by Jen Talty
“The Raven what?”
“Cauldron,” Rina said. “It’s basically your book of spells, for lack of a better word, only you really don’t need spells. It’s hard to explain since I’m not a witch. I’m just a ghost who is finally free to move about my cosmic plane.”
“Spells? I’ve most definitely fallen asleep.”
Rina laughed. “You and your sisters have always been special. But you really don’t have any idea just how special or what the eight of you really represent, because it’s so much bigger than reinstating the Collective Order.”
“Why don’t you fill me in on all the details you know that I don’t?” Whether she was asleep or not, she needed to pluck the information and then figure out what it meant.
“The invisible wrap you created was done so by a combination of witchcraft and psychic energy.”
“Are you trying to tell me that my sisters and I are witches?”
“Your great-great-great-grandfather, Condren, was an exceptional wizard and head of the Raven Coven. He found Dimitri’s son, Endrit, inches from death and used a combination of Endrit’s own healing powers and witchcraft to save his life. However, when Endrit woke nearly a month later, for reasons not entirely known, he lost all his psychic power. The story has it that Endrit forced the witches to cast a spell so it would appear he still had psychic energy. However, the witches could see the future and what they saw they didn’t like. They knew about you girls, so they made sure the moment you started to connect with your counterparts, Endrit would begin to lose all his psychic power.”
“If they saw what was coming, why did they give him powers to begin with?” Willow asked.
“A couple of reasons. The first one being they didn’t see it until after they helped Endrit, and secondly, Condren also saw that if he didn’t do it, the boys might not have ever been born.”
“Okay, so basically we’re saying that Roger is Endrit reincarnated.”
“Correct, and the Raven sisters finding their mates turned over the sands of time.” She waved her hand, showing an old-fashioned hourglass. “Roger at first thought your parents held the key.”
“Are you saying he killed my parents?”
The baby in Rina’s arms stirred. Rina lifted the baby and put it over her shoulder, patting its back. “Roger didn’t know you’d come into many of your skills.”
“You knew all this my entire life and you didn’t tell me?” A fire burned deep in her soul. So many lies. So many betrayals.
All by people who proclaimed to love her and her sisters.
“Much of it has been revealed to me as I’ve needed to know. Like right now with you.”
“And what about Gabe? What does he know?”
“Enough to really piss you off,” Rina said. “But go easy on him. He’s had a rough time of it.”
“Are you kidding me? He wasn’t tortured like Hunter and Brett were. Or raised in one foster care group home after the other like Chad. I’m not saying it wasn’t horrible for Gabe to watch you die of cancer. That changed him on a fundamental level, but his life and career were pretty easy compared to—”
“Oh, Willow. You are still a stubborn, pigheaded young lady.” Rina let out a long breath. “When I died, I made Gabe promise me he’d do whatever it took, and you know Gabe. He’s an honorable man and a mama’s boy. He did what I asked.”
“He betrayed his country,” Willow said. “I won’t even get into what he did to me.”
“I know exactly what he did.” Rina waved her hand.
A water bubble appeared in the sky. Inside the bubble Willow could see Gabe playing in an open field with a couple of children.
Their children.
A dark cloud moved in and in a flash, the image was replaced with Willow and Gabe walking, side by side, but a few feet apart.
No kids in sight.
“What are you showing me?”
“Your future.”
“This particular vision is very confusing. At first it appears to be two different potential futures, and then we thought maybe it was the same one, but now you’re showing it to me as if it’s one or the other. Which is it?”
Rina kissed the baby’s temple. “Gabe is an empath. He feels what everyone else feels. He always has and because of that, he will and has sacrificed himself for the greater good.” Rina lowered her chin. “That’s why when you found out he was supposedly selling secrets to the enemy that he didn’t correct you. He knew you couldn’t come with him, even though he wanted you to. I think he hoped you’d turn your back on your sisters and all that you held dear simply because you loved him, but he wasn’t about to twist your arm by telling you the truth about your heritage. He didn’t think that would be fair.”
“Fair would be if none of this happened and you didn’t die. He was a mess and he misses you terribly. Fair would be if my parents weren’t murdered. And I could go on and on. So, if you know the answer to my question, I’d appreciate it if you told me.”
“Gabe loves you. And he loves his brothers. He’s also dedicated to the Collective Order and the future of the New Order. He will do whatever it takes even if that means giving up his family because you can’t forgive him for hurting you even though it was required of him and the only way to get us to this day.”
“I’m sorry, Rina, but you’re still talking in circles.” Rina had been a bit of a 70’s flower child when she’d been alive, and in her death, not much had changed. Normally, it would be considered part of her charm, but this evening it just proved to be frustrating as hell.
“While what he really wants is to be with you. To have a family with you.” Rina held up the child in her arms. “This is Mateo. He will be your firstborn.” Rina kissed the baby’s forehead. “Gabe would do what he’s always done and sacrifice what he wants for the greater good.” Rina wiggled a finger. “But he will also do whatever it is that you want. So, if you choose not to forgive him for following what I asked him to do. What his biological father begged him to do. What fate thought was best for everyone involved, including all your children, and your nieces and nephews, then you don’t have to be with him.”
