Dark Weaver (Weaver Series) (7 page)

“I’m not feeling well, please give me a moment.”  I heard her grunt in disagreement, and the next thing I knew I was sitting in some sort of dentist chair in a white room that smelled of antiseptics. 

“Are you a mender?”  I asked feebly.

“Of course not, and what would you need with a
mender?  You’re not a weaver anymore, nor will you ever be again.”  Her voice had a strange accent, proper and condescending all combined.  I swallowed hard, my throat was burning and my tongue felt like sandpaper.

“Then what are you, and where are we?”  I asked, realizing my arms were strapped down.  There was a tray in front of me
, which contained several strange looking objects and the more I looked around the harder my heart began to pound in my chest.  She wasn’t answering my questions.  She was busy clicking buttons on a large monitor and then she poured blue liquid from a glass bottle into a strange looking tube.  I followed the liquid as it swirled around, down, down, and into my arm.  “No…..please,”  my voice was so weak I wasn’t sure if she even heard me but my eyes were suddenly too heavy and I stopped caring. 

I was back at my bayou, feet in the water and it was so cool. 
Kalan was in the distance walking toward me.  The sun was just going down casting a beautiful backlight on him which made him look more like an angel than a man.  I smiled and waited for him to reach me, but he never did.  Everything shifted and I was in a boat with my papaw on the bayou.  He was explaining how ill my mamaw was and then I was walking with him in the cotton field.  I felt every emotion he felt in a rush before I was drifting again.  This time fixing my family’s finances, then I was kissing my horse on the nose.  Images began to whoosh by faster than my mind could recognize them followed by blackness.  Voices zoomed in and out — sometimes too slow, sometimes too fast.  A rush of white light brought me to an image of a little girl running in front of me at the airport, hot coffee on my legs, a swimming pool…Lela chanting in some foreign language.  Images shifted to Kalan, followed by Kess saying “
Concentrate Joey.  When you don’t want me to read you, you need to block with separate thought threads.
” Images shifted to the car accident.  My eyes flew open at the sound of someone screaming and then I realized it was my own voice.  Chloe was moving images around on the large monitors suspended like holograms in front of her and then she turned in her rolling chair to face me.   “Well, you were a busy little weaver weren’t you?”  Sweat had drenched the front of my t-shirt and my hair was matted to my forehead.  My head was pounding so hard and my vision was doubling everything in the room. 

“I did…what…I thought was right,
” I managed in a whisper.

“The only thing you did right was restore Prince Kalan.”  She turned to push more buttons
and I was drowning in memories again.  I felt my body convulsing as another stream of images appeared.  Lela in the cave, Pepper’s face with blood coming from her nose and ears. This shifted to the beach and a little boy pointing at the ice-cream sign, then blackness and my screaming again.  I opened my eyes and jerked my arms in the straps. 

“
Please stop!”  I shouted, but Chloe acted like she didn’t hear me at all.  “Segments are missing,” she said, but not to me.  I realized that Torvin was standing behind her looking at the monitor and shaking his head. 

“Keep trying, we need everything
,”  he said with a grunt.  Chloe said something I couldn’t hear, and then they both stepped out of the room.  I tried again to free my arms, but it was no use.  Those straps weren’t budging.  I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand this.  My breathing was erratic and my heartbeat wasn’t much better.  I remembered Digger saying it would hurt, but it wouldn’t kill me.  I prayed he was telling the truth just before I passed out.

I awoke to the sound of a spoon tinkling in a cup.  The room was dimly lit, but I could make out a shape behind
a curtain.

“Hello?”  I croaked.  The curtain slid back and a tall woman
with short, curly hair approached my bed holding a china cup.  “Drink this,” she said.  I rolled my head away from her.  I’d be damned if I was going to take any more of their psycho medicines so that they could force me to slide back down the rabbit hole.  “It isn’t medicine, it’s just herbal tea, to help your throat,” she said to coax me.  I turned my head to look at her, wishing desperately that I could read her thoughts so that I could be sure.  Her eyes were difficult to read in the dimness of the room, though I could see that she was smiling.  My throat was still burning and the tea would be nice.

“My name is Ruby, and I’m going to be your
mender while you are here.  I can’t harm you. It isn’t within the scope of my ability, and it isn’t my desire.  Please, drink the tea,” she said, setting the cup on the tray she’d pushed in front of me.  I thought of Pepper and conceded.  If she was anything like my friend, I knew she couldn’t do anything to hurt me as a mender.  I sat up slowly and sipped the tea.  It felt wonderful as I swallowed, coating my throat and easing the pain almost instantly.  The flavor was a blend of cinnamon, honey, and something else I couldn’t make out but it tasted somewhat like black licorice.

