Oberon Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Welcome to Oberon

by P. G. Forte

  As she got closer, she could tell that the person was definitely a woman, although she was not sure how she knew this. The woman was bundled in an odd assortment of mismatched garments, making identification difficult.

  And the fire, she saw now, was not actually in the oilcan, but underneath it. In fact, she didn’t think it was an oilcan at all, but... some type of large pot, which the woman appeared to be stirring with a pole of some sort. Or maybe... Jesus, was that a broomstick?

  “You might want to watch out for some of those stereotypes.” a soft, amused voice spoke in her mind. “They’re awfully clichéd, you know. And you’d be surprised how much they offend certain people.”

  “Celeste?” Scout whispered. “Is it really you? Are you okay? Where is this place?”

  “Oh my, so many excellent, difficult questions. Let’s just pretend they’re rhetorical, shall we?” Celeste twinkled at her. “What is it you really want to know, dear?”

  Scout thought for a moment, or tried to think. Her mind was still struggling to make sense of her surroundings. “I want to know what happened,” she said at last. “Who did this to you? And why? And…what’s going to happen to you now?”

  “Ohhh.” Celeste’s sigh was a long, drawn out, windy sound. “I don’t want to think about that yet. It’s why I’m still here, you know. Even with all the signs I’d received, it was still something of a shock when it happened. I’m not quite ready to deal with it yet. But it was time for me to move on. I’m not going back.” She smiled, somewhat sadly. “But you tell Marsha to hang on to that crystal. It’ll come in handy, later. She’ll find a use for it. But not now. Not for this. Now, here’s something for you.”

  Scout watched as Celeste dug into a pocket in the strange, shapeless coat she was wearing and brought out a small velvet bag. “I want you to have these,” Celeste said, pressing the bag into Scout’s hand. “You’ll need an outlet of some kind for your energies. And, to tell you the truth, I think you’ll do a lot better with them than I ever did. Although, I guess I really was getting better at it, wasn’t I?”

  For a moment, Scout thought she sounded wistful. But then she smiled. “Listen, we’re almost out of time. Tell Lucy to keep a close eye on those chickens of hers. And tell Marsha to stop blaming herself. This wasn’t her fault. Oh,” she broke off with a small giggle, “and please. Tell Marsha to stop worrying about the knives. It wasn’t that important. I just knew they’d be needed. What does she think, anyway? That she’s the only one who could ever have a premonition?”

  Scout found her focus wavering. Celeste’s face began to fade. A buzzing, humming noise filled her head, and through the mist that suddenly enveloped her, she heard Celeste’s voice again, whispering urgently. “Wait. Don’t go yet! Open your eyes again. Someone wants to talk to you.”

  She hadn’t realized that her eyes were closed, but she opened them anyway. And there, standing right in front of her, her arms open wide, was Caroline. Without a thought, Scout threw herself into her stepmother’s arms, and was at once engulfed in a cloud of emotions.

  Love and laughter burst around her and through her. A blazing white light washed over her, obliterating any other reality. A single word reverberated through the brightness.

  “Remember...”

  There was no response to her knock. The door to Scout’s bedroom remained locked; Caroline had to use her key to open it. Scout was lying in bed when she entered the room, not sleeping, just lying there. Her expression held that same controlled remoteness that she had already, God help her, almost begun to accept as normal.

  It was only in the last few days that she had really begun to worry about drugs and cults and psychotic conditions. Clearly, something was wrong with Scout. Dreadfully wrong. Dear God, not even her father’s death had put a crack in that hideous, cold façade!

  She couldn’t believe she’d almost missed the signs. But then, there had been so many other things to worry about lately. Searing pain washed through her once again. What had happened to her family?

  Only two months ago – less than two months – they had all been together. Happy. Alive. They had celebrated Scout’s birthday, none of them with the slightest notion of what was coming. And now? Now it was just the two of them. And whatever Caroline had to do to preserve what was left of her family, she would do it, no matter what the cost to her heart. No matter how much it tore her apart to send her away, she would do what was necessary to save her only remaining child.

