by Dale Mayer
“They are a weakness. God, Matt here looks ridiculous with Darbo on his shoulder during the meetings.” Portman sneered. “Quite silly, really.”
“Not at all,” Matt said smoothly. “Darbo may look like a useless decoration, but he’s anything but.”
Portman stared at him, but Matt didn’t elaborate.
“A miscalculation on your part.” Genesis spoke up. “How did you find my cottage?”
He laughed. “I told you I can read energy signatures. This place is lit up with all of you here. You cloaked the cottage but not the inhabitants.”
Damn. She’d never thought to do that.
“Oh, I’m not leaving without the proof of ownership documents.”
“And what makes you think they are here?”
He laughed, the sound humorless and cold. “Of course they’re here. Your granny is related to Grandfather. There’s no other place they’d be safe. Grandfather can’t cross this threshold. Granny made sure of that a long time ago.” That laugh of his darkened. “But now that you removed the star charts, the barrier she set up has been weakened and now he can. Or in this instance – I can.”
Could she really be related to Grandfather? Her insides knotted in panic. Her mind screamed in denial.
Surely not. He despised her. His sister had sold her back to Granny. No, it didn’t make any sense. Unless there was no blood there. Maybe Grandfather belonged to Granny’s husband, but not her. Although Genesis hadn’t heard anything of Granny having been married, it didn’t mean such a thing hadn’t been possible. She’d had a child at some point, although she refused to talk about it. The girls never did get an explanation of what happened.
Yet if they were related…it might explain how Grandfather came to think the land was his. Maybe he thought he’d inherit. Maybe he’d assumed he owned it – or worse yet, maybe he did own it.
No. If he owned the land in town, then he also owned the land around the forests, and that he hadn’t claimed. The deed was clear – it was all the same parcels and ownership. There’d been no subdividing up of the quarters. It was all Granny’s and had been given to her and her sisters. But Granny had been gone for a year now. Maybe he was prepared to stake a claim after all this time, thinking there was no paperwork available.
Did he have a bigger claim over granddaughters?
Surely not, when the documents stated the property belonged to the three of them. She reached up a hand to her throbbing head and closed her eyes.
“Genesis?” Connor asked briefly, his hand landing on her shoulder to massage gently. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “I’m not related to Grandfather.” She wasn’t. She didn’t know how or why, but she knew she wasn’t his kin.
“Damn right, you’re not. Why do you think he’s so pissed off over you now trying to stake a claim on his land?”
She glanced over at Matt, seeing the same puzzled look on his face that she felt. “That’s because I am Granny’s kin – but not Grandfather’s. I don’t know what line of bull he fed you, but that crap can stop here.”
“Ha.” Portman Junior pulled a small object out from his pocket and held it up.
Crap. She stumbled backwards.
A black rock.
“See, besides seeing energy, I have an affinity for the Glory rocks. They are great little indestructible things. And when I combine my senses with it, I can see energy in a way other people can’t.”
Genesis stared at the rock in his hand. He wielded the black rocks?
“What ability do they have on their own?” Matt asked. He stood up and took a step toward Genesis.
“I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you,” Portman Junior said, a big, manic grin on his face. “These rocks are all about negative energy. They aren’t your typical nice, positive-vibe kind of rock. Like everything in life, this is the polar opposite. Just like my abilities. I work dark energy – like these rocks.”
Genesis was repelled but intrigued. She worked energy more than many people. She understood the difference between positive and negative energy in a big way, but she didn’t understand these.
“But this isn’t like the rest of the rocks on Glory.”
He laughed coldly. “No, of course not. I made this one. It does take a bit of time and effort for bigger rocks, but I’ve found it to be very helpful to keep one around.”
Of course. She stared at him and the rock, her mind connecting the dots. That was why the pools had been so agitated. The negative energy of the rock skewed the healing balance. At one point, in its own effort to return to normal, the rock would be trying to reverse the process and become positive again. But the requirement to do so was energy. And that meant positive energy. Either by stealing a little bit from everything around it, which in turn caused all those rocks, plants, waters to turn and seek out more positive energy to reassert their own balance, or by taking a lot of positive energy from one thing.
Like a man.
Like Bernie.
“You tried to kill him with that?” she whispered.
“Not at all. The rock from the pools couldn’t take the energy from the water as it’s too highly charged in positive ions, so it was looking for the closest source of energy it could access. As I’m the one who removed the energy, it knew human energy would be a most realistic source. Besides, Bernie was supposed to throw the rock in the pool and run, but like an idiot he forgot the last part of his instructions.”
Connor coughed softly. Not enough to catch Portman’s attention and interrupt his egotistical monologue, but enough for Genesis to look his way and catch Matt studying Connor’s face at the same time. She readied herself for action. She just had no idea what form it would take.
She did know the rock would decimate them if they didn’t act now.
She shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and leaned forward slightly. And felt Remi slip his hand into hers. Right. Then she remembered what she’d done last time. Using Remi’s energy, she carefully sent out probes of energy to wrap the black rock up and defuse the weapon.
