Celeste E-Book

Mayer Dale

• Herausgeber: Valley Publishing Ltd.
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

This is Matt and Celeste's story.

Celeste Chandler hates to be last almost as much as she hates going home with her tail tucked between her legs. This time, she’s injured—her leg, not her pride. But none of that matters because she’s being stalked and going home may have been her worst idea yet. Whoever is after her also wants to destroy her sisters. The three sisters are the last in the line of Stargazers and, once they’re gone, there will be no one to care for their planet’s most valuable resource—the energy reserve—and the key to all life on Glory.

Matt has waited anxiously for Celeste to not only return to town but also to him. Given her position as an energy worker, he had no hope of tracking her down after she left. Only if she wanted to be found could she have been. He’d never expected she’d stay away for so long. He’s even begun to wonder if she’s ever planning on coming back.

But their planet is becoming unstable, and the only ones who can save it are Celeste and her two sisters. United, they have the power to fight the cloaked enemy in their midst and preserve all life on the planet. Apart, there will be no peace, no love…and no life for anyone.

Leseprobe

Celeste

Book #3 of Glory

Dale Mayer

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

About This Book

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Sneak Peek of Tuesday’s Child

Author’s Note

Complimentary Download

About the Author

Copyright Page

About This Book

Celeste Chandler hates to be last, almost as much as she hates going home with her tail tucked between her legs. This time she’s injured—her leg, not her pride. But none of that matters because she’s being stalked, and going home may have been her worst idea yet. Whoever is after her also wants to destroy her sisters. The triplets are the last in the line of stargazers, and, once they’re gone, there will be no one to care for their planet’s most valuable resource—the energy reserve—and the key to all life on planet Glory.

Matt has waited anxiously for Celeste to not only return to town but also to him. Given her position as an energy worker, he had no hope of tracking her down after she left. Only if she wanted to be found could she have been located. He had never expected she would stay away for so long. He’s even begun to wonder if she ever plans on coming back.

But their planet is becoming unstable, and the only ones who can save it are Celeste and her two sisters. United, they have the power to fight the cloaked enemy in their midst and to preserve all life on the planet. Apart from them, there will be no peace, no love, … and no life in any form on Glory.

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Chapter 1

Celeste Chandler couldn’t go much farther. Her leg throbbed with pain. She should have returned before now, not waiting until the last minute. She closed her eyes and breathed through the discomfort. Then she took a deep breath and started again.

Finally Granny’s cabin was just ahead of her. Celeste cautiously glanced around. Good, she was still alone. Her nerves tingling, her body tense with excitement, she stared at a wall of greenery, blocking her view. She was almost home, for the first time in over a year. And she had to admit that her heart ached with yearning to reconnect. She was the youngest of three triplets—by mere minutes—and she’d missed her sisters terribly.

So much had happened, and she didn’t really understand all the changes. But she was home now, and, after she healed, then eventually she’d contact them all and catch up. Finally.

It was as if the bomb blast from Granny’s death had destroyed the core of their lives and had blown the family apart. Genesis had stayed home to hold down the fort, which was always her thing, being a homebody and the responsible eldest sister. Tori, the middle child, had run as far and as fast as she could. Celeste? Well, she was like neither of them, but she’d gone into hiding close by to find herself. Close enough to keep track of the goings-on, but far enough away that no one could find her. Not that anyone was looking.

Except Genesis. And, damn, Celeste felt bad about that. Living several towns away, she’d been close enough to hear a lot of what had gone on but not enough to know all the details.

Her coworker, an avid gossip, who drove from town to town making deliveries, had shared that Genesis had been involved in a major kerfuffle, but she had a new partner, and they were living full-time in the Paranormal Center.

That had caused Celeste a ton of sleepless nights. It shouldn’t matter, as she’d been the one to walk away from Matt, the new head of the Center. … However, no way would Celeste ever be okay with him being in a serious, committed relationship with her sister.

It had been weeks before she had found out that Genesis’s partner was not Matt, Celeste’s former fiancé.

After she could breathe again, she’d mentally beaten herself up for being such a fool.

Celeste leaned against a thick tree, catching her breath. Just a few more feet. Then she’d be safe. And home. Once she’d heard her other sister, Tori, had returned home recently, Celeste knew she was the last one to return to the fold. Granny had always said that she was the slowest of the bunch, and that was fine, as Celeste did things in her own time and rarely made mistakes.

