This Magic Moment

by Susan Squires

  “What did you do, Jane?” That was Kemble, behind them.

  Thomas broke the kiss, but held Tammy tight. Tammy looked up to see Jane looking very satisfied from her place in Kemble’s embrace.

  “Well, when I figured out what you were trying to do, I wanted to help. You seemed very close to success. And then I remembered that Morgan thought blood intensified the power. What could be better than the blood of new life?” The baby wailed in the background.

  “And that’s what kicked the Healing up and over into Resurrection,” Mom said, nodding. She smiled at Jane. “You are a wonder.”

  “Where did you get blood?” Kemble looked thunderous. He swiveled, looking for the baby.

  Marrec walked up, cradling the bawling bundle awkwardly in his big arms. “This one is strong. And he is fine. He wants his mother.” He passed the bundle carefully to Jane, who bobbled it and cooed.

  “It was placental blood, silly,” Jane said.

  “Gross.” Lan made a face.

  “I think it’s wonderful,” Tammy said, looking back into Thomas’s eyes.

  “What does your mother mean, resurrection?”

  “That’s what we have to talk about,” Tammy whispered.

  “No time,” Jason interrupted. “Got to go. We’ll have company soon.”

  “Don’t want to do any explaining to outsiders.” Daddy chewed his lip. He scanned the area. “DNA all over these vehicles. Let’s dump them in the lava.” He saw Jason’s look of doubt. “Our three are about two miles north.”

  “I’ll get going and bring them back,” Tris said.

  “I’m with you,” Maggie said.

  “Me too,” Dev chimed in.

  “You are going to stay here,” Tris growled to Maggie. “Besides, we’re moving fast.”

  “I don’t think it’s particularly safe here,” Maggie replied, “and when has your big carcass ever been able to keep up with me?”

  “Go!” Daddy interrupted. Tris rolled his eyes, but Maggie had won, which was not surprising, and they took off at a trot.

  “Everybody, load every shred here into the vehicles,” Daddy ordered. “Bury any traces of blood with sand. And Tammy, pull up that blanket.” He smiled at Thomas. “Sorry, son, but you’re offending the ladies.”

  Tammy could feel Thomas blush and nothing had ever felt so good as his heat.

  Daddy had his arm around Mom while everyone else scurried around the makeshift campsite. “You okay, honey?” When she nodded, he kissed the top of her head. “I’m so proud.”

  “Looks like you’re back in action yourself. Driving tanks and delivering babies.” Mom looked up at her husband fondly.

  Daddy raised his brows and considered that. “Yes. I guess I am.”

  “I thought you might be. At least after I threw the cards that last time.”

  Daddy looked askance at her. “All I heard was doom and gloom.”

  “Well, to be fair, I didn’t tell you that I also saw the King of Pentacles. It would have put too much pressure on you.”

  “And the King of Pentacles is me?”

  “One version of you. The one where everything you touch turns to gold.”

  “Good. I like that one. I won’t ask you about the other versions.”

  Duncan and Jason came up. “Hate to break this up, but Duncan and I are taking the pickup.”

  Mom turned to Duncan. “How could I be so forgetful?.” Come here, young man, and let me just take care of that.” She guided Duncan off to the side and laid her hands on his shoulder.

  Daddy turned back to Jason. “And where will you go?”

  Jason shrugged as though he didn’t care—like the bleak look in his eyes didn’t tell a different story. “Does it matter?”

  “Come back with us to The Breakers, at least until things die down. Take a while to figure out what’s next for you.”

  Jason looked suspicious.

  “Come on. Take a chance. We owe you more than we can repay. We couldn’t have gotten into the compound without you. We needed your power to resurrect Thomas.”

  “Didn’t do it for you. I got what I wanted. I’m free of that bitch.”

  “Free is good,” Daddy said, thoughtfully. “It just isn’t enough.”

  Jason’s hard eyes showed a flicker of shock.

  “Besides, I want every one of those vehicles buried in lava when people come looking.”

  Jason gave a curt nod.

