Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (16 page)

Liliana
frowned. “Are you okay?”

He shook
his head. “I don’t think so. My ankle really hurts. I think it might be
sprained.”

“Are you
kidding? Let’s see if you can stand.”

With
snowshoes still on so that his ankle wouldn’t sink two feet into the snow,
Tyler accepted Liliana’s arm and carefully got to his feet. When he was steadied,
he slowly put his weight on his left leg and was immediately met by pulses of
sharp, piercing pain.

“Ow!” He
immediately forced the majority of his weight onto the opposite foot. “I don’t
know if it’s sprained or broken, but there’s no way that I’m going to be able
to walk back to the house.”

“Here,
sit back down.” Concern was evident in her eyes, as she helped him to the
ground. “Can you take your boot off?”

“Sure,
if you can help me figure out how to get this snowshoe off.”

It took
a few moments, but eventually the snowshoe was removed. Tyler winced in pain as
he maneuvered the bulky boot off of his foot.

“Rest
your foot on my leg so that it’s not sitting in the snow.” She scooted in
beside him and slid his pant leg up to his calf. “All right, let me see. I’m
going to let you roll your sock down. I don’t want to hurt you.”

With his
sock rolled down, the appearance of his ankle revealed the truth. Already it
was swollen and had turned an assortment of colors.

“Ooh,
that does look like it hurts,” Liliana cooed, sympathetically.

“I think
you’re going to have to go back to the house to get Eddie. Maybe they have a
snowmobile or something that he can bring.”

“I
could…” Liliana began, “but I have a better idea.” She grinned.
Do you trust
me?
she asked silently.

Tyler
looked into her eyes. Oh yeah, he trusted her. He was surprised to realize that
he trusted her about as much as he trusted his brother, and that was saying a
lot.

“Let me
see if I can help, okay?”

“Um…okay.”

“Just
relax and lean back.”

With her
help, he scooted back to the base of a large pine and leaned against it. His
foot remained propped on her thigh, and she gently cupped his exposed ankle, in
both hands.

“Will
this hurt?”

“You
know, I’ve never tried it on a human, but I’ve never had an animal complain.”

Her tone
remained even and calm, and Tyler couldn’t tell if she was serious or joking.
He laughed in a poor attempt to hide his nerves. “Great, so I’m a guinea pig?”

She
chuckled softly and said in the same, calm voice, “If that’s the way you want
to look at it…yes.”

“Hmm,
that certainly helps to instill a lot of confidence.”

“Just
hush and lean back,” Liliana chided. “This shouldn’t take long.”

Gingerly,
her cupped hands slid up and down his ankle. Tyler watched with curiosity. When
she seemed to find the right spot, she closed her eyes and held her hands
firmly in place. Her eyes remained closed in focused concentration. Tyler
smiled. She truly was beautiful.

His skin
grew warm beneath her gentle touch, and just when he thought his ankle would
become uncomfortably hot, the heat subsided, and she opened her eyes.

They
made eye contact then. Tyler found himself entranced in her gaze, held by her
beauty, and frozen with an unfamiliar sense of passion.

Liliana
sat, equally immobile, as she met his gaze with her own.

All
sense of practicality and reason was momentarily gone. Tyler gulped and slowly
leaned in. He no longer thought about the fact that he shouldn’t be attracted
to her. He was no longer thinking at all. His motions were directed entirely
from his feelings.

For a
moment, he wondered if Liliana noticed his aura. He knew that it must reveal
his true feelings, and suddenly he didn’t care. With his ankle still propped on
her thigh, the distance he could lean was limited, but she quickly caught on
and moved to meet in the middle.

He
braced himself for the impending kiss, but they were stopped short by the
reverberation of a car door. The slam echoed through the trees. Brought back to
the present, they both pulled away, but not before Tyler caught the look of
disappointment in her eyes. He wondered if she could see the same
disappointment written in his.

Liliana
turned toward the sound. “Do you think they’re already here?”

“I guess
we’d better go see.”

“Let’s
get your boot back on and see if you can walk.”

She
removed her hands from his ankle, and Tyler gasped in awe at the result. It was
as though he had never been injured. The swelling and bruising were completely
gone.

