by Shéa MacLeod
In my mind's eye, Air appeared as tendrils of silvery mist whirling and twirling their way around that deep, dark, inner well where my powers lived. I tried to coax it, but it ignored me.
"Don't ask it," Tommy snapped. "Tell it. You're the boss." He pointed a gnarled finger at me for emphasis.
"Right. Sure," I muttered under my breath. "I'm the boss."
"I heard that."
I ignored him and focused on the Air again. "Whirlwind."
It ignored me.
"Whirlwind." I gave it a little more force.
Nothing.
"Damn you," I snapped. "Give me a bloody whirlwind."
This time, something happened. It just wasn't the something I expected.
Green light shot from the center of my chest and out the tips of my fingers. I stared at my hands as if they belonged to an alien. "What the... "
The ground beneath my feet heaved violently, tossing me onto my butt like I was a rag doll. Holy crap. Was that an earthquake?
I reached out to brace myself, and where my hands touched dirt, weeds and grasses sprang up. They grew wild and green and huge, far bigger than they should have in the dry ground of the high desert. They grew until I was surrounded by a thicket and Tommy was blocked from view.
Panic surged through me as the green light intensified. I yanked my hands from the dirt, but it was too late. Trees joined the grasses, erupting from the ground, changing from tiny saplings into towering evergreens within moments. Vines twisted and twined around tree trunks and branches. Orchids sprouted from the bark. Orchids. In Central Oregon.
I scrambled to my feet, trying to push my way through the thicket back to Tommy. It was no use. Everywhere I touched, something new and green sprang up until I was completed fenced in by a thick wall of flora.
Tommy thumped his stick again, and this time I felt the vibration through the earth. Slowly, the green light that surrounded me retreated, sinking back inside me. It mumbled things in a language I couldn't even begin to comprehend, but the tone was sullen. I stood there with my mouth hanging open, my brain a frozen blank.
A pair of gnarled brown hands poked through the weeds and branches, parting them like curtains. Tommy appeared, dark eyes sparkling with merriment. "Now, that's what I'm talking about."
* * *
"What the hell was that?" I dusted dirt and debris off my butt. "Was there an earthquake or something?" I pushed my way through the thick greenery, purposefully ignoring the fact that it hadn't been there a minute ago. I did not want to go there.
Tommy's dark eyes danced in amusement, the lines bracketing his mouth deepening ever so slightly. He propped both hands on his walking stick as he eyed me. "Earthquake? Yes."
"Didn't think you got many earthquakes this side of the mountain." I know. I know. Denial, thy name is Morgan. And yet, it wasn't that I was in denial exactly. More that I already had so much to deal with, I was afraid one more Atlantean superpower might send me over the edge.
"We don't." He just leaned on his damn stick and smiled at me.
I huffed out a breath. "Fine. It was me, okay? I did it. That green stuff. What the hell is going on?"
He eyeballed me. "Do you remember what I asked you about your powers the day we met?"
I mulled it over a moment, remembering. It had been here at his cabin. I'd been in search of djinn lands, hunting a killer. "Yeah, you asked how many powers were inside me."
"And what was your answer?"
"Three. You told me there would be six... " Oh, holy crap. If he was right, I had four now. Earth power had joined the others. Two more to go.
He must have seen reality slap me across the face, because he gave me an approving nod. "The ancients called it being kissed by moonlight."
"Moonlight? Why?"
"You ask a lot of questions," he said. "Now, let's try it again."
Oh, gods. "You want me to cause an earthquake?"
"Well, I'm not asking you to dance the limbo."
I snorted with laughter. Oh, he was a snarky one. "What if I make another one of those?" I jerked my thumb at the mini jungle.
Tommy shrugged. "Then I have some nice landscaping."
I guessed I wasn't getting out of it. I moved a few feet away from him and carefully braced myself, feet apart, knees slightly bent. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on what was inside me.
"Eyes open."
"Excuse me?" I shot Tommy a glare. "How am I supposed to focus on this new power with my eyes open?" It was one thing to call Fire or Darkness that way. I was more or less used to them by now, and they came when I called. I just didn't like calling them. They had a tendency to take over and that could get really ugly. Anything new required massive amounts of concentration.
