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- Herausgeber: Valley Publishing Ltd.
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
This is a fantasy romance with suspense.
As an energy worker, Genesis Chandler’s job is to protect the healing pools all over planet Glory. Yet, ever since her grandmother died and her sisters left their town of Little Glory, Genesis can’t seem to find a purpose in her life anymore. She goes through her days with blinders on, reeling from having lost everyone and everything she knows and loves. Never does a person like Genesis, who is by nature gentle and unassuming, expect someone to take advantage of her grief and her disorientation …
As a recent contractor for the Glory Energy Council, Connor Bateman is called in to investigate the odd energy fluctuations affecting all the townsfolk of Little Glory. Connor discovers it is directly connected to the healing pools in the forest preserve. Only Genesis can help him deal with the inevitable crisis.
Unfortunately, Genesis is more than a little resistant to help Connor with anything, even this. Once upon a time she’d been in love with him, but then, after a disturbing fight, the next morning he had walked out on her abruptly, without another word.
Connor realized his mistake too late, but, not knowing how to take it back, he’s avoided her all this time. Seeing her again assures him of two things that he does not want to consider: that he’s still in love with her and that she doesn’t want anything more to do with him.
Regardless of their personal feelings, Genesis and Connor must find a way to work together to discover who’s destroying the energy reserve that’s the key to all life forms on the planet. Their very survival depends on it …
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
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Genesis
Book #1 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
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Sneak Peek from Celeste
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
As an energy worker, Genesis Chandler’s job is to protect the healing pools all over planet Glory. Yet, ever since her grandmother died and her sisters left their town of Little Glory, Genesis can’t seem to find a purpose in her life anymore. She goes through her days with blinders on, reeling from having lost everyone and everything she knows and loves. Never does a person like Genesis, who is by nature gentle and unassuming, expect someone to take advantage of her grief and her disorientation …
As a recent contractor for the Glory Energy Council, Connor Bateman is called in to investigate the odd energy fluctuations affecting all the townsfolk of Little Glory. Connor discovers it is directly connected to the healing pools in the forest preserve. Only Genesis can help him deal with the inevitable crisis.
Unfortunately, Genesis is more than a little resistant to help Connor with anything, even this. Once upon a time she’d been in love with him, but then, after a disturbing fight, the next morning he had walked out on her abruptly, without another word.
Connor realized his mistake too late, but, not knowing how to take it back, he’s avoided her all this time. Seeing her again assures him of two things that he does not want to consider: that he’s still in love with her and that she doesn’t want anything more to do with him.
Regardless of their personal feelings, Genesis and Connor must find a way to work together to discover who’s destroying the energy reserve that’s the key to all life forms on the planet. Their very survival depends on it …
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Chapter 1
“May I help you?” Genesis Chandler kept her polite smile plastered on her face and her voice cool yet friendly, despite the fact that broken glass crunched underfoot and that her shop lay in shambles. A good shopkeeper would never show that anything was amiss. The two large black-suited males stared at her, not even the hint of a smile cracking their stern faces. They didn’t acknowledge the mess around them either.
A large Paranormal Council meeting was scheduled this week, and, from the subdued air of power rippling from the men, Genesis had a good guess as to why they were here. She thought she recognized them. In fact, they might head the similar council in a different city. For all her attempts to stay removed from the dealings in the paranormal world, it was hard to not get glimpses of the goings-on. As anything in that line brought powerful memories to the forefront, she did her best to block it out immediately.
“Are you looking for something specific?” she asked, brightening the wattage of her smile.
The men never moved a muscle.
Her invisible familiar, Remi, being wise as well as cheeky, squeaked once and left. But then, what else did she expect? Rare plumers weren’t known to be friendly in the first place. And Remi’s instincts were finely honed, like any other wild animal.
As Genesis stared at the big square men, she realized she’d like to disappear too.
They stood just inside the doorway of her shop and finally surveyed the mess. Without a word, the older man turned and walked out. The younger man brought his gaze around to land on her. She kept a bright smile on her face. A customer was a customer, although she was pretty sure these men weren’t here for a sleeping tisane.
