Contingency (3 page)

“Hellooo! Remember me? Could you please tell me what the hell you’re talking about?” I let the exasperation bubbling inside me seep into my voice.

“Watch your language and your tone, Sage. The simple explanation is that you are a Warper and you have no idea what that even means,” she tsked. “Oh well! All in due course. I’ll have Phoebe come up with your lunch and some suitable clothing. Then we’ll have a nice long chat in the library.” She held up a hand to silence my protests. “You will feel much more clearheaded after you get some food in your system and freshen up.” She paused and when I didn’t object, continued, “Then I’ll answer all the questions you have.”

That made as much sense to me as it could given the circumstances, so I reluctantly agreed.
After Phoebe returned and I devoured a lunch of chicken soup and freshly baked bread, the ‘fun’ began. How in the world did women walk around all day in a corset? It was a freakin’ torture device! After refusing to let her tighten the stays any more for fear of cracking a rib, I dressed in clothing I was
definitely
not used to. The blouse was cream color, high necked with pretty lace trim and it had very full sleeves that gathered just above the elbow and then tightly followed my forearms. The dark green skirt was full and flowed all the way to my ankles. Phoebe changed my bandages to clean, smaller ones, that couldn’t be seen under my new clothing. I tucked my necklace under my blouse and was inexplicably pleased with its familiar warmth on my skin. Phoebe wanted to put my hair up into a bun, but I pled a headache and she opted to braid it down my back instead. I stepped in front of the full length mirror to see if I looked as foolish as I felt. My eyes widened. If it weren’t for the cut lip and scrapes on my cheek, I’d have looked quite respectable. I snorted. Respectable, my fanny!

“All right, Phoebe, let’s do this!” I squared my shoulders and headed out to talk with the woman who knew what was going on and who I hoped would give me some answers.

Mrs. Howell, Travis, and a gentleman I’d not seen before were all sitting in front of a large fireplace. When I was finally noticed, Travis and the other gentleman stood as I made my way over to the trio. I plastered a smile on my face. No need to be hostile, I told myself. Not yet, anyway.

“Sage, this is Travis Connely, whom you’ve inadvertently met.” He grasped my hand in a warm, firm handshake. I looked up into his now-familiar green eyes and smiled warmly at him. He had a handsome face with a slightly crooked nose, which only added to his rugged charm.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Connely. For saving my life, I mean.” He dipped his head slightly in an embarrassed gesture.

“Oh it was nothing, Miss Hannigan, you seemed to be holding your own against the female vampire.” He grinned. Held my own? Was he serious? Before I could contemplate his comment any further, he introduced me to the other gentleman. "Sage, this is Dr. Aldwin Blake, he’s also an instructor here at Howell Home and he is going to try and explain some things to you.”

I turned to greet the doctor and barely caught a gasp before it left my throat. The doctor was several inches taller than I and cut a very fine figure in a black coat. His hair, so black it almost seemed to have blue highlights, fell in thick waves a little over his ears and almost covered one eye. That eye was mostly what had caused my reaction to him. Mostly. His right eye, so pale blue it seemed more gray, was covered in a milky film. He is blind in that eye, I thought.

A scar ran from the top of his eyebrow to the top of his cheekbone. It looked as if someone had cut him with the intent not only to maim his eye, but to mar his good looks. The scar had the opposite affect though, it only enhanced his fierce good looks. His other eye, perfect and a brilliant cornflower blue, was fixed on my face. Something like disappointment and resignation flickered there.

I realized belatedly that I’d been staring too long. I thrust my hand out and spoke softly. “Very nice to meet you, Dr. Blake. I’d appreciate any help.” He settled his marred features into an indifferent mask and grasped my hand in his. His hand was just as warm as Travis’ hand had been, but his touch sent a shiver of pleasure up my arm.

“The pleasure is all mine.” he replied in clipped tones. He clenched his jaw as he pulled his hand from my grasp.

