Celeste Read online

  “Maybe, but I can also lose it,” he warned, wondering at the sense of inner-knowing.

  She shook her head, her gaze intense. “No, it’s yours for life. Your abilities are going to grow to keep up. As will Connor and Devon’s. We are all linked, the six of us. There can never be any going back.”

  “Good. I don’t want to go back. There is only one direction to go from here, and that’s forward.”

  His phone rang. He glanced at the number and stood. “I have to go. Things are still being set up. You have time to rest and relax. The event doesn’t start for another two hours. Then I want you at my side for the duration of the evening.”

  She smiled up at him. “I’ll be there.”

  He leaned over and kissed her hard. “Forever.”

  He walked to the door, leaving her feeling damn lost already.

  “You sure you can’t push them off for a half an hour or so?” she suggested, her voice smooth as silk and suggestive as hell—at least, he hoped.

  He turned back, a frown on his face. She kicked off the last of her clothes before walking over to him, naked. She reached up, her arms around his neck. “I need a shower. Thought maybe you did, too.”

  She gave him a quick kiss and walked away into the bathroom. She turned on the hot water and stepped under the spray.

  The door opened right behind her. She shrieked with laughter as an equally nude Matt stepped in and reached for her. “I told them ten minutes,” he said with a grin.

  “Well, guess, what? You’re going to be late.” She chuckled. “But I’ll see what I can do.”

  He lowered his head and kissed her, her slick body pressed tightly against his, from breast to hip. Heat flashed between them, instant and powerful as always. And Matt was damn inventive with that bar of soap. When he lifted her against the shower wall, she was more than ready. When he slid deep inside, her body erupted in instant joy. She cried out and hung on, as Matt surged into her again and again. When he shuddered in her arms she held him close, a smile on her face.

  “I have good ideas,” she murmured against his neck.

  “You have wonderful ideas,” he whispered back. He slowly withdrew and turned down the water temperature.

  She shrieked, “It’s too cold.”

  But he was already laughing as he quickly showered off. “Now I’ll turn it back up for you.”

  She grinned as she heard him whistling in the bedroom. She’d done that for him. She ran the washcloth over her sensitized skin and realized she’d done the same thing for herself. She felt wonderful.

  Later, after she finally shampooed her hair and finished her shower, she walked through the bedroom and saw the box sitting in the corner of the bedroom floor. She stopped and stared at it, the memories hitting her hard. She was a little girl watching Granny at the sewing machine, but it wasn’t cloth she was sewing but something that shimmered like moonbeams.

  She shook her head. What if these cloud dresses weren’t going to work for tonight? That would be horrible to feel underdressed at an event where so many people were going to be staring at them.

  She wanted to open the box, but turned and grabbed up the hair dryer, instead. If they were still in the cottage her hair would be dry in a third of the time. Here, not happening. She closed her eyes, wondering how her sisters were faring, when she heard a noise outside the bedroom door. She quickly pulled on her underclothes and dressed in casual pants and shirt. If she were going to have company she wanted to be dressed for it. It could be her sisters, though. But she thought they still had well over an hour. Not that it was very long.

  She walked to the door and opened it.

  The hallway was empty. She frowned. Had she only imagined someone there? Closing the door again, she picked up her phone and called Tori.

  No answer.

  Maybe she was still asleep.

  She called Genesis next. Again no answer.

  What the hell?

  Dialing Matt, she quickly explained the situation. “Is there something wrong with them?” She had a hard time keeping the worry out of her tone.

  “They were both up and walking around a little while ago,” Matt said. “I’ll send Connor and Devon to find them.”

  She put the phone down, wondering if someone had been foolish enough to try and harm her sisters. Could anyone already know about what had transpired at the cottage this afternoon, or did they know and not care—but had planned to target the sisters, regardless?

  Worried, she wandered the room, walking past the box several times. Finally, she picked it up and carried it over to the bed. Opening the flap on the top she studied the drab looking contents. Her heart sank. Damn these things were ugly. And not at all as she remembered.

  Wincing, she dug into the body of the fluffy material and realized that there were several envelopes in the bottom. One had her name on it. She slowly sat down on the bed and opened it.

  It was from Granny.

  Of course it was. Celeste sighed with heavy memories. She’d thrown the girls’ star charts many times. Said it helped to guide her actions to know what and when the girls would need her. That’s why she’d made the cloud dresses so long ago she’d said. Yet, why make them so…ugly? Celeste turned her thoughts from the dresses and pulled out the singe page letter inside.

  Dearest Celeste,

  I’m gone when you are reading this. Don’t be sad, child, you saw me today… Shivers rippled down Celeste’s spine. Good Lord, it was as if Granny was sitting beside her and speaking to her out loud. You now know I’m fine. You should tell Matt. And let your sisters tell Devon and Connor. Your lives are explicably entwined now, so there should be no secrets.

