Evanee saw in her mind the outcast man named Bear and the abused maiden he rescued named Fearless. Witnessed how Bear kept Fearless safe even though the Bad Ones constantly stalked them and tried to steal Fearless from him. But nothing could hurt Fearless and Bear when they were together. They possessed a bond stronger than the hills. They were a shield against harm. Both carrying the power to heal each other.
“As long as the light shines in one of you, the other shall live.” Dr. Stone’s words resonated through her like someone had plucked a chord of pure truth.
Evanee’s mind delved back into the story. Watching Fearless find joy and laughter with Bear. Watching her possess night sight and, with Bear by her side, becoming the wisest woman in the region—sought after for her guidance and counsel. Together she and Bear brought peace and prosperity to the region unlike any seen before.
Dr. Stone’s voice became heavy and labored as if he were speaking through great emotion. “As they approached the end of their earthly lives, Bear carved a totem on the crest of the highest hill to remind all in the region; he would protect Fearless into eternity.
“They went to the ancestors together. The tribe built a great funeral pyre in honor of them and anointed their bodies in bear grease before setting the blaze. Every village in the region witnessed the black smoke burning in the sky.
“A week later, after the fire cooled, the tribe gathered the ash and rubbed it over Bear’s totem to seal their power together inside the carving for eternity.”
Silence broke the story’s spell.
Fearless and Bear’s world faded from her vision—as if it had been playing out in her memory instead of being just a story. An iron knot lodged itself in Evanee’s throat, and unshed tears burned her eyes. She wouldn’t let herself grieve for Fearless and Bear—that just seemed silly.
Dr. Stone scrutinized her and Lathan, almost like he saw through them, beyond normal to the realm of possibilities. “I believe you are Fearless and Bear come to life.”
She had anticipated those words, and yet they split her into two halves.
Half of her recognized she had felt safe with Lathan from the moment she’d met him. And when they made love, it was… She almost couldn’t put words to it. It was fresh, exciting, and new, but comfortable, easy, and familiar. Like lovers reuniting.
The other half of her scoffed. “Everything you want me—us—to believe defies reality. How can any of this exist?”
“It doesn’t matter how it exists. It does. If you don’t believe me, remove your hand from Mr. Montgomery’s face. The pain will hit in seconds. That is reality.”
“She’s not moving her hand.” Lathan’s tone carried his true meaning—I’ll fucking kill anyone who causes her pain.
“Maybe I have a psychological problem that makes me believe I feel better when I touch him.”
“How do you explain Mr. Montgomery’s ability to hear?” Dr. Stone shot an arrow straight through her defenses. He’d just hit upon the one thing she couldn’t explain away. Lathan could hear. His eyes, always colored in a layer of sadness, now shone bright as silver. For him, she wanted to believe everything the doctor said, but two people blocked her way.
“What about Xander and Isleen? They are Fearless and Bear.”
Dr. Stone’s brows rose—the only indication that her leap of logic was right on. “What makes you certain there can only be one pair?”
“Because there were only Fearless and Bear in the story.”
“What if their power is too great to be carried by one couple? What if the power had to be split and divided? What if—”
“It’s all a giant what-if, isn’t it? You’re asking me to believe in something I don’t understand, accept something I want to reject, and trust in something that could hurt me.”
“Honey.” The way Lathan spoke her name carried an urgency and a yearning for her to understand. “For months now, I’ve been drawn to that bear carving. Compelled to stop there, but every damned time I left feeling stupid because it was just an inanimate hunk of wood. This explains it.” His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “That’s Gill telling me he’s arrived.”
“Now? Why’s he here now? You two just had a fight.” She noticed the split in his lip was completely healed. Gone. Like it had never been there.
Lathan must’ve followed the path of her gaze. With his free hand, he touched his mouth, probing to find the injury that was no longer there. “I texted him to pick up the ring you brought back from dreamland. I have to let him in. I’ll hurry—be gone no more than thirty seconds.” She could tell he was worried about leaving her in pain.
“I’ll be fine.” She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips, but he deepened the kiss until she felt boneless and breathless and weightless. Then he was gone, his boots thudding down the stairs.
The pain was low grade, a minor annoyance. “Are Isleen’s dreams the same as mine?”
“Hers are very different. She is taken to a place she says looks like heaven—”
“The White Place.”
“—but then it changes. She’s shown a series of events and how they will play out if someone doesn’t intervene. And she has somnambulism—she’s a sleepwalker. Xander’s up half the night following her around, making certain she doesn’t hurt herself. Sometimes she acts out parts of her dreams.”
“Why doesn’t Xander wake her up? If it were me, I’d want to be woken up.”
“As long as her life isn’t at risk—that’s why Xander follows her to make certain she is safe—she wants to use her dreams to help people.”
“My dreams are of murdered people. My dreams aren’t helping anyone.”
“Are you sure about that? These things you bring back aren’t random. They serve a purpose.”
What purpose? As soon as she asked herself the question, Lathan’s words played through her mind. Because of the lead you gave Gill about Guadalupe Mountains National Park—and after a preliminary DNA confirmation—a team was sent there to search for the body of Juanita Valdez. She went missing from her home in Salt Flats, Texas, the night you dreamed about her.
Lathan hurried back into the room before she could devote some brainpower to puzzling over what that meant. His gaze was immediately on her, assessing her for pain.