Electric Storm(107)

The hair on the back of her neck rose. Taggert jerked to a halt, the cuffs stretched between them, peering at her in confusion. “There’s an energy shield of some sort around the cave like an underground fence.” She tipped her head to the side and held out her arms, walking blindly, her fingers brushing the edges.

“Here.” She traced the path down. “There’s an electric fence buried here.” The fence sparked when her fingertips bumped over the line. The tip of her finger burned then grew numb. She quickly pulled back, rubbing at the blackened tip.

A shadow shifted to the right. A person lumbered out of the darkness, the gait awkward. Twigs were tangled in snarled hair. Something about the shape of her face, the placement of her eyes, nagged at her.

“Sarah?”

The shape turned toward her, and the truth rocked through Raven. The laughing picture. Jason’s missing girlfriend. Childlike confusion clouded the dull eyes. A flicker of recognition flared as if she remembered Raven from their first meeting when she almost fried her. The girl pointed back toward the cave.

“The cave?”

The girl shuffled forward. She had one foot across the fence when her body jolted, and a scream of rage bubbled out of her throat. The total despair bled Raven’s heart.

A snarl of frustration transformed Sarah’s face, the consciousness in her eyes faded as she swung toward them.

“I don’t think she’s happy.” Taggert retreated a step when Sarah bared her teeth. They were jagged, half human, half animal.

Her movements smoothed out, her joints became fluid. She was going to attack.

Fear for Taggert curled through her. She’d come too far to let anything happen to him now. “Freeze.”

Taggert instantly stilled in the uncanny way that she normally associated with vampires.

Raven lifted her hands to draw Sarah’s attention. “You want in there?” She pointed to the cave. Sarah halted and gazed at the cave. The killers had something in there, something they used to ensure that Sarah obeyed.

Raven knelt and dug her hands into the ground. Cords of power snaked through the earth, leaping at her touch, eager for release. “Taggert...”

“If you don’t do this, she’ll kill us both.”

Raven still hesitated. Even with perfect control, those shackles would transfer at least some of the shock to him. “I don’t know what it’ll do to you.”

The wolf stared back at her when their gazes met. “I see the way you channel energy. I felt you do it when your lips were on me and you took my blood.” A shudder went through him, and she didn’t think it had anything to do with pain. “I can’t absorb it the way you do, but I believe the wolf can help channel it so it doesn’t kill us.”

Her heart leapt at his confession. She would’ve questioned him further when Sarah’s pacing grew more erratic. Raven didn’t know if Taggert was lying to protect her or not. His steady gaze held hers, and she took a leap of faith.

“If you’re lying and you die on me, I’ll bring your ass back just so I can kill you myself.” Without giving him a chance to say anything, she curled her nails into the cold earth and sucked in the power with a hard, steady draw. Her core filled in fits and starts as it sputtered, making it harder to work.

An off-tune, jerky hum from Sarah sent chills down her spine. Her brain shut down as the voltage arched through her body. Her fingers burned, the muscles of her body twitched in protest. When she didn’t think she could draw more, the power wavered below her.

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and every inch of her crackled with excess energy. She could barely breathe past the pain as her core grew brighter and pulsed. Acid burned through her veins, seeking escape, wanting freedom. But knowing Taggert stood connected to her made that impossible. The damned chain would ensure that if any slipped her control, too much would try for him first.

Just when she feared that her skin would burst from the strain, the darkness around her core shifted, curling tighter. Choking. Her breath left her in a rush. Then all the air was gone. Her lungs were starving. The world narrowed to the creature with the strangle hold on her guts and the bright core threatening to go nova.

A cool breeze brushed across her face as if in a caress, and the flare slowly died, scraped from her core. The creature stretched through her chest as if searching for more. When it found none, it curled up and stilled. Any extra boost she might have gained vanished, leaving her raw, edgy and without an ounce of spark. The ground was nothing but cool, clean earth.

When she had enough courage to lift her head, she found herself sprawled in the grass, Taggert’s yellow gaze no more than an inch from hers, and no sign of Sarah.