by Christi Snow
“Good, we’ll all do this with our left hands. Let’s sit on the ground in a circle under the tree that way we’re in touch with the positive energy coming from the Earth, too.”
They sat in a small circle in the cushiony moss layering the ground under the large oak tree. Lori was surprised when she sat at just how warm the ground seemed to be especially after the cold spell.
Marcus must have heard her mental question. “The underground spring leading to the falls runs under here, so the ground is warmer in this area of the village,” he told her.
Brooklyn set up a small pedestal in the middle of the circle where they sat. Each of them sat with their legs crossed so their knees lightly touched. The circle was so tight Lori would easily be able to touch Brooklyn who sat directly across from her if she wanted to.
Placing two pieces of cloth in front of each of them, she instructed, “One of these is for the alcohol to prep your hand. Once you’ve prepped, don’t touch anything with that hand. Each person needs to cut their hand and let their blood drip into the chalice. When all our blood is present, I’ll say the incantation, and then you’ll use the other clean cloth to soak up a bit of the mixed blood and rub it back into the cut. That should mingle our blood with minimum contamination. Here are bandages for after.” She passed around several strips of gauze. “And no one get overzealous with this. We don’t need a ton of blood. Just a few drops. Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Is everyone ready?”
They nodded. Griff cleansed his hand, made the first cut, and then pressed his blood into the chalice. He passed the bloody knife to Lori, who glanced questioningly at Brooklyn.
“That’s fine,” Brooklyn told her. “That will just strengthen the ceremony.”
Lori bit her bottom lip as she cleansed her palm and then ran the blade across it. The blade was sharp, so she barely felt it as it slid effortlessly into her skin. As the blood welled on her palm, tingles radiated out over her hand similar to the ones she felt when she used her energy manipulation. Tiny pinpricks of energy dug through her nerves. She reached out to let the blood drip into the chalice when Griff gasped.
“What?” Panic zinged. “Did I do it wrong?”
“Your eyes are glowing,” he said.
“It’s okay,” Marcus reassured him. “That’s what they do when she taps into the Earth’s energy.” He nodded at her. “Keep going.”
She refocused on her hand and the blood dripping into the chalice, and then handed the knife to Marcus. He and Brooklyn both did the same.
Brooklyn stirred the blood four times, chanting, “Earth, Air, Fire, Water. Four elements. Four souls. All seeking unity.” She tapped the stick to the edge and then instructed, “Okay, dip your cloths, then touch the blood to the cut on your hand.”
Suddenly apprehensive, Lori did as instructed. When the bloody cloth touched her hand, sparks spread throughout her chest and limbs, snatching her breath as the feeling spread. It lasted only a few seconds, but the sensation left her gasping for air. Jerking her head back she met Marcus’s shocked green gaze, now electric green. Oh wow, his eyes glowed now.
“Holy shit!” Griff exclaimed and she looked over to him and Brooklyn. Both their eyes glowed, too. Everyone sat there frozen in surprise.
“Um, Brooklyn,” she whispered. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to hide this from Malcolm.” She’d never seen her eyes do this when she used her power. No wonder people freaked out when they saw it. This was weird.
“Is everyone okay?” Brooklyn’s voice shook. They all nodded. “Okay, bandage up and then we’ll take stock of exactly what we’ve accomplished here besides radioactive retinas.”
Lori took a deep breath and tried to control the sudden shakiness in her limbs when out of the blue, an onslaught of emotions hit her. She swayed. Marcus grabbed her elbow to steady her.
“Whoa. I think maybe that worked.” She closed her eyes for a moment, working to raise some mental shields until she could deal with the sudden cacophony in her head. “I can feel you all,” she whispered. “It’s like you’re in my head with me.”
Brooklyn’s eyes were wide. “Yeah, I think that may have worked too well.”
“We should have just had sex,” Griff commented.
Both Brooklyn and Lori slugged him on each shoulder since they sat on either side of him.
