Undertow (20 page)

She glanced at me again, clearly unsure what to do with me now that we were alone and the “alarming information about my life” class had been dismissed. She was probably waiting for my brain to finish processing all the info I had received, which would then lead to a total nervous breakdown.

I was actually doing okay with my new information, blistered heart aside. But I realized I wasn’t sure exactly what Ana and MJ brought to our theater of war in the first place.  Ana could obviously do something. At school, I saw her make a self-conscious geek into a self-assured god in seconds. I studied her profile as she slowly turned a page in the ratty book and cleared my throat.

Her eyes glanced up, “Yes?”

“I was just wondering how you did it. At school, I mean. You know, made that boy walk up to Nikki.”

She continued to look at me, finally shutting her book and placing it aside. “You want to know what I am? Is that what you’re asking?”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“The answer is I don’t know,” said Ana, picking up her bottle of water and taking a swig. “For as long as I can remember, I could read most people. Basically understand their true desires in emotional form. I could sense that kid at school liked Nikki, but his shyness would forever keep him from approaching her. And yeah, he was obviously a bad judge of human character, but hey, he wanted her. So I just gave him a push.”

“A push?”

“Yeah, like, mentally enhanced the desire that was already there and boosted the scrap of confidence he had. A push.”

“That is
. . . somewhat creepy. What if someone was angry? Are you saying you can push them over the edge?” 

Ana nodded. 

“Damn. That is one heck of a talent,” I said, very impressed and a bit concerned.

“I have my limits though. I once tried to get it to work on Kian, but it didn’t seem to have an impact, so I assume that Mortis may be immune. I’ve been practicing though, you know, trying to get faster and more forceful. I can get a strong read off of Kian and Raef about what they really want, I just can’t enhance it,” said Ana, a knowing twinkle in her eye.

I swallowed back my nerves, realizing she most likely sensed my infatuation with Raef. She continued, probably reading my sensitivity on the subject, “I hope that I can get a fast read off of anyone we may run into and be able to list them as friend or foe before we find out the hard way.”

“If you can get a read off of someone’s emotions, can you also read their minds?”

“No, but I am hoping that someday I might.” She held up the book slightly, “This is a book on telepathy and ESP. I’ve been studying how scientists think it may work and I hope to be able to read someone’s memories soon.”

A crazy idea hit me.  “You can try it on me! I’ve been trying to recall a dream for a while now . . . regarding Elizabeth. I get snippets, but nothing solid. Think it would work on me?” I asked, my heart faster.

Ana looked surprised. “Wait – you knew about your grandmother and didn’t tell Dalca?”

“Raef thought it would be best if some things, for now, were just kept amongst us. I hope that is okay with you.” She seemed
to debate whether to agree or not, but finally did. Trolling through my mind, however, was a different story.

“I don’t know, Eila. It might not be safe for me to read you. Uncontrolled, I may melt your brain cells, or worse, mine.”

“Melt my brain cells? Really? Come on, I think that is a bit extreme.” I said, a tad shocked I was encouraging her. I was starting to wonder if my new attitude had to do with my DNA.

I was never this bold in Kansas.

Ana looked at me for a while then finally tossed the book down next to her.  “Oh, what the heck. Let’s try it,” she said.

She pulled a chair next to me and sat down. I turned to her, waiting expectantly.

“Okay, so, according to the book, touching the one you’re reading can help establish a connection. So I’m going to . . .” she reached up with both hands and carefully touched her cool fingers to my temples and forehead. “Okay, so now focus on what little of the dream you remember.”

“I remember the fountain and some of Elizabeth’s dress.”

“Go with that then,” said Ana, slowly dropping her head and closing her eyes. “Just don’t move or talk. Close your eyes and focus on the images.”

I did as Ana requested and for a while I just sat there, feeling her cool touch and the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner. I tried to keep my mind on the fountain and the dress, but my mind started to wander, unbidden, to my bedroom at night.

I was suddenly hit with a vivid, almost blinding flash of Raef watching me from the darkened street. I could feel my panic and the chill of the wood floor against my feet. I was there, in my bedroom, and I gasped at the vividness.

Ana quickly took her hands away, her eyes wide and breath coming fast. The scene vanished the instant she let her hands drop from my face.

She looked at me with fear and confusion on her face, “What the hell was that?” she whispered.

“You saw that? That’s amazing! But, uh, my mind kinda wandered. Sorry.”

“No kidding!” said Ana, sitting straighter, “But what was
that?”

“That was Raef, watching my house a while ago. Back then I didn’t realize it was him and I thought some weirdo was going to rob me.” I gave an involuntary shiver. “Damn – your ability brought with it the emotions from that night. Man, Ana! You have talent,” I breathed, impressed.