With the faintest sneer marring his face, the second man exited as silently as he’d arrived.
“Goodbye. Have a nice day,” Genesis called out, as a proper storekeeper should, then breathed a sigh of relief when the bells chimed, signaling the strangers’ exit from her shop. They’d entered, damn-near filling the tiny interior of her shop, had never said a word, but had studied her for longer than was strictly necessary.
She’d been friendly. Polite. But she’d also instinctively pulled a protective layer of energy around her. She didn’t know who they were or what they wanted, but the one thing she did know was that they weren’t in the right place.
No one with their energy belonged here. And given their intimidating size and presence, she’d had a hard time holding that smile on her face and her nervousness at bay. She’d kept her own energy system well buttoned down. Another of Granny’s lessons she’d learned well. Granny’s words had rolled through her head, as she’d stared at the men. Don’t let anyone know who you are. What you can do. Everyone has an agenda. It won’t be yours.
That advice seemed appropriate right now.
With the men gone, the atmosphere inside lightened. Remi reappeared.
“There you are.” She reached out and stroked a hand down his long back. “Fine bodyguard you are, leaving me with those two scary dudes.”
She swore his grin, already wide and mischievous, widened yet again. He chattered once, then raced over to lie on the window shelf, where he could look at the people walking past.
It was hard to not be suspicious of everyone right now, after her shop’s break-in by paranormal means. At least her intruder had only broken the energy lock on the back door instead of smashing the front windows. That was another reason to avoid law enforcement. They didn’t work with those who had supernatural powers. The Paranormal Center in town would be policing that. Another group of people she avoided.
And the community? … Well, they mostly avoided her.
Just enough fear had been involved to spawn prejudice against energy workers in the community. Respect for those at the top but, for the unknown workers, there was a different attitude altogether.
Not that many knew about Genesis’s abilities. Her life would be way worse if they did.
No wonder her sisters had taken off when everything had blown up. Too bad that hadn’t been an option for Genesis. Besides, … she had responsibilities and nowhere to go.
With a sigh, she considered all the broken glass on her floor; maybe she shouldn’t store her herbs in glass canisters. Maybe cloth bags or even tying them to hang down from the ceiling would be better after all.
For the rest of the morning, she puttered around her shop, happy to have it looking back to normal again. Then, needing to keep busy, she’d repackaged her herbs for most of the afternoon. By the end of the day, she was comforted to see that she’d actually accomplished a fair bit.
Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Something she should know about.
Only what was it?
“What do you think, Remi? Any idea what’s going on?” She laughed. As if he would answer. Still, if nothing else, the sound of her voice was comforting.
She wished for the millionth time that her sisters were here. This last year had been horribly lonely. Both had left—one to hide away and one to find herself. And exactly how did that make any sense? While Genesis, ever the homebody, had stayed to protect their heritage.
The three girls had been blessed beyond measure by the old woman who had taken them all in. That they’d remained together was an even bigger blessing. As the eldest of the triplets, Genesis had always been the quiet one. The one who’d stepped up in a crisis.
And, a year ago, a crisis had hit in the worst way.
Granny had died, leaving everything to the three girls equally. But what they’d inherited would send shock waves through the community—and potentially a horrific backlash. That was one of the reasons why Genesis had not brought out the documents to prove her claim at this point. Genesis didn’t think she could handle it alone.
Granny had always been considered an odd hermit by the locals. And that was the kinder of the names. Caught up in their grief over the loss of Granny, none of the three sisters had worried about staking their claim. Granny’s death had caused a vortex in their lives, and their personal relationships had gone off the wall as well. Instead of three potential weddings, there’d been none.
Inheritances they would have to fight everyone over hadn’t seemed important at the time. Or since. Genesis had hidden away from everything this last year, only doing the bare necessities, when she could no longer ignore her inner proddings to check on the pools, the forests. She hadn’t wanted to be left alone, … but it was past time to mourn what was gone and to deal with the reality of what her life was now.
Growing up had been hard. They weren’t like the other kids. They didn’t have a “normal” family. They’d had trouble making friends, and they’d been the butt of many jokes, but that didn’t matter because they had Granny. She’d been special. Like seriously special. And no one knew.
