Immortal Cascade 01 Immortal Companion Page 16

  Blair was at his side in a moment, tossing a long staff to the ground and yanking a pair of bolt cutters from his jacket. "Jim! Are you okay?" his guide asked, anxious eyes going quickly to his injury.

  "I'm fine, Chief, I'm fine. Just get me out of this thing," he said, his hands tugging at the metal band around his neck.

  "Okay, man, just bend down so I can reach you." Jim knelt on one knee, and Blair applied the cutters to the padlock on the collar. With a sharp snap, the lock sheared in two, and the collar sprang open. Stuffing the tool back in his pocket, Blair helped Jim up. "Come on, we have to get out of here," he said.

  His arm over his guide's shoulders for support, Jim allowed himself to be led toward the exit. Two men lay in crumpled heaps just outside the lighthouse entrance. Jim cast a surprised look at his partner. "Your work?" he asked.

  "Yeah," he replied with a grin, "mine and Dee's... " As he said her name, Blair stumbled and fell, dragging Jim down with him.

  "Chief?" Jim queried. The younger man's eyes were wide and unseeing, his hand clutching his chest. Razor sharp pain radiated from his right shoulder to his left hip. Jim lowered him all the way to the grass, terror knotting his stomach. "Blair, talk to me... "

  He jerked under the sentinel's hands, as if awakened from a trance. "Oh, god, Dee!" he cried, then he was rolling out from the other man's grasp and running back toward the lighthouse. Taking the stairs two at a time, he reached the top of the lighthouse in moments, dashing across the lens room and through the open door onto the catwalk surrounding the top of the tower.

  Dee was on her back on the narrow walkway, her sword held perpendicular to her body, one hand on the hilt, the other on the back of the blade. Only the strength of her arms was keeping Kendall's sword at bay as it pressed down on her katana. Her white shirt was torn and stained with blood, her face the blank mask of a zone out.

  "Dee," Blair whispered, instinctively analyzing and reacting to the Champion's plight, "turn down the pain dial, turn it all the way down." For a moment, there was no reaction, then a snarl curled her lips, and both her feet kicked up and out, connecting with Kendall's stomach, knocking him back.

  Rolling onto her shoulders, Dee flipped up to her feet. Her sword flashed through the air, and she was on the attack again, the two blades throwing sparks each time they met. Blair stepped back inside the lens room, out of the way. The lamp continued to turn, its powerful beam illuminating the dueling Immortals for a brief moment with each rotation.

  Their deadly dance brought them round once again to the doorway. They maneuvered for position, Dee with her back to the railing, Kendall with his to the door. As Blair watched in horrified fascination, his sentinel pushed past him. "NO! JIM! You can't interfere!" The guide's words came too late, as Ellison hit Kendall from behind, knocking him into a startled Dee. Her eyes met Blair's over Kendall's shoulder for a brief moment, their blue depths expressing her love and her sorrow. Then with an agonizing shriek, the metal railing gave way, the two Immortals plunging over the cliff.

  "NOOOOO!" Blair screamed, as he lunged after Jim, only his arms around Jim's waist keeping him from following the others. Sentinel and guide tumbled to the catwalk, Blair scrambling to the edge and peering down at the dark, jagged rocks below. "She's okay, she's okay, she's okay," he chanted, trying to reassure himself.

  And then the Quickening began.

  Lightening flashed a brilliant blue-white, striking the cliff, the rocks, and the lighthouse. Grabbing his guide around the waist, Jim hauled him back into the lens room, turning his eyesight down as far as it would go. Still the violent explosions blinded him. Blair was clinging to him, in the full throes of a panic attack, his heart racing, his breathing ragged, his body rocked by great shudders. "Noooo, Dee, noooo," he cried.

