Chapter 8

Memory let herself into the house, putting her camera on the kitchen counter as she opened the refrigerator to see what there was to drink. A plastic gallon jug of water drew her eye.

She turned with it in hand to look for a glass and saw Colton standing on the other side of the bar that divided the kitchen from the dinette area.

“Hey,” she said with a smile. “I thought you were going to call when you were on your way back?”

“In my haste to return to you I must have forgotten.”

She smiled but couldn’t help wondering about the odd way he phrased his response. Dismissing it, she set the jug of water on the counter. “Where are your glasses?”

“Where you’d imagine.”

Again, she dismissed his response. Maybe the talk with Mirriam had rattled or upset him. “So, how’d it go with Mirriam?” she asked as she started opening cabinets.

Colton rounded the bar as she located the glasses and pulled one from the shelf. He took the glass from her, put it on the counter and wedged her back up against the counter, trapping her by placing his hands on it on either side of her.

“My interest lies here,” he said in a sexy croon just before he kissed her.

Memory literally went weak in the knees as he plundered her mouth. This was a side of Colton she hadn’t seen. Rough and demanding, almost to the point of pain, one hand closed on her breast, pinching her nipple through the fabric of her top.

She thought to protest, not really into pain, but suddenly lost the will. She felt him groan into her mouth, his free hand cupping her sex, fingers digging in hard enough to nearly push the fabric inside her.

Her senses were bombarded with hunger. Hot, strong and of a nature she’d never experienced. Need that somehow seemed alien.

Realization had her eyes flying open wide and her hands clawing to get his hands off her.

“Get away from me!” She shoved against his chest.

“Why? You want me.” He yanked her close again, reaching behind her to squeeze her ass painfully.

“Get the fuck off me!”

“You heard her.”

Memory’s eyes jerked in the direction of the voice and renewed strength flowed through her.

Colton leapt at the mirror image of himself who held Memory. His hand reached for the man’s arm, intent on jerking him away from Memory. And closed on nothing, One moment an exact duplicate of himself was there and the next, Memory was rushing into his arms. Colton wrapped his arms around her, turning as he held her to scan the room.

“What happened?” He asked, feeling her body shake.

“I thought it was you.”

Rage surged through him. Not only had someone or something threatened the woman he loved, but he’d also invaded Colton’s home. Colton was ready to go to war.

It took a few minutes for Memory to stop shaking. She pulled back to look up at him. “I’m sorry.”

“Darlin, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for. But what the hell was that?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. Did Mirriam help?”

“Not sure. One thing, honey. Do you have any unique talents or…or special abilities?”

Anxiety lanced through her. Revealing her secret was terrifying. She’d never told anyone. But did she need protection from Colton? Years of habit forced a hesitation. Love overrode habit.

“Sort of,” she replied, meeting his eyes.

“Sort of?”

“Well, it’s not something—I mean it’s kind of a…”

“Come on, let’s sit.”

They went into the den and settled onto the sofa. Memory took a moment to compose her thoughts. “It’s nothing earth shattering. I get a tiny glimpse now and again but not enough to call me clairvoyant. What I can do is…you know it’d be easier to show you. Do you have a pad of paper?”

Colton got up and disappeared down the hall. When he returned, he carried a legal pad. “Thanks.” Memory took the pad and put it on the couch cushion between them.

“Okay,” she closed her eyes and visualized Mirriam in her mind.

“What?” Colton asked when she opened her eyes.

She looked down at the pad and knew he had when she heard the soft “holy shit” he muttered.

“How’d you do that?”

She shrugged. “Seems that whatever I see clear enough in my head I can project onto physical objects—and film. Even onto a digital memory card or a hard drive.”

“That’s incredible.”

“But not very useful, well, except in my profession. Beats the hell out of Photoshop.”

“Not sure I follow you.”

“Well, instead of me taking a photo and having to airbrush out a wrinkle or discoloration, I just visualize the subject or location without the flaws and that’s what the camera records.”

“Again, incredible.”

“There’re times I can sort of project an image into the space around me.”

“Come again?”

“It’s kind of like a ghost or hologram. Not really substantial but kind of there.”

“Interesting. Mirriam said that it was important to know what our abilities are so that we could figure a way to combine them and use them as a weapon against…”

“Against what?”

Colton opened his mouth, closed it, and shook his head. “You’re gonna think I’m a nut case.”

“Try me.”

“Against Dark Fae.”

Something cold skittered down her spine, something that made gooseflesh appear on her arms. “Dark Fae?”

Colton had dreaded this moment. It was hard enough to wrap his mind around the possibility. To tell someone else, someone besides Mirriam, made him feel a little like a new age nut case.

“Okay, look, this is going to sound a little out there, but there are some things you should know about my family.”

“I’m listening.”

Colton quickly brought her up to speed, not going into a lot of detail but giving her a good account of what had happened.

“I know it sounds insane,” he said when he’d finished the tale. “But what if…what if that thing that was here…”

“The Colton look alike that vanished into thin air?”

“Yeah, the asshole who apparently looks an awful lot like me.”

“You think he was Dark Fae?”

“Sugar, I don’t know what the hell that was.”

“Me either, but…hey hold on. You said Mirriam said we needed to know how to combine our abilities. Which suggests that you have special skills.”

“Yeah, but it’s not something I’m real comfortable with.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s dangerous.”

“Really? Show me.”

He frowned for a moment then blew out his breath. “Okay, let’s see.” He tossed the legal pad over the coffee table and onto the floor.

Memory watched as he drew in a breath. He raised his hand, palm out toward the pad. It literally disintegrated into a puff of confetti that billowed up and rained down, covering the floor, the coffee table and dusting them as well.

“Whoa! That’s some ability. I can see why you’d consider it dangerous. How the hell did you survive puberty with that?”

“With great difficulty.”

She thought about it. “I don’t see how our abilities can be combined.”

“Me either.” His eyes suddenly brightened. “Unless…try this. Visualize an arrow in your mind and try to project it in front of us.”

Memory closed her eyes, focusing. When the image was clear, when she could see light glinting off the metal tip and air stirring the feathers at the base of the shaft, she opened her eyes.

And there in front of them hung a ghostly arrow. Colton drew in a breath and extended his hand toward it.

The crash of a ceramic planter preceded a thunk. Both of them jumped up and ran across the room. Dirt and plant littered the floor and the top of a low credenza. And in the wall behind it was a hole.

“It works!” Memory said with a grin.

“But what purpose does it serve? Will it kill a Dark Fae?”

Her grin faded. “How the heck do I know? I don’t even know what a Dark Fae is.”

“Neither do I, but I know someone who might. How would you feel about a road trip?”

“To where?”

“Florida. My brothers’ ranch.”

“Where the fire starter and the…”

“Light Fae” he filled in the blank.

“Yeah, where they live?”

“That’d be the place.”

Memory thought about it for a second. “Well, why not. I mean this can’t get much weirder, can it?”

“I hope to hell not.”

“Then Florida here we come.”