Black Blood (16 page)

“Close your
eyes and visualize,” he mouthed back.

Her lids
snapped shut and she willed her body back to the present. Afraid to
open her eyes she kept them squeezed tight while the pain of
re-connection seared through her.

“Good job.”
There was a smile in Gabe’s voice.

Gemma let her
right eye squeak open enough to see Gabe standing there with her
shorts and tank top held in his outstretched hand. She snatched
them up and was grateful to see him turn around while she slid them
on.

“How did that
feel?”

“Bizarre.” She
flicked out her hair from beneath her shirt. “I didn’t see myself,
did I?”

He peeked over
his shoulder then turned fully once deducing she was dressed. “No,
you stood up about a second later. Just missed the gold dust.” He
finished with a grin. “So, how do you feel?”

“The pain’s
still the same, but I don’t feel tired… at all!”

If anything she
felt exhilarated.

“Well, that’s
because you’re not transporting four other bodies with you.”

“So the way I
feel right now is how it’s supposed to feel?”

Gabe nodded and
Gemma felt her insides jump with excitement.

“That’s so
cool! I just traveled on my own!” She must have looked like a kid
in a candy store, her eyes wide with wonder. “Can we do it
again?”

“Absolutely.”
He chuckled. “But remember, you only traveled ten minutes into your
past. It’s going to be a lot harder to go back over a century. This
is going to take hard work and a hell of a lot of practice. You up
for it?”

Gemma breathed
in through her nostrils and felt her eyes dance. Was she ever!

* * * *

The sun was
like a warm blanket. Gemma lay on her back with one arm draped over
her eyes. Her belly was full after chicken salad a la Gabe and she
was starting to feel energized again.

She had jumped
back three times that morning, she wanted to do more, but Gabe
wouldn’t let her. He said although she was young and strong, her
body shouldn’t be put under too much strain in such a short space
of time. The furthest she went by the end of the day was to her
room that morning. She arrived just in time to see herself swinging
the door shut behind her. On her return from that trip, she felt
the first waves of tiredness.

“You look a
little brighter now.” Gabe threw his apple core into a nearby
shrub. “Your cheeks have some color back.”

“I don’t get
it.” Gemma shook her head. “I wasn’t taking anyone with me, why did
I feel so shattered?”

“You’ve been
traveling all day. It was bound to catch up with you. Don’t worry,
a good night’s sleep should have you ready to go in the
morning.”

“So, same thing
tomorrow?”

“We’ll start
sending you back a little further tomorrow, but we’ll break it up
with research. If you’re going to head back more than 24 hours, I
only want you doing a couple of trips a day.”

“This is going
to take forever,” Gemma groaned.

Gabe chuckled.
“A month spent training in order to get it right is very short
compared with a lifetime of no Harrison. Think about it, kid.”

“Yeah.” She
rolled onto her stomach and picked a blade of grass. “I just miss
him so much. I know this sounds cliché, but I feel like a part of
me is missing.” She sighed. “The sooner the better, you know?”

“I know.” Gabe
stared up at the sky, his mind obviously clicking into that memory
bank of his.

Gemma felt a
sudden urge to ask about Lena, but quelled it. She wasn’t sure how
ready she was to hear about the woman that just might be her
mother.

“I guess you
better get going. We want to keep your whereabouts under the radar.
The less questions you get asked, the better.”

Gemma pushed
herself up to sitting and brushed the grass from her top. “What do
I tell them?”

“Just say you
were out riding again.” Gabe shrugged. “Look, sweetie, as much as I
know you’re going to hate me for suggesting this… but you might
want to start acting as though you’re moving on.”

“What do you
mean?” Gemma perched her bottom on the back of her heels.

Gabe hesitated
over his answer, scratching his fingers through his hair. “You’re
not going to learn anything about your parents if you keep avoiding
them. You need to start pretending that maybe their decisions for
you have been right. Bring them back into your circle of trust so
to speak.”

