Mechanically, my fingers tightened on Adam’s hand. “I kinda figured that out all by my little self.” My cheerful tone fell flat even to my ears.
Ronan nodded, pinched-lipped as ever. “Things will get worse.”
“Before they get better?” You’re just full of ominous clichés, aren’t you? “I get it.”
Adam squeezed my hand, released it. “What he’s trying to tell you,” he interjected, “is that my appearance may unnerve you.”
“You’ve already mesmerized me with multihued glowing eyes.” I tapped an index finger on my chin. “What’s one more link on the chain of weird?”
A random thread of Adam’s aura spilled outwards and dissolved on the brick porch, as if his aura was dying bit by bit. “Look at me, Aria. Here or in full light.”
Brushing my shoulder against Ronan’s chest, I forced him inside the woodland mansion. Fin raced to her bed beside a stone fireplace. A fire snapped and popped, spitting crimson and amber flames, its heat luring me closer. Adam voice-commanded the ceiling light to turn on, adding near daylight brilliance to the great room.
A triangular gouge in the polished hardwood floor drew my dread. Without squandering the last iota of endorphins this bizarre night had instilled in me, I faced Adam.
My gaze traveled his length, feet upwards. Loose khakis encased muscular thighs, slim hips, and a rumpled long sleeve dress shirt clung to an oddly familiar rippling abdomen and broad chest. Then I saw the skin of his hands. My smile died. A gray-violet cast tinted his skin. Dude, the sun shines in California, even in winter. Rent a tan.
The faint odor of fruitwood smoke irritated my nostrils and I tweaked my nose with a knuckle. I pressed my other hand against the hard knot forming in my stomach as my gaze honed in on his face.
He looked like Ronan’s identical twin, after a dip in a pool of bleach. And so much more.
My fried eyes blurred. “I’ve had enough of today.” Without waiting for an invite, I staggered toward a soft chenille couch in the center of the room.
Chapter 4
I awoke in a humongous bed, a heavy jewel-tone comforter knotted around me. Sunlight filtered through angled blind slats on one wall, which I gathered opened to a view of the woods and the muted creek gurgling and splashing nearby. I slanted a bleary glance at the clock. Already noon, I’d slept the morning away as if my problems didn’t include extinct sorcerer twins and a psychic pooch. Oh, yeah, count the Scrambler’s murder in my condo and Murph in his time-capsule suit. Oh, God. A groan slipped out and I rubbed my temples as the events of last night flooded my foggy brain.
After I’d crashed on the couch, Adam Freshfields guided me halfway-to-dead to the master bedroom, the only bedroom with a lock on the door. He’d chucked a couple of logs on the toasty fire in the bedroom and locked the door on his way out—not locking me in, but locking them out at my insistence.
Who was Adam Freshfields? Why did he look so like Ronan—if you looked past the corpse pallor—but have a different last name? Ronan had called Adam his friend, not brother.
Wary, I brushed my fingers over my stun gun under the pillow, glad it was still part of my arsenal. Shock shivered down to my toes as the realization sank in that I’d allowed myself to sleep in a house with two strangers. I slept deeply too, which begged me to believe my gut instincts that they had no nefarious plans to hurt me. Adam and Ronan’s auras tangoed so sweetly with mine, as if we were three parts of a whole. I never sensed a threat. In fact, the warmth of their protection and want wafted over me. Not wanted because of my strange abilities, but desired as part of a threesome. “Yeah, did I just think threesome?” I muttered. I’d never experienced that rash of aural warmth from anyone, not even my beloved mother and grandmother.
Refreshed energy vibrated along the sleepy nerve endings in my brain. My telekinetic receptors were working overtime to connect to Ronan and Adam in that strange way I’d experienced last night.
The air outside the covers was frigid, the fire stone-cold ash. I stretched out my legs, plucking the covers to my chin. My clothes lay in a heap on an overstuffed armchair by the windows. My travel bags sat between closed double doors and a carved mahogany dresser that matched the nightstands and four-poster bed. Seascape paintings in settings from dawn’s hazy light to star-spangled midnight’s ink covered the taupe walls. All painted by the same artist—someone I’d love to bribe. My condo had yards of wall space desperately begging for splashes of color. I might be a digital art student at San Jose State University, but wall art wasn’t exactly my specialty.
