***
She shifted her gaze from the house to the man seated next to her, “Are you sure this is the right place?” They had been parked in front of the older home, waiting for Niall and Marcus to join them.
“Kevan, for the fifth time, yes we’re sure, at least as sure as we can be,” Caleb told her, turning her to face him, cupping her cheek, his thumb caressing her bottom lip. Her eyes searched his, trying to reassure herself that he really wanted to do this. “Are you sure that you want to do this?” he asked her.
Kevan smiled as she leaned over, kissing him. “I would love to say that we should slow down, but I’m beyond the point of no return. Before I met you, my life was as boring as plain toast, and as much as I like plain toast, I really prefer peanut butter and jam on it, too.”
Caleb smiled. “I’m glad Marcus isn’t around to hear you compare us to peanut butter and jam on toast. I really don’t know how he would take it.”
“Well, just so you know, I really like my peanut butter and jam,” she whispered, pressing in for a kiss.
“I’m really glad you like your peanut butter and jam, just so long as they stay in the kitchen,” Caleb teased.
“Oh, but baby, the fun we could have ...” Her eyes twinkled with promise, as their lips met, parting to give way to their mounting passion. She slipped closer to Caleb, until she finally slid over his legs, straddling his lap, and Caleb didn’t lose his control over her mouth, nor falter in his caress of her back, timing her straddle with a pull of her shirt from the waistband of her jeans. Kevan jerked back with surprise at the knock on the window, which brought her crashing back to reality. Looking out the driver’s side, her eyes encountered a smiling Niall, who gave her a wink and finger wave. Kevan moaned, as Caleb reluctantly moved her off his lap.
“Ready?” Caleb asked her one more time.
“I guess,” Kevan told him, stepping out to join Niall and Marcus.
“Did we keep you waiting? We do apologize for the interruption.” Niall smiled and winked. “Hey,” he rubbed the back of his head as Marcus shot him a look, as well as a smack, “What is your problem?”
“You!” Marcus growled. “Would you stop acting like a horny teenager?”
“Just because you haven’t gotten any, in like forever ...” Niall teased him, as they moved through the gate, and up the sidewalk towards the house. Kevan shook her head as she watched them.
“We really need to get them girlfriends,” she muttered, tweaking her clothes, tucking her shirt in.
“Yeah, I’ll jump right on that,” Caleb told her, as he tried to will himself back under control.
“I’m serious. As much as I don’t want to agree with Marcus, all Niall thinks about is sex.”
“Just so you know, I always have, and always will.” Kevan turned bright red when she twisted to face Niall and Marcus, who had moved back into hearing range. He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Don’t worry, Kevan. Caleb’s already told me that he’s not willing to share ...”
“Why me? I’m surrounded by randy, immortal horn dogs,” Kevan muttered, as she forced her way through them, heading up to the front door, chuckles of laughter following her. Pushing aside everything else, she concentrated on the house that they were approaching. Taking a calming breath, she looked to Caleb, who took her hand, squeezing it to reassure her that all would be fine.
The grand old house would have been the queen of the neighborhood, once. But now it was showing its age with remnants of peeling paint, broken shutters, and overgrown weeds sprouting out of the cracks in the walk way that wound its way to the old, faded front door. Kevan’s powers responded, foretelling that everything was about to change the moment that they knocked on the door. Caleb waited, watching the looks that flashed across her face.
“Are you ready?” he asked her.
“No,” Kevan whispered.
“We don’t have to do this Kevan. We can try to find another way, if you want?” he told her.
Kevan smiled, “Thanks but no, it’s okay. I’m just feeling a little emotional at the moment, for some reason. I know, it doesn’t make any sense to me either, but I just have a feeling in my gut that the moment I knock on this door, everything is going to change. I can’t explain how I know, I just do.”
“Kevan, everything in your life has changed, from us to what you learned about your parents; this can’t be any worse, and no matter what, I will be right beside you.” Reaching out, she kissed his cheek and soaked in the warmth of his hold, as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Let’s do this,” she told him. Stepping up to the door, she paused, looking around, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling that had invaded her body. It was a feeling that occurring with increasing frequency over the past few weeks, comparable to sensing a spying Joseph, yet different. Since they had stepped out of Caleb’s Expedition, the feeling had been growing steadily. Someone or something wasn’t happy that they were here, and she could feel it stalking her, and the others as well. She knew that they were going to have to stop it.
“Kevan?” Niall questioned. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. Kevan gave her head a shake, looked at the guys, then back to the house. “I’m fine, let’s do this.”
“Yes, let us talk to the crazy man’s family,” Marcus drawled, the sarcasm dripping in his tone.
“Like that attitude is going to help us,” Kevan snarled at him. “How about you let me do the talking, that way we might get something that might actually help us, rather than getting kicked out the front door.”
