Clayton's Jade (Runes Stone Series) (3 page)

Kaylee knew she should back up, but doing it was a different thing.  He seemed to be more pissed off since she had gotten hurt.  He didn’t change while they were talking to the tasmanian it wasn’t until the he had twisted her arm and raked her back with his claws.  Was he attracted to her too?  “Calm down Clayton.”  Stepping up to him she touched his arm and looked him directly in the eyes.  “I’m ok he did not hurt me very bad.  Save this for another day.”  He eyes started to turn back into the blue that she could get lost in and then she knew that he was going back to his calm state.  They had other things that needed to be done and the tasmanian could take a back burner for a couple of days, then they would deal with him.  Now on top of shopping and dinner they had to go patch her up and talk to some of her friends.  They were going to need help getting rid of him, at least in his human form.  Tugging on his arm she started to pull him back towards the road and to the car.  It had been a bad idea to stop and try to talk to the Tasmanian devil but she had to try as that was part of who she was.

By the time they reached the road he had turned completely back to normal at least for the rest of the world. “Let’s get the cheese then go to dinner and after we eat I need to talk to some of my friends.”  Waiting until he got his shirt back on so that she could enjoy the view just a little bit more before it was gone again. What would it be like to just let go for once in her life and take a chance.  He already knew she was a cat it could be fun.  It was something to think about.

As they came out of the trees they could see the sky in between the clouds she could see the stars.  It looked like little pockets of diamonds in the sky.  The area was open with the exception of a few trees.   She could see a couple of houses off in the distance but nothing really close. 

After dinner she should would go down to the beach and talk with Todd he would know who to get in contact with.  She also had a need to hear the waves as they crashed against the shore then watch as they rolled back out.  For some reason the ocean seemed to relax her and she needed it.  It felt like her body was in hyper drive and hurting at the same time, she didn’t understand it.  The thing was, it was just getting worse and it had started today.  Oh well, she would figure it out later when she was by herself.  

They were almost to the cheese company when he talked to her. “Thank you for back there.  You know making me calm down.  No one has ever been able to do that before.”  It was almost like he was embarrassed about it.  The thing was there was nothing to be embarrassed about. What happened was just a fact of living for the different types of species that walk the earth.  People would freak out if they knew everything that was around them.  Their concept of reality was so far off track that it was scary. Things that went bump in the night really do go bump and more. 

“Hey for the time being we are team players and that’s what they do for each other right?  Next time it’s your turn.”  She thought if she kept it light it would be better for him.  If it took him that long to say something it would not be good to go on and on about it.

“You’re on.”  He had a look on his face that said thanks. Then a change of topic could give a person whip lash if they were turning their heads, “So what kind of cheese are we getting?

“Anything that appeals to you.  I like medium cheddar and pepper jack.”  Maybe they should get other types of cheese so they had a selection when people started to arrive.  Ok, time to breathe through her mouth not her nose.  This place had great cheese but the smell was horrible in here.  She was watching him as he came into the store and knew exactly when he breathed through his nose. Trying not to laugh was hurting too much and she let loose. She started laughing so hard her whole body shaking. She shouldn’t have done that because of the injuries she had received flared up.   His whole face wrinkled up and he turned very pale.  “Let’s go outside” He needed to get some fresh air, shaking her head and still smirking they headed outside.  “Ok take a couple of deep breathes then we will go back in.  This time breathe through your mouth not your nose.”

Watching him as his chest expanded taking in more air then letting it out was causing her to have breathing problems of her own.  “Let’s get this over with.  You know I could get even with some of my associates by taking them to a place like this.  However, I wouldn’t warn them about the smell beforehand.”  He had a good since of humor but even more he loved a good practical joke.

Opening the door, they walked back into the store and started exploring the different cheeses that the store had to offer.  Grabbing a hand basket to put the cheese in, they walked to the side that had Colby and Pepper Jack.  Picking up the largest sizes that they had in both she put them into the basket.  Suddenly the basket was whisked out of her hand and being filled with sample sizes of different types of cheese by the time he was done the basket was full. Looking at pile of cheese she wondered how she was going to fit that into the refrigerator along with the other things they were going to get at the grocery store.  “Did you really have to get that much cheese?”  Shaking her head as she walked out of the store.

“Yes I did.  I like cheese and want to try different ones, call it a taste testing, if you will.”  Tossing the cheese into the backseat he got into the car.