  She just hoped it wasn’t too late. This new coldness, this wall of ice Scout had erected around herself... what could have caused her to do such a thing? There was no way to reach her through it. Any attempt to discuss it only seemed to increase the blankness in Scout’s expression. She could only hope that, given time, Scout would find her way back from wherever it was she had gone.

  But worrisome as even that was, it was not her most pressing problem. Her first priority was to insure Scout’s physical safety, and that meant getting her away from here. Fast. And far. And for as long as necessary. Because certainly it was no longer safe for her to remain here.

  She had not for one instant believed Gil’s death had been an accident. How was it possible, on top of everything else that had been happening? But it was only today, when Rose Greco had called to offer her condolences, that she realized what she should have seen immediately. With Lisa missing, anyone who knew the girls would have assumed – as Lucy apparently had done when she first learned about the accident involving the Honda – that it had been Scout who was driving the girls’ car through the canyon that night.

  “Scout. Honey, listen to me a moment,” Caroline said. “I need you to pack some of your things. I’ve made arrangements for you to stay with your grandfather for a while. You have a flight out the day after tomorrow.”

  “What? No!” For a moment, only a moment, Caroline saw a glimpse of the real Scout. But then the cold stranger immediately reappeared, to say with icy politeness, “I don’t want to do that, Caroline. Why can’t I stay here?”

  She fought hard to keep her voice calm, to keep from screaming in impotent rage, Who are you? What have you done with my child?

  “Scout... please don’t make this more difficult than it already is. You can’t... you just can’t stay here anymore. That’s all there is to it!”

  Blank eyes regarded her coldly. “Why are you doing this? This is my home.”

  “There have been far too many... problems, lately. So much has gone wrong. It – it’s not safe having you around. After your father’s death, I realized—”

  “What does that have to do with me?” queried the stranger.

  “Because, it could have been you. Don’t you understand that? It was your car. Anyone who saw it would have thought – It should have been you driving the car that night. You, not Gil.” Her voice cracked, and before she could start crying, she hurried from the room.

  If she broke down now and Scout attempted to comfort her, how would she find the strength to send her away?

  And if she broke down and Scout merely continued to stare so coldly at her? Then Caroline knew without doubt that her heart would shatter beyond repair. She ran down the hall and slammed the door of her bedroom behind her...

  Scout felt as though her head were coming apart. The buzzing, whirring, stinging sensation grew louder and more and more painful. It was as if her skull contained a horde of angry bees, all desperate to escape. She could feel something sucking at the edges of her mind, pulling and tugging at her consciousness. Forcing her to respond. To return. To—

  “No!” her voice exploded from her throat in a roar of anger. She hurled herself into a sitting position and found herself face-to-face again with Marsha and Lucy. “How could you do it? How could you? I could kill you both for what you did to me!”

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  * * * *

  Chapter Thirty One

  * * * *

  “I’m telling you, Marsha, this is not gonna work,” Lucy’s voice was a whisper,
barely audible, shaking with emotion. “And besides, it’s too dangerous. You said it yourself; she goes too deep. This chakra link just doubles the risk. What are you trying to do here, anyway? Drive the both of you completely over the edge?”

  Scout paid no attention to the argument raging quietly between Lucy and Marsha. She didn’t care what they thought. She’d deal with the two of them later.

  Lying on the floor, blinking back tears, she tried to deal with the sudden realization that she had thrown the last twenty years of her life away over a stupid misunderstanding. Caroline had not been kicking her out, as she’d always believed. Robyn had been right, and she – well, she had just been a major fucking idiot, hadn’t she? And she had to learn that now. Now, when it was too late to go back and change anything.

  “It will work,” she heard Marsha insist. “It has to. And I’m more convinced than ever that the chakra link is critical. It doesn’t increase the risk, Lucy. If anything, it provides a safeguard.”

  “I’m not sure you’re right about that, Marsha. How do you know you won’t get sucked right down to wherever she is? And what the hell do you expect me to do if both of you go crazy like that? I thought the whole point of using Scout for this was because she wasn’t going to get all emotional about it? If that wasn’t emotion, I’d sure like to know what you thought it was. I’m telling you, this whole idea is fucking nuts!”

