Lin Finity and the Islands of Time, Fringes of Infinity Book Three
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – No More Magic 1
Chapter 2 – An Ancient Knowledge 10
Chapter 3 – Here I Remain 20
Chapter 4 – Back To St. Simons 26
Chapter 5 – Some Crazy Fun 32
Chapter 6 – Lying Around Lying 44
Chapter 7 – The Moon Itself 53
Chapter 8 – From Taylor’s Eyes 64
Chapter 9 – That’s My Penance 73
Chapter 10 – Took My Life 79
Chapter 11 – Splattering Of Red 84
Chapter 12 – Feeling A Need 94
Chapter 13 – That Mayhem Stuff 101
Chapter 14 – Like God’s Heartbeat 118
Chapter 15 – Into The Magic 128
Chapter 16 – To Just Be 137
Chapter 17 – Pretty Damn Powerful 143
Chapter 18 – A Little Advice 159
Chapter 19 – What Matters Most 168
Chapter 20 – Loving Each Other 175
Chapter 21 – It’s Downright Magical 180
Chapter 22 – Everything Crashes Together 188
Chapter 23 – A First Lesson 197
Chapter 24 – Fringes Of Something 204
Chapter 25 – Countless Sharp Teeth 209
Chapter 26 – Just For Fun 219
Chapter 27 – You Were Dead 229
Chapter 28 – That Eye Thing 240
Chapter 29 – Desperation Of Silence 248
Chapter 30 – Quite The Badass 255
Chapter 31 – Covered With Barnacles 266
Chapter 32 – Witches Having Fun 276
Chapter 33 – A Fever Inside 288
Chapter 34 – Hotcakes Help Too 298
Chapter 35 – Strange Sweet Hunger 307
Chapter 36 – Just Amusing Memories 320
Chapter 37 – Timeless Caramel Eyes 330
Chapter 38 – A Hidden Part 338
Chapter 39 – What You Imagine 351
Chapter 40 – Promise Of Eternity 366
Chapter 41 – Sick Of Magic 371
Chapter 42 – Service To Humanity 380
Chapter 43 – Hold That Thought 387
Chapter 44 – Every Living Thing 397
Chapter 45 – Naked, Shivering, Squawking 415
Chapter 1 – No More Magic
“No more magic!”
Lin Finity shoved the blanket covering her to the floor and powered her reclined seat higher. She took a long look through the windshield at Jack, who was slumped over a picnic table and motionless despite the first few raindrops finding him. She snapped her head to the right and stared through her car’s passenger side window. Her heart began to race.
“Lin, you probably need to rest. You’re—”
“No, Gabby.”
She turned quickly and shook back her long blond hair. Her chest heaved from her rapid breaths, and her unblinking green eyes focused on Gabriel.
“I remember everything that happened. That was the most terrifying thing I could ever imagine. Worse than I could imagine.”
“It was frightening for us too. You were—”
“I remember it all. That queen, the one who created the Scroll with the Words of God . . . she’s still out there! How could that be? She pulled me in there, or out there, or back there, or—”
“Lin, try to slow down. That blanket will help you. It will take you some time to recover.”
She turned to stare out her window through the lines traced by the cool rainwater.
“I brought that on myself,” she said between urgent breaths. “I shouldn’t be playing around with the magic. Why did you let me? Why did you encourage me? I should have stopped the first time I spoke any of those damn Words. I felt things moving around inside, and I knew it wasn’t right. Saying the Words changed me. That prepared me. Set me up somehow. And when the time was right, that damn queen—”
“Gloriana?”
“Yeah, her. From way back when. She didn’t just show me what happened and how she felt—I lived it. I’ve never felt such frustration and anger as that. And determination. She’ll never quit. If I stop and don’t use the magic anymore, maybe that will be the end of it?”
Gabriel tugged on Lin’s sleeve until she turned from the window she’d fogged.
“I’m glad you’re getting some energy back, Lin. That’s a good sign. Maybe it’s too soon for you. How about if we think of today right now, and we can talk about Gloriana later?”
“I don’t feel safe.”
Her head began to lean forward, and her voice grew soft.
“I’m not strong enough for this. I can’t. I just . . . I . . .”
Lin’s head tipped and rested against the glass, and Gabriel reached over and pulled the blanket back up over her cold body.
Five silent minutes later, Lin opened her eyes, but she let more time pass before she moved. She snugged the blanket up tight under her chin and turned to look at Gabriel with her eyebrows raised.
“I thought you were joking, Gabby. You really do drive?”
Gabriel laughed and patted Lin’s arm through the heavy blanket.
“Yes, Lin. And I got all the hood lights to turn on too.”
“That must have been fun—you really have to accelerate for that.”
“I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t for fun.”
“Where are we again?”
“Hickory Run State Park. We’re only a short drive from your home.”
Lin peeked over her blanket from the passenger side of her Temt8tion and watched Gabriel for several seconds. She glanced back through the windshield to see Jack still lying over his folded arms on the weathered boards. The rain was still light, but it had become steady.
He’ll notice it soon, she thought and turned back to face Gabriel.
“This car’s fast. How did Jack keep up? There’s no way his pickup could do it.”
“He didn’t keep up with us. But at that moment, Jack had to do his best on his own. I’m here only for you.”
“Why? What happened?”
“It’s more important right now to make sure you’re okay. We can talk about the rest soon. I imagine even that short nap helped you?”
“Yeah, some. I guess I’m not surprised you’d be worried about me. I’m starting to feel more like myself. Still a little strange, though. I can’t believe I was asleep for three days.”
“And you shouldn’t believe it. Because you weren’t.”
Lin continued to look only into Gabriel’s eyes, and she didn’t speak for several seconds.
“But . . . how could—”
“We can talk more about that later.”
“Sure. It seems more like a dream now, but I remember everything before I was taken. I was sitting on the couch with you at the cabin. We’d just finished that crazy battle with Wolfe and his ungodly army. I remember how tired I felt, and then . . . something strange and powerful happened. It was a nightmare without end, or maybe it just felt that way. And I woke up here.”
Gabriel’s head shook slowly, and big brown eyes stared into Lin’s.
“Okay, so I didn’t just wake up. Something else is going on.”
“We can talk soon, but for now, we should keep moving. It won’t be safe here for long.”
Gabriel pointed out Lin’s window and said, “And look. Jack is going to find your daughter and your dog.”
Lin watched as Jack hiked into the thick pines bordering the trail and out of sight.
“I told you he was okay.”
“Taylor, it’s starting to rain here too. Why don’t we get Nomad back? He’s probably had enough exercise for now.”
Jack Madison had felt the rain pelting him until he’d made it under the trees. The forest above them rattled and swayed as the wind worked to sift raindrops through to the dry trail below.
“I have no choice, Jack,” she said and brushed back her shoulder-length blond hair. “He’s losing his mind out here. Just a few minutes ago, he started whining and pulling me back down the trail. He’s really strong!”
“Let me give you a hand, then.”
Together, they held Nomad’s leash, and their combined strength still couldn’t hold the big dog at a walking pace. His bushy tail swished, and his agitated panting increased as he pulled them both down the path.
“I’ll try to hold him still, and you see if you can unhook him, alright? Let him run the rest of the way.”
“It’s either that or he’ll drag us.”
Jack reached his brawny arms around a thin tree and held the leash with both hands.
“Hurry! He’s ripping my arms out of their sockets!”
Taylor fumbled with the clasp but finally got Nomad free of his leash. His huge paws clawed into the soft trail dirt and pine needles, throwing it all up and back as he dug in and rushed between the close pines.
“What do you mean, ‘it won’t be safe?’”
“Lin, I’m just saying—”
A loud crash shook the car sideways, and Lin turned to look out her window and saw a massive snout smudging against the glass from the center of a bushy red mane. Two big happy eyes stared into hers, and she was sure she saw a smile on that familiar face.