"Like I said before, you gonna stop in the middle of a fight to focus? Vamps don't care if you got a new power. They just want to rip your throat out."
I gave him an aggravated look, but kept my eyes open as I reached down toward my powers. The usual suspects jumped to eager attention, but I ignored them. I only wanted one, my new superpower: Earth.
It lurked in the corners, a faint green mist. I could tell it wanted to come out and play, but only on its own terms and in its own time. It didn't want me in control. Well, tough.
I wasn't sure how this new power worked, so I visualized it swirling around me and shooting out my fingertips like it had before. I swear, it gave me the mental finger before it gave in and did what I wanted.
Unlike the other powers, which had a tendency to surge up and out of me fast and hard, Earth simply oozed out of my pores. My vision misted over, like I was looking through green-tinted glass, and I could see the shimmer of green power dancing and curling over my skin like vines twining around a tree trunk.
I gave the green power a vision of an earthquake. Before I'd even finished the thought, green light shot from my fingertips again and the ground gave a violent heave. It buckled and roiled, throwing me to the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of me. The earth fissured, cracks racing out across the high desert as wave after wave of violence rocked the surface.
"Enough!"
Tommy stood over me, his expression fierce. Even the green paid attention. Its reaction was the sulking of a chastised child. The ground stopped shaking and cracking. The light stopped shooting out of my fingers and the shimmer of green sank back into my skin. My vision returned to normal. The metaphorical lid I kept on my powers slammed shut with an insolent clang.
"Holy crap." Okay, not one of my more intelligent responses, but it was the only thing that came to mind as I lay there on my back in the high desert grasses staring up at Tommy. Sagebrush poked me in the butt. It wasn't terribly comfortable.
"Indeed. Once more. Only this time, I want you to focus your power on that rock."
I squinted in the direction he was jabbing his stick. It was a decent-sized boulder, but it had to be a good quarter-mile away or more. No way I had that kind of focus. Not yet. "You have got to be kidding."
"Not even remotely."
I sighed as I clambered to my feet again. I was tired, I ached all over, and I was pretty sure there was a giant bruise on my butt. Earthquaking a rock to death was the last thing I wanted to do. The only thing I was interested in doing was taking a nice long soak in Tommy's ancient metal bathtub while drowning my sorrows with whatever gods-awful tea he had stashed around the cabin. I could really use something stronger, but unfortunately for me, Tommy didn't drink alcohol.
"Focus," Tommy snapped, thumping his walking stick. I swear I wanted to grab that stick and whack him with it. He smirked as if he'd heard my thoughts. "Try it."
"Fine," I snapped. "Focusing."
Planting my feet firmly on the ground again, I visualized the powers inside me, coaxing up the greenish mist that was Earth power. As it sifted through my pores once again, the ground shifted slightly beneath my feet.
"Just the rock," Tommy admonished.
Before I could sass him back, the sound of a car
horn interrupted my focus. The green misty stuff sank back under my skin and curled up into a petulant ball. It clearly had no plans for any further cooperation. Saved by the bell.
* * *
Jack was driving a brand new, shiny red pickup truck that looked totally out of place parked next to Tommy's rustic cabin and old blue Chevy. Sure, trucks were a dime a dozen here on the eastern side of the mountain, but they tended to be coated in dust, rust, and other unpleasant things. Shiny, they were not.
He strode toward Tommy and me, all long legs and lean muscles and flowing, sun-streaked hair. My heart gave an unexpected and unwanted flutter. I'd loved him once. Maybe a part of me still did. I just wasn't sure my heart could handle what he'd do to it. Besides, I still hadn't decided anything about Inigo. I gave my heart a stern mental talking to.
"You're a day early," I said as he drew closer. I'd asked him to pick me up in a week.
"I know," he said, nodding to Tommy in greeting. "But I've got a lead on that vampire that attacked you. Thought you might want to come along for the ride. If you're up to it?"
