She eyed the thing and then her gaze met his. “I’ve never heard of it. Are you saying you’re not a Founder, and they make these things somewhere on Terra?”
“Oh, I’m not a Founder, but they are my nephews. And I must say, I don’t believe any of them are named Tom, Sh’létte.”
A quick breath left her lips and she lightly placed her hands to her heart as she sat in an empty chair. Her words came out as barely a breath, “Oh, Gods. He used to call me that. Sh’létte. I thought he chose to say my name in a special way, but it’s part of your accent?”
“Ah. Then you must be speaking of Colhart. As long as he’s served here, he still hasn’t quite lost the lilt of our native tongue.”
Moisture glazed her chocolate eyes. “Colhart? His name isn’t Cole either?”
“Yes, my Terran charm, he’s known as Cole here. Just a shortened nickname, as when Jarrett called you Char earlier. Nothing more.”
Charlotte blinked the beads of tears from her lashes, and Rhune leaned forward, reaching along the table. He gently placed his palm over her hand. “And if it’s Colhart of whom you speak, you have every right to believe he was looking for a lasting relationship. Especially if you dated for a significant amount of time.”
“Almost four months,” she whispered.
“Well, then. I’d say you are a special one. Last I heard, if Colhart couldn’t connect with a woman on a soul mate level, he would—”
“End it.”
Rhune nodded. “Something kept him with you. He wanted it to be you.”
“He kept saying…‘Speak to me,’ he would say, ‘Speak to me with your soul.’” A sob punched from her lips, and her fists beat her thighs. “How do you make your soul say anything? Isn’t it who we are? Don’t we talk every day? Is there a special word I don’t know about? Because I tried to pour my entire heart out to him, told him I loved him, showed him how much I cared… What else is there?”
The plea in sweet little Charm’s wet eyes wrapped his heart in a knot. Oh, these young realms, so lost in their search for love. So blind to the eternal connection available to them to understand several millennia could pass in a quick crinkling of Pappy’s lids.
Rhune placed his D-Lotus aside and took her hands in his. “He looked for a soul mate’s call, my little Terran charm. He wanted your soul to reach out to his, as if the arms of your spirit would wrap around him and penetrate every fiber of his being.” He leaned his head to the side. “You don’t understand this. Your dimension is so much younger than the one our family comes from.”
She inched her hands from beneath his. “Did you say dimension?”
There I go again. He brushed the query aside as he tucked a few straggling curls behind her ear. “He loved you very much, but alas, he found his soul mate, lost nearly four hundred years ago. They reunited to continue their lives together, and their souls’ progressions.”
Charlotte seemed unable to speak. Her jaw dropped, and her fists wrapped tightly around her upper arms. But a small whisper passed her lips. “How can I fight a spirit for the man I love?”
“I’m not gifted to see the outcome of one’s life, but I can say with all confidence that you, Sh’létte, will find a man who will fill your heart to overflowing.”
Caramel curls hid her face as she lowered her head, and Rhune stood. Holding out his fingers, a bundle of bills lighted in his grasp from his pocket. “As my time is spent, I must be going. I’m not familiar with the currency value here, so many different trades on each plane; I find it impossible to keep up.” He set five colorful ones on the table, and as he reached for his Lotus, he paused. With a glance at the sad little Terran woman, he left it where it lay and turned to leave. She no doubt needed it more than he did at the moment. “Thank you for keeping this old traveler company in a strange town.”
Grasping the edge of Jamesuranton’s cloak, he furled the panel and took on the Smoke of Night.
Charlotte’s eyes flew wide again, and her chair scrapped across the floor as she darted for the bar.
There you go again, Rhune. Mentally kicking himself, he flew out of Pappy’s Pub and into the sunny day. When will you ever learn to use your head?
Chapter Thirteen
Cardboard boxes flew through the room and smashed into the far left wall of the basement. James marched to them and kicked aside random items that had scattered across the floor. Every novelty Rhune had sent Vincent from the time they left Meridian to settle in Cornerstone Deep seemed present…except for the one he sought.
