by Vella Day
The god, Androf, was in charge of their area of the realm and controlled her destiny. He was a total ass, but let’s face it, no one was nice where she lived.
“Coming,” she mumbled to herself.
As Vinea floated toward the large dark empty space, devoid of all happiness, she wondered why she’d been summoned. The last time she’d been called in, it was because she’d requested an audience with him. Androf had reluctantly agreed to let her try to steal Sam Pompley’s powers. The fact she’d failed had lowered her status to a dangerous level.
“You called?” she asked.
“Vinea, I am going to give you one more chance to redeem yourself.”
His sneering words had her standing taller. She still couldn’t believe he blamed her for not succeeding in taking Sam’s powers. Given her limited abilities, she had done the best she could. It was why she had wanted Sam’s powers in the first place.
“You don’t expect me to give you a bow for that, do you?”
Androf floated off his golden throne and moved closer to her. She would not cower. “Show some respect or I’ll toss you out of the dark realm right now.”
He wouldn’t dare. For hundreds of years, she’d done his dirty work and done it well. She reluctantly bowed her head and with a bit of snark said, “What do you need me to do, my Dark Lord?”
“Watch it! I could make your existence very painful. We have a possible incident brewing in Silver Lake.”
At the mere mention of that town, conflicting emotions swamped her. It was where her sister visited every white moon. It also was where Devon McKinnon went periodically. Had he not distracted her the last time, she might have succeeded with her mission.
“What exactly would you like me to do?” Kill Devon?
“One of our demon spies in the Cargonia realm got carried away. He foolishly shoved a werebear down the portal and straight to Earth. This Zanedar fellow is a threat to not only shifters but to our existence. Should he tell anyone how he ended up in the Earth realm, we’d be in trouble. We can’t let that happen.”
“Why would that be so bad?”
By the time Vinea became of age, the realms of Earth and Cargonia had already been distinctly different for a long time. Then the dark realm was formed for banished gods and goddesses. Over time, the most senior of those banished formed a small council called the Elders of Ebony. They now ruled the dark realm, which had become either a place where all of those with dark powers resided or a sanctuary to those who needed to hone their evil skills.
“If any humans find out that Cargonia exists, the gods will have to remove that information from their minds and will most likely close all portals forever—including the one from here to Earth. Then we’d be exiled permanently with no chance for us to take over and rule either of the realms.”
Vinea actually shuddered. “That would definitely not be good. What are my instructions?”
*
Once Missy returned home from the library, she tossed some chicken in the oven. Despite promising herself to put this issue to rest, she couldn’t help but question a few things. To ensure she’d be able to sleep tonight, she booted up her computer. The first thing she typed in was the realm of Cargonia.
The name Cargonia showed up multiple times but the sites were for some video game. One article on fables and folklore did say there was supposed to be a realm much like our own that occupied the same space as Earth. Really? Two Earths occupying the same space? How was that even possible? Even Jackson hadn’t made that claim.
She wouldn’t discount it yet as there were a lot of mysteries she had yet to solve—such as where did the gods really live? Certainly, they wouldn’t live in houses in the sky, but did they float around all day? Ugh. Not knowing was so frustrating.
Missy was about to hit the back button on the story she was reading when she spotted a cartoon drawing of a large man wearing a leather necklace. Attached to the leather strap was an orange stone. Her mind instantly shot to the stone she’d found in the cave. The caption read: The many different clans on Cargonia live in harmony.
Her mind must be on overdrive, but she swore he looked kind of like Zane.
Missy closed her laptop, disgusted that she’d spent so many hours trying to figure out who Zane Barons really was and whether he was from some other realm. Even after all of her searching, she was no closer to the truth.
At a loss for what to do next about Zane and Jackson’s disturbing claim, and not wanting to involve Rye yet, she decided there was really only one thing to do—go to the source and ask Zane more questions.
Sure, she’d turned him down for another date, but Jackson hadn’t revealed the myth of Cargonia to her then. Once she learned more about Zane, she could put this nonsense to rest. The question was how to contact him besides going through Rye. As far as she knew, Zane didn’t own a phone, and most likely he didn’t have access to a computer. Everything he owned seemed to be back at his home—make that his home in North Carolina!
She glanced over at the orange stone she’d set on the entranceway table. Checking it out again, she noticed that the hole in the stone appeared to be rather primitive and not smooth. This implied it might have been manmade. Was it possible this belonged to Zane? He had woken up in that vicinity. She shivered just thinking what that might mean—that he might really be a clan member from Cargonia.
Stop it. Her imagination was out of control.
Running her thumb over the smooth surface, the stone seemed to flicker. Okay, that was really strange. Now she was seeing things. Hopefully, Anna would be able to get a reading off it. Teagan had mentioned that Anna’s talents were developing in new ways. Sure, her friend often saw unresolved tragic events in a person’s past when she touched that person, but she might be able to detect something from an object, especially if the person had worn it.
As much as Missy didn’t want to disturb her friend, especially since she had just recovered from the flu, Missy needed to find out as much as she could before speaking with Zane. After locating her phone, she called Anna.
