by Amy Reece
He chuckled at my childishness. “I can’t make her do anything, chérie. Why don’t we let her join us when she is ready? Maybe she needs a few moments to herself without your constant chattering.”
“Hey!” I punched him lightly on his arm. “Don’t be mean. All right, let’s go. Mina, see you at dinner, okay?” She simply nodded. I waited until we were outside to ask, “Is it just me, or is she the most reserved person you’ve ever met? She barely talks!”
“And you never stop, so you should be great friends.”
“Nice, Rémy. Thanks a lot.”
He laughed. “I’m kidding. Mostly. But I agree: she is very reserved. It may be difficult to get to know her well, but we must try, nevertheless. She is bound to us somehow. I don’t understand it any more than you.”
“She’s really pretty—” I let it hang out there, waiting for him to respond.
He rolled his eyes. “We are not having that conversation. I’ve told you before I don’t need your help finding dates. Besides,” he put his arm around my neck and pulled me to him, mussing my hair in a horrible big-brother way, “if you’re the Oracle and I’m the Shield, then that would make her the Heart of the Oracle. You think she’s pretty, so—”
“So, I’m supposed to dump Jack in favor of Mina? Wow, if only I were a lesbian. Sorry, but the prophecy is whacked in that regard. And you may not want to have the conversation, but you can’t deny the chemistry between you and Mina.” I ducked out from under his arm and tried to straighten my hair.
“You are imagining things, chérie. I’m a man.” He shrugged. “I look the same way at any beautiful girl.”
“Aha! So you admit she’s beautiful!” I exclaimed triumphantly.
“I never thought to deny it. Mina is very beautiful. So are you, for that matter. Why did you dislike her when we first met her?”
Crap. It was really inconvenient to have him in my mind whenever he wanted. I still wasn’t very good at keeping him out. “Oh, I don’t know. She shows up all of sudden and I’m supposed to instantly like her?”
“You were jealous, maybe? You have no reason to be jealous of her looks, but perhaps you are jealous of her power?”
“God, it’s hard to be mad at you when you insult and compliment me in the same sentence.” He smirked as I continued. “What is her power, anyway? Fionnuala says she’s as powerful as me, but I haven’t seen anything at all. Have you?”
He shook his head and stared out over the rugged landscape surrounding the house. “No. I sensed great power in her when we touched for the first time, but I still don’t have any idea what it is. Hopefully we can find out while we are here in Ireland.”
I looked around to make sure we were alone. “Do you trust her? Should we trust her?”
He shrugged again. “I don’t know. Time will tell.”
“I hope we can. I feel bad about not liking her in the beginning. She seems so sad sometimes. I guess I would be too, if I’d been through everything she has.”
“You’re too nice sometimes, Ally. You really can’t handle not liking someone, can you?” He put his arm back around my neck and pulled me close.
“No! I was perfectly happy not liking Veronica,” I objected.
“No you weren’t. You forget I’m in your head, chérie. Let’s go back to the house. It’s getting late and I’m starving. Irish food! God help us all.”
“Cheer up. We’ll be back in the U.S. soon and you can have all the cheeseburgers you want. Hey, I haven’t had a chance to ask if you’re okay with babysitting me again. What are you going to do for school? I feel selfish about insisting we go back to the U.S., but—”
“Don’t worry about me. You are the Oracle and therefore must be taken care of. It’s my job and I’m happy to do it. Besides, I finished my undergraduate degree a few weeks ago and Grand-mère is working on getting me into your University of New Mexico for an MBA program. She is rather good at pulling strings, so I should be well occupied this fall.”
“Rémy, you graduated from college? Why didn’t you tell me? That’s great! Why didn’t we go to your graduation ceremony? Why didn’t we have a party at least?”
“Don’t fuss, Ally. It is not the big deal you are making it,” he said dismissively.
“Your accomplishments are a big deal. They are to me, at least. I’m proud of you, Rémy.”
“Thank you, Ally. You are sweet.” He seemed determined to downplay his achievements.
