“No,” I assured him. “Actually, I went into the city to, uh, run an errand.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about the vision. I was worried he would think I was going crazy. I was worried about that enough on my own; I didn’t need to burden Rayne with it too.
“An errand?” Rayne said, intrigued. “What kind of errand?”
“Um... I just came from the Court of Ambassadors. Let’s just say, I had to have a little chat with Councilman Gibbs and your BFF, Ash.”
“Oh really,” Rayne said. “So I guess that means Orion shot down your request to come with us on the mission?”
“Big time,” I said, annoyed. “He practically ripped my head off.”
“Well, did things at least go better with Ash and Gibbs?”
“Way better,” I said. “Ash is going to talk to them as soon as he can, probably tonight, and Gibbs said he would support me one hundred percent. And not only that, but I was totally right about being able to locate Voss across the border. Once I was on Earth, he was easier to see than even you or my mom. There’s no question I’ll be able to find him if I come.”
I could sense hesitation in Rayne’s voice. “That’s... great. I’m sure it will all work out.”
“You don’t have to pretend you’re happy about me wanting to come,” I said, a little frustrated. “Oh, and I thought you’d be happy to hear that the Council has decided to terminate my sessions at the testing center, for good.”
“They terminated your testing?”
“Yep. So I guess you don’t have to worry about me coming home tired and overworked anymore. That should make you happy.”
Rayne sighed. “Sadie, of course I was concerned that you were coming home exhausted, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want you to keep moving forward with your goals. Why would I be happy that they terminated your testing? I know how important it was to you. I just want you to be happy.”
I felt immediately guilty for being so harsh. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I know you mean well. I think I was just frustrated with myself and I was taking it out on you. You just kept reminding me of how tired I was all the time and I didn’t want to accept that it was true. But now we actually have proof that I really am more tired than everyone else.”
“What do you mean?” Rayne asked.
“Well, instead of taking me to the room next to the testing area today they brought me back to Banya after I passed out, but I didn’t heal for hours. Basically, we found out that the Healing Water on Ambrosia doesn’t do anything to help me. I have to heal all on my own.”
“Seriously?” Rayne said. “Wow, I guess that makes a lot more sense now why you’ve been so worn out.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Sooo, actually,” Rayne said, “that reminds me... I kind of made the mistake of mentioning to my mother earlier today that you’ve been working really hard, and... of course she took that to mean that she needed to come take care of you for the night.”
“Take care of me?” I repeated, confused.
“Um, yeah,” Rayne said. “She’s actually here right now...”
“Here, where?” I questioned.
“At your apartment,” Rayne explained. “Cooking you dinner. And she may have brought the whole family with her to help keep you company too.”
“Your whole family is there?” I blurted.
“I tried to stop her,” Rayne insisted. “I tried to tell her you’d be too tired for an apartment full of visitors, but you know my mom, once she gets an idea in her head there’s no stopping her.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “It’s fine. She’s just trying to be nice.”
“If you want to stay in the city and hide, I’ll understand,” Rayne said with a chuckle.
I laughed. “Thanks, but an evening with your family actually sounds kind of nice.”
“Okay,” Rayne said, “but you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Twenty minutes later, I walked through my apartment door and was greeted by a room full of open arms and hugs all around. Dolan and Binnie were in the lead, followed by Flint and Ivy with their baby, and then Lark and Violette, even Rayne’s grandma Andella grabbed me for a big squeeze and kiss on the cheek. It was actually the first time the whole family was at my apartment at one time. It was quite the little party.
“Rayne tells us you’ve been working yourself to the bone these days,” Rayne’s mother said. “I didn’t mean to impose, but if I know anything that cures a hard day’s work, it’s a nice, hot homemade meal. Am I right?”
I nodded. “That sounds great, Binnie. Thank you.”
Binnie patted my shoulder. “Of course, dear. Think nothing of it.” Then, she turned to the rest of the room. “Dinner will be ready in five minutes,” she announced. “And that table’s not going to set itself, so let’s get to it, people.”
I started toward the kitchen behind Lark and Violette, but Rayne’s father blocked my path. “Not you, Sadie. You go sit down on that couch over there and make yourself comfortable. We’re here to make your life a little easier, not put you to work.”
I shook my head. “I don’t mind helping, really.”
Dolan grinned. “Nonsense. Now go take a seat. We’ll call you when it’s ready.”
As Dolan turned he took Rayne’s arm and ushered him toward me. “You too, son. Have a seat. We wouldn’t want your girlfriend out here getting lonely, now would we?”
Rayne chuckled, “No, we wouldn’t want that, Dad.”
Dolan gave Rayne a hard pat on the back. “Good man, son. Good man.”
Only a few minutes later we were all squeezed into seats around the small dining room table listening to Binnie give a heartfelt blessing on the food.
I had truly come to love Rayne’s family. Sure, they could be a little boisterous at times, but that was half their charm. And they were good people with good hearts. When it came to family, you couldn’t ask for anything better than that.
When the blessing was over, Lark immediately reached for a roll. Binnie swatted his hand away. “Ladies first,” she scolded, and then she placed the basket of bread in front of my plate. “Go ahead, Sadie. Help yourself.”
