"And what makes you think I can? She tried to regulate her breathing, to hold back the fear that reached out to her and weaved through her consciousness.
"Observation." He paused at a particularly steep stretch of the path before moving to the left several feet in search of surer footing. "And the fact that I can feel you drawing on my shields. It stands to reason that you could also draw on my abilities and pick up more."
"To increase them." She paused as she stared back at him. "You're going to increase what's already there."
Breathe. In. Out.
She could handle it. She would kill him later, but for now, she could handle it. Do the job; that was the important part. The rest she could tackle later.
"I'll be here with you, Megan." He turned, his expression still, almost blank. "We'll work on it together. We'll balance each other. I promise."
Her lips flattened as she fought the bitterness that seemed to seep through her. Balance each other.
"You won't feel what I feel, Braden." The betrayal still stung. The sense of being used seared her soul.
"That's not balance."
"You'll see." He turned and continued down the path. "'Explaining it would make no sense, but you'll see what I mean."
The closer they moved to the floor of the canyon, the stronger the impressions came. At this point, it wasn't the rage or the death. She felt determination, a sense of purpose.
She paused at the wide entrance, fighting to still the tremors that passed through her body. One of the unfortunate side effects of her abilities was the fact that she felt not just the emotions of the event reaching out to her, but also the lives the victims had lived. Not clearly. Not enough to find answers or even completely understand the darkness that filled her mind - and would later fill her dreams. And the darkness within the two Breeds who had died here had been deep.
She paused just within the rising cliffs, closing her eyes and trying to focus. They hadn't been frightened. They had stopped here, staring into the canyon for long moments, aware of something_ Danger.
"They were hunters." Braden's voice was soft. "Mark and Aimee were paired in the Labs because their abilities complemented each other. Mark was a perfect shot; Aimee was more in tune with the weapons-what would work best where-than he was. She had a feel for them. She was an excellent tracker: he was a strategist. We suspect they were mates, but they never came forward to verify it."
Megan sensed that the two had been close, though they had fought to hide it. The small distance she felt between them wasn't a result of that attempt to hide their bond. It was a result of betrayals. They had loved, but that love had been marred horribly.
"They were mates." She frowned as she sifted through the impressions. She could feel a bond, and it was strong.
Strange, the information that could be found on the outskirts of violence. As though everything that had been felt had been saved, impressed upon the area like information to a hard drive.
Braden. He stood just behind her, his primal DNA a magnet to the psychic impressions.
"Concentrate." His voice was almost mesmerizing. "I'm here, Megan. I know what's here with us. Trust me to help you."
She moved slowly in to the canyon, one step at a time, feeling the presence of the two Breeds as she made her way between the sheer cliffs that rose above them.
Mark had been hard, fierce. He had believed irnplicitly in whatever they were there to do. Aimee had been less certain. She hadn't been frightened, but rather wary. She could sense things easier than her partner, her mate.
Megan inhaled sharply as she stopped. She hated this. Her insides clenched with pain, a physical sensation to match the mental excesses as she felt the spirit of the woman reach out to her.
She felt death.
"I can't" She whimpered then, desperation rising inside her as her hands went to her own stomach.
"You're not a part of it, Megan." His voice was at her ear, his hands gripping her hips, holding her to her feet when she knew she would have fallen. "Feel around your mind, right now." His voice hardened.
"Keep your eyes closed, baby. Remember. You are separate. Separate yourself."
Separate.
Her hands clenched at her stomach as she felt the pain rising in her soul.
"She was pregnant." She wanted to curl into a ball, to find a hole that could hide her, that would let her grieve.
No. No. That was Aimee. Aimee had wanted to hide.
"She was pregnant." Braden's voice was low, aching with sadness. "Why was she here, Megan? Why did she want you? Go beyond Aimee. There's a place beyond the emotions, the pain, where the truth lies. What did she want?"
What did she want? There were so many emotions rolling over her, through her. Sift through them. Find the core. There was a core.
"Revenge."
Megan stiffened, gasping at the strength of the thought. Aimee wanted revenge.
"Keep your eyes closed." Braden growled as they flew open. "Close your eyes, Megan. Concentrate. Feel the strength I'm lending you, learn how to use it and keep looking. What is the core, baby?"
She was gasping for breath. She could feel the fine sheen of sweat that covered her face, her neck. It wasn't the heat, it was the shaking cold inside her.
Revenge. The word whispered through her mind again. But first, they needed proof. Here lay the proof. They would move to the other side of the curve and wait. GPS on Mark and Aimee's vehicle had been disabled, stealth had been enabled.
"Breed vehicles have stealth?' she asked, confused, thinking of the special electronics that blocked life signs by law enforcement vehicles.
He stiffened in surprise "Not normally." His voice was grim now.
"Sometimes, only when authorized."
She kept searching, desperate to find the answers here, now. She didn't
know if she could go further, if she could force herself to pull in the shattered emotions that lingered here. Already her mind was screaming, demanding to be allowed to hide from emotions that weren't its own.
