Howard finished dropping ice in the drinks he had poured from the mini bar and handed him a tumbler. Ethan accepted the glass gratefully and downed a mouthful of the amber liquid. The whisky scorched a fiery trail down his throat.
‘Psychokinesis,’ said Asgard. He returned Ethan’s stare with a steady gaze. ‘I believe what we were subjected to this morning was a physical manifestation of Olivia’s psychic abilities.’
Ethan digested this incredible statement with a frown. He thought back to their first encounter with Asgard’s niece. ‘That must be what we experienced the night we met her.’
‘What?’ said Olivia.
‘When you ran from the Jeep and escaped into the woods, before you fell from the gorge.’ Ethan studied the shock reflected in her green gaze. ‘Asgard and I felt some kind of…pressure wave coming from you.’
‘You were upset at the time,’ Asgard told Olivia gently. ‘That must have been the trigger this morning as well. It was an automatic response to what happened to Ethan.’
Ethan blinked. I’m the reason she did that?
‘You were under attack,’ said Asgard steadily. ‘Olivia’s body responded to that challenge the only way it could, by unleashing her powers. That’s how strong the connection already is between the two of you.’
Ethan swallowed. That statement terrified him almost as much as Asgard’s initial confession yesterday morning that he and Olivia Ashkarov were predestined to be together.
‘That’s some pretty heavy stuff,’ said Madeleine.
‘Was my mother able to do what I did this morning?’ said Olivia after a short silence.
Asgard hesitated. ‘No.’
Olivia looked into the glass she was holding. She raised it to her lips, swallowed the entire contents, and started to cough.
‘Whoa, steady there, girl,’ said Howard. ‘Whisky that good needs to be sipped, not drank like water. ’Specially when it’s a sixty-year-old malt.’ His brow furrowed as he studied her flushed face. ‘Was that your first drink?’
Olivia finally caught her breath. ‘Yes.’
Howard cocked an eyebrow. ‘Want another one?’
Asgard gave him a disapproving look.
‘Relax, granddad.’ Howard took Olivia’s glass for a refill. ‘It’s not everyday someone finds out they can potentially kill with their mind.’
Olivia inhaled sharply. ‘Is that what you think happened? Did I—did I kill some of those men back there?’
‘I think you got very close,’ Ethan said quietly in the awkward silence that followed. ‘If Asgard hadn’t stopped you, that could have been a real possibility.’
She stared at him, her face pale.
‘It’s evident you can influence each other’s powers,’ said Asgard. He observed the two of them with a thoughtful expression. ‘You need to develop and control that ability.’
‘How?’ said Ethan.
‘By training together,’ said the Bastian noble.
Chapter Nineteen
‘This is it. This is the last of the folders I retrieved from the backup system.’
Asgard stared at the computer screen. ‘How fast can you analyze them?’
Howard ran a hand through his hair. ‘I had a hell of a lot more hardware to play with at the mansion,’ he said mournfully. ‘The only way we’re going to be able to extract this data is if I ask my network for help.’ He sighed. ‘I don’t want to put those guys’ lives in danger. Most of them are human.’
Sunlight streamed through the tall windows on the left and danced on the green waters of the lake some forty feet away.
They were in the study on the lower floor of the chalet. Stacked in the stone cellar beneath the wooden floorboards was a scaled-down version of the servers Howard had installed in their main home.
Two days had passed since they escaped the attack at the mansion. A glitch in the system during the transfer meant it had taken Howard almost twice as long to recover the files from the backup servers.
‘We may not have any other option,’ said Madeleine in a hard voice.
Asgard glanced at her. He was acutely conscious of his growing awareness of the enigmatic woman who had stormed into their lives a mere sixty hours ago. The feeling disconcerted him like few things had in his long immortal existence. Although he was reluctant to put names to the complex emotions coursing through him when he was in her presence, there was no denying the fact that physical attraction featured among them. That made him feel guilty and angry.
I found and lost my soulmate. So what the devil is this?
Oblivious to the storm brewing inside him, Madeleine spoke once more.
‘I understand your reluctance,’ she told Howard. ‘From what you said before though, your associates are used to playing along the fine line of the law. I guess the question you need to ask yourself is this—do you trust them to do the job well and to keep their findings a secret?’
The Crovir immortal was silent for some time. ‘You’re right.’
Over the hours that followed, he separated the contents of the folders and forwarded coded sections to twelve hackers around the world.
‘It’s done,’ he said somberly when he hit “send” on the final email.
‘How long until we hear back from them?’ said Asgard.
Howard shrugged. ‘Twelve to twenty-four hours. I’ll be decoding the largest section of data.’
‘Can we take a look at the folder with all the names and medical records?’ said Madeleine.
Howard pulled up the information. A noise outside drew his gaze to a window overlooking the forest.
His expression turned troubled. ‘Are those two okay out there?’
‘Yes,’ said Asgard. ‘There’s nothing any of us can do about that particular matter. They have to work this out between themselves.’
‘Again,’ said Ethan.
