Spirit Bound (32 page)

And Thomas. What about Thomas? She was crazy about him. It had happened too fast. Burned too hot. Of course it wasn’t real. And if it was real, if there was a good explanation for everything, she couldn’t risk him. She
wouldn’t
risk him.

She couldn’t risk her sisters either. Jean-Claude had ordered the torture and murder of more men than just her brother and he was certainly capable of striking at Judith through her sisters. What was he planning? What did he want? She would have to leave. What else could she do? Her mind refused to answer questions, just ran everything together until nothing at all made sense to her.

A sob welled up and she pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from crying.

“Judith?”

Blythe’s voice effectively shredded any control she might have had. Judith flung herself into Blythe’s arms almost before her sister managed to reach the top of the stairs. Blythe caught her, steadied them both and just held her while she sobbed. Judith had no idea how long she cried, but when she looked up, she was surrounded by her sisters—all of them. Her heart expanded, landed in her throat and she cried more.

Blythe smoothed her long hair, murmuring soothing noises. “We’ll deal with it, honey. We will. All of us together.”

“How did you know?” Judith managed to get ahold of herself long enough to lift her head and looked at them, her eyes still swimming with tears.

“Rikki called us. Levi told her about the pictures and Jean-Claude. Of course we would come,” Blythe said. “Airiana is going to make some tea for us and Lexi brought a few things for a late night snack. We’re going to need energy to figure this out.”

Blythe sounded like, well, Blythe. She was always practical, the mother of all of them, big sister, the boss without being bossy. Blythe always made everyone feel better just by her steady presence alone. Or maybe it was her touch. Judith already felt a little lighter, the waterworks slowing enough to allow her some semblance of control.

Blythe caught Judith’s arm and firmly led her back into the house. The others filed in after her, with Lissa dead-bolting the door and setting the alarm system.

Judith looked around her at the circle of women. These were the people she could count on, the ones that always—
always
—stood for her. They weren’t sisters by blood, but her heart had chosen them and they were every bit as close as a blood relative. These women had saved her life, had supported her when she was at rock bottom with nowhere to go. They’d made her believe in herself again and now, once again, when her world was crashing down around her, here they were, standing with her.

Judith took a deep breath and let it out, watching as Lexi began taking candles from her bag and placing them around the room. Following Lexi, Lissa blew on wicks, and flames sprang to life, dancing merrily, the healing aroma filling the room.

Water filled the kettle at Rikki’s command and Airiana set the kettle on the stove where Lissa had the flames already burning.

“You’re such a show-off,” Airiana teased her.

It was a show of power for Judith, the women coming together bound to the elements, bound together by the love they shared.

Judith’s heart eased, the terrible ache threatening to crush her lessening. She let Blythe lead her to a chair and she sank into the soft cushions.

“Jonas put Levi in handcuffs,” Rikki announced.

There was a collective gasp.

“Levi
let
him?” Lissa asked.

“Yes.” Rikki sounded proud, but there was a hint of laughter in her voice. She took the chair closest to the door. She always had to fight her reluctance to sit in a house with all the doors closed, filled with those she loved.

“How come he isn’t here with us?” Judith asked. “He’s usually glued to your side.”

“Well . . .” Rikki’s mischievous grin lit her eyes. “I told him no.”

That brought another collective gasp, more astonished this time, and then the women burst into laughter—even Judith. The thought of Rikki telling Levi no, when he was so protective and
male
, had them all howling.

Judith wiped the last of her tears away. “How did he take that?”

“Not very well actually,” Rikki admitted. “He’s prowling around your house like a wounded hound dog, but this is women power. He can be all macho and sulk outside.”

Another round of laugher restored Judith’s natural balance. She sent her sisters a loving smile. “Thanks. I’m better now. At least I can think. I panicked when I heard his name. I barely heard anything Jonas said after he told me where the pictures were going.”

“I was afraid, when I first got the message, that maybe this man had installed a camera in your bedroom and you were the latest sensation on the Internet,” Airiana said. “It’s crazy that anyone can do that kind of thing now.”

“No, not the Internet, but I’m the poster girl for the prisoners in France,” Judith said, with a small, broken smile.