Clenching his fists, he forced himself to turn away without crushing them, but then looked back.
Cole’s voice came from the basement lab on the other side of the divider. “You could crush them for the satisfaction, and then reassemble. Just a thought.”
Despite his disgruntlement, a grin cracked James’s scowl. I could… He peeked around the wide wall that separated the two rooms. “What are you doing in the lab?”
“Trying to smooth out a mistake. Dressen’s sister, Kendra, has always been a gracious woman. I plan on presenting her with a gift.”
“And you’re using the memory box for this? Cole, we don’t need a repeat of what happened.”
Cole shook his head as a soft mist fell from his hand to the center of a bowl. “A gift for her own enjoyment, to remember only the good of her brother.”
“Ah, I see.” James turned and rummaged through another box.
“And what has you so up in arms over there?”
“Looking for something.”
“Okay. What?”
“The picture Mother took of me sitting on Father’s knee.”
A sound much like a scoff came from Cole’s side of the room. “Let it go, James.”
James paused and set his hands at his waist. “I can’t. I can’t stand the man. I cringe every time he calls me son.”
Footsteps creaked on the wooden staircase behind him.
“I see you’re redecorating down here.”
James swiveled on his heal to see Linda with her arms crossed, leaning on the plank banister. Little white shoes hopped down the steps, and then the rest of the twins appeared as they descended.
Mandy squealed with a little gasp and darted for the odds-n-ends scattered among the broken cardboard boxes. “Wow, Poppa James, where did you get all of these?”
Light shimmered off the silver and gold curios, making the memorabilia a joy-land for any little girl.
“Looking for something and ran across them,” he murmured.
“What’s in this box?” Mechenzie asked, standing beside him.
As he turned, Linda stepped to his side and lifted the booklet-sized package from her grip. “Kenzie, you know better than to touch.”
“But it’s glowing.”
James reached for it, and Linda placed it in his hand. A simple twine held parchment tightly wrapped around it, and a mute light indeed filtered through the thick paper. He turned it over, studying the bundle. Blood drained from his face. A magical item stored in the basement? How did this get here?
“James, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I’ve organized every box and package of this room.”
Her blonde brows arched, and she pointedly blinked. “Are you going to expound on that?”
“I don’t recognize this. And I highly doubt, with it emitting light, it should be in a storage room.”
“Honey? I know you guys do super sensitive nobody-can-know type stuff, but seriously, you’re scaring me. I’ve only known you for a short time, but you don’t seem like the type to act…like you’ve been acting since your uncle showed up.”
With a sigh, James nodded. “You’re right, Leenja. I haven’t been myself.” He looked at the beautiful woman who’d taken hold of his heart. Perhaps it was time to fill the Terran mother of his Meridian mother’s soul in on what could be the worst nightmare of her life.
He stroked Mechenzie’s cheek with his finger, and then thumbed toward the sc
attered trinkets. “Why don’t you girls pick something out to play with from your Uncle Vincent’s toys and then come with us? We all need to have a meeting with the other grown-ups.”
Linda’s head leaned to the side as Mechenzie ran to Mandy. Squeals and giggles filled the large enclosure as they gathered treasures from the floor. Ignoring Linda’s gaze that clearly said, what in the name of Gryffin is all this about, James clutched the package and trotted up the steps to the foyer hallway. What needed to be said might affect everyone in the household.
Elaina’s fingers tapped her knees in quick succession, and Vincent leaned toward her, placing his hand over the nervous motion. “Relax. It’s just a meeting.”
Her toes took over the quick movement, and a rush of air blew through her lips. “I know,” she whispered.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I’m just…” She arched her shoulders, and the tempo in her feet pushed her knees to bounce. “I don’t know. I’ve had so much energy since we…you know.”
With a chuckle, he edged closer to her ear, and placed kisses along her neck. “That was the most phenomenal love making of my life.”
Her freckled complexion blushed, and a smile bloomed on her lips. “Me too.”
