Intuition t-2 Page 5

  I think of Griffon upstairs on the roof and want nothing more than to be back there. No answer I can give will satisfy Drew, so I turn to run back to the stairs, back to Griffon so that I can make this all disappear.

  But Drew’s reflexes are quicker than mine. He reaches out and grabs my arm as I turn, and it feels as if a strong current of electricity is connecting the two of us. Drew is a more powerful Akhet than I’d imagined. I can feel his hands catching me as my knees buckle from the impact of the jolt and the memory that starts crashing all around me.

  The ground beneath us trembles from the pounding of the horses’ hooves. I look up at Connor, fear crawling over my skin even as I try to deny what is coming.

  “We must run,” I say, throwing myself into his arms. Panic rises through my body. “We have to go.” I turn to pull him down the long stone hallway, but he stands fast. “They’ll find us here!”

  “My dear Allison, there is nowhere left to hide,” he says quietly, with more comportment than I thought possible at such a moment. His calm control of any situation is one of the things that drew me to him, but right now I want to beat on his chest and spur him into action. What little time we have left is fleeting, certainly he must see that? “They have the grounds surrounded, I’m sure of it,” he continues, lifting my face with his strong hand. “We have no options left. To fight them now will only put us both in danger. I will not risk your life as well.”

  There is a distant pounding at the main door, although I know the servants have long since gone to the country. “We can’t just surrender into their hands!” I cry, frustration at the situation spilling over until I can no longer stop the hot tears from flowing.

  Connor reaches around and frees the pendant from my neck, then slips the ruby earrings from my ears. Folding them into my palm, he whispers, “With these jewels and the others in your chambers you shall have means to get away. Keep them hidden, whatever you do.”

  He bends to kiss me, and for one brief moment it is as if we are the only two people left on Earth. I cling to him desperately, wanting to remember what may well be our last moments together. His lips press against mine, the intensity of his emotions matching the beat of my heart and the heat from our bodies causing the silver in my hand to warm. I feel our connection growing stronger even as our time together grows shorter.

  I barely register the noise in the hallway as the soldiers gain entry. It is only when Connor is ripped from my arms that the reality of the moment catches hold and I start to scream. “Connor! No! Make them stop! You can’t leave me!” I fall to my knees before the tallest soldier as his compatriots hold my husband roughly by the arms. “I beg of you, sir. You are making a grave mistake!”

  I smell the leather of his spotless black boots as the man towers above me, a thick piece of parchment in his hands. “Connor Wyatt,” he proclaims. “You are to be remanded to the custody of His Majesty’s representatives to be tried for treason against the crown.”

  The soldiers shout as they wrestle Connor down the hallway, although he is putting up very little protest. The tall one brushes me aside as if I am nothing but a speck of manure on his boot as he turns to follow the others toward the door.

  “Connor!” I scream, disbelief rising at the scene that is unfolding before my eyes. “Don’t leave me! Connor!”

  With one last burst of energy, he manages to turn back so that I can meet his eyes. “I will always love you, Allison. Never forget. No matter what happens, I will love you. Ad vitam aeternam.”

  For eternity. At those last words, the soldiers reach the door and wrestle him out to the waiting horses, which snort and paw at the ground. The dust has barely settled on the drive when I collapse on the cold stones of the doorway, fully and completely alone as silence descends upon the house.

  I feel a solid wall at my back as I shake off the memory from so many centuries ago. Drew is holding me up by both arms, watching my face intently. He knows what’s just happened. He may not know the details, but he knows I remember something. His blue eyes search mine as I feel a pounding of denial in my ears. Drew can’t be right. He can’t be Connor.

  “Are you still going to deny it?” he whispers.

  My hands are shaking and the feelings of abandonment and loss have settled into my chest as if that all just happened seconds ago. Tears jump into my eyes as I picture Connor’s face again as he’s led through our door for what I know is the last time. I look around, taking in the murmur of conversation from the other rooms, the faint smell of candle wax, the clinking of glasses from the bar. I’m here in San Francisco at a party with my boyfriend, not in England in the sixteenth century. “I can’t deny what happened then,” I say in a whisper. I force my eyes to meet his, the essence of Connor still lingering in my memory. I have to stay strong, keep my emotions in this lifetime. “But that has nothing to do with now.”

