Daughter of Destiny (16 page)

"Girls' night. She goes out
every Friday."

Katarina paused in her
attempt to squeeze the water from her slacks. It sank in how very
isolated she had become. She didn’t even know Naia had a social
life and friends outside the lab. She handed back the towel. "I
totally forget. Sorry to bother you. I'll go."

She headed to the door and
Robert's voice followed her. "You didn't know. Did you?"

Katarina considered lying,
but what was the point? "No, I didn't. Let Naia know I stopped
by."

Robert said nothing more as
she went back out into the rainy night. Could she blame him? Not
really. She made it a point to say as little as possible to him and
kept him at a distance. It came off as downright rude. She treated
everyone that way before Zane showed her she had more control than
she realized. The past two months with Zane allowed her to
experience a taste of normalcy. It spoiled her. Without him she
realized how well she isolated herself, even from the people she
cared about. She looked up and let the rain mingle with her tears
as she stepped off Naia's porch. How could she face the future
without fear when a huge portion of her past kept her locked in her
prison of isolation? Now she had new secrets, and saw no end to the
self-imposed isolation.

She walked home far slower
than the brisk run she used earlier. The warm rain felt cleansing.
She didn’t see a single soul but could hear the whine of aircars
farther away. She splashed through a large puddle which covered
several sections of sidewalk. Each step sent waves washing through.
It mirrored her thoughts. A handful of events continued to ripple
through her life. Katarina stopped at the edge of yet another large
puddle as one of the quieter ripples in her mind surged
forward.

***

2015, Ireland

P
eace. Isolation.
She needed it more than she needed the air she sucked in large
gulps as she ran. With every step the pounding pressure in her head
faded. So what if her mom and dad said she wasn't supposed to go
off by herself? She couldn't take one more minute of people's
emotions pressing in on her.

Katarina slowed to a walk
when the last echo in her mind shrank to nothing more than a
distant buzz. She let her head fall back and gazed at the crystal
blue sky through the branches of ancient oaks. Sunlight dappled her
face and she breathed deeply. She got better every day at blocking,
but sometimes, like today, it was just too much. Here in the forest
there was only green vibrant life. Katarina lowered her head and
spotted a bright yellow butterfly. She grinned and followed its
erratic path from flower to flower. As usual, a part of her mind
called up every fact she knew, starting with the life cycle of a
butterfly, which her class studied way back in first grade, to
tidbits of information no fellow student in her grade would
understand. All the while, she followed it, overlaying the simple
appreciation of nature's beauty on the facts in her
head.

When the butterfly took to
the sky and she could no longer follow it, she walked, heedless of
direction or time. She reveled in the novelty of such freedom and
relaxing quiet. Katarina sighed as she thought of her upcoming
departure. The dread of the trip back to the States loomed and
tainted the perfection of her last day in Ireland. Daddy didn't say
why he had to go back, but he didn't have to. Even in this quiet
corner of the world the echoes of violence reached out to
her.

Katarina kicked at a stone
and hopped over a mud puddle. She hung her head, her light mood
evaporating like morning fog under a warm sun. She plodded on,
picturing the return flight home. Flying on the military aircraft
would be little better than a commercial flight. Her parents knew
crowds bothered her, but she didn't let them know how sick it made
her.
If Mom, an empath, can block even in crowds, then so can I.
I'm an O'Brian, and O'Brians do what has to be done and don't whine
about it.
Katarina squared her shoulders and lifted her chin in
response to her internal pep talk. In doing so, she looked up and
drew a deep breath. There was a man sitting with his back to a moss
covered tree. He was dressed in a shimmery shirt as blue as a clear
summer sky and black pants that looked as dark as midnight but as
soft and light as a cloud. His long, pale blond hair stirred in the
light breeze while one black boot beat an impatient, almost angry
tattoo on the ground. Why hadn't she sensed him?

Katarina glanced around
seeking the path to make a discreet exit, but none was in sight.
I don't know the way back to the cabin!
Her eyes zeroed in
on the man again and her stomach jumped about as if a hundred
butterflies took flight inside. He stared at the ground in front of
him and a deep scowl carved his brow, which seemed both at odds
with the perfection of his features and yet somehow suited him.
Curiosity, the driving force in her life, prompted her to stretch
her empathic abilities and focus on the man. Her mind hit an
invisible wall.
Ahh! He's blocking. That's why I didn't sense
him.
Even with his blocks, now that she concentrated on him,
his seething cauldron of emotions fascinated her. They tangled and
boiled inside, but what drew her most was the pain. She stepped
closer. "Hello."

The man snapped his head in
her direction and she fought the instinctive urge to gasp. The
man's eyes glowed and shifted colors like a vibrant rainbow. Power
burned in those eyes. Faster than she could blink a haze distorted
her vision, and he blurred as if trying to disappear behind sheer
curtains. She concentrated not on the haze, but on looking through
it, and once more he came into focus.

Her mother read ancient
myths and stories to her at times, explaining that sometimes parts
of them were true. Katarina's gut feeling told her the man belonged
to those hidden worlds of magic and mystery; the kind science
couldn't explain. Perhaps she should be afraid, but she could no
more walk away from the opportunity to speak with him than stop
breathing.

"The forest is beautiful
isn't it? I was out walking and I hate to admit it, but I'm a
little lost. Can you point me in the direction of the Connley Cabin
Retreats?"

The man's scowl disappeared
and one eyebrow shot up when she addressed him. A smile transformed
his face and the pain she sensed abated. The joy that flowed from
him overshadowed all his other emotions, making it difficult to
read the many other nuances she sensed, but could not quite
untangle. His joy infected her, making her feel happier than she
could ever recall.

