The Locket (19 page)

“He did, and he lost his abilities because he betrayed you.”

Good!
At least there was some retribution.

“Please don’t be angry with him. You need him,” Omni continued. “There is a strong connection between your seals. They’re nearly identical. This will make you stronger when the time comes. We mistakenly exchanged the connection for love because we failed to analyze it. It was love. But not the romantic bond between seals like we thought. It was stronger than any seals we had seen before. We knew it was exactly the connection needed to trap Kace for good.”

“There is no connection,” I insisted. “I promise you that. I mean no disrespect, but I can’t even look at him. I sure as hell won’t forgive him.”

Omni smiled with the look of an understanding parent. “You will, Claire. It’s inherent in a family to forgive. You cannot fight it.”

“I can fight it, Omni. I will never get over what he did.” I fumed, tapping my foot furiously.

Family?

Reese wasn’t family. Not even close. Thanks to him the only family I had left was dead. I would never speak to Reese again and damn sure would not forgive him.

“You will get past it, Claire,” Omni coaxed. “The bond between you and Reese is strong. It will always be. Reese is tied to you eternally because he is your brother.”

Gasping in shock over what I just heard, I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat.

“What are you talking about? He’s not my brother, you have to be mistaken.” I wanted badly to lose control, shake the walls and bring the house down. As long as Omni kept talking, his voice controlled my emotions, and hindered me from exploding.

Omni began to unfold the story of how Reese was my brother. His words would change everything in my life, its course altered by a single night years ago.

“It’s not a mistake, Claire,” he began softly. I clung to every word. “We were just as surprised as you are. A year or so before you were born, your parents were having a difficult time. They separated for a while and your father rented a room above Reese’s family store where he stayed for several months.”

I recalled my mother telling me she had left my father for a short time while they were dating. She felt she was too young to be so serious with my father. She regretted the split. Was this why?

Omni continued, “Reese was conceived one night when his mother went to check in on your father. They both regretted what happened and never spoke of it again. Your father reconciled with your mother, vowing to be a better man and husband. Reese’s mother married her boyfriend and he raised Reese, believing him to be his own.” Omni’s words whirled around in my mind, struggling to settle down.

“I can’t believe this,” I sighed. My father shared a child with another woman. He hid a secret from us all these years. I had a brother. “How come you didn’t know this before?”

“When we discovered you to be The Locket child, we searched for your Aegis and your Paramour. Your seal was drawn quite powerfully to Reese and his to yours. We should have examined the connection more thoroughly. But we didn’t. Instead, we concluded he was the match to your seal. He was gifted the abilities needed to be your Paramour, and to love and serve you in a way only he could. The kinship the two of you shared masked your true Paramour,” Omni explained, nodding towards Brent.

He had to be wrong, I thought. The man I knew as my father would have never strayed from my mother. He was always the doting husband and treated her like a princess. Was it guilt?

“That’s a pretty big mistake, don’t you think? How could you not have known?” I scolded Omni, unable to hide the anger in my voice as I addressed him.

“We only serve to guide humans. We try not to interfere or look at their past mistakes. Wrong choices are sealed for God’s eyes only,” Omni preached. “The spirit world allows humans to find their match freely even if they chose incorrectly. Sometimes a miss-match is necessary for seals to grow.” Omni expressed how important it was they had found my seal’s match. When I came of age, there would be no time to experiment with the right-of-passage that most girls went through. I had to be matched from the beginning in order to be strong enough to fight Kace. “A match for you is your lifeline. Now that you have bonded, you’re sealed, with purpose. As long as you’re together you’ll feel the strength your seal provides.”

Slumping into the bed, I processed every word, my heart heavy in response. I had a brother. For the first time, I saw the resemblance. The sandy-blonde hair, the jawline, and even the way he creased his brow, looked like my father, our father.

Looking back, I recalled seeing Reese as a child, playing catch in his yard with the man he knew as his father. Reese was happy, and his father was obviously a good man. I shook my head and the memory dissipated.

It was going to be hard for Reese to learn the truth, and I shuddered at the thought of what this secret would do to his parents. Could their marriage survive this? They would surely find out. Reese’s mother should have known better. Secrets do not hide forever.

“What happens now?” I asked Omni.

Omni continued talking, picking up his earlier explanation.

“You may have noticed some of Brent’s abilities are not as strong as they once were,” he spoke, directing his gaze at Brent questioningly. Brent nodded. This explained why Brent could not see that Logan was the Anchor, why he could not stay awake as long as he should have, and why he had developed feelings for me beyond the parameters of being my Aegis.

“Omni, is that dangerous?” I was concerned that without his abilities, Brent would be left vulnerable to Kace.

“There’s no danger, Claire. Brent’s abilities will return now that you’re together. He has been given some new gifts as your Paramour. Your brother will acquire some new abilities as well. Reese is to be your Aegis now,” Omni told me. Hearing references to Reese as my brother caused a strange pull at my heart as I struggled to accept it.

“It will take all three of you to defeat Kace,” Omni continued. “But it will be done. The fated ones have seen it. You must find a safe place to go. Give yourself some time. Your abilities have surfaced and will develop over the next couple of days. If Kace finds you before you’re ready, it can change the outcome.

“Omni, I’m not sure about this. I don’t think I can stop Kace,” I admitted, feeling insecure.

“Claire, you are the chosen one,” Omni replied.

“Why me?” I asked

“Your strongest ability as The Locket is a gift that very few attain,” Omni said, smiling proudly.

“And what would that be, exactly? So far, all I have been able to do is shake a few walls and encase myself in a glass bubble. I’m sure those are things Kace can counter easily.”

“Those are abilities that control energy. They will develop, grow stronger, and be useful. Your greatest gift however, is controlling the mind. That is what you will need to trap Kace.” Omni assured me my abilities would be enough.