Getting into the car she sat down and then using her good arm she slowly slid the seatbelt over and latched it.  At this point she thought the seatbelt was causing more pain than it was worth.  Feeling his eyes on her watching her every move then the focus on the spot where the seatbelt settled between her breasts.  So he did want her.  Hoping that curiosity really didn’t kill the cat she licked her lower lip and waited to see what would happen.  When nothing happened she realized that his eyes had never left her breast area. In a way she was disappointed but oh well, maybe later when he wasn’t so fixated she would try again.

“So are you ready to go eat?” ok so maybe saying that was bad timing considering what he was looking at.

“Right. Dinner.”  He turned and faced the windshield then started the car.  She had done that on purpose. When her tongue slipped out between her lips and brushed over them, he thought about grabbing her and tasting what she had just offered him.  Knowing that’s what she wanted and not acknowledging it was very hard both mentally and physically.    He knew where they were going this time.  The name and description told him about where it was.  The drive to the Chart Room Restaurant was oddly quiet.  She didn’t know what to say and he didn’t say anything.  By the time they got to the restaurant she was ready to get out of the car.  Maybe being around other people would be good for them right now.  They were still getting to know each other and having been thrown together without any choices was not a very good start to anything.    The restaurant was packed as it always was, no surprises there.  The people were nice and the food was fresh and tasted great.  It wasn’t a long wait until they were seated at table that overlooked the dock.  Seal were always getting on the dock at this time of night.  They were very cute to look at but like any wild animal they were dangerous.

“So what do you recommend to eat here?”  He was looking at the menu as he asked. He had that same look on his face that he had in the cheese store.  That would not be good.

“Why don’t you get a sampler plate that way you have a variety of things to try.”   She looked up from her menu and saw that her choice agreed with him. When the waitress came to take their order he ordered the samplers plate along with clam chowder and she ordered steamers with garlic butter and clam chowder.  “I will let you try one of my steamers they are the best around.”

“Just one?” between his pouty face and mischievous hint in his eyes that practically said come on take the bait. What should she say?

“I will think about it while I’m eating.” smiling at him, she pulled her drink towards her to take a sip.

He knew that earning her trust was going to be hard, but it would be worth it.  Rushing in and taking over was not the way to do things with Kaylee, even if it was part of his nature. He was watching as she as was moving the straw around her mouth while she looked at him.  Her teasing was driving him crazy and his jeans were starting to hurt. Desperately wanting to be the straw in her mouth sliding in and out dueling with her tongue, he knew that he wouldn’t kiss her until after dinner.  Moving around in his chair he hoped to alleviate some of the uncomfortable tension going on, not that it would, but he had to try.  It was either that or reaching below the table to adjust himself.  One long night coming up.  “So what is your friend like?  You know you can’t tell him what’s really going on, right.”

“Yes, I know however we may need help and he is the contact for all the supernaturals in this area.  He is a good person to have on your side.”  Noticing the waitress coming towards the table with their clam chowder, she went quiet waiting for her to put the bowls on the table and leave.  They had a lot of stuff to talk about, but had to keep their voices low so that other people couldn’t hear them.

“I realize that we are going to need help to get rid of the Tasmanian and whatever friends he has with him, with the exception of the people that will be directly involved everyone else needs to remain oblivious.  Sending people into a panic would not be a good thing not to mention they might think you are crazy and need to go into a mental ward.”

She didn’t think that her friends would treat her any different.   For now she would take his word for it.  Most for her friends were shifters like her, just different kinds.  Some belonged to pods and some to packs then there were loners like her.  They banded together when they needed to which wasn’t often.  “Ok, fine we will do this your way and just ask for help with the Tasmanian devil for now.  Why don’t we enjoy our dinner then deal with the business end of things afterwards.” She waited till he had the spoon up to his mouth “the only good thing about meeting up with the Tasmanian was seeing you without your shirt.”  Finishing the statement as the spoon was in his mouth.  He coughed as the hot soup hit his throat and his hand shot out for his drink to cool off his mouth.

He polished off  half of  his drink before setting it down.  “That was not nice.  I mean it was and it wasn’t.  You could have waited till I had swallowed my soup.  So, did you like what you saw?”

“I liked everything.” she moved her eyes from his chest until she was looking in his eyes.

“Everything?” He said smiling.

“Well everything that I could see, I should say.” Not knowing what was better the soup or the look on his face, she just smiled and took another bite.  Dinner was going to be fun, steamers were messy.  “Even your alter ego.” She said in between bites.

“Really. Most people would run and hide.”  She could see that he was shocked by the way he was acting.  She wondered if it had happened before.

