The Quickening Read online

  “Not now, okay? I don’t want to talk about me.” Shade’s tone was mild, but her body language was stiff and unyielding. “Let’s just get on with it.”

  Sunny set down her tea. A sad look crossed her features before she nodded slightly. “Is there any old business or concerns anyone has that need to be addressed?”

  Tiffany shook her head and glanced at Shade who didn’t bother to look up from the table.

  “Is everyone doing okay at the Haven?” Jordan asked.

  “Just dandy.” Shade sighed and rolled her shoulders. “Can we skip to new business? I have another client.”

  Sunny nodded. “I’ve set an appointment for Bristol Terrace.”

  Tiffany’s stomach turned. She didn’t want to do an investigation in that location. Not only did the place used to be a former hospital and morgue, the corporation that owned it previously had turned it into cheap apartments that were eventually overrun by junkies and gangs. It had been empty for two years and the new owners wanted to renovate the building into high-end condominiums. She couldn’t imagine a more spiritually active building in Bremerton. An investigation there wasn’t going to be pleasant. Any effort they would make to contain the negative energy would be like trying to shove a forest into a pinecone.

  She tucked her feelings behind a façade so Sunny wouldn’t pick up on them. Shade appeared to perk up a little at the prospect of spending a night in the horrible place. She wouldn’t have noticed Tiffany’s reticence about it even if she hadn’t blocked it.

  “This job gets a paycheck,” Sunny said, then named the figure.

  Tiffany straightened in her chair. Her little house was in a constant state of repairs. Her furnace was on its last legs, and she really needed a new roof before the winter set in. As tired as she was, the thought of being able to replace them in one shot was a bonus she couldn’t pass up. “So, what are the owners reporting?”

  “The whole nine yards—voices, shadows, and overall creepiness. They’ve had two other amateur ghost hunting groups come in and they weren’t happy with the results.”

  “What did they find?” asked Shade.

  “One group ran out in the middle of the night and refused to come back. The other didn’t even make it two hours.”

  “Pussies.” Shade laughed.

  Tiffany ignored her. “Did they report anything at all?”

  “I asked them not to tell me. I want to work without outside influence and do a cold investigation. I also really want to take extra precaution on our spiritual protection with this one.”

  Jordan wrote something down on her file. “With the building’s history of drug and vagrant activity, I’d also like to bring another person for security.”

  “We did just fine before you got here,” Shade said.

  Tiffany watched Jordan’s jaw tighten while she held her breath for a few seconds. But she didn’t rise to the bait.

  Sunny looked around the table at each of them. “So we’re set on Bristol Terrace? Good, it’s next month.”

  “Can’t wait,” Shade said.

  “Let’s move on to the next thing on our list. Jordan?”

  “Yes.” Jordan stood and walked to the head of the table. “Okay, so last night I received a call from Kat.”

  At the mention of her name, Tiffany looked up sharply.

  Shade kicked her under the table. “What’s wrong with you?” she whispered.

  Tiffany ignored her, but not before she kicked her back, and felt some wicked satisfaction when she heard Shade’s hiss of surprise.

  “What are you, twelve?” Shade asked.

  “Shut up.”

  “Stop it, you two,” Sunny said.

  Jordan began writing on the white board. “Can we focus, please? Kat called me with a request for help from the SOS team.”

  “An unusual request,” Sunny added.

  Tiffany waited for Jordan to answer. She’d learned that Jordan had a tendency to pause for effect when she talked.

  “Well?” Shade asked. “Spit it out.”

  “Kat had a meeting with Detective Parker at the SPD this morning. He wants to work with SOS and see if you can raise any new leads on some cold cases.”

  Tiffany pointed at Jordan. “How do you feel about this?” She recalled Jordan’s exit from Seattle’s police force after being shot and the long internal investigation that followed.

  “Putting personal feeling aside, isn’t this more about the victims than how I feel about the department?”

