Timesurfers (19 page)

Wisps of fog floated in a sky streaked with
intense red and orange hues pointing to the tip of a luminous ball
peeking over the horizon. In an instant, the fiery sun soared
boldly above their heads. “It’s so beautiful,” Cate breathed.

“Very beautiful.” Austin’s fingers lingered
as he brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “Higher?”

She nodded. There was a vulnerability and
depth of emotion to him she had never seen before. He was
attractive and had that weapon of a smile, but there was no
mistaking the control and focus which underpinned everything he
did. The constant promise of a good time softened him a little, but
today he seemed to have stripped back the warrior to reveal his
true self.

Farms dotted the ground. The freshly ploughed
fields, rolling hills, lush green trees, and meandering streams
were breathtaking.

“I think about you way more than I should.”
Austin dragged his hand down his scarred cheek.

“How did you get your scars?”

Austin’s fingers curved around her shoulders,
and he rested his forehead against hers. “I got too close to a lion
at the Grommet Trials.”

She traced the scars down Austin’s face and
neck. A
lion
had made them. “What are the
Grommet Trials?”

“They’re a Timesurfers initiation thing.” He
smiled that beautiful smile. “No more business talk, let’s enjoy
the ride.”

The basket lurched, and she scrambled to
maintain her balance. Austin, as sure footed as ever, pulled her
tight against him. Her heartbeat was in sync with his. This was the
most perfect moment she could remember.

Too soon, Austin helped her out of the
balloon. He led her to tables covered with red and white checked
tablecloths and decorated with vases of brilliant yellow tulips. A
long, gnarled wooden table groaned under platters overflowing with
food. The mouth watering aroma of bacon and fried potatoes stood
out above all the other delicious smells.

Austin mounded his plate so high with food, a
few mushrooms toppled on the ground as he ambled to a table. He
balanced his plate on one hand and pulled her chair out. She was
all for equal rights, but manners like that were awesome.

“So you have quite the large family.” Austin
tucked into his food.

Her mouth watered as she pushed her food
around her plate. Her fear of vomiting on her return trip was so
great, she’d made a pact with herself not to eat anything. It
smelled divine though. “Last time I checked, a mother and brother
didn’t make for a big family.”

Austin gave her a quizzical look. “You only
have one brother?”

“Yep. An annoying twelve-year-old called
Xavier.”

His brow furrowed. “What about the other
three guys who always hang around your house?”

She gave him a questioning look.

“You
know
we’ve been
following you.”

Following...stalking...there was a fine line.
“Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar are from Mum’s detention centre.
No relation, but an ever present annoyance. Mum took them under her
wing from day one here.” She relented and nibbled a rasher of
crispy bacon. The warm and salty taste didn’t disappoint.

“Their mother certainly had a God complex.”
Austin didn’t look up from his plate.

“They aren’t brothers.” She tried some
scrambled eggs. They were luscious and creamy on her tongue.

“So it’s a coincidence they’re named after
the three wise men?”

She shrugged. “If you say so. Do you have any
brothers or sisters?”

“No, it’s only Rose and me.”

“And you have a dad?”

“It’s a biological fact; even an immortal
woman needs a man to make a baby.” He sizzled a smile across the
table.

One look and her head was so full of all
things Austin, everything else fell away. “Is it weird having your
mum around all the time?”

Austin shrugged. “It’s better than being
stuck with some ancient tribe creating wood carvings all day.”

“What?”

“I have a complicated family life. There’s
some intense baggage there.”

She knew exactly how that was.

He pointed his fork at her. “You don’t look
much like your mum, do you?”

“No.” She sighed. “Everyone comments on what
a beautiful, petite Mother I have. Mum says I take after Dad’s side
of the family.”

“Where’s he?”

“He stayed in Australia. I like to think it
was to help keep us safe, but I know it was because he wanted out.
The last month before we left Australia was a tough one.”

“What happened?”