“Nomad, my sweet fluffy boy!”
With the heavy dog’s bulk pressed against the door, she pushed with all of her slowly returning strength to get it to move. And when it did open, all two-hundred pounds of Tibetan Mastiff climbed in on her lap, where he proceeded to lick her face and nuzzle her neck.
“Ugh . . . Nomad! I might have to start watching your diet again!”
Lin tried to hug him, but she could barely get her arms around his thick mane.
“Lin, we really should get going. As soon as Jack and Taylor get back.”
“Jack, look! It’s Mom!”
“Oh my God . . .”
They both raced to the car, Taylor in tears and Jack fighting his.
“Mom, you’re okay! Gabriel said you would be, but I was scared—I didn’t think I’d ever see you awake again!”
“Oh, Taylor, my sweet girl. I’m so happy to be back and to see you again. Have you been okay?”
“Me?” Taylor wiped at her eyes. “What about you? You were . . . you were—”
“She’s fine now, Taylor,” said Gabriel. “Jack, you must be relieved. I did tell you.”
Jack ran both hands up through his wavy brown hair and held them there.
“God, I don’t know how much of this I can take. Lin, this is the happiest moment of my life. Don’t ever do that again, alright? Promise?”
“I don’t ever want to do that again, whatever it was. You can believe that, Jack.”
And she looked into his big brown eyes as they pleaded with her through a film of tears that she loved and hoped she’d never cause again. When he leaned in and wedged himself between her and a grumbling and protesting Nomad, she hugged them both. But she made sure most of her kisses landed on Jack.
“I feel like driving some more. How about you, Jack? And you, Nomad, are you ready for the ride home?”
No one could argue with Gabriel since the rain had picked up, and the parking lot’s puddles had merged, leaving only small mounds of mud and gravel. Taylor leaned in to hug and kiss Lin, then she and Jack and Nomad sloshed back to Jack’s truck.
“Gabby, why did you say it wasn’t safe at the cabin? I watched you scatter that Wolfe thing and all his evil buddies. Did Anna and Tayo come back?”
“There’s nothing to go back to, Lin. Your cabin is gone.”
“But . . .”
Lin could only stare out the windshield at the persistent rain bouncing off the empty picnic table. The tall pines leaned and tangled into each other, and even in the luxurious confines of her car, the rising winds couldn’t be ignored.
“Someone else shot another rocket? And I wasn’t awake to stop it?”
“No, nothing like that. It was the weather. It seemed angry.”
She turned to stare at Gabriel as the big motor fired up, and soon, the two vehicles bounced and splashed toward the service road leading to the state route.
“Jack, this has been a crazy couple of days. Ever since Lee healed me in Philadelphia, I just can’t believe all the weird stuff going on.”
Taylor still fought her tears and took deliberate breaths.
“I should be more used to it, but I’m not. All I know, Taylor, is that I love your mom. And if Gabriel were here, I’d be reminded to love Nomad too. So, yeah, I love Nomad too. But this is all a lot to accept. I’m trying, though. You seem to be holding up alright.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll be okay. I saw all the stuff my mom did, and I can’t hardly believe it. It’s real, though, isn’t it, Jack?”
“Yeah, there’s no doubt about that. It’s a really big deal that Lee healed you too. Do you still feel alright?”
Taylor stretched her slender legs out as far as she could and then kicked them a couple of times.
“I feel so good, Jack, like I never did before. And you might not believe it, but I never met Nomad until that day at the hospital. My mom mentioned him on the phone, and I knew he was big—but not that big!”
“Well, don’t feel bad. I never even heard of you until a couple of days ago.”
“Really? My mom never even mentioned me?”
“I think she’s been pretty sad about how things have been between you.”
“Yeah, I’ve been sad too. And you know what else, Jack? I’m mad too, but not at my mom—just about how long I haven’t felt good. It’s not just that I felt lousy. It was feeling like I was about to die any day, and I never even knew what from. I still don’t, Jack.”
“That had to be rough. You must be very strong, though. You seem to have made it through all that.”
“Yeah. And while I was lying around in stupid hospital beds, I thought maybe I should become an author someday if I ever had the strength. Well, now I do. I feel strong enough for anything. Words kind of fascinate me, Jack.”
“All words or just some?”
Jack looked over quickly with a grin.
“Some more than others. As long as my mom doesn’t—”
“She won’t. She won’t.”
Jack shook his head and smiled and tried to keep a close eye on the road. The rain continued a steady downpour, and without the Temt8tion’s taillights, he knew he would have easily driven off of the road.
“Like back at the cabin when Mom was . . . you know. I don’t know why, Jack, but I started thinking about the word ‘pigeon.’ It’s a weird word, you know? Why is it pronounced that way? And why is it . . . oh Jack, I know why I was thinking about that word.
“I can’t count how many days I lay in that damn hospital bed and watched pigeons outside my window. They weren’t sick, and they weren’t alone. They were outside in the fresh air and sunshine, and they could all fly away wherever the hell they wanted. I wished I could fly away too.
“Even on rainy days. Especially on rainy days. They looked so content to just sit there out of the rain. When it started to rain back at the cabin, it reminded me of the pigeons and the word ‘pigeon.’ It’s a funny word, Jack, if you think about it. If you really, really think about it.”
Jack hurried a look at Taylor and saw that she stared out through the windshield with an odd grin. He looked back at the road and rain that seemed determined to become a waterfall.
“Well, that could be the first word in the first book you write. How does that sound?”
“Maybe it’s too funny of a word for that, Jack.” She continued to gaze out through the windshield.
“Just how long have you been sick?”
“I never really felt right, but it didn’t get serious until about four years ago. I’d just turned nineteen, and I got my own apartment. It sure went downhill from there. I’ve been in hospitals ever since.”
“Not anymore, though, right?”
“No, not anymore. I’ve never felt like this. I don’t know how Lee did it, but it seems like a miracle.”
“Yeah, a miracle. Your mom works miracles too. God, she is a miracle . . .”
Jack gripped the wheel tightly with both hands, and he didn’t risk another look at Taylor.
“At this speed, we still have about an hour to go. That seat reclines some if you want. Why don’t you take a nap? It’s been quite a day.”
“Good idea. I think I will.”
With her seat tilted back, Taylor was soon asleep, and Jack was left with the challenge of keeping his truck on the road and thoughts of his impossible life with Lin. Even Nomad had sprawled across the back seat and snored, with his big dirty paws twitching in time with the wipers.
“Gabby, what about the weather? Was there a tornado or something?”
“Rain mostly. Then wind too. Too much of both. I don’t think there’s much left of the place. We had to leave, Lin.”
“I have insurance, and we’re all safe—that’s the main thing. But that cabin was sturdy. No ordinary storm should have affected it at all.”
“Maybe it wasn’t a normal storm.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just that it was a very powerful one. And the storm was only . . .”
Gabriel paused.
“Only what?”
“And you’re right. We’re safe, and that’s what’s important.”
“At least the rain here is tapering off. It was getting a lot worse there for a while. But look at that—I think the sun might be coming out again.”
“It’s always wise to be thankful for the sunshine. Perhaps it will last a while.”
“I bet you’re hungry, aren’t you?”
“Always. I pray you have food at your house.”
“You’re praying for food?”
Lin turned to Gabriel without a smile. Gabriel smiled but didn’t look over.
“Yes. It’s a perfectly good use of prayer.”
Chapter 2 – An Ancient Knowledge
Under cloudy skies free of storms, Gabriel led them all back to Lin’s home on Kingsbury Court. Gabriel pulled her Temt8tion into the garage, and Jack pulled onto the driveway and shut down his pickup. Before he’d cracked his door open, Nomad had climbed onto his lap and began to bark and bump his nose into the window. And as soon as he could break loose, he galloped straight to Lin and offered a big furry hug.
