“A way out,” Brodie said. “As opposed to a way in?”
Sarah looked at him. “They believe there’s only one way in, and they’re all around it—that’s the trap they’ve set. I go in, and no matter what happens inside, I can’t get out, because they close the way behind me. But I found a back door we can use, an entrance they know nothing about. How we use it depends on the plan we decide on.”
“Where is this place?”
“It’s an old, abandoned church right on the coast. Outside the city, but not too far away. Tucker is being held in the cellar, and it’s a big one. Lots of rooms and a rabbit warren of narrow corridors. And there are tunnels spreading out from the church; I think they were built and used for storage, and to get to other buildings when the weather was bad. Most of the tunnels are probably caved in now, but one leads through the rock and out to the beach. At that point, in that place, no one paying attention to the church would see us go in.”
Brodie frowned. “Do you know how many of them are there?”
Sarah felt herself shiver and looked down to watch gooseflesh rise on her arms. “I…couldn’t count them. Couldn’t…differentiate between them somehow. Just shadows lurking around me, and above me in the church. But I know there are several of them, at least. Maybe half a dozen. And one very close to Tucker, keeping watch.”
“Did they know you were there?” Leigh asked.
“No.” Sarah looked at her. “I was very careful not to touch any of them. I knew it was vital that they not find out I was there. Because if they had, they would have killed Tucker immediately.”
“Why?” Cait asked, still baffled.
Softly, Leigh said, “They would have known how she got there. They would have understood that she was already lost to them, her potential fully realized. Worse, they would have known that she was able to move among them, unseen. Find out things about them. They would have had to destroy her. Killing him would be the quickest, easiest way to do that.”
“If they aren’t psychic,” Cait said, “could they have known she was there?”
Leigh looked at Sarah questioningly.
Slowly, Sarah nodded. “If I had touched any one of them…they would have known. They may not be psychic, but they—somehow—instantly recognize the paranormal when it comes into contact with them, I’m sure of that. If they had touched my…my spirit, the energy of me that was there, they would have sensed and recognized me. And if any one of them touches me physically, they’ll know I’m connected to Tucker.”
This time, Leigh looked at Brodie. “There’s something new, something we didn’t know. We can recognize them by touch—and they can recognize us.”
Brodie was still frowning, though he didn’t seem bewildered, just thoughtful. “I’ll make a note—for future reference. So…we have to get in there and get to Mackenzie before any of them touch you. What about him? I assume they’ve touched him already.”
“He isn’t a strong enough psychic for them to sense,” Sarah said slowly. “And he doesn’t yet realize he can tap into my abilities. As long as he doesn’t know that, doesn’t do that, they can touch him without sensing the connection. But…”
“But?”
“They’ve got him drugged. But if the drug wears off and he becomes conscious, he’ll reach out to me.”
“You’re sure of that?” Leigh asked.
Sarah nodded. “Positive. When he became briefly conscious hours ago, I reached out to him. If I’d realized…but I didn’t. I just wanted to touch him, to make sure he was all right. And just before they drugged him again, he realized what was happening. When he can think clearly again, he’ll try to reach me. And I can’t close that door.” I wouldn’t even if I could.
“So they’ll know about the connection if they touch him when he’s conscious.”
“Yes.”
“And will immediately kill him.”
“Yes.”
Brodie raked the fingers of one hand through his hair. “Great. Just great. We have to get past their guards without any of them touching you in any way, get our hands on Mackenzie, get him and you out of there without any of them grabbing or even touching either of you, and get away with our hides intact. And all that’s assuming we can sneak in and out and that Mackenzie doesn’t wake up and give away the show.”
“That’s what we have to do.”
Cait said, “But if you’re such a threat to them, won’t they just keep coming after you? I mean, even if we can get Tucker away from them, it won’t be over, will it?”
“No,” Brodie said.
“Duran always backs off once he’s missed his chance,” Leigh disagreed. “Sarah will have to be careful, of course, because we do know they tend to keep tabs on us. Every time I participate in one of the psychic fairs in the area, or meet some reporter for an interview, I can feel one of them nearby. But I haven’t had to look over my shoulder in years.”
“And I think that’s a mistake,” Brodie said flatly.
Leigh smiled at him. “You worry too much.”
“It’s my job to worry.” He looked at Sarah. “I’m plenty worried now. Even with a back door they don’t know about, finding Mackenzie sounds like finding the center of a maze in pitch darkness—without touching any of the walls.”
Sarah looked at him with a certain amount of sympathy but said reassuringly, “I have an idea. I think.”
He eyed her. “Glad to hear it. Because I’m fresh out.”
“Do you think you could get your hands on a few pairs of those infrared glasses I’ve seen soldiers wear in the movies? The kind that let you see in the dark?”
His brows rose, but Brodie said, “Given a few hours, I think I might be able to do that.”
“Good. I don’t know how many we’ll need—enough for all of you.” Almost absently, she added, “They like the dark, and they can see in it better than we can. I guess they have the glasses too, or something like them.”
Brodie shook his head slightly but brought her back to the point. “Enough glasses for all of us. Okay. What about you? Please don’t tell me you’re planning to just walk into the trap?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Goddammit, Sarah—”
“It’s the only way, Brodie. All their attention has to be on me, or you won’t be able to get to Tucker. But don’t worry, I don’t have a death wish.” She glanced at Leigh, who was smiling. “Not anymore.”
“If that’s supposed to make sense,” Brodie said, “it doesn’t.”
“That’s okay. It makes sense to me.” Sarah began to lean forward to tell them all what she had in mind, but when her hand came to rest on her thigh, she felt something peculiar. She looked down and, as she lifted her hand slowly, saw the sticky white threads clinging to her fingers and to the denim covering her thigh.
It was just where she had wiped her hand in the cellar of the church.
Where she had not physically been.
“Sarah? What is it?” Brodie asked.
“Cobwebs,” she murmured. She looked at him and the others, saw their puzzlement, and said slowly, “I think I have another plan.”
Cait slipped out of the house through the patio door and felt rather than heard Brodie glide up beside her. “My turn to stand watch,” she said in a low voice. “It’s nearly three.” She paused, looking up at him as her eyes adjusted to the dark, then said, “But I don’t know why we’re doing this. You said nobody’s been watching Leigh.”
“As far as we know, that’s true.” His voice was as low as hers. “But they’ve been on Sarah ever since she left Richmond, so it’s at least possible they know she’s here. And I wouldn’t put it past Duran to make his move tonight while we’re trying to get rested and ready for tomorrow. So stay alert, Cait. Keep your gun handy, and don’t hesitate to raise the alarm if you even suspect something is wrong. If there’s one thing they hate, it’s attention, but it’s something we can deal with; explaining a few gunshots to the police is a small price to pay for caution, and it’s a hell of a lot better than having another psychic taken from under our noses.”