Birthright (Residue Series #2) (21 page)

Her insinuation was obvious. She had moved on to confirm my
new
ability to channel.

Ja
meson’s head cocked to the side
at
an inquisitive angle. He quickly caught on
,
and his stunning
,
clear green eyes lit up. Still holding my hand, he channeled silently to me. “So you’ve picked up my gift too, ha?” Without having to
see, I knew
the edges of his lips
were curving
up
ward,
forming
a pleased smile. “You’ll have to tell me more about that when you get the chance.”

Right now was definitely not the time
,
because the questions
started being thrown
at me faster.

“And what about manipulating the energy in the room?”

“While you were healing Jameson?”

“While the furniture vibrated?

“And pieces of clothing flew through the air?”

“Enough,” Jameson demanded and the room
became
silent
again
.

Slowly, Dillon
reviewed
everything that
had
just been mentioned. “So, you can heal. You can levitate. You can channel.”

A second later
,
I noticed it. The
impact
of the truth had manifested in the Caldwell’s expressions.

“She can’t be,” insisted Charlotte, violently shaking her head in refusal.

Estelle scoffed. “And why not?”

“She…She’s a Weatherford.”

“Hey…” replied Vinnia,
clearly
offended.

“Sorry,” Charlotte said, rolling her apology
into
denial. “But you’d think it would be someone with more authority; someone who has been involved in our world since birth; someone who knows us.”

I heard Jameson’s voice run through my head
.
“They’ve figured it out.”

They were all waiting for me
to say something, but
before
I had the chance,
Charlotte broke the silence with a scoff. “
You
are The Relicuum?”

The slightest nod
elicited
an exhale from everyone in the room
,
as they
starting
shuffl
ing
around in amazement. A few members of our families even appeared to relax,
allowing
a sense of relief
to
wash over them.
I, however, was not
relaxed or relieved
. I didn’t like being put in this situation.

Regardless, Burke chuckled. “I can’t believe it.” He clapped Jameson on the shoulder. “My little brother’s dating The Relicuum.”

Jameson didn’t respond
.
He was watching me, judging my comfort level. He and I were the only ones who didn’t
wear
at least a hint of a smile.

Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell seemed to be the most amazed
, with
their mouths hanging open
and
their eyes pinned on me. But it was Charlotte who
truly
surprised me. Even though she had coveted this role as a child
,
she seemed
genuinely
happy
with
my disclosure.

A long sil
ence filled the room;
affording
everyone
the opportunity to take in and process the information they were just given.

“All right,” Jameson said
, disrupting the rest of the room’s contemplation.
“Now you know. Everyone out.”

At that demand,
we
all began to
move toward the exit,
recognizing he deserved a little recuperation time.
But then h
is
hand
caught
my wrist,
intending to discreetly keep
me behind.

“I’ll catch up,” I called out.

“We’ll wait for you,” Aunt Lizzy shouted back.

When we were alone, Jameson turned
, wrapping
his arms around me in an
ironclad embrace.
His eyes drifted across my face, a smile lingering on his lips.

He
was
deep in thought
,
so I didn’t want to disturb him.
Gradually,
I began seeing images in my mind,
like
recalling memories.
It startled me, because
they weren’t mine. I
was sure of this,
when I saw myself sitting at the lunch table on the outdoor patio. Another one
formed, showing
me walking down the hallway.
Yet another danced through my consciousness, this one
was me in a top hat gazing around,
looking
bewildered. I
recognized the top hat
because
I
’d
only wor
n
it only
one time
in New Orleans
…
the day Jameson and I met.

It took me a while to understand what was happening
,
but when I did
,
a flood of excitement
consumed
me. These were Jameson’s memories
,
and he was thinking of me. I was picking up his thoughts.

Suddenly,
I wasn’t just seeing his memories. I felt the press of lips against mine followed by an impassioned surge. It was quickly replaced with disappointment
,
as the image of my face pulled away. He was thinking about a time we
kissed
,
and it
was so overwhelming for me,
I
gasped, trying to catch my breath.

He
caught me off guard by saying something I
never
expected.

“There’s something you should know. Our housekeepers aren’t who they seem.”

