“Is everyone here?” Shirl was too exhausted to get up and check out who was in the common room. The fact that Alex was not eating anything led her to believe that Tolfer had not yet shown up. Only Starc, Tarsea and Darden were going with her to get Candy. They all felt that Alex’s presence would draw too many questions on both sides of the portal. Shirl was concerned that her own story of where she had been would not fly if she ran into any of the Sedona police.
“Darden arrived twenty minutes ago,” Alex replied. “He knows he is going to see Cassie, so he is anxious to head out. He said he would tell us about Candy’s family in this universe once she is here. I would have liked to have met with them and prepared them for Candy’s arrival.” Shirl imagined Alex did not want a repeat of what happened between Cianan and herself. Alex was once again trying to fix everything. Although Shirl did wonder if Alex had talked to Cianan beforehand- if it would have made any difference.
There was a knock on the door. Both women looked at each other and broke into laughter. Neither bothered to get up and answer the door. Odds were the visitor was not there to see them, unless it was a member of Alex’s family. She heard voices in the hallway, but could not make them out. The morning fog still had its grubby claws on her.
She was surprised to see Cianan following Tarsea into the kitchen. Tarsea did not bother to announce her brother. He merely walked over to Alex and kissed her. Men were so funny. Tarsea was staking a claim to a woman who almost had a neon sign announcing to the world she was his.
Shirl did not feel the need to be diplomatic. She could blame it on morning grogginess later. “What do you want?”
“I came to apologize,” her brother answered, “and tell you what I reported to Jeryl Jarlyn.” That certainly woke Shirl up. Her heart started racing. She got up and poured herself more coffee. It would not slow down her heart, but she would certainly feel better. Shirl had not bothered to offer her brother any.
“Let us go into the common room,” Tarsea suggested. “I know everyone here would like to hear what you have to say.” He took Alex’s arm and walked alongside her. Tarsea let her and Cianan walk in front of them, under his watchful eye.
Cianan did not appear to be thrilled he was going to have an audience. What happened when Cianan first met Shirl was not a distant memory for Starc or Darden. She now had a posse to protect her. Shirl immediately sat next to Starc, not even considering taking any of the other open spaces in the room.
“Go on,” Shirl said. “Tell us what you reported back to Jarlyn.” The other men in the room sat up a little straighter after Shirl mentioned why Cianan was present. Yet again, it had not dawned on her to forewarn the men using the warrior channel. This telepathic world was going to take some getting used to.
“I told him you were able to generate a bright beam of light from the portal, nothing more. Legends just mention an energy blast and light is energy. He seemed disappointed, but did not question me further. He told me he was going to conduct an inventory of his crystals and would contact me in the next couple of days regarding where he was going to send us next. Jarlyn mentioned you were bringing over a friend from Gingko Terra today, possibly another surviving relative. I think he is secretly hoping she is his granddaughter.”
“What is the significance of having a granddaughter to him?” Shirl inquired. She knew that Candy was not his granddaughter, but Cassie was. She looked at all the men so when she looked at Darden, it would not be obvious that she wanted to see his reaction. He shielded any particular interest in Cianan’s answer well.
“I do not know,” Cianan said. “Both Jarlyn and Benko are mind control telepaths. There is a strong possibility that any offspring that Benko had would be a mind control telepath as well. I am unaware of any Troyk legends that would set Jarlyn off, like those about mated crystal telepathic females.” Her brother cast his eyes down while he said the last sentence. At least he was now uncomfortable with his duplicity.
“We need to be leaving soon. Is there anything you need?” Shirl asked her brother. She did not know why, but her brother’s presence made her anxious. He reminded her of conceit, loss, and betrayal. She had to prepare herself mentally for her trip to bring Candy to the Troyk universe. Her brother was in the way.
“What can I do to make you trust me, Shirl?” Her brother looked sincere. She just did not want to deal with this now.
“There is only one way. I cannot tell you what it involves,” she replied. “It is something that can only be earned, not bought.” She hoped what she said had been vague enough. She knew that only his ability to link within the warrior channel would truly mean she could trust him. Until that point, she could only assume he was still in Jeryl Jarlyn’s pocket.
