The Emerald Key

by Vicky Burkholder

  “I haven’t washed it yet,” Cass said.

  “Allow me. Shampoo?”

  She handed him a bottle and he squeezed some of the thick liquid into his hand. He massaged the gel into her scalp, rubbing her head all over. His hands moved down to her neck and shoulders, where he worked the knots out of tight muscles. Her mews of satisfaction forced a groan from him. Finally, he rubbed the lather through the rest of her hair.

  “Rinse?” he asked.

  She removed the faucet head and passed him the handheld sprayer he used to rinse her scalp. Finished, he pulled her back against him and ran his hands over her chest and belly, working his way lower.

  *

  Cass sighed as she leaned back. This was what it felt like to be held by a man who loved her. To feel his solid strength at her back, his hands soothing her, his need obvious.

  His quiet question sent shivers through her, especially when he lifted her and settled her on his hips. Her head fell back to his shoulder, his kiss long and deep. One of his hands massaged her breasts as the other dipped lower, parting her folds and stroking her. The heat became unbearable. She leaned forward and rose and lowered onto him. They moved in the ancient rhythm of man and woman. Her orgasm, when it came, left her both drained and invigorated.

  Long after the water had cooled, Nic rose, removed a soft towel from the shelf, and enfolded her in it. She wrapped her hair in another as he dried himself, then he dried her. Finished, he picked her up and carried her to the bed.

  She chuckled as he checked the laptop. “Gee, I’ve been one-upped by a computer.”

  Nic bounced on the bed. “Not at all, my love.”

  They made love as only two people who knew each other beyond what is humanly possible could. Much later, as Nic snored softly beside her, Cass carefully rose and went out to the living room. She added some wood to the fire and waved her hand. Flames rose and licked at the logs. Once it burned steadily, Cass set out her candles and other paraphernalia. She centered her mind, blocking out everything in the cabin.

  “Aunt Minerva? Can you hear me?”

  “I am here, child.”

  Cass opened her eyes and saw the ghostly image of Minerva standing a few feet away from her.

  “Do you know who is after us? Are we safe here?”

  “I’m sorry, Cassandra, but we don’t know much more than we did a few days ago. We’ve been able to stop some of the Brotherhood, but we can’t find the head.”

  “What of Phoebe and the others?”

  “We don’t know. Alma and I lost contact with them. We fear the worst.”

  “Why is the Brotherhood doing this now?”

  “The signs. This is a time of great power. For those who control the keys, they will have control over the doorways, and over who can come and go. They will have the power of life and death over Lemuria itself. With the keys in the hands of the Keepers, there is balance. Without that balance, our realm may be lost.”

  “How did I get to be one of the chosen?”

  “The ruling powers selected your line long before you were born. The honor—and the onus—has passed through your family for more generations than you can count. Are you unhappy with the burden?”

  “No. But the key is lost. The Brotherhood took it from me.”

  “Did they?” Minerva glanced at the bookcase where Cass caught the glint of silver and emerald shining in the moonlight.

  “How?” She knew the piece hadn’t been there earlier when she’d gotten her candles out. So how had it gotten there?

  “Alma found and returned it. That was her task. Yours is to keep it safe from now on.”

  “I will do my best, Aunt Minerva. What will you do?”

  “Alma and I will search for the others. Don’t worry if you don’t hear from me. I will be with you when the time is right.”

  Her image faded and Cass leaned back, her eyes closed.

  “Cass?”

  “It’s all right, Nic. I just needed to take care of something.”

  “I saw.”

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. “You saw everything?”

  “Did I mention I’m a very light sleeper?”

  Cass chuckled and drew her feet up on the futon as Nic sat next to her. “Guess that doesn’t surprise me. The others are missing and Aunt Minerva doesn’t know where they are.”

  “Can’t you find them?”

  “Me? How?”

  Nic waved his hands in the air. “I don’t know. Looking at some water? Or whatever it is you do?”