  At least you weren’t afraid of me this time. Your mother had tried to contact you when you were little, but it was too early for you, and that connection was lost. But not forever. You should know by now that forever can’t happen in our world. We are always one. Your mother’s blood runs in your veins as much as mine does. You will always be protected, but you must be aware of the danger you and your sisters face. Tonight. At the ball. Matt says it’s a low-key event. It’s not. It’s a chess game, and you need to know who your opponents are. And that will happen but I fear not without more trouble coming to the three of you. Be careful, listen to the man of your heart and know that life is unfolding as it’s meant to. You will survive. And you will thrive. I rejoice in your growth and that of your sisters. I’m always here. And I will always be watching over you. Sometimes I might be too strong. Sometimes I might be too protective. Have patience with an old woman who only wants to see you three do well. You all enriched my life and I hope that you remember me as fondly as I do you.

  My love to you forever,

  Granny

  At that point in time, Celeste lifted her head to realize she wasn’t alone.

  Matt stood in front of her. She walked into his embrace. Gently, he took the letter from her hand and read it over. His features turned grim as he read down to the bottom. He held her close to his heart.

  “I will protect you,” he said. “I’m so glad you have this letter.”

  She nodded. “Me too. There’s one for Tori in there as well.”

  “She can read it later. After we find her.”

  “She’s missing?” she cried in horror, tilting her head back to stare up at him. “Genesis? Is she missing, too?”

  “Shh. Everyone is on the lookout for them.”

  “Wait.” Celeste took a step back and closed her eyes.

  Smurg, can you hear me? The response was instant.

  She said to him, My sisters are missing. Find them. Then she called to the tiny mouse who could go places the bigger animals couldn’t. Twitch, did you hear that?

  Twitch muttered quietly, then there was a tiny rustling sound before he disappeared.

  Minkel? she called.

  On it, Minkel whispered.

  Contact Remi and Jessie.

  She opened her eyes, her gaze wide as she stared at Matt. “We’ll h
ave answers soon. The animals are searching. Twitch is inside the Center. Minkel is tracking Remi and Jessie.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “And if they are outside?”

  “Even better,” she said with a smile. “Smurg is out there. And there is no way that the pools and forest will let anything happen to them.”

  He nodded in relief. “Good.” He glanced down at the letter in his hand. “She really was in the storm, wasn’t she? And your mother long ago?”

  “I was terrified when I saw my mother,” she confessed. “Granny tried to get me to go out into a different storm, and I refused,” she said quietly. “One of my greatest regrets.”

  “You were young; it’s all understandable.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that I wish it had been different.”

  He held the letter up again. “And what are you supposed to share with me?”

  She frowned.

  “Even Granny said to tell me.”

  She sighed. “It’s something all three of us should be saying as a group.”

  “Good, we’ll go over it again when we have them back.” His voice wasn’t going to accept being pushed off.

  “It’s just we never found Granny’s body.” Celeste stared outside, hating the pain and loss still hurting her at the memory. “She just didn’t come home one day. We went to the springs to find her but only her clothes were there. The physical body of Granny, as far as we know, became one with the world around her. She just faded into the framework of our existence.” She shrugged. “We knew she was dead. But we had no proof. No body to prove her passing.”

  “Nothing to prove she’s dead?” He stared at her. “We have laws that govern things like that.”

  “Sure, how about we stand up and say we saw her in the clouds.” She laughed at the look on his face.

  “Damn.”

  *

  How did one prove someone was dead if there was no body? The government wasn’t that complicated when it came to death certificates. And that was what he needed to get for the sisters. He’d have to figure out how to make that paperwork happen. Most people would never ask for proof of death. A grave in this case would suffice. He hadn’t spoken to many people about Granny’s death, just the sisters. As for the rest of the world, they just hadn’t cared enough to notice. Granny had done so much for everyone, and they didn’t know. She’d been good with that. The sisters were good with that. He wasn’t so sure that he was.

  Surely someone should know.

  Back to the record keeping again.

  And his job. Inside, he understood that something had changed. He had a new sense of what his purpose in life was. Why he was here, with Celeste. What had Granny wanted him to understand? This was important, and life was changing. Society was changing. And someone was going to have to make sure society never forgot who had saved their way of life all these years and why. Make sure that the sisters were no longer despised because of Granny. That Granny had an honored place in the archives, whether she wanted one or not.

  He would see to that.

  He smiled down at Celeste.

  His expression fell away when he saw the envelope she held out to him. Similar to the envelope she’d opened earlier, this one had his name on it.

  “Why?”

  Celeste shrugged. “Granny. She knew everything, remember?”

  “Everything?”

  She nodded. “What she didn’t know, she only had to throw a star chart to find out the answers. And she threw star charts constantly.”

  He flipped the envelope over several times, as if it would give him the answers he wanted without opening it. He wasn’t sure he was ready to take that step. What had Granny needed to say to him so badly that she’d left him a letter to open a year after her death?

  “How did she know when we’d find and open them?”

  “She just knew.” Celeste nodded toward the letter. “Are you going to open it?”

  “No, not right now. We have to find your sisters first.”

  She bolted to her feet as if just remembering. “Any news?”

  He pulled out his phone. “Nothing yet. What about the spirit animals?”

  She closed her eyes and called to them. She heard several answers, but nothing affirmative. “Nothing yet.”

