by Jenn Nixon
As he tapped out the message to the loop, an overwhelming sense of anger and desperation filled him. He hit send and heard Dina crying in his mind. Liam teleported to the exit and shoved the door open. When he dashed into the kitchen, the penthouse floor vibrated beneath his feet, rattling the walls and window.
Dina’s scream echoed through the air.
Liam focused on her and reappeared on the balcony. He gasped and tried calling her name, but his throat constricted. Dina?
She hovered a few inches above the balcony floor, surrounded by her blue barrier and a second shimmering bubble, similar to the protective one she and Duncan created. The odd green glow of her eyes returned as she tilted her head to the side.
He’s coming, Liam. He knows.
Who, Dina? He stepped closer, holding every emotion in check.
The bubble faded and Dina floated down to the floor, displaying all the signs of fear and anger that spilled off her body. We have to stop him, before he kills us all.
The blue barrier disappeared. She swayed and fell sideways. He caught her in his arms, carried her back to the bedroom, and set her down gently.
Liam paced the small space between the bed and balcony doors and reached out to Duncan and Theo, aware he couldn’t help Dina on his own without Caelum present. Each time the future memories touched her present mind she gave away information he wasn’t sure he should pay any attention to let alone use to further their investigation.
When the front door unlocked, Liam darted into the hallways and waited on the landing. He hated telling Duncan that his sister had another episode, and by the look on his face when he walked in, he seemed to have a good idea already.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The clock on her desk flipped to six-thirty just as the overnight kennel manager, Tobi, walked by her office. Sanjeeta rubbed her brow, staring down at her Netphone, wishing it had never beeped with a message. Spending the last four days distraught over Caelum’s sudden and extended departure must seem trivial compared to what the MIND team was going through. She knew how much they cared for him. However, she wasn’t certain if they knew how much he cared, or the madness he endured trying to keep them safe.
Keeping her promise to Liam, though an easy task, didn’t seem like enough. All this time, she felt sidelined, unable to contribute more than managing Caelum’s sessions with Dina. Still, doing such a small part in a bigger scheme to help to find Marjorie was better than nothing.
Sanjeeta used the entire walk home to clear her mind and tried to relax the tension in her muscles. At the very least, if she sensed him and knew he was okay, no one would be worried. The last thing she wanted was to make contact with him and snap at him for breaking his promise to leave the link open. Given the fight between him and Dina, she assumed his mental state needed soothing.
After popping a frozen lasagna into the microwave and gulping back a big glass of wine, Sanjeeta showered and changed into her lucky pajamas, an old college tank top and shorts, and sat on her bed, staring out the window waiting for her food to finish cooking.
Once through with her dull meal and another glass of wine, she lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Having no idea what she’d say, she shut her eyes, breathed in deeply, and filled her mind with his name.
She spent a half an hour calling out to him with her thoughts and received no response, only emptiness. His voices, his mind, and his emotions were gone. Sanjeeta cursed and got off the bed, kicking a pillow into her kitchenette on her way toward the window he’d installed last week.
As she gazed out, watching the sky darkening as the sun inched down the horizon, Sanjeeta wished she had formed the bond when she had the chance.
If she were his Conduit, he’d hear her, anywhere. Caelum would know how much she needed him, too. He was the brightness of her day and the hidden desires of her night. He consumed her thoughts and aroused her dreams. If she were his Conduit, he’d feel her, everywhere.
He doesn’t, because he’s gone. Sanjeeta felt the tears welling in her eyes. She pulled the shirt over her nose and dabbed her eyes. Too much wine. It made her weepy. Caelum didn’t need that, he required logic and clarity and tethering.
There had to be a way to make him hear her. Sanjeeta picked up her Netphone and tapped a message to Lexa. A second after hitting send the doorbell rang.
Come in.
Lexa blipped into the living room. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Hi, have some questions, do you have a minute?”
“Yep, Bates is back at the base verifying Aime’s trace, we’re getting close,” Lexa said, glancing at the studio’s window with her silver eyes. “So…”
“Liam asked me to reach out to Caelum again and I wanted to see if you have any tips or suggestions on how to make him listen?”
“I wish I did, Sandee.” Lexa frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “He and I have this Enhancer communication thing and he’s been ignoring that, too. He’s done this before though, if that’s any consolation, says he’ll be back in a week and it turns into a month and I’m sure this isn’t helping you make a choice about being his Conduit.”
Sanjeeta chuckled softly and shook her head. “I am his Conduit, Lexa, we just haven’t formed the traditional bond.”
“Aw, really?” Lexa slapped her hands against her chest. “Then you really do have a better chance of connecting and contacting him.”
“I’ve tried everything I can think of begging, threatening, bargaining…”
“You’ve seen inside his head more than once…you probably know him on a deeper level than I do now, you know how he thinks, what he wants and needs, that’s what you should focus on to get his attention. He can hear his name, always and anywhere. He’s also had millions of years practice ignoring it.” Lexa turned from the window, shaking her head slightly. “I honestly don’t know how you should proceed, sometimes everyone needs a hard shove and sometimes and gentle embrace.”
