"James is kind of temperamental about his space. He claims the kitchen, but I am sure we can arrange something." Arjun stood up. "This will give me some time to speak with your brother. I would really like to see his views on some … issues." He nodded his head at her before departing. Such a warm soul, unlike …
"You really could learn to lighten up, like him." Ollie looked down at his bald head.
"Ollie, I like my solitude. Why don't you go finish playing with Ellis?" Granger turned to lean back in his chair, dismissing her.
Oh, hell no. "For someone who likes his solitude, you seem to be keeping a good eye on me and my brother." Ollie wasn't going to give up on any hint that he might be interested in her, especially since she had been interested in him since she was a child. And he had showed a hint of human emotion before.
"Some things can't be helped."
"Granger, you can shut it off like a faucet if you choose to. So don't give me that bullshit. Why can't you admit what you feel, or might feel, or even think?"
"Because it is like you say it is--bullshit." He wasn't about to budge on the matter.
"Fine." She was getting damn tired of his moods. "Then you can at least tell me why you haven't even tried to look at me or talk to me."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Now who's bullshitting who?" Ollie walked over to him and sat on the end of the lounge chair, straddling his legs. And he didn't seem the least bit surprised. "Caesar, you've been avoiding me, keeping your distance the way you used to, ever since you left from your talk with Mama. You make me feel like some kind of leper." And as soon as the words passed her lips, it dawned on her. Mama had told him who she was. What she was. Ollie couldn't believe it. Why would Mama …?
The pain in her back and side began to grow at an alarming rate. Rising from the chair, she made her way to the stairs. She couldn't be near him, couldn't face him. Not anymore. But before she got to the stairs, Granger's arms wrapped around her.
"Get the--" She tried to squirm free, but he turned her around quickly and pulled her into his arms. Embracing her, his hands slid up the back of her shirt and immediately began to alleviate the pain threatening to cripple her. Even though he eased the pain, she couldn't stand to look at him. She didn't want to see the look of distrust, fear, hate, or condemnation. She'd had enough of it.
But it was his next action that caught her completely off guard. His head touched the side of her face. His forehead pressed against the side of her forehead, and he inhaled. He was breathing her in, sending chills and heat all over her skin. She grabbed his upper arms to brace herself, feeling that any moment she would melt. Her heart skipped beats as she tried to believe she was making things up in her head. But she wasn't one to lie to herself, and she wasn't about to now. Especially since his nose was so close to her skin. And his lips …
Ollie moved ever so slightly to meet his face. With eyes closed, his face looked at ease so close to her. At ease? Not disgust? He opened his eyes and gave her a look of complete apology. Complete remorse. His lips began to brush lightly against hers as she just stared into his silver eyes. So captivating. Beautiful. Was this really happening. Oh yeah.
"Hey, Ollie."
Damn it. Ellis's voice made Ollie jump, and Granger let her go. She turned toward the stairs just as he appeared.
"I was wondering what you wanted to eat, since James is finally allowing me into the kitchen." He grinned, holding up an onion. His eyes shifted from her to Granger, then back again.
Damn it.
His grin slowly dimmed. "What's going on?"
Your horrible timing. "We were talking. And you know I don't care what you fix," she said, heading for the stairs.
"Are you telling me that those guilty looks on your faces were nothing?" Heading down the stairs, Ellis refused to let it go. She could have screamed.
"Guilt? Man, you must be seeing things."
Ellis ran in front of her and stopped her. "Did you forget that I'm your twin? I've known you since the womb, woman, so I know your looks better than anybody."
"Give me a frickin' break. You're overreacting." Ollie waved her hand, walking around him. He didn't push farther, which was good, because she didn't want a mess between Ellis and Granger. Though Ellis's change of subject came quickly, easing her worry, her heart was still pounding in her chest from Granger's warm hands on her skin. Oh, was she in trouble.
()()()
New York, New York
The seer of Heart ran down the steps, toward the subway. He was being followed. His power allowed him to see that much, but who was following him? The faces were just shadows. Whoever it was had a malevolent ability, allowing them to remain concealed while casting shadows of themselves. Which spelled big trouble. Moon trouble.
He tried to call Granger, but he dropped his phone and was too terrified to turn around to go back after it. He shouldn't have delved into Moon business. But he'd had no idea they would find out. His only hope now was the subway.
As he ran, he remembered the information he had discovered. The Structure was going to be destroyed. How? With a power that had not been around for ten thousand years, one that was far more destructive than any ability that existed. And it was equal in magnitude to that of the Oracle's own abilities. If what he saw was right, Moon had a hand in creating this power. That was the reason they were killing seers and anyone else who might find out: to keep it a secret.
He had to warn Granger. He had to reach the train.
But he arrived too late. The subway train was already taking off. What now? Should he stay in the crowd of people that were leaving the station, in the hope that his pursuers would not try anything with so many witnesses? Or run as fast and as far as he could and try to lose them?
"It's futile, seer." The whisper touched his ear. A shadow brushed past him as he turned to look for the source. But all he saw were people passing by, ignoring him. Didn't they see the shadows? They were so visible and tangible. Taunting him. Toying with him. With him only.
