Page 60 of Bitten By Desire

Landing on the spongy grass, I waved a hand and all four bubbles burst open, spilling their prisoners out onto the ground at their normal sizes. Daphne curled her fingers in the soil, coughing as the others struggled to their feet, but it was Em with her disheveled mass of hair and dirty face that I tried to pull into my arms.

It was then I realized I still wasn’t corporeal. But Em tipped her head up, tears glistening in her eyes the color of burning coals. “I knew you’d come,” she said.

Throat thick, I nodded and willed myself upstairs into the cell in the brig where Tabitha sat beside me and Sam paced the length of the cell.

My own body lay on the table, still and pale like snow white, beneath a sheet.

I willed myself visible and Sam stopped short as Tabitha’s eyes grew large.

“Wake me. And Sam—go to the basement and take care of everyone. They’ve been through a lot.”

Tabitha took hold of my limp hand, still staring at me as I bent over my physical body and willed my selves to merge.

Chapter 21

Changing Colors

I was already swinging my legs over the side of the bed by the time my eyes fluttered open.

“Where are my clothes?” I asked, clutching the sheet above my chest. But I spied them before she could answer and started pulling them on as fast as I could. Sam had already taken off toward the basement as asked.

“I don’t know what the fuck is happening with you,” Tabitha said. “But I’ll admit I’m a little frightened.”

“There’s no need to fear me as long as you’re truly on our side.” I snatched up my cell phone and shot off a text to Julian.

It’s Daphne.

“Got it. Don’t double-cross the doctor. I’ll call the taxi, unless you want to go join Sam in the basement?” Tabitha waited awkwardly in the doorway.

“I’d appreciate it if you could go help him. I have some other things to take care of,” I said, forcing my tone into something less harsh.

She nodded and turned around to leave, pausing for just a moment, head half cocked toward me in profile. “When I brought you in to MorningStar…I only did what I had to do to keep control over my own life.”

No response came to mind, though I thought I understood. If she’d fought, the major would have forced her through mind bending or some elixir. Or they’d have tortured her like they had done to Julian. I couldn’t blame her for choosing self-preservation. I may not have done it differently, and even if I had, she wasn’t me.

As the vestiges of my lingering grudge ebbed away, I realized Tabitha could help me as much as I could help her.

“Do you have a…guide?” I asked.

Tabitha turned back around to face me. “Well, yeah. Everyone does, but we can certainly communicate with them better than others. Don’t you?”

I nodded. “Yes, but she’s pretty choosy about what she shares and when,” I admitted. It was something I kept trying not to blame her for, but if she had all the answers, why withhold so much?

To my surprise, Tabitha grinned, relaxing. “Yeah, Rebecca gives me shit all the time. Hasn’t anyone ever explained this to you?” She took a few more steps inside the room.

“No. I didn’t know any other psychics until I met you.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” Tabitha sighed. “Guides are just people like you and me that are in spirit form now. They’re the same as they were in life, so if they were silly then, they’re silly now. If they were jerks… Well, they probably wouldn’t be guides. But it sounds like yours might feel strongly about interfering in your free will unless she has to.”

I shifted my weight as I considered that. The Oracle of Delphi was known for being cryptic. I supposed that wouldn’t have changed.

“Thanks, Tabitha,” I said, returning her smile.

My phone buzzed. “I have to check that,” I said, waggling it. “Would you please help Sam?”

As Tabitha left, I lifted my cell to find Julian’s response. It was from his phone, but it wasn’t Julian who’d texted.

Too late. Julian knows it’s me now. Join us in your lab alone if you want a chance at sparing his life.

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