“Once I get him talking, I’ll know.”
“Oh, try calling him Every Mind. I think he’ll get a kick out of it.” Lexa smiled slightly and nodded. “Good luck.”
“I’m going to need it,” she replied, lifting her hand just as Lexa vanished.
She flopped down on the couch, reigning in her sigh, aware moping did no good. Setting her head back, she gazed up at the ceiling again, pushing everything away. Her muscles relaxed as she shut her eyes and breathed deep and steady, letting the worry and anxiety float into the air, lifting it from her shoulders. His name filled her mind. Sanjeeta opened herself to him, hoping he’d hear her, sense her, or feel her somehow.
Caelum.
Saying his name in her mind sent fiery prickles across her skin bringing back those moments in the spaceship when he kissed her and touched her and filled her. The throbbing between her thighs spread to every nerve ending. How could she miss him so much, she’d only been with him once?
Caelum, please hear me…
Still nothing.
Every Mind, I know you’re out there.
That is not my name. His reply sparked her libido into overdrive.
Hi, Caelum.
Hello.
Sanjeeta sighed, trying to ignore what his voice did to her. Where are you?
Tzilikiz Prime.
It’s been four days, you asked for two.
I know.
You need to come back.
No.
She sat upright, wishing he’d open the link. I know you had an argument with Dina, that’s not a good enough reason to disappear.
I am where I need to be, they are better without my presence.
Without the link, she didn’t know any of the feelings he was currently trying to process, but the tone of his mental voice said enough. Lexa’s words came back, focus on what he wanted, needed. Right now none of that seemed relevant, he was evaluating his role with the team and reached a conclusion. Why do you think that?
It is fact. I am the cause of everything plaguing the MIND t
eam.
How?
The truth is too complicated for words.
Then show me.
I am too far.
She gritted her teeth and stomped toward her window, glancing out, hoping to keep calm. Then come back. The team needs you.
No, I have altered their lives enough, they must forge their own way now.
What about Lexa? You’re her mentor and last of the Enhancers, you need each other.
I know you are attempting to help, but I cannot return.
Ever?
I don’t know.
Damn you, Caelum. You can’t give me the most exquisite night of my life and then just leave. You said you need me and I told you, repeatedly, that everything you feel, I feel. Don’t you understand what that means? When he didn’t answer, she gazed up into the sky, trying to stop her eyes from filling with tears. You’re already gone, aren’t you? You’ve forgotten what happens when we’re together, when we touch…I need you, too.
Please, Sanjeeta, you must understand, I spent thousands of years watching your world. Listened to everyone, everywhere every day for two hundred years to save it. Planned meticulously for decades, ensuring every possible avenue brought them all together to stop the reckoning. One moment to undo it all. Because I cared for them, because I interfered. I don’t belong, I never did.
“Bullcrap,” she said, then thought it again unsure if he’d hear her from so far away. You belong with me. I am your Conduit, Caelum, if you come back or not that will still be true. I want to continue to be your lover too.
I’m sorr—
No. You come back and dump me to my face. I deserve that, after what I’ve been through. She dropped her side of the telepathic conversation.
Sanjeeta?
Ignoring him, she got up and went to her fridge to grab the last of her wine. He tried two more times to get her to respond. Instead, she pulled out her Netphone, checked the handy guide Hinta sent her, and scrolled to the section about blocking people from her mind and hearing her thoughts. Sanjeeta tried to understand everything the tip sheet described, but she had a hard time seeing her brain as a building with levels and offices full of doors and locked rooms and hiding spaces.
Other than not thinking, telepaths had the ability to put a mental shield. According to the help guide, some visualized it as a physical barrier, others used words telling the mind what to do, and a few lucky ones naturally had the ability and describe it like a tightening a muscle. While she read and finished her wine, she heard Caelum call to her again, irritated this time.
She smirked and went back to the fridge for another bottle. It was helping to drown out his voice and the lust still swirling through her body from hearing him.
In the morning, she’d have to tell Liam she succeeded in making contact, but not in convincing him to come back. Hopefully he wouldn’t ask for details.
Sanjeeta was definitely buzzed when Caelum called her name again, this time more forcefully with a hint of anger.
You ignored me for four days. You can’t last forty minutes? The reply snapped through her mind.
You’re intoxicated.
No, crap. What do you want, Caelum?
“To talk.” His voice filled the air behind her.
Her entire body quaked as she rose from the couch, not quite ready to see his perfect face and breathtaking eyes and tempting lips. She turned, attempting to keep her face still despite his immaculate appearance. Catching his gaze made her heart stop. Even if he dropped her like a hot coal, Sanjeeta would remember this feeling for the rest of her life.
Although he appeared to be looking at her with his silver eyes, he peered right through her, lost in his mind, consumed by fear. Caelum may see more with his natural eyes, but she wanted the man she met in the base, she wanted the baby blues.
“Look at me,” she said softly, walking around the sofa and stepping closer.
“I am.”
“Caelum,” she snapped again. His eyes changed. He drew a deep breath. “That’s right, one look is all it takes between us. You’re ready to give that up knowing it’s only going to get stronger?”
