"Yeah, well, The Light doesn't show mercy on his three 'deal-breaker' sins. The Seer has the power to see through the other seven, but murdering, stealing, and worshiping other gods are a one-way ticket to hell unless you choose this existence. Most Traders are like me. Some were nothing but petty thieves while others, like me, stole on a grander scale," he confessed, sinking down on the sand next to me.
"Yeah, but, you didn't hurt anyone?" I asked, still in shock.
"Don't kid yourself, love. I hurt plenty of people along the way. I took advantage of weaker humans by tricking them out of prized possessions. I guess you could say I was a swindler. I could talk you out of the shirt off your back without you even realizing I had done so until I walked away wearing it," he said, leaning back in the sand, bracing himself with his elbows. "That's why they picked me to be a Trader. My charismatic personality and gifts with persuasion as a human is everything they look for in a Trader," he said, sounding sad for the first time.
"I'm sorry," I said. I was at loss for more words. Yes, I believed in right and wrong, but I also believed in second chances. It seemed so very unfair that Emrys would pay the price for his sins until the end of time.
"Hey, it's not your fault. I made my bed, now I have to lay in it," he said, smiling. It didn't escape my notice that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
I didn't know what I could say to possibly make him feel better. The silence between us stretched on, but strangely it never became uncomfortable as we watched the night time waves rolling in. Somewhere in the silence our hands sought the comfort of the other. With our fingers linked, we sat there quietly until it was time for me to go home.
"So, about that double date?" Emrys asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah?" I asked, unsure of where we stood after everything we'd just shared.
"Does tomorrow night work for you?" he asked as his familiar cocky grin returned.
"I'll have to check my calendar. I might have plans," I teased, sliding my hands up around his neck.
"You do that, and then have your people call my people," he smiled, leaning in so he could kiss my cheek. "By the way, I'm ninety-nine percent sure your uncle is lurking right beyond those doors," he said, nodding toward the French doors of our house.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," I said, effortlessly pulling him closer. Being freakishly strong definitely had its perks. "Well, we might as well give him something to stress over," I said, crushing my lips to his.
Emrys was still chuckling when I slipped inside the house a few minutes later. Lost in thoughts of our kiss, I didn't notice Krista until she spoke.
"Did you have fun?" she asked, looking bemused by the dippy look I was sure was plastered across my face.
"Yeah, I did," I said, sinking down on the foot of her chaise lounge. "Even with my stalker lurking around," I added.
"Haniel?" she asked knowingly.
"Yeah, but seriously, he needs to take a chill pill. You guys all got a chance to interrogate him tonight," I said, sighing loudly so she wouldn't miss my indignity.
"Just give him time. He'll come around," she said, patting my leg before returning to her laptop.
"So you say," I said rising. "How's the book going?"
"Not too bad. Blaine LeBaron was being a complete pain in the ass, but I think I have him whipped into shape," she said, mentioning one of the main characters from her series.
"Don't be too hard on him. You know he's my book boyfriend," I reminded her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head before heading off to my room.
"You might have to fight off Shana from the A Book Vacation blog on that one," she joked, mentioning one of her favorite book bloggers.
"Shana can have Rob. Blaine is mine."
"Vanessa may have issues with that too," she said, bringing up the main love interest in the story.
"Vanessa just has issues," I replied, walking away.
"Night," she called after me.
"Night. Don't let Blaine and Vanessa keep you up too late," I called back.
"Mmmhmm," was her only answer as she immersed herself back into her writing.
Most likely she would be in the same spot in the morning when I woke with a dozen mini-candy bar wrappers littered around her. Once she hit her groove she could write twenty hours straight before dropping off into a post-chocolate-writing coma. Mark would carry her off to bed when she would finally nod off at her computer, no longer able to keep her eyes open.
And then it really hit me. Now that I really had time to process it, I was gripped by overwhelming grief at the hopelessness of my relationship with Emrys. We'd never hit the status of Mark and Krista. He would never cradle me in his arms as he carted me off to bed. Marriage was the furthest thing from my head, but just knowing if we wanted to, we would never grow old together. Our relationship was on a doomed train ride to nowhere before it ever really started.
