Gambler's Folly (Bookstrand Publishing Romance) (27 page)

That evening over dinner, she complained about it to Damiano. “Well, maybe he’s right,” Dam answered. “Perhaps you should have a ‘ladies’ day out’ tomorrow. Go get a massage, or facial or whatever you would find relaxing. I’ll send Marco with you.”

“How about a short break for you, too?” she asked. “You’ve been up all hours of the day and night, training and tense. Why don’t we take a long weekend and go skiing again?”

“Would you like that, Kari cara?”

“Yes, I would. We could sneak off without telling anybody in advance. You know, you could leave from the office, I’ll leave from the house, meet up someplace and take off. A secret lovers’ tryst.”

“A lovers’ tryst, amante? Have I been neglecting you so much? Let me think about it, see if it can be arranged. I’ve done about all the recon I can do anyway. Now it’s a waiting game.”

After dinner, they began their tour of the gaming rooms, but tonight it was more like it had been before. The little touches, caresses, passion beginning to kindle between them.

“Hmm, I think you’re right, cara mia,” he said quietly. “I’ve missed this recently. Just another reason this business needs to finish. It’s ruining my love life.” When they managed to break away and return to their suite, smoldering passions burst into flame. They didn’t sleep much this evening either, but they did work off a lot of stress.

Karianna took one day off from her training, and then went back to the gym. But her first day back was training of a very different sort.

“Signora Leone,” Chase said as she entered the training area. “Let me introduce one of my instructors, Master Kwan. I was talking with him about you and your training yesterday, and he had some suggestions for me. But as this is more his field than mine, I asked if he’d come over and at least introduce them for me.”

“Master Kwan, nice to meet you,” she said, confused.

“Chase tells me you have been training close to your limit lately. While I appreciate dedication, moderation is also to be considered. But if you want to keep up every day, why not take one or two days each week and devote it to self-healing?”

“Self-healing?” she asked. “What is that?”

“Another part of the arts, an important one. Actually, it is not solely for self-healing. It can be used to help others as well. But it is very useful to help recover from injuries or overexertion.”

“Sure, I’m game. How do we start?”

“Have you ever done any meditation?” he asked.

“Just what we’ve done here in training, before class.”

“That’s a good beginning. We’re going to add to it, for healing starts from the center, from a place of calmness and peace. So sit comfortably, close your eyes, and take a deep breath…”

As Karianna listened, she felt her body relax, and soon after, her mind felt more at ease. It was almost as if she was floating in midair. From there, she progressed to visualizations, at Master Kwan’s prompts, until she heard him count back up from one to five and tell her to open her eyes.

“Now how do you feel?” he asked her and Chase, who had followed along with them.

“I don’t know really. Lighter, full of energy, happy. It’s hard to describe.”

“This was just an introduction. Practice every day, at least twice, until I see you again. At that time, we’ll add to this and see what progress we can make. You seem a quick learner.”

“Thank you, Master Kwan. When will you be back?” she asked.

“I’d like for you to have at least three days before our next lesson, so three days from now, just before the weekend.”

“Sounds great,” she said, shaking his hand.

Turning to Chase, she asked, “Is this something you do, too?”

“Well, I’ve learned it, and I use it for my own benefit. But this is really Master Kwan’s field. He is what they call an energy healer and runs a clinic downtown. He has clients from all over the world who come to him, some from off-world. He’s really good, which is why I wanted him to get you started.”

“Did Damiano tell you to do this?” she asked, suspicious of her dear mate.

“No. I was training with Master Kwan a few days ago, and had the idea that it might be quite helpful to you, given that you’re Mr. Leone’s wife. I know things can get a little crazy around him sometimes. Since he wanted you to be able to defend yourself, I thought it would be good if you could heal yourself, too. At least a little bit, in case of injury.”

