“You definitely love me,” Lucas said with a wink and pushed the door open with his free hand.
Nonie, Nate, and their little sister, Chloe, were playing Jenga on an oversized table that took up half of the screened porch. They looked up just as Nonie finished taking out a block. The sudden clattering of wood hitting wood startled everyone as the tower gave way and fell.
Nonie shot Nate the evil eye. “You hit the table, brother.”
“Negative, sister.”
“Can you ever play something, anything, without cheating or bending the rules?”
“Stop being a poor loser, Nee. It isn’t very attractive,” Nate said with a smirk and a wink.
Nonie smirked back and lobbed a Jenga piece at him playfully.
“What’s up?” Nate said as Lucas sat the pitcher down.
“Hey, Lucas,” Nonie said, already rebuilding the tower.
Chloe just smiled as she made Lucas’s lap her seat.
“Wanna play?” Nonie asked as she continued to stack the pieces.
“Nah. I think I’ll just watch you two duke it out this time.”
“You running a fever, or something?” Nate asked. “For like, the past few weeks?”
Lucas shook his head and gave him a funny look.
“You just haven’t been yourself for a while,” Nate continued. “And I just wanted to make sure you’re all right.” Nate looked at Lucas with a hint of suspicion and something else that came to the surface from time to time that Lucas couldn’t define. When it happened, Nate’s demeanor would shift, just slightly, becoming a bit aggressive, and he’d get a darker shade to his eyes—a darkness that seemed to be only partially explained by the color difference. Whatever it was, it made Lucas clam up.
“I’m okay, man. Thanks.” Lucas left it at that and began a thumb-wrestling match with Chloe. Nate seemed to get the hint and stood.
“Be right back, Nee.”
“You’re not getting scared are you, brother?”
Nate laughed as he opened the door to the kitchen. “Hardly. Just have a phone call to make.”
After adding the last layer to the tower of blocks, Nonie poured herself a glass of tea and sat back in her chair, studying Lucas as she took a couple of sips. Lucas tried to ignore her, but Chloe wasn’t as good at not saying something.
“Nee, why are you staring?”
Nonie and Lucas looked at each other.
“Hey, lil’ sis, go see if mom needs some help.”
“Okay … “ Chloe said, protest in her tone, as she slid off Lucas’s lap and went to see her mom.
Lucas waited for Nonie to speak.
“This is about Gabrielle … isn’t it?”
Of course Nonie would know what was wrong. There was no use in denying it. Not to her, anyway. She always seemed to know exactly what was bothering people and why. Once, he asked her how she always knew, and she just said she was good at reading people. Lucas had never pushed further, feeling she wasn’t so comfortable with the how of it, but always thought there was more to it.
Way more.
Lucas sighed heavily and began studying their large, fenced backyard so he didn’t have to see Nonie’s scrutiny for a moment. The yard was lined with mature trees and shrubs that lent themselves to privacy for the Daniels family, and it had a wooden swing set with a fort and slide attached. It had been there as long as Lucas could remember, and he had spent many hours playing on it with Nonie and Nate when they were kids.
That seems so long ago.
Lucas realized he had been lost in thought and responded to Nonie. “Yeah … it’s about Gabby.”
“So, what happened? ‘Cause there were some major vibes coming off you two, so I know you were both more than a little interested. Next thing I know, you’re brooding, and she’s distancing. She won’t even spend time with me, and I know it’s not because she’s not charmed by my personality.” Nonie stopped talking long enough for Lucas to glance at her, to which she gave him a smile. “So, it must be your fault.”
Lucas continued to watch Nonie for a moment, then looked back to the trees. “I honestly don’t know. It was like, at the same time, we both just got … scared or cautious, or … something. I was avoiding her for a while. But then whatever had spooked me started to fade, and I was drawn to her again. I’ve tried a few times to talk to her even if they were lame attempts. She wouldn’t bite at all. She’s avoiding being anywhere near me, which confuses the hell out of me because I know there’s no way I’ve done anything wrong.”
