Chapter Twelve
Alyssa sat at a table near the back of the coffee shop, brochures and books scattered around her. It was late afternoon, the sun already sinking low in the sky. She’d been back from Santa Fe for only half an hour but had the feeling she just shouldn’t go home yet. Not quite yet. She glanced across the street and noticed colors still danced out of the windows of the loft apartment.
She smiled. About time Dad and Lake got on with it.
Shaking off the thoughts, she focused back on her current project—college. College? What to do? Where to go? Which direction to head? She really hated decisions like this. How the hell was she supposed to
know
what she wanted to do with the rest of her life?
For now, she was happy she was figuring out the here and now, forget the forever future, which really wasn’t forever anyway, was it?
The now was more important to her than the future that may or may not happen. Life could end very quickly. So for the now? Now she’d rather be reading one of the new books in her bag she’d purchased in Santa Fe. Books on shielding and proper health for psychics. Not that she’d start eating tofu. Tofu was, in her opinion, gross. Yogurt she could handle. Greens and alfalfa sprouts, fine. Fish and grilled veggies—yeah. Tofu, no. So the chapter on no meats was going to be a waste. Plus she’d seen the way Lake ate and Alyssa would bet that woman didn’t read books on the proper diet of a psychic. Who did these people think they were anyway?
And who was dumber, the author thinking she had so much important information to impart, or the idiot who bought the book? Still, there might be something good in here. If nothing else than the chapter on the importance of sleep patterns and protecting herself when she could be vulnerable. Things stole into the psyche when one was vulnerable. Nightmares were a perfect example. And things waited for vulnerability in sleep. It was classic, and for her, a time to worry about.
Sleep. Shields. Vulnerability. Nightmares. Visions.
Hell. She rubbed her face.
Last night had been a bad one. She’d dreamed the monster with the red daggers was choking her and nothing she could do would stop it. Then she’d heard Lake’s voice and her dad’s, and something had burst inside her and the dark monster with the red eyes suddenly vanished. Not sure what the hell it meant, but then she was stressed about the darkness she couldn’t find.
This was why so many people thought she was certifiable. Looking for something she couldn’t find? Darkness?
But she
knew
it was real. There was no doubt in her mind about that any more. In the last few weeks she’d come to believe. Really believe. She was real. Her gift was real. The lurking evil she couldn’t readily see, that was real. Why couldn’t she readily see it? Propping her chin on her hand, she stared at the stuff on the table and wondered when exactly she’d started to accept herself the way she was. There wasn’t any one moment, she realized. It had just sorta started to happen and kept happening.
“Whatchya working on back here?” Mark asked, sliding into the chair across from her. He picked up the book and grinned. “
The Healthy Psychic
?”
Instead of answering, she jerked it away.
“You never cease to amaze, Lys.”
“Then I’m on track.”
Shaking his head, he picked up a brochure on the graphic arts program from the Art Institute of Dallas. “I thought you were going to take classes here in Taos?” He flipped through it.
“Well, I’m leaving my options open. I probably will do just that, but does that mean I can’t also take some online courses that might help me out in the long run? I thought I’d take the web graphics program here to get a more hands-on experience with the scripting that’s so important now. I don’t understand Java or even Flash and I want to. Plus here I can get experience with Quark and a few other programs, right?”
Mark leaned onto his fist and nodded. “Yeah, you can do all that here. And it is nice to have a professor or a lab partner to help you out if you don’t understand what is going on.”
She tapped the red and white brochure. “But I want to take the advanced digital graphics courses through them. I’m hoping to get into the summer program here and either the fall or the next winter session with the Art Institute Online thing. I figure I can use the graphics design part, but I want to
know
the website stuff inside and out. Because there are good websites out there and those that, well…”
“Suck,” Mark said, grinning at her.
She smiled back. “Yeah, and if not for you, I probably wouldn’t have thought of all this. But now that I’ve played with it, I like it and think it’s probably something that I’d want to do, ya know?”
“Versus what else you might like to do?”