The rest of the day, Karianna thought about the concept of healing, of self-healing. If what Dam had told her was true, she already had a latent ability coded into her genes somewhere, as a descendant of a priestess. Maybe this would awaken those abilities and she could use the skills together, make them each stronger somehow. She hoped and prayed she’d never need to find out, at least not over something more serious than a pulled muscle.

When she spoke about it with Damiano, he was overjoyed. “But, cara, this is wonderful. Since you were never taught to use your abilities, never taught who you really are, this should open your mind to what is already there. And maybe give you other tools, too.”

“It’s alright then, to take time out of training for this?”

“Alright? It is marvelous, cara mia. It is part of who you already are. But not knowing how to do it myself, I didn’t even think about finding a master healer to help you regain that part of you.”

The next lesson she had with Mr. Kwan focused more on feeling the energy, drawing it in through the top of her head and down through her hands.

“It is this energy, the universal energy, that we can use to heal. Understand, you are not doing the healing. You are simply a channel or conduit, allowing the divine energy to flow. The body heals itself, whether drawing on its own energy, or drawing energy from the universe.”

“So how does what I’m learning help?” she asked.

“Energy healing is sort of like using a charger to boost a battery which has too little energy to work properly. The body knows what it needs to do, but has insufficient energy to accomplish it. You open a channel from which the body can draw as much energy as it needs to heal itself.”

They spent her entire training time on energy work, learning to feel it, direct it. He showed her where to place her hands, so she could begin to practice self-healing, even if slowly. By the time they were finished, she was soaking wet.

“Yes, working with energy can warm you up. I usually keep my room fairly cool, for my comfort, and provide a nice warm cover for my clients. They can’t relax and enjoy the time if they’re shivering with cold.”

After Master Kwan left, she talked with Chase for a few minutes. “Does this really work?” she asked.

“Actually, it does. And the more you practice with it, the better it works. I’ve seen near miracles in his office. You should book a healing session, just so you can see what it’s like.”

“But there’s nothing wrong with me,” she protested.

“You’d be amazed. Even if so-called Western medicine says you’re fine, I’d bet a fairly hefty sum that one session with Master Kwan would make you feel like a new person.”

That evening, after practicing her new skills, she talked it over with Damiano. “What do you think? Should I try it and see what happens?”

“Why not? If nothing else you will have an hour of relaxation.”

“Have you ever had any sort of energy healing?”

“Some. Remember, Mama is a priestess. So when we were children, with all the colds and sniffles, she would use her healing abilities for our good. It usually cleared things up quickly. More quickly than the other kids in the neighborhood.”

“What is it like”

“Like? It’s just like taking a nap, sort of. I always fell asleep. I would just lie down, under a blanket, kind of feel my body relax and drift off to sleep. The next thing I knew, Mama was telling me it was time to wake up, and I felt better.”

“So it can’t hurt anything.”

“No, I don’t think it can hurt you. It feels good.”

She practiced every day, once during her training session with Chase and Carl, and once during the afternoon. She was beginning to feel the energy more strongly, a sort of warm tingling in the palms of her hands. And she could usually feel somebody else’s energy field around them, like a spongy resistance, as she pressed her palm closer to them.

Mr. Kwan was impressed with her progress at her next class. “I can tell you’ve been practicing. Chase said you were interested in a healing session for yourself?”

“Well, I thought it would be nice to see what it’s all about, from a patient’s point of view. From someone besides myself, who knows what they’re doing.”

“If you’d like, we can take our next class and use it for your healing session. I can bring a portable table with me and do it right here.”

“Really? Well, what do I need to bring? Do I need to wear anything in particular?”

“No, just something comfortable. I know, the first time makes some people a little nervous. It’s not knowing what to expect.”

“I guess that’s it. I’ve really only recently heard of energy healing, let alone tried it out.”

“Since you’re already sensitive, you will probably feel the flow of energy more than most people. But it should relax you, make you more comfortable.”

Damiano, of course, had been kept informed of her progress. “I knew you would do well, once I had time to think about it. I’m so sorry I’ve been busy the past few weeks. But it really should be over soon. Maybe we could make plans for a getaway soon.”

