A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) (22 page)

“
What’s her name here
again?” Marcus whispered to Link.

“
Emily,” he whispered
back.

“
Do we really love Emily
too much to abandon her at Christmas time?” Marcus called out to
Eve, who was browsing by the sales counter.

“
Yes we do,” she answered
back.

“
I concede,” Marcus bowed
to me and picked up a pair of leather gloves.

He took his purchases to the counter and we
were soon out the door, walking down Colorado again.

“
Get anything?” Link asked
Eve.

Eve batted her eyelashes at Link, “Other
than listening to them whisper about how cute you are, and how
upset they are that you’ve chosen to rob the cradle instead of date
one of them? No, they don’t know anything useful,” she teased.
“They think you’re cute too,” she hooked arms with Marcus.

“
Well everyone thinks
that,” he smiled a devilish smile.

“
Cute like a puppy, I
think,” I messed with his hair.

“
Hey you, stop that,”
Marcus protested.

Eve ignored us both. Her mind had moved on
to the task at hand. “Okay, we’ve pretty much covered Colorado
Avenue. You found Levi at a diner. Everyone’s got to eat sometime.
So, let’s sit down for lunch, somewhere off the main road,” Eve
suggested.

“
We’ll go over to the
brewpub. They have these bread nuggets, sprinkled with parmesan,
and served with marinara... mouth watering. I have been craving
them since I got up this morning,” Link suggested.

“
Mortals,” Marcus shook his
head and we started the quick walk to the brewpub.

We sat at a table in the middle of the
restaurant. This gave Eve a central location, enabling her to scan
as many people as possible.

“
Getting anything?” Link
asked, after consuming his (had to be) eighth nugget.

“
It’s hard to say. I’m only
tapping into the last two days or so, a quick scan. But when I do
it to so many people, it starts to muddle together. I
have
found, that people
sure are concerned with dogs around here. I’ve already seen at
least four images, from customers and the staff, of some guy
walking a dog that looks, and I quote, ‘a heck of a lot like that
other husky, but the eyes are different’. One of the sales girls,
at that last shop we were in, had that in her head as well. Who the
heck pays that much attention to a dog?” she sounded
tired.

“
The people here do,
especially the locals. They’re all about dogs,” I answered her.
“Look around... woman walking a dog, dog chained up outside a
store, another dog... dogs are everywhere in Telluride.” I pointed
out just the three I could see immediately outside the
window.

“
What did the guy look
like? Did he look like the guy we saw in Montrose? Was it Levi?”
Link badgered her with questions.

“
No, it wasn’t Levi. Unless
he grew a full head of hair, stopped wearing glasses, gained twenty
pounds, and lost a few inches of height in the short time since you
two saw him in Montrose,” she groaned. “Sorry guys, I got
nothin’.”

“
Don’t worry about it,
darlin’, you’re doing your best,” Marcus assured her.

“
I’ve got a surprise though
it seems,” her face immediately brightened.

“
What did you see?” Marcus
asked.

“
You mean
who
do I see,” she
smiled.

“
Who?” Marcus
puzzled.

“
Turn around dear,” Eve
told him.

We all looked in the direction of her gaze
to where a man stood, not three feet away from our table.

“
What the...” Link was at a
loss for words.

“
Bro, you came,” Marcus
leaped out of his seat, and hugged his twin brother -
Oz.

chapter thirteen

SUSPICIONS

“
Sweet Charity,” Oz softly
spoke the words, setting his gaze on me, as soon as he and Marcus
had finished their greeting.

“
Hello Cozmo,” I smiled.
“It’s good to see you again. It’s been a few years.”

“
I came just in time it
seems, looking at the company you’re keeping now,” he gave a
sideways glance at Link.

“
My company is my business.
And seeing how you haven’t seen fit to visit us for quite some
time, it really isn’t any of yours,” I stated.

