Krimson Mind: The Krimson Cycle Vol. 1

Chapter Five:

The light turned green and Kari floor the accelerator. All she knew is that what ever happened, her children's secrets may have been revealed. She shuddered at the thought. Years ago, when Kari was sixteen, her secret was discovered by a boyfriend. He started enough rumors that she felt compelled to drop out of school and move away from Butte Montana. She ended up in Dodge City Kansas and, by accident, found the man who would father her children. He left them too, but for an entirely different reason.

Kari tried to think of what could have caused James's mental shielding to collapse as badly as it did. She had no doubt that as much feedback as she got, Amy probably got just as much or more. And that scared the hell out of her. Everything she thought of, she rejected as unlikely or totally impossible, until she remembered the ley line that ran under the city.

The ley line that coursed its way through Dodge City was as unpredictable as she had ever encountered. Because it was a universal energy, the ley line did not tend to follow a predictable set of rules, except for the path that it followed. The ley line itself was easy to find. All one needed was a city map marked with a list the oldest churches in town.

People, the world over, have been drawn to the power of ley lines for centuries. And because of the sheer amount of power that a typical ley line emitted, anybody who was close to it, could feel it. They built temples, and churches and holy sites along paths that those ley lines followed.

The people of Dodge City were no exception. The oldest churches in town were built on Central Street. Which also happened to be the exact path of the ley line that ran through town. The ley line jagged to the west and ran for a couple of miles, where the people of Dodge City built the high school.

To those with even an ounce of psychic ability, the ley line could be blessing or a curse. If they were experienced enough, one could use the ley line to enhance their gifts. If that person didn't have a handle on their abilities, the ley line could over power them and kill them.

Kari wondered why James would have been tapping into the ley line while he was at school. It required a huge amount of concentration. She had lectured him hundreds of times on why the ley line was dangerous. So she just couldn't figure out what he was thinking. His sudden loss of control over the ley line energy would explain his loss of shields, she realized.

Kari turned her white Honda Civic into a parking space in front of the school, and ripped the keys out of the ignition. She was going to find out what in the hell had happened to her children.

Krimson:

James raised his head and I saw blood. Lots of blood. And it seemed to be coming out of every orifice in his head. Whatever had just happened to the both of us, it caused him some major head trauma.

"Oh my God!" Ms. Huck screamed when she saw James's face. "Take him to the nurse's station." She ordered somebody. I think she saw the blood and panicked. A quick glance told me that nobody wanted to help. They were riveted in their seats. I bet nobody had seen that much blood outside of a movie.

I knew in a second that no school nurse was going to be able to put a Band-Aid on this and fix it. This was some major shit, and I was suddenly way in over my head. I was used to causing head trauma, not fixing it.

Before anybody had a chance to react, I grabbed him and pulled him out of the desk. I put him in a fireman's carry, and bolted for the door, which was thankfully left open. I ran as fast as I could. Or I would have, but considering James's extra weight, I was going quite a bit slower than that. I was still going way too fast for any human or vampire to see.