“Thanks,” Grace said with a relieved smile. “Come on, I have a few things to fill you in on.”
Hope followed Grace into the elevator, listening as she began rattling things off. “We got a bungalow right next to the one the Bearens are in, and I moved our things over there. I went and got you some more clothes since the ones I got yesterday seem to fit you, but I warn you, almost everything is military green or gray. I got a few more toiletries, towels, stuff like that too, but if there is anything else you want or need, just give them your name at checkout.
“Also, the kitchen is stocked and here, this is your vox. I got one for both of us and I already programmed yours with my number and vice versa. I put Clark’s vox code in too since he insisted when he saw me programming them.”
Hope took the vox from Grace and slipped it into her pocket. “Thanks,” she said, hurrying to keep up with the smaller woman who was all but running down the street.
“You’re welcome. Okay, here’s the bad news.” Grace stopped and turned to face Hope. “Berta woke up for a few minutes this morning. I was able to talk to her, and she was very happy that she was no longer a prisoner. She didn’t remember how she got hurt, or what happened to Aisling. She asked about you, and Karma, and I told her you were both fine. Then she said thank you for freeing her and, well, she closed her eyes and slipped back into a coma. The doctors aren’t sure if she will wake up again or not, but they don’t seem too optimistic about it.”
“I’m glad you were able to talk to her, and that she knew she was free,” Hope said. “That’s the important part. The one thing that meant the most to her was being free. She didn’t want to die a prisoner. Because of you, she won’t.”
“No, not because of me,” Grace corrected as she turned and began walking again. “Because of all of us. Which brings me to my other worry.”
“Aisling,” Hope said.
“Yes,” Grace replied. “We have to find her, Hope. We promised. I don’t know how we’re going to keep that promise, and that bothers me. Now I’m leaving, which is worse.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Hope said. “I have a plan.”
Grace glanced quickly at Hope, frowned, and paused again. “I know what you’re thinking Hope, and I know it’s not an easy thing for you to do. But to be honest, I don’t know what good it’s going to do to tell the Director about your ability. It’s a great ability, and without it we wouldn’t be free right now. But I think those Brethren took Aisling a lot more than a few miles away.”
“Actually, I’ve been holding out on you a little,” Hope admitted. “I have more than one ability.”
“Really?” Grace asked in surprise. “So what’s the other one? Or is that too personal to ask?”
“No, it’s not too personal for you to ask,” Hope said. “I consider you a friend.”
“Thanks, Hope,” Grace said, smiling. “I consider you a friend, too.”
Hope returned Grace’s smile, a little surprised at how quickly she had come to care about this small, intelligent, energetic pixie of a woman.
“I can read objects,” she said simply.
Grace frowned as she considered that for a few moments. “Read objects in what way?”
“It differs,” Hope replied. “Mostly I read the most relevant fact about an object. Where it spent the most time, where it was created, a strong emotional event connected to it, a birth, a death, a murder, things like that. Whatever emotion or event leaves the strongest impression on the object, I get. If nothing else, I can get the origin of the object.”
“Now that’s a gift you could really do something with,” Grace said. “All I can do with mine is bonk an occasional person on the head with a rock, and turn off the light after I get into bed at night.”
Hope laughed. “Do you know how often I’ve wished I could turn off the light without having to get out of bed?” she asked. “I’d love to be able to do that.”
“Yeah, I admit, it comes in handy,” Grace said with a grin. “Now, back to serious stuff. Do you think that if you can get your hands on that ground-car, you can find out where it came from?”
“Maybe,” Hope replied. “If not, I think there might be things inside of it that could point us toward the main compound Berta mentioned. It’s worth a try. And Aisling is worth the risk of letting the Directorate in on my secret.”
“If it helps, I really don’t believe that the Directorate will force you to work for them, no matter what your ability is,” Grace said. “Maybe I should stay here though. It feels wrong to run off right now, with Aisling still being held prisoner.”
“Grace, your sister is your family and, believe me, you don’t want to forget how important your family is to you. She must come first.”
“I know,” Grace replied. “I feel torn though.”
“I promise to keep in touch with you,” Hope said. “If I need you, I won’t hesitate to let you know. How’s that?”
“That’s good,” Grace replied with relief. “Call me if you need me, and I promise, I’ll come back just as soon as I can.”
After seeing Grace off, Hope returned to the hospital to check on the babies again. Since they were sleeping she didn’t stay long. As she turned to leave, she sensed the Bearens close by, and couldn’t prevent the quick surge of excitement she felt. She paused for a moment, focusing on changing the babies’ diapers in an effort to compose herself before stepping out into the hall.
The Bearens she expected to see, but the tall, bald, middle aged man with deep lines of worry scoring his face and sad gray eyes, was a surprise.
“Hope,” Jackson said with a short bow. “This is the Director. Director, this is Harlan’s cousin, Hope Strigida.”
Hope took a deep breath and stepped forward, reaching out to shake hands with the Director. “It’s nice to meet you, Director.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well, Miss Strigida,” the Director said, shaking her hand gently. “I only wish it could have been under better circumstances.”
