"How's it going in here, ok?" Graven popped his head in.
"It's ok. Would you please come help me get some of these boxes open. It's not so easy without something to cut the tape."
"I don't think the tape will be much of a match for me, but one can never tell until they try." His smile almost leaked out a laugh.
"Well then, come on, get your muscles in here. I need help looking for something." I waved him in.
"Are you sure you want to open all of these now? We can bring them home and sort them there," Graven asked as he walked into the small unit.
"I know, but I thought if I could find what I need we wouldn't have to drive all of this stuff back. My stuff has been safe here so far. If I can manage to bring what matters the most with me tonight then we can get back to Sedona sooner and or not have to rush back." I folded the tops of the box I was in closed and moved it to the floor beside me.
"Whatever you want, Kasha, but I have no problem driving if that is what you need. Maybe we can relocate your boxes in another unit or ship them back to Sedona. Where do you want me to start opening boxes?" Graven asked looking at the boxes. "Most of these boxes are not labeled."
"I know, I was in a hurry to box up Gram's things. I didn't want to stay in our old house any longer than I had to after she passed." I could feel the sting threatening my eyes. I cleared my throat and turned to grab a box from behind me so I could clear my mind.
"I need to find whatever boxes have books in them. Maybe you can tell by lifting them. I can barely lift some of them, they are probably the ones with books."
"I can do that." Graven started to move boxes around. "I am going to line the heavy boxes on this side of the room and the lighter ones over here. That way it will be easier for you to look through them. We can get through this pretty quick, there are not nearly as many boxes as I expected." Graven worked fast and efficiently.
"I sure do wish we had stopped for coffee before we got here. I could use a cup of Black Lightening with steamed milk and sugar." Just saying it out loud made me want it more.
"How about I take you for coffee and something sweet after we leave here. It can be our little reward." Graven started to tear open the heavy boxes first.
I really wanted to go to my favorite cafe, it was only a short walk from where we were. Only it was where I last remember being before I was taken. It was also where I shared my memories or my dreams with my version of Kaden. I still couldn't believe that he was Graven's brother.
The thought of getting out of captivity to find Kaden and meet the man of my dreams was one of the only things that helped me get through the awful experience. I built up an emotional connection with someone I wasn't even sure existed. Now I was falling in love with his brother.
"Hey, you ok?" Graven came over and put his arms around my waist. "Your emotions are all over the place. Are you sure you want to do this now?"
I felt guilty about where my mind was. He probably thought I was thinking about my grandmother, instead I was thinking about his brother.
"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm just glad you're here with me. It makes it easier." I nuzzled my face into his chest and let him wrap his warmth around me. I squeezed him, a little on the hard side. I didn't know what I would do without him.
I reluctantly let go of him, "Let's see what's in these suckers so we can go get some pie." I gave him a wink letting him know I was ok.
I looked through the boxes. We had so many different types of books. There were fiction, non-fiction, books with poetry and art history, you name it we had it. I wasn't looking for traditionally published books. I needed something that was hand written.
The box of books I was looking through had a mix of books and trinkets from the shelves in my old room. I pulled out a Nancy Drew book and smiled. I couldn't believe that Gram never threw away any of my favorite books. I still had some Dr. Suess books in the box.
The Clue in the Crossword Cipher book 54. I loved this book. Who am I kidding? I loved all the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. I opened the book, I had to take a second look at the text. When I opened the cover, the inside of the book was actually an old journal.
The first page said A Dreamer's Journey. I had a feeling it was the journal Gram kept of my dreams when I was a young girl, but I didn't have time to read through those right now. I put the book in my backpack and continued to look through the books realizing I needed to open the books to see what the content was.
"Graven help me look through the books, even the published books, Gram may have switched out a cover to hide her recipe books." I started pulling each book out and opening them. Graven began to do the same in another box. We went through several boxes of books and had managed to make a mess of the collection.
"I think I found something," Graven burst out. "This book has hand written lists of ingredients and stuff. It doesn't look like a cook book."
I jumped up and ran over to him. "Yes, this is one of them." I started to pull the books from the box he found it in. "Did you go through this whole box yet?"
"No, I just started," he said. "How many of these books did your grandmother have?"
"I don't really know. She definitely had more than one. I didn't really pay a lot of attention to what she did. She helped a lot of people. Sometimes I would help her dry herbs or mix teas for her to sell. I remember some things that she taught me, but I never really took an interest. Now I wish I had."
"Ok, we will look through all of these books if we have to. Is it possible she gave some of them away or hid them?" Graven asked.
"Who knows what she did. Everything about Gram is cloaked in lies and mystery at this point. I may never know everything, that is something I will need to come to terms with in time. But right now, I need to find as many answers as I can. And we need to find a way to help Axel." I turned and grabbed Graven's arm.
"We need to find a way to help him as soon as possible. We don't know how much time they have. If I can't find a solution here in Gram's stuff do you or Maritza know anyone that can help us?"