  Drew grips my arms even tighter, his desperation almost visible. “It has everything to do with now, and you know it. After all we’ve been through.” He moves in closer and I can see the light golden stubble on his cheeks. “We’re destined to be together, Allison. We’ve always been destined for each other.” I see his eyes shining as he speaks and know that he’s fighting back tears of his own.

  I can’t let myself get pulled into these emotions. There’s too much at stake now. Drew could have been anyone back then. Somehow he knew about the ankh and what happened. I remember loving Connor then, but I don’t know anything about Drew now. “My name isn’t Allison,” I say, with as much conviction as I can manage. “Not this time.”

  Drew’s stare is intense. “Allison, Cole; Connor, Drew. The essences are the same, no matter what the labels are.”

  I take a deep breath and pull up as much conviction as I can. “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but you’re not Connor. I would know.” I feel someone watching and glance over Drew’s shoulder to see Rayne standing at the end of the hallway staring at us. “I have to go,” I say, quickly twisting out of his grip before he can react. Without looking back, I walk toward Rayne, picking up the empty glasses where I must have dropped them.

  I force my voice to remain steady as I reach her. “I was just getting some more drinks.”

  Rayne turns and follows me, glancing back to where Drew is still standing at the end of the hallway. “Are you okay? What the hell was that all about?”

  Ducking into the living room, I force myself to keep moving. “That? That was nothing.”

  Rayne puts out a hand to stop me. “I’ve seen nothing before,” she says. “And that definitely wasn’t it. Seriously, Cole. What’s going on? Who is that guy?”

  “He’s crazy,” I say. I glance toward the doorway, but Drew is nowhere in sight. “He thinks we knew each other a long time ago. From before.”

  Rayne grabs the glasses out of my hands and sets them down on a bookcase. Opening the front door, she says, “I think we should probably have this conversation outside.”

  As soon as the door closes behind us, I take a deep breath. “I’m not cheating on Griffon,” I say quickly. “I’d never cheat on him. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’d never do anything to screw that up.”

  Rayne looks at me, confused. “I never said you were. I know how you feel about him.”

  I catch myself. My emotions are stirring up guilt where it doesn’t belong. “Remember the whole Lady Allison thing?” I ask.

  “Yeah. The lifetime in England.”

  “Right. And Lord Wyatt? Connor Wyatt? The one we looked up on the Internet?” I continue. “Well, Drew says he’s . . .” I let the sentence trail off and stare at her, hoping that my gestures will save me from having to say it out loud.

  For the first time, the concern in her eyes wavers. “Are you trying to tell me that the guy back there was really Lord Wyatt from England all that time ago?”

  “I don’t know.” I shake my head. “He says he is, but I just don’t know. He recognized this at Kat’s shop a few weeks ago,” I
say, tracing the ankh with my finger. The memory of losing Connor is still tugging at the edges of my emotions, and I have to force myself to focus on the present. “I’ve been avoiding him ever since.”

  Rayne slumps down and sits on the low wall of the porch. “Wow. So you’re saying he’s one of you? I thought you said there weren’t that many Akhet in the world. Seems like every time I turn around you’re telling me about another one.”

  “I know. Griffon and Janine said that the same essences are often drawn to each other, like planets orbiting each other over many lifetimes. The fact that I’m remembering now seems to be bringing around every Akhet in Northern California.” I look at Rayne. Even though she’s my best friend, I wonder how she can possibly help me with this. “Promise me you won’t tell Griffon. Or Peter.”

  “You said that Peter doesn’t know about you guys.”

  “He doesn’t. But don’t even bring up Drew’s name. I’ll figure this out, but I don’t want Griffon hurt.” I remember the unrelenting pain and emptiness I felt during those days without Griffon, after I’d found out the truth about him. About who he’d been to me. “After all we went through before, I can’t stand even the possibility of losing him again.” I grab her hand. “Promise?”

