The Tree and the Tablet (The St. James Chronicles Book 1)

by Kathryn O'Brien

  His eyes widened in surprise. His reply was steady and soft, “Earlier, when I said I understood about your pain. It was the truth. When I lost my sister, my relationship with my mother changed drastically so I also lost her. It has been very difficult for me. Since the day Jaxon contacted me, I’ve been trying to help. I hope you believe that.” He sighed softly and his eyes pleaded with me for compassion. Just being in a room with this man and sharing a meal in silence made me feel better. I didn’t think it was possible, but his hold on me seemed to be stronger than I thought it could be after only having spent a limited amount of time with him.

  Nodding, “I’m not sure why—I mean, I barely know you, but somehow—I believe you.” Getting to my feet to start clearing the dishes was when I realized that I was most assuredly tipsy. He must've recognized my slight stumble or my inefficient movements and was soon at my side helping to clean up after dinner. Putting my now empty wine glass in the dishwasher, I turned and walked away. His eyes were on me and I felt it like a caress between my shoulder blades.

  Slipping down the hallway, I quickly retrieved some blankets and a pillow for him to sleep on the sofa since the third bedroom was currently being used as storage. We went through the house silently together and made sure all the doors and windows were locked.

  For a short time, I’d allowed myself to be distracted from the things that had seemed so overwhelming and focused my attention on the only other thing in my life that brought me some small pleasure. . .

  Daniel. . .

  I couldn’t help but to study the events that brought him into my life. He was a blessing and a curse all together wrapped in a tight package of enigma and wonder. Allowing my thoughts to drift away from the most perplexing human I’d ever met, I was soon overwhelmed with the thought that tomorrow couldn’t be here soon enough as a stab of sadness pierced my heart thinking of Kelsey all alone. My heart nearly broke from the feelings of loss and helplessness that engulfed me.

  Pushing my pain aside, I said a quick prayer. Dear God, please be with her and keep her safe, I thought as I stared toward the back door. As I attempted to project my prayer outward into the world, I stood at the end of the hallway, just inside the dining room. Slowly and lost in hopeful thoughts, I turned toward my bedroom for the night, looking down at a spot on the floor that held no particular significance, a shuddering sigh escaped my lips as I said, “Good night, Daniel.” When I looked up, he was standing in front of me.

  Startled, I gasped and slightly jumped backward. Damned sneak flitted through my mind just as he caught me by the waist. His left arm slid around me and reaching up with his right hand, he cupped my cheek. My gaze focused on his masculine chest. Gently, he slowly ran his thumb along my jawline causing a tingling sensation to erupt where he had touched me. As if sensing my thoughts, he calmly reassured me, “Don’t worry, Maggie. We’ll find her.” Sighing, I nuzzled my face into his palm.

  The simplest touch from this man soothed me and lit a fire in my belly at the same time. Slowly, my eyes raised up to meet his and my soul was pierced with a longing like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Every thought in my head disappeared when he was near. It seemed like every time this man touched me, I was in a new and exciting form of being. Every time was like the first time. The connection between us was always electric. He made me feel like a lightbulb with a pull string. The slightest touch was enough to make me vibrate and come to life instantly. Was it possible to feel this way every time someone had physical contact with another person?

  Pulling me closer, his eyes seemed to be looking everywhere, at every part of my face, as he meticulously and methodically drew me toward him. The air caught in my throat, my mouth seemed parched, and all I wanted was a cool drink of Daniel. My brain screamed at me to pull away, to stop this madness. However, my aching soul and treacherous body rebelled violently at that thought.

  Again, I was drowning in the loveliest sea of green. Oh, Dear Lord! He’s going to be the death of me, I raged inwardly. My heart was beating so hard, I knew he could surely hear it or feel it. As my breast pressed against his torso, I was forced to lift my eyes even further to meet his. The strength of his arms encircled me like a shrine of protection, and the electricity of his breath upon my lips was so thrilling, I thought I’d die from the anticipation of what was yet to come. Lightning struck as our lips touched, and every fiber of my being became a beacon of longing erupting within me. My head was spinning with excitement.

