Prodigal Son Read online

  He just hoped their dedication to the mission trumped their anger at their son.

  “I like her,” Tessa said, drawing his attention back to her. She pulled out a chair and sat, gesturing for him to do the same. “You two have been through a lot today.”

  “How much did you see?” Rafe asked, sitting down. He didn’t dare touch the snowy linens on the table with his dirty hands.

  “A lot of it was murky. I saw an explosion.” Tessa’s expression grew distant as if she were looking inside herself. “I saw Cara in danger. I knew you were coming because you were in her thoughts. She thought of home and family and safety. She trusts you.”

  “An explosion?” Darius said from behind him. “That sounds like you.”

  Rafe turned his head to see his brother standing—standing!—in the doorway. “You going to sit down before you fall down?”

  Dar’s lips tightened, indicating a direct hit, but Rafe felt no triumph. Just the sight of his brother on his own two feet, cane notwithstanding, squeezed his heart. The last time he’d seen Darius, big brother had been in a hospital, with a prognosis of permanent paralysis for the rest of his life.

  Leave it to Dar to flip off the doctors by managing to walk again when they’d said he never would.

  “You two never change.” Tessa shook her head.

  “Where’s Mama and Dad?” Rafe asked, ignoring Darius as his brother claimed a chair at the head of the table.

  “In the tenplu. You arrived in the middle of the sunset ritual, so they stayed behind to channel the energy back into the earth properly while I met you at the door.” She rolled her eyes at Darius. “I was trying to head off El Cranko over there.”

  “You didn’t participate?” Rafe asked, a little shocked. Darius fervently embraced their beliefs and had always been eager to participate in the rituals since before Rafe left.

  “I was told my energy was disruptive,” Darius said with a curl of his lip.

  “Strange how that started as soon as I told you Rafe was coming home,” Tessa said.

  “I’m touched, Dar.” Rafe put a hand over his heart.

  “Screw you.”

  Tessa gave a sigh and sat back in her chair just as the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs. “Mom and Dad are coming.”

  A few moments later Maria Montana walked into the dining room, then hesitated just inside the doorway. His father appeared behind her, a big, broad-shouldered man with the black hair and copper-toned skin of his Native American and Hispanic ancestors. John Montana placed a supporting hand on Rafe’s mother’s waist and stared at Rafe with unreadable dark brown eyes. Rafe knew that look; he’d seen it many times as a kid when he’d pulled some stunt. It usually promised some uncomfortable man-to-man discussion and a realigning of Rafe’s priorities.

  He’d seen it again on the night he’d left for good, mixed with the overwhelming grief of disappointment.

  Rafe stood, trying to ignore the elephant in the room. Cara was what mattered, and he knew that no matter what their feelings about him, his family would do the right thing by her. “Hello, Mama.”

  She approached him slowly. “Rafael. What brings you to my home?”

  My home, not just home. The lob hit him squarely in the heart, squeezing like a python. But what had he expected?

  “We need help.”

  She tilted her head to the side, her coffee-colored hair flowing with the movement. “We?”

  “Rafe has a woman with him,” Tessa said.

  “She’s in danger,” Rafe added.

  “So you brought her here, to us.” His mother folded her arms and studied him with narrowed eyes. “I thought you no longer wanted anything to do with our ways, our mission.”

  “That’s not true, not exactly.”

  “Then explain it—exactly.” His father came to stand behind his mother, protectiveness radiating off him in waves, from his don’t-screw-with-me glare to his stiff posture. “How is it that what we do was not good enough for you five years ago, but now suddenly you show up on our doorstep, asking for our help?”

  “I needed someplace safe. And Atlantis is a part of this.” Rafe lifted his chin and met his father’s gaze head on. Thanks to Adrian Gray’s explanation, he now knew why he’d always been able to read his old man but not the rest of his family. His father was human; the others had Atlantean blood. And Dad’s emotions were coming through loud and clear. Disappointment. Anger. And … hope?

  Answering hope bloomed in his heart. Maybe this would work out after all.

  “Oh, so now it becomes clear,” his mother said. “Atlantis. Suddenly you need us, and we’re supposed to forget the way you just left, with no word to anyone. No calls, no e-mails. Nothing. But we’re supposed to help you now.”

  He glanced at his mother, at the fury in blue eyes so like his own, and some of his optimism faded. “Not me. Help Cara. Or is your anger at me more important than the mission?”

  “Don’t you speak of the mission!” his mother hissed. She surged forward, but his father’s hands on her shoulders halted her. “You turned your back on us, just ran away at a time when we needed you most. When Darius—” She choked to a stop, her eyes gleaming with tears as she took a deep, shaky breath. “You had the promise to be great, and you threw it away.”

  “I wasn’t great,” Rafe said. “I was young and reckless and nearly got Dar killed.”

  “So you left. Just like that.” His mom snapped her fingers. “Can you imagine what it is like to be a mother and to not know the fate of your child?”

  “Mama—”

  “I’m not finished.” She glared at him, her mouth quivering. “How could you take off like that, leaving us to wonder if you were dead or alive? Your phone call a few days ago was the first time we’ve heard from you in years.”