“Oh, Nomad, you do want to keep my legs strong, don’t you, boy?” she said as he pressed down on her shoulders, and his back paws alternated, trying to climb up her legs.
“No, Nomad, I can’t carry you!”
Taylor woke up from the sounds of barking and slamming doors and jumped down from Jack’s truck.
“Thanks for the ride, Jack. Are you coming in?”
“Yeah, of course. After the scare your mom put us through, I want to make sure she’s alright.”
“Good. I like having you around. I think Nomad does too.”
At that, Nomad ran to Jack and jumped up against him with his broad paws reaching for his shoulders, shoving Jack back against his closed door. Jack accepted a few sloppy kisses then turned and took off.
“Come on, boy, try to catch me!”
Down the sidewalk he jogged, with the barking dog close behind. Lin’s first smile since she’d returned to life made an appearance.
“Taylor, how was the ride back? Jack’s pretty good company, isn’t he?”
“He’s a good guy, Mom. And Nomad—oh my God, I love Nomad!”
“He’s a big baby. A real good boy. Were you serious about staying here? There’s plenty of room, and I’d love to have you around again.”
Lin held the gaze of her daughter’s bright green eyes, and the years of strife and misunderstanding continued to fade into a past that neither wanted to remember.
“Yeah, I do want to stay. Do you still have a guest room?”
“Oh, Hon, I still have your room. I haven’t touched it. Well, except to clean it.”
“Aw, Mom, that’s sweet. I’m going to take another nap right now. In my room. I like the sound of that. I haven’t slept much the last three days.”
“Sorry about that, Hon. Rest up. I’m glad you’re home.”
Taylor had little to bring inside. Her years of traveling between hospitals and clinics had left her with few possessions. She grabbed her small bag and walked inside.
“Gabby, tell me you’re sticking around.”
“Yes, I’m not leaving. And I’d like to know more about what you experienced after you left us.”
“I can tell you what I remember, but I can’t say I understand any of it. Come on in.”
Jack and Nomad had finished their romp and filed in through the garage. Nomad headed straight for his empty bowl.
“Lin, where’s the forklift? It’s time to feed your dog,” Jack said with a big grin.
Lin smiled again.
“Okay, Jack, he eats a lot. We all know that.”
With Taylor back in her room for the first time in years, Lin felt a satisfaction that had escaped her long ago. She thought of all the wonders she’d found in the magic, and her powers still fascinated her. But something so simple—the company of her own daughter—could never be taken for granted.
She and Jack took the couch, and Gabriel slouched into the recliner.
“First of all, Gabby, how could I have been out for three days? And you said I wasn’t asleep?”
“No, you weren’t.”
“What was that, then?”
“You were dead.”
She looked at Jack, who only nodded, then she stared at Gabriel with her mouth open. But no words came out. Only the loud crunching from the kitchen broke the silence in the room, which was lightening as the clouds cleared.
“Dead? What the heck does that mean?”
“As in . . . no pulse?” said Jack.
“You can’t be serious. How could I have been dead for three days?”
“It’s because of where you went, Lin. I’ve briefly visited that place, but long ago, I chose to focus my life elsewhere. There’s nothing worth pursuing there, and certainly nothing we’d ever want to meet.”
“And while I was there, I was dead? Here, I was dead?”
“Completely dead. Do you remember when you first looked out and saw Jack at the picnic table? He was very distraught. I told him you’d be back, but he had no reason to believe me. You were dead.”
“I didn’t believe Gabriel. You really didn’t have a heartbeat, and you were getting cold.”
“But what about Taylor? And Nomad?”
“They were upset too. Nomad approached you very slowly and whined. It was a sad sight. All three of them stayed by your side, and they rarely slept. When Nomad rammed into your car at the park, it was because he’d sensed that you’d come back.”
Lin took turns staring at each of them.
“Jack thought at first that we should call an ambulance or take you to a hospital. Do you remember that, Jack? Aren’t you glad we didn’t? It’s good that I was able to talk him out of it. That could have been a disaster.”
“So, I was dead. And I sat on the couch for three days?”
“No, we put you in your bed. You looked quite comfortable, but a lot like a corpse too.”
Lin felt a twinge inside, and she remembered the entire previous week and how many times she’d felt things shifting around inside. It had started the moment she’d returned from the magic, her first trip there with Gabriel, when she’d seen the color that exists only there and not in the world. A foundation that she never knew existed had begun to weaken, and so many other events had continued to pick away at it.
But she understood that it was all necessary. To keep learning, she needed to escape the confines of her mind and find the strength to survive. Gabriel pushed her for a reason. Gabriel didn’t just save her from a bottomless darkness when her mayhem had first erupted back when she was only fifteen. Gabriel was also leading her and guiding her, helping her sort out the limitless magic that supported everything in the world.
“Was I a good-looking corpse?” Lin said with a smile.
“Yes, of course you were. Even dying couldn’t change that,” said Gabriel.
They shared a gentle laugh as they gazed at each other, with Lin’s green eyes moistening.
“Jack, I’m so sorry for putting you through that. It wasn’t by choice, that’s for sure.”
“Just don’t do that again, alright?”
Lin saw in his eyes how horrible that had been for him. Never again, she told herself.
“I won’t, Jack. It was terrifying. There was no way to control what was going on. Even in the magic, Gabby,”—she looked away from Jack—“I feel like I’m learning to be okay there. But this other thing? No way. It was overpowering.”
“And do you remember any of what happened there?”
“All of it. It was Gloriana. Somehow she pulled me into there . . . somewhere. And I remember what she was trying to tell me. Or show me. Why she asked God for an answer. Why she saved that answer with the Messenger Scroll. And I remember that she wasn’t at all happy with God’s answer, like she said in the Telling, that note that Anna gave us. How could any of that have happened? It felt like I went back in time.”
“Perhaps there’s no such thing as ‘back,’ Lin. It might all be there, every moment of it, if you can survive the journey. It looks like you did.”
“My intent. I found my intent, and I held onto it so tight, and there was nothing else. It was like that for an eternity.”
“Well, three days anyway,” Gabriel said.
“Yeah, that’s right—only three days. Not a big deal at all to come back from being dead for three days.”
“It’s happened before.”
Again, Lin could only stare, and she noticed her heart rate jump up.
“Oh no, you don’t mean—”
“Yes, the last person to read the Scroll two-thousand years ago. Maybe he visited with Gloriana too?”
Jack’s fatigue was obvious, and he admitted that what he wanted most right then was to crawl off somewhere and sleep. Lin walked with him into the kitchen, where she gave much-appreciated attention to him and Nomad before the two lay across the guest room bed, their backs pressed together. She stood a moment to watch them sagging into the blankets with their eyes closed.
It feels so good to be alive again and back at home, she thought. How could I have been dead for three days?
“I just ordered a giant pizza, Gabby. It should be here in about fifteen minutes. Think you can wait that long?”
“I’ll try. Don’t forget—I’ve only been real for about two weeks, after being with you for over three decades. I’m enjoying this like you can’t imagine.”
“I know, and I still can’t thank you enough. You saved me. I never would have made it. After I destroyed my uncle Ray, I felt like I couldn’t go on another minute. Then, you showed up, and you kept me safe. I have no idea how, but you stayed with me through everything.
“And I’ve been wondering . . . if I did hurt Ben instead of healing him, would you have stayed in the background, and I still wouldn’t remember who you really are?”
“Maybe. Or worse.”
“I’m afraid to ask. What do you mean?”
“You were already very powerful by the time you confronted Ben in Allentown. You had an unbreakable hold on your intent, and your mayhem was right beneath your surface, ready to rise up in an instant. It still is. It always will be. If you’d hurt Ben instead of helping him, I don’t know, Lin . . .”
“What? Tell me.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You don’t want to know.”
“You mean—”
“Yes.”
“You couldn’t.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to.”
Lin shook her head and stared at her best friend, the being she could barely believe was real.