“That’s
amazing! I don’t know how you did it, but…wow! Thank you!”

Liliana
grinned. “You’re very welcome. Does it hurt at all?”

He
flexed and rotated his ankle and was amazed to find that he no longer had the
slightest twinge of pain. “All better!” he proclaimed.

“All
right then. I guess we’d better get back up to the house.”

Tyler
thought he detected a hint of disappointment in her voice. He was certainly
disappointed. What would have happened if they had kissed? Perhaps it was
better this way; after all, he reminded himself, they had a mission to complete
and they didn’t need distractions.

“You’re
right. We should get back to the house.” He laced up his boot and popped his
snowshoe back on. He wondered again, as they retraced their steps, if she could
read his aura and see how he truly felt about her.

At the slam
of a car door, Eddie glanced up from his homework and peered out the kitchen
window, in time to see two girls wave to a car as it retreated down the
driveway. His heart skipped a beat when they turned. Though her face was half
concealed by auburn hair that had been tossed by the wind, it was undoubtedly
Sarah who strode toward the house. He tore his gaze away for a moment, to
notice the slightly taller blond by her side. This must be Grace.

He was
greeted by a cold rush of wind when he opened the massive oak front door. He
had wondered if he would ever see Sarah again, and suddenly, there she stood on
his front porch.

His
heart raced, his palms grew sweaty, and he fruitlessly tried to push his
feelings of attraction for her aside. He reminded himself that not only was she
married, she was also pregnant. His efforts to disregard his feelings were
momentarily hampered when she dropped her duffel bag on the porch and threw
herself at him with a giant bear hug. He circled his arms around her, wrapped
her in tight, and held her close for a few moments before he reluctantly
released her.

“So,” he
said with a smile, “you found me.”

She
shook her head. “I should have listened to you. You were only gone for a couple
of hours and they came for me. I’m positive it was them. I was so scared. I
didn’t know where else to go.”

“Well,
you’re here now.” He held eye contact as he looked into her brilliant aqua
green eyes. They were even more beautiful than he remembered.
She’s married
,
he reminded himself again.

He
finally forced himself to break his gaze and with a smile, tried to appear
equally happy to see the blonde who stood behind her. “You must be Grace.” She
was beautiful in her own right; a few inches taller than Sarah, she had long,
blond hair and sparkling, crystal blue eyes.

“Hi,”
she stepped forward and extended a hand in greeting, “you must be Eddie.”

“I am.
Please, come inside, out of the cold.”

The
girls stepped into the entryway, and Eddie closed the door against the frigid
elements. “Why don’t you follow me into the kitchen? Can I get you both
something warm to drink? Hot chocolate? Apple cider?”

“Hot
chocolate sounds great, thank you,” Sarah replied.

“That
does sound good,” Grace said. “I’ll have one, too, if you don’t mind.”

“No
problem,” Eddie replied. They followed him to the kitchen and sat at the table
while he turned to the cupboards for mugs and hot cocoa.

The back
door opened and closed, and in a moment, Tyler and Liliana rounded the corner.

Tyler
beamed at the sight of the newcomers. “Sarah, you made it!”

She
smiled in return and rose to give him a hug. “Yeah, I made it, all right. It’s
nice to finally meet you. I met up with a friend along the way. I didn’t think
you’d mind if I brought her along. Figured it would save you the trouble of
finding her yourself.”

Tyler
turned to Grace. “I’m so glad you’re here. How did you two ever find each
other? We went to your house, Grace, and your mom said that you’d gone on some
band trip to Florida.”

After
Sarah and Grace had explained their chance encounter, Eddie turned to Sarah.
“How did you get here, from the airport? Who dropped you off?”

“It’s a
long story. It was this couple I met back at the diner in Washington. They
happened to be heading to the airport and offered to give me a ride.”

Eddie
raised his eyebrows. “They just happened to be headed to Flagstaff? Isn’t that
a strange coincidence?”

“Yeah,
that’s what I thought, too, but I didn’t see any reason to be suspicious. They were
just a nice, kind of kooky older couple.”

