He stroked her hair as he had a hundred times over the past hours. But the real truth was, holding her like this, with her fragile head tucked against him, eased his battered soul the way nothing else had.
The tiger purred with satisfaction, a fact he might have found a tad disturbing if he werent too tired to think about it. The tiger rarely paid any attention to the women he was with.
He glanced into the rearview mirror, lifting his sunglasses to look at his eyes. Yesterday, for the first time, hed noticed a black streak across one of his irises, slicing through the green like the shadow from a lightning bolt. Today, there were several across each. He didnt know what it meantHawke hadnt eitherbut he had a sick feeling it wasnt good.
An hour later, when the rumbling of his stomach became so loud he was afraid he was going to wake half of D.C., he turned the car toward Capitol Hill and the safe house.
Minutes later, Delaney jerked in her sleep, then moaned with pain. Not again.
Tighe pressed a hand to her forehead as she lay on his lap. A vision roared into his head, knocking the breath from him as it punched him in the gut.
This bastard needed to die.
CHAPTER 9
The scene flashed into Tighes inner vision.
As before, it didnt steal his sight as the visions did when they were his alone. Instead, he continued to see the street before him clearly. He watched the two scenes as though through two separate pairs of eyes.
A young woman lay on the floor, her eyes filled with terror as she struggled to remove the gag from her mouth. Hands that werent Tighes held her down.
Do you know who I am? the clone hissed in the womans ear.
The woman shook her head frantically.
Im the D.C. Vampire.
Tighes stomach clenched. The bastard knew exactly what was going on. He must be holed up somewhere watching the news between attacks, a hugely disturbing thought because the clone was definitely past the stage of being merely a feeding machine. He was thinking. Plotting. Learning. And that was not good news.
The womans eyes went impossibly wide with terror. Precisely what his clone intended, Tighe realized. Why else had he told her what the news media was calling him? He wanted her afraid. He was feeding off her fear.
Definitely evolving. An unthinking animal would feed the simplest way possible. In this case, by stealing raw life force, draining his victim. Feeding from fear took more finesse. More cunning. Something his clone was clearly developing.
Not good. Not good at all.
Delaneys hand moved to cover his, holding it tight against her forehead. Dont let go, she pleaded.
Ive got you.
How does your touch help, Tighe? How do you ease the pain?
Im not sure, but I suspect its all part of your getting in the way of my connection with my twin. When I touch you, Im able to access the vision your brain is trying to shut out, completing that connection. The pressure in your head eases.
That makes sense, she murmured. And yet no sense at all. People are not electrical circuits. None of this should be happening.
If she only knew. Shed only glimpsed the tip of what would appear to her human eyes to be a very large and terrifying iceberg. He prayed to the goddess she never saw the rest. The terror in her eyes would be more than he could stand. In his current state, hed be flung into the chaos for good.
In that other place, the demon grabbed his captives arms, breaking one, then the other as she screamed.
Can you see this? he asked Delaney.
No.
He stilled as the clones sights turned to a playpen filled with three wide-eyed toddlers. Rage tore through him as the monster closed the distance between them.
Behind the clone, Tighe could hear the injured womans whimpers turn to outrage as the clone reached down and picked up one of the little ones, lifting her chubby neck to his mouth.
Tighe groaned. Sweet goddess.
Whats he doing? Delaney asked, her voice tight with pain.
He broke her arms. Now hes killing her babies. As she watches.
Delaney moaned, curling in on herself as if shed taken a punch to the stomach. We have to get him.
The devil who wore his face tossed the tiny, lifeless body aside with a thud and turned to pick up another as the womans muffled and horrified cries rang in Tighes ears.
We dont know where he is. Wait. As the clone fed on the second child, his gaze turned toward the window. Capitol Springs Apartments are across the street.
Capitol Springs. I know that area. A thread of excitement laced her voice. Its on East Capitol. Around 6th or 7th.