And most wouldn’t believe it if they did.
Life on Glory wasn’t the same as on other planets. And so very different from Earth. Some planets—like Glory—hadn’t been as fully researched as others, before the emigration had started. The actual living conditions could only be surmised, but time had been short, and people had been anxious to get out. Sure, the planet had been examined, tested, and approved, but Glory was farther away from Earth than other options, making it the least popular and the least well-known location.
And, on top of that, it was an energy hot spot. Areas too hot to live in had been quickly segregated into energy reserves—a geographical truth that the settlers had found out the hard way. Now the towns existed on the edges of these special areas.
No one truly understood how the energy centers worked. Glory held massive forests, healing waters, and unique cave systems in each one. It was an ecosystem they all depended on for their own energetic systems.
There had been many energy problems in the beginning, but, over time, they’d learned. Initially no one had understood that recharging could be too extreme. Or that the forest needed to be cared for on an energetic basis, but then they’d come from Earth, where energy workers were rare.
After the first emigrants had arrived on Glory, energy abilities had started showing up in the population. Now, hundreds of years later, there were enough workers that they had their own Council, led by Matt Luker. As a relatively new leader, Matt was an unknown. Genesis had no idea what he was truly like, even though Genesis’s sister Celeste had been engaged to him.
Before she’d left.
As she closed up the shop, Genesis remembered her plans to go to the caves. With all the weird stirrings in the energy field lately, she needed to. She had been remiss in her duties, preferring to ignore them rather than face her memories, her losses, her grief. But she couldn’t any longer.
Besides, she had to return the chart she had with her.
The energy disturbances had been bad this last year, but they had gotten much worse this last week, ever since the break-in at her place. A break-in that should not have been possible. Not with the energy locks she’d used.
It was her fault. She should never have brought the star chart home to work on in her apartment. She’d known it then but had once again ignored the inner prompting. Her gaze strayed to the chart, the one she’d been working on for weeks, sitting atop the folder—not inside the folder. It shouldn’t have been removed from the cottage in the first place. She had to get it back home. And fast.
Considering the break-in this morning at the shop, she figured she was already too late. Someone knew. That meant she and her sisters were no longer safe. And neither were the documents—the proof of their heritage.
*
Connor Bateman quietly approached the hidden cave entrance. He couldn’t sense any disturbance. Couldn’t see any signs of intruders. But, then again, that meant little around here. For someone like him, hiding his tracks was easy. Many people could move silently, not leaving even a ripple in the atmosphere to indicate that they’d come and gone. If he had full use of his abilities, he could likely see more. As it was, he could only investigate at a level slightly above a normal person. Except he had years of experience to draw on.
He studied the porous rock carefully. This reserve appeared to be the same as every other one he’d been in. They were amazing ecosystems that needed to be protected.
His job was to do just that.
Connor had only just returned to Little Glory for the first time in just under a year, thanks to a special request from Grandfather—although he was a distant blood relative to Connor, Grandfather just preferred to be called that by all. He was old but still active and powerful, although he was starting to show his years. Working for Grandfather, doing contracts for the Glory Energy Council as an investigator, he’d seen his share of weird sightings and events all over the planet.
But now, something was happening in the town of Little Glory. And Connor finally had a reason forcing him to come back. He’d been planning to since the day he’d left, but somehow the jobs close by went to other investigators. He had to wonder if Grandfather hadn’t known about his relationship with Genesis.
If Grandfather had known, he would have sent Connor to the opposite side of the planet. Which was exactly where Connor had spent the bulk of the last year. But why had Grandfather brought Connor here now? Maybe Grandfather had realized they would need Genesis’s help to get to the bottom of this disturbance and figured Connor would be the one to charm her into helping. If that were the case, Grandfather had seriously overestimated Connor’s influence.
Murmurs of problems within the forest, disturbances in the pools, odd colorful flares in the sky. The reserve was under stress. The real question was why.
And that was what he intended to find out.
Connor had to find Genesis. At least, he hoped he would find her. Council leader Matt had told Connor that she was still in town.