“
A mortal... really...” Oz
continued in his muted tones. He always spoke this way, when in
public, knowing that we would have no trouble hearing each other.
Link was straining to decipher even a few words.

“
Save your breath,” I
interrupted him. “Your brother already gave me that line. At least
he had the sense to ask Eve for her opinion,” I said.

“
He’s good for her Cozmo.
Now come, play nice, and sit with us,” Eve pulled an empty chair
over to our table, placing it on the other side of
Marcus.

Oz sat down and continued to stare at me
with an all too intimate smile playing on his lips. I could feel
Link tense up beside me. His hand, which had been gently resting on
my thigh, now slightly grasped it. It was a subtle change, but I
could feel it. I owed him an explanation. I knew it.

Marcus broke the silence, “Link, this
handsome fellow here, is my brother Cozmo... otherwise known as
Oz.”

“
I’d shake your hand, but
Marcus already showed me that trick,” Link smiled.

“
Good work brother,” Oz
smiled at Marcus. “But I have to warn you... Link is it? I have a
few other tricks up my sleeve,” Oz’s eyes twinkled
mischievously.

“
I’ll take a pass if you
don’t mind. I like being able to control my body. I would hate for
it to stall, even if for only a moment,” Link asserted.

“
Brother, I’m disappointed.
It seems you’ve given away a few of my secrets. Or was it you,
sweet Charity?” Oz asked me.

“
There are no secrets where
Link is concerned,” I answered simply, then continued in a hushed
tone, “and it’s Emily now, when we’re in public.”

“
No one in this room can
hear me. Your mortal there is struggling to comprehend even a few
words,” he quipped.

“
I said play nice,” Eve
reminded Cozmo. “We have business to attend to. The latest crop of
Lord boys are too close to our friends, again. They are in danger.
This time they’ve agreed to let us stay and help.”

“
Well at least you have
come to your senses on
that
subject,” Oz quipped.

“
Cozmo, if you continue
with this attitude it might be best if you leave. But honestly, I
would prefer it if you stayed. My aunt and uncle will be so happy
to see you. Could you please leave the past alone and just try to
enjoy the visit?” I implored, in an audible voice. “It was never
going to happen the way you wanted it to. I know I made that quite
clear. Please be fair,” I continued in a whisper, so quiet that
Link would never have been able to hear.

“
I’ll try to be a good
boy,” Oz nodded at Eve and then me, “So, give me the
scoop.”

Marcus quietly filled his brother in,
reciting all of the details that he had gathered since his arrival.
Eve filled in the gaps, with the information she had obtained in
her own special way.

While the three Witches were engaged in deep
conversation, Link leaned toward me, putting his lips on my ear.
“What is going on with you two?” he spoke in the softest voice he
was capable of.

“
I will tell you
everything, later,” I promised him. “There are no secrets,” I
squeezed his hand and brushed his lips with my own.

“
Later,” he
agreed.

“
Hey, Emily!” A familiar
voice called.

I turned my head to find Delilah waving
wildly from the front counter. She had just walked into the
restaurant with the rest of the group in tow.

“
Hi guys,” I smiled and ran
over to them.

“
Hey,” chorused Summer,
Rusty, and Burke.

“
We haven’t heard from you
since school got out,” Summer said and stared over my shoulder at
the table’s occupants. “Are those friends or relatives?” she
asked.

“
We have friends visiting
from out of town. They might as well be family though,” I
responded.

“
Who are the twins?”
Delilah asked, eyeing Oz with interest.

“
Their names are Cozmo and
Marcus. Next to Marcus is his fiancé, Eve,” I said.

“
Is Cozmo’s girlfriend in
the restroom or something?” Dee fished for more answers.

“
No,” I hesitated. “He’s
here by himself.”

Cozmo was listening to every word. His
flirtatious nature took over and he flashed Delilah a knowing
smile. I could see Burke’s features tense up, just a bit. Cozmo
infuriated me sometimes.

