Page 103 of Sundowners
“Creed, you know that’s not—”
“I can’t leave, Todd. I’m trapped here when I’m needed elsewhere.”
“You’re the only one who can heal The Source.”
Ah, the truth of the matter.
The Source had become tainted by Stephen’s evil. He’d used his nefarious talent on The Source for fifty years and convinced the sheltered being of his fucked-up agenda. He lied to them about why they needed to continue the medical research, including what they were doing with The Source’s blood. I offered myself in exchange for the others, let The Source know the “initiates” were not there voluntarily, that they knew nothing about The Way and that they would be breaking the covenant if they continued with the ritual. They’d been literally brainwashed, and now it had become my responsibility to deprogram them and find out the truth about their behavior during the ritual. What hadn’t they told us? Why were they so panicked?
They’d nearly drained Roman of his lifeforce, so I did the only thing I could think of.
“There’s another way. I’ll show you,” I’d said to them. Something in my tone made them listen, and when I gave my consent for an Exchange, they were distraught by what they learned.
When the maelstrom died down, Cross and Mark had kept The Source calm while I ran to Roman. The paramedics determined he would never make it to the hospital without an immediate transfusion. None of the others present were a match.
My blood was type-less as a result of my initiation. I could save him.
They managed a field transfusion, taking three pints of my blood before they loaded him into the ambulance. All I’d had the chance to do was kiss his cold lips, say a prayer to the Goddess to spare his life, and let him go with all the healing energy I could muster. When I staggered away, Todd hustled me over to a dark SUV, loaded up Cross, Mark, and The Source, and let Captain Rojas know that he would be in touch. The only way he got the captain to agree was to leave him Stephen.
I prayed that wasn’t a mistake.
“They were all…wrong. The Source was supposed to be a benevolent leader, that’s what we were taught, but what I sensed from them was all wrong. Stephen lied to them this whole time, manipulated them by showing them a world that wasn’t true. He showed them that fear and evil were necessary, but that wasn’t The Way.”
“It seems as though the lessons you learned were truly the way you weremeantto be taught, and during their time with Stephen, The Source was corrupted. If we can’t find a way to correct this situation, we’ll have to keep them contained permanently.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” I asked him. “You saw how much power they wield. Is it possible to make them fit into this world? Is it possible to keep the world safefromthem? And what if others learn about their power and like Stephen, want to use that power for their own gain. Sure seems like this Hicks guy intends to do that.”
The one bit of information Todd had gotten from his associates—who I learned were not government officials, not law enforcement—was that Stephen had recruited Timothy because of his specific connections, that he’d been ready to kill himself and The Source because none of their experiments were working to replicate The Source’s blood and he’d grown desperate to get away from the whole operation. Stephen claimed Timothy was greedy for the power he thought he could get from The Source, and that he was truly the threat. How much of that could be believed, I had no clue.
Todd looked at the ground and shook his head. “If anyone can make a difference, it’s you, Creed. Couldn’t you teach The Source to heal the way you do? The way you’ve helped countless patients over the years?”
“Maybe. If I can get past the whole ‘you nearly killed my boyfriend’ issue.”
“I’m sorry, Creed. I can’t imagine how you’ve dealt with all of this for fifty years. I will say that Mrs. Hicks sends her gratitude. She thought she was going to die. She’s agreed to testify against Stephen and company. She wanted to thank you but we’ve placed her in protective custody. I know that it doesn’t fix anything for you, but I wanted you to know. I’m here, though, if you want to talk about anything.”
I did, but I wasn’t ready. Everything was too raw. I was back to where I’d started months ago, when I thought I would find Stephen and destroy him and then settle in Santa Cruz and live out the rest of my existence, aging naturally until it was time for my death.
Boy, had I been wrong. On all accounts.
“How is Roman?”
I’d almost forgotten that Todd was still there.
“He’s awake. He said he’d allow the doctor to give me information about his condition, so maybe next time I talk to Rey—”
“We just need to be careful, Creed. We don’t know if he’s being watched. We’ve got someone from our organization posted in the hospital, and we’ll keep him safe until you can be with him again.”
I nodded. “I’m glad you said ‘can’ and not ‘maybe’.”
Todd sighed. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, Creed. I really am.”
I held up a hand. “It’s okay. Everyone’s gotta have a purpose, don’t they?”
“And yours, apparently, is to save the world.”
I barked out a laugh. “If I’m going to do that, you’re going to need to find me some energy, Todd. I’m running on fumes.”
He grinned. “I do have a surprise for you.” Todd turned and gestured with a hand toward the house, and we started walking together. “One of my associates paid a visit to Puesta Del Sol, and there was a very concerned patron who wished to see you.”