The emotions were stronger here than they had been in the gully where the couple had died. They had rested here within the shelter of this canyon. They had held each other, loved, and accepted that the battle they had taken on may not be successful.
Megan felt herself weakening. Her knees shook, her chest felt tight with a need for oxygen that should have been there. She was gasping for breath; surely she shouldn't feel so deprived?
Behind her closed eyes, sparks of light exploded before her gaze, shifting colors, sizzling heat. She felt a premonition of death, a race to make a call. Another call. Had they been betrayed? Aimee had felt the betrayal beating at her brain, the sense of danger, of death.
Then, through the building emotions, the knowledge of another's danger, another's death, came a sense of impending doom stronger than the impressions lying in wait. Her eyes flew open as she realized they were closer to the sharp bend that led further into the canyon than she had realized.
"Stop." She hissed, digging in her heels, staring at the curve, her muscles freezing. her mind screaming.
He stopped. Time stood still as she fought to get some sort of control. to separate herself.
"Someone is there," She could feel it. Knew they weren't alone.
"It's the strength of your abilities." He began to soothe her.
She shook her head desperately. "I feel them. They're there."
"I don't feel it." His voice was cold, analyzing. "What do you feel, Megan?"
Her hand fell to her holster as she loosened the clip that held the Glock in place and allowed it to drop into her palm. She was aware of Braden doing the same.
"Do you feel it?" she asked him. Friend or foe? She couldn't be certain. It wasn't a Coyote, she knew that.
He jerked her to the side, moving to the base of the cliff, using the scrub and boulders that littered the area as a shield. Megan fought to slam the barriers in her mind back in place, almost whimpering in pain as they refused to lower.
As though once lifted, they would be forever out of reach.
"What is it?" she asked. She wanted to clasp her head in an attempt to hold back the sensations still rushing toward her. Whoever, whatever waited on the other side was cold, emotionless. She sensed nothing but their presence.
"Non-Breeds." Braden's voice carried no farther than her ear. "At least two."
"Moving or still?"
"Waiting. The scent hasn't changed. They know we're here. What do you feel?"
She shook her head. "No emotion. Just presence."
She felt more than heard his curse.
"We move back above the canyon." He growled in her ear. "Back to the Raider."
Backing up, Megan kept her gaze on the curve that led around to the other side of the canyon. Why wait there?
What were they searching for? Her mind was alive with twisting emotions
that made no sense, that she had no time to sift through. But she could feel the answers there, just out of reach. Both Mark and Aimee's, as well as whoever lay in wait now.
They definitely weren't Coyote, she thought as Braden pushed her back up the path to the head of the canyon. She kept low, moving between the sheltering boulders and brush as they rushed up the steep slope. Silence was imperative. She was aware of Braden's silent demand, of how he braced her when needed, keeping her from stepping in the softer areas and leading her along firmer ground.
From below, she could feel patience, silent watchfulness. Whoever was there knew that she and Braden were also, or at least suspected they would be rounding that curve. They were waiting on them.
She wanted to whimper as pain seared her mind. It took every ounce of strength she possessed to flee back up the path, to concentrate on climbing rather than lying down and moaning at the pain.
As they neared the top of the cliff, Braden pulled her to an abrupt stop. She felt it then. Just above them, waiting.
"You stay." He pushed her behind the boulder they were using as a shield, turning to stare at her, his eyes blazing gold with fury. "I'll be back for you."
She caught his arm, defiance filling her. She had come this far, she would be damned if she would let him shelter her now.
"I'll be behind you," she told him, careful to keep her voice low. "From here, we can break off, shimmying along the side. We can move to the top of the cliff with the smaller boulders and brush covering the entrance. We'll be hidden and on either side of them."
His lips flattened, an instant denial flashing in his eyes.
"It will work, Braden," she whispered. "We're not that far from the Raider. You can smell them, right?"
He nodded briefly.
"You'll know where they're at once we get to the top. You can signal to me and we can take him out. It's the only way." She could feel it. Her brain was a morass of sensations and information she couldn't make sense of, but this made sense. Someone was waiting on them, possibly to stop them.
"We fight together or we don't fight at all," she told him fiercely. "I won't be coddled."
"You'll be dead if you don't do as I tell you." He growled. "Let me check
it out first."
Megan stared back at him furiously.
"Go then," she said coldly, releasing his arm and settling back against the boulder as anger burned in her chest.
"I'll just sit here like a good girl and wait on you."
"You do that." He grunted, nodding sharply. "Give me ten minutes. If you don't see me after that assume the worst and use this." He pressed a small locator in her hand.
"And this is?"
"The signal goes straight to Jonas. He'll have help out here soon. Stay hidden and shoot anything that moves the wrong way. You're fairly secure right here." He touched her cheek before flashing her a wicked grin. "But I do intend to be back, baby."