Boy, had she been wrong. Devastated at the loss of the woman who’d raised them, destroyed by what she could only imagine as being a complete betrayal by her lover and the man she thought was hers forever, Celeste couldn’t cope and had walked away. One year ago.

Leaving Genesis to mop up the mess behind Celeste.

She owed her sister a lot. Just the thought of seeing her again made her arms ache for a hug. Genesis and Tori were special. They’d been the idols Celeste had looked up to. The models she’d always tried to copy.

And look at what she’d done.

Smurg, her owl spirit pet, flew down to land on a sweeping branch beside her. The look in his eye was one she’d seen many times before.

“I know. It’s a big step. And, once again, I can’t force myself to take it.”

Smurg tilted his big feathered head and stared at her with those wonderful owlish eyes, silently encouraging her to take this step.

And she was rather desperate to do so. Her leg, injured only a week ago, hadn’t improved. And now it was at the point that she was afraid she’d left it all too long. She needed Granny’s healing pool. But it was on the other side of the energy barricade.

And, the minute she crossed it, she would trigger an alarm that would tell her sisters that Celeste was here.

Was she ready for that?

Did she really have a choice?

Her leg throbbed and pounded the longer she stood here. She looked back the way she’d come. That was the biggest issue. She wouldn’t likely make the trip back with her leg like it was. And was she truly alone? The entire way in, she couldn’t shake the sensation of being followed. Tracked. An abrupt flash of fear spurred her into motion.

“Okay,” she whispered to Smurg. “I’m going.”

A small paw slipped into hers. She looked down at Minkel, the spirit meerkat, who walked ever at her side. Her spirit pets were the only reason she’d survived being alone as long as she had. And technically the pets meant Celeste was never truly alone.

Granny had had many in her care. Some had left with Granny upon her death. Many others had left with Celeste, and some had found new homes. It had hurt to lose some of them. But she’d come to understand that these were needed changes. Granny would be proud of Celeste. Granny had often told Celeste how possessive she was and how she must learn to share.

Sharing was one thing, but what about when sharing didn’t work, and you lost a special pet? How did one lose a special someone when you were bonded by love?

Silky the lemur whispered reassuringly in her ear. Celeste tilted her head into his warm belly. He stayed snugged up in the crook of her neck.

“I know. I know,” she said. “You guys just don’t understand how hard this is.”

But that wasn’t true. They did understand. They’d been here at the cabin before too. They had loved Granny as much as Celeste had. They’d been lost in the spirit world, as they’d never connected to their human soul mates or lost them before their time had come. Granny had been the one to rescue them.

But Celeste had an affinity for the spirit animals, and they’d bonded to her in a big way. But some were hers in ways she hadn’t realized, until she lost a few and had seen the bond had only gone one way.

Silky murmured encouragement.

And Celeste knew she’d procrastinated enough.

Hopefully her sisters would give Celeste time to heal, to adapt to being here, before they crashed into the silence her world had become.

She bowed her head and raised her arms. In a gentle series of flowing movements, she opened the energy barrier and stepped through the oversized foliage to the protected space around the small cottage.

It looked just the same, as though it had been frozen in time. As soon as her gaze landed on it, her tears started to flow. Would she ever adjust to Granny no longer being here? She’d been the stability, the rock, the driving force behind the three sisters. So much of their history had been mired in mystery, but Granny had forged a strong path for them. And, when she’d died, it was as if everything died with her.

How sad was that?

But first things first. Celeste shuddered as the pain in her leg deepened. As if it knew they were somewhere it could get help—but maybe didn’t want that help.

She hated her wild imagination. How could her leg scream at her to leave this place? To go away before it was too late? Too late for what?

At the cottage door, it took another moment to open the locks. She frowned at the double-energy alarm system in place.

Trouble had been here.

And recent trouble.

She stepped over the threshold and carefully relocked the door. Dropping her bag on the table, she hunched over, her pain so severe that she could only focus on the healing pool. It called to her, yet her leg injury screamed at her forward progress. As if it didn’t want her to move forward. She didn’t bother looking around. She’d known that the cabin was empty of people as soon as she’d entered the protected space.

Good. She stripped, dropping one item at a time, as she crossed the room to the closed door on the far side. She pushed it open and cried out in joy.

Inside, in the deep recesses of her mind, she’d been afraid that the healing pool wouldn’t be here. That something really bad had happened to damage the pool.