Cole leaned away from Mianna at his side to within an inch of Vincent and gave him a wry smile. He whispered into his ear. “Now that I’ve got to try.”
In a flash, Vince grabbed his collar in his fist and pulled him close. Forget the brotherly bond from earlier, this topic was off limits. The hiss in his words portrayed the instant anger he wanted to get across to the old brood. “You keep those mindreading talents in check or I’ll blow off a part of you you’ll miss the rest of your years.”
Cole motioned to Vincent’s other hand over Elaina’s palm. “I merely meant that I needed to try holding Mianna’s hands when she starts to fidget from nervousness.” He quirked an eye. “What were you referring to?”
Right. Vincent released his brother as James sat at the master chair. Linda stood at his side.
Elaina’s hand broke free of Vincent’s hold, and she patted the armrests as she turned and looked at Mandy and Mechenzie playing tea by the window. “I think I’ll just go join them, Vince, if you don’t mind. I can listen from there.”
As he opened his mouth to respond, she slid from the chair and scampered to the girls like a critter. They giggled, and she laughed as she ended her caper with a romp.
James spoke as if he hadn’t noticed the antics. “Seeing as the entire crew is here for this, I see no need to seal the room in silence. Any of you disagree?”
Vincent glanced around the room. The crew did seem to all be here, with the exception of the one person James would deem unnecessary. “If this might have to do with the missions, shouldn’t we call on Rhune? He should be here for this.”
Maybe it was those long stories when growing up that Vincent had listened to with rapt while sitting on Rhune’s knee. Perhaps he couldn’t throw the good of the man aside for the one mistake he made and his attempt to make amends that led to this. Or maybe a small part of him understood the need to have his soul mate at his side…regardless. But as gazes turned his way from all sides of the room, he shrugged. “Shouldn’t he?”
The door opened, and the large man stepped into the hallowed room. He peered at the package in James’s grip. “Yes, I believe I should.” With a wave of his hand, the door closed behind him. “And as with all matters of the ethereal, the room should be sealed. Eko silyst.”
“And what do you know of this,” asked James as he lifted the bound booklet. “Was it you who put it in the basement for Mechenzie to find?”
Rhune’s brows rose with his blink. He raked his fingers across his jaw and walked to the desk. “No.”
“But?” James’s tone left much to be disciplined. “You know what it is?”
“I know what it is.” Mianna sounded like an angel in the wake of James’s tension.
Everyone turned to look at her, and she stood from her seat beside Vincent.
“It’s a book, and it has to do with me. However it got in the basement, it was meant for me to find. Rhune, Sylis, and Mechenzie are probably mentioned in it. Well, Mechenzie would be spoken of as Lilith, but I bet that’s why it responded to her touch and glowed. She’s Lilith.”
Cole wrapped his arm around her waist, and quietly spoke, though Vincent had no trouble overhearing the words. “Love, I know you’re convinced of a book given to Father about you before you were born, but what would Rhune and Mechenzie have to do with it?”
Vincent scoffed. “Are you kidding me? A book was given to Father about Mianna before she was born?” A half-hearted chortle jiggled in his chest. “This only gets better and better.”
Cole scowled and stretched to look at him around his shoulder. “Kid, this isn’t a laughing matter.”
“Let me guess. They’re mentioned in this magic book because they’re all part of this prophecy; including Mianna, who was chosen before she was born to fill a role in the whole thing. And I will take one guess what role that would be. Love. The whole time we’ve known Mianna, what was her one underlying virtue?”
“Love,” answered Cole as his scowl melted to a look of curiosity.
Linda raised her hand as if she were in class and wanted a word. “That’s right. Anna loved everyone and everything. It’s why she couldn’t be rude to Lord Dressen when he called on her.”
James shook his head. “Mianna was her first life span. A soul isn’t born with that kind of predestination. It grows and develops that quality as it learns.”
“Exactly,” said Cole.
