Kristie Cook - Purpose

Owen rubbed his hands together, as if they were cold and he warmed them, and then thrust them out in front of him. The pieces of the balcony and screen flew back together. As we stood back and watched, he made the movement again toward the glass doors and then with the interior—the furniture, the walls and the kitchen island returned to looking like new. I had to snap my jaw shut, amazed at what I’d just witnessed. As if everything else today is perfectly normal…. I snorted to myself.

“Get the bedroom, too,” Mom said. I cringed and stared at the floor in embarrassment. Owen seeing it was bad enough. Now Mom and Rina, too?

“Don’t know why I should bother,” Owen muttered as he headed into the bedroom.

Tristan squeezed my hand and a guilty smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I wondered why Tristan hadn’t had him fix it before. Perhaps, like Owen, he didn’t see the point of it.

Rina sat in the chair and signaled for me to sit on the couch. Tristan sat next to me, not letting go of my hand, and I could feel a slight pull of energy through my arm and into his. He strengthened his goodness with my power. Knowing I could do that for him felt strange yet comforting. I gave his hand a squeeze with my own.

“May I?” Rina asked Tristan, holding her hand out to him. He reluctantly let go of my hand and took Rina’s. She closed her eyes for several long moments, her face tense with concentration. I held my breath as she assessed him. Finally, she relaxed and a smile spread across her face. “Excellent, Tristan.”

He let go of her hand and picked mine up again, kissing the back of it before clasping it between both of his. I pushed my energy into him, knowing what he needed.

“Thank you,” he murmured and I had a feeling he meant that for both Rina and me.

Rina looked at me with her large, mahogany eyes. Less than two weeks ago, both she and Mom could have nearly passed as my daughters. Now we could all be sisters, rather than three generations spanning over a-hundred-and-fifty years. But Rina’s eyes would almost give her away. Not for her age, but for her wisdom.

“You have waited a long time to hear your story, no?” she asked.

“Way too long,” I said. My stomach fluttered with anticipation.

“You have been very patient, I know. And now that you have your full Amadis power, everything will be revealed. There will be no more secrets.”

Finally.

Rina sighed. “Unfortunately, I must ask you to wait a few days longer.”

What?! Are you kidding me?

“Sophia and I must return for a debriefing from the council immediately,” Rina continued. “This is not over. In fact, it has just begun. The council must be made aware of everything that has happened and discuss our future. In the meantime, before you can come, you and Tristan, with Owen’s help, need to prepare to start a new life. You have five days to put all of your affairs in order and travel to the Island. Tristan, you have a plan for A.K. Emerson, no?”

“I did,” Tristan said, “but it included destroying her house in Atlanta. Is it still unsafe there?”

Rina pursed her lips for a moment. “No, the situation there is under control, but I would rather not lose that property. It may be useful for us.”

Tristan nodded and considered other solutions. Anxious about the demise of my author’s life, I reached for my pendant, for the calming effect it gave me. I gasped, my fingers feeling only the bare skin of my chest. Tristan’s head snapped toward me.

“Mom, please say you took off my necklace in the back bedroom,” I said. Tristan disappeared.

“I don’t see it!” he called from there.

“No,” Mom said. “I know you don’t ever take it off.”

“Oh, no! Not good!” I jumped to my feet and frantically searched around the family room, not able to remember now exactly where we’d been when Tristan tried to kill me.

“It’s not there,” Tristan said, now back in the family room. Mom and Rina exchanged a meaningful look with each other and then with Tristan.

“Maybe when we flew off the balcony?” I asked. Tristan, Mom and Rina disappeared. I heard them outside on the ground. I tried flashing, too. I did it! And, sucking in air, I fell on my butt when I appeared. It really was disorienting to be in one place and suddenly somewhere else. Owen laughed from the balcony and I shot him a look.

“You’ll get used to it,” Mom said, lifting me up.

I walked around a portion of the yard as we each sectioned off areas to search. I could see every blade of grass in twenty different shades of green, little bugs of all shapes and colors and the tiniest specks of dirt and sand. But no necklace or pendant.

“We have four sets of the best eyes in the world. We have to find it,” Tristan muttered.

“Owen, can you summon it?” Mom asked.

I looked up at Owen, wondering why he hadn’t tried by now. He waved his hand and I looked around, I guess expecting it to be flying through the air or something. But there was nothing. He shook his head. Mom’s and Rina’s shoulders slumped.

“It’s nowhere around here,” he said with a shrug.

He obviously didn’t understand its importance. Mom and Rina seemed to understand, though. In fact, it seemingly held more significance to them than it even did to me. Once again, they traded pointed looks with Tristan. They all seemed as upset as I felt over its loss, but I was sure for different reasons. To me, the pendant was Tristan’s first gift to me, made by his own hands, and it had served as a lifeline at times. But their expressions gave me the feeling it was more than just a pretty piece of jewelry. I rubbed my bare neckline, feeling partially naked without it.

“Don’t worry. We’ll find it,” Tristan promised with a squeeze of my hand as we went back inside.

“As I was saying,” Rina said once we were settled again, “we will hold council on the sixth day and you both will need to be there. Make a plan for Ms. Emerson, Tristan.”

“I have it now. We still submit the photos to the media, announcing her marriage to her son’s father. Then they go to Greece for a honeymoon.” Tristan winked at me and I could barely follow the rest. I was happy to know that hadn’t changed with the Ang’dora. Even if it made me stupid for a moment or two, I didn’t ever want to lose that effect he had on me.

“Very good. Five days, no more.” Rina stood up, but then she paused, looking at me. “We will keep your new gift a secret for now.”

I blinked at her, not understanding. Didn’t all those fighters just…hear…me, though?

“I monitored their thoughts. You controlled your wall very well. Nobody knows. I would like to keep it as such for the time being. Your gift might be useful in discovering information about the email and the video.”

Someone knocked on the door. Rina looked toward it, then back at me, her eyebrows raised in a question. I nodded. Then she must have silently invited the visitor in, because a tall, pale woman with long, black hair came through the door and into the kitchen. The same woman who’d accompanied Mom and Rina inside last night, just before I collapsed. Julia gave a slight nod to Rina, Mom and even me, then she just stood there, eyeing me. She made me uncomfortable and I had to look away.

Something about her felt…different. Owen had said Julia was Rina’s closest advisor, after Solomon, so surely she could be trusted. But she just didn’t feel right to me. The thought of peeking into her mind occurred to me, but I didn’t think I had enough control. Rina would probably end up telling her, if she really was her close advisor, but since I’d just promised Rina not to reveal my gift, I couldn’t take the risk. So I was grateful when Rina finally made the move to leave and Julia moved back toward the door.