Rubbing my icicle arms, I worked the circulation from wrist to elbow, mentally preparing for the nightmare beyond the doors.
High-pitched yapping joined scratching paws on the door, alerting me to Fin’s presence. My head began to ache anew. Morbid thoughts of the dead men rose to the forefront of my mind. Focusing on Ronan, Adam, or Fin was far easier to process, even though they were all related, all a circuit on the same memory board. Fin whined and scratched again, forcing me to tackle the here and now.
Adam shushed her from behind the door. “Leave off, girl.”
“It’s okay.” Stun gun wrapped in my fingers and teeth chattering, I shoved off the comforter and ran to unlock the door. Without breaking stride, I dashed back to the bed and snuggled under the covers. “She can come in.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” Adam said in that curious flat monotone. “She hogs the bed.”
The dimple my body made in the gargantuan bed earned my head wobble. “Let ’er rip.” I piled up the pillows and leaned against the headboard.
Fin scrambled on the hardwood, sliding to the rug at the foot of the bed, landing with all four legs skewed like a newborn foal learning to stand. She—I refused to call Fin it—passed me a dog’s equivalent look of acute embarrassment. More human expressions than…well…Ronan flashed across the dog’s mug. Taking stock of her dignity, the pup leapt onto the bed. Barely palpable now, Fin’s weirdo energy felt more like an old comforting friend.
Adam remained in the doorway, and I hesitated to confront him either verbally or visually. You know what they say about De Nile being a river. With my mind buried in my surroundings, I pretended my life hadn’t flipped topsy-turvy, nor did I reside in the home of the lighter half of twin sorcerers who impersonated a human-sized, wingless fairy. The quick glimpse I’d stolen of Adam after I’d arrived had tattooed itself on my brain. I had a credible hunch he wasn’t dressed up for Halloween.
Fin’s earthy energy raised the hairs on my arms into a gentle sway. I’d never heard of psychic pets. Hell, with all the newfangled PSPs popping up, it wouldn’t surprise me if all living beings on Earth had paranormal ability. No wonder the NUW government kept beefing up PSP law enforcement with their newly minted Paranormal Vice Division, PVD for short.
Fin snuggled against me, and I rubbed my cheek over her silky fur. Static waved her hair against my skin. “What’s your story, little missy?”
Adam padded into the room, his weight sinking onto the edge of the bed. Scooting farther away, I feared looking at his face, scared to acknowledge my odd attraction to him. Afraid to confess I sensed a similar bond to Adam as I did to Ronan, despite the mesmerism stunt he’d pulled on me in the front yard. I scratched and rubbed my temple, trying to smooth out my confusion. As if they were two halves of a whole, I felt Ronan in Adam and vice versa. Worst of all, I feared the story, whether truthful or not, Adam and Ronan had yet to dump on me.
“Aria, look at me.” Adam’s low voice crept along my twitchy nerves.
My empty stomach clenched. Fin slobbered on my cheek, and I made a dodgeball play of slowly wiping my face on my shoulder.
Ronan sauntered in. “Room for one more?” he teased, a far cry from last night’s barbarian attitude. The tension in the room fractured.
The moment of reckoning had sprung. What was a girl to do when two gorgeous men wanted to leap into bed with her? I couldn’t be luckier sitting in a field of four-leaf clovers,
not a number thirteen in sight.
Ronan set two steaming mugs of coffee on the accent table between the chairs. He opened the blinds and dappled sunlight brightened the room. His butt took up residence on one of the empty armchairs by the windows.
The scent of caffeine ambrosia drifted to me and my stomach purred. How’d he know caramel mocha was my downfall? I hooked my stun gun on my thong for lack of a better hiding place. Still hedging, I flung off the covers. Fin lay splayed on the comforter, as if waiting for a bowl of popcorn and the main feature to start. I swung my legs over the edge, wintry air hitting my bare skin. “If you’re trying to freeze me into an Otter Pop, you’re doing a stellar job.”
“Sorry,” Adam replied, his voice devoid of emotion. “I need cool air.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him walk to the closet and pluck something off a hanger. I bucked up my resolve and jumped off the bed.