Her brother looked at her and nodded. “I do not want you to think I am buying your trust, but this belongs to you. It belonged to our mother.” Her brother handed her a package.
Shirl took the box and opened it. A copper familial bracelet lay in the box. When she had looked at Alex’s bracelet, she had almost convinced herself that it did not matter that she did not have her mother’s copper cuff. Shirl had been wearing Chartail’s bracelet just to fit in. Now placing her mother’s bracelet around her wrist, she knew she had been fooling herself. She felt tears falling down her cheek. Without a word, she stood and hugged her brother. Shirl felt her brother’s arms tighten around her.
“Thank you,” she cried. “It really means a lot.” She did not say anything more, merely walked out of the room.
She headed to her bedroom and grabbed a tissue. Sitting on the bed, she let loose the flood of tears she had been holding back.
This time Starc did not delay checking on her. He entered the room, without knocking. He sat down on the bed and embraced her. “Welcome home, Shirlyn.”
For the first time since she had entered the Troyk universe, she did not mind hearing her true name, because she was finally home- purple sky and all.
The End
Enjoy the 1st Chapter of ‘The Chameleon Soul Mate’,
Worlds Apart Series: Book One
Chapter 1
Arizona
Alexandra Mann, ‘Alex’ to friends and foes, disconnected from the call center system and let out a long, painful sigh. People never called to comment on how great things were, just to complain.
But she had the ability to stay calm under pressure and deal with any situation. Didn’t matter if it was a customer yelling or her two best friends coming to her with their latest crisis. Alex took whatever life threw at her and made lemon drop cocktails.
Finally Friday was here and Alex was going up to Sedona with three friends. They had been planning this trip for five months, and the countdown was finally over. This weekend was a double celebration: her twenty-first birthday and her best friend Shirl’s twenty-third.
She had actually taken a half day of vacation so she and Shirl could get a jump on the traffic that headed north every Friday afternoon. Two of her co-workers were joining them, but had to work all day and would drive up later.
She grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone. The display showed that Shirley Tomlinson called. Shirl, as she liked to be called, had grown up with Alex at a local Phoenix orphanage. Although Alex was younger than Shirl, they were best friends and as close as sisters. Shirl and Candy, who also grew up with them at the orphanage, were Alex’s only family. The three were connected, at times it felt like they could read each other’s minds.
Alex had given up on the dream of a real family long before the orphanage stopped parading her in front of perspective parents. Years of couples talking and playing with her, only to have them walk away, had taken their toll. The disappointment she felt at the continual rejection caused her to cry herself to sleep on many occasions. She would find herself blending into the shadows in order not to being passed over again.
To this day, she had a tendency to blend into the background
. Her best friends were always in the spotlight, where Alex tended to be invisible in their presence. Shirl was tall, blond, and stop traffic gorgeous. Candy, on the other hand, had a self-confidence that made her radiant. When they were together, both men and women would flock to Candy.
Having left her cubical, Alex took the opportunity to listen to Shirl’s voice mail message. “Alex, it’s Shirl. I’ve got a killer migraine and I can’t make it to Sedona this weekend.”
If anyone else had canceled on her, she would have been angry. However, she knew Shirl got terrible migraines that would down a small elephant. It seemed as though the headaches were growing in frequency and she was concerned about her friend. Alex recently started having migraines herself. She and Shirl were so close, she felt they were probably sympathy headaches.
When Alex reached the call center’s lobby, she called Shirl before she walked out into the Arizona heat.
“What?” Shirl growled as the call connected.
“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?” Alex asked.
“Can you get me a new brain?”
“Doubtful, but I’ll look into it. I am so sorry you won’t make it to Sedona with us.”
“I know, Alex,” Shirl’s voice began to fade. “Candy will stop by before she takes her class on this weekend’s field trip. Don’t worry, I will be fine.”
