She crossed her arms, irritated with herself. She was not going to be scared. She slid back down the tree and sat again, this time keeping her eyes open, chanting to herself that she was strong, that she needed no one, that she could do this on her own.
It wasn’t real. She didn’t hear it.
Oh, God, yes she did. And she knew that voice, finally recognized the lilting, sickening sweet quality of Tase’s voice calling her name.
Tase, the leader of the Sons of Darkness.
Stricken with fear and unable to move from her spot on the ground, she inched her gaze in either direction, afraid at any moment she’d see his black-clad form materialize in front of her, that he’d sweep her away to Hell before she ever had a chance to change who she was.
Her heart pounded, adrenaline pumping. Tears pricked her eyes but she refused to give way.
“You can’t have me. Not this time.”
A soft laugh, so evil it made her shiver. She raised her knees to her chest and buried her face in her hands, ashamed to feel such fear.
“Isabelle!”
Dalton! She looked up. He was there, at the back door, searching for her. In her spot against the tree he hadn’t yet seen her.
No. She would
“Dalton!” she screamed, panic blanketing her as she pushed off the ground and tore off running.
He saw her, the smile dying on his face immediately. He pushed through the door and flew off the back stairs, running to meet her. Her legs shook so badly she could barely put one in front of the other, but she had to. She had to get to Dalton. Falling apart wasn’t going to help her get out of this mess.
She shuddered, the voice like a snake slithering over her.
They wanted to scare her. It was working. She couldn’t allow it.
Behind her, she heard laughter. Dark, demonic, coming closer.
Her breath wheezed in and out, her throat desert dry as she fought to swallow. She had no saliva left. Her fear had sucked it all up.
But only a few more feet and Dalton would be there.
She took a diving leap and fell into Dalton’s arms, panting from exertion and utter terror.
“Isabelle. Christ, what happened?” He wrapped his arms around her.
She couldn’t speak, her throat raw, her heart pounding so hard she was afraid it would leap out of her chest. All she could do was stare up at Dalton’s concerned face and thank God she was safe.
They hadn’t gotten her.
Not this time, anyway.
“I was bored,” she said, trying to breathe normally again. “I came out here to sit underneath the shade tree and work on my … mental exercises. I heard someone call my name. At first I thought it was you. But it wasn’t. It was like a voice in my head, but not in my head, if that makes sense.”
“No, not really. But I understand.”
He probably didn’t. “You think I’m crazy, that I’m hearing things.”
He looked down at her. “Honey, you’re not crazy. If you heard it, then it happened.”
It was nice that he believed her. Especially since she wasn’t certain she believed herself. “I don’t know, Dalton. Part of me thinks the voice was just in my head. Then again, it seemed like it was all around me.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“No. I looked everywhere. No one was around. And I thought it had to be my imagination, especially when I realized it was Tase’s voice.”
His face was grim as he nodded. “Let’s get you back to the cabin.”
They went inside the house. Dalton grabbed a bag and went to talk to Georgie for a minute. Then they walked back to the cabin.
“I’m sorry I left you today,” he said, sitting her down on the sofa.
“It’s not your fault.”
“Are you sure it was Tase’s voice?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“That he wanted me to come with him. That you were going to kill me, and that only they could save me.”
Dalton blew out a breath.
“Do they know where we are?” she asked.
“No. If they did, they’d come for you.”
“But didn’t they just do that?”
He swept a tendril of hair away from her face. “No. Their contact with you is on a psychic plane, not tangible.”
“So it’s like making a phone call but the number is blocked. They can reach me but they don’t know where I am.”
He smiled. “Something like that, yes.”
She stood, paced the living room. “I was scared out there.”
He watched her. “I don’t blame you. They’re hoping to frighten you, weaken you so they can penetrate your defenses.”
“They don’t think much of humans, do they?”
His lips lifted. “No, they don’t.”
She inhaled, blew it out. “They think we’re cowards, that we scare easily. That pisses me off.”
“Good. Your anger will give you power over them.”
She dragged her hands over her sweat soaked hair. “I didn’t say I wasn’t afraid. I think I’m more pissed at them than afraid of them, though.”
“Good. Keep it that way. I’m going to take a shower.”
Isabelle needed one, too. A fresh start, for both her body and her mind.
While Isabelle was showering, Dalton worked on modifying the disposable cell he’d purchased in town. He intended to make a call to Lou tonight, especially considering what had happened to Isabelle this afternoon.
Damn Sons of Darkness, the relentless bastards. Why couldn’t they go pick on someone else?
There wasn’t much he could do about that, other than fight them when the time came. And the time would come. He only hoped the Realm of Light would be there to back him up. Or, if he was lucky, he’d find a way to make the Sons of Darkness lose interest in Isabelle, and the only way to do that was to take away the threat of her turning into one of their strongest demons.
Which meant he needed to talk to Lou.
“What are you doing?”
He looked up at Isabelle. Her hair hung in soft wet curls over her shoulders, her skin pink from her shower. She pulled up a chair at the kitchen table and Dalton inhaled her scent, the clean washed smell of her shampoo and soap, and felt the tightening in his gut from being near her.
Deciding that focusing on work was better than drooling over Isabelle, he said, “I need to call Lou.”
