Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

trouble.
    Rip currents, hidden beneath the surface of the water, caused more deaths than any other natural disaster except floods and extreme heat.
    Let it take us out to sea. Swim parallel to shore. The current isn’t that wide.
    He kept his fingers locked like a vise around Hannah’s arm. Already the cold was invading his body and his jeans were heavy, trying to drag him down. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for Hannah as thin as she was. The ocean was cold and hyperthermia would set in fast.
    She’s already exhausted, drained of all energy by the healing she performed, and trying to move her arms and legs is impossible. El e’s voice cut in, very calm.
    Tell her to turn over and float for me. Jackson was fighting the strong current that kept trying to rip Hannah away from him. He swore the water around them was alive, ripping and tearing at them both. He knew fighting was useless, they had to let the current carry them as far out as it went.
    The kelp has her trapped. You have to free her, Jackson.
    For a moment, in the dark sea, with the icy cold and strong current pul ing at him, it didn’t feel possible, but stil retaining possession of her arm, he stopped swimming, abandoned trying to pul Hannah along in the grip of the riptide, and jerked the knife from his belt. At once he felt the rush of powerful water pul ing them farther out to sea, but he closed his mind to everything but freeing Hannah from the kelp.
    Somehow the thick tubes of kelp had wrapped Hannah’s arm and leg repeatedly as they tumbled over and over in the churning water, sand abrading exposed skin as they were swept through the sandbars out to sea. He slashed through the rubbery fronds along her arm until she waved her arm freely. He kicked strongly, holding her clothes as he fought his way to her leg and the kelp she was entangled in. It had been uprooted and was a deterrent to swimming, so he slashed through that as wel and caught her hand, tugging to get her going in the right direction.
    Jackson was nearly out of air and knew Hannah had to be terrified. Tell her we’ll be fine, to swim parallel to the shore. He kicked out strongly, taking Hannah with him, praying she wouldn’t fight. They broke the surface and both gasped for air. Tell her not to look at the beach, to just keep swimming.

    9
    ELLE put on the teakettle, resisting the urge to use her abilities to instantly heat the tea. She hadn’t realized how often she actual y used psychic talent in everyday life. Hastily throwing on a clean pair of sweats and finding a comfortable sweatshirt in Jackson’s bureau, she started into the kitchen when Bomber gave a short, alarmed bark. She turned toward him when the first wave of panic hit her. Something was terribly wrong, and Jackson had inadvertently pul ed out of her mind. And when she reached for him . . .
    Her throat closed and she gasped and fought for breath. Fingers closed tightly around her throat and pressed deep, choking her. Her eyes rol ed back in her head and she found herself on the floor, dizzy and weak, gasping, tears burning in her eyes as she tried desperately to pul nonexistent fingers from her throat. Was she losing her mind? She tried to reach for Jackson. Dimly she could hear Bomber barking.
    I’ll kill everyone you care about if you don’t come back to me. Do you hear me? I’ll keep killing until you come back to me. The voice whispered in her head, a soft menace that fil ed her mind and amplified her fear to the point of terror. She felt herself slipping, letting go and then Bomber’s wet tongue slapped her face repeatedly. When she opened her eyes, Jackson was there, flooding her mind with need, with a strange calm, with a demand that she aid him.
    Hannah. She whispered her sister’s name, reached out and found Hannah shivering uncontrol ably, afraid for her unborn child, for Jonas, for al her sisters. She could hear Hannah’s silent scream as she joined with her and immediately felt the impact of the cold water. For a moment they were together, swept out to sea, trying to peer through the heavy veil of fog and unable to make out the shore. Kick. Swim, El e urged, and Hannah tried to help Jackson by using her long legs, but she was so weak.
    El e felt Jackson there, strong, fierce, and it steadied her. She took a deep breath, sat up, using the dog to help her stagger to her feet. Patting him, she sent