Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) (9 page)

After some powerfully silent persuasion from
Gabe, her boyfriend was forced to release her and let her get
dressed.

“So, how long was I gone for?”

“About four and a half hours.” Gabe’s attempt
to sound casual was futile.

Gemma slipped on her last piece of clothing
and cleared her throat, watching them both whip around to ogle her.
She studied their stark skin and wrinkled expressions and was
unable to deny the guilt she had been ignoring.

“I’m sorry I took so long, but it was totally
worth it.” Her eyes glittered as she reached for Harrison’s hand.
“Come on, get me something to eat and I’ll tell you every last
detail.”

She scoffed down one of Gabe’s double decker
sandwiches, a bran muffin and a full glass of milk as she recounted
her time away. They peppered her with questions, which she managed
to answer with a smile until they wore her nerves raw. By the time
she was done she felt frazzled and the weight of her trip caught up
to her like a bullet train.

“You’re gonna need some shut eye before you
face anyone. They’ll see straight through you otherwise.” Jumping
up from the table, Gabe pulled the clothes from his bed and
smoothed down the blanket. “Come on, even if it’s just an
hour.”

Gemma couldn’t have declined if she’d wanted
to. Her body saw the mattress and dove for it like it was made of
million dollar bills. A pleasure filled sigh escaped her lips as
her aching body enjoyed the sheer delight of modern day padding.
Closing her eyes, she nestled into the comfortable blackness and
lost all track of time.

* * * *

Soft lips brushed her cheekbone then worked
their way down her neck, lingering over her collarbone before
ascending back up to her earlobe.

“Babe, it’s time to wake up.” Harrison’s
voice was so delicious, she thought she was dreaming.

Squeezing her eyes tight, she willed the
fantasy to continue, afraid that once she fully woke, his voice
would vanish and she’d be lying alone on a cold, forest floor.

“Sweetie, you’ve got to get home before your
parents start asking questions.”

Her eyes flew open and her head jerked to the
side. Harrison’s lips were less than an inch from her own. She
gazed into his pale brown orbs and felt the comfort of his
presence.

“I wasn’t just dreaming.” Running her hands
over his cheeks, she threaded her fingers through his hair. “You’re
really here.”

Fire raced through her veins as she enjoyed
the softness of his lips and the warmth of his tongue welcoming her
home. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him on top of
her and got lost in the feel of his body melding with hers.

“Not on my bed you don’t!”

A sharp slap on her upper thigh had Gemma
pushing Harrison away with a reluctant groan.

“He was only welcoming me home.”

Gemma’s feigned innocence earned a very droll
look from her real father. Sitting up with blushing cheeks, she
shot him a look of insincere remorse. He rolled his eyes in
response, before spitting a black glare at Harrison and ushering
them out of the caravan.

Her boyfriend looked embarrassed as he
fumbled for his keys, but Gemma knew he didn’t regret a second of
their ardent interlude. She certainly didn’t.

Clearing her throat, she donned her jacket
and turned back to Gabe.

“Thanks for your help. Hopefully it’s
worked.”

“I guess you’ll find out tomorrow…
after
school.”

“But…”

“If Helen’s waited over 18 years, another day
ain’t gonna kill her.” Gabe’s head dipped with a stern expression.
“Promise me you’ll go to school first.”

Gemma rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.
“Fine. I promise.”

She watched his lips twitch with a smile
before he grabbed her head in his hands and planted a kiss in her
hair. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be by to tell you all about it on the
weekend.”

“See ya then, kid.”

Gabe waited by the door to wave. Harrison
cruised behind her bike all the way to Lions Bridge, where he
jumped out to gift her one more kiss before leaving her for the
night.

She felt her heart hammer as she watched him
pull away. He’d only gone four and a half hours without her, she’d
had to last eleven days and she was feeling highly ripped off. She
vowed to make up for it over the weekend, formulating plausible
excuses in her head as she meandered home.

The house was quiet when she arrived. It was
more than tempting to head straight to her room and pretend she
lived alone, but she wanted to be in her parents' good books for
the rest of the week, so decided to seek them out.

