King Series Box Set

by Kandle, Tawdra

  I was impressed and would have asked more questions, but Cathryn grabbed my arm.

  “Sorry, girls, but Tasmyn has work to do. I’m sure she’ll catch up with you later.”

  I shot them a rueful smile and a little wave as I followed Cathryn out of the room and down the hall.

  “They were nice,” I commented. I wasn’t positive, but it sounded as though Cathryn snorted as she opened a door and gestured for me to go inside.

  “Yes, they’re great. Fiona and Emma have both been with us for a few years, so I’m sure they’d be good contacts. You know, reassure you we’re not running a spy ring or recruiting for vampires.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Thanks. So what are we doing here?” We were in what might have passed for a conference room if we were in a typical office building. There was a long oak table at one end surrounded by well-padded easy chairs. My eyes narrowed when I saw the line of glass orbs in the center of the table.

  “I told you. We’re working on telekinesis.”

  Setting my mouth in a firm line, I swung around and headed to the doorway. “If this is some kind of joke—it’s not funny.”

  “Tasmyn, stop. What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong? Gee, I don’t know, Cathryn. Maybe it’s the orbs on the table. Did you get them from Marica? Is the athame in here somewhere?” Outside the room, I heard a loud crash, and both of our heads swiveled toward the sound.

  Cathryn stepped out and looked down the hall. When she glanced back at me, her face was inscrutable.

  “That was the portrait of my great-great grandfather that now lies in pieces. Tasmyn, if you don’t learn to get this under control, we’re going to have to start docking your pay. And believe me, with the number of priceless antiques in this house, you don’t want that.”

  I dropped into a chair. “I’m sorry, Cathryn. It’s just the orbs—they threw me.”

  Cathryn sat down near me and touched my arm. “I’m sorry. I had no idea, really. I know I haven’t always been...” She trailed off, gazing out the window. “I know I’ve tried to push your buttons from the start. But I truly didn’t mean anything today. The orbs are standard for this kind of practice. And since you seem to have a particular affinity for glass, I made sure to choose them.”

  “Marcia used them to teach me. When I saw the orbs on the table, I just assumed—I’m sorry, Cathryn. Maybe you’re right. I do need your help.”

  She stood. “Actually, I’m not the one who can help you. But I know someone who can.”

  Zoe Hamilton was perhaps the oddest womea I had ever met, and considering my recent acquaintances, that was really saying something.

  She appeared in the doorway that first day, her multi-colored hair wild around her pixie-like face and her eyes huge. She wore a diaphanous black blouse over tight denim capris and adorable silver slippers. Her cheeks dimpled as she grinned at me.

  I couldn’t hear her mind, of course; I’d stopped being surprised about that anymore here at Harper Creek. But I could feel her delight and enthusiasm, and they were contagious.

  That first day, Zoe just sat across from me, sipping some kind of odd-smelling tea from a thin china cup and talking about all of my abilities. I found it much easier to talk to her about the moving things with my mind and the elemental magicks, even sharing details about fire casting and my water work.

  When I finally stopped talking, Zoe set down her cup with a definitive thunk and clasped her hands. “All right then! Let me see what you can do. Move these orbs around.”

  Obediently I focused on the glass and worked on lifting them above the table one at a time. It took considerable concentration and left me a little worn out.

  Zoe watched me without comment, and then suddenly she sprang to her feet and strode to the door.

  “Cathryn!!” she bellowed. “We need you in here.”

  The person in question appeared a moment later, consternation on her face. “You rang, Zoe?” There was uncharacteristic humor in her voice.

  “Yes. Antagonize Tasmyn.”

  Eyebrows lifted, Cathryn turned to me with a smirk. “I’m not sure this will work, but I’m game. Let’s see...”

  I waited for her to speak, but instead, I sensed a sudden release as she lowered her mind guard. And then abruptly an image floated into my mind. It was Michael, and he was sitting quite near her, his face drawn and his eyes bleak.

  “...and I think. . I think she’s seeing someone. At home. I heard from friends...” Michael’s voice matched his expression, and my heart plunged.