A layer of sweat beaded his forehead. Olivia raised her fingers to his face, lines furrowing her brow as she concentrated. After the last two days of intense training, the Crovir noble knew what to expect.
Power surged through his chest. He kept his eyes locked on the towering evergreens to the north of the clearing, inhaled deeply, and lifted his left hand.
The trees creaked and bowed away from him. The earth shifted at the base of several trunks, roots lifting from the ground. Birds flew from tall branches, dark bodies rising against the sky and agitated trills echoing across the forest.
Ethan’s fingers twitched as he manipulated the energy flowing from his body, dropping mental resistors in its path. The trees slowly returned to their upright position, trunks groaning in protest. He released the breath he had been holding and lowered his hand.
Asgard was right. We needed to do this.
He swallowed and indicated a large rock formation to the left. ‘Let’s try those.’
Olivia looked uncertain. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
This time, Ethan kept his hand at his side and directed the incredible, unearthly force blossoming in his heart with his mind only.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, dust shifted in tiny whirlwinds at the base of the boulders. They levitated slowly in the air. Olivia gasped.
The rocks rose four feet before dropping back down with a resounding crash.
‘How much weight was that?’ whispered Olivia.
‘A hell of a lot more than those trees,’ said Ethan, panting slightly. And three times as much as the cop’s car from the other day.
What was happening simultaneously scared and electrified him. He sensed they had barely touched upon what they could achieve together. And if he was correct in his assumptions, then the effects of their combined powers would be out of this world.
Olivia dropped her hand from his face. An acute sense of loss shot through Ethan. He blinked.
Silence filled the space between them. It was gradually replaced by the awareness that had plagued him since he awoke at the lake house.
Judging from the look on Ol
ivia’s face and the way she stiffened, she also felt the undercurrent of tension that had been growing between them over the last two days. She bit her lip.
Ethan’s gaze dropped to her mouth, his pulse now racing for an entirely different reason. He ignored the small warning voice at the back of his mind and took a step toward her. She retreated. He held her gaze and moved forward once more, his entire being filled with the intense need to touch her. This time, Olivia stood her ground, her eyes darkening to a stormy green. She tilted her head and stared at him.
The desire in the depths of her pupils was his undoing. Ethan groaned and lifted a hand to the back of her head. His lips met hers a heartbeat later.
The world around them disappeared as heat poured through his body from the point of contact. It grew in ferocity, a tidal wildfire of need that singed his skin and made the muscles of his abdomen clench. His other arm locked around her waist and he crushed her against him, tongue parting her lips and delving inside her mouth to taste the essence of her. Olivia trembled.
Ethan froze, sensing her sudden fear in the way she tensed. It took all his willpower to release her and step away. They gazed at each other, chests heaving while they struggled to regain some measure of control over their ragged breathing. Olivia raised tremulous fingers to her red lips.
Ethan stifled a groan. ‘Stop that.’
She blinked. ‘Stop what?’
‘The way you’re looking at me.’
Olivia went still. ‘How am I looking at you?’
Ethan closed his eyes briefly. Oh sweet Lord, have mercy! She’s not even aware she’s doing it.
‘The same hungry way I’m looking at you,’ he said between gritted teeth. ‘Like I want to strip you down, push you to the ground, and take you, right here, right now.’
She gasped and took a hasty step back, color filling her face.
It was then that several earth-shattering truths struck Ethan.
She grew up in an abbey. Which means she’s never been with a man. That was probably her first kiss.
Instead of terrifying him, the realization that he would be her first…everything made desire sing along his veins once more. He ran a hand down his face and did his best to control his raging libido.
‘Let’s go back,’ he said more tersely than he intended.
Olivia nodded shakily. She turned and practically scampered toward the lake house. The sight would have drawn an amused smile from him had his gaze not dropped to her slim waist and hips. He bit back another groan.
‘So what you’re saying is that all of these men served in the US Armed Forces at one time or another in the last forty years?’
Asgard stared at the names filling the monitor.
‘Uh-huh,’ said Howard. ‘Funny thing is, most of them are classed as either killed or missing in action. Which kind of makes you wonder.’
‘Wonder what?’ said Asgard.
‘Your immortal friend is saying that we’re looking at medical data on these men months after the dates when they supposedly died or disappeared,’ said Madeleine quietly.
Unease darted through Asgard. He straightened.
‘It’s clear these guys were enrolled in some kind of secret government experiment,’ Madeleine continued. ‘If you put that fact together with the information we know from the other folders, then the pieces of the puzzle come together to make a pretty terrifying picture.’
Howard and Asgard looked at her.
‘Serle and Krondike must be involved in some kind of super soldier program,’ she said in a hard voice. ‘That’s the only logical explanation for everything we’ve read so far.’
A strained silence descended on the study.
‘Shit,’ Howard muttered dully.
Asgard’s chest tightened in trepidation. Is that Jonah’s true objective? To create a race of powerful humans using the genetic material and other chemicals he has gleaned from his research on immortals?
Something didn’t add up though—and it was a big something. What were the last six hundred years about? And why the devil was he looking for the Elixir of Life and the sun cross pendant?