“So, you’re saying we’re back to the two possible future outcomes.”
“No,” Rina said. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. You and Gabe are the protectors of the Collective Order and the keepers of a New Order; that will never change unless you and your siblings are dead. What you see changing isn’t simply whether or not you have children. There is more at stake and you need to fulfill your destiny for the two visions to become one.” She cradled the child in her arms. “You need to find the clues and follow your destiny.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It will in time, trust me,” Rina said. “I’m lucky that I’m a three-level ghost.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“I get to walk on three planes. I can come visit you and Gabe, though I have not tapped into Gabe’s mind yet and I might not for a bit. He needs some time to process everything. The second plane is obviously the ghost one.”
Willow didn’t see that as being obvious, but whatever.
“And the final plane being my ability to straddle between what the fates want the future to hold, and all the possibilities.” She held up Mateo’s little hand. “I have faith that you will do what I know is in your heart. It might not be prevalent now, but you want the same things Gabe wants. You always have. Let your heart heal.” Rina reached out and patted Willow’s belly. “The seed is there. It’s up to you if you want to water it and let it grow or if you want to put an end to it now. All the family cards are in your hands.”
If his mother weren’t already dead, he’d climb into her casket and kill her with his bare hands.
“What the fuck are you doing, Mom?” Gabe made himself known on the soul plane. He knew it existed and he knew one day he’d see his mother again, but he’d hoped it wouldn’t be with him being aggressive or pissed off over her actions.
; Or especially with Willow.
But he should have known better.
His mother always had a special place in her heart for Willow. When he’d been a kid, he never understood why. Hell, half the time he never did get why Willow meant so much to him over the years until she’d up and joined the Navy.
“Watch your mouth, young man,” his mother said.
“Sorry.” Gabe glanced around the inside his mother’s world. She’d always loved to be by the water. When he’d been a little boy, she used to take him to the park where he could put his little sailboat in the man-made pond. They would sit there for hours and she’d tell him story after story.
All about psychics and the Collective Order.
He took a seat on the ground next to his mother and stared out at the lake and the birds that looked more like painted watercolors. It was as if he’d walked onto an artist’s unfinished canvas.
“You’re looking well,” his mother said.
“You certainly look much better than the last time I saw you.” He let out a slight chuckle.
“I would hope so.”
He looped his arm around his mother and pulled her in for a hug. He knew he wasn’t really touching her, but a warmth filled his soul just the same. It was as if he walked into a tropical aquarium wearing a sweater and he couldn’t take it off.
And he didn’t want to.
He looked down at the baby cradled in her arms and his pulse soared. Of course his mom would bring a new soul. Made perfect sense considering they were on a different plane.
“I’m so confused my head hurts,” Willow said. “And I’m pissed at you, Gabe.”
“What did I do this time?”
“You lied to me.”
“Not about those visions.” He pointed to the bubbles his mother had created. “I believe they are one, but maybe fate is fickle.”
“It’s not fate that’s fickle,” his mother said, glancing in Willow’s direction. “But perhaps it’s your girlfriend.”
“Nothing like putting me in the hot seat,” Willow said. “But I’m starting to think these visions are a distraction for us. We need to flush out Roger and Caleb, and then we need to figure out how to find this Doyle Grove person.”
“I might have some information on him,” his mother said. “Riley came to me and told me she could temporarily cure me of my cancer and give me the one thing I’ve always wanted, but could never have, if I promised to do a couple of things in return. I didn’t hesitate.”
“And have you done all those things?” Gabe asked, though he was pretty sure of the answer.
“All but one,” his mother said. “If when I was able to make the connection on this plane, I was to tell you that some of the answers you seek are in a sealed envelope under the mattress, and Riley did mention that it had something to do with a man by that name.”
“Are you kidding me?” Willow jumped to her feet but lost her footing and fell back on her butt. It all happened in slow motion, and it took a few seconds for her aura to catch up.
When Gabe tried to scoot closer to Willow, he realized a force greater than himself prevented him from doing so.
“There is one more thing,” his mother said. “The Elite Brotherhood didn’t start when Endrit was reincarnated as Roger, as was thought in Riley’s original research, and when you tipped the hourglass, you also awoke Zelig Hart, a powerful wizard who had been cast into the center of the earth long before Dimitri’s time. It will take almost two decades for him to make his way to the surface, but when he does, you must be ready for him, for he can destroy all we’ve worked for.”
“Is that the time on the hourglass?” Willow asked.
His mother shook her head. “That’s the time you have left before Roger and Caleb find you, and I don’t know if that’s hours, days, or weeks. But you must defeat them and make sure Roger is stripped of all the power he’s stolen. Or your so-called fickle fate won’t matter at all because you will all die.”
A loud clap of thunder slammed into Gabe’s ears as the lake swirled into a whirlpool, retreating into the sky as if the paint was lifting right off the canvas.
