by I. T. Lucas
“I appreciate the offer, but I want to join the search.”
Lisa frowned. “Who are you talking to?”
“Kian, Sari’s brother.”
“How can you hear what he’s saying?” She leaned closer to take a look at his ear. “Do you have invisible earbuds in?”
He put a hand on her knee. “I’ll explain later.”
“Here.” Sari activated the speakerphone. “Lisa and David can hear you now.”
“Hello, Lisa,” Kian said. “How are you holding up?”
“Now that David and Sari are here, I’m better. Thank you for helping to look for my parents.”
“You are welcome. I’m inviting all of you to come to the command center.”
“Thanks. I also appreciate the offer, but I’m with David on that. I want to join the search as well.”
“There is no need for either of you to do that. I have capable men on the job. You can forward your landline to Sari’s number, and we can monitor the security camera feed from your home.”
“I’m not worried about the house. There is nothing valuable here.”
“Except for you. It occurred to me that if your parents have gotten in trouble with the wrong kind of people, it might not be safe for you to remain in the house.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “You guys are really living in a movie. Mom and Dad didn’t get in trouble with the mob, or with drug dealers, or anything like that. They are too boring to do anything exciting or illegal.”
5
Sari
After ending the call, David pushed to his feet and started pacing. “I’m not going to sit on my butt and let others search for my mother. I have to go out there.”
It didn’t make any practical sense, but Sari could understand David’s need to do something, anything. If her mother were missing, she would be out there scouring the countryside as well.
Except, his sister needed him, which was more important than alleviating his frustration by joining the search.
“I know that you are frustrated, David, but searching aimlessly is not going to help find Frank and Ronja. The Guardians are trained soldiers, and they know what they are doing. Besides, we came here to support Lisa.”
He stopped. “Can you stay with her?”
“No way!” Lisa shot to her feet. “You are not leaving me behind. I’m coming with you.”
“I’m going to drive for hours on end. You’ll get bored and tired.”
“You won’t even know I’m there. I’ll sit in the back and keep my mouth shut. I promise.” She looked at him with sad eyes. “I don’t want to stay here and worry. I want to search for my parents too.”
“Let’s all go,” Sari suggested.
For a moment, David looked like he was going to object, but then he nodded. “We need to load up on water and snacks.”
“I’m on it.” Lisa headed to the kitchen.
Sari followed. “I’ll help you.”
“Can I use your desktop?” David asked Lisa. “I want to print out a map.”
“Sure. It’s in my room.”
“Is it password protected?”
“The password is Clark family in one word, like all the other computers in the house. You know how paranoid Mom was about the internet. She wanted to be able to check what I was doing.” Lisa shook her head. “I used to get so angry when she did that. But right now, if I walked into the room and found her checking the search history on my computer, I would just sit back and smile. I want her back so badly.”
“So do I, kiddo.” David patted her arm. “Fates willing, we will find her safe and sound.”
As he headed down the corridor, Lisa opened the pantry door. “What’s with you and David and the Fates? Is that a Scottish thing?”
Sari smiled. “It’s a clan thing. My clan believes in the three Fates.”
Lisa cast her a questioning glance. “By clan, do you mean family or a tribe?”
“We are all members of an extended family, but since there are several hundreds of us, we are also a tribe.”
“Do you all have the same last name? Like a Mac something?”
“We don’t.”
It wasn’t the right time to dive into a lengthy explanation. The more details Sari had to change to avoid telling Lisa too much too soon, the more convoluted the story would become.
“I don’t know anything about Scotland. Maybe before I come to visit you and David, I should watch Outlander.” Lisa handed Sari two reusable shopping bags. “Put in whatever you like.”
“Outlander? What’s that?”
The girl stopped and turned to gape at Sari. “Don’t you have televisions in the castle? Because that’s like the most popular series in the UK, and the leading actor is hot.”
“Then I must check it out.” Sari eyed the neatly-organized and well-stocked pantry.
“So, do you have a television or not?”
“We do, but I don’t have time to watch. I prefer doing other things.”
“Like what?”
“Reading, hiking, riding horses, picnicking by the lake.” Making love to David.
“It sounds relaxing.”
“It is.”
Against the wall was a stack of packaged bottled water, and the shelves were lined with containers of canned food, dry goods, and snacks. “I’ll pack the water. You are in charge of the snacks.”
Lisa nodded. “Do you like energy bars? We have them in several flavors.”
“I’m not a big snack person, but we can’t be choosy. Just pack whatever you like.”
“Okay. Just don’t complain later.” Lisa dropped two large packs of potato chips and a box of energy bars into her bag, then reached for a mixed nuts container on the top shelf. “My dad likes those.” She pulled it down and put it in her other bag.
Even though Lisa was trying to hide it, Sari didn’t miss the tears sliding down her cheek. The girl’s mood was swinging like a pendulum. The simple explanation for the rapid mood changes was that under normal circumstances, Lisa was an upbeat kind of person, and when she was busy, she reverted to her natural state.
