Dark Rival Read Free

studies and more research: they wanted better inner-city education, health care, hospitals, dear God, as if the inner cities bred the perps. They did not.
    The left and the right and the general public thought the criminals rapists, even though there wasn't rape. They thought the perpetrators were human. But they were wrong.
    It was a huge government cover-up. These sexual criminals did not have human DNA and Allie knew it for a fact. Not only did she know it because her mother had taught her to sense, feel and understand evil the moment she was toddling, but Brianna worked in CDA—the Center for Demonic Activities.
    CDA was secret, too.
    The perps looked human, but they were a race of evil, preying on mankind, sent by Satan himself centuries ago. Crimes of pleasure existed in every century; what was new was the growing numbers of the demonic hordes. Their population was expanding at a terrifying rate. Something was wrong.
    And she, Brie, Tabby and Sam couldn't do this alone, nor could the handfuls of healers and slavers around the world. Why, why didn't the good guys have extraordinary powers, too?
    There were some in the Center who believed that a race of men existed who did fight the demons with superpowers, some of the agents swearing they had seen these warriors. The stories all varied—they were pagans, they were Christian knights, they were modern soldiers—but one thread run through every rumor: they could travel through time and they had sworn before God to fight evil. Allie grimaced. If such a race of überheroes existed, why didn't one of these pagan or medieval or modern warriors appear to help her out?
    She needed someone to hold the line while she healed victims like this one.
    As badly as she wanted to fight, it was hard to do so when a simple energy blow could send her across half of a football field.
    Allie felt tears rising. She took the girl's hands and showered her with a healing light. “I’m sorry,” she whispered wanting to soothe her soul before it went to the next world.
    And as she looked at the beautiful girl's face, her outrage knew no bounds. She showered her with more light, because she foolishly wanted to bring her back to life.
    Of course, she couldn't do so. She could not resurrect the dead. She had begun healing insects and fish as a toddler, with her mother's encouragement. Every year her abilities had become stronger. By the time Elizabeth Monroe had suddenly died when Allie was ten, she'd been easily healing the flu and the common cold. At fifteen, she could heal broken bones. At sixteen, she could heal an older person with severe pneumonia. At eighteen, she had given a boy run over by a car the use of his less back. At twenty, she had healed a case of critical skin cancer.
    She had to be careful—she had to be anonymous or she'd wind up being studied like a lab rat. Her mother often warned her to keep her powers secret.
    There was so much she couldn't do—she couldn't give the blind their sight back, and she couldn't raise the dead. But Allie wanted to try.
    She threw all the white power she had into the girl. She sat with her, tears streaking her face, straining to give her more and more white healing light. The girl remained still; her eyes remained sightless. Her heart did not beat. Allie screwed her eyes shut, refusing to quit. If only she could resurrect this girl, and save one of the demon's innocent victims! But it was hard to grasp her power now and bring it forth and send it to the girl. Still, Allie somehow sent another shower of healing power through the girl. It hint to do so and she moaned. Allie realized she was at her limits; she felt depleted, drained, exhausted, and she knew she had no more power to give.
    She hadn't realized she was lying down, on her belly, until she clawed the dirt, seeking her healing power. But it was finally gone...
    The ground began to spin.
    Allie closed her eves, dizzy and faint. She heard voices coming from the bar but she was too weak to