“Hey, maybe this thinking alike isn’t so bad,” Brooklyn grinned across to Lori.
“I think it’s going to take some getting used to,” Lori said.
“What about the eyes?” Griff asked.
Marcus had been watching Lori with concern, but he looked away from her now. “For Lori, it usually fades within an hour. I’m guessing it will be the same for us.”
“Let’s hope,” Brooklyn intoned. “Or else Malcolm is going to skin me alive.”
Lori chuckled. “You talk like he’s an ogre.”
“When it comes to using magic and the Earth for things like this versus his tried-and-true science? You better believe it. There’s no arguing with the man. He fully believes in what his science books tell him, not his intuitions. Which is sad because the man has some righteous natural healing skills if he would just relax and use them.”
“Brooklyn…” Marcus warned.
She lifted both hands in supplication. “I know, I know. It’s an old argument I’m never going to win, so I should just drop it.”
Griff looked at the three of them warily. “So, now what do we do?”
Brooklyn hopped up, excited. “I say we start our workout again and see just how well we work as a team now.”
* * *
The good news was Brooklyn’s experiment worked extremely well, maybe too well. It was several hours later and Lori had just eaten. Unfortunately, Griff hadn’t and she could feel his hunger pulsing at her, telling her to eat again.
This went beyond normal telepathy. All four of them were experiencing life through four different bodies at the same time. It became more than a little disorienting. Brooklyn kept saying that she thought the effect would lessen as the mixed blood filtered throughout their bloodstreams. Lori hoped so. She couldn’t eat every time one of them got hungry. She’d weigh three hundred pounds in just a few months.
There were also no secrets anymore.
She had discovered Griff had a lead for finding his older brother, Brock, who had disappeared years ago. The lead had come from a lover the two brothers unknowingly shared. Ugh.
Brooklyn was secretly in love with Malcolm and desperate to keep the fact hidden since he didn’t return her feelings.
And Marcus hated the Predators because a former lover had been killed by one. He planned to explain it all to her later tonight. But from what she’d seen of his thoughts, she understood the depth of his pain and the vague references she’d heard throughout the village.
Suddenly, his extreme reactions to the Predator made complete sense. She never should have judged him so harshly. In her heart, she should have known he wasn’t the bad guy that she cast him as. That hadn’t been fair of her to place the judgment for her tormentors onto him.
And those were just the secrets she’d found passing through their heads randomly this afternoon. Who knew what else would be revealed before this was over?
She glanced warily at the other three. All of them sat stiff and uncomfortable with the change of events. Not only had they signed up for a very dangerous mission together, but they had unknowingly entered into a bond beyond anything they expected. They were most definitely tied to each other, tied together by secrets and that made Lori uncomfortable. Who knew what secrets they were discovering of hers? And damn, Griff didn’t even like her. Not good. This wouldn’t work, not unless they all wanted to die.
“Okay, everybody up.” Lori clapped her hands and then pointed at Griff. “Grab an energy bar before I gnaw my own arm off.”
Brooklyn giggled.
“What?” Griff asked defensively.
“We can all feel how hungry you are and it’s distra
cting. Let’s go. Everybody grab some water and your weapons.”
They exchanged glances and warily did as she suggested. They followed along as Lori led them away from the farm area and deeper into the forest. “The purpose of this whole thing was to help our telepathy and team work. We’re going to work as teams. Brooklyn, you’re with Marcus. Griff and I will be the other team.”
“Why are we working as a team?” Griff scowled as he munched on his snack.
“Because you and I have the least ability to work together. We need to fix that.”
“So, what’s the objective?” Marcus asked, a competitive gleam in his eye.
Lori thought for a moment. What could they go after that would provide a challenge to the four of them? Inspiration struck. “Aaron is the objective. Steal something personal of his without getting caught. Whichever team loses has to make dinner.”