  “Promise,” she agrees. “But I saw the way he was looking at you. I don’t think this Drew guy is just going to go away. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m not sure,” I say. “But for right now, avoiding him is a good place to start. I’m not going back in there.”

  “You want me to go get Griffon? Tell him you have a headache and need to go home all of a sudden?”

  I sit down beside her. “Would you? He’s up on the roof with Kat and Owen. The stairs are at the end of the hallway.”

  Rayne leans over to give me a hug. “Look at you and all this drama. What happened to the boring, cello-playing geek from a few months ago?”

  The craziness of the night boils up inside and I feel a tear escape down my cheek before I can brush it away. “I wish I knew.”

  Six

  “Come in,” Janine calls from behind her door.

  I poke my head into her office, surprised to see that she’s not alone. An older woman is sitting in the upholstered chair next to her desk, and she gives me a welcoming smile as I glance at the two of them.

  “Sorry! I’m early. I’ll come back in a half hour.” I’ve been so anxious to talk to someone about the Drew situation that I couldn’t wait until our normal time to see her. I have no idea how I’m even going to bring it up, but I figure if anyone will understand, it’s Janine.

  “No, it’s okay. Come, sit.” Janine motions to one of the empty chairs at the small round table that takes up most of the room in her small office. “We were just wrapping up. This is Sue Takami. She’s going to be a guest lecturer here in the fall, so I was just giving her some tips on the ins and outs of the university.” Janine nods to me. “This is Cole. We’ve been working together for the past few months.”

  Sue smiles in my direction, her black eyes looking at me with a friendly curiosity, although she doesn’t seem to want any more explanation about what kind of work a sixteen-year-old girl would be doing with a renowned university professor. “Nice to meet you.” The name is familiar, but it isn’t until she speaks that I recognize her—Natsuko Takami. The latest book she wrote won all kinds of prizes and is being made into a major movie; she’s been on all the talk shows Mom likes to TiVo.

  “You too,” I say, trying not to get flustered and say something stupid. I reach out to shake her hand, and just before our fingers touch, I feel Akhet vibrations filling the space between us. I glance at Janine in surprise.

  Janine’s eyes open wide, but I can’t tell if she’s teasing me or not.

  I look at Sue. “So you’re . . .”

  Sue looks quickly at Janine, and I feel a conspiracy in the room. “I’m a writer, if that’s what you mean. I’m also a teacher. And a wife and mother.” Her eyes almost disappear as she laughs and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Janine. I can’t stand to see the confused look on her face a minute longer.” Her laughter turns into a grin. “I’m also Ahket. Like you. You’re not wrong.”

  I exhale and try not to be annoyed. Janine likes to pull these little tests on me, and I always hope she’s laughing with me and not at me. I smile at her. “I’m never sure if I’m imagining things, because it seems like Akhet are everywhere lately.”

  Janine’s dark eyes blaze with interest. “Really? Who else have you met?”

  Instantly I regret my words. “Nobody. Just, like, Veronique. And you guys.”

  “I think it’s like learning a new language,” Sue says kindly. “Suddenly, it seems like you hear it on every street corner.”

  I smile gratefully. “Yeah,” I agree. “It is like that. Are you really coming to teach here?”

  She nods. “I really am. Spirit Stories in Modern Literature.”

  “Sue is an old friend,” Janine says. “I’ve been telling her all about you.”

  Sue tilts her head to look at me. “Janine says that you have budding abilities as an empath. That’s fascinating, and a skill the Sekhem will be champing at the bit to use.”

  I shrug, slightly embarrassed. “I’m not very useful right now,” I say.

  “No room for false modesty here. Soon Cole’s going to outgrow me as a teacher,” Janine says. “She’s picking things up so quickly that I’ve almost reached the limit of what I can show her. Pretty soon I’m going to have to pass her along up the ladder.”

