Tori, page 20
“No, she shouldn’t have had to.” Tori raised her face to the sky, feeling a pain like she hadn’t felt before crushing her heart. “I feel like we’ve failed her. Nature. No wonder the electrical storm wanted me.” She stared at Devon. “Maybe it needs me.”
“Yes, it needed you. And if we can’t fix this place back up, it’s quite likely going to require one of us for that, too.”
“What do you mean, require one of you?” Devon asked, his voice hard.
Genesis answered Devon’s question. “That is an entirely different power source. Another thing Granny managed on her own.”
“Sounds like Granny should have done more training if she expected you three to be able to handle everything she’d taken care of. After all, she’d been dealing with this for what, forty, fifty years?”
“Over a hundred,” Tori said quietly. “Our mother was supposed to be the next one and train us up, but she died before she could.”
“Murdered by Grandfather’s father, apparently,” Genesis added sadly. “And the whole system went off-kilter.”
“Or rebalanced, as there’d only be one stargazer in each generation and always a female.”
“But this time there were three of us born.”
“Maybe that was nature trying to spread the duties,” Tori said, her joke lacking humor. “And it is, for all three of us. Celeste was the guardian of the animals.”
She stood and looked around at the underbrush, missing the sound of scurrying underfoot and the birds flying outward through the branches and leaves. “There are no more animals here, are there?” She turned back to look at her sister.
Genesis slowly shook her head. “Not now. Not since the death of Granny, and they are all gone. In fact, I doubt the woods could sustain animals any longer.”
Tori closed her eyes and cried out softly. “What have we done?”
*
Devon didn’t know that his input would be welcome, but he wanted to try and help. Anything than have one of them be a required sacrifice. A discussion he planned to take up with Matt and Connor at first opportunity.
“You might want to consider that it’s not your fault. That Granny’s death caused an energy vortex that required an adjustment. As you didn’t know at the time, we are now at a recover and repair stage. You now know that more is required of the three of you. That all of it works together, and that we need Celeste home to do her part. But this is fixable. If Granny could run all this, then you three can run all this.”
“The damage is extensive,” Tori said. “We might not be able to fix this.” She picked up a dead leaf and crumpled the golden, paper-thin leaf into powder. “There’s been no water here in how long?”
“The healing pools were a big problem, but they’re running again,” Genesis said. “But I’m not sure the roots have been able to reach this area.”
“Right. That brings us back to the woods and their blockages. If we can keep the water flowing and heal the woods, in theory, the animals will return. Over time.”
“If we can track down Celeste, then that time frame will shorten considerably.”
Tori nodded. “I’d place my money on Matt finding her.”
“True enough. But that doesn’t mean she’ll be willing to come home.”
“Why not?” Devon asked. “If she knows she’s needed?”
“She’s got a heart as rich as gold,” Tori said, “But when her and Matt’s relationship blew up, I’ve never seen her so devastated.”
“She could have healed in the meantime, though,” he argued. “You did. Genesis did.”
The two women looked at each other then back at him. “True, but that doesn’t mean the same magic will work for her. She gives so much that when someone takes advantage of her good nature, then it’s a betrayal she finds hard to forgive.”
Devon opened his mouth to say she’d get over it, but he didn’t think the women would appreciate the comment. And true enough, he didn’t know the details and wouldn’t be able to give an opinion, as he didn’t know Celeste. But he did know Matt, and that man was determined to find her and fix whatever had gone wrong.
He’d put his money on Matt any day.
Chapter 32
Tori sat in meditation in the middle of the clearing. She was clearing the debris of the energy field, as her granny had taught her a long time ago. If the forest were healthy, then she’d be able to do this from her bedroom at home—wherever home ended up being—but with this level of damage it would take more work, more energy, and therefore she’d be pulling and not returning.
So she was here. Devon was sitting with her, and Genesis was at the creek. She was doing something similar.
The woods were the current problem. Somehow, the roots were blocked from the water. Like a thirsty man without a mouth, they couldn’t access it because of the barrier. And it wasn’t just in this section of the woods. They were everywhere. Miles of forest to fix.
The knot mess she’d unlocked when she’d first arrived had stayed open and, given the right tools, that corner of the forest should be working on healing itself. It would still need more help, but she had to focus on the areas that were worse off. Eventually, all the energy would rise up, but the fastest way was to strengthen the weakest link so they could all help each other.
There appeared to be another big knot of energy somewhere below her, and she didn’t understand that. There weren’t caves down there—at least, not ones she knew of. But there had to be something. And in that case, she needed to find it. “Devon, I have to see if there are caves underneath us. I can feel the blockage, but I can’t see it to unlock the mess. It’s somewhere below.”
“There actually are many caves down there,” Genesis said. “I can help you to look.”
Devon was on his feet, ready to go. “What about the road access? We could drive to the other side and come in from there.”
“Let’s try that.”