"I'll do better than that,
little one. I'll walk you to the edge of the woods." His deep
lyrical voice carried a foreign accent she couldn't
place.

Katarina scowled. "I'm not
little. I'm nine years old."

The man's face took on a
look her mother often wore when she looked at old pictures or
scrapbooks. "No, not so little I suppose," he said in a low voice
as he rose. He towered above her, taller than her dad, or any man
she ever met. He stepped forward and executed a bow. "Miss, would
you grant me the honor of your company?"

Katarina wanted to giggle
at the way he spoke, but thought that might hurt his feelings. With
as much seriousness as the man, she replied, "Yes, thank
you."

They walked side by side
while she chattered about everything from the butterfly's life
cycle to her current obsession, DNA and genetics. She was aware the
kids thought her odd, called her a freak behind her back. Even her
parents grew impatient with her endless questions, but there was
just so much to learn! This strange man listened, and not in that
annoying patronizing way adults had of half-listening and throwing
in the occasional "mmhmm". He conversed with her, asking questions
and suggesting books she might find interesting.

As the woods thinned and
cabins appeared through the trees, the press of other minds on hers
increased. Talking became a chore and her words faded into silence.
It took a minute for her to realize they were standing still and
had been for a while.

The tall blond man with the
iridescent eyes squatted down beside her so his face was even with
hers. She didn't mean to cry, but moisture slipped down her cheeks
nonetheless. The man brushed them away with a gentle thumb. "What's
wrong, Kat?"

"I don't want to go back.
There are too many people. I'll never learn how to keep all of them
out of my head."

The man's mouth pressed
into a thin line before his face softened once again. He looked her
square in the eyes. She flinched when she felt him reach out with
his mind, but his touch was light, non-intrusive. "That single
solid block simply won't do. It isn't strong enough. You'd think
your mother would have figured that out by now." His mouth thinned
into a taut line again and his eyes blazed with a hint of
red.

Katarina laid a cautious
hand on his arm. "It isn't Mom's fault. I'm just not very good at
it yet."

"No,
iníon.
Your
mind block is perfectly executed. Such skill in one so young is
remarkable."

"Then why doesn't it
work?"

"Were you with me, I would
shield for you until you could do it yourself, but your mother does
not have that capability, and I cannot be your shield."

The sadness in his eyes
seemed bottomless and she wanted to tell him not to be sad, but she
was caught up in his explanation.

"Your block does not work
well because your power is greater than your mother's. She senses
only emotions. Already you sense impressions of thoughts, do you
not? One day, you will be a powerful telepath capable of many
things."

Katarina gawked at him in
wonder.

"You must learn to layer
your blocks. Concentrate hard and imagine building them brick by
magic brick. Nothing can penetrate them. Build walls that surround
a fortress with gates and doors so that you can manipulate the
level of security you desire. The imagery will help you. Practice.
It will get easier with time." He placed his hand on the top of her
head and whispered words she didn't understand. "My charm should
keep the pain away until you get home."

He was right. The press of
minds was gone. She smiled, displaying two gaps where her baby
teeth had yet to be replaced by permanent teeth. On impulse, she
wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Thanks!"

A large gentle hand
caressed her hair once. She rarely hugged anyone but her mom and
dad because touching people intensified her headaches. Her stomach
lurched when he hugged her back and she felt security and a sense
of peace that made her want to cling forever.

"Katarina?" her father's
voice echoed through the trees.

The stranger jolted and
tightened his arm around her. He hissed, almost like a
snake.

"It's just my dad. I snuck
out of the cabin. He's mad. He didn't want to come here, but Mom
insisted. She had an important lead on something she's
researching."

The stranger released her
and stood up. "Go now, sweet. It'll only anger him more to find you
in my company. He hates my kind."

Her stomach turned a
somersault. He smiled at her and winked one eye. He knew she was
aware of what he was and trusted her not to say anything. She
squared her shoulders, feeling much older than her years. She could
sense her father getting closer, although he made little noise. His
military training ingrained a level of stealth she would have found
alarming if not for her other senses. So many questions tumbled
through her head, but there was no time to ask any of
them.

"Goodbye," she
said.

"Slan, iníon."

She wished she understood
Gaelic so she would know what he said, but languages were an area
she had yet to explore. She lingered a moment longer. There was
such grief in the man's eyes she hated to leave.

"Go,"
he whispered
in her mind. That one word spurred her on. His "charm," as he put
it, made it difficult for her to sense his emotions, but she
suspected he would sink back into angry despair after she was gone.
It didn't make sense, but there was nothing she could do. While her
mother might be thrilled to meet a faerie, she agreed with her
supernatural acquaintance. Her father would go ballistic. She
turned and jogged, timing it so she would intercept her father on
the outskirts of the woods. That way, he wouldn't know how far she
wandered. She took a handful of steps when she felt the absence of
the faerie. The thrill of excitement at meeting a being few
believed existed was tempered with a sense of loss and confusion.
She hated unanswered questions, and now she had a million of
them.

***

Katarina shook her head as
she came back to the present and took off at a run again.
Could
it be true? Did I have the answer all along?
The truth hit her
just as hard as realizing that even Naia did little more than orbit
Katarina's solitary life. She felt safe and treasured in the
faerie's company. Thanks to her parents she had forgotten how to
trust that feeling. If not for Zane's stubborn refusal to let her
believe otherwise, tonight could have played out very differently.
Somehow he managed to break through that fear and convince her to
trust. He also made her face the truth. She wasn't completely
human.