When they were done, Sari lifted the two heavy bags. They were filled to capacity with plastic water bottles, and she hoped that the handles would hold.
“Do you need help with that?” Lisa called after her.
“Thank you. I’m good.”
“You go, girl.” Lisa skipped up to her with her lighter load. “Do you lift weights?
Not wanting to lie, Sari shook her head.
“So, what do you do to get in shape?’
“I told you. I ride horses.” She did it for fun, but some might think of it as exercise.
Sari put two of the bags on the ground and opened the car’s backseat passenger door.
“Cool. What else do you do? I mean, what’s your day job?”
Since all Lisa could see was her back, Sari allowed herself an eye-roll. At the rate the girl kept firing questions at her, it was going to be a very long ride indeed.
“I head the European arm of the clan.” She put two of the bags on the seat, the other two on the floor, and closed the door.
Turning around, Sari found the girl looking at her with pursed lips.
“I’m impressed.” Lisa stood with her hands on her narrow hips. “So, what’s the story with you and David? How did you guys meet?”
Sari stifled a groan. “Let’s keep some of the questions for the road. Otherwise, what are we going to talk about all day long?”
“True. I’m going to pack a tablet.”
As Lisa turned around and headed back into the house, her blond ponytail bounced with every step, making her look even younger than her fifteen years. Wearing a novelty T-shirt with a cartoon character printed on it reinforced that impression.
Some girls her age looked like young women, but it seemed that Lisa was a late bloomer. She was a tall kid, perhaps only an inch shorter than Sari, and her body was coltish, just starting to show hints of feminine curves. Her face was pret
ty, with high cheekbones and blue eyes that were framed by long, pale lashes, and lips that were almost identical to David’s. In fact, brother and sister looked a lot alike despite their genders and the disparity in ages.
Since Lisa and David had different fathers, Sari assumed that both had received their Nordic looks from their mother.
Ronja must be a beautiful woman.
Hoping that she wouldn’t have to switch thinking of David’s mother into the past tense, Sari sighed and followed Lisa inside.
Perhaps she could find a picture of the mother, but a quick scan of the living room revealed no family photos. Evidently, Ronja wasn’t the sentimental type.
“I’m ready.” Lisa came out of the hallway wearing a jean jacket over her T-shirt, and a black backpack with a white skull printed on it slung over one shoulder.
One day Lisa was going to be a knockout, but right now, she was just a pretty tomboy who hadn’t discovered her femininity yet.
“Where is David?” Sari asked.
“He’s coming right out. He’s just printing the roadmap. Do you need to use the bathroom before we go? David warned me that he’s not going to make hourly bathroom stops.”
6
Syssi
Syssi closed her eyes and tried to ignore the background chatter. It was difficult to concentrate on a jet full of immortals, who didn’t get tired of talking, and who didn’t take naps.
“What do you think, Syssi?” Amanda asked.
She opened one eye and turned to look at her sister-in-law. “About what?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you were sleeping. Never mind.” Amanda waved a hand. “Go back to sleep.”
As if her fully reclined seat hadn’t been a clue.
Syssi turned on her side and pulled the blanket up to her nose.
Next to her, Kian was working on his laptop, and the clicking sounds of the keys were distracting as well. She should have brought her noise-cancelling headphones. Her earbuds could muffle some of the sounds, but they were not as good, and they bothered her ears if left in for too long.
The cabin of a jet plane was not the right environment for courting a vision, but if Syssi waited until she got home, it might be too late. If David’s mother and her husband had gotten into an accident, and their car was lying in a ditch somewhere, every minute could mean the difference between life and death.
She felt as though she had to do it no matter how much it scared her.
Kian didn’t want her to have visions during her pregnancy, and Syssi had to admit that it wasn’t entirely paranoid of him. Visions took a toll on her body, and Fates only knew how they might affect their daughter.
She probably couldn’t summon one anyway.
It had been ages since Syssi had practiced summoning visions with Madame Salinka. It had been difficult to do even when guided by a master and practicing in a serene room dedicated to the craft. It would be next to impossible to calm her mind and open herself to a vision on a jet plane full of her family and friends.
She decided her best option was the bathroom, which was cramped, but at least it was relatively quiet.
Lifting her chair to a sitting position, Syssi released the seatbelt and pushed to her feet. “I’m going to freshen up.” She picked up her overstuffed satchel.
“You can take a shower if you wish,” Kalugal offered. “I made sure the bathroom was stocked with fresh towels.”
The guy loved showing off his new toy and pointing out all the luxury features that the clan jet lacked.
“Perhaps next time.” She smiled at him politely.
Boys and their toys.
The bathroom was larger than the one on the clan’s jet, but it was still not the right space for what she wanted to do.
Sitting on the toilet while summoning a vision didn’t seem right, and Syssi didn’t want to sit on the floor. That left the tiny shower stall.