“He went crazy,” Marcus stated. “That’s a fact.”
“So what, this is his family and we need their help. Stop acting like you are so superior, because you aren’t.”
“The man has been dead for almost a hundred years. Why the hell would they care how I talk about him?”
Kevan shook her head in disbelief; the cairbare may have lived among humans for a long time, but they still had a lot to learn.
She pointed her finger at Marcus in warning. “I will do the talking, and that is the final word on that subject.”
“A little discipline would do wonders for your attitude,” Marcus warned her.
Caleb gave his brother a hard look. “Marcus, enough,” he warned with a growl.
“Fine, let her take control, but if she makes a mess of it, I will be the first to say I told you so.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Kevan muttered, as she bound up the creaking steps onto the front porch, headed for the front door, pausing a moment before she pushed the doorbell. The booming echo, which reminded Kevan of the sound of an old fashion gong, reverberated throughout the old house, making it shake from the rafters to the foundation, and into the far reaches of the house. All that was missing was the old, hunched back, grey haired butler to open the door, and it would be the start of a horror movie. Stepping back from the door, she welcomed the comfort of being surrounded by three seasoned warriors, as the images of all those horror movies that Kaitlyn had forced her to watch over the years flashed through her mind.
They waited patiently for the door to open, hearing a clearly audible sound of someone on the other side making their way to the door. Shifting from foot to foot, Kevan was starting to think that the door would never open, when the door handle turned, and the old door swung freely inward, the old wood seeming to sigh. The individual who was standing in the door way certainly wasn’t the image they had been expecting.
“Yes?” She was about ten years old, and cute as a button. Crystal clear blue eyes framed by long blond hair that hung half way down her back, made better with a smile. She was a tiny thing. “Can I help you?” she questioned. Kevan wasn’t aware that she was staring; the girl’s soul held such great age. She shifted her stance, making Kevan snap to.
“I’m sorry,” she said, crouching a little. “We’re looking for the relatives of D
exter Samhain. Would that happen to be your family?”
“That would depend upon whom it is that is asking?” Kevan’s brow crinkled, as she stared at the young girl who had spoken like an adult.
“How old are you?” Kevan questioned, as all kinds of ideas raced through her head.
The girl asked. “What difference does that make?” Kevan watched her carefully; worry flaring with that hinky feeling that they had walked into a trap.
“Are your parents’ home?” Niall questioned her.
“Well, considering they are both dead, I’d say that is highly unlikely,” she stated very matter-of-factly.
“Then what about your parental figure?” Marcus requested. She looked them over for a few seconds, sizing them up before she turned, yelling over her shoulder.
“Nans! Visitors!” she screeched as only little girls can, before turning back. “You might as well come in. Nans will be with you in a moment.” She stepped aside to let them in.
“You’re rather trusting, aren’t you?” Kevan questioned, concerned that anyone could walk in with such relaxed attitudes. Something about this girl reached out to her. “You have no idea who we are, or what we could want or do?”
A smile lit on the girl’s lips and travelled to her eyes. For someone so young, she was certainly very confident, and it showed with every movement and gesture that she made. “You wouldn’t have gotten as far as you have, if you had ill intentions towards us.” With that, she turned and escorted them into a sitting room just off the front foyer. As run down as the outside was, the inside was well cared for. It still showed its age, couches and chairs showing decades of use, the faded drapes of a bygone era teasing the eye with a ghost of past glory. Kevan took it all in, appreciating the hard work, ensuring that even as old as it all was and it had been taken care of, clean and homey.
“Good day lady and gentlemen.” They stood to face an older woman who joined them. “Please have a seat.”
“Nan?” the girl took on the role of protector.
“Hush child, all’s fine. Go put the kettle on, and check your sisters for me, please.”
“But Nan, please?” she begged.
“Julia, child, go. I need to talk to these good people, privately.” Julia’s shoulders sagged, as she walked slowly to the door, hesitating to look over her shoulder, the older women propelling her along with her fingers, and then she carried on out the door. They all watched Julia exit the room before they realized that the old woman was speaking to them. They turned their attention back to her.
“Well, I knew someone would be coming, but I certainly wasn’t expecting cairbare royalty, or you, young lady,” she told them, her eyes dancing with excitement.
“Excuse me?” Kevan inquired, feeling confused.
“Nothing to be excused, young lady.” A tired smile lit her face. Caleb looked at her closely, before he leaned over and whispered something to Niall, whose eyes widened with surprise, before he looked closely at the woman sitting across from them.
“Yes,” she told them with a smile. Kevan flashed back and forth between Caleb, and the woman seated across from them.
“Okay, would you tell me what the hell is going on?” she questioned Caleb.
“Kevan.” She turned to look at the woman, her mouth dropping open.
“How …?”
