Hearts in Darkness (Nikki & Michael 2)

The link opened fully, and Michael's mind ran beside hers, a field filled with the brilliant color of his thoughts and emotions.

Ready when you are.

His thought was a breeze of wariness. He might be helping her, but he still wasn't happy about it. She could feel his fear, see it in the unhappy tinge of gray that swirled through the link, through her. She licked her lips and curled her fingers around the watch. While he hadn't worn it for a few days, the images still came thick and fast, thudding through her mind.

Control it, Nikki!

She frowned, concentrating on the images, sorting through them quickly. Found the ones she wanted and dived deep—so deep that she become one with them...

* * * *

...Matthew scrubbed the back of his hand across his nose. He hated the darkness, hated the cold, and hated the fact he was so damn scared he was almost pissing his pants. He had pissed his pants when Lizzie jumped him. She'd laughed and later brought him back a fresh pair but, he could still smell the stink on his skin.

He touched his neck. It was swollen and sore and he had no idea why she'd bitten him. Sucked him. It hadn't really hurt at the time, though. Just scared the piss out of him. Next time it would be better, she'd promised. Next time, you might just get lucky. He didn't want there to be a next time, even if it did mean staying a virgin. He just wanted to go home. Footsteps echoed across the silence. He edged back against the wall. The door opened and light filled the room, making him blink. The squat stranger was back. Behind him stood Lizzie. Her eyes looked weird, bright yellow and somehow intense. Like a cat's, he thought, just before it pounces on a mouse. He swallowed heavily. He didn't want to be her mouse. “What do you want with me?” He sounded like a girl, his voice all high and shrill.

"The time has come to prove your worth, young man.” The stranger's voice was as dead as the smell in the air. “Elizabeth, bring him along."

She walked into the room, a smile touching her lips. Lips that were the color of blood. His blood, maybe. He gulped, squeaking in fright when she grabbed him. But she didn't bite him, just dragged him one-handed to his feet and pushed him toward the door.

The stranger was ahead of them, wheeling down the corridor at a rate of knots. A weird little light rotated above his head, sending flickers of red and green up the walls. They reached some stairs and stopped. The light above the stranger's head pulsated, fading in and out of color. The stranger levitated in the air, scooting forward. Matthew gulped. Lizzie chuckled and dug her nails into his back, propelling him up the stairs.

They came to a doorway, then a small room. It hadn't been used for a while and was filled with dust. Mom would have had a fit. They didn't stop, heading into a warm, well-lit corridor.

"One wrong word, and you're dead meat,” Lizzie whispered, then licked his ear. It felt like she was tasting him. He shuddered and sidled away. She chuckled again. A woman stood at a counter, serving a couple of men decked out in shorts and sweatshirts. The stranger greeted her. She smiled and waved and didn't even look at him and Lizzie. It was like she didn't even know they were there.

They went down the hall and into an office. Computers lined the wall. Lizzie locked the door, and the stranger stopped in the middle of the room, then swung around to face him.

"You once boasted you could get into any computer you liked, even government ones." He'd said many things he hadn't meant. “Yeah? So?"

The stranger smiled. He had teeth like Lizzie's, long and sharp. “What about bank computers?"

"Oh yeah, that's easy.” Banks thought they were clever but they weren't. They'd never picked up any of the cash he'd transferred.

"Could you transfer money from one account to another, then on to another, creating a trail of money so confusing the authorities will never sort it out?"

"I suppose.” He frowned. “These your accounts? I don't want to be involved in anything illegal.” Not too illegal, at any rate. Stealing a few extra dollars was one thing. Stealing thousands was another. He didn't want to end up in jail.

The stranger's smile turned nasty. “You will do as we ask, one way or another.” His gaze slid past him.

“Elizabeth? I think another session is called for. He's not quite pliable enough." A hand grabbed him. He tried to scream, but it lodged somewhere in his throat. He felt her hands, felt her teeth, felt her thoughts in his mind. But his scream became silence, just endless silence...

* * * *

...Nikki's silent scream reverberated through Michael's soul. He wrenched her free from Matthew's memories, and caught her as she slumped forward. Her whole body was trembling, her mind a tangled mess of Matthew's memories and her own.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?” a dry voice said behind him. He froze for a second and silently cursed his luck. Elizabeth was the one person he didn't need right now. He must have been so caught up in watching Nikki that he hadn't even sensed her nearness. He pushed Nikki back against the wall, holding her upright with one hand, then turned to face his maker. She leaned casually against the door frame, a smile touching her ruby lips and ice in her eyes. He wondered briefly what he'd ever seen in her.

"There was no need to destroy the teenager's mind, Elizabeth. We both know you could have achieved control without going to this extreme."

Her shrug was grace itself. “You know I have a taste for virgins. Sometimes excitement gets the better of my control."

If she'd wanted to control her instincts, she would have. But she liked destruction just as much as she liked the fresh taste of an unwoken mind. Or body. Matthew had no doubt provided her with a double dose of pleasure.

"What brings you here? There's nothing left of the boy to play with.” He glanced briefly at Nikki. She still looked out of it, but awareness stirred through the link.

Elizabeth raised a dark eyebrow. “I might ask you the same question, only I guess the answer is somewhat obvious. You always did fancy yourself mankind's savior."

"Not a savior. Just a protector."