Storm: The Empire Chronicles (12 page)

"
I
can't believe
I'm doing this." Casey buckled her seatbelt as Mom pulled out of the blacktop driveway.

"We've done girls’ weekends before.” Mom glanced at her in the rear view mirror. I’d offered Casey the front, but she’d insisted on the back. Maybe she thought it would provide her with more space from us.

"That was before I knew we were weird." Casey leaned her head against the window.

"Weird, is that what you’re calling it?” I turned in my seat to look at her.

"Is there something else I should be calling it?”

"You have been given a gift.” Mom pulled to a stop at a traffic light. “Both of you have."

"You can fly, Casey. It's incredible." I tried to keep the jealousy from my voice. I refused to make things even worse between us.

"You have your own gifts, Vera."

"So you've told me." It was strange that Mom had no memory of all of our talks on Norco. She’d shared so much with me, yet it was one sided now. I still wasn’t sure if I even believed I had any gifts, but I had to.

"You know it's more than being an Ursus." She had no clue how much I knew.

"Yes. That's where this whole understand the knowledge thing comes from."

"I hope I explained things well to you." She glanced over at me.

“You did… sort of.” She’d done well given our minimal time and my less than stellar attitude.

“Did you like it there?” She paused. “Norco?”

“It's different, but in a good way."

"It's part of you. Just like it’s a part of me." She sounded far off, and I knew her thoughts were with Norco and Gareth.

"Is it a part of me?" Casey asked. The edge to her voice was gone and replaced with a tentativeness that felt more familiar.

"Of course.” Mom caught her eye in the rear view mirror. “You haven't been there yet, but when you do, you'll understand."

"But that's not where we're going now?" Casey asked.

"No. We're going somewhere closer." She turned right at the next intersection.

"Don't worry, she won't tell me either." I turned to look at Casey again. "Don't take it personally."

“Mom didn't tell you what you were either, did she?" She watched me.

"Nope. That would have been too easy." To be fair I hadn’t given her much of a chance. I’d stopped listening to a thing she said when I was fifteen. I wasn’t exactly an easy kid.

"I was protecting you." Mom turned again. "Both of you."

"But you had to realize we'd find out eventually.” Those kinds of identities could never stay hidden forever.

"Eventually felt like a long ways away." Mom slowed down as the road narrowed.

"Is Dad really not, well…”

"He's my best friend." Mom cut her off from saying anything more.

"Friend?" Casey coughed. "That's harsh."

"It's true. We've never been romantically involved. I'm mated." Mom gripped the wheel tighter.

"But you share a bed. You've shared one for as long as I can remember." Casey leaned forward. “This makes no sense.”

“We have, but the physical act of sharing a bed does not equate with a romantic relationship.”

“You spent eighteen years sleeping next to a man you weren’t attracted to?” Casey wasn’t going easy on her, and I didn’t blame her. I’d had the same questions the first time I heard the story.

“Who said I wasn’t attracted to him?” Mom glanced back for a moment.

“You said your feelings are platonic.”

“I said our relationship is platonic. That doesn’t mean I don’t find him attractive, but that’s not how things are for us.”

“And he’s been cool with it? Totally fine sleeping next to a woman he couldn’t touch while raising her daughters?” Casey’s voice rose with what sounded like a mix of anger and annoyance. “He wasn’t even a distant type dad. He was an ultra-involved dad. That’s insane.”

“He’s my best friend, and he loves you both.”

“Why isn’t he coming on this trip with us?” That’s one part I didn’t understand.

“Because he can’t come.”

“Why?” I was tired of the mystery.

“Because it’s a place only women can go. No man is to even know it exists.”

“Isn’t that a little bit sexist?” More than a little.

“It’s an escape. Men have plenty of them in our world. Women don’t.”

“Define ‘our world’.” Casey used air quotes.

“The supernatural world. Non-human,” Mom explained.

“That’s not a very good definition.” Casey huffed.

“It’s the simplest one.”

“And simplest is best?” Casey still had such an edge to her. I really wished I knew where it had come from.

“Not always, but in this case. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to you right now other than I’m sorry.”

“How about explaining why you didn’t tell me sooner?”

“At least you accept it’s real.” I tried to focus on the positive side of things.

“Because the alternative is that this is a nightmare that won’t end.”

“Still, it shows some serious strength.” Edge or not, she was taking things incredibly well.