“Just for the one man, I hope,” Blythe said. “I doubt if he’s sharing your picture.”

Judith swept a hand through her hair, shoving it from her face in a quick, restless gesture. “I don’t understand why he’s keeping track of me. Five years, Jonas said. I’ve never heard of Mike Shariton. He evidently lives in Point Arena, and he’s made quite a good living sending photographs of me—and my work—to Jean-Claude.”

Airiana turned from where she was pouring tea, leaning one hip against the kitchen sink. “Shariton? That’s an unusual name. I remember it. He came in and bought one of your scopes. I think it was a sea-scope, the one with the waves and shells and interchangeable cells. He was in about a month ago.”

“Great, he can play with it in jail,” Judith said.

“At least you made money off of him,” Lexi pointed out with a quick grin, settling onto the floor across from Judith’s chair. “That’s something.”

“I suppose I should be happy about it,” Judith said. “Seriously, maybe it will help him figure out what he was doing was wrong.”

“Airiana, I take milk in my tea,” Lexi said.

“I don’t,” Rikki said hastily.

Airiana rolled her eyes. “You two always say the exact same thing. You’ve been saying it for five years. I think I’ve got it by now.”

Teacups floated from the sink to the living room, one after the other, a parade of them, making their way into the hands of each of the women.

“Talk about showing off,” Lissa said.

“I’m practicing,” Airiana defended. “Did you notice I was a little weak holding back the wind in the redwoods while I was attempting to keep a lighter touch over the vegetable garden. I still haven’t gotten divisions down very well. I felt so much power tonight when Judith wove us all together and the wind was a little harder to control.”

Rikki nodded. “I’m getting used to it. But your strength really increased tonight, Judith, which is a good thing, but when I pulled water from the clouds, the water in the ground wanted to respond as well. I had to work a little harder on control.”

“I didn’t realize I was boosting everyone so much,” Judith said, a touch of alarm in her voice. “I guess I let myself go a little more tonight than usual without realizing it.”

“A little more?” Lissa asked. “You’re always so contained and under control, but tonight you felt different. Although, yes, it was harder to control the power at first, it was awesome. Does that mean you can amplify our abilities even more?”

Judith felt the weight of all of her sister’s stares. The rule was they didn’t lie to one another. Sins of omission might be okay, but outright lies were not okay ever between them. She hesitated. Inhaled. Exhaled. “Yes.”

“Wow,” Airiana said, slipping onto the floor beside Lexi. “Just
wow
, Judith.”

“I imagine it must be very difficult for you to control all that power at times, Judith,” Blythe said, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

Judith nodded. “Until Levi pointed out that each of us was bound to an element, I didn’t even realize there was something useful and good I could use all that power for. I’ve suppressed it the best I could. By weaving it with yours, I feel good about it for the first time. I’ve been doing it all along, since we moved here, but not consciously, not using spirit to bind all the elements into one tapestry to work for us improving the farm. Before, when I could feel the water, or the wind, I just tweaked them a little, the same with the soil calling to me.”

“It’s easier to understand after Levi explained why I needed to have my hands in the soil,” Lexi agreed. “And how we were all intertwined. Don’t you think it’s strange that we all have an element we’re bound to, basically a tremendous gift, yet we all suffered some terrible violent, tragedy in our lives? Do you think there’s a correlation?”

There was a small silence while they thought it over. As usual it was Blythe who tackled the big questions. “There’s a balance in everything, we all know that. Good and bad. Happiness and heartbreak. You never have one without the other. All of you carry a great gift, very powerful, and the balance of that might be difficult. Whatever the reason, this is our here and now. Nothing has changed that. We all agreed we wouldn’t live in the what-ifs. We have our lives and we all made a vow we’d live as best we can. Jean-Claude rearing his ugly head hasn’t changed that. It will serve to unite us and make us stronger. Not knowing what he wants, but knowing he’s looking over Judith’s shoulder, gives us the opportunity to explore the talents we have and how we can better use and control them. His presence in our sister’s life will only make us stronger.”

“He’s very dangerous,” Judith pointed out. “You know what he did to my brother. And Paul wasn’t the only one. It’s very possible he’ll attempt to strike at me through one of you.”

