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  Mystic Awakening

  Mystic Series, Book 1

  J.L. Lawrence

  Mystic Awakening is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright ©2017 by J.L. Lawrence

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Design by Rae Monet, Inc.

  Edited by Alicia Dean

  Interior Layout by Jesse Gordon

  Dedication

  To Papa, the greatest man I’ve ever known.

  You always saw the creativity inside me

  and taught me to chase my dreams.

  I’m incredibly blessed to have had you in my life.

  The strongest source of power on this planet is love

  and you gave it in abundance.

  Chapter 1

  Kate dove behind the car, dodging bullets hitting the pavement to her left and right. She had been tracking her latest serial killer for almost a year, starting in California and ending in this little town outside of Pittsburg. Every nerve in her body stood on alert. Sunlight blinded her as she tried to find the locations of the shooters.

  Where the hell were they?

  She dropped to all fours and peered under the car, so she could get a clear look at the building. She desperately searched for a way into the apartment complex. The gunmen were merely a distraction. Somewhere inside was an innocent woman fighting for her life and a brutal murderer hell-bent on taking it.

  She fought the panic and frustration escalating in her mind.

  Deep breath.

  Focus.

  Perspiration trickled down her forehead and back. She fired several rounds, trying to draw out the shooters. The woman’s screams echoed in her mind, and her head nearly split in two. Psychic backlash was a bitch. In a matter of minutes, the woman would be dead.

  She had to make her move or the psycho her team had been tracking for months would once again escape. With another deep breath, she cleared her mind and pushed all emotion aside. She sure as hell wouldn’t fail now. It was time to take a risk.

  Signaling to her partner, Angie, to cover, Kate made a run for it. Using the mental skills she’d had and hated all her life, she projected the image she wanted others to see. It provided camouflage when she needed it most. She blended her appearance with the nearby scenery, becoming a blur as she ran the last fifty feet and slipped through a side door. Hopefully, no one had noticed, or she’d end up in the psych ward. At least she’d made it inside the building.

  Time was running out.

  She raced up the stairs two at a time. Her calves were on fire, and her lungs strained with the effort to breathe. She jerked open the door to the sixth floor. Pulling her weapon, she cautiously edged down the hallway.

  Her stomach dropped, and her chest tightened. Her psychic connection disengaged. The woman’s screams had turned to eerie silence.

  Kate followed the residual energy of the connection and stopped in front of the apartment. She grabbed the knob, surprised when it turned under her hand. She threw the door open and, with her gun extended, entered. “FBI! Drop your weapon!”

  Her team had caught up and came into position behind her. She dodged behind the kitchen counter located off the front door, expecting gunfire, but was greeted with more silence.

  The smell of copper assaulted her nose, and the weight of death threatened to overwhelm her. Her mental abilities weren’t always a welcome gift. She could still feel the backlash of the victim’s fear and brutal demise. It sickened her. Using as much energy as she could spare, she closed the mental connection.

  She didn’t have to be cautious anymore. Her team moved forward into the formerly white living room now streaked with red. The son of a bitch was gone, and the woman was definitely dead. Her executioner had escaped, but left the broken remains of a once beautiful woman behind.

  Still maintaining protocol, they cleared the apartment and returned to the victim. Tears filled Kate’s eyes and clogged her throat. The woman had been beaten and tortured and lay in a pool of her own blood.

  Kate passed by a large mirror and table in the hallway, where the woman had tossed her keys and purse. She opened the wallet to see if there was any clue identifying the perp. Instead, she saw the girl’s life and shattered dreams. Victoria Green had been her name.

  Kate closed her eyes and took a deep breath, desperate to get a grip on her emotions. She wiped any trace of sentiment from her face. Her team called her the Ice Queen for a reason and not because of her crazy bright blue eyes. The pull of her dark blonde hair wrapped tight in a bun helped to keep her focused. She relied on her outside appearance more than she cared to admit. Her outside armor was her polished black, standard suit and black boots.

  Inside her head, it might be a three-ring circus, but she was the master of hiding emotions. No one could see the pain and sadness behind the walls she’d perfected over the years. Except Angie, her best friend and FBI partner. They had an amazing bond that kept Kate sane.

  This particular case had become a media nightmare, and they’d failed again. The victims were all females that had been viciously raped, disfigured, and had their eyes cut out for souvenirs. With nothing left to view but horror, family members weren’t even able the see their loved ones for a final goodbye.

  Kate pushed all of the unwanted emotions into her blessed mental compartments. One of the few psychic gifts she didn’t hate and used often to deal emotionally. “Angie, was anyone arrested from the lot?”

  “No, it was the weirdest thing. All fire stopped when you entered the building, and we couldn’t catch a single one of the shooters. They disappeared. Did you see him?” Angie’s tone indicated she meant more than seeing him visually.

  Kate pushed her fingers through her hair in utter frustration “No. He wasn’t here and hasn’t been for several minutes. I’m going to guess the medical examiner’s report will say she died anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour ago. The shooters were meant to buy him more escape time. He wasn’t in the building when we arrived. I don’t understand.”