“So, wait a minute. Back then you thought someone was going to rob you and you never told Raef or Kian?”

I shook my head, “Well, no. I thought it was just some crazy hallucination, though now I know it was real and just Raef guarding me. I did mention it to Marsh though, the night after it happened. God only knows why.”

“You mean MJ?” asked Ana, as she leaned back, looking over the room, amazed no doubt that she was able to link with me.

“No, I didn’t tell MJ. Just the dog . . . not that the dog would actually know what the heck I was saying. You know what is weird though? I could have sworn he was listening to me that night on the porch.”

I sounded like a raving Looney.

Eventually they were all going to realize this, and save themselves the effort of rescuing my butt by simply tossing me back into the river. “Well, I sure sound like a nut.”

I noticed that Ana was looking at me with a questioning eye and then a smile crept over her lips like a Cheshire cat. Her eyes twinkled and the grin grew.

“What?” I asked.

“You don’t know, do you?” she laughed. “I thought Raef would have told you!”

“What? What don’t I know?” I was lost. Dang it, why was she laughing?

“The dog, Marsh,
IS
MJ. He’s a shape-shifter.  You really think for a second that that boy, in his lanky form, had a chance against a Mortis? Jeez girl!” she laughed.

“He’s a . . . DOG? No he’s not! Are you SERIOUS?” I said, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth.
No way. A shape-shifter? No way.

She nodded enthusiastically, still laughing, “Seriously! He’s a Therian. And you almost had him sleep over when Mae left!” Ana was in tears, laughing so hard.

“I would have fed him dog food, poor guy,” I muttered, looking at Ana, who was now absolutely roaring, nearly choking on her tears. I couldn’t help it. My life was so absurd that I started laughing too.

“Here MJ, I got some Alpo!” cried Ana, another laughing fit striking.

I was laughing so hard, my eyes were pooling, “Milk-Bone anyone?” I gasped.

I was wiping the tears from my eyes, trying to calm down. So that’s why I didn’t see MJ in the truck. He was in dog-form. Good g
rief, my life was one traveling freak show.

A few minutes later I was finally able to speak, “On the plus side, you can read minds.”

Ana shook her head. “No, I am learning to read memories,” she said, a huge smile on her face, “And that means that I can see the past.”

I looked at her and narrowed my eyes. “School’s in session, girl. Show me my dream. Show me my grandmother’s death,” I said, leaning in close to her.

She nodded, concentration and determination crossing her face as she placed her hands back to my temples to try once again.

This time, she succeeded.

14

A few hours later
,
each of our two immortal guard
s
had gotten a chance to . . . feed. Ick.

I told them about what Ana and I had accomplished and a clearer version of Elizabeth’s death. They were confused when they learned that Elizabeth allowed Rysse to touch her, and that her own
power appeared to have killed both of them, though whether by accident or not we didn’t know.

According to Raef, Elizabeth would have never allowed someone like Rysse near her, nor would Rysse be dumb enough to approach. We could come to only one conclusion: Rysse, and possibly Elizabeth, didn’t plan to die that night. It seemed that my dream lead only to more questions and no answers.

Unfortunately for Ana, reading my mind caused her to acquire a slamming migraine and she had crawled into the recliner, spent. Kian took up residence near her, watching her sleep. I eventually crashed on the couch, torn between wanting to scream in frustration or kiss Raef until my lips fell off.

When I woke the next morning, Dalca was still gone, though she did call leaving instructions for the five of us to get back to my house and locate Elizabeth’s diary. She said that she was positive Elizabeth kept one and it should give us much better insight into what I needed to do to protect myself.  With her reassurance that she would be back that evening, we all headed out to my house.

Once at 408, I led my friends up the front porch and unlocked the door, walking in. Ana followed me with MJ, in his furry form, trotting past us into the living room. I realized that I would most likely be seeing him as a dog a lot more, now that we knew there were Mortis in the area. I turned to talk to Raef, but both he and Kian were still standing just outside the threshold of the front door.  They were both looking at the mahogany frame.

             
“What? What is it?” I asked, alarmed.

             
Raef cleared his throat, “It’s uh, just that we are playing a whole new ballgame now and neither of us ever thought we would be entering your house.  We didn’t plan for it or for much of what is happening.” He continued to look warily at the rectangular opening.

             
“What Raef is trying to say is that you need to invite us in.  We, being what we are, can’t enter your house without being invited,” said Kian flatly. “It’s a life-thief thing.”

             
“Oh,” I said, a bit surprised. “Well, then, come on in.” I gestured dramatically to the long hallway behind me. Both Kian and Raef looked at each other, but didn’t move.

