. "Get in the room with Calhoun. Put a knife to his throat. If she gets that far, threaten to kill him. She'll cave."

  The house was eerily silent after the command was issued. Nicolas listened for the heavy tread of boots leading to Calhoun's room. Two men were coming toward Nicolas, answering Gregson's order.

  He's coming to put a knife to your throat. Don't react. I'll take him out. Nicolas warned Calhoun of the intent.

  I'm telling you it isn't worth it. Get the hell out while you have the chance. Calhoun's voice was shaky, even in Nicolas's mind.

  Can you take out the one coming for you?

  Too weak. Can't even lift my arms.

  Nicolas made out the men moving like shadowy wraiths down the narrow hall. It was a bad position for them and they knew it, moving into the doorways for cover, but wary of the rooms once they found their fallen comrade.

  You're a GhostWalker, Calhoun, same as I am, the same as Dahlia. Turn him away from you. Buy me some time. Nicolas made it a command. Calhoun was a Navy SEAL. No matter who he worked for, once a SEAL, always a SEAL. He knew what an order was, and he would obey it with his last breath.

  It was significant to Nicolas that Calhoun didn't question what a GhostWalker was. He'd heard the term before, and that was a piece of information worth remembering. Only a select few with high-security clearance were familiar with the term. Jesse Calhoun hadn't been among those trained with Nicolas. Where had he come from?

  The lights flickered on. Immediately it was a disadvantage for him. Ghosts walked in the dark. Nicolas concentrated on the circuit breaker, on blowing the circuits. It wasn't easy. He didn't have the gift as some of the other GhostWalkers did. Almost immediately lightbulbs throughout the house began to pop. Sparks and glass rained down. Wires melted, plunging the house once again into darkness. Flames licked up the walls and spread across the ceiling, casting orange shadows everywhere. Nicolas couldn't generate that kind of heat. Dahlia was helping him, focusing energy and aiming it. As always with Dahlia, the results were far more than she'd hoped.

  Nicolas waited until two men went past him before sliding silently to the floor, replacing the Beretta with this knife. He made his way along the hall, keeping behind the two men leading the way for him, his footfalls exactly matching theirs. The lead man shoved open a door on the left and instantly Nicolas smelled blood. The scent was overpowering, sickly sweet. Worse was the smell of infection. Like the ghost he was, he moved up directly behind the man closest to him and caught him around the neck with a thick arm, the knife slicing deep.

  Nicolas felt the surge of power as Jesse Calhoun tried to keep the first guard's attention as he came toward the bed. Nicolas lowered the body to the floor and stalked after the lead guard. The man already had his knife out as he approached the wounded NCIS agent. Nicolas was on him before he could reach Jesse, dropping him to the floor without caring too much about the noise.

  "Nicolas Trevane," he greeted, watching Calhoun closely for signs of awareness. The GhostWalker program had been small.

  "I know who you are," Calhoun responded. His voice was a thread of sound. The very act of speaking seemed too much for him. "Get Dahlia clear. They can't get their hands on her."

  Nicolas waved him to silence. He could feel Dahlia's presence, although he'd told her to stay as far from the house as she could so that any violence taking place would be dispersed naturally before he ever called her in. He waited in the darkness, afraid for her, wondering if she was ill, while only a few feet from him Jesse Calhoun lay dying. He heard Gregson call out to his men just as a hail of bullets cut through the wall. He threw himself onto the floor and reached up to drag Calhoun off the bed.

  The NCIS agent was a dead weight, already unconscious when he hit the floor. Nicolas pulled the mattress down to provide a little more cover for the wounded man as the bullets tore great gouges out of the wall behind him. He retreated to the window. The glass had been broken out by bullets, leaving behind jagged shards hanging in the frame. He broke the remaining glass out with the butt of his gun and slipped out to gain the roof. He found himself directly over Murphy's head. The guard was leaning down, trying to get a sight into the house.

  Nicolas stilled, aware of the seconds ticking by. Seconds Jesse Calhoun didn't have. He leapt out of the darkness, giving Murphy no time to fire off his weapon, his knife finding the target, and slipping away, back into the shadows to stalk Paulie.

