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  You have to do something, urged Stefan. Don't fight it. Embrace him with love. Start from that power position. Remember, energy is everywhere. You cannot be drained if you remember that universal energy flows through you at all times.

  She blinked at the tidbits of understanding as they filtered in.

  Know that I am here. Part of you. As he drains you, I'm refilling you with love.

  She couldn't move, she couldn't do anything but exist, caught in a war between life and death.

  How?

  Open your crown chakra to the universal energy. Create a spinning loop between your chakras to build power. But protect yourself; don't let him see you turn the tide of the energy flow. I will start it for you, but you have to help yourself.

  His words penetrated slower than the energy. By the time she understood what Stefan meant, she was working on her crown chakra, opening it. She already felt the effects and, bolstered by the rise in her own energy, she immediately picked up the pace, refilling her body, enlivening her soul.

  Don't feed the anger. Feed the love. Feel the power in the loving energy. Feel it strengthen you on all levels. You don't have to be his victim.

  I can make him my victim. She had to admit, a part of her loved that idea.

  Don't. It will change you. It will be something you will never forget. We need to find another way.

  There isn't one. We can't hold him off forever, she whispered. And how else can anyone stop him? Or others like him?

  Stefan's silence gave her the answer. She could stay in this unlimited loop, or she could do something about it. Something lethal. What choice was there? She had to do something before Darren realized what was happening. Shay focused on funneling more and more universal energy though her body, creating a swirling vortex within her. Gaining strength. Gaining purpose. Gaining determination for what was to come.

  "How many have you killed?" she whispered, letting her eyes close weakly. He needed to believe she was dying. That he'd won. And she needed to know the extent of the damage he'd inflicted on those around him. To know she was doing the right thing in destroying him.

  Darren stepped closer to hear her question. "How many? Is that what you asked?"

  "Yes." She kept her eyes closed, focused on the energy pouring through her, gathering, waiting for the right time.

  He laughed. "So many. It's really easy once you understand how. The biggest trick is hiding what I'm doing until I'm ready for people to know. Like you. You're very intuitive. Very astute. I had to be especially alert, in your case. It was good for a while. Kept me on my toes. But tonight I deposited a nice fat check you were kind enough to write out for me." He laughed. "Oh, you don't remember writing me a check, do you? That's okay. I'm great at forging signatures, too. I stole the checks awhile ago… It's not like you'll need them after today."

  "How many?" Her voice gained a desperate strength. She needed to know. Even one death was too many. If he’d killed other people, she'd have no problem doing what needed to be done. She'd have to. He had to be stopped before he went on to kill again.

  In the far distance, she heard sirens.

  "Isn't that nice? You're curious. You can't stop the process now, you know. I chose Friday on purpose. No one will find you until Monday. When you don't show up for work, they will come looking." He glanced around the bedroom. "It's really too bad. I'd so hoped that this would be my forever home." He chuckled. "Odd to think I'm still using that childhood phrase. So few would understand it."

  "How many?" she insisted, her voice stronger as anger stirred dangerously close to the surface. She had to keep herself in check. Had to keep her anger reined in. She had to take him out the right way. Or her actions would be impossible to live with.

  He laughed. "Dozens, over the years."

  Dozens. And with that, she knew there was no one else, no other way to stop him. He had ways of killing people that no one would ever know. That no one would ever understand. That no one would be able to prove. He had to be stopped. And there were so few people capable to do that.

  She was one of them. Stefan was another.

  Stefan. I need all you can channel my way.

  I'm open and pouring. Do it. We can't hang on like this for much longer.

  She opened her eyes and stared at the man she'd once loved. Now, her heart was filled with loathing for what he'd done – she hated him with a passion that fed her actions like she'd never felt before. But she had to find a way past that to the core of love from one human being to another. She had to come from a soul level.

  She could do that.

  "Darren."

  He looked up at her, a sarcastic smile on his face. "What's the matter, Shay? Aren’t you going to plead for your life?" he said mockingly.

  She made it look agonizingly difficult to raise her arm and motion him closer. And to make that arm drop down weakly to the bed. He thought he’d almost drained her dry and had no idea what she could do. Good. She just needed him a little closer.

  He sat down on the bed with his hip pushing up again her thigh. Now, if she could only reach… Her arm trembled with effort as she stretched it out and placed her hand on his chest. Right over his heart.

  Barely holding the building energy force back, she asked, Stefan, Are you ready?

  "What did you want to say, dearest Shay?" Darren’s mocking voice floated through the room, surrounding her. Filling her. Firing her actions.

  She opened up her swirling vortex. In her mind, she said to Stefan, Now.

  She looked Darren in the eyes and whispered, "Go to hell."