We were at my apartment and yet I felt like the guest of honor.
“Thanks,” I said. “But, everyone, please dig in.”
Lark grinned. “If you insist.” And then he dug a spoon into a big bowl of corn.”
“So we hear you’re almost ready to start at the Academy,” Dolan said to me. “Rayne says you’ve been making some great progress in your training.”
“Um, yeah, I think so,” I replied. “But I’m still pretty nervous.”
“Don’t worry,” Binnie said. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
Rayne’s oldest brother Flint laughed. “Yeah, if Rayne can do it, then pretty much anyone can.” His wife slapped the side of his arm. “What?” he said. “It’s true.”
“Sadie’s going to be amazing,” Violette chimed in. “I’ve seen her in action.”
I sent Violette an appreciative glance. She was the only person in Rayne’s family that knew about my abilities. I figured since we were living in the same apartment together it would be too hard to keep things a secret, and it was nice to have someone besides Rayne to open up to, especially another girl.
Lark reached across the table and grabbed another roll from the basket. “After we eat you have to show us some of your fighting moves,” he said to me with a chortle. “I bet you can kick Rayne’s behind.”
Rayne laughed. “Believe me, I know she can.”
The meal, of course, was delicious. Binnie was an impressive cook. It practically felt like Christmas, with a big honey-glazed ham along with all the fixings to go with it.
“Dinner was wonderful,” I told her as we all headed to the living room. “I think I’ll be full for days.”
“Me too,” Lark agreed.
Flint punched his brother in the side. “Yeah, right,” he said. “You’ll be bac
k in there to finish off the rest of the ham in twenty minutes.”
“I hope you all left room for dessert,” Binnie added. “There’s a lizzy fruit pie in the kitchen and plenty of ice cream to go with it.”
Lark jumped from the chair where he had barely taken a seat. “Okay, I’m hungry again,” he said. “Who wants a piece of pie?” Everyone in the room raised their hand. Lark smirked. “Well, then you better hurry and get in there before I eat it all.”
Binnie grabbed the corner of Lark’s shirt and dragged him to his chair. “You sit,” she ordered. “I’ll dish out the pie.”
“Would you like some help?” I offered.
Binnie waved me away. “No, no, I’m fine. You’re supposed to be resting, remember?”
Flint moved to the center of the room. “So, who wants to play a game of charades?”
Lark snorted. “Charades? What are we, eight?”
Flint sneered back at his brother. “You’re just scared because you know you can’t beat me.”
Flint jerked up from his chair. “I’m not scared. You’re the one that should be scared.”
“Okay, boys,” Dolan said, suppressing a laugh, “it’s just a game, not a civil war.”
Binnie emerged from the kitchen carrying two plates of pie that she delivered to me and Rayne. It became obvious that she had deemed me to be the guest of honor for the night.
After everyone had received their dessert, a lively game of charades ensued.
Well, it was lively to everyone except for Rayne’s grandmother. She fell asleep before we even finished the first round.
The game was neck in neck the entire way—me, Lark, Rayne, and Binnie, against Violette, Dolan, Flint, and Ivy. Our team really thought we had them beat in the last round, but in the end, Flint’s team took home the victory.
Flint stood from his chair and stuck out his chest in Lark’s direction. “Bow to the charade master,” he commanded. “Grovel at my feet.”
“Not a chance,” Lark scoffed. “You cheated.”
Violette rolled her eyes. “For the last time, he didn’t cheat.”
“Rayne,” Binnie said, “do you mind waking up your grandma? We should probably get going and I doubt your father wants to carry her out to the car.”
“Of course,” Rayne agreed.
Binnie and Dolan went to pack things up in the kitchen while Lark, Flint, and Violette continued to squabble over charades.
Rayne approached Andella and gently took her hand. “Grandma?” Rayne said. “Can you hear me? It’s time to go home.”
I wondered how his grandma could possibly sleep through so much commotion. I moved quietly beside her and gave Rayne a smile.
“Grandma,” he said again, patting her hand, “wake up.”
Andella suddenly gasped as her eyes shot open. “Aurora!” she cried.
Every mouth in the room went silent.
“Aurora!” she cried again.
Binnie and Dolan rushed into the room.
Andella’s hand clasped around my wrist, making me go stiff in surprise.
Her voice strained. “Death...” she said. “Death and destruction are upon us... The end is near.” She clenched my wrist tighter, this time turning her head directly at me. Her eyes looked glazed over, like she was in a trance. “Aurora!” she cried again.
Dolan rushed to his mother’s side and pulled her hand gently from my wrist. “It’s okay, Mom,” he said calmly. “It’s okay. It’s time to go home.”
I didn’t know what to say, all I could do was stare with wide eyes.
“Sorry, Sadie,” Dolan said. “She’s getting old. Sometimes she’s not all here.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”
He helped his mother to stand. “We’re just going to go for a ride,” he said to her soothingly. “And then we’ll get you to bed.”
Everyone aside from Rayne and Violette left quickly after that.
When Violette went back to her bedroom, Rayne stayed with me on the couch.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “I’m sorry about my grandma.”