“How do I know your name?” she asked Kevan, as she reached out to take Kevan’s hand, but Kevan moved away, a sudden feeling of panic gripping her. “It’s all right, my dear, I won’t hurt you. I know your name, and I know what you are, because I’m a seer.”
“A what?”
“A seer,” Caleb whispered to Kevan. “She can see the future.”
“So what, she’s a psychic?” Kevan asked with doubt.
“Similar, but not quite the same.” She reached out again for Kevan’s hand, only this time Kevan didn’t pull away. “I’m like an oracle without all the riddles; well, that’s not true either, how about we say I don’t have as many riddles, and leave it at that.” Kevan stared at her.
“The young girl, is she your granddaughter?”
“Oh, thank you my dear, but no, Julia is my great-great-granddaughter.”
“How old …”
“I’m 98 years old, my dear.” Kevan was shocked. She looked very young for her age, but Kevan was shocked that she had custody of her great-great-granddaughters, from the sound of it. “So you have come looking for answers, answers that I’m willing to give you, but they will cost you,” she told them, all business.
“How much?” Marcus, ever the practical, questioned. She turned to study him, and they watched as a smile slowly spread across her face.
“Yes, you will do very well,” she told him.
“Excuse me?” Marcus asked of her.
“Relax young man, please have a seat, we need to talk.” She held out her free hand towards the empty chair next to her. Marcus watched her warily before he moved to do as she requested. “So, as I was telling you, I have been expecting someone for a long time, but I’m surprised that it’s you-all.”
“Are you disappointed?” Kevan asked, hoping the owner of the hand holding hers would never pull away, never take away the warmth and protection the soft, aged skin gave.
She smiled at Kevan again. “Oh, my dear, disappointed that is the last thing I am in who has finally come to find me.”
“So, as a seer, I assume that you know why we are here?” Caleb asked her.
“Yes dear, you are looking for my dear great-great-grandfather’s research,” she told him. “And like I told you, I am more than willing to give it to you, but it’s going to cost you.”
“Fine,” Marcus told her. “How much would you like?”
“Oh, my dear boy, I’m not seeking money.” She chuckled while patting Marcus’ knee. He shifted uncomfortably under her watchful eyes.
“But you said that it was going to cost us. What do we have that you would consider payment?” he asked, exasperation showing on his face.
“Oh, there will be payment demands, from you maybe more than the others, as it would seem that you will be willing. But it is not about money, not for this.” Marcus continued staring at her with confusion. Kevan leaned forward, grabbing the old woman’s attention.
“What would you like then …” Kevan looked to her.
“Astral, Astral Samhain Mason,” she supplied them with her name. “You are here for all the research that Dexter Samhain, my great-great-grandfather gathered in his quest for the Lost Repository.”
“Astral.” Kevan greeted, she paused before continuing. “Yes we are looking for anything you have or know about Dexter’s research.”
“You know that you aren’t the first to come looking for it?” she asked.
“No, we figured that there had been others before,” Niall said.
“Yes, there has been, but not in a long time,” Astral whispered, as memories of the past floated through her mind. Then she looked to them again. “Not all have been searching with the right intentions.”
“Who has been here?” Kevan asked her.
“They aren’t important now. You’re here, and you’re whom I’m going to entrust my family’s legacy to.”
“What?” Caleb started in shock. He hadn’t expected it to be quite so easy.
“Don’t look so surprised, young man; I am a seer,” She smiled. “I have always known there would come a day that I would pass it on, but I certainly never expected that it would be to you-all.”
“You act like you know us,” Kevan said. “How come?”
“In some ways, my dear, I do.” She reached out, touching Kevan’s chest right above her heart. “I know what is in here, and it’s good. That is why I know that you’re the ones to whom I should entrust my family legacy. It’s fate, even if you like to believe that you make your own destiny.” She leaned over, and whispered to Kevan. “I know
your beliefs, but there are certain things that come, no matter what your choices are. Fate keeps things interesting. This is one of your interesting moments, my dear. I have known that you would come since I was a very young girl, long before you were even a twitch in the universe. I just waited for the stars to align, and now they have.” She gave them a grin, mischievous intelligence shining brightly from her eyes. She might play the role of a sweet gentle woman, but cross her and watch out. “Now I know that you have some other questions. Please ask, I will answer everything that I can.”
Kevan sat, unsure what to ask her. Astral spoke with such confidence, and the hope Kevan felt about success left her feeling on solid ground, for a change. She looked to Caleb, who smiled, feeling the same thing as Kevan.
“What do you know about your great-great-grandfather?”
“Well, I do know that he wasn’t crazy like the stories claim,” Astral asserted. “No better way to put people off than to play the part of a crazy person. I’d say it worked, wouldn’t you?” Kevan liked the pride in Astral’s voice. She knew a lot more than she was saying.
“Did he find the Drusa grimoire?” Niall asked her.