But that didn’t mean she’d be happy to see him.
A rumble reverberated under his feet, adding to his unease. Power had to be respected, controlled if possible, or it would blow like a volcano to release the pressure. They couldn’t afford to have an eruption here. The town was close by. Maybe too close.
He needed to determine why the ecosystem was out of balance and to figure out how to return it to its normal state … and fast.
The dark cave appeared in front of him. He slipped inside.
Chapter 2
Genesis decided to leave her car parked behind the shop and to hike to the closest cave entrance. She would cut through the cavern and be home at the cottage in no time. She no longer felt safe at her small apartment. And she couldn’t rest until the chart was back where it belonged. That someone had seen it was bad enough. What if they had taken an image of it to show to other people? She knew her thoughts bordered on paranoia, but it was hard to ignore a lifetime of cautiousness. If someone were looking for it, that would explain the break-in at the shop. After the first break-in at her apartment, she’d made sure to hide the chart, so no one could find it. But that hadn’t stopped someone from looking.
Remi raced around her, over and under the tree branches, bouncing up the trunks, then down again. She laughed. “We should do this more often.”
She hadn’t been in this particular area in a while. And that wasn’t good, considering the changes she saw.
The bushes were smaller here, stunted. Their color, dull, instead of the rich green that they should be sporting. The ground crunched underfoot from the extreme drought as she walked, another oddity, given the groundwater levels here.
Twenty minutes later, she took the path to the left that led deeper into the forest. A slight breeze drifted in on the lazy afternoon, making the walk a step up from beautiful. There was no feeling like it. Green grass, healthy trees, and sunshine.
As she moved through this special area, she noted signs of a clearing, off to the left—where there shouldn’t be a clearing. She stepped up to the edge and gasped.
Large trailers were parked at one end. Work trailers. And huge metal machines.
Except no one was allowed to build anything here. This land was sacred.
With a sinking heart, she realized just how long it had been since she’d come this way. She hadn’t meant to neglect her duties. But, with Granny’s passing, so many of the things Genesis used to do had fallen by the wayside. Unfortunately.
What she saw now was an obscenity. Skirting around the large machinery, she followed the path. It led away from the trailers and deeper into the woods. The underground caves had many entrances, but the one she’d always used was less popular. She wasn’t antipeople, but, due to the work she did, she did it in private.
The sky was darkening, when she finally reached the entrance to the cave system. Pulling out the large flashlight she’d packed in her bag before leaving the store, she turned it on and highlighted the entrance. It didn’t look as if anyone had come this way recently. Low-lying brush covered most of the entrance, and moss crawled up much of one side. Pretty and effective.
“Let’s go, Remi.” No answer. She turned around to search for him.
No sign. “Remi?” Damn. “Come on, Remi. I need you.”
Instantly he raced toward her from out of the underbrush, his mouth open in a huge grin. She’d often wondered if he smiled at his prey the same way before attacking because that grin of his was sheer evil.
She laughed. “Come on, boy. Let’s go.”
He raced into the entrance.
She followed. Inside, the tunnels glowed a strange dull yellow. Genesis stared at her surroundings, as she walked past. The walls should have been bright with effervescence, not this sickened dark-vomit color. Something was definitely off. “What’s going on here, buddy?”
Remi didn’t answer. But he didn’t run off again. He walked on his hind legs at her side, his own bearing one of curiosity and confusion.
“Not so sure what’s happened, are you?” She kept walking. “That’s okay. Neither am I.”
A hundred yards down the path, she found gum wrappers. That pissed her off, but the liquor bottles farther down really upset her. Six months ago, she would have never found any garbage in the tunnels. So why now?
The problem as she saw it was complex. The thinner the energy, the more negativity could make its way in, making it harder to fix, since the more negativity there was, the thinner the walls became. The energy barrier had obviously thinned to dangerously low levels. The decline had been so slow that she hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten and so quickly.
She’d first noticed it after her sisters had left, but it had been minor, so she’d considered it a normal ebb and flow of energy workers in the area. Now it was serious if it allowed for this activity. If the protective barrier were healthy, the equipment couldn’t have entered this sacred space. Hell, the drivers couldn’t have found the pools in the first place.