             
“Well, here’s the thing,” said Raef, clearing his throat. “If Elizabeth was a fraction of the goddess she was supposed to be, then this house is . . .”

             
“Booby-trapped,” finished Kian, darkly.

             
“What do you mean, ‘booby-trapped’?” I asked, instantly thinking of strings attached to bowling balls and poisoned arrows.

             
Ana stepped next to me and looked more closely at the door. “He means that they might be crispy critters the second they step inside, whether they were invited or not.” She ran her hand down the woodwork lining the door. The two boys watched her carefully.

             
“What are you looking for?” I whispered, as if the door could hear me.  I bent down next to her, as she was now running her hand along the bottom threshold.

             
“A way to cast the door against a formidable foe.  A back-up security system, in case you let the wrong sort of soulless person inside,” replied Ana, the tips of her fingers following a groove near the corner bottom of the door. “Bingo!” she said, satisfied. “I need something to pry up the wood on the threshold.  I think there may be something underneath.”

I jumped to my feet, “I have tools in the laundry room. Hang on!” I ran towards the back of the house and the laundry area off the kitchen.  Digging through a box of carpentry stuff, I managed to find a screwdriver with a long shaft. I ran back to Ana with my makeshift
pry bar.

             
“Here you go,” I said, handing her the screwdriver. Ana bent down to jam the tool under the wooden slab, but MJ’s large black head appeared and blocked her view, his brown eyes looking straight at Ana.

             
“Dude. You are in my way – MOVE!” scolded Ana, trying to push his head away. He whined and grabbed hold of the screwdriver with his mouth and wouldn’t let go. “MJ! What the heck is wrong with you?” 

Finally, I realized what he was trying to say, “Wait! Ana, wait. He’s right.  Let me do it. If it does contain a trap, I would think it could only be removed by another . . . Lunaterra.” I couldn’t believe I said the word in reference to myself.  I stood there, dazed.

“Eila?  You okay?” asked Ana, still holding the tool in her hand. I looked over to Raef who was smiling slightly.

“Uh, yeah.  I think so,” I replied, trying to understand the magnitude of what I had just admitted out loud.

Ana got to her feet and held out the screwdriver for me to take, “Well, have at it then.” She turned to MJ, “And YOU do not need to be a dog right now. I hate charades, so go change into a homo sapien. And you SMELL!” said Ana. 

Marsh, or rather MJ, cocked his head and turned to me. He let out a
woof!

“Sorry pal, but you do stink a little bit,” I said, shrugging and patting his head. He moaned and trotted off, no doubt to do as he was told.

“Um, ladies,” said Kian, pointing to the screwdriver, “the door? Any day now would be great.”

I wedged the screwdriver in the wood threshold of the door jam and started to pry ever so slightly, inching the screwdriver along.  I was certain that if I broke the doorframe, Mae would have questions, all of which I wouldn’t want to answer.

“This is just ironic,” I said shaking my head as I thought back to my all-too-friendly history teacher.

“What is?” asked Kian, leaning lazily against the outside of the house. Raef, always the guardian, scanned the street in both directions.

“Just this. Something hidden under the door jam for luck.  I thought Mr. Grant was just kidding about these old homes,” I said, working the slat of wood methodically away from the nails that held it fast.

I noticed Raef and Kian’s black boots suddenly just across the threshold from where I worked. I heard Raef’s voice, dark and serious, “What,
exactly
, did Mr. Grant say?”

I sat back and took a deep breath and flexed my hands. I swept a stray hair from my face as I looked up at Raef and Kian. “He just said that many of these old homes had pennies or letters under the threshold of the door. It was some sort of good luck.  He said I should look to see if such things existed in my own home.  That it would be an
interesting find
.”

My last words slowly rolled out of my mouth as an unnerving idea was starting to form in my head. “In fact, he seems fairly obsessed with this place in general.”

My two bodyguards seemed a lot more tense. I knew exactly what they were thinking, “Wait a minute!  No way.  I mean, I’ve been alone with him at least five times and I’m still kicking!”

“I’m thinking that Mr. Grant’s resume is probably missing a few critical facts,” said Kian. He looked over at Ana, who seemed shocked, no doubt from the realization that she had come so close to one of the
real
bad guys. “Go grab a flashlight, Ana,” instructed Kian as MJ walked back into the room on two human feet. He must have overheard the conversation.

“No way! I would have known he was immortal,” said MJ, helping Ana to her feet. Ana still looked amazed. Or horrified.  Some emotions just blend together after you have seen them too many times.

“Actually, you would have only known if you were in your more handsome form and doggies are not allowed in the school. Turn your brain on please,” said Kian.  MJ glared at Kian as he led a stunned Ana into the kitchen to fetch a flashlight.

