Coalescence (Camden Investigations Book 1) Read online

  “Aaaaahhh! Aaaahhh!” DJ attempted to shield herself with her arms. It was futile. There wasn’t a stitch of clothing about her. Arms could conceal breasts but not much more. Iris scanned the immediate vicinity but no apparel of any kind hung from jutted rock or lay upon sand trampled from prints by earlier excitement. Did her shifting zap the clothing into thin air?

  Iris felt an arm impede her path to her sister. It belonged to Mitchell.

  “Hey, what are you doing? Can’t you see she needs me?” She yelled at Mitchell, but Iris’s voice was distant, indirect. Her eyes were focused hard on her sister, possibly hoping to see whatever had been responsible for her change. But like the lights and holographic architecture it had all dissipated. Iris had grabbed Mitchell by the wrist in the interim. With angry resolve she flipped his arm out of her path. “I’m helping my sister.”

  Evan intervened. “Guys, I think she’s okay. It seems to have been triggered from our actions.” He scrubbed a hand across the stubble on his cheek. “I just don’t know why it didn’t affect anyone else.”

  Gavin emerged from the cauldron with the blanket they had used to wrap the dial. “Could the dial be responsible for something . . . like that?”

  Iris frowned at Gavin’s less than sympathetic word choice. She recalled her earlier experience with the time slip. It had occurred on a smaller scale, but no one had changed form. Although DJ had not been with the team on that occasion.

  DJ jumped when Iris hugged her. “It’s okay.” She kissed the top of DJ’s head. “You’re back with us now. You’re okay.” She took the blanket from Gavin and wrapped it across her sister’s shoulders. DJ simply looked like an ordinary young woman, not the monster she had been moments before covered in blood. The shift back to human form had left her naked and vulnerable but not bloodied. It was as if the change had never occurred. But Iris knew somewhere inside of DJ, there was serious scars.

  Iris caught Kassidy’s indiscernible grumbling from behind her. She was not close enough to hear what Kassidy had told Rachel, but was certain what the tone implied.

  Iris pointed a finger in the air. Without making eye contact with anyone but DJ, Iris said, “I hope we’re not going to have a problem. This is my sister. Whatever . . . happened was not her choice.”

  Iris stared a moment longer into DJ’s eyes. “You don’t remember what happened, do you?”

  DJ nodded from side to side. “I do remember. How could I forget?”

  Iris hugged her. “You were protecting us. I . . . should have been protecting you.”

  DJ smiled and a tear welled in her eye. “You did. I was there with you, every moment. But . . .” Her eyes dropped to the ground. “I felt like I was observing it from someplace else. It doesn’t make sense. It’s sort of like when I’m channeling. I don’t necessarily feel in tune with the spirit, but I’m with them—in that moment, in that place, wherever that is.”

  Iris rubbed a hand across her back. “Come on, people. Let’s find her clothes. They’ve got to be around here somewhere . . .” Her voice trailed off. Her eyes locked onto the decapitated corpse. The remains of what was once a strong, capable man laid there. DJ, or her reptilian inner being, had permanently dismissed him with ease. What had Mitchell told her? The reptilians were fighting the good fight against oppressors. In my dream vision, I had a premonition one of them walked among us. But how could I have been so blind? She was . . . is . . . my very own sister—albeit a half sister. That distinction had now become paramount. Believing her sister’s varied genetic makeup to be on her side didn’t make swallowing this new revelation any easier.

  “Hey, I’ve got a shoe!” Darian’s scream echoed throughout the pueblo. He ran it over to his girlfriend. As soon as he did, Gavin confirmed he had found the other. He too raced it over to DJ. Iris observed both men. They didn’t have to say it outright. Despite what had just happened they cared for DJ, the woman. In that instant they weren’t afraid of the beast she had become or the fact she was almost naked. They see her vulnerability. They just want to make her whole again, like I do.

  Iris doused her anger and allowed a smirk to wash over her. “Hey, guys. This is great. But we can’t let her stroll around in the desert with just shoes.”

  Kassidy interrupted. “Although I’m sure the guys would love it.”