“So, I need to be careful all the time . . .” Lin frowned and looked at her hands in her lap.
“You must have noticed, Lin. Don’t I always ask if you’ve hurt anyone?”
“You always encourage me to choose good, that’s for sure.”
“I really want you to always choose good. Yes, that’s very important. For both of us. But don’t worry about being perfect. Mistakes are allowed. Constantly choosing good and nothing else is nearly impossible.”
“Not for you, Gabby.”
Gabriel grinned at the rapping on the door, and Lin rose to answer it. She traded cash for pizza, and before long, the open box sat on the table in front of them. After each had devoured a slice and felt they could slow enough to talk, the conversation resumed.
“You must be wondering about your cabin at St. Mary’s.”
“Yeah, of course. The weather, you said. But how could the weather have gotten that bad?”
“I don’t believe it was just the weather. Not by itself anyway.”
“Oh, here we go again. What’s going on this time?”
“I wouldn’t have thought of this—it’s something no one has dealt with for many centuries. But your little vacation,”—Gabriel stopped to smile at her—“to visit with Gloriana brought it to mind. I almost forgot about it.”
“What on Earth are you talking about?”
“It’s an ancient knowledge, forgotten long ago. Or so I thought. Somehow, it might be back.”
“What knowledge?”
“It’s a very old practice involving language. The use of words is intertwined with everything in how we relate to the world. Words are more essential to our world than most people suspect. We all use them to describe things to each other and ourselves. And also to shape things. They help form how we perceive the world. We control which words we use and what they mean, but it’s easy to forget that words control us as well.”
“What? How?”
“It’s probably easiest if I demonstrate the concept of it.”
Gabriel asked Lin for a pen, and she brought one back from the kitchen.
“I’m going to write something on the box. All I ask is that you look at it.”
Gabriel pulled the pizza box over, closed it, and wrote the word “sex.”
Lin laughed out loud when she read it, and then she quit smiling and frowned. She looked up at Gabriel with eyes open wide.
“Gabby, I’m a little shocked. What are you getting at? When you were with me all those years, you never watched, did you? Or wait, do you mean . . . you can’t be thinking—”
“Lin, slow down. I meant absolutely nothing by it. It just happens to be a good word to explain my point.”
“And what exactly is your point?”
“That there are many different levels of perception when it comes to words. Other things too, but for now, we’re talking about words.”
“What on Earth are you talking about?”
“That’s just a word written on a pizza box, but it affected you at a very high level. That’s where most people stay. That’s the effect many words have.”
“I still don’t know what you mean.”
“If I’m judging your reaction correctly, you immediately thought I was talking about something to do with sex and you and me. Whether I’d witnessed it, or . . . well, let’s not consider any other possibilities.”
Lin laughed, and Gabriel joined her.
“You saw it from a high level. As an idea. And even higher than that—you immediately tried to determine my purpose in communicating an idea. Now, think of the lowest possible level when your eyes observed what I wrote.”
“I’d see just a word, is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes, that’s lower.”
“I don’t—”
“You’d see a word and not wonder at all why I wrote it, but the word’s meaning would cause you to imagine something—I won’t ask what. But you wouldn’t wonder why I wrote it. That’s one step lower.
“Next, you’d see it and understand its meaning, but you would only read it and be aware of the word’s definition—you wouldn’t imagine anything.”
“That’s kind of impossible to get that low.”
“Oh, let’s go lower. Even if you tried as hard as you could, would you ever be able to look at it and not see a word? Could you see only individual letters and remain unable to see a word?”
Lin stared in silence until she could speak again.
“No, how could I?”
“That’s my point. Your mind keeps you at a higher level. But let’s go a step lower. Could you look at it and not even understand that those are letters? Could you make yourself see just lines and swirls and circles that don’t add up to anything?”
“No, how could—”
“Could you see those lines and swirls and circles and not understand that someone wrote them there?”
“Gabby—”
“Or could you look at it and not even comprehend that the box is white and the ink is black?”
“No, that’s—”
“Lin, could you look at it and not have a single thought about it? Not understand anything about it and just witness it?”
“No one could live like that.”
“No, because our world is built on the higher levels. It’s where we live.”
Lin stared in silence.
“And that’s just with your eyes.”
“What other—”
“Could you hear your language being spoken and not understand any of the words? If you wanted to, could you put aside that skill that you learned—that you weren’t born with—to the point where you only hear sounds that mean nothing? Can you turn that off if you wish?”
“No. No one can do that.”
“That’s the connection of words to your mind.”
“So, what is this all about?”
“We started at a high level, where we all live, and we talked about lower levels. But there are even higher levels, higher than where our minds keep us.”
“I don’t understand. What’s higher than thinking about your reason for writing a word?”
“It’s an ancient knowledge, Lin. There are techniques that I know of, different ways to observe a word, even one on a pizza box. Very dangerous and unpredictable for beginners.”
“What does any of this have to do with my cabin being wrecked?”
“I believe that ancient knowledge raised the storm that destroyed your cabin.”
She stared but said nothing.
“Your cabin sat in the middle of a large clearing. The storm didn’t touch any of the surrounding forest. It only covered the clearing and your cabin.”
“Gabby, I feel it again. Things moving inside. You talking about the weather and now, some crazy ideas about words. I feel like, I don’t know . . . like—”
A pinpoint of blackness appeared before her, and her eyes were drawn to it. She could look nowhere else as two thin streams of tears trickled down her cheeks.
“Lin, remember your intent . . .”
Gabriel’s voice faded, but Lin heard the reminder.
It was all she could hear from Gabriel as the darkness grew and raced toward her, swallowing her whole. When the night had chased away her world, her lungs locked, and no more air moved in or out. Her thoughts and feelings left her, and she knew only the beating of her heart.
And then, it stopped.
Lin had again become only a captive of that endless emptiness. Frozen in silence.
Chapter 3 – Here I Remain
A tiny dot of light was all Lin could see as if a hole had been poked in the blackness that surrounded her, and it raced toward her and chased away the darkness. A radiant world that appeared ancient dragged behind until it covered her completely.
Her heart began its familiar steady rhythm, and she found she could think and feel once more. She drew in a deep breath of air that evoked childhood memories of the sea, and she knew that an ocean was near before she opened her eyes.
She looked down and saw that she stood on the edge of a stone floor next to a low stone wall. All of the irregular blocks were fitted together in joints that seemed too perfect for even the most skilled workers. She leaned out over the wall enough to see waves crashing against the flooded remains of a palace far below. No land could be seen anywhere, and when she looked to her left, she saw half of a sun beginning to burn its path into the sky.
She looked to her right and caught her breath.
An elegant, athletic woman stood close enough to touch and stared out over the ocean. Without a word, she turned and looked at Lin with unblinking eyes that glowed a rich caramel. Her wild dark hair spilled down far past her uncovered shoulders, where a light breeze bounced it across her dark skin. She wore a gown the color of cinnamon that couldn’t hide the body of a warrior.
“I am Gloriana, Queen of these islands that I intend. Here I wait for you.”
“Me? How do you even know about me?”
“As the Messenger knows you, so do I.”
“How can this be happening? How could you bring me here?”
“The Scroll connects us. It serves as I intend.”
“You created the Scroll?”
“We cannot create. We only give new form to magic that exists.”
“How is this even possible? What am I doing here?”
“I invest in you, Lin Finity. My power grows weak as your centuries pass. I spend much of it to bring you to me.”
“And where exactly are we?”
“We are nowhere. This is but a memory of the last moments of my islands. It is all that I intend for you. This is enough that we may talk.”
“About what? What do you want from me?”
“To join you. To live on the Islands of Time once more. There is no path for me without your help.”
“Islands of what? What are you talking about?”
“Time is not a thing that you know. Not yet. I seek a life on the Islands again.”
