“Daddy,” Amara began again. “Is it possible to hear the thoughts of others if they don’t intend for you to hear them?”
Vincent frowned. “Yes, it's possible for a true telepath. There were a few children of devas, usually females, who had perfected that skill. They liked to use it to control their husbands since they could tell his every desire and every wish.”
“That sounds handy, Vince,” said Rose playfully.
“They also were expert tacticians, completely invaluable in battle.” Vincent had returned to his newspaper. “It was a very rare trait though, and usually only the strongest warriors could use their minds that way.”
“Is it one of those special hereditary things?” asked Pax. Realizing that her coffee had grown cold, she waved her hand over the mug, causing it to instantly boil. “Can anyone with power learn the technique?”
"I believe it’s a rare trait in certain families, but I haven’t seen enough of it to judge. Why all the questions? Have you discovered this skill, Pax?” Vincent’s voice sounded mildly interested, which was a great feat.
Pax chewed on her lip. I think it’s probably yours, Amara. Maybe you need to have access to my power in order for it to work.
Amara nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, Daddy. I think I have something of the sort developing.”
“Impossible,” Vincent responded instantly. The newspaper disappeared from his hands as he leaned forward. “You would need to be at least ten times stronger than you are to use something like that, Mara. It would take a lot of energy to manage.”
“It’s just the beginning stages,” Amara said, smiling. Wow, so Para is at least ten times stronger than I am! Well, that’s not surprising—I’m not very strong, and you are. But at least I have something to offer to our union, right? This mind-reading thing could really help things along.
I agree. But we’re going to hear things we don’t want to hear. Like last night, but worse.
The advantages outweigh the costs! I want to get stronger.
“Paxie,” said Rose with worry. “I trust you, darling, but I need to ask. Are you sure it’s safe for Mara to be practicing these dangerous arts? I know you’ve had issues in the past, and I know that your family…”
“I may have issues with control, but Mara is very responsible with her powers,” Pax answered. “She isn’t greedy and indulgent like I am sometimes.”
“It’s my choice, mom,” Amara added. “I want to do this to learn more about where I come from.”
Rose reached out to touch her daughter’s hand. “You come from Kalgren Tech, darling. A long line of inventers and tinkerers who struck it big. We’re the people who move the world forward. Forget the ancient powers that your dad goes on and on about.”
“But mom…”
“Other than a few neat tricks in the bedroom, what good is it being a god anymore? The bloodlines are diluted and the powers become weaker and weaker with time. The modern world is about technology. It’s about the race to find the ultimate source of green, renewable energy for everyone to use! Who cares if you have excessive amounts of energy inside of you? You’re just one person. Who cares if you can make fireworks with your hands, lightning with your eyes, or tornados with your ass…”
“You infuriating woman!” Vincent said angrily. “How dare you insult my heritage like this? My power has always protected my family from harm.”
“And my power uses sunlight to keep the television on at night so you can watch your sports channels, Vince! My power keeps the fridge running so you can grab a cold one during the commercials!”
Vincent clamped his lips together tightly. For someone possessing untold supernatural abilities, he did excessively enjoy the sports channels. “Fine. But I, for one, think it’s prudent that our daughter should pursue this new path. I am pleased that Mara has finally shown an interest in learning to protect herself—she has already proven that she can tinker with gadgets enough to satisfy you, Rose.”
“She’s safer that way,” Rose said firmly. “When she’s in her lab playing with her toys, she’s safe!”
“No, mom,” Amara said gently, although she would have completely agreed just a few weeks ago. “Life is never safe. As long as I’m living there will be always be multitudes of danger—and they will inevitably attack just when I feel the most secure.”
“This is true,” said Vincent sternly. He turned to the dark-haired woman, fixing her with a harsh glare. “Pax Burnson, can I trust you to be extremely careful with Amara? You grew up practicing. Hell, I recall your parents demonstrating that you could fly before you could walk. I recognize that you have never been patient, but you will need to be patient with my daughter.”