The three Warriors looked a bit leery about going after their boss as the goal so Lori offered a suggestion. “Brooklyn, send a message to Bethany and tell her what we’re doing. She’ll be able to keep Aaron from killing any of us. But she can be the only one that knows we’re up to something. No getting help from anyone else to act as a diversion.”
She glanced between them, sensing the mix of humor, trepidation, and adventure. “Everyone has one hour from now. At that time, meet below Bethany’s house so we can return the items and Aaron can determine who stole the most valuable item. Everyone game?”
The three Warriors nodded. Marcus and Brooklyn took off into the air. Griff stared at Lori with a scowl. “So how do you suggest we proceed with this?” he sneered.
Lori held one finger up to stall him as the other two flew farther away. She tilted her head, listening as Marcus and Brooklyn made plans to break into Aaron’s house.
Griff rolled his eyes in annoyance.
When Marcus and Brooklyn’s mental exchange became weaker, Lori instructed him. “Take me a hundred yards farther away, and then we’ll see if we can make plans without them hearing all the details.”
He crossed his arms. “And just why are you in charge?”
“I’m not, Griff, but don’t you want to win?” Without waiting for him to respond, she continued, “We have a better shot at winning if they don’t hear our plans. And maybe we’ll be able to sabotage their plans at the same time, because while you were busy grumbling, I could hear what they’re doing.”
He raised an eyebrow and then the corner of his lip quirked up. “I like the sounds of that. Okay.” He seemed to reach a decision to trust her. “Besides, Brooklyn makes a great stew.”
He picked her up and flew her farther away from the village. Built a lot like Marcus, Griff was tall and muscular. But unlike Marcus, Griff had a hard, angry edge to his personality. She wondered how much of that could be blamed on his brother’s desertion and how much of it was because he stayed so disconnected. From what Lori could tell, the only reason he even remained around people was his loyalty to Marcus. They had a deep bond, but it seemed to be the only one that Griff allowed himself.
“Stop,” he growled.
“Stop what?”
“Stop psychoanalyzing me and just accept that I don’t trust you. There’s nothing deeper to it than that.”
Well, he put things bluntly, but curiously that didn’t hurt her feelings. He wanted to protect Marcus and she could respect that. “I can live with that. I’ll prove you wrong over time. In the meantime, you have to get over yourself and find a way to work with me. Suck it up and deal, because I’m here to stay.”
He gave a sharp nod and descended into the trees. “Do you think we’ve gone far enough?”
“I think so.” She could still sense the other two, but they weren’t as clear in her head. With their new connection, that was probably as good as it got.
When he set her down, she began to gather small sticks from the ground and stuck them in various pockets of her clothing.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
She grinned at him. “I’m gathering my weapons.”
He tossed up his arms and began to pace, muttering, “She can’t fly and she’s crazier than a bat. I might as well put on my apron now.”
“Relax, fly-boy. I got this, I promise. It’s not as crazy as it seems.” She searched the ground for one more object. Ah, there they were. Two perfect leaves. She smoothed them and placed them in her back pocket.
Griff continued to rant to himself.
“Tell me, what’s the one thing Aaron cherishes above all else?”
He stopped pacing and pivoted to face her. “I don’t know. Aaron’s not that materialistic of a guy. Whatever it is, he probably keeps it in his bedroom somewhere and if we’re going to get there and break in, we need to hurry, because we’re wasting time.”
She held a hand up to stop him. “That’s what Brooklyn and Marcus are doing. I’m thinking we can set them up so he catches them in the act and we steal his most precious valuable.”
His jaw clenched. “And you know Aaron so well that you know his most precious belonging is?”
She nodded. “I think I do, yes.” She paused for effect. “One word—Bethany.”
He blinked at her open-mouthed for a moment and then stammered. “You want to steal Bethany out from under Aaron. Are you suicidal?”
“Not in the least, no, but I have a plan that I think will work.”
Griff groaned. “We’re totally going to die, and I so didn’t want the last person I see to be you.”
