Keepers of the Flame (2 page)

“Me,
too. Did you have your hearing checked?”

Elizabeth
sighed. “Yes.”

“Let’s
give it another week, then decide what to do.” Elizabeth turned to finish
shopping, but Bri put a hand on her arm, snagged her gaze with the same
changeable hazel eyes but showing a different pattern of specks. “It might be a
sign that our healing powers are changing. I’ve noticed mine are a little more
reliable and slightly stronger.”

Elizabeth
flinched.

Bri
said, “Is that one of the reasons Cassidy broke up with you? Because he
discovered you using your gift?”

“I
don’t
use
a gift. Sometimes something just seems to flow from me.
Nothing important. But our last argument was because he’d noticed…” It hurt to
remember. She waved a hand. “Past and done.” She looked at their carts, then
back at her sister, then they both stared at the sack of potatoes in each
other’s cart and shook their heads in unison. “I see you had a craving for
potatoes, too,” Elizabeth said.

“Yes,”
Bri said, “those really unhealthy shredded potatoes loaded with cheese and sour
cream. Mickey potatoes.” Mickey was the friend of their mom’s who’d given them
the recipe.

Trying
to lighten the moment Elizabeth closed her eyes and groaned theatrically in
pleasure. “As medical professionals, we shouldn’t consider more than a bite of
those cholesterol bombs. A nice baked potato with a smidgeon of butter—”

Bri
reached under a stack of greens and held up a couple of small plastic sacks.
“Chocolate for my sweet craving.” Bri shook the nuggets so little metallic
wrappers rustled as the candies tumbled against each other, glittering. “Our
favorites.”

“You
got dark chocolate for me.” Elizabeth was touched. “You’re so sweet. So bad,
but so sweet.” She glanced at her watch. “We have just enough time to settle
you in, cook, dress, and go to the folks.”

Bri
nodded at Elizabeth’s cell thrusting from her purse’s outer pocket. “You should
find about three messages from me on that.”

“Oops.”
When she looked at the readout, it was blank. “Forgot to charge it.” Another
result of stress. She was tired of hurting because of Cassidy and forced the
thought of him away again. Enough wallowing. Get on with life! Straightening
her shoulders, she said. “I want you to stay with me.”

Under
lowered brows, Bri watched her, that uncertain look back in her eyes. “For
real?”

“For
real. You can have the guest room.” She bit her lips to stop them from
trembling, cleared her throat. “It’ll be good to have you living with me, like
when we were kids. Especially since I’m on vacation.” She wanted her sister
more now than ever since they’d become adults. Bri’s first walkabout had been
during freshman summer vacation in college. Elizabeth had never admitted how
much she wished Bri hadn’t gone her own way. Perhaps she’d stay now.

“Okay,”
Bri said.

Elizabeth
relaxed, smiled. Everything would be better now that Bri was home.

A
few hours later
Bri and Elizabeth left their parents’ home. “Mom and Dad
loved
our gift
of an all-expenses-paid two-week vacation in Hawaii.” Bri was very pleased at
how the dinner had gone—except for a tense few minutes when they skirted around
Cassidy Jones, who’d usually celebrated with them.

Her
parents had been delighted by Bri’s announcement to settle in Denver and become
a nurse.

She
shifted the foam freezer chest full of ham, Mickey potatoes, crudités, baked
beans and fruit salad that she carried.

Elizabeth
hauled two sacks of potatoes. Apparently their mother had had the same craving
as the twins. “Leaving tomorrow. All this food,” their mother had grumbled,
pressing it on her daughters.

Night
had fallen and wispy clouds draped the black sky. Only a few stars could be
seen from the city. Bri inhaled deeply. Their parents’ house backed onto
Cheesman Park and the scent of thick grass and roses came on a cool breeze.
Sweden’s air had still carried the last of spring. For a moment she just stood
and let the city sounds and scents and very atmosphere caress her.

There
was no place like home. Finally her itchy feet had stopped tingling, bringing
her back to her family.

