At least they both pretended that was the case. For now, I was willing to take it.
Since James knew the code to the perimeter fence he let himself in and joined us in the kitchen shortly before seven. He greeted me with a friendly hug and kiss on the cheek, and then exchanged the stiff “dude hug” with Aric. They loved each other a great deal, but men can’t hug if anyone is around to witness it. I have no idea why. Of course, I’m not big on hugging either. Sure, I hugged Paris when I saw her, but that’s the expected greeting when you haven’t seen someone in a long time. The only person I ever really want to hug is Aric. I wonder why.
Aric snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Where did you just go?”
“What?”
“Where were you?” Aric asked. “We were having a perfectly nice conversation, and then you zoned out.”
There was no way I could tell him the truth. I would look like an idiot. “I was thinking about the wolves last night,” I lied. I’d been thinking about them earlier, and I was worried about their body disposal. “What happens when someone reports them missing?”
“That most likely won’t happen,” James said, accepting the beer Aric slipped into his hand with a small nod. “I’m sure their loved ones knew where they were going – and exactly what they were doing. When they don’t come home … ,” he shrugged.
I hadn’t thought about the wolves beyond the initial guilt after frying them alive. The idea of them never returning to wives, children and parents made me feel inexplicably sad. As if reading my mind, Aric slipped his arm around my waist. “You had no choice, Zoe,” he said. “They would’ve killed you to get the book. Don’t forget that.”
“Aric is exactly right,” James said, his dark eyes kind as they landed on me. Looking at James Winters gives me hope that Aric will be just as handsome as his father as he ages. They both share the same strong build and broad shoulders. James’ hair is graying at the temples, but he’s still a striking man. Aric is already striking, but I have a feeling he’s going to look distinguished as he ages. “You can’t go around worrying about this, Zoe. You did what you had to do.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t really think about it when I was doing it,” I admitted. “The first one … well, I was actually trying to set his tail on fire so he would run away.”
“Is that the one you turned into ash?” Paris asked, wrinkling her nose.
I nodded. “After it happened, I hoped the rest of the wolves would run away out of fear. It didn’t happen.”
James took a swig from his beer as he studied me. “Tell me about the two who were still alive when the cleaners showed up.”
I pursed my lips, my cheeks burning for some inexplicable reason.
“It’s okay, Zoe,” Aric said, rubbing his hand up and down my back. “No one blames you for that. You’re not the one who put them down.”
“I knew I wanted to hurt them,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “I … was angry. I lashed out. I heard their spines break. I don’t remember trying to do that. It kind of just happened.”
“I know I’m about to get shot down for suggesting this, but … .” James broke off, tilting his head to the side so he could crack his neck.
“Then don’t suggest it,” Aric said, his voice low.
“I have to,” James countered. “Zoe, we need to train you. Your powers are … terrifying. You can’t control them. You could’ve hurt Aric last night.”
I lowered my gaze, hanging my head as I let his words wash over me. He was right. “I … .”
“No,” Aric interjected. “Every time we’ve tried to train her something blew up. Literally. Now, I don’t care about the lawn and the trees – although the truck was something of a disappointment – but she gets stressed out when she tries to rein herself in.”
“That doesn’t mean she should ignore the training,” James said. “Son, I know you love her. I love her, too. She’s special. She’s also powerful. She could wipe out an entire town if she loses her temper one day. Do you want to live with that? More importantly, do you want her to live with that?”
James’ words made a lot of sense. I expected Aric to give in. I was wrong.
“Have you ever considered that something inside of her knows exactly how to react?” Aric argued. “Every single time she’s faced down an enemy she’s done exactly the right thing. The only time things have truly gotten out of control is when we try to control her. Maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe she’s not meant to be controlled.”
“I’m not going to argue that point because I can’t,” James said. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about her going nuclear, though. We know she can burn things to a crisp.”
“We also know she can heal,” Aric pointed out.
“I should have healed you last night,” I said. “Why didn’t I?”
“Because you were in shock,” Aric replied, not missing a beat. “If I needed healing, I would have asked for it. You were kind of … out of it.”
“I got a first aid kid, and it never occurred to me to heal you instead,” I mused. “Don’t you think that’s odd?”
“I think your head was all over the place last night and you still managed to do the right thing,” Aric said. “You laid down the law. You sent a message, and that message was … swift and painful. Anyone who comes after us isn’t coming back. That’s a pretty good message to send, baby.”
“Maybe your father is right,” I said. “Maybe we should try some training again.”
“Do you really want that or are you just saying it because you feel guilty?” Aric asked.
“I … .” That was a good question. I had no idea how to answer it.
“Why don’t we table this conversation for the rest of the evening,” James suggested. “I can see emotions are running high here. This might not be the best time to talk about it. How about we do that again tomorrow?”
I nodded as Aric pulled me against his side.