“I don’t understand anything you’re saying. I don’t know who you are, or where I am, or how—”
“In time, you come to understand. Agree to help me, and we discuss time.”
“You’re talking in circles. I don’t think I can help you anyway. How could I?”
Gloriana’s eyes burned a deep caramel as she continued to stare into Lin’s eyes.
“You have great strength in your intent?”
“My intent is strong. My hold on it is unbreakable. But what—”
“You need only focus on your intent while holding my gaze. Your strength carries us both.”
“I don’t know you. Why would I even think about helping you?”
“Just look into my eyes and hold your intent. You may begin.”
“No, I’m not doing anything like that.”
Lin turned away and looked to her left, where the sun had breached the horizon and lit a long line in the sea toward the tower.
“I can teach you more of the magic. There is so much more, Lin Finity.”
“I know too much already, that’s for sure. I’ve learned all I want to learn.”
Lin looked back down over the wall and saw that more of the broken structures had sunk below the waves.
“You are trying to fool yourself. In that you must fail. You cannot stop moving forward.”
“What do you mean?”
“Learning of the magic is a wave of its own kind. It is a wave that lives in my intent and in yours. I ride that wave, and it leaves me here. Here I remain.”
Lin snapped her head back to face Gloriana.
“Aren’t you dead? Didn’t you die centuries ago?”
“Death? Death is holding me even now, yet still, I exist. But I grow weary. Only your power can save me.”
“You brought me here twice before, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Why did you show me those things? How did you show me all of that?”
“It is for you to know me and why I am doing what I do. Do you understand me, Lin Finity?”
Lin glanced at the rising sun then out over the ocean.
“Yeah, I think I do. I felt your frustration. I learned what it was like for you to hear God’s answer. I felt your anger.”
“Yes. You would be angry also. I arrange all of that to bring you to me.”
“But I didn’t just see it—I felt what you felt. How is any of that possible? That all happened so long ago.”
“I tell you again: time is not what you believe it to be. If you can move between the Islands, you can find any Islands that your intent seeks to hold. Any Islands that are past. They persist even as the living continue across their centuries.”
“What islands?”
Lin looked down from the tower at the unbroken expanse of water.
“I don’t see any islands. You’re not making any sense.”
“Islands of Time, Lin Finity. And no, I do not make sense. For you to be here, you must know that sense is weak. It is an empty promise. It survives only until it is challenged.”
Lin looked again into unblinking eyes that glowed like molten caramel. A cold fear crept up on her as if sharp claws were reaching for the back of her neck, and she faced how lost she was in a fantasy world that didn’t exist. So far from her home. So far from Jack and Taylor and Nomad and Gabby!
“But how could . . . I don’t know what you’re talking about . . . I shouldn’t be—”
“You must leave. We speak again.” Gloriana pointed toward the horizon directly out from the tower. “Go. Live again, Lin Finity.”
Lin turned from the glow of Gloriana’s eyes and looked out over the water. Just above the horizon, a black point appeared, and Lin could not look away. The dark dot grew into a larger circle, its edges racing to envelope her, and it pushed Gloriana and her world past her until she knew only an endless, empty night. Her breathing stopped, and she could feel nothing and think nothing. Then, her heartbeat vanished.
Without a thought, Lin fought to find the stillness inside her. There, she found her intent and her unbreakable hold on it.
She could do nothing but hold her intent in silence.
As centuries might have hurried past without her, Lin held fast to her intent.
A white point caught her attention, and it grew, dragging Lin’s familiar world behind it. Her heart started up, and she felt the relief of being alive as she drew in a deep breath that carried the welcome aroma of pizza. She opened her eyes to see Gabriel staring at her with concern, and she found that she’d slumped back into the couch cushions. She stayed there.
“It happened again. I was—”
“Dead again, Lin.”
“Gabby, I need to get stronger, or I’ll never make it. I feel like I barely made it back.”
“It’s been only a minute or two. But I did check your pulse.”
“Gone?”
“Gone.”
“It was Gloriana again. She wants to come back. She said she needs me to bring her back.”
Gabriel nodded but gave no response.
“She said she can’t do it herself. She says she needs me to help her, but I felt like I barely got back myself. I don’t think I can help her even if I wanted to.”
“Where did she take you?”
“She said it was a memory of all that was left of her islands. She said she’s been ‘between the Islands.’ What does that mean?”
Gabriel frowned but managed to reach for another slice.
“You will have to learn that for yourself. I can’t help you with that yet.”
“You don’t know?”
Gabriel chewed for a few seconds before answering.
“I know of it. But my words might shape your understanding of it. You need to face it on your own first and know it in your own way. Later, we can talk.”
“How do I stop her? You can tell me that much, can’t you?”
“You’re right—you need to be much stronger. I can help you with that.”
Lin felt pieces of herself shifting about, rearranging themselves, and finding a new pattern. They all seemed to find positions that were acceptable, at least for a while, and Lin knew.
“I need to be on an island.”
Gabriel finished chewing a large bite and swallowed.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going back to St. Simons.”
“Why?”
“I have no answer to that. But my mayhem first erupted there—on an island. And Gloriana, she spoke of her islands. You even told me that—that she’d created her own islands out in the ocean.
“And more importantly, she said she’s been between the Islands of Time.
“God, Gabby, I need to get stronger. I hope I have enough time. Whatever the hell time really is.”
Chapter 4 – Back To St. Simons
“Ben, this has to stop—I’m getting weaker every time. Just let me rest.”
“We’ll stop, I promise. But not yet. This fight tonight is the last, okay?”
“It’s a lot of money, I know. Alright, I’ll do it, but really, this is it.”
Lee Turner collapsed into the worn hotel chair. They’d just arrived in Norfolk after a quiet drive in from Richmond. Ben Barlow’s old pickup rattled all the way, and a working radio would have helped, but Ben had punched the life out of it weeks earlier. Lee still wore her short black leather jacket, and her straight black hair hung motionless after she closed her eyes.
“I never should have let you stop in Pittsburgh after we left the cabin. Just a quick match, you said. Easy money. I didn’t realize what you had in mind. I wasn’t even sure I could do it.”
“You worked miracles in Philadelphia, Lee, when you healed Taylor and me. I knew you could do it again.”
“But you don’t seem to understand—that takes a lot out of me. I was already tired in Pittsburgh, and after you got the shit kicked out of you—”
“I only let that happen to raise the bets. I explained that to you.”
“Sure, but you were really broken up, Ben. Lots of stuff.”
“And I only asked you to fix some of it, remember? Just enough that I could get back in there and win.”
“Right. Yeah, and then later, I had to fix it all. It’s tiring, Ben, that’s all I’m saying. I can’t keep doing this.”
He pulled off his flannel shirt and sat on the edge of the bed. Just the night before, he would have left blood everywhere. But now, he was perfect—not a scratch and no broken bones. He rubbed his hands over his bald head and leaned back on his elbows.
“And then in D.C. and again in Richmond—why, Ben? We have a big share of the cash that we got from The Shield, from that backpack full of it that Anna gave us. We don’t need the extra money, but you had to fight again—twice. I swear I might not be able to help you next time. And when is your match? Eight hours from now?”
“Eight o’clock. It’s a prime-time match. That’s when all the sleazy characters come out and throw their money down.”
“And then, that’s the end of it, right?”
“Yeah, Lee. Just do your thing tonight.”
Ben fell back into the stale blankets and dragged a pillow over his face. A minute later, his snoring filled the room, and Lee slipped out into the hallway, took out her phone, and kicked at the carpeting with the toe of her black snakeskin boot.
“Hi, Lee. Did you and Ben make it back to Georgia?”
“Oh God, Lin, no. And I need your help. Something’s up with Ben. He’s been fighting in bare-knuckle matches, and he’s letting himself get banged up pretty good. Then, he has me heal him enough to finish and win the match.”