“Hey, Missy.”
“How are you feeling?” By now the elixir should have worked its magic.
“I’m good as new. Better even. I can’t thank you enough.”
Oh, yes you can. “I have a small favor to ask.”
“Sure. What is it?”
Missy explained about finding a stone in the cave where Zane had been. “I think it belongs to him. Before I return it, do you think you might get a reading off it?”
Anna said nothing for a second. “I can try. Dalton is still at work if you want to stop over now.”
Missy smiled for the first time today. “I’ll be right there.”
Once she disconnected, she pocketed the stone and rushed over to Anna’s house. As soon as Missy parked, Anna opened the door, looking healthy. Even though she was due in a month, all of her weight was in her stomach. Her cheeks had a healthy color, and her eyes were clear—all signs that the illness had indeed gone.
“Come on in,” Anna said.
On the table sat a set of house plans. “Is that for the house you and Dalton plan to build?”
“It is. He says I can design it any way I want, but every time I show him my crazy ideas, he gets this weird look in his eyes.”
Missy laughed. “I think all men say you can have what you want. What they mean is that it’s good as long as he approves.”
“You got that right. Now show me this stone you think may belong to Zane.”
Missy retrieved it from her pocket and handed it to Anna who stepped over to the sofa and sat down. “Give me a minute.”
“Take all the time you need.”
Anna clasped the stone in her right hand and closed her eyes. Her brows furrowed, and her lips thinned. A few seconds later, she clutched the sofa with her left hand and groaned. While Missy wanted Anna to learn as much as she could about Zane, she didn’t want Anna to experience any pain.
Just as Missy was about to tell
her to stop, her friend opened her eyes and placed the stone next to her on the cushion. “That was intense. I can’t be sure who owned this, but whoever it was experienced a lot of turmoil. Someone close to this person died, sending him into a rage.”
Zane’s words came back to her about his best friend dying. “That makes sense. Did the owner see this death and has yet to deal with it? Is that why you got the reading?”
Anna nodded. She picked up the stone and handed it back to Missy. “I suggest you ask Zane if it belongs to him. It’s okay if you tell him that I saw the vision.”
“I’m not sure I want to.”
“Why?”
That was a good question. “It will bring back bad memories. The poor guy has enough on his plate.”
Anna nodded. “It’s probably best to let him tell you about the tragedy on his own.”
“I agree.”
They spent another half hour chatting about the baby and how excited Dalton was to be having a girl. Anna always thought men wanted boys so they could teach them to throw a ball or play football, but Dalton just wanted a child. For a moment, Missy allowed herself the luxury of thinking about what Zane would want. Most likely, he’d be happy with a ton of children to dote on, not caring about the sex.
What the hell was she doing? She had no right thinking about having babies with the man. She needed to get a grip.
Missy stood. “I don’t want to tire you. When is Dalton coming home?”
She grinned. “He’s here now.”
The door opened, and Dalton Garner strode in wearing his sheriff’s outfit. “I thought that was your car, Missy.” He rushed over to Anna. “Are you okay?”
She grinned. “Yes. Missy was just keeping me company.”
Missy leaned over and gave Anna a hug. “Thanks for helping. I’ll let you know what happens.”
It wasn’t until she was in her car and halfway back home that she realized she’d be seeing Zane again. The big question was whether she had the courage to tell him that Jackson believed Cargonia existed. Once she spoke about the portals between the two realms, Zane would wonder just what she’d been up to.
Perhaps the best thing would be to say she’d gone back in the cave to look for some of his belongings and she’d found a polished stone that looked as if it had been a necklace. Did it belong to him? It would be best to leave Jackson out of it.
If Zane said it was his necklace, she might admit that in trying to find the owner’s identity, she’d asked Anna to give a reading of the stone. One thing would hopefully lead to another, and she’d find out the real reason why Zane was in Silver Lake. Because prying was not her style, she’d have to play it by ear.
Her current dilemma was in figuring out how and when to reach out to him. Missy basically spent her life at the store or going to people’s houses to help them heal. Hoping to run into Zane just wouldn’t work. He did have Friday off and would probably be home. Knocking on his door might be the only way to see him.
Missy pulled into her drive and headed inside. While she thought about researching other folklores that referred to different realms, given she had a very active imagination, it might keep her up all night. It would be best to forget about everything until she spoke with the mysterious Zane.
Chapter Eleven
‡
Zane had spent the last few days trying to figure out what he could do to convince Missy to go out with him again. She’d had fun with him on the horseback riding adventure—not including her fall. It must have been his tale of Cargonia that put her off, but lying to her wasn’t his style.
Zane stepped out of the shower and towel dried. The run this morning had been good for his bear, but it had caused more unwanted yearnings to surface. Every time he thought about Missy, his bear reminded him that the two of them belonged together. Zane tried to tell the feisty animal that he wouldn’t do that to her. Sure, he was an expert with ironwork and could shoe a horse better than anyone, but without having any useful twenty-first century skills, he wouldn’t be able to support her. Until he figured something out, he’d have to be content to see her occasionally. Under no circumstances would he mention they might be mates—
You are mates, his bear said, interrupting once more.