  For Iris, Kassidy’s offhand remark meant her friend had apologized. Kassidy was no longer concerned DJ would transform again, and if she did, maybe Kassidy believed the teams could handle it. Iris had observed this mannerism before. Kassidy had shown up late for one too many investigations from tangoing the night away with Jose Cuervo. She would state upon her tidy arrival: “Guys, I won’t be late again. Jose and me, we’re divorcing.” The apology was never direct but implied.

  Iris reflected on that moment in time. Her entire outlook of her investigations was now skewed. She had been naïve and possibly misinterpreted case data on more than a few occasions. If anyone should be apologizing, maybe it should be her. What else did I miss? My sister might have been created by someone like Galloway. It was the only answer. No one else had had their DNA reassembled. Possibly, they were part of some resistance. And Mitch’s question about her stepmom having an affair made a sickening sense. Were the clues to this always here but I had missed them, or maybe refused to see them?

  If true, what Galloway had shown them was real. The images her subconscious interpreted, they actually freaking existed. They weren’t illusion. Aliens existed, despite her father’s claims. Galloway’s world really had been decimated. What’s more, everything the alien ghost had warned about regarding the plague had to be true. It set Iris’s heartbeat to overload.

  Damn it. We’ve got to get the dial back online or whatever it needs to function. But can we? Iris’s mind flashed to her conversation with Evan in her bath. This man’s too smart to be defeated. He has to make this happen. He will make this happen. Sweat trickled down Iris’s back. He has to because I can’t let Mitchell die.

  She had to speed things up, put the process back on course. For that to happen, she had to get her sister clothed and as far away from the dial and its power source as possible. Iris didn’t believe she was capable to suggest such a thing, but she had to, for the sake of the others.

  “Help me strip his clothing off.” She tugged on one of the headless man’s legs. Evan pulled on the other.

  “It’s probably going to be a bit baggy, but it will do.” Iris dangled the charcoal suit in front of her sister.

  “I tore his head off, now I’m supposed to steal his clothes?” DJ pursed her lips in a pout.

  Iris focused on a psychic connection with DJ but found none. She had to interpret her sister’s even tone and childish gesture to mean one thing: DJ was mentally capable of dealing with this.

  Darian threw an arm around DJ. “I promise we’ll visit Victoria’s Secret when this is all over.”

  Kassidy groaned and rolled her eyes. “Oh, the sacrifices you men make for us.”

  “But is this all going to be over? And will we still be around when it is?” DJ was mumbling. Iris gripped her hand and answered. “You will. We will. But you’re part in this is over right now.” She nodded toward Darian. “Your nice boyfriend is going to take you back to the camper. We will work on reconnecting the dial. This will work. This has to work. But you need to be kind of . . .” Iris winced. “Out of range when it does.”

  “I understand but you don’t. My mother was in contact with some kind of alien before she met dad. It’s not what you think. Dad is my father. But my mother revealed to me her relations with a man named Stephen changed her, on the inside. She began having lucid dreams of aliens. And then this man revealed his true nature. They split apart and Mom married Dad. But because this man changed her, I became changed via her altered DNA. I know how fucking crazy this sounds. It’s why I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. But now I know for sure. For good or for bad, I am part alien. But I’m still your sister, no matter what.”

  “I shou
ld have known somehow. I am sorry your mom didn’t think enough of me to tell me.”

  “Don’t feel that way. Mom only told me in ghost form. She couldn’t face the whole truth either.”

  Iris grimaced. “I’m always here for you, Sis. Remember that.”

  Darian mimicked a Victorian dressing screen shielding DJ while she slipped into Jack’s suit. “Uh. You weren’t kidding about baggy,” DJ frowned.

  Darian assisted, rolling up what was left of the torn sleeves and pant legs. “No problem too big.” Iris imagined Darian attending to his sick aunt. She felt relieved her sister would be in caring hands while she reattempted to light the desert. Yes, no matter what, DJ was her sister. No further definitions needed.

  THE WAIT stretched for eternity, no time slip needed.

  “I think they’re out of range. I can’t even see them.” Gavin redirected his binoculars to the opposite road. While he did, Evan said, “Then we should try to reconnect the object. Maybe it just needs a reboot.”