  What started out as a gentle, insistent touching of his lips upon mine, and a gentle aching in the pit of my stomach, soon raged into a terrible fire that threatened to consume me. His mouth devoured mine. My breathing became ragged, and every fiber of my being was taken in by him. The power and strength that radiated from him made me shiver, but it wasn’t fear, it was the most intense desire I’d ever felt. Intoxicated by his command over my senses, I wanted.... Well, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted other than to drag him so close to me that we would become one person.

  Heat pulsated outwards from him and seared my skin beneath my shirt. My body responded with its own powerful heat pushing back toward him. We were like two magnets, irreversibly drawn together. Random thoughts flew through my head and just as quickly were eradicated by the powerful intensity between us.

  It was such a deep and all-consuming desire. Grasping him desperately to me, it felt like I couldn’t get him close enough. No matter how I tried, he wasn’t close enough, yet that didn’t stop me from trying. A guttural moan escaped him, or maybe it was me. My head was so filled with fog, I couldn’t decipher who was doing what. I was most assuredly dying. Drowning in the most blissful way possible. If this is death, then kill me again and again, my mind raged. He moved his kisses from my lips down along my jaw and blazed a path from my ear to the crook of my neck. Oh, dear god. What is he doing to me?

  Delicious waves of pleasure coursed through me. Panting heavily and trying desperately to get air into my lungs but also wanting to be totally consumed by him, I struggled against him as if I were wrestling with myself but losing my war on sanity at the same time. I moaned softly. He took that opportunity to capture my mouth with his again and delve even deeper into the core of my existence with his powerful aphrodisiac. I’m going to faint.

  He broke away from the intense kiss, and breathing raggedly, he said quietly, “I’m sorry, Maggie.” The whispered words were barely audible above the sound of my racing heart. What did he just say? The fog was slowly dissipating, and it was difficult to mistake the sound of agonizing pain in his voice as he rested his head against my forehead, “You should get some sleep.” Taking a deep breath and stepping away from me, he sighed.

  Oh, God! Crushing, agonizing pain and emptiness filled me. Arms that were once filled with a strong presence were suddenly left aching for what was gone. My heart felt like it was going to burst into a million pieces. Why did he keep pushing me away? Frustration, anger, and confusion coursed through me. Determined not to let him see, I gathered my wits and with a steadying breath, I pulled myself up to my full height. Squaring my shoulders and trying to look unfazed by what had just taken place, I plastered a fake smile on my face.

  Looking up at him, I replied sweetly, “Yes, you’re right. Good night.” Turning on my heel, placing one foot steadily in front of the other, I attempted to focus my energy on absorbing the sensation of the cool flooring against my bare feet as I headed down to the doorway leading to my room. His piercing gaze was like a cool blanket on my back this time. As I closed the door behind me, I heard him mumbling something about dreams, but my heart wouldn’t hear the words. Throwing myself across my bed, I quickly forgot my promise to avoid crying and gave in to the tears that were burning in the backs of my eyes. They flowed silently. Exhaustion took hold, and I cried myself to sleep.

  A bright light pierced the veil of my mind as I struggled to see what was in front of me. A booming sound pounded in my brain like the sound of a large drum causing me to turn my head to my right. Ther
e, in a white gown surrounded by an ethereal glow and only an arms-length away from me, was the most extraordinary creature I’d ever seen. The light was so bright and intense, but I couldn’t look away. Neither did I have a desire to shield my eyes. In awe, I couldn’t help but think that she was almost the exact image of what I thought an angel might look like. She was speaking, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. A dawning comprehension spread across her lovely face and made her beautiful violet eyes shimmer.

  Reaching out one fine and delicate hand toward me, a soft finger touched my forehead. A sudden jolt like a low-current electric shock pierced my frontal lobe and entered my body at the point between my eyes where Hindu’s believe the third eye is. There was a popping sound that reminded me of rice cereal after milk had been added. This was soon followed by a muffled sound, deep and muddled.