“My mother used to work black ops for a
covert government agency. She crossed some pretty nasty people. One
morning after Dad and I dropped Xavier to school three official
looking black SUV’s surrounded our car and forced us to pull over.
They said they had received a credible threat against our family
and we were required to go into protective custody. They weren’t
there to protect us. They were the bad guys.” Cate shuddered.

Austin placed his hand on hers. “I’m guessing
things got pretty rough. I understand if you don’t want to talk
about it.”

She was actually relieved to be able to tell
someone after all this time. “I was forced to watch them torture
Dad for information about Mum. They pushed bamboo under my
fingernails if I looked away. They burned me with their cigars for
fun.” She held out her palms and showed Austin the scars from the
burn marks.

“So that’s why you went into witness
protection?”

She nodded. “When Mum came storming in to
rescue us I thought it was over and things would go back to
normal.”

“Didn’t happen?”

“Still waiting.” She laughed awkwardly. “So
where’s
your
dad?”

Austin chased the last piece of scrambled egg
around his plate. “That’s need to know. And I’m not on the ‘need to
know’ list.”

“When did you last see him?”

“I’ve never met him.”

“Oh. That must suck.”

Austin smiled a sad smile. “It’s better than
him risking a slow and torturous death.” He dragged his hands down
his face, looking suddenly weary. “What sucks is
I’m
the reason that would happen to him and nothing I
do will ever change that. I’m number one on Mortez’s most wanted
list, and my dad’s number two. Rose unknowingly had an affair with
Mortez’s husband. He’s my dad. Mortez took it very badly. Rose’s
family and my dad are now hidden and guarded by Naitanui’s
Timesurfers around the clock.”

“Why doesn’t Mortez just go after Rose?”

“Because it’s more painful for Rose to endure
the people she loves being hunted and destroyed by Mortez.”

“That’s a pretty hardcore revenge plan.”

“That’s Mortez for you.”

“I’m sure your dad wishes he could spend time
with you.” Cate stretched her hand across the table and brushed his
fingers.

Austin’s cheeks flushed red. “When I was
little, I used to pretend Jonah
was
my
dad.”

For a second she glimpsed a boy desperate for
someone to call his father. “He’d be a wicked-cool dad.”

“I picked him because Rose was always smiling
and laughing when he was around. Jonah would leave little notes and
gifts for us to find. He was also the fiercest warrior Naitanui
had, other than Rose, of course.”

“So he used to be with Naitanui?”

“He was with Naitanui for...” He glanced her
way. “A number of years.”

“Are we talking a decade, century, what?”

He grabbed some toast from her plate and
chewed it slowly before he spoke. “About 130 years. You two must
have had quite the heart to heart.”

“Not really, he explained immortals, said he
and Rose had a thing, pointed out Rose was your
mother
, and explained he was a conduit. How come he
left Naitanui?”

Austin shrugged. “I’m not sure how it all
worked. There were a few reasons, I believe. The reason I know is
Mortez killed one person from his family each day he delayed
joining her after she asked.”

Cate’s jaw dropped. “That’s barbaric!
Couldn’t he go to the police or...something?”

“And say what? Excuse me, Officer. That evil
time travelling lady is killing my relatives one by one.”

“Why did Mortez want Jonah?”

“He’s a conduit, and they’re rare, only two
in the last 500 years. And Rose trained him. He’s by far the best
soldier Mortez has.”

She remembered Jonah training at the house.
He was awesome.

Cate looked from Austin to the empty plate in
front of him. “So immortals still have to eat?”

“I’m not an immortal.” He held his hand up as
she opened her mouth. “I was born with grey eyes. But to answer
your question, yes, immortals have to eat, sleep, and do all the
normal things.”

“What about the Timesurfing? You don’t seem
to be struggling with becoming a seething puddle of boiling
entrails when you travel through time like me.”

“That’s disgusting!”

She grinned at the appalled look on his
face.

“Surfing has never been a problem for me.
Spare a thought for Rafe, who’s been surfing for nearly a year as a
mortal. It’s a touchy subject. I don’t recommend you bring it up.”
He shuffled his seat around so they were side by side and rested
his arm along the back of her chair.