"Who are you?" he whispered.
"You know too much, far too much," the shadow whispered, singeing as it passed over his skin. The pain was steady and sharp, as if his skin were being peeled slowly.
He screamed in agony, and everyone around him turned to look at him. Some came to his aid, but there was nothing they could do. They could not even see it. He was going to die.
"Stop, please!" he screamed.
"Please stop!" it mocked. "Granger can't save you. What will you do now, seer of Heart?" The voice became grave as the shadows surrounded him.
()()()
14
Heart of Gold, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean
Dinner was unusual for Ollie, sitting with Granger and his "family." Arjun and most of the ship's crew were like a family to Granger, the way they talked and laughed. None of them was blood-related, but they acted like a family. Ollie had thought Granger had forgotten about his father after his mother's death, but in truth, he had … replaced the man. Arjun seemed to fill that role now.
As they ate, Ollie couldn't help but notice that Granger's eyes kept drifting over to her. It was killing her not to say anything, but it wasn't a good time. She needed to figure it all out--if she could think straight. He was walking around in her head, along with her family and her job. Everything was getting in the way of her thinking straight. She really needed to kill something.
"Now, that is an interesting point of view, Ellis. Ollie, what do you think?" Arjun turned to her.
"Sorry, I don't. That's Ellis's job. He's the brains and brawn. I'm the pain in the ass." She grinned.
Arjun just laughed. "Clearly you sell yourself short. I can tell by your eyes that you are very intelligent."
Ollie burst into laughter. My eyes? He hadn't a clue.
"Ollie," Ellis said, reaching for her. But he wasn't going to use his power on her that easily. She moved away, out of his reach.
"No, Ellis. I want to know what else he c
an tell by looking at me."
Everyone at the table grew still and quiet. But Ollie couldn't contain herself. None of them knew her--not even her twin. She laughed as she picked up her plate and took it to the kitchen. She laughed until her sides began to sting and throb while she hovered over the sink. She laughed until tears streamed down her face. "My eyes!" She tried to catch her breath, but he was too much. The girl with the big brown eyes. Ooh, this is too good.
"Ollie." Ellis's hand came down on her shoulder.
"Did you hear him?" She wiped the tears from her eyes as she got under control, feeling the calming of his power. "He said that he could tell by my eyes that I'm intelligent. Tell me, Ellis--can you tell by my eyes?" Grinning, she dropped her guard, releasing her power, and looked up at him.
He grimaced.
"No, I didn't think so."
Granger came into the kitchen. "Ollie, is everything okay?"
"Great." She didn't turn to look at him, and Ellis took a deep breath. "Not even you can stand to look at me," she whispered, turning away from him.
"That's not true." Ellis breathed as if the wind had been knocked out of him.
"Isn't it?" She turned back to look him in the eye, and he turned his head. "Then what is true?"
"I love you, Ollie."
"I know. And I, you. But tell me that you can stand to look at me--and mean it."
He dropped his shoulders and turned to her. Though he looked her in her face, he couldn't say the words. He feared her. Her own twin. And he couldn't say the words.
"That's okay, Ellis," she said, walking away from him, toward Granger. "If you or Caesar need me, I'll be in my room," she said, passing Granger and letting the energy pass over her again.
Granger followed her out of the kitchen. "What's going on?" he asked.
"You mean you don't know?"
Halfway down the stairs to the guest rooms, he grabbed her arm. "Can't you just answer my question?"
Ollie jerked her arm away from him and kept going. "I could, but that would be a giveaway, and I don't do freebies." She continued walking.
"So you're just going to walk away? And not face it?"
His words knocked her in the back of the head. She turned to face him.
"Face what?" she hissed. "I do what I can to protect my family. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't give a damn. I know who I am, I know what I am, and damn if it doesn't make me sick to know that others can't accept it. Face it? I face it every damn day. Every time I look in the mirror. Every time my family worries that someone will find out. I am not the one walking away." She got up in his face. "I face every one of my demons." She spoke very low and threateningly, not caring he was a soul possessor. Not caring how powerful he might be or what he might see. "Do you?"
His eyes softened. "I'm not that strong."
His words slapped her in the face. Not that …? She blinked, looking at him, stunned.
"I don't have your strength. I don't know many who do. How you can function with so many burdens is beyond me. I'm afraid to accept you, befriend you … because I'm afraid to admit that I'm a selfish bastard that fell in love with his best friend's girl." He'd knocked the wind from her lungs, and she stood there, stupefied. "Afraid to confront the darkness of disloyalty that is inside of me. The same damn loyalty that I pride myself on." His deep voice vibrated through her. "I will not betray him because of my fears and my weakness." He turned to leave.
Before her brain stopped her body, her hands pressed his shoulders into the wall and her lips came up on him hard. He wasn't leaving. Even in his weakness he was strong, and she wanted more. Knowing he had stayed away because he wanted her made her see him--truly see what he hid. The fever in her kiss slowly began to shift as his body's shock melted away. His mouth opened, taking her breath away again. And she loved it. Her lips tasted his lips, her tongue tasted his tongue, and she felt his hands on her back, bringing her closer. The pain shot through her body, mixing with the pleasure, intensifying her kiss. The feel of him was warm, muscular, inviting. Was it possible for such warmth to come from someone so … disciplined? Damn, he tastes good.
