Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) (12 page)

Harrison pulled the car into the driveway and
cut the engine. He had to pry her from the car and his warm hand
around hers was only just stilling the butterflies ravaging her
stomach.

Stepping into the house, her senses were met
with the familiar sights and smells she had missed so much. She
took in the homey essence of the kitchen and couldn’t help smiling.
The room was filled with that fresh cookie aroma that Gemma was
sure most normal children came home to. As opposed to the mod-con
iciness of her house, this place percolated with warmth.

“Justin, is that you?” Helen’s voice arrived
in the kitchen before she did, making Gemma stiffen. Her body
followed moments later and froze on the spot.

Gemma watched her features flicker with
varying emotions before settling on an amiable smile.

“Hello, Gemma. Thank you for coming.”

“Well, I didn’t really have a choice, but
thank you for inviting me,” she quickly finished.

“I just baked, would you care to join me for
a snack?”

“Sure.” Gemma felt her lips quivering as she
attempted a smile.

“Where’s Rosie?” Helen popped some cookies on
a plate and organized drinks.

“She’s catching a ride with Sally today.”

Helen huffed. “And we all know why she’s
doing that.”

Gemma snickered at Helen’s expression. It was
widely known that Rosie had the biggest crush on Sally’s brother.
He was a junior and way out of her league, but she was trying
anyway. Gemma admired her spunk.

“Shall we?”

Harrison followed his mother into the
sunroom, pulling Gemma behind him. They all took their seats and an
uncomfortable silence immediately descended. Gemma nibbled her
cookie, not tasting any of it. She kept her eyes on the floor and
the only thing that changed that was the sound of Helen’s quiet
voice.

“I owe you my thanks, Gemma. What you did was
brave and a little fool hardy, but…” Helen’s voice petered out to
nothing. Gemma met her gaze and smiled.

“I wanted to. Really. Nathaniel was an
amazing man and he deserved to make it past his twenty-fifth
birthday.”

“Is it wrong that I’m jealous?”

“No,” Gemma chuckled. “I wish you could have
been the one to go back and save him, but I’m guessing you gave up
traveling when you came home pregnant.”

She nodded. “I wanted Harrison to have a
normal life.”

“And then he goes and falls in love with me.
I can sort of understand why you reacted badly to that.”

“I had sacrificed everything to give him this
chance. I can’t even describe how I felt when Sam told me what
Harrison had called you. I’m sorry for being so unkind.”

“I understand. I’m sure I’d feel the same if
I were in your shoes.”

They both smiled at each other then resumed
their nibbling. The tightness in her chest slowly loosened as
Helen’s calm demeanor permeated the air. Gemma’s presence seemed
welcome once again. As that thought blossomed, her courage
built.

“Can I ask you why you went back to
1820?”

Helen’s skin blanched white, but quickly
recovered to its normal setting. Her eyes flickered around the
room.

“I suppose there’s no harm in telling you.”
She cleared her throat. “I was looking for something. A key.”

Gemma felt her pulse ignite, but forced her
features to remain bland.

“I’m assuming you know of Decimus?”

“A little.”

“You know about Vala and the missionary
priest?”

Gemma nodded.

“When he learned of the missionary’s betrayal
he decided to leave his family and seek out the man in the hope
that he could find out what he’d wanted. He was gone for nearly
twenty years and what he discovered horrified him. In the end it
took his life.

You see the missionary wasn’t working alone.
He belonged to a group called the
verum peto
.”

“The truth…?”

“Seekers. Although I think
aurum peto
would have been a more honest description.”

“Gold seekers.” Gemma frowned.

Helen nodded with a sad smile. “The group had
managed to steal gold dust from each of the
electus
. When
Decimus figured this out he knew he had to stop them. He sensed
that the combination of the
electus
could be a powerful
force and he knew in his heart that it wouldn’t be used for
good.”

“So what did he do?” Harrison was rapt.