“No one ran away when I brought danger here,” Rikki said staunchly. “And no one’s going to now. If that man is planning something—anything at all—you’re not alone, and he’s going to get the surprise of his life.”

“My brother was strong,” Judith said softly. Her heart clamped down hard, a vise grip of pain at the thought of what he’d gone through because of her.

“That’s true,” Blythe said. “But this is different, Judith. You’re not a young girl anymore. We’ve all gone through the fire in our own way and its honed us, made us stronger, and we’re together now. I believe that together, there is no possible way for this man to harm us. You have to believe that too.”

“Levi is helping all of us with security and personal self-defense,” Lissa said, “but we can be a little more proactive in that department as well as working on our ability to control our elements. Practicing a craft always perfects it and I know we’ve just started tapping into our strengths together as a unit.”

The women nodded.

“What made you release so much energy tonight, Judith ?” Blythe asked.

“Not only was it powerful,” Airiana said, “but happy. You felt happy to me.”

“Me too,” Lissa agreed. “
Real
happiness.”

Judith took a sip of tea, allowing its familiar soothing properties to help calm her suddenly pounding heart. “Thomas. Thomas Vincent. That’s why.”

Her sisters exchanged long, shocked looks.

Again it was Blythe who took the bull by the proverbial horns. “You might elaborate on that just a little, Judith.”

Judith put down her teacup, to keep from betraying that her hands were shaking. “I thought a lot about this. When I’m with Thomas, I feel alive, truly alive—my spirit does. It’s hard to explain, but I’m not afraid of that power inside of me. I feel as if—” She broke off, took a breath and tried again. “When I’m with him, I feel as if I’m totally free to be me, yet safe at the same time—that everyone around me will be safe as well.”

Her eyes met Blythe’s. “I know it makes no sense. When I’m not with him I tell myself all the things I’m certain you’ll tell me. It’s too fast. Physical attraction isn’t something to rely on, but all that goes out the window when I’m with him. He just . . . makes me happy—with who I am. I’m not afraid and I don’t have to hide from him. Even the worst in me, I think he can handle.”

Blythe looked at Rikki. “What does Levi say?”

Rikki shook her head. “Levi hasn’t said much because I didn’t give him the chance. I knew Judith needed us and that took precedent.”

“Besides,” Judith pointed out, “Levi doesn’t like anyone besides us, so that’s hardly fair.”

Lissa laughed and covered it with a slight cough. “She has a point, Rikki.”

Rikki sighed. “Well, I don’t like anyone else either, so it works.”

Airiana held up her teacup, toasting Rikki. “You love us, and that’s all that counts, baby.” She took a sip and looked over the rim at Judith. “What’s his aura like?”

“Sort of muddy, like you see in a lot of powerful businessmen. Good and bad. But sometimes I can’t even see it.” Judith sighed. “I’ve tried not to see auras. I don’t trust my reading of them, and his is sort of difficult. The more I tried to focus on it, the less I could read it.”

“Great.” Airiana scowled. “I
hate
that.”

“Why?” Blythe asked.

Airiana sent an apologetic look toward Judith without meeting her eyes. “Because that kind of aura almost always is a product of concealment.”

Blythe frowned and leaned toward Airiana, rubbing her left palm on her thigh, a habit that usually signaled she was becoming upset or unhappy. “On purpose? Someone could conceal their aura on purpose? Wouldn’t that mean he had some sort of psychic talent and that he would know to conceal his aura around us?”

“No, I didn’t meant that, Blythe,” Airiana corrected. “More that the person is hiding something of great importance.”

“It doesn’t really matter,” Judith said. “I can’t see him with the threat of Jean-Claude hanging over my head.”

“Of course it matters,” Lexi disagreed. “I don’t think a perfect person comes along all that often. If the opportunity is there and you connect with him, I say, take a chance. Rikki did and look how happy she is.” She frowned. “I mean . . . you
are
happy with Levi, aren’t you? He is a little intimidating. He never smiles.”

“I’m very happy with Levi,” Rikki said, rocking slightly. She looked around. “But maybe we could open a window or something. Would you mind, Judith?”