by Morgan Wylie
She nodded jerkily, causing her teeth to rattle. He petted her head gently. Lola had come behind her chair and helped to hold her shoulders, gently keeping her upright so she didn’t fall over onto the floor. “It’s ok, Gracie, we’re here with you,” Lola whispered soothingly. Her eyes were spinning wildly with all the colors of the rainbow. It still amazed them all when her eyes did that. In all of Rylen’s lifetime, spanning a few hundred years, he had never come across an Oracle and now he had helped raise and protect the Oracle—the last Oracle until it was her time to pass the gift on to another. A time long ago, there had been more than one Oracle at a time, but over the centuries as the greed of man became more sinister and Oracles became more accessible, they had been sold into bondage or slavery to advance the causes of evil. Over Rylen’s dead body would that happen to their Gracie—perhaps that was why the powers that be sent her to the Lair five years ago.
Gracie’s eyes came to a slow stop and returned to their normal bright blue. She gulped in deep breaths of air and wiped her brow of the perspiration that had formed. She looked around to see Mather and Vi hovering near the exit getting ready to leave, but on the outside of the doorway set apart was Lucius watching and waiting to see what the outcome was. With Rylen in front of her, Alana not far behind him, and Lola behind her, she felt safe and protected and not just guarded. She sighed with relief and looked Rylen in the eyes.
“Whenever you’re ready, Gracie, take your time,” Rylen spoke with guarded patience.
Gracie glanced off to the side to where Alana was standing apart from everyone else. She watched her carefully until Alana spied Gracie looking at her. Their eyes locked for a brief moment, understanding passing between them. Gracie covered it up quickly with a coughing fit as she got her breathing under control.
“Rylen, you know how sometimes I am not able to reveal to you what I see?” Gracie began.
Rylen nodded slowly, not liking where this was going.
“This is one of those times,” Gracie finished. She looked around the room once more and caught Luc’s eyes just before he turned to leave, sneaking off.
Rylen sighed. “You know I respect your privacy with your gift, Gracie, and I understand the need to not meddle with things that are yet to happen.” He paused and peered into her eyes. “Is there anything you can tell me? Any little thing that might have anything to do with our current situation?”
Gracie’s gaze fell to her feet. “I’m sorry Rylen. I can’t say much, but there is one thing I can.” She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Trust her.” Rylen’s eyebrows scrunched together, and Gracie gave a slight nod in his mate’s direction. Rylen subtly looked back to where Alana now sat by herself on the far end of the eating area. He nodded slightly, telling Gracie he would trust his mate, but the feeling that was now growing in the pit of his stomach was not making it easy. Normally, when someone told you to “trust them,” it was because they were about to do something that either wouldn’t be understood or was possibly dangerous. He didn’t yet know his mate well enough to know which she would choose, but he vowed to trust her and protect her.
“Enock, will you and Lola assist Gracie up to her room and grab her poor bodyguard who’s waiting outside the door. Make sure she is comfortable and get some rest. Lola, please stay with her for a while in case she needs anything,” Rylen instructed as he stood, grabbing Gracie’s hand and pulling her up with him.
“Aye, aye, captain,” Enock said as he moved forward to help Gracie walk out the door, Lola walking alongside them.
“Vi, go with Mather and help him set up the crew for tonight and figure out what logistics they might need you to assist with transporting, please.”
“Yes, sir, Rylen.” Vi gestured for Mather to lead the way, and she trailed after him, leaving only Rylen and Alana in the eating area.
“Is everything all right, Rylen? With Gracie, I mean,” Alana clarified as she reached for his hand, bringing comfort to both of them.
“Yes, she’ll be all right. I forgot you haven’t seen her do that before.” Rylen paused and turned Alana toward him. “Gracie is very special to not only our Lair and to each of us, but also to the world. Her gift is unique, and as you’ve seen with the letters, there are people out there who want to use her for their own selfish gain or for power or another kind of world destruction. It would crush her and turn her into something unrecognizable… we can’t let that happen to her or have that kind of power fall into the wrong hands.” Rylen stared deep into her soul, willing her to understand what he was saying without saying it.
