someone in the house had, as Kal had called it, spell-cast it
to do so or had they managed to drag all of these
technologies onto a remote island in Maine?
She rubbed the soap, completely unscented she
noted, all over her body. This was definitely a guy's room
and she was going to have to make things more feminine if
she stayed here. She paused in her thinking. Was Kal going
to want her to stay here or was she going to move
somewhere else in the house? Was he even going to
remember that he had proposed in their shared dream? She
groaned a little bit. How many women could honestly say
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that they had been proposed to by their soul mate and it was
possible that he wasn't even going to remember it? She
turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the rack next
to the shower. Navy blue. Yep, things were going to
become a little bit pastel, not so much denim and navy
blue. Had Kal picked these colors or had Dot picked them
for him? Should she worry that she had agreed to marry the
guy when she couldn't even answer that question? Did
knowing a person's color preferences guarantee success in
marriage?
Well, she mused, stepping out of the shower and
being careful not to slip, they had been born to be each
other's partner on this planet, more than likely they could
work out the small details as they went along. There were,
after all, life and death details to focus on like evil creatures
bent on world destruction and the death of her entire
family. She knew that she was going to feel the grief
associated with that terrible event soon but her brain
seemed completely unable to focus on it now. Charma's
magic, she thought, and wondered if the beautiful blonde
woman who had been there when she had awakened ever
thought of it in those terms.
Stretching, she suddenly felt wonderful. Sexy and
wanton was a wonderful feeling. She was still a little bit
sore but not terribly so and she was sure she had it in her
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for a few more goes if Kal was up for it when he woke up.
She ran a brush through her hair and exited to the hall.
The house was dark and quiet. Closed doors lined
the hall in front of them. She suddenly felt like she had
walked into the opening scene of a gothic novel. The dark
books of nineteenth century female authors had nothing on
this place. Kal had referred to this part of the house as his
wing. Did every door here belong to him? What did he put
inside of them? She thought she remembered being told
that the house was huge and that she was going to have to
wander for a while until she found the kitchen.
Well, she decided, I might as well snoop a little bit.
She opened the door directly across the hall from Kal's
room, waiting for it to creak and hoping she wasn't going to
find herself face to face with one of the other people who
lived in the house, probably pissed off for being awakened
rudely by a stranger, but the room was empty. Depressingly
empty. Was most of the house like this? Did it just sit here,
unused?
Isabelle suddenly thought of her parents' house. Her
mother had painstakingly selected everything in it over the
course of their lives. Every item had meaning or held a
memory. How long had they all lived here that it was still
so completely barren of stuff? What was it like for Kal to
come home and walk down this heated and yet somehow
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frozen hallway towards his room?
Who had built this house? It was well kept, showing
no cobwebs or cracks but with the feeling of being very
old. Something was keeping it heated just as something had
kept the plumbing going. Somehow, Isabelle knew it was
not conventional heating and piping doing the job. How
could they bring repairmen over when something broke?
She didn't hear radiators or heat coming through any of the
felt no air coming through them. Someone must have that
power, she realized as it occurred to her that she had a lot to
learn. Marina, she thought suddenly of the girl Kal had
been telepathically communicating with on the highway.
She had said something that had made him look sad but she
had obviously been extremely powerful. She had inflated
their tire hundreds of miles away. It had to be Marina
controlling the house. Was this something she had to
concentrate on all the time?
Turning what seemed to be her hundredth corner
she arrived in a new part of the house. Isabelle wasn't sure
at what point she had left Kal's designated section and
crossed into someone else's but she hoped she hadn't
broken any rules of trespass. Did they all just get to wander
around each other's sections?
The kitchen was modern like Kal's bathroom had
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been, feeling completely out of synch with the rest of the
corridors. It was like stepping from one time period to
another. The walls were yellow and bright with small
decorative ceramic green leaves glued periodically. Not
paying attention, Isabelle found herself face to face with a
man. They practically collided.
"Oh," she squealed, trying not to sound scared. She
had wanted to meet the others and now here was one. "I'm
sorry. I'm just trying to find the kitchen."
