Fighting for Infinity (2 page)

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

Maryah

I woke up in the floating chair of the sensperience room. The stars twinkled all around me.

“Carson?” I called out into the darkness.

No answer.

I had astral traveled again. Only to the garage to watch Nathan work on Anthony’s Mustang with him and Dylan, but it was another successful training session. I had astral travelled three more times since the initial time at the cabin, but I must have fallen asleep again because Carson had left the room.

I slid off my chair and walked to the door, squinting at the bright light as I headed for the living room. I pretended to still be blinded by sunlight when I saw Carson and Krista kissing. I cleared my throat, and they pulled apart.

Krista wiped her lips and fiddled with her hair. “How’d it go?”

“Good.” I stretched my arms behind my back. “Traveled to the garage and watched the guys work on Anthony’s car.”

Carson rolled his eyes. “How ambitious of you.”

“Hey, we don’t all move at rapid speed like you. I’m easing into this traveling thing.” I walked to the kitchen to get a drink. Astral traveling always made me thirsty. I called over my shoulder. “And what’s up with leaving me alone in there?”

“There’s no way to tell whether you’re asleep or traveling. If you were traveling, I didn’t want to wake you. But hanging around watching you do absolutely nothing is not how I want to spend my day.”

I grabbed a juice from the fridge and rejoined them in the living room. “You mean you just wanted to make out with Krista.”

Krista giggled.

“Like I said.” Carson smiled. “I had other plans for my day, and every other day.”

“Thanks for the support,” I chided.

“Whoa, Sparky, don’t forget I’m the one who built you the sensperience room that started this whole regaining your ability thing.”

“Noted, and thank you,” I said. “But don’t forget I’m the one who forced you to come up with a way to help me sensperience.”

Krista glanced at Carson who was speechless then she smiled. “Oooh, good one, Maryah. That deserves a whole box of chocolates.”

“Noted.” Carson nodded at me, narrowing his eyes. “But I’m still smarter than you.”

I smirked. “I’ll catch up soon.”

I’d never be as smart as Carson, but my confidence and abilities were strengthening. My intense make-out sessions with Nathan resulted in me remembering a couple more flashes of my past lives. My plans were working.

“Have you tried finding Dedrick when you’re traveling?” Krista asked.

I hadn’t tried to find Dedrick since the one short moment when I’d seen him and the girl in the window. I wanted to master waking up from my travels at will before I went searching for him. I didn’t know why I was so nervous about spying on Dedrick. Maybe because I felt like I was truly
there
when traveling. I wasn’t quite ready to be alone with Dedrick. Being around kindrily members felt safe, but it wasn’t like I could take anyone with me in my travels. I had already asked Edgar if he thought that was possible, and he assured me it wasn’t.

“Not yet,” I answered Krista honestly, “but I will try to track him soon. I wanted to wait until I mastered returning to my body. So far my tendency is to fall asleep.”

“I’m sure it takes a lot of energy out of you,” Krista offered. “Your body probably falls asleep from exhaustion.”

“Yes, but the clock is ticking,” Carson said. “Time to put on your brave girl panties and try to find Dedrick.”

Louise rounded the corner carrying her laptop under one arm. “Hello, all.”

“Any news to report?” Carson asked her.

“Nope,” Louise said. “Still quiet out there.”

Krista and I exchanged worried glances. Most of the kindrily pretended not to be concerned that we hadn’t heard one word about the Nefariouns. But I was worried. It had been more than a week since the battle at the airport. I had a gut feeling Dedrick was waiting to make his next big move. Not knowing what or when that move would be had my stomach in knots. Carson was right; I needed to be brave and take the plunge into trying to locate Dedrick again. I was the key to knowing what he was doing and planning.

“I traveled again,” I told Louise.

Her face lit up. “You did? Where to?”

“Just the garage,” I admitted. “But I’m getting better at it.”

“Wonderful.” She hugged her laptop to her chest and her lips parted like she was about to say something else, but she stopped. What she probably wanted to say was that it would be helpful to know if Edgar was next on Dedrick’s wish list.

“Tomorrow,” I told her. I couldn’t wait any longer. “Tomorrow I’ll attempt to find Dedrick.”

The worry lines framing her mouth loosened with relief. “Good. It would be nice to have some clue as to what he’s up to.”

Krista reached over and squeezed my hand—her unspoken way of telling me she was proud of me for being brave. I squeezed back because the thought of actually locating Dedrick scared me, but I was determined to conquer my fear.

DIVING DEEP

Harmony

Gregory set his sunglasses on the patio table between us. “I’m going to have to meet your parents someday.”

“Yes, but not today.” I finished the last bite of my sandwich. “Or tomorrow.”

As far as my parents knew, Dakota and I were on an educational trip for school that was earning us extra credit. Dylan persuaded them to not only believe it, but also to support my decision to go on the trip, so I was embracing the freedom to stay at the Luna house with Gregory.

“Dakota is going stir crazy being cooped up here,” Gregory said. “He needs to go home.”

“I know.” That was one of my major concerns about us returning to our routine at home. I wouldn’t get to spend as much time with Gregory, and my parents would surely notice the change in Dakota’s mental state. I could ask Dylan to persuade them to believe Dakota was fine, but that didn’t seem fair to anyone.

“What’s going through that magnificent mind of yours?” Gregory asked.

“I’m enjoying my time with you. I’m not ready to give that up yet.”

“We’ll still be together. It will be fun. I can date you and try to impress your parents. Make them wonder if I’m good enough for their daughter.”

I grinned. “You’re not good enough for me.”

“I know that, but the key is getting
them
to believe I am.”

“And what about at night? We won’t be able to sleep together.”