“I can tell she is special, Rylen. I like her very much. I can’t imagine that kind of weight on one tiny girl’s shoulders. You’ve protected her from the world for this long, and you’ve done a good job.” She reached up and ran her fingers through the sides of his hair—short as it may be. “I would never reveal her to anyone, I vow this to you upon my life.” Alana stared directly back at him, allowing him to see the truth of her words and the protective spirit behind them.
Rylen smiled a huge boyish smile then and gripped her around the waist, lifting her up to his lips. He kissed her fully, leaving her breathless when he pulled away. “I knew you would understand. You are the first outsider we’ve had here whom Gracie has been exposed to. I’m glad you like her, though.” He smiled again. “She is so important, yet she is still quite young and innocent. She needs friends who can appreciate her for who she is other than the Oracle.”
“I think she’s not quite as innocent as you all try to keep her,” Alana smirked back at her mate. “She is also not as young as she used to be. You will need to allow her to grow up at some point, Rylen.” His mate was more discerning than he had known.
Rylen nodded. “All in good time, mate. All in good time.” He kissed her nose and they left the eating area, passing the kitchen where the door was open a crack. Rylen stiffened and sniffed the air. A slight grumble rose up from deep within his chest, but he kept walking, holding Alana tightly against his hip. Unseen by the two newly mated lovers—but only unnoticed by Alana—was Lacy standing behind the open refrigerator door… grinning like the cat who ate the canary.
~~~~~
Some time later, Rylen entered the kitchen to make himself and Alana some coffee. He also wanted to see what Lacy had been up to if she was still around; he just didn’t trust her for some reason. Instead, he spotted Gracie. Sitting in the dark by herself at one of the tables, Rylen could just hear a slight sniffle. He grabbed his coffees and approached her.
“You all right, little one?” Rylen asked tenderly, setting down his cups on another table.
She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. Alarm hit his gut. “Gracie? What’s wrong?” He rushed to her side and sat next to her.
“I can’t tell you,” she whispered, “and I don’t want you to hate me.” Her body wracked with sobs. Rylen enveloped her into his arms, comforting her the best he knew how. He wasn’t great with crying women, but she was like his little sister, and he couldn’t understand what would cause her to be like this. In all the years he had known Gracie, he had never seen her this upset, even when she had first come to them and had nothing and no one to call family or home.
“How long has she been like this?” he addressed the shadow of a guard standing in the corner of the room.
“A couple hours,” Lucius replied. “Said she wanted to be by herself but not in her room. So here we are.”
“In the dark?”
“She didn’t seem to mind. Neither did I.”
“Gracie? Is there anything I can do?” Rylen pleaded, petting her head and pulling her hair away from her face.
She shook her head against his chest. “I’m so so sorry.” Her voice cracked as she struggled to control the hyperventilating sobs.
“Sh… Gracie. It will be ok. Whatever it is, you don’t need to be sorry.”
“It’s all my fault.”
“Did you do something?”
“Well, no, but…” she uttered
as she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes.
“Then, it is not your fault, little one. Just because you see it, doesn’t make it your fault. We each make our own choices and then have to deal with the consequences of those choices. You are just the seer and sometimes the messenger.”
“Please, remember that,” she whispered, not looking him in the eyes. That disturbed him more than anything, that she would feel ashamed around him.
“I will.” He gently gripped her chin and tipped her head up so he could look into her beautiful bright blue eyes that glistened with the tears she still contained. “You are family. And you haven’t done anything wrong. If at any point you can share with me something that can help you or whoever you saw”—he paused, remembering that her vision had something to do with his newly found mate—“please, tell me.” Rylen felt helpless. He couldn’t help Gracie aside from offering her some reassurances and comfort. He couldn’t help Alana because he didn’t know what the fuck he was helping her with, and he didn’t know how to get all of her magic unlocked. Basically, he was dealing with an enormous cluster fuck and he still had to finish his job to complete his mission for Black Widow in order to keep his team and his family and his home safe. Something needed to explode or it might just be him.
