Through The Veil (26 page)

“I think you just volunteered,” Brooklyn said as she began
to rummage through her pack. She pulled out a chalice, a bottle, and some small
cloths. “Okay, everyone is right-handed, right?”

Would this really work? Lori glanced at the others as
Brooklyn prepared. Neither of the guys looked too convinced.

“Good, we’ll all do this with our left hands. Let’s sit on
the ground in a circle under the tree that way we’re in touch with the positive
energy coming from the Earth, too.”

They sat in a small circle in the cushiony moss layering the
ground under the large oak tree. Lori was surprised when she sat at just how
warm the ground seemed to be especially after the cold spell.

Marcus must have heard her mental question. “The underground
spring leading to the falls runs under here, so the ground is warmer in this
area of the village,” he told her.

Brooklyn set up a small pedestal in the middle of the circle
where they sat. Each of them sat with their legs crossed so their knees lightly
touched. The circle was so tight Lori would easily be able to touch Brooklyn
who sat directly across from her if she wanted to.

Placing two pieces of cloth in front of each of them, she
instructed, “One of these is for the alcohol to prep your hand. Once you’ve
prepped, don’t touch anything with that hand. Each person needs to cut their
hand and let their blood drip into the chalice. When all our blood is present,
I’ll say the incantation, and then you’ll use the other clean cloth to soak up
a bit of the mixed blood and rub it back into the cut. That should mingle our
blood with minimum contamination. Here are bandages for after.” She passed
around several strips of gauze. “And no one get overzealous with this. We don’t
need a ton of blood. Just a few drops. Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Is
everyone ready?”

They nodded.
Griff
cleansed his
hand, made the first cut, and then pressed his blood into the chalice. He
passed the bloody knife to Lori, who glanced questioningly at Brooklyn.

“That’s fine,” Brooklyn told her. “That will just strengthen
the ceremony.”

Lori bit her bottom lip as she cleansed her palm and then
ran the blade across it. The blade was sharp, so she barely felt it as it slid
effortlessly into her skin. As the blood welled on her palm, tingles radiated
out over her hand similar to the ones she felt when she used her energy
manipulation. Tiny pinpricks of energy dug through her nerves. She reached out
to let the blood drip into the chalice when
Griff
gasped.

“What?” Panic zinged. “Did I do it wrong?”

“Your eyes are glowing,” he said.

“It’s okay,” Marcus reassured him. “That’s what they do when
she taps into the Earth’s energy.” He nodded at her. “Keep going.”

She refocused on her hand and the blood dripping into the
chalice, and then handed the knife to Marcus. He and Brooklyn both did the
same.

Brooklyn stirred the blood four times, chanting, “Earth,
Air, Fire, Water. Four elements. Four souls. All seeking unity.” She tapped the
stick to the edge and then instructed, “Okay, dip your cloths, then touch the
blood to the cut on your hand.”

Suddenly apprehensive, Lori did as instructed. When the
bloody cloth touched her hand, sparks spread throughout her chest and limbs,
snatching her breath as the feeling spread. It lasted only a few seconds, but
the sensation left her gasping for air. Jerking her head back she met Marcus’s
shocked green gaze, now electric green. Oh wow, his eyes glowed now.

“Holy shit!”
Griff
exclaimed and
she looked over to him and Brooklyn. Both their eyes glowed, too. Everyone sat
there frozen in surprise.

“Um, Brooklyn,” she whispered. “I don’t think we’re going to
be able to hide this from Malcolm.” She’d never seen her eyes do this when she
used her power. No wonder people freaked out when they saw it. This was weird.

“Is everyone okay?” Brooklyn’s voice shook. They all nodded.
“Okay, bandage up and then we’ll take stock of exactly what we’ve accomplished
here besides radioactive retinas.”

Lori took a deep breath and tried to control the sudden
shakiness in her limbs when out of the blue, an onslaught of emotions hit her.
She swayed. Marcus grabbed her elbow to steady her.

“Whoa. I think maybe that worked.” She closed her eyes for a
moment, working to raise some mental shields until she could deal with the
sudden cacophony in her head. “I can feel you all,” she whispered. “It’s like
you’re in my head with me.”

