Chapter 4

To me, there was only one good thing to say about House Vikkor: I wasn’t a member, which makes me the last person to judge the House as a whole. No, I didn’t get along with the House leader, and a couple of the members should be rotting in jail alongside her, but I wasn’t the one to decide what was what. Jacquelyn was a monster and treated her own house members with disdain, as if she were better than all of them. She was also a murderer, which was the real reason she ended up in prison.

The House needed a new leader. I’m not sure what system was used, but I do know that they ended up holding a vote and Dianne Bigsley was christened with the title. Shortly after that, House Vikkor was renamed as House Leonis. Both were good things in my book. I, however, would have asked for a new venue for meetings.

To be honest, when Yaeko and I arrived at the House, I was expecting it to be in a new location. After all, fake Federal Agents had smashed most of the windows when they invaded, and Jacquelyn turned many of them into permanent fixtures by making them partially intangible, dragging them into the floor, walls, or fireplace, and letting them turn solid again. Most died instantly. Only a few got out alive, losing a limb or two in the effort.

Yaeko took us around to the garage and parked inside. I was beginning to doubt my decision to meet with Dianne. If the meeting had been anywhere else, it would have been acceptable.

I climbed off the motorcycle, pulled off the helmet, and followed Yaeko inside. We passed the kitchen, which looked pristine and no different than the first time I had seen it. The dining room appeared untouched. The entry-way was immaculate. Then we entered the family room. I thought there might have been a change in designs or something, but no. The windows leading to the terrace were the same. The wood floor was in perfect condition, and the fireplace was identical to what I recalled right down to the exact stones used.

And yet, there was a change. The decor and furniture were different. The paintings depicted bright colors. Books on the shelves included several self-help titles and a number of classics in leather-bound editions. Music filled the air. I didn’t know the composer, but the movement and tones were inspirational. The furniture was new too. Rather than two long couches, there were a number of arm chairs set up in groups. Only one chair stood out from the rest in the arrangement. It was placed near the fireplace, and it held the room’s only occupant.

A woman with dark blonde hair and an aura I could only describe as goldfinch sat in that chair. With the late season and cooler weather a small fire warmed the living room pleasantly. Her aura was calm and pleasant until we entered the living room. Then the edges of her aura hardened. The woman looked back over her shoulder at us. Her eyes were amber, like that of an animal, until she saw who was there and what we were doing - or maybe more accurately, what we weren’t doing. Just as quickly as the understanding filled her, the anger in her aura eased away, her eyes dimmed to hazel, and the anger in her face smoothed out to an older, weather-worn face of late forties. It was an incredible transformation, something I had never seen before. Her sudden anger reminded me of Yaeko, however, and I wondered how she could be a good influence if she had the same anger issues.

“Lady Dianne,” Yaeko said, somewhat formally, “As you requested, Ral Sutton.”

Lady Dianne stood and turned to us. She wore a heavy sweater in subtle shades of yellow and gray, a long, heavy skirt that grazed the floor, and black leather toes peaked out from under the hem of her skirt. She folded her arms together like she couldn’t get warm enough and nodded to Yaeko. “Thank you, Yaeko.”

Yaeko’s aura shivered with both pride and glee. I caught her expression out of the corner of my eye. She wasn’t angry, and she looked better for it.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Sutton,” Lady Dianne said. “I hope we are not interrupting any plans you have.”

I shook my head. “Plans? No. My plans were interrupted much earlier today by an unrelated issue. It’s so late now, my only hope was to get something to eat and settle in with a movie,” I said.

“I’m glad you chose to come by, at the very least, to hear me out,” she said.

A noise from the garage drew everyone’s attention. I really didn’t think much of it. I thought there could be members showing up all hours of the day and night to talk to Dianne. I looked at her without saying anything.

Dianne had her eyes closed and took a deep breath in through her nose. She opened her eyes and looked at Yaeko. “Travis is here. Yaeko, do your best to stall him.” She was tense but unperturbed.

Yaeko nodded and left.

I didn’t recall a member of the House named Travis, but then I was certain I hadn’t met all the House members on my previous visits.

“Before we’re interrupted, I need to make my request,” Lady Dianne said. “I am loath to burden you with this, but no one in the House knows anyone else we might ask.”

“Burden me with what?” I asked.

