Celeste

by Dale Mayer

  Interesting. Matt didn’t know if he believed Scott, but it was an interesting concept. How did the pools think that was healing? And maybe they had little choice. If he was as far gone as his energy had proven him to be, it didn’t leave much left for the pool to heal. Or maybe the healing had required more time, but he’d been pulled out too early.

  “So. What are our next steps?”

  The men sat down to work out a plan. Devon was going to check into the two gunmen’s bank records. Scott was going back to Grandfather’s estate to make more inquiries, and Connor was going out with Kona to look for more of these rocks. He would also keep an eye out for tracks of where the gunmen had been. Kona had proven to be a decent hunting dog, and they were all grateful. Storm, the big cat, had a sniffer on him like no one else they’d seen, but he had to want to work. Typical feline. Whereas Kona was just always happy to be out. Typical canine.

  And Matt, well he was going to collect some of the archive material to study back at the cottage. He needed to figure out this storm stuff. Before he lost one or all three sisters to Mother Nature—the same way he suspected the three young women had lost their grandmother.

  Chapter 13

  “I can’t believe someone was hunting you.”

  “It’s not just me. All three of us are being hunted,” Celeste interjected. “What scares me, is they seemed to know where I was at the time. And the only way to have known that was through spirit animals.”

  “Yet, that would imply they were people of power, and if that was the case, what could scare them to death like that?” Genesis marveled.

  “We’re missing another option,” Tori spoke up. “What if someone else, the same person who hired these two, is bonded with a spirit pet, and used the information from that animal to direct his henchmen to the right spot. That’s hands-off for them, and yet gets the job done.”

  The three exchanged glances. Celeste nodded. “That makes the most sense.”

  “I can’t believe you had to go through something like this. Isn’t it enough that we did?” Tori shook her head and reached a hand out. “We survived, but it was hairy for quite a while.”

  “And several of us were injured in the process,” Genesis murmured with a shudder. “So much nastiness.”

  “That’s why we have to get to the bottom of this negativity,” Celeste said quietly. “We have to realize that with Granny gone, we failed to keep things as she did, failed to get rid of it then. Now we have to find this negativity, and do what she’d have done.”

  Genesis nodded. “I’ve only recently realized how much Granny did for the townsfolk. Not just the star charts, which are huge,” she admitted, “But also the energy balance she kept in check. There were never any murders, kidnappings, or anything so nasty while we were growing up.”

  “Actually, our mother was likely the last act of violence done here. And Granny made sure that was taken care of, and after that, she worked herself to the bone to make it safe for us.”

  “That’s the thing, wasn’t it? She was less concerned about keeping the townsfolk safe as she was about keeping the town safe for us,” Celeste suggested. “She needed us to grow up strong and free.”

  “And more than that, she needed us to grow up in as positive an environment as she could manage, so that when we came up against negativity, we’d have that foundation to draw from.”

  “Maybe she did her job too well, as we didn’t really understand what we were up against until she was gone.”

  “Her disappearance,” Tori said, lowering her voice. “It caused a hole to open up here. Allowed that nastiness in.”

  “No arguments there.” Celeste studied her sisters’ faces. “How do we fix this?”

  Genesis shook her head. “We have to heal it. We can only overwhelm the evil with the good.”

  “How though, when we don’t understand where all that evil is coming from? We originally thought it was Grandfather, when instead it was Portman Junior…”

  “With Grandfather’s help,” Genesis pointed out.

  Tori nodded. “Then it was Mason, trying to take over Grandfather’s estate and position in town.”

  “So Grandfather is likely still at the center of the problem. His family was the thorn in Granny’s family’s side for decades. They did horrible things to our family and are still trying to hurt us now.” Celeste stared at the center of the table. “I can’t see anyone else being in the middle of this. It has to center on him.”

  “We could throw a star chart and find out,” Genesis said calmly. “A triangulated one.”

  Silence fell over the room.

  “We’ve never done one of those before,” Tori said. “Granny wouldn’t let us.”

  “I know, but I was thinking about that. Granny had to operate alone, as she had no choice. Her mother was gone. Her daughter, our mother, was gone. There should have been three generations working together. When we were born, we were never alone. Never really had to work alone. When I threw a chart and had trouble with it, either you, Tori, or Celeste would help me out.”

  “And vice versa,” Tori said studying her sister. “We learned to work together a long time ago.”

  The three sat in contemplative silence.

  Celeste took a deep breath. “Matt thinks we’re responsible for the weather.”

  The other two stared at her.

  “He thinks what?” Genesis asked, her voice full of shock. “The weather? Really?”

  “It’s not such a far-off concept, either,” Tori muttered. “I know how I felt when I was connected to the storm.”

  “Besides, Granny was always working the storms. Once she was gone, none of us did. Since then, they’ve become wilder and more unmanageable.”

  “Unmanageable?” Genesis slumped back in her chair. “As in, left unmanaged? As in, no Granny, then no one to manage them?”