  She channeled the vortex to jettison the stream of loving soul energy forward to his heart – the actual organ – with all the energy that she could manage. With all the caring she could find.

  He gasped once, his eyes going wide.

  Shock and disbelief flashed livid on his face. Understanding lit the deep depths of his gaze. But it was too late for him to act. His opportunity was gone before he ever saw it.

  Or, maybe, it wasn't.

  Even as his eyes darkened, a firestorm of energy ricocheted through his heart chakra and back into her, burning though her palm as some type of fireball lit the room.

  Something else – someone else – had joined the fray. And combined, they were stronger, more powerful and…desperate…to survive.

  Shay poured energy, opening herself up to the universe and channeling everything she could access into the fight.

  Stefan. What's happening?

  I don't know. Another element has been added. Possibly another person…

  Then we can't win, she cried out in pain and frustration. That's two against two. And they have the advantage. How do we save this?

  Look out!

  A small blue fireball leapt from her bed and flew into the energy torrenting through her hand.

  No! Shay cried out.

  It was too late. Morris, her ghostly feline, had joined the fight – and turned the tide as his loving, protective energy joined hers. There was a momentary pause, as if both sides were re-evaluating the balance of power, and then a deep purr sounded from the center of the maelstrom.

  The space beneath her hand exploded.

  Shay was thrown back against the headboard.

  Darren was flung to the floor.

  Regaining her wits, Shay scrambled to her feet to look over the edge of the bed.

  Darren's features had frozen, his mouth open in a horrible rictus of terror, and like a tidal wave after it has lashed a beach and receded back out to the ocean, the color had slipped from his skin – leaving a gray wasteland behind.

  But he was still alive.

  Her heart squeezed tighter. Pain and shock rippled through her.

  His eyes dimmed.

  And that's when she saw it. A second light inside. A second awareness? A second person? A different part of Darren? How? Was he manipulated? Possessed? Or was this the other 'something' that had joined the fray?

  She cried out, Stefan, look!

&n
bsp; But it was too late to stop the process.

  A deep sigh whispered from Darren's chest one last time, and his eyelids dropped closed.

  He was dead.

  Chapter 2

  Almost one year later...on a Saturday evening…

  Shay walked into the packed ballroom, a fixed smile on her face. Her heart beating nervously in her chest. This was their big day.

  She'd been waiting a long time to meet Roman Chandler. They had become acquaintances via email years ago, initially connecting over their grandfathers' mutual friendship, and then they became friends...close friends. And now...? She didn't know what they were. But, despite her last bad experience, she hoped.

  If she had doubts about whether she was ready for a relationship again, she shoved them down and out of sight. She wanted to be ready. She could be ready. She had to be ready. Roman wasn't likely to wait. Her stomach somersaulted at the thought.

  I haven’t gone there since Darren…

  She dismissed that thought. She'd take it slowly this time. Make sure she knew exactly what she was getting into before diving in too deep.

  Still, no matter the confused and wounded state in her heart, she was totally excited to meet Roman in person. She already knew his twin brother Ronin, a detective with the Portland Police Department, but on a more professional basis. Of course, their grandfathers were best friends so it only made sense that their families would rub up well against each other.

  Only Roman hadn't lived in Portland for years. He'd just recently moved back.

  She didn't think he knew she was coming to the reception tonight. Then she couldn't put it past Bernice to have told him in confidence – she'd been trying to match the two of them for a long time. This charity event was Bernice's baby.

  The ballroom was stuffed with people – mostly couples.

  Who said being tall was a disadvantage? At almost 5' 9" without heels, Shay appreciated the view all the time, but in her toe-crushing stilettos, she was really enjoying being able to see over the heads of the others gathered here. With subdued classical music in the background, the many crystal chandeliers and ornate draperies and exquisite paintings provided a perfect backdrop to tonight's event.

  Bernice Folgrent, of Folgrent's Foundation, never did anything small.

  The noise and ambiance had the urgent tempo of schmoozing, smooching and the what-the-hell, the-booze-is-free atmosphere. A typical high-powered business reception for a big name charity foundation with hush-hush conversations, secretive smiles, handshakes and private deals. Millions of dollars would cross hands tonight and she, for one, was glad of it. There were so many in need.

  Still, this function was so not her choice. But as the trustee for her family's foundation, she had to attend all sorts of these events, and she was as comfortable here as in the animal shelter where she helped out. One just had to remember the animals here were more dangerous. Plus, she could be proud of herself – she was neither a boardroom broad nor a high roller's arm candy. Thank God for that.

  But no matter her personal preferences, tonight was a necessity and a delight. She'd come at Bernice's request. At eighty plus – and the number in that plus was a well-guarded secret – Bernice was a force to be reckoned with. When she wanted two people to meet, you had to either follow along or leave the continent. And even that might not save you.

