Christine Feehan: Air Bound

She screamed. And screamed. And screamed. Her throat was raw and she felt blood vessels break, but she screamed on and on because nothing was going to save her mother—or what was left of her.

She knew it was her mother only by the dress she wore, her favorite dress. The one she wore when she wanted to do something fun with Airi. When she tried to make up for the times she had a bad time. When she was sober and determined to start all over again and this time, stay sober.

“Airiana. Airiana.” Hands shook her shoulders. Gentle hands.

“They killed her. They tortured her, and they killed her.” Airiana Ridell covered her face with her hands, sobbing like that teenager.

“I know, honey. I’m here. You’re safe. She’s in a place where they can’t hurt her anymore.”

The calm, soothing voice broke through the web of her nightmare. The memories in such vivid detail were horrifying, as if it had just happened, as if she had just entered her bedroom and found her mother. She could still smell the blood. She would never get the odor out of her mind. Her stomach cramped and heaved and her throat hurt so bad she could barely swallow.

“Lissa,” she gasped, pushing herself into a sitting position. “I’m sorry. Did I scream again?”

Lissa Pinar sat on the side of the bed, pushing back the heavy fall of hair from Airiana’s forehead. Tiny beads of perspiration dotted Airiana’s brow, and her thin sweats were damp as well. Lissa looked her sister of the heart over. Airiana was short, with a slender, almost boyish figure. Everything about her was fragile. A good wind might blow her over. Her eyes were deep blue, almost cobalt, fringed with golden lashes, and her hair—damp at the moment—was a true platinum blond. Natural streaks of silver and gold ran through the thick pelt of platinum hair, which, to Lissa, lent Airiana the ethereal appearance of a fairy. Right now there were dark circles under her eyes and she looked more fragile than ever.

Lissa nodded in answer to Airiana’s question. “You’ve screamed two nights in a row now. What’s bringing these nightmares back? You haven’t had them in quite a while.” Lissa’s five acres bordered Airiana’s within the large acreage of the farm, so it wasn’t as if their homes were close, yet the wind had carried Airiana’s cries to her.

Airiana glanced toward her windows. They were open as usual. She never closed them, not even in the rain.

Lissa might not be a blood relative, but she was family to Airiana, a sister, every bit as loved as one born to her mother.

“I don’t know why the nightmares are coming back so strong,” Airiana admitted, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, one that told her the nightmares were heralding of disaster.

Each of her chosen sisters had gone through something similar in their pasts—having a loved one murdered and feeling responsible—so she knew Lissa would understand exactly how she felt.

Airiana pressed her palm to her mouth, feeling sick. “I’m beginning to see patterns in everything, like I’m losing control again.” That frightened her. The thought that she’d go down the same path of madness as her mother was terrifying.

“Maybe we should call Debra Jems. I could go with you to Monterey for a consult,” Lissa offered immediately. “There’s nothing terribly pressing that I can’t put off at work.”

Debra had been the amazing counselor who had brought six women together in group therapy. Each of them was a victim of a violent past, and each believed she was responsible for the murder of a family member she loved. All had been at the very end of their ability to survive when they had gone, as a last resort, to Debra, in the hopes that she could help them.

“Do you ever wonder why or how we were each drawn to Debra’s group?” Airiana asked. “Each of us has a gift, we’re bound to an element, and somehow we found one another just when each of us wanted to give up.”

The six women had formed a bond so strong they had decided they were better off together and had pooled their money to buy a large farm. Eventually they were able to build a separate home for each of them. Although each had a designated space of five acres, they ran a communal farm and donated a portion of their outside businesses to the running, care and expansion of the farm.

“That’s the part that has amazed me,” Lissa agreed. “That we all came with special gifts and didn’t even realize it. It’s no wonder Sea Haven called to us. I think there’s magic in our little village and we just responded to it.”

“Do you know what’s really bad?” Airiana blinked away the tears on her lashes and sent Lissa a small scowl, deliberately changing the subject to give herself a little respite. “Ilya Prakenskii married Joley Drake and settled here. Levi is really Lev Prakenskii. That’s two of the brothers here in Sea Haven. And then who comes along to marry our Judith? Another bossy Prakenskii—Stefan.”

Lissa nodded. “He can call himself Thomas Vincent, or anything else he wants, but he’s a Prakenskii all the way with his domineering attitude.”

Airiana held up three fingers. “And that’s three of the seven Prakenskii brothers right here in Sea Haven. What are the odds of that? They’re here, and somehow our sisters are attracted to them, drawn like magnets, when both professed to never want to be with a man. And that, my sister, is a very scary fact.”

“What are you saying?” Lissa frowned at her. “Don’t even be thinking the other brothers are going to show up here. Thinking it might make it happen.”

Airiana nodded. “Right?”

The nightmare faded a bit, just enough to take the edge off, now that they were talking about the Prakenskii brothers. The seven brothers were Russian by birth, taken from their parents and trained as agents for their government in a secret program. She was fascinated by their past because it was very close to her own, without all the brutality—until her mother’s murder; but the brothers had seen their parents murdered as well—and they’d been separated from each other.

“You have to admit they’re darned hot,” Airiana said. “But dangerous as hell and just plain bossy.”

“I do agree with them on self-defense training. Stefan and Lev know so much more than I do and are very good teachers,” Lissa admitted. “I’m grateful you’re all learning. I tried, but I wasn’t tough enough on you.”

Airiana chewed on her nail. “You did just fine, Lissa. Aren’t you just a teeny bit worried that the other brothers will show up and somehow we’ll be . . .” She frowned, trying to think of the right word. “Trapped? They have their own gifts, and we seem to just fall right under their spell. Judith was never going to marry. And Rikki? Who would have thought she would allow someone in her home, let alone on her boat? That’s a miracle in itself.”

Lissa slipped off the bed. “ Don’t say it. Things happen in Sea Haven that can’t be explained, and I’m not tying myself to any man, let alone one of those Prakenskii brothers. Can you imagine my personality with a man like that? So domineering. I’d shove him off a cliff. You just can’t put something like that out into the universe and not have it come back and bite you in the butt.”

“My butt’s pretty small,” Airiana pointed out. She swept both hands through her thick hair, breathing deeply. She was beginning to feel normal again, although a residue of the nightmare had lodged in the pit of her stomach, leaving her with a vague uneasiness.

“Yes, it is. But I’m kind of curvy. Which means my butt is just big enough for fate to laugh its head off while it bites me. I’m not taking any chances.”

Airiana found herself laughing. That was the beauty of having sisters. It might not be her biggest laugh, but at least she was thinking of something other than portents of danger. She sighed softly. “Thanks for coming over. I’m sorry if my screaming scared you. I should have closed my windows.”