Remember Me (Weaver Series) (12 page)

“
It’s all about power and lineage.” His words were filled with bitterness, and I knew that there was more to this than he had time to answer.

“Who’s lineage
?”  I asked, but my question came too late.  There was no time for him to answer. 

“
I will come to you as soon as I can, but whatever happens Jo, please remember me.  Know that I love you.  I always have.”  He bent over and kissed me so softly that my insides wanted to scream.  I moaned and put my arms around his neck.  The thought of him leaving me was enough to make me want to die too.  In that same instance, my arms held nothing but air.  My sweet prince of mystery was gone.  I was left lying on my bed alone with nothing but the whir of the fan over my bed, and the silent beating of my breaking heart.  I turned over and cried into my pillow.  How could I possibly fix what I didn’t understand?

I must have fallen back to sleep at some point because when I opened my eyes again the sun was beating in on my face through the sheer curtains
.  I threw the covers back and sat up.  My throat was dry and my head was pounding.  I reached for my water bottle and drank down the room temperature liquid in one steady gulp.  Memories of the night before flooded back in a rush and I felt an ache in my chest that threatened to tear my heart out.  My Kalan was dead. 

I knew two things
: somehow, Kessler’s green-eyed bitch of a sister had something to do with it, and I needed to find a way to undo it.  Railey was going to get a visit from me.  Nobody was going to stop me either. 

I showered,
and ate a piece of dry toast.  Feeling a little better, I tugged on a pair of khaki shorts and a white t-shirt.  My hands were shaking as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail.  Damn it! Why had I sucked down all of that wine?  I glared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror and then I closed my eyes to concentrate.  I would just undo the whole idea of going to Kiss Kiss.  I focused on the reversal and felt the pit grow in my stomach when the whirl that usually follows my attempts failed.  Nothing happened.  It wasn’t going to work.  I opened my eyes and tried to tell myself that it didn’t matter if my nerves were jumpy or my stomach felt like a bowl of goo. 

There was no time to waste
.  Clicking of the bathroom light, I headed back to my room, slipped my sandals on and grabbed my purse.  There was another way.  I needed to get to the beach and draw some energy before I tried to confront her.  There was no way I could get anything accomplished feeling like this, but if I could build up my strength I might stand a chance.  A quick check of my watch told me it was 10:30 am.  The club would not be open yet anyway.  I had some time to kill.  I snatched my cell phone off the kitchen table and was preparing to weave myself to the beach when I realized that someone was about to come to the door.

The knock was soft and rapid
.  For a second I considered leaving, but my curiosity got the better of me.  Pepper had a reason for coming and something told me it was important.  I opened the door and greeted her with a polite smile planted on my face.  I really did not feel up to entertaining anyone. 

“I hope it’s not too early
,” she said shyly.  She held two tall, white cups in her hands.  “I brought you a mocha.”  I stood back and invited her in. 

“Not at all, I was just thinking about going down to the beach, but I’m in no hurry.”  She came in and I took the coffees from her, leading her to the kitchen table
.  She followed me and we both sat.

“I’m sorry to barge in on you Joey, but Kessler asked me to come and see you
.  He seemed so worried.  She raised her eyebrows and searched my face.

“I’m fine.”  I managed and sipped the mocha
.  How dare him send a spy!  He was too chicken to come to me himself. 

“Well, he said that you two went out last night, and that you were not feeling so well.”

“Oh, I just had a little too much wine, but he didn’t need to send you here to check on me.”  Her face looked hurt.

“I shouldn’t have given you so much to drink, that’s totally my fault.”

“No, trust me.  It wasn’t your fault.” I tried to soften my words.  “It’s just that I’m sure you have better things to do than check on me.”  I added.

“Well, not really
.  I would just be waiting for Marty to call me…and he probably wouldn’t anyway.”  She looked away then as if she regretted telling me.  Her russet hair fell in her face and made her look like a little girl.  “If I were more skilled, I could make him like me, but what would be the point of that?”  She sniffled and looked up at me.