“The feeling is mutual big guy, but don’t worry.” She patted him on the chest. “We got this and no one will get hurt.” She explained her plan and by the time she finished, he grinned at her.
“Let’s do this.”
* * *
The sweat dripped down the small of Marcus’s back as Brooklyn cursed under her breath inside Aaron’s tree house. He stood in the shadows outside the door, watching the remaining Warriors go through their exercises. Bethany sat off to the side, attending to some reading and paperwork. Since the Warriors main job included protecting her, she went with them everywhere, even when they trained. Occasionally she would glance up and watch Aaron and the Warriors work, and then scan the forest for activity. But he guessed since she’d been instructed to keep Aaron from killing any of them, she probably knew something brewed in the area.
Brooklyn worked to pick the lock of a chest at the foot of Aaron’s bed. From the sounds of it, she wasn’t having a lot of luck.
He could sense Griff and Lori nearby, but they’d put up heavy shields to keep them from knowing what they’d planned. The timing of this exercise couldn’t have been worse. This time of the day, the Warriors trained in the field behind Aaron’s home. He and Brooklyn had caught a lucky break and been able to sneak in while Aaron worked, but he wasn’t sure how they were going to get out. And they needed to hurry. They didn’t want Aaron to catch them breaking into his stuff. Exercise or not, he would not be amused.
“Do you need some help?” he asked.
“No.” Brooklyn’s mental voice echoed with stress from her effort, “I’ve almost got it, I think.”
A loud screeching reverberated from the house at the same time that Brooklyn squealed, “I got it!”
He cringed, but no one out in the field seemed to have heard the sound. “Hurry up, Brooklyn, we have to get out of here and our hour is about up. Just grab something.”
“No problem. I found the perfect thing. It looks like some sort of journal. Are you ready for me to come out?”
The Warriors continued to spar.
“Yes, let’s go,” Marcus instructed her.
Just as Brooklyn stepped out of the door, a loud rumbling began underground. The Earth trembled and the entire tree shook. The two of them grabbed hold of the railing to avoid falling off the platform. When Brooklyn did so, she dropped the red leather bound book. At the same time, a six inch wide crack opened in the ground from where the Warriors sparred to where the book now rested on the forest floor.
Aaron scowled as he strode forward. He reached down and picked up the book, taking a moment to brush his fingers against the dirt where the ground had closed back up. “You broke into my house?” His voice sounded low and angry as he lifted the book to them.
“Bethany can explain,” Brooklyn said. The three of them glanced over to where Bethany had been sitting, but she had disappeared. Only her pile of paperwork remained.
“Sound the alarm!” Aaron yelled to the other Warriors.
“No, Aaron, stop! I’m pretty sure she’s fine.” Marcus tried not to shrink in the face of his extremely angry boss, who looked ready to lop his head off. “Um, it was an exercise for the team. I’m pretty sure she’s probably back at the base of her tree house. Just check in with her, Aaron. I’m sure she’s there.”
“Oh, man,” Brooklyn murmured. “That takes balls. Why didn’t we think to steal Bethany? That’s perfect.”
The grinding of Aaron’s teeth echoed over the quiet glade. “She’s there.” They could all hear the relief in his voice. “You two had better hope and pray to the Goddess that she’s completely unharmed and then I expect a damn good explanation for all of this. In the meantime,” Aaron turned back to Eric, who stood quietly beside him, and instructed, “cuff them.”
Eric’s eyes widened in shock, but he stepped forward to follow the orders. All the Warriors carried cuffs for wrists and bindings for wings when they needed to restrain anyone. Rarely did that ever happen, though. Aaron made a statement by doing so now with two of the Warriors, the elite class of fighters within their society. This meant they would march across the forest floor in disgrace to Bethany’s home so the entire village would see them.
Marcus closed his eyes. Damn, Aaron was pissed. But he couldn’t help the tiny surge of pride. Lori never ceased to amaze him.
* * *