by Jen Talty
Talk about cosmically fucked up.
Voices… American voices echoed from the right. He followed the sound through thick trees until he came into a clearing where he saw the SEAL team he’d viewed a few weeks ago.
All the team members had been blindfolded and were being held in three different cells, two in each one.
Brett did his best to get a lock on his exact location. He could feel Savanah’s presence, guiding him. The longer they stayed connected, the more intense the pain in his head became. He’d read about the phenomenon of intertwined abilities and they all said there were negative consequences, but no one mentioned the sensation of a bullet ripping through his brain.
He did a quick scan of the area, painfully aware his tunnel had begun to fade, and if he didn’t enter it soon, he could be lost in the space between, forever.
He turned and raced toward the opening in the scenery, which was getting smaller and smaller. The moment his feet entered the space, a vortex sucked him in, spinning and twisting his body until it spit him out on the top of the mountain.
His stomach rolled with intense nausea, as if his belly had turned into a category five hurricane. Savanah knelt near a rock. Three men surrounded her, all pointing guns at her head.
What the fuck? Why had she pushed him out to a different place when she needed his help right now?
The mountaintop was at least five miles high. It would take hours before he could physically get to her.
Savanah titled her head, making eye contact, which should be impossible.
A vision of her hugging her sister filled the blue sky. The throbbing in his head subsided as he felt his body float into what he had to assume was Hazel’s premonition. He didn’t understand why or how, but he knew Savanah was holding her own, and that she would do what she needed to stay alive.
Savanah gave him a quick nod and in a flash, his body was sucked back into another tunnel, spinning his body like one of those rides at an amusement park where the only purpose was to see how many people the metal spinning object would make toss their cookies.
“Brett,” Hazel’s voice lulled him back to the present.
He gripped her arms, digging his fingers into her flesh. He knew he had to be hurting her, but if he let go, he’d collapse.
A thick wave of nausea filled his senses and he dropped to his knees, heaving what little he’d eaten that day, hoping it didn’t land on Hazel’s feet, not to mention he really hoped no one happened to be passing by.
“Brett,” Hazel said softly, lowering herself to his level. “Breathe. Just breathe.”
He focused on the smooth timber of her voice as she helped him to his feet.
“What the fuck was that?” she asked.
“I have no clue, but we can add medium to your list of talents because you acted as a direct line to your sister.”
“I saw her at the top of the mountain but then I had different visions. One was where she took a bullet, the other one was where you did, but both ending with me hugging Savanah.”
“I reject both shootings, but that hug I’ll accept. Before we do anything, I need to contact Phoenix and give them the location of the missing SEAL team, and also see if I can get us some backup in the sky because you and are going to take a hike to save your sister.”
Chapter 8
AT THIS PARTICULAR JUNCTION, Hazel wasn’t about to question what had happened between Brett, Savanah, Willow, and herself.
Hazel would have to deal with all the psychic connections later. Right now, all that mattered was finding Savanah before something really bad happened.
Brett stepped from the small country store at the base of Deer’s Leap Mountain with a couple of waters and a map. His pale face reminded her of the toll all this had to be taking on him, not to mention her own depleted energy. Every person she’d ever met with psychic abilities, even other people like her, all had abilities that came in different forms and powers. However, they all shared one thing: their power was uniquely their own and very few had the ability to share their gifts on the psychic level.
“If we keep a decent pace, we can get to the location by noon,” Brett said.
“I hope she’s still there.”
Brett nodded. “There are three other potential trails off that mountain, all leading in different directions.” He scratched the back of his head as he rolled his neck. “I keep getting the sense that your sister is the one suggesting these remote locations.”
“I can see this one, since Savanah loves hiking, but I don’t understand the house across the bay from the camp.”
“Well, we’ll be able to figure it all out when this is over,” he said with a dark bite to his tone.
She chose to ignore his comment as she followed him across the gravel parking lot towards the trail to the top of the mountain.
At the start of the hike, Hazel had no problem keeping up with Brett’s quick pace, but as they got closer to the peak of Deer’s Leap, his raspy breath, mixed with her aching muscles, reminded her that not only had their psychic powers been drained, but so had their physical bodies.
One of the theories mentioned in Riley’s book was that there was a collective order of special psychics whose powers were beyond anything ever seen before, but they had been destroyed years ago. However, it was theorized that their off-spring had the ability to restore the order and better police the gifted being lulled to the dark side.
Not many people bought into this concept, including Hazel, but Savanah did. More importantly, Savanah believed she and her sisters were the female sector of the order, waiting to be reunited with quadruplets who made up the male division.
“We should slow down,” Hazel said. “Your energy has been zapped.”
He glanced over his shoulder, glaring. “So has yours, but your sister is in danger and I’m not going to let anything happen to her on my watch.”
“What about the SEAL team? Their situation seems more dire, and the feeling I’m getting isn’t one of fear from any of the visions about my sister.”