Silence lingered as they both seemed to consider what he said.
“Lucas, you need to talk to her.”
“I know that, Nee. But how do I get her to talk when I can’t even get her to stand with me for more than two seconds?”
“You just have to keep trying.”
“I’m not a glutton for punishment, Nee. I’ve already looked like some lost puppy because of her … and I haven’t even taken her on a date!” Lucas stood and walked as far away from where he’d been sitting as he could and crossed his arms. “Maybe she’s not so good for me.” He spoke to the screen and thought back to the dreams, to the one that bothered him most. “Maybe … she knows something I don’t, and we would be terrible together.”
Nonie chuckled as she joined Lucas. “Really, Lucas, you’re just two people freaked out by the fireworks between you that anyone who was within a hundred yards would have noticed. Ya’ll have the kind of chemistry books are written about, movies are made because of. It’s what most people search their entire lives for.
“Lucas, if you let her go … I swear I’ll kick your ass myself. I would love to have someone like that come walking into my life, especially while I’m young. And I can tell you if they ever do, I won’t let a little fear get in my, our, way.”
Lucas wrapped Nonie up in a hug, giving her a kiss on her head.
“Thanks, Nee. You’re pretty awesome. Any guy who gets your heart will be a lucky, lucky man.”
“Well, that’s very true,” she said through laughter. “But, he’d have to be one hell of a guy to get me to fall for him. Kind of a cross between a protector, a leader, a romantic, and a man’s man all rolled up into one yummy looking gift just for me. And that’s the clincher, he’d have to have eyes only for me. All that’s a pretty tall order. Oh, yeah, tall is good, too, since I’m not so short.”
Lucas squeezed her tighter. “You’ll find him, Nee, or he’ll find you. I know it.”
“Your lips to God’s ears, Lucas.”
They turned at the sound of the door closing behind them.
“What’d I miss?” Nate asked as he put a bowl of chips on the table. “Mom says dinner’s running behind, so here’s some snackage.”
When Nate looked up his eyes were his normal shade, his odd demeanor and whatever made him seem darker … gone. It was the Nate that Lucas was comfortable around, the one who had been a part of his life for his entire life.
My family.
While Lucas ate dinner with Gran and the Daniels, his mind was somewhere else. The conversation he’d had with Nonie kept replaying itself, and she was right. He had to try harder. She’d also been right about the fireworks between him and Gabby. There was no use in denying them.
He found his thoughts were jumping around a lot as he went from thinking about Gabby to Nate’s odd moods, which seemed more frequent, and then to Nonie and her feelings. Thinking of Nonie and Nate, and how they had their own oddities, made him consider his own. Something he hadn’t done much in several years. He’d almost forgotten about it until he understood some of the language Gabby had spoken. He’d tried to forget.
At first, he’d thought the things he seemed good at, way better than anyone else, were cool. But people started talking. Gran told him to play down his abilities. He began to wonder if there was something wrong with him. Something that would make people not like him or treat him badly. Whenever he asked her why he needed to play down what he could do, she just smiled and kissed him o
n the cheek. The one time she did give him an answer, her normally effortless smile became strained, and her eyes clouded with sadness. Then all she said was, “You’re very special, Lucas. Very special.” And that was it.
He was ten.
In the seven years since, he’d given up sports. Because even when he tried not to stand out, it was obvious he was still out running, out hitting, out throwing, and flat out out-playing everyone else, regardless of the sport. It had been four years since he did anything that involved organized athletics.
School was easy for him, too. He still had to do the work, but he got it right away. It was similar with languages, but with them, there were times he could understand some he’d never heard before.
Just like that day with Gabby.
He cursed to himself as he realized she must have been freaking out because she’d noticed other things about him that weren’t quite normal.