  “What I do has its limits. Besides, Aunt Minerva is much more powerful than I am. If she can’t find them, there’s no way I can.”

  “I disagree. She doesn’t have the relationship with them that you do. And there are two of us now.” He paused and stared into her eyes. “Look, I don’t understand what’s going on. I don’t believe half of what’s happened over the last three days, but I can’t deny it has happened. And I can’t deny that you and I have a connection that goes deeper than what a normal man and woman experience. Maybe together we can do something.”

  Cass chewed her lip. “Together? I never thought about that.” Hope filled her eyes. “Do you really think we could?”

  “Why not? The outcome can’t be any worse than where we are now, and maybe something good will come of this.”

  Cass nodded and rose from the sofa. “Give me a few minutes to get some things together.” She opened a paneled cabinet next to the fireplace and withdrew more candles, silk cloth, herbs, and a bowl.

  “What’s all this?” Nic asked.

  “Tools of the trade.”

  Nic watched as she set her things up. Finally satisfied with her layout, she lit the candles and took Nic’s hands.

  “What do I have to do?” Nic asked.

  “Open yourself to me.” Cass stared into his eyes, losing herself in their green depths. The candlelight flickered, and the world shrank to nothing but pinpoint pupils in a sea of green. Cass could sense his mind connection. Their thoughts were separate, but together. Past, present, and future swirled together, joining them as one throughout time.

  Cass moved her vision from Nic to her scrying bowl. His arms encircled her, keeping their connection through touch. “Show me my sisters.”

  Rainbows swirled in the water, but no faces showed.

  “Show us our sisters,” Nic said.

  “Show us our sisters.” Their voices joined, becoming one. The water roiled and swirled. A woman’s face appeared. Spiky blonde hair, angular features, brown eyes.

  “Is that one of your friends?” Cass heard the question in her mind.

  “Yes. It’s Phoebe.” The image faded. Cass blew out a frustrated breath and shook her head. “It’s too hard. I can’t.”

  Nic hugged her to him. “Nonsense. You did it. The image faded because I interrupted. Try again.”

  “Nic, I’ve never been really good at this. It’s not my strong point.”

  “What about what I saw earlier with Minerva? What was that?”

  “An astral projection.”

  “Can you do that?”

  “I’ve only done it one other time—not something I want to repeat. I had a migraine for three days afterward.”

  “Okay, so we stick to the scrying.”

  “We tried that.”

  “Not with the amulet. There has to be a reason why you have it beyond just keeping it safe. Try focusing your energy or whatever you do through that.”

  Cass pulled off the necklace. “I’ve never used this before with scrying.”

  “So now is as good a time as any to start.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I am here. You have my strength. You have my support. You have my love.”

  Cass took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then held the amulet in front of her, focusing on the water through the emerald. The water swirled and a pinprick of light formed on the surface. It expanded to show Phoebe.

  “Cass?” Her lips formed the word, her eyes wide.

  �
��Are you all right, Phoebe? One blink for yes if you can’t talk.”

  The woman’s eyes blinked once, and she glanced to both sides.

  “Are the others there with you?”

  One blink.

  “Are you okay?”

  One slow blink. What did that mean?

  “Do you know where you are?”

  Blink. Blink.

  “Cass, can you read her mind?” Nic asked. “Maybe you can see where she is through her eyes.”

  “No.”

  “But you’re doing it now.”

  “No, I’m not—but maybe you can.” She focused on the figure in the water.

  “Phoebe, do you remember when we were kids and we tried reading each other’s thoughts?”

  Blink.

  “I know Kyrie was the only one who could do it without giving us a major headache, but I’d like to try. Are you okay with that?”

  Blink.

  “Relax and think about the time we put food dye in Aunt Minerva’s shampoo.” Nic’s arms tightened around her and his chuckles tickled. “Stay with me, Nic. We’re going for a little trip. Close your eyes.”

  Cass closed her eyes and thought about the prank the four of them had played on Minerva. Although the shade of blue had been quite lovely, Aunt Minerva hadn’t been nearly as amused as the girls.