  “Of course the victims matter, Jordan. But we won’t do anything that makes any of us uncomfortable.” Sunny’s tone was soothing.

  Jordan cleared her throat. “Actually, he wants Kat to be the liaison.”

  Shade snickered. “She’s a reporter. Don’t cops hate reporters?”

  “Generally,” Jordan agreed. “But Parker sought her out, as he knew she had contact with SOS. Also, Kat has a good reputation with the force because she plays by the rules.”

  “I bet he’s getting shit over this. Cops and psychics don’t get together as a rule either,” Tiffany said. “Present company excluded and all.”

  Jordan smiled and glanced at Sunny. “I’m sure that’s why he wants us to work with Kat, rather than directly with him.”

  “When does he want to start?” Sunny asked.

  “Wait,” Tiffany said. “Are we going to do this? Just like that? No discussion, vote, or anything?” Psychometry was her specialty and the majority of the work would fall to her.

  “You have to admit that it’s an exciting opportunity.” Jordan placed her hands on her hips.

  Tiffany simply stared at her. It might be exciting for them, but they weren’t the ones that had to relive the murders. But she was too tired right now to argue with Jordan. She needed to leave to pick up Angel from the daycare. “Look, you guys do what you want to. Let me know what you need me to do later.” She grabbed her purse and left the room before Jordan, Sunny, or Shade could protest.

  It wasn’t until after she got in the car that Tiffany tried to define the low-level anxiety that buzzed along her nerve endings. They had done hundreds of investigations over the years, so it wasn’t the Bristol Terrace job, which wasn’t scheduled until the following month anyway. Was it that she didn’t want to let anyone down while working on cold case files? Being a parent herself, there would most likely be an emotional attachment to the results, and that implied a huge responsibility. Tiffany also wondered if her reluctance might be the prospect of seeing Kat again. She still had her unresolved reaction to consider.

  Before she got any further with that line of thought, she arrived at the daycare and put her questions and doubts away. This was Angel’s time.

  *

  Kat pulled up every scrap of information available on the Internet she could find on SOS. She found several scientific articles about Sunny’s father, and a bibliography of his books, but nothing substantial on any of the women, or their investigations.

  Tiffany was nonexistent on the computer. Kat couldn’t find anything on her. Why hadn’t she thought it was weird when she ran the story on them last year?

  That was so unlike her. She researched everything down to the last detail. It was in her nature. She would have never run a story about Sisters of Spirits if she hadn’t been able to verify the facts first, even if Jordan was her friend. It made no sense, no matter how hard she tried to remember her process when she’d written the article.

  Sharp pain began throbbing in Kat’s temples, making it difficult to read the screen. As soon as she closed the search engine, the discomfort subsided.

  It was odd and it added one more needle to the haystack of mystery she’d encountered over the last couple of days. She went to the kitchen and took some aspirin for the headache that remained.

  After she sat back down, she intended to make her list of priorities on the case files, but her attention was drawn to the window instead. Outside, the moon hung in the sky. Kat felt goose bumps rise on her arms. On impulse,
she grabbed her laptop and went out onto the deck. Seattle’s lights drowned the blanket of stars, but Kat could draw from her memory their places in the sky.

  She felt a sense of urgency, a calling from deep inside. For once, Kat didn’t question the reason behind it.

  It’s time.

  Kat was excited and nervous. The idea she had kicked around for years came to the surface. Maybe it was meeting Tiffany that drew it out, the actual physical proof not everything in the world was black and white. Not that she doubted herself or her visions. She had always known at the deepest level they were real. It had just been convenient as an adult to put them away when they suddenly stopped. Easier to conform to the beliefs others held about reincarnation and, in essence, to bury a piece of her soul, the part that echoed with grief and loss.

  Easier to live with the pain.

  Then again, maybe it was stopping at that latest murder scene and sensing the bone-deep awareness that she was done. She was finished with the damn politics and violence of the city.

  Maybe—for once—she didn’t have to know why.