“You’re
tired, let me drive,” Bri said to her sister.

“You
must be jet-lagged.”

“I
was, but I got my second wind.” As soon as she put her head on a pillow tonight
she’d crash for sure, but right now she was in a state of hyperawareness. She
unlocked the doors, opened hers and they stowed the chest and potatoes in the
back seat, and got in.

Elizabeth
stared at her.

“What?”
Bri asked as she turned the key in the ignition.

“You
really are going to nursing school,” Elizabeth said.

“That’s
right. I finally decided your way was the best.” Bri pulled away from the curb.
“I’ve learned a lot, but I’m tired of the traveling. I can use my gift in the
established medical community.”

“I
see,” Elizabeth said, but the car was dark and Bri thought that Elizabeth had
shut her eyes.

“You’ll
be a dynamite doctor with the benefit of our gifts. It’s too late for me there,
I don’t want to take the time to go through med school, but nursing…yeah, I can
do that.”

More,
heavier silence.

“All
this time I’ve been sneered at because of my ‘flaky’ ideas and you’ve been the
good twin because you followed Mom’s path through medical school and didn’t
make waves.”

“A
little resentment there?” Elizabeth asked in a steady voice.

“Okay.
Maybe. But I honestly think you need to admit to yourself that you have a
special gift and you chose a career to use it…and you hide that you use it. I
don’t mind you hiding it—”

“Liar.”

“Okay,
some resentment there, too, but I’ve come to accept that you must hide it.”

“My
way is not your way.”

“Oh,
honey, I know that! But I want to hear the words from you. Just once. Come on,
it isn’t difficult. Just say, ‘I have a special gift for healing.’”

“You
don’t want much,” Elizabeth muttered. Her voice broke.

Bri
pulled to the side of the road. Tapped her head on the steering wheel. “Stupid,
stupid, stupid. I’m sorry, you have too much else to handle, and here I’m
demanding more. Twin, you need this vacation.”

“Tell
me about it.” Elizabeth was blowing her nose again. “I’m too damn sensitive to
every word. Every glance. And being at Denver Major where Cassidy is….”

“And
now your gift reminds you of him, too. Damn it!” Frustration welled through
Bri. Her twin needed her comfort, but Bri, too, needed something from her
sister—support, understanding. But here and now wasn’t the time to demand it.
She’d been impatient. Releasing her tight grip on the wheel, she opened herself
to what she thought of as the healing stream, let the power soothe her, tingle
into her hands and warm them. She set her palm on Elizabeth’s shoulder, feeling
her sister’s energy field, more, her struggle against anger and depression. Bri
sent the warm flow into Elizabeth.

After
a moment, Elizabeth said, “Thank you.”

“I
have a special gift for healing.”

Elizabeth
sighed. “Yes, you do.” She leaned her head back on the seat rest, but said
nothing about her own gift and that hurt Bri.

She
rolled her shoulders. She wouldn’t give up, she’d just let the tender subject
go—for now. She rubbed her hands to absorb lingering energy, then touched the
steering wheel to ground herself. She checked the street and pulled out into
light traffic.

Elizabeth
said, “Cassidy is incredible. He’s a better physician than I am.”

“No!”
The word exploded from Bri. “Never. He’s not. He may be more brilliant. He may
have gone through the damn programs like a rocket, but he is not a better
doctor than you. You’re twice the physician he is. And you know why? Because
you have heart.”

Elizabeth
blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that. Heart. Huh.”

“Huh
yourself.”

Bri
drove down streets overhung with leafy branches.

Elizabeth’s
breathing evened. Bri felt her sister’s glance, but said nothing. Elizabeth
inhaled, let her breath out slowly. “Don’t ask me to go in a direction I’m not
ready for. I don’t want the topic raised again.”

Bri
found her teeth set, and deliberately relaxed her jaw. Again. There was no
place like home and family, and no one who could push her buttons so easily as
Elizabeth.