“Are you a...”

“Weaver?”  She finished for me.

“
Yeah, that,” I said.

“Of course!
You didn’t know?”  Her smile was genuine and warm.

“No, I didn’t
.  I thought you were just…well, normal.”  My words sounded stupid, even to myself.

“
Oh, I just assumed Kess told you.  Well, I’m as normal as anyone can be I guess” she offered with a shrug. “I mean, I’d like to think that I am normal, but I know what you mean.”  She giggled.  “Actually, most of the time I feel pretty abnormal.”  I decided I liked Pepper.  She was a lot like me, and learning she was a weaver made me feel even more comfortable with her.

“
Before you get too impressed, I should confess that my abilities are really limited. I mean, I’ve never even had a mentor because I’m that bad. I can only weave for others, and even then, it doesn’t always work.  I can’t weave anything for myself like you can.  Believe me, I’ve tried!” How incredibly surreal it was to have a conversation with someone so much like myself.  I’d dreamed of having a friend with the same abilities.  Someone I could confide in, and trust.  Pepper radiated gentility, and I had to wonder how she managed at a place like Kiss-Kiss.  I sipped the coffee and my brain scrambled for a way to approach my next question.

“How long have you
known you were a weaver?”  I asked gingerly.

Pepper folded her hands and looked up at me with eyes that seemed flecked with old pain
.  “I’ve known since the night my brother died,” she said in a very low voice.

“Oh I am so sorry Pepper.”
I felt her sadness and a sudden wash of images flashed in my mind.  It had happened a little more than a year ago.

“He was a weaver too.”
I added knowingly.

“Yes
.  Peter was an amazing weaver.  I knew he had abilities from the time we were little.  He’d just get us stuff whenever we needed or wanted things.  We were inseparable and music was our life.  He played every instrument you can think of.  Drums, guitar, piano – you name it.  We worked hard on our music together.  Actually, I worked hard.  He never had to do more than think of an idea and it would be his.  He played and I sang.  We’d play any gig we could get, and Peter never used his ability to influence that.  He said that would take the fun out of it and that we were good enough that we didn’t need to.  I guess he was right because we got a really great recording contract about a year ago.”  She paused and I could tell that she was fighting back tears.  “He honestly didn’t weave that.  We earned it – you know, the regular way.”  She nodded her head, her eyes wide to add emphasis to this.

“What happened
?”  I asked tenderly.  She looked down at the table and her thin shoulders shook.  “I don’t know. We shared an apartment, in the city so that we could focus on our music. About a month before he died, he started acting weird. He was never home, and when he was he was really distant.  One night – it was right after we found out about the contract,  he went out to celebrate.”  Her voice trailed off.  I saw in a flood of images that rocked me.  Just as I had glimpsed at the club, there had been an accident.  It had been horrible.  I shut my eyes and tried to fight the images that shattered my consciousness.  I was immediately transported to a car that was speeding down the canyon road.  The worried expression on Peter’s face shocked me.  He knew something was wrong.  He was trying to get away from something or someone.  I recognized the darkness of his fear…it was Railey.  I pulled back from the image just as his car went over the canyon.  There was nothing he could have done to change it.  Railey had…taken his abilities away.

I opened my eyes and stared blankly at Pepper
.  How much did she know?  I bit my lip and waited for her to finish.  “It was when he was in the hospital that I realized I had some measure of abilities.  I was able to pull Peter from a coma the night before he died.  He was so weak and it nearly killed me to see him like that.  I remember sitting next to him holding his hand and thinking “
No! This is not going to happen! He will come back to me right this instant!
”  She balled both of her fists and choked back a sob before she continued.  “His eyes flew open and he looked right into mine.  “I knew you could do it too,” He whispered.  I didn’t even think about what he meant.  I was just so damn glad to see his green eyes looking up at me.  He tried to tell me something then, but it was just too hard for him to talk.  He said that I needed to stay away from Kiss-Kiss and then he mumbled something like an apology for his poor choices with girls.  He died that night.”  She croaked.