  Besides it was Roman who Bernice wanted Shay to meet… She didn't know that the two of them had been corresponding for a long time already…

  "Shay!"

  Shay pivoted smoothly to see a beautifully dressed older woman bearing down on her. Shay grinned. Bernice, dressed in gold brocade and evening gloves, only needed a cigarette holder to complete the old-time elegant picture. Still, despite her glamorous packaging, she was not to be misunderstood or underestimated, particularly when, like Shay, she also controlled millions of dollars.

  For most people, it was a case of be nice to Bernice or face the dragon. Thankfully, Shay had known Bernice since she was a little girl and Shay had no need of Bernice’s money because she controlled millions of her own. Besides, Shay loved the grande dame but that didn't make her blind to the old woman’s machinations.

  Bernice wrapped her in a smothering hug, her thickly made-up face passing discretely close to Shay's cheek as she kissed the air. "Darling, you look simply fabulous."

  Shay smiled. "Thanks, Bernice. You're looking pretty stylish yourself."

  "Of course, my dear," Bernice said comfortably. "The only difference between us is that I need hours to look like this – you do it naturally." She smirked. "And of course, I know what to do with my looks." She winked outrageously.

  Shay laughed. Bernice wasn't going to change at this stage of her life. One either accepted her or avoided her. And Shay always had a soft spot for her.

  "Come along now. There is this stunning man you have to meet."

  "Oh, but-"

  "No buts. You have to get out on the scene again. No more hiding away. Roman is the perfect person to catch your interest. You need to balance business with pleasure…and you need to spend more time with the right animals." Bernice nudged Shay, nodding her head in the direction of two men conversing off to the side.

  "You're incorrigible."

  "And you're too reclusive. Come on. Life is for living. Men are for loving." She motioned toward the two men. "I'd take those two any day." Bernice gave her a smug smile. "In fact, I took on a pair like them not all that long ago."

  "Whoa." Shay held up her hand. "I so don't need to know. No more extolling your escapades, please. I still haven't recovered from your last titillating story."

  "Now if only they'd do you some good. You have to forget about that dweeb fiancé of yours that died so tragically. He was never the man for you. You changed, and not for the better, when you were with him. Such a terrible thing to watch."

  Shay turned to Bernice in shock. Inside, she was still struggling with Bernice calling Darren a dweeb. Bernice prided herself on keeping up with the younger set, but it still sounded so wrong to hear that word come out of the older woman's mouth. Or maybe it just sounded wrong when used in connection with her ex-fiancé? The man had been a lot of things, but he was not inept and geeky. Too much the opposite in fact. But he had died tragically.

  Thankfully.

  "What do you mean, I changed?"

  "Oh my Lord, you became this dishrag, ready to wipe his nose and fetch his coffee. Don't you realize how much better you are than that?"

  "I did not act like that." She couldn't stop the outrage that whipped through her. "Bernice, that's not fair. I loved him."

  "Of course you did, my dear. That's the only reason anyone tolerated him in the first place." She barreled through the crowd. A crowd that parted magically as people understood it was Bernice that wanted to get past. Several times Shay murmured a polite ‘thank you’ as people stepped out of the way. Bernice had no such inclination.

  She walked a path, accepting the magical bowing out of the way as her due.

  "The man was a user," Bernice tossed back. "You need someone to light your fires, not squash them before they get a chance to catch. You're such a firecracker in every area but your damn love life. And we're going to fix that."

  Shay put on the brakes. "No way. Bernice. Stop."

  Not only did Bernice not listen, she doubled back to Shay, snagged her arm and tugged her forward – nicely of course. Everything Bernice did was nice, but there was also enough steel behind her actions to make her a formidable opponent.

  Damn.

  Shay plastered a laughing smile on her face while catching up to Bernice. "Stop pulling me," she whispered to Bernice.

  "Then stop dragging your heels!" Bernice sent her an admonishing look. "I know you're here for other reasons, but you'll have to make time for this. I won't be around forever, you know. Soon, I'll be cha-chaing my way downstairs."

  "Ha, even the devil doesn't want you down there with him. You'd order him around for all eternity."

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nbsp; Bernice spun on her heels, her eyes suddenly desperate, frail. She lowered her voice. "Don't joke about the devil. And don't ever, ever make a deal with him. You never know who he has working for him. Some people are just evil."

  Whoa! What had gotten into Bernice?

  Casting Shay a warning glance, Bernice glanced around furtively. Then she whispered, "I'm serious. You, more than anyone, should understand what I mean." Bernice turned and dragged Shay forward again.