Talk of the Aurora was only getting worse. Now Rayne’s grandma was spewing out warnings of death and destruction too? If Rayne knew all the crazy things I was seeing, he would be worried for sure. It seemed like all he ever did lately was worry.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “Really.”
Rayne looked at me thoughtfully, running his hand along the side of my cheek. “I’m sure you’re tired. I should probably go and let you get some sleep.” He stood from the couch.
Before I came home, I was planning to spend time reading Jane’s journal, but now I just felt tired. I didn’t want to deal with any of it. All I wanted was to feel Rayne’s warmth wrap around me.
“Wait,” I said, reaching for his hand. I pulled him back towards me. “Will you stay a little longer?”
He smiled warmly and returned to sit next to me. “Just a little longer,” he agreed.
I rested my head against his shoulder. “It’s just been one of those days, you know? I missed you.”
Rayne wrapped his arm around me and played with the strands of my hair. “I missed you too. I’m sorry it was a rough day.”
I lifted my head to gaze up at him. “Thanks for being here.”
He looked back at me tenderly. “Of course,” he said. “I’ll always be here for you.” And then he pulled my face closer until our lips were entwined.
18. ADVENTURE
The next morning, I woke up with Jane’s Journal lying face-down across my stomach. After Rayne left the night before I tried to flip through the pages and see if I could find any mention of the Aurora, but I must have fallen asleep before I could find anything significant.
I set the journal aside and grabbed for my phone to check for any messages. I pushed the buttons with anticipation. Right at this moment, Rayne was supposed to be meeting with Ash to see if he could convince the Council to let me go with his team on the mission. I let out an impatient sigh. There wasn’t any news yet.
I took my phone with me out to the kitchen and fixed myself some breakfast, watching the screen like a hawk in hopes of hearing from Rayne.
When the phone finally rang, I threw down my bowl of cereal and answered before the second ring.
“What did they say?” I blurted.
“I don’t know how he pulled it off,” Rayne replied, “but Ash convinced the Council to let you come.”
I couldn’t believe it. For once, Ash had actually pulled through for me.
I couldn’t help but squeal. “Are you serious?”
“Yep,” Rayne said. “You’re officially a part of the mission. We need to be ready to leave by seven o’clock tonight.”
“Tonight?” I repeated, feeling both elated and nervous at the same time. Everything was happening so fast. I was really going on a mission.
“Are you sure you’re feeling up to this?” Rayne asked. “There’s still time to change your mind.”
“Not a chance,” I said. “There’s no way I’m letting you talk me out of this. Just think... before the end of the day we could be back in California.” I gripped the phone with excitement. “So, what do I need to pack?”
It wasn’t like I had my own stash of weapons or tactical gear to bring with me, but Rayne said all I really should bring was a few changes of clothes. We would pick up any gear we needed once we crossed the border to Earth.
“How soon do you think you could have your stuff ready to go?” Rayne asked.
I shrugged. “I doubt it will take long. Why? I thought we didn’t need to be ready until tonight.”
“We don’t,” Rayne said. “It’s just, I sort of had something planned for the two of us to do this week. Normally I would never do something like this on the same day that we’re leaving on a mission, but they originally told me we wouldn’t be leaving until later in the week, and I already had this plan set in motion. So, I thought we could go today instead.”
“Oh really?�
� I said, intrigued. “What did you have in mind?”
Rayne chuckled. “I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”
I smiled. “You know how much I love a good surprise... Count me in.”
“Can you be ready by eleven?” Rayne asked.
I agreed happily and hung up the phone. This day was turning out better than I could have asked for. Not only was I going to spend the day on some romantic surprise with Rayne, but just hours from now I was going to be back in California. And this time, I was actually going to be allowed outside the testing center at the border.
As I packed for our trip, I couldn’t help but fantasize about being back in California. Ambrosia was wonderful and beautiful, and I felt a sense of purpose here, but California would always hold a special place in my heart. California would always be my first home.
Not long after I talked to Rayne, Orion called me on the phone himself to relay the good news about the mission. He didn’t exactly seem thrilled about it though.
“You are to remain with the team at all times,” he instructed. “This is a rare exception that the Council is making by letting you come, and I’ve been given strict orders to keep an eye on you. You’re not a trained agent and the Council is not completely convinced that you don’t pose some kind of risk to Ambrosia.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m going to go blab to all my friends that I’ve been living on another planet. They’d probably have me committed.”
“Even so,” he went on, “there have been an alarming number of Healing Water thefts near where we’ll be headed and none of us can be too careful. You are not to speak to anyone outside the team while we’re there. Is that clear?”
I sighed. “Yes... it’s clear. I would never tell anyone about Banya. I understand why it has to be kept secret.”
“Good,” Orion said. “Now we expect you and Rayne to meet us at the Campus Security Center at seven o’clock sharp. We’ll see you there.”
After I hung up the phone, I realized how relieved I was that I didn’t have to reveal to the Council that I had more abilities than just healing, especially to Orion. If that ended up being the only way we could catch Voss then it would be worth it to tell him, but for now, I was glad to keep it to myself.
Flood Rising (The Water Keepers, Book 4) Page 15