  The rest of her team spread out in the apartment to process the scene. The ME finished her initial examination, agreeing with Kate’s prediction.

  Kate walked around the room searching for answers. They were dealing with something. This perp was not an average human. What the devil were they up against? Despite denying her own gifts, she embraced the fact that the serial killer must have psychic abilities, too.

  Switching to a mental link she’d shared with Angie ever since they were in college, Kate quickly filled her in with her new line of thought. “He’s been gone for over thirty minutes. Somehow, he created a cover for himself, managed to mess with my head, and delayed the victim’s screams. It’s not a normal human. I know it.”

  Angie dusted for prints to keep appearances. They’d always been careful hiding their connection. “Since you’re the only one who actually hears the victim’s screams, and he deliberately messed with your head, do you think he might be targeting you?”

  Soft opera music still played in the background, and groceries lay out on the counter. The victim had been ready to cook dinner and have a relaxing night; instead, she’d become the dinner for a monster Kate had failed to catch. Again. She pressed her fingers against her temples.

  She didn’t have to ask. She already knew that she was the reason for his current obsession. He’d changed the game. Now it was about the chase.

  Heated anger flashed from her chest all the way up her neck. “I don’t know what the hell it is, or what it wants, but I know what it will be. Dead!”

  * * *

  Two weeks lat
er, Kate found herself rushing after this madman again. They had tracked him to Boston. This was where she intended to make her stand. Live or die. This was the end of the line.

  They rushed into the dark alley. Her fellow agents followed without question. She felt a moment of hesitation and paused briefly. Was she risking too much? They were her family, and she was the leader they depended on to survive. They’d already lost Mike. She glanced back over her shoulder, taking in each one. Chris, the jokester with a slight crush on her. Teri, the behavioral psychology genius, and Randy, the weapons specialist and former Marine. Teri and Randy had been hiding their relationship for over a year. Kate would never tell.

  No regrets. She moved forward.

  Anticipation hummed in her veins as she drew nearer to the suspect. His presence crackled in the air. Something seemed different tonight. He’d changed his pattern. Desperation, rage, and pure evil emanated through his energy field.

  “I want him dead.” Kate glared at her team with a look no one would challenge. Right or wrong, she didn’t care.

  They had finally moved in close enough so she could pick up on his thoughts and feelings.

  You’re not running because you want me.

  A sinking feeling hit her stomach. And just like she could sense him, he could probably sense her.

  Great, I’ve managed to attract a serial killer with mental abilities probably stronger than mine. She’d never wanted the cursed gifts anyway.

  The team crept forward. The alley widened behind a popular nightclub and led into a deserted gravel lot. The hair on Kate’s neck stood straight up, and chill bumps broke out over her entire body, as if she could feel his breath on her skin.

  She spun around, but found nothing. He was toying with her and using her mind against her. She reinforced her mental blocks, then sensed he had not come alone. He had dozens of followers waiting on the outskirts. It was an ambush.

  “Take cover.” Kate whispered urgently into her mic. “He’s here and not running this time.”

  “Kate, we have movement on the left.” Chris’s voice came back.

  “Movement on the right,” Teri confirmed.

  Kate paused. She was the real target. If they were going to live through this night, they’d have to split up or risk getting ambushed. It looked as if the SOB would be all hers and Angie’s.

  “Check it out,” she ordered. “Be careful. Angie and I are moving forward.”

  The moment her team dispersed, the monster she’d been tracking for months stepped out of the shadows.

  “Oh, shit, he’s ugly.” Angie took a step back. “What is it?”

  “I have no freaking clue, but we can’t stand here and wait for the answer to strike us.” Should she believe her eyes?

  The ugliest creature she’d ever seen stood before her. Over six feet tall with grayed-out, hollow eyes. She momentarily thought he might be blind. Skin seemed to be literally falling off his face and arms, but she could hear his heart beat—or at least it sounded like a heart. His sharp teeth reminded her of a shark going after its next meal.

  “Well, shoot it!” Kate barked.

  Angie sent three rounds into its chest. It looked at them and laughed–well you might call it a laugh–sounding a bit more like wheezing.

  “Okay, double shit!” Her partner’s thoughts screamed louder than words. “Bullets didn’t even faze it. I think he actually enjoyed it. We’re pretty screwed unless you have a brilliant idea up your sleeve.” They both backed up slowly.

  Kate frowned. “Me? Take cover while we try to think of something. We’re out here like sitting ducks. Get over there to the cars.”

  She looked around. They were seriously getting their asses kicked. Her entire team was struggling with the entourage the beast had brought along. With silencers attached, guns fired without sound, fists hit against flesh, and bodies flew through the air. It didn’t look good. They were definitely losing.

  “The team can handle themselves, we need to focus. We’ll find a way.” Angie came in with a jump kick that merely sent the beast back a few feet.

  Maybe there isn’t a way.

  Now they were both fighting the beast, but her team and reinforcements were going down fast. What seemed to be lasting forever had only been a few minutes. A battle they couldn’t win.

  The beast struck with a kick that hurled Angie through the air.

  “Angie!”