Instead, the waves of glittering blue water surged toward her. Reaching for her. She kicked off her shoes and slowly, painfully removed her pants, crying out as her sore leg was free at last. Her socks and panties hit the ground afterward. It was all she could do to sit on the edge of the pool and swing her leg over the side, when the water surged up her calves and up to her thighs. By the time it hit her hips, she was lifted above the glistening waves for a tiny second, then slowly lowered into the bubbling pool below.

She cried out once, before her head was completely submerged, and then she sank to the bottom of the pool. Relief and joy washed through her.

Her last rational thought, as Silky detached from her ear to float at her side, and Minkel perched on the edge above, was, why had she taken so long to come?

*

Matt handed the sheaf of papers to Connor. “Check out the disturbance at Grandfather’s place. Take Devon with you. The investigation is going well over there, but something is still not as stable as it should be. And we need it to be.”

As Connor reached out to grab the papers, Matt froze, his senses firing up inside. His hand still holding the papers, he slowly sank into his desk chair. “Jesus. Finally.”

Connor frowned. “Matt? What’s up?”

Matt released his pent-up breath and murmured, “Your soon-to-be sister-in-law just arrived.”

The office door burst open, and Genesis raced in, Tori one step behind her.

“Matt,” they both cried out.

He held up his hand. “I know. I can feel her too.”

The two sisters hugged each other.

Genesis frowned. “She’s hurt. She’s triggered the healing pool.”

“It’s the first place any of us would go. Just think of the emotional trauma we all felt after Granny’s death. Celeste is confronting that for the first time,” Tori said softly, her hand gently stroking Genesis’s back.

“True.” Genesis stared out the window at the darkening sky for a moment, before she whispered, “Yet it seems that it could be more than that.”

Another odd eruption of noise came on a different level, as their spirit animals conversed.

Matt stared as Darbo spoke with several other spirit animals crowding into the space. They could connect to Celeste’s animals in a way that no one else could. And, in this case, since Darbo had been hers at one time, he had a deeper bond than most.

“She’s hurt,” Matt said, standing abruptly. “Darbo said her leg is bad. Can barely walk, Minkel says.”

“Then it’s a good thing she’s in the pool,” Connor said, wrapping an arm around Genesis. “Let’s keep calm, everyone. We knew this time would come. We all want this. It’s a good thing. I know she’s hurt, but we can’t go rushing up there and scaring her off. She’s come back on her own …”

“What if she’s only come back for the pool?” Genesis whispered, tears in her eyes. “Her leg must be bad, if that’s why she returned.”

“Hey, don’t look at this as her being forced home for the pool,” Tori said. “This all has to happen in its own time. You know that.”

Genesis nodded, but her gaze was locked on Tori’s face, as if waiting for her to make a decision.

Matt knew the decision had to be made by the two sisters, not him. But, damn it, this one should be his decision. Celeste was his. She’d run from him and what they had, but she’d been in his heart. Part of his soul. And, damn it, she should have come home a long time ago.

His world had improved so much since adding Genesis and Tori to his life, but the one person who truly belonged here still refused to have anything to do with him. Maybe that would change now.

Darbo reached out a small paw and gently brushed it down his cheek. Matt stroked the super soft fur of the tiny lemur who lived attached to his heart, but hung most of the time from his ear. “I know. She’s home, and she’s hurting.”

But the lemur’s actions also said he knew that Matt was hurting too. So hard to deal with this when everyone was caught in their own cycle of pain and hope.

So much had happened since Celeste had left. Had she any idea of what had gone on? What was still going on? The world she’d walked away from didn’t exist any longer. At least, not in a form she would recognize. The town was likely hers and her sisters, although that legal fight might still come. He was waiting on the judge’s ruling now. They had deeds proving the land, for as far as they could see, belonged to the three sisters. As for Grandfather, … Celeste’s old enemy was no longer the same man either. The healing pools had affected even him.

Not fully a normal peaceful man yet, Grandfather had already had enough of a change happen that there was no going back. But no one knew just how much he’d changed, so no one could trust him.

The pools were healing; the forest was healing. However, still massive electrical storms and system-wide energy outages occurred that no one could explain. Some hypotheses had been formulated. A few of those were downright scary.

Besides those events, some things had happened to Tori that even Matt wondered if their granny had set something into motion before her death. But she had died over a year ago—and had sparked a year of severe trial for the triplets. Matt could only hope that Celeste would survive hers—and that he would be the one she would turn to for help.