  I saw a familiar hand touch his arm. “Michael, I’m so sorry. But you know, maybe it’s for the best...”

  My heart pounded, and the power surged. The orbs were whipping about the room, flying at a frightening rate. Cathryn ducked out.

  “All right then.” Zoe reached over and laid a cool hand on my arm. “Feel the power, Tasmyn. Recognize it. Now harness it. Take control.”

  The glass balls didn’t stop, but I clenched my teeth and found that I could hold the stream. I tried to rein it in without letting anything hit the floor.

  “That’s it. Now...slowly...set them back down. Use the same power. Just lessen it.”

  I pulled it back, little by little, until each orb was back on the table. The last fell with a loud thunk.

  “There we go.” Zoe clapped. “It’s a beginning. You see, don’t you, how much the emotion fuels the power? You can do it without, but not as efficiently. Now, we will work from that point.”

  And work we did. I made the trip up to Harper Creek every Monday and Wednesday, sometimes with Cathryn and sometimes driving the Mustang, and Zoe was always waiting for me in the room upstairs. Within a few weeks I could manage the surges of power much more easily. When Zoe brought Cathryn in to make me angry, I was able to listen without knocking anything off the walls or tables.

  Aline was pleasantly surprised by Zoe’s work with me. I told her about how Zoe taught me to handle the rage through careful breathing and deliberate thought redirection.

  “That’s great,” Aline enthused. “I’m glad to hear you’re making progress there, Tasmyn. How does it make you feel?”

  “Wonderful. It’s so nice to feel like I have little bit of control over this. We haven’t started to work on fire or water yet, but Zoe says we will next week.”

  Aline smiled. “I know fire is something that worries you. You’ll be happy to have a better handle on it.” She winked and added, “And I’m sure Michael will be relieved, too.”

  I blushed, regretting that I had shared that particular episode with my therapist.

  “Are you still feeling uncomfortable about working with Carruthers?”

  Shrugging, I tilted my head. “Not so much. I really like Zoe, and Emma and Fiona are cool, too. I’ve gotten to know them pretty well. They seem...” I thought for a moment, searching for the right word. “I don’t know, normal. Like anyone you might meet at any job.”

  “Hmm.” Aline nodded. “And that must be reassuring to you.”

  “It is.” My tone must have reflected my hesitation.

  “But...?” Aline prompted.

  “But I’m still waiting, Fee and Emma don’t say anything about their assignments. I asked them a little, and they said they’re not supposed to talk about the specifics of the work. I just wanted some idea of what they’re doing, and I still feel like I’m missing some information.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. It means you’re being cautious, as we discussed. Nothing wrong with it.”

  “I guess so. At least they’re teaching me how to handle my power.”

  The only real downside I’d discovered about my work with Carruthers was that it cut into my time with Michael on Friday afternoons. If I spent the day up at Harper Creek, as I did more often than not, sometimes I didn’t get back to campus until after dinner. And then once I was at Perriman again, I was exhausted from the day’s work and usually fell asleep early.

  I was drowsing on Michael’s couch one such Friday ni
ght, struggling to keep my eyes open while we watched a movie. It was mid-October, and a steady rain beat against the dorm window.

  “Are you following this at all?” Michael’s voice roused me once again, just as I slid closer to oblivion.

  I pushed myself upright, away from the back of the couch. “Yes! Of course. He’s going to...umm...try to get the girl to go on the mission with him?”

  Michael snorted. “She stole the thumb drive with the secret files on them and took off about ten minutes ago. She was a double agent.”

  “Oh.” I rubbed my eyes and smothered a yawn. “Yeah. I guess I might have closed my eyes for just a minute.”

  He reached for the remote and turned off the television. “Maybe movies aren’t such a good thing on Friday nights. Come on, I’ll drive you back to your room.”

  “But I’ve hardly seen you!” I protested. “I hate this. Between my work at Carruthers and studying for mid-terms, and you with your classes, we never have any real time together.”