  “We’re supposed to manage it?” Celeste cried out in shock. “Oh, my goodness. She said that we had much to learn and we’d have to learn on the job. I just laughed at her, because even on the job you get training. Often, though, it’s on the rough-and-ready side.”

  “What are we supposed to manage, in terms of the storms?” Tori asked. “I mean, I stood there and felt it call to me.”

  “I haven’t mentioned it yet, but something weird happened to me last night.” Celeste launched into an explanation of what Matt had said. There was an appalled silence when she finished.

  “Well, that’s proof that we have something to do with those damn storms,” Tori said sitting back and shaking her head. “This is crazy.” She hopped up. “I need more tea.”

  “I wish you’d brought wine. I could use some, about now,” Celeste muttered.

  Genesis laughed and opened the basket beside her. She brought out a bottle of purple burble juice, made from the local wine grapes, and popped the top.

  “I’m still bothered that you were in the pool when this happened.” Tori said, returning to the table with glasses instead of teacups. “I was outside in the middle of the storm. If that had been Genesis in the pool, I might have understood.”

  “I know. It’s like everything is getting messed up between us.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing,” Genesis admitted. “Lately I’ve been seeing more spirit animals than ever. It’s lovely.”

  Celeste nodded. “And the pools are laughing, the flowers are talking to me, everything just seems to be so much more.”

  “So maybe we’re developing a better knowledge of each other’s skills, but that doesn’t explain the storms. Genesis, have you ever had something like that happen?”

  “Not recently. But I was always the one that walked out into them, remember? Granny used to run and pull me back inside, saying it wasn’t my time yet.”

  The girls stopped and stared.

  “Not your time yet?” Celeste let her breath out. “That implies that at one point it will be your time. And likely when she was gone.”

  “Or when you grew up,” Tori sugges
ted. “You could have been the first to go in that direction. Although, why she didn’t train you, I don’t know.”

  “She was worn out at the end. We were barely adults and still trying to master star charts—something we were a whole lot less interested in than the men in our lives, if you remember?”

  That brought wry grins to their faces.

  “If I could go back again, I’d spend more with Granny. Appreciate all she knew and did for us. I know she’s gone, but being here, it’s like we’re still connected in so many ways.” Celeste lifted her wine glass. “To Granny. The best woman ever. I still miss her.”

  The other two women lifted their glasses in a toast and drank in Granny’s honor.

  *

  Armed with a stack of copies taken from the archives—all originals being sealed in a temperature-controlled environment—several baskets full of food, and his overnight bag, Matt settled into the passenger seat of the hovercraft. The pilot sent them skyward, and set the GPS locater for the cottage. Although they had the location of the cabin, no one could land if the sisters had the cottage in stealth mode. For all their fancy gadgets, the Paranormal Center scientists couldn’t beat the stargazer security system. If those women wanted to stay hidden, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. It also meant that if Celeste didn’t want to see him, he was out of luck. So he was going to pick up the other two sisters, and hope that Celeste let him inside at the same time.

  The trip was fast and efficient. Except that as they circled the correct area, they couldn’t see the cottage.

  Matt picked up his phone and called Genesis.

  The call never went through. His phone was only picking up static. The bars indicated it wasn’t sending or receiving.

  Damn it.

  “Darbo, can you tell Silky that we’re here, please.”

  An audible hum filled the air. The pilot looked at Matt, awaiting instructions.

  He was just at the point of directing him to the closest available landing spot, thinking he’d hike over, and how much stuff he’d have to carry, when the clouds rose above them like a foggy blanket lifting. When they were clear of them, he could see the cabin directly below. As the pilot slowly lowered the hovercraft and landed in the small yard, Matt had to consider that as they’d been in the correct spot, if they had just lowered the craft down, would the cabin have been there? Or did the stargazer trick actually stop the cabin from being found, even if you were parked right on top of it? He’d have to ask the sisters. It would be good to know, in case something went wrong here and they needed assistance.

  Was that even possible?

  He worried that it wasn’t. These stargazer ladies had some serious tricks available to them. Except that didn’t mean the negative energy hadn’t attracted equally talented assholes.

  As the pilot shut down the vehicle, Matt got out, his arms full. The pilot picked the baskets and his overnight bag. Together they walked to the cottage door. But it was closed and appeared to be locked.

  “They aren’t the most welcoming of people, are they?” the pilot asked in a low tone.

  “It doesn’t look like it at the moment, does it?” Matt shifted his load of paper and studied the door in front of him. “It looks to be charged with electricity. That if I were to knock…”

  “Yeah, you first,” the pilot said with a grin. Matt studied him. He was a new hire. Ty was his nickname, short for Tyrone. “You’re Scott’s brother aren’t you?”

  “I am. There are three of us here. Six in all, but three in town.”

  Matt nodded. “I remember now. Sorry I didn’t recognize you.”

  “Not to worry,” Ty said easily. “I’ve been all over the place so far, it’s not like you’ve had much chance to see me.”