‘Thank you,” I managed between sips.  It wasn’t easy to hold the cup because my hands were shaking.

“You’re welcome,” she said before leaving the room.  I sat the empty cup on the table and let my head fall back on the pillows, cursing myself for not asking her what to expect next.  Would Chloe be back for me, or was it over?  Would they let me go home now?  Finally, I thought of Kalan, and that hurt more than my throat or my head.  I stared at the ceiling and tried to weave myself out of this situation.  Nothing happened.  I suppose trying was a natural reaction, even though I knew in my heart that it wouldn’t work.  I laid there for at least another hour before the door opened again.  My stomach knotted immediately at the sight of Torvin and Chloe, but it threatened to reject the tea when I saw Kalan appear behind them.  Chloe flipped a switch near the door and the room was illuminated in sterile light.  I sat up and pulled the covers protectively around myself.

“We need further information from you, and you will cooperate with us,
”  Torvin said, nodding his head for emphasis.

“I don’t know what else you want from me,” I said, hating how defeated I sounded.  Kalan was dressed in black pants and a black shirt, his sandy hair just touching the top of his shoulders.  A pang of grief pierced my heart because my first instinct when I saw him was to reach out for him.  How I longed for the safety of his arms.  He walked right up to the bed and sat on the edge looking at me with those beautiful eyes – only now they were hard, and cold. 

“Joey, I will not tolerate this much longer.  You will reveal what I want, or I will not show you mercy.”

“What do you want Kalan?  What more could I possibly give you that I haven’t already given freely, or you haven’t ripped away?”

He gritted his teeth and bent down so close I feared he would either bite me or spit in my face before he spoke in a taut voice – “You’d better cut the crap right now.  I could make your life a living hell and I will if you don’t comply with my wishes.”

I stared into his eyes, searching for some remnant of the man I had loved, but the stranger in front of me was
looking at me with such contempt.  Clearly, I had been deceived.  I swallowed the lump in my throat before I opened my mouth. “Was there ever a time that you loved me at all Kalan?”

“It’s not that our time together was a complete waste,
”  he said dully.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I said.

He rolled his eyes and stood up, addressing Torvin and Chloe who had stood by watching us in silence.

“Do what you have to do, just get me what I need.”

“Kalan!”  I yelled, causing him to turn back toward me.

“No,” he said flatly and walked out.

I threw the covers back and tried to jump out of the bed to follow after him, but my legs were too weak and I ended up splayed out on the floor.  I didn’t bother to get up.  I just pulled into a ball and sobbed like a baby.  Torvin cleared his throat and then told Chloe to call him if he needed her before he left too.  Great!  I was left with evil pin-up warrior chick who had a sadistic sense of fun and a set of savvy futuristic computer skills.  She’d just been given cart blanche to suck the juice from my brains.  What could be worse?  Just as I thought that, she began to laugh.  There I was sprawled on the floor with her high heel shoe close enough to kick me in the head, and she’s laughing like an evil villain.

When I heard the door open again I didn’t bother to look up.  Maybe Digger was back with the rabbit hole medicine.  What did it matter?  I wouldn’t be able to stop them from doing whatever it was they wanted to do in an effort to get whatever it was Kalan wanted out of my head.  I drew my knees in tighter and wrapped my arms around them.  They would have to physically (or metaphysically) move me.  I wasn’t budging on my own. 

“Oh that is seriously pathetic,” said my former
mentor.  I pushed myself up on my knees when I realized Kessler was in the room.  My hair was a sloppy curtain in front of my eyes and I brushed it back to look up at him.  He reached his hand for me to take, and I took it allowing him to pull me to my feet.  When I nearly toppled over, he guided me to the bed and handed me a tissue. 

“You look like
hell.”

“Shut up Kess,” I said.”

“Why don’t you shut up Joey, I’m no longer amused,”  said Chloe before turning to Kessler, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I came as soon as I heard your request.  I understand Prince Kalan wants me to assist you with this?”  He pointed a finger toward me and I promptly pointed one back, only I didn’t use my index finger.

Neither of them was looking at me, but I noticed the corner of Kessler’s mouth twitched.  He knew what I did and found it amusing.  If he was going to help this Amazon, I wasn’t going to make it pleasant.  In fact, I intended to be as unpleasant as I possibly could — at least until I started screaming from the pain again.

“Why don’t you go ahead Chloe, I’ll bring her to the
Recall Theatre, and that will give you a chance to set up again,” Kessler said.

She placed her hand on her hip and glared at me as if she were weighing the risk.  To avoid her eyes, I looked down at her shoes – well, if you could call them shoes.  She was wearing insanely high red pumps that had little spiky things sticking out all over them. 
God help her if she fell down and landed with one of those curled under her.  She’d stab her own behind!  She could probably use them in battle to gouge out her enemy’s eyes.  I could just imagine her doing this without breaking a single manicured nail, or smudging any of that glossy red lipstick.

