The Storm Sullivan Saga: The Emerald Seer Series Box Set

by Violet Patterson

  The shower did wonders, but the dreams nagged at Ryder’s conscience, how did he know the girl’s face? He shrugged it off, probably just imagined it in from the photographs at Willow Wood, some trick of his subconscious. Hell, Ryder did not even remember her name, something odd, Spring or Autumn, Rain maybe? He would find out soon enough. Ryder threw on a long-sleeved, black thermal shirt and his favorite Express jeans minus the belt. He would need all of his, er, assets today.

  Rosalee and Lucian were laughing in the kitchen when he walked in. The scent of coffee hung in the air, overpowering even Rosalee’s gardenia perfume, not an easy task. Lucian’s face lit up when Ryder entered though the effects of the prior evening remained evident in the dark circles beneath his eyes.

  “I see you borrowed some clothes. By all means, help yourself.”

  “Well, brother, you were clearly too indisposed to be bothered with such a mundane question. I peeked in your room and you were snoring like a hibernating bear.” Lucian raised an eyebrow, “are we going somewhere this early?”

  “If you would accompany me, I would be most appreciative. Your particular skills could be useful where I am going. Get dressed and I will explain on the way.” Ryder nodded toward Rosalee, “Sorry to deprive you of Lucian’s company Rose, I think he will be around for a while though. Could you have some extra clothes set up in the guest suite for him?”

  “Of course, Boss. Thanks for the chat, Lucian, I look forward to another very soon.” She winked and flipped her hair seductively before sashaying out of the kitchen. Lucian had the decency to wait until she was well out of earshot before letting out a long, low whistle.

  “That woman is smokin’, brother. Have you partaken of her fruits at all?” When Ryder shook his head disbelief colored Lucian’s face, “How is that possible? If you would have waited ten more minutes you’d have found her bent over the counter and well in the throes of passion with yours truly. She’s got something.”

  “Yes, she does, she has eight somethings in fact. You are not the paternal type, Lucian. I would strongly suggest you avoid bending that one over my counter – for more reasons than one. Now stop stalling and get ready. We have an errand to run before we meet the others and it will be questioned if we are not timely.”

  “Has anybody told you that you are awfully cranky in the morning? Maybe you just need to get laid, brother. How long has it been?”

  Ryder cast Lucian a warning look and pointed in the direction of his room, “Dress now, talk later.”

  Lucian grabbed an apple from the bowl on the butcher’s block island and sauntered out the door. Ryder ignored the grumbling that disappeared with his friend. He helped himself to a mug of Columbian and stared out the wall of windows to the woods at the side of his property. The sun’s rays broke through random thin spots in the trees. The leaves seemed to dance in the light breeze. He longed to run the length of the wood, feeling the branches cutting his arms and cheeks, the smell of dampness and sap surrounding him. Trin had run with him once, her laughter carried through the trees and enveloped him. She’d found it exhilarating. They stopped in a clearing and mated like true creatures of the forest. Trin told him that night. Confessed her truth reluctantly. Ryder had replayed the conversation a hundred times, relived the crushing sensation of her words. He might have saved her if she’d been the one. If she had the power she would be alive to run the forest with him, her flaming hair trailing behind as he gave chase.

  “Brother, where are you? I thought we had a job to do but you seem more than a little dazed. Coffee is supposed to jump start your day, not send you into a stupor.” Lucian stood a few feet away, suspicion and curiosity warring on his face. “I think it is time you filled me in. Something is obviously up and if you want my help I need the whole story.”

  “Lucian, I need to see about a girl.”

  “Now you are speaking my language. Let’s go pick up a couple of ladies and have a day with them.”

  “No, I have to go see about a specific girl. Trin Sullivan’s niece was in the club last night. I felt something in her. I think there is another Sullivan Seer. And she has the book we need.”

  Lucian leaned against the counter and grabbed another apple. He bit into it and wiped the excess juice from his face before speaking. “Brother, you better figure this out fast. If Roane gets wind of it he will not wait to hear your theories, he will take her out.”