  Daddy looked over to Duncan, who was rolling his healed shoulder and looking amazed. His burned arm was now flawless. “Kid could use support. He doesn’t know anything but Morgan.”

  Jason turned his hard, light eyes on Duncan, then back to Daddy. “Deal. For a day or two. Come on, kid. You drive the truck. I’ll drive the Bronco.”

  “I’ll get the SUV,” Greta said.

  Lan grabbed her hand. “I’m on for the other one.”

  “I’ll go up and send the helicopter over the edge,” Luc growled. He started up the hill.

  “We’ll pick you up on our way out,” Daddy said.

  Out, Tammy thought. That sounds wonderful. Out from under ten years of living in fear, ten years of disappointment and tragedy. What does that even feel like? She glanced to Thomas and saw love in his eyes. He had such love he’d sacrificed himself for her and her family.

  What does freedom feel like? She was about to find out. And love for Thomas was what made it more than enough.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  ‡

  Thomas opened his eyes. Late afternoon light from a crack in the loft doorway left a channel of illuminated dust motes. The smell of fresh straw and bales of alfalfa and timothy hay cascaded over him. And the smell of Tammy. She was curled like a sleepy kitten in his arms, the blanket they’d taken from the house pulled over her. Thomas had never felt so right. The pain and fear for Tammy of yesterday seemed like a dream, separated from real life by an exhausting drive back to The Breakers, a shower, and it looked like about six or seven hours of sleep from the angle of the sunlight. He and Tammy had sneaked out of the house, abnormally full of people even for The Breakers, just to be in their own world of the barn.

  He gazed down at Tammy’s red hair splayed out over his chest, the freckles over her nose, the slender arm slung over his abdomen. This was his purpose. He was born to love Tammy. He wanted to marry her and to do that he would have to talk to Mr. Tremaine and ask his permission.

  But what if Mr. Tremaine found out what he and Tammy had been doing together? Her mother knew, and Drew as well. And Michael must have guessed. After all, he had given Thomas the book. He couldn’t keep it a secret from her father for very long.

  He had taken Tammy’s virginity. All the books he’d read said that what he’d done defiled her, even though he and Tammy didn’t think that. Mr. Tremaine would want him dead. And why would Mr. Tremaine agree to give his daughter in marriage to someone like Thomas? What could he contribute to the Tremaines? What value could a man kept in a monastery his whole life have in this world of theirs? He had no talent besides starting fires. And that was not a power you would want around all the time. He had worked for the Clan. He was useless. Mr. Tremaine would never agree.

  They were a marvelous family, of course. The way they had worked together when they wanted to leave no trace of their presence, or the Clan’s…the way Tammy said they had worked together to bring him back to life. He owed them everything.

  Jason, Duncan, Lan and Greta had sent the Clan vehicles careening into the hole and through the blackening crust of the lava in four flashes of flame. The helicopter tumbled in from the cliff above and the whole family raced out to the highway in their three SUVs. They’d passed a stream of vehicles, police cars, curious people, and overhead, helicopters—all streaming toward the canyon. No one would find anything but the stolen transport truck by the side of the road. Tristram said he and Mr. Marrec had left no prints. The tank was a pile of rust.

  No one would ever know what had happened there, or why there was a very de
ep hole filled with lava in a place that had no previous record of volcanic activity. A mystery.

  Like so many things. He glanced down at Tammy. She loved him. He knew that. He just wished he were worth her love. And he wished he were someone else, someone who Mr. Tremaine would agree to join with Tammy forever.

  Tammy stirred in his arms. Her breasts pressed against his chest, eliciting a most welcome rise in his genitals. They’d been too exhausted to do anything but take shelter when they fell onto the blanket last night.

  “Thomas,” she murmured, turning her face up to his.

  He put everything he was, everything he wanted to be for her into the kiss he gave her. The nice part was, he could feel her giving him everything she was in return. Her hand ran over his chest and belly, and then down to fondle his stiffening penis. Which made it stiffen more.

  “Oh, ho,” she whispered. “I see you’ve recovered.”

  “Yes,” he whispered in return and cupped her breast.

