Eye of the Storm (The Charmed) (3 page)

“Are you feeling any better?” The man’s voice was strong and held the deep resonance that comes with age.

“Yes.” He paused. “Who are you? And where am I?”

“I’m Tom, Tom Henderson at your service. You’re in my house in Tennessee.”

Chase shook the man’s outstretched hand. He looked around at the room. No, nothing looked familiar. “How did I get here?”

“Why don’t you tell me what your last memory was?” Tom pulled a chair over and sat next to Chase’s bed.

“I was in school, beginning of senior year.”

Tom felt a chill go up his spine. A whole school year? He hadn’t meant to go back that far when he hit Chase with the spell. “You must have hit your head pretty hard. You’re done with school and interning up here at the Tennessee safe house.”

Outside the door Maddie placed a hand on her mouth.

“You see those marks on your arm? You came up here to learn how to use those powers you got with them.” Tom motioned to Chase’s arm.

Chase looked down at his arm, the black intense design went from his shoulder to his wrist, wrapping from the top to bottom. “I have powers from these?”

“Yep. You came up here to learn.” Tom scratched his closely cropped gray beard.

“Why can’t I remember anything?”

“You bumped your head outside. We have a low hanging branch I need to cut down. You were helping me with it when you accidentally ran into the thing.” Tom lied. “When you’re feeling better I’ll give you another tour of the place.” Tom patted Chase on the shoulder and walked out of the room.

Madeleine was leaning against the wall. Tom took one look at her and paled.

“I’m just trying to protect him, Maddie.”

“Really? What point is there in making him forget Lyla?” She kept her voice low but scolding.

Tom lowered his voice a few notches, “You saw how miserable he was! By helping him forget for a while we’ll give him the ability to heal himself as well as her.”

“How is it healing her if he’s away from her?” She poked him in the chest.

Tom took a step back so he wouldn’t get poked again. “You don’t understand the way of the Charmed. Emotions are everything. If there are too many tragic ones, they could lose their powers. They have amazing powers, Maddie.”

“Madeleine narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you’re not doing this so you can keep a powerful one near?”

Tom scoffed. “What point would there be in that?”

“I may not be charmed but I’ve lived with one for forty years. I’m keeping my eye on you, Thomas.” She turned to walk back into the kitchen where she had bread in the oven.

He watched her walk away. She had already kept an eye on him these past years, and very well, too. He smiled and walked the opposite way to his study.

Jaden, Harley, Brendan and Kayla drove in silence. It was getting dark and they had just barely entered Tennessee.

Jaden looked at the somber group. This was summer, they should have been enjoying the last few carefree days before they all split up for different colleges. Instead they were on a frantic drive to find two people who were probably safe. “Let’s find a place to stay, we can start out early tomorrow.” Jaden didn’t see any reason to get lost. The Tennessee hills were famous for little trails that were hidden and went nowhere.

They eventually stopped in Chattanooga. Jaden knew this place well, he and his father took summer trips here when he was in grade school. The only place Jaden knew of to stay was the original Chattanooga Choo-Choo Station Hotel.

Harley stepped out of the car and looked up. “Not exactly coming into Tennessee under the radar, are we?” They all looked up, the station was a massive landmark structure lit up like the fourth of July. It was a testament to the south, the first railroad to go from one end of the south to the other over battle lines.

Brendan’s eyes sparkled as he looked around. The ground was meticulously kept and once you entered through extremely large doors, the main lobby’s ceiling was as tall as the structure, which was a few stories. Large windows opened up to a dining room and beyond that, two rows of trains had been converted to non-moving sleeper cars around an enormous beautiful garden complete with pools, trimmed designed hedges and a rose garden. “I’ve never been here! My parents always made us go to Ana Maria, those beaches get packed, why didn’t we ever go here?” Brendan walked ahead of the group and held the door open. Harley was last. He placed a hand across the doorway to stop her. “How long are you going to be mad at me?”

“I’m hurt Brendan, not mad.” She slipped under his arm and skipped ahead to walk with Kayla.

Brendan met up with Jaden.

Jaden looked over, “Nothing, huh?”

“She said I hurt her.”

“She has no idea how much shit you went through? How many times a week you defended her to your parents?”

“She doesn’t want to listen.”

“Brendan, people like Harley don’t want pleading and begging. Harley needs to be smacked between the eyes.”

“I’m not going to hit her.”

“It’s a figure of speech, Brendan. She needs Mr. Big and Strong, not Mr. Tail-between-his-legs. Get it?”

Brendan shook his head, still sulking at Harley’s slap.

They checked in and went to their rooms, boys in one and girls in the other.

Harley was exhausted. Kayla wasn’t much company and there was really nothing to do. They had eaten quickly during the drive so she didn’t feel like food. Harley lay back on her bed and looked at the ceiling. Brendan was a complete puzzle. One minute he was nice, the next he was looking at her with big puppy dog eyes. Whenever he looked at her that way she just wanted to smack him. She was starting to wonder what she saw in him before. Harley closed her eyes and fell asleep within seconds.