  The bullet came out of the night, clipping his shoulder, removing material, skin, and hair as it slid past, burning as it kissed him. He was spun around, but went with the momentum, allowing it to carry him over the roof to the deck below. He landed on his feet in a crouch and rolled across the expanse of flooring to gain the series of planters and the relative cover they provided.

  "We've got her cornered, Paulie," Gregson shouted. "She's on the deck."

  Nicolas crawled backward until his boots touched the railing. GhostWalkers preferred high ground, but he'd take low if it was all that was available to him.

  "It isn't the woman, Gregson," Paulie informed his boss. "Too big. I think I winged him though. Give me a minute to get into position and we'll end it."

  Nicolas slid over the railing, coming to ground just below the deck. He traveled the same path the guard had walked, moving around the exterior of the house until he had gained a position close to where Gregson's voice had come. He waited, counting the seconds, sending a subtle push toward the man to speak again.

  It was in Gregson's nature to control a situation, and the push found contact. "Drive him toward me, Paulie."

  It was all Nicolas needed, that single sentence to give him the exact location. He drew and fired in one smooth motion, going for the kill. He immediately moved, hurrying along the path to the corner.

  "I knew he'd open his big mouth," Paulie's voice came from a few feet away and down low as if he were lying on the ground. "And I knew you'd nail him."

  Nicolas froze, trying to discern the guard's precise location. Heat flared all around him, the temperature rising fast. Orange-red fireballs streaked through the sky, arcing along the river and dropping to the earth to blast into the ground. Nicolas threw himself flat, rolling to fire off three shots in Paulie's direction. The ground shook with the force of the fireballs as they slammed into earth. He heard Paulie grunt, the sound a good distance from where he'd been.

  Nicolas closed his eyes and sent his mind seeking until he found the target. Paulie was crawling toward him, wincing away from the fire raining down from the sky. Nicolas tracked him, first with his mind, then with his gun. He took aim and squeezed the trigger.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  "He's dying, Nicolas." Dahlia staggered toward the man lying unmoving on the floor. "Jesse." Tears glittered in her eyes. "I can't lose you too. Don't do this." Crouching beside him, she caught his hand, held it tightly, and looked up at Nicolas. "Do something." Dahlia had never seen anything resembling the raw flesh that p
assed for the lower half of both of Jesse's legs. She could see bones and muscles and there was so much blood. Too much blood. He had burn marks on his chest and several cuts, but it was the horror of his mangled legs that made her terrified for him.

  "I've called for an ambulance, Dahlia, and the NCIS has agents coming as well. Lily's contacted them, and they'll be here in a few minutes." Nicolas couldn't look at her. She was as white as a sheet, her eyes too large for her face. Her body trembled under the strain of the aftermath of so many deaths. She'd already been sick once, and he could see her fighting for breath. She was soaking wet and streaked with mud from traveling along the river's edge. He had no idea how she managed to get to him, lugging his pack along with her. The pack weighed as she much as she did, but she was there, her eyes filling with tears and tearing out his heart. There wasn't a damned thing he could do about it either. "We can't be here when they come."

  "You can save him, Nicolas," Dahlia said. "I know you can. I feel the power in the room with us. You have to try. He won't last until the ambulance gets here. You know he won't. You told me your grandfather felt it in you a long time ago. He could heal, so can you."

  "I told you I couldn't heal anyone, Dahlia. I've never been able to." Failing her left him feeling worse than he had felt at any other time in his life. "I'm sorry, I wish I could save him for you, but I can't." It wasn't as if he couldn't feel the power moving through his body. It was there, a tight coil he could never unfurl. He had tried so hard in his youth to learn the secret, spent time in the mountains on vision quests, had meditated, all to no avail. He couldn't bring the power out of his body and into another's no matter how grave the injury or how important the need.

  "There's all this energy bombarding me, surrounding us. It's violent and ugly, but we've mixed it before, we can do it again, this time use it for something good. You have my crystals in your pack. I can aim and focus the energy through the crystals. You kept us joined while you were here alone, you can keep us joined so you can use the energy. I've never been able to release energy through crystals but I think you can."