Rather to her surprise, Sarah found that his honest aversion didn’t make her feel like a freak. Or maybe she was just getting so accustomed to this that acceptance had built its own armor. “Sorry I creeped you out.”
“Oh, don’t mention it. I find this sort of thing happening with alarming frequency these days. You’d think I’d get used to it.”
Leigh cut in impatiently. “Sarah, were you there? With Tucker?”
She nodded. “It was dark; that’s why it took me so long. I had to feel my way around until I found the way out.”
Bewildered, Cait said, “I thought the way out was back through Tucker. Leigh said that’s how you got there, and—”
Sarah didn’t blame her for being confused. “I got there through Tucker, and I came back through him, but I was looking for a physical way out. One we could use when we actually—I mean physically—go there.”
There was a part of Sarah that couldn’t believe she was discussing this so calmly and matter-of-factly. Yet to another part of her, it seemed perfectly normal and nothing to get upset or excited about.
“A way out,” Brodie said. “As opposed to a way in?”
Sarah looked at him. “They believe there’s only one way in, and they’re all around it—that’s the trap they’ve set. I go in, and no matter what happens inside, I can’t get out, because they close the way behind me. But I found a back door we can use, an entrance they know nothing about. How we use it depends on the plan we decide on.”
“Where is this place?”
“It’s an old, abandoned church right on the coast. Outside the city, but not too far away. Tucker is being held in the cellar, and it’s a big one. Lots of rooms and a rabbit warren of narrow corridors. And there are tunnels spreading out from the church; I think they were built and used for storage, and to get to other buildings when the weather was bad. Most of the tunnels are probably caved in now, but one leads through the rock and out to the beach. At that point, in that place, no one paying attention to the church would see us go in.”
Brodie frowned. “Do you know how many of them are there?”
Sarah felt herself shiver and looked down to watch gooseflesh rise on her arms. “I…couldn’t count them. Couldn’t…differentiate between them somehow. Just shadows lurking around me, and above me in the church. But I know there are several of them, at least. Maybe half a dozen. And one very close to Tucker, keeping watch.”
“Did they know you were there?” Leigh asked.
“No.” Sarah looked at her. “I was very careful not to touch any of them. I knew it was vital that they not find out I was there. Because if they had, they would have killed Tucker immediately.”
“Why?” Cait asked, still baffled.
Softly, Leigh said, “They would have known how she got there. They would have understood that she was already lost to them, her potential fully realized. Worse, they would have known that she was able to move among them, unseen. Find out things about them. They would have had to destroy her. Killing him would be the quickest, easiest way to do that.”
“If they aren’t psychic,” Cait said, “could they have known she was there?”
Leigh looked at Sarah questioningly.
Slowly, Sarah nodded. “If I had touched any one of them…they would have known. They may not be psychic, but they—somehow—instantly recognize the paranormal when it comes into contact with them, I’m sure of that. If they had touched my…my spirit, the energy of me that was there, they would have sensed and recognized me. And if any one of them touches me physically, they’ll know I’m connected to Tucker.”
This time, Leigh looked at Brodie. “There’s something new, something we didn’t know. We can recognize them by touch—and they can recognize us.”
Brodie was still frowning, though he didn’t seem bewildered, just thoughtful. “I’ll make a note—for future reference. So…we have to get in there and get to Mackenzie before any of them touch you. What about him? I assume they’ve touched him already.”
“He isn’t a strong enough psychic for them to sense,” Sarah said slowly. “And he doesn’t yet realize he can tap into my abilities. As long as he doesn’t know that, doesn’t do that, they can touch him without sensing the connection. But…”
“But?”
“They’ve got him drugged. But if the drug wears off and he becomes conscious, he’ll reach out to me.”
“You’re sure of that?” Leigh asked.
Sarah nodded. “Positive. When he became briefly conscious hours ago, I reached out to him. If I’d realized…but I didn’t. I just wanted to touch him, to make sure he was all right. And just before they drugged him again, he realized what was happening. When he can think clearly again, he’ll try to reach me. And I can’t close that door.” I wouldn’t even if I could.
“So they’ll know about the connection if they touch him when he’s conscious.”
“Yes.”
“And will immediately kill him.”