He loved her. Always had. Would have given his right arm to not have hurt her. But, after Granny’s death, everything had changed for Celeste. And she had gone to pieces. The slightest things bothered her, and slights that would have normally set her off in a small way had devastated her.

Matt was a patient man to begin with, and he’d desperately tried to wait. To be there for her. To help her. To be the one she leaned on to get through this. But she’d been confused and overwrought, and his patience had worn thin. To her, it seemed that everyone had let her down. And perhaps that was understandable, given that fragile state she’d been in at the time.

And then Darbo had chosen Matt, and Celeste had taken it as a horrific betrayal. Matt hadn’t understood. He’d so wanted Darbo to be his, understood that Celeste had dozens of other spirit animals to choose from, and had wooed Darbo away.

He hadn’t realized he’d crossed a line, until Celeste had disappeared.

That’s when he understood the connection between the three of them for what it was.

Darbo had gone into a deep depression. It had taken months for Matt to bring Darbo out of it again. But now, Darbo was lit up like he was on Glory juice. And his voice? … Well, Matt hadn’t seen him this excited—ever. The connection between Darbo and Celeste—indeed, Celeste’s spirit pet Silky as well—had been at the deepest level, and Matt had broken it. Something that had caused them all horrific pain.

Matt had no way to atone for this—especially when he couldn’t see Celeste to apologize. And, besides, an apology wouldn’t cut it. Not now. Even when she did see him, no way she could avoid seeing Darbo, and that wound would hurt her again.

He dropped his face to his hands and groaned.

He knew of no way to make it better.

And now, after all this time, she was back.

Would she forgive him? Or was it too late?

Chapter 2

Celeste drifted in a half-dream state. The healing pool felt so good that she never wanted to leave. And maybe that was a possibility because the special waters had a lot to work on. Her mental state was dismal, her physical health abysmal. And her emotional state? Well, she might as well just live in here forever if she hoped to fix that. The pool knew her. Knew her body. Her soul. It was a homecoming she hadn’t expected, but now that she was in the waters’ graceful arms, she couldn’t get enough. She’d rolled to her belly and floated for hours, then rolled to her back and floated for more.

The pool wasn’t done with her yet, or she would have been lifted out. That such a thing hadn’t been presented was her cue to not fight the process. She had a lot of stuff to work on. Even as the pool did its thing, Celeste was supposed to do her thing.

The three sisters had spent days in here at times. Fixing broken hopes and dreams. Lost boy crushes and cruel kids. Growing up, there had always been hurtful words thrown at them; kids were mean and had been horrible to them. They’d hurt for themselves and each other and had always ached for Granny, who’d been feared and, therefore, hated by everyone they knew.

It had been a tough way to grow up. Now Celeste looked back and realized that Granny, at her advanced age when she’d taken in the orphans, hadn’t had the energy to deal with the outside influences the way she might had done if she’d been stronger, younger. She’d needed all her strength to just raise three lively granddaughters. And, as soon as that job had been completed, they’d lost Granny.

As if during the last two decades she’d been overdue somewhere else, she’d gone fast—overnight. One moment there, the next gone. A loss so damn permanent.

The triplets should have been prepared. Granny had been incredibly old. They knew she was hurting and spent her days at the lowest pools in the caves. Staying longer and longer each time. She’d needed more rest to work so much less.

She’d hung on as long as she could. Celeste remembered a conversation with Granny only weeks before her passing.

“There’s so much I want to pass on to you girls. You have so many trials to come. They will make you stronger, but it will be hard. You need to hold on and to work through the problems.”

Granny had mentioned something about the men in their lives too. She’d made the triplets all throw star charts of their own futures so that they might see the world around them as it pertained to their life’s direction. See who their partners were.

Granny had smiled and said, “You three will have to work for happiness, but, once you all climbed that mountain, your worlds would spread out before you in all its glory.”

Ironic that she’d used the word glory because, of course, that was the name of this planet.

And, so far, Celeste hadn’t seen much glory. She’d seen hatred, jealousy, anger, disdain, envy, and an endless amount of pain and grief. But the glory part? … Yeah, that had been missing. So far.