  Ryder frowned. He’d thought of that too. Still, Ryder had studied the Sullivans for years and it seemed highly doubtful that Roane even knew about the book. “He will not know. She left before they arrived - two seraphs took her out as we entered.” Ryder looked Lucian in the eye and suddenly understood why the others never realized the girl had the Sight. He backpedaled and nearly dropped the coffee cup. “Of course, the seraphs. Trin said that her niece had two close friends, males who would lay down their lives for her. The seraphs not only protected her physically, they shielded her spirit. We will have no idea what power she has unless we separate her from the seraphs which I suspect will be challenging.”

  “Seraphs? Hell, Ry, what have you gotten mixed up in here? This girl has to be special if she has two seraphs as protectors. This is going to be fun. I haven’t taken on a seraph in ages!” Lucian’s eyes flared with excitement and Ryder caught a glance of the flame within his friend.

  “Lucian, we cannot harm the seraphs, if they protect the girl and she is what I believe her to be, then she needs them. You cannot let the flame out today.” Ryder felt like a parent scolding a naught child. Lucian mocked him with a faux pout before grudgingly agreeing to keep his affinity in check. “Besides, I am merely slipping in to read her spirit and find out where she put the book, if she even knows about it. I need the proof if she truly is the Emerald.”

  “Who would have guessed? After all this time you may have stumbled on the Emerald Seer. Funny that you extinguished her whole line first.” Lucian took the last bite of his apple. Ryder opened the oak cabinet door that hid his garbage can and Lucian chucked the core in with a graceful fade-away. He mimicked the sound of a crowd cheering and bowed comically. Ryder chuckled, he missed Lucian and it felt good to share his burden.

  “Alright, if you will behave yourself, you can drive. Pick a car, any car.”

  Lucian looked like a kid in a candy store, a wide, mischievous grin upon his face. After a few moments of indecision he settled on a vintage Corvette, cherry red with a black leather interior and several customizations. Lucian drove fast, very fast. They arrived at the gates of Willow Wood much sooner than Ryder was prepared to. Their plan remained simple, Lucian just need to distract the seraphs long enough for Ryder to get a read on the girl and then it would pretty much be a ‘run like hell’ situation. There would not be enough time for a true fight if they wanted to be on time for lunch. Ryder clarified with Lucian more than once and ascertained his inner flame remained in check.

  They parked the car up the road and scaled the wall taking two different angles to the main house. Lucian knocked first, rang the doorbell, waited, then knocked again. Ryder felt them before he saw them. The door opened and a voice like tinkling bells in his ears greeted Lucian with indifference.

  “Greetings, Immortal. To what do we owe this pleasure?” The voice’s owner stepped out onto the drive, his face only half obstructed by the potted shrub beside the entry – definitely one of the seraphs from the previous evening. The other one had not emerged but Ryder could sense him just inside the door. Ryder stretched his sense for the girl, must be in the study. Memories of Trin sprawled on the enormous desk, her creamy skin a stark contrast to the rich wood grain – no, not a good time to go there.

  Certain Lucian had the seraphs occupied, Ryder snuck around the side of the manor. He opened a window and climbed into the formal dining room beside the study. Touching the adjoining wall, Ryder could feel the girl easily. She projected loudly. Anger, frustration, a touch of sorrow, perhaps, but mostly confusion. Ryder slipped into the hallway and peered through the
open door of the study. She sat on the old sofa, her chin jutted out, staring at nothing in particular. Her name, what was her name? It finally came to him, Storm, the niece who’d been cast out. Ryder found that unlikely. This girl had the Sight, and something more.

  Storm

  She had no idea who would be at the door. A religious fanatic? Somebody who didn’t know Aunt Trin was dead? A girl scout? Storm didn’t think any option more likely than the other. Still, she relished the distraction from the startling news, and influx of emotion she’d just encounter. Storm did not like the loss of control that came with emotions. Sure she’d been considered odd her entire life but there had been a certain convenience to feeling nothing. Storm approached every situation, even incredibly volatile ones, with cool indifference. She couldn’t remember overwhelming heartbreak or sorrow, nothing more than a pang when her own mother passed. But she’d never known love either. That pesky voice in her head always reminded her of the shortcomings. Now, emotions were awakening inside her in the most unsettling way. She felt off balance and awkward with no concept of how to control the emotions or the influx of power that accompanied them. Storm actually struck the guys. Dan and Shane, her oldest friends in the world. But they had lied, she reasoned, they knew about her all along. She could have used their support, could have used their aid to handle her visions correctly. Hell, as seraphs they could have helped in a million ways. They lied about themselves.