“What? Why? He can’t want the money that bad. He still has his cut, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, and I don’t think it’s just about the money. I don’t know if I can keep doing this. I’m exhausted, and he’s got a match tonight at eight. I can’t talk him out of it. And if I don’t at least try, God knows what will happen to him. He’s tough, but there are a lot of tougher guys out there.”
“Hard to believe, but yeah, Ben isn’t always the biggest or meanest. So, where are you? You’re not still in Pennsylvania, are you?”
“Norfolk. He just fought in Richmond last night. Saturday night was in D.C. After we left your cabin at St. Mary’s, we only made it as far as Pittsburgh before he got this idea in his thick head.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have a bad feeling about this fight tonight. Ben said it’ll be the last, but why the hell would I believe him? I don’t know, I just thought maybe you’d have some advice.”
“I can do better than give advice. Tell me the address, and I’ll be there tonight for the fight. I’ve decided I need to get back to St. Simons anyway.”
“Why? You just got back home about a week ago.”
“There’s some weird stuff going on. I’ll explain better when I see you. It’s almost noon, so by the time I throw some things together and get on the road, we should just make it in time. I’ll see you then.”
“Thanks, Lin. You’ll be a big help; I know you will. I can’t get through to him.”
Lee recited the fight address to Lin, and they said their goodbyes.
“Gabby, that was Lee. She’s kind of in some trouble. Something is going on with Ben. Funny how I just decided to head back to St. Simons, and Lee needs my help in Norfolk. It’s on the way, so let’s pack some things and get going.”
“Now’s a good time. You still have a lot of your mayhem converts here. You probably can’t go back to work yet anyway.”
Lin thought back to her first two converts, John and Tommy. They’d been converted before she’d gotten control of her mayhem, and they’d followed her to St. Simons Island. She remembered how impossible it had been to be around them. They’d been so infatuated and giggly, to the point where she could barely get away from them. If all the people she’d converted in Allentown when she’d healed Ben were still like that, there would be no way to go back. Not yet.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. I’ll call Dr. Grayson and see if I can get an extension. I have a feeling he’ll be happy to do whatever I ask.”
“Yes, just like a convert. Sweet Pets will manage without you a bit longer.”
Gabriel smiled, and Lin nodded and disappeared to pack a bag.
“Jack,” she said from the bedroom doorway. “Jack, get up. We have to get going.”
He sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes. Nomad continued to twitch.
“Going where? We just got here.”
“St. Simons Island. You up for a road trip, Jack? Maybe we’ll find a chilly hotel room there. How does that sound?”
Lin knew he had to remember that night nine days earlier in that cold hotel room with her. She’d been struggling to understand her power, which she’d buried when she was fifteen because it was too dangerous and uncontrollable. That night with Jack was the first time she’d stayed conscious while her mayhem rose up. And she took him with it, driving him mad with pleasure and nearly scaring him to death too.
He looked down at the floor as he dug around in his pants pocket until he found the engagement ring—the one he’d been trying to put on Lin’s finger ever since the big scene in Allentown. He shook his head and let his breath out slowly.
“Lin, I . . .” He paused. “Lin, I’m really tired. I think I’ll sit this one out.”
She raised her eyebrows and stared at him before she could form a question.
“Really, Jack? You’d rather stay in Pennsylvania?”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I think only a couple of days. It’ll be a short trip, I promise.”
“Why are you going?”
“I can’t give a good answer to that, Jack. This whole thing with me dying . . . I just need to get back to the Island. I don’t know why.”
“Yeah, you dying, that’s . . .” He looked back down at the floor. “I need to look after my houses too. I could use a couple of days for that. And to rest. I’m really exhausted, Lin.”
“Okay, Jack, you know what’s best.”
“Is Nomad going too?”
“It’s probably better if he stays here. It might be too hot for him down there. Can you keep an eye on him?”
“Yes, of course. That’ll be my workouts—carrying his food around.”
She walked over and slipped her arms around his waist. Before kissing him, she looked into his adoring eyes and marveled at how he could keep up with her. All the times she’d used her mayhem on him might have sent any other man running for cover. But Jack stayed by her side with everything that life with her brought.
She felt tears working their way to the surface, but she squeezed her eyes shut, tilted her head up, and kissed him.
“My Cowgirl, you know I’d go to the ends of the Earth with you if you needed me to, don’t you?”
“Okay, my Cowboy. That’s a deal. But I don’t want to go any farther than that.”
“I’ll ride in the back, Mom. Not a lot of room back there, but that’s okay. And where did you ever get a car like this anyway? Why would anyone ever need to go that fast?”
“Sometimes, dear Taylor, a girl needs to move fast. Live a little dangerously. I like it.”
“And what’s with the license plate?”
“Oh, that’s kind of like an inside joke. I’ll tell you about it when we stop for a snack.”
Lin closed Taylor’s door and smiled—her girl’s life was only beginning.
“Just be safe,” said Jack, “and don’t go too fast, alright?”
“I’ll try to keep myself under control, but no guarantees.”
“Just do your best.” He gave her a small smile.
She looked over the roof of her Temt8tion.
“Gabby, you’re coming too, aren’t you?”
“Wouldn’t miss it. I’d still like to talk more with Lee if we get a chance. She’s quite remarkable.”
“That’s for sure. Okay, let’s get—”
Lin saw a tiny black dot straight in front of her, drawing her eyes to it like a magnet. It raced toward her, and when it had nearly covered her, a point of light appeared at the same place. The darkness hurried past, and Lin’s breaths froze in her chest as her thoughts and feelings left her. Even as she stared at the growing white light, she felt her heart silenced.
But only for an instant. The brightness soon covered her, and her heartbeat and the rest of her life returned in the world that the speeding whiteness had dragged with it.
She took a deep breath and started to collapse.
Chapter 5 – Some Crazy Fun
Jack caught her just as she started to tip.
“Lin, easy there. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Jack. Just maybe still a little tired.”
She looked over at Gabriel, who only nodded and raised a hand to cover a barely noticeable smile.
Lin sank into her Temt8tion’s molded leather seat and wiggled her behind deep into it. She felt her short black skirt ride up, and she glanced down with a grin at her bare legs ending in her favorite black heels. Gabriel took the passenger side. Jack slammed her door shut and tapped the car roof, and Lin blew him a kiss and squealed the tires as she backed her car to the road.
The scenery seemed to fly past like a slideshow in a dream as Gabriel sang along to all of the classic rock blasting from the radio. Taylor mostly slept in the back seat.
That girl needs to live a little, Lin told herself as she watched the dry pavement continue to flow under her powerful car. Any hint of rain had been left far behind.
“Okay, Taylor, wake up back there. We’re in St. Simons, the place you’ve heard about from all my stories, but it probably doesn’t even seem real to you—just some imaginary world.
“Gabriel, I bet you’re hungry after that long drive, aren’t you? Here’s what I suggest: let’s all get a good meal in the Village, and then, Taylor, we need to do some shopping. I know just the style for you. We can celebrate your recovery with a brand new wardrobe!”
“That sounds great, Mom. I already know I want some short skirts. Some really short skirts like you wear all the time.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Taylor—sounds like trouble. Do you think that’s the best idea?”
“And heels. I want some really high heels, okay, Mom? It just seems wrong to wear a short skirt without high heels. You dress like that, and since when do you get in trouble?”
“Oh, Hon, the stories I could tell. Let’s see what they have in the shops. Gabriel, it’s a lot warmer here compared to icy Pennsylvania. How about some new clothes for you too?”
“That’s an excellent idea, Lin. I’m sweating like a dog in this sweater. Like your dog, that big mutt. What’s his name again?”
“His name? Oh my God . . . my dog’s name. He’s Nomad. Nomad! Why didn’t we bring him?”
“Maybe because it’s too hot?”
“Yeah, that must be it. Too hot for the big mutt. Maybe I’m too hot for Jack too,” Lin said with a laugh and popped a button on her blouse.