  Then I heard it, the most beautiful and soothing voice I’d ever heard. Instantly, a feeling of euphoria filled me, and a deep abiding calmness surrounded my entire being. It struck me that the sensation was sort of like that feeling a baby would feel upon hearing the comforting sound of their mother’s voice for the first time. The encompassing shine around the woman diminished gradually until standing before me was a being of amazing beauty and grace. Flowing white hair that easily reached her calves, delicate features, tall and slender, dressed in a gossamer, iridescent white dress that shimmered with every movement, moved closer to me.

  Smiling softly at me, her mouth opened, and a sweet musical sound flowed from between her lips. While she was speaking English, her mouth movements didn’t match. “Little one. Can you hear me?” Blinking rapidly, I nodded slowly. Another soft smile, “Time is short. You must right the wrong. Go back to your beginnings and seek the knowledge you have lost. It is the only way.”

  Puzzled, I asked, “What’s happening? What must I do? I don’t understand...”.

  She interrupted me, “Seek to use your gift and you will find the proper path. There is so much more within you. You must remember. I cannot help you with this. I must leave you now, but please don’t give up. Our time is short and we need your help.” She started to fade away.

  “Wait! What does that mean?” My hand stretched out toward her to grasp empty space and in that moment, she was gone. A shuddering quake started and there was a deep rumble that seemed to be coming from below me. The ground began to shake more violently and then fell out from under me causing me to plummet head-first into nothing. I was falling through space and time.

  Particles of the ground that used to be below me now floated up to me as I fell past them. As I raised my arms to shield myself from the flying debris, a large piece of earth gouged my arm, sending blood spewing out like little bubbles. Clasping my hand over the wound in my left arm, I screamed and closed my eyes, not wanting to see my demise rise up to crush me from below. Just when I thought there’d be no end to the maddening fall, I landed with a thud. It felt like my soul slammed into the presence of my human form. Sensing that I was still alive somehow, I opened my eyes and the darkness of my room met my gaze. Looking at the clock on my bedside table it read 3:33 a.m.

  Rolling to my side, I stood up and walked to the French doors that led out to the deck. Opening the door, I stepped outside into the cool dark air. There was no moon tonight. It was so dark that the only light was that of the twinkle lights in the bushes. Smiling to myself, I thought of the time Mom and I had decided to put them in when I was five years old and had just had a particularly bad dream that caused me to wander through mom’s room and outside.

  Mom had followed me, but it had been extremely dark, remarkably similar to tonight. She’d tripped off the back deck while she was trying to find me, which caused her to scream out with pain. Somehow the sound of mom in pain woke me, and I was suddenly frightened because I didn’t know where I was or how to find her in the dark. Moments later, I tripped over her and landed roughly on her head. After she soothed my fears and we had both calmed down, we laughed for a bit about my falling on her head. She ended up with a small scar on her forehead, but it was barely visible and she called it a love mark. She’d always wink at me when she’d explain to someone what it was.

  Reaching the end of the deck, I sat down on the edge. Ruminating on the dream, or were they really visions and not dreams at all? The angel-lady had said I needed to find what I had lost. Was she talking about my visions or my ability to communicate telepathically? Or was it more? Blast it all, why couldn’t someone just say what they meant?

  Five years I’d spent blocking everything out. Before that, I’d spent many more years trying to shut it out with some success. It had taken one devastating loss for me to close my mind. After the vision of mom, and the ensuing pain and realization that I could’ve prevented what happened if I’d only told mom that I saw her in danger. If I’d listened to the warnings and embraced the vision of her surrounded by water, just maybe... That was when I decided that I was done with visions and shut the doors of possibility. Having been hurt by my telepathic abilities with ‘Drea as a teen, I hadn’t used that form of communication with her either.