  “There were several reasons to involve Scout, Lucy. You know that. She can do things we can’t. You’re just afraid you’re gonna lose control of the situation.”

  “Hell, yes, I’m afraid. I don’t know why you aren’t. I wouldn’t go under with her like you’re planning to do, not for anything.”

  Enough was enough. Scout propped herself up on an elbow. “Lucy, if you want to back out now, you go right ahead.” The two women swung around to face her, looking tense and unhappy. “And that goes for you too, Marsha. I don’t suppose there’s any reason why I can’t try this on my own. But I’ll tell you one thing, I’ve come this far, and I’m not gonna turn back now.”

  “Do this on your own? You are crazy. You have no idea what you’d be getting yourself into.” Lucy glared at her, her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest.

  Scout felt a slow, unpleasant smile crawl across her face; she couldn’t help but indulge in a little bit of malice. “Ah, but I didn’t get myself into this, Lucy, did I? It was you two who got me into it, back in high school.”

  Lucy’s face turned dead white.

  Scout continued, “So now, if you’re done whining about how you don’t like what’s happening, why don’t we just go ahead and finish what you started? And then, if you geniuses can figure out a way to undo whatever it was you did to me, I can get the hell out of here, go back to LA, and get on with what’s left of my miserable fucked-up life. How’s that for a plan?”

  “Damn,” she heard Marsha say softly. Her face had not gone quite as white as Lucy’s, but it was noticeably pale. Her expression was as grim as Scout had ever seen it, but her eyes didn’t waver as they locked with hers.

  “All right. Come on, then. Let’s get this over with,” Marsha said quietly.

  “Good. Let’s go.” Scout lay back down and closed her eyes again.

  “Oh, bloody hell!” she heard Lucy mutter. And that, she thought, pretty much summed things up.

  * * *

  Scout breathed deeply and willed herself to relax. She was aware of Marsha lying on the floor beside her, and of Lucy sitting nearby with Marsha’s drum in her lap. Beneath the soft, steady beating of the drum, she heard Marsha’s voice invoking protection for them upon their path. She soon found herself sinking into a deep drowsiness.

  When Lucy began speaking, it seemed to Scout as though her voice was coming from somewhere very far away, only barely penetrating the lassitude that had claimed her. She heard Lucy describe arcs of colored light that flowed between her and Marsha, linking their charkas: red, orange, yellow, green…

  Scout could almost see them. She felt strength and energy and a curious warmth pouring into her. As the process continued, she became more and more aware of Marsha lying beside her. Blue, purple, indigo... White.

  It was a little unnerving, she decided. And even more unnerving was the awareness that deep inside her, another even more curious sensation was slowly uncoiling itself. As if something very dark, very powerful – something which had slumbered there for ages, waiting for this very moment to arrive – was at last waking up.

  Scout could sense Marsha’s relief at the ease with which the link had been achieved. She felt a tiny flicker of amusement. What kind of difficulties had Marsha envisioned?

  There was a brief, answering flash of humor that seemed to come from Marsha, and then a swirling darkness was upon them. Scout fought for breath, trying desperately to steady herself against the sudden vertigo. Her heart pounded in her chest. For an instant, she felt as though she were sliding away into darkness at incredible speed. But the sensation was gone again as quickly as it had come, leaving her cold and shaken. The glittering arcs of light and the bright, comforting cocoon-like warmth that had been building around her had all disappeared in a single flash of black lightning.

  “Okay. What the hell was that?” Lucy’s voice was tight with tension.

  “I don’t know,” Scout answered, but with great difficulty. Her tongue felt thick and unwieldy in her mouth. Her heartbeat was returning to normal, however; and she no longer felt gripped by panic.

  “Sorry.” Marsha’s harsh chuckle broke the silence in the room. “I think maybe we jumped the gun a little bit there. I guess Scout still has some defenses we haven’t uncovered. Let’s see if we can’t try and work around them.”