Brooklyn’s eyes were wide. “Yeah, I think that may have
worked too well.”

“We should have just had sex,”
Griff
commented.

Both Brooklyn and Lori slugged him on each shoulder since
they sat on either side of him.

“Hey, maybe this thinking alike isn’t so bad,” Brooklyn
grinned across to Lori.

“I think it’s going to take some getting used to,” Lori
said.

“What about the eyes?”
Griff
asked.

Marcus had been watching Lori with concern, but he looked
away from her now. “For Lori, it usually fades within an hour. I’m guessing it
will be the same for us.”

“Let’s hope,” Brooklyn intoned. “Or else Malcolm is going to
skin me alive.”

Lori chuckled. “You talk like he’s an ogre.”

“When it comes to using magic and the Earth for things like
this versus his tried-and-true science? You better believe it. There’s no
arguing with the man. He fully believes in what his science books tell him, not
his intuitions. Which is sad because the man has some righteous natural healing
skills if he would just relax and use them.”

“Brooklyn…” Marcus warned.

She lifted both hands in supplication. “I know, I know. It’s
an old argument I’m never going to win, so I should just drop it.”

Griff
looked at the three of them
warily. “So, now what do we do?”

Brooklyn hopped up, excited. “I say we start our workout
again and see just how well we work as a team now.”

* * *

The good news was Brooklyn’s experiment worked extremely
well, maybe too well. It was several hours later and Lori had just eaten.
Unfortunately,
Griff
hadn’t and she could feel his
hunger pulsing at her, telling her to eat again.

This went beyond normal telepathy. All four of them were
experiencing life through four different bodies at the same time. It became
more than a little disorienting. Brooklyn kept saying that she thought the
effect would lessen as the mixed blood filtered throughout their bloodstreams.
Lori hoped so. She couldn’t eat every time one of them got hungry. She’d weigh
three hundred pounds in just a few months.

There were also no secrets anymore.

She had discovered
Griff
had a
lead for finding his older brother, Brock, who had disappeared years ago. The
lead had come from a lover the two brothers unknowingly shared. Ugh.

Brooklyn was secretly in love with Malcolm and desperate to
keep the fact hidden since he didn’t return her feelings.

And Marcus hated the Predators because a former lover had
been killed by one. He planned to explain it all to her later tonight. But from
what she’d seen of his thoughts, she understood the depth of his pain and the
vague references she’d heard throughout the village.

Suddenly, his extreme reactions to the Predator made
complete sense. She never should have judged him so harshly. In her heart, she
should have known he wasn’t the bad guy that she cast him as. That hadn’t been
fair of her to place the judgment for her tormentors onto him.

And those were just the secrets she’d found passing through
their heads randomly this afternoon. Who knew what else would be revealed
before this was over?

She glanced warily at the other three. All of them sat stiff
and uncomfortable with the change of events. Not only had they signed up for a
very dangerous mission together, but they had unknowingly entered into a bond
beyond anything they expected. They were most definitely tied to each other,
tied together by secrets and that made Lori uncomfortable. Who knew what
secrets they were discovering of hers? And damn,
Griff
didn’t even like her. Not good. This wouldn’t work, not unless they all wanted
to die.

“Okay, everybody up.” Lori clapped her hands and then
pointed at
Griff
. “Grab an energy bar before I gnaw
my own arm off.”

Brooklyn giggled.

“What?”
Griff
asked defensively.

“We can all feel how hungry you are and it’s distracting.
Let’s go. Everybody grab some water and your weapons.”

They exchanged glances and warily did as she suggested. They
followed along as Lori led them away from the farm area and deeper into the
forest. “The purpose of this whole thing was to help our telepathy and team
work. We’re going to work as teams. Brooklyn, you’re with Marcus.
Griff
and I will be the other team.”

“Why are we working as a team?”
Griff
scowled as he munched on his snack.

“Because you and I have the least ability to work together.
We need to fix that.”

“So, what’s the objective?” Marcus asked, a competitive
gleam in his eye.