I reached across the table to take her hand
.  “I’m so sorry Pepper.” She looked back at me and smiled as tears slid down her pale cheeks.  “Thanks Joey.”  I gave her a moment of silence.  Sometimes there is just nothing appropriate to say. 

“So
is that why you got a job at Kiss Kiss?”  I asked softly.

“Yeah.  I found a receipt in the pocket of his jeans for the place, it was dated the same day of his accident.  Then I found more as I started to box his things in our apartment so I figured that maybe I could find something out by hanging around.”  She let out a sigh.  “Then maybe I could do something about it.  I’ll never stop trying to find a way to get my brother back. I don’t know much about weaving, but I have learned some things by listening.  For example, I learned about master weavers, although from what I’ve heard they are really rare.  Still, if I could somehow find a master weaver, maybe I could undo his passing.”

” I nodded
.  “I understand.  Have you got any leads yet?”  I stood and busied myself by getting her a tissue.  She took it and dabbed at her eyes.  I leaned against the counter and held my breath.  If she did know more, maybe it would help me with Kalan. 

“Not yet
”.  She sighed.  “I guess my focus has been more on Marty than anything else.” She shrugged and looked down at the table.  In the silence that followed, I debated if I should tell her about my own dilemma, and what I knew about Railey.  I decided to hold off just a little bit longer.  The way that things had been going, I needed to be certain about who I could trust.  I liked Pepper, but my senses were as off as an old hunting dog.  Besides, I didn’t need any more complications right now.  Kalan had made it clear that I needed to be careful, and that was warning enough for me. 

“
Cmon’, let’s get out of here.” I said and reached for my purse.

“Where are we going
?”  She stood and collected our coffee cups to throw them in the trash at the end of the counter.  “We’re going to the beach.” I’ll do the weaving.

I
spent the rest of the morning with my new friend.  We talked and laughed and I did my best not to spill my guts because I definitely felt a connection with her.  There was something genuine and down home about Pepper that called to my instincts.  My Mamaw used to say that you can judge a person by their eyes and if that was true, Pepper had honesty in hers.  I knew her loss was real and I knew that she was determined to find a way to fix it.  In my mind that made her an awful lot like me.  As we wandered through the vendor stands on the peer, Pepper turned to me and asked “so do you like Kess?  I’ve seen the way he looks at you and it looks like the feeling is mutual.” She tried on a pair of sunglasses with huge white frames and peered into a small mirror nailed to a post. 

“I think he’s okay, but those shades are definitely not you.” I giggled and she pulled them off
.

 
“I guess my face is too small for that look.” She leaned against the post and crossed her arms.  “Just okay, huh?”  she pried.

“I don’t know
.  There’s something about him that tells me he can have anyone he wants and does.  Ya know?”  I offered off-handedly.  She nodded at my choice of sunglasses and then added

“I know what you mean
.  He’s sort of mysterious, and dangerous.  Some girls like that sort of guy, but not me.  I prefer guys like Marty who are gruffer around the edges.  With Marty I always know he is exactly what he presents himself to be.”

“
Hmm, yeah, it’s nice to know what you are getting yourself into.” I said with a wry smile.  If she was digging for information on behalf of Kess, she wasn’t getting much from me.  Not that I really thought she was, but I was being careful anyway.  After we had each picked out a new pair of sunglasses, and sniffed enough candles and cheap bottles of perfume to make me nauseous, we stopped at an open counter food stand for some muffins.  It was somewhere around noon and in the back of my mind I was thinking about the fact that the club would be opening – at least for the staff soon.  I needed to figure out what to do next.  Pepper picked the top off of her blueberry muffin and I got the sense that she was debating saying something.