He froze, a gray sweatshirt dripping from his fingers. One second his skin glowed and his eyes shone brilliantly. Then it was if gray mist swallowed his vibrancy. That radiance had clued me in on his fae nature last night. No human ever gave off such innate, ethereal beauty. The fae had always fascinated me when I’d learned fairies and sorcerers were the last and strongest magical beings to roam Earth forever ago. Until now, it seemed.
I reached for the sweatshirt, my hand brushing against Adam’s hand. My crackling aura mingled with his the way it tangled with Ronan’s last night. Yet, he lacked something in his energy field, empty boxes that should be full. Parts of his body shimmered in and out of focus as if he fought with Satan to remain topside.
“Whoa,” I exhaled the word, fought my hand from its hormone overload and touching his solid, but faint right arm. “You’re disappearing.”
“I’m still here,” he said. “It’s some bizarre cloaking spell I tried that won’t stop trying to work.”
I tugged on the sweatshirt. Warm and smelling of fabric softener, it hung to my knees. I rolled the sleeves up to my wrists. Slowly, I raised a hand toward Adam’s face. “May I?” I didn’t know what compelled me, but my hands had to feel what my eyes were witnessing.
“Sure.” He smiled, shrugged.
Not a muscle budged as I stroked his cheek, traced the outline of his bones. His magical energy encouraged me to explore every inch of his muscular body. Did I just think that? Like I’d ever get the chance for a further arctic exploration. For now, I’d start with his face.
No hint of stubble marred his baby butt smooth chin. He had high cheekbones, a blade nose, and square jaw, mimicking Ronan’s facial features. I traced my thumb over his dry full lips, the color of putty. My thumb dipped into the crevice to the left of his mouth that stretched to a dimple when he smiled. A dimple lacking on Ronan. His gray eyes were flat, the pupils a shade darker than the irises, fringed by translucent lashes. His eyebrows matched his hair, which changed from clear to lavender and gray to white. I couldn’t tell if the color was changing or if all those colors tinted his hair.
His thick shoulder-length mane lacked sheen as if coated with powder, negatively setting off the wet-cement cast to his skin. If Adam weren’t kicking it in front of me, I’d swear death had called. Yet, he was very much alive. Our mingled auras could testify to that in a court of law.
He smelled of pine and meadow, edging the scant scent of smoke from the room. Every time part of him wavered in and out of sight, the crisp and fresh scent strengthened. Beautiful to me in so many ways I couldn’t explain, he was Ronan without the color of health and life.
I hugged my arms to my chest. His energy stroked my aura, leaving me in breathless confusion. Adam tucked an errant lock of hair behind his ear, and my gaze rested on his one ill-formed pointy ear. It looked as if Fin had nibbled on it at one time. His other ear was normal.
“I take it you’re not a Vulcan?”
He smiled in a boyishly shy way, his dimple coaxing a spark of vibrancy to his features. “Star Trek fan?”
“More of a Star Wars fan.” I had a gazillion questions. Corralling my thoughts, I studied a moonlit seascape painting on the wall to his right. Completely non-confrontational, his magical energy—on him it could be called nothing less than magic—screamed for my attention.
Ronan watched as if waiting for us to jump each other and do the nasty in front of him like we were trying out for a porno flick. All we needed was popcorn, Milk Duds, and soda. I sensed no threat from Ronan either, even in the electricity that always seemed to bristle beneath his tanned skin. It was as if he also felt the strange aural bond and wanted to see where it tugged all three of us.
“What ESP do you have?” I sifted my fingers through kinks in my bedhead.
He patted down a lock of swaying hair floating toward me. “I’ve never had ESP…before this happened.” He wanded his hand up and down in front of his delectable body. “Now…I’m not sure what abilities I have.”
I tilted my head. “Mesmerism?”
He winked and his smile spread to a captivating grin in response to the coil of energy I accidentally released. I about dissolved into a puddle. I hunched into the sweatshirt, hiding my body’s betrayal.
“Okay, so we’re done with the show part of show and tell.” I forced a glance over my shoulder at somber Ronan. “Let’s get on with the telling part.”
Adam’s aura fell flat, knocking the air out of me. I staggered, my eyes threatening to shoot nails at his lack of finesse in dealing with our intertwined energies. His form solidified as if humanity won that particular battle, the war still up for grabs.