Despite being disappointed
because
my tap into his memory ended, I obliged him by asking, “What do you mean?”

“Well, they came to our families asking for work. No ad
s
were
ever
placed
searching for someone to fill
these
spot
s
. Their spots…
their
roles hadn’t been created. It was Miss Celia and Miss Mabelle who insisted on being our housekeepers. And they don’t need the work. They’re capable of casting – in their own way, through their own rituals
.
Making
meals for kids and cleaning up after them doesn’t compare to the money they could make
with
their voodoo practices. And they’re powerful. More than we know.” He paused briefly
, looking like he was
considering whether to tell me what he was thinking
, but he continued.
“The…
The Surveyor, who
had taken
over authority of the provinces for this region…she visited my grandfather once, before she killed him,” he added
,
harshly, “and I saw something in her when Miss Celia walked in the room.”

“What?” I pressed
,
sensing that he was telling me all this for a reason, a very good one
. “What did you see?”

“Fear. The Surveyor, the most dangerous person in our province
,
was scared of our housekeeper. And I think it’s because she
knew
what Miss Celia
could
do.”

“What about Miss Mabelle?”

“I believe she
would have
show
n
the same reaction if it
was
Miss Mabelle
entering
the room.”

“Amazing…” I mumbled. “And I figured it was their personalities that kept everyone away.”

Jameson stifled a laugh. “That might have something to do with it too,” he joked
,
before seriousness prevailed.
“I haven’t gotten a chance to thank you for saving my life.”

I lifted my shoulder
,
half shrug
ging
. “It was nothing.”

He
released
a
hearty
chuckle, knowing I was
really
understating
, but he
adjusted his mood when I confessed,
“You…really scared me.”

“I’m all right now.”

He paused
, taking
time to evaluate me again
;
his expression
brandished
a mixture of intrigue and pride. “All because of you. What did you do to me anyways? I feel so strong…”

“Good,” I replied
,
firmly, ignoring his
reverence.
“I’m not sure. I did the same thing I always do. The only difference was
I channeled
as much energy as I could into you.”

“Channeled, huh?” he said,
his
impressed grin
rose
up
again
and then faded
away as he asked, “And how did you pick it up?”

Our somber frame of mind rushed back in, because we both knew
I
only
acquire
additional
capabilities one way, through the demise of another
.

I
went on to
describe Battersbee
,
and my father channeling through him
,
as Jameson listened intently.
When I was through, I was shaking and could only think of a single word
to summarize the experience
…
surreal.

He nodded. “It would be for me too. Thank you for going through it for me.” Feeling the awkwardness of my
memory,
he
took
a deep breath and changed the subject. “So
,
are you under the impression you don’t need me anymore?” I could see he was more uncomfortable with
this
idea than he was letting on.

My reply
was encouraging at first, but confused him.
“No. What you said
is true
, we are stronger together
.
Something happened to me when you were…incapacitated. I-I wasn’t able to heal you. I tried, for three days I worked at it, but I couldn’t…I
just
couldn’t.”

“Before you came here, were you able to use your healing on anyone?”

“Yes, but it was minimal…
very
limited. There, I could heal a plant in a few days. Here, it takes
a few
seconds.”

His expression was telling,
so
I knew
what he was thinking.

“It wasn’t the move, Jameson. It’s not the city. It’s you.”
This revelation garnered
a satisfied smile from him. “We
are
stronger together.”

I felt goose bumps
beginning
to rise on my arms
,
and a chill
course throughout my body,
making me tremble again
. Jameson
pulled back slightly to gently rub
my arms
, a gesture that soothed me
.

“Why is that?” I shivered,
feeling like
my intuition
was alerting me of frightening news to follow.
“Why are we stronger together?”

As he spoke again, I
thought I’d misheard.

“Probably because you’re The Relicuum and I’m The Nobilis.”

I blinked at him. “What…? What did you…? What did you just say?”

He stared back at me
, repeating.
“I think it’s because you are The Relicuum and I’m The Nobilis.”

“You’re The…” I couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.

Instead, I stepped back, away from Jameson
and
out of the comfort of his arms.

“What’s wrong?” he asked,
becoming anxious
at
my behavior.