"You're Isabelle," he said simply. "You've found it."
"I am and I guess I have found it. Yep." She looked
up to examine the man. He was dark like Kal and young.
He couldn't be Veli, unless they didn't age. She was going
to have to ask Kal about that. He must be Leonardo. He had
broad shoulders like Kal, but that was where the similarities
ended.
He was strong; she could tell that, but lean where
Kal was built like a Viking. Leonardo's face was almost
angelic and didn't carry any of the wear and tear that Kal's
did. His eyes were distant and observational as they
glanced her over. She felt like he was studying her for an
exam.
"You must be Leonardo," she supplied since he was
not going to introduce himself.
"I must be." He gave his first smile as he stepped
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aside to let her in the kitchen. "Sorry, that was rude," he
admitted, following her back into the room. "I've been up
all night going over Kal's account of what happened to you,
and seeing you, I immediately started to recalibrate things."
"Recalibrate? Like a computer?" she asked, opening
the fridge, relieved to find orange juice.
"I'm a power enhancer. A bit like a computer, I
guess. More like a battery pack. I th
ink I can help you with
your power but I have to get myself set first." He joined her
at the table. "You're smaller than I expected."
"Ah, did you think I would be Amazonian?" She
laughed, trying to find a way to relate to Leonardo. Kal
hadn't warned her that he was so analytical and blunt but
then maybe Kal had expected to introduce them personally
and protect her from him.
"Your mother was small, your father was tall." He
nodded. "I guess because you have his power I thought
you'd be like him."
"My father?" Her eyes widened. He was referring to
her Outsider parents. "How can you know that? I thought
we were all just infants when we were sent away?"
"We were," he concurred, nodding. "When we were
babies, before we forgot, I gave Veli the names of all the
babies and their parents. He wrote them down and later
supplied the parents' power to the list. Each family is
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slightly unique in their gifts. That's how I know who you
are. Your dad could time travel back and forth from events.
Your name was Horacia Maltose but I don't imagine you'll
want to go by that now. Your mother was a mind reader.
They were highly respected elders, evidently very learned
and advisors to the Great One and Abraxas after him. Veli
says children usually only inherit the powers from one of
their parents, like we inherit blue or brown eyes and the
shape of our mouths but we all seem to have inherited both
parents' powers. It's why we are considered so special, so
dangerous to the Evil One."
"Wow." Isabelle couldn't really fathom a better
response. "I don't think I want to be called Horacia," she
said finally.
"No," Leonardo answered agreeably. "That would
probably be weird for you. Marina went back to her
Outsider name but she was only five at the time. I don't
think I could go from being called something else my
whole life to Leonardo now. Besides it will keep your
connection with your parents. I'm sorry they died.
Obviously if we had known about you, we would have
protected them." Leonardo poured himself some coffee,
staring at her again.
"Well, I've known you all of three minutes and
you've said quite a mouthful." Isabelle couldn't help teasing
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him. She suspected not too many people did. Leonardo
reacted by almost choking on his coffee.
"Give the girl a break, Leo, she just got here."
Isabelle turned to see an older gentleman enter the
room. He was tall and blond like Charma had been. Isabelle
remembered that Kal told her that Veli had to do a dawn
ritual.
So this was Veli, who had raised them. Isabelle
raised an eyebrow to look at him. He would not be
destroying Kal's sense of self anymore, not now that she
was around.
He was a powerful warrior like Kal and he changed
all the energy in the room when he entered it. Leonardo
turned his back to her and Veli and looked at some papers
on the counter, essentially shutting Veli and Isabelle out of
his scope of concentration and ending his conversation.
Isabelle didn't know if it was possible for Leonardo to be
uncomfortable, but if it was, then he was uncomfortable
with Veli.
After a moment, Veli smiled. "I've looked for you
for years, young lady." He bowed slightly to Isabelle and
she remembered that he must be quite old, hundreds of
years perhaps. "I'm so sorry for your loss but so glad you
are finally with us."
