“Which is…” she says, widening her eyes in irritation. “My god, it’s like pulling teeth with this one.”
Diana glances at Renaldo and rolls her eyes.
“I’m really better with energy than words,” I say.
Reaching out, I pull her arms from beneath the other and place her palms between my own. It’s easier to show her than to explain—and if she is who I think she is, it will mean more, too.
Instantly, the images of my mission stream from me to her—almost like an automatic download or streaming of data. I show her the other protectors, how I found them, who and what they are—and the urge I have to locate the final five.
“Holy shit,” she says, ripping her hands from mine.
4
DIANA’S FACE is ashen and her lips tremble slightly. She inhales long and slow.
“Ren, we’ll be in the other room,” she says, tugging my arm and leading me out of the small shop and further into the cottage.
Scratching the back of his head, Renaldo simply nods to himself.
“Yeah, ‘cause that wasn’t at all weird,” he mutters as we walk by.
“I can’t help you,” she says, taking a seat at a small reading table likely used for tarot readings or palmistry.
My jaw drops open. “I don’t understand. Why not?”
“First of all, the kind of power you’re looking for to locate these beings—I don’t have it. Secondly, you’re not even operating at the right time of the month. For this kind of magic, you need a full moon and a helluva lot of focus.”
“I can wait,” I say, shaking my head. “The full moon isn’t that far off. Besides, my car’s in the shop.”
I’ll never get over the serendipitous timing of the universe.
Diana leans back, placing her right leg over her left knee and crossing her arms.
“Alright, let’s say I help you. What would I get outta the deal?” Her blond hair falls to the side, revealing more of her bright pink strands.
I lean forward, placing my hands over the back of the chair opposite her.
“What do you want?”
She chews on her lower lip and narrows her gaze.
“Let’s say we manage to pull that kind of power—I want to harness some of it for myself,” she finally says.
I shake my head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea—I mean, there’s a lot that can go wrong with redirection. Especially after something like this. I mean, I’ve been trying to find them for ages—and nothing has worked. I’ve been led to you in order to help me.”
“Then I’ll have to find a way around the feedback problem. I can pull in my friend Demetri—his gifts are just as powerful as mine. Maybe more so.”
“What is it you want to do with the energy?” I say. My insides twirl into knots—never a good sign.
“That’s my business,” she says, raising an eyebrow defiantly.
I snort, throwing my hands out. “You saw what I need and why—do you not realize the significance of this?”
“Sure. You’re looking for some angelic beings. So what?” she says indignantly.
“So what? This battle—these Angels—they’re what stands between redemption and annihilation.”
Diana shrugs flippantly. “Meh.”
Again, my jaw drops open. “How can you be so… ambivalent about this?”
“Look doll, I don’t know you. I just know what you’re showing me and for all I know there’s a glamour in there for effect. Wouldn’t be the first time. Even if what you’re saying is the truth—I’d welcome some peace if things went sideways. I’m not all that partial to humanity anyway.”
I scrunch my face, trying to understand where this woman is coming from. How can someone with her kind of power be so—guarded and closed off?
“You—you felt it. You know what I showed you was real and not some damn glamour. This is what I’m living with and I’ve been searching for you. You—not someone else. Not this, Demetri or whatever. You. The Universe has divined—”
Diana rolls her eyes. “Oh man, don’t bring divinity into this nonsense.”
“We’ve just been talking about Angels. How else do you explain this?”
“Crazy random happenstance?”
I guffaw. “You’re kidding, right? Tell me you’re kidding.”
Her face is deadpan as she looks from me to the clock on the wall and sighs loudly.
“Diana, your 2:30 is here,” Renaldo says, poking his head in the doorway.
“Tell her I’ll be ready in just a minute.”
“Got it,” he says, and then he’s gone.
I clutch the back of the chair, making my knuckles turn white. “Diana, please. This is about more than you—or me. This is about the fate of the world.”
Diana uncrosses her legs and stands up.
“Well, that was very dramatic,” she says, grabbing me by the shoulders and walking me to the door. “Look, I’ve given you my offer. Take it or leave it. Right now, though, I have work to do. Ren—can you see Morgan out?”
“Sure thing,” Ren nods, fluttering his eyelashes and flashing a smirk.
“Anna, are you ready?” Diana says, looking beyond me to a woman perusing the wall of metaphysical books.
Anna glances between all of us, then nods.
“C’mon back,” Diana says, gently pushing me toward Renaldo as she waves Anna in.
The two of them walk into the dark room together, and the door closes behind them.
Renaldo shoots me a sympathetic grin.
“Is she always so—abrupt?” I ask.
“Oh honey, you have no idea,” he says.
How do I convince this woman what’s at stake? More importantly, why the hell would the universe guide me to her so dramatically, only to be shut down by her own selfish desires?
Am I supposed to help her, too?
“Was there anything else you needed?” Renaldo asks, tipping his head slightly to the side.
I shake my head, trying to gather my senses.
“No. Thanks, though,” I say, standing up straighter and thrusting my shoulders back. “Actually—can you tell Diana I’ll think about her proposal?”