“If you say so.”

“Where’s this women’s getaway?” I glanced out the window at the thick trees lining the road.

“Not far.”

“But we’re headed to the beach.” It was the only place this road went this far out.

“Yes we are.”

“And what are we going to be doing at the beach?” I was positive it wouldn’t involve windsurfing or sunbathing.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

“Again with the vagueness.” I stretched out my legs in front of me.

“It’s easier to show you than to explain it.”

“Yes, you’ve already eluded to your preference for making it easy on yourself.” Casey’s tone was harsh, but it sounded more hurt than anything else.

Mom jerked the wheel and pulled over to the side of the road. She turned off the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and turned to Casey. “Do you think any of this is easy for me?”

“You could have told me.” Tears fell down Casey’s face.

“I was trying to protect you. I still am. You don’t understand this. You don’t understand the significance of your existence.”

“I don’t understand because you never told me. You can’t blame me for not knowing.”

“But I can beg you to understand and be patient with me.”

“I never said I wouldn’t be patient.” Casey wiped away some tears.

“Does this work better when it happens in the future?” Mom turned to me.

“I wasn’t there for it.” I only saw Casey after she knew what she was and had embraced it. She also had Toby. I hadn’t realized how important Toby was to Casey handling her new life.

“I promise I’m going to make it up to you. Everything is going to be okay.” Mom sighed. “I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t count for much right now, but it’s the truth.”

I exhaled loudly. “Is this retreat thingy cool?”

“Very.” Mom smiled. “You girls ready?”

“Absolutely.” I was stressed out of my mind, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t muster some enthusiasm, even if it was only for my sister’s sake.

“Good.” Mom turned on the car, buckled her seatbelt, and put the car back in drive. She drove past the usual parking lot and kept going until I thought we’d drive right on the beach.

She parked underneath two large oak trees. “What I’m about to suggest is going to sound crazy, but you need to listen.”

“Everything you guys have said in the last few hours has been crazy,” Casey huffed.

“I hope you girls are ready for a swim.” She got out of the car.

“Swim?” I got out and met her around the other side of the car. “What are you talking about?”

“The retreat isn’t too far from the shore, but it’s a little bit deep.” She headed toward the empty stretch of rocky beach.

“Wait. You expect us to dive in fully clothed and swim?” Casey looked toward the expansive water before us.

“You can change when you get inside.”

“Inside where?” It was my turn to be skeptical. I’d been all on board with this idea until she suggested the whole swimming thing.

“You’ll see.”

“Mom, stop it with the mysteriousness.” I understood it in front of the guys, but there was no point to be that way with us now. We were here. What was she trying to hide?

“You’re going to enjoy this. I know you will.” Mom smiled, and I wondered if she’d lost her mind. Why in the world would either of us enjoy this? Neither of us were big fans of swimming. Yet she’d forced us to do swim team.

After a moment’s pause, I decided to level with her. “I’m doing this to find the crystals, not to have fun.”

“You can both do this. You have a greater affinity for swimming than you think.”

“Why are you smiling?” Once again I wondered if she was okay.

“Because I’ve missed you. You may have seen me recently, but I haven’t seen you.” Her strange comment made complete sense. This whole veil time travel thing was bizarre.

Casey looked over at the water. “How deep are we talking?”

“You’ll be fine.” Mom walked over to the shore. “Are you two coming?”

“We’re really doing this?” Casey looked to me for reassurance.

“I guess we are.” I stood next to Mom. Casey joined me on my other side.

Mom waded in, and we reluctantly followed her into the calm water. The water was cold, but that was the least of my concerns. I still didn’t understand how a retreat could be under water. Wasn’t there something called air? “So what now?”

“Dive under and follow me.” Mom smiled again.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Casey wrapped her arms around herself. Without having transformed before she probably didn’t have all the benefits of being a shifter, like a higher than normal body heat.

“There’s only one way you’re going to find out.” Mom’s eyes twinkled. She was enjoying this experience more than I would have expected. I wasn’t sure if it was the sense of adventure or because she had the opportunity to show us part of her world. I was done worrying about her being crazy. We were all a little bit of that. There was so much to Mom I didn’t know. Even seeing Norco and meeting Gareth didn’t give me enough insight.

“Stay close, girls.” Mom dove under the surface of the water.

Casey and I exchanged glances before we dove under the waves after her.

