“Yes,” Jocelyn admitted, “but I’m sure that someone will at least be able to set us on the right trail.” He tapered off, looking down at his sash as he slowly coiled it around his hand like you would a silk tie before putting it in a box. “And if all else fails,” he continued after a moment, talking almost to himself, “there may be other ways.”
I wanted to ask what he meant, but he didn’t look like he was prepared to expand, so I decided not to. Though it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, because before I could think of something to say, there was a knock on the door.
“It’s me,” Cormac called as Alex reached for the door.
“Cormac,” Jocelyn sighed as the door clicked shut, “tell me you have news.”
“I do indeed.” He stepped over toward the fireplace wringing his hands with a combination of excitement and nervous tension in his eyes. As Alex, Jocelyn, and I moved closer to him he started his report. “The first few people I spoke with knew little to nothing about Mr Shea, but my friend Aideen McRoy…” He turned to Jocelyn, “You remember Aideen and Devon, don’t you?” Jocelyn nodded. “Aideen was an acquaintance of Ciaran’s and was able to tell me quite a bit about him. First, Ciaran did pass of a heart attack three years ago, which was apparently quite a long time coming. He had no family and very few friends and lived alone right up until the end.”
“That all may be interesting,” I observed “but it’s not incredibly helpful.”
“No,” Cormac grinned at me, “It’s isn’t… but this bit is. He was a Seer.”
“A Seer?” Alex whispered, while Jocelyn took a seat in the nearest chair with a long breath, rubbing his face with his hand. Clearly I had missed something…
“Sorry,” I spoke up, as everyone reeled from this apparently major development, “he was a what, now?”
“A Seer, dear,” Cormac explained. “That was his ability. Seers are prophets, and incredibly rare at that. They can predict coming events, some with pinpoint accuracy. It was a Seer who predicted Jocelyn’s birth and abilities, as well as your own.”
“So they can see the future?” I asked.
“No, not quite. They do not see the future as, say, a Time Walker can, they can only prophesize. They see how certain events will unfold, but with no specific detail. Take Jocelyn for instance: it was prophesized that a Holder would be born with immense power to parents who had no Holder blood in either of their lines. Specific in what would occur, but the Seer who made these predictions had no way of knowing when it would happen, or where, or to what family, or even what ability this Holder would have.” He turned to Jocelyn and continued. “I can’t say what Shea’s tie to Taron was, but Darragh would be more than interested in a Seer, and anything that Seers might have had to say.”
“So it’s the prophecies that Darragh is after?” Alex asked.
“We cannot be sure that Darragh is after anything,” Jocelyn said, resting his chin on his fingers. “All we know for certain is that Taron was interested in Shea. At this point anything beyond that is speculation.”
“There is one more thing,” Cormac added, looking hesitantly at Jocelyn. “Aideen wasn’t sure where to find him, but she was confident she could find out. In case we wanted to,” he paused, and apologetically arched his brow, “pay our respects.”
After a long pause, Jocelyn sighed heavily and rubbed his face with both hands. “After three years, I don’t know that it will be any use.”
“Maybe not,” Cormac nodded, “but if we don’t get any other leads, it might at least be worth a try. But only if you are up for it, of course.”
What the hell were they talking about? I wanted to ask, but somehow it didn’t feel like I should. I looked over at Alex to see if he was as lost as I was, but he was listening intently.
“I know,” Jocelyn sighed again after another long pause. “And you can find out where he is?”
Cormac nodded.
“All right then,” Jocelyn said, looking far more tired than he had a few minutes ago. Then, looking at the time, frowned slightly. “Much as I hate to risk waking Min at this hour, I need to get in touch with her and see if she can get Anderson and Reid together for a call tomorrow. We are going to need their help if we are to continue, and they should all be made aware of tonight’s developments. If I speak with her tonight, she might be able to set something up before any of them leave for their classes tomorrow. I will let you know what I hear. Until then, there is nothing more we can do tonight but get some rest.”
