“Is she always like this?” Danny whispered.
“No,” Lucy answered.
“I’m not losing my mind or my hearing. You two can quit whispering,” Helena-Marie called out as she turned into the kitchen. She gestured to the stools as she passed.
Danny and Lucy slid onto the stools while her mom grabbed a tray of cheese and crackers from the fridge. She set them in front of Lucy before grabbing another plate covered in foil to sit in front of Danny. He peeked and pulled out a chocolate chip cookie. His lips slid into a lazy grin.
“These are my favorite.”
“I know,” her mom answered.
Her mom made them all glasses of tea, taking her time as if she needed the extra time to carefully deliberate what she needed to say. Her mother joined them at the counter, where she picked up a cracker and cheese, just like Lucy had, and chomped on it.
“As both of you know, I know all. I don’t know how it works or why, but whatever I’m thinking, I just know the answers. It’s been like that all my life until it came to the prophecy.”
“I don’t understand,” Lucy said, sharing a worried look with Danny.
Helena-Marie rested her hand over Lucy’s as if in a silent show of support. This was bad. Lucy could feel it in the tendrils of energy, the way her mother was acting.
“I can’t see if you overcome the prophecy. I can’t even see the days after. It’s all one big blank slate, like a movie in my mind that has been paused. I know enough to set you on your journey to save you both, but nothing after that where you two are concerned. I can’t even tell you if it’s going to rain during our festivities.”
“Welcome to normal,” Danny said, raising his cookie.
She shook her head and frowned, and the age lines around her lips tightened with strain. The tension in the air was growing thicker by the minute. “This isn’t funny, Danny. My knowing stops when you two leave Blansett. I don’t know why. I can imagine, but I don’t have any proof, and there’s nothing written in our family books.”
“You say when we leave Blansett. Where might we be going?”
“To the island to try and stop the prophecy,” she said, as though Danny and Lucy should have already known that answer.
“Mom, you aren’t making sense.”
Helena-Marie let out a resigned breath before slipping her calm-façade mask back into place. The same one she reserved for dealing with tourists and residents who came to her office to complain. She was gifted like that. “Our ancestors knew this day was coming. They’ve planned for it. They tried their best to help you, long before you were even born. The answers you need are on the island. They hid three crystal pieces that you’re going to need to retrieve.”
“What crystals? Maybe the Mystic Tides shop has them.” Danny suggested.
“No, dear. I’m afraid not.” Helena-Marie gestured for them to follow her out of the kitchen and back into the creepy makeshift war room. Her mother walked straight to a section of the wall and pointed to two drawings of crystals and one faded sheet of paper. “You need to find these three crystals and then fit them together like a puzzle. When you do, it’s believed that the crystal will absorb the energy you need to expel.”
“The one that is supposed to blow up the town?” Danny asked.
“I don’t think—” Lucy started to answer.
“Yes.” Her mother cut off Lucy’s words.
Danny walked over to the map of the island and the pushpins marking the spots. “Are these spots where you think they might be?”
“Yes,” her mom answered.
“I’ll go get them,” Danny said. “My brother and I can go get them and bring them back, and Lucy can put them together.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Helena-Marie said, turning to look at Lucy. Her face softened, and a certain sadness claimed her eyes. “Lucy is the only one who can touch them. If anyone else even tries, it’s believed that they suck the energy and ability out of anyone who lays a finger on them. It’s written in our family history straight from the gypsies who hid them. They lost their abilities just from helping to hide them for you.”
“This has to be a mistake,” Lucy said, shaking her head.
“My proposal is sounding better by the minute,” Danny said.
“She has to love you, Danny, not just marry you.” Her mother grabbed a backpack from one of the tables in the room and handed it to Lucy. “There is a copy of the map in there, a copy of two of the crystal stone drawings you need.”
“What about the third?” Lucy asked.
Helena-Marie’s brows dipped. “That picture isn’t visible. It’s worn from time.”
“Well, that’s going to make it more difficult,” Danny said.
Difficult was an understatement. Impossible was more like it. How was she supposed to find something when she didn’t even have an idea what it looked like? Why hadn’t her long-lost relatives just kept the pieces together and locked them away. Why had they broken them up? Lucy was right. She was leaving with more questions than answers. Her relatives thought they were helping; they might be the ones keep her from actually succeeding.
“I packed anything else I thought you might need on the island while looking for the stones.” She shrugged. “I might have also thrown in a few lucky things to help you boost your chances of seeing this through. If my calculations are correct, you need to leave by tomorrow morning, or you’re going to run out of time. The key to the boat is in the bag. It’s at the marina, docked, gassed, and ready to go.”
“You’re sure about this?” Lucy asked, slipping the bag up her arm and walking over to the map to get a closer look. A piercing headache started to form as her gaze settled in on first one location and then the others. They were spread out across the island. There was nothing easy about this trip. Had she waited too late to get started in her search?
“I’m only as sure as I can see,” her mom answered, making Lucy spin on her heels. “I’m not sure about how any of this ends, but our ancestors put their own magic on the line to help you and Blansett. I trust in that. They must have seen how this plays out.”