His eyes flashed quickly and he lifted his hand. “Come with me, Conduit. We can leave this world. Go anywhere.”
“Just like that, poof, and you can leave them all behind?”
“My burden is not theirs. Whether she’s aware of it or not, Dina has the strength to drain my energy. She may be the reason I die. She may have already seen it happen—”
“What?” Sanjeeta shuddered and stepped closer lifting her hand as a pit settled in her stomach.
Caelum frowned. “The probability we are following the original course of events is overwhelming. The memories in Dina’s head have only sped up the timeline, similar to when Tolk used a precog to find Kim and Lexa.”
“I have no idea what half of that means, but if it’s true, they need to know. They’ve already gone to the second part of their plan. Someone accessed Valtor’s information. You have to tell them they’re falling into the same trap, Caelum. This is why they need you. This is why you have to stay.” She slipped her hand into his before he pulled it away. There was no link, but his touch still ignited her body in a heartbeat. His jagged breath confirmed he felt it too. “Stay. Please. Talk to the team.”
“Sanjeeta—”
“This is more important than our feelings. I understand that now. I won’t tempt you. I won’t obligate you. Go see them. Then decide what to do next.”
Caelum’s shoulders dropped. His eyes returned to silver and for one quick moment, the link formed. The next moment he was gone. Sanjeeta collapsed against the arm of her couch, covered her face and cried, terrified she’d never see him again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Three sets of eyes peered down at her when her sight came into focus. They all looked relieved but worried. Dina frowned, instantly picking up the details from her brother’s mind. The blue barrier had formed again. She said someone was coming to kill them. Despite the side effects, she was seriously tempted to peek into the remaining future memories in her head. All the inadvertent ones that came usually required a trigger word, event, or face. What could she uncover if she focused?
“How you feeling, sis?” Duncan asked, helping her sit up while Theo took a step back and Liam one forward.
“Like we’re missing an opportunity here. I still have important bits in my head and if they stay there much longer I’m going to see them anyway—”
Liam cut her off. “I’ve asked Sanjeeta to reach out to Caelum again, perhaps if you try…”
“And give him access to my head?”
“He won’t hijack your memories, Dina, he doesn’t operate like that,” Theo said, standing near the door with his grumpy military face on. “I think you’re the only one who hasn’t tried.”
“At the very least, you should say sorry, you were kind of a dick to him.”
“Yeah, I know,” Dina sighed, ignoring the chill riding her spine. “I’ll…try. That means I need space.”
Liam smiled and leaned in to kiss her forehead. We’ll be in the base, take your time.
Love you, spaceboy.
And I love you. He winked before following Theo and Duncan into the hall and down the stairs, taking their excitable and concerned energy away, helping to clear the cobwebs in her mind.
After a few minutes of silence, Dina lowered her blocks and opened her mind, reaching out to the Enhancer, concentrating on his name.
Caelum?
The reply came instantly as if he were next to her. I am here.
I’m sorry.
Yes, I know.
No matter what happens…I don’t think I’d ever hurt you.
I want to believe that too, Dina.
Come back to the base, please?
I will be there shortly.
He faded from her mind. Dina furrowed her brow trying to remember how long shortly usually meant in Caelum time. Figuring she should give the guys the good news, she teleport
ed directly to the kitchen. Casey yelped and dropped her glass of green goop. They both lifted a hand to stop it telekinetically. Dina smiled. Casey frowned, took control of her drink, and set it on the counter.
Sighing, Dina approached the breakfast bar. “I’m sorry, Casey. I…don’t even know what else to say.”
“Do you have feelings for him? I’m not the jealous type, Dina, but everyone felt the connection between you two in the base—”
“No. Never. No feelings. No secret yearnings. Find him super hot, yes, probably always will, but that’s it. I promise you, Liam is all I’ve ever wanted. And Theo, do you know what he called you? His home.” Dina reached over and took Casey’s hand. “You feel vibes sorta like I sense emotions, you should be able to know I’m not lying. That Dina and Theo, they aren’t us…they were broken, trying to survive and keep each other together.” When Casey’s eyes turned glassy, Dina’s tears fell. “I don’t want to be her, Casey. I can’t. I don’t want to lose my friends, my father or brother, we’ve all been alone, lost, or rejected most of our lives and together we created this family…I’m so sorry, Casey.”
Dina pulled her hand back and covered her face. Casey came to her side, slid her hand across Dina’s shoulder, and hugged her sideways.
“I know you’re telling the truth, you’re right, I can vibe you,” she said with a twinge of humor and rocked her a bit harder to get her attention. “I don’t want you to become her either, because if you do that means I’m gone and I haven’t had enough time with Theo. So we need to get to work, right?”
Nodding and wiping her eyes, Dina got up from the stool and followed Casey into the base. They may not have mended every bridge yet, but it was a start and already seemed to ease the tension in the room when Theo and Liam glanced down from the hub and smiled.
Before either of them reached the lounge, the security alert for the live feeds echoed through the base.
