by Lucy Fear
“We’ve probably slept long enough, don’t you think?” Rhi asked. “I thought you wanted to bring me with you to the school this morning.”
“Yes, that’s the plan. And it’s almost time to go. After breakfast, that is. Somehow I’ve worked up quite the appetite this morning.”
“Shut up, Brendan,” she complained, punching him in the arm.
“For now,” he teased. “There’s no time to mess with you some more. But I do think it’s time for a shower.”
***
Surprisingly enough, Brendan managed to behave himself while the two of them took a quick shower together before heading down to breakfast. Rhi did her best to act natural around Rory so he wouldn’t figure out what the two of them had been doing, but his brother radar appeared to be on full force.
“You two could have been a bit quieter last night,” he complained. “If I can hear you all the way down the hall, it’s certain that Luna must have heard you too.”
Rhi’s face fell as she glanced over at Brendan.
“Stop teasing her, Rory,” Brendan scolded. “I know you tried to get me on the intercom. What did you want to tell me, anyway?”
“We’ve had a call from Sacramento,” he said. “They wondered if we could move the presentation up a week since their scheduled show decided to cancel.”
“Yes, I think we could easily do that, don’t you?” he agreed. “Though I don’t know why you’d try to tell me that at three in the morning. Do I detect a hint of jealousy?”
“Me? Jealous of her?” he scoffed. “Don’t be silly. I know you still love me, baby.”
Rhi choked on her coffee, and both men started to laugh.
“Gods, Rory, you’re so terrible,” Brendan said, handing her a napkin. “You’ve got her abusing the coffee again. And here I thought I’d been working to prevent that very thing. Maybe I’ll need to be a bit more diligent about it. What do you think, Rhi?”
“Diligence is good,” she agreed with a little wink.
“I thought as much,” he chuckled. “If you’re done, we probably ought to go.”
“Yeah, let’s go,” she said as she got up and followed him to the door.
They took the car over to the little school and Rhi looked around curiously as she followed him inside. “So, how much of this stuff is useful, and how much is for show?” she asked him with a playful smile.
“You have to make enough money in the first place before you can give it away,” he shrugged. “But I try to make sure all my products are useful. I don’t want to lead anyone astray, like so many others I have known.”
“That’s good,” she said, picking up one of the essential oils she saw on the rack. It was called ‘lovers.’ “This works too, then?”
“Bring it along, we’ll test it out ourselves,” he said with a sly grin. Rhi slid the vial into one of her pockets and continued to follow.
“Good morning, Vera,” said Brendan as he walked through the door at the end of the hall. “I’ve brought along an observer today, and we managed to make it before nine. What do you say you send four or five of your brightest in to see me?”
“Will do,” she agreed. “I can already see the excitement on their faces now.”
“Great, I look forward to it,” Brendan smiled. “We’ll be waiting.”
They continued through some double doors into what looked like some sort of exercise room. Brendan brought out some robes, handing one to Rhi before he began to remove his clothes.
“Oh, are we getting skyclad?” she asked him.
“Then you know that tradition?”
“I’ve read about removing the clothes before a ritual in some of the books before,” she confirmed, undressing as well. The white robe was soft and smooth, quite comfortable against her skin. She could get used to it.
“And you understand why?”
“To have nothing between ourselves and the entities we wish to commune with,” she said.
“Entities or energies,” he amended. “Not all of the students believe in any type of spirit behind the force. Others follow certain pantheons, of course. But one of the first things I teach is the fact that though every energy has a different face depending on the perceiver, the power that you make use of remains the same. The idea is to remove all the preconceived notions and attune to the force itself.”
“Good morning, Master,” said five students at the same time as they stepped through the door, inclining their heads Brendan’s way.
“Ah, good morning,” he replied. “I’ve brought a new student with me, and thought it wise to introduce her only to a small group to begin her training. Rhiannon Woods, come here and meet these pupils of mine. Each of them is at least a level three. Alex is a five. Alex, please step forward.”
One of the men stepped forward and gave Rhi a slight bow.
“I am Alex,” he said clearly, looking her over appreciatively.
“All of you may call me Rhi,” she said, looking at all five instead of acknowledging his interest, though she could feel the start of a blush on her cheeks.
Brendan said, “Over here, Rhi, come and sit with me.”
He held out his hand and sat her beside him on a loveseat, putting a possessive arm around her shoulders. He did his best to make their connection obvious by solicitously whispering in her ear, “I see my competition is growling by the minute, Rhi. You still sure you’re not done with me?”
“Shut up, Brendan!” she complained, then realized she’d said it out loud. Which had probably been his intention all along. She winced and covered her mouth, then smiled sheepishly at the others.
Brendan grabbed her hand, removing it from her mouth and kissing her fingers. “For now,” he agreed. Then he turned back to the others and began their lesson for the day. Rhi was fascinated with everything he had to say, and the next thing she knew, two hours had passed and it was time to go home.
“That was great,” she told Brendan happily. “I want to go with you every day.”
“Then that’s exactly what will be.”