He blinked and the shores of Lake George came into view. He stood behind Willow with his hands on the back of her chair. The sun settled behind the mountains as the fireflies lit up the night. “I guess we should go find that envelope.” His heart squeezed. It had been fourteen years since his mother had passed and not a single day had gone by where he hadn’t tried to find the connection. She always told him that even in death they’d have a special bond and he believed her; only, when she died, she left an empty hole in his soul.
Seeing her again, along with having Willow back in his life, made his heart sing.
But it wasn’t a fulfilled life. Not yet anyway.
He’d work on getting everything he wanted after he took care of Roger and Caleb.
“We didn’t use a condom,” she said matter-of-factly.
“What?” He stuck his index finger in his ear and wiggled it. That comment came out of nowhere, and it took him a second to put it in context. “Oh. I guess we didn’t. Is that a problem? Do we need to be worried?”
“According to your mother, it’s only a problem if I want it to be.” She pushed from the chair.
“I don’t understand.” Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose. The last few years of his life hadn’t gone as planned, not that he’d planned out anything, but he’d hoped Willow would at least be in his bed. His mother had told him he and Willow were meant for each other.
Mallard had told him the same thing.
And yet, he stood in front of Willow and felt a million miles away and he had no idea how to close the gap. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and he knew without a doubt that she loved him too, only she wouldn’t admit it.
Not to herself.
And not to him.
“The reason for the dueling visions is because I can’t make up my mind if I’m going to forgive you for something you had to do for the sake of all of us.” She curled her fingers around his biceps and tugged him through the cabin door. “Did you think about telling me everything you knew when we were together?”
“Of course I did.”
“What stopped you?” She poked his forearm. “And don’t say it was Mallard, because while I know you’ve always been a rule follower, you’re also a man of honor.”
“A reoccurring dream, which I know now was Riley projecting to me. She showed me that if I told you the truth, that it would create a weak spot in all our connections and Caleb and Roger would be able to exploit that.”
“But she was fine with you trying to make me a traitor?” Willow let out a puff of air. “I’m so tired of being angry at you.”
“Does that mean you’re going to forgive me?”
She paused in the middle of the hallway near the bedroom. “I can forgive you for pushing me away when I left the Navy. I understand why you did that. Hell, I would probably do the same thing in your shoes. But your mother informed me you may have known that Roger murdered my parents? Is that true?”
“The family secrets end right now,” he said behind a clenched jaw. He’d kept every single one he’d been asked to, but he was done. He didn’t give a shit anymore what the consequences were; he had to tell Willow what he knew. He turned on his heel and stomped into the other room. He lifted the mattress and found the envelope. He held it up. “Before I open this, I have some things to tell you.”
“I’m all ears.” Willow climbed on the bed and crossed her legs. “Bring on the confessions.”
He chuckled as he joined her, stretching out, crossing his feet at his ankles and fluffing a few pillows. He let out a long breath. “I don’t think your parents are dead.”
She jumped to her knees. The springs on the bed screeched and he bounced three times, smacking his head against the wall. “Don’t you dare fuck with me, Gabe Underwood, especially about something so important as the life and death of my parents. Besides, we saw them die.”
“We just hung out with a dead woman and our son who may or may not be born. Stranger things have happened. And something tells me we’re going to see even weirder shit as time goes on.”
“But your mother seems to be under the impression my parents weren’t murdered.”
“That’s what your parents and the New Order want everyone to believe.” He shifted, catching her gaze. “Your parents had the ability to see the future. I have to believe they knew what was coming, just like Riley and Mallard.”
“They would have told us.”
“Are you sure about that? Because it seems to me they did everything they could to prepare you for your future without telling you in order to protect you from yourselves.”
“What does that mean?”
“You and your sisters are more stubborn than anyone I know. You would have tried to change the outcome. Mallard and Riley handpicked which boy went where based on our personalities. I have a bit of a martyr complex, so sacrificing my own happiness for the good of the whole isn’t a stretch.”
“Chad was such a non-believer that keeping him out of the loop made sense,” she said.
“Brett, the calm, cool, collected problem solver. And Hunter, well, he’s a fighter and loyal to the bone.”
“We all have our roles,” she said. “But what makes you think my parents are alive and where the hell would they be?”
“I have no idea where they might be hiding. But this is why I think they are still alive.” He waved his hand. A trail of blue and green smoke snaked around his arm before creating a screen in the room.
A vision of him sitting in a kayak in the middle of Harris Bay in Lake George, New York, appeared. It was from the last time they had come up here about three years ago, right before they’d broken up. She’d already made the decision not to re-enlist and was trying to talk him into doing the same.
He would have followed her to the ends of the earth, but Mallard had reminded him of their mission and then this happened.
A second kayak came into view. Willow wore her dark hair in a messy bun up on top of her head and she sported a tiny yellow bikini. He had a love-hate relationship with the bathing suit. She looked sexy as hell in it, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her when she wore it.
