Linda Kay Silva - Across Time 02, page 8
Lachlan nodded. “She left because Quinn is after her. He said as much when he told us she was the only one powerful enough to stop him. He isn’t as afraid of Jessie as he is of what she will do. She left to do exactly what she said she was going to do: to destroy him.”
21st Century
With her parents out of town, Jessie had to work overtime during the weekend, which, from all appearances, was going to be a busy one. The Inn’s two floors of guests were busy from the end of April until the beginning of November, and this week was no exception. Every room had been booked for nearly two weeks, and that meant she, Daniel and Tanner should be hopping all weekend long. Already, Daniel had been up helping the maid with the first five rooms. Then he announced he was meeting his friend, Harold, at the pier to watch the sailboats come in.
“You get all your work done?” Jessie asked, checking the refrigerator to make sure the ice was in the ice bucket for the Newmans’ third anniversary. They had come here on their wedding night because they got caught in a downpour on their way from Seattle to San Francisco. They never made it to the city by the bay, choosing to stay on the Oregon coast in New Haven at the newly refurbished inn. They had returned the next year to celebrate their first anniversary, and Jessie did not doubt they would continue to do so until they were too old to remember who they were married to. She hadn’t seen very many people as in love as the Newmans were, but she was sure if anyone could go the distance, it would be them.
“Daniel?”
“I heard you. I got as much done as I could, considering this place is a never-ending job. It’s got to be harder than working for someone else.”
A part of her agreed. She had seen her parents sink their every dime and invest every ounce of energy to make this place work, but it truly was a never-ending job. She didn’t know if inheriting the Inn from them would be a gift or a curse. “Then knock your socks off. Don’t do drugs, have sex or rob any banks.”
“Sheesh. You take all the fun out of fun.”
Watching him run down the street, she sighed. A minute ago, it seemed, he was just a five-year-old boy. Now, he had the beginning of facial hair and was no longer her little brother. His doctor had said he would be a little over six feet, like their father. Jessie wanted some of that height, but it didn’t look like any was coming her way. At five-feet-six, she was done growing.
The front doorbell chimed.
“You’re late,” she said, scowling playfully at Tanner. It had taken her father over a year, but he’d finally accepted the fact that even though Tanner might resemble a druggie, he most definitely was not one. The Fergusons had hired him to work the front desk on the condition that he would cut his hair a bit shorter and come to work without the trademark leather jacket that was his second skin. Soon, Tanner was taking guests on beach treks, driving groups to Eugene or Portland, and arranging for bike, canoe and kayak rentals. He’d become a fixture around the Inn, and everyone loved him.
“You’re a ball-buster; you know that, don’t you?” Tanner brushed hair off his forehead. “I had to stop by the store for the Newmans’ strawberries, remember?”
“Oh, right. The strawberries.”
“You forgot, didn’t you?” Tanner crossed his arms over his chest.
She hated that he was right but knew better than to lie to him, even in fun. As an empath, Tanner immediately sensed dishonesty anywhere near him.
“I didn’t forget,” Jessie said. “I just knew you’d remember.” Tanner stepped closer and lowered his head to look into her face. “You tired?”
“No. Why?”
“Carrying around all that denial must be exhausting.” Tanner just managed to get out of the way of the towel that Jessie snapped at him. She grabbed the strawberries and started washing them in the sink. “We’ve got another full house.”
Tanner stood so close to her, she could feel the heat from his body. “Is it later yet?”
She swallowed and kept washing the strawberries. “I haven’t had much time to catch my breath.”
“Jess, I understand my role in your life. I’ve known that since the day Madame told me who you were and what you were doing. While you’re traveling around to the past, we’re still living today…in the present. Do we have to worry so much about the future? Can’t we just be intimate in the here and now?”
Wiping her hands off on the towel, she turned to him. His eyes were more intense than she’d ever seen them, and there was a rough masculinity emanating from him she’d never felt before. “Intimate. That’s a big word, Tanner. Being intimate means—”
“Do you love me?”
She backed half a step away. “What?”
“Do. You. Love. Me?”
“You know I do.”
“Right. And I love you. We’re two people who love each other. Why can’t we find a way to express that until she—” “Because you don’t do that to your friends, Tanner. I can’t be with you and then drop you like a hot rock when she shows up. I couldn’t live with myself. You mean too much to me.”
“So you’re determined to keep me at arm’s length to save our friendship?”
Jessie nodded.
“She said you’d say that.”
“You’ve been talking to Ceara about this?”
“Jess, I’m in love with you! Who else would I talk to about that?”
“What else did she say?”
“That I was a fool.” Tanner bowed his head. “I am, aren’t
I?”
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. “Yes, you are, but that’s what makes you irresistible.”
Hugging her tightly, he buried his face in her hair. “I’m not going to give up.”
“I didn’t think you would.”
Pulling away, he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I know where your heart is, Jess, but she could come in five days or fifty years. Are you just going to wait around forever?”
“You know, I have no idea. Just the use of the female pronoun kinda freaks me out. I mean—”
“I know. You’re not gay. I’m aware of that.”