What kind of work were they doing in the forest? “Or,” she muttered under her breath, “are they working down here?”
That thought made her go cold. No one, under any circumstances, should be doing anything down here in the cavern’s pools.
And then she realized she’d been walking parallel to a set of wheel tracks.
Not truck tracks but wide and deep—more like heavy equipment. With fear clogging her throat, she raced forward. Large underground pools were up ahead. Pools and spaces that were sacred to the reserve, one that provided life force nutrients for the forest above.
Ahead was the return to the outside world and just like that, she came to the end of the path. At least, as far as the giant machine had made it. It was parked ahead in the middle of the path, as if the driver had just walked away.
Fuming, she squeezed past the machinery. Having this metal, this negative energy here, was obscene. That anyone could be so careless of this spiritual space made her want to weep.
And then she saw the broken stones beside the pools. Someone had damaged the edge of the pool. There were now steps that went into the pool on the far side. Steps that hadn’t been there six months ago.
Someone appeared to be trying to open access here—possibly to commercialize the sacred pools.
And that couldn’t be. No one had gotten permission. From the community. From the property owners. She should know. She and her sisters owned the land surrounding the entire forest, especially these pools, compliments of Granny. Except nobody knew that, did they? The triplets had avoided contact with any legal system here because of the obvious prejudice against Granny and her granddaughters. But Genesis had spent a lifetime trusting in Granny, so Genesis wasn’t about to lose faith in her grandmother now. If Granny said the documents gave them claim to the pools and the forests, possibly more, then she’d believe her. But what if no one else believed Genesis? Then what would she do?
*
Connor stood in the silence of the cave and breathed in deeply the slightly mineral scent. The air, the energy, the space oozed with healing effervescence—something this area was famous for. Most people needed this air to heal. To feel good. But some of the special people, like Genesis, thrived on it.
In fact, he strongly suspected she and her sisters couldn’t live without it. They certainly couldn’t live away from such waters. He’d heard rumors of problems in the family in recent months but hadn’t had a chance yet to catch up on the latest gossip. Not that he knew who to ask. Matt had been involved with one of the sisters, but getting the head of the Paranormal Council to open up on personal issues was a lost cause. Even though they’d been good friends once.
Connor walked forward, listening to the echoes of his footsteps, as the tunnel widened into a larger anteroom. Several sacred pools were underground, with corresponding sacred forests aboveground.
And in between them existed a complicated energy system that kept life flowing in abundance. The space was protected.
At least, it was supposed to be. Now he saw signs of heavy traffic down here. Traffic that didn’t belong. At least he didn’t think so. He hadn’t asked Grandfather about this.
Of course Grandfather hadn’t offered anything more than the bare minimum in information either.
It was no wonder no one liked the old man. He was a bull of a man, with an attitude to match. Connor had long been suspicious that he had plans. Big plans.
And no one would stand in his way.
Chapter 3
Genesis froze, as a weird tingle rippled down her spine. She wasn’t alone. Reacting quickly, Genesis slipped into the shadows and waited. Remi sat quietly at her side. Footsteps approached. Heavy, male. A little hesitant. Someone unsure of the way.
Not many men could come down here at night like this. Unless he was part of the construction crew. Or maybe there was a security detail. After all, the equipment was likely valuable.
If she had anything to say about it though, that machinery would be gone immediately. It was an eyesore. An insult. The machinery clashed with the organic nature of this place. Its presence was simply not permitted.
She nodded her head firmly. They would be gone soon. She’d make sure of it.
“Hello?”
The quiet call surprised her.
She slipped farther into the shadows. The white-blue beam of a flashlight glowed in front of her.
“Anyone here?”
As if she would answer. The footsteps continued past. She held her breath, waiting. If he turned and came Like she would back the same way, he would see her. And then what would she do?
She couldn’t squeeze back any farther. But, with limited options available, she had to try her whisper trick. Closing her eyes, she stilled and went inside herself. Setting up gentle whispers to float throughout the cavern, she sent out the message, All is well. Everything is fine. No one is here.