They were missing pieces of the puzzle; he was certain of it.
‘Now what?’ Howard ran a hand through his hair. ‘Even if the other coded folders contain data that confirm our suspicions, it doesn’t tell us where Krondike is or how far along this crazy scheme he and his team may have gotten. What do we do with this information? Go to the US government?’ His tone turned bitter. ‘For all we know, this goes all the way to the top. The president himself could have given the go-ahead for this project.’ He looked at Asgard. ‘I don’t think we have any option but to involve the immortal societies. This is too big for—’
‘No!’ said Asgard.
Madeleine stared at them. ‘What are you talking about?’
Howard gave Madeleine a brief account of their relationships with the councils who ruled over the immortal races—or the lack thereof. Asgard had not elaborated on the topic when he told her about the Crovirs and the Bastians a few nights ago.
Madeleine cocked an eyebrow at Asgard. ‘Wait, so you’re some kind of…prince?’
Asgard grunted noncommittally.
‘I wouldn’t go that far. He behaves like a wounded bear most of the time.’ Howard studied Asgard with an exasperated air. ‘So, what would you have us do?’
The Bastian noble studied the names on the screen. ‘Let’s see what we can find out about these men.’
The study door opened behind them and Ethan walked in.
Asgard turned to him. ‘How did it go?’
‘Better than I thought it would,’ Ethan said gruffly.
Asgard looked past his shoulder. ‘Where’s Olivia?’
Ethan stopped in his tracks and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘She’s, er, in her room.’
Howard narrowed his eyes. ‘Your ears are red.’ He studied his best friend for a silent beat. ‘Did something happen?’
‘What do you mean?’ said Ethan, his tone defensive.
A slow grin parted Howard’s lips. ‘You dog, you kissed her, didn’t you?’
Ethan flushed. Madeleine sighed and shook her head at Howard.
‘What?’ he said with a shrug.
‘You’re such a child,’ she murmured.
Ethan avoided Asgard’s gaze. ‘What have you got?’
It was evening by the time they found their next lead.
‘This is from a short article in the Carson City News dated three years ago. It’s an interview with the widow of one of the dead soldiers on our list,’ said Madeleine.
She had printed off the feature. They gathered around the table while she read out the piece.
‘“Gillian Hofstadter, widow of US Army Lieutenant Mason Hofstadter, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, claims that her husband did not in fact die in action during the ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in December 2009, as proclaimed by the United States government. She maintains that he made contact with her a month after his official funeral service. Although she has not heard from him since, Gillian Hofstadter has put in a request with the Department of Defense to find out the exact circumstances of her husband’s death and to have his remains exhumed for a postmortem and DNA analysis. A DoD spokeswoman declined to comment on whether any such investigation was currently in progress and whether they had acquiesced to Mrs Hofstadter’s demands. The spokeswoman stated that their thoughts were with the grieving family of Lieutenant Hofstadter and those of all army personnel who had perished in the service of their country.”’
There was an inset photograph in the middle of the article depicting a young couple with their arms wrapped around each other. The man was wearing his army service uniform and the woman a beautiful summer dress and a proud smile.
‘Says here she left Fort Benning after her husband’s death and came to Carson City to be with her family. She was teaching history at Carson High at the time of the interview,’ Madeleine added quietly.
‘There’s a Gillian Hofstadter registered at an address in Carson City,’ he said shortly. He showed them the house on a satellite map. ‘Picture on her driving license matches that of the woman in the article.’
Madeleine stared at the monitor. ‘Is that the Nevada DMV database?’
‘Uh-huh.’ Howard looked at Asgard and Ethan. ‘Her place is only two-and-a-half hours drive from here.’
‘What are you saying?’ said Olivia.
‘He’s suggesting we go visit the widow Hofstadter,’ said Ethan.
Olivia had joined them in the study a couple of hours ago. From the way she maintained a subtle distance from him, Ethan gathered that she had not quite recovered from the shock of her first kiss. This only made him want to kiss her more.
Howard rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I’ve mined all known sources of US military personnel records and found nothing that we didn’t already know about these missing men. This is the only clue we’ve come up with in the last six hours.’
‘He’s right,’ said Asgard. ‘We should talk to this woman.’
Ethan glanced at his watch and pushed away from the table. ‘If we leave now, we should be there by—’
‘Not you,’ interrupted Asgard.
Ethan gave him a puzzled look.
‘You should stay and practice some more,’ said Asgard.
His gaze shifted between Ethan and Olivia.
‘I think we’re done for the day,’ said Ethan stiffly. Besides, if we continue what we were doing earlier, we’re going to be practicing more than just using our powers.
Asgard looked at Madeleine. ‘Still, I believe the woman we’re going to see will respond better to a female touch.’
Madeleine pointed at her chest. ‘Who, me?’
‘He has a point,’ said Howard.
Madeleine held Asgard’s gaze.
‘Okay,’ she said with a curt nod.
They left an hour later in one of the two four-by-fours Howard kept in the garage at the lake house.
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