He gripped my shoulders, steadying me. “Sorry. You okay?”
I eased away with a conciliatory smile. “Warn a girl, will ya?” My aura recoiled, leaving me bereft, as if someone had stolen a cherished keepsake out of my hands and flung it into the fireplace.
Adam’s throat bobbed. “I’m still learning…still getting used to—” He dug his hands in his front pants pockets, shot a glance at Ronan.
I pulled the sleeves of the sweatshirt over my freezing fingers. “What are you, twenty-one, two?” With a tween’s lack of control over extreme energy. His and Ronan’s auras, and mine for that matter, were beyond calculation if we could meld together. Fascination zoomed through me.
Ronan rose from his chair, a cup of coffee in one hand. “Twenty-one, same as me, you. We think he may also be descended from the fae,” he paused for emphasis, “and immortal. He may have a long time to grow into his powers.”
“Blood of one of the Forbidden,” Adam said hesitantly, gauging my response.
My hand slinked southward to rest on my stun gun. Shit was getting real. Hazily, I recalled my paranormal history class from high school. The powers-that-be at the time of the Abolishment had called anyone with magic the Forbidden. The Forbidden included witches, fairies, and sorcerers. All magical races had been extinct for centuries. If Adam was fae, then Ronan probably was too. If Ronan and I had the same telekinesis, was I part fairy or just…what? A sorcerer? The hollowness inside me tingled as if my body was ready to accept my true self. Or was I overreaching into the land of delusion?
Laugher erupted, a crazed sound I tried to push down. I pinwheeled my arms wildly. “I’m being punked right? Where’s the camera?” Hot anger bubbled up my chest, and my blood pressure shot to stroke zone.
Adam sank onto the bed, his sadness riding the air. He balled his ashen hands into fists on top of the comforter.
Time to schedule my brain surgery. My self-loathing became a palpable anchor in my aura. “Oh, God.” I pressed my fingers on my eyelids. “I’m sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about,” Ronan replied softly. “It’s my fault Adam’s the way he is.” He handed me a cup of coffee, the warmth barely penetrating my icy fingers.
Adam laughed roughly. “He’d love to believe he’s all that powerful.”
I sipped the coffee, savoring the caramel on my tongue, rinsing away the acid of epic confusion. “You promised to tell me everything.
” I had to exert mental pressure to prevent my energy from leaking out to party with Ronan’s aura. I usually didn’t have to fight to keep tabs on the stuff. It was normally instinctive. Yet, I’d never experienced anyone who oozed energy like Ronan and Adam.
“Clean up and we’ll eat.” Ronan finger-combed his damp hair, triggering a waft of citrus shampoo.
“I’ll warm the kitchen for you even if I have to strip to stand the heat.” Adam rose, tugged his wavering hair over his pointy ear.
A hot and cold shiver raced up my back at the idea of a naked Adam. He shared Ronan’s bodybuilder physique, but with skin tone that’d send the unwary into a mental freakout.
“Okay.” My stomach rumbled in loud agreement, and I mentally slapped it to and fro for intruding in the conversation.
They left the room and I locked the door behind them. Fin hopped off the bed, her toenails clacking on the hardwood floor behind me. I spun around. “A little privacy, huh?” I stooped and ruffled the fur on her neck, her cow eyes going round and sorrowful.
“Okay,” I said with fake exasperation. Dog voyeurism was the least of my problems. “Come in and keep to yourself.”
The pup stretched out in front of the tub, stared at a tiny splotch of crystalized tree sap on the slate floor, her mug averted. Okay, maybe she did get human-speak.
I turned on the tub water, squirted in lavender bubble bath I found under the sink. Swishing the water around, I dug deep into the box in my mind labeled NUW History 101. Unfortunately, the Ancient History 101 box had gotten lost somewhere while my mind tried to comprehend my ridiculous reality. History had never been my favorite subject.
A sigh escaped me as I sank into hot, bubbly heaven in the sumptuous jetted tub. Heat turned my muscles into mush. I drew forth the boring history lesson to satisfy that niggling doubt. There was a reason why the world had originally abolished the Forbidden, and it’d cropped up again during the change to the NUW reign.
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