*
When Brendan and Rhi returned from the school, they went straight into the study and got to work on the book, asking one of the servants to bring them sandwiches and a pitcher of spring water with lemon in it. The cool ice was soothing, and they soon had to order some more.
Today, the focus shifted from introductions to topics to picking one of the easier ones to work on in depth. They selected the topic of calling energy, and Brendan wanted to make certain Rhi was completely familiar with what she was writing about, so he ran her through the exercises he wanted written down until she could do them easily.
“Now I trust you to get it done while I work on some other things,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll just move over there out of the way. I’ve got my laptop with me.”
By the time the chapter was written it was time for dinner, so the pair headed for the dining room, hand in hand. Along the way, one of the chandeliers suddenly broke loose and went crashing to the floor right in front of Brendan, almost hitting him.
“Not again,” he complained. “Can’t this nutcase let us be?”
Rhi grabbed one of the crystals and tried to sense the attacker’s energy. She was getting tired of his nonsense too. She wanted to do the real job she’d come here to do, and considered this an opportunity.
“Rhi, I didn’t know you could attune,” said Brendan as he watched her.
“I—I don’t know, I just thought since he keeps coming to me maybe it could go both ways.”
“This can’t be the first time you used psychometry,” he insisted. “Not with that surge.”
“You’re right about that,” she agreed. “I’ve been trying to improve the skill for several years. But I guess I never had a strong enough need before.”
“What did you see?”
“Blue,” she shrugged. “His eyes are blue. Hardly a useful clue at this point, right? I feel so useless. I wish I could figure out a way to help you.”<
br />
“No, honey, you did good,” he told her, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze. “Knowing his eyes are blue will eliminate a suspect or two. Keep that shard with you and try some more. You never know, you may get a breakthrough.”
“All right,” she agreed.
***
Two weeks later, Rhi sighed as she sat in the bathroom alone, not caring to share the particular occasion that brought her there. She was starting to feel guilty for the lie she and Rory had told Brendan about how they’d met, and she wished there was some way she could come clean without being afraid of him sending her away.
It was depressing to think about leaving this place. Not only because she’d quickly come to care for Brendan, but also because of the place itself. The air was clean, the streets weren’t cluttered with traffic, and the prospect of not having to deal with Todd every day left her feeling free in a way she’d never experienced before. Of course, it also helped that she wasn’t sitting in her parents’ home, too.
Not that she disliked being there, really. It was just that she didn’t want to live by somebody else’s rules. She didn’t want to be home by ten at night, or keep her music turned down to four, or be the one who always had to scrub the toilet and mop the floors. Living in a house with servants was really spoiling her for her everyday world.
More importantly, she’d suddenly realized that she didn’t want to go a day without seeing Brendan smile. Sure, the incidents and attacks kept happening, but so did the lovemaking, too. And going to the school to learn. And going jogging in the mornings, though now Brendan came along to keep her safe there, too. The more time she spent with the man, the more she hated the idea of letting him go.
Still, the attacker persisted in visiting her dreams. So far, his face remained a mystery, and she was certain he did this on purpose because he believed she would be able to recognize him or give the vision of his face to Brendan so he could. Surely this powerful being must have picked up on those plans that were not well hidden amongst her thoughts.
The book was coming along nicely, too. Last night Brendan had left her to continue writing when he’d gone to bed, and she had forgotten the time and worked the whole way through. It was amazing how much a person could do when they really got into a zone like that. She’d written over ten thousand words.
“Thinking again?” Brendan asked when she stepped back out the door.
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “Why?”
“I didn’t think you’d be gone for half an hour,” he teased. “We’re meant to be heading for the door, and you still haven’t put on your clothes. Unless you’d like a different kind of work-out this morning?”
“No, I’m sure a jog will do,” she said, suppressing her grin behind a frown. It didn’t work, and made her face more comical than it did severe. Giving it up, she concentrated on donning her sweats instead, and then the pair of them headed outside for their morning run.
Today, when they reached the little cabin at the end of the trail, they spotted somebody new standing outside the caretaker’s home. Brendan waved, but Rhi noticed that the young man scowled briefly before pasting on a smile.
“Who is that?” she asked, taking in his stature and his dark hair.
“The caretaker’s son, Allen,” said Brendan. “He and I don’t particularly get along.”
“Really?” Rhi asked curiously. “Why not?”
“Because I had to kick him out of my school,” Brendan said. “He was misusing my teachings to cause harm, so I refused to tell him anything more.”
“And you don’t see that as any kind of a red flag?”
“Meaning?” he prompted.
“Meaning, we’re looking for someone dark-haired and blue eyed who is pissed off at you.”
“There’s no way that kid has that much power,” Brendan scoffed. “Whoever it is we’re looking for, their power is far greater than a punk like him could ever achieve.”
“But what if he’s found another teacher?” she pointed out. “One with fewer scruples? Might a malevolent mentor want to make use of somebody on the inside in order to get to you?”
“Are you sensing something?” Brendan wanted to know.