“That would be most helpful
Kess, I’ll see you there in say, fifteen minutes?  I need to confirm something with Prince Kalan, and then I’ll meet you there.”  Kess gave her one of his alluring grins, “sounds like a plan.”

She
shot me a dirty look as she vanished and I realized that I hadn’t exhaled.  Chloe was ruthless in her loyalty to Kalan, and her draconian values gave me the heebee geebies.  Kessler wasted no time, as soon as her shimmery image dissolved he rushed to my bedside.

“Are you
all right Joey?”

“Am I
all right?  Am…I…all right?  Are you serious?”

“Did she hurt you?”

“Well, she sucked memories out of my head, laughed while I cried, and did I mention it was painful as hell?” 

“We don’t have time Joey, so stop being sarcastic and just take a deep breath or something.”

I took a dramatic breath in and blew it out right in his face.

“
All right, I’ll take it that you are emotionally wounded, but otherwise okay,” he said.

“I’m so not okay Kess, you have no idea.”

“It’s just a moment in time Joey, that’s all, and there are far bigger concerns.  You need to stop channeling your anger at me and trust me.”

“Trust you?  Why should I trust
you, or anyone else here?” 

“Because I can help you, and you have to believe that.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore, and since you are Kalan’s – excuse me,
Prince
Kalan’s right hand man, I can’t imagine why you would expect me to believe anything you say.” My tone was caustic, but damn, looking into those eyes made it difficult.  A part of me wanted to ask him to hold me and make the pain go away.  Where was that coming from?  How could I still find myself getting all weak in the knees under these circumstances?

He lowered his head. 
“I thought you knew me better than that.  I’m no one’s lackey Joey, least of all his, although it is important that he trust me…for your benefit,” he added with a sigh.

My façade
began to crumble.  What choice did I have?  I could trust him or I could face whatever else they had in store for me here in their “Recall Theatre” so the mind suck room had a formal name, how nice.  I gave up and I let it out, “I’m so confused Kess, and I’m so afraid.”

“I know you are Joey, but we haven’t much time.  Please, take my hands.”  He held out his hands and when I hesitated, he put his hands on my shoulders
and pulled me close enough to feel his breath on my face.  I thought for sure he was about to rattle me like a rag doll.

“Look
, I get that you’re mad, that you’re hurt, and that you’re afraid but little darlin’ this is not the time.  We need to get to getting’ Jo-Jo girl.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said –“

“
Never mind, I heard you.  What have you been doing, rooting around in my head?”

“Ugh! 
Woman, would you stop your lips and just give me your little hands?”  He was grinning at me with that crazy smile that made my stomach do acrobatic flips.  I gave him my hands without another word.

“Now close your eyes tight and keep them closed.”

I felt a strange twirling feeling and immediately closed my eyes.  It hadn’t occurred to me that he intended to weave.  I guess I’d been too focused on the mess I was in.  The twirling feeling was replaced by a rapid fall and I felt sure I was going to slip from his grasp and plummet into some dark hole in time.  Just when I thought I would completely freak out, it stopped.  My eyes were still tightly closed but I could smell the brine of the ocean and feel the misty breeze on my face. “Okay, you can open your eyes.”

When I
did I struggled to focus because I was terribly dizzy.  I fell forward and Kess caught me, helping me to sit in the sand. 

“Is she
all right?”  I heard a familiar voice say from behind me.

“Yes, she’s fine, just a little woozy.”

“Put your head between your knees or something,” Kess said nervously.

“Get out of the way Kess, I’ve got this,”
Pepper said calmly.

I looked up to see
my dear friend’s perky face.  She placed her hand on my cheek and smiled so warmly as she infused me with a deep sense of stability. I immediately reached up to hug her.

“Oh God Pepper, it’s so good to see you.  You can’t even begin to know how
good.”  She hugged me back just as tightly and Kessler sat back in the sand, relief flooding his face.

“What did they do to you?”

“I’m sure I look absolutely terrible,” I said softly.

“You never look terrible, but I can help fix that anyway.  Let me start with something a little warmer for you to wear.”  She adjusted my crumpled sundress into sweats and added a blanket around my shoulders. 

“Want me to do your hair and make-up?”

“That bad, huh?”

Pepper laughed, but it wasn’t very convincing.

“I don’t really care to be honest Pep.  Right
now that’s the last thing on my mind.  Actually…I’m not even sure I still have a mind.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you have one of the best minds I’ve ever known.”  Pepper plopped down in the sand and tucked her hair behind her ears.

