Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) Read online

  “It must belong to Gaius.”

  Gemma nodded again. They had spent hours talking about the carved box hidden in Alistair’s office, wondering if Gabe’s theory that it contained seven vials of gold dust could be true. The contents scared Gabe a little, which put Harrison on high alert. Stolen gold dust from each member of the electus… mix it together and who knows what they would find? Gemma had discovered the key to unlocking Pandora’s box was a puzzle involving seven necklaces that her family had been collecting all year.

  “So does that mean they have all the pieces? They can unlock the box?”

  “I don’t think so. There’s still that middle piece… the Decimus piece.”

  “Do you think it’ll take him long to find it?”

  “I don’t know.” Gemma’s voice was small. “And I don’t know what will happen when they do.”

  Without realizing it, they had both stopped walking. They now stood in the sand, frozen by a brewing fear they had yet to face.

  “It’s going to be okay, Gem. We’re going to be okay.”

  Loosening her vice like grip on his hand, he pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her shoulder, murmuring the words again as much for himself as for her.

  Chapter Three

  Anastasia State Park, Florida – 2011AD

  Gemma buried her head in his shirt, trying to believe him. She knew Harrison would keep her safe… well, as much as he could. She just hoped it was enough. A small part of her still prayed that her parents were actually doing all this for good. But a larger part of her was facing the cruel reality that the people she had grown up trusting were using her for all she was worth and would continue to do so until there was nothing left.

  The thought sent a shiver up her spine. Harrison squeezed her to combat it then pulled away to check she was okay.

  “I’m fine. There’s nothing we can do right now anyway. Let’s just enjoy the morning and pretend that nothing else exists except you and me.” She kissed him lightly then took his hand and resumed walking.

  “So, how was your mom this morning?”

  If Gemma could have kicked herself she would have. After just making a speech about pretending they were the only two people who existed!

  Seriously, you are such an idiot sometimes!

  Harrison frowned. “Same as usual. She didn’t want me to come.”

  “I so don’t get it.” In spite of her telling off she continued with the topic. “I thought she liked me and then… it’s so weird. How did she figure out I was a time spirit? How does she even know about them?”

  “Maybe she fell in love with one once and got burned?”

  It wasn’t a bad suggestion. Gemma had toyed with it over the last few weeks herself and it did make sense… but who? Apart from Gabe she had not met any others of her kind and she often wondered if her family were the last. She was aware the earth was highly populated and the chances of meeting, and recognizing, another member of a very secretive race was unlikely. But over the years she figured she would have met more than one. Legend talked about them being drawn to one another. Why had none ever been drawn to her family?

  “I know she’s only trying to protect me, but how am I supposed to understand her bizarre behavior if she won’t tell me anything? The house is so tense at the moment, even Bryan’s going crazy.”

  “I miss Bryan.” Gemma pouted for a second then shook her head. “I just wish there was something I could do to fix this. I wish I was normal.”

  Harrison stopped her in the sand and turned her towards him, placing a hand on either side of her face.

  “You are perfect just the way you are. I like that you’re not normal.” He kissed her nose.

  “I’m not perfect, Harrison.”

  “You’re perfect for me.” He grinned.

  She felt her insides bubble.

  “Tu es ma stella del mattino.” He kissed her nose. “Tu es ma gioiello.” Then touched his lips softly against hers.

  She brought her hand down with a hard thump on his chest.

  “Ow!”

  Gemma didn’t regret it for a second. She had been asking him for months and it had turned from a sweet gesture to an irritation of dynamic proportions.

  “You have got to stop doing that!”

  “Doing what?”

  She demolished his feigned innocence with a narrow glare.

  “If you don’t tell me what that means I’m going to beat it out of you.”

  His body rumbled with laughter. “You wouldn’t do that to me.”

  “Believe me, right now, I want to!” She raised her fist.

  He saw straight through her empty threat, but it did quell his laughter. Grabbing her clenched hand, he pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms securely around her waist.

  “It means,” he cleared his throat, “you are my morning star.” He kissed her nose. “You are my jewel.” He touched his lips softly against hers.

  She felt her eyes glisten as the words sunk in. It was the sweetest thing she’d ever heard… and she’d totally heard it before! Her mouth opened with surprise.

  “What?”

  “I’ve heard that before.”

  “When? I’ve never said it in English.”

  “No, I mean, I’ve heard someone say it before. They were talking about…” She tapped her head and paced away from him. “It was in the past. I was with Dom? No, I was on my own, but someone was there, he… that’s it!”

  She clicked her fingers and looked at Harrison expectantly. He shrugged his shoulders and she rushed to explain.

  “It was Nathaniel Clayton!” She beamed. “Remember that trip I did to save that writer and then we ended up rescuing those kids and he helped me out?”

  Harrison’s head bobbed, his eyes starting to light with memory.

  “Anyway, he was talking about that woman that had left him. He called her his morning star, his jewel and I remember thinking it was so incredibly beautiful.” She turned to look at her boyfriend and felt her insides turn to marshmallow. “And now you’re saying it to me.” Reaching forward, she placed her lips on his then pulled back as another thought hit her.