  Anger. What a strange sensation. She should have felt anger when her mother took her own life. Or when her father left. Or when Aunt Trin was murdered. But no, not Storm, the unfeeling wonder. All of a sudden she could feel. And now, well, now she felt like – somebody was watching her. Storm turned slowly toward the study’s entrance. She gasped and put a hand over her mouth, in a characteristic Trin action. Him, bloody hell, He stood there just inside the doors with the most scrutinizing look upon his face. Such a gorgeous face, and somehow familiar. He looked surprised for a brief moment and then nothing, stoic – flat affect her psych books would say – but beautiful. Utterly and completely beautiful.

  “Why are you here?” Her voice sounded shakier than she’d intended. He continued to stare, unmoving, gorgeous. A different emotion started to develop in the pit of her stomach. Storm asked again, exuding more confidence with her second attempt. Still nothing from her stranger.

  Finally, he spoke, “Hello, Storm.” Yes, that voice. Velvet and steel all at once. His jeans were stylish but needed a belt, they were slung low on his hips and the black thermal shirt didn’t quite reach the waistband so she saw enough to know he wore nothing beneath those designer jeans. Wow, yes, the unusual feeling in the pit of her stomach certainly reacted to that knowledge. He sauntered over, exuding a unique combination of confidence and purpose. Storm could not move. He stood before her, eyes piercing hers in the most relaxing way. She felt him trying to probe her head, wait – No. Get out of my head. Storm pressed hard against him, reinforcing her mental walls. He recoiled quickly and frowned at her.

  “Who are you? I had a vision of you.” Oops. Good job Storm. That one just slipped out. Dammit.

  “I am Ryder Cohen. Your Aunt Trin and I were – acquaintances. I came to pay my condolences.” He shifted uncomfortably and continued to stare at her. Still, Storm could not get a read on him. His nearness affected her. She reached out and touched his arm, a jolt shot through her. His eyes flared.

  “I have to leave. Your friends are returning. I would advise against mentioning me to them. Jealousy would not be your only issue.” He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. They were so warm. The electricity that passed between them as undeniable as her instant attraction to him. And then he left.

  Storm sat back on the sofa. Her mind reeled. So much information in such a short time and now the questions warred for top priority. Dammit. What had she gotten into?

  “Still angry with us, babe?” Shane stepped cautiously into the study, Dan at his heels. Storm turned to face them, they looked different now. Hard to explain and unfair, sure, but as her feelings unfurled, Storm couldn’t seem to convince herself of anything other than pure emotion. She still sort of saw the glow around them.

  “Who was at the door?” Storm worked hard to keep her voice even, to press that strangely satisfying sensation in her abdomen from flaring at the mere thought of Ryder Cohen. Dammit, just thinking his name brought his face to mind and – stop that. She forced an awkward smile and hoped they bought it as shock from finding out they were angels.

  “Nobody important. We figured you may have some questions for us. Would you like to talk now or do you still need a little time?” Shane sat beside her allowing his hand to settle near the small of her back.

  “I am still angry guys. This, well, this is a lot to accept. You could have told me ages ago and saved a lot of trouble. It would have been nice to have somebody to confide in too.”

  Dan knelt on the floor in front of her again, “Storm, honey, how would you have handled it? You may not have been able to see us at all since Trin bound so much of your power. But now, your visions are getting worse and you are starting to feel. I think you are going to have to pick up on the acceptance part of this and move on to a solution.”

  “Could I just have a moment? I mean, what are you guys? Angels? Fallen angels? What’s the proper term here? How could I have the visions with my powers bound? Why are they coming back so slowly? How do I have no control over any of it?” Storm looked from one to the other, forcing a questioning expression to her face since her body was still in high sexual alert from her encounter with Ryder. The flutter returned to her gut and she put it in check by pushing thoughts of Ryder out of her mind.