“I will, sir,” Pax vowed.
“You need to recognize that it will take Amara longer to pick up even the most basic of techniques since she is beginning so late in her life…"
“Twenty-eight isn’t old…” Amara began to protest.
“There is another option,” said Vincent Kalgren. The massive blonde man drummed his fingers heavily on the table. “We do have a… rite of passage of sorts which the girls could endure.”
“No!” Rose insisted. “Vince! Not my little girl. It’s bad enough that you forced Thorn and Ash to go to that place…”
“Our daughter has goddess in her blood. All this potential, yet she lives like a helpless human. If she wants to grow stronger (and thank the gods she finally does) there is no better option to test and condition her skill than the Pseudosphere.”
“She could be seriously injured or killed,” Rose said softly. The older woman tightly gripped a serving spoon.
“Relax, mom. I hadn’t even considered going that far.” Amara shuddered and wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know if I can handle… that place.”
“I can,” said Pax, beginning to tap her toes on the ground rapidly in excitement. “I can! I have wanted to go to the vector zone forever.”
“Well, you definitely should, Pax,” Vincent said, nodding. “You have been far too volatile lately. You need to work on your self-control.”
“I will, sir.”
“I can’t believe you would endanger the girls this way, Vincent!” Rose was scratching erratic patterns into the tablecloth with her fingernails. “Goodness me, I never thought I’d hear the name of that place again. The Pseudosphere—it makes me shudder.”
“You would shudder more if you had actually ever been there,” Vincent informed her.
“Well, if the girls must go, I will gather plenty of electronic literature for them to read in case they get bored.” Rose tried to make this offer casually as she kneaded the tablecloth.
Vincent rolled his eyes. “They’re not going to be bored enough to read while they’re trying to survive having their bodies being brutalized by the harshest of elements.”
Amara hesitated, pushing Parisian potatoes around in circles on her plate. “Mom, I wouldn’t worry too much. I wish I could make the trip, but… don’t you need to die to enter that realm? I don’t think death agrees with my complexion.”
“Life and death are one,” Vincent said, echoing the words Pax had spoken when they first joined their bodies together. “There’s nothing to it—I’ve been dead plenty of times.”
Amara made a hesitant face. “Yeah, I’ll have to give it some thought…”
Pax’s head turned sharply to the south and she frowned. “Vince—is there something coming this way?”
“Yes,” Vincent answered. “It’s my son.”
Pax stood up abruptly. “Why is he coming here? I have to go.”
“He does live here, Pax. Maybe he forgot something,” Rose said with a shrug.
“You said he’d be in meetings all day!” Pax looked around frantically for an exit. I think this was a set-up, Amara. He knew you and I were waiting for a day he wouldn’t be home to visit. Pax weighed her options. Her car was parked in the garage beneath the building, and if she exited that way there might be confrontation. Hiding elsewhere in the bu
ilding would be pathetic, even though the Kalgren Compound was a very large building.
“Mom, he didn’t call to say he was coming back?” asked Amara anxiously. She dotted her lips with a napkin, preparing to bolt if necessary. Damn it, Pax, what are we going to do? He can’t see either of us, especially not both of us together. He might figure it out. I don't want to deal with this now.
“No,” Rose responded. “When he left this morning he said he wouldn't be home until dinner, maybe later.”
“I should leave,” said Pax, knocking over her chair as she clumsily moved from the table.
“Why?” asked Vincent, raising an eyebrow. “Are you afraid of him?”
“I'm afraid of what I might do to him. Or are you going to step in and fight for him like you did last time? Because your mighty son can’t defend himself from a weak little quasi-deva female?” These were the words Vincent had often used to taunt Pax when they were training together.
“Pax, please,” begged Rose. “No talking of killing my son at the breakfast table.”
“She’s right! I thought you knew this family better than that.” Vincent’s voice was a low growl. “Save it for lunch and dinner.”
