Dark Storm (Dark #23)(34)
Author: Christine Feehan

"Is everyone all right?" Jubal asked.

They all nodded, shock taking its toll on their voices.

"That sounded far away," he ventured after a few minutes.

Riley’s heart settled into a steadier beat. She swallowed several times, testing her ability to speak. "It feels far away, the other side of the mountain. I can tell there are several vents open releasing pressure, and that blast wasn’t catastrophic, but more of a burp. But it’s out." She met Gary’s gaze grimly. "I couldn’t hold it and calm the volcano at the same time. So if we’re right and the blast was on the other side of the mountain and we’re not going to get burned up, we’re going to have to deal with it-whatever it is."

She tasted the bitterness of failure. Fear skittered down her spine, yet deep within the earth, her fingers curled and held on tight to … hope. She caught the elusive presence of another. Male. Power. Strength. Yet his touch was subtle, a child of the earth as she was. At once she felt comfort. She wasn’t entirely alone in the world. She had a brief glimpse of calm. Of determination. Of someone who would never surrender or back down.

Her breath caught in her throat. For one moment he seemed to touch her mind, a stroke, no more, inside her mind, a caress. She knew he was every bit as aware of her as she was of him. He didn’t feel anything at all like the evil one had. This was so different. Gentle. She had the very vivid impression of a powerful being unafraid of his own strength and entirely confident. She wanted to cling to him for a moment, a strong anchor in an exploding world gone chaotic and mad all around her.

He was gone before she could catch his path. A soft, protesting cry slipped from her lips. She’d felt hope for the first time. In that brief moment, she couldn’t explain it, but she wasn’t so alone. He understood the whispering of the earth, the information she gathered when she sank her hands deep into the soil-that complete affinity with and the need, even compulsion, to care for the plants and environment around her. She was the guardian, the sentinel, and somewhere another walked the same planet and held that same job.

It occurred to her that she was a little mad after the murder of her mother-that she’d suffered some deep psychotic break-and she barely managed to swallow the bubble of hysterical laughter. She couldn’t afford to lose it. Not now.

"Whatever the evil entity is-and it feels masculine to me-it speaks the same language as the porter chanted when he killed my mother. And I think it managed to escape with the blast." She swallowed hard, her eyes meeting Jubal’s. "I’m sorry. I tried my best. If my mother hadn’t been killed maybe she could have done more."

Ben carefully picked himself up, scooting across the dirt to put his back to the wall, careful to keep his movements short. "Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on here." He pushed his hair back, his hand coming away filled with ash. "Because I feel a little bit as if I’m going insane. Did she really stop the volcano? I mean, we’re still alive aren’t we?"

"For the moment," Gary said. "I think she managed to minimize the blast and direct it to the other side of the mountain. The vents opening closer to us are just relieving pressure."

"How long have you had this particular skill?" Ben asked, his tone somewhere between awe and sarcasm.

"Since my mother died," Riley replied, feeling a little distracted. She wanted to brush up against that elusive feeling of comfort and strength and draw courage from it just one more time. Trapped in a cave, waiting to cook to death, exhausted beyond anything she’d ever known, she wanted to curl up in the fetal position and hide.

"How did you do this?" Ben demanded. "Are you some kind of devil worshipper? No one can make a cave grow over their head or stop a volcano from exploding."

"Clearly, I didn’t stop the volcano," Riley pointed out. "And that’s the second time you’ve accused me of worshipping the devil, and I really don’t appreciate it. You were right here. You watched everything I did. I called on the Universe, not the devil." She couldn’t keep weariness-or disgust-out of her voice, and it wasn’t entirely fair to Ben. Given everything that had happened, his fear and need to lash out were understandable. If everyone weren’t looking for her to save them, she might be tempted to lash out, too. Moreover, how could she explain what was happening to him when she didn’t understand it herself?

Grief welled up without warning, and she blinked back a hot rush of tears. She wanted her mother-needed her. Everything was happening so fast, and Riley didn’t have a clue what she was doing.

Gary stepped in smoothly. "Calm down, Ben. I know what’s happening seems crazy, but just because you’ve never encountered something like this before doesn’t make it less real-or less dangerous. Fighting among ourselves is only going to make things worse. Jubal and I have witnessed things that would send most people screaming their way straight to the loony bin. But the truth is, evil does exist, monsters come after us in the night, and people like Riley are sometimes the only thing standing between us and total annihilation. I wish you hadn’t had to be a part of this, but unfortunately for you, you’re a brave man and you chose to protect Riley instead of running away like the others. That choice, while admirable, has put you in harm’s way and exposed you to powers beyond your comprehension. As long as you stick with us, you’re going to be in the middle of this, and I can pretty much guarantee it’s going to get worse before it gets better. So we need you to keep your cool, and lay off Riley. Sniping at her isn’t going to help any of us."

Riley had to admire his calm, matter-of-fact explanation. There was something very reassuring about Gary. No drama. No ego. Just his presence. She took another drink of water. Her throat felt parched, her body thirsty. She needed … but what she didn’t know. Only that she was suddenly craving something. Despite her exhaustion, her blood was on fire, rushing through her veins, her pulse leaping, finding a strange rhythm.

She felt more alive than she ever had and had no idea if it was because the volcano had come to dramatic life, breathing fire, or if it was because she’d connected with someone who had given her a brief moment of comfort in the midst of total madness. Maybe it was the intensity of her emotions, the fear, the grief, the adrenaline. Whatever it was, she felt every bit as vibrant as she did weary.

"It’s just hard to wrap my head around all this," Ben said in a calmer voice. "The funny thing is, I’ve always been interested in folklore, everything from Bigfoot and the Yeti to werewolves and vampires and I’ve traveled all around the world in an effort to prove where there’s smoke there’s fire. I’ve been in a minisub searching for the Loch Ness Monster. You name it, if it was unexplained, I went to find it, but after all the disappointments, I didn’t really believe anymore. Maybe I never really did. But this …" He shook his head and wiped his hand over his mouth. "I’m sticking with you, although I have to tell you, I’m just a little scared."