Gabriel and Taylor laughed with her.
Lin picked out a crowded sidewalk cafe in the Village with umbrellas over the tables, and they all placed their orders.
“No hotcakes this time, Gabriel?”
“I don’t even really like hotcakes. I don’t know why I ate so many of them the other day. Just to keep you amused, I think. You need to laugh more, don’t you think?”
“Well, as long as you get your fill, that’s all that matters. And you’re right—I need to laugh more. I do believe I need some crazy fun.”
The food vanished as if it had never been there, and Lin ordered a round of cocktails. The three toasted and finished their drinks.
“Taylor, Honey, are you ready to shop yet?”
“Hell yeah, Mom. Let’s go.”
“I bet they have just the style you need right next door. I think you’re right—you’d look best in a really, really short skirt and really, really high heels.”
“Good, Mom, I can’t wait!”
They all rose from their table, and Lin called over the young man who’d been waiting on them. She gave him a sly smile and looked him up and down as he approached.
“Young man, would you be an absolute sweetheart and save this table for us? We need to shop for just a minute, but we’ll be back. Would you be a dear and do that for me?”
She looked him in the eye and held her chest out, stretching her thin blouse.
“Why, of course. Yes, yes, of course,” he said, staring at Lin’s generous cleavage.
She reached out to touch his cheek, and she leaned in close. When her red lips had closed the distance, almost brushing against his, she stared into his eyes with a smile and said, “You’re the best!”
That boy must have forgotten how to blink, she thought as she took a few steps back and watched his smiling mouth hanging open. Then, she turned to leave, and she was just sure he was watching her long legs sticking her sharp heels into the patio’s bricks.
The three took a short walk through an iron gate that squealed open for them, and instantly, they stood outside the trendy shop next door. Its large plate glass window displayed several mannequins dressed in summer fashions.
“Time for a special outfit, Taylor. But please, not like this boring crap in the window. Are you ready, Hon?”
“Yeah, Mom!”
In no time, Taylor had a short red skirt stretched around her trim hips, and her lean legs ended in a pair of short black boots with tall heels. She struck poses in front of the shop’s mirror in a snug black tank top while flicking her hair back, and Lin could only hoot and whistle.
“Taylor, try on a tank a size smaller, okay? And Honey?”
“Yeah, Mom?”
“Lose the bra.”
“Good idea, Mom!”
Taylor followed Lin’s advice, and she continued her posing with the thin black material barely covering every curve and feature.
“Taylor, you look really hot in that coat of paint,” Lin said with a snort. “You’re going to attract all kinds of attention—I’m jealous! Doesn’t she look hot, Gabriel?”
“Exactly so. She’s definitely your daughter.”
“She sure is. We’re two hot women on the prowl and dressed like we mean business. This island doesn’t stand a chance!”
They all tilted their heads back and laughed.
“Broken hearts or broken bones, right, Gabriel?”
“That’s exactly right, Lin!”
She paid the expensive bill from her wad of cash, and they all stepped out into the hot sunshine.
“The world is yours, Taylor. What do you want most right now?”
“Mom, I want to see what kind of trouble I can find. I’ve been waiting a long time for this, and I sure am dressed for it! Don’t wait for me because I probably won’t see you until tomorrow. Forget that—not even tomorrow. Time for me to grow up, Mom.”
“Oh, that’s for sure. Go break some hearts, baby girl. Hey, why not take a cab down to Daytona? God knows the things that could happen to you there.”
“I love that idea! But I’ll just hitchhike instead.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Shouldn’t you give me some cash, Mom?”
“Honey, you have something they want more than money.”
Taylor turned and strutted down the sidewalk with her hips swaying and her heels clicking. She’d taken only a dozen steps before she stopped and stretched down to tie a lace that was already tied. A white van saw the bait and pulled up. Its windowless door slid open, and Taylor got in.
“Ah, that girl, Gabriel. That might not be the safest thing, but oh, what the hell—I have other things on my mind.”
“Exactly right, Lin.”
She and Gabriel walked back to their table, and on the way, Lin hugged her server tight and kissed his cheek.
“You’re sweet for saving the table, so I owe you. You’ll have to figure out a way for me to pay you back. Why, I believe I’d do just about anything you can imagine.”
She pulled her shoulders back and blew him a kiss. He blushed and hurried awkwardly into the kitchen.
After they sat back down, she blocked the sun with her hand and scanned along the other side of the street until her eyes fixed on something.
“Gabriel, why don’t you get lost for a while too? You never know what kind of action you might find. And maybe think about getting a haircut, huh?”
She laughed at Gabriel and looked across Mallery Street to a row of bars mostly hidden in the night. A lone figure leaned against a cracked brick wall.
“Oh yeah, I see some unfinished business across the street. Maybe I’ll see you later. Maybe not.”
Lin stood and took another sip of the fresh cocktail her new young friend had brought over. She shook her long blond mane back onto the sheer white blouse that covered nothing but skin. With arms out to each side, she arched her back, straining the thin material already clinging to every tiny detail from the humidity. She popped open another button and started to pull her skirt down since it had slid up a little while sitting. But Gabriel had wise advice.
“Lin . . . be kind.”
“You’re right. Why on Earth would I ever pull my skirt back down? I don’t think I have anything I need to hide, do I? Not from anyone.”
“You certainly do not, Lin. Not from anyone at all.”
She thought about how good her legs looked, smooth and bare in the hot sunshine.
“You know what I love, Gabriel? Showing everyone what a sweet, sinful treat I am. I love showing off everything I have to offer. That’s my way of being kind.”
“You always did like to show off,” Gabriel said with a grin.
“So, why change now, you mean?”
“Yes, exactly. And you have your mayhem, and your intent can take anyone’s magic. You’ll never be in any real danger.”
She ran her hands down her hips one more time.
“Oh, Gabriel, I told you I didn’t want to use my powers anymore. And if I don’t use them, with all the teasing I do, I could be in some real trouble. I’ll be helpless and trying on some danger just like I’d slip on a skimpy nightie.”
“No one slips on a nightie like you, Lin,” Gabriel said and winked.
“You know what would feel even better? For me to tease my way into some danger while I’m wearing that tiny nightie.”
“I do think you’re onto something, Lin.”
“If I draw a crowd, there will just have to be enough of me to go around.”
Gabriel looked her in the eye and got a big grin.
“And if I’m a lucky girl, around again.”
“Yes, Lin!”
“I’m kidding of course—I’m just a tease.”
She downed the last of her cocktail and took her time popping open the rest of the buttons. The thin blouse mostly draped straight down, held away from her in two places which poked at the fine, almost transparent material.
She stretched again, almost opening her shirt completely. Then, she slid her hands down her hips and around behind her, feeling her smooth skin covered only by the thin cloth of her short skirt.
“Mm . . . I’m not too far from naked now, and I like it. Without my powers, I could be in some real trouble. It’s not safe for a girl to be dressed like this.”
“It’s closer to ‘undressed.’”
“Right, I’m sure not wearing much. But what the hell. Time to have some fun.”
“Yes!”
“I just love showing off, Gabriel.”
“That’s for sure!”
Across hot road asphalt and between silent vehicles that had somehow frozen in place, Lin took long, graceful strides into the night. Her heels clacked, and her arms and open shirt swung around as she approached the fake bounty hunter still visible in the darkness in his white t-shirt—the man that she remembered had already tried to kill her once.
She felt the danger driving her heart rate higher, and she pushed aside any thought of her mayhem.
“Good to see you out of that old car of yours, tough guy.”
“The car’s gone, babe. You took it when you left me on Jericho. What brings you here?”
“After seeing you,”—she ran her hands up and down his muscular arms—“I swear, I can’t remember.”
He grabbed Lin’s shoulders and pressed her back up against the cold brick wall. He released her only long enough to stretch her shirt to each side, and he pinned that to the wall too.
