Bonded (The Raegan Mason Trilogy) (23 page)

The increased sense of danger kept our minds on reaching the shore instead of on the closeness of each other in the water.  On one of our surfacing trips, I was overcome with a heavy sense of déjà vu.  I was bobbing up and down with the waves staring at the island from my dream.  I froze anticipating seeing my parents walking to the edge of the shore.  Kyler instantly noticed the change in emotion and looked back at me then to the shore.  He had seen glimpses of my dream earlier today when he asked if that was my father he saw.  “It was just a dream, Rae.” He said aloud to break my trance.  “We’re almost there, keep swimming.”  He reached his hand out to me to pull me along.  I knew it was a dream, but the odd feeling of familiarity was unnerving.  I plunged under the water again to swim toward the deserted looking island.

CHAPTER 18 – ISLAND OF PARADISE

As we approached the island, my body was in panic mode.  This was exactly the same island from my dream.  Kyler kept trying to reassure me that it was just a dream, but I could feel the uncertainty lingering on his emotions.

The dark clouds were covering the sunlight that was left of the afternoon by the time we reached the shore.    Kyler fell to the sand and lay there breathing quietly in and out.  I sat down next to him and stared into the trees of the island searching for a sign of my parents.

“Rae, please don’t do this.”  Kyler sat up and placed his hand on my shoulder.  His energy ripped through me and I closed my eyes to absorb the feeling.

“I was here before.”  I stated plainly as I realized it was the truth.  Not just from my dream last night, but a memory.

Kyler straightened up and followed my gaze into the jungle.  “When were you here before?”  He asked, accepting my word for what it was.

“I think we lived here.”  I stood up and reached for his hand to pull along with me.

“Lived here?  Where?”  He stood to follow me.

“Through the jungle a bit, this way.”  I started pulling him toward a clearing near the tree cover where my parents were in my dream.  A sandy path wound its way through the trees and green plants grew low beneath the canopy.  My body was on auto pilot.  It remembered the way even if I didn’t fully remember.  After walking a few minutes, the trees began to clear out to reveal an opening and a small house.

The house was bungalow style with a thatched roof.  There were a few windows with all of the glass panes intact.  There were even white curtains covering the windows.  The door was closed and I wondered if it even locked.  The porch had a double hammock strung between the poles holding up the roof.  It looked deserted as I expected.  We hadn’t been here for years.

Kyler followed me up to the house and as I expected, the door was open.  We walked in and the room was dark.  There wasn’t any electricity to flip on any lights, but there were some candles and lanterns around the room.  I looked for a lighter or some matches and found them near a wood stove in the corner.  The room took on a warm glow as I lit the candles and lanterns.  I picked up a candle and walked around the main room.  A small worn couch took up most of the room.  Pictures drawn with crayon were pinned to the walls.  I walked toward the back of the house to the bedrooms.  There were two.  One with a wood framed bed a little bigger than the one in the lighthouse; the other a smaller bed with railing around to keep a toddler or small child from falling to the floor.  This was my room.  There wasn’t much left here but ghostly memories.  Tears began to fill my eyes as those memories weighed on my thoughts.

Kyler came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.  I’d almost forgotten he was here.  I was wrapped up in my thoughts.  “You lived here?”  He asked gently.

“Yeah, I did.  I was born here.”  I revealed as the knowledge filled me.  He released his hug and turned me toward him.

“How do you know you were born here?”  His eyes were inquisitive, searching for the answer in my thoughts.

“I just know.”  I didn’t bother putting up the bubble around my thoughts.  I filled him with all of the memories as they filled my mind.

He watched through my thoughts and memories and gave me a resigned look that he’d let it go for now.

“We need to find something to eat before this storm comes in.”  The thunder sounded in the distance and I smelled the air tinted with ozone.

“There’s a spring in the back.”  I started walking toward the door and froze.  I remembered the spring and swimming with my parents as a child.  The images played out like a movie in my mind.  Tears were flowing down my cheeks when Kyler’s compassion overwhelmed me.  He caught me as I crumbled on the spot.  He held me as I cried.  He tried soothing me and telling me everything would be okay.  His voice sent tremors through me.  His touch was electric and setting off my already heightened emotions.  He picked me up off the floor and made me lay down on the couch while he went looking for water and something to eat for the night.  I just lay there letting the memories flood my mind.