The next day Jaden drove them to the base of the foothill the caretaker told him about. He took his phone out and dialed his father again. There was no signal. He hadn’t been able to get a hold of him since they hit Tallahassee. He pocketed his phone and jumped out of the car to help everyone with the provisions for the two day hike. Part of him wished he could fly or just teleport himself there but this was reality and reality said they would hike looking for a couple that was most likely not there. They would be in close quarters with a couple pissed at each other and then there was Kayla who was clearly still in love with Chase. Yeah, Jaden thought, top that with not reaching his father and it had disaster written all over it.

Brendan had the tent and the largest backpack and set out first paving the way through the forest. Kayla was behind him, then Harley and bringing up the rear, Jaden. They camped the first night eight hours up the mountain. They ate a cold dinner and fell asleep quickly.

It was pre-dawn and Jaden was the first to wake. He could sense that it was early so he flipped his phone out of his shirt pocket, it was five-thirty. In about an hour he would get everyone up to start the long hike up the mountain. He sat for a while thinking about the day when the sun began to rise, jetting a low stream of sunlight through the tent directly onto Kayla. The sun made her brown hair sparkle with hues of red and gold. Her skin was always a touch golden so this morning she looked as if she was glowing. Jaden let his thoughts drift lazily toward her. He had been in love with her for as long as he could remember. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Lyla and Harley were pretty if you liked blonde or red hair; Jaden was always drawn to the honey color of Kayla’s. But to be fair, he would have been drawn to her even if she had dyed her hair blonde or red. As Jaden sat there looking at Kayla while she slept, her eyes fluttered open. They stared at each other for a moment before Kayla turned over. He wondered if she had truly even been awake. There was no use sleeping so Jaden got up.

Brendan, sensing movement in the tent, got up as well. The two men set about starting a fire. Brendan stacked the wood and Jaden looking around for signs of people, thrust a hand to the sticks and set them on fire. By the time the girls made it out, breakfast was cooked, coffee made and the boys had started gathering the supplies for the day.

They ate quietly, all a bit sore from sleeping on the ground. Their packs slung over their shoulders, they set about for a long day up the mountain.

Jaden suspected the area was bewitched because even wildlife avoided the trail. Instead, they would stop abruptly and turn back the way they came.

By the time dinner approached they had made it to an overlook that gave them a full view of the valley.

“Wow. It’s so pretty up here.” Brendan whistled.

Harley snorted.

Brendan looked over at where she was busy helping with dinner. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just, since when have you ever noticed a view being so pretty before?” She put air quote signs around the word pretty.

Brendan decided a different approach was in order. “In all my years I’ve known you,” Brendan started walking slowly toward her, “The only beautiful view I’d ever seen was you.” He looked out toward the valley again. “Maybe it’s time I opened my eyes a little.”

Harley opened her mouth in shock. Brendan had never been a deep thinker, never more than pure fluff and goof. The comment had slapped her fierce. Maybe she deserved it, maybe she didn’t. Harley busied herself with dinner. Brendan smirked and walked back to the ledge.

Harley looked up at Brendan’s back. She realized sadly that she would have to get a new man to give Brendan a taste of his own medicine. She wasn’t going to wait around for him to make anything right, she deserved better than that, but what Harley didn’t know was that she was falling right into Brendan’s little trap.

M
r. M touched down in the Emerald City, also known as Seattle. Constance and Frank Bleu, Lyla’s parents, were here and expecting him. They left town a few months back to get any eyes off of her. He checked his watch. They were meeting him at SeaTac so he could turn around and get back on the plane for Florida but Sam had other plans, and what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. Sam walked out of the security gates and directly to the only coffee shop in site, Seattle’s Best Coffee. Constance and Frank were already there.

“Sam, how is Lyla?” Constance pounced.

“Why don’t we find a quiet corner?”

Frank looked around. “I think we’ve been followed, I’d feel safer in our own car where protection has been placed.”

Sam nodded. “Lead the way.”

They went to the car silently and pretended to be leaving. Frank started the car and drove out of the aisle. He moved the car up a few levels until they were at the top. He turned the engine off and they both turned to Sam to talk.

Sam filled them in as far as he could. He had no idea where Jaden and the rest were at the moment so he left that part out. Better to not panic them, he thought. Sam had questions of his own.

“So until we find what safe house they’re in, there’s nothing we can do. Jaden has a handle on it.”

“Maybe it’s time we headed back.” Frank looked worried.

“And bring unwanted attention back to us before we even find them? It would be a nightmare trying to keep them safe, no. Look, I know your first inclination is to run back to Lakeland and get Lyla and hide her again, but now there’s Chase. We can’t separate them and you two have a tendency to try and run. It would only kill them.”