“Hey.” I stopped and turned to face him, looking up into his handsome face. “Don’t let all this Oracle crap totally mess up your future. You are important, too, Rémy. It can’t be all about me. Please,” I begged. “You and Mina can’t put your lives on hold so I can carry on like normal. We have to figure something out! We can’t let the older Seers just push us around!” I started to get worked up.
“Okay, calm down, chérie.” He pulled me into his arms, rubbing my back with his warm hands. “We will figure this out, I promise. Don’t worry about Mina and me right now. For myself, I am happy to return to the U.S. where I have the opportunity to study in an American university. I will make sure Mina has the chance to study computers if that is what she wants. We will be fine. Besides, I liked my friends in Albuquerque. I was happy there. So, don’t worry so much.”
“Okay, I’ll try,” I promised. “It just doesn’t seem fair.”
“Life rarely is.”
“So, are you going to date Veronica when we get back? You two seemed pretty cozy at Tara’s party.”
He smiled and let me go, continuing our walk toward the house. “Always so interested in my love life, chérie. We can’t all be like you and Jack, you know, finding the love of our lives so young. Veronica and I were never serious. Besides, she is going to university in California. Hadn’t you heard?”
“What? God, I’m always the last to hear anything!”
“Yes. She wants to get a fresh start where people don’t know her history. I can’t say I blame her,” he mused.
“Yeah, me neither. I just wish I had known, I guess. Well, good for her. Okay, so you are fine with living in Albuquerque again. I just hope Mina likes it.”
***
Dinner was an enjoyable affair. Fionnuala’s husband, who had prepared the meal, devoted himself to drawing out each of his dinner guests, seeming to take Mina’s lack of involvement as a personal challenge. By the time dessert was served, she was laughing quietly and teasing back. It was nice to see there was a personality there if one cared to dig deep enough to access it.
“Jon, you’ve done it again. This was a wonderful meal. Thank you, darling,” said Fionnuala. He had prepared some sort of smoked salmon dish that the others seemed to enjoy and had thoughtfully presented me with a roasted vegetable tart. Dessert was a decadent lemon mousse that I would probably dream about. We all added our thanks for the delicious meal. “Jon was a chef for many years before retiring. He now writes a foodie blog and has several cookbooks published.”
Jon smiled modestly and said, “I’ve been very lucky. I was in the right place at the right time when New Irish cuisine appeared on the scene. Not what you expected, eh, Monsieur Giles?”
Rémy had the grace to appear somewhat abashed. “No, not at all. I fear I am something of a food snob. I hope it is my worst failing.”
“It’s definitely not. I can think of several others that are much worse,” I piped in. The others chuckled.
“Anyway, my faults aside, it was a delicious meal. And I wholeheartedly approve of this Irish stout,” he said as he raised his glass of dark beer in a toast. “To our hosts, Fionnuala and Jon. My thanks for your splendid hospitality.” We all raised our glasses. I had opted for water instead of beer, not out of prudishness, but because I found beer disgusting. The only beer I had ever had tasted like cat pee. Well, what I imagine cat pee would taste like.
“The rest of the Seer Council will arrive tomorrow,” Fionnuala said. “We will have a busy two weeks, so I suggest you all get rested up tonight.”
<
br /> “Will they be staying here?” I asked. I had only seen three bedrooms upstairs and couldn’t imagine the other six council members sharing one room.
Fionnuala smiled. “Yes, dear. You are staying in the original part of the house. After dinner I’ll show you the new wing, if you like.” It turned out that Fionnuala and Jon had built a large addition to their house that wasn’t visible from the front. It more than doubled the square footage and included four additional guest rooms, two bathrooms, and a large recreational room, where we would apparently be working. Yay. It made me tired just thinking about all the training they had in store for us. My dreams of a relaxing summer disappeared.