“Luc, can you take me to my room now, please?” Gracie’s voice sounded weak and weary. It broke Rylen’s heart, and it appeared to have broken something in his formidable Gyrfalcon friend who stared at him from the corner. With his ability to see in the dark, Rylen could see the pain in Luc’s eyes, and it surprised him a little.
“Stay with her,” Rylen mouthed to Luc. Lucius responded with a curt nod then he walked out the door to lead Gracie back to her room. Rylen stayed and sat in the dark, sipping his coffee. There was something comforting about sitting in the dark, just letting the chaos of everything else drift away, even if for a short moment. He would need to refresh his coffee and heat up Alana’s before he took it back to his room.
Instead of heading back into the kitchen to heat up his mate’s coffee like he planned, he attempted to use his magic to heat it. It should have been easy enough, but as he sent a wave of his magic into the mug, it exploded the cup instead of gently bringing the liquid to a boil. Warm liquid expelled all over him and the floor, leaving glass shards and chunks in its wake. Rylen’s mouth dropped open as he sat there staring at the brown drops of his mate’s favorite blend soaking his shirt.
“Shit. Didn’t expect that,” Rylen mumbled, a bit dumbfounded. His forehead scrunched with confusion. He remembered Doc telling him that residue from the poison might still be in his system until it was able to purge it all out himself. Perhaps it was malfunctioning. Wouldn’t the guys love that: Rylen having magic malfunctions. “Thanks, but no thanks,” Rylen muttered to himself as he stood up and walked back into the kitchen to grab a towel and the garbage can so he could clean up his mess before anyone else stumbled in to find it. He then got himself a new mug of coffee and grabbed another one for Alana, too, and headed back to his room to change. But if she was still in his bed, then maybe he wouldn’t need to change—he knew at least one of his assets wasn’t malfunctioning.
Chapter Seven
“You seemed relieved when Rylen assigned me to help you. You wouldn’t be trying to avoid a certain red-headed flower would you?” Vi taunted Mather as they approached the door to Headquarters.
“Of course not,” Mather huffed as he lumbered purposefully down the remaining distance of the hall. He paused in front of the door about to knock and then lowered his hand, foolishly remembering he didn’t need to do that before entering.
Behind him, Vi snorted very un-lady like. “Right,” she muttered under her breath.
Mather steeled his shoulders and took in a quick deep breath before opening the door into the techies’ domain. The instantaneous hum of the electrical put him on edge, and he ground his teeth, already anticipating his departure.
“Mather, I’m glad you’re here,” Poppy said with an excited tone. Mather couldn’t help but give her a small smile. He tucked his hands into his jean pockets. Vi came in and shut the door behind her. “Hello, Vi, come in, please. I have had a breakthrough in the program I was working on.” She beckoned them in closer.
Mather’s face lit up. “Can you figure out the scent on the envelope?”
Poppy’s green eyes shined like emeralds. She bustled around the room, moving quickly, putting papers in their rightful places and straightening other piles. She turned to look him straight in his eyes. Her smile beamed and warmed him from the inside out. “Better. I figured out where the scent went.”
Mather cocked his head and gave her a quizzical look. “What do you mean ‘where it went’?”
“Can a scent leave?” Vi stepped further into the room, curious, and settled herself down in one of the front row seats.
“Actually, in this case, yes, it can,” Poppy finally stopped moving and sat in her chair at the main desk. She tapped the computer a few times and opened what seemed like a locked file. “She turned back to the two of them conspiratorially. “Tom is off today, so I took over his desktop.” She winked at Mather, instantly back to her original Poppy-self—how she was before she was captured.
