Heroes Without, Monsters Within by Sheryl Nantus

Author:Sheryl Nantus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2012-01-03T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“Now I need some me time.” I spun on my heel and headed for the stairs. “I’ll be on the roof if you need me. Let’s concentrate right now on how to draw these punks out and beat their asses. Dig into those files, crank up your imaginations and figure out how to put these two down for the count.” I stopped at the doorframe. “Nothing’s too far-fetched to suggest. Nothing. We’ve got a deadline, so all options are open to us.”

I ran up the stairs and pushed the door open. The bright sun blasted into my eyes for a second, compounding the low throb behind my eyes until I got used to it.

The previous indentation in the gravel from my last meditation effort was still there, so I settled into it, letting the stone pebbles grind into the leather pants. I wasn’t worried about getting them dirty.

I closed my eyes and headed for my quiet place. A safe, quiet place where I could just be and not be at the same time.

“He’s right, you know.” In my mind’s eye Mike settled down beside me, his long dark legs folding under him. He was wearing black shorts and a white T-shirt. “You might be the leader of the team, but you need some help. Don’t be getting all bitchy ’cause Jessie figured out how to make it work.”

“I have to stop hallucinating,” I mumbled. Below us a streetcar screeched to a halt, the metal-on-metal screams setting off a chain reaction of car horns.

“It’s inner perspective.” He held up a finger. “Jessie means well. Besides, you know what Hunter’s going to do if you leave him here?”

“He’s going to drive Jessie and David crazy.”

“Exactly. And, despite what you may want to forget, he is a Guardian. He took May into the field plenty of times and stayed behind the curtain.”

“But that was for show,” I retorted. “This is life and death. We’re not doing a choreographed dance. If we lose this next fight, we might be under the Agency’s thumb again.” I shuddered, visualizing Outrager rubbing his hands with glee as he paraded the team underground into one of the Agency bases. Or worse, going on the run for the rest of our lives, terrified and afraid of being captured.

“True. So why handicap yourself by holding him back?” Mike’s low voice rumbled in my ear. “Let him do what he does best—command and control. May trusted him. You need to do the same. Trust your training. Trust your Guardian.”

I reached out in my mind, touching the calmness and drawing it into me. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Something tickled my right ear. Something that was definitely not Mike.

I opened my eyes. Hunter sat beside me, his index finger running along my right earlobe. His legs stuck out in front of him, close enough to kick pebbles over the edge.

“Okay?” he repeated.

The headache grew smaller and dissipated, leaving a slight void behind my eyes. “I’m cool with you coming out with us. As long as you stay in the plane and don’t get on the battlefield.

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