Up to it? I'd been healed for days, and I'd do just about anything to get away from Tommy's ceaseless drills. "Sure. Sounds good. I'll just grab my stuff."
As I took off for the cabin at a jog, I could feel Tommy's eyes boring into me like twin lasers. I knew without a doubt this little training session of ours wouldn't be our last, and that was probably a good thing. Much as I hated them, Tommy's drills had helped me focus. They'd helped me heal. And not just physically.
I wouldn't miss his rock-hard guest bed, though. I grinned as I dumped my suitcase on top of the mattress and started tossing my stuff into it. I hadn't come with much, so I was done and out the door in minutes.
Before I hopped into the truck, I gave Tommy a quick hug. He smelled of sage and juniper and wood smoke. "Thanks for the training. Sorry I have to leave early." I wasn't sorry.
"Liar. Don't worry about it. You'll be back." His eyes promised all sorts of revenge.
"I don't doubt it." I turned to climb up into the pickup, but Tommy's hand on my arm stopped me.
"Remember, there will come a day, very soon, when you will have to make a choice." His eyes were deadly serious. "When that time comes, you must choose wisely. Your choice... it could alter the future."
"Okay." I had to make choices every day. Life-or-death kinds of choices. I couldn't understand what he was trying to tell me. He was definitely a little over the top. Alter the entire future? I doubted it. "I'll, uh, do my best."
"Just remember, choose with the heart of a woman, not a warrior. It will not lead you astray."
He let me go then. Baffled, I climbed into the truck, slamming the door shut. As we bounced down the road in a cloud of dust, I craned my head to look out the back window. Tommy was still standing in the middle of the road. I watched him until we turned the corner, and Tommy and the cabin disappeared from sight.
Chapter 16
The wooden sign next to the street proudly proclaimed "Sunnyside Village," complete with curlicues and fake gold paint that was starting to flake off. Beneath the name, neat black letters proclaimed it to be "An award winning community of elegance and style for the retired."
In other words? Old folks' home. And it looked like one, too. Screw "retirement village," this place looked more like a prison. Okay, maybe not a prison, but I wasn't seeing a whole lot of elegance or style. Unless "depressing" was a style.
The building looked like it might have once been a single family ranch-style house. It was long and low with '60s era aluminum framed windows and worn vinyl siding painted a dull gray. At some point, somebody had added a couple extra wings to house the retirees and decided to paint them beige. No doubt beige paint had been on sale. It didn't help with the elegance.
Its saving grace was that Sunnyside Village was perched on the side of a hill overlooking Happy Valley and Sunnyside Road in the hills just outside Portland. It wasn’t a bad view. At least the inmates—I mean guests—didn't have to look at the building. Talk about depressing.
It was weird, too, because Happy Valley was known as a sort of posh place where people lived in huge cookie-cutter houses and drove gas-guzzling SUVs that took up three whole parking spaces. They shopped at snazzy grocery stores that had wide, brightly lit aisles and sold organic food for insane prices. Most everything was new and clean and fresh. Not Sunnyside Village. It stuck out like a proverbial sore thumb; a dandelion among peonies.
Jack led the way inside with me tromping along behind him. The place was giving me the willies, and I wasn't in the mood to hide it. My booted feet thunked angrily on the concrete steps leading up to the front doors.
"Chill," Jack hissed at me.
A nine-hundred-year-old warrior and former Templar knight telling me to chill? That made me giggle. But I took his suggestion onboard and stopped the tromping. Instead, I gave my purple corduroy jacket a tug and smoothed down my black skirt. That's right: skirt. I'd swapped my usual leather jacket and jeans for something more professional. I refused to give up the boots, though. A girl's got to have standards.
We passed through the glass double doors and into the interior of the building. The original living room had been turned into a front office, the carpet replaced with ugly vinyl tiles in white and gray, the kind you find in public bathrooms the world over. The walls were painted the same dull gray as the outside, and the counter that had been added was made of cheap pine and gray-speckled white Formica. They must have salvaged that from the kitchen or something.