“It has nothing to do with some archaic labeling system of how to be with each other. When the time comes, her gender won’t matter. I know that in my heart of hearts.” Jessie slowly pulled away. “Just as I know that you’re my very best friend, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize that.”
“For now. Just know that my charms are wily. They can sneak up on you on a moment’s notice.”
Laughing, she replied, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Grabbing the strawberries, Tanner opened the refrigerator. “Think we’ll need the kid for breakfast tomorrow?”
Jessie nodded. “I cut him loose for lunch. He worked really hard this morning, but I think we’ll be okay.”
The front doorbell chimed again. “It’s been like this all week.”
“The beaches are really busy this morning. People are gonna be looking for a place to crash.”
“I’ll take the desk. Will you check the pantry for tomorrow morning’s breakfast goodies? Reena has a habit of forgetting Sunday’s breakfasts.”
“Sure.”
She took her apron off and tossed it back at Tanner before stepping out of the kitchen and behind the front desk.
The desk was like that of the European Inn tradition. It was a long, dark wood, about five feet tall, that allowed the guests to sign in much as they would at a fancier hotel. Her folks had paid a fortune for the antique, and it was one of her favorite pieces in the Inn. Stepping behind it, she welcomed the well-dressed gentleman who had just walked in.
“Good morning,” Jessie said, looking up into his Ray-Bans. Graying sideburns framed a George Hamilton-style tan. He appeared familiar, but she couldn’t place where she had seen him before. When he flashed his twenty-thousand dollar veneers, hackles on the back of her neck jumped to life. “Welcome to the Seaside Inn. How can I help you today?”
The man did not remove his glasses as he leaned casually on the front desk. “Do you have any rooms available in your lovely facility?”
“We’re completely booked for the weekend, I’m afraid.” “Busy, eh?”
Jessie felt a tingle on the back of her neck. “Very.”
“Too busy to go meddling?”
She stepped back, as the tingle now itched. “Excuse me?” The man leaned closer. “You’re a busy girl, Jessie Ferguson, running an inn in one world while questing and saving yourself
in another. How ever do you manage?” He whipped off his sunglasses and glared at her.
Jessie cut her eyes to the kitchen door, but she could not see Tanner. When she looked back into the man’s eyes, she knew who he was—not because she recognized him, but by the way he felt. Although she had never met him, Cate had, and the memory was strong and frightening. Theirs was not a good relationship.
“Oh my God.Quinn?”
The man’s smile was cold and distant, vicious beneath the salt-and-pepper goatee. “Well done. I appreciate you not wasting time with foolishness. Perhaps you have gained some wisdom in this life.”
The fear in Jessie’s neck ran down her arms to the tips of her fingers. “I may know who you are, but I have no idea why you’re here.”
Quinn was still smiling. “I’m afraid I may have frightened your little brother.”
At the mention of Daniel’s name, her fear dissolved into something closer to anger, and she took a step forward. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want.”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
“So, now you’re going to play games.”
“This is no game, Quinn. Get out. I don’t have it.and if I did—”
“I’d kill you and your family without a second thought, so be glad you don’t.”
The anger diffused, leaving her feeling more panicky than brave. Her fear regrouped itself and now lodged in the pit of her stomach, its tentacles reaching into all parts of her body. She looked once again toward the kitchen and this time Quinn followed her gaze.
“I suggest you find a way of keeping your friend in the kitchen unless you want him sent to the hospital before lunch.” “Take your threats and get out, Quinn. I’m not afraid of you.”
The smile dropped from Quinn’s face as he leaned even further over the desk. “Don’t you dare presume to tell me where to go or what to do, Jessie Ferguson. You ought to know one thing very clearly before you use that tone with me again, and that’s that I hold all the cards. Ail of them. Everything and everyone you hold dear is in the palm of my hands and I can crush them at a moment’s notice, so you take care how you speak to me.”
When Tanner walked out of the kitchen the thought crossed her mind to act like Quinn was one of her professors, or a customer. Tanner would know the second he got close enough that neither was true.
“Tanner, would you mind checking the basement for those blackberry preserves Reena bought the other day?”
Tanner cocked his head as he looked at her, then quickly joined her protectively at the desk. “Who the hell are you?”
“Please, Tanner, just do as I—”
“Who the hell are you?” Tanner repeated, shoving his face into Quinn’s.
Quinn tilted his head at Tanner like a dog trying to hear a sound. “Ah, an empath. Well, Jessie Ferguson, it appears you have surrounded yourself with quite a variety of sages and wizards even in this time. You are so much like Cate, even here.”
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Tanner, Jessie felt her courage beat back her initial fear. “Get out, Quinn.”
Quinn stared hard at her. “There are conditions that need to be met in this life that will assure me of my safety in other lives.”
“Conditions about what?”
“There are.things I need to do, and I cannot have you or Cate meddling in my affairs or the affairs of the portal. If you agree never to return through the portal again, I will allow those you love in both realms to continue living. Do whatever you wish in this time, but if you go through the portal again, I will kill every member of your family, Cate McEwen, Maeve, Lachlan, Spencer and this young man who loves you enough to risk his foolish life. Is that clear enough?”