“
He’s a bit of a player,” I
added and looked over my shoulder to catch the slight frown appear
on his face.

“
Did you see any familiar
Santas on the slopes yesterday?” Rusty piped in, trying to save his
friend by changing the topic of conversation.

“
I saw a few Santas. Why?
Were you one of them?”

“
Yeah... Burke and me, we
put on the hat and beard and red coat, stuffed a pillow inside, and
tore it up,” he smiled.

“
I’m sorry I missed that. I
bet you guys looked great,” I laughed.

“
I’ll email you the pics,”
Summer offered.

“
That’d be great. Well I’d
better get back. See you at church tonight,” I excused myself to
return to my other friends.

Marcus grabbed my hand, when I got back to
the table. “Your friend Summer... I got a flash of her yesterday as
I arrived in town. Find a way to suggest she look behind her
dresser for the set of keys she can’t find.” He rolled his eyes
when he finished the sentence.

“
Thanks, Marcus,” I
squeezed his hand. “It is a useful power. Someday you’ll see that.”
I reassured him

“
I was just scanning your
friends there and I have to say, sometimes high school girl brains
are so confusing,” Eve sighed. “I got a pretty clear view from
Summer, she hasn’t seen anything. But that Delilah girl, she’s all
over the place. She has several versions of the same memory, with
the details skewed just a bit in each one. It’s like she’s trying
to change the past to suit,” she sighed.

“
Dee loves to get her way,
so that doesn’t surprise me. But she has a good heart. I overlook
the rest,” I admitted.

“
The boys saw that same
Husky today too, in the back of a vehicle. Rusty told Burke it
looked like a clone dog,” Eve paused, thoughtful.

“
What are you thinking?”
Link asked her.

“
I’m thinking that too many
people in this town are noticing this dog. I say we keep our eye
out for it. There’s a house not too far from here, with a husky
that always sits out front in the snow. Everyone keeps flashing
back to it when they see the ‘clone dog.’ I couldn’t see an
address, but the street intersects with this one over by the
gondola. We should check it out,” Eve said.

We left the restaurant, following Eve to the
house. Out front, asleep in the snow was a beautiful dark grey and
white dog. Eve called to it, and it looked up for a moment.
Sparkling pale eyes decided we were of no interest, so it rested
its head back down again. I tried to take a mental picture of it,
commit its image to memory, knowing that it was always best to go
with Eve’s gut.

“
I’m having trouble
understanding how a dog is connected to finding Leviticus and
Ezekiel Lord,” Link puzzled.

“
You would, Mortal,” Oz
quipped.

“
Oz,” Eve and I scolded at
the same time.

“
Sorry, slip of the
tongue,” Oz apologized.

His tone was surprisingly sincere. I was
impressed.

“
Link, you have to think
outside of the box in which you have lived your life so far,” Eve
told him.

“
Sweetheart,” I began, “a
dog is not always just a dog. It could be a clue. It could be
another creature entirely. It could be an image projected in the
minds of others by a very powerful Witch as it passes by. It could
be one of a hundred different things,” I explained.

Link looked at me with doubt, “Or it could
be just a dog.”

“
Yes, it could be. But you
have just seen a glimpse into my world. There’s a vast expanse that
you are still unaware of. To the world around, I am just a girl.
But now you know the truth about me,” I smiled at him.

“
You are a glorious being,”
he smiled, a brilliant smile, and drew me to him for a
kiss.

“
Good idea Mortal,” Marcus
patted him on the back and pulled Eve to him for a kiss as
well.

“
Do I have to be subjected
to this?” Oz shook his head and looked away.

“
Brother, you
have
to find a mate,”
Marcus sighed.

“
I’ll leave the chains to
you. I’m a free man,” Oz answered.

“
You don’t know what you’re
missing,” Marcus replied and hugged onto Eve, again kissing her
passionately – right there on the street.