“He stole each vial of gold dust. He was
afraid to destroy them though, thinking it might kill his siblings.
So instead he created a box to lock the vials inside. On top of the
box was a lock, which consisted of seven keys. It was in the shape
of a six-pointed star with a cogwheel as its center. Once he’d
finished his construction he hid the box and then sent a key to
each of his siblings with strict instructions to never let it out
of their sight.” A shaky breath left her lips before she continued.
“Time passed, the
electus
died and the box remained hidden
until rumors stirred that it had been found. Immediately two camps
formed, those who wanted the box opened and those who knew it
needed to remain closed.”

“The
liberatio
and the
patronus
,” Gemma whispered.

Helen’s head shot north, her eyes wide with
inquiry.

“My father’s told me a little. Which side
were you on?”

Helen swallowed and looked to the floor. “I
am loathed to say my mother fought for the
liberatio
. She
was obsessed with the possibilities of what those vials could do.
She thought the
patronus
were narrow minded and lived in
fear.”

“But you didn’t?”

“I used to agree with her, but then I met
Nathaniel and he changed everything.” A soft smile lit her lips.
“He caught me stealing food and hauled me away before the
authorities could nab me. I had been hunting tirelessly for nearly
a week. I was cold and exhausted and I really wanted to quit, but I
knew my mother would kill me if I returned with no information.

Nathaniel took me in. He fed me, warmed me
and opened my eyes to a life of peace and simplicity. No more
traveling in search of a power that didn’t belong to me. He taught
me how to be content with who I was and what I had. After two weeks
of his company I decided not to return…” Her eyes sparkled for a
moment. “I also decided that the piece I found three days after
meeting him was not meant to be placed in the hands of the
liberatio
.”

Gemma’s heart skipped a beat and she leaned
forward. “So what did you do with it?”

“I hid it somewhere no one would think to
look.”

An image flashed through Gemma’s mind as she
heard the words uttered, an explosion of color and clarity. “His
necklace! You gave it to Nathaniel.”

So that’s why it seemed so familiar!
She nearly blurted her thought aloud, but quickly bit her
tongue.

Helen didn’t seem to notice. “I thought it
would be safe with him. His brother was the well-known one.
Nathaniel hated the spotlight and I knew he would remain in the
shadows and the piece with him.”

Gemma nibbled her cheek. She saw Harrison’s
gaze shifting to her as if asking permission to spill the beans.
She caught his eye and shook a quick no. If Helen knew what her
parents were up to, she’d flip. There’s no way she’d let Harrison
anywhere near her again.

“Where do you think the necklace is now?”
Gemma tried to sound nonplussed.

“My prayer is that it was buried with
him.”

Her chest fluttered with hope as she smiled.
Buried with him… meaning her parents would never find it.

“That’s good news.” She grinned. “By the
sounds of it, that box should stay closed.”

Helen agreed with a nod. “I’m sure it
probably doesn’t even exist anymore. That thing is so ancient now,
hopefully it’s been destroyed somewhere throughout history.”

“Hopefully,” Gemma squeaked. She shot
Harrison a nervous glance. He blessed her with a wink then leaned
back in his chair, relaxed. She felt her muscles think about doing
the same thing until Helen’s comment reached her ears.

“I would be fascinated to meet your parents
properly sometime. I was briefly introduced when you were in
hospital earlier this year, but they weren’t really up for
conversation. Now that we have so much in common…”

“Actually, you know,” Gemma forced her voice
not to shake, “they think Harrison is just a normal guy and I don’t
really want to rock the boat there. If they knew I was revealing my
origins to anybody they’d completely freak.”

“Oh, so they think Harrison doesn’t know what
you are?”

“Uh-huh.” Gemma kept her eyes on the
floor.

The silence was pure torture as she waited
for Helen to see straight through her.

“I suppose it’s easier that way.”

Gemma glanced up with a grin and a nod.

“Why don’t we save introductions for closer
to the prom.”

“Sure.” Her stomach plummeted, but her lips
stayed erect. The kitchen door slammed shut and saved her life.
Rosie breezed into the room moments later and began her usual
waterfall explanation of her afternoon.

An hour and a half later Gemma was standing
next to her bike with her arms wrapped around Harrison.

“That went well.” Harrison played with the
end of her ponytail.