  Michael rubbed my back. “Don’t worry about it. Once you’re finished this part of your training, you won’t need to be up at Harper Creek as much, right? And mid-terms will be over next week.” He threaded his fingers through my hair. “We’ll make it. We’ve been through worse.”

  For a moment I thought he was talking about Rafe and Marica. Then he slid his hands around my neck, tracing the scars that were only just visible on my throat. I closed my eyes again, this time sinking not into sleep but into Michael’s memories. I saw again his view of Nell sliding the athame along my skin, the blood—my blood—dropping into the bowl she held. I shuddered.

  “The Harvest Moon Dance is tonight, back in King,” he murmured. “Two years ago. Can you believe it?”

  “How on earth did you know that?” I asked, amused. All of our friends had graduated in either Michael’s class or in my own, and we didn’t really know anyone still in high school.

  “Didn’t you get Amber’s email? She sent it to both of us, to say thank you again for saving her life that night.”

  “I haven’t had time to look at email today,” I replied. “That was sweet of her. I’ll give her a call this weekend.” I covered his hands, still at my neck, with my own. “That was the beginning of our friendship with Amber. The beginning of the end for Nell, I guess.”

  “Maybe.” Michael clasped my hands, drawing them up and around his own neck. “Or maybe her story still has a few chapters left.” He smiled, shaking his head. “When I remember her holding that knife to you, a few weeks after the dance...I wouldn’t have cared if she were put away forever. But then she saved you. So I guess if she ended up having a decent postscript, that would be okay with me.” He bent his head to mine, brushing the lightest kiss over my lips.

  I laid my head on his shoulder. “It makes me think I need to stop putting off going up to see her. Nell, I mean. There’s no reason I haven’t gone. I think I’m afraid of what I might see.”

  Snuggling me closer to him, fitting our bodies together, Michael tucked strands of hair behind my ear. “Do you want me to go with you one of these days?”

  “Thanks, but I think this is something I need to do on my own. Nell and I have history, and I owe her at least this much.”

  St. Bruno’s Rest Home was about two hours northwest of Perriman, so it wasn’t a trip I could take on a whim. I had to work out my class schedule, my training at Carruthers and Michael’s strong objections to me making the visit by myself.

  “I have my cell phone, a GPS and a spotless driving record. Why are on earth are you so worried?” Half amused and half annoyed, perched cross-legged on his bed, I watched Michael pace around the room. Ostensibly, he was sorting his laundry, but I’d tracked him moving the same sweatshirt back and forth for the last ten minutes.

  “It’s two hours away, Tas. I love the Mustang, but she’s over forty years old.”

  “And she’s always been lovingly and meticulously maintained by your family. She’s probably safer than any brand-new car out there.”

  He balled up the sweatshirt for the third time and threw it into the canvas bag near the door. “I just don’t see why you won’t let me go with you.”

  I sighed and dropped back onto the mattress. “Seriously, Michael? I told you. It’s not that I don’t want you to come. I just need to do this without you there to distract me.”

  He sat down next to me, dipping the bed so that I slid toward him. “I thought you liked me to distract you.”

  I reached up to touch the side of his face. “Always. But if you go, I’ll be handling your feelings and your thoughts along with my own. I need a clear head. I can’t concentrate when you’re right next to me.”

  Michael caught my fingers and kissed the tips. “I could sit out in the car.”

  I used his hand as leverage to pull myself into a sitting position again, swinging one leg over his lap as I followed the direction of his mind. “Don’t you trust me?”

  He grabbed me by the hips and pulled me closer. “Of course I do. Can’t you feel it? It’s the rest of the world I worry about.”

  I maneuvered so that I was fully on his lap, our eyes level. Michael sucked in a quick breath as our bodies met. I draped my arms over his shoulders and slated my mouth over his, passion meeting heat.

  Michael was fighting to hold onto control, but that reckless streak in me, born last spring, had been rising again lately. I tightened my arms around his neck, and when he would have pulled back, I opened my lips, sucking in a quick breath before I attacked again.

