Free Guild of Truth 02 - Shield from the Heart by Mary K. Norris Page A

kick to the backs of his legs had him dropping to his knees. He struggled to get a grip on the hands behind his head. The cloth tightened further.
    Sydney cried out, struggling against the man holding her. Regina walked over to the two of them but didn’t pay Sydney the least bit of attention. Her eyes were for Merrick. She watched him, as if waiting for something.
    What the fuck? What was she waiting for?
    He’d ask, but the bastard behind him was slowly suffocating him.
    “Leave him alone.” Sydney kicked out behind her. The man winced as her heel made contact with his shin.
    A few more seconds ticked by. Merrick started to get lightheaded, his heart pounding.
    Regina’s brows drew together in confusion. “Why isn’t it working?” Her nostrils flared. Her expression went blank as she finally turned to Sydney. “You,” Regina hissed. She sniffed the air again. “What are you doing? Why can’t I smell him from here?”
    Beneath the cloth Merrick smirked. Sydney was using her powers.
    Sydney feigned ignorance and shrugged.
    Regina’s face darkened. She struck Sydney across the face.
    Merrick saw red. The back of his neck suddenly prickled. The sensation cut off as abruptly as it had come.
    Regina inhaled through her nose. “Stop it,” she yelled at Sydney before she hit her again, this time dropping her to her knees.
    Merrick roared behind the fabric. The back of his neck was pins and needles again. The cloth around his face cut into his skin. He didn’t care, he —
He saw a woman with the most beautiful blue and gray eyes. His Collette. He was the luckiest man in the world. He’d do anything to keep her. Anything. He finished the last of his journal entry. He’d put it away later. Right now all he wanted to do was watch Collette as she danced. All he wanted was to follow her to their bed like he did every night she beckoned him. He’d follow her to the ends of the earth. He clutched his heart, the feelings inside of him nearly bursting with how much he cared for her.
    He hesitantly approached her. “Would you like a partner?” he asked.
    She assessed him from head to toe. He knew he was lacking. He would never be worthy of someone like Collette, yet she allowed him to remain by her side.
    “Did you finish your silly writing?”
    He stared over his shoulder at his beat-up notebook with the warped spirals. “It’s not silly,” he mumbled. She didn’t understand. Didn’t understand what it was like to see so much, to feel so much. He rubbed his aching temple. He was trying his best, but Vander asked the impossible.
    He rubbed his head harder.
    Too much. They demanded too much!
    His nails bit into his skin.
    Gentle fingers curled around his hands, pulling them from his temples. “Shh,” Collette soothed. She smiled seductively at him. “Dance with me?”
    The pressure in his head eased. “Always,” he breathed.
    Merrick gasped as he was hurled from the vision.
    “Merrick,” Sydney cried out. She glared at Regina. “What’d you do to him?”
    Regina released her hold around Sydney’s throat.
    Merrick heard the faint pounding of feet coming their way.
    Regina lifted her nose to the air. “Perfect timing,” she said softly. “Gentlemen,” she raised her voice. “The authorities are on their way. Let us depart.”
    The rag around Merrick’s face disappeared, though he knew now that it wasn’t a rag. It had once been a shirt.
    “Merrick, are you all right?” Sydney rushed to his side.
    “Hey.” An officer ran over from one of the side streets. “I heard shouts. Are you two all right?”
    The officer helped Sydney get Merrick to his feet. His head was pounding and his legs were a little shaky, but other than that he was fine.
    “We’re okay, officer,” Merrick said politely. “Just a little roughed up.” He pretended to feel around in his pockets. “Bastards got my wallet.”
    “I’ll call it in.” The officer stepped back to give them space as he pulled his radio from his