Celeste had always believed in the star charts. Supposedly she was the best of the three at throwing them. But Genesis was really. Celeste was the best at interpreting the charts. What that really meant was they needed to work together to see the truth of their worlds—and not have everything too easy in their lives. Granny had been happy to see the struggle and the conflict. The sisters had been devastated by Granny’s attitude. They’d figured they’d had a horrible-enough childhood as it was, so to think more was ahead? Well, that had been a betrayal too.

“No. You don’t appreciate what you don’t have to work for,” Granny had insisted. “And, in this case, there is a tremendous amount of goodness out there waiting for you. But you must reach out for it as an equal, as an adult, so that you can handle it all as you should and thus reap the benefits.” She’d shaken her head, adding, “Not like greedy children to enjoy, then to destroy, moving on, just looking for more.”

The reminder of Granny’s words brought grief to the surface once again. The waves from the healing pool washed over Celeste in response. Tears burned her eyes. She missed her granny so much. And her sisters. Why had it taken Celeste so long to come home? Why was she even now avoiding them? Especially now, when they had to know she’d arrived?

Because she wasn’t ready of course. She glanced down at her body, seeing the scratches and bruises of the last few weeks melting away under the ministrations of the water. She’d forgotten the power of this particular healing pool. So many of the pools accessible to the public didn’t have the same ability as Granny’s pool. This one, and those deepest in the caves, were the strongest and most potent around. Granny and the triplets had been blessed.

In many ways.

She’d been given many gifts, and yet did she do anything with these gifts? No, of course not.

She’d run when the emotional overload had become too much. When she really should have stayed and worked things out. The water bounced gently under her sore aching muscles, making her realize how much healing had occurred already. Not her emotional state yet—that would take more time. But already she felt better. As if she would live a little longer. She couldn’t see her future yet, nor sense any star chart tingles inside that she used to feel when it was time to throw one, but she could hope that walking away hadn’t damaged that forever for her.

And that hope had been a deeply buried fear, especially over this last year. Had she left her heritage behind too? She sat up and splashed the water on her face, loving how the water eased the burning flood behind her eyelids. The healing water could always see, could always know, where she hurt the most. And her heart? Well, … the pools could try to heal that, but, in truth, the only thing that would heal that was time.

After another hour, she slowly stood and smiled. Her spirit animals had sprawled around the small room. Many knew this cabin as home, so they would be almost as emotional as she had been on their return. It was a homecoming for them all. They had the ability to come here on their own, and likely had many times over the last year, but it would have been empty with Granny gone. And that had to be difficult for them.

Celeste needed to get out for a little while. Check for food. She hadn’t eaten in hours. Glancing around, she noted the towels were still stored in the same place. She walked over and grabbed one, and, as she dried off, she had to smile at the silkiness of her skin. She’d forgotten the beauty-treatment benefits of the pool, on top of everything else.

Wrapping the towel around her body and leaving the small pile of dirty clothes on the floor, she walked out to the kitchen. If nothing else, tea should be in the cupboard. If there was actually food, she knew that her life would improve to the point of being seriously happy.

In the kitchen, she put on the teakettle and searched the cupboards. Less well stocked than when Granny was alive, but Celeste found canned and dried goods. She put more water on to boil in a pot and pulled out a package of pasta. It would fill her belly nicely. She hadn’t been starving during the last year—at least not all the time—but it had been bad enough that she no longer said anything caustic about people’s food choices.

At least they had a choice. Hers had been few and far between. She’d learned a greater appreciation for what Granny had been through, trying to keep three young girls alive and growing in all ways, when Granny herself had been long past the age of working.

In fact, Celeste had no idea how Granny had kept the money flowing to feed them. And then the clothing requirements for three teenage girls. School had been hard enough, but always wearing older secondhand clothes had made them a target of ridicule—when a life just being with Granny had done that on its own.

People had missed out on knowing the most generous and caring person in this town—all because Granny scared them.

Well, Celeste knew about fear herself now and didn’t like it one bit.

She glanced down at her leg. It looked better. It felt better. But was it?

Given that the waves of the pool still called to her, she’d take that as a no. Still, it had improved tremendously. Another few hours in the water, and the injury would be a distant memory. She shivered. The pool’s euphoria was fading, and now she was tired and hungry. Healing was hard work.

She needed to check her closets to see if her old clothes were still here. The pasta was finally done, so she served herself a bowl and added a few dried herbs for flavor, then took the bowl to her old bedroom. With the bowl of pasta and a fresh cup of herb tea, she stood in the doorway for a long moment, once again the onslaught of emotions washing over her. Was there ever anything more powerful than a homecoming?