“If she doesn’t want to talk about it tomorrow, she doesn’t have to,” Aric warned.
“Good grief, you’re like a rabid dog where she’s concerned,” James muttered.
“Oh, that’s funny, because he turns into a wolf,” Paris said.
James glanced at her, his expression serious. “And how are you feeling after everything that happened?”
“I feel better now that Aric and I have talked, and I’ll feel great after I finally get a good night’s sleep tonight,” Paris replied, unruffled by James’ tone. “I didn’t sleep at all last night. I was too worried.”
“And you and Aric are fine now?” James’ gaze bounced between the two of them.
“We’re good,” Aric said. “It will still probably be a few days before we’re great, but we’re definitely better than we were.”
“And how did that happen?” James pressed. “Last time I talked to you, son, you wanted to kill her.”
Huh. I didn’t hear that part of their bathroom conversation this morning. That reminded me … James was supposed to have a “thing” for Aric. I was still dying to find out what that was.
“That was before we all had a talk while making dinner,” Aric said. “We’re … well, we’re not fine, but we are better.”
“I see,” James said. “I can’t say I’m not glad to hear it, but I expected to walk in on a war zone when I got here. I’m relieved that’s not the case.”
“It probably would still be a war zone if Zoe hadn’t gotten struck by lightning and given Aric a really loud back massage this afternoon,” Paris said.
James furrowed his brow, confused. “Zoe got struck by lightning?”
Aric explained about the book, casting an occasional look in my direction for confirmation he was telling the story correctly. When he was done, instead of being flabbergasted, James was intrigued.
“How did the book react to you, Aric?”
“It didn’t react to me at all.”
James glanced at Paris. “And you?”
“It didn’t react to me either.”
“Hmm.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “What does that mean? I figured the book liked magical people, so it was drawn to me.”
“Zoe, I forget how little you know about your own heritage sometimes,” James said, tapping the middle of my forehead for emphasis. “Instead of writing romance novels for the past three years you should have been studying the history of mages and honing your skills.”
Paris’ mouth dropped open. “You write romance novels?”
My cheeks burned, this time for an entirely different reason. “Thanks, James,” I muttered.
“I apologize. I had no idea it was a secret.”
“Actual romance novels?” Paris was beside herself. “Are they full of kinky sex scenes? Is that the promise you made to Aric? Are you going to do something from one of your books tonight?”
“I don’t even want to know what that means,” James said.
“Focus on The Archimage, Paris,” Aric chided. “You can grill Zoe about the romance books tomorrow. When she won’t talk about them, come back to me. I have a set you can read.”
I punched him in the arm. “When I gave those to you it was with the understanding that you would never show them to anyone. You promised.”
“I lied,” Aric said, his tone even. “I don’t see why you’re so upset. You’re very talented. I had no idea some of those positions even existed until you enlightened me.”
“That’s on you, not me,” I snapped.
Aric made a face. “I’m going to be on you later,” he muttered. He turned his attention back to his father. “Weren’t you going to explain something about The Archimage to us?”
“I don’t know,” James replied. “I’m a little emotionally scarred picturing you and Zoe doing some of the things in her books.”
“How do you know about them?” I was officially scandalized.
“My wife reads them,” James said. “I told her not to, but she’s fascinated. It’s a little disturbing.”
“I’m definitely disturbed,” Aric said. “I can’t believe you just brought up Mom. Now my whole night is ruined.”
Paris snickered. “I’m guessing doing your second favorite thing while finishing your first favorite thing isn’t something you want to do with your mother in your head.”
“Shut up, Paris,” Aric griped.
“Let’s go back to talking about The Archimage,” I suggested. This conversation really had taken an ugly turn.
“I think we should have a history lesson about the book when dinner isn’t hanging over our heads,” James said. “It’s a long story. I’m going to give you some highlights now, though.
“The Archimage has been in existence for five hundred years,” he said. “The vampires created it. Does anyone want to guess why?”
“To wipe out the mages,” I answered. “Mages were created to keep the paranormal population in check. The vampires didn’t like that. They wanted a way to take out the mages, and this was their answer.”
James flicked my forehead. “I don’t know why more people don’t bow to your superior intellect.”
“Don’t encourage her,” Aric interjected. “If the vampires created the book, why didn’t they use it?”
“Someone infiltrated their ranks and stole it,” James said.
“Who?” I asked.
“No one knows,” James replied. “There are a lot of stories about that time period. All we know is that The Archimage went missing before it could be implemented. It fell completely off the radar. We have no idea who took it, and we have no idea how it ended up at a Michigan estate sale. That’s one of the things we’ll research while I’m here.”
“If The Archimage was designed to destroy mages, why does it react positively to me?” I asked.
“Is lightning positive?” James arched a challenging eyebrow.
