a Touch of the Past (An Everly Gray Adventure) (27 page)

He made hurry-it-up motions to Pierce. "We’re on our way. About ten minutes out, so we’ll meet you at baggage claim and rush him to Tripler."
 

He stuffed the phone in his pocket, then turned, glancing between me and Pierce. The lines bracketing his eyes were deeper, and the circles under them were a gray shadow against his tan skin. I’d never seen Mitch so exhausted. I reached for him, then tucked my arms tightly around my ribs. It wasn’t the time.

"Parker had a relapse on the plane. Looks like the poison hit him again."
 

Even with my preview of the images, Mitch’s words landed in my stomach with a thud. "The antitoxin was only a short-time cure?"

"Looks like it, Sunshine. This doesn’t sound good for Parker or Annie." His words were soft, hesitant.
 

I slide a sideways glance at Pierce—ramrod stiff behind the wheel. None of us wanted to face the possibility of losing either of them, and we were emotionally drained from trying to pretend it was going to be all right.

Tears, hot and heavy, clogged my throat. We couldn’t get to the airport fast enough, and thankfully Pierce had defensive driving honed to an art form. In record time, he’d parked the Jeep in front of baggage claim, then Pierce twisted to face me. "Gotta leave you here. Williams is locked up, so you’re safe. They’ll need my signature to check Steele into Tripler, and Hunt needs to hang with his sister. Won’t see you again. Have to catch a flight out of here."

"But my grandmother. I want to see to her burial." My heart ached as I said the words.
 

Pierce cupped my shoulders, his gaze steady. "Kahuna Aukele claimed her body. He’s next of kin. Probably wanted to hide her remains and bless them."

"Oh. I didn’t expect that. I guess he didn't want me there, probably doesn’t trust me."

"It’s not you, Belisama. It’s the rest of us."

Mitch started to say something, a low growl, until he turned and spotted Jayne helping Parker toward us. She supported most of his weight, both their faces the pasty color of cold fireplace ashes. Mitch leaped from the Jeep, rushing to help her, Pierce not far behind.
 

"Where’s Adam? Why isn’t he helping you?" Mitch wasn’t happy.

Jayne didn’t look him, but eyed me with a silent fix-it demand. "Switched to a later flight. Something about packing Annie’s townhouse and shipping some things here that he thought she’d need right away."
 

Why was she looking at me instead of her brother? Something was off…no, there was a challenge flashing neon bright behind her eyes. She expected me to fix this. Was daring me to fix it. A chill inched along my spine. She was right, and I hated it. Somehow it was on me. My parents. My problem. Damn it all, I could do this. Had to. I stiffened my spine, hoping the effort would kick my brain into gear. Eventually.
 

I hated that Parker was sick. Wouldn’t have sacrificed his and Annie’s recovery for anything, but since Jayne had so neatly handed me the responsibility for saving their lives, I needed to stop thinking about death, and focus on healing.
 

My palms itched with the need to whip out the note from my grandfather. Surely he’d written some sage advice to help me get through this. He knew things, my Kahuna grandfather, and it was time to stop with the double talk, and get some straight answers.

I hurried toward the four of them. "There isn't room for all of us in the Jeep, so I’ll grab a cab back to the Ma Kai, pick up Mitch’s rental car, and meet you at Tripler."

Nods all around.
 

"Keys are on the dresser," Mitch said. We shared a quick, desperate hug, and they were off. The humid warmth of the Hawaiian night settled around me, too quiet, and too empty. I let the tears fall, wiping them away when the trade winds softened and failed to dry my cheeks.
 

Annie might die.
 

There had to be a way to…I rooted in my pocket for the note from my grandfather.
 

The writing was bold and precise.
 

Meet me at Tripler AMC Library. 8pm.

My fingers trembled, the images from the paper flashing inside my head. The building was a nasty shade of green, and seemed to be located just outside the gates into Tripler. He was showing me a side entrance, presumably where he could linger without attracting too much attention. I punched the button on my iPhone. Seven-fifteen. He’d given me no time—and that thought about sent me into another crying jag.
 

It meant Annie was barely hanging on. That whatever he had to tell me was critical to saving her life. But I suspected that. I gave my destination to the taxi dispatch woman and jumped into the cab, barely giving her time to open the door for me. It would take twenty minutes to get back to the Ma Kai, another thirty, at least, to get to Tripler. And that was if traffic cooperated. I should have just rented another car and gone straight from the airport. But no, those lines could take forever, and at least I knew Mitch’s rental was ready and waiting for me.

That left me with twenty minutes to worry. My stomach lurched. My fingers automatically went to the diamond nestled in my navel, my mind grabbing for the memory of Pierce sliding it into place—a celebration. I’d successfully used my ESP fingers to nab a killer, and the diamond had been my touchstone ever since. One I hadn’t paid enough attention to for a while. The tip of my index finger found the faceted surface through the wrinkled fabric of my dress.
 

A wave of peace rushed along my arm, and headed straight for my heart. That always happened, but I’d never really thought about it until now. I sifted through my brain cells for whatever meager knowledge I’d accumulated about the metaphysical properties of gems. Diamonds were associated with the crown chakra. They had something to do with love and fidelity, but what else? I closed my eyes and dipped into long buried knowledge—knowledge I hadn’t used since I first studied metaphysics, back when I’d been learning to accept my ESP fingers.
 

Purity. Diamonds were a symbol of purity, and they attracted abundance, both of positive and negative energy. Not much help there, so I dug deeper into my memories. Fearless. There was something about being fearless, and allowing your soul purpose to…what?
 

Hope flared. Clarity of mind and enhancing creativity. That was it. I could use some of that kind of power to sneak my grandfather into Tripler. Surely, that had to be why he wanted me to meet him there. I shuddered. Sneaking someone into a military facility had to be bad. Really, really bad—especially if you were caught.