He released Delaney long enough to pull out his cell phone and give the address to Hawke. Second by second, he felt her body tensing as her pain burned across his tongue. He snapped the phone closed, tossed it onto the dash, and covered her forehead again with his palm.
Her pained sigh tore at him. Somehow he had to free her from these things. For her, now, more than himself.
Are your friends going to meet us there?
Yes, but you wont see them. Hawke would probably shift and go by air. Theyd both beat him there. Hed wandered far afield in his driving.
Hopefully, he wouldnt need to get in touch with Hawke. Once the Feral shifted, neither he nor Kougar would be able to communicate with him until they got closer. And out of the car. The magic shielding that kept the draden from penetrating the car windows kept the Ferals from communicating telepathically when one of them was in his animal form. Which was the only time they could communicate that way.
The womans cries increased exponentially as the clone picked up the last child, a small boy. Tighe knew instinctively, the boy was the only one who was hers. Even through the gag, he recognized the unique sound of a parents pain.
As he was forced to stop behind a line of traffic caught at the light, the clone tossed the third small body onto the floor and turned to the grief-stricken mother. This is why he had to get his soul back! Not only to stop this creature from killing, but to help find that Daemon blade so this scene didnt play out a thousand times a day. Every day. All over the world, as it would if the Daemons were ever freed again.
Thunder. He slammed his hand against the steering wheel. The Ferals didnt have the power to defeat the Daemons a second time. Theyd sacrificed too much to imprison them the first time.
Delaney turned her head to look up at him, and he met her pained gaze, feeling his soul sink into her dark eyes and, for a moment, heal. Is he still killing children?
No. Theyre dead. Hes turning on the mother now.
Abruptly, the clone stopped.
How far are we? Delaney asked, still watching him.
Ten minutes. Maybe less.
The clone turned away from the woman and moved to kneel beside the lifeless body of the last child. Tighes stomach rolled as he realized what the clone was doing. With a lighter, he set fire to the boys dinosaur tee shirt. Then with an even, purposeful stride, he walked to the apartment door and opened it.
Three thirty-one. He was in apartment 331, but hes leaving. Dammit. Ive got to tell Kougar.
Tighe reached for his phone, where hed tossed it onto the dash, but couldnt get it without crushing Delaney against the steering wheel. Brown eyes, I need my phone. Can you reach it for me?
As she rose slowly, he kept his palm against her forehead. Where? Oh, I see it. She pulled it off the dash.
Delaney held the phone in front of him, but to take it he had to release her.
Speed dial five for me. When a man answers, tell him apartment three three one.
Tighe says apartment three three one. A moment later she snapped, Go to hell, and closed the phone.
Damn Kougar. What did he say?
He said he told you to kill me.
Tighe sighed. He figured it was the easiest way to free you from the visions.
The sound that came from her throat was half laugh, half moan. If this keeps up much longer, I may ask for that cure.
Hang on, brown eyes. No ones ending your life.
That assurance would have made me happier before the little guys with the jackhammers set up the construction zone in my brain.
The vision faded.
Delaney sighed, the tension easing from her tightly strung body. Is it over?
Apparently. At least for now. I have a feeling he set that fire for a reason.
He set a fire?
Yes. He didnt see any need to burden her with where.
Weve got to call the fire department.
She pushed herself up and he released her, sorry to have to let her go. Are you okay?
Yes. Thanks to you. She picked up his phone and pressed 911. Is there a return policy on these visions I accidentally stole from you because I would happily give them back?
I may be able to free you of them. Thats what I was trying to do when I inadvertently started to control you.
She threw him a wary look that said she didnt understand what he was talking about and wasnt sure she wanted to know.
But her sigh was one of exhaustion. As soon as we get back to your place, you have my permission to muck around in my head all you want. Just get me free of these things.
You got it.
As she called in the fire, he found the building and pulled up in front. Sure enough, smoke was already beginning to curl from one of the open windows.
Tighe tossed Delaney the car keys. Wait for me.
Yeah, right.