Sometimes it feels like life never ceases to aggravate me. I stalked over to my French doors and ripped them open. Cool summer night air flowed into the room, soothing the heat on my cheeks. Maybe I was just being ridiculous. Emrys and I hadn't even determined what kind of relationship we were in and here I was worrying that he wouldn't be around to grimace at my grey hair and dentures.
Still, I couldn't stifle the acute lonesomeness I felt. I wished that Emrys was with me now. Better yet, I wished we were back on his favorite spot watching the lights of the city. I pictured the catwalk clearly in my mind. In that second, everything around me disappeared and I was suddenly standing on the edge of the catwalk I had just pictured in my head. "What the hell!" I yelled, shocked that I was no longer on my own patio. I stumbled, trying to get my bearings, which only brought me too close to the edge. I teetered back and forth, unable to maintain my balance. A sudden gust of wind was all gravity needed and I tumbled off the building into the night sky. A scream tore its way out of my throat as I plunged to my death.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The screams continued as my body rocketed down like a missile. I was going to die. I frantically thought of those I would be leaving behind. A devastated Mark and Krista flashed in my mind's eye, and Lynn and my other grief-stricken friends. I thought of Krista sitting in the living room, burning the midnight oil, not even aware of where I was. I wished I could have given her one more hug.
The blackness around me disappeared and I landed in an unceremonious heap in front of Krista's astonished eyes.
"Oh my god!" she yelled as darkness finally pulled me under.
I woke to raised voices and a strange sensation of déjà vu. Krista was absolutely going off on Haniel. "Why didn't you tell us she could Place Travel?" she asked angrily.
"I was not at liberty to disclose that information to you," he said in his normal monotone voice.
"You weren't at liberty?" she shrieked. "You don't think that's something we should have known? This 'need to know' excuse is getting tired, Haniel."
"What happened?" I finally asked, feeling groggy as I opened my eyes to discover all three of my mentors hovering over me.
"Are you okay?" Krista asked anxiously, helping me sit up.
"I think so," I said, taking stock of my still-working limbs. "I fell off the freaking Empire State Building though," I added, glaring at Haniel. "I Place Traveled. You never told me I could Place Travel," I said in a shrill voice that sounded eerily like the one Krista had used just moments before.
"The Empire State Building?" Krista broke in, shocked. "Why the Empire State Building?"
"I don't know. One moment I'm standing on my patio thinking about the catwalk on the building, and the next moment I'm teetering on the edge," I answered, still glaring at Haniel.
"Why would you be thinking about some catwalk on the Empire State Building?" Krista asked, trying to sort through my story.
"It's a place Emrys likes to take me to," I admitted. "Did I get there because I was thinking about it?" I asked, starting to revel in the excitement of my newly discovered ability.
"You must picture a place clearly in your mind. Once the picture is clear, your body will leave your current location to join your mind at its new location," Haniel explained.
"That is so freaking awesome," I exclaimed, bouncing with excitement. "But why didn't you tell me? We could have incorporated it into my training."
"I was not at—"
"Liberty to disclose that information," I finished for him. "It's all peachy-keen that your boss likes to hold his cards close to the chest, but what would he have done if I wouldn't have thought about Krista and this living room as I was falling? I'd be some gory smear on the sidewalk in New York City. Is that what you want? Have you spent all this time training me only to let me plunge to my death?" I demanded, jumping to my feet as my earlier elation was replaced by anger.
"No," Haniel replied, looking more distressed than I had ever seen him.
"No, what?" I yelled.
"No, tonight was not supposed to happen. My mission is to protect you. To train you. To show you who you are," he answered calmly as his protective shield once more slid into place.
"But tonight did happen," I said quietly, looking at Krista and Mark for their input.