The water was dark and murky. The visibility was poor as we swam down. I trusted my mom, but I couldn’t really believe it required swimming so far underwater.

Finally what felt like ages later we came upon what looked like a massive translucent dome.

Mom pushed open a side door connected to the dome, and we swam inside to the small chamber that was also full of water. Casey grabbed my hand to pull me out, but Mom blocked us and closed and latched the door, sending us into darkness. She swam to the other side, and I tried the latch myself. It wouldn’t budge. My heart skipped a beat. I really hoped Mom knew what she was doing.

T
here was an electronic beeping sound
, dim lights turned on, and the water level started to drop. Mom returned as Casey and I took in deep breaths.

“Were you trying to kill us?” I breathed in air with more relief than I ever had.

“You wanted the crystals.”

“And you think they’re here?” My breathing slowly returned to normal.

“Yes, but let me do the talking. The hostesses here won’t take well to you asking for something the second you arrive.”

“Got it.” I was beginning to understand the complexities of dealing with different types of creatures. There were social graces and rules that differed depending on who you were speaking with.

“Next time I’m using scuba gear.” Casey wrapped her arms around her chest.

“You have your sense of humor back.” Mom grinned. “Perfect timing.”

When the water completely subsided, disappearing into large drains on the floor, Mom pushed a button beside another door.

We waited there shivering. My tendency to run warm was no match against the cold room and soaking wet clothing.

The metallic door flew open, and a striking woman that had to have been close to six feet tall with long golden-blonde hair looked in through the door way. She was wearing a long silk robe. “Taliana! What a lovely surprise.” She left tiny kisses on both of Mom’s cheeks.

Mom gave the same small kisses in return. “Hello, Cleo, I brought my daughters with me.”

“I see.” The woman looked us over. “As lovely as one would expect for girls that carry your genes.”

“Thank you.” Mom bowed her head slightly.

I didn’t think lovely was the right word to describe us at the moment. More like shivering, wet messes.

“Come, let’s get you changed out of those wet clothes.” Cleon gestured for us to come inside the door.

She didn’t need to say it twice. Casey stayed close to my side as we followed Mom and Cleo inside.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as we stepped into the interior room. This one was completely dry, and there was more air movement. I wasn’t sure where they were pumping in the air from, but I didn’t ask. I figured there were far more important questions to ask.

Cleo led the way into an enormous locker room. Benches with plush cushions lined the room, while cubbies filled with towels and bath products lined the upper walls. On the far wall stood a row of hooks with robes hanging from them. There was a doorway next to the robes.

“I will give you all a few minutes to change, but please join me for some refreshments when you’re ready.” Cleo smiled pleasantly. If she was surprised by our arrival she didn’t show it.

“We won’t be long.” Mom smiled.

As soon as Cleo left Mom turned to us. “Feel free to take a hot shower if you need it, but I’m fine as is.”

“Yeah, I’m not taking a shower here.” Casey pulled a robe down from a hook. “But I’m getting changed.” She stepped through the doorway.

I followed her and found a room nearly as large as the first. There were at least half a dozen shower stalls and as many changing stalls. I had no trouble getting undressed in front of them, but there was privacy available, so I figured I might as well take it. I chose the stall next to the one Casey picked.

Two minutes later we were all wrapped in our plush robes and on our way out of the locker room. Casey wrapped her robe tightly around her and kept glancing down as though she were concerned it would come open.

“Taliana, it’s true. You’re here!” A younger splitting image of Cleo walked over. She was dressed in a purple robe much like Cleo’s.

A smile spread across Mom’s face. “Anastasia? Is that you?”

The girl laughed. “Yes. I’ve grown up.”

“These are my daughters.” Mom gestured to us. “Vera and Casey.”

“Welcome!” Anastasia grinned. “It’s not often that we have first-time visitors here.”

I was still trying to figure out what ‘here’ was, and what Anastasia and Cleo were. They weren’t human. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been running the retreat, and their ethereal beauty signified something supernatural.

“Are there any other guests?” Mom asked.

“Yes. A Nymph and a lioness. But it’s pretty quiet.”

“Great, quiet is good.” Mom smiled.

I said nothing. She’d asked us to let her do the talking, and I was going to listen. We didn’t have the time to make mistakes.

“Mom is making you some of her special cocktails.” Anastasia bounded down a small hallway.