“Really? When, honey? I can hardly wait to get back up into the snow.”

“Why don’t you come to the office tomorrow, around lunchtime? We’ll figure it out then.”

The next day, she went to work out and then got ready to meet Damiano. His office was downstairs, in a private area behind the gaming rooms. She saw Marco and Paolo talking with him in the doorway.

“And now gentlemen, I have a lunch date with my wife. So, if you will excuse us for a little while, we’ll leave you to hold the office.” He pulled her in close for a kiss, closed his office door and escorted her to the car.

“Where are we going, honey?” she asked him.

“Someplace where we won’t be overheard by anyone who might be eavesdropping.”

“Ahh. I hadn’t thought about that. Are you any closer to figuring out who’s been leaking information on our whereabouts?”

“I am fairly certain, but I need something conclusive before I do anything I can’t undo, if you know what I mean.”

Karianna had a good idea what he meant, but decided not to say anything out loud. Arriving at their destination, they looked over the menu and ordered before getting into any details.

“I’m committed to a couple things this weekend, for business, and you have your healing session later this week. Why don’t we plan to meet right after your last class next week and head to the lodge?”

“That should work out well. Master Kwan wanted to help me some more on self-healing, check on my progress, now that I’ve got the basics down. We could get that finished before our trip, and it would have time to sink in while we’re gone.”

“I knew you would be wonderful, cara. It is how the two halves of the species work together.”

“Don’t you have any healing abilities, Dam?” she asked.

“In leopard form, I do something which accelerates healing, but I can’t bring it across fully to human form somehow.”

“Is it somehow linked to men being able to change, but women not being able?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. Some of the others can heal in this form. Just like a few women can change, usually under extreme circumstances. I never gave it much thought.

“Alright, back to planning. Next week after your class, have Marco take you shopping. I will join you at the shop, and we can travel together to the airstrip. From there, everything should be fine. We can have a nice week in the mountains and come back refreshed.”

“Sounds lovely, lover. I left clothes up there with my gear, so we should be fine. I may pack a small bag and have someone put it in the car ahead of time.”

In the evening, Damiano seemed much more relaxed than he’d been of late. Perhaps it was anticipating their getaway that lightened his spirits. Karianna knew she was excited about it. Dam had been so tense since their anniversary trip, he was almost like a different person. She hoped whatever business problems he had would be over soon. He said it should be just a week or two more, after they returned. She certainly hoped he was right.

Her next class was her healing session with Master Kwan. It was exactly as he’d predicted. While she could feel the slight tingle and warmth of the energy from his hands, it made her calm and relaxed. So relaxed, she fell asleep for most of the time.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to go to sleep. I wanted to stay awake and pay attention to what you did,” she apologized afterwards.

“There was no need for you to be awake. This shows you exactly how most sessions go. Later, after you’ve gone back home, you’ll probably feel more perceptive, more energetic than before. If you’d like, you can monitor your health and emotions between now and next time. See what you think.”

“Now, what will we be doing next time?” she asked.

“I think it is about time to take you to the next level. You’ve done enough preliminary work with the energy. It’s time to fine-tune it. We’ll do that next time.”

As they dressed for dinner that evening, Damiano asked how her healing session had been. “Well, I guess it was fine. I slept through most of it.”

“I always do,” he answered. “I’ve never been able to stay awake during energy work.”

“How often do you go in?” she asked.

“Usually only when I go home. Mama insists on it. Other than that, only if I’ve injured myself, or feel like I’m coming down with something. Maybe once a year. I know it should be more often, but, you know how it is.”

She told him what Master Kwan had planned for her next class. “But what does he mean, ‘fine-tune’ my abilities? It’s just energy, isn’t it?”

“I’m not the person to ask,” Dam admitted. “Since it’s not something I do, I’ve never really studied about it. It just is. How to work with it or fine-tune it or anything else is out of my expertise. So you’ll have to tell me all about it.”