“I’d have to agree with that, I’ve been in there — and it’s not a bad place,” said Kess.  Pepper slapped his arm at this.

“What?”
he said and threw his arms up in exaggerated exasperation.

I just shook my head.  At least he was consistent.  I drew the blanket around myself and stared out at the ocean.  The sky was grey and the beach was completely empty. 
“So now what?”  I asked looking from Kess to Pepper.  They exchanged a conspiring look and I feared the worst.

“Why am I always the last to know what is really going on?”  I said and drew a little heart in the sand with my finger before drawing a big X over it.

“It’s for your protection Jo, isn’t that right Kess?”  I knew Pepper and it sounded like she’d just made that up and was looking for backup to her story.

“I’ve been telling you, you just don’t remember.”  Kess grabbed a stone and threw it out toward the water.

I tried to absorb what he said, but it didn’t make sense.  “What are you talking about, I haven’t seen you since the quartz mine, although you have been popping into my dreams…”

He looked at me and touched his finger to his nose.

“Are you serious?”

He rocked his head from left to right, “well, what else was I supposed to do?  You go to school with him, you live with him, I couldn’t get to you any other way
— and besides, you’re more receptive when you’re drowsy.”  He wagged his eyebrows and grinned. 

“That
’s really not funny Kess,” I said.

“I’m sorry
, I was just trying to lighten the mood.  Seriously though, I did come to you in your sleep.  I even stole you away several times.  I had you for three days the last time, but Kalan wiped your memory every time you returned.  He had no idea I was behind it of course because I blocked your memories with separate thought threads.”

“But he knew I was dreaming about you Kess, he told me I’d called out your name in my sleep.”

“Did you really?”  His smile looked like a little boy who’d just been told he could have a puppy.

“Yes, I really did.  I think he was a little jealous of that actually
,” I said wistfully and looked back out at the waves.

“Well, actually that’s my fault because I uhm…”

“What? 
What else Kess?”

“I’m just going to walk over there and call Marty, he thinks I’m at work so I need to find a quiet spot,” Pepper muttered and wandered off.

Kessler’s eyes darted away and I reached out to touch his chin and turn his face back to me.  “What else Kess?”

“I planted a thought thread that I was attractive to you and therefore you were fantasizing about me
,”  he said this like one of those announcers at the end of a commercial that’s providing one of those super fast disclaimers to cover their butts.  No substitutions void where prohibited by law.  I rolled my eyes and looked away.  The truth was, I looked away to avoid laughing because he looked so vulnerable as he spoke and that was so unlike him. 

“Well, what else could I do? 
I was going back and forth between here and Era trying to keep everything looking as normal as possible, and then one day I discovered Kalan was traveling back and forth making plans with the council to bring you in.  It was all to protect you – I mean, I had your best interest at heart.”

That was
it, I started to giggle and couldn’t stop.  Kessler crossed his arms and jutted his lip out in a pout.  “It’s not that funny is it?”

“I’m sorry Kess, it’s just that the way you go about things is so unique I can’t help but to laugh.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway because it didn’t work.  Every time I sent you back, he’d just wipe out your thoughts and I’d have to start all over.  I got so frustrated the last time I just kept you
for three days .  I really didn’t want to give you back either.  Of course that backfired on me because it scared him enough to ramp up his plans.”  My mouth fell open at this.  “You would have just kept me huh?  Where were we?”

“Here and there, at my place, out to eat, on the beach…stuff like that,” he said grudgingly.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  He had basically kidnapped me, or
high jacked me and I didn’t remember any of it. Then a terrible thought crossed my mind.  “Tell me you didn’t give me any wine.”

“No, no of course not.
  I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you.  I was trying to help.” I sighed.  Thank God for that.  The last time I’d had wine I’d kissed him on the beach.

“It doesn’t matter, nothing worked the way I had planned anyway, but at least you’re safe now and you see Kalan for what he really is.”

“Yeah, that much is true.”  We sat in silence for a few minutes before I spoke again.  “So what is it he wants from me besides my gift?  I mean, now that he has that why won’t they just leave me alone?”  Kessler’s expression grew very dark.  “He doesn’t know how to use the power Jo.  He has no idea how to reverse death.  Neither did my sister and that’s what they want to learn from you.” 

“But I don’t really understand that myself Kess.”

“Of course you do Joey.”

“No.  You’re wrong, I don’t.  I just did what I did because I either loved someone.”

“And…” he coaxed, rolling one hand over the other like the motion to speed up.

“Well, there was that time with the little boy
.  His name was Nicholas and he drowned in the pool at my apartment – it was so awful.“

“That was my sister by the way, she set that scenario up to see what you
would do and then she jumped into your thoughts to try to harness your skills.”  I recalled how terrified I was when she crawled inside my head.