She brought her hands up his shoulders and to his neck, until she was cupping his face. She took in his breath as their eyes met. The look on his face was mesmerizing, like he was seeing her for the first time. That was when it hit.
Breaking away and backing up from him, she closed her eyes. What was she thinking? How could she let it go far enough to drop her guard?
"Don't hide." His husky voice came closer. "You wouldn't let me run from you, so don't hide from me." His hand touched her chin. "Open them. Let me see your eyes." When she finally looked at him, she saw his smile. "Do you hate them?" he asked, studying them.
"They scare people, and unless that's what I'm going for, I don't want anyone afraid of me," she sighed. "I don't hate them, but I've never been a fan of them, for that reason." Her family preferred that she hid them. And to keep them from fearing her, she did. Bones and Mama were the only ones who liked them.
"One green and one …" He just looked at it as if it was the most wonderful thing. "Now I see why you like my eyes. Amazing."
()()()
The color was lava. Moving, swirling lava was the only way to describe it. The whole eye was engulfed in lava--no pupil or iris or white, just contained lava. It seemed almost alive. Fire Eye. Combined with the yellow-green iris of her left eye, it made her seem beautifully wicked. Devilish.
The only thing that had changed was her eyes when the illusion was dropped. And possibly the Moon seal that she kept concealed under clothing.
"It's so incredible."
She smiled an outrageous smile. With her guard down, she was even more beautiful. And though the darkness inside of her remained, she was remarkable on the outside. Different, but remarkably so.
"Funny, you are only the third to think so. Even my twin and Moon fear it. With these eyes, I see the same as anyone else. Well, maybe farther, clearer, sharper. I know I pick up on the smallest details. But they scare people." She sighed. She had hidden them for most of her life. Her powers allowed it, and now it was starting to make sense.
Without any reservations, he lifted her shirt. Just as he'd thought, the bruising on the side of her abdomen was slightly darkening the skin in a pattern unlike anything he had seen. The bruising was her seal spreading.
Looking up at her face, he saw in her no emotion. She was waiting for him to react. But how was he supposed to react to this? Finding out that she was Moon was one thing he could handle, given his ties to the House, but …
"Your seal started …" He dropped down on his knees and took her foot as she leaned forward, steadying her hands on his shoulders. He slipped off her sock and saw a well-defined seal decorating the light-brown skin of her left foot. It was a pattern woven of tight-knit symbols that left small spaces of bare skin shaped like crescent moons. The pattern coiled, twisted, and turned toward the paling skin at the bottoms of her feet, where it continued. He traced the black markings up her foot, feeling her shiver at his touch. His hand went up her ankle and pushed up her pants leg to her knee. What the hell.
He shifted to the other foot and pulled off that sock too; he pushed up the pant leg. If he didn't stop himself, he would strip her bare to see how far the seal stretched over her body.
"They don't know, do they?" His voice came out shaky, shocking him. Her family couldn't have known. Not something like this.
She laughed. "They would lock me in if they found out."
All he could do was stare at her feet. The bare portions of skin on her feet were so much lighter than the rest of her, because she kept them covered. And with good reason. She would have to use even more of her ability to keep them concealed. He closed his eyes, cursing.
Olivia Mason was Level Three House Moon, bordering Level Four. The constant use of her power was causing the extreme pain when her seal spread. But she wasn't seeking enlightenment. Was she?
"You're seeking enlightenme
nt?" He looked up at her.
"Nope, it just grows. Never understood it. Just accepted it."
Never sought enlightenment, and still … "What took me thirty years to accomplish took you twenty-eight, and you're telling me you never sought enlightenment?"
"Nope."
He shook his head, not believing it. Her condition had some link to her power and seal. And it was definitely connected to her childhood trauma. But this did not make sense. The spread of the seal was impossible without enlightenment. There were safeguards in the seal that prevented such things. "Is it a Moon thing?"
"Nope, it ain't." She had answered his question, though the answer did not satisfy him. The House prodigy had attained the third level of enlightenment at age thirty and reached Level Four at age thirty-two. Everyone believed he would be of Pillar status by fifty.
She was a Level Three at the age of twenty-eight. She had, in a way, surpassed him, with no enlightenment. How? If she hadn't been House Moon, she would've been known as a prodigy. Her family hid her with good reason. And if anyone found out she was Moon and Level Three, Ollie would be marked for death. That was what Ollie feared her family would find out. Dread gutted him. "Am I the only one who knows?"
"I think Mama knows, but she won't say. Geo speculates. There is one I know for sure who knows."
What was he supposed to do now? He had known stuff that held weight, but next to the Oracle situation, this could turn the Structure on its back.
"George?" Because George was Moon and might know what to do if she asked him about it.
She just smiled. "He's my cousin. He knows things you don't, and you know things he doesn't," she answered cryptically. "And still there are things you both know and things you both don't know."
"Fine." She was such a pain at times. His mind traveled, plucking the information from her. "So he does."
Children of Sun (Oracle's Legacy) Page 21