Shirl hung up before Alex could say anything more. Alex placed her phone in her purse and walked toward her car in the stifling Arizona heat. The car was all packed and ready to go for the trip up to Sedona. Since she was not picking up Shirl, she immediately got on I-17 and headed north.
Alex loved Sedona and started thinking about what types of adventures she’d have this weekend. Something unusual always happened when she was there. It was odd, she was never able to put into words what she experienced. Some invisible force always seemed to draw her.
Alex made good time. Leaving Phoenix early afternoon was the trick, beating the hordes of commuters heading home after work. She headed straight to her hotel.
It would be some time before her call center friends would join her. In the meantime, Alex had time to hike in Boynton Canyon. She opened her suitcase, pulled out a T-shirt and shorts.
The Boynton Canyon Vortex was one of the four vortexes that contributed to the energy felt throughout Sedona. Alex generally hike Boynton Canyon because she felt the best energy there and enjoyed the trails. A lot was written about Sedona’s vortexes, including the belief the energy was the result of inter dimensional gateways. She did not believe all that nonsense, but her friend Shirl certainly did. With that thought, Alex felt the loss of Shirl not being there. She could almost visualize her friend standing next to her, clutching her crystal necklaces.
She walked to her car and made the short trip between the hotel and Boynton Canyon. The parking lot closest to the trail was packed. Fortunately, she had the world’s smallest car and found a spot where someone had parked badly, leaving only three quarters of a space. She easily fit into the spot and patted the dashboard of her beloved car. It was fire engine red, with a white racing stripe down the side. She loved zipping around town.
Alex changed from her sneakers into her hiking boots, locked the car and made her way to the trail head. She loved the sound her boots made against the gravel trail. Alex had just purchased a new pair of hiking boots as a birthday present to herself. The boots almost came up a quarter of her leg and were kind of clunky. She was not going to take any chances if she came across a snake along the trail.
Although the lot had been full, she didn’t see anyone on the trail. A flash of light caught her eye. It was the reflection coming off a bracelet worn by someone suddenly ahead of her. Her eyes left the cuff bracelet to the man who wore it. He was tall with blond hair, and she couldn’t help but admire his body. The man was oddly dressed for hiking. It appeared he was wearing a tunic and leggings. He had broad shoulders underneath the blue tunic and the leggings were molded to his powerful legs. She could see the muscle definition of his legs even from this distance. He must have decided to take a little hike before performing in a Shakespearean play. Sedona was known for supporting all art forms.
Alex admired his body, but unfortunately her body was not reacting to his. It never did, regardless how attractive she found the man. Oddly, Shirl and Candy had the same problem. She dated, because girls her age dated. She had not been with a man in over six months. Every relationship was disappointing when it became physical. The guys she dated didn’t want to sustain a relationship if they had to deal with an ice queen in bed.
As she continued on the path, she kept an eye on the man, closing the gap between them. He was carrying a number of sacks that seemed to slow him down. Another oddity about the man. Who carried sacks on a day hike, rather than a backpack?
He was in her sight one minute and the next he vanished. Where did he go? Alex ran forward, thinking the man had fallen and needed help. She arrived at the spot where she had last seen him and there was no sign of him.
An invisible force pulling her forward off her feet. She screamed as the motion continued and her vision went black. Her lungs seized and she fell into what she could only think was an endless void.
Coming Soon: Book Three of the Worlds Apart Series
‘The Warrior Woman’
Coming Soon:
Want more of Drake?
Find out what happens to Afton!
‘Nightshade’
Book One: The Nightshade Universe
About the Author
When Evelyn Lederman retired from her career as an insurance executive, she cheerfully anticipated the freedom to finally spend as much time reading as she’d always wanted. The twist in her story came when as-yet unwritten characters started cropping up in her thoughts, asking her to tell their stories. Now, she spends her days in Florida on the beach… with her laptop.
‘The Chameleon Soul Mate’ and ‘The Crystal Telepath’ are the first two books in her paranormal romance series, Worlds Apart.
Contact her at [email protected]
The Crystal Telepath Page 21