The kitchen, dining room and lounge all sat
silent. Rather than hollering through the house like she used to,
she began a systematic search. It wasn’t until she reached her
father’s office that she picked up on the murmur of
conversation.

Resting her ear against the wood, she ignored
the discourtesies of eavesdropping and listened in.

“I’m telling you it’s changed. When I looked
at my notes this morning I had a plan fully mapped out. We could
have gone tomorrow, but now my pages are blank.”

“Which means someone’s gone back and changed
something.”

“It also means all the research I’ve been
doing for the last few months has been a waste of time!”

Gemma flinched at the anger in her father’s
voice.

“We’re running out of time.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“How could it have changed, Alistair? History
doesn’t do that unless we say so.”

“We’re not the only ones out there who can
travel, Pen.”

“Do you think it was one of the
patronus
?”

“Could be, although I thought they were
pretty scarce these days.”

“Maybe one has resurfaced.”

Alistair sighed. Gemma could picture him
behind the wood, rubbing his temple as if the weight of the world
was resting on his shoulders.

“We’re going to need to do some
investigating… and I’m going to need to start my search again.”

She heard pages being balled up and thrown
across the room.

“Well, if anyone’s going to find it, it’s
you.”

Gemma imagined her mother standing behind her
father’s chair and kneading his shoulders.

“How are we going with the...?”

“Fine.”

“Suitable?”

“Pretty perfect, I think. I guess we’ll find
out soon.”

“I better get on with it then. I’d like to
make the trip beforehand.”

Gemma’s brow creased. What were they talking
about? What was soon? And what did they need to find before
then?

A huge part of her wanted to creep away from
the door and process everything she had just heard, but the wiser
part rapped on the wood and burst into the room with a breezy
smile.

“Hey Mom. Hi Dad. I’m home.”

“Oh hello, sweetie. How was school?”

She kept her expression bored and shrugged.
“Same as always.”

“Well, I suppose you better get on with your
homework then.”

“Yep,” Gemma nodded with a smile, managing to
hide the shock at being dismissed without the usual interrogation.
Maybe they were saving it up for later. “I’ll see you at
dinner.”

Shutting the door quietly, she ran to her
room and locked herself inside. The conversation she had just
swallowed tasted bitter and she couldn’t quite figure out why until
a revelation hit her. The shocking arrow of reason pierced her
middle and she crumpled to the floor like a rag doll.

Someone changed history today and her father
had noticed. Someone had wiped his research pages blank and it was
most likely that that someone was her.

Chapter
Thirteen

St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD

Harrison had barely slept a wink. His whole
body was geared for the afternoon treasure hunt. With boxes piling
up around his home, he was more than ready to produce a letter from
his father.

His knee bobbed under the breakfast table
driving Rosie to distraction. After a yelling scuffle the family
was split and sent off to school. Tensions had been seismic as the
move to DC grew near. The only one who had packed anything was his
mother. Rosie was flat out refusing, Justin had “not gotten around
to it” and Sam was torn on loyalties so hadn’t done anything. Bryan
was spending extra hours at work trying to avoid the growing
acrimony. So the house remained in a state of chaos that no one
seemed able to fight their way out of.

Harrison felt a swell of guilt as he pulled
out of the driveway. His mother was probably feeling very lonely,
but he couldn’t support her decision. He wasn’t moving! His lips
began to mutter a silent prayer as he drove north, his heart
begging for a goody box containing everything his mother would need
to remain put.

He found Gemma at her locker. She looked to
be reading through her homework, but not absorbing any of it. Her
brow was wrinkled and her lips were curved south. Softening his
approach, he glided his arm around her middle and kissed her
neck.

“Hey.” She smiled and turned.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I just…” she faltered over her words,
took a breath then started again. “I overheard a conversation with
my parents last night and it’s…”

“So, the love birds are back.” Darren’s voice
was dry.

“Hey man,” Harrison fought to hide his
irritation at being interrupted.