The truck was only a ten-minute walk away, and by the time they made it in and were driving away from the damage, they were feeling better. Until a large black SUV pulled up behind them. Tori glanced over at Devon. His face had gone hard, his gaze on the rearview mirror.
His fingers clenched on the steering wheel. Tori turned to look at Genesis and found her texting Matt.
The black SUV pulled up closer.
She sighed. “Here we go again.”
“Yep, hang on.” Devon gunned the truck and it ripped forward. Smaller, lighter, and more powerful, it was easily able to stay in front of the SUV.
“I can’t see the driver,” she said. “Genesis, can you?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’ve sent a picture of the license plate to Matt.”
Tori nodded. “Good thinking.” The truck lurched to the side and pulled off the side of the road, taking cover behind the brush.
She let out a shocked gasp as she realized he’d brought the vehicle to a stop. “What are you doing? It’s not safe to stop, is it?”
Barely before she had finished speaking, she heard the sounds of the vehicle approaching. And they all watched as it steamed past.
Once the SUV had rounded a bend and disappeared from view, Devon spoke up. “Now we have to make a decision. Do we follow it, or go to the caves?” He glanced from one to the other.
Both women immediately said, “Caves.”
“Matt can track the truck,” Genesis added.
Devon nodded. “Good. Give Matt our plan, and I’ll get us to the caves.” He pulled out onto the road, made a couple of sharp turns, and took them down a back road.
A few minutes later, he pulled into a deserted area and parked in the trees. He pointed up ahead. “The parking lot is right over there.”
“Smart thinking.” Tori and Genesis hopped out of the vehicle when Genesis’s phone beeped. “That’s Connor. He’s picking me up at the parking lot. Are you okay to go alone?”
“Of course,” Tori exclaimed. “I’d feel better if you did go back with him.” She grinned. “Now that we lost those guys, we’ll be fine.”
They walked to the small parking lot, approaching the area slowly in case there were people waiting for them. There were several parking lots around, but this one was empty. They remained at the tree line, staying out of the open, until a similar SUV to the one they’d seen earlier pulled into the lot.
“Any chance we were wrong about the earlier vehicle?” Tori asked.
“Absolutely,” Devon said. “But we’re going to be cautious about everybody right now.”
After a quick hug, Genesis left with Connor, leaving the other two alone. Tori turned back to Devon. “Ready?”
He nodded, and they headed toward the cave entrance. The healing pools here weren’t as strong as some of the others, but they were more accessible for many people. Even so, few used them. The path was empty and didn’t look like there’d been much traffic through here in a long time.
“I haven’t been to this entrance in a long time,” Tori said.
“I’ve been here a couple of times,” Devon said. “But not in the last few months.” He paused, and added, “It doesn’t look much different.
“That’s too bad.” She moved ahead, her stride purposeful. “I was hoping the poor condition was a recent change.”
“No, it’s been looking dead for months.”
Grimly she carried on, filling with worry.
“Is it because of the healing energy of the cottage that the area surrounding the building is so vibrant and healthy?” Devon asked.
“Yes, exactly,” she said. “And there is an extremely strong healing pool keeping the area alive. The problem is here, the energy block combined with the weaker pools has completely ravaged this area. It’s like whatever was doing this took advantage of the vulnerable spots.”
She felt his hard gaze.
“Do you really think someone did this?” he asked.
“The three of us girls had a part in creating the damage, and we didn’t even know about it. What’s the chance that there could be other people affecting the energy level? I’d say there’s a pretty damn good chance.”
“A horrible thought.”
“Yes, but we can’t take anything for granted at this point.” The lighting in the cave was darker than she expected. Gloomy. She stayed to the right and walked past the pools. They moved with a slow, sluggish energy, as if going to sleep or just waking up. She hoped for the latter. That would match up to what Genesis was saying. It took time for energy to filter, and it took a lot of time and effort to get things moving, but that process normally sped up over time.
The pools, if they were healing, should be in much better shape soon. They’d be fine to sit in now, and have a refreshing swim, but they wouldn’t heal much.
“Do you think Mason could have anything to do with this black rock mess?” she asked out of the blue.
“I don’t know why he would, but considering that we’ve had no problems here for years and years, to think that there’s been the Portmans and Grandfather and someone else causing trouble is a bit much.”
Something along that same train of thought caught her attention. “It has to do with Granny, too.”
“In what way?”
“It’s all gone bad in the last year. When Granny died, the gentle hand-holding on the energy field she’d kept on everything—our townsfolk included—has all disintegrated.”
“That makes a sad kind of sense.” He stopped at her side to look back the way they’d come. “Isn’t it a bit much for one woman to have handled?”
“Yes, except she’d had each individual area added to her care slowly over time. My mother really should have been in the sequence of caregivers, but when that couldn’t happen, she had to pick up so much more responsibility.” Tori frowned and paced a few steps. “Something else to think about is that as Portman’s pool commercialization was in progress and Grandfather had been involved in Granny’s mess, what was Mason doing? How much was he involved in this mess? With the black rock being stolen?” She snorted. “We don’t know if Mason is in this up to his eyeballs or hasn’t had anything to do with it at all.”