  Huh? “Wait. What do you mean, I have defenses?” Scout asked, in disbelief. “You’re saying I did that? That was my fault?”

  “Don’t worry about it now.” Marsha sighed. “Lucy, let’s try it again. Maybe a little more slowly this time?”

  Again, they attempted to visualize the colored bands of light that glistened between them. Again, Scout felt her awareness begin to merge with Marsha’s. Again, she became aware of that deep watchfulness stirring inside her, like a snake gathering itself up for another strike.

  This time, though, she could tell that Marsha felt it, too. She could sense her wariness, the faint fluttering of nervousness as it grew into alarm. She could feel the distance stretch between them as Marsha began, ever so cautiously, to withdraw.

  She’s going to stop. Scout knew what she was thinking now. She knew it as surely as if the thoughts were originating within her own head. Marsha was giving up. Maybe she’d try something else... or maybe not.

  Wait, Scout thought fiercely, This is important, damn it! We can’t stop now! But still she felt Marsha’s mind sliding carefully away.

  With steely determination, Scout concentrated on the connection Marsha was trying to break, holding it fast with her own mind, refusing to allow it to fade or stretch or weaken. At the same time, she focused the rest of her attention on the buried awareness she’d felt earlier, willing its cooperation. Immediately, she felt it swell within her.

  A swirling, viscous cloud, it expanded rapidly, exploding in a bright, chromium yellow blast of heat and fury. As though a heavy door had suddenly slammed wide open.

  Energy sizzled across all seven bands at once. Suddenly, they were more than just imaginary; they were a solid reality. Power poured through them. Marsha jerked as though she’d received an electric shock. Scout heard the sharp intake of Lucy’s breath. Her own senses reeled slightly, and when they settled back into place, her awareness had increased beyond anything she had ever known. She had the feeling she could sense colors and sounds and other unnamable nuances she had never been aware of before. And she knew intuitively that some of what she was experiencing now was how Marsha saw things every day.

  But there was more to it than that. She was aware of... everything. She could sense Marsha’s heart beating, could even feel the thrummi
ng of blood in her veins. She knew the shaky intake of her breath was caused by her attempts to regain control. But... Oh, no. I don’t think so, Scout told her, tasting cold, bitter triumph.

  “Fuck. I knew this was a bad idea,” Lucy muttered, and Scout didn’t need to open her eyes to sense her fear. Or to see her moving around within the circle, reaching for the tools she needed. She understood even before the herbs ignited that Lucy was planning to burn sage and lavender again in an effort to tame the swirling clouds of energy.

  “Not this time, girlfriend,” she chuckled, as a savage, unholy glee ballooned inside her. “Afraid that just ain’t gonna work anymore.” It’s a whole new ballgame now. And to prove her point, she kicked things up another notch. An invisible fireball spiraled through the room, sweeping over the cats with tiny little darts and flickers of light.

  Like a mini tornado, energy blazed across the circle, upsetting everything in its path, all but sucking out the flames of the candles. It’s amazing what I could do with this, Scout thought. And, damn, but it was funny, watching the way they all scurried about.

  “I’m glad somebody’s able to enjoy this.” The thought appeared, unbidden, in her brain, accompanied by a tight, shrieking lance of something akin to panic.

  Hmmm. Now, wasn’t that interesting? Scout was momentarily diverted from the chaos she’d been creating. She let her mind probe the panic; touching and circling it. Picking at the edges, until it was ready to erupt into terror. Hmph. Well, she certainly knew how that felt. Hell, she’d lived with that feeling for years now, hadn’t she?

  Fear, pain, panic and a lifetime of guilt and regret.

  Yup. She knew all about those puppies. And what was it they said? Oh, yeah. Paybacks are a bitch. Well, ain’t that the truth, though!

  “Scout, please! Stop this.”

  Scout closed her mind to Marsha’s appeals and fled back into the swirling power storm, reveling in the torquing pressure that only just reached her from the others’ minds. But she could not suppress the slightest twinge of... was it conscience?