Gemma loathed
the idea. She felt the repulsion for it build inside her. “What, so
you mean, I just have to act like I’m over it? I wouldn’t do
that!”

“I’m not saying
pretend like nothing happened, I’m just saying maybe ice down a
little and eat dinner with them once in a while.”

“So I can spy
on them.”

“Why are you so
anti that idea? I’m only trying to find out what they’ve got in
store for you. Your eighteenth birthday isn’t far away.”

“What does my
birthday have to do with anything?”

Gabe sighed and
began picking at the grass. “Turning eighteen is a huge step for a
time spirit, particularly pure ones like you. You’ll be stronger
than you have before, able to move faster, fight better, travel
more easily. They’re going to use that. I don’t know how, I just
know they are.”

Gemma felt a
mixed sense of awe and trepidation. She liked the idea of being
more capable, but it also scared her. And then there was the
thought her parents might use it to their advantage. She felt her
defences rise with the idea, but also couldn’t help the small
notion that it might be true. Anger sparked within and she
immediately misdirected it at Gabe.

“
What if
everything you’re telling me is a big fat lie! How do I know you’re
not just using this to your
own
advantage?”

“My goal here
is to protect you,” Gabe’s voice was calm in contrast to hers. “Why
else would I be doing this?”

“I don’t know!”
Gemma squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Look, Gabe, I appreciate
your help, I do. But I’ve known these people my whole life and even
though I don’t like them very much right now, they’re still my
family. The idea of spying on them just seems wrong.”

“They betrayed
you, kid. They took the one thing you love away from you, because
it didn’t fit in with their plans. You trying to tell me you’re
willing spend the rest of your life bound by them?”

“No!” Gemma
jumped from her spot.

“Then what!?”
Gabe rose to face her.

“I don’t know,
okay? I don’t know!” She paced away then spun back to face him.
“It’s just so impossibly hard to fathom that my parents want to
hurt me.”

“Well, maybe
that’s because they’re not your parents!!”

Gemma flinched.
Gabe let out a long sigh, ran his hands through his hair and looked
at her.

“
I can
tell you for a fact, that all
your
parents ever wanted was for you to be happy. They fought
for it and one of them’s going to keep on fighting, because he
can.”

Gabe’s
strangled voice made Gemma’s eyes shimmer. He looked to the ground
and ran his hand through his hair. A long sigh escaped his
lips.

“I’ll see you
in the morning, kid.”

She remained
where she was, watching Gabe walk back to the caravan. She nearly
chased after him, but couldn’t quite make her legs do it. Instead
she headed to her bike. As she buckled on her helmet and tore away
from the caravan, a new resolve settled inside her… this wasn’t
just about getting Harrison back anymore.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida – 2011 AD

Gemma entered
the house with clipped steps and headed straight for the kitchen in
order to grab her meal and escape to her room. As she reached for
her plate, her new resolve coursed through the back of her mind.
She let out a long sigh and waved goodbye to the routine of recent
nights as she walked into the dining room.

Pulling out her
chair without a word, she sat in her place and began to silently
eat her food, sensing the small smiles and nods of approval. Much
to her dismay, Dom and Ruby were not there, obviously entertained
with dates. Gemma felt the sear of jealousy, but bashed it away
with the idea that soon she would have Harrison back and be heading
off on dates of her own.

She squashed
the smile and shoved another forkful of food into her mouth. The
eerie silence was erased with her mother’s question. “Did you have
a good day, Gem?”

“Fine, thank
you.” She tried not to choke on the words. She hadn’t spoken
civilly to either parent since Canon City and she was finding it
challenging. Hot words of wrath still boiled in her mouth and were
desperate to spread their molten lava across the table. She ran her
tongue over her teeth trying to eradicate the searing sensation.
“I’ve been thinking… about what you said yesterday. About doing
what was best for me.” She fiddled with her fork. “I wanted to… ask
you if you know what happened the other day… when we went back to
Mesa Verde.”