“I’ve been having visions of the past and the future. Is that what you’re talking about?” I asked.

“The visions are part of it but there is so much more. Your ability to control the minds of others will grow, and you’ll discover its power and how to control it. It is important you wait until your ability is strong or it will not work on Kace. He knows you are the chosen one, designed to return him to The Realm. Kace will do anything to stop you. Make no mistake about it, Claire. Kace will kill you if you’re not ready for him,” Omni warned, again stressing the need to develop my ability.

“How will I know when I’m ready?”

“You’ll feel it, Claire. Brent and Reese will help you. They were designed to complement you. Whatever you do, you
must
stay together,” Omni concluded, disappearing behind the glass.

Where were we supposed to go?

Immediately, I was overcome with a vision verifying the truth to Omni’s words. I saw the three of us together, strong, sensing the bond we shared. I wanted to see more, but light surrounded most of the vision, blinding the landscape. The vision melted away, leaving me unfulfilled.

Brent looked at me tenderly, trying to measure my mood. He laced his fingers in mine.

“Are you okay?”

“I have a brother,” I croaked, pulling in my bottom lip to fight off tears.

Brent nodded, brushing his thumb across the knuckles on my hand. “We need to go,” he told me, before pulling me close and winding his arms around me. I buried my head in his chest, clinging to him tightly, and absorbing the comfort that came with being wrapped in his warm embrace.

He held me for a few minutes before releasing me.

“I have to talk to Reese first.” I said with urgency in my voice.

Brent responded. “I know you do. Maybe we should go somewhere safe. You heard Omni. If Kace finds us now, it won’t end well.”

As Brent seemed the only one capable of making a rational decision at the moment, I nodded in agreement.

We went downstairs to find Reese sitting in Maggie’s chair, his face buried pitifully in his hands.

My brother.

He glanced up and met my eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Claire.” His apology was genuine. He had so much to deal with, and whether or not I forgave him, he was going to be crushed.

Unable to string together any words that didn’t involve telling Reese everything, thereby prolonging our departure, I simply shrugged.

Brent stepped in front of me and spoke to Reese.

“We have to go now.” Brent placed his hand on Reese’s shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. I smiled at the small expression of reassurance.

“You’re going to let me come with you after what I did?” Reese peered over Brent’s shoulder, looking for my approval.

“Just get in the car, Reese,” Brent told him, “before we change our mind.”

He stood and started walking towards me, but thought better of it, and kept his head down as he made his way out of the door, to the car. With a heavy heart, I followed, stopping briefly to look around my home.

Looking in at Maggie’s favorite chair, I held back tears, remembering how I always teased her about it looking like old curtains. More than once, I tried to convince her to have it reupholstered. She had laughed and told me it had character. She had done so much for me, and I felt like I was robbed of the chance to tell her how grateful I was. It would have been so much more difficult these past few months without her. Silently, I made a promise to always tell the people in my life how much they meant to me, and that I loved them. I had to start with my brother. Maggie’s home seemed so empty now. I closed the door, softly whispering, “goodbye, Maggie.”

“South, we need to go south,” I suddenly commanded to Brent.

“Okay, Claire, we’re already going south,” Brent clarified, squeezing my hand. “Why, what is it?”

“They’re at the beach house. I see them,” I squeaked, my voice failing with the shock of what I had seen.

“That means the Couriers from the boat house had learned something,” Brent stated.

While he spoke, I recalled being at the boat house where we discovered that Logan had killed Maggie. There were so many Couriers. We were unable to absorb all of them. Many of them attached to Reese, recording his thoughts.

“They must have reported our presence at the beach house when they returned to Kace,” Brent continued. “This is good for us, though. If Kace and Logan are in Jasper, then they might not know we went to Maggie’s or that we met with Omni. The distance gives us more time. You’re safe, Claire,” he said, kissing my hand again, and smiling softly.

It was getting late and we had been driving for about forty-five minutes, even though it felt like hours. Reese finally spoke, “Uh, guys? I really gotta go,” he said chuckling
. Good ol’ immature Reese.

Brent laughed too, but then told him, “There’s a rest stop at the next exit. Hold it until then.”

We pulled into the rest stop, packed full of travelers. The gas station had a line of cars stretching forever, and people were honking impatiently. Off to the left was a large building that housed several food chains and restrooms, which Reese obviously needed, judging from the fact he was holding himself and bouncing up and down.

After parking, Reese leaped from the car before Brent even turned off the engine. I laughed when I saw him almost run down a lady and a little girl she was with. He was apologizing profusely, but still holding himself like a kid.

“Now’s your chance,” Brent said, nudging me.

Rolling my eyes at him, I opened the door. Reese deserved the truth. Exiting the car, I made my way to the building and waited for him. Reese saw me through the glass doors before he was out of the building. He threw up his hands up in front of himself, indicating he had surrendered. He sure could make me laugh.

“Truce?” he offered.

“Come on, we need to talk.” I looped my arm through his and we made our way to a picnic table. Reese hopped up, sitting on the table, and I took a seat on the bench below. Traces of previous travelers lingered everywhere.

“Look, Claire,” Reese began. “I don’t know why I did what I did. I’m impulsive and immature.”

“And impatient,” I added.

Reese hung his head. “That, too.”

I caught his eye, smiled, and gave him a gentle sisterly punch in the leg.

“Look, as it turns out, what you did was probably a good thing.” It was a small offering to excuse him from his actions regarding Kace and Logan.

‘”I’m not sure that’s possible, Claire.” Reese protested, shaking his head. He was tugging at his jeans, rolling the fabric between his fingers, nervously.

It is a good thing. Kissing you the way I kiss Brent is wrong, on so many levels.