He waved me over to him, and I sat in his lap. “Your bedroom has a window, right? I’ll sneak in.”

“Ooh, that does sound fun. Real teenage shenanigans.”

He pulled me closer and gently bit my lip. “The possibility of getting caught will make it that much more exciting.”

“My parents would die if they found you: a towering, muscular, long-haired, Spanish twenty-two-year-old naked in my room.”

He wiggled his dark brows. “I look forward to hearing all the shocked expletives running through their head when they catch us.”

“That would be a true test of my dad’s preaching about remaining peaceful and always acting with love and compassion.”

“He sounds like a good man.”

“He is.” I fed him another potato chip. “Both of them are great.”

“Why’d you choose them? And how did Faith become your twin sister?”

I shrugged. “They were close to Louise and Anthony. Mary told us to choose so we’d be close together. Apparently Faith chose the same parents. She requested to be sent back right after me. The time line was close enough that we could be twins.”

“Fascinating.”

“Some days I think Maryah is determined to build an army—or Mary was anyway. First Krista and now Mikey.”

He squeezed me tighter. “We contributed to the army with Carson.”

“Carson is something special,” I said. “He probably raised hell in the Higher Realm until they granted him Element status.”

“He must have inherited his ability to raise hell from his original mother.”

“Or his father.”

Gregory’s eyes lowered. “I sense it’s a bit weird for him. I’m in the same body as I was when I was his father. Sometimes when he looks at me it feels like he’s watching a ghost.”

“I’m sure it’s strange for him, it’s strange for me too, but in a good way.  Carson will get used to it. Isn’t it hard for you too? Physically you’re not much older than he is.”

“That’s not strange. The really disorienting part is my last solid memories of the kindrily—before the day I stabbed you, of course.” I squeezed his side where he was ticklish, and he squirmed but continued with his thoughts. “There was Amber and Dylan’s wedding. Then things go blurry, and bam, here I am with you, and you’re in a different body—hell, almost everyone is in a different body—and I’ve missed two decades of what’s been going on with my own kindrily. The time I was gone is slipping away from my memory more each day. Years of my life have been erased.”

My chest tightened at the word
erased
. “Oh, no.” I sat up straight. What if Dedrick had the actual power to erase memories? “What if Dedrick erased Maryah’s past? What if he’s planning to erase all of us? What if you forget our past lives together?”

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know? We have no real idea of what kind of power Dedrick has at his disposal.”

“I remember everything from all my lives. Just a lot of the time I spent with Dedrick is unclear. And if he has the power to erase all of those memories from my mind then I’ll thank him for it.”

I traced my fingers around Gregory’s obsidian eyes. He knew what I was doing, that I needed to gaze into the windows of his soul and see for myself. That I needed to know every bit of our history was still intact.

He lifted his chin and relaxed back into his seat, knowing it would take a while. “Dive on in. The waters of my soul are fine.” I kissed him then went deep beneath the surface. I needed to make sure our history was still there. Every part of it.

Thankfully, nothing had been lost—except almost two decades together. And while losing that time was painful and awful, I had him back—forever. And that’s all that mattered.

∞

Gregory and I brought in our lunch dishes from the deck. Louise and Helen were pacing the kitchen.

“Still waiting?” I asked.

Louise nodded. “I hope she locates him. At this point any bit of information is better than nothing. Even members of the other kindrilies are worried about how quiet it’s been.”

“I’m going to sneak in and see how it’s going,” I said. “I’ll report back in a minute.”

I crept down the hall and turned the doorknob to Maryah and Nate’s room slowly and soundlessly. Krista looked up as I tiptoed into the room. Already knowing the question on everyone’s mind, Krista shook her head.

“She’s been under a long time,” Nate said.

Krista sat on the bed beside her. “I was just thinking the same thing. But she’s been falling asleep after she travels. Maybe she’s sleeping.”

I stepped closer. “Or maybe she found him and she’s finding out a lot of useful information.”

Nate looked at me as if considering my reasoning, but then he shook his head. “Something’s amiss. I can feel it.”

I leaned against one of the branch posts of the bed. Maryah looked peaceful. “She’ll be pissed off if you wake her up right before she discovers a plan or something else important.”

Nate stood. “That’s fine. It wouldn’t be the first time I made her angry.” He rubbed her arm lovingly. “Maryah, come back. We’re concerned.” He gave it a few seconds then nudged her shoulder and patted her cheek. “Angel, we need you back here. Time to come home.”

Krista glanced at me, then back to Nate as he continued trying to wake up Maryah.

Maryah wasn’t budging.

Krista snapped her fingers in front of Maryah’s face. “Pudding, wake up.” She clapped her hands. “Come on. You’re freaking us out.”

Nate looked up at me. I shrugged. “Don’t ask me.”

“Krista,” Nate asked, “will you check to make sure she’s okay physically?”

Krista held her hands over Maryah’s body and closed her eyes, scanning every inch of her. “She’s perfectly healthy.”

“Where’s Carson?” Nate asked. “Perhaps he can figure it out.”

Krista sprang up. “I’ll go get him.”

Nate caressed Maryah’s cheek. “Maryah,” he pleaded, “wake up.”

Carson blurred into the room and halted at the side of the bed. “She’s probably asleep.”

“We tried waking her,” Nate said. “It’s not working.”

Krista ran in and stood beside him. Carson blurred away again then came back with a glass of water. He dumped it on Maryah’s head.

“Carson!” Nate yelled.

“What? It should have worked.”

The worry was spreading through all of us. I could feel it filling the room.

Nate dried Maryah’s face with a blanket. “Wake up, Maryah. Please, open your eyes.”