She decided to
start with something that would make her look apologetic as opposed
to triumphant. It might be a good insight into how travel with her
family worked… and Gabe would appreciate her effort. She was
looking forward to telling him of her huge sacrifice tomorrow and
seeing his eyes light with a proud glimmer. The idea that she knew
that’s exactly what would happen made her lips rise. She dropped
her head to hide the warmth that was gushing through her.

Her father
cleared his throat. “I’m not sure, Gemma. Why don’t you tell
me?”

“
Well.”
She placed her fork down and began running her finger around the
lip of her water glass. “I guess I just really,
really
didn’t want to go at the time and maybe
that will-power elongated my departure. It’s never happened before
and I didn’t actually mean to do it. That’s why I was so surprised
when you hit me.” She couldn’t help the pointed look that raised
her right eyebrow.

Her
father’s face blanched. “Yes, well, that was regrettable. I…” His
voice was shaking and once again Gemma was sent into the turmoil of
not knowing who to believe. Alistair Hart looked pretty broken over
striking his youngest daughter, but then again, she couldn’t
imagine Gabe
ever
striking
her… no matter how mad he was.

“
I feel
like you’ve changed, Dad… and I don’t understand why, but…” She
swallowed hard, forcing the words through her lips. “If you want to
talk about it then I’m willing. I want to know more about who we
are, how we travel… all that kind of stuff. Maybe if I understood
it better, I would
want
to go every
time as opposed to that feeling of being forced.” She looked to her
plate and dredged up her last piece of courage. “Maybe it would
help me understand why you took Harrison from me… because I know,
deep down, that you only did it because you thought it was best for
me.”

She was nearly
choking on bile by the time she finished, but she managed to hide
it convincingly. Both her parents were looking at each other with
triumphant grins. She kept her expression warm and serene in spite
of the icy chill creeping up her spine.

“I think
discussing your travel and our plans for your future is a very
smart idea, Gemma.”

“
Good,”
she squeaked and forced a smile. She felt it crumbling moments
later and quickly shoveled some food into her mouth.

* * * *

“So, dinner
went well then?” Gabe’s grin was wicked.

Gemma threw an
eye dagger in his direction, but he batted it away with a
laugh.

“I know it’s
not easy, kid,” his voice suddenly went serious, “but just think
about your future. Do you want to spend the rest of your life with
Harrison or the Harts? Because even if we get him back, there’s a
chance they’ll try taking him again and we need to be prepared for
the fight.”

Gemma bobbed
her head. Emotion robbed her of any words as she watched Gabe slide
on his riding jacket and reach for his keys.

“So, tell me
details.” He surveyed his caravan and patted his pockets before
opening the door for her.

She jumped down
to the grass and shrugged. “There wasn’t much actually. He talked a
lot about how the body travels and got all scientific on me. It was
kinda boring actually.”

Gabe grinned at
her eye roll.

“Did he mention
how he manages to get you all to travel? I’ve never seen anything
like it before. Time spirits can travel together, but they both
have to get themselves there. I want to know how he visualizes for
you guys.”

“I’m not sure
how we’re linked. All I could tell from last night’s conversation
is that Da… Alistair is a very capable traveler with a very strong
mind.”

“Yeah.” Gabe
nodded, his mouth set in a grim line.

Jumping onto
his bike, Gemma enjoyed the throaty rumble of the engine igniting
beneath her. She grabbed onto Gabe’s jacket as he swung around and
headed for the library.

They didn’t
talk at all during the trip, but the second she dismounted he was
peppering her with questions again. She answered as best she
could.

“And what did
they say about taking Harrison?”

Gemma
paled as she swiveled past Gabe, into the library.

“They kept
telling me that Harrison could bring no good to my life and that I
had to protect my family. They don’t want another Decimus on their
hands.”

Gabe shot her a
confused look. “What is this Decimus stuff you keep going on about?
You make it sound like he was a bad person.”