Feeling not quite normal was why he’d never truly let anyone other than the Daniels get close to him. He was popular at school, but not because he was great friends with everyone. It was only because he looked the part. It was like he had been given a pass into the popularity classification simply because he was tall, and others considered him good-looking, funny, and smart. And, even though he didn’t play anymore, everyone had heard the stories of how unusually athletic he was. The track, football, wrestling, and soccer coaches always asked him—practically begged—to try out for their teams every year. He always said no. He always disappointed. Still, he knew, even though Gran never told him what she meant, that he was different.
Painfully so.
He’d never talked to anyone about it. How could he? There would be no way they could even begin to grasp what it was like to live inside a body that you didn’t understand. To know that even if it looks normal, it isn’t. He’d decided it was better to keep to himself until more made sense to him, protecting whatever it was that made him different from others, and even himself.
And … maybe protect others from me.
Lucas sighed.
Gran was the only person who might have an explanation, and she was apparently unwilling to enlighten him. If he couldn’t understand even a little of the why, he would remain alone with his uniqueness—and the loneliness.
“Lucas … hey … are you with us?” Nonie asked.
Lucas snapped back into the moment and laughed away his ponderings.
“Sorry … yeah.”
“We were talking about the touch football game this Saturday. I asked if you want to go grab something to eat before we go?”
His thoughts gunned toward Gabby. He’d asked her on a date, and she’d said yes. But that was before.
“Can I get back to you on that, Nee?”
She smiled a knowing kind of smile.
“No problem.” She dropped it and changed the subject.
He would talk to Gabby tomorrow whether she liked it or not. Somehow, he was going to remove whatever it was that was in their way. He wanted to be near her again, hold her hand again, hear her voice and the sound of her laugh again—to have a first kiss.
I want that date.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
GABRIELLE ~ HEAR HEAR
Gabrielle and Phalen ended up staying the night at Mareschall Castle. It was fairly quiet. Most of Grayson’s family was at their safe-haven in British Columbia or training young Shifters—which meant they were in the human realm.
There was little rest for Gabrielle, though, even with the marvelously overstuffed feather bed. As the sun teased at night’s shadows, she took a shower and made her way to the kitchen.
She didn’t expect anyone to be up at this hour, so she was surprised when she came through the archway separating the dining room from the kitchen to see Phalen staring out one of the castle’s many oversized windows. Grayson’s ancestors, who built Mareschall, certainly did so with the intention of being able to see the breathtaking scenery of Corstorphine even while indoors.
“Well, good morning,” Gabrielle said. “What has you up so early?”
Phalen turned toward her.
And there it was, the purple bubble.
“Phalen, seriously, I’m going to have to take that stuff away from you. It’s getting both scary and a bit annoying,” she teased, then started to make coffee.
“I’ll give up gum, if you give up sugar.”
Gabrielle shot her a look that said no way and continued to make one of her favorite beverages.
“I didn’t think so.” Phalen turned her attention back to the scenery outside. “I had to see if the sunrise was as magnificent as the sunset. Look at it Gabrielle … it’s unreal. Will you bring me back someday?”
“If you’re sent to Earth and granted the time to do it, you can come without me if you’ve been here once. If you can manage to remember its name.”
“Really? Fantastic.” Phalen was still admiring the mix of purple, magenta, yellow, and pink painted across the sky. Not just the area where the sun was rising. The colors were showing the glory of the coming day over the entire expanse, completely erasing night. Phalen suddenly glanced at Gabrielle. “You keep referring to having to remember the name, Corstorphine. Why? Is there a reason I might not?”
“Yes.” Gabrielle joined her at the window. It certainly was something to behold, Corstorphine invited into another day by the sun—by Yahuwah. She sighed happily. “Corstorphine, and all Shifter realms, are enchanted. When someone other than a Shifter enters, it remembers them. But if you don’t remember it—its name and its beauty—it won’t allow you to re-enter.”