Everyone agreed and stood to leave, though for my part, I was way too wired to even think about sleeping. Jocelyn showed us to the door, where we went our separate ways, each headed in the direction of our respective rooms. I was immediately irked that I hadn’t been able to say a proper goodnight to Alex, though as it turned out, I didn’t need to be. As soon as I rounded the corner into the main hallway, I felt a warm pull in my chest followed by the brush of a finger against my arm.
“Mind if I join you?” appeared in the air in front of me. I turned to see Alex step up alongside me wearing a sneaky grin like a little boy who’d just stolen a cookie.
“Of course not,” I laughed, surprised. “How the hell did Jocelyn let you follow me?”
“He didn’t see me,” appeared quickly, as Alex suddenly glanced around nervously at the other people in the hall with us, “and stop talking to me.” When I shot him a “you did not just tell me to shut up” glare, he quickly added, “Just until we get to your room.”
“Why?”
He leaned in toward my ear, just barely whispering, “Because you’re the only one who can see me.”
Ah.
I don’t know if it was the thrill of the secrecy, or just the fact that something was finally going right after a night of letdowns and irritants, but I was suddenly as giddy as a kid in a toy store. The idea that Alex was actually coming up to my room at this hour sent a wave of prickles down my back and a rush of anxious heat to my chest. Did this mean what I thought it meant? Was this it? Were we…
…going to…
“Why my dear, I do believe you are blushing.”
Damn it. “No I’m not,” I lied. And did he have to grin like that?
“Shhh…”
“What?” I breathed through my teeth. “You’re allowed to talk to me but I can’t talk back?”
“That’s generally the way this works, yes.”
“Fine,” I sighed, really resenting how cute he always managed to be when he was teasing me. “Then at least tell me something I want to know: what were Cormac and Jocelyn talking about?”
“You mean right before we left?”
I nodded.
“They were talking about going to where Ciaran is buried.”
“Yeah, I got that part, but why?”
“Probably so that Jocelyn can read him.”
CHAPTER 10
“Read him?” The dead man? Ew. Ew, ew, ew.
“Yes. Or at least try.” He must have seen my eyes threaten to pop out of my head. “Sorry, should have warned you.”
Luckily, a moment later we arrived at my room and were able to slip inside before I blew Alex’s cover with my barrage of questions. “H-how,” I stammered as I closed and locked the door behind us, “how is that even possible?”
“I don’t know much about it, but from what I understand it has to do with how…” he paused, making a face, “much of the person is left.”
“Oh God… we don’t have to dig him up, do we?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Alex assured me, walking to the armchair and leaning against the back of it with his forearms. “He just needs to be nearby. The closer the better, but not that close.”
I shuffled over to the ottoman next to the chair Alex was on and slumped down in a somewhat disturbed haze. Sure, now that Alex brought it up, I vaguely remembered someone mentioning something once about how Jocelyn could read dead people, but at the time, it had only been an idea. A disturbing one to be sure, but also kind of abstract and far away – l
ike someone telling you they’d been at a party where they’d had to eat monkey’s brains; it freaks you out, but from a safe distance. This on the other hand was a different story. Now reading the mind of a dead guy was not only an idea, but it was one that was quite possibly going to be demonstrated for me in the next few days, and honestly, it was creeping me out. Like the difference between the guy telling you he’d eaten monkey’s brains, and having him serve them to you. Same idea, but very different when it’s up close and personal…
“Now it’s my turn,” Alex said, coming around the chair and sitting next to me on the arm. “What were you and Jocelyn arguing about tonight?”
I wasn’t sure he could tell I needed to change the subject, or if he was truly curious, but if he had been trying to distract me, he couldn’t have chosen a better way. “You mean before my dance with Brian?”
“I think you mean Bastian.”