“I trust that my team at Phoenix is taking care of them. Besides, my job is your sister.” He turned his attention back to the trail, picking the pace up.
The Brett Hazel knew was a witty, laid back guy who had a deep layer of passion.
The Brett standing in front of her now was someone completely different. The tension seeping from his pores billowed like smoke from a red-hot fire. His face tightened with determination, his eyes sharp, and he carried himself with a fierce focus and relentlessness that reminded her of her father, which was both good and bad.
‘Stop,” she ordered. “I need a break and I know for now Savanah is okay.”
Brett stopped, but didn’t turn as he took a swig of water.
She sucked in a deep breath. “What’s going on? Why are you so pissed off?”
With his hands on his hips, he twisted his body, catching her gaze. “What were your parents? I mean, what abilities did they possess?”
“You talk about them in the past tense. How did you know they died?”
“I have no idea,” he said softly. “But, please, tell me their gifts.”
Hazel leaned against a large rock, staring up at the sun poking through the trees. “My mother was a full intuitive with complete fluidity and could call upon other abilities as necessary, but it was difficult and draining.”
“That’s rare,” Brett said, relaxing his stance a little. “I’m surprised she wasn’t sought after by various governmental agencies as well as the dark side.”
“She might have been, but my parents really tried to keep our lives normal.”
“And your father?” Brett closed the gap between them, leaning against the same rock.
“He was telepathic and a remote viewer, though not full developed.” It had been a long time since she’d talked about her parents. All the sisters carried their own guilt over their parent’s death.
Hazel had had the premonition of the pending doom. Willow got the cry for
help. Savanah found them. And Alexis couldn’t heal them.
Their murderer never caught. The police thought the crime was a random act of violence, and in Baltimore, that certainly was possible, but the sister always suspected there might be more to the story.
“What about your grandparents? On either side?” Brett’s shoulder pressed against hers.
“We’re not the order. They don’t exist.” If she told him that both sets of her grandparents mastered three or more psychic abilities each, he’d be a true believer like Savanah. Only, Hazel had done enough research to know that there were other people like her grandparents, who produced many special children and grandchildren.
“The collective order is nothing but a fairytale,” she said
“I used to think so,” Brett admitted as he dumped a small amount of water on his hand and rubbed it across his face. “When I was deployed on my first undercover op in the Middle East using my ability as a remote viewer, my team leader wasn’t just there as my superior, but as my protector.”
“How so?”
“He was telepathic and believed I was one of the quadruplets, separated at birth, born to two oracles.”
“You’re kidding me,” she said, narrowing her gaze.
“I thought it was a crock at the time, but walking into your premonition, Savanah pulling me into her view, Willow’s voice in my damn head, and the idea that Alexis could have saved my life? It’s overwhelming and makes me question everything I’ve tossed aside because it doesn’t fit into a neat little ball of logic.”
“So, do you have brothers?”
He laughed. “I was adopted. I have no idea who my birth parents are, which I suppose plays right into the brothers being separated at birth.”
“Have you looked for your birth parents?” She should keep her mouth shut.
“No. But Trevor did”
“Who’s Trevor?”
“My team leader who died trying to save me a year ago.”
“Fuck. Trevor Whelen,” she muttered.
Brett wiped his head in her direction. “You knew him?”
“I met him once when he came looking for me and my sisters.” She lifted her necklace, fingering the pendant with the Raven etched in silver. “He said he knew what me and my sisters were and that he’d found one of the brothers.”
“When?”
“Six months before he died.”
“Fuck,” Brett muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Let’s keep moving. We can talk about all this later.”
She wasn’t about to argue because her mind refused to wrap around a concept she’d rejected for so long could possibly be true.
And that Brett was the man she’d been destined to be with because destiny was a bunch of malarkey.
Bang!
Bang!
“Savanah!” Hazel raced in front of Brett, but he yanked her arm.
“Stay behind me,” he said, then took off running.
When they entered the clearing at the top of the mountain, and Savanah was nowhere to be found, Brett tossed his water bottle, along with a few curses.
Hazel took a deep, calming breath and sat down on a tree stump, closing her eyes, trying desperately to channel her sister in hopes of a vision. She cleared her mind of everything except all her memories of Savanah. An image of them playing at the beach, running and skipping through the waves gently lapping at the shore tickled her mind. More happy reminiscences filled Hazel’s brain. It was as if she were watching a movie of her and her sister’s life together.
Hazel blinked her eyes open, looking up to the sky. The clouds swirled and collided with each other and as they broke apart, they created all the colors of the rainbow until her sister came into view.
Savanah stood in front of a small, secluded cabin, with her arm in a sling.
“Hazel,” Brett shouted, pulling her from her vision.
“Damn it, I had eyes on my sister.”
“She’s here.” Brett grabbed Hazel, and tugged her toward a path on the opposite side from where they’d entered the clearing.