“Ooh . . .” She arched her back and took a deep breath as her heart pounded. Her tongue slid across her wet lips, and she felt a rush of electricity zip through her as she glanced down at her breasts in the brief headlights of a turning car.
“Oh, you like to play rough, that’s for sure,” she said as she placed her palms against his bare chest and spread her manicured fingers wide. From there, she slid her fingertips down over every muscle of his granite abdomen until they hooked the top of his belt.
“You like it rough if I remember right,” he said.
“Yeah, rough is what I need, maybe because I’m so soft and smooth.”
He looked down and said, “Yeah, that’s for damn sure.”
She wiggled her fingertips in farther.
“Still packing a pistol, stranger?”
“For a dangerous dame like you? I brought my biggest gun.”
“You think you’re gonna shoot that gun this time, fella?”
“Nothing’s gonna stop me.”
He moved one hand up to Lin’s throat, and she looked up and parted her red lips.
“Can’t you squeeze any harder than that, mister? You know I’m about to.”
He did squeeze harder until Lin struggled to breathe as she was pressed against the cold fender of his old car on a lonely road northwest of Brunswick.
“You don’t even remember my name, do you, honey?”
The trees all around them barely moved, and hot sunlight beamed through an open space above them.
“Sure, your name is Ivan. I bet this all looks pretty good, huh, Ivan?”
“Yeah, you look damn good. Just like last time.”
“You didn’t see just how sweet I am last time, poor boy. See anything you like?”
“I see a lot I like, babe. And I’m going to take it all.”
“Take? Oh, you silly man. I like showing off, that’s all. You don’t get any.”
“You’re more than a show-off. You’re cheap. You’re easy.”
“Wrong, tough guy. I just like being a tease.”
“No, you’re easy, and you’ll do whatever I tell you.”
“I don’t seem to have much choice, do I?”
“No, you sure as hell don’t.”
“There’s no one around to stop you, that’s for sure. It’s only you, me, and the trees out here.”
He looked around quickly and repositioned his grip. Lin felt her heart pounding.
“But a girl like me, I’d show off for a crowd too.”
“I bet you’d do a hell of a lot more than that for a crowd. I think you’d love to give it all to a crowd.”
“If they’re all as strong as you, big boy, I couldn’t say no, could I?”
Lin felt his other hand reach up to her throat, and she had a fleeting image of what a crowd would expect of her. With her heart tapping out a hot rhythm, she let go of his belt.
“Mm . . .”—she slid her tongue along her lips—“I guess I’d have to do anything, anything at all.”
She reached for the collar of her blouse, pulled it gently down over her shoulders, and let it drop onto the trunk of his old car. Her heart raced, and her mayhem was itching to break loose.
“That’s better, isn’t it?”
His blue eyes stared, and his grip tightened more. Lin felt her eyes begin to bulge out, and she slapped both hands onto his hard chest.
“You ain’t getting away this time, but go ahead and try. Make it fun for me, bitch.”
Lin felt her last breath dwindling inside as her thumping heart burned her last traces of oxygen. She pushed against his bare chest, even though she knew he was much too strong.
She noticed her mayhem coiled up like a spring just beneath her surface, always ready to rise up if needed. She resisted it, and she focused instead on how she was mostly undressed for a dangerous man, alone and helpless on a lonely road. And still a tease.
With her heart speeding as her air ran out, the thrill outweighed the danger. So, she ran her fingers back down to his belt, pulled his hips into her, and felt her breasts brushing against his solid chest. She felt the heat of his skin against her and his strong hands rough around her throat. Her behind squeezed into the cool metal of his car, and she was trapped there, wearing only a skirt and heels, with no chance of escape, and her heart beating a strong rhythm.
Unless she called her mayhem.
“You’re so goddamn easy.”
The words echoed through her, and she began to face that she really might be as easy as he said. Because she wished he’d stop choking her and start making her do things that an easy woman would do, things an easy woman like her would do.
His grip relaxed, but he kept his calloused hands around her throat. Lin took deep breaths while her heartbeat sounded inside her.
“You ready to do what I tell you?”
Lin nodded.
“You really are cheap, ain’t you?”
Lin thought of her mayhem, pushed it aside again, and felt her heart beating hard in her bare chest pressed into his.
“Oh yeah, mister, I guess I am a cheap girl.”
He dropped his hands down to his belt, and Lin knew it would be sexy to keep teasing him, so she reached down to the bottom hem of her skirt and began sliding it up.
“This won’t save you. It’s only buying you some time.”
“I know.”
He unbuckled, and Lin had pulled her skirt almost up to her waist.
“And you still want it?”
Keep teasing him, she told herself.
“God, yeah. Even more.”
She knew he’d have her in only seconds, and she held her mayhem back.
She knew he’d strangle her after, too, and still, she pushed her mayhem aside. She knew she could wait until the very last second anyway.
He’d just grabbed the inside of her right thigh and began lifting her leg . . .
. . . and her mayhem erupted like a volcano from Hell, blasting green fire from her eyes.
“What the—”
Time stopped. And Ivan froze with it.
The world became a calm, flat surface, and Lin witnessed again the unidentifiable oceans of magic spinning mad patterns beneath it. Her hungers and cravings became lost in the infinity all around her, and she embraced the ecstasy of all that wondrous magic rushing into her, swelling her until she felt she might burst.
She looked into his caramel eyes and felt a powerful wave begin to rear up, ready to rush out and take him, to control him, to—
No, wait, she thought, Ivan didn’t have caramel eyes! No, this isn’t right!
Lin locked her eyes shut and blocked out the world—the world that now seemed crazy—and she found her intent in the stillness inside her.
She found her unbreakable hold on it, and she held it tight.
She didn’t feel his hot skin pressed against hers, no cool metal against her thighs, and no hot sunshine.
In utter stillness and silence, Lin held her intent.
After an eternity in the darkness inside her closed eyelids, Lin witnessed a tiny point of light. It grew, racing toward her until it covered her, and she found that her eyes were already open.
As her life returned to her, she took a deep breath and started to collapse.
Jack caught her just as she started to tip.
“Lin, easy there. What’s going on?”
“Oh, Jack! What is this? I’m still in Pennsylvania?”
Jack and Gabriel looked at each other. Tears leaked out of her eyes and began to streak down her cheeks.
“Yeah, of course. Where did you think we were?”
“Oh, Jack, that wasn’t me! I’m not really like that!”
She held his arm with one hand while the other wiped at both eyes.
“Not like what?”
“I’m not that woman at all. Why would I act like that? I love you, Jack.”
He only smiled and stared before finding his voice again.
“I love you too, Lin. More than you probably know.”
She slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him in silence with her head on his shoulder. Her quiet sobs shook them both. Jack glanced over at Gabriel, who only looked down at the ground.
“Jack, just help me back into the house for a minute, okay?”
“Sure, Lin. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I think. I just . . . I just want to change. It’ll only take a few seconds.”
Within a couple of minutes, they walked out of her house holding hands. Lin had traded her short skirt and tight blouse for a pair of jeans and a blue hooded sweatshirt. Her heels had been tossed aside for her black boots, and she’d tied her hair back in a ponytail.
“This is better, Jack. This is more comfortable for a long drive. Promise me you’ll be around when I get back?”
“Of course, where else would I be? Hey, are you alright?”
“Just tired, Jack. I’ll be fine.”
She sank into her Temt8tion’s black leather seat, and Gabriel took the passenger side. Jack slammed her door and pressed his palm against the glass. Lin returned it from inside, and they gazed into each other’s eyes for a few seconds before Jack tapped the car roof and took a few steps back.
She turned toward Gabriel.
“Gabby, something just happened. Some kind of dream but more like a nightmare. Was I gone again?”
“It looked that way. You got pale, and your eyes closed. It only lasted a second, though.”
“As soon as we can, we have to talk.”
She carefully backed her Temt8tion to the road.