“No,” I huffed, “I don’t. That’s what Jocelyn and I were talking about, I know him. Bastian, I mean. I know him. He went to my high school for a year and his name was Brian.” I stood and started pacing, all my frustration resurfacing. “He was in every class that I had – which was weird in and of itself, mind you, as I was on a completely customized schedule because of my advanced placement – and yet Jocelyn is convinced I’m crazy.”
“He doesn’t believe you?”
“Oh he ‘believes me,’” – I wagged my fingers in sarcastic air quotes – “he just thinks I’m ‘remembering wrong’. He barely even heard me out.” I fumed, pacing faster. “How can he not see how serious this is? Not only are these people lying frauds, but they were spying on us! I mean, how did they even find out where we were? And why were they looking to begin with? They are up to something, I know they are.”
“And you’re sure it was him?”
“Positive.”
“So that’s why you asked him to dance? What did he say?”
I stopped pacing with a sigh, plopping back onto the chair. “Nothing. I kept trying to catch him in a lie, but he gave me nothing to work with. I even confronted him about it, and still nothing.” The rat bastard…
“And…” he paused, looking up at me cautiously. “What if it’s not him?”
“It is him, I know it is! And just because he didn’t give me anything solid enough for me to call him out on doesn’t mean he’s innocent,” I insisted, then began counting off on my fingers as I continued. “He looks exactly like the boy I knew, his middle name is Connor which was Brian’s last name, and his eye twitched when I asked him to dance.”
“His eye twitched?”
“Yeah, like… you know, he was… nervous… or something…” I tapered off with a huff. Why, when I was so sure I was right, did all my undeniable proof suddenly sound so weak even to my own ears?
Alex hesitated a second or two before he took a breath to answer, and I knew him well enough to know it meant he was about to tell me something I wasn’t going to like. “Are you sure it’s not just a coincidence?”
I was on the defense before my mind even had a chance to admit to itself that it was a reasonable question. “You don’t believe me either!” I accused, standing and rounding on him. “You think I’m crazy too!” I knew I was being overly sensitive, but at that moment I couldn’t help it.
He stood and stepped toward me, placing his hands gently on my shoulders. “I do believe you,” he said earnestly, “or at least I believe that you believe it. But that doesn’t mean you might not be misremembering. Hey,” he guided my chin back toward him with his finger when I tried to turn away, “you look at me when I’m talking to you, young lady.”
I rolled my eyes at his mock-parental tone but smiled in spite of myself, just like he knew I would. The people who love us the most can always find a way to make us smile, even if we are dead set against it – a fact that was often as annoying as it was comforting.
“That’s better,” he smiled as I looked up and met his eyes. “I do believe you, but I think we both know you need a little more proof before you even consider taking this public.” I pursed my lips, but didn’t argue. “Right. So, maybe we can do a little digging – quiet digging – and see what we come up with.”
“You’ll help me?”
“I will do whatever I can to help you prove that Bastian is Brian, or…” He paused dramatically making sure I was looking at him before he continued, “disprove it. All I ask is that you keep your mind open to the possibility of the latter, OK?”
“OK,” I sighed, happy that at least he wasn’t shutting me down. “At least I’ll have some help.”
“Always,” he smiled. “Actually, I’m kind of glad to hear this guy might not be as perfect as he looks.”
“Please,” I said with a sneer, “perfect? Even without all the spying and lying, the guy is an arrogant, self-assured, ass. Clearly he thinks he’s God’s gift to the Earth, yet there doesn’t seem to be one thing about him that doesn’t scream either stuck-up brat, or… Why are you smiling?”
Immediately the small smile I’d caught on his lips and accompanying light in his eyes changed to a show of charming faux-confusion. “What?” he asked, raising his eyebrows innocently.
“You heard me,” I probed with a wry squint.
“It’s nothing,” he finally admitted as his ears visibly warmed. “You two just seemed to be having a good time dancing. And you were doing an awful lot of starring.”
“Wait, you were watching me stare at him?”
