He turned back to her, his green eyes serious and in full warrior mode. He nodded once. “I can’t take credit for the mist. This is Endelle’s work.”
“Oh. Well, it is amazing but it wouldn’t have surprised me if you’d been the author or any of the Warriors of the Blood. You’re all so powerful.”
He shook his head. “None of us can make mist like this. Trust me. But let’s get you inside.”
He hustled her into the foyer and closed the door so hard the frame shook. He stood facing the door and listened for a long, tense moment.
At last, satisfied, he turned to her. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She took a step back and lifted her attaché a few inches. “Liaison work. There are forms to fill out, to sign. Questions to ask.”
At that his shoulders relaxed. “Shit, yes, of course. Come in, Havily. I’m sorry. I should have expected you. Let me introduce you to ascendiate Wells.”
The tongue is a blessing.
The tongue is a sword.
Beloved, my beloved,
Pray know the difference.
—Collected Poems, Beatrice of Fourth
CHAPTER 14
Alison stood by the granite island. She had heard the exchange between the woman and Kerrick, the woman he had called Havily, an unusual name, a very pretty name.
When the rapping on the door had sounded, Kerrick had gone into full warrior mode. As her adrenaline spiked, forgotten in a heartbeat was all the crushing need to throw herself at him. He’d ordered her to stay in the kitchen then contacted Central. Yes, the woman named Havily had been sent to them. He had said, She’s a Liaison Officer. Alison had waited.
Hearing their voices fall to normal levels, she moved into the doorway leading to the living room.
Havily. As the woman turned around, Alison had an instant impression of beauty and tremendous determination. She had a fount of glorious red hair flowing in waves past her shoulders and was an absolute angel, a visual work of art. Her features were delicate, her skin clear and smooth as though molded by a master’s hand, her eyes an exquisite light green. She wore professional clothes, a cream linen suit, nicely tailored. You’re lovely slid from her mind before she could stop the words.
And you are powerful, Havily returned, her eyes brightening. I’ve been told my shields have no equal, yet here you are, in my thoughts?
“I shouldn’t have gone inside your head. I apologize.”
The young woman looked up at Kerrick and blinked again. “She laid her thoughts over my mind.”
Kerrick nodded. “And your shields are like granite.” He smiled his crooked smile. “Welcome to my world. Liaison Officer Havily Morgan, may I present ascendiate Alison Wells.”
The next few minutes involved a general exchange of greetings, explanation of duties, then a sit-down at the adjacent round table, which began with an enormous sheaf of forms. “Is all this really necessary?” Alison asked. “I thought ascension meant everything was improved.”
Havily sighed. “Unfortunately, the same difficulties of entrenched bureaucracies are alive and well on Second Earth. I’m hoping to make a difference. After all, what is the purpose of one form that says ASCENDIATE APPLICATION and another, ASCENDIATE DATA, each presenting a list of identical questions with the exception of one or two? And what’s worse, it’s all done on paper as though the computer had never been invented.”
Alison heard the increase in both pitch and speed of the Liaison Officer’s speech. She glanced at both forms then at Havily. She saw the wrinkled brow and heard the quiet clucking of her tongue. Alison reached out once more and felt the young woman’s passion, her dedication. “You’d like to see many changes.”
“You have no idea.” Her cheeks grew pink and her eyes widened.
“What kind of changes?”
Havily turned toward her, shifted her knees, and met her gaze straight-on. She gestured with a sweep of her left hand. “At the very least, each entity should be led by a person of vision, of passion, who understands the concept of a mission-oriented plan. At the very least.”
Alison smiled as her own heart rate kicked up a notch to match Havily’s. She encouraged her to speak, to elaborate on her ideas, and the Liaison Officer opened up to the point that after a few minutes Havily rose to her feet and paced the room. She gesticulated with an ever-widening throw of her arms and covered subjects like competitive performance and empowering staff. Even Kerrick moved to sit on a stool, coffee cup in hand, his gaze fixed on the vibrant movements and gestures.
When at last Havily drew breath, Kerrick said, “I didn’t know you cared about these things. I mean, I know you’ve been working with an architect on a new military-admin complex. Jesus, Havily.”
She glanced at him then back at Alison. Her fine peachy-red brows rose over her delicate features. She pierced Alison with her vibrant stare. “You’re an empath.”
“I … suppose.”
Havily returned to her seat in her brisk movements. “You are. Of course you are.” She opened up a lavender folder. “Yes, of course, since you have all of Second’s abilities. That’s how you got me to talking.” Once more her passionate nature asserted itself and she laid a hand on Alison’s arm, her light green eyes blazing. “You must get to know Madame Endelle. You must find some way to help her, to get through to her about all the ways she’s misdirected. You see, she’s grossly overworked trying to hold our world together, and her administration is sunk in all the reports she receives from all over the world. We none of us really know her, or what makes up her day, since who among us comes near to having her powers? But you could. With all of Second’s abilities, you could.”
Alison hardly knew what to say. As it was, the little she knew of Endelle made her feel sorry for anyone who might have to work so closely with her.