  “Really?” Working with Janine has been so comfortable that the thought of trying to stretch my abilities with another teacher is a little scary. “I thought we’d just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

  Janine laughs. “I’m like kindergarten as far as empathic abilities go. Within a few months, you’ll be coming back to teach me what you’ve learned.”

  “Are you enrolled at the university?” Sue asks. “My seminar is usually for upperclassmen, but I can try to pull some strings if you’re interested.”

  “That would be great,” I answer. “But I’m still in high school. I’m going to be a senior.”

  “How exciting! Do you know what you’re going to do after? Will you apply here?”

  I glance at Janine. My future has changed so much in the past few months that I have no idea what I’m going to do. “I’d always planned on going to Juilliard. But . . . things have changed.” Not only is Juilliard completely off my radar, but no music school is likely to accept an extraordinarily talented cellist who can barely play a note. “I had an accident and can’t play anymore.”

  “A lot of Akhet don’t even go to college these days,” Janine says. “It’s not like the Sekhem are going to turn you away if you don’t have a degree. If you decide to go that route.”

  I stare at her. “Nice. A university professor telling an almostsenior that she doesn’t have to go to college. My parents would love that.”

  “I’m just saying you have a lot of options now.”

  I consider that. I’ve never really thought about anything other than college. “Anyway, I have a few months before I have to really start worrying about it.”

  “Well, I’ll be glad to help in any way I can,” Sue says. “It’s been so long since I’ve met an Akhet who wasn’t Iawi—rather exciting to have someone new in the ranks.”

  I can tell from the way she’s talking that Sue must have transitioned more than a couple of centuries ago. “Thanks,” I say. In a rush, I remember what I wanted to talk to Janine about. “Listen, if you guys are in the middle of something, I don’t want to interrupt.”

  Janine looks at me full on for the first time, and I force myself to look at the floor. Even though she says she doesn’t have many empath abilities, I can never lie to her. “Is that all you came for? Our usual session? Because I’m getting the feeling that there’s more.”

  I glance at Sue. I’m going to try to keep Griffon out of this whole conversation, but
I don’t want it to be awkward for Janine. “It’s . . . kind of hard to talk about.”

  “Sue was my mentor when I first transitioned. If anyone can help you with a problem, she can.”

  Griffon said that Janine isn’t as Iawi as he is, but I know that this isn’t the first lifetime she’s remembered. “You guys were together before? That’s part of what I wanted to ask about.”

  They exchange looks, and even though I know that telepathy isn’t part of the abilities of even the oldest Akhet, sometimes I wonder. It seems as though the two of them are saying volumes with just their eyes. “It was many years ago,” Janine says. “Centuries, actually. We’ve managed to maintain contact for the past four lifetimes.”

  “How?” I ask, amazed. “I mean, how do you manage to find each other again? Griffon said that it isn’t like all the movies make it out to be.”

  “It’s not,” Sue answers. “Many times there is an extreme age difference, or geographical separation. The past fifty years or so, things have gotten much easier.”

  “What do you mean, easier?”

  “Technology, for one,” Sue says. “Computers, the Internet.”

  “Like some kind of Akhet database?” I ask. “You just put in your information and find people you’ve been connected to in the past?”

  “That’s not too far off,” Janine says. “These days, we take advantage of the tools we have. In the past, the Sekhem kept the records. Traveling on foot and by boat to get around sometimes made reaching the Sekhem center impossible, particularly if you were part of a social class that couldn’t easily travel.”

  “But if you were lucky, you could reconnect with people you’d already had a relationship with?”

  Sue smiles at Janine. “The first time I met her, Janine was my grandson.”

  “And Sue was my grandfather,” Janine adds, laughing at the look on my face. “Oh, come on. You must realize that Akhet reality means crossing gender, race, and class boundaries. Sue and I have been connected, just not in the way you might think; it’s not like you can seek out your lost love through every lifetime. I already told you how things worked out between Griffon’s father and me. No matter how strong your memories are of the other person, if both people don’t share them, it won’t work emotionally, even if it is physically possible.”