“No,” he huffed, crossing his arms defensively. “I wasn’t watching… but that doesn’t mean I didn’t notice…” He left his thought hanging as he glanced away, looking a bit sheepish.
I paused for a minute, trying to fill in the blanks when suddenly I saw the answer written in the chagrin on his face. “Oh my God…” I breathed, completely shocked. “Are you… are you jealous?”
“OK, first of all,” he said, with something between a smile and a grimace, running a hand through his hair. “Do you think you could say that like it’s not the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard?”
“I could if it wasn’t!” I said, pressing my lips together to keep from laughing. “Alex, how could you possibly be jealous of such a–”
“I’m not jealous,” he insisted, cutting me off, “at least, not of him, exactly…” He sighed and took a few steps toward the center of the room, scratching the back of his head the way he always did when he was nervous or embarrassed. “It’s just, I don’t know,” he shrugged, “the… situation, I guess. I mean, I’m barely allowed to act like I know you, while this Bastian gets to compliment you, and kiss your hand, and spin you all over the dance floor like some couple from Gone with the Wind. And then there was how good the two of you looked out there…” He trailed off, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
I could tell he was frustrated and probably a little ashamed, but what I couldn’t figure out was why. I mean sure, it made sense, and it explained why he looked a little strange when I’d come back after dancing, but it still seemed impossible that someone who I considered to be basically perfect and loved more than anything else in the world, could get jealous over, well… anything. Alex was a lot of things, but until that night, I’d never seen him insecure.
I smiled softly, taking the few steps over to him and took face between my hands. “Why, my dear,” I said, using his words from earlier, “I do believe you’re being silly. You have less than nothing to worry about, my love.”
He grinned, sliding his arms around my waist. “I know,” he nodded. “It’s just hard, that’s all. But you wouldn’t understand; you don’t know what it’s like to be madly in love with the most breathtaking woman in the room.”
“Yeah,” I laughed, rolling my eyes as I slid my hands down to idly straighten the green sash laying across his chest. “I hate to break it to you, but neither do you.”
“I just wish it could have been me out there with you,” he continued, ignoring my comment. “That is,” he added with a chuckle, “if
I could actually dance.”
“Here,” I said, getting an idea.
When I stepped back slightly and took his hand, his eyes popped open. “What are you doing?”
“I think you know what I’m doing. I’m going to give you a dance lesson.”
“Becca, we’ve been over this. I can’t dance, and much as I appreciate it, I don’t think lessons can correct my second left foot.”
“For the record,” I said, ignoring his protests and physically squaring his shoulders and positioning his arms, “you are not the only one who wished it was you with me out on the floor tonight. You said you wanted to dance with me, so let’s dance. There is no one else here, and luckily for you I already know you’re a klutz, so no need to be shy.”
He looked like he might refuse again, but then suddenly a strange light sparked in his smoky blue eyes, and he smiled. “All right then, let’s dance.”
The sudden change in his tone sent a shiver down my back as I began to lead him in a simple box step. Despite his initial hesitation and my jab about him being a klutz, he did very well, and it was only a minute or two before we were waltzing in a slow circle in the middle of my room.
“See, I told you, nothing to worry…” but my thought died on my tongue as I looked up into the smoldering glow of his eyes. A glow that made my eyelids heavy and my neck hot.
As our gazes locked, he slowly slid his arm further around my waist, pulling me in closer and closer with each step we took. My veins began to flood with heat as every detail of the moment intensified; the smell of his cologne in my nose, the silk of his tux under my fingers, the warmth of his touch on my skin, every heartbeat, every move, every breath. Each one echoed within me like whispers through a microphone, haunting and enticing.
As our feet began to slow, Alex leaned down and gently rested his forehead against mine, allowing the tip of his nose to just barely brush against mine, teasing me with the nearness of our mouths. My lips began to ache with the need to feel his pressing into mine, hard and hungry. However this time, to my delicious agony, Alex was in no hurry.
The Seers Page 10