  “Did you just make it up or have you heard it somewhere before? Like a poem or something?”

  Harrison shook his head with an embarrassed smile. “Actually my mom used to say it to me when I was little, before I went to sleep each night. Apparently she and my father used to say it to each other. When I fell in love with you, I really got what they meant.”

  She could see he was expecting her to blush sweetly at his sappy last comment, but she couldn’t make herself do it. She wanted to, but her brain was buzzing too intensely to give him anything but a wide-eyed stare. Like a Rubik’s Cube she had been working on for weeks, she saw the truths she had encountered turn into place. All the colors now matched and she was studying a reality she could barely wrap her brain around.

  “Gem?”

  “Your… father.”

  “What about him?”

  “Oh my gosh, that’s why he looked like you!” She stepped back from her boyfriend and studied his face, merging the image of Nathaniel Clayton overtop and seeing such striking similarities she let out a gasp.

  “Harrison, I think I met your dad… your real dad!”

  Chapter Four

  Anastasia State Park, Florida – 2011AD

  “When?” Harrison could barely get the word free.

  “1821.”

  “You…” A shocked chuckle left his lips as he shook his head. “No, Gem, you’re wrong. My dad died of cancer in 1992… when my mom was pregnant with me. I’ve told you that before.” He slapped her shoulder and paced away from her. “He can’t have been in 1821, he… that… I mean you must have seen someone else… you…” He gulped and stopped talking. Gemma’s gaze was mesmerizing. His heart slowed to a dull thud and his ears started ringing.

  “That’s how your mom knows what I am.”

  “But I thought you said you can’t travel into the fu
ture. How did he get here?” It was like stumbling through a minefield trying to get the words out of his mouth.

  “Harrison,” Gemma paused, obviously assessing whether he could take it in, then licked her lips and continued, “I don’t think Nathaniel came forward… I think your mom went back.”

  His ears rang louder as he pinched his forehead with his hands and walked towards the water with bug eyes. Gemma was wise enough to stay silent as his mind reeled over the news.

  My mother is a… no way, that’s ridiculous! She can’t… she…

  His heart beat a loud double pound then settled into an erratic rhythm.

  Holy crap it’s true. My mother’s just as weird as my girlfriend!

  He spun to look at Gemma. She was standing a few paces away, watching him with pained eyes. He knew the expression was for him. He knew she could feel the emotion coursing through his system.

  “I’m sorry,” she mouthed.

  A small smile fluttered over his lips as he paced back towards her. “It’s not your fault.” He rubbed her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “This is just huge. I’m struggling to get my head around it.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “I need to talk to my mom.”

  “I know.” She stepped back from him. “Call me later, okay.”

  “Yeah.” He brushed her lips with a kiss and headed for his car. He could sense her watching him leave and flicked her a wave as he accelerated away. He felt a little bad for cutting their date short, but the desire to hear the truth from his mother was overwhelming. How could she have kept this from him?

  The pressing feeling that he didn’t know who his mother really was nearly pushed him through the floorboard. By the time he pulled into his driveway his body was taut. Anger sparked and flashed through his muscles as he wrenched open the door and paced into the house.

  He was about to bellow her name, but was stopped short by the screaming coming from the living room.

  “WE ARE NOT MOVING AGAIN!!”

  Tears streamed down Rosie’s cheeks as she stood, blotchy faced, in the doorway. Her eyes were rimmed red and the second she saw Harrison she rushed into his arms and began sobbing against his chest.

  “What’s going on?”

  Helen cleared her throat and tried to look unfazed by her step-daughter’s outburst. Bryan stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder, doubt flickering through his eyes. Harrison frowned as he studied his mother’s expression. Keeping his hand running comforting circles over Rosie’s back, he waited for the answer he already knew.

  “There’s a job opportunity for me up in DC, working at one of the Smithsonians. Bryan and I are just discussing what we might do.”

  Harrison’s short laugh was cynical. “You know running won’t change anything, Mom. It obviously hasn’t worked that last twenty-eight times.” He puffed out an irate breath. “You might want to start acting like a grown-up-parent at some point and think about everyone else in this family before yourself.”

  “Harrison…”

  “No! Rosie’s right. We’re not moving!”

  He ignored his mother’s shocked expression and pulled Rosie up the stairs. The speech he had planned on the trip home would have to wait. He was worried the bile of expletives in his throat would be too acidic to hold a civil discussion anyway. Before he confronted his mother on her past he needed to make sure his family would stay where they were in the present. This had happened too many times before. Rosie’s tears, his demands and Bryan’s subtle attempts always seemed to be in vain. Within the month they were packed up and gone. That just wasn’t an option this time.

  As he softly talked Rosie out of her tears, his mind fled to Gemma. There was no way he was leaving her. After all they had been through it was not going to end with him moving to DC. He didn’t care that it was still the same coastline and probably easily drivable, if he didn’t get to see her nearly everyday, it was too far.

  Pulling the phone from his back pocket, he bunched up the pillows behind Rosie’s head and flicked on the TV.

  “You calling Gemma?”

  “Yeah.” He found her number as he scrolled the channels for something good.