  She sat up suddenly, the blanket falling away from her beautiful naked body, a gleam in her eyes. “Isn’t it nice to know that we have our whole lives together?” she asked, giggling.

  He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Tammy giggle like that. He liked it a lot. “Yes,” he said simply. But did they? He didn’t want to be just a friend of the family or have to sneak out to the barn to make love to Tammy. He wanted to be Tammy’s husband.

  She threw a leg over his hips and straddled him, then stopped. “Uh, oh.”

  “What?” Another something bad?

  “Oh, it’s just that the family is wondering where we are.”

  He mustn’t let them find him defiling Tammy. “How do you know?”

  “Lance is begging for scraps at the breakfast table.” Tammy stopped, surprised. “Gee, I guess I can pretty much go in and out of any animal’s vision at will now.”

  “You think they will come looking for us?” he asked. He hoped not.

  She giggled again. “No. They’re smarter than that. Anyway, Lance will warn us. We have twenty minutes at least.”

  “Maybe we should not do sex again, in case they find out.”

  Tammy grinned at him. “When you find your Destiny, there’s a lot of sex involved.”

  “I’m a bad person,” Thomas said, “because I want that very much. I have a lot of sex saved up. If they won’t look for us. And, uh, when you’re ready. I don’t want to rush you.”

  “You feel this wet?” She took his rock-hard penis and rubbed it on the wet lips of her sex right up where her clitoris was, and shuddered a little. “I’m ready now.”

  So he lifted her up by her waist, and she tilted his penis up and he slid into her like he was coming home. Tears filled her eyes. That was good. He wouldn’t want to be the only one crying.

  “Let’s take our time,” he whispered, sliding her softly up and down.

  “Or go fast,” she panted, placing her palms on his chest and quickening her movement. “We can always go slow later.”

  It wasn’t twenty minutes before they were gasping and shouting, and then collapsing, nearly insensible.

  “Is it always like this?” he asked, wondering.

  “Not for most people. But for us? Fairly sure it will be, pretty much forever. I mean, different, deeper, more connected even than we are now, but the same.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Well, Mom and Daddy still love each other and they’ve been together…wow, forty years I guess. They know everything about each other. And,” she paused for effect, “Lance saw Mom dragging Daddy into their bedroom last night as we were coming out here.”

  “You’re going to be hard to keep secrets from,” Thomas decided.

  She turned her sweet face up to him and her turquoise eyes were filled with tears again, even though they still had their mischievous glint. “We won’t ever have secrets. We’re Destined.”

  He smiled, not only with his lips, but with his whole soul. “Yes. Destined.” His filled his lungs with air and let it out. He was going to have to brave asking her father for her hand in marriage. He couldn’t imagine not spending the rest of his life with Tammy. And if her father said no, as surely he would, and sent him away because Thomas had defiled his daughter, then he’d have to convince Tammy to leave her family and everything she knew and loved to be with him. Not a good solution. But he knew he could never live without her.

  “Now, I’m famished. Aren’t you? Let’s join the family for breakfast, or lunch or whatever they’re having.”

  “How do you know they will be eating?”

  She chuckled. “At The Breakers, someone is always eating.” She looked around. “Hmmm. Clothes.” She grabbed her nightgown and the robe she’d been wearing when they sneaked out of the house.

  *

  “Well, at least the Talismans are gone for good,” Michael said, as he shoveled the last of his eggs and ham into his mouth. He hadn’t felt this hungry in years. “It’s better that nobody can use them than that they be used by someone like Morgan.”

  “I’m not so sure they’re gone,” Brina said. Most of the family was gathered in the kitchen. Lan and Greta were just coming up from the Bay of Pigs. Maggie and the kids were out on the deck. Maggie had drawn a hop-scotch grid on the flagstones for Jesse. The outsiders were in the kitchen: Marrec, Jason, and Duncan. “They floated on that lava.”

  Kemble nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe they’re just hiding until the comet comes around again in five hundred years.”

  “I’m sure not looking for them,” Brian said, practically shuddering. He’d finished his meal and was sitting with his arm around Brina, looking tired but satisfied.