“You know if most people really saw the true me they would run screaming for their momma’s no matter how old they were.  Most people live in their little boxes and never stop to consider what is outside of them.  I think most of them would die of a heart attack if they knew what was really out there.  I don’t always believe what I’m told, but seeing is believing.”  Just as they finished their appetizers their dinners had arrived.  In a way she wanted dinner over and in another she didn’t.  She didn’t understand what was going on with her, but she was confusing the hell out of herself.  One minute she was mad and in the next she was happy.  Maybe she could talk to her friend in private and see what he knew or at least could point her in the right direction.  For now though let the teasing begin.  Using her fork she took the entire steamer out of its shell.  Making sure it was on there good she dunked it into the garlic butter in the bowl next to her plate.  Then she with as much finesse that she had, which was not much, tried without much success to make it into her mouth without butter dripping down her chin.  Ok, now napkin or tongue?  She ended up using a napkin to catch the butter as it fell down her chin.  Steamers were very good but very messy.  After she had her first steamer she dipped another in the butter and offered it to him.  He leaned over and took it from her fork.  She watched his face as the different flavors and textures burst in his mouth.  Now that he had tasted them she realized she would be fighting for a few more bites.  He was trying to figure out if she was going to eat all of them.  She should have waited until she was full before she let him try them. 

Where in the hell was he putting all the food that he was eating?  They only thing she could come up with was that he burned it off in the berserker rage that he had going on.  “So what do you think of the steamers?”

“They are amazing.  However, everything that I have tried here has been good.  You ummm have butter right …ya …ok you got it.” Yep it was time to shut up.  That’s what he was thinking.  At least she was using a napkin.  If her tongue had tried to get some of the butter he would have had one hell of a wet spot on his jeans to explain.  It was taking everyt
hing not to pick her and take her to the beach where no one could see them.   What he wanted she wasn’t ready for.  He had never had a constant hard on during the centuries that he has lived.  This was a whole new experience and it was going to drive him insane before too long.

They both went back to eating their dinners.  When she was finished she pushed her bowl of steamers towards him.  “They are all yours.  I’m stuffed.”  She just watched him as he finished off the rest of them then he paid the bill and they left.

CHAPTER
3

“So where are we heading to next?”  He knew they were going to see her friend Brad, but he didn’t know where he lived.  He still didn’t know if this was a good idea but he was going to trust her.

“We need to head over to Pebble beach.  He likes to hang out around the rocks.”  If there was going to be trouble Brad would help besides if the dreams were right he would have found a stone today.  She should have told Clayton about Brad finding the stone, but she wanted to keep him out of it for a while.  However, his time was up.  He was going to be dragged in kicking and screaming just like she was.  There were going to be a lot of people dragged in over the next few years. Since she didn’t have an address to put into the GPS she told him each time he had to turn until they arrived.  “Let me talk to him before you get out of the car.”

The ocean was a deep dark blue that almost bordered black.  As the waves raised up the light from the moon caressed it making it glisten in the night. The waves rolled in crashing against the rocks then going back out to the sea.  The small rocks tumbled with a clicking noise as they hit other rocks while moving to a new place.  If you walked far enough out the rocks made little tide pools which held all sorts of little creatures. She could still get lost for hours looking at the different pools.  It was like each one had its own little world to live in. 

Knowing how she was around the tide pools, she just walked towards the edge of the water she called out to Brad then just sat and waited.  It took him a few minutes before he showed up.  “What’s up?”  Looking around he noticed someone was in the car.  “Who else is here?”  He didn’t like new people to know where he hung out.  Only a few were given that information.

“His name is Clayton and he is going to be around for a long time.  He is a berserker.  Change of subject, did you find a stone with writing on it and where did you find it?”

“How the hell did you know that?  I haven’t told anyone that I found it.”  He started backing away from her.

“Knock it off.  I’m still the same person, I just dream things that are going to happen.  It has been happening since I found my stone.  The thing is it’s going to get weirder.  We have a tasmanian shifter in the area and some more bad shit I don’t even know about yet getting ready to hit our little world and Clayton is here to help. By the way, there will be a bad ass great white shark hitting here sometime this week.  You don’t want to tangle with him if you can help it.”  She turned and walked towards the car.

“Stop.  Just tell me what I need to do and know.  If your boy Clayton has the answers then get him down here.  You’re aura is beautiful, that was my gift  when I touched the stone.  At first I thought I was losing it.  Everything I looked at had a different color it takes some getting used to.  I think I am going to have to buy a book on it so that I understand this more.  So what the hell is going on?” he was as mystified as she had been when she realized her dreams were coming true.

