Chapter Two #3
“Imagine how I feel. What we know is this thing needs souls and energy to survive. Thus, the psychic vampire. He’s not going to stop until he wins.
He will keep moving psychic-to-psychic until he feeds on all of the ones in Salem—you guys included.
Beckett burning out was a blessing for him. He’s now safe from this lunatic.”
Jesus.
H.
Christ.
The last thing he wanted to hear was that his whole family was marked for this. Julian was now twitchier than a John picking up a hooker two blocks from the police station.
“What is he winning?” Tori asked. “That’s what has me confused.”
Julian stared at his wife.
Was she serious?
“That’s the ONLY thing that has you confused? I have a laundry list of things that have me three days beyond confused and into befuddled.”
There was laughter in the room, and it cascaded over all of their flesh, drawing goosebumps to their skin. It came from Avalon, but she hadn’t said a word.
Out.
Loud.
“Okay, I don’t like that,” Hart said. “That’s creepy and is making my ears ring.”
Yeah, they were aware. Only, Avalon was Avalon. She was a mix of sassy and amusing when she wanted to be.
As for what Hart said, she clued him in.
“That ringing is the static. You two are using gifts that straddle both worlds.”
He shut his mouth.
FAST.
The last thing he wanted to know was what else he could do as a psychic. It took a damn long time to adjust to this, and to come to grips with his gift.
Or the fact that his daughter, Ivy, also had a gift.
“Uh, yeah, I don’t want to know,” Hart said.
Oh, she was well aware.
Since they were burning daylight, or moonlight, in this case, and Nate was exhausted—more so than she was—Avalon continued.
“Anyway, this monster hunts you because of your family and the past. He’s unhinged, like most of the psychics we’ve hunted.”
Lucian agreed.
“Every single one we tried to stop was broken by their gift,” he admitted. “There’s a fine line between being in control of your gift and being twisted by it.”
Well, truer words had not been spoken.
Nyx had lost her nut, and there were days Julian wanted to lose his.
“How do we stop this and protect Genesis?” he asked. “Because we don’t want to see her hurt.”
Avalon was honest.
“I can tell you the outcome, as of right now, but it’s not pretty. I’ve yet to be able to change it.”
Oh, well, that sounded bad.
Tori went there.
“Just tell us. We’re a proactive kind of a group. We like to know what we’re dealing with so we can run headlong INTO it, not AWAY from it.”
Well, if they wanted to know…
“Genesis is going to die, and so will Lucian. That’s what’s coming. I’m the final one it will come for, and I’ll die too. Once that happens, it will settle into the static, and feast on every soul there until it destroys them all.”
Both Josh and Bishop gasped at hearing what the endgame was going to be.
“He wants to take them down, so I’m weakened,” she admitted. “I can alter fate, but it takes time, and it takes a million pieces falling into place, perfectly.”
When she paused, everyone stared at her, waiting for what she’d say next. Only, it wasn’t what they’d assumed.
“Bishop, can you get that?” Avalon asked. “Company is here.”
At her words, Bishop, along with everyone else, was confused.
“Get what…?” she asked, right before they all heard it. There was a banging on the door of the business.
Everyone jumped.
“We have company,” Avalon stated.
Well, shit.
What was this?
Since the couches were not far from the main entrance, Bishop got up to handle it, since she was wearing a gun.
The bottom line was that no one was taking her husband’s life. She’d do anything to keep him alive.
ANYTHING.
As she approached the door, her gun was out, and she was NOT playing around.
Everyone was tense.
And with good reason.
“Be calm, the tension is overkill,” Avalon admitted. “She’s safe. You can trust me,” she reminded them.
Oh, and Lucian was still on guard, even though he knew that Avalon wouldn’t let anything get to them.
Die-hard habits were difficult to break, even when he knew his wife was able to handle herself.
After all, she had a baby on board.
“Lucian,” Avalon said, touching his arm, and he calmed down. “It’s okay.”
It’s friend, not foe.
Her calm reassurance was the ONLY reason Lucian wasn’t standing in front of his PREGNANT wife. He’d seen what happened to Wynter when she had a gun in her hand, and he fully expected to have to disarm Bishop.
Just.
In.
Case.
When Bishop reached the door, there were two figures outside of it. Both had their backs turned to the tinted glass. As she opened it, they turned.
And Bishop saw that Avalon was right.
They had company.
And a flashback to another time, another place, and a whole other part of their lives.
Family had arrived.
“Someone called for backup?” Major Maura Gaines-Mars-Armstrong asked. “Because my Spidey senses were tingling and we were told to come to this address for a very important meeting.”
Oh, hell.
Now, Bishop knew the shit was going to hit the fan.
The whole team was back together again and in the same freaking city.
And that wasn’t good.
Not for any of them.