“Now that all the pleasantries have been made,” Mrs. Howell intoned, “let’s get down to the reason for our visit, shall we?” I sat on a loveseat next to Travis, while Mrs. Howell and Dr. Blake took the arm chairs opposite us. “Sage, as I mentioned before, we are all of the opinion that you are a Warper. We hope to help you understand what that means and to assist with anything in our power.”

I took a deep, steadying breath. “Ok, so what is a Warper, and why would you think I am one? Does it have to do with time travel?” The last was barely a whisper for fear of being thought crazy.

My eyes rounded in shock when Mrs. Howell laughed loudly. “Yes, of course it has to do with time travel, and so much more! Tell me,” her eyes were wide with anticipation, “What year do you come from?”

Encouraged by her easy acceptance, I told her. "I live, or did, in the year 2004."

The silence was deafening.

I peeked at everyone from under my lashes. Their expressions ranged from amazement to astonishment and then to wariness from Dr. Blake. “I’d love to tell you all about the twenty-first century,” I said, “but could we do it later and for now could you explain the whole Warper thing to me?”  

Mrs. Howell shook her head as if to clear it. “We certainly can.” She motioned for Dr. Blake to take over the discussion. He asked me what I knew about my ancestry as he paced in front of the fire place. I unclenched my teeth to answer.

“I don’t really know anything about my heritage. My mother and father were both killed in a car accident when I was five. I didn’t have any other family, so I lived in several foster homes after that.” His features softened a bit and I turned my face away to hide the emotions I felt well up.

“Did you happen to find an object recently that you were mysteriously attracted to, or felt a magnetic draw towards?” he asked softly. Involuntarily my hand flew to my chest where my stone pendant lay warm against my skin. He noticed the gesture, so I pulled out the necklace to show him. Mrs. Howell and Travis sucked in loud breaths and Dr. Blake’s eyes lit up.

“What is it?” I asked, hating how small my voice sounded.

“It’s a piece of the ancient druid standing stones from Scotland; and this stone, in particular, was blessed by the Druid Priestess Amerach, giving its wearer special abilities.”

“So, if I take it off, would I be sent back home?” I wasn’t able to mask the excitement in my voice.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Mrs. Howell answered.

“It never freakin’ is” I mumbled under my breath.

“It isn’t the stone that made you a Warper, Miss Hannigan,” Dr. Blake replied. “You were already marked, or chosen if you will, to be a Warper. The necklace is just a talisman to help you tap into your abilities and to help a Handler find you and activate your dormant mark and powers.”

“My mark?” I asked. And then, like a puzzle, everything clicked into place. Not an old trinket, a talisman. Not a crazy witch, a Handler. Nausea overwhelmed me, and the room swayed a bit, or was that me? Warm hands were at my elbows and as I looked into Dr. Blake’s face I felt myself calm. Mrs. Howell put a glass of water in my hand and I drank it gratefully.

“May I see it?” he asked softly. He didn’t need to explain, for some reason I knew he was asking about the mark. I nodded and turned my head to look over my right shoulder. I felt the barest feather of a touch over my mark and a delicious shiver danced up my spine. The heat radiating from his body made me want to lean into him, so instead, I held myself very rigid. “Yes.” he said briskly, turning to the others. “She has a white spiral of life tattoo, the mark of Amerach, behind her ear.”

Clearly he was not as affected by our proximity as I was. Mrs. Howell and Travis both came to exclaim over the mark I had yet to see for myself and I started to squirm with everyone standing so close studying me. Dr. Blake cleared his throat, and we all shuffled off to take our seats once more.

“So, what else can you tell me?” I asked.

Dr. Blake gave me the condensed version of Warper History 101. There were only a handful of instances recorded in history that a Warper had been chosen to time warp. It was a rare occurrence and a rare gift that was bestowed upon chosen young women of Celtic ancestry. All of the records indicated that the Warper had no control over the actual time warp. In every instance there had been some impending crisis that a Warper could best address to prevent irreversible damage to the human and preternatural worlds.