The only spot of color and interest was the original brick fireplace. The opening had been boarded up, but the rest had been left as is. Somebody had placed a vase of pink and blue silk flowers on the mantle, no doubt thinking it would brighten up the place. Unfortunately, they just looked cheap and tacky.
Above the mantle hung a picture in a garish, gold frame. A pudgy man stared down upon us through thick-lensed glasses, a benevolent smile on his lips. A small brass plaque on the bottom of the frame no doubt identified the man, but I didn't need to read it to guess this was the facility's medical director, the man we'd come to see.
The woman behind the front desk was plainly bored out of her skull. In fact, I'd bet just about anything that, despite her appearance of business-like efficiency, she was actually playing Tetris. Couldn't say I blamed her.
Jack cleared his throat. She ignored him. Sort of. I could see her giving him the once-over out of the corner of her eye. Couldn't blame her for that, either. He'd also dressed for the occasion in a dark suit that emphasized his narrow waist and broad shoulders, and a blue button-down shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. He was, admittedly, extremely tasty in that get up.
"Excuse me, Miss," he said.
Miss? Despite the bleached-blond hair and frosted pink lipstick, the woman wasn't a day under sixty. The red plastic nametag pinned to her ample chest read "Doris."
"How may I help you?" Doris finally glanced up from her computer screen, carefully patting her hair into place with a pudgy hand and adjusting the hot pink sweater draped over her shoulders. If the expression in her eyes was anything to go by, Jack was in serious danger of losing his suit.
"Dr. Jackson Keel. This is my assistant, Ms. Bailey. We have an appointment with Dr. Mickleson."
"Oh, yes, you called yesterday."
I swear to the gods, she fluttered her eyelashes at Jack.
"Let me show you to Dr. Mickleson's office." Doris started to get up, but Jack waved her back down.
"Thank you, Doris,"—he put just the right purr into her name—"but I don’t want to take up your valuable time. Just point the way." He gave her a smile oozing with sex appeal. I barely refrained from making a gagging motion.
Doris beamed at him. "Down the hall, third door on the left. Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?"
"No, thank you. Doris." Jack gave her another one of his blinding smiles that sent the poor woman's ample bosom heaving. She actually picked up a patient cha
rt and started fanning herself with it.
I managed to repress my smirk long enough to make our way past the front desk and down the hall. "She wanted to eat you alive." I couldn't help a small giggle.
Jack scowled. "Shut up."
That made me laugh even harder.
We were in part of the original building. Bedrooms had been turned into offices, no doubt. The third door on the left had a strip of red plastic that matched Doris's name tag. The white letters proclaimed this was the office of Dr. M. Mickleson. Jack gave a quick rap and entered at the muffled response from inside. I trailed behind him, pulling a small notebook out of my pocket, playing the part of the dutiful assistant.
The first thing I noticed was the smell of aftershave; the office reeked of it. Something sharp and musky. It made my nose itch. I managed to repress a sneeze at the cost of making my eyes water.
The man behind the desk matched the woman at the front: short and slightly pudgy. They even had matching name tags and expressions of boredom. He did not, however, sport a hot pink sweater. His was navy. His hair was more salt than pepper with a shiny bald spot on top. I recognized him from the photo above the fireplace.
The men shook hands in that macho way they do. Mickleson ignored me, focusing his attention on Jack through thick glasses with chunky black plastic frames. I wasn't used to men ignoring me. Thanks to my more than generous curves and bright red hair I sort of stood out, but it was clear Mickleson was more interested in Jack's supposed status. As a mere assistant, I was beneath his notice.
"Ah, Dr. Keel. So nice of you to pay us a visit." Mickelson's tone didn't sound like he thought it was nice. More like he thought it was an imposition. His watery hazel eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Please sit." He waved us to a pair of plain wooden chairs that were insanely uncomfortable. Probably another thing they'd salvaged from the kitchen. "I understand you have a question about one of our former patients?"
"Possibly, Dr. Mickleson." Jack leaned forward as if about to impart a deep, dark secret. "You see, doctor, we have a most interesting conundrum, and since you are an expert in the field, we hope you can help us."