The stranger walked around the large pools, his flashlight scanning the water. He held something small and dark in his other hand.
She didn’t know for sure, but it looked like one of those high-res guns she’d heard about.
Then he was gone from her view.
Listening for sounds of his passing, she smiled as his footsteps softened, changing from a hard stride to a casual stroll within seconds. Brilliant.
She usually needed to preserve her energy; using her abilities drained much of her resources. Down here though, she’d recharge almost instantly. So sending whispered messages was nothing. Her sister Tori could perform that trick from anywhere, but, for Genesis, it was harder, and she didn’t have much luck in working on people with paranormal abilities. Besides, any man carrying a gun meant nothing good. And someone was doing something illegal down here. If he wanted to keep it a secret, her presence might cause trouble. How much trouble was the big question. These caves went on forever.
Someone who didn’t know them well might assume they could hide a body in here. In theory, Genesis could get lost down here herself and could never get out. In theory.
The reality of the situation was much different. She could be lost down here for a while, true, but she had Remi. He would have her out in no time, and, even without Remi, Genesis would still get out on her own. It would simply take a little longer. There were a lot of passageways. She would need to explore to find the one that would lead to the surface. That wouldn’t bother her. She was one of the few people who was comfortable here. But then she had an affinity to water.
She tilted her head and listened.
Blessed silence.
The intruder was gone.
Deeming it safe, she slipped farther into the tunnel, but her mind couldn’t move past the obvious intrusion. What was the equipment doing here? What exactly was going on? It would only take the slightest of changes to destroy the delicate balance of the forest. Especially with her sister Tori pulling energy from the forest like she was. And that was yet another question that needed an answer. How was she doing it from a long distance? Doing so while she lived in town was normal. Natural. But now that she’d disappeared—and was still drawing strength from the same source—the balance here was shifting. It had to.
Tori was just as integral to this ecosystem as Celeste, the youngest of them, and Genesis herself.
Genesis needed to find her sisters and to help them heal. After Granny’s death, everything had spiraled out of control. It was too much to hope they would return voluntarily, much less soon. If they did, the energy flares would calm down too. What a cosmic joke. The energy responded to major shifts in the owners’ lives, yet did nothing to help the owners to heal.
Still, Genesis couldn’t imagine that her sisters’ energy requirements were the cause of the strange, twisted energy patterns going on in the forest or the ones down here. That didn’t seem like a strong-enough reason. So just what else was going on?
Was her sisters’ absence enough to cause this? Especially when combined with the loss of Granny’s powerful energy? Instead of stepping in to fill the void, the sisters had scattered, and the energy barrier had thinned to the point of collapse. Fear spiked through Genesis. She was just as responsible. She’d been avoiding even thinking about what was going on here—and look at how well that had worked.
The darkness deepened ahead, and she shivered. With the deterioration of the energy field and the presence of strangers, she felt a nervousness here she’d never before experienced. Just then, Remi bolted.
“Remi?” Genesis called out, a slight tremble in her voice. “Stay close, please.”
A slight scrabbling noise sounded beside her, as he returned. He placed a long-fingered hand in hers. “Thanks, buddy. I could use the help.” She smiled down at him. He grinned that wide ear-to-ear splitting movement, which made most people back away, thanks to those major hooked teeth. Still, he would never hurt a friend. Everyone else was fair game though.
And he was highly susceptible to Genesis’s moods.
And her people preferences.
Turning several more corners, she walked into one of the main caverns. Melancholy hit when she saw the worn spot where her grandmother had spent many hours—especially toward the end. It had given her great peace to be this close to the forest. Both directly beneath and also directly above the source. When her bones had ached, she would visit, and the pain would ease for days.
They had the cottage in the woods for just that reason. Genesis had often stayed there when she wasn’t in town. The cottage had been Granny’s home.
Wandering through the large cavern brought tears to her eyes. She missed Granny and her sisters, … and, yes, damn it, … she missed Connor. It’d been a very long year.