  A long tendril of electricity arced from the catwalk through the window above Jim and Blair, showering them with glass. Jim covered his partner with his own body not a moment too soon. A second bolt of energy shot through the window, striking the lamp, exploding it in a ball of golden sparks, plunging the room into darkness. As if that was the Quickening storm's dying gasp, silence descended on the shell-shocked pair, broken only by the suddenly loud sobs of the guide. Jim held him tightly, brushing the glass off him with one hand, while the other tangled in his hair, pressing the distraught man against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Chief, I'm sorry. I didn't know she was there. I'm sorry... ."

  Slowly quieting, Blair leaned against his soulmate, absorbing his strength, trying to pull himself together. Unbidden, Dee's words came to mind, "Believe me, you would know it if he were dead... It would hurt like nothing you've ever felt in your life." He was so startled he nearly forgot to breathe, and even Ellison noticed his shock.

  "Blair, you okay?" he asked.

  Closing his eyes, Blair turned his sight inward, searching his heart for the answer. His eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet, shaking himself like a wolf, glass shards flying everywhere. "SHE'S ALIVE!" he yelled, and ran for the stairs, his headlong flight only slowed by the blackness into which he raced.

  Getting slowly to his feet, Jim followed him down the stairs and across the rocky ground to the guardrail at the edge of the cliff. Blair was leaning as far over it as he could without falling. Coming up behind him, Jim grabbed his arm. "What do you think you're doing?" he growled.

  The younger man looked back at him. "Dee's down there. Can you see her, Jim?"

  The detective moved no closer to the edge. "She's gone, Blair," he said gently. "No one could have survived that fall, let alone that freak electrical storm. The best thing to do is get search and rescue out here."

  Blair shook his head. "No, she's alive," he said fiercely. "Would you just do me a favor and look, man?"

  Sighing, Jim stepped up to the rail and leaned over, his partner's grip on his belt anchoring him. Even with his Sentinel sight, the jagged rocks were pretty dark. But there was something that seemed out of place, a gleam of metal to the left of where they were standing. He moved a couple feet in that direction, and leaned over again. This time he saw her mangled body, still clutching her sword, wedged between two giant rocks at the bottom of the 100-foot drop. As he watched, a huge wave broke over her, the sea trying to claim her as its own. He stepped back from the edge, turning to face Blair. "Her body's down there on the rocks, but it won't be for long the way the tide is coming in. I'm sorry, Chief, she's dead; I don't hear a heartbeat. I know she was your friend, and she risked her life to save me, but... "

  "I'm going down there," Blair announced.

  "What!? Chief, you're crazy! Just let me call Simon and we'll get a team out here. There's no need for you to risk your life too!"

  That was the wrong thing to say. Blair's eyes burned holes in Jim. "I would do it for you," he said dangerously.

  "Yes, but that's different... " Jim started.

  "No," Blair answered him softly, "it's exactly the same." Turning his back on the sentinel, he headed toward the lighthouse. He returned a few minutes later, a long coil of rope over his shoulder, and a heavy-duty flashlight in his hand. He began turning the end of the rope into a harness while Jim tried in vain to talk him out of it.

  "Blair, look, I know you're grieving, but this is too dangerous! You could be killed too, and I'm sure that's not what Diandra would have wanted. If you're determined to do this, at least let me go... "

  The offer was tempting, but he knew this was something he had to do himself. "No, you're injured. I'm not going to risk you getting hurt any worse." The hard expression on his face told Jim any further argument was useless.

  "All right, at least give me your cell phone, let me call Simon."

  Tossing him the phone, Blair fastened the rope to the sturdy fence post. Stepping over the guardrail, he looked down. "At least I can't see the bottom," he thought. In that moment, his fear of heights came rushing back to him, and he thought he was going to be sick. "I can do this," he told himself, "I can do this. Trust in myself, that's what Dee's always telling
me." Tucking the flashlight in his jacket, he stepped off into space.

  The first few hops were rough, then Blair got into the rhythm, and rappelled quickly to the bottom of the cliff, thanking the fates for Janet, one of his old girlfriends, who had tried to interest him in rock climbing by taking him to one of those indoor climbing places. He'd been a natural at it, but it had always scared him to death. At least the skills were coming in handy. "Yet," he thought, as his sneakers slipped on the wet rocks, "I'm still scared to death."