“Can do,” he nods.
“Thanks.”
I walk out of the small cottage shop and back onto the sidewalk. By far, that was one of the more unusual encounters I’ve had in a long time.
Ordinarily, when shown anything by me—regardless of their level of awareness and psychic ability—people come around quickly. Most of the time, I don’t even need that level of connection. I can just send them the nudge and the energy does the rest. Shaking my head, I thrust my hands in my coat pockets and start walking back to the little B&B to meet up with Gabe.
The walk out in the fresh air does me some good. Clearly, there’s more to this whole thing with Diana than meets the eye, but maybe I’m not meant to understand it. Maybe I’m just meant to be here to facilitate.
As I walk up the front steps to the small bed and breakfast, Gabe steps out the door.
“Hey there, love. I thought I sensed you coming,” he says, grinning.
“Really? It was that obvious, huh?”
His blonde hair bobs up and down. “Yup. How’d things go? Did you track down the oracle?”
“Yeah, I did, actually.”
“So? I’m dying here. How’d it go?”
“Well, it was—odd.”
“Odd? Well, aren’t most psychics?” he chuckles.
“Yeah, but this one more than most,” I say, shaking my head. “She has some unreal power. I mean, we’re talking the kind most people would dream of. She’s—I don’t know, she’s meant for bigger things than this small town. But she’s so—prickly.”
Gabe snickers.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Well, if you were meant for bigger things, but stuck in small town like this—wouldn’t you be prickly, too? Maybe she’s just waiting for her big break.”
“You think that’s it?” I
say, tugging my eyebrows in.
He shrugs, “Why not?”
“She wants me to let her harness the energy when we’re done. I just don’t know if it’s wise to work a redirection. She even wants to bring in a friend to help her—but she wouldn’t tell me what she wants to use it for.”
“Does it really matter? I mean, if she’s the oracle, she probably has a good reason. Do you think you would have been guided to her if she was up to no good?”
“I suppose not?” I say, biting my lip.
“Seriously, what’s the worst that could happen?” he says, wrapping his arm around me and leading me inside.
5
I STAND outside Diana’s small cottage shop waiting for her or Renaldo to arrive. The sign on the door says they’re open at 9am, but it’s already closing in on ten.
I hope someone gets here soon, or I’ll have to leave and try again.
After talking with Gabe, it’s become clear I need to at least give her offer a thorough consideration. But if I’m going to be able to make a proper decision, I’ll have to meet this Demetri and assess his abilities for myself. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a good reading from him and it can set these butterflies in my stomach free.
Clicking sounds from the cottage draw my attention, causing me to stop pacing and turn toward the shop.
“What are you doing here?” Diana says, holding onto the large wooden door.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said,” I start. “And I’d like to meet this Demetri. I can’t promise anything yet—but if I can get a better sense of him, it will help.”
Diana takes a deep breath, then nods. “Alright. I can make that work. Can you be back here at 6pm? I’ll give him a call and have him meet us here. We can chat out in the garden.”
I nod. “Sounds good. Thanks, Diana. I’ll see you then.”
“Yup,” she says, closing the door.
As I turn around, I bump straight into Renaldo, nearly toppling us both over.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there,” I say, dusting off his arm.
Renaldo waves a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it, honey. Let’s just hope I can sneak into the shop will a little less fanfare. Diana’s gonna kill me, but I had to stop at the shoe sale down the road. Granted, I didn’t get anything, but it was still fun. Have you been there?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head.
He shrugs his shoulders sheepishly. “You’re missing out. Seriously, you might wanna take a moment and check it out.”
I wave as he steps around me. I grab hold of his wrist, pulling him to a quick stop.
“Uh—if I were you, I’d give it a minute. Diana was just—”
“Oh, look. There’s my punctual assistant.”
Renaldo flinches. He corrects his face quickly, dawning a super huge smile and turning to Diana, who stands in the doorway tapping her foot and looking at her wrist. There’s no watch, but she does it for effect anyway.
“And there’s my gorgeous boss. My, have you done something different with your hair today? It looks absolutely ravishing,” he says, laying the sweet on thick.
Diana rolls her eyes.
“Any idea what time it is?” she says, crossing her arms.
Renaldo casts me a goofy “help me” glance but turns to walk up the stairs with his head hanging in mock defeat.
“Is it really so difficult to be on time? I mean, honestly, Ren?” she says, holding the door open for him as he walks inside. “What if customers came in while I was waiting for you? I would have had to figure out how to the run the till and everything.”
“Oh, I can see the horrifying dilemma. It won’t happen again,” he says. “But honey, you should have seen the shoes on sale today. You’d simply die.”
“I have enough shoes, and so do you.”
“Really?” he says, feigning surprise.
Diana shakes her head, shooting me a quick glance before shutting the door. Her exterior says one thing—but her eyes twinkle with—I’m not sure what. It’s almost as if she gets a kick out of the impulsivity and unpredictability of Renaldo.
I can’t help but grin to myself at their unusual connection. I don’t know what drew the two of them together, but they certainly work in their own weird way.