"She's right. Tonight could have ended tragically," Mark said to Haniel. "If you refuse to consult with The Light concerning Jordyn, then Krista and I will request our own audience with him. The time for secrets ended tonight. I've spent months keeping Krista at bay, knowing she was right. Secrets only hurt those we love. If you feel anything for Jordyn or Krista, you will ask The Light to share his secrets with all of us. I will not put the safety of Jordyn at risk again," he said. "Do you understand me?" he added, standing toe to toe with the imposing Arch Angel. If the circumstance had been different, I would have laughed at the differences in their sizes, but at the moment, I was flooded with love for my uncle who was willing to fight for me.
"I understand," Haniel finally answered, sweeping his eyes over mine before disappearing from the room.
His departure evaporated the last of the tension that had cloaked the room. "Are you okay?" Krista asked again as I sat down heavily on the sofa.
"Yeah, now, but I'm not gonna lie. I've never been that scared, or not that I remember," I said ruefully, grinning at her.
"I can only imagine," Krista answered, rubbing my back. "You sure freaked the hell out of me, screaming your head off when you landed in front of me."
"I bet I did," I said, finally chuckling a little at the mental picture she presented. "Everything happened so quickly. One minute I'm chilling on my patio, the next I'm standing hundreds of feet over New York City. And then I was doing my impression of a skydiver with no chute."
"How do you feel after back-to-back travels? I'm actually surprised that you were able to travel back so quickly. When we first started Place Traveling, it would take us hours to travel again. We used to have to rely purely on adrenaline to travel anywhere. We've since honed our skills and no longer need adrenaline, but traveling twice in the span of a couple minutes is truly amazing."
"I'm sure falling to your death is the biggest adrenaline rush ever," Mark told her. "Does your body feel like it's been tossed around in a cement mixer, Jordyn?" he asked me.
"Um, not really," I said, moving my limbs to test their mobility.
"Can you stand up on your own?" he asked with interest.
"I think so," I said, leaping to my feet with my normal grace. My body felt completely normal. Even the lightheadedness I normally felt when Haniel and I would travel more than once in a short amount of time was absent. "I feel great," I continued, bouncing on the balls of my feet to emphasize my point. "Truthfully, I feel like I could do it again."
"Really?" Mark asked intrigued, looking at Krista. "Can you show us?"
"Sure, I guess. Where do you want me to go?"
"How about somewhere close, just in case it finally catches up to you," Krista suggested.
"That's a good idea," Mark agreed, standing up. "How about the steps leading down to the beach? You shouldn't have any trouble picturing it clearly in your head."
"Truth," I answered, already focusing my mind on the steps just beyond the French doors behind me. Krista and Mark faded out in front me only to be replaced by the crashing waves below. Hearing the doors open behind me, I grinned at both of them. Now that I'd gotten over my whole freak-out, I was already rapidly calculating the magnitude of my newest gift in my head. Freedom was no longer a pipe dream. I would never have to crave solitude again. Still smiling at Krista and Mark, I focused on our living room, and within moments, I was once again standing in the center of the room.
"How do you feel?" Krista asked, coming in through the patio door.
"Normal. Or as normal as I get," I added. "What does this mean?" I asked, wondering what my status was now.
"We're not entirely sure," Krista answered honestly, looking as mystified as I felt. "As soon as Haniel returns we'll finally have all the answers."
"How long should that take?" I asked, still murky on how the heavenly realm worked.
"It all depends on how long he has to wait to be granted an audience with The Light," Mark answered, stifling a yawn. "Let's hit the sack and we can discuss this more in the morning," he added, looking at the digital clock on the DVR box. "Are you at a stopping point in your novel?" he asked Krista.
"Yeah, I've totally lost all my writing mojo for the night," she said, picking up her laptop where it had been thrown haphazardly at the foot of her chaise lounge. Let me save my work and I'll shut it down."
"I guess I'll hit the sack for the second time," I joked. "Sorry about the heart attack," I added.
"You should be. I think you took ten years off my life," she said, stowing her laptop in its case and sliding it underneath her chaise lounge.
"Ha, you should try having your life flash before your eyes as you swan-dive toward a slab of concrete."
"You put the 'extreme' in extreme sports," Mark teased, holding his fist out as Krista switched off the lights in the living room.