“Perhaps I should shake his hand?” Rhi suggested with a sly smile.
“By all means, you should,” he agreed. “I’d like to see what you really make of him.”
They reached the house soon after.
“Allen, Rhi tells me she hasn’t seen you before,” Brendan said coolly. “I assume your father has probably mentioned her, though?”
“Yes, he has,” he nodded. “And I’ve seen her around, even though she didn’t see me. How do you do, Miss Woods?”
When Rhi took his hand, her suspicions were instantly confirmed. This man was not the one they were looking for, but it was more than apparent that he knew him. The taint of his energy was all over the young man, indicating that he knew him well.
“You’re a magic user?” she asked as if in surprise.
“You know?” he asked curiously, his disinterest shifting toward intrigue instead.
“Yes, of course I do,” she scoffed. “No one with that much energy got it from disuse.”
“You’re right about that,” he agreed. “Well, you two have a pleasant day.”
Rhi couldn’t wait to walk away. She’d promised Brendan a full report, and she had quite a lot to say.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“So you’re saying that Allen knows the person who has been attacking us?” said Brendan, rubbing his chin in thought. “But that means whoever did it, they must have been with us in Paris. I don’t think anybody could have enough power to move objects in France with their mind from all the way in California. Maybe what I really need to do is assemble everyone who was along there and have you look them over.”
“That would be way too obvious, don’t you think?” Rhi asked with a sigh. “Nothing like setting the guy off on purpose.”
“Yeah, I know,” he agreed. “Plus, I have a different issue we need to work on right now. Rory said he’s set up that seminar in Sacramento, and we’ll need to head over there in three days to do the thing. Obviously, I’ll want you to tag along. Trouble is, in a place like that there’s a lot more potential for the guy who is doing this to try something. I’m a bit worried about keeping you safe if I’m busily distracted up on the stage.”
“Short of putting me into a rubber room until your presentation is done, I think you’re just going to have to trust me to protect myself,” Rhi commented. “Besides, I’m not worried about me. I’m much more worried about him trying to get to you.”
“I’ll tell you what, Rhi,” said Brendan then. “I want you backstage with Rory during this thing. If I can’t keep you safe, I know that he will. I haven’t quite figured out what’s really going on with you two, but I know darn well you’ve known each other more than two weeks. But I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you want to tell me.”
“I—can’t,” she sighed. “It’s not up to me. Let’s just say I’m on vacation from my own reality at his request, okay? He’ll kill me for even revealing that much, I think.”
“Can I just know one thing?” he asked as they entered the back door and headed toward the smell of breakfast.
“Maybe,” she sighed.
“Are the two of you lovers?”
“Brendan Drake! Why would I be in bed with you if Rory was my lover?” she protested. “Get real. I’m not that kind of a girl.”
“Sorry,” he said, blushing. “It’s just that—well, the bond is so close. Whenever I look at it, it’s almost like you’re one.”
Rhi rolled her eyes. “Tell me something, Brendan. If he’s not my lover, and the bond is that close, what alternative association might that leave?”
“You’re not—are you?” he gasped. “You’re the sister who works as a psychic for the government, aren’t you? Oh gods, it all fits. I should have seen it well before now. I’m such an idiot. So, then this thing between us was just a
way to keep me close? Is that it?”
“Don’t be stupid, Brendan,” she scoffed. “You’re good enough at seeing things to have worked out who I am. Do you believe I’d do something like that?”
“No—no, I don’t believe that,” he said, sitting down on one of the benches in the hallway. “I believe that you’ve fallen hard, and that you want my safety just as much as Rory does. And until now, I was afraid you weren’t serious about all of this, but I—I see now that you really are. To tell you the truth, that scares me. Because if it’s real, that makes it even more important for me to get rid of whoever it is who’s behind these attacks. And it makes you more vulnerable than I already thought you were.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you love me, it’s got to be causing a visual light in the astral plane,” he said. “I was worried enough when I realized I’ve come to love you, but if it’s mutual, well that’s going to mean it’s twice as bright—maybe even more.”
“So you think that puts me in more danger than before?” she scoffed. “I doubt it, Brendan. I’ve been feeling this way for quite some time.”
Rhi was still standing, and now Brendan pulled her between his thighs, kissing her hips before he hugged her, nestling his face against her side. She laughed as she threaded her fingers into his golden hair.
“So then, where do things go from here?” she asked softly. “I mean, now that you know what’s what, and who is who? I’ve been so worried you’d be angry if you knew why I’d come here, and yet, obviously I’ve been doing what I came here to do this whole time. I just didn’t expect to get the added perk of getting so close to you. That’s a bonus that I never counted on and that I would hate to lose.”
“No, you’re not going to lose me, Rhi,” he said softly. “Because I refuse to roll over and die for that guy, and you’re not getting away from my dragon so easily. When a dragon decides you’re his, he keeps you forever. I hope you know that, because he and I already agree that you are mine.”
“Then I guess it’s official. You’re stuck with me. But Rory doesn’t know you’ve got a clue; maybe we should let him remain ignorant for a time.”