“Well, there isn’t anything else I’d like to do. I’ve always loved art.”
“Can’t imagine where that came from.”
She shoved his arm out from under him. “But I’ve a feeling my paintings, which are more therapy, are not works of art that will appeal to most.”
“But they might.” He shrugged. “Don’t close off your options.”
She thought about that. About the fact that her father gave her the privacy and space she needed when she wanted to paint, but also liked to see her work. Whether it was the act of a concerned parent, or the pride thing, she wasn’t sure. Probably both. But he never invaded her work. He always waited until she asked for his opinion. The man did run a gallery. The last conversation brought a smile to her face.
“Yeah, well, Dad wants me to think about doing a showing. If and when I’m ready.”
He nodded. “That’s great.”
“Maybe. Or maybe it’s because he missed having any of my drawings and artwork to put on a fridge.”
“And his gallery is like a giant magnet board to proudly display his daughter’s work.”
“Could be.”
“Please, don’t be stupid.” Mark leaned closer. “Your father doesn’t have the time or the patience for pity showings.”
True. So maybe she would think about it.
“There are worse things than being an artist, Alyssa.”
She nodded. “True, I just don’t like that starving part. So I want a profession that will bring me the things I need.”
“Like food and shelter.”
“Exactly.” She laughed.
For a minute they just stared at each other. Then he said, “You’re really pretty, you know that?”
She blinked. Mark thought she was pretty? She blinked again wondering if she was hallucinating.
He coughed. “I mean…”
Alyssa glanced up as someone stopped at their table. Thad. And he was glaring at his brother. Great. He slapped his hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Little bro. Give it up. She’s taken. Plus, you don’t seem to really have the knack.”
Mark didn’t even look at his brother—his eyes stayed on Alyssa.
Thad’s over-possessiveness lately really grated on her. One thing she had learned and totally agreed with was that she needed to be her own person, set her own boundaries, learn her own self-worth before venturing forth to give it to anyone else, if she so chose.
Which she currently did not.
And certainly not with Thad.
“Thad,” she said, propping her chin on her fist, “what makes you think I’m taken?”
Thad leaned over the table between her and Mark. “’Cause I know you, babe.”
She didn’t answer. Instead she only looked at him until he finally blinked and looked away.
“First off,” she started, “I’m not taken, and if I were, it wouldn’t be with the likes of you.”
“Ohhhh.” Mark laughed. “Crash and burn. What was that you were saying, bro?”
“Shut up,” Thad said, straightening. He tried to grin at her, but instead of charming, she found it annoying. Annoying and irritating.
“You know, Thad, you should try to charm the ladies somewhere else. I’m working and was trying to have a conversation here.”
“About what?” He picked up the brochures. “School? Cool. You’re going to Dallas?” His blue gaze swung back to her. “Sweets, we could have all sorts of fun in the big D.”
She shook her head. “Thad. There’s no
we
and that’s an online school.”
“But it doesn’t have to be.”
“But it is.” She finally just punched his shoulder. “Quit being such an ass, Thad. It’s beneath you. And it’s making your aura shift into an ugly color.”
Mark laughed and Thad finally grinned at her. “Maybe so, but you gotta know which brother is better, don’t you?”
“Nah, I’ve already figured that one out.” She waggled her brows at him. “Besides, you just don’t kiss as well as Mark.”
Why she said that, she had no idea, but she did and there it was. Even if she had absolutely no idea how Mark kissed.
Shock was the first thing she noticed on his face. Clear, unadulterated shock. Poor guy.
Mark stopped laughing.
“When the hell did you kiss her?” Thad asked, whirling on his brother. “I asked you if you liked her and you said no. You said she was all free and clear to choose whomever she wanted.”
And why were they talking about her as if she wasn’t here?
Mark opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, his eyes big on her. She took pity on him.
“Mark’s so sweet, he’d never kiss and tell.” She scooted her chair closer to Mark. “Unlike some people I know.”