Portman stared down at the rock. “What the hell? What’s wrong?” he cried. “It’s getting hot.”
“Hot? Why would it get hot?” Matt asked. “Why would it have any temperature for that matter?”
“It’s supposed to be cool. Absence of light. Absence of anything.”
Portman lifted his gaze to Matt and studied him intently.
Shit. He was searching for the energy flow, but hopefully, with all of them in the small cottage, he couldn’t see who was working energy. Turning away slightly, she shut off the flow of energy in her hand, hoping he couldn’t see. In order to distract him, she said, “You have to leave. Now. Or else that rock will destroy all of us.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” he snapped. “You’re going to give me the damn documents I need, or I’m going to use this rock on both Connor and Matt.”
She turned back to face him, her actions slow, studied. “Oh no, you’re not.”
He laughed and tossed the rock at Matt. “Here…catch.”
Instinctively, Matt held out his hands and the rock landed in his hand.
“Good thing you caught it, Matt. It’s a small bomb if dropped.”
The smile on his lips never reached his eyes. Genesis shivered. She could easily imagine the damage if that rock had been dropped. That meant he didn’t care who or what survived.
She had to get him out of here before Granny’s life’s work exploded in the blast.
For the first time, she fully realized that maybe the star charts and documents should be in the Paranormal Center. They’d be safe there. Providing all this mess could be handled first.
Her mind twisted on the possibilities, searching for a solution.
And came up blank.
*
Connor stared at a man he’d known for years and yet hadn’t ever known. How could anyone have seen this? There had been a sour displeasure at the world around him, but Connor hadn’t seen th
is darkness inside.
He had to wonder if it wasn’t a result of creating these black rocks. As if the very act of causing so much damage in other things caused the very same damage in himself.
“These rocks are killing you, Portman,” he said quietly, his gaze studying the gray cast to the man’s skin, the early graying of the man’s hair – a man within several years of Connor’s own age. Then there was the odd shine to Portman’s gaze. A fanatical, obsessed look.
“Like hell, but go ahead and try to convince me to give it up,” he snickered.
Connor shook his head. “No point. You don’t want to hear anything I have to say. As far as you’re concerned, I’m not even here.”
“You’re a broken old model that should have been discarded last year when you lost your abilities. It was foolish of you to let her do that to you.”
Connor felt rather than saw Genesis start of surprise. “Stooping to eavesdropping now, are you?”
“I was sitting on the deck a little farther down. Could hardly miss that conversation. Not to mention it was pretty damn obvious she’d kinked your abilities the same as she’d put you in a kink.” And he laughed raucously at his own joke.
The door behind Portman Junior slammed shut.
His laughter cut off, and he swiveled to look behind him.
“Genesis.”
From the corner of his eye, Connor watched as Matt tossed the black rock to Genesis before slumping weakly against the wall.
Time to act. Arm back, he launched forward and drove his fist into Portman’s face.
Portman Junior slammed backward against the closed door. Connor was on him in an instant. Bigger and stronger, Connor had him down in seconds, but Portman was meaner.
He pulled out a second black rock and held it against Connor’s hand.
“Christ!” He pulled his hand away, but where there’d been pink and warm flesh before there was a white circle the size of the rock. With his good hand, he kept Portman Junior pinned to the ground at the neck, his thumb pushing into a chokehold spot in the man’s throat.
A paw covered his injured hand and something hot jetted into his skin. Burning. Cooling. Healing. An animal shape wavered at eye level. He couldn’t make out anything clearer.
“Who the hell is that?” Portman snapped. “Jesus, what’s wrong with you people? Dirty animals freakin’ everywhe—”
Connor dug his thumb in deeper. “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.”
Portman Junior choked back the next words, but his gaze spoke volumes.
“I have men coming,” Matt said, standing in front of them. “Can you hold him until then? Sorry, I’m still recovering.”
“No problem,” Connor said through gritted teeth. “I’m more than happy to.”
“Won’t matter,” Portman Junior snapped. “Grandfather will get me out of here.”
“Yeah,” Genesis said in a dry tone. “Which grandfather?”
Silence.
Then Portman started laughing, the sound maddened by the energy abuse. Connor stared down at him in disgust. “That’s what comes from playing with things you don’t understand.”
Portman Junior snickered. “You haven’t a clue. Look to your side piece. She’s the one you don’t understand.”
Asshole. Still, there were enough things being said this last day to make things a little fuzzy. He trusted Genesis. But what did he trust her to do? Protect Granny’s life work? Save Remi? Save herself?
Slowly, he looked over at Matt to see him busy on his phone, then he studied Genesis. She stood on guard, waiting. Watching as if to see where she could help or waiting for something else to happen.
As he watched, some of the animal energy slipped from her side toward him. He frowned, confused, as the energy glow became brighter, stronger. A golden lab appeared in the mists in front of him. A dog that looked very familiar.
He shook his head, glancing back down at Portman, who was still giggling madly. “You don’t even know. You poor, lovesick idiot.”
“What don’t I know?” Connor shook the man. “What?”
