Amy's Advantage (14 page)

“Yes,” Amdyn said, “but Chloe isn’t completely from this
world.”

“Yes, but
that
isn’t something any normal person in
this world would consider either.
I
never would have if Ellen hadn’t
told me and at times I still think it has to be impossible. Even the Predator
showing up could be explained by some horrific exposure to nuclear waste or
something more believable than a hunting, homicidal alien.” Amy enunciated each
word clearly, as if Amdyn might be struggling with the language she was using
and not really getting the point.

Siriyn grunted with amusement, but Amdyn ignored him and
leaned forward again. “Fair enough. Chloe, do you look at pictures in other
people’s minds a lot?”

Chloe closed her eyes and didn’t answer.

Amdyn lowered his voice slightly, and when he spoke, Jordyn
could feel the wave of reassuring encouragement roll out with his words.
“Chloe, can you tell me about the singing trees? I’d really like to hear about
them.”

When Chloe opened her eyes, they were solemn and frightened.
“No,” she whispered around her thumb. “ ‘Sa secret. Nyrya said.”

At the mention of the name, tension flowed through all three
men in the room, but Amdyn smiled at Chloe. Now that they understood Chloe’s
ability, Jordyn knew he wasn’t the only one who immediately shored up mental
defenses to keep Chloe protected from what they might be thinking.

Since telepathy was a known gift in Ilyria, children were
taught from a young age how to guard their thoughts and most Ilyrian adults
could only be compromised by someone with a pure and powerful talent like
Amdyn. Even so, if a telepath forced his way into someone’s mind who was
actively fighting him, the telepath ran the risk of destroying the mind and
even killing the person before they got what they wanted if they weren’t
careful.

Of course, there were exceptions to every rule. There always
were. Blood ties could initiate or increase telepathic connection and once a
couple completed the Mating Rite, a bond was often formed to allow any
telepathic abilities to flow more freely between the two. Even deep friendships
could spark a telepathic link that could intensify over time and use, creating
an easy path of open communication. But an unfettered telepathic ability was rare
and there were strict rules in place governing such individuals. Unfortunately,
traitors by definition didn’t abide by rules.

Sensing the tension in the room, Amy asked, “Who is Nyrya?”
When no one answered her, she looked at Jordyn. He shook his head slightly and
lifted his hand in a “wait” gesture. Though her lips flattened in annoyance,
she didn’t push for an answer. Instead, she adjusted Chloe to a more
comfortable position against her and gave her daughter a reassuring hug.

The tightness in Amdyn’s muscles eased and Jordyn could feel
the soothing and calming thoughts he was pushing toward Chloe. “Does Nyrya talk
to you often?” The child kept her head down and didn’t answer. “Did Nyrya tell
you not to say anything about her?”

Chloe’s eyes scrunched shut and she nodded. “Bad things will
happen,” she whispered, barely decipherable around her thumb.

Amy stiffened and opened her mouth to say something, but
Amdyn caught her with a glance and cut her off.

“We won’t let bad things happen,” Amdyn said. “Besides, I’m
tired of talking about Nyrya and we didn’t get a chance to finish our game.”

Though she kept her head ducked under her mother’s chin,
Chloe opened her eyes and looked at Amdyn.

“It’s your turn to think of a picture and let me guess,” he
said. “Can you do that?”

She nodded and pulled her thumb out of her mouth.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Sitting up straight on Amy’s lap, she nodded again.

Amdyn closed his eyes tightly for a minute as if he were
thinking really hard. He opened one eye and said, “I think I almost have it,”
then closed it again. Chloe grinned. Suddenly he opened both eyes wide. “Did
you just give my top military commander a beard of bubbles?”

Chloe’s grin broke into an all-out smile as she nodded.
“Jordyn,” she confirmed.

Surprise and something akin to pride hummed through him, but
Jordyn kept his expression neutral save for a small smile at Chloe when she
looked at him.

Looking at Amy, Amdyn said, “I have everything I need for
now.” He smiled at Chloe. “I think Kirry was planning on making pancakes for
Shyrana this morning. Would you like to help her in kitchen?”

With an exuberant nod that sent her red curls bouncing,
Chloe wiggled off her mother’s lap.