As good and well as her mother’s intentions were, it left the question she had to ask. “Why is there a prophecy to begin with?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve heard tales that we’ve wronged powerful people. Others in the family say that it was thrust upon us as way to keep us grounded.” Her mother shrugged. “No one knows the exact origins, but our relatives believed it enough to prepare.”
Half an hour later, her mother walked them to the door and gave them each a hug.
“Danny, take care of my girl. I’ve helped you two all that I can.”
“I will.” He stepped down the stairs.
“And you…” Her mom grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I’m so proud of you and the woman you’ve become. You were always my greatest gift, and I love you.” Tears gathered in her mother’s eyes, and she bit her lip. Her mom was on the verge of losing it.
Lucy swallowed around the lump in her throat, more determined than ever to figure this out. “Mom, you sound like this is a final goodbye.”
“It’s not a goodbye, baby. It’s just the beginning.”
Lucy grabbed her mother into a hug and squeezed as she whispered, “I love you too, Mom.” She released her. “Save me some green beer. I’ll be back on my birthday. You can help me ring in my twenty-fifth year.”
Chapter 6
Lucy drove back to the beach house on autopilot. She couldn’t even remember if she’d stopped at the only light between her mother’s house and the beach house. It was all one big blur.
“Are you okay?” Danny asked.
She shook her head unable to form an answer as she stared out at the island off the coast where her life was about to change.
She finally spoke before stepping out of the car. “You didn’t sign up for this. You don’t have to go with me.”
“I kind of do,” he answered, grabbing the backpack her mother ha
d given them from the backseat. “You may not love me yet, but you will, and I’d kind of like us both to be around when it happens.”
She jogged up the stairs into the house and didn’t stop until she reached her room.
“We need to make a plan,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. His eyes clouded with concern as he watched her move throughout the room. She needed a game plan all right, and one that didn’t include Danny getting hurt. If she couldn’t expel the energy safely, he’d be in the dead center of her blast zone, and that wasn’t good for either of them.
“I need you to stay.”
“Not happening.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.”
“You don’t know that,” she said, pushing past him and back out into the living room. She might not have her mother’s unwavering know-all, but she didn’t need a special ability to tell her what the consequences might mean if she failed.
He followed behind her into the living room and grabbed her hand, turning her to face him. “How I see it is I’ve got two choices. You were intended for me, and I for you. I could let you go alone, and you could die. Then I’d live the rest of my life hating and blaming myself for not going with you. Or I could go with you, and we can do this together, win or lose.”
The muscles in her shoulders tightened. The tendrils of energy in her body were stirring. She could feel them like live wires inside.
“I’m a ticking time bomb.”
His lips twisted into a smile. “I’m sure my brother thought Grey was, too, when they first met.”
Danny was like a wooden spoon resting over the pot of her boiling water. He had a way of calming her mind and spirit with just the right words or a single touch. “You’re crazy.”
“It’s one of my strong suits.” He dropped his hand, and she immediately missed the warmth from his touch. Danny rubbed his hands together before he clapped them.
“Now, how about I make us something to eat so I can start winning you over with my cooking skills while we put together a plan? I’d still like to research the island, more too.”
Even with the turmoil twisting inside, she gave him the benefit of a small smile. She did have work to do and a plan to make, starting with how she was getting to make it to the island while leaving Danny behind.
They spent the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening talking and working out a strategy from the map her mother had packed, everything from where the best place was to park the boat to which stone to start with first. Her mother had packed a small metal box inside the backpack. The symbol etched lining was intricate in design. An old page from the Blansett book lay folded inside. The writing was barely visible. She had to hold it to the light to make out every word and every line. Three drawings with descriptions were supposed to lead them to the stones. One lay waiting ensconced behind a waterfall that purified the mind, body, and soul.
“Looks like we’re going to get wet,” he said, reading over her shoulder.
“And hot,” she added, pointing to the second picture that looked like a volcano. “The second lies encased within the heart of the island. There must be a spell over the entire island since scientist haven’t descended on the Island to study the place.”
“Good thing I’m a fireman,” he said, taking the paper from her hands. “I can’t tell what the last picture is.”
She couldn’t either. That was the one she was most worried about. The one that would take the most time to find, if she found it at all. Lucy stood in front of window that overlooked the ocean and the island beyond. She wrapped her arms around her waist to steel the tightening in her chest. “They would have placed them with the elements. Fire, the volcano.”
“I guess water is the waterfall,” he said and glanced back down at the only part of the image that still remained. “That only leaves earth and air.”
“I’m the air,” she said, turning around and taking the paper again. She held it up to the window where the light was shining in. “It has to be earth.”
She traced her fingers over the indentions in the paper. “It has to be a tree.”
“Well, that doesn’t help. There are probably a million on that island.”
Lucy handed the paper back to him and grabbed the map from the backpack her mother had sent with them. The marking on the map located the spots on the island where the waterfall and volcano lay. There was only one marker that remained. A circle was drawn around it.