  “I still don’t understand what Merlin was thinking to create such instruments of power and just leave them around where anyone could find them and change the world every five hundred years.” Drew was bustling around the kitchen along with Kee and Dev.

  “Maybe he thought humanity would have changed for the better by the time the stars aligned again,” Brian mused.

  “Fat chance of that,” Tris said, his mouth full. Then he stared out at Maggie and his two children. His face got a speculative look.

  “Humanity is about to change,” Jane said, looking down at her own small bundle. “Our children will have powers, maybe stronger than ours as the magic comes together. Our obligation is to raise them to use what they’re given responsibly. Maybe things will be better the next time the comet swings by.”

  Kemble gave a visible shudder. “What a burden. Can you imagine them as teenagers?”

  Brina laughed. “Perhaps I can provide some sage advice. I’m very experienced.” Lance got up and dashed for the outdoors as the Tremaines chuckled.

  “What was that shriek?” Michael barked, on alert. Damn it! Just when he thought they were out of the woods.

  The Tremaine men stood as one and lunged toward the open French doors. Michael saw Tammy running across the lawn from the stairs that went down to the stable area, barefoot, her robe flapping over her nightgown. She shrieked and giggled as Thomas chased her, clad only in a pair of Lan’s pajama bottoms. Lance gamboled and barked in circles around them.

  The men turned back into the room, heaving a collective sigh. Michael felt as sheepish as the others looked.

  “I never thought I’d hear her giggle like that again,” Brina said softly.

  The pair burst onto the deck and collapsed, laughing, against the doorjamb to the open French doors. “We’re famished,” Tammy declared.

  “I’m sure you are,” Drew said knowingly. “The Kee/Dev Consortium and I are on breakfast duty this morning. We’ll take care of you.”

  Michael got up and manned the coffee-maker. They still had only one empty seat.

  Jason rose from the bar, murmuring that he was finished anyway. He started to slip away into the living room, but Brian stopped him.

  “Don’t go. We have things to discuss.”

  Well, that sounded ominous. Duncan, still shoveling eggs and sausages
in as though there was no tomorrow, looked up, worried. Jane glanced up from little Brian. Now calling Brian “Senior” was just sensible to keep things straight.

  Jason clearly thought about disobeying, but Senior smiled and Jason apparently decided that leaning against the doorway into the living room was not exactly capitulation. Tammy and Thomas sat at the bar. Michael poured two mugs of coffee for them.

  “I wanted to ask you if you’d like to join Tremaine Enterprises,” Senior said.

  “Not exactly a desk guy,” Jason growled.

  “No, but we do field work in disaster relief. As Morgan’s right hand man, you did a lot of organizing. I’m pretty sure you understand supply lines and logistics. We could use a guy like you. And hell,” he said, chuckling, “a disaster is pretty much like a war zone. A military man would feel right at home.”

  Jason looked down at his feet, then up at Senior. “Well, I thank you. That’s a kind offer.”

  “But you don’t intend to take me up on it.” Senior kept his voice even.

  Jason gave a bitter chuckle. “Oh, I know you’re worried I’ll be out there starting ‘Clan Two: Return of the Clan,’ but I’ve had enough of that for three lifetimes. It only ends one way.”

  Tammy reached out and took Jason’s hand, which surprised the hell out of him, by the look on his face. “What will you do then?” she asked earnestly.

  Jason didn’t know what to do with his hand. Finally Tammy took pity on him and dropped it. But she was still looking at him in that serious, expectant way. Jason shifted on his feet awkwardly and cleared his throat. “Some of the Clan might have got out of the compound. The ones that left first in the elevator. Thought I might track them down.”

  Brian nodded thoughtfully. “You may be right.” He glanced back up at Jason. “Give them a choice?”

  Michael knew Jason intended to just kill whomever he found, but at Brian’s steady gaze, the man nodded once. “I owe you for getting me out from under Morgan.”

  Marrec cleared his throat. “And there are the generals that Thomas said were brought back to life. Me, I think they could cause wars, who knows what mischief? I will take them out.”