Preternatural. Meaning all the things I’d never really given a second thought about. I wondered exactly what kind of creatures existed in my newly realized world. I mean, here I was discussing Druid Priestesses, time travel and vampires. It wouldn’t be too much of a leap to imagine that the preternatural community consisted of a whole lot more. A shiver wiggled its way up my spine.

Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Dr. Blake continued with his lesson about Warpers. “Warpers also have individual powers that vary from person to person. The powers would have to be honed to become useful if you wanted to become effective in self-defense and during combat.” It was all just too much to take in; my head spun with all the information.

“Do any of your books tell me how I can get back to my own time? Or what would happen if I just chose not to be a Warper?” Panic laced my voice.

“Our books are very limited when it comes to Warpers, but I’ll study them more thoroughly to see if I can find anything else for you about returning to your time. As for the other...no one can force you to do anything; but not doing what you were destined to do won’t get you home any faster. It may even be catastrophic to our time, sending a ripple to distort yours.”

Geez, no pressure there! I rubbed my temples to try and ease the mounting tension headache.

“Maybe we should all take a break before dinner,” Travis suggested, his concerned eyes met mine.

“We can all rest, freshen up and meet for dinner in two hours. Sage, I’ll send Phoebe up to help you later.” Mrs. Howell ended the meeting as abruptly as it had begun. Everyone left the library and headed in different directions, leaving me in the center of my own little tornado of emotions.

Chapter Four

After wandering around lost in my thoughts, I realized I didn’t really know the way to my room. I groaned at my own stupidity. I should have paid attention on the way down to the library
.
Howell Home was huge, I looked around in dismay at all the identical looking doors until I spotted one next to a painting of a mother reading to her little girl that looked familiar.

I knocked softly on the door, but there was no reply. I cracked the door open just enough to stick my head into the room, gave an uncontrolled squeal of delight and made my way into the small library, taking in its perfection. It was absolutely charming and I could have happily died right then and there. There were hundreds of books lining the floor-to-ceiling shelves. A beautiful bay window complete with a window seat covered in oversized decorative pillows overlooked a quaint courtyard.

Two very comfortable-looking arm chairs sat in front of a small, cozy fireplace. A large writing desk sat in another corner of the room. The decor was on the masculine side, but it was warm and inviting. I walked over to the seating area and picked up a book someone had left on one of the chairs.

It was a slim book of poems by Edgar Allen Poe. I smiled and was setting it back down when a door I hadn’t noticed jerked open. I jumped, accidentally dropping the book to the floor as Dr. Aldwin Blake walked in. He looked shocked at finding me there. What the heck? This was a library, right? When I took in his appearance, I noticed that he had shed his coat and tie, and a number of the top buttons of his shirt were undone.

My gaze riveted to the several inches of skin exposed there. I felt my cheeks warm and then promptly felt foolish; I mean, I lived in the twenty-first century where men and women could practically prance around nude if they wanted. Here I was all hot and bothered over a little chest exposure. And that’s when it dawned on me. Dr. Blake had just come through a connecting door, which probably connected to his bedroom. This was his freaking personal library. Holy crap.

He was standing there looking at me like I was losing my mind, when I finally found my voice. “God! I am such an idiot. I was looking for my room, which shouldn’t have been too hard to find if I’d been paying attention, when I stumbled upon this library--your library, evidently. I was so charmed by it, I didn’t stop to think it was a private library. I’m sorry. If I had known...” My babbling died off as Dr. Blake stepped towards me, cutting off my insane train of thoughts. He stopped just in front of me and retrieved the book I had dropped.

“No apologies necessary, Miss Hannigan.” He smiled a little crooked grin, and I swear to God, I nearly melted into a puddle right there. I turned my eyes away from his gaze, afraid he’d be able to sense how he affected me. I was mortified. He was practically a stranger.