  “Tasmyn...” He dragged his mouth away just enough to trail them along my throat. His hands were under my shirt, pressing against my back, his nails sending delectable chills up and down my spine. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  I giggled, loving the feel of that power. “If you go, I’m going right along with you.” I leaned back to give him more access as he nibbled along my collarbone. “I’m testing my control. Did you notice I didn’t blow us up or even set your room on fire?”

  Michael paused for just a minute, and then he pressed his face against my neck. “I didn’t notice. I guess I was preoccupied.” He moved his hands to my shoulder blades, almost experimentally. “But Tas...” I heard the direction of his thoughts before he spoke the words. “You’re hot. Like, really hot.”

  I shifted to see his face, trying to figure what was causing the freaking out I felt in him. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

  “I mean, like fever hot. Can’t you feel it?” Taking my hand, he held it to my cheek.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean. It feels okay to me.”

  “But you’re on fire...”As his voice trailed off, I saw dawning comprehension and horror in his eyes at the same time that a possible explanation hit me.

  “You’re re-channeling that power, aren’t you? And keeping it inside...Tas, you could self-combust!”

  “No, that can’t be it.” Even as I denied it, I knew he was right. I closed my eyes and focused on slowing my pounding heart, pulling back the raging desire and cooling my blood.

  Gently, Michael lifted me off his lap and went into the bathroom. I heard the water running, and following his thoughts, I reached out my hand for the cool wash cloth without opening my eyes. Instead, he pressed it to my forehead and then to my cheeks.

  “I swear I hear it sizzling,” he muttered.

  “I didn’t do it on purpose!” I took the cloth from him and dabbed at the back of my neck. Now that I was calming down, sweat was breaking out all over my body. “I guess maybe it was sort of subconscious. I’ve been working so hard on getting a handle on everything.”

  “You need to figure out how to redirect it differently,” Michael retorted. I opened my eyes and saw that his face was paper white. “It was like holding a furnace.”

  “I’ll talk to Zoe,” I promised.

  “Please.” Michael smoothed the hair back from my damp forehead. “I can’t have you bursting into flames whenever I kiss you.
” To prove the point, he dropped a light kiss on the end of my nose before he stepped back. “Now why don’t you grab a nice cold shower before my animal attraction tempts you again?”

  He ducked just in time to avoid the wet washcloth I threw at him.

  My near-miss at spontaneous combustion derailed our discussion of my visit to Nell, but I sensed that Michael was about to give in anyway. So when Cathryn texted me on Wednesday that my session that afternoon at Harper Creek had been cancelled—something had come up in Zoe’s schedule, and Cathryn herself had appointments to keep—I took it as a sign.

  Hurrying up to my room, I changed my t-shirt for a camisole and cardigan and grabbed the keys to the Mustang. Michael and I each had a set, and I was glad that I didn’t have to wait for him to get out of class.

  But I wasn’t going to hide what I was doing, either. I texted him as I walked over to the lot near his dorm, explaining how the day had unexpectedly opened.

  I didn’t expect to hear back from him right away, but by the time I reached the car, he had replied.

  Okay. BE CAREFUL and call me on your way home. I love you.

  Relief flooded me. I hadn’t realized how much I had dreaded fighting with him over this visit, and I felt amazingly lighter just knowing he was on board.

  The trip was mostly back roads, driving through the fields and then the rolling hills as I headed west. The GPS directed me to a state highway for about fifteen minutes, and then I took an exit that led to more winding pavement. Picturesque farms ran alongside me, but the cows didn’t even look up as I sped past.

  Finally, I turned into a small driveway that led me to a fairly empty parking lot. The building in its center was only two stories high, painted that institutional tan color that made me feel slightly sick. I wondered if I associated it with the doctors and hospitals my parents had dragged me to see when I was very young as they tried to figure out why their daughter was a mental case.

  I parked the Mustang and shot Michael a message that I’d arrived safely. The drive had been very peaceful, but now that I was here, my palms were sweating, and my heart beat sped up at the thought of walking in and seeing Nell.