The ladies arrived bright and early the next morning; the sound of their chattering and laughing pulled me from sleep way too soon. I peered at the bed across from me and saw Mina was already up, bed made—of course—and gone from the room. By the time I showered, got ready, and made my way to the kitchen, elderly women were perched all over the room. The whole crew was here: Fionnuala, Caoimhe, Iona, Aine, Eithne, Bridget, and Maire. The noise level was incredible and I wished I could retreat back to my bedroom. I found an empty seat next to Rémy and gratefully sipped the hot, black coffee that Jon brought me.
“How about an omelet, Ally? I can have one whipped up in a few minutes.”
“I don’t want you to go to any trouble,” I began.
“No trouble at all,” he brushed off my concerns. “It’s what I do. I enjoy cooking.” He bustled away to prepare my breakfast.
“Where’s Mina?” I asked after another sip of coffee.
“It was too chaotic here for her. She went out for a walk,” Rémy said over the top of the newspaper he read. “Did you sleep well, chérie?”
“I guess.” I shrugged. “I’m dreading this training, though.” I shuddered as I looked around the room at the noisy members of the Seer Council.
He folded his paper and nodded in agreement. “This is going to be a long two weeks.”
Once I finished my breakfast and Mina had returned from her walk, we all retreated to the large recreational room in the new wing of the house; all except Jon, who didn’t belong to the council and left to shop for what he needed to prepare the rest of the day’s meals. They started things off by having Bridget take turns touching each one of us separately in order to get a baseline reading. I got to go first.
“Oh, Ally,” she sighed after a moment. “I was right. Your powers have developed so much in just a few short months. Your abilities far out-strip anything I have ever encountered. My goodness. I don’t know what to think about this destructive power you seem to have. I just don’t know.” Well, that made me feel so much better.
She turned next to Mina. “How are you, dear? We missed you while you were gone.” Bridget smiled at Mina and stroked her cheek before taking her hand. “Oh, my dear. Your ability to read others is incredibly strong. There’s more there, too, that is just out of reach.” Before moving away, she leaned forward and whispered something in Mina’s ear. Mina appeared relieved and whispered ‘thanks.’
I wasn’t sure I approved of these secrets and was about to say something when Bridget approached Rémy. She seemed unsure and asked, “May I?” before taking his hand. I remembered all the Seers in their experience were women and this whole business of male Seers must rock their world a little bit. She grasped his hand and closed her eyes. After a few seconds she shifted uncomfortably and added her other hand. After another few seconds she lifted her hands away and frowned into his eyes. “You’re blocking me,” she accused. “No one has ever been able to block me before.”
“Rémy,” I began.
“It’s all right, Ally. I will play nice. I just wanted to make it clear I am here voluntarily. For the moment. And it would be better for all involved if we cooperate with each other.” He looked around at each council member, forcing them to meet his intense gaze. “Our two clans have a history of distrust, made much more serious by your generation. If there is to be a renewal and rebuilding of relationship, it will start with the three of us: Ally, Mina, and myself. You would all do well not to forget that.” It was moments like this when I was reminded he was not simply the happy-go-lucky teen he enjoyed portraying; he was a full-grown man who could handle himself in the adult world. I felt very young and naïve in that moment. He smiled a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and gave his hand back to Bridget. “Shall we try again?”
She looked around at her fellow council members before taking his hand somewhat shakily. She held on for a few seconds before letting go and whispering, “Amazing.” She turned to look at the rest of us. “He is indescribably powerful. I just, I don’t know…”
I was shocked. I knew Rémy was good at reading my thoughts and keeping me from reading his, but I had no idea of the depths of his power. He certainly downplayed his abilities. I wondered what else he kept from me.
Next, the council wanted to see my destructive abilities. I had worked with Kate enough so I only needed to think of something that annoyed me to make it work. Plenty of things annoyed me, including being here in Ireland instead of home in the U.S., so I gladly gave a demonstration. Fionnuala picked a cheap knickknack she claimed she didn’t mind losing and set it on a low table. It took me about two seconds to focus my annoyance and turn it into powdery shards. I had also gotten better at making smaller, more controlled explosions so nobody got hurt. The council ladies were quite impressed by my abilities, which gratified me somewhat. They all then wanted to hear the story of how I made contact with Ashley Hayes’s spirit and solved her murder. Rémy piped in with details every so often, especially his view of the final chapter outside David Moore’s house. He told them how the blue pulse had exploded from me, knocking down both Jack and Moore right as he fired his shotgun.