I followed behind the excited girl, surprised when we stepped down the hallway into a room with tall glass ceilings and walls in the shape of a dome. Light rays from the surface came through the roof. It was like being in a fish tank—but thankfully without the water. “Wow.” I watched as a school of fish swam by outside.

“No one can see in, but we can see out,” Anastasia explained.

“Are there usually people trying to see in?” I tried to sound as polite as possible, but we were underwater.

“There are some divers around here, but we enchant it so they don’t remember what they see.”

“Enchant it? Are you witches?” That was all we needed.

Anastasia laughed. “Don’t you know what we are?”

“I hadn’t had a chance to tell the girls yet.” Mom sent me a warning glance, but she hadn’t told me not to ask questions.

“We’re Meres.”

“Meres?” Casey’s brow furrowed.

Cleo walked in holding a tray with drinks that each had layers of pink and purple liquid. “Some confuse us with the popular notion of a mermaid, but I assure you we are far superior to any depiction you’ve heard of.”

“Wait, you’re like mermaids?” Casey asked excitedly. “Do you have fins? Can you breathe underwater?”

“I’ll show you later.” Anastasia smiled. “You can show me your bear form.”

Casey’s face darkened.

Cleo stepped in. “She doesn’t have to show you anything, honey. Remember they are guests.”

“I can show you my bear.” I didn’t really want to shift, but I’d do whatever it took to protect Casey. I wasn’t sure what Mom had told Cleo, but I doubted she’d been telling the world that her daughter was half-Pteron.

“Maybe later, now is the time to chat over drinks.” Cleo held the tray out toward us.

I waited until I saw Mom pick one up to take it. I had no idea what this drink was, but considering I’d trusted Mom enough to even come down here, I had to trust Cleo wasn’t drugging us. The very fact that I was questioning the contents of two drinks in twenty-four hours was worrisome. I really needed some down time.

“Let’s take a seat.” Cleo walked toward a sitting area composed of modern looking couches and chairs that were all upholstered in vibrant colors.

I took my drink and sat down on a couch. Casey sat down next to me. I hoped that meant I still provided some comfort to her, but maybe it was because I was the least scary of the bunch.

Mom sat down on Casey’s other side, and the Meres sat down on seats facing us.

“To old friends and new ones.” Cleo held up her drink. We all held ours out and sipped them.

The drink was at once sweet, tart, and salty. The combination was surprisingly good. “What is this called?”

“It’s a Trident.”

I kept in my comment about Poseidon. I wasn’t going to dig myself a deeper hole. “It’s really good.”

“It’s all about the layering.” Anastasia swirled around the contents of her glass.

I looked down at the layers that were still separate. “Pretty cool.”

“We haven’t seen you in years, Taliana. How are you?” Cleo crossed her legs.

“I’ve been fine. Busy of course.”

“Kids will do that won’t they?” There was something comical about her response. It was the kind of conversation you’d expect to overhear at a park, not in some secret underwater retreat. “And how’s Chris?”

“He’s been better.” Mom looked down at her lap. “Some secrets have been shared earlier than expected.”

Cleo looked at Anastasia and then at Casey and me. “Oh, dear.”

So Cleo did know more than I originally thought.

“But he’ll be fine. The girls will always view him as their father.”

“Of course. He’s a good man.” Cleo knew something. Maybe she didn’t know everything, but she knew more than I’d known before Norco. That was for sure.

“He is.” Mom sat forward on the couch. “How have you been? Have you had a lot of guests?”

“Not as many as normal. It’s been quiet.” Cleo sipped her drink. “That worries me a little.”

“Your retreat is the only of its kind.”

“I’m not worried about business as much as I’m worried about the clientele.” Cleo looked at Anastasia and then at us. “Trouble is brewing. I can feel it.”

“You do have that gift.” Mom nudged me with her shoulder. I paid closer attention. I knew the touch was intentional.

“I do.”

“What gift is that?” Casey asked.

“The gift of foresight.”

“Meaning you can see the future?” Now that changed things.

“Not clearly. But we get glimpses,” Anastasia explained proudly. “And feelings. I’m still developing it, but my mom is incredible.”

“Unfortunately our visit isn’t of the social or relaxation kind,” Mom admitted.

“I assumed as much. You did bring the girls.” Cleo leaned back against the couch. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“Not out here.”