“Yes, I agree,” Hope replied.
“I was just telling the Bearens that there really is no need for you to remain here, on the base,” the Director said. “I understand that the infants are doing well, so it would not be difficult to transfer them to a hospital in Virginia, along with you, of course.”
“What about Aisling?” Hope asked.
“Aisling?” the Director repeated blankly.
“There were four of us abducted by the Brethren,” Hope explained. “They still have one of us. Her name is Aisling, and we need to get her back.”
“Yes, yes, I apologize, the name escaped me,” the Director said. “We are doing everything we can to locate the Brethren’s main compound, Miss Strigida. As soon as we find it, we will do everything in our power to rescue Aisling, and any other women that might be held there.”
“I would prefer to remain here, Director,” Hope said. “Berta and Karma are still here, in the hospital, as are the babies. The other woman, Grace, will be coming back in the next couple of days. We promised Aisling that we would not give up until we found her. I can’t break that promise.”
“I understand,” the Director said. “You are as loyal as your cousin. You may, of course, stay as long as you want, or feel that you need to.”
“Thank you, Director,” Hope said around the lump that always seemed to form in her throat at the mention of Harlan. “At a later time, I would like to discuss my cousin with you.”
“Of course, Miss Strigida,” the Director replied. “Whenever you are ready.”
“Director, would you like to join us for the evening meal?” Jackson asked politely.
“I really would,” the Director replied. “Unfortunately, I have several meetings to attend over the next several hours. Perhaps another time?”
“Certainly,” Jackson replied. He turned to Hope. “How about you, Hope? Would you care to join us for dinner?”
Hope hesitated, but she really didn’t want to be alone, which surprised her
. She usually enjoyed being alone. Then she realized that once she was alone, she would be forced to allow the full impact of her grief to hit.
“Yes, I would, thank you,” she said, almost before she knew she was going to say it.
Jackson smiled, as did Rob and Clark, and though Hope tried not to, she couldn’t help smiling back. A few minutes later she was walking with them toward their bungalow, explaining to them why Grace had left.
“I am sorry that your friend had to leave, but family issues must take precedence,” Jackson said when she was finished. “If you like, we would not mind if you continued to stay with us rather than remain alone in the other bungalow. In truth, we would prefer it.”
Hope considered the offer, but she wasn’t sure that would be a good idea. “Thanks,” she said, “I’ll think about it.”
“All right,” Jackson replied. He opened the bungalow door and stood aside so that she could enter, and she wondered how long it would take to get used to someone opening doors for her all the time. She went to wash up, then joined the guys in the kitchen, surprised to see that the table was loaded with food.
“Where did all of this come from?” she asked. “Did you guys cook again?”
“No,” Clark replied. “We had some food delivered from a restaurant just off the base. It’s supposed to be good.”
“It smells good,” Hope said as she sat down in the same chair she had used that morning. She was not surprised this time when Jackson reached for her plate and they passed it around, filling it with food. As she watched each of the Bearens take a turn putting food on her plate, realized that it was something they greatly enjoyed doing. She didn’t understand it, but she decided to accept it as part of who they were.
Rob set her plate down in front of her, and she thanked him with a smile. The food on the plate smelled wonderful, and she dug in hungrily.
“Hope, I would like to ask you about the creatures you painted on the living room wall in your apartment,” Clark said when they had all had a chance to assuage the worst of their hunger.
Hope looked up in surprise. “You guys were in my apartment?”
“Yes,” Jackson replied.
“Why?” Hope asked suspiciously.
“We are from Jasan,” Jackson said. “You know that, correct?”
“Yes, I figured that part out,” Hope replied.
“We came to Earth because we learned that the women who visit Jasan have their memories tampered with, or are abducted when they return to Earth. We came here to look into that matter, at the Director’s invitation. Ellicia was on her way to interview you the day we arrived, so we went with her. That was, we believe, the day after you were abducted.”
“I see,” Hope replied calmly, though inwardly she was shocked. They had only known Ellicia for a few days? Their feelings for her were so strong that she didn’t see how that was possible. She realized they were all watching her so she cleared her throat and searched for something to say.
“What did you want to know about the mural?”
“What are the creatures called?” Jackson asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
“I apologize,” Jackson said. “We thought that you had painted them.”
“I did. I just don’t know what they are.”
Jackson looked at Clark and Rob, but they appeared to be as confused as he was. “I’m sorry, but we don’t understand.”
“The first night after I got home from Jasan I woke up with this image in my mind that I couldn’t get rid of,” she said. “I had to paint it. I just had to. I didn’t understand it when it happened, and I still don’t. When I was finished, I had painted the three of you on my bedroom wall. I didn’t know who you were, or why I’d done it, which, I admit, bothered me a great deal. But it was done and I was able to sleep again so I took a shower, ate and went to bed.
“The next day I woke up with another image in my mind. This time I fought it for a few days. It was...disturbing to suddenly have these things in my mind that I had to paint. I thought that if I didn’t give in to it the second time, maybe it would go away. But it didn’t. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t even think about anything else for days. So I gave up and painted them. Right after I finished, I was kidnapped.”