“Aw, Daddy. I love you,” said Amara with a giggle while Rose glared at her husband.
“Speaking of which,” Pax said quickly, “I miss my own father! I'm going to go and visit him immediately.” She was already moving to the windows.
“In India?” Amara yelled. “Are you mad?”
“It’s only the Pacific Ocean,” Pax said with a gulp as she levitated off the ground. “Thanks for having me over for breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Kalgren. I’ll see you again soon.”
“See if you can bring back some vials of water,” Vincent said. “My supplies have been running low since my son started getting himself repeatedly mortally wounded.”
“Will do.”
With that, Pax disappeared. A burst of windy energy was left in her wake, rattling the window as it slammed shut. Amara wiped her hands with a napkin and stood up to make a formal announcement. “I have a stomach ache, headache, menstrual cramps, or something of the sort. I’ll be in my old room and I don’t want to be disturbed by any of your other children.”
She turned to leave, but Vincent stopped her. “Wait, Mara. You don’t have to leave yet. He’s not coming here."
“What? But I thought you and Pax said…”
“It seems he’s parked his car in the front lawn, but he completely bypassed the house and is now flying in that direction.” Vincent jabbed his thumb west. “Towards India.”
“Oh shit… he’s going after Pax!”
“Language, sweetie,” cautioned Rose.
“I’m not interfering in their business again. If they want to fight until they kill each other, it’s none of my concern,” said Vincent. He materialized a new newspaper in order to better act like he cared far less than he actually did.
“What’s going on between those two anyway?” asked Rose. “I miss Pax around the office—she always used to help out around quarter-end and bring us loads of Chinese food. The last I heard, things were fine between Thorn and Pax.”
“It’s a long story,” Amara said. “I didn’t find out until recently either.”
“Well, at least you and Ash aren’t being immature,” Rose said with a smile. “It makes me so happy to know I can count on one of my children to do things the right way. You had better tell me the moment he proposes, because we are going to plan the wedding of the century!”
Amara stared at her parents, feeling the immense love that only a youngest child could feel after being away from home for a while. She wanted to tell them everything. They still didn’t know about her breakup, although she was sure her dad had some sort of idea. Vincent always seemed to know everything about everyone—it was like he had a map in his head that always tracked his daughter’s whereabouts. Godly powers were not just useful in the bedroom; they were indispensible when one needed to spy on their children. Surely he had noticed that Asher’s life force was no longer in her house at night. How could she tell her parents that she’d lost the love of her life? How could she tell them that they were right; she’d been hurt by the man they had warned her about?
“Oh, mom… everything’s gone horribly wrong.” This was all she could muster before turning and running up the stairs to her old room. When she entered, she was relieved to see that every inch of the décor was exactly as it always had been. She threw herself down on the bed and closed her eyes at the familiar feel of this mattress and these sheets. Somehow, being in her childhood bed made her feel much more protected and secure.
Chapter 10: Pride is Paramount
Pax was already too far out over the ocean to be able to see a landmark on any horizon. This had quickly wiped all trace of a smile from her face, and she was wondering to herself why she had made the rash decision to fly to India. Her altitude wavered with indecision as she considered turning back. While she was rather energized from the large breakfast with the Kalgrens, especially her favorite feta-filled omelet, she wasn’t sure whether she was motivated enough to cross such a vast expanse of sea. If she grew hungry by lunchtime and needed to stop for another meal, there weren’t even any fast-food joints in the middle of the ocean.
The wind ruffled her blouse, causing it to billow up as Pax paused in her flight to turn around. Yes, she had been hasty. There was no need to fly to India, as much as she wanted to see her father. It had been the first place which had come to her mind as she thought of escaping Thornton, but sometimes a person’s second thought was wiser than the first. She was already heading back to California when she felt the sensation that there was something powerful flying towards her.