“What do you mean?”
“I viewed her and she’s about a half a mile away.”
“Is she okay?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “She’s hurt, but alive and hiding. We need to get to her and get out of here before whoever kidnapped her comes back.”
Brett took a sharp turn off the path and down a rocky slope that looked like an old river bed. Just as he turned to offer her a hand the sound of boots hitting rock echoed from behind. Brett grabbed her by both of her arms, lifting her feet off the ground, heaving his body in front of hers.
Bang!
Brett’s body jerked back, knocking her over.
Crack!
A crushing pain shot through her eyes and the world went black.
Chapter 9
BRETT TWISTED HIS WRISTS, ignoring the dull pain in the lower left side of his abdomen, where the bullet had gone all the way through. From what he could tell when he looked at Hazel who was stretched out on the ground five feet from him, the bullet had missed her all together.
He cringed, remembering the sound of her head hitting a rock.
Her chest rose up and down rhythmically, so she was alive, but that didn’t mean she hadn't been mortally injured in the fall. Not to mention, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from landing on part of her body. Bile rose in his throat, when he noticed the duct tape around her pretty wrists.
He had no idea how long he’d been knocked out, but long enough to know things were about as bad as they could get.
Savanah sat next to her sister who was bound as well. The bullet she’d taken had hit her shoulder. But what concerned him more was the glassy, cloudy look she had in her eyes. She hadn’t responded to seeing her sister with anything other than a nod of her head and a touch of her hand on Hazel’s leg.
He looked around the immediate area. Two men, carrying assault weapons, stood at the base of the rock formation, and to the west of them, stood a Korean man. Brett recognized him as the father of the missing student… or should he say the missing North Korean operative.
Now dead.
“Look who’s awake,” the man said.
“Who are you?” Brett asked.
“The name is immaterial to you, but if you must know it’s Dae Hyun.” He moved closer, kneeling near the girls.
Savanah’s eyes narrowed and her body twitched, but she still appeared to be in some sort of trance, which he’d never seen before on any remote viewer, and he suspected it couldn’t be a good thing.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Brett said behind clenched jaw when Hyun reached out, placing his hand over Hazel’s wrist.
“Relax. I’m checking on her."
“I don’t care. Get your fucking hands off her.” Brett worked his legs and hands, but there was no way he could break free from the duct tape. “I will kill you.”
Hyun laughed. “Good luck with that.” He rose and maneuvered himself so he stood over Brett, glowering down at him. “When I’m done with your crazy psychic over there, I’m going to kill you all.”
He concentrated his energy on Hazel and Savanah, while staring Hyun in the eye. “What are you using her for?”
Hyun sat on the edge of a rock and pulled out a pocket knife, snagged a stick, and started carving. “You really think I’m going to tell you that?”
“If you’re going to kill me anyway, then why not? At least I get to go out knowing why.”
Hyun smiled wide. “I know you have an ability similar to the sisters.”
“So?” Normally, in a situation like this, he’d lie. Enemies didn’t need to know what he was capable of. “What does that have to do with what you are doing with Savanah, and more importantly, what happened to her, because she doesn’t look good?"
“I was hoping you could tell me.” Hyun glanced up, his knife hovering over the stick. “She’s been like that since we got to the top of the mountain.”
Brett swallo
wed, his throat so dry it hurt. “What was she doing when she ended up in a trance?” He kept his voice low and calm, as if he were having an everyday conversation with a friend.
Not with a man he planned on causing bodily harm to.
“Doing that remote view thing for me. One second she was telling me what she saw, the next minute, she was like that.”
He’d heard of a couple of viewers who had their psyche snapped, leaving their mind in the psychic realm. It was rare, but it did happen. The cases he had read about, the subject’s body went limp, unable to move, because it was the mind that controlled the body.
Looking at Savanah he tried to channel her, only he had no idea how to do that. Each time his abilities had crossed with one of the sisters, they’d been the ones drawing him in, or Hazel had been the medium between the two.
Hazel’s chest still rose up and down in a rhythmic beat, but the fact that she was unconscious weighed heavy on his heart.
“Why travel all the way here for her to do a view?” Brett figured the more he knew, the more likely he’d be able to connect to one of the sisters. “Why the house on Lake George?”
“The house was owned by a traitor to the North Korean Government. Savanah found him and his house for us.”
Brett didn’t want to think about what might have happened to the operative right this second. “So, why this mountain top?”
Hyun went back to chiseling away at his stick.
“There is an American man here… a military man who is in charge of an operation in North Korea. I have successfully captured one of his teams, but they are feeding us a bunch of lies, so I want Savanah to locate him, get me the information I need, and then I’ll kill him.”
The team that had been captured had been a SEAL team. The only bases close by were Army, but that didn’t mean anything when it came to special forces. “I think I can help, but I need to be able to touch both sisters.”
“Yeah, right. Do I look like I just fell off the turnip truck?”