  Kat created a new document, inserted the date, and tried to put her journalistic style of writing out of her head. Where should she start? Reporting was very different from writing a story; there were emotions involved, imagination.

  A small thread of doubt snaked its way through her usual confidence. Wasn’t this different? The stakes were so high. If she started this venture, she knew her life was going to change. She couldn’t go back to the compartmentalized way she’d been living because seeing the woman in her dreams, in Tiffany’s body, had opened a door that had been shut for a very long time. She felt pumped but raw at the same time.

  Kat took a deep breath and typed her name.

  Tanna.

  The dam that held her emotions in check began to crack, widening the fissure that appeared when she’d sat out here the other night in shock. Kat allowed the dual aspects of time that had been shifting for two days to focus on the dreams that began when she was six years old.

  The heartbreakingly beautiful rolling green hills of home spread as far as the eye could see from an aerial view. Thick forests and ribbons of rivers passed beneath her as she flew toward her memories and willed herself to clearly see the past.

  Back to the beginning.

  The air was filled with the scent of sweet, fragrant flowers. Kat took a careful step in the shallow water, then another. She didn’t want any splashing to disturb her prey. The morning sun sparkled off the river’s surface and a squirrel chattered in the tree to her left.

  “Hush with you now,” Kat said, “or you’ll be meat for my mother’s pot.” She pushed away a long strand of hair that fell across her face.

  She held her body taut, ready to spring. She slowly inched farther ahead. She was just inches away from catching it and was precariously balanced on the toes of one foot, when a voice sounded from behind her.

  “What are you doing?”

  Kat lost her footing and tumbled into the water. She came up sputtering, furious at the interruption that allowed her target to flee. She wiped the water from her eyes while she coughed. “You made me lose my frog!”

  “Are you always this clumsy, then?” The girl laughed and held out her hand. “Come on, I’ll help you.”

  The sun in her eyes made it difficult for Kat to see much of the interloper beyond the wild red curls that fell around her shoulders. It wasn’t until she climbed to the bank and into the shade that she saw her clearly. The small heart-shaped face was sprinkled with tiny freckles, and her green eyes still held gleeful amusement. Her pink lips turned up at the corners. Then she smiled just as a beam of sunlight moved through a blowing branch, backlighting her in an almost divine halo.

  Kat’s heart nearly stopped. She felt a funny tightness in her chest. “Who are you?”

  “Tanna, and you?”

  “They call me Kat.”

  Tanna stifled a giggle. “Because you’re so full of feline grace?”

  She tried to repair her shattered dignity. “It was your fault.”

  “Yes, I suppose it was.”

  “Well, then.” Kat didn’t know what to say. She gawked at Tanna, who stared right back at her.

  Several long moments later, a wicked gleam sparkled in Tanna’s eyes. Before Kat knew what was happening, Tanna had turned and jumped into the river from the bank.

  Ripples of water marked where she’d gone in. Kat laughed while she clapped her hands together, delighted with the impulsive move. She waited for her to come up.

  And waited.

  She counted sixty heartbeats, then counted them again.

  She’d been under the water for too long. Maybe she hit her head on a rock. Panic began to beat in little flutters in her belly. Kat rushed to the edge and threw herself into the water. She opened her eyes to try to find Tanna in the crystal water.

  When she surfaced for air, she spotted her back on the bank, braiding her wet hair, as if she hadn’t a care in the world. As if she hadn’t scared Kat to death.

  Kat pulled herself from the river and shook like a wet dog. Then she stalked over to Tanna. She wanted to be angry, she really did, but she was more impressed at how long she’d held her breath and stayed under. She flopped next to her on the grass where they lay in the sun to get warm.

  A loud horn sounded from the street below her building, bringing Kat out of the memory. She’d gone so deep into the past she’d lost all sense of the present moment.