Bri
turned the car east and a wave of sound washed over her, through her. “The
sounds of chimes and stuff is getting louder.”

Elizabeth
said nothing, but she’d stiffened.

“Chanting
mostly. Sheesh, don’t even need to turn on the radio.” She cocked her head.
“Maybe I should have said
merde
. Sounds like French.”

There
were a couple of minutes of uneasy silence, then Elizabeth finally said, “Never
did like those French classes in school.”

Then
she
did
hear it, too! Bri kept her tone light. “When you visited me in
Cannes, you spoke French with a better accent than mine.” A tinkle of chimes
rippled, then settled inside her, coiling. She flexed her fingers. “Do you
recognize that?”

“What?”
The word sounded dragged out of Elizabeth.

“The
chimes are the tones associated with the seven chakras: C, D, E, F, G, A, B.”

“Leave
it to you.”

A
gong sounded in her mind. Elizabeth flinched beside her. “Put on some speed.
Let’s get home.”

“Right.”

The
rest of the drive passed in a rush, both physically and emotionally. Chanting
blocked out all other sounds—except for the chakra chimes and the occasional
gong. The rhythm was odd, Bri couldn’t catch hold of any pattern, but it wound
her so tight she was near panting.

Elizabeth
gave a little moan, rubbed her temples. “I can’t anticipate the beat.” She
squirmed. “It seems to be having a physical effect. My skin prickles.”

“So
does mine. Nerve endings do you think?”

With
a choppy exhalation of breath, Elizabeth said, “Probably. I have my medical bag
up in the loft. We can check this out.” She sounded as if she was reassuring
herself as well as Bri.

“Of
course,” Bri said, pulling into the underground garage and parking in
Elizabeth’s space.

They
got out. Bri grabbed the freezer chest and Elizabeth both bags of potatoes. As
they hurried to the elevator, Bri realized her whole body trembled—the chanting
was spiraling, rising with excitement, with demand. She glanced at Elizabeth
and saw a huge flickering multicolored banded aura. Bri’s breath whooshed out.
She noted her sister wouldn’t look at her. “This is scary.”

2

“S
cary,” Elizabeth
said, jabbing at the elevator button. “Everything will be fine in a few
minutes. We’ll figure this out.” She tilted her head in Bri’s direction. “I’m
glad you’re here with me.”

“Likewise.”
The sounds had affected her heartbeat; the chanting sped it up, the chakra
chimes tugging at different internal energies. She didn’t like the sensations.

The
elevator dinging melded with everything else and she didn’t notice it until the
steel gray doors opened and Elizabeth hustled in. The black rubber-edged doors
nearly closed before Bri hopped inside, stumbled to the far wall and braced
herself.

Elizabeth
pressed thirty-four and the elevator rose.

Too
slowly. Bri’s vision was morphing. Sound seemed to take shape, with pastel
clouds of pink and green and coral whirling around them. Bri gulped.

“Just
a couple of minutes,” Elizabeth chanting herself.

“This
ain’t good,” Bri whispered. She wondered if she should dial 911.

The
elevator went up and up and up. The chanting and chimes and gong filled it.

There
was a slight hesitation, then the upward motion continued.

“We’ve
passed the thirty-fourth floor!” Elizabeth cried.

Bri
shuddered. “Isn’t that the last one?”

The
walls and ceiling vanished.

A
wind whipped them into its grasp. They shrieked in unison. Bri wanted to drop
her load and reach for her sister, but her fingers were frozen around the
chest. She saw Elizabeth’s pale face, arms clutching the potato sacks.

They
flashed through a rippling field of blinding rainbow light, an enveloping wave
of sound. Nothing under Bri’s feet. She fell, jarred, as if she’d missed a
couple of steps descending a staircase.

Her
screams mingled with Elizabeth’s. They were together, at least. Chanting came
around them, along with the chimes that pushed all Bri’s chakra buttons, the
gong that had her dropping the chest and shuddering. She flung out her hand,
found Elizabeth’s. They grabbed each other, clinging.