“We did wonder how it was you had painted us in such detail, down to the courtesy beads in our hair,” Clark said.
“Courtesy beads?” Hope asked. “Is that what they’re called?”
“Yes,” Clark replied. “We only wear them as a courtesy when we are not on Jasan, as an aid to help others tell us apart.”
“I don’t know why I painted you three, and I don’t know why I painted those...whatever they are on my living room wall.”
“I just realized something,” Rob said.
“What’s that?” Hope asked.
“If I remember correctly, the fur on the birds in the mural match the colors of your braids,” he said. “Was that deliberate?”
“Yes, I noticed that too,” Hope said. “And no, it was not deliberate.” Hope reached for the glass of juice in front of her plate, the tattoo on her wrist catching her eye. She frowned.
“What is it?” Jackson asked.
“I just remembered something,” Hope said. “The eyes on those creatures that I painted are the same as Harlan’s.”
“Hang on,” Clark said. He got up and left the room, returning quickly with a small device in his hand. He fiddled with it a moment, then aimed it at the wall. Suddenly the mural from her living room appeared on the wall beside them.
“Re!” Hope exclaimed as she gazed at the wall.
“Ray?” Rob asked.
“Re,” Hope corrected, giving the ‘r’ sound a slight roll. “It’s Greek for, wow, or amazing.”
She turned toward the mural. “I thought so,” she murmured. “Look at the eyes.”
“Can I see the owl again please?” Clark asked.
She held her wrist up. “They’re the same shape, same color, and same design.”
“Is that unusual?” Jackson asked.
“It’s not unusual for an owl to be depicted with round eyes, no. But this is a stylized owl, specific to Greek mythology. The eyes are unique to this design. I think the eyes on the painting look the same as the ones on my wrist, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Jackson replied. “It is also interesting that you call this bird an owl. Do you remember what Ellicia said about the babies’ Clan name?”
“Owlfen,” Hope said, then her eyes widened in surprise. “Re! I didn’t even think of that!”
“These creatures that you painted must be Owlfen,” Clark said.
“If they are Jasani Clan animals, why don’t you guys recognize them?” Hope asked.
“Because they are one of the two Lost Clans,” Jackson replied. “We didn’t even know that there were supposed to be two more clans until recently. When we learned about them, we were told only their names. We have never seen them, nor have any Jasani in many thousands of years.”
“I don’t understand,” Hope said. “I know that Harlan is the babies’ father. I see it in their eyes, and the shape of their noses. What’s more, I feel it. So how is it that they are Owlfen?”
“You do ask good questions, I’ll say that for you,” Rob said with a grin.
Hope laughed softly. She simply couldn’t help herself. As hard as she fought it, she could not deny the connection she felt with these men.
With that thought, came the reminder that they had loved Ellicia. She turned back to the mural to hide the sudden pain she was afraid would show in her eyes.
“You know what else I just realized,” she said.
“What?” Jackson asked. He had felt Hope’s joy, then her sadness and withdrawal, and it baffled him. With everything else that had happened, the fact that their very own Arima was sitting there, with them, should have been exciting and miraculous. Instead, he felt as though his heart were about to break with the weight of Hope’s grief, and his o
wn.
“Harlan, Mattlan and Weldan each have just a little bit of hair on their heads,” Hope said. “Did you guys notice that?”
“Yeah, it’s cute,” Rob said. “Though I do hope it grows a bit thicker. Harlan wasn’t bald, was he?”
Hope smiled again and shook her head. “No, he wasn’t bald. And he had brown hair. Did you notice that little Harlan has white hair, Mattlan has red hair, and Weldan’s is brown?”
“Sure,” Rob said. “I also noticed that the colors match those three braids you wear. Do you color them that way for a particular reason?”
“I don’t color them,” Hope said. “I was born with them.” She pointed at the mural displayed on the wall and the Bearens all looked at it.
“I see,” Jackson said. “How interesting. You painted three creatures that none in living memory have seen, and the color of their fur matches the hair on the babies, as well as your three braids. Those creatures must be Owlfen, and what’s more, they must be the way the boys will look when they are grown.”
“That’s amazing, isn’t it?” Hope said softly. “I wonder what it all means?”
“I think it means that you are meant to be their mother,” Jackson said.
Hope dropped her hand to her lap and turned away from the mural. This wasn’t a subject she wanted to discuss right now, so she searched for a way to change it. It didn’t take long for her to think of a new question.
“How is it that you guys found us in the desert?” she asked.
“We didn’t,” Jackson replied. “Ellicia did.”
“How?”
“She used this,” Jackson said, reaching into his pocket. He withdrew his hand and held it out to her. Hope looked down and gasped at the sight of her missing earring. She reached for it slowly, hardly daring to believe it was really sitting there in his palm.
“How did you get this?” she asked as she picked it up and looked closely at it. Yes, it was definitely her earring.
“Ellicia found it,” Jackson replied. “In the hall outside the elevator in your apartment building. She used that to find you.”
The Bearens' Hope: Book Four of the Soul-Linked Saga Page 34