As promised, I turn up at six o’clock to the small shop. The lights are out—and even the flashing neon lights are off for the night.
“Oh, here we go…” I mutter to myself.
Did she dupe me?
As I walk up to the front of the building, I hear laughter coming from the back of the cottage. Changing course, I walk around the side of the lot, finding a side door to the gate partly open.
“Knock, knock,” I say, entering the small garden.
My mouth drops open in amazement. The sheer number of flowers blooming this early in January is astounding.
“Wow,” I whisper, latching the gate behind me.
Diana and an older man—at least in his fifties—sit around a small outdoor patio table with drinks in hand. In the low light of the setting sun, the patio looks magical as twinkle lights hang around the small enclosed garden. It’s almost like stepping into a secret garden in another time and place altogether.
“Ah, Morgan, there you are,” Diana says, standing up. Her easy grin slides into a more business-like expression.
I wave awkwardly, trying to assess the dynamic. The older gentleman’s energy is sweet and kind, and certainly powerful in its own way. He has gifts, no doubt about it. Yet, nowhere near the heady, potent mix rolling off Diana in waves.
“This is Demetri,” she says, waving her hand in his direction.
Walking up to the table, I thrust my hand out, “Nice to meet you.”
The moment his hand connects with mine, the energy transfer is simple—he’s a gateway. Nothing more. In order to get to Diana, I must first go through him. He’s also a conduit for something—though I’m not sure what.
“Nice to meet you, Morgan. Diana here was telling me you have some powerful gifts of your own,” Demetri says. His gray-blue eyes twinkle—mimicking the way sunlight sparkles on snow.
“She did?” I say, raising an eyebrow.
“C’mon everyone, sit. Morgan, would you like something to drink?” Diana says, pointing to a small cooler to the side.
“No, thank you. I don’t drink,” I say, waving my hand.
“I have water in here, too, if you’d like?”
“Sure, that’ll work,” I nod.
Diana digs into the cooler, then tosses a small water bottle through the air. I almost catch it, but instead it bounces off my fingertips and lands on the table with a loud thud.
“Well, that was graceful,” she chuckles.
My face flushes, but I can’t help but laugh.
“I can see why you don’t drink,” Demetri says, winking. His plump cheeks are almost as flushed as mine feel.
Diana chuckles, taking a seat at the table.
Clearing my throat, I turn to Demetri. “So, I hear you and Diana go back a ways.”
Demetri raises his eyebrows, “Diana opened up with you?”
I flit my gaze from Demetri to Diana and back again. “Not exactly. I was trying to make small talk to open things up. I guess I assumed—based on her request to pull you into this. Not to mention all the laughter I heard when I came up.”
“Ah,” he tips his head, “this makes more sense. Well, at least your plan worked.”
“It did?”
“It’s opened the dialogue up, hasn’t it?” he grins. “So, tell me a little bit about what it is you’ll need us to do.”
“Well, it’s hard for me to describe exactly. From what I’m gathering—it will be more intuitive on your part. I’m searching for some—er—people, but I can’t find them on my own. For whatever reason, they’re hidden from me.”
“Do you know why?”
I shake my head. “No. I’ve tried everything I can think of to locate them the way I’ve fou
nd the others. But these ones in particular have been … difficult. After a lot of reflection, I was guided to find an oracle. Which led me here.”
“An oracle, huh? What an old-fashioned term,” Demetri says, turning to Diana. “Well, it sounds like we may need to invoke the Violet Flame. Don’t you think?”
Diana nods, “Yup. Exactly what I was thinking.”
The Violet Flame is old magic—hardly anyone knows about it, much less uses it. The energy in my body surges—a knowing beyond my conscious mind and more in tune with the hidden forces of universe.
Instantly, I know we’re on the right track.
Maybe Diana knows what she’s doing bringing this Demetri guy in, after all.
6
MY FACE must have given me away because Demetri takes a swig from his beer and leans forward. His face is serious, and I can’t help but stare at the grey streaks running through his ashen hair.
“The Violet Flame is a transmutation tool. It will help us to transmute and transform any energies that might be going astray. It will help us pull them back on track and set things on their course. Granted, it will only work if the energy surrounding everything needs to be transmuted…” his voice drifts off and his eyes go distant. “Ah, I suppose that’s why you’re looking to harness the energy, Diana?”
Demetri turns to Diana, who grins broadly.
“I don’t get it? Am I missing something here? What would you need to transmute?” I say.
“Let’s just say, Diana has a lot of… history to contend with,” Demetri says, taking another long sip.
Diana shoots him an irritable glance, but nods.
“There are some things I’m trying to unravel, myself. Things in my past I don’t—remember,” she says, narrowing her eyes and making a face. “It’s no big deal, but I’d still like to move past it.”
“And you think by harnessing the leftover energy, you’ll be able to access what you need, too. I think it’s starting to make sense.”
“Glad we could clear it up for you,” Diana says, chuckling to herself and taking a swig from her drink.
The Chronicles of the 8th Dimension - Limited Edition Box Set (4 Books): A Supernatural Thriller Box Set Page 3