“If the book wanted to hurt me, I would feel pain when I was struck by lighting and my hands started to smoke,” I pointed out. “The book protects me.”
James glanced at Aric for confirmation. When his son nodded, James merely shook his head. “I can’t answer that. Maybe we can test a few other things with the book.”
“I think we should destroy the book,” Aric announced.
“No way,” I argued. “I want to see what other weird stuff I can do with it. I’ve always wanted to fly. Maybe the book will let me do that.”
“It also might be important down the line,” Paris pointed out. “What happens if we destroy it now and need it later?”
Aric apparently didn’t care. “You guys destroyed the resurrection stone, and that might have come in handy a time or two.” He was referring to another magical artifact Paris and I destroyed because we didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands.
I hate it when he uses logic against me. “But … I want to see what I can do with it,” I whined.
“You do plenty of freaky things without the book,” Aric argued. “You’re going to do some of them when we’re alone tonight.”
“All right,” James growled. “That will be enough of that. Every time I come here you two are too free with the sexual innuendo.”
“We’re adults,” Aric said. “We can do what we want, when we want. That includes talking about it.”
“I don’t want to destroy the book yet,” I said. “I’m not ruling it out down the line. You have to be curious. Don’t you want to see if I can … I don’t know … control the world with it?”
Aric snorted. “Trouble, I love you more than life itself. If you ruled the world, though, I would have to kill you.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, pouting. “That was … hurtful.”
“Living under your reign of terror would be hurtful, too,” Aric pointed out. “No bee would be safe.”
“Those bees are still alive,” I grumbled. “Last night would have been a perfect excuse to burn them. I didn’t even think about it.”
“See,” Aric said, wrinkling his forehead. “You’re not meant to lead, sweetie. You’re already a tiny despot in the making.”
“And you’re her willing servant,” Paris whispered under her breath.
“I heard that.”
“I still don’t want to destroy the book,” I said. “Not yet. Give it a few days.”
Aric sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. “Zoe, what happens if factions start getting desperate to get their hands on the book?”
“They can’t get in here as long as the security is in place.”
“Not everyone we care about is here,” Aric reminded me. “What about Mom? What about Kelsey? Heck, what about your parents? Using your parents as bait would be a smart move in a situation like this.”
“Oh, crap.” Aric was right. Aric was always right. There was no way I was going to tell him that.
I hadn’t talked to my parents in almost two weeks. I should have thought about this twenty-four hours ago. I moved around the kitchen island, scanning the countertop as I searched for my cell phone.
“What are you doing?” Aric asked, following me.
“I need to call my parents.”
“Why?” The question was out of Aric’s mouth before he realized he already knew the answer. The color drained from his face. “I don’t think … .” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Where is my phone?”
“I’ll help you look,” Aric said, resigned.
11
Eleven
After the third try without an answer I gave up calling my parents. Just because they weren’t picking up the phone that didn’t necessarily mean anything was wrong. That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway.
My parents live a Bohemian lifestyle. They come and go as they please, enjoying the simple things in life. They visit me every few months, my mother doting on Aric while my father pretends all the heavy petting doesn’t bother him. We talk on the phone every few weeks. They refuse to carry cell phones, so the only way to get in touch with them
is their landline. It’s not uncommon to not reach them on the first try.
Still … .
Paris retired for the evening between the second and third calls. We ate dinner after the first call. The lack of an answer didn’t initially bother me. My parents enjoy taking walks – especially in the summer.
Hours later it was a different story. I was officially bothered now.
Because the living room was empty, I assumed James had retired to the second guestroom. It was on the same side of the house as Paris’ room. I slowed my approach when I heard his voice in my bedroom, though.
“I don’t think you’re overreacting about the book,” James said, his voice low. “I do think Zoe has a point about seeing what she can do with it. There’s no harm in letting her experiment for a few days.”
“There’s plenty of harm,” Aric replied. I heard the door to the safe close and realized he was locking up the book for the night. “She allowed herself to get struck by lightning this afternoon because she thought it was fun.”
“I’m taking it you didn’t think that was fun.” James was used to his son’s protective streak. I got a kick out of the way he teased him about it. Well, most of the time.
“I most definitely did not think it was fun,” Aric snapped. “It was … scary. I sat there and watched her get struck by lightning twice, and the whole time she was laughing.”
“She finds humor in odd situations.”
“She’s going to be the death of me,” Aric muttered.
“Son, you made a choice a long time ago – long before you and Zoe moved in together – that you liked her,” James said, his pragmatic nature taking over. “You liked her mouth, you liked her attitude and you especially liked that wild streak she has. You can’t change your mind now.”
My heart rolled at the words. Was that why Aric didn’t want to make things permanent between us? That actually made sense. I always worried Aric would eventually tire of the things he once found amusing.
“I am not changing my mind,” Aric argued. “I still like those things about her.”
Rising Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 1) Page 8