Kaylee motioned with her hand for Clayton to come he down to the beach. He was going to explain things to Brad.  He got out of the car and walked over to them.  “Before you jump all over my case, Brad, show him your find today.” Clayton had a questioning look across his face. 

  “So you have the answers I hear.”  Opening his hand up Clayton saw a rune stone lying flat on his palm.  “What does this mean?”

The level of anger coming off of Brad was almost enough to set off the berserker in him.  Looking down at the rune Clayton recognized it.    The rune was one of the water ones. “What are you?” 

“A seal shifter.  You got a problem with that?”  He had a little attitude. Now it made sense that Brad would find this stone, a water rune and a seal.

“It means ….  that you are one of us.  I don’t know what other special abilities you will have, but you will get at least one more.  In fact you might find out before I do.”  After he explained everything to him he seemed to cool down. Odin was slipping, he usually gave Clayton information on a new person but Brad was a complete surprise.   Just as he thought it, his stone was like a spot of fire in his pocket.  He put his hand in the pocket and held the stone.

“So now what?  What are we supposed to do?” Now Brad seemed worried about the situation.  He never was good at the waiting game.

“We’ll we wait for Kaylee to have a dream then we know where we are going and what we are up against.  Until then we live our lives the best we can.  Also, we need to make sure that the Tasmanian devil leaves the area.  I have a weird feeling that he is part of what is going on.  He is on the giant’s side of this little war.  Brad you are our ears in the sea.  I know that there are others out there, so you need to be on high alert when you are in your in shifter form.  Also, I am going to call in another member of our group to help you out, she is a narwhale.  She will just have to keep hidden when she is in shifter form.”  How many more from this area were going to be in on this long fight?  This area seemed to be a magnet for all of them.

“Just how many of us are there?  You never told me that.”  How many runes did they have to find, how many people were involved already, and how many would be involved in the future?  It was all mind boggling to her. 

“Not including the three of us there are ten more berserkers and shifters.  Some of them are guarding places that have historical meaning and or value like your place. These historical sites are also the places where the Bifrost Bridge connects Asgard to earth. So far the shifters in the oceans have no definite place and are able to move around as needed.  There is a site on the east coast and one in Iceland and one in England.  We have lost one site so far.  There are more sites that we need to find and we will need the runes to locate them.  I’m not going to lie. We lose, we lose the world, there are no redo’s here, and it’s for keeps.”  Looking at each of them he could see the weight of the situation settling on each of them at the same time.  He needed them in this one hundred percent or not at all.  He had more people than ten but only those ten knew the whole truth.

“Ok, I’m willing to do this as long as you put everything on the table that you know of right now.  No more holding stuff back good or bad.  That’s not how a team works.”  Brad didn’t pull any punches he never did.  It annoyed most everyone but her.  If she couldn’t get answers he could and they had been friends since grade school.  Now that he had a new responsibility he would be even worse.

“You want the truth this is the truth.  I have already lost three people in the last year.  The giants picked some of the meanest bad tempered people that are out there and told them to get the runes any way they could and to have fun while doing it.  The Tasmanian devil has one of the worst tempers out there and their race is dying, so do I think he is on their team, you bet I do.  As for the ocean watch out for the sharks and jellyfish and any other nasty ocean creature you can think of.  Do you want me to go on or do you get the drift of it?”

The dead pan stare he had going on scared her enough.  He wasn’t goofing around here.  He was trying to make them see what was really going on.  It was more than just their lives at stake it was everyone’s. Reality sucked big time! Can’t he go back to being my dream guy that I can have my way with?  Please? “So basically we are at a standstill until I have a dream that tells us more?  They just come to me, I don’t have any control over them.  I wish I had more to tell you.”  Finding that out just made her want to jump into bed and go to sleep with all that pressure on her.  Yep, I need to go home have a stiff drink and go to bed.  With my luck I will just end up staring at the ceiling all night.

“Eventually you won’t have to dream.  Right now it’s just your brains way of dealing with this new power.    Every new thing that happens to you will be in baby steps so that you get used to it.  Try meditation tonight it might help.” 

“How about we meet at my place tomorrow at around five?  Hopefully I will have some good news by then. We still need to go to the grocery store and then get home to put it all away.”  She just wanted to go home and sort things out, but she was a long way from getting there. 

“That sounds good can I bring anything?” Brad never came over to her house empty handed.