Vincent nodded and looked at Rhune. “I think it’s safe to say things are only going to get crazier as the secrets to the prophecy open to us. So,” he turned his gaze to Mianna, but he could hardly see her profile beyond Cole. “What were you, really? A member of Arylin’s court? Her personal handmaiden?”
Mianna placed her hand gently on Cole’s arm and guided him aside so she could face Vincent full on. “I’ve been having…visions lately. Visions of things from my previous lives. And I swear by all that is good, I heard Arylin call to me numerous times. Like a sweet whisper. Not by any of my names of my lives, but…by a name that touches my very soul.” Her voice hushed. “Iaami. And I don’t know how, but I know that book is for me.”
If anyone was shocked, they didn’t say so, but the silence doubled as all watched her and listened.
“We all forget for a reason when we are born into mortality. How else could we develop the strength we will need to someday advance enough to become like those who created us?” She placed her palm on Cole’s chest with a loving brush. “Even the oldest realm in the Spectrum, Meridian, holds souls who’ve advanced further than any, and yet are children, so far away from reaching the point of dwelling with the gods.”
A soft weep sounded from behind Vincent, and Elaina rushed around him. But instead of facing her soul mate, she faced her sister-in-law. She rested her hand on Vincent’s leg and then lowered herself to one knee. “Oh, sweet Angel of Love,” she whispered.
It must have been the spirit of the gathering that had shifted, or the sugar sweet air that permeated the room while Mianna spoke. Or perhaps Arylin called upon the ethereal plane to manifest the truth of what she said, but regardless of the reason, Vincent wanted to join her in the praise. The Angel of Love, the one spoken of in the prophecy, stood the distance of Cole between them, and nobody corrected Elaina for kneeling before any other than her creators.
A soft glow emitted from Mianna’s skin as she smiled, the sweetest most charismatic smile her cherubic features could produce. A little laugh tickled the air. “Elaina, there’s no need for that. I’m not a Goddess. Right now, I need the help of that book to remember the virtues I must learn from my lives that have been lost to me.”
Chapter Fourteen
Bliss emanated from Anna’s countenance, and Elaina subconsciously reached to touch the alluring skin. A sugary sc
ent permeated her body, and her mind whirled with veneration. Her gut lurched at the sweetness, and she quickly swallowed to force the acid back where it belonged. It burned her esophagus.
In a haphazard attempt to flee, she threw her hand over her mouth and pushed against Vincent’s knee to stand. “I’m sorry. I…” Her stomach roiled, and she darted for the door. As she flung it open, the atmospheric pressure in the room diminished, and her rushed steps sounded three times as loud as they clattered on the hardwood floor.
Bathroom. I need a bathroom. She grabbed hold of the handle on the left wing lavatory at the end of the hall. Slipping inside, she took a deep breath of the sarsaparilla scented air to clear her senses.
Wrong thing to do!
Elaina dropped to her knees before the toilet as her stomach heaved. She didn’t know she had eaten that much, or anything that would turn her body into an expel-the-snot-out-of-every-fiber machine.
Her arms quaked as she braced herself against the marble bowl. Shivers shook her breath, and she slid into a sitting position to control the tremors in her thighs.
“Elaina, are you okay?” Vincent’s voice sounded like a heavenly messenger despite the shock that laced his words. Shame prickled her cheeks and rose to her ears. These people were so far beyond her. Her beloved marvelous Meridian man couldn’t possibly be meant to be her match. What was she thinking when she had prayed for his proposal? How could she let him see her like this? A glorious man from an advanced civilization that conversed with the gods should never be subjected to a troll throwing up her guts.
“Oh sweet mother of life, Vince,” she said as she turned to face the wall.
He knelt and braced her shoulders. “Communication with the ethereal can be overwhelming sometimes. I’ll fly you to the room so you can lie down.”
The thought of every fiber having the freedom to indeed expel snot sent a wave of panic through her. “Oh, no. No. I don’t think I could handle being a million particles right now. I’d probably drip sick all the way up there.”
Destiny (Cornerstone Deep Book 3) Page 7