Cleo nodded. “I understand.”

“Is my usual room available?” Mom asked in a way that made me wonder what she was really asking. She was way smoother than I’d have expected. Then again, she had years of experience on the run.

“Absolutely. Why don’t I show you to it?” Cleo stood with her drink still in hand.

I held on to mine as I followed the others out of the room and down a long corridor.

Cleo pushed a button and a glass elevator appeared seemingly out of thin air. We all filed on and the door shut. Once closed the elevator shot up at an alarming speed before the doors flew open again.

Casey gave me another look. We’d been doing that since we’d first arrived at the retreat.

“You and the girls have this whole floor. I’ve sealed it off so we can talk freely.” Cleo ushered us into another sitting area. The room one was designed with all sorts of shades of pastels. It had a very relaxed feel.

“Thank you.” Mom took a seat on the edge of a couch. The action signaled the rest of us to take seats. We ended up sitting in the exact pattern we were in downstairs.

“Tell me. What’s going on?”

“We are experiencing a veil.”

“A veil?” Anastasia put a hand to her chest. “For real?”

“Yes.”

“But no one has successfully conjured one in years. I thought it was a lost art.” Anastasia looked to her mother.

“Evidently it’s happening. There is a growing faction of witches and warlocks using magic that has been outlawed and once thought extinct. It’s showing up with increasing frequency, and it’s what brought Vera here.”

“You’ve been in the future?” Cleo wasn’t doubting Mom. She’d accepted it so easily. I didn’t get it.

“Yes. Over a year ahead of this time.”

“And who conjured the veil? I assume it wasn’t you.”

“We don’t know for sure who helped, but my friend’s memory is at the center of it.”

“Her friend is a Pteron with a mother who’s a witch. The magic was awakened from origin crystals.”

Cleo took in a breath. “A Pteron with magic touched origin crystals?”

“Yes. Is that a bad thing?” I didn’t like her response. It made my guilty feelings over pushing him to use them even worse.

“Frightening more than bad.” Cleo kept her eyes on me. “This friend isn’t just a friend.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’m trying to understand what his veil has to do with you.”

“I kissed him because he was sleeping…”

“And you got pulled into the veil?” Anastasia asked.

“Something like that.”

“Fascinating.” Cleo pressed the palm of her hand into the chair she was sitting on. “What does the Pteron-warlock hope to accomplish at this time?”

Pteron-warlock. I hadn’t thought about his hybrid status yet. “We don’t know. He’s trying to figure it out.”

“Who conjured it with him? It would be impossible to do alone.”

“They don’t know,” Mom supplied.

“Maybe that’s your answer. The time must have been selected by the other.”

“So it may not have been for Jared. It would have been for someone else.” I contemplated who was part of it. Tiffany wouldn’t have used his memory.

“The Pteron is named Jared?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“He’s not aligned with the Laurents is he?” Cleo furrowed her brow.

“He is. His father runs their security.” And was a complete and utter traitor.

“The son of Jett Florence?”

“Yes.” My stomach turned at the sound of his name.

“I know his mother.”

“What?” Mom and I said at once.

“So do you.” She looked at mom.

“We didn’t have time to tell you.” There was so much Jared and I didn’t have a chance to explain.

“Tell me what?” Mom fixed her eyes on me.

“That Jared’s mom was there with Robert. She tried to help you. You thought she was human.”

“The woman with the Pteron? The one who warned me away?” Mom paled.

I nodded. “Yes. It’s a small world.”

“I’m lost.” Casey looked to me for answered.

“I promise we’ll fill you in,” Mom quickly reassured her before returning her attention to the Meres. “But tell us, Cleo. Jared’s name meant something to you. Does this shed light on the situation?”

“His mother was here once years ago. She was on the run and needed help disappearing.”

I got chills. I wished Jared was sitting there to hear the story.

“Since I know you would help anyone in need, we can skip right to what you did to help.” Mom folded her hands in her lap.

“I put her in contact with a coven I thought would help. She had a friend with her. Elana. They’d grown up together in New Orleans.”

“Elana?” The name immediately rang a bell. “Does she have a daughter? Nadia?”

“Yes.” Cleo turned to me. “Why do you ask?”

“I just met Nadia. She was helping us out. Georgina recognized her name.”

“You’ve met Georgina? The Matriarch of the Laurent family?” Mom asked with surprise.