“Just yourself and a bottle of white wine to go with the fish I will be serving.  Do you want it fried or grilled?” she asked knowing what he would want.

“Grilled of course.  I will see you then hopefully to make a game plan.  Make sure Clay gets my number just in case.” He reached out and shook Clayton’s hand.

“Ok.”  Walking back to the car they got in and drove to the store, did some quick shopping then drove home.

All she wanted was to get home without any more surprises.  She had had enough for one day.  The whole way back they were both quiet. It was a restful quiet.  They had just turned onto the dirt road to her house when she got a strange feeling that someone or something was in her house.   Well, all she asked for was no surprises on the way back home not the whole night.  Note to self-learn to phrase wants and wishes better.  Un…freaking believable!

“We got company. Don’t know if it’s good, bad or indifferent but it’s in the house waiting for us.”  They pulled up to the house and got out.  Cautiously they walked up to the house, looking in every direction. Making sure no one was sneaking up on them. They got to the front door.  Slowly opening it and they saw it.

It had the most angelic head and white wings with the body of a lion and a demon tail. It looked to be a cross between an angel and a demon. Then to add to it, it glowed!  “Hello.  Odin sent me to help you.  My name is Hervor Alvitr or Vie for short.  Get your things out of the car before they spoil then we will talk.”

“But….I…uh…damn.”  She didn’t know what to say so she turned around and went to the car.  After both of them got the food out of the car and put away, she made a very strong drink and went out to sit in the front room so she could listen to what Vie had to say.  Talking was not an option at this point in time.  The fact that there were actual words coming out of her mouth was amazing and shocking at the same time.  I mean why do that to something?  It was like a cruel joke that had permanent effects. Who the hell did Vie piss off?

“I didn’t piss anyone off.  I am a cross breed of lion type unseelie and seelie.  Even though I was never supposed to be born, I was, and here I am a product of both seelie courts that neither one would claim.  Freya found me and brought me to Odin.  I was raised as a Valkyrie.  I may not be able to fight in the sense of the word, however I have more knowledge than most.  Also that tail of mine isn’t just decoration it contains a poison that will destroy all the blood veins in a creatures body within two days.  My canines also elongate so that I can drink blood and take control of that person once I do.  I will not be here all the time.  I do have other obligations to attend to.”  She floated over to each of them and pulled out a strand of hair and weaved it into her own hair.  “Now I will be able to find you whenever you need help.” Laughing as she said it.

However Clayton and Kaylee were not happy as each one of them was rubbing the spot where she yanked the hair out. “Some warning would have been nice.”

“Who said I had to be nice?  I will make you a deal, you don’t make fun of me anymore that means even in your head and I will be nice.  By the way have you ever seen a demon? No?  Well I look nothing like one!  They are mean, nasty vile creatures and should stay with Hel where they belong!”  She glared at Kaylee as she said. 

“Ok. Fine.  No more jokes about what you look like.   I don’t like the fact that you can hear our thoughts.  Some things are meant to be private or just mental notes to one’s self.  You need to learn to respect that.  We all obviously have to work together, but wouldn’t it be better if we trusted and got along with each other during this time.  I have had a lot of shit hit me today.  Some of it I am still adjusting, to but I am willing to trust in you.”  She had a right to her thoughts without worrying over who was over hearing them.  Some thoughts were not meant to ever see the light of day.

Tapping her claw hand against her forehead, Kaylee could see she was trying to come up with a solution. Then her head snapped up and she looked at both of them. “How about I only listen to your thoughts when we are in battle or you call out for help?  Would that work for both of you?”

“That would be the perfect solution.  Are you able to turn it on and off like that?”  How would she be able to turn it off and on?  It seemed like that would be impossible to do.  She wished she had that much control over her dreams.  Maybe one day she would, until then she would work with what she did have.

“I have never tried it before.  I guess there is no time like the present to try.”  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  After a few minutes she opened them then looked at Kaylee.  “I don’t hear you.  Now try to call to me with your mind.” Kaylee started to scream VIE in her head.  “Ouch!  Damn girl, not so loud you will wake the dead and personally I don’t want them around me.”

“Sorry.  Am I really that loud?” How could screaming Vie in her mind be loud to another person?  That just didn’t make since.

“When you’re a sensitive telepath, physic, and empathic it doesn’t take much.”

“You mean to tell me you’re an empathic too?!” This was unbelievable. 

“ummmm ya.  Speaking of which, you and I need to sit down and have a girl to girl talk.  You have some serious shit going on within you.  You are radiating it like a nuclear bomb.”