“It would be nice to think that way, but the bottom line is I never saw Grandfather, and I did see the men that shot us.”
“Right. I forgot about them,” she said. How could she have? “Any word on them from Matt?”
“Not yet.”
“Damn.”
They walked farther into the tunnel. Tingles raced over her skin and she stopped in her tracks. “The energy mass is coming from over there.”
“Are you sure?”
She hurried forward. “As sure as I can be.”
“Now let’s hope it’s a quick answer to the problem.”
She didn’t bother answering. Since when had anything been easy?
*
Devon watched the endless dark walls march by. He’d been in a lot of dark places that he didn’t like and a lot of dark places he did like. The jury was still out on this one. There was an air of waiting, of wanting. Not a desperate energy yet, but that sense of knowing something was wrong and needing it to stop.
He hoped Tori was the one to do that.
With a quick glance at his watch, he realized how late it was. Maybe they should have gone back with Genesis and Connor, but they really needed to get a break in this problem. His stomach growled and he thought that perhaps they should have brought something to eat with them. That could have stopped some of this sense of wanting to leave and go back to the Center. Nothing like food to keep you focused and on track.
He was looking forward to working with Matt. He wasn’t so sure about being the head of security though. Was that the type of work he wanted to do now? It made him think of Mason and all that bullshit. Who wanted to be included in that garbage? No one.
Then again, the Paranormal Center wasn’t Grandfather’s empire. He respected Matt. Saw the vision he was working toward. He wouldn’t mind being a part of that.
A suite for him and Tori might also be part of the deal. Considering that Connor and Genesis had a similar package, it wasn’t out of line. And that would be nice for everyone. Genesis’ apartment definitely wasn’t big enough for them, and he was essentially homeless.
It was all about choices.
Odd sounds dragged him out of his contemplation. Animals? Running water?
He tugged Tori to a stop and motioned with his head in that direction. She nodded. “I hear it, too. I need to see what’s going on.”
“I’ll lead.” He stepped in front of her and sent out an energy probe. The air was filled with a luminescent light, but it was actually harder to see as depth perception was off.
He rounded a corner and came to a stop. Voices.
There was a chattering sound behind him. He spun around to find both Jessie and Tori staring at him, bland looks on their faces. He glanced down at Jessie. “I gather he wants to go and take a look?”
Surprise lit Tori’s features. “Yes, he does.”
“Fine. We’ll wait here.”
She smiled at him. “It’s lovely to see the interaction between you.”
He grinned. “Now to get my own.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure you want one?”
“Maybe,” he shrugged. “Seems like a special bond you all have that I don’t. Definitely feels like I’m out of the loop on this one.” Something caught his ear, and he turned back to the noises coming from up ahead. He frowned. “Did I just hear Mason?”
“No, really? I hope not.” Tori leaned forward, tilting her head toward the sound. “I can’t tell.”
Then came a sound they had no trouble hearing.
Shots rang out. Three of them.
Chapter 33
Tori clutched Devon’s arm, her heart stalling at the sound. “Please tell me that wasn’t gunfire.”
“It was.” He tugged her close. “What we don’t know is what their intended target is.”
Another shot rang out. Cold and short. She winced. A second one came on its heels, followed by a third.
“Six shots? I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Nor do I.”
And that was no good. Okay, so she might not have a good connection with the men who’d come after her—or with those in Grandfather’s pocket, either—but she certainly didn’t want anyone dead.
The gunshots also meant that someone was playing for keeps.
She wasn’t any good at healing people, but she might be able to do something to help anyone who was hurt.
“Shit. I hate it when things go south,” Devon whispered.
She did, too. They’d gone more in that direction than any other in the last year. Was it possible that Granny’s energy had also kept the townsfolk on the straight and narrow, too? Because damn…since she’d been gone, the shit had gotten real.
Silence reigned for several long moments.
Devon tugged Tori behind him and slowly peered around the corner. If they’d been just a couple of minutes faster, they’d have walked into the middle of the mess. He could only guess at what had gone on out there, but those last three shots sounded like insurance, to make sure the intended targets didn’t get back up again.
And he knew three men who had become a liability. But for whom?
Devon crept forward. Tori jerked his arm back, hard. “Stop. You can’t go out there. They’ll see you.”
“I think they’re gone,” he whispered.
“Thinking is not the same thing as knowing.” She squeezed his hand. “Wait for Jessie.”
“How long will he be?”
“He’s returning now.”
Devon waited a few minutes then felt something brush against his legs. “Is that him?”
“Yes, he’s still invisible though,” she said in a low, dark voice. “It’s bad. He says there are dead men there.”
“Yeah, I figured. What about the others, like the man with the gun?” he asked urgently.
“They are gone.”
“They? How many?”
“He doesn’t know. He saw one for sure.”
“I’m going to take a look.” Before she could grab him, he slid around the corner and crept forward.