Granny had always told Genesis to pick wisely because heartache was sure to follow if she didn’t. She’d met Connor soon after Granny’s death, so the wise woman hadn’t been there to vet her choice. The relationship had not lasted more than a week, but the heartache that followed—watching cool, capable, composed Tori have her life destroyed by a man and then Celeste go to pieces with her own horrible relationship experience—had made Genesis decide that relationships weren’t for her.
She stared around the massive space, hating the sense of wrongness that permeated the sacred cave.
Remi chittered, his voice faint, farther up and off to the left. She followed the sound. “What’s the matter, boy?”
His chitters turned to cries of distress.
Oh, crap.
She ran forward, trying to sort through the energy that had swelled up in front of her. She couldn’t see much, thanks to the brilliant glow of energy in the space, but Remi was certainly nowhere to be found. That was normal and almost made her feel better. Almost.
But when he didn’t come when called? That was a different story.
Quietly she checked out the corner and realized that the only place he could have gone was down a tunnel that lay directly in front of her. She frowned. Since when had that tunnel been there? She knew every nook and cranny of this cavern, and that tunnel hadn’t been here before. She crept up to it, letting the waves of energy hit her full-on. “Remi?”
No answer.
Remi had gone down there. But why?
“Genesis?”
She hesitated, stumbling slightly, straining to hear what sounded like a familiar voice. Connor? No. Not possible. She paused, considering, then shook her head.
With a backward glance at the empty cavern, she followed her pet into the darkness.
*
Connor couldn’t see any sign that someone had come this way. In fact, he couldn’t see much of anything. But then he was operating with the barest of his abilities. Working alone and traveling a lot had helped him hide that fact, but he knew others were starting to suspect. That wasn’t good. Yet, given his plans to get back together with Genesis, a career change was definitely in the cards for him.
In the distance, he saw a glow, like a sweeping flashlight. Who could that be?
Instinctively he called out, “Genesis?” Then realized he had no basis for that assumption. With the machinery, equipment, and the signs of work going on, it could easily be someone other than her. The flashlight stopped moving. Then it winked out. In a way, that seemed to confirm it was her.
And, hell, she was still pissed at him. He agreed she had some right, but, damn it, he needed her to understand.
“Genesis, please don’t take off. It’s hard enough to see with a flashlight. Without it on, you’re likely to get lost.” The instant the words were out, he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. As if she could get lost. He could almost hear her disdainful sniff in the air. He rolled his eyes and walked toward where the light had been.
Only to find she hadn’t stayed in one place.
She’d taken off.
Or hidden from him.
Either way, it was bad news. He stood here, his hand gripping his hair in frustration. “What now, Genesis?”
No answer. Damn it.
“Don’t do this because you’re mad at me. I’m not here to hurt you.”
Still no answer. Now he was really pissed. He spun around, hoping she would step out of the shadows.
Nothing. Now what? What in the hell was going on?
“Genesis, can we talk? Please come o—”
Something slammed into the back of his head, and pain exploded in his skull. He collapsed to his knees, his fighting instincts warring with the pain. Training had him spinning to one knee and flipping back around to face his attacker. Half expecting Genesis, he was startled by the sight of a huge man wielding a flashlight as a weapon. Shit.
As the attacker lifted his flashlight for a second blow, Connor kicked his legs out from under him and pounced. His first punch hit the man in the jaw and the second one in the nose. The man bellowed, threw Connor to the side, and jumped to his feet. But rather than coming after Connor again, the stranger bolted into the darkness.
Connor scrambled to his feet. He could go after his attacker, but he didn’t know his way around, and neither did he have a flashlight, like his opponent. Now that he realized Genesis wasn’t down here alone, his first concern was for her.
She was here. He could sense her. He had always been able to know when she was close. He was grateful that gift hadn’t diminished along with his other talents.
Had this guy found Genesis? Had he hurt her? Connor’s head ached from the blow. Gently he touched the back of his head, swearing when his fingers came away sticky.
“Damn.” He peered into the darkness. “Genesis, are you here? If you’re hiding, please come out. The guy’s gone.”
No answer. Realizing she was so much more capable of being alone down here than he was, he slowly started back the way he’d come in. After several careful steps, he knew he’d lost his way.
He groaned, his head starting to pound.