Kerrick moved from the island to stand next to Havily. He settled a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, O Passionate One, our ascendiate barely knows anything about our world. She’s just getting used to the fangs and having to battle for her life. Asking her to be of use to Endelle—it might be a little early in the process.”
Havily shifted her gaze to stare at the papers once more. “You’re right.” She nodded. “Yes, of course.” She then pulled forward the first sheet and began gathering Alison’s basic information, date of birth, height, weight, medical history, schooling. Alison found the interview soothing in an odd way. To be talking of such mundane things made her feel there was some normalcy to the process.
She sat back in her chair and sipped her coffee as Havily checked boxes and filled in spaces. When Havily jotted down Joy’s name, Alison asked, “So how does this work? Kerrick told me I will still be able to see my family. I can still visit them, be with them.”
Havily glanced at her and smiled but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Of course you can. However, we require counseling for ascenders who wish to continue to visit Mortal Earth. In the beginning everything will seem strange, awkward. You might even want to repress memories at some point or create new ones to explain your absences, that sort of thing.”
Alison sucked in a breath. “You mean tamper with the minds of family members.”
Havily nodded, frowning. “I know it seems invasive, even unkind. However, one of the goals must always be to keep Second Earth a secret from Mortal Earth. We even have departments worldwide that monitor eruptions about dimensional worlds, or the world of the vampire. Again, lots of memories are suppressed.”
Alison nodded, but she couldn’t imagine being anything but forthright with her family. “I’m very close to my sister. She’ll wonder where I am. As it is, I’ll be missing a family dinner.”
“Actually,” Havily said, “I’ve often found it helpful, just until this process works itself out, to pretend you decided to take a spontaneous holiday, like to Hawaii, or better yet, Mexico, for oh, say, three weeks.”
“Fake a vacation? A three-week vacation?”
Havily consulted her notes. “W
ell, you’re in between gigs at the moment, having given up your practice, and your grad program wouldn’t have started for another month.”
“I just don’t know if my family will buy it.” She shifted in her seat.
“I’m not fond of fabricating my way through life, either. In this situation, however, the truth won’t serve. Think of it as giving yourself a period of time to adjust to your new life here, to receive some counseling, to know what you can tell your family, to figure out how to move forward.” Alison didn’t know what to say. Havily pressed on. “Once you complete your rite of ascension, the first few weeks of ascended life will be rigorous. We are an industrious world and everyone plays a part. Pretending a three-week stay in Mexico or Hawaii will give you time to settle in before having to tackle the more delicate job of incorporating visits to Mortal Earth with your new life on Second.”
Alison held out both hands, palms up. “What do I do?”
Havily whipped out her iPhone. “Call your sister and start learning to elaborate on the truth.”
Alison blinked. She didn’t know which shocked her more, that she’d be lying to her family or that Havily held a Mortal Earth iPhone in her hand.
Havily laughed, a musical trill very much like Joy’s. “The import business on Second is enormous. We take advantage of all Mortal Earth technology.”
Alison once more had that strange underwater sensation, the one she had experienced earlier when Kerrick drove her to her home in Carefree. All the information he had blurred in her direction had made her feel like she’d dropped below the surface of a large body of water. She felt that way all over again.
Despite the sense of being overwhelmed, Alison took the phone and made her call—but when she heard her sister’s voice, tears started to her eyes. The reality of what would become in time a huge gulf between herself and her family threatened to overtake her.
“Where have you been?” Joy cried. “I’ve left you three messages and you’re just now calling?”
Joy’s peeved tone allowed air to rush into Alison’s lungs. She smiled. “Where have I been?” Alison suppressed a laugh thinking of her blown-up house in Carefree. She glanced at Kerrick. He shook his head back and forth, not as a negation but as a hell-if-I-know-what-to-say.
“Well, you’re never going to believe this,” she began. Havily gasped and opened her mouth wide. She wagged her head briskly back and forth, clearly afraid Alison meant to spill the beans. But Alison said, “I’m in Mexico … Cancún, actually.”
“What?”
Alison pulled the phone away from her ear then back. “Hey, I have acute hearing, remember?”
Joy laughed then expressed a mountain of I can’t believe it, but the more Alison assured her she’d hopped on a plane, checked into a hotel, and was now by a pool sipping a margarita, the easier the lie became.
Silence. Alison closed her eyes. Would Joy buy it?
“I can’t believe you actually took a vacation.”
“I needed time to think. I’ve really started to question whether grad school is the answer for me. And do you realize that the last time I zoned out on a beach was over four years ago?”
“Lissy, I’m so glad. You’ve earned a break, but why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, I’m not sure. But after you and I talked on the phone, I just got to thinking about what you told me. The next thing I knew … well, the plans came together really fast.” She let the words hang.
Joy gasped. “Tell me you’re taking my advice … about … you know.”
Alison shifted her gaze to Kerrick, to his wonderful height, to the massive plane of his chest, the ripped shoulders and pecs, his sexy jeans and bare feet. “Actually, I think you might have given me the best advice ever and I’m going to do something about it.”
Joy squealed. “Go get ’em,” she cried. “But you’d better call me … a lot. I want updates.”
“Hey,” Alison cried, “if my plans work out I may be a little busy.”