I stood up and faced Raef. “Do you think he’s a Rysse clansman?  Isn’t it possible he’s just, I don’t know, an average, uh, Mortis?” I asked, hopeful but in that naïve way that never ends well.

Raef raised an eyebrow, “Really? You really think that just on some fluke, a fellow Mortis decided he would like to become a substitute history teacher, right here? Right now? When you just happen to move here?”

“And when Maureen Cooper happened to suddenly leave town?” added Ana, now composed and back with the requested item and MJ. “What, exactly, are we doing with this?” she asked Kian, holding up the flashlight.

“Trying to see under the threshold without disturbing any good luck charms,” said Kian.

“Who the heck is Maureen Cooper?” I asked, confused.

MJ answered, while Ana sank to her knees on the floor beside me, “Ms. Cooper was the American History teacher for the past 20 years at BHS.  She was due to retire next year, but it seems she made an abrupt departure without notifying anyone. Mr. Grant was new to town and had the required background to take her place.”

“How serendipitous,” I muttered.

“Most likely Mr. Grant dined with, or rather on, Maureen, making her exit a permanent one,” said Kian. 

Raef shook his head and looked at Kian, “We should have been suspicious of a new teacher from the start. Anybody new, for that matter.”

“We’re doing our best,” said Kian, slightly heated.

“Our best nearly got her killed!”
snapped Raef, now angry. He leaned in closer to Kian and hissed through his teeth. “Our best better be a hell of a lot better in the future or we’re all dead.”

“Well, I hate to burst your bubble,
brother,
but so far the clan is undefeated in their quest to eliminate her line. Hell – she is probably the last one! If I was a betting man, I’d bet against us!”

I was the last one? The last . . . Lunaterra?

“I’m all that’s left?” I asked, my voice so small that I wasn’t sure anyone heard me. Had every one of my kind been killed? If true fighters didn’t make it, how on earth were we ever going to come out alive?

Raef had heard me.

He stopped arguing and looked down to where I kneeled by the door. Sadness and anger brushed across his face. “Possibly. Probably,” he replied, dropping down to find my eyes. “You are not going to die. We are going to keep you safe, do you understand?” His voice curled with a dark, knightly devotion that almost made me believe him.

I glanced at Ana and MJ, who were watching Raef and I. They could easily have taken their talents and chosen not to stand and protect me. They could have hidden from Dalca’s screwed up assignment and declined what was beginning to sound like a suicide mission. 

I needed to find my ability. I needed to perfect my lethal talent if I was to protect my two friends and two boys who no doubt had a bounty on their immortal heads. I needed to shift the balance of power in our favor and I needed to evolve on a seriously accelerated timeframe.

I pulled at the confidence that swam beneath my fear, dragging it to the surface. “I’m going to get you all inside and then we’re going to find her journal,” I said to my friends. Raef allowed a second more to pass between us and then rose to his feet. 

I took the flashlight from Ana’s hand and dropped to my former spot on the floor. I jammed the screwdriver under the oak threshold and pried it slightly, aiming the light into the shadow. Pressing my face to the floor I carefully looked underneath.  No one made a sound as I scanned the floor.

“Hmmm,” I muttered, “Well, I may be blind, but I sure as heck don’t see anything. No, wait! There’s a hollowed out area in the floor, but there isn’t anything in it.” I sat up and flicked off the flashlight. “What’s the chance that Mr. Grant was able to remove something from the door?”

“And still be alive?” asked Kian, “Zero. He would have been long past dead.”

Ana looked at Raef and Kian, “Is it possible that one of Eila’s kind removed it?  Or maybe it was never there to begin with?”

“It’s possible, but either way, we need to know why there is an empty space in the threshold,” said Raef.

MJ, impatient, huffed. “Well, on the plus side, it appears to be an average door!  Let’s get on with the treasure hunt. Come on, you
soul suckers
,” he said, still sore from his olfactory shortcomings.

“Listen, Fido,” said Kian a grin spreading on his face, “I may prefer the essence of humans, but you’ll do in a pinch.”

“HA! I’d like to see you try,” snapped MJ.

Ana rolled her eyes. “Men,” she moaned and got to her feet. “MJ is right. You guys should be able to come through. Come on in.”

Raef and Kian started toward the door, but I panicked, visions of the boy I adored being incinerated flashing through my head. “WAIT! What if we’re wrong?” I protested. 

Kian and Raef stopped short.

“You invited them in,” said Ana. “Technically that should afford them the ability to enter safely, since you own the house.”

I got to my feet and looked at my two keepers.

“Your call,” said Raef, putting his existence potentially in my hands.