"Charma made me feel better so I can somehow get
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through this and Kal has been filling me in," she responded,
not sure what to say to this man who took up, if not
literally, then metaphorically, all the space in the room.
"I hear you're soul mates," Veli answered, quickly
turning towards the refrigerator to take out some eggs. She
wondered if he was going to cook them breakfast and she
was shocked by the way he had brought up her relationship
with Kal. Neither Veli nor Leonardo seemed to have very
much tact.
"Ah, yes."
"How are the chanters?" Veli asked, emotion filling
his eyes for the first time.
"Don't you hear them when you use your powers?"
Leonardo asked, turning around towards Veli. His
eyebrows were slightly downturned and he looked puzzled.
"I haven't heard them since my wife died, well that's
not entirely true," he corrected. "I heard them very loudly
the day you dropped on my floor. I've always suspected
that was Abraxas faking a hearing to make me think I was
destined for the job when I was clearly not."
"You think he 'faked it' to make you do something
you shouldn't be doing?" Leonardo repeated.
Isabelle wasn't sure but she thought Leonardo
sounded slightly venomous.
"How interesting. I didn't know Abraxas had that
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power. Perhaps we should add it to the list so when and if
we find his daughter we can test her for it."
Leonardo practically stalked out of the room,
passing Charma and another tall, dark haired woman as he
exited the room. He nodded curtly and kept going.
"What has his panties all twisted up?" The second
woman, who must be Marina, asked. She had a stride to her
walk and quickly approached Veli, touching his arm in
affection as she passed.
In her job, Isabelle saw many dysfunctional families
and had become adept at tuning into subtleties. Veli was
obviously not a beloved uncle to the whole group but
Marina was his ally.
"Oh!" She squealed as she saw Isabelle. "You're
Isabelle. I'm so happy you've been found and so sorry about
your parents. Now after all of this time I'm finally not the
newbie." Marina laughed, embracing Isabelle in a hug.
"Ignore our rude male counterparts. Charma and I aren't
sure how we'll ever teach them niceties. Veli is too old to
change, although he won't tell us how old, and Leonardo
gets forgiven everything when he's out in public because
everyone he's around thinks he's a genius, which I suppose
he is. Kal's not much better really but maybe you'll improve
him. He's so dark and foreboding to strangers unless he
wants to be charming."
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"I don't think he's dark and foreboding. Do you all
think that?" Isabelle was stunned but totally comfortable
with the group. It really did feel like they were cousins.
"You don't?" Marina looked stunned.
"They're soul mates," Charma added finally.
Isabelle jumped, she'd forgotten Charma was there
and realized that she must be able to disguise her presence
if she didn't want to be seen. She looked pale and tired.
Isabelle suspected she was struggling with the pain that
should have been her own. She would have to thank her if
they were ever alone.
"You are?" Marina was stunned and silent for a
moment. "No wonder you found him. Really, Kal has a
soul mate? I mean, I love Kal like a brother but who knew
the strong silent one would be the first to find his other
half?" She laughed.
Isabelle finally realized that Marina, for all of the
troubles she had in the past, was actually a gentle flower.
She needed things simple to get through the hardness that
was her life. She had placed them all in categories that she
probably didn't even believe herself. Children often did this
to survive and Marina was still clinging to hers. Kal had
said she didn't let them know the true extent of her power.
Not being able to help herself she responded. "Still,
strong waters run deep. I can assure you, it's been a very
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short period of time but it's very easy to love Kal."
"He's a lucky man," Marina's eyes glowed with a
depth that she obviously kept hidden and protected most of
the time. Isabelle knew she would need to watch Marina
very closely before she could really know what she was
like. Closing her eyes, she searched for Kal and felt his
presence in her mind. He was nearby, and the thought made
her smile as she sipped her orange juice.
* * * *
Kal stood in the hall listening outside the door,
Leonardo beside him. They had the advantage of having so
much history that they frequently didn't have to
communicate verbally even though they were both only
telepathic with Veli and Marina. Their inability to
communicate with each other telepathically had always
bothered Kal. Why hadn't he just been able to talk to