It doesn’t matter. I have to catch up on one hundred years of technology first.
His bear clawed at him and growled. Mate!
Zane shoved his bear back. Bloody pain in the ass.
He’d tried to absorb everything about his surroundings, but the computer befuddled him, cell phones made no sense, and quite frankly, cars scared him. They moved just too damned fast. Rye had shown him some of the technology on the fire truck, and he had been amazed. Scientific advances had happened quicker than he could have ever imagined. Hibernating for one hundred years had put him at a real disadvantage. Yes, Cargonia was a bit more advanced in some aspects, but it wasn’t a hundred years ahead.
Zane tossed his towel over the shower curtain rod and stepped into his bedroom. As much as he liked to walk around naked like he did back home, he’d been caught in a state of undress once when Mrs. McKinnon had stopped by to give him some leftover pie she’d made. Zane wouldn’t make that mistake twice.
No sooner had he stepped into jeans than someone came to the door. Because his body vibrated so hard, he knew it had to be Missy. Did she need his help?
His clothes were lying in a heap on the floor, and sorting through the pile to find a shirt would take too long. Instead, he rushed to answer the door.
When he opened it, her beauty left him speechless. Missy had on a white blouse with black shorts that showed off her shapely legs. Her red hair was piled on top of her head in the same way many of the women of Cargonia wore theirs. His bear panted.
“Hey, come in,” he managed to say without stumbling over the words. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bother you, but it’s important.” She stepped past him then turned to face him.
Zane made the mistake of inhaling her divine scent, and his bear nearly clawed its way out. “No bother. Did you come to ask for another exhibition of my driving skills?”
She laughed, just as he’d hoped. “Ah, no, but I thought it was sweet that you wanted to impress me. Thankfully, the car wasn’t damaged in the demonstration.”
“I’m glad.” He looked around at his temporary one-bedroom house. He should have taken some time to straighten up, but he’d been spending every minute he wasn’t at work learning things. “Give me a minute to pick up these newspapers.”
The newspapers were his way of learning about the world around him. Every time he found something useful, he cut out the article and put it in a specific pile. So far, he had piles for sports, politics—which he would never understand in another hundred years—electronic devices, and pop culture. Rye had mentioned he received his news from the television and his computer rather than the newspaper, but since Zane didn’t own a computer and had yet to figure out how to turn on the television monitor, he’d have to settle for the written word.
“You don’t need to bother,” Missy said. “Your place looks lived in. I like that. I see you like to read.”
“Yes.” That was because it was all he could do. He loved books, but newspapers were cheaper.
“I think I found something of yours,” she said, acting a bit uncomfortable.
“Oh really? How about sitting down and you can show me? Do you want anything to drink first?”
“No. I’m good.”
It was probably for the best since he only had water and beer. He’d always appreciated fine wine, but when he saw the price of a bottle, he decided beer would have to do.
Not wanting to make Missy more ill at ease, Zane sat across from her on the hard backed dining room chair that he brought over. He smiled, trying to look non-threatening since his size often intimidated people. “You said you found something?”
She pulled a small object from her pocket. When she opened her palm,
his heart nearly jumped out of his skin. “I found this in the cave.”
Instinctively, he ran a hand over his neck. “I thought I’d lost it forever.” This was too good to be true.
She handed him the stone, and a piece of him healed. “When did you find it?”
“I went back a few days after I first met you. I know you said you’d checked, but I thought perhaps with a flashlight I could find your wallet or keys to your car. I was hoping they’d help bring back your memory.”
She was so nice. “Only nothing was there but the stone.”
“Right. Only the stone.”
The leather cord that it was on must have snapped when he shifted into his bear form. He usually took it off before shifting, but he’d been shoved through the portal before he had the chance. “It’s a talisman for my Clan.”
Missy stilled, looking as if a spirit had walked over her soul. “Then it’s true.”
He didn’t like that she’d froze. “What’s true?”
She looked away. “Nothing.”
“Missy, something has upset you. Tell me. I promise I won’t get mad or laugh, if that’s what is bothering you.”
Missy might know about shifters, but he wasn’t sure it was wise to tell her a lot about this other realm. However, if she ever did end up as his mate, she’d find out eventually.
“Okay, but I’m not sure what to make of it. I wasn’t planning on saying anything, but in light of what you just told me, I need to.” She explained that Jackson was a bear shifter and was brother to the clan’s Beta, Kalan Murdoch. “He told me about a book his dad had.” She went on to explain about the origin of the two realms.
Zane hadn’t expected that information to come out of her mouth. Here he thought the existence of the second realm was a secret. “He was right.”
This time her eyes widened. “How is that even possible?”
“You explained what happened quite well. What don’t you understand about it?”
Her face turned a pretty shade of pink. “I’m sorry. It’s just that so many things about you don’t add up.”