  “Hey, that was quick?” Gemma’s voice calmed his nerves.

  “Yeah, well, we’ve got another problem now.” He dropped the remote beside him and heard Rosie snort with disgust at his choice of Mythbusters.

  “What’s happened?”

  “She wants to move again.” He flicked Rosie’s arm away as she tried to reach for the remote then coughed at the fist in his stomach.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just trying to eradicate a pest. Hold on.” Grabbing Rosie’s wrist, he wrestled for the remote.

  “Let go!”

  “Would you… Rosie!”

  He could hear Gemma’s laughter and gave up, slumping back onto his pillows and grimacing as Rosie turned up the volume on Keeping up with the Kardashians.

  “Okay, that’s it. I’m gone.” Rolling off the bed, he slumped out of his room and found solace on Justin’s lower bunk bed.

  “Do you think they’ll go through with it?” Gemma’s laughter had diminished as his news sunk in. He could hear the worry in her voice.

  “I don’t know.” He sighed, feeling exhausted.

  “But I don’t want you to move.”

  He smiled at Gemma’s child like voice. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “So, I take it you haven’t raised your parentage issue yet?”

  “No, I’m thinking I’ll save that up until we’ve won this moving battle.”

  “I wonder what she’s searching for?”

  “What do you mean?” Harrison sat up.

  “Well, it’s like she goes to a town, can’t find what she’s looking for so moves on. You said she worked with old documents, maybe she’s hoping for a letter or some sort of sign that Nathaniel doesn’t hate her. He was a writer, you know.”

  “Why would Nathaniel hate her?”

  “Because she left him, remember?”

  Harrison nodded and fell back onto the pillows to listen to Gemma’s theories.

  “She’s probably spent her entire life feeling guilty for leaving him, not to mention missing him. If she even feels half of what Nathaniel obviously did, it must have torn her apart to leave. Not to mention the fact that less than a year later he dies of who knows what… possibly a broken heart. You can’t tell me she wouldn’t have researched every facet of his life from back here. She probably knows exactly what happened to him… and what’s the bet it’s not pretty.”

  Harrison’s brain pumped with Gemma’s words. The anger at his mother diminished and was replaced with a heavy sorrow. He tried to imagine what it must have been like for her, living with the burden.

  “I wonder what made her leave?”

  “It must have been something pretty huge. Maybe her life was in danger. Remember how we read that stuff about witchcraft? Maybe they were after her?”

  “Man, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe my mother is one of you guys.”

  Gemma chuckled and dropped another bombshell.

  “Which means you are too.”

  Harrison swallowed.

  “Hey,” his girlfriend bubbled, “maybe that’s why we were so drawn to each other.”

  “Do you think your parents will accept me now?”

  “Hmmm, let me think about that… a non-traveling time spirit who’s not supposed to exist anymore… yeah, I don’t think so.”

  He chuckled.

  “Besides,” her tone went serious, “what’s the point of even trying when your mom wants us as far apart as possible?”

  “What’s the bet this is the reason why she wants to move again.”

  “What’s the bet she thinks I’m going to do to you what she did to Nathaniel.”

  Harrison sighed and closed his eyes.

  “You need to talk to her.”

  “Yeah, I know.” His heart felt heavy as he pushed
himself off Justin’s bed.

  “I better go,” his girlfriend groaned. “My mom thought it’d be a good idea to meet me and Courtney for lunch at the mall. I can see Courtney now, what a star.”

  Harrison chuckled. He knew she would rather be with him, holding his hand and delving into a hairy conversation as opposed to eating a civil lunch with her mother and possibly being dragged around various clothing stores.

  “I love you.”

  He sensed her smile.

  “I love you, too. Call me after you've spoken to her, okay?”

  “Yep, sure.”

  He slid his phone shut and pushed it into his back pocket. Pulling in some oxygen, he placed his hand on the doorknob and paused.

  Chapter Five

  St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD

  Gemma frowned. She hated that she couldn’t be with Harrison right now. She sensed a movement from the corner of her eye and smiled as she waved back at her friend. Keeping the smile in place, she wove her way towards Courtney and kept her voice bright.

  “Hey. Thanks so much for meeting me here. You’re a life saver.”

  “No problem. It must suck having to keep this from your parents.” Courtney squeezed her arm.

  “You probably think I’m an awful person for not telling them the truth.”

  “Not after the summer you guys put up with. I bumped into Harrison for like two seconds on his birthday. You guys were going through your break up and he just looked dead on the inside. It was horrible.”

  The look on Courtney’s face was glum and Gemma matched it. She couldn’t believe she had missed her boyfriend’s birthday! If her parents hadn’t gone back in time and tried to make Harrison disappear by arranging his great-great-great-grandfather’s death, she would have been able to celebrate with him. Instead she had been working with Gabe to learn how to travel on her own so she could go back and fix things.

  “I mean I really care about Darren a lot,” Courtney continued, “and I like being with him, but what you guys have… that’s forever, you know?”

  Gemma nodded with a smile.

  “It would have to be something way bigger than your parents’ disapproval to break you guys up.”