“Ally, dear, I cannot approve of your involvement in this kind of criminal activity!” Caoimhe exclaimed.
I laughed slightly and gave my favorite council member a hug. “Believe me, I have no desire whatsoever to get involved in any more criminal situations. I just want a calm, peaceful year.”
“Good luck with that,” muttered Rémy. “You are a trouble magnet, chérie.”
I glared at him as Fionnuala announced that it was time to break for lunch.
***
After lunch, several of the older women claimed they needed an hour or so of rest time before we resumed our training. I was about to say that I would enjoy some time to write Jack a letter—snail-mail letters were all he was allowed at this stage of his training—but suddenly heard Rémy’s voice in my head telling me to say I wanted to explore the gardens. I gave him a curious look and noticed Mina doing the same. He raised his eyebrows expectantly at both of us, so I duly claimed my desire to take a walk after lunch, which Mina echoed. Rémy then declared his desire to join us.
“So, why did you want to get us away from everyone?” I asked when we were a good distance from the house.
“Before we get any deeper into this training, I think we need to come to a few agreements I do not wish the council to be privy to,” he replied.
“Such as?” asked Mina.
“Nobody except my grandmother knows the extent of our mental communication abilities, and she will keep it to herself,” he said to me. “And nobody knows how well Mina and I can communicate.”
“Including me! What am I missing?” I stopped and faced them both. “Spill!”
“Calm down, chérie. Mina and I seem to have a direct conduit to each other’s thoughts. That’s all. It is even stronger than the bond you and I share.”
“Oh, that’s all, huh? When were you going to tell me? I thought we were supposed to trust each other! You guys have been keeping secrets from me! Ugh! Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?” I fumed.
“Apparently it makes you angry,” he said with a smirk.
“Yes, it does! Don’t be such an ass, Rémy!” I turned toward him and let loose with a small pulse of energy that knocked him to the ground,
sprawled ignominiously in the dirt.
“Rémy!” Mina rushed to his side to help him up.
He took her hand and stood back up, brushing leaves and dirt from his backside. “I’m all right, Mina. Thank you.” He smiled at her gently before turning to me with a scowl. “Merde, Ally! I will try not to make you mad again! That was incredible, by the way.”
“Ally, we weren’t trying to keep anything from you,” Mina broke in. “It’s just—”
“It’s just that Mina is not ready to talk about any of this, yet,” Rémy interrupted. “She has not been close to any one for years, and suddenly she has two people invading her thoughts whether or not she wishes it. I’m sure it must be disturbing.”
“It’s not like any of us asked for this!” I was still mad, but I could see where they were coming from. I paced for a few seconds before hanging my head in defeat. “Yeah, I get it. Sorry, Rémy. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t, chérie. Don’t worry about it. Still friends?” He looked at me hopefully.
“Of course,” I said, impatiently waving aside his concern. “So, you two are able to read each other even better than Rémy and I? Are you constantly in each other’s head? That must be kind of miserable.”
Mina shook her head. “No. Rémy is incredibly gifted at blocking people from reading his thoughts.”
“That’s an understatement,” I muttered.
“You are not too bad at it yourself, Mina. It is only when you are not paying attention that I am able to get in,” observed Rémy.
“I would really appreciate if you would refrain from doing that,” Mina whispered and turned away from Rémy and I.
I looked at him with raised eyebrows. Jeez, sensitive much? I asked silently.
He shook his head slightly and approached Mina, putting his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I will be more careful in the future, I promise.” She nodded and turned back around.
“Why are you both able to block people out better than me? I would really like to be able to keep Rémy out of my head,” I groused, my crankiness showing yet again.