  "I made it to the bottom, Jim," he called up to the sentinel, knowing his partner was watching. He felt a tug on the rope, and knew Jim had heard him. Removing his make-shift harness, and turning on the flashlight, he began to carefully pick his way out to where Dee lay, only her legs and one hand visible to him.

  What if he was wrong? What if she was dead? He'd never even questioned her when she'd told him she was immortal, he'd known in his heart she was telling the truth, he hadn't asked for further proof. And Joe, he believed in Immortals, and Adam or Methos or whatever his name was, he was obviously something even if it only was obnoxious. His thoughts distracting him, Blair was caught unawares by the wave of cold water that crashed into him. He grabbed onto a jagged outcropping for support, and barely managed to keep from falling. Now he was cold and wet, and he'd lost the flashlight.

  Blinking the salt water out of his eyes, he started forward again, finally reaching Diandra's side. Her body was half on the rocks, half in the water. Grasping her cold, lifeless hand, he started to pull her free of the rocks, praying that the Quickening he'd witnessed had been Kendall's not hers. Her torso lifted from the sea, water cascading from her dark hair, and he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Kneeling on the wet stone beside her, he cradled her in his arms, her head leaning against his shoulder. He wondered how long it would take for her to come back; she hadn't been able to explain that part of Immortality to him very well. He felt for the pulse at her throat just as her body spasmed in his arms. Her eyes flew open, and she tried to take a breath. Gagging, she threw up seawater, Blair holding her until the heaving passed. Finally she relaxed against him, drawing in great lungfuls of air.

  "Oh, goddess, Lobo, I hate drowning... ." she whispered, her voice raspy and tired.

  A large wave struck the rocks, drenching them with spray. "Can you stand?" Blair asked. "We've got to get out of here, the tide's coming in."

  Nodding, she let him help her to her feet. Glancing around, she found her sword where she had dropped it when she came back to life. Picking it up, she started to follow him back toward the cliff, then realized it made more sense for her to take the lead, since she could see where she was going. Once they reached the base of the cliff, she stared upwards, calculating the best way to scale it. Her night vision picked out a way up, there were plenty of hand and footholds, but it wouldn't be easy, especially for Blair, who would be working blind. Water slapped at her calves, and she realized that they would run out of time very quickly if they didn't get moving.

  "Ellison," she called up to the detective, who she could see leaning over the railing, watching them. "Can you support Blair with the line as we climb?"

  "Yeah," he answered back, pushing the fact he was talking to a dead woman who was also a sentinel to the back of his mind. She and Blair had a lot of explaining to do, but now was not the time. "What about you?"

  "I'll be fine; I can see a way up, and a fall won't kill me," she said with a grim smile.

  "Okay, let me know when you're ready." Ellison disappeared from view.

  Dee turned to Blair, who was huddled against the cliff face, shivering violently from the cold. "Hey, Lobo," she said softly, stepping in close and pulling him into her arms. "How are you doing, besides freezing?"

  "Fffff-fine," he replied, his teeth chattering. "I was so scared, Dee. I was... "

  "I know, honey, I know," she replied. "We'll have plenty of time to talk about that later, and your partner is going to want an explanation. Right now we need to get up top." Helping him back into the rope harness, she explained her plan. "First of all, you get to carry my sword." Stripping off her shredded shirt, she fashioned it into a carrying strap, tying one end around the hilt of the katana and the other end midway down the blade. Slipping the strap diagonally over his shoulder, she adjusted it until it fit snug against his back. "Now, " she said, turning toward the cliff face, "put your arms around my neck."

  Blair stared at her. "No way, there's no way you can carry me all the way to the top!"