Lori thought for a moment. What could they go after that
would provide a challenge to the four of them? Inspiration struck. “Aaron is
the objective. Steal something personal of his without getting caught.
Whichever team loses has to make dinner.”

The three Warriors looked a bit leery about going after
their boss as the goal so Lori offered a suggestion. “Brooklyn, send a message
to Bethany and tell her what we’re doing. She’ll be able to keep Aaron from
killing any of us. But she can be the only one that knows we’re up to
something. No getting help from anyone else to act as a diversion.”

She glanced between them, sensing the mix of humor,
trepidation, and adventure. “Everyone has one hour from now. At that time, meet
below Bethany’s house so we can return the items and Aaron can determine who
stole the most valuable item. Everyone game?”

The three Warriors nodded. Marcus and Brooklyn took off into
the air.
Griff
stared at Lori with a scowl. “So how
do you suggest we proceed with this?” he sneered.

Lori held one finger up to stall him as the other two flew
farther away. She tilted her head, listening as Marcus and Brooklyn made plans
to break into Aaron’s house.

Griff
rolled his eyes in
annoyance.

When Marcus and Brooklyn’s mental exchange became weaker,
Lori instructed him. “Take me a hundred yards farther away, and then we’ll see
if we can make plans without them hearing all the details.”

He crossed his arms. “And just why are you in charge?”

“I’m not,
Griff
, but don’t you
want to win?” Without waiting for him to respond, she continued, “We have a
better shot at winning if they don’t hear our plans. And maybe we’ll be able to
sabotage their plans at the same time, because while you were busy grumbling, I
could hear what they’re doing.”

He raised an eyebrow and then the corner of his lip quirked
up. “I like the sounds of that. Okay.” He seemed to reach a decision to trust
her. “Besides, Brooklyn makes a great stew.”

He picked her up and flew her farther away from the village.
Built a lot like Marcus,
Griff
was tall and muscular.
But unlike Marcus,
Griff
had a hard, angry edge to
his personality. She wondered how much of that could be blamed on his brother’s
desertion and how much of it was because he stayed so disconnected. From what
Lori could tell, the only reason he even remained around people was his loyalty
to Marcus. They had a deep bond, but it seemed to be the only one that
Griff
allowed himself.

“Stop,” he growled.

“Stop what?”

“Stop psychoanalyzing me and just accept that I don’t trust
you. There’s nothing deeper to it than that.”

Well, he put things bluntly, but curiously that didn’t hurt
her feelings. He wanted to protect Marcus and she could respect that. “I can
live with that. I’ll prove you wrong over time. In the meantime, you have to
get over yourself and find a way to work with me. Suck it up and deal, because
I’m here to stay.”

He gave a sharp nod and descended into the trees. “Do you
think we’ve gone far enough?”

“I think so.” She could still sense the other two, but they
weren’t as clear in her head. With their new connection, that was probably as
good as it got.

When he set her down, she began to gather small sticks from
the ground and stuck them in various pockets of her clothing.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She grinned at him. “I’m gathering my weapons.”

He tossed up his arms and began to pace, muttering, “She
can’t fly and she’s crazier than a bat. I might as well put on my apron now.”

“Relax, fly-boy. I got this, I promise. It’s not as crazy as
it seems.” She searched the ground for one more object. Ah, there they were.
Two perfect leaves. She smoothed them and placed them in her back pocket.

Griff
continued to rant to
himself.

“Tell me, what’s the one thing Aaron cherishes above all
else?”

He stopped pacing and pivoted to face her. “I don’t know.
Aaron’s not that materialistic of a guy. Whatever it is, he probably keeps it
in his bedroom somewhere and if we’re going to get there and break in, we need
to hurry, because we’re wasting time.”

She held a hand up to stop him. “That’s what Brooklyn and
Marcus are doing. I’m thinking we can set them up so he catches them in the act
and
we steal his most precious valuable.”

His jaw clenched. “And you know Aaron so well that you know
his most precious belonging is?”

She nodded. “I think I do, yes.” She paused for effect. “One
word—Bethany.”