“Once you get Chloe settled in the kitchen—” Amdyn began.

“I’ll be back,” Amy interrupted. “I want some answers.”

A few minutes later, Amy returned to the library to find the
three men in the same position she had left them. Though they were sprawled in
their separate chairs, their relaxed postures couldn’t hide the gravity that
had descended in the room. Muscles taut, she sat on the edge of the couch and
tried to fortify herself against the bad news she was sure would come.

The two seconds of silence after she sat down seemed endless
as she knotted her fingers together tightly in her lap, trying to contain a
gnawing fear growing in her stomach. “Is Chloe going to be okay?”

Amdyn’s brows pulled together over his clear blue eyes. “Of
course. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Amy’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?” She popped
up off the couch, a tightly wound spring suddenly sprung. Stiffly, she paced to
the large windows. The louvered shutters were pulled open, leaving an
unfettered view of the expansive front yard down to the line of trees that
marked the beginning of the surrounding aspen and pine forest. Beautiful as the
vista was, she stood looking out, but not seeing the winter wonderland that was
Colorado in early January.

The fear embedded in every mother’s heart the moment she
first loved her child reared up with an ugly rush. Crossing her arms, Amy
willed back the voracious monster and focused on keeping a rational tone.

“I just found out that my daughter is seriously telepathic
and that someone named Nyrya has been poking around in her head. An enemy of
the alien land we come from is using my own daughter’s thoughts to stalk us and
hunt us down with mutant killers, while the only family member we’ve known and
could depend on for the last several years has been transported to another
dimension. Where the
hell
do you get
of course
from? There is
nothing
of course
about this entire situation.”

“My mistake,” Amdyn said sincerely. “I did not mean to imply
a lack of concern.”

Tightening her arms across her body, she pulled in her shaky
emotions, trying to find solid ground in a world of crumbling earth. She jumped
when a warm hand gently squeezed her shoulder. Pulling her sight away from her
inner turmoil, she focused on the window’s reflection of the man standing
behind her, solid and reassuring. Jordyn’s dark-silver eyes held her gaze with
a strength that gave her the courage to breathe again.

“Chloe will be fine,” he said. “She’ll be taught techniques
to handle and use her gift, and so will you. She is and will be protected.”

His hand fell away as Amy turned to face him, a fierceness
pushing up from her fear. “You.” She poked him in the chest. “You promise me
that she will be okay.
You
promise. Promise me that
you
will be
personally responsible for making sure she will get to Ilyria and be safe.”

Emotion, dark and severe, swept through Jordyn’s eyes as
unwaveringly, he held her gaze. His face, sharp as cut granite, revealed
nothing but unshakable resolve as he stated, “I promise.”

Amy felt the air rush out of her. So intent on Jordyn’s
answer, she hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath, placing so much on
the hope that he’d give her the response she so desperately needed. She dropped
her hand and struggled with the dizzy sense of relief his two words released in
her.

Stepping around Jordyn, she found Siriyn and Amdyn staring
at her with odd expressions on their faces. Quickly they cleared and Amdyn
gestured toward the couch. “We still need to cover a few things,” he said.

As she reclaimed her seat, Jordyn remained standing by the
window, though he moved so that his back was against the wall and not the
glass.

“Can we start with who Nyrya is?” she asked.

“Nyrya is a character from Ilyrian mythology. She is a
little impish demon who unlocks doors at night to let in thieves and robbers.”

“Chloe is
not
possessed by an impish demon,” Amy
stated emphatically.

“No, I don’t think so either. But I do think whoever has
formed a bond with her telepathically certainly knows the myth and finds it
amusing to use that particular name.”

“Are you sure there’s an actual bond there?”

Amdyn nodded. “I found several mental paths that have been
established with Chloe. There’s you, Nyrya, Aurora and a woman named Miss
Janey.”

“Her preschool teacher,” Amy said.

“But the strongest by far is with you and goes beyond simple
thought-sharing, since the blood tie that comes from the mother-child bond is
one of the most elemental any person can have.”

“Can this Nyrya person affect that?”