“Okay … but, why wouldn’t I remember?”
“Because it makes those who aren’t of Shifter blood work for it. Just as there’s an enchantment that protects their realms from allowing someone unknown from gaining access to their lands, there’s another that causes a non-shifter to forget it as soon as they leave. That includes us and any who have Divine blood. Because as we know … having Divine blood doesn’t always equal good intentions.”
“What do I have to do to remember it?”
“Take a special, vivid memory of the realm with you. Picture that image in your mind as you repeat the name continually when you leave to re-enter the human realm.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
Gabrielle laughed, catching Phalen off-guard.
“It does sound easy, doesn’t it? Yahuwah wouldn’t have created an easy enchantment, though. Especially if it’s to safe-guard the protectors of, and messengers to, humans who have served him so loyally for more years than you have been alive.”
“Gotcha.” Phalen said.
Gabrielle turned and walked back to the coffee that smelled ready for her to make it a drinkable dessert. “As you’re trying to remember the name and your picture of the realm, you’ll be bombarded by other images and names. Many of our brethren have not been able to take one or both back with them to the other side. You have to have both to re-enter, repeating the name and seeing the memory in your mind, as you come through the veil. You’ll be tested just as thoroughly, but once you’ve done it a few times, it gets easier. I have a suspicion your mind is searched for your intentions, but I’ve never had that confirmed.” Gabrielle laughed lightly as they sat at the table. “It’s like the realm is a jealous mistress who expects your loyalty and appreciation of her beauty, and once she feels she has it, she eases up on you but is forever suspicious of betrayal.”
“Have you ever forgotten?” Phalen asked as they sat at the table.
“No, but it doesn’t mean it still can’t happen. I take the enchantment very seriously, and so should you. Even if you come for years like me, never take it lightly. You might really need to get here one day, but if you forget, you will never be able to get back unless someone brings you.”
“Is that why I didn’t have to know it coming in, because you knew it?”
“Yes.”
“Tellin’ Lady Phalen of our trickery, I see,” Grayson said as he walked into the ki
tchen all smiles and full of energy, if his demeanor and gait told a true tale.
“Good morning, Grayson,” Gabrielle said as she stood and greeted him with a hug. “Yes, I was.”
“Good. I’d like the Lady to visit anytime she can. I quite enjoy a good opponent in archery. Ye’ll come and compete with me again sometime, I hope.” Grayson was now hugging Phalen who had also stood to meet their host.
After they’d had their meeting the day before, Phalen and Grayson took turns trying to outshoot the other one on the archery range while Gabrielle watched, keeping score and the peace. Those two needed a referee, for sure. They were closely matched although Phalen’s full Divine abilities outshone Grayson’s slightly less Divine ones. While Shifters had Divine blood, and therefore some Divine abilities and powers, they had human blood, too. Part Divine, part human, and part something Gabrielle wasn’t sure about. From what Grayson had told her, the Shifters weren’t absolutely sure either. Whatever it was made them what they were—shape shifters. Messengers for Yahuwah. Protectors of humans.
“It would be my pleasure, Grayson.” Phalen responded.
Gabrielle brought an additional cup of coffee to the table. “I believe I remember from last night how you like your coffee, but I might be off a little on the sugar.”
Grayson took a sip and smiled. “Perfect, m’lady. Thank ye. I could get accustomed to this kind of treatment.”
“I’m sure you have scores of ladies vying for the opportunity to treat you better than this.” Gabrielle teased.
“True, true. But none that will put up with me bein’ away so much.”
“The price of being your people’s leader,” Phalen commented.
“Yes, Lady Phalen, ‘tis.”
Sadness ghosted Grayson’s face but vanished quickly. Gabrielle put her hand on his, silently praying that one day soon he would find a woman deserving of such a fine man, and that their hearts and lives would become so enmeshed they would never want to part.
Grayson looked at her as though he knew and gave a nod and a smile.
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