“What are the words beneath the missing drawing?” she asked, running her hand over the map, trying to plot their route.
“It says you can only see this one with your heart, not your eyes.”
She snapped her gaze to meet his. “You’re kidding.”
“Afraid not,” he said, handing her back the paper. She quickly scanned the paper again.
“This is going to be impossible.” She sighed. Her determination faltered, and she hadn’t even made it to the island. Danny rested his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into the warmth of his side. The move was intimate and a silent show of offering her strength. She needed it; he just didn’t know how much. She glanced up at him and tried to hide the worry from her eyes.
“Grey said the same thing about trying to trap a demon last year, yet she and her cousins prevailed. We’ll do the same, or we’ll go down trying.”
Danny leaned in and kissed her forehead before releasing his hold and heading into the kitchen. He returned with two beers in one hand, took her hand with the other, and led her out onto the deck.
The sun was dipping beneath the horizon. The waves rolled onto the shore. A bird in the distance plunged beneath the water in search of his dinner. Her last day of normal was almost gone. She was running out of time, and that thought scared her. This place was her home, and she could be the sole person responsible for the possible demise of all its magic.
They spent the remainder of the evening talking and joking with each other about what type of things they’d find on the island. He tried his best to help her relax, and she tried. Danny was beautiful, and if it were another time or another day, Lucy could easily see herself letting her walls down to get to know him. He was funny and smart, and every time he smiled, it was as though he was seeing clear to her soul. It saddened her that she might not be around long enough to find out if they’d ever been compatible.
Lucy lay in bed wide-awake, staring up at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the crashing waves outside her window. The sound used to soothe her, but tonight, it was an impending obstacle she’d have to overcome. She glanced at the numbers on the clock. Midnight had approached quicker than she’d thought. She tossed the covers back and slid out of bed completely dressed. She slipped her feet into her shoes. She couldn’t wait anymore. She needed to leave and as quietly as possible. If she left now, Danny wouldn’t be able to follow. If she left now, it was only herself she had to worry about dying. She glanced around the room one last time, looking for anything she might have forgotten to pack in the bag.
Lucy eased the door open and cringed at the creak before stepping out into the darkened hallway. She tiptoed into the living room, grabbed the backpack, and searched on the table where she’d left the keys to the boat. She lifted some magazines and found the key beneath them. She smiled to herself as she eased out the front door, quietly closing it behind her.
“Looks like we both had the same plan.”
Lucy jumped at the sound of Danny’s voice. She clutched her chest against her racing heart as she turned to find him waiting by the steps. He had his own backpack by his feet.
“How did you know?”
“Because it’s something I would have done if I was worried about you getting hurt. So you’ve got a choice. We can either leave now and make camp on the beach in tents, or you can go back inside and have one last sleep in the soft bed. What’s it going to be?”
Chapter 7
The smell of coffee and bacon drifted to her nose, awakening her fr
om her dreams. She opened her eyes and was startled to find Danny sitting in the chair across from her bed. He had the family book in his lap and breakfast was sitting on the table next to him.
“You cooked?”
He slid the book closed and grabbed the tray. A flower was sticking out of a small vase. “I love to cook. I just hate cooking for one. I thought it would be nice if we eat together one last time before you get to see me in the wild.”
“Are you afraid I’ll lose interest at the sound of you screaming like a girl at the sight of a snake?”
“Honey, I’m from Texas,” he said, slipping onto the bed facing her. He grabbed a piece of bacon and tore it with his teeth. “Don’t you worry about a thing, darlin’,” he said with an original southern drawl. “I’ll take care of both of us while we’re in the wild.”
“I’m sorry. Did I give you the impression that I need to be taken care of?” She gave him a playful smile before stealing his bacon.
He quirked his brow. “Did you know that your four times great-grandmother was captured by Indians, and when her rescuers came to save her, the entire tribe was gone and she was walking back to her homestead?”
“You’re lying.”
He shook his head. “It’s in the book.”
“Does it say what she did to the tribe?”
He shook his head. “Nope, she said she passed out, and when she woke, there was no trace of the Indians or the tribe after that. No blood, no bones, no nothing. It was as though the entire tribe vanished off the face of the earth.”
“Maybe she blew them up with her ability, like we’re trying to stop. You know, you’re becoming an expert on my genealogy.”
“I figure it might save me some time trying to figure out what makes you tick.”
“Let me give you a tip,” she said, sliding out of bed. “The answers aren’t in that book.”
* * * *
Lucy and Danny dropped anchor inside a cove on the east side of the island. It was the ideal place, where the water was just deep enough and yet shallow enough that they could jump ship and walk to shore without the need to use the dingy. Danny had offered to carry her, yet Lucy declined, just as he knew she would. Lucy was independent and had a hard time letting anyone help her. He’d already figured that out about her. She didn’t trust him yet, but he’d eventually win her over.
Mystic Luck (Mystic Tides Book 2) Page 27