A flash of anger darkened the blue of Amdyn’s serious eyes
for a moment. “It could. Yes. Eventually. But it takes times and a lot of
constant contact from the one doing the manipulating and Chloe would have to be
entirely separated from those she draws strength and love from. Your daughter
has already formed a strong and independent personality, and even at her young
age, she wouldn’t be easy to control from a distance. Besides, though children
are predictable in some things, they are highly undisciplined and unpredictable
in others.”

“So what was Nyrya, or whoever she is, trying to do? And how
did she connect with my daughter in the first place? Is she from Ilyria or
Earth?”

“I think she—”

“Are you sure it’s a woman?” Amy interrupted.

“Not one hundred percent,” Amdyn said, “but what I picked up
had definite female overtones. And I think she is trying to use Chloe in any
way she can. The first choice would be to get both you and her back to Ilyria
and in the hands of our enemies. But that would have been very hard to do since
portals between worlds cannot be jumped through unwillingly, even by a child.
So the second option is to make sure that you never get to Ilyria and work
against them.”

“Which explains the Predator attacks,” Amy supplied.

“Yes. I think they were using information they could get
from Chloe to pinpoint your location and find you.”

“But Chloe’s too young to rattle off an address.”

“But not too young to know the name of her favorite park.
Also, depending on the talent of the telepath, they might be able to see what
Chloe is seeing at times, which would include street signs and city landmarks.
Even if she didn’t comprehend what they meant, the telepath could.”

Amy sat back and blinked a couple of times, trying to take
in all the information without losing her mind to worry. “So can you stop it?
Or block this Nyrya person from contacting Chloe again?”

“There are ways to do both, but I don’t think that is the
best or safest thing for Chloe at this time. If I block or remove those paths,
the next time Nyrya tries to contact Chloe, she will know she’s been found out
and might try something desperate that could harm Chloe’s mind or, at the very
least, scare her. Undoubtedly, the Sleht know you’re here.”

Amy was halfway to the door before she even realized she’d
moved.

“Amy, stop.”

It was Jordyn’s voice that froze her forward progress. She
spun around. “Did you know Chloe’s mind was being invaded? Did you know and not
tell me?”

Jordyn took a step away from the wall. “No. Not for sure. I
couldn’t. I’m not a telepath.”

“But you suspected.” Fiery rage enveloped Amy’s vision and
for a moment everything went blast-furnace white and the sting of betrayal sank
deep. “You suspected my daughter was in danger and you didn’t do anything. You
didn’t tell me.”

“There was nothing to tell. Yet.” Jordyn’s calm response
didn’t calm Amy’s rage.

Amdyn stood and crossed into Amy’s line of vision, between
her and Jordyn. Authority rolled off him and pushed Amy’s anger back. “We
understand your concern, but you should not waste your time on anger as it will
not help your daughter.”

Amy straightened and let the anger Amdyn so easily dismissed
pull deep inside of her to a cold, powerful place. She glared up at the First
Heir of the First House, releasing her words very carefully and clearly as she
advanced on him. “Until you have a child of your own, don’t tell me you
understand
my concern. And never dare tell me not to get angry when my daughter has been
threatened. I don’t care who you are or where you come from,” she brought her
hand up, intending to make contact with Amdyn, “but if you think—”

Her hand was caught and held by Jordyn. The sudden contact
broke her stream of words. She turned her glare to Jordyn, ready to unleash a
stream of invectives, but was stopped by the depth of anguish in his eyes.

“I understand,” he said simply.

Shock thudded inside her as she stared at him. “You told me
you don’t have children.” Or a wife. Had he lied to her about everything?

“I don’t,” he said. “Not anymore.” He dropped her hand.
“Which is why I understand what it means to be afraid of losing Chloe or seeing
her hurt. And why I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening
to you.” The emotions he’d let her see in his eyes closed off and she was once
again looking at a wall of steel-edged determination. “But you must trust us to
do what we know needs to be done.”

Amy glanced around at Amdyn and Siriyn. Jordyn’s revelation
had obviously surprised Siriyn, but Amdyn appeared unfazed. Unwilling to let go
of her anger too easily, she acquiesced by returning to the couch, but refused
to be mollified by Amdyn’s habitual expression of patience and control.