for conspirators or lovers. My mouth went bone dry. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced myself to keep his gaze and not back down. “But in this, your war against Mynogan, I am on your side. I take great risk in aiding you. He must believe I’m with him in his endeavor. Make no mistake. I’m not doing it for you. I help you to help myself, nothing more.”
I cocked my head. “We’ll see.” He wanted me to trust him, yet he was warning me not to misinterpret his motives. Fine, then I’d warn him right back. “Turn against me and it’ll be the last thing you do in this world or the next.” I gave him a pointed stare and then walked away, just catching the hint of approval in his expression before I opened the door and stepped into the cool air of the living room.
Being close to Carreg was like standing in front of my Uncle Walter’s pizza oven during Friday night rush. I headed for the fridge for cold water.
A few seconds later, Carreg entered the living room.
“How long until Hank and Zara get back?” I asked Bryn, sliding onto an empty counter stool as she set down a mug of coffee for Aaron at the kitchen table. She offered me one, but I shook my head, lifting the water.
“Not long. Twenty minutes maybe.”
I downed several refreshing gulps of my water, noticing Rex and Aaron eyeballing me from the kitchen table. Something was up. “What?”
Carreg stood at the end of the counter. It was as though they were all waiting for something.
Bryn drew in a breath. “We were talking while you were asleep. And, we thought it might be good for you and Emma if we tried.”
Instantly, I tensed. My grip on the water bottle tightened until the plastic dented with a loud crack. “Tried what?”
“Come sit down at the table,” she said, coming around to grab the empty counter chair. I followed, pulling my chair along so we’d all have a place to sit. I shoved it under the table, holding on to the back of it as Bryn took her place beside me, leaving the empty chair she’d brought over for Carreg on my other side.
“We’re gonna call your kid,” Rex said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“It’s a bridge, from us to your daughter,” Aaron explained as Carreg sat down beside me. “It won’t help us locate her, unless, of course, she can tell us herself, but with all our powers pooled and concentrating on her, we should be able to connect mind to mind. That might be a ward Mynogan hadn’t considered placing on her. And we all agree you need it.”
“Sit down,” Bryn said with all the kindness and gentleness of a mother deer nudging her fawn out into the snow for the first time. “We’ll join hands and combine our power.” I sat down. Bryn squeezed my hand and smiled. “Carreg says that with enough people it could work.”
Not hiding my surprise, I turned and met Carreg’s stony gaze. “You?” He inclined his head lightly and then leaned back in the chair, completely enigmatic.
“All right, kids,” Rex said impatiently. “Let’s get this party started.”
The reality of what we were about to try hit me, and a wave of apprehension swept away my confidence and hope. Emma. What would I say to her? If she heard me, it could make her upset, or worse, totally freak her out. She’d want to be out of there so badly and hearing me might make it even more difficult for her. Was it selfish of me to contact her just for my own peace of mind? Would it do more harm than good?
Carreg slid his hand on the table in front of me and turned it palm up.
His calm voice swept into my mind.
Honestly, I didn’t know what to make of the Astarot noble. His motives were his own; he’d made that clear, so why did he comfort me? Why even suggest what we were about to do? I stared at his hand, deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and then slid mine into his. It was just a hand. No biggie.
Warmth enveloped me. He gave a subtle squeeze. I refused to look at him and instead drew in an audible breath and said, “Okay, I’m ready.”
Under Carreg’s direction, we focused our minds and then linked our power through our hands. Energy sizzled into my fingertips and zinged all the way to my toes and the top of my head.
“Envision yourself a circuit, a conduit,” he instructed. “Don’t hold it in. Just let it flow through you to me. We are all of one mind and one purpose …”
The hum of everyone’s personal power slowly built and presented itself as music, blending and strengthening, merging together in a symphony of notes and undertones.
Soon, I could pick out each individual by their power. Bryn’s was like springtime; open, adventurous, prideful, and determined. It played like a melody that revealed each emotion. Aaron’s was deep and steadfast, quick and tumultuous, but tempered by iron will and intelligence. Rex’s was as I’d expect; wild and free, a no-holds-barred joy of living and fun, now that he had a body to live in. For a moment, I could actually sympathize and see why he dealt in life and death. To be simply an entity, one who couldn’t feel, touch, or taste, was a hell I’d never want to know. And then there was Carreg, a potent, dark song full of turbulence and heat and passion, of steely control and a force of will that pounded relentlessly throughout.
My own power came back into me, completing the circle. It was an unharmonious clash of two warring powers, a sharp, thunderous song that spoke of uncontained strength and chaos. But amid the frenzy there was a faint soulful melody of my human powers, the grief I held on to, the mistrust and fear, the anger and injustice, all blended with the love and loyalty I had for my family, and a singular note so beautiful that it could only be my bond with Emma.
A twinge of embarrassment went through me. The others were so in control of their powers, each one balanced in their own way. A part of me wanted to apologize for the clang and screeching of my own hectic tune. Bryn squeezed my hand, the same moment Carreg did. Acceptance swept into the circle, flowing through me and making my chest burn.
“Focus now on Emma.” Carreg’s voice sounded deep and harmonious over the circuit of power. “Her name, her face, her scent … Imagine sending the circuit out into the world to connect with her, imagine the circle is not complete without her.”
A tear slid down my cheek. Bryn sniffed beside me.
More than anything in the world, I wanted to find my child, to connect with her in this moment, so I poured all of myself into the effort, opening my mind to her infectious laughter, the way she breathed when she slept, and the way her hugs imbued peace and joy inside of me.
It felt like hours had passed.
The circuit suddenly shimmered. Bryn gasped.
Emma. I knew her immediately. Her spirit flowed into me like a clear lake in a pristine alpine forest. Refreshing. Innocent. Wonderful. My chest swelled.
Relief surged out of me on a choked cry.
I laughed. Tears streamed down my face.