  “The last couple of days have been hectic. I should’ve been more involved. Sorry, I completely forgot your first day was a few days ago already.” Matt shook his head. He remembered interviewing the young man. The whole family were an asset to have on board. He’d hired all three of them for different positions in the Center. They were men of power and Matt needed all of those he could get. And had promptly forgotten all about them once Celeste had returned. Not a good sign. She’d always been able to turn his brain to mush.

  “Now what?” Ty asked, with a nod toward the locked and protected cottage.

  “I’ll have Darbo contact them inside.”

  But either Darbo had already done so, or the sisters finally clued in to their presence, as the locks fell and the door swung open.

  Only there was still no sign of the girls. Matt entered, calling out, “Genesis? Tori? Celeste?”

  No answer. Shit.

  He dumped his armload on the kitchen table, and walked through the small space. There were spirit animals on every surface of one kind or another. Then he heard the laughter coming from the back of the cottage. Instantly, his panic calmed down.

  They were in the pool room. He reached out a hand to open the door, then realized they were likely all nude inside. Not a good way to make an entrance. Especially with Ty at his side.

  As much as he wanted to rush in and make sure that they were safe, he wasn’t about to set them off. It was bad enough to have one sister mad at him; he didn’t want all three upset. Or their partners.

  He rapped hard on the door.

  “Hello, ladies? Can I come in?”

  “Just a minute,” came the frantic reply, and sounds of hurried movement on the other side.

  When the door opened, it was to show Tori, a big grin on her face. “We didn’t expect you so soon.”

  “Really? Then who let us land?” he asked, his gaze zinging to Celeste’s face.

  The women exchanged quick glances.

  “So, did you let us land? Or did someone else? And the doors unlocked in front of us—was that you as well?”

  He followed them to the kitchen, wondering at the expressions on their faces. “If you didn’t, who did?”

  Genesis brushed past him and checked the security system. “It was definitely released.”

  “I know that,” he said patiently. “I’m asking who did it.”

  She turned to look at Tori, an eyebrow raised in question. Tori shook her head. They both turned to look at Celeste. Matt’s gaze shifted to her, and caught her sheepish look. “I knew he was close by, but hadn’t decided if I’d let him land or not.”

  Matt’s gaze hardened.

  “Right. In that case, I’ll go and grab the rest of the stuff now, before you decide to lock me out in the woods after your sisters have left.”

  And he turned and returned to the hovercraft. He was trembling now—panic was gone, but rage, and yeah, hurt, threaded through is body. Ty had already carried in the stuff he’d brought. He sat on the seat for a long moment, trying to regain some of that control he’d arrived with.

  He hurt more than he could imagine right now. She’d known he was there. But she hadn’t let him in.

  And that begged the question—if she hadn’t, who had?

  Chapter 14

  Celeste hated to be in the wrong. There was something about Matt that just had her acting like a schoolgirl. She’d hoped she’d grown out of it. Then he showed up, and boom—she was acting like a child again.

  Her sisters had sent her shocked looks as they then gathered up their belongings. Genesis had gone out the hovercraft, while Tori stayed at the doorway. Celeste knew they were stopping her from locking Matt out. As Matt returned, Tori reached up and kissed him on the cheek, then ran to join her sister at the hovercraft. Celeste stole a look at Matt’s face. His grim, locked-down-and-pissed-off face.

  Damn it.

  She turned and put on the tea kettle. She’d had such a lovely day so far, and now it was ruined.

  Not because of Matt’s presence, because if she were to tell the truth, she’d been looking forward to his arrival all day. But because of her waffling about letting him in. She’d wanted him to pay, and she still did. And for what? What had he done that was so
wrong? Nothing.

  She was the petulant child here, and that made her angrier.

  Ignoring him, she returned to the pool room and cleaned up the towels the three of them had hurriedly flung on the floor as they pulled their clothing on. The pool room was warm and humid at the best of times, but when there were three of them taking advantage of the healing waters, then it became positively sauna-like.

  All day, the three of them had sat at the edge of the pool, stripped to their underwear, their legs in the water and the bottle of wine close by.

  The pool had done a lot of work today, as the girls had healed their relationships.

  She was grateful, and had been feeling very much at home.

  Until Matt arrived and everything had gone to hell.

  “Who let us in?”

  She winced. But in a calm voice said, “I think Silky and Darbo finally decided it was time. For us and for them.”

  He stared at her in shock. “Say what?”

  “I’m not sure, though.” She walked past him and took out a cup and a tea bag. She’d been feeling a nice rosy glow, and the resounding return to life wasn’t so pleasant. When the kettle boiled, she made a cup of tea, then because she knew she’d been a shit, she made him one, too.

  She placed both cups on the table and sat down.

  “Your highest level of security gets opened by two spirit animals in a trick you’ve never seen before, and you’re calm and laid back, as if none of this matters.”

  “I didn’t stay I hadn’t seen this happen before,” she snapped. “But as I know whoever did this—and I’m presuming it was them—they did it for the right reasons, not the wrong ones.”

  “And just what were the right reasons?” he asked carefully, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from her.

  “Because they wanted to be together.” There was another reason as well, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

  He blinked. “What did you say?”