She took the few steps inside placing her food down then crawled up on her bed, still wrapped in her towel. She hoped there’d still be the few bits and pieces of clothing she’d left behind. She’d left with much more than she’d returned home with. It was an understatement to say that it hadn’t been an easy year. She’d expended a lot of energy to stay hidden. A whole lot more energy to find herself, and all for what?

Time to deal with her grief? Her loss? Adjust to her life as it looked now? But did she do any of these things? She’d come home out of desperation for the healing pool, and that in itself said she hadn’t adjusted at all.

Placing her empty bowl on the old rickety night table she’d hated all her teenage years, Celeste curled into a ball on the bed, tugged a blanket up over her shoulders, and slept.

*

Matt paced. Back and forth and yet again across his office floor. Damn it. He wanted to rush to Celeste. He knew she’d been hurt. Knew she’d come for the powerful healing pool. He was damn grateful that it existed, that she felt comfortable enough to return for that reason. He wished it was for something else, but he’d take what he could. At least she was back.

Darbo murmured something in his ear. Matt tried to refocus. “She’s asleep?”

Darbo nodded.

“Ah, good. That’s what she needs. Rest.”

So did he, but that wasn’t happening. He pulled the files toward him. Since that weird electrical storm involving Tori—almost permanently—Scott, another paranormal investigator and a damn good one, had shown up, asking questions about it.

Good questions. Questions Matt couldn’t answer. As to why that storm? What did it need? Want? And, if it did claim people, why?

Devon had been positive that the storm wanted Tori and that Tori had been willing to sacrifice herself to it. Devon was sure that she would have disappeared into the storm forever, if he hadn’t been there.

Hence the current case file. How many people had disappeared without a trace in the last decade? There were frighteningly many, but only a few who fit the profile of an energy worker. Scott was making careful inquiries on behalf of Matt and the Center.

But then Scott had an agenda of his own, and Matt suspected that Scott had lost someone, possibly to an energy storm. The man was cagey, private, and reserved. If he was here for personal reasons that was fine, as long as they gelled with Matt’s own needs.

Matt had a deep suspicion of what was going on but had no intention of sharing with anyone until he knew more. There’d been enough problems and unrest at this point. Stability was needed. He was already gearing up for an ugly court battle. Grandfather’s heirs had mounted a legal defense against the charges, and Grandfather’s sister, facing her own extortion and baby-trafficking charges, was going through a health crisis. In order to avoid facing her own crimes? Some thought so.

Matt figured more likely an awareness that she would finally have to pay for her decades of criminal activity was making her sick.

The town was agog with the news of the sisters proclaiming to own so much land here, and, while very little had been made public at this point, it was enough to divide the town. And that made the situation dangerous too.

Matt knew Celeste was needed here to make the sisters’ case complete. You couldn’t have just two defendants in court and a third lost to the wind—not if you wanted to appear serious. Especially when the charges were astronomical.

They had the proof, which helped, but he’d had to lock down the Paranormal Center and to use extraordinary measures to keep the documents safe. He could hope for the employees’ willing compliance, but the issue was too big. Too much at stake to count on it.

And, of course, the big annual social event of the year was happening in a few days. He’d always expected to have Celeste at his side for this. The affair might be social, but it was a power statement too. He needed the others to see him as in charge and capable. The Center was his. Yet, he needed the support of the townsfolk. This was supposed to be a statement that all was well and that he was the right man for the position. Of course, in the last year, while he led the Center, things had gone to hell. … Sigh.

He stared down at his big hands, so capable in some ways, and yet too capable of violence. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t just the three sisters going through a personal revelation period but that he would have his own personal shakeup happening as well. His father had died young, trying to control his abilities. He’d slowly gone mad, trying to keep his forces locked down inside, in control. But he’d held a rigid grip on them.

Matt knew that had contributed to his father’s death. One had to use one’s given paranormal forces, or your life never reached its full potential. Like a flower bud that never opened, it dried up and died—usually taking the person with it.

Unlike his father, Matt wasn’t afraid of his powers. But he was concerned. He was strong. Stronger than most people he’d ever met. Stronger than people knew. Not sure who warranted his trust, he’d hidden his abilities for a long time, only letting a few very select people in. Granny was one of them. She’d liked him. Had shared much with him. But she’d been wrong about some things too—like Celeste.