“Bethany is missing,” she said. “I was hoping someone of similar talent could find her.”

Bethany was House Vikkor’s Psionic. She was a Sensitive who had always seemed too timid to stand up for herself around the others. Maybe, as a Sensitive, she picked up too much from them, thoughts and visions that told her stories she didn’t want to know about. Part of me had always felt a bit worried and concerned for her. “How long has she been missing?”

“Almost four days now.”

Almost four days? If I hadn’t heard from my friends in that length of time, I would have gone looking for them. “Why haven’t you called the police? They would look for her after only twenty-four hours.”

She looked down, blinked a few times and then looked back up again. Her aura trembled with shame. Why was she ashamed of not using the police? “I have had problems with the police in the past.”

I couldn’t keep my reaction off my face. I didn’t need to get involved with someone else that might have a secret life that the local law enforcement might not approve of. “What kinds of problems?”

“I have been accused of things that would have made Jacquelyn proud,” she said.

Oh, great! Just what I didn’t need. She may not have been acquainted directly with Jacquelyn, but using her in that kind of reference couldn’t be good. Then I remembered what she said. “Accused, but not arrested?”

She nodded. “There are others out there who have the same power as I. However, where I fight to keep myself in check, they let their power loose. They enjoy the power.”

I could see pain in her aura. My reaction had been expected and made her remember the things she’d been through. This was getting more complicated as we talked. I wasn’t an investigator. There were some common sense questions I could ask, but that could lead to complications if the police asked her the same questions later, namely my involvement that could be seen as interference. I had been working in the filing rooms for the police on an internship for a class I just finished, Introduction to the Criminal Justice System. I had learned a lot in that class, not the least of which was the number of ways I could get into trouble if the police thought I was interfering. I had to stick to things that they should have thought of on their own. If nothing else, it might help, especially if it turned out that Bethany simply left last minute for an emergency or something. Regardless of Lady Dianne’s past, I had to focus on Bethany. “You said she’s been missing for almost four days. When was the last time anyone talked to her, face to face?”

Lady Dianne nodded. “She was here Monday night.”

“Did someone drive her home that night?” I asked.

“Lawrence did,” Yaeko said. “She’s too timid to ride with me, and Charlotte lives in the other direction.”

“But you know where she lives?” I asked.

Dianne nodded.

“Do you know where she works?” I asked.

She nodded again.

“Okay, then we start in those places,” I said. “If she’s not at home and no one has seen her at work, then I’ll call the police and report her missing.”

“We have already been by her place and checked with her manager,” Lady Dianne said. “I was hoping you might be able to find out more.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know how to find anyone. I don’t have the same resources as the police.”

“No, but you are Psionic,” she said. “You have abilities, powers that even the Police do not have. You may be able to glean details even they cannot discover.”

“So, you’re not asking me as a consultant to the Police,” I said. “You asking me as...”

“As a fellow Powerborne,” she concluded. “As much as we try to hide what we can do and lead normal lives, all of us understand that we are not normal. We have abilities that defy the known and accepted laws of physics. Every member of this House has chipped in, trying to find some tidbit that might allow us to locate Bethany, but to no avail. Even with all of our combined resources, we have not been able to locate her.”

Then I heard a scream and yelling. A door back near the garage slammed open and someone strode our way. I turned, putting myself between the intruder and Dianne.

A man came in. He was dark and tall. So tall his head grazed the ceiling. He wore a purple dress shirt, black slacks, a leather belt and shiny black shoes. His expression matched his aura: he was angry. “Who are you?” he asked, towering over me.

“My name is Ral,” I said. “What did you do to Yaeko?”

The man frowned harder and stepped closer, looming over me. “I do what is necessary.”

“That didn’t answer my question,” I said.

Dianne stepped out from behind me. “That’s enough, Travis. Mr. Sutton is our guest. He is here at my request.”

Travis threw a sneer at her but remained focused on me. “You will leave. Do not get involved in our business”

Dianne stepped up between me and Travis. “Stop it, Travis! You do not decide who will be here and who will not.”

Travis looked down at her and snarled. “You may have won the vote, but that doesn’t give you any authority over me.”

“By that same argument, you have no authority over me,” I said. “Dianne asked to talk to me personally. I’m here to talk to her. The reason for the conversation is none of your business.”