  After mom and Russel disappeared with Jaxon’s parents, I kept having a recurring dream that Mom was alive. But after eighty days of continuous fruitless searches for her at my insistence, combined with a dwindling search team, I decided that I was wrong about them being alive. That’s when I worked diligently to shut the dreams up and stopped holding out hope for something that wouldn’t happen. By ignoring them and blocking them out, eventually, they stopped completely. Maybe, if I’d kept them, I could’ve prevented ‘Drea’s death. Looking up at the stars, I chastised myself for that pattern of thinking. Honestly, my visions had never served a purpose before, they’d just been scary images that didn’t make sense.

  Now, looking back on my past, and all the visions that I’d had, I could see that there was some truth to them. Andrea and I used to be able to communicate through space and time using our minds only. Well, it was only me. We tested it once, but Andrea couldn’t get through to me unless I initiated it. That's why I thought it was odd that Tree-Andrea could communicate with Bird-Jaxon telepathically.

  We never told mom about our ability to talk in our minds. Andrea never had the visions, either, unless she was with me. We knew that I had a special gift, but I saw the effect it had on mom, so I hid it as much as I could to save her from her own fears. However, I was never able to really control how I reacted to my dreams or visions. They were so strong, and she always caught me. If she knew I was hiding my visions from her, she never let on. My sleep visions were so much more intense than the ones I had during the day.

  A cold breeze wafted over me, reminding me that I was sitting outside in December with only a pair of shorts and a T-shirt on. Talking to myself about the absurdity of sitting in the cold in the dead of winter, I stood up and went back inside. As I turned to close the door behind me, I thought I saw a shadow moving toward the dining room doorway. Stepping back out into the yard, I looked over and there was nothing. Shrugging, I figured my mind was playing tricks on me and went back inside. Snuggling down into my nice warm bed, I started practicing my meditation breathing. Soon, I was fast asleep and wandering through the corners of my mind searching for something I’d lost.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The sun woke me as it shined through my open curtains onto my face. Peace and serenity filled my soul. There was nothing like the feeling of sunshine in the morning. Something about it invigorated me and made me feel alive. Most people would probably say the same thing, but it felt somehow different in my mind. It felt like I was a rechargeable battery and the sun’s rays were the energy source I needed to regain my power.

  Sitting up and stretching my arms widely to absorb as much as I could of the glorious rays, I became aware that I felt different somehow. Closing my eyes, I focused on the feelings of energy coursing through my body. Pushing my thoughts outward, I concentrated on Andrea.

  A whirling and spinning sensation course
d through my mind, causing me to feel slightly off balance. Soon my world righted itself and I was standing face to face with Andrea; however, I wasn’t looking at a tree, it was Andrea in human form. Almost as if I were on some sort of astral plain. The sky was the loveliest shade of iridescent purple filled with shimmering clouds of gossamer looking material. The floor beneath me was the most luscious and verdant green and felt like the softest moss under my bare feet. Blinking my eyes as if I were trying to focus, I looked up again and Andrea was smiling at me.

  “I knew you could do it, Magpie.” She exclaimed exuberantly. Dancing in a circle around me, she laughed and grasping me tightly, we were both giggling and dancing as we lost our balance and tumbled to the ground. It was as if she hadn’t died. My heart raced as I realized I could feel her, see her, touch her and I felt wonderfully alive. My mind took over and sighing, I rolled to my stomach. Propping myself up on my elbows, I looked long and hard at my sister laying on the soft ground next to me.

  “Andrea,”— afraid of the answer but posing the question anyway — “how is it that you’re here when in the real world, you’re....” Looking down at the soft earth and toying with the lush sponge-like material, I couldn’t finish my question.

  Running her hands over her body with a quizzical expression and looking at me, “I’m not sure.” A brief frown crossed her brow, “I thought you did this.”

  “No, it wasn’t me.”

  She looked as puzzled as I felt. Taking a moment to think and looking back at the sky, “I feel like I’m sharing space though”—Looking back at me, she asked, “Isn’t that odd?”