  “Remember.”

  Cass ignored her own memories, and thought about Phoebe’s part in the prank. How she’d poured the dye in the bottle while the other three kept Minerva busy. Cass was there as the cap came off the bottle. She could feel the bottle of dye in her hand.

  “Cass?”

  “I’m here, Phoeb. Give me your memories of your trip.” Cass concentrated, focusing on Phoebe’s memories. She hadn’t seen much since she’d been in the back of a van, but she’d seen enough for Cass to get an idea. Their connection broke suddenly and Cass jerked back, her eyes opening. The water exploded from the bowl and Cass jumped.

  “Cass? Are you all right?” Nic held her close to him.

  “Yeah. But that was weird.”

  “I guess what just happened isn’t normal?”

  “Not hardly. Normally, the water just sits there.”

  “Do you know where your friends are?”

  “No, but I have an idea of the general direction. The question is, do I stay here like Aunt Minerva said? Or do I go after them?”

  “What does your heart say?”

  “Go.”

  “Then we go—after some food.”

  “You cooking?” Cass grinned at him. He looked so cute standing there in old sweatpants, bare feet and bare chest, his dark hair tousled from sleep. Heat rose through her as his eyes drew her in.

  “If you keep thinking thoughts like that, we won’t be able to go after your friends,” Nic said, a leer on his face.

  Cass backed away from him, the heat transferring from her lower regions to her face. “Go. Cook. I’m going to get dressed.” She slowly drew her robe off.

  “You’re a minx.” He swatted her and she skipped out of reach.

  While Cass dressed, Nic warmed up the pancakes he’d made the day before. He topped them with almond butter and rolled them up to eat on the road. He tried to keep busy so he wouldn’t think of Cass dressing—or rather stripping out of her robe and the sweatpants she had on.

  It didn’t work.

  When she emerged, dressed in jeans, a heavy sweater, and sturdy hiking boots, it took all his determination not to grab her and haul her into the bedroom.

  “Nic? Is something wrong?”

  “No. Sit. Eat.” He headed toward the bedroom. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  “Nic?”

  “A cold one!”

  Cass’ laughter followed him.

  Nic leaned his head against the wall of the shower, letting the lukewarm water sluice over him as he tried not to think about her.

  “Phoebe. Think about her. Blonde is so not my type.” He attempted to fix her image in his mind. Her spiky hair, her strong face. He no longer heard or felt the shower. He was no longer aware of anything in the cabin. He’d entered some sort of gray plane where he floated, sensing nothing.

  He increased his concentration on his image of Cass’ friend. To his surprise, her full image appeared. He could see the metal chair she slumped in, her hands tied behind her, and her feet bound to the legs of the chair. Behind her, on a cot, sat two other women handcuffed to the head and foot of the cot. One had flaming red curls flowing over her shoulders. The other looked like Dori, but not the Dori he knew. He’d never seen her face so pale, and her reddened eyes looked like they’d been touched by fire. And he’d never seen such a look of defeat. This was a woman ready to die. That bothered him almost as much as Cass being kidnapped had.

  The redhead sported a livid bruise on her cheek and the blonde had a cut lip. All three were disheveled and dirty. But none looked seriously injured.

  A quick look around showed no one else in the room. They appeared to be in some sort of storage room. No windows, one door, shut, and a dozen or so large metal drums. A bare bulb high overhead provided the illumination. He figured his imagination supplied the background. He grinned and attempted to imagine other details. Maybe he could put them in different clothes. As much as he tried, he couldn’t get anything in his vision to change. Okay, so not his imagination. What else could it be?

  “Who are you?” Phoebe asked.

  Surprised, Nic turned to her. “You can see me?”

  “Of course I can see you.” Her gaze drifted down and her eyebrow rose. “All of you.”