  “Damn.”

  Then Twitch responded. With jerky movements, she paced the bedroom. “Twitch is following a scent downstairs,” she cried. “But it’s not like they can be spirited out of here. Not without being seen.” She spun around to gaze at him. “The tightest security here used to be down in the research labs.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is that still the same?”

  He nodded.

  “And does it still have the emergency exit, in the event of a bad accident?”

  He froze. Then burst into action.

  Chapter 25

  Celeste ripped down the hallway behind Matt. She called out to the field mouse, “Twitch, how far did you get?”

  The faint voice rippled from the lower levels of the building. He was working deeper into the basements, where the research labs were. “Twitch has tracked them down to the research levels. Not sure where after that.”

  “We’ll be there soon.”

  Matt avoided the elevator, and raced down the stairway, taking the steps two at a time. She struggled to stay close. He blasted through the double doors ahead of her.

  “Hold up, Matt,” she warned. “The kidnappers could be still there.”

  “Good,” he snapped. “Let me at them.”

  He was at the security check and through before she had a chance to see what security checks he had in place. She watched as he twirled in a circle, studying the empty lab. She stopped at the doorway, and stared. Where could her sisters be? Her gaze caught sight of the storeroom off to the side. And Twitch sitting on his back legs sniffing the air outside the door. “Matt,” she called softly.

  Matt turned to look at her. “What?”

  She pointed at the doorway, where Twitch stood on his back legs, nose in the sir, whiskers moving rapidly. “Look?”

  Matt raced over, Twitch darting out of his way. Matt tried the handle. Locked. He pulled out his security card and used it to unlock the door.

  As he pulled it open, Tori fell out.

  She hit the floor hard and lay there, emitting a low groan.

  Celeste cried out and raced to her sister’s side. She crouched down beside her. Matt stepped into the closet and bent over another prone body. Genesis.

  “Is she okay?” Celeste asked, her voice trembling.

  “She’s alive.”

  Matt pulled out his phone and called for help. In the background, she could hear him speaking to Scott, ordering a lockdown on the Center, until security could do a complete sweep of the premises. She doubted they’d find anything. As she sat on the floor beside her sister, waiting for help to arrive, she connected Jessie’s spirit energy to her own, and used Tori’s spirit pet’s energy to heal her sister. She poured energy into her sister, feeling the other woman’s body pulse as it gained strength. Soon, Tori’s body hummed with health. She groaned quietly and opened her eyes.

  “Celeste?”

  “Yes, it’s me.” She smiled down at her sister. “Stay calm, and don’t try to move yet. I have to help Genesis.”

  She shifted to Genesis’ side and repeated the healing motions, transferring energy for herself and her pets to her sister. Remi was already there, pouring his own loving energy into Genesis. It took a little longer, but soon Genesis woke up to stare at Celeste in surprise. “What happened?” she whispered, her hand going to her head.

  “We believe you were both kidnapped.”

  Her gaze opened wide as she understood Celeste’s words. “Really?”

  Celeste nodded.

  The research lab doors opened, letting in a dozen men. Devon led the group. He gave a shocked cry and raced to Tori’s side. “Who the hell did this?” he roared.

  Tori reached up and stroked his cheek. “I’m okay.
”

  “You are now, but what if we hadn’t found you?” he cried. “And who did find you?”

  Celeste spoke up. “Twitch found them.”

  Devon looked at her. “Who?”

  Tori smiled weakly. “Twitch.” She pointed to the side of the chaos where Twitch sat, staring at them all, his whiskers trembling.

  Storm had arrived with Devon and he paced the room, anger vibrating over his sleek frame. He pounced on Twitch.

  “No!” Devon cried out.

  Tori gasped.

  Celeste sucked in a sharp breath.

  Twitch ran up over Storm’s nose to sit on top of the huge cat’s smooth head. He perched there happily, now high enough up to see everyone, and twittered. Celeste let out the breath she was holding. And of course, no one would touch him with Storm as his protector.

  “So, Devon. I know you have Storm as your bonded pet, but Twitch could use someone, too.”

  Devon turned to look at her in shock. “Surely they don’t belong together.”

  “They do now.” Tori said with a shrug. “You might as well give it up already. If you think you have a choice, you’re clearly not understanding how this works.”

  “How does that work?” he asked, studying the two spirit pets in wonder. “What is going on?”

  “Our family is growing,” Tori said in dry tones. “It looks like Storm has found a friend. Twitch found me, now Storm has found him, and they have bonded.”

  The group stopped to watch, as Twitch raced up and down Storm’s back, the big cat sitting there, unconcerned, a contented look on the predator’s face.

  “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes…” Connor stood and stared. “Unbelievable.”

  Matt shook his head and gave a short, dry laugh. “Only with this group.”

  *

  Matt needed several more hours to get through everything that had to be done in the next hour. The girls were resting in Genesis’ suite, none of them wanting to be separated at this point. The guests would be arriving in twenty minutes, and the security, although always on alert, obviously should have been doubled up earlier. Fool him once, and all that. There was no way he was signing up for another nightmare scenario like the one he’d just been through.