- WNF: Chapter 1
Only the rigid control he’d practiced every moment since the awakening of his talent allowed Special Agent Jason Markham to keep from contaminating the crime scene he was viewing. The urge to vomit was almost too much, but the thought of the reaction to his ruining any possible evidence waiting to be gathered gave him the edge.
Swallowing hard, he scanned the scene a second, slower time while waiting for his superior to finish schmoozing the locals away.
The teen-aged girl had taken a long, hard time to die, guided on her way by an expert. Her face had been left unmarked; the pose he’d left her in had her dull gray eyes gazing at the sky. Death hadn’t wiped away the torture she’d suffered. There was an expression of uncomprehending agony on the pale face.
Jason looked away, jaw clenching, unable to take anymore of the sight. They’d known the minute they’d arrived who the killer was. He’d made certain they would.
Rumor had it that the department had lost one of their agents to Judas. It was one of the first rumors Jason had heard, after signing on a year before.
“We still don’t know who he is, but we do know he’s back,” Agent Steven Wills was saying as he returned. His expression was shuttered; Jason realized his superior was angry as hell and trying not to show it.
“We didn’t catch him last time,” Kirby Brown replied. The shorter man was a legend, having joined before the department had been created. He’d been sixteen then, seven years younger than Jason had been when he signed up.
He was one of the reasons they’d created the department. One of the first Psis to prove their worth to the government.
“We were so fucking close, I could smell the bastard,” Steven growled. “Look at her, Kirby. Tell me what you see.”
To Jason’s amazement, the legend took one look and blanched, visibly recoiling. “Oh god. Oh, shit.”
“She looks like her, doesn’t she? Looks like Lizzie,” Steven said. Something Jason couldn’t decipher passed between the two men when Kirby tore his horrified gaze from the dead girl.
“No. You don’t even think it, Steven. No.”
Ignoring him, the older man glanced at Jason. “Take a look. See if he left a message for us.”
Nodding, the younger man stepped to one side and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly, he opened the door in his mind that contained his talent. It slid out, further and further, until it was hovering directly over the crucified figure.
He’d left a message all right. Jason was shaken by the intensity of the psychic impression left behind by the killer. The name that slowly spelled itself in his mind meant nothing to him; but to Judas, it meant everything. There was an obsessive longing woven into it. The killer lusted, with a dark, raging need, for a woman named…”Ember.”
“Oh, fuck no!” Kirby exclaimed.
Steven’s bleak satisfaction was obvious. “He’s started a new game, Kirby. He’s hunting her.”
“She went null because of what happened.” Both men glanced at Jason, who was trying to pretend he didn’t exist, but neither ordered him to step away. Kirby spoke again. “We have him and Charlie, so between the three of us…”
“We can chase shadows and our own tails while he targets every Lizzie lookalike between here and New York,” Steven snapped. “Ember’s the reason we were able to get that close.”
“She ended up in a mental institution for a year because of it,” Kirby shot back. “She’s null. She can’t help.”
“Do you really, truly think she’s null?” Steven moved a step closer, lowering his voice. “Or did she just lock it up because of it?”
“If she has, it’s her choice. Leave her alone, Steven. She’s suffered enough.” Turning, the smaller man stalked away, heading for their car.
“Sir?” Jason spoke up cautiously. His curiosity wouldn’t allow him to stay silent.
“What?”
“Who was Lizzie?”
Steven sighed, running a hand over his pale brown buzz cut. “Victim #47, Elizabeth Barnes. Agent Ember Barnes’ younger sister.”
The rumor had been partially right; the department had lost an agent because of Judas. “Why does Judas want her?”
“Because he’s a sadistic bastard. We’re done here.” Steven gestured for the younger man to follow him while starting for the car. “Come on.”