  Looking back at him over her shoulder, she said, "I won't be. Ellison will be taking a lot of your weight off me with the line, but he's not strong enough to take all of it, and we don't have time for you to wait down here while I climb to the top alone."

  Seeing the logic in her words, Blair did as he was told, wrapping his arms around her neck, feeling her lift him off his feet, shifting his weight so most of it was between her shoulders and her hips. The rope tightened as Jim put pressure on his end, and Dee began to climb.

  It was slow going, and Blair closed his eyes, burying his face in her shoulder, trying to keep back the vertigo that threatened to overwhelm him. He had confidence in her, he really did, but each time he opened his eyes, he caught glimpses of the foaming, churning water below. "Talk to me, Lobo," Dee said, sensing his distress. All she needed was for him to panic and his grip on her turn into a stranglehold.

  "Uh, okay," he said, trying to come up with a topic of conversation. "Are all Quickenings like that?" he asked.

  Grinning, she pulled them up another foot. Always the scientist, she thought. "Pretty much, some are stronger than others. That was kind of a mid-strength one. Kendall wasn't old, but he'd taken some powerful Quickenings." She wondered what Ellison would be making of this conversation. It would all come out eventually, she supposed.

  "Does it hurt?" Blair asked.

  "It's pure masochism. The most intense pain and the most intense pleasure at the same time. Some of us get addicted to the rush; it's why not too many of us are drug addicts. Nothing can beat the high of a Quickening. I find I have a lot of excess energy afterwards, and I have to burn it off, either with a workout, or... " She hesitated, aware of a third pair of ears. "Or with other physical activities," she finished.

  "Does rock climbing carrying a wet anthropologist qualify as an other physical activity?" Blair asked, a hint of humor in his voice.

  Dee smiled again, glad his mind was no longer on his predicament. "Yes, though not the preferred activity I'd like to be engaged in with a certain anthropologist right now."

  "Oh," Blair said, trying not to wiggle with delight at the mental images that conjured up. "So how did you do it?"

  "Kendall?" she asked. At his quiet "yeah", she answered him. "When we went over the side, my sword was between us, the blade at shoulder height. I basically just shoved it through on the way down." She suppressed a shudder.

  Blair couldn't contain his. "I'm sorry I asked. That was too much information."

  "Not the most elegant of moves, but it got the job done. I've not taken too many Quickenings while I was dying, either. Not the most pleasant way to do it." Dee's fingers finally grasped the top of the cliff. "This is your stop, Lobo. Climb up over me." Once he had done so, she boosted herself over the edge, then joined Blair and Jim on the other side of the guardrail.

  "Simon's on his way," Jim said, ignoring the irritated look that announcement got him from Dee.

  Taking her sword from Blair, she said, "I'm going after the Cherokee. Lobo, you take Jim inside. He's bleeding again." At her words, Jim and Blair both looked down to see she was right. Blood was seeping through Jim's shirt. As she trotted off in the direction of her truck, she could hear sirens barreling down the drive to the lighthouse. She would have to set Jim straight on a few rules regarding what to do after an Immortal battle. Number one on the list: don't call the cops.

  "Does she always have to be in charge?" Jim muttered under his breath, as he let Blair hel
p him back to the lighthouse. His side was really beginning to hurt now. He suspected he'd reopened the wound hauling Blair up.

  Blair looked at Jim, a little stunned by his words. He'd never considered Dee as being dictatorial, but now that he thought about it, she had seemed quite the warrior when face to face with Jim once again. "I think you bring that out in her," he said. "Two Alphas in the same company make things a little tense. She's not doing it deliberately."

  Jim just grunted noncommittally. "Damn it," he said when they reached the lighthouse entrance. Kendall's partners in crime were gone.

  "It doesn't matter, Jim," Blair told him. "You're safe; that's what counts." He hugged the larger man, being careful of his injury.

  "You know you have a lot of explaining to do, Sandburg. A lot," Jim said sternly, before turning to face his captain, who had just climbed out of his car, several squad cars and an ambulance pulling up behind him.