  Nic felt a blush cover him but he stayed with her. His imagination, or whatever this turned out to be, was getting a little too real, but he’d go along with the idea. Enough weird things had happened over the past couple of days that he accepted he might actually be seeing and talking with Phoebe. “I’m with Cass.”

  Phoebe sat straighter. “Is she okay? Can she help us? Can she get us out of here?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes. We’re trying to figure out where you are.” He looked around. Nothing gave away their location. Then he heard a loud rumbling noise and saw the light move like vibrations shook the room. That coupled with the symbols on the drums told him the probable location of the women. He grinned at Phoebe. “Got it. We’ll be here as soon as we can. Where are your Protectors?”

  “Our what? Oh, our partners. One is probably dead. Unknown on the other two.” A tear escaped Phoebe’s eye, and Nic swallowed against an unfamiliar emotion. If these women’s connections to their Protectors came anywhere close to what he and Cass had, the loss would be devastating. Then Nic’s heart nearly stopped beating. One dead? He glanced at Dori’s face again. Oh, God. Greg. “Dori?”

  She continued to stare at nothing, not even acknowledging him.

  “She’s been like that since we got here. If you want to help her, get us the hell out of here,” Phoebe said.

  “We’ll find you. I promise.”

  Nic closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Cass stood outside the shower staring at him. He turned off the water and shivered as she wrapped a warm towel around him.

  “What happened? I’ve been calling you for five minutes. You didn’t move, didn’t answer. And I couldn’t sense you. It was like you weren’t here.”

  “Technically, I guess I wasn’t. I saw Phoebe. At least I think I did.”

  “What? How?”

  “You tell me. I think I did something like that astral projection thing you told me about.”

  “But I thought you couldn’t do anything.”

  Nic shrugged and finished dressing. “Seems like we opened more doors than we knew. Anyway, I sort of know where they are.”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  Nic told her everything he’d seen. “Dori didn’t move. She just sat there.”

  Cass held him tightly as tears streamed down her face. “Not Greg. Oh, God. Not Greg.”

  They turned as the alarm went off. Nic went to the bedroom
and checked the monitor. “Damn!”

  * * * *

  William made several phone calls. He’d lost four men when the hotel came down. Fortunately, the others had been out working on their various duties. They’d had to resort to a makeshift meeting room in the courthouse. And had scattered to outlying hotels. Instead of having everyone together, now they’d been spread apart making his work even more difficult.

  And he’d not been able to contact either his lieutenant or Sheila. Or the other three women. Odd. He called in all his favors. Used all his influence, all his contacts and connections. He needed to make this all come together now. He needed to find them all now.

  Unfortunately, the old witch still lived. He’d searched for her, but she’d evaded him. Still, he had others looking for her with orders to kill her. She was just one old woman. One would think even these idiots could take care of her. But he needed to concentrate on Cassandra. He’d take care of the old woman once he had his power restored and the door open. Soon he would have it all. Very soon.

  Chapter 15

  Nic tore out of the cabin, Cass close behind. Halfway down the lane, he knelt in the stones next to a body, frantically checking for a pulse. “Greg? Come on, buddy. Don’t do this to me.”

  A horrible bloody gash ran from Greg’s left shoulder to his right hip. Both eyes were blackened and swollen, and bruises covered his jaw and hands.

  Cass knelt next to Nic, her hands shaking. “Let me.” She held the amulet over Greg’s chest. “Spirits of healing, please hear me.”

  Nic paced while Cass worked on Greg. He spotted the trail of blood leading down the lane. “I’m going to go get his car.”

  Cass nodded but did not stop her chanting. Nic trotted down the stony path. At the end, Greg’s car sat, driver’s side door open and motor still running. Blood pooled on the seat and made the steering wheel sticky. Nic ignored the mess and pulled the car through the barrier, then jumped out to relock the gate. A minute later, he drove up to where Cass still knelt next to Greg and he feared the worst.

  “Cass?”

  “I don’t know, Nic. We need to get him inside.” Cass rubbed her head and her face had gone pale.