Thad looked from one to the other. “Is this a joke?”
She paused, took a deep breath and then dropped the shields she’d carefully spent the morning building. Anger waved off of him, hot and pulsing. “Why are you mad?”
He only blinked at her and then sat in the last chair at the small table. “Hell if I know. I’ve asked you out I don’t know how many times for dates. We even went out a few.”
“We occasionally hung out, Thad.” She patted his hand. “We never dated.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I wanted more.”
She remembered and this was really why she’d never let them get closer, another reason she hadn’t wanted anything serious with him. “Yes, I know, and I had fun.” Sighing, she patted his hand. “And you do kiss really well. But you’re not ready for more.”
He rolled his eyes. “My brother lied.”
She smiled. “Maybe. But then again, it doesn’t matter if he wanted me or not, or if you did or not. It’s me. I choose. You. Him. Someone else.”
One blond brow arched. “Yeah, I get that.”
“No woman likes to be a bone between two dogs.”
Mark shifted. “I never—”
She held up her hand. “I know, Mark.”
“You do?”
This time, she laughed as she packed her stuff up. Thad was still sullen as he stared at her. “You sure you don’t want to run off to Dallas with me?”
She shook her head and shoved the books into her bag. “No. I’d probably kill you before we even reached the state line.”
“I doubt that. Why would you do that?” He crossed his hands over his chest. “I’m the epitome of charm, my lady.”
Alyssa just wanted out of here. “Charm and smarm.”
“Ouch.”
The two brothers might look alike, but they were as different as night and day. Once upon a time she would have gone for Thad. Those days were over. Now she found that Mark’s quiet, friendly way was more her style. Maybe. Maybe not.
“I thought you two were just friends,” Thad said.
She huffed and swung her pack on her back. “And what? We can’t be friends with benefits?” She turned and walked away.
Thad’s furious whisper made her smile. “Her father is gonna fucking kill you.”
Yeah, well, she didn’t think that would happen. Maybe, but then again, she was tired of Thad’s crap. Maybe now he’d leave her alone.
One little white lie.
Of course she might have made more trouble for Mark. Glancing back over her shoulder, she noticed the guy had the biggest smile on his face she’d ever seen.
Figured.
Men were idiots.
***
He watched her on the street, wondering which way she would go. She looked up at her father’s apartments. Probably not going over there any time soon. He too glanced over to see the unlit windows, though he felt like he should be able to see something. To see, to know what was happening there. At least in terms of powers and emotions.
Instead…
He focused on the windows and for just a moment, just a brief moment, saw a swirl of orange and red.
Passion.
From Lake, he was sure.
Taking a deep breath, he turned his attention back to the one he wanted. The one who would boost his life longer than all the others had. Who would, if he was lucky, heal him.
Part of him, some part of him wondered, what if she wasn’t the last one? What if he needed another? Then what would he do?
Already he was weak. He’d have to move fast. The last one had taken him too long to finish. Her essence and life force had charged him, but only for a little while.
The charges were shorter and shorter.
This one had to heal him.
She was so damned powerful.
And he wondered if she knew.
He saw her glance back into the coffee shop, the frown on her face to be replaced by a smile as she shook her head.
He breathed deep, the cold air slicing his lungs, slicing through his clothing. Always fucking cold. He was always cold.
A headache pulsed deep today. He would not have much time.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
It had to be now. Had to be.
He
knew
it.
Closing his eyes, he could swear he smelled her scent dancing with the smell of the snow from the mountains. It would be cold tonight. He glanced up to Taos peak. The snowfall up there was heavier than he thought, all but obscuring the bottom half of the mountains.
The skiers would be happy. The resort even happier. The snow would help. He wondered if it would move into the valley tonight. He hadn’t checked the weather. At least the body he’d dumped would be covered even more. With luck it would be several weeks yet before they found her, and by then the animals would have gotten to her.
The memory of what that young woman had felt like as she died danced through his mind, heating his blood, making him want this one even more.
She paused and looked around as if she sensed him.