  Kat could still feel the sun from that afternoon on her face. Every detail of the first dream she’d experienced as a young child felt vividly real. She took a deep breath and began typing what she’d just remembered, without cutting any of her thoughts or opinions. It was going to take some practice. She was used to deleting herself from the stories she reported. The way she felt, or wanted to feel, hadn’t been important when she turned in articles for the paper.

  She was hoping to change all that. With this first rough scene written, the sense of excitement she felt earlier was still present. It felt wonderful. Kat didn’t realize how much of her identity she’d buried until she lifted the wall and saw through the rationalizations and justifications she’d made over the years.

  Kat saved her document, turned off her computer, and went inside. It was late and she wanted to make sure she was well rested for her trip to SOS headquarters tomorrow. Hopefully, between now and the morning meeting at SOS, she could come up with a logical way to approach Tiffany. To try to figure out what the hell was going on.

  The thought of seeing her again sent a thrill through her.

  Chapter Three

  Tiffany was buckling Angel into her booster seat when her phone rang. She kissed the top of her daughter’s head before answering it.

  “Good morning, Aura,” she said.

  “Back to you, sweetheart.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I received a call from my cousin, you know, the one who lives in Ocean Shores. She’s invited me for a visit.”

  “That’s nice. It’s beautiful down there.” Tiffany wished she could drop everything and go too.

  “I was hoping that you’d let me bring Angel with me.”

  Tiffany smiled. The request wasn’t unusual. Aura often took Angel on trips. She considered her an honorary grandchild, and Angel adored her. As always, Aura had been able to read Tiffany like a book. Her invitations coincided perfectly with Tiffany’s need to refresh and regroup. She didn’t know what she would have done without her since Angel had been born.

  “Beach, Mommy!”

  Tiffany was aware that Angel hadn’t heard the conversation, as she was standing outside the car, but her daughter knew. That was the other benefit of Aura helping her; she knew what it was like to raise a gifted child.

  “I’ll take that as a yes, then?”

  “Well, okay. When do you want me to drop her off?”

  “Now’s good.”

  “She’s not even packed.”

 
; “Of course she is, dear. I have a suitcase for her right here. What she doesn’t have, Nana will buy for her.”

  Tiffany laughed. “Of course you will. You know, one could say that you two planned this already.”

  “One could, but one won’t,” Aura said. “I’ll see you shortly. Thank you, Tiffany.”

  She hung up the phone and peered over the seat at Angel. “Sneaky, Angel. I guess you’re going to the beach with Nana.”

  Angel clapped her hands and smiled radiantly. “Let’s go!”

  Tiffany called the daycare to let them know that Angel wouldn’t be attending for a few days, and then headed to Aura’s house. She made a mental note to take a vacation soon. She would love to go play in the waves herself.

  When she entered Aura’s foyer, she wasn’t surprised to see the packed bags by the door. Angel squealed and gravitated straight for the beach toys.

  “You’ll spoil her.”

  “Nonsense,” Aura said. “That child doesn’t have it in her to be spoiled. Come into the kitchen with me for a moment.”

  Tiffany followed and sat in the chair that Aura was pointing at. “What?”

  “There are changes coming for you.”

  A small chill settled at the base of Tiffany’s spine. “And?”

  “And I’m not being shown anything concrete and clear.”

  “Please don’t be all cryptic on me. What do you see?” Tiffany asked.

  “I just want you to be aware you have some choices coming. Honestly, there are two paths twisting together. The vision wasn’t clear on which is the right one. ”

  “They usually aren’t.” Tiffany regretted the sarcasm in her voice, but really, hadn’t she made enough bad decisions in her life? Wasn’t there a quota somewhere?

  Aura looked to the right, her eyes glazed over a bit. “You’ll need your strength and courage. Something that looks threatening, isn’t. Another looks innocent, and isn’t. Neither are what they appear to be.”

  “Oh well, that helps.” Tiffany gave up quickly. There was no way to interpret that statement with any real logic at the moment. Riddles and warnings always raised questions but provided few answers until you looked at them in hindsight.