And then it came to me, a memory that slapped me upside the head. Diamonds purify and detoxify the body, and…it was there, just out of reach. I inhaled, then sneezed. The dancing deodorizer hanging from the taxi's rearview mirror had messed with my nose. I blocked the smell, focused on the smooth surface of my jewel. Balance. Yes, diamonds were a symbol of balance, and they…
Counteract. Poisoning
.

I shot up, bumping my head against the roof of the cab. Holy Mamma Mia. Could I somehow channel enough energy through Pierce’s diamond to purify the poison invading Annie and Parker? No time to think about it. The taxi jerked to a stop in front of the Ma Kai. I threw some bills at the driver, and ran for Mitch’s car.
 

No keys.
 

I barely remember jogging up the stairs, grabbing the keys from on top of the dresser, then stopping long enough to think. I hurried into Annie and Sean’s room, gathered a few changes of clothes and some bathroom necessities, stuffed them in a duffle, and flew down to find Mitch’s rental. What the heck kind of car was it? I flicked the Unlock button. There. Three slots down, and two rows over.
 

I offered a heartfelt thank you to all Hawaiian deities that there was a navigation system in the car, programmed it for Tripler, and merged onto the highway. I half-listened to the GPS voice with one hand on the steering wheel and one fiddling with my belly jewel. I couldn’t keep my fingers away from the diamond, kept rubbing it, hoping for inspiration, for some clue as to how it could be used for healing. Maybe my grandfather…

The sign for Tripler appeared on the right of the road, faster than I expected. The guy behind me laid on the horn when I made a sudden turn. Wasn’t the GPS voice supposed to warn me? And then I realized it had, I’d just been ignoring it, lost in thought. And hope. Time to focus. I had a gnarly, secretive Kahuna to locate.
 

The headlights flashed on a yucky green building that matched the picture I’d picked up from my grandfather’s note. Had to be it. I edged to the side of the road and stopped. He materialized from the shadows, the faint glow of streetlights illuminating his come-to-me gesture.
 

It rankled—leaving me raw and steaming with impatience. I shut off the engine, and met him on the sidewalk. "Why the secrecy? Why not just tell Pierce you needed to get into Tripler to cure Annie?"
 

As soon as the words left my mouth, guilt set in. He was old. Supposedly wise. And it wasn’t his fault that Annie and Parker had been infected with the toxin.
 

He offered me his hand. "Walk with me, Granddaughter." There was no animosity in his tone, no admonishment for my burst of temper.
 

I hauled in a breath and tried to calm my racing heartbeat. What I needed was to get inside the Army base and figure out a way to… "Do you know how to heal them, Annie and Parker? You know Parker had a relapse on the airplane?" My question was softer, but there was still an ugly edge to my voice.
 

"I did not know when it would come, but yes, I expected there would be a second stage to his illness."
 

Grandfather's hand was warm in mine, lightly calloused, but smooth to my touch. My breathing slowed.

"I’ll sneak you inside. You know how to heal them, right? Kahunas do that?" Desperation washed through my words, clung to them like spilled glue.

"It is not in balance for me to heal them. This is a task that has now been passed to you, Granddaughter."

Say, what? Shock stopped me, my bare toes sliding forward in my slippahs and biting into the pavement. "I can’t. Don’t know—"

"It is your heritage. It has been passed down for centuries, and was activated when you stepped onto Makani Maliu’s land. Only those who are born into our house are allowed to know the secrets."

Panic pressed into the small of my back, fanned through my body. "But that can’t be true. My parents put me through a series of dreadful psychological tests. Surely if this were a genetic thing, my mother would have known. Wouldn’t have done that to me."

"Loyria’s gifts were in finding poisonous substances, not in healing. She would have tried to protect you from her fate."

"And denying me knowledge was her way of protecting me?" Anger slipped through my words.
 

"Listen, Granddaughter, for time is short. You must begin from where you are. You are no different from a flower or a rock. Become energy in its purest form, hold the balance until their harmony is restored, and then remain strong. Hold the space for the healing until the purity of love nullifies the toxin."

Mumbo jumbo. His words made no sense, and I needed… And then it clicked into place.

The diamond was energy. A rock. Part of the earth. Annie, Brody, Parker, and his cousin were created of the same energy. All I had to do was hold them in pure love.
Pure love
being the key words. And loving Brody and Parker’s cousin? Seriously? Not remotely possible.
 

Damn, but I couldn’t fail Annie and Parker because I had a closed mind.
 

Kahuna Aukele and I had reached a bend in the road where a bus stop took up the parking strip. "Sit here," my grandfather said, guiding me to a bench seat inside the Plexiglas enclosure.
 

"No time. I need to get inside…"

He was chanting, the resonance floating in the air, surrounding us with energetic walls so powerful we had to be invisible to anyone passing by. He used his arms, moving energy around, cool, then warming. Turning hot. Fire consumed me without burning.
 

I had no words, my mind open and empty, my body tingling, but without substance.
 

Grandfather blew across the top of my head three times, each of his breaths pressing against my crown chakra, filling my body with images and information that passed in a blur. The frailness of my human mind was unable to keep up with the universal stream of knowledge pouring into me.

Time hiccupped.

The rumble of a diesel engine assaulted my ears, and the stench of its fumes clogged my throat.
 

I tracked the taillights as they faded into the distance.

Grandfather was gone.
 

And I had just become a healer.

Free fall. No parachute.

Twenty-five

There wasn’t time to wallow
in awe about whatever Kahuna Aukele had done to me, so I knocked back a mental tumbler of whiskey—neat—and got back in the car to fight my way through Tripler security.