Mather smiled at her. He always found something comforting about watching her work even if the hum of the electronics set him on edge. They seemed to cancel each other out, but her winning smile brought energy and life to his very soul. He had it bad, and he hadn’t even known it. How could he have been so blind to her? Why did it take her being taken away from him to wake him up? His wolf whined in his mind. We weren’t ready for her. Mather frowned at that. How could he not be ready for… he didn’t dare even think the last word that he was about to. She couldn’t be. There was too much at stake right now, and he had too much to atone for in his past. Mather growled, fighting internally with his beast. She was made to be ours. The creature pressed. Well, we aren’t good enough for her. Mather argued with his wolf.
“Mather? Is everything ok?” Poppy broke through his mental argument.
“Yes, sorry. What were you saying?” Mather wiped a hand down his face, tugging on his thick beard before letting it fall back to his side.
“I was saying that I designed this program based off the one we have to read prints.” She paused and gave Mather a peculiar look. “But instead, it can detect scents and decipher what type of being it’s from if not human.” She tossed her head side to side in thought. “It would read a human, too, I suppose. But…” her excitement was contagious as she tapped on the keyboard and moved the files around searching for something in particular. “What I think I’ve discovered is something that can tell me why there is the absence of a scent. Or a cloaked scent, rather.” She looked back at Vi and Mather to see if they were following her, but gauging the way Vi was biting her bottom lip, Poppy guessed they probably weren’t. Poppy sighed. “Here, let me just show you how it works.” She brought over a piece of machinery similar to a microscope and put on a thin pair of red gloves. She reached for the first envelope with a pair of long tweezers and placed the envelope inside a box that looked like a small microwave, trapping it inside. Poppy tweaked a few nobs and pushed a couple buttons.
“What are you doing, Poppy?” Vi asked in wonder as she moved in closer to observe all that Poppy was doing.
“Basically, this box will read all traces of anything magical, but it can also detect if a human had done anything with the paper. It will take a few minutes to read it, but then… fingers crossed… it will tell us something useful.” Poppy seemed proud of herself for what she had figured out.
“Unbelievable,” Vi responded. “That’s really amazing, Poppy. I have no idea what you’re talking about, but it sounds amazing.” Vi chuckled.
Mather watched every move Poppy made. Her mind was amazing even if it wasn’t enhanced by her natural magical abilities. Her petite frame belied the fire in her spirit though it could not contain the flames of red hair that perfectly frame
d her face, setting her green eyes ablaze. The curves of her hips enlightened the spunk in her energy and accentuated the draw to her whole self. His wolf paced with a restless energy. The wolf wanted to be let out. He wanted to play and chase down the spirited woman in front of him.
Mather cleared his throat. “How long will this part take?”
“This is the long part.” She sighed with impatience. “It will take about fifteen minutes.” She scrunched up her cute nose with displeasure. She was an instant gratification kind of girl. Patience with the restraints of technology wasn’t her strong suit.
“Should we let you work and come back?” Mather asked, hopeful.
“This is my work. And no, I need to go over operation details for your task tonight, Mather.”
“I need to go grab my gear, Mather, I’ll be right back to hear if I have a part in the operations of tonight,” Vi declared.
“If you have to, Vi,” Mather replied, a bit grudgingly.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to hear the bell ding. Wait, is there a ding? If not, there should be, Poppy.” Vi stood and straightened her loose fitted blouse that hung over a tank top and tight skinny jeans. Her animal print ballet flats were silent as she walked across the floor and headed out the door.
Mather sat down in the seat Vi had just left and put his head down between his hands, lacing them behind his head.
“You seem tired, Mat. Everything all right?” Poppy asked quietly.
“Yeah. Just a lot going on.” Mather looked up and was overwhelmed with green eyes penetrating into his soul. “How are you, Poppy? Are you adjusting to being back?”
She looked away. “I thought you didn’t want to talk. And, now, you do?” Poppy returned her stare to him and raised an eyebrow.
“Not really,” Mather answered honestly then sighed. “I care how you’re doing, though. Are you ok?”