Or rather, his life with her hadn’t turned out the way Granny had said it would. But maybe it still would? He’d watched his friends walk through fire for their other half, and, in their cases, it had all worked out.

He knew Celeste was his, but that didn’t mean she wanted anything to do with him. Especially with this new problem and the electrical storm.

She’d hate him if he turned out to be right.

But he was pretty damn sure he was. Now the only thing left to do was to prove it. And then find a way to make the others forgive him for what he had to do. It would be done for their sake, but no one ever liked to hear that.

Chapter 3

Waking to pain had to be the worst. Nudged awake by Silky, Celeste realized that she was crying in her sleep and that her leg throbbed to the point where she wasn’t sure she could make it to the pool. With Minkel’s help, she stumbled to the water’s edge, where she collapsed into the waiting coolness. Instantly the water surged over her, enveloping her in its healing coolness. She cried out in joy, as the pain eased. Still half asleep, she let the water work on her sore body and closed her eyelids, willing sleep to claim her again.

Only now worry filled her mind. Why wasn’t her leg healing? What could be so wrong with it that this healing pool couldn’t fix? She lifted her leg from the water and studied the marks in her calf. A bite? If so, she had no idea when or how she’d received it. For it must be from an animal, and that made no sense. She had an affinity for those. They were all her friends and family. She knew of none that would—indeed, could—bite her. Energetically it wasn’t possible.

She’d had a bad fall a week ago, one that had scraped her leg up badly, but that was minor and should have healed within a day or two. As she examined the wound critically, she realized the pool had helped a lot. The swelling was gone; the poison appeared to have leached out, and, although she could see a little damage, it was much better.

Feeling better, she said, “Maybe it just requires more time to heal all the way.”

Silky muttered in her ear.

“I don’t remember ever drinking the pool water,” she said in response. Yet maybe the lemur was right. There shouldn’t be any reason not to. If the injury had such a poisonous effect on her, then, in theory, the poison could be swarming through her bloodstream right now. And internal assistance might be required.

She studied the glowing effervescence of the water around her, then dipped her head and took a big drink. An odd freshness filled her mouth. Hard to describe but seriously addictive—was that because she was badly in need of the water’s healing properties? Almost immediately her tension inside eased back, and her fear muted. She took a second drink and assessed her state. Better yet again.

After a third, she figured she’d had enough. She floated peacefully, letting the water do its thing. She needed to be as strong as she could be. Things would go to hell soon enough.

An hour later, more than a little worried, she contemplated her options. Even though the pain had eased dramatically, her leg still throbbed. She had to consider why it wasn’t 100 percent better, and she realized a bigger issue must be at play.

The pools could—and would—definitely help, but also chances were good that something inside her leg was stopping it from healing completely. Maybe it was an energy blockage of some kind. And that was scary. She didn’t deal with dark energy. Granny had always focused on positive energy. The triplets had been the same.

Everything else was blocked out. Acknowledged, but no more than that.

One couldn’t walk in the light without knowing that the dark existed. But she had no dealings with it herself. Until now.

She twisted in the water and pulled her leg up to take another closer look. The swelling on the calf had reduced to almost nothing, the scrape nearly nonexistent, only … She peered intently.

A number of tiny black spots—almost like tiny pebbles—appeared to be embedded deep inside. So maybe this was a physical problem, after all? Maybe they must be dug out, and that would hurt like crazy. She was rather a baby when it came to pain.

Someone else would have to do it. Minkel the meerkat came over and laid a gentle paw on her calf, a tiny whimper escaping from his mouth.

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine,” she said gently.

Silky burst into loud argumentative chatter.

Okay, then. No, she wouldn’t be fine, according to the chattering at her ear. Celeste froze, stricken by a thought. “Do you really think it’s that big a problem? Surely the pool can fix it, given enough time.”

And this time every spirit animal in the room erupted in cries of alarm.

Damn. That wasn’t good.

If it was a problem, who could she call on for help? Her sisters, of course, but was there anyone else? She was supposed to handle this herself, but, if so, … how?

Minkel’s paw covered the wounds, sending healing toward the injury in his own way. Silky reached a long arm down toward it too but couldn’t quite reach it. Celeste stroked the injury with her own fingers. She needed to see if she could dig out the black spots from her flesh herself. She hated the idea, but there wasn’t much choice.