I gathered myself together as best I could to help our situation. 
“There are some banana and mango trees around the spring.”
I showed Kyler mentally.  He had already discovered them and was returning.  He dropped his bundle on the table and rummaged through the small kitchen for something to collect the water.  He found two mason jars and turned to me and smiled his crooked smile.

“How ironic to find mason jars.”  His eyes twinkled in the candle light.  “I’ll be right back.”  He ran out the door as the thunder and lightning drew closer.

He came back a few minutes later with evidence of rain drops on his body.  The water glistened on his bare chest and I was overcome with desire for him.  His smile faltered slightly.  “We should eat something.”  He brought some bananas and the two jars of water to the couch.  He handed me a banana and a jar, and he began peeling his own. 

Kyler kept his thoughts guarded as much as possible.  I wasn’t able to hide mine right now. The emotional overload I was experiencing was too much to contain in my weak bubble.  “You don’t have to hide anything from me.  I’m just trying to not add anymore thoughts to your mind.” He smiled in my direction.  “I’ve never even seen this island on the map.  We couldn’t have drifted that far.  I wonder if anyone else lives on this island.” He looked to me for answers.

“I’m not sure.  I don’t remember anyone else, but it seems like my memory is a little Swiss cheesed at the moment.  Why do you think I can’t remember certain things?”  I finished my banana and laid the peel on the table.  The thunder and lightning were very close.  It began to rain harder.  I shivered and Kyler scooted next to me so I could feel some warmth.  I melted into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

His breathing increased at our closeness.  “I’m not sure.  It could be from the accident, or maybe all of the drugs you had to take.  Or maybe I was not quick enough that night to get you in the water before…” He tensed at the thought of my limp body on the rock.

“So do you have any other powers?” I quickly changed the subject.  I was hoping I would be able to master some powers soon.

He laughed sending waves of tremors through me. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh.  You will be able to master your powers soon.  It takes some time.  I’ve had my enhancer for a long time and I’ve also had a mother that insisted on me using them.  If your mother had given you that bracelet as a child, then you may have been further along by now, but mastery would still be a ways away.  You’re not even 18 yet.  After your birthday, your powers will come quicker.”  He smiled and tapped my nose with his finger.  His touch only increased my desires.  I tried to refocus on our conversation replaying his words in my mind.

“So how old are you, exactly?  You’ve had yours a long time, what does that mean?”  I watched as his face hardened and then relaxed.  He looked away from my stare toward the glass paned window and watched the rain slam against it.

“We age differently.  I am 19, but…” He stalled as he wrestled with telling me the truth.

“Please tell me, I won’t freak out, I promise.”  I whispered into his neck.  His body stiffened and he closed his eyes as he felt my breath on his neck.

“You’re dangerously close to melting away my control.” He whispered through gritted teeth.

I backed away slightly and pleaded again.  “Please tell me what you mean about aging differently.”

He inhaled a deep breath before returning his cobalt blue eyes back to me.  “How old do you think my mother is?”  He startled me by changing directions in the conversation.

“Um, I don’t know.  She looks young.  If you’re 19, then she must be at least 35 or 40?  I don’t want to assume she had you young, but she does look young.  She could pass for a 20 yr old if I didn’t know you were her son.”

His facial features were difficult to read and his thoughts were locked behind his lead curtain of a bubble.  “We stop aging around 20 yrs old.  Once we turn 18, our aging slows dramatically.  Our physical bodies do not grow old.  We will never have gray hair or wrinkles, or at least the oldest of the Elders still looks 20 something.  If we are careful…” He looked at me to gage my emotional well being before continuing, “We won’t ever die.”  He exhaled as if he’d just lifted a heavy burden off of his shoulders.

I let his words soak into my mind.  “So how long have you been 19?” 

He stared at me trying to decide whether to tell me or not.  “Please talk to me.  I’ll only assume the worst and that won’t help me process all of this faster.”  He smiled sweetly, but his eyes were still unsure.