Tyler
took a thoughtful sip of hot cocoa, cupped the mug in his hands, and then
pursed his lips in doubt. “And neither of you sensed anything strange about
them?”

“No,”
Grace replied. “I mean, their auras seemed a bit shady, but I sensed that it
was because they were constantly bickering with each other. I thought it seemed
like an odd coincidence that they were coming here, but they didn’t give us any
reason to doubt them. They dropped us off and went on their merry way.”

Eddie
hoped that she was right. After their laborious attempts to evade the enemy,
the last thing they needed was to announce their location. It didn’t sound like
they posed a threat, but it seemed a safe bet not to trust anyone right now.

“Well,”
Eddie said, “I guess now we need to figure out where to go from here.”

“Oh,”
Tyler replied, “in all the excitement, I forgot to tell you that Toby contacted
me while we were out in the woods.” He went on to inform them of his most
recent conversation with his brother.

Eddie
glanced at the clock. “If we leave now, it will be late and dark by the time we
get to Sedona. I know we’re all exhausted. I say we get a good night’s rest and
head out in the morning. Anyone up for ordering a couple of pizzas?”

“Sounds
good to me,” Tyler agreed. “That’ll give us time to figure out where this author
lives and come up with a game plan.”

They
settled in front of the TV and joined Eddie’s father, who was engrossed in a
1980s detective movie. Eddie noticed that Tyler and Liliana sat together on the
love seat. “Hey, I forgot to ask. How was your snowshoeing adventure?”

The two
outdoor explorers shared a moment of quiet eye contact, and Eddie sensed that a
silent conversation passed between them.

Liliana
grinned, and then Tyler said, “Snowshoeing…right. It was
uh…definitely…interesting.”

*****

Eddie stopped
at the first gas station he came to, in Sedona, to find out if someone might
know where Patricia McCormack lived. Eager to assist, the gas station clerk and
three customers who had overheard his inquiry promptly offered directions. No
one seemed to know actual street names, but down around a few right-hand turns,
past a church, two businesses that advertised psychic readings, another that
advertised a map to locate local vortexes, up a steep hill, and they quickly
arrived at what they hoped was the author’s home.

The
pueblo-style ranch house had a circular drive and was nestled up to one of the
hundreds of majestic red rock formations that made Sedona a popular tourist
location.

“Stay
here with the car running…just in case,” Eddie said, as he stepped out. “No
sense in all of us walking into a trap.”

The
finely crushed white rock crunched beneath his boots as he strode toward the
front door. Overhead, a hawk silently circled. He rang the doorbell and waited
while the chimes reverberated throughout the house. He prayed that the author
was home. If she wasn’t, they would once again be at a stalemate, with nowhere
to go.

He
removed his sunglasses and tapped them impatiently as he waited for a sign of
inhabitation. He turned to the car, where his new friends watched with intent,
and shrugged, as if to say he didn’t know if she was home or not. Just as he
was about to ring the bell for a second time, the lock clicked and the door
swung open to reveal a woman, who appeared to be in her early fifties. Slightly
stocky, she had shoulder-length, frizzy, reddish blond hair. Dressed in an
ankle length tie dyed dress, she was adorned in multiple pieces of necklaces,
bracelets, and rings.

Her
smile was pleasant, but Eddie sensed an air of suspicion, as she eyed him quizzically.
He realized that he should say something, but he suddenly found himself at a
loss for words.

“Can I
help you?” She looked first at him and then over his shoulder, to the car
parked in the driveway.

Eddie
found his composure and said, “Um...hi…yes. Are you Patricia McCormack?”

“I am.
And who might you be?” She continued to eye him with suspicion, and Eddie knew
that he needed to quickly assuage any doubts that she might have, about him.

“My
name’s Eddie. I’ve driven over here from Flagstaff with some friends. We were
hoping that you might be able to answer a few questions for us about Indigo
Children. I heard that you’re the person to talk to on the subject.”

Her
composure relaxed slightly, but obvious hesitation was still written on her
face. She nodded and said, “You heard correctly. I have done extensive research
on Indigo Children. Did someone in particular send you?” Doubt lingered in her
voice, and Eddie wondered how many times people had come to her door, in search
of advice and answers. More importantly, he wondered how many times someone
from the IIA had come to question her, and he wondered if she suspected he
might belong to the agency as well.