  “I’m okay. Watch out!”

  Kate refocused just in time to get punched, smashing her into the nearest car.

  That’s gonna leave a bruise.

  She crawled over to Angie. “We could try a retreat, but we’re surrounded, and he’ll never let us go. For some reason, I seem to be his main target.”

  “I know, we have no choice but to keep fighting.” They launched in again, only to be thrown aside again.

  Kate’s bones rattled, and pain launched up her entire spine. She landed on the ground with a thud, then rolled over and tried to get to her feet quickly. But as she started to stand, Angie was thrown into her, and she hit the gravel again.

  Her skin was torn, bleeding in several places, and her leg wounds were filled with gravel and dirt. The pain in her side indicated bruised ribs in the mix as well. A piece of glass had sliced through her lower left leg, and her ankle was killing her. She compartmentalized the pain and reached down to help Angie to her feet.

  Kate wiped at the blood trickling into her eye. “Considering he doesn’t seem to have a scratch, or tiring in any way, I’m going to say we’re losing. Even if bullets did work, he crushed your gun with his bare hands.”

  “I get it. We’re screwed.” Angie held onto her. They walked backward to gain space. Most of her injuries were similar to Kate’s, so they were in no shape to fight. “Any ideas?”

  “What choice do we have?” Kate used what little energy she could spare to block the pain in both of their minds. She’d probably die, but she sure as hell would take that piece of shit with her.

  She started to advance again. Someone grabbed her and pulled her quickly behind the dumpster, while another figure seized Angie. She threw her hands up to defend. Two men dressed all in black flashed a badge quickly. Too quickly. Both looked as if they had stepped out of GQ magazine, and yet carried an air of pure danger. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing?”

  “Federal Agents. I’m Agent Xander Montgomery, and this is my partner, Agent Gregory Pierce. We’ve been following this case and your team. Let’s just say the two of us tend to get the weird ones.”

  Montgomery held out a badge again and nodded to his partner. How odd. They weren’t the least bit surprised by whatever this thing was. She wasn’t sure she believed their story, but at this point she wouldn’t turn down assistance.

  “Do you know what we’re dealing with or how to kill it?” She forced the man to meet her gaze. She didn’t trust him, yet she didn’t sense evil in him either.

  “Yes to both. I’ll explain later. We’ve wasted enough time. We have a demon to kill.”

  “A what?” The air rushed out of her lungs.

  He didn’t answer.

  The two men rushed forward and leapt into a heated battle. They kicked and punched, wearing the creature down. Their moves were unnaturally fast, but Kate was mesmerized by their strength and agility. The beast’s followers rallied to help, but it was only a matter of seconds before Montgomery held a sword.

  He’d literally pulled it out of the air.

  In a single flash, he removed the head of the beast. His followers ran or were killed instantly. Then their bodies burst into flames and turned to ash.

  She could definitely learn a thing or two from these two incredibly talented agents.

  Kate looked at Angie. Her face was frozen in shock and disbelief. “You’re writing the report on this one, ’cause I don’t want to be locked up in the looney bin.”

  Their eyes met. “Well, I’ll be damned,” Angie stuttered. “No, you are definitely writing the report. I don
’t even know where to begin with unkillable beings, strangers appearing out of nowhere, and our perps turning to ash all on their own. We’re gonna be in psychiatric evaluations the rest of our careers.”

  Kate nodded in agreement as she tried to gain her bearings.

  “Check on our team.” Kate slid down against a car, grabbing her leg tightly with her hand to stop some of the blood pouring out.

  “They’re sorting through everything and gathering evidence. The rest of his groupies ran away when he died. We lost a few local officers, and Teri has some severe injuries, so that’ll have to be addressed.” Angie squatted to help Kate wrap her leg, but Montgomery pushed her aside.

  “Let me take a look. I’m good with wounds.” He reached toward her and placed his hand over her injury. Immediately, the pain began to fade. But in its wake, an awareness filled her. So acute, she struggled not to gasp aloud. Her skin tingled, and her heart rate jumped. He’d pulled her into him and formed some kind of connection.

  What is he doing to me? She could feel his energy sweeping through her.

  Gathering her resolve, she pushed him away, then stood to find her balance. “Thank you, but I’m fine now.” She limped over to Angie, who leaned against a car to keep herself upright. They needed to get cleaned and bandaged up. But first, she wanted to know more about what they’d just fought and the two men who’d mysteriously shown up and saved the day.

  “Listen, who did you say you worked . . .” She gasped.

  They’d vanished.

  She’d only had her back turned for a few seconds. This was impossible, even for highly trained agents.

  Her instincts told her they’d meet again. Something had started tonight. She could feel the connection lingering. It was an inner voice that vibrated through her entire being, whispering that her time had come, over and over. But the time for what scared her the most.

  * * *

  Kate woke up at first light and rolled out of bed. It had been two days since they’d faced the serial killer in the alley, and her body was still recovering from bruised ribs, a sprained ankle, and various cuts and abrasions. She tried to stretch out her muscles, but they screamed in protest. Eventually making her way into the bathroom, she settled for a warm bath.