“I’ve been 19 for a while. I’ve been roaming the earth for well over…a century?”  He watched me closely for any signs of mental breakdown.  When he didn’t see any, he continued.  “Actually, I’ve been around almost seven hundred years.”  He looked away when the shock on my face registered.  He kept his arm around me, but lifted some of the pressure off my shoulders in case I wanted to bolt out the door.  He had also lifted the mental block from his mind as he flashed through several lifetimes of memories. 

Tears filled my eyes as I thought of all the lonely years he spent alone. “You’ve waited so long and you’ve had to endure such loneliness.”  I reached to touch his face and direct his gaze back to me, but he resisted.

“Aren’t you frightened of me?” He asked full of emotion.

“Absolutely not!  I knew you were different from other people, but knowing that you’ve waited over seven hundred years to find me is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard.  You should know how I feel about you if everything your mother said is true.  I can’t fake my feelings for you.  I don’t care if you’re older than Methuselah…wait, you’re not Methuselah, are you?”  His dimples broke out in a dazzling smile as he rolled his eyes.

“No, but I know some people that knew him.”  He raised an eyebrow waiting for my reaction.  I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.  

I just nodded my head.  “Okay, so Methuselah was an acquaintance of someone you know?  The guy in the Bible?”  My mind was trying to accept it, but I was waiting for him to start laughing.  I was gullible.

“Yes, the very one.  Many historical people including some in the Bible were one of us.  We’re not exactly immortal, but…as close as you can probably get.  I’m not sure if there are any actual immortals.  We can all die one way or another.  It isn’t easy, but there are ways.”  He looked away from me and blocked his thoughts again.

“What are you hiding from me?  I can feel your tension, remember?  And when you shut off your thoughts so quickly, it takes my breath away.”  His cautious eyes returned to me as he turned me to face him.

“Doesn’t any of this scare you?  I’ve just told you that I’ve lived over seven hundred years and that it’s almost impossible to die without extreme measures.  You didn’t even skip a beat.  I don’t know how much more you can take in one briefing.”  His eyes examined me as if I were about to have a mental breakdown as his hands braced my shoulders.

I laughed.  A bolt of electricity rushed through our bodies.  I wasn’t sure if it came from him or me, but it was intense and we both inhaled sharply and tried to absorb the tremors.  He released my shoulders and the energy dropped too.  “If that’s what a mental breakdown feels like, I wouldn’t mind that.”  I smiled trying to lighten the mood.  It didn’t seem to help.  “Look, Kyler, I’ve been through some really tough things in my brief life.  I was in a terrifying accident where I lost my parents and then just found out that my headaches were actually warning signals that I was dying.  Things couldn’t get any worse.  In fact, they took a turn for the better.  My headaches disappeared.   I found out that I may have some kind of awesome powers.  I can breathe under water.  I met and fell in love with this incredible guy, who returns that love.  I glow, literally, when I’m with him, and now he tells me that I could have forever with him.  What more could a girl ask for?”  I reached for both of his hands trying to get him to understand that I’m okay.  He let me hold them.  Minutes seemed to tick by before he replied.

He turned to face me on the couch and laced his fingers through mine.  A warm sensation spread through me.  I felt complete when our hands were joined.  “Raegan, there is so much more that you need to learn.  I don’t know if I can teach you or if my mother will be able to help in any way.  You are the other half of my soul.  I don’t want this to overwhelm you.  I’m trying not to overload you with information, but there are others of our kind that will try to stop us from being together.  We’ve bonded and that’s huge in our world.  Parents and children bond, but it’s not very common for two of us to bond.”  He paused trying to collect his thoughts.

“Why do refer to us as if we’re some kind of mutant?  I’m trying to follow your thoughts, but I’m getting lost.”  I watched his face looking for clues.  He looked up into my eyes and took my breath away.

“I’ll start at the beginning…or the beginning as I know it.”  He released my hand and took a drink of water before beginning his story.  “If at any point along the way you feel like it’s too much, please stop me.”  He searched my thoughts for understanding.  I nodded and he began.