He
looked around to ensure that no one else had arrived. “Is it safe to talk?”

“Safe?
Yes, I believe it is. Though of course we never know for sure now, do we?”

“No, I
guess we don’t,” Eddie said, with a smile. He didn’t quite know how to begin,
and so he decided the best place to start was with the truth. “I was sent here
by a boy named Toby. He said you might be able to help. He was kidnapped by a
group called the Indigo Intelligence Agency.”

Her
eyebrows rose in surprise. Whatever she had thought he might say, mention of
the IIA was obviously not what she had expected.

She
glanced again over his shoulder and then said, “Invite your friends inside. It
sounds like we have a lot to discuss.”

*****

The
author guided them into a comfortable sun room. The circular room was
surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and lined with potted green plants and
trees. There was a large rock waterfall on one side, and mingled amongst the
plants, were a half dozen bird cages, that housed a variety of colorful,
tropical birds. As they entered the room, the birds bellowed out a mixed melody
of songs and squawks in greeting.

“Please,
have a seat and make yourselves comfortable,” the author said. “If you’ll
excuse me, for just a moment, I’ll have my housekeeper prepare a tray of
snacks.”

Eddie
took a seat by himself on one of the four pillow-lined wicker love seats that
were positioned around a glass coffee table. Sarah and Grace sat across from
him, and Tyler and Liliana claimed the love seat to his left.

They sat
in silence, each left to their own thoughts. Eddie became acutely aware of
Sarah’s presence, directly across from him. He tried not to stare for any
length of time. Instead, he pretended to be entranced in watching a small,
green parrot; however, he couldn’t help but look at her from time to time. His
growing infatuation was absurd; nevertheless, he felt drawn to her.

Tyler
must have decided that the growing silence had gone on long enough, and he took
it upon himself to lighten the mood. “Hey, you know, when I was a kid, my
grandma had a parrot that could talk. I wonder if any of these birds can say
something.” He stood and wandered over to the cage that housed a green parrot.

“Wait a
minute! I’ve been here before,” Grace exclaimed.

Tyler
turned to her with raised eyebrows. “You’ve been
here
? When?”

“Well…I
wasn’t exactly
here
—not physically, anyway. It was in a dream, and now
that I remember it, all of you were in the dream, too.”

“Cool. I
guess that’s a sign we’re supposed to be here,” Tyler said. Then he turned back
to the parrot and spoke in a high-pitched, parrot-imitating voice, “Polly want
a cracker?” The bird looked at him, blinked, and then let out a high pitched
squawk. “Hellloooo,” Tyler squawked, in his parrot voice. The bird looked at
him and blinked once more.

Grace
laughed. “You did that in my dream, too.”

He
grinned. “Oh yeah? And in your dream, did this bird talk to me?”

Liliana
laughed. “I don’t think your new friend there wants to talk to you.”

Tyler
turned to her. “Don’t be silly. Animals love me. He just needs to warm up a
bit. Just you wait and see.”

He
grinned, again, turned back to the bird, and stared in silence, for a few
moments. Then the quietude was broken when the bird squawked, “Hello! Hello!”

The
girls giggled at the parrot’s response.

“What’s
your name?” Tyler asked.

“What’s
your name?” the bird responded.

“I’m
Tyler.”

“Tyler!
Tyler!” the parrot screeched.

“Right,
I’m Tyler. What’s your name?”

“Freddie.”

“Freddie?
Nice to meet you, Freddie. What’s a handsome bird like you doing, all alone, in
this cage? There’s a lot of pretty girl parrots on the other side of the room.
It looks to me like they have their eyes on you.”

In
response, the other parrots let out a variety of raucous calls and squawks.
“See there, Freddie? I think they like you.”

“Pretty
girls!” the parrot replied.

“That is
amazing!” Patricia said, from the doorway. The author reentered the room,
strode around the loveseats, and stopped beside Tyler. “How did you do that?”
She gazed at him in wonder.