Thankfully, she wasn’t tall, and her pregnant belly wasn’t big yet. She could fit in there.
Grabbing a towel, she spread it on the shower floor and then lowered herself carefully to sit cross-legged on top of it.
The noise from the jet engines drowned out most of the sounds coming from the main cabin, but she could still make out bits and pieces of conversations, which was distracting.
The earbuds could take care of that.
As she stuck them in her ears and the noise dropped to a level she could ignore, a smile spread over her face.
“Thank you, sweet merciful Fates.” She tilted her head up. “Please help me find David’s mother. He’s already been through so much, and losing his mother would devastate him. He deserves happiness, and so does Sari.”
The Fates didn’t answer, but she hadn’t expected them to. If she entered the right state, they might help her, but she had to get there first.
One deep breath after the other, Syssi felt the outside world fall away, leaving behind the familiar void where visions could enter.
It started slowly, with a fuzzy aerial view, then the vision grew more focused as if someone had adjusted the camera lens. Given the speed and the slow glide, the lens must be located in a bird’s eye.
Perhaps an eagle’s?
There were none of the swirling colors that usually accompanied her visions, and she could almost feel the wind on her face. What if she was imagining and not remote viewing?
Barren mountains spread as far as the eye could see. There was something familiar about their vibrant hues and jagged formations, but that wasn’t enough to zero in on a location. She needed to find a landmark to orient herself.
The bird swooped down, diving between two peaks into a canyon and following the narrow dirt road at its bottom.
She was getting close. Syssi could feel it in the pit of her stomach, and she dreaded what she was about to find.
At first, she hadn’t noticed the dark-gray car, or rather its tail end. The front was tilted down and covered in dirt as if it had been the victim of a mudslide.
Swooping down even lower, the bird flew by the passenger side open window and landed on the side-view mirror, giving Syssi an unobstructed view of the interior and its two passengers.
Both the driver and passenger seats were fully reclined, and it seemed as if the occupants were sleeping. But given their cracked lips and sallow complexions, they were passed out.
The hue wasn’t gray, so they weren’t dead. Or so she hoped.
Syssi had no doubt that the woman was David’s mother. The familial resemblance was striking. The man slumped on the driver’s seat must be Frank, her husband.
If only she could find a landmark, she could send help.
As if the bird heard her, it flew away, going up and up and then circling the area several times.
Syssi still couldn’t find anything that could be considered a landmark, but she’d seen enough to be able to draw a topographic map of the area, provided that she remembered the details upon waking.
At the thought, the vision receded until it was no larger than a shirt button, and then it exploded into thousands of tiny fragments before disappearing.
Syssi jerked awake with a gasp and immediately reached for her satchel and pulled out her tablet.
Scribbling with her stylus like a woman possessed, she drew the topographic map on a painting application.
Hopefully, William could feed her drawing into one of his software programs and determine whether what she had seen corresponded to reality.
7
Kian
Kian glanced at the bathroom door for the umpteenth time. Syssi had been gone for a long while, and since she’d told Kalugal that she wasn’t going to take a shower, it shouldn’t have taken her so long to freshen up.
Maybe she’d changed her mind and decided to give it a try? The clan’s jet didn’t have a shower, so she might have gotten curious.
Nah, that was unlikely. Syssi was not one to act on a whim, and he was starting to worry.
Closing his laptop, Kian forced hi
mself to wait a little longer. If he knocked on the door to check on her, Syssi would be upset and accuse him of paranoia.
But what if she’d fainted in there?
“To hell with it,” he muttered and pushed out of his seat.
Heart pounding in his chest, he strode up to the lavatory’s door and knocked. “Are you okay in there?”
“I’ll be right out.”
His breath left his lungs in a whoosh. She was okay. Well, he wasn’t sure of that, but at least she hadn’t fainted.
As Syssi opened the door, she looked a little frazzled. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”
“I don’t. I was worried about you, and seeing how flustered you look, I was right. What happened in there?”
“Let’s go back to our seats, and I’ll tell you.” She grabbed his arm and tugged on it.
Kian dug his heels in. “First, I need to know whether you are okay. Should I call Bridget?” He should have insisted that the doctor fly back with them and not with David and Sari.
Except, he hadn’t foreseen any trouble that would necessitate the doctor’s presence.
“I’m fine.” Syssi smiled tightly. “Stop worrying, and let’s go back to our seats.”
She wasn’t very convincing, but he did as she asked. Perhaps she wanted to tell him in private.
He waited for her to take her seat and then joined her. “Now can you tell me?”
“I had a vision.”
His heart made a flip and then lodged in his throat. Syssi’s visions were dangerous, and she often lost consciousness while having them. “How did it happen? You haven’t had any since the one about the Odus.”
“It didn’t just happen. I summoned it.”
“What?” he said louder than he’d intended.
“What’s going on?” Amanda asked from across the aisle.
“I had a vision.” Syssi waved a hand at his sister. “I’ll tell you about it later.”