Kay Hooper - Blood Dreams

"And once his attack was delayed, then he knew he'd have to do something about the psychic hunters on his trail. I was right. He knew Bishop would be here, probably wanted him to be here. Bishop-specifically him. And specifically here, with Miranda far away and as separated from Bishop as she could be while both of them are still alive."

"That connection of theirs?"

"That connection," Dani said. "Like Paris and me, Bishop has another half. Together, he and Miranda are incredibly powerful. Alone, either one is a lot more vulnerable. The killer had to know Bishop would be on his trail. And because the bastard had to wait for conditions to be right, or wait to be able to create them himself, then he had to make damn sure his enemy was as weakened as possible."

"So he took away Bishop's other half. Without even lifting a finger against her."

"I think so." Dani drew a breath and let it out slowly. "I think even Bishop has been playing into the killer's hands, reacting exactly as he was expected to react."

Marc was frowning. "Wait a minute. Wasn't it your vision that caused Bishop to make sure his wife was protected and far away?"

"Yeah," Dani replied. "How about that. It's like Miranda says. Premonitions are tricky beasts."

It was the chill that woke her, Hollis realized. She lay on a cold table in a room that was cold in every sense. She didn't open her eyes at first because she was very afraid she knew what she would see, and wanted to delay being forced to deal with that.

She had faced death more than once, and it wasn't getting any easier.

I've got to get a different job.

What had happened? She'd gone with Jordan to get breakfast, and… and what? She dimly recalled a distraction but couldn't remember what it was. Then something stung her leg, she reached down, and she found herself holding some kind of dart.

Shit. No wonder there were no signs of a struggle where the women disappeared… He's using drugs.

And just like with all the other women, Hollis had apparently been exactly where the killer expected her to be, and he had been ready for her.

Not that the discovery was a hell of a lot of help to Hollis now, except to provide the answer to one of the questions that had nagged at her.

And to give her a couple more minutes' grace before facing the inevitable. But just a couple, and by then Hollis was wide awake behind her closed eyes and could hear him, somewhere nearby, humming.

The monster had her.

And if there was anything they knew about him, it was that her chances of survival had just dropped to something close to zero.

The best part about facing death, Hollis had discovered, was that after the first moments of skin-crawling, soul-shivering terror, it was curiously liberating, at least for her. A kind of survival mode kicked in, and all her concentration and energy went into whatever effort was required to better her chances.

She did not want to die.

It was, perhaps not coincidentally, also exactly the right state of mind necessary for the best use of her mediumistic abilities. So Hollis wasn't terribly surprised, when she finally opened her eyes, to see Becky Huntley bending over her.

"Be very still," Becky whispered. "And you can't get loose anyway, we all tried our best. He thinks you're still out. As soon as he knows you're awake, he'll want to get started on you. And you don't want that."

Instantly, Hollis closed her eyes again and forced her body to go limp, and it wasn't just because it was still unsettling to her, this absurdly easy communication with the dead.

Is there anything else you can tell me, Becky ? She knew she didn't have to ask out loud, which was a good thing but also still strange to her.

"We'll try to help. But… we don't have much energy. Karen is so sad because she wanted to be a mother, and Shirley can't believe it's over for her. And he's… he's not human anymore, Hollis. Do you think he knows there's a hell? Do you think it would matter to him?"

Not if he isn't human anymore…

But Hollis wasn't sure about that, so she didn't dismiss the information. Any bit of knowledge could be a tool, a weapon that could save her life.

If she figured out how to use it.

And when to use it.

"Your friends are trying to find you," Becky told her. "We think there's a chance… maybe. If Dani remembers what she can do."

Without asking what that was, Hollis merely thought, Go remind her, will you ?

"She wouldn't see me. Or hear me. Just the way he can't see or hear me. I'll try to make him see me, because it might take some of his attention off you, but so far it's taken more energy than I have, than any of us has, to break through. Be very still, Hollis. He's coming over here. Try not to let him know you're awake."

Oh, Christ.

Dani said, "I don't think he caused or altered my premonition. I could be wrong about that-easily-but I don't think so. I think he had targeted Paris, and when I showed up, when he realized, then he decided it could work to his advantage."

"That sounds an awful lot like luck."

"No, I don't think he leaves much to chance. His original plan was to take Paris 's abilities, especially the one that let her channel energy. The one ability that can become a weapon in the right hands. Or the wrong ones. He wanted that potential weapon. That never changed; he just added to the blueprint." She shook her head. "But I meant what I said: I don't really care how he's doing this, or why, not now. I just want to find him and stop him, hopefully before he hurts Hollis and before he has a chance to go after Paris again."

"All right. Look, we both know following the paper trail and searching warehouses is going to take longer than Hollis has, probably longer than Paris has. So why don't we take a shortcut?"

"What kind of shortcut?"

"Dream-walk."

"Marc… we might not have gotten much sleep last night, but we did get some, and I can't do anything in my dreams unless it's a natural sleep. Trust me, I'm about as far from sleep as I've ever been in my life."

"I don't think you have to sleep, Dani. Not anymore-and maybe you never did. I may not know a lot about psychic abilities, but one thing I do know is that psychics have been putting themselves into trances for a long time in order to tap into their abilities."

"I've never been able to do that. I was taught all the right meditation techniques, we all are at Haven. It works for a lot of psychics. But I could never put myself into a trance."

"How hard did you try? Be honest."

She hesitated. "I don't know. I mean… I thought I was trying, but…"

"But you were still running. Then. Not now. And now you have every reason in the world to put everything you have into the effort. I'm betting that'll be more than enough." He took her hand and led her into the living room and to the sofa. "I'll help."

"How? Have you ever tried this before?"

"No. But my passive psychic ability, remember, is to recognize the abilities in others. I have a hunch that isn't quite as passive as I've always believed it to be-or else it's just evolving because I've used it so much more lately. Or because of the connection with you. No way to know for sure, but for whatever reason, I think I may be able to help you focus and channel."

She didn't have a clue if it would work, but the clock in her head was ticking louder; a glance at the clock on some of his electronics in the room told her it was now 9:05.

Paris and Hollis were both running out of time.

"Okay," she said. "Meditation techniques. Deep cleansing breaths-"

"Screw all that," Marc said. He took her other hand and held them, half turned toward her so that they faced each other. He was smiling slightly. "Energy follows intent; I think if you want something badly enough, you find it. Just close your eyes and think about Hollis and places monsters might hide."