“I don’t know,” Astral admitted. “He found something, but he never told anyone what it was. He hinted at its importance, but if it was the Drusa grimoire, he never said. What he found disturbed him greatly, I do know that. My grandmother would talk about how he changed so suddenly from a happy open man, to a paranoid person without trust for anyone, or anything.”
“What about the diary?” Caleb inquired. “Did it have directions?”
“It might have, but I never saw it; I just remember hearing about the stories of how it was stolen.”
“Stolen?” Kevan was pissed about that. “Gods, this is turning into some hokey mystery novel.”
Astral laughed at the analogy. “You will find life mimics art, not always the other way around. Anyhow, the diary was stolen from this house.”
Niall cleared his throat, “The diary was stolen from us, too. That was about seventy years ago.”
“So it was stolen again, was it? Stolen twice, once from our family, and then from yours,” Astral said, mostly to herself.
Kevan leaned back with surprise. “Are you saying that the cairbare stole it from you?”
“Girl, you don’t think we gave it to the cairbare for safekeeping, did you? It was stolen shortly after Dexter’s death, from right here in the house. We were never sure who had it over the years; now we know it was the cairbare.”
Kevan groaned, “Damn, no one here has seen the diary for seventy years, or more,” then asked Astral, “do you have any sense of where it might be?”
“No. I’m sorry my dear, my gift doesn’t work that way,” Astral admitted.
“It was worth a shot.” Kevan sighed, “Alright, what can you tell us about Dexter’s diary; anything would be a great help?”
Astral watched Kevan closely, before she pulled her close into a hug, saying low and soft, “My dear, you and your family are destined for great things; this is just the beginning. So much strength, compassion, and the love you have; seems fate has decided to reveal some players.”
She let Kevan go, and turned to look at the three cairbare sitting in the room. “I have a few things to tell you all.” Astral came to her feet, and walked over to Caleb, who had also gotten to his feet. The warrior towered over her by almost a foot, but nobody would ever think that this woman wasn’t powerful when she easily focused Caleb’s attention with a grip of hands.
“Hold her close, trust her strength. When you think she is at her weakest, remember, she will be at her strongest.” Caleb felt her influence leave him when Astral turned her look and touch to Niall. “The Prince. You have led your warriors well. You must trust that you will have the answers you seek, but only when the time is right. Trust yourself, and those near you; they will not let you down. You must practice patience to face something unexpected. It will take time to see the treasure for what it is, but once you do, it will be something that you will cherish for all time.” Niall shook his head clear when she turned to Marcus, stretching to cup his cheek.
Kevan could see a tear in the old woman’s eye as she stared into him. “Your answers are coming, not as soon as you would like, and not in the way you’re expecting, but they are coming. Also, much will be asked of you, but nothing that you cannot handle. You will grow to love it.” Marcus gave his head a jerk at the release of Astral’s hand, too slow to catch her when she sagged. Kevan raced to her side, and helped her to a chair.
“Thank you, my dear, they are harder than they used to be,” she muttered.
“Did you just have a vision?” Kevan was quite intrigued by what she saw.
“That is one way of describing them.” She patted Kevan’s hand. “You are on the right path. Carry on the way you are headed, and it will lead you to what you seek.”
“What?” Kevan gasped with surprise, wondering at the twinkle in Astral’s eyes. “Do you …”
“Dear, I have known that you were coming for a long time; everything will be delivered by the end of the day. I wish I could tell you more of what lies ahead, but all I see is clouds. It will get harder before it gets easier, I do know that. But don’t despair; you are all up for the challenges ahead, all of you.”
“What becomes harder? This is why I don’t trust prophecy, too many riddles, and not enough answers,” Marcus pushed, wanting to know more.
Astral shrugged. “Only time, and the paths that fate helps you choose, can answer that. Now as I told you, this comes with a price.”
“What?” Marcus asked, suddenly very wary.
“A promise,” she told them.
“A promise of what?” Kevan asked her, as she looked to the others.
“A promise that when the time is right, and I call for my payment, you will do as I ask without question or hesitation.” She watched them carefully.
“What is the promise?” Marcus asked her, not liking this.
“We promise,” Kevan spoke up. Astral smiled, as she looked to the men. “Promise, you guys!” Kevan ordered them.
“But we have no idea what we are promising to do. It could be anything,” Marcus argued. Caleb watched her for a moment, before he nodded his head in agreement.
“You have our word that we will honor our debt to you, Astral Samhain Mason.” Astral gave them a smile that lit up the room.
“You honor me,” she told them. “Thank you; now please be seated, join us for tea, it’s not often that we get visitors. I’m sure that Julia has it ready; she has been listening to us for the past fifteen minutes.” They all looked to the doorway where Julia had exited earlier, grinning when they heard the muttered curse. “It’s alright; dear, just please bring the tea.”