She breathed the fresh air. The smell of the
damp earth and eucalyptus trees mingled to give a scent that
invigorated her soul. The cloudless morning sky was the most
vibrant, cheerful blue imaginable. A few minutes of agony were a
small price to pay for this perfection. “It’s tranquil and
energising
at the same
time.”

Austin smiled and nodded, his fingers curving
around the top of her arm. She laid her head against his
shoulder.

“If I could revisit any moment in time, I’d
pick this one.”

Me too
, Cate
thought. The contented sound of knives and forks scraping plates as
people finished breakfast reminded her their date was nearly over.
She closed her eyes and drank in the sun, warm on her face,
determined to remember every sound, every smell, every moment.

“Hey, Beautiful.” Austin gave her shoulder a
squeeze. “We’re getting the evil eye from people who want to clear
away.”

They wandered toward a small stream trickling
through the paddock. The damp ground silenced their footsteps. The
bark peeling from the brown and white streaked trunks of the
paperbark
trees
fluttered as a solitary flurry of wind meandered through. Austin
kept a firm grasp on her hand. “Are you ready to get back?”

“No. Do we have any other options?”

“None that wouldn’t get us into an
enormous
amount of trouble.” His thumb
brushed her palm, sending little ripples of happiness along her
arm.

“Damn it!”

Austin laughed. “Would it help if I offered
to get a full body wax in support of your pain?”

“Only if I’m the one doing the waxing.” She
gave him a devilish grin.

“I’m a little
scandalised
right now!” The mock terror on Austin’s
face made her grin wider. “I thought you’d be far too delicate to
participate in something that crude. What if I unintentionally
flash my manly bits?”

She gave an evil laugh. “We’d be
even
, after you unintentionally groped my boobs.”

Austin pretended to tip his hat.
“Touché.”

“Let’s get this over with.” Cate squared her
shoulders and blew out a deep breath.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and
snuggled onto her neck “Naitanui!” The world spun and stars
exploded, showering glittering diamonds across the black velvet
sky. The burning tore at her chest.

“You’re home,” he whispered.

“My heart’s on fire,” Cate gasped.

“Ahhh...”

She panted and clutched at her chest. “My
heart is literally on FIRE!”

Chapter 15

Happy Birthday

“H
elp me!” Cate screamed and threw her jacket on the
ground. Fire tore through her chest and burned along her throat. An
inferno raged inside her chest as she burned from the inside out.
She clawed at her top. “I’m on fire.”

Austin hesitated and chewed his lip. “Of
course!” He cursed loudly and pulled her so tight to his chest she
struggled to breathe.

“Not helping,” she ground through her teeth
and shoved him.

Finally free of her shirt, she gasped. The
skin over her heart bubbled in a red, angry shape the size of her
fist. She stared at her blistered skin and then accusingly at
Austin, who stood doing absolutely nothing. “Thanks for bloody
NOTHING!” She shoved him again, panting at the intense pain
radiating from her chest.

“It’ll pass in a few minutes. Try and
relax.”

“My heart is spitting fire and clawing its
way out of my boiling skin and your advice is to relax?” she
hissed.

“I also said it would be over in a few
minutes.”

“And why the hell would I blindly believe
you?” She winced as fire lanced down her left arm. “And don’t even
think about going down the ‘trust me’ path.”

“Fine. I’ll show you.” He opened his shirt
and pointed to his chest. He had two wings tattooed directly over
his heart. “They’re my wings. You’re getting your wings. They let
mortals surf without pain. Oh, crap!” Austin glared directly over
her shoulder.

Balthazar, Gaspar, and Melchior were on the
white cane chairs on the porch looking murderous. The three boys
jumped the painted railings and stalked toward her along the
limestone path.

“Austin,” Balthazar said.

“You know each other?” Cate groaned. “You
three
are
Timesurfers.” That’s why Jonah
knew Balthazar the other night.

“Jonah said Naitanui sent you back, Austin.
Mortez will enjoy playing with you.”

Cate rolled her eyes. “And of course you’re
with the evil Mortez.”