She put her hand out to stop Tanner from making a move. “Don’t—”
“Come on, Jess! Haven’t you heard enough?”
“I have.” This voice came from the side door. Ceara entered the room and closed the door, her gaze never leaving Quinn’s. “I should have known you would show up sooner than later; although later would have been preferable.” She strode into the room, her scarves swirling about her. She made a beeline toward Quinn, her multi colored, multi layered scarves still moving even after she landed in front of him.
Quinn squinted at her. “My word. Ceara?”
“I felt your evil the moment you came through the seam,” she replied. Turning to Jessie, she stood more erect. “I am terribly sorry it took me so long to get here, my dear, but this old body has a heck of a time getting up the hill.” She approached Quinn and looked up into his eyes. The body he was using now was almost an entire foot taller than she. Chuckling, she shook her head. “Just as I thought.”
“Your meddling, Ceara, has become hazardous to their health. I believe—”
“Oh, hush, you intolerable lout. I heard why you are here and what you want from the poor girl and you’re not going to get it. So be off with you.”
“You do not fully understand the situation, old woman.” Ceara winked at Jessie and Tanner before stepping even closer to Quinn. “I understand enough to know you are the same spoiled brat you always were, and when you don’t get your way, you become a bothersome bully. Well, go bully someone else and leave these kids alone.”
Red anger crept up Quinn’s neck and turned his cheeks pink. “You are making a fatal mistake.”
Ceara waved this away, bracelets clanging. “No, Quinn, it is you who are making the mistake, and if you are stupid enough to bring this battle to my home, you had better be prepared to face a wrath the likes of anything you’ve ever seen. You will rue the day you came into this age. Now be off with you before I allow this young man to tear your arms out and beat you with their bloody ends.”
Quinn glared at her, but made no move.
“Quinn, I can tell by the sweat on your brow and the color of your fingertips that you’ve overstayed your welcome in that body. You are getting weaker, aren’t you? Perhaps you aren’t as savvy a quester as you gave yourself credit for.”
Quinn pointed at them. “The old woman may have saved your life this time, but if I see you again on the other side, I will kill you where you stand.” With that, he exited.
Ceara said anxiously, “Jessie, my dear, are you all right? Tanner, would you be a dear, and get her some water?”
“Sure. Man, that was something.”
As Tanner left for the kitchen, Jessie fought back tears. “That was.something, all right. What was he doing here? How did you know who he was? What did you mean when you said—” “One question at a time, my dear. Please, let an old lady get off her feet first. That hill liked to have killed me.”
Jessie took Ceara’s elbow and helped her over to the sofa in the parlor. Tanner joined them with three bottles of water. Jessie opened and drank half of one while Tanner settled in next to her. “That was some weird shit, man. Twilight Zone. I’ve felt a hell of a lot of weird things, Ceara, but I’ve never felt anyone who had absolutely no emotions. It was like he was dead or something.” He opened another bottle and handed it to Ceara.
“In a way, he was.” Ceara drank from the bottle before taking a few cleansing breaths and beginning her explanation. “First off, my dear, as a creature who has come and gone and is tied to the portal, I feel the otherworldly disturbances whenever it’s been entered or disrupted.”
“That’s how you know when I go through.”
Ceara nodded. “I knew that day three years ago when we first met that the plane had changed. This gift is also the reason I became stuck in this time. When I was a little girl, I often felt these odd sensations right here.” Ceara pointed to the space behind her earlobes. “My parents knew there was something special about me and sent me to Mandrake, the Chief Druid of the Silures, to learn how to control my powers as well as my destiny.”
Jessie leaned forward as she listened. “So you became a priestess.”
“That, and a few other things. I entered the portal for the
first and, as it turns out, last time.”
Jessie nodded. She knew the rest of the tale. “You knew evil had come through when Quinn slipped in.”
Ceara drank more water before answering. “I’m certain that man felt like a corpse, Tanner, because in a way that’s what he was. That man was merely a body Quinn possessed so he could come and talk to you.”
Jessie and Tanner both leaned back as if Ceara had pushed them.
“Yes. Quinn is no longer a Druid, for what he is doing is against all Druidic practices.”
“But you—”
“I have the permission of my host to take over her being. You can bet that Quinn did not. Wherever Quinn’s real body is in this time, is probably ensconced in a safe place. He has obviously managed to learn how to take over another being.” “Why not come himself?” Tanner asked.
“Too risky. If we did decide to kill him, he risks losing his link to this life. He’s not going to take the chance with his own life, so he borrowed one.”
Jessie leaned forward again and took one of Ceara’s hands. “You say he is powerful, yet you scared him away.”
Ceara gripped Jessie’s hand. “Not so. Do not make the mistake of viewing retreat as fear. He came to deliver a message. He had no intention of harming you—otherwise, he would have borrowed a body that was more up to the task.”
Ceara gazed out the window at dark clouds threatening more Oregon rain. “The important part of all of this is to recognize that you frighten him, my dear.”
“I do?”
“Of course. His coming here was an act of a desperate man. Something you are doing makes him nervous, and my guess is it’s your visit to Spencer.”