  Still training his gaze through the binoculars, Gavin waved a hand. “No. Wait a minute. Someone or something is coming from the other road. Whatever it is, it’s coming at a pretty good clip.”

  Mitchell scowled. Iris grabbed his hand. “Don’t.”

  She eyed the gun they had taken from the intruder’s body. It rested on a rock. She felt it was imperative she discourage Mitchell from taking it.

  “Why shouldn’t I? It’s got to be loaded. That bastard wasn’t here for anything but harm, Iris. And that’s why I am in total agreement with you. Whatever your sister did, whatever she was, was done out of self-preservation. It was justified justice, if you ask me. I just feel terrible I didn’t give it to Darian. Who knows who else is out there?”

  Iris shook her head. “It could be campers. We can’t alert anyone of what we’re doing here. Grabbing a gun will sure as sunshine raise suspicions.”

  Mitchell stared toward the dot that was growing bigger by the minute. “I hear you. I just don’t want to be caught . . .”

  She cut him off. “Shit, I know who it is.”

  Mitchell grabbed Iris about the waist. “Well, could you enlighten the rest of us?”

  “I should have known. I forgot in all the excitement. I heard his voice but that was in the middle of the fight. It’s . . . it’s my dad.”

  Mitchell’s inquisitive look segued from doubt to anger. He pointed a hand at the dot. “I want to know how he’s involved.” He kicked some sand. “I want to know how he’s involved in what just happened.”

  Mitchell walked a figure eight and raised his hand again. “And how are you hearing him? You never told me you shared a psychic connection with him. Although,” he paused to place his hands on his hips, “it would all make sense. He probably didn’t need to snoop via phone, Iris. He could have heard everything he needed from you!”

  “That’s impossible. I would be aware. I have never shared a thought with him prior to today. I know it.”

  “Is that so?” Mitchell stare bored into her. His hands were still riding on his hips.

  “If you’ll take a breath, I’ll explain how this works. When I read DJ, or she reads me, we instantly know. It’s like when you get a messaging ping on your phone.”

  Evan intervened. “Whoever that is, he shouldn’t be privy to that.” He pointed at the object now immersed in a blanket.

  “What do you expect me to do?” Iris asked him.

  “Shield your thoughts, I don’t know. You’re the psychic.”

  “Hey,” Kassidy said, charging toward Evan, “you need to take a breath and back off a step. She grabbed him about the wrist. “And if you play your cards right . . .” Her sudden grin invited Evan to mirror her response.

  “You know, guys,” Evan said. “She’s right. If Iris’s dad had been privy to our plans all along he already would have taken action against us.”

  Mitchell mumbled. “Hmm. That’s a comfort. Meaning he still might take action against us.”

  “He won’t,” Iris shouted.

  “And you know, how?” Mitchell all but barked.

  “He’s my dad. I’m his daughter. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude he’s not going to harm me or anyone with me.”

  “Harm or not. He’s not getting his hands on the artifact.” Mitchell squinted. “Gavin was right. He’s running. But why?”

  “I can hear him again. He’s afraid for us.”

  “Okay, we’ll leave the gun out of the equation.” Mitchell sighed. “For God’s sake, can’t he run any faster?”

  “I’M HERE TO help. I’m here to help.” Dan Camden was doubled over trying to restore his breathing to a safe level for a middle-aged man.

  Iris observed her dad, bent over, hands placed on his knees. “Still think he’s here to harm?” She raised an eyebrow toward Mitchell.

  “I promise,” Dan said in a manner resembling a pledge. “I am here to help. Now, we’ve got to take cover. I’m afraid a man is here to harm.” He grunted and dabbed a hand over his head wound.

  Iris raised her hands to her face. “Shit, you’re hurt.”

  “Not a concern. I’m lucky that’s all that happened.”

  Mitchell twisted his toe into the sand. “Yes, I’d like to hear all about it. What did happen and why did this bastard,” he pointed and baited Dan to follow his hand where the body lay, “almost succeed in killing us?”

  Dan raised a hand. “Wait a minute. Ooh. There it is.” He pulled a gun from his shirt.