He took another step. The cavern wavered. He blinked and tried to clear his vision. He staggered forward and fell to his knees. Shit. Blackness filled his mind, and he sprawled on the ground.
Chapter 4
Genesis hadn’t gone much farther in the dark tunnel when Remi came running toward her out of the darkness, squealing an alarm.
“Remi? What the hell happened?”
Remi chattered at her side, then grabbed her hand and pulled her in his direction. She went to step forward but Remi yanked her hand back, stopping her. “Remi?”
Then Remi started to tug on her hand some more. Backward. “You brought me down here in the first place. Now what?”
But he wasn’t interested in anything but pulling her backward. She knew better than to argue. He didn’t like something up ahead. Or was scared of it.
“Fine. Let’s go. Lead me back then.” But they’d walked most of the way already. She came into the large cavern where she’d seen the man walking and stopped. “Are you sure, Remi? What about that guy with the gun?”
Remi chattered. When she didn’t move fast enough, Remi snapped at her, his tone more aggressive than she’d heard in years. “Okay, fine.”
Giving in, she held his hand and let him lead her to the Center of the cavern she’d been avoiding.
Where she saw a man facedown on the ground.
“Oh no.”
She raced over, dropping to her knees at his side. And realized in that second that it wasn’t just any man. It was Connor Bateman. Her lost love. Why? How?
“Connor? Can you hear me?”
Her hands frantically searched his lean frame for injuries, her fingers slowing when she reached his hair and the sticky mess at the back of his head.
His pulse was warm and strong, and his chest rose and fell with a reassuring rhythm. But he was out cold. She dared not move him, not when he was injured like this. But she couldn’t leave him either. And, on top of that, no methods of communication worked down here.
Genesis stared at him. What was he doing here? And why now? Now that she’d finally accustomed herself to his absence? She brushed his hair off his forehead and gently stroked his cheek.
If they could stay here, the energy of the cavern would help heal him. The pools would be better, but she could never carry him that far. The two of them would have to stay here until he woke up and just hope the man with the gun didn’t return.
Hopefully Connor would wake soon. The longer he stayed unconscious, the worse the scenario.
The wound didn’t look that bad, but head wounds could be tricky. “Wake up, Connor, please.”
She continued to gently stroke him, easing his pain and willing the healing energy of the cavern to do its job. “Please, Connor. Please wake up.”
Remi sat between them, one hand on her shoulder and one on Connor’s. Granny would have said that Remi was completing the circle.
Granny was full of those little tidbits.
Connor shifted, rolling over. He groaned.
“Easy, Connor. You’ve got a head injury. You’ve been unconscious.”
He groaned again and tried to sit up but collapsed onto his side instead. “What happened?”
Genesis rose and shook out her legs, stiff from sitting in the same position for so long.
“Either someone hit you over the head, or you fell.” She squatted in front of him. “What are you doing here?” She frowned. “Did Matt send you here?” Her voice dropped. “Or Grandfather?”
Genesis watched as he blinked at her. Then saw her. Like, really saw her. And his lips slowly curved upward. A beautiful, caring movement that caught her attention and wouldn’t let go. She sighed. He’d always had the power to move her, a sensuality that he never seemed to be aware of. He’d been quiet—reserved almost—when she’d first met him. It had been that very quietness that had attracted her. Always beautiful, this visible vulnerability was touching.
And she barely knew him.
On impulse, she dropped a kiss on the top of his head, surprising herself.
And him too. His gaze shot up to hers.
“Don’t take that the wrong way.” She backed up slightly. “I was just kissing your owie better.”
His gaze shifted away from hers, and she wondered for a moment if she’d really seen a whisper of disappointment in it.
“You never answered my question,” she said, smoothly shifting back onto neutral ground.
“I came to check out the pools, and … I came looking for you.”
“Why?” She stared down at him curiously. “I’m fine. Did Matt send you?”
“He was concerned about you, yes.” Connor struggled to his feet. “Only I’m the one who got beaned instead.”
Once she was reassured that he wasn’t in danger of falling over or collapsing, she stepped slightly away from him and searched the darkness. “Did you see your attacker?”