As he opened his door, she jumped out, pulling the gun hed seen her take from the cop, as she ran for the building. Hell. Tighe raced after her. There was no way he was going to be able to talk her into staying outside. Any more than shed talk him into it.
He pushed past the frightened residents rushing out the front door, following Delaney, who was threading her way through the crowd. He forced his way in and was heading for the stairs when he heard Hawke call, Stripes! The lean, dark-haired warrior crossed the foyer to his side.
You catch him? Tighe asked.
No. No sign of him anywhere. Neither of us can sense him. Either hes fled the scene, or hes lost his draden smell.
The latter. The son of a bitch set that fire just to create fear so he can feed off it. No way would he leave now. Hes here somewhere, feasting on the terror.
Hawke nodded. That explains it, then. Kougar found the apartment and said it was the source of the fire.
What about the woman?
There was no one alive in there.
Crap. Find Kougar and cover the exits. Im going to try to flush him out. Delaneys with me.
Hawke lifted a brow but said nothing.
Tighe started up the open stairs, pushing past frantic residents. Children cried. People shouted, calling for one another. As he breached the throng on the landing and started up the second flight, he saw the woman from the vision and felt a quick, sharp empathy for her and relief that she, at least, had survived. Another woman had her arms around her hunched shoulders as she cradled both arms against her body.
Fury stirred at her unnecessary suffering.
The woman looked up, her eyes dazed until they landed on him. Stark terror flared in her eyes as a strangled scream wobbled from her throat.
The sight of terror directed at him from a womans eyes slammed him with memory, igniting his fury. Gretchen, you should have known.
Deep inside him, the chaos leaped, wrenching him back to the present.
No. I cant go feral. Not here. Not now.
Tighe tore his gaze away from the womans terrified face as he pushed as far to the right as he could. Keeping others between them, he ran past her and up the stairs. But he was losing the battle, that inner rage riding him, clamoring to be set free.
His fingers began to tingle. His teeth ached.
No! He wouldnt lose it. Not when he was so close to finding his clone. Not with Delaney here.
He pushed through the crowd in a growing panic as his claws slowly unsheathed. He couldnt lose it here. He couldnt lose it here.
At the top of the stairs, he saw an open doorway and dove through. With his last ounce of free will, he no longer fought the imminent change, but rode it through the feral, straight to the tiger as he shifted into his animal.
Only in his animal form could he call for help, unless one of his friends had already shifted.
With a surge of relief and joy, the change swept over him, and he raised his beasts head to the ceiling and let out one long, rumbling growl.
To his surprise, the storm inside him began to abate. He apparently had better control in his tiger form than his human. Until a womans scream had him swinging toward the open door. A woman stared at him in horror, as a man grabbed her shoulders and pushed her past.
Wildness clawed at his control all over again. Fury leaping to be set free.
Theyre running from a tiger, his logical mind roared. Any sane human would be terrified.
In his animal form, he managed what he hadnt been able to in his human form and slowly beat back the chaos. Before he shifted back to human, he took advantage of his tigers ability to scent draden. But he smelled nothing but humans. And smoke.
He called to his friends. Any sign of him?
None. Hawkes voice. Weve got the exits covered as best we can with only two of us.
Good. Delaneys in here somewhere. Im going to try to send her out. Keep an eye on her. Do not let Kougar near her.
Ill do my best.
Tighe shifted back into his human form, then ran into the hall to search for Delaney. If she had to face that clone again, she was doing it with him at her side.
CHAPTER 10
Delaney stumbled down the hallway from apartment 331, her lungs sore and burning from coughing. Her nostrils fried from the stench of burning flesh. Her heart aching. Dear God, hed burned the children.
In the hallway, the air was quickly filling with smoke. Even if Tighes twin were here, she wasnt sure shed see him.
A figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Her heart lurched at the familiar sight. Tighe or the killer? But the angel wings in her head fluttered with pleasure, and she knew it was Tighe. But at the sight of him, at the thought of what shed just done, her stomach spasmed with guilt. Shed just gotten off the phone with Phil. FBI SWAT was on its way.