Over my dead body. Jack couldn’t have said why he felt so bothered by the thought, but he didn’t like bullies, and harming innocents, even a woman with power like Heather, went against everything he stood for. It was obvious from watching her reactions that Heather wanted little to do with either Baer.
He changed the subject to something more important than his stupid feelings, which had no place on the job. “So how do we leave town to find this Source? Just go through the gate? And this Jan guy. He knows who I am?” He still didn’t like that.
“Yes, he does. I’m sure it’s been passed all over town that you and Heather are involved. You fit together, and your energy is in tune. If I hadn’t known you’d never met before, I would have thought you lovers in truth.”
“Ida.” Heather wouldn’t look at him.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Jack growled.
“It means that when Heather disappears, it will be assumed you’re with her. She has to reach the Source, and soon. Her instructions were quite clear.”
“Instructions?”
Ida continued, “She must reach the Source before the next full moon in three days’ time. It’s on a trail accessible only through the mountains, a good two days’ walk from here. The problem is that only a chosen few are allowed to visit the Source. It’s the energy that empowers the town, and so much more. The people here are very protective of it.”
“Great,” Jack muttered.
“Yet because we are so protective, there will be no one nearing the clearing until after the full moon. It will be difficult for you two to be there when the power is at its zenith, but it’s necessary, I think. And you have to take Chronicles with you,” Ida insisted.
“I know. It says it in the book.” Heather nodded.
“You two cannot afford to be caught. Especially because it won’t be long before Ralf has your last name, Heather. He’s been digging since you got here, and Jan and I are at the end of our tether. That’s another reason why you have to leave tonight.”
“Christ. This gets more bizarre every time I learn more.” Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. “I still don’t understand why being a Stallbridge is so bad. She’s worth millions. Can’t she bribe her way to this Source?”
Heather frowned at him. “Apparently my family did something to this town when my great-grandfather Johann was here. The Baers hold a mean grudge.”
“They do.” Ida nodded. “But it’s more than that, and not what’s important right now.”
“So you got your instructions from Chronicles, is that right?” Jack asked Heather, needing her to step him through it. So many facts were running through his head, and none of them made any sense. His head started to hurt.
Heather nodded.
“I’ve seen Chronicles.” Jack wished now that he’d never laid eyes on the thing. “In it, there’s nothing but lurid crap about your great-grandfather’s favorite sexual positions. Sorry, but it’s true.”
Ida grinned. “Johann was such a creative fellow.”
Jack exchanged a look with Heather before Ida spoke again.
“Oh, you two. He had skill with a pen, is all I’m saying. He could imbue objects with hidden messages, the kind which can only be read by someone like Heather.”
“How’s that?” Jack studied Heather with curiosity.
“I’m a healer,” Heather said softly. “Not only physical hurts but psychic ones too. It cost my great-grandfather to share what he did in that book. I can read his pain in the words no one else seems able to see. Ida helped, but even she couldn’t see everything that I could.”
Jack wondered why anything surprised him anymore. He worked with a pyrokinetic, a telepath, and a levitator, for God’s sake. He’d met people who could change into something not entirely human. He himself could shift his shape, mimicking anyone he’d ever touched, male or female. What the hell constituted normal in his world, anyway?
Ida sipped her tea. “Chronicles is beyond even what I consider normal in a town full of psychic energy. But Heather must find the Source to understand.”
“Understand what?” Jack asked.
“Everything.”
A simple answer, and one that told him absolutely nothing.
To Heather, Ida said, “You’ll find what you’ve been looking for next to the backpack on your bed.”
Heather tore out of the living room and returned moments later, carrying the book and a stuffed backpack. “You found it and packed my things?”
“You have a journey to make, and it’s past time you made it. I’d hoped your grandmother might one day return to finish things, but she never came. Not that she could have done much good. It’s now up to you.” Ida turned to Jack. “Your things are at Jan’s house. Jan has visions of the future. He’s known you were coming for some time, and he took your things from your car. Between us, we shielded your information from the others, but it’s wearing thin, especially since you and Heather are together now. The town is buzzing with curiosity.”
He didn’t trust the sly smile she shot him.
“Things are finally unfolding.”
“I wish I understood what the hell you’re talking about.” At some point, what she said had to make sense.
“For now, know that you’ve found Owen’s sister. You would be smart to keep your identities as Heather Wurtz and Jack Harmon at the forefront of your minds, at least until you start on the trail. Steer clear of the Baers, and remember that I’m a friend.”
“And Jan?” Jack asked.
“Jan helps now because he must, but the time will come when you two will be solely on your own.” Her gaze intensified. “Listen well, Jack. Ralf Baer can kill you without blinking twice, and no one will ever find your body. You’re away from everything you know out here, in this place that shouldn’t exist but does. Away from reason in a land ruled by instinct and supernatural power.”
“Ida?” Heather asked softly. “You’re starting to scare me.”
“I like you, Heather. I don’t want to see you hurt. Your grandmother was a good friend of mine, as was your great-grandfather. I promised them that if they ever needed me for anything, I’d help in any way I could, and I always keep my word. But I’ve done all I can do. Now it’s up to you.”
“I’ll do my best. I’ll find the Source with the map and compass you gave me.”
Ida shook her head. “That’s only half the battle, dear. Not where but how to get there, that’s the important part of your journey.” She stared at Jack with eyes so bright they seemed to glow. “Only together will you find the Source. Only together will you find lives worth living.”
Jack snorted. “A little dramatic, aren’t you? What—”
Her voice, when she finished, rang with an authority he couldn’t ignore. “Only together will you get out of the mountain alive.”
Chapter Three
Heather didn’t like it, but she couldn’t find a reason to dispute Ida. Everything the woman had done and said since her arrival had been to help her, not hinder. With Ida’s assistance, Heather had even made progress with Chronicles, deciphering the last bit of the buried instructions in the pages. If this had been nothing more than a treasure hunt, she would have abandoned her quest long ago. But for years, Heather had felt less than worthy of her last name. She had no real business sense and didn’t like the myriad society balls and parties she’d been required to attend while growing up, when her parents had been alive.