The omelet in her stomach did a somersault. It was the same life force she had felt approaching the house, and she did not have to ask anyone for confirmation. She hadn’t needed confirmation to begin with, really. When it came to Thornton, she just knew. He was following her. Turning back around, Pax felt doubly invigorated for her flight to India. Even if her ex was pursuing her, he would surely give up when he saw how long her trip was going to be. He probably thought that she was out for a morning jaunt around the shore, but how wrong he was. She was heading directly to India, and there was no way he would follow her across the ocean. He didn’t care enough to exert that much energy over her anymore. She gave him ten minutes tops before he grew bored.
Pax concentrated to increase her speed as much as possible, letting out a yell to channel more energy into her flight. If only she could get her teleportation to work, she could be with her father in the Himalayas instantaneously. But she had not perfected the technique, and she didn’t want to risk landing somewhere halfway between her current position and her destination. It would mess up her sense of direction and she might become lost. It was better just to fly west for a few hours. Once she reached Sakra’s Point, she would be safe. Getting home was a different story—maybe she could take a plane, or wait until her energy had replenished.
An hour passed, and Pax could still feel the familiar life force in pursuit behind her. Will he really chase me around the globe? How many times? Pax couldn't help but smile at his persistence as she made her body more rigid and streamlined in order to speed up, slicing her body through the air like a hot knife through butter. She could feel Thornton slipping away behind her. Yes, I'm losing him. He's a good distance behind me. He may have been doing this his whole life, but so have I.
When another hour passed, and Pax began to grow tired, she began to feel worried. Her exhaustion was not of the body since flying did not require the movement of any limbs, but of the mind. The prolonged and controlled levitation of flight tired the mind in the sense of concentrating on something extremely hard, and just needing to lie down to rest one’s eyes for a few minutes. Of course, the wind whipping into her eyes did not facilitate keeping them open. An involuntary thought clawed its way into her mind. If I grow too tired and fall, at least he’s nearby to catch
me. He’s stronger than I am, and he could carry… Pax immediately swore at herself. She would not allow herself to depend on him! She would not ask anything of him ever again; she would never accept anything. She would happily plunge down into the ocean and drown if her energy gave out rather than clutch his treacherous hand. I know that it’s wrong to be so prideful, but Vincent always said that pride is paramount. Of course, this was dramatic. She had flown larger distances than this in the past, but usually not at this breakneck speed. A frown settled on her face as she felt him gaining on her.
Her anger at the thought of needing Thornton and fear at the concept of confronting him gave her a double burst of pep and an idea. It was only the ocean which was making her uncomfortable, and if she could return to flying above land she would feel stronger. She could always visit her father another day when she wasn’t being pursued. Maybe with an airplane. Turning her flight path suddenly southward, Pax changed her direction in an attempt to confuse her unwelcome travel companion. He probably knew she was headed to India, and thought to intercept her—but if she changed her destination, then perhaps he would give up the chase.
Curving her flight path, Pax headed southeast back to the Americas. Hopefully, it would take Thornton a while to realize she was not on the normal path, and a while longer to locate her. Flying at her current speed, which was several times greater than before, she reached the mainland in about an hour. That was when she realized that her pursuer was still behind her. Her change in direction hadn’t dissuaded him, but she felt more at ease now that she was above the continent. She could fly down at any point and lose herself in a city.
Pax enjoyed the wind tossing around her black hair wildly. For the first time, she was grateful that she had sliced off all of her hair; it certainly made visibility easier. She wanted so much to enjoy the scenery below as she flew, but needed to concentrate on evading her hunter. This is actually kind of thrilling, she thought to herself. I like the fact that he can't catch up with me, but the longer the chase goes on… the more I start to wish he would catch me. Stupid Pax! That will only cause a huge fight, verbally and probably physically since lately you have zero control. It will just be a lot of unnecessary pain for both of you. However, fighting can be a nice way to let off steam. I always grow so much stronger and discover more of my power after a really heated emotional spat.
Thirty Minutes to Heartbreak Box Set (Books 1-3) Page 9