  “Seraphs. We like to be referred to as seraphs. Angel sounds so girly, don’t you think?” Dan tried very hard to sound matter of fact with a touch of irony. She found it unnerving.

  “Yeah, that’s what I would be worried about, sounding girly.”

  “Good to know your sarcasm is still working just fine. Listen, we know this is a lot to wrap your mind around but we only know some of the answers. Right now, the most important thing is making you understand how much danger you are in.” Shane stood and looked down at her intently, “Storm, we love you, we do, but we are here to protect you first and foremost. To do that, you need to tell us about your recent visions. It is going to be nearly impossible to mask your aura now that you have unlocked all of your power. We need to know what, and who, could be coming for you.”

  “I don’t see much about me. A warehouse, knives in the dark. It changes a bit from time to time.” Storm tried to sound nonchalant but this whole thing felt more than a little freaky. A sense of foreboding took hold deep in her gut, quickly eradicating the remnants of lust she felt from Ryder. It appeared that seeing her death would be the least of her concerns. Once word of her got out, Storm Sullivan, the Emerald Seer, would be the most sought after person in the supernatural world. Dammit.

  “Okay, we don’t know everything about you or what you are capable of. We know that your aunt bound your emotions to bind your power when you were five. That’s why your mother was such a wreck when you started having visions, they should have been bound with the rest of your powers. We still are not certain how you continued to have them since most Seers’ visions are tied to their emotions and their emotional read on a particular situation.” Dan stood to stretch his legs, apparently giving her a moment to grasp all of that information, “So, Trin bound your emotions, the thought being that if you did not feel you could not exercise your Sight or any of the powers that you would develop as you aged. You however are an anomaly, Storm. Your visions are not tied to your emotion though it appears some of your other talents are. With Trin’s death your true talents will emerge with your emotions. We are hopeful that it will help you control your visions and the pain they cause.”

  “So, wait. Aunt Trin put a whammy on me and made me an unfeeling freak so that I wouldn’t feel anything but I still got painful, mind-splitting vision
s anyway? Awesome.” Storm knew she sounded childish but she couldn’t help it. Stupid emotions, just like going through puberty again. Yet she continued, “And, to really drive things home, nobody knows what I may be capable of once everything is restored in me. What the hell? Shouldn’t there be a manual for this sort of thing?”

  “Storm,” Shane’s turn to lay down his take on things, his voice took on that condescending tone he usually reserved for impersonating an authority figure, “Trin loved you. She tried to protect you. She kept us in your life, she let you go when you needed to run but kept tabs on you all the time. She feared you being the Emerald Seer. Trin researched everything she could find on the Emerald and the Immortal Prophecy. Honestly, what would you have done?”

  “I would have told the truth. I wouldn’t have gotten myself killed without explaining first. Hell, I would have done a lot of things different.” Okay, so she sounded a little self-righteous, who knew what she would have done, probably the same thing. Dammit. It didn’t make this any easier to swallow. “So what, I am the Emerald Seer? The one born to end the line of Immortals? Really? You guys buy into all that? I grant you I have some freaky mojo going on with my emotions being unlocked and I have always been able to deliver a wicked curse when I put my mind to it, but I would have to believe in the prophecy first and then I would have to believe I had the power to pull off something that ridiculous. Look at me. I am a waitress and a cartoonist.”

  “No, babe, you are not. You never were. I think you should take a stroll back through your studio. Then, unlock the secret room behind the dresser in Trin’s room.” Dan sounded serious. It seemed so strange to look at them now, knowing they had wings and were celestial beings. “We cannot tell you everything, a lot of it we know nothing about, some of it you need to unlock yourself, to remember on your own time, but you cannot put it off anymore. The Immortals know you are here. One was just at your door. It is only a matter of time and we cannot protect you from the entire force of the Immortal Brethren. Believe me, whether you believe in them or not, they believe in you and I can pretty much assure you that they have no desire to kiss their immortality good bye.”