“How was your make out day?”

“Make out day?”

“Okay, you guys aren’t seriously expecting me
to believe that you two just happened to be away on the same
day.”

“I was sick.” Gemma’s eyes rounded with
innocence.

“Yeah, you look sick.”

Gemma couldn’t help a smile. She blushed and
dropped her head. Darren rolled his eyes, mumbling about the
unfairness of it all.

“Courtney won’t even skip one class for a
little,” he whistled, “behind the bleachers.”

“She’s a good girl.” Harrison slapped
Darren’s shoulder.

The bell echoed through the hallway. He
turned to Gemma with regret.

“It’s okay.” She kissed him. “I’ll tell you
later.”

The day seemed to drag. Now he had two things
to worry about. Questions had been swirling in his head like a
tornado all morning.

What does Gemma want to tell me? She looked
pretty worried. What are her parents up to now?

His thoughts turned black then veered left as
they collided with the second twister.

Will the box be there? Will Mom even buy it?
What if she thinks I’ve forged the letter somehow?

The final bell rang clear and Harrison jumped
from his seat, listening to his classmates snicker as he fumbled
with his books.

Gemma was right on his heels as they made a
beeline for the exit. He’d already arranged for Rosie to get a ride
home. She was a little peeved, but when he explained he needed some
quality time with his girlfriend she forgave him. Sweet Rosie, she
was a sucker for romance.

They took both the car and the bike, knowing
Gemma would have to ride double time to get home without too many
questions. She didn’t have any fake excuses for Thursdays and was
expected at home on time.

The cemetery was near empty as they
approached. Gemma’s relief was palpable.

“I was worried we’d have to come back another
day and with you guys moving so soon, we’re running out of
time.”

“Well, let’s not waste any more.”

She squeezed his hand and led him to a back
corner, out of sight of the basilica. Nestled beneath a clump of
trees was a tiny headstone that was impossibly hard to see.
Dropping to her knees, Gemma brushed away the earthy debris then
turned to him and smiled.

The plaque was bare, barring a tiny N carved
into the corner.

“This is it.” Gemma produced a small trowel
from her bag.

He tipped his head doubtfully and she just
smiled.

“I told him to make it as inconspicuous as
possible… and also as shallow as was safe.”

“Well, he’s certainly taken inconspicuous to
heart. How did you know this hiding spot would even be here?”

“I found this spot when we first moved here.
I used to skateboard down here and hide when I wanted to get away
from... everything. It’s such a good spot, don’t you think?”

Harrison nodded, watching her scrape around
the edges of the plaque.

“These trees have been here for centuries.
They may not have been this big when Nathaniel hid the stuff here,
but they would have been sizable.”

Harrison drummed his fingers as he took in
the monstrous roots that were popping free of the earth. He
imagined Nathaniel stealing here under the cover of darkness and
burying his treasure with a small prayer.

“Do you want me to have a go for a
while?”

“No it’s okay.” Gemma grunted as she dug a
little deeper. “Just keep an eye out for me.”

Reluctantly Harrison turned away to make sure
they were still alone. A young couple with tourist backpacks were
ambling through the gardens taking photos of everything. They
looked to be coming this way, but veered down the path and headed
towards the large cross on the water’s edge. He turned back and
released his breath.

Gemma had dug quickly; the edge of a small
wooden box was now exposed.

“Here, help me lift it.”

Dropping to his haunches, he joined Gemma in
wiggling and pulling the box free. They both landed on their
backsides with a huff, each clinging to an iron handle.

Gemma’s eyes danced as she scrambled to her
knees. Studying the lock briefly, she lifted her trowel and brought
it down with a forceful
thwack
! The lock fell away. She
pushed the box towards him.

His heart was thundering as he lifted the
lid. Inside was a leather pouch. Loosening the tie, he pulled out a
thick bundle of letters.
Helena
was written in perfect
calligraphy on each of them. Respectfully he laid them on the earth
and gazed at the smaller bundle in his hands. His heart stopped as
he read the name inscribed.