“It’s your own spirit animal. Your disbelief leaves it disconnected. Unloved. Unattached. So it came to the one who was open to it. Willing to heal it. Willing to give it a life.”
Connor glared down at Portman Junior. “Not possible. He died a long time ago.”
“And sometimes when the bond is so strong, they become a spirit animal. But you didn’t want that. You didn’t care.”
“That’s not true. I cared too much.” And for that moment, he was a kid again, lost in the joy of having the best dog in the world. A dog just for him. An animal who loved him. Someone for him to love.
He’d cared so much back then.
Could it really be Kona? God, he’d loved that dog. He’d been completely devastated when he’d died in a car accident. He cast his mind back to those dark days. Days when he’d been inconsolable and determined to not be hurt like that again.
As truth after truth slammed into him, he felt his foundation shift. Memories rippled through his mind, replaying the effect of that decision. He’d never seen Kona again – afraid he wasn’t real – and afraid he’d be hurt again if he did acknowledge his presence. For the same reason, he’d walked away from Genesis. It was better to be the one who walked and not the one who’d been walked out on.
He stared at Genesis. Was it the same thing? Had he lost all he’d cared about simply because he didn’t want to believe? His beloved pet dog of so long ago? A tremor rippled down his spine at the ghostly image in front of him. Had he lost her because once again he hadn’t trusted? Not in Kona. Not in Remi. Not in her. Not in what they’d had.
Even now, he’d wavered because of Mason’s words. Portman’s accusations. His own insecurities.
Christ. He bowed his head.
What the hell had he done?
Chapter 36
Standing with her back to Connor and Portman, Genesis pondered the conversation going on behind her. Interesting that everyone appeared to be blaming her for his loss of abilities. It was her fault, but not for the reason they all believed. She had no choice in the matter. She’d also thought it could be the natural order of things. But apparently, that order had changed. And he wouldn’t appreciate the way it was now. Not if he didn’t love her.
She also had no idea how to handle it.
High above the cottage, she heard the sound of a hovercraft approaching. She walked around the men on the floor, so still and so accusing she could barely hold the tears back, and opened the door. She opened up the cloaking energy to allow them to land. She had no wish to have anyone here anymore. They could all leave. And the sooner the better.
She’d learned several major lessons this last year, and they’d all brought her closer to understanding Granny. There was much to find in this cottage, and for the first time, she realized this was a journey she needed to take.
For herself.
For her sisters. She’d send them a message now. Give them an update. Let them decide if they stayed away or came home.
They had much pain to face here. Now she understood. She’d face hers and walk forward alone. As she always had. She didn’t know if that would be alone or not. She had no idea where she stood with Connor. Or where he wanted her to be in his life. There’d been so many revelations and accusations, she had to wonder if he knew either.
As she waited for the hovercraft to land, she worked on closing up the gap in the energy behind them. She didn’t want anyone else here than those that needed to be here. At the moment, she was thinking that closing her shop and apartment down might be the best, too. She’d become a hermit like Granny. At least until things died down a little.
She tilted her face up to the sunlight, feeling the burning tears threatening to fall. They weren’t going to. She wouldn’t let them.
“Planning to hide away after this?” Matt murmured behind her.
“How did you know?” she said quietly.
�
��I suspect it’s what your granny did. She saw a little too much of the dark side of society and decided to dedicate her life to her star charts.”
The tears burned hotter. Genesis shook her head. “No. She dedicated her life to me and my sisters. She had nothing to be ashamed of in that.”
“He’ll learn the truth eventually, you know.”
“Will he?” She couldn’t stop the snort of disbelief. “I wonder when. I went through this a year ago. Now again. I’m good. I don’t need to go through this a third time.”
“Did you know it was his spirit dog?”
“No,” she said softly. “Granny collected lost spirit animals like she collected us orphans. There were many here over the years. She found homes for some, and some disappeared when she passed. They’d become hers and left when she did.”
The hovercraft sounded louder and louder. They watched it crest over the trees.
“That’s very special.”
“She was.”
“He just needs to learn the truth.”
“He needs to find out the truth himself.”
And with her words, the hovercraft settled down in the front of the cottage. Portman, Portman Senior, and Grandfather all exited the front cab.
Outraged, she turned to face Matt. “You were supposed to take the enemy away. Not bring them here.”
He shook his head, confusion and anger blistering his face. “They weren’t supposed to come here at all.”
“Shit,” she said softly. “It’s the wrong hovercraft.”
She closed her eyes and chanted silently for her grandmother’s charms to work their magic and protect her cottage and the precious heritage inside. Only it wasn’t working. Portman Junior inside had busted the seal wide open. He was a negative energy she couldn’t oust – at least not in time.
“Hurry,” she cried. “We need to get him out of the cottage.”
Opening the door, she motioned to Connor. “Get him out here, now,” she screamed.
He stood, hauling Portman Junior upward. Thrusting him in front, he shoved the other man outside. As soon as the door closed behind them, she started again. Calling to Remi and Darbo and her sisters, her grandmother long dead, she closed the energy barrier and just as the men reached her…