“Yeah, it’s nice to know I’m welcome
again.”

“That stuff about the box was pretty intense.
Why didn’t you want to tell her about your parents.”

“Because I don’t want her to freak out and
it’s not even an issue anymore. If the last piece is buried with
Nathaniel then they’ll never be able to get it. It’s over.” She
felt her heart lift with the idea. She couldn’t wait to tell
Gabe.

“It’s the start of good things, babe.”

“Yeah.” Gemma grinned and pulled Harrison
towards her. Sure, she was still bound to her parents, but if that
box could never be opened then it was one less thing to worry
about. She wasn’t sure what they were planning to do with those
vials, but her gut told her it wasn’t good.

But it doesn’t matter anymore.

Gemma nearly giggled with relief.

* * * *

She pulled her bike into the garage and
climbed the stairs with a spring in her step. As she wandered to
the kitchen, her mind raced with ideas of how she could talk to
Gabe tonight. She couldn’t wait to tell him. She couldn’t…

Her body froze as she came face to face with
the most beautiful guy she had ever seen. His eyes were a dark
cocoa, his olive skin flawless. His hair was a thick, rich
chocolate that begged to be touched and his broad smile filled the
room. He looked to be just a little older than her. She quickly
perused what she could only assume was a very muscular frame; it
was hidden intelligently beneath a pair of faded jeans and a button
down shirt.

“Hi there,” his voice was smooth and
sweet.

Suddenly aware that she was ogling him, she
dropped her gaze. “Um, hi.” She shook her head, hating her
flustered behavior. Gathering her senses, she pulled her brain back
into play. “What are you doing in my house?”

“Oh.” He grinned. “I was invited. Your
parents…” He pointed a thumb towards the dining room where, as if
on cue, her mother waltzed through the door.

“Gemma, sweetheart, you’re home.”

She kissed her cheek and squeezed her
shoulder.

“What’s going on?”

“This is Simeon. He arrived about an hour
ago.” Penelope turned towards him with a radiant smile. “He’s an
exchange student from California and he’ll be staying with us for
the rest of the year.”

Simeon’s smile grew wide as he extended his
hand. Gemma took it with a polite smile.

“He’s a senior also and will be attending
school with you.”

“Really?” Gemma squeaked. “You never
mentioned…” She gave her mother a pointed look.

“Yes, well… surprise!” Her mother’s laughter
was phony and piercing. Gemma winced then turned to Simeon.

“Would you excuse us for one moment?”

Placing her hand firmly beneath her mother’s
elbow, she guided the woman from the room and turned on her with a
fierce whisper.

“
What
are you doing?”

“With Ruby and Dom gone we’ve had no-one to
keep an eye on you. Simeon solves this problem perfectly.”

“Mom! I’m 18. I can look after myself.”

“Not with the friends you currently associate
with.”

“There’s nothing wrong with them! You like
Courtney!”

Penelope rolled her eyes, exasperated. “I
just can’t win with you, can I?
You
asked for a friend we
were happy with, so I found you one. Please tell me you’re not
going to
moan
about this as well.”

“How do you even know this guy?”

“He’s an old family friend.” Penelope blinked
then looked at her imperiously.

Gemma felt her heart beat with foreboding,
knowing a liar when she saw one.

“I don’t like this.”

“I don’t care what you like,” her mother
snapped. “He’s a good boy and you will treat him with respect. You
are to be friendly and welcoming. No more weekends flouncing off
with your friends. You have someone new to entertain now.”

Gemma’s jaw dropped. Pure horror stole all
her vocabulary and replaced it with stunned silence.

“I’m thinking of your future, Gemma. This boy
will most likely be your match.”

And with that she left her shell-shocked
daughter standing in the marble hallway debating whether to race to
the bathroom to hurl or her bedroom to cry.

Chapter
Seventeen

St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD

Harrison had returned home the night before
unable to shake a stirring in his stomach. The necklace remaining
hidden was great, but Gemma was wrong about one thing. This wasn’t
over. His foreboding grew throughout the night as he tossed and
turned, vainly chasing sleep.