“That would be so awesome, sister mine. Okay. You do whatever you have to do right now. If you need time to, well, relax”—she pretended to growl—“then you relax as long as you want.”
“I love you, Joy.”
“Love you more.”
Alison touched the screen to end the connection. She handed the phone back to Havily, who had already stuffed her papers back into her briefcase, preparing to leave.
For some reason Alison recalled her dream of flying over a lake. On impulse she said, “Before you go, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Yes, of course, anything.”
“Can you tell me about White Lake?”
“White Lake? You mean White Lake near the White Tank Mountains?”
“On the west side of the White Tanks?”
“Yes.”
“So it does exist,” Alison murmured.
“Why do you ask? What is it you want to know?”
“I’ve dreamed about the lake. I just wasn’t sure if it was real. There isn’t a lake here by that name.”
Havily’s lips parted and a frown furrowed her brow.
Kerrick returned to the table. He stared down at her, his emerald eyes flashing. “What kind of dream was it?”
“Earlier, when I woke up, I had been dreaming that I had wings—and it was so awesome to be flying. I was over a lake, and in the dream I knew the lake was called White Lake. I just wondered if it had any particular significance.”
Kerrick whistled.
Havily put a hand to her chest, her expressive fingers plucking at her ivory silk blouse. “What was the nature of the dream?” she asked. “I mean, what were you feeling in the dream?” Her voice had a hushed quality.
“Well, I guess I just felt very protective of the lake, like somehow this was my job, to protect White Lake. Also, I kept hearing the word guardian in my head.”
“Holy shit,” Kerrick murmured.
Havily glanced at Kerrick, but he just shrugged as though unable to give her direction on this one.
“The lake,” Havily said, “forms a Borderland between Second and Third Earth.”
“A dimensional Borderland?” Alison was shocked.
“Precisely. However, the Trough to Third is closed to us.”
“Like Second is closed to Mortals.”
“With the important difference that we know Third Earth exists.”
“Yet you have no contact with Third Earth or any of the Upper Dimensions. So how do you know any of them exist?”
“Because Third Earth wasn’t always closed,” Havily said. “Several millennia ago there was constant movement among all the dimensions. Then it was just shut down. No one here knows why. But that was a long time ago.”
“And you don’t have any idea what the significance of this dream might be? Why I might have experienced such protective feelings about the lake, the Borderland?”
Havily tilted her head. “Dreams are an important element of ascended life, and we never take them lightly. It sounds like you have a very real connection to the White Lake Borderland. The interpretation, however, shouldn’t be forced, and I’m absolutely certain you’ll discover the meaning in time.”
Havily stood up, taking her briefcase in hand. “Be at peace, ascendiate,” she said.
Alison rose as well. Havily extended her hand and with a smile, Alison took it in hers and gave a firm shake. However, the moment she did, Havily froze in place, her brows high in the air. Her lips formed a silent O.
Then Alison felt it as well, a strange vibration flowing up her arm from the hand clasping Havily’s. She experienced a connection with this woman, an inexplicable bond. Alison closed her eyes and a heavy sensation flowed through her mind, a prescience, then a specific image of Havily flying next to her over White Lake, her expression hard, determined, focused.
Alison gasped then released her hand. “Did you see that as well?”
“A vision?” Havily’s brows rose higher.
“I guess that’
s what it was.”
Havily shook her head, smiled, chuckled. “You are powerful. As for myself, no vision, though I did feel a tingling in my hand and all up my arm.” Once more she tilted her head. “Ascendiate, I wish you the very best in the coming days and weeks. If you need anything, do not hesitate to summon me. Should you require a place to stay until you get settled, my home is open to you. I’ve left my cell number with you.” She gestured, again with her elegant lively hands, toward the lavender folder on the table.
She offered one last smile, lifted her arm, then vanished.
Alison turned to Kerrick. “I’ve noticed ascenders often lift a hand or an arm before folding. What is that?”
Kerrick shrugged. “Just a warning, I guess, like hitting the turn signal in a car.”
Alison laughed. “That makes sense. I suppose it’s nice to have notice before someone disappears.”
* * *
Kerrick refilled his mug and tried to quiet the hammering of his heart. This was getting worse and worse. During the time Havily had conversed with Alison and performed her job, his gaze had been all for Alison. He’d been struck by her kindness toward Havily.
This was Alison’s true gift, and it had nothing to do with preternatural power. She listened and she cared. Goddamn that got to him, worked in his heart like a miner after a vein of gold. And for whatever biological reason, the same sensation drove straight into his groin demanding possession.
Why the fuck couldn’t she have been selfish and small-minded? Instead, while she was in the middle of an experience that essentially meant she was battling for her life, she had culled from Havily a single stunning fact—Havily was passionate about making significant changes in hopes of altering the course of the war.
We need Alison, he thought. Hell, I need her.
Then there was the whole business about White Lake. He had lived too long on Second not to comprehend that the dream was significant, which meant her role on Second Earth would become increasingly important, another reason she shouldn’t be anywhere near a Warrior of the Blood. Christ, this whole thing kept getting more and more complicated. Fucking breh-hedden.