  Iris, Mitchell, and Evan backed away a step, each mimicking a traffic cop with hands raised.

  As Dan appeared to brandish the weapon, Iris observed Kassidy and Rachel taking a position behind her father.

  “Hey, hey, guys. Come on, it’s my dad.” She said to her father. “Dad, put the gun away. It’s over.”

  Dan tucked the weapon away. “Did you know he’s missing his head?”

  Kassidy groaned. “No shit, Sherlock. Good to see you’re at the top of your game, Daddy.”

  Iris screeched, “Just everyone stop it.”

  “No, Iris, why should I?” Kassidy’s temper was at a full boil. Her eyebrows nearly touched one another. Iris allowed her friend to vent. She was no doubt unloading baggage she had kept bottled. “And why do you still believe his crap? If I sound harsh Mr. Camden it’s because I don’t like what you’ve been doing to my best friend all these years. You abandon her and then give her promises you’ll change. She actually fucking thinks you’re going to come be her dad again.”

  “I will, Kassidy. As of now, I’ve resigned my job. It’s just that my boss doesn’t know it.” He started laughing in a maniacal tone. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he swiped at it with abandon. “Damn it. He doesn’t know a lot of things right now I imagine.” He swiped a dismissive hand at what Iris believed to be the universe. “I’m off the clock. Punched out. Off the grid. I have come to reclaim my daughters . . .” Dan’s eyes widened. “Oh shit. Where is DJ?”

  Dan stared at Iris with eyebrows furrowed. Wild with impatience, he began pacing about the rocks. “Where is she, Iris? I can’t read you.”

  “You can’t read me because you’ve let your gift rot. I don’t know how you blocked it but it’s there. I can sense it.”

  “If you can sense it, why can’t I read you?”

  “You’re under duress. I couldn’t read you clearly when you first contacted me earlier either. I was in the middle of something.” She pointed at the decapitated corpse.

  “Okay, I promise. I’ll calm down.” Dan bent over and placed his hands on his knees. He inhaled and exhaled slowly with deep breaths. “Wait, I can hear you . . . You mean DJ ripped Jack’s head off?”

  “You had a chip imbedded in your head all these years!” Iris retorted. “And shit, you must have known DJ was special. Your wife had to have told you about her relationship with an alien and how much it ‘changed’ her. Yet you kept this a secret from me as well. I would have thought that revelation would have saved your marriage with
her. Instead, you ran from her like you did from me and DJ.”

  Dan and Iris were squared off against one another. Each eyed the other as if they were going to draw fire. Iris believed their weapons were thoughts and each had powerful information to tear into one another just as painfully as any bullet could. His words had stung. The betrayal, the lies; all of it emanated from her own flesh and blood.

  “How could you do this to Mom?”

  Dan nodded toward the others circled around them.

  “No, Dad. We’re not going to have a psychic conversation about this. You never seemed to want one before anyway.” She inhaled audibly. “These are my friends, my family, and anything you’ve got to say to me can be said to them as well.”

  Mitchell stepped between Dan and Iris. “I’m in agreement with my girlfriend. You might want to enlighten us about your relationship with this man you obviously know as Jack. Tell me why I shouldn’t suspect you were working with him.” Mitchell clenched his fists and bared his teeth. “Tell me why I shouldn’t take you apart like Jack.”

  “Look, Mitchell. You’re a smart man. I caught a glimpse into your mind when I was running. I saw your good intentions. I know you’ve seen through the eyes of a being that needs your help. You might want to question this being about doing his bidding before you begin to question me.” He held out a hand to Mitch. “I know you’re angry at me. I am angry at myself. But I share my daughter’s flesh and blood. It’s just taken me a damn long amount of time to realize that that’s the most important thing, not some damn gadget from outer space.”

  “Aha!” Iris pointed a finger at him. “You do admit to aliens. You freaking lied to me about that for”—she paused to cast her eyes heavenward—”for I don’t know, eons in our tiny little frame of existence.” She began circling her father. Her finger still pointed. “Think of me as a lawyer”—she gasped—”I know, better yet, think of me as some kind of alien judge. I’m here to take your statement. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, so help you, alien?” She raised a hand at him and waggled her head.