"I don't know, maybe. The only problem is that if we get anyone involved we could be putting everyone in more danger, including you." His brows crept up on one another.
"Urrgh!" I pushed one of the boxes over spilling its content. "I hate this! They are in danger and it's my fault. I can't let him die. I can't make Patience a widow."
"Kasha, this isn't your fault. The situation is not one that you had any control or power over. Things were set into motion long before you were even born. Those that seek the darkness work hard to achieve it, and give up their souls for power that doesn't belong to them.
"The difference here and now is that they speak of someone who will possess the greatest light. A light that will shine so bright that it will conquer the darkest enemies. I don't know if that is possible and I don't know if it is you, but if it is, if you are this special person then your friends have given themselves to the belief that you will do great things. Keeping you safe and helping you grow is the best way I can honor your friends."
Graven came over and lifted my chin. "I will do whatever I can to help you help them. Let's get back to the task at hand and find these books."
"Ok." I took a deep breath and let the anger subside. "Can you keep looking for the books? I am going to look and see how much of her ingredients I packed up."
"Yeah, I can do that." He dug back into the box.
I went over to the other side of the room and looked for a box that had some of her supplies. I didn't think I would ever need them, but it felt wrong to get rid of the most important thing she did.
I found a box that had stacks of small vials labeled with technical terms for the herbs and spices. Most of which made little to no sense to me. I grabbed as many as I could and stuffed them into my backpack. There were a few small glass jars in the bottom of the box. I didn't love the idea of carrying around glass in my bag, but I didn't know if I would need them. I found a book I could live without and tore out pages to wrap the bottle
s in.
"I got another one," Graven called out.
"Awesome, I got a bunch of the ingredients she had stored in our kitchen. Hopefully there is something in here we can use."
"I don't think there is anything else to find in here, Kasha. I am pretty sure I have looked in every book. I think we should get out of here."
"Ok," I hung my shoulders and feared defeat.
"Don't look so down, we have a place to start. We can go grab some coffee and bring this stuff back to the hotel and read through what you have found. There might be something in one of these books that might lead us somewhere else or to someone else that can help us without raising any new suspicions."
"Fair enough. You are probably right. Besides, I am starting to get hungry. I know a place around the corner, we can walk there," I said.
"Or we can drive." Graven gave me a look. "Let's wrap this up and lock this place down. Are you sure that you don't want to bring everything back with us?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. I think I have the important stuff."
"I just want you to be sure. There is a possibility that this is the last time you will see these things. I can have them shipped or we can come back the next time we come to Santa Fe, but you never know what Ziona will manage to get her hands into."
"I am ready. We can come back next time we are here. Let's go." I didn't even bother to close the boxes up. I just pulled the gate closed and locked the lock.
Chapter Nineteen
WE PULLED UP IN FRONT of the yellow stucco building where everything in my life seemed to both end and begin all at the same time. The sun had set already, but they had spotlights hidden in the ground that pointed up at the front of the converted home. Little solar lanterns illuminated the walkway from the gate to the front entryway.
I unbuckled my belt and tried to slow my heart rate that had been on the rise the closer we got to the coffee shop. My skin started to flash between hot and cold. There were swirls of unwanted emotions in the pit of my stomach. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but there was a part of me that realized it was fear that I was plagued with.
Just as I was about to open my door to get out of the truck, Graven grabbed my arm. "What aren't you telling me?"
"What?"
"I have not sensed such trepidation from you since your imprisonment. I thought you were ok, and we were going to grab a celebratory treat." Graven's light eyes darkened to a charcoal, they were filled with concern.
"It's just that...I was... This is the last place I remember being before I blacked out. I woke up in that underground facility with no recollection of how I got there."
"We don't have to get coffee here. Let's just go. We can order room service at the hotel," he said putting the keys back in the ignition.
I put my hand on his and pulled the keys out. "No, I really love this place. They have my favorite scones and I love the variety of hand crafted coffees and teas they make here. I don't want to let fear control my life. That would be like letting The Taker win. He may have taken my stuff, even attempted to take me, but my emotions and my choices are my own. I will own them and not be restricted by forebodings based on the past.
"I demand that you take me for my treat, kind sir." I laughed and tried to make light of the situation.
"As you wish, my lady." Graven put the keys in his pocket. "Wait there. I will come and escort you to the palace of sweets." He jumped out of the driver's seat and shut his door.
"My Lady, care to accompany me for dessert?" After he opened the door he bowed before me and offered me his arm. I couldn't help but smile. He helped me down from the truck and I locked my arm around his for dear life.
"I am famished after all the work with the boxes. I'm also getting tired. Maybe we can get our treats to go." I decided baby steps were still steps I was taking.
"That sounds like a good idea. Then you can start to sort through your grandmother's books and I will try to figure out what other options we might have. I was going to wait until we got back to Sedona to speak with my brother, but I have a nagging feeling he knows more than he is telling me." Graven opened the door and the smell that bombarded my nose was like being home again.
It was late in the day, but there were quite a few people there. I guess they served enough light fare to satisfy a small dinner appetite. I noticed there were more couples in there than there normally were during the day. It was probably a good place for a date when you didn't want to drink alcohol.
We stood in line and I looked around the small dining room. My eyes locked in on the table in the corner. It was the table that Kaden and I shared coffee and pastries in my dream. The confusing part was that my dreams had been so vivid that they felt more like distant memories than faded dreams. The truth was though, that it was a dream and nothing more.
It was our turn next. I ordered a green tea latte and a chocolate croissant. Graven ordered white tea and a peach muffin infused with sage butter. I recognized the girl behind the counter. She was working here the last time I was here and the day I astral projected in. Her nametag said Candy on it.
She handed a white paper bag to Graven along with his change. "You both look so familiar, have ya'll been in here before?"
"I used to come here often, but have not been in a few weeks," I told her and looked at Graven.
"I've never been here before." He simply stated as he took his change.
"Oh, would you like a tray for the drinks?"
"I don't think we need one, thank you." I grabbed both hot cups.
"Maybe you have a brother or a look alike that has been in here," Candy said as she batted her eyelashes at Graven. I got a chill that sent shivers up and down my spine.
"You never know where my brother has been, but we don't really favor each other." Graven put the change in the tip jar, "Have a good night."
Graven put his free arm around me as we walked toward the door. "Why don't you let me carry those for you?"
"I got it, how about you open the door for me and we can call it even." He obliged and I graced him with a nod of the head and a big smile. "Thank you."
The hotel wasn't far so we decided to wait until we got back to dig in. We got to the room, and Maritza still was not back from her meetings yet, which was probably a good thing. I wasn't sure what she actually knew about me and my situation, other than the fact that I had been a prisoner of Ziona's.
"Hey Graven? How much did you tell Maritza about me and my situation?"
"I told her what she needed to know." His answer was not specific enough for me.
"No, really. I am not sure what I can or can't say in front of her. If we sprawl these books out here and she comes back what is she going to think?"
"I told her that you are the one that I have waited my whole life for. I told her that you are the most important thing and my first priority. She knows that you are in danger and were a victim of The Taker and Ziona.
"I didn't get into the details about your unique condition. Although, after your display this afternoon, when you ladies were attacked, may have clued her in to the fact that you are more than meets the eye." Graven grabbed my backpack and joined me on the sofa.
"Does she know that you are lying to Ziona about your intentions with me? Does she know that Ziona expects you to deliver me back to her with an explanation of what I am capable of?" I pulled out my croissant and put it on one of the brown recycled napkins they gave us.
"Kasha, I don't always get into all the details of my life with Maritza. She is very dear to me. I trust her with my life and she would do nothing to betray my trust. I think she actually likes you." He poured two honey packets into his cup of tea.
"Actually?" I lifted an eyebrow.
"That's not what I meant. I-"
"It's ok. I get it. I actually like her too. I think we had a bit of a bonding session today. She put herself in harm's way to protect me. I feel like I can trust her, but when faced with the darkness, some are more easily broken. I just wanted to know how much I sho
uld open up to her.
"This isn't like meeting a new friend and deciding whether or not to tell them something embarrassing. My secrets are a matter of life and death for not only me, but others that I care about."
I opened my latte and took a sip. I wasn't a big fan of drinking through the plastic tops. Something about them reminded me too much of a toddler's sippy cup.
"I would say that you should follow your heart with what you want to share with her. I will include her on a need to know basis. I am glad that there is something growing between you.
"What do you say we start sorting through these books? Maybe you can tell me what exactly it is we are looking for." Half of his muffin disappeared into his mouth with one bite.
"I'm not sure exactly. Gram wrote down all the recipes for teas, tonics, and salves. Some of them she came up with herself and others she traded for supplies or payment. I don't know if she has anything in here about this kind of thing. I have never looked in her books, I had no idea this was the kind of world she was involved in. This is the only place I know where to look...it's kind of a long shot."
I let Graven start with Gram's books while I started with her lock box. I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I missed in her personal documents.
It was mostly paperwork about her retirement funds, the title to the house; the basic stuff people keep in a fireproof box. There were these two blank pieces of paper that gave me hope that Gram left me a message. I took the papers over to the lamp on the side table.
"What are you doing?" Graven asked.
"Gram taught me how to write and reveal invisible messages when I was a little girl. It was fun. We often left each other special notes at random times. Once in a while Gram would set up a scavenger hunt and at each location there would be a different message to un-code," I explained.
"One way to see hidden messages is to heat them over a hot lamp. Some fluids that dry invisible will heat at a different rate than the paper. She liked to make science fun for me. There was always a lesson, and I am beginning to think there were more lessons mixed in than I realized at the time."
Betrayed: Breaking the Darkness Series Book Two Page 20