  His gut churned. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry! You rip out my heart with such careless disregard, leave your brother struggling for life, and you’re sorry?”

  “I don’t know what else to say. You made it clear you wanted me to go.”

  “We made it clear…?” She shook her head, her lips pressed in a line.

  Tessa broke the tense silence. “There was an explosion. Rafe nearly got killed.”

  His mother paled. “What?”

  “What explosion?” his father demanded. “When?”

  “That would be my car,” Rafe said. “It was a bomb. Today.”

  “Someone put a bomb in your car?” His mother raised a trembling hand to her mouth, then launched herself into his arms. She hugged him with surprising strength, and he closed his eyes, absorbing the familiar citrusy scent of her shampoo. “Thank the Creators you’re all right.”

  “Who would do something like that?” His father stepped forward, his fists curling. “One of those criminals you’re always chasing?”

  “You know about that?”

  His mother pulled out of his arms. “Of course we know. You couldn’t be bothered to call home, so we hired a private detective. We are well aware of how you have been using your gifts.”

  The censure in her tone made him wince. “I didn’t have much of a skill set when I left, Mama.”

  “Which is why you shouldn’t have left at all. You should have trusted us to help you.”

  “Let’s not get into that,” Rafe said. “Dar was in critical condition, and you forbade me to complete the Soul Circle. After what happened, I didn’t see that I had any other choice.”

  “You weren’t ready for the Soul Circle,” his mother protested. “We were trying to look out for you.”

  He shrugged. “I can take care of myself. It’s better this way.”

  “For whom?” his father demanded.

  “For everyone.”

  “Not for me,” his mother said. “I don’t know if I can ever forgive you for putting us through that, the not knowing.”

  The quiet words sliced through his heart like an arrow, silent and fatal. His faint hope of redemption went up like tissue paper caugh
t aflame, burning to ash in an instant.

  He’d always wondered what would happen if he came home. Now he knew.

  He forced himself to speak despite the tightness in his chest. “History aside, let’s focus on what’s happening now. Last week someone shot at Mama, and now my car was blown up. According to what I’ve learned, it was the same man behind both.”

  “What? Who?” his father demanded. “I’ve had people tracking the sniper, but they haven’t gotten anywhere.”

  “What people?” Rafe asked.

  John hesitated before admitting, “I called in the Team to investigate.”

  Rafe tensed. The Team. Of course, that’s who he would call. “That was probably the best option at the time,” he said calmly, tamping down bitter memories of the past. “But they wouldn’t be able to track these guys. They’re like us. Apparently we’re not the only descendants of Atlantis out there.”

  “What kind of crap is that?” Darius jerked forward, gripping the edge of the table. “What the hell has happened to you, man? Why would you screw with us like that?”

  “It’s true,” Rafe said. “Think about it. Could our ancestor really be the only one to survive the destruction?”

  He glanced at his mother, but she stood silent and pale, her eyes wide with some emotion he couldn’t read.

  Dar sucked in a breath. “Mom? You know something about this?”

  His mother turned toward his father and fumbled for his hand. Still she did not speak.

  “We both do,” his father said, his voice rough as he twined his fingers with his wife’s.

  “Mom?” Darius sank back into his chair. “What’s he talking about? Did you lie to us?”

  “Back off, Darius,” his father said.

  “We can’t back off,” Rafe said. “These people tried to kill two members of our family. They won’t stop, unless we stop them. We need to know everything you know.”

  “It’s all right, John.” His mother let out a long, shuddering breath and patted his father’s arm. She finally looked at her children, each in turn. “Your father is just keeping a promise to me. It was to protect you.”

  “What promise?” Tessa asked. “What’s happening? How come I haven’t seen anything?”

  “Protect us from what?” Darius demanded.

  “Your brother is right, Darius.” Maria looked at Rafe as she said it. “These evil men are like us, descendants of the survivors of Atlantis. That’s why you can’t see them, Tessa. They nearly destroyed my family when I was a child. They want to kill every Seer until none are left.”

  Tessa made a quiet sound of distress, raising her hand to her mouth as if to hold back more.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Darius asked. “Why didn’t you warn us?”

  “I thought we’d finally escaped them. Your father helped me all these years and swore to me he would never reveal the truth to you unless we did it together.”

  “Dar is right. You have been lying to us.” Betrayal burned an acid hole through Rafe’s heart. “I could see when we were children, but now that we’re adults? We deserve to know about any danger threatening us. And the truth about our heritage.”

  His mother raised her chin in a proud tilt he used to call “the Spanish aristocrat” when he was a kid. “I did what I felt was best, Rafael. The best I knew how.” She softened her tone, though her eyes stayed steady and hot. “You can’t know the horror of being hunted, of being exterminated like rodents. I did not want that for my children. Not ever.”

  “That explains it,” Darius said, his voice rough. “That explains the darkness I sometimes felt from you.”

  “You should have told us,” Tessa whispered, face white with shock. “Both of you.”

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Rafe said. He looked around at his family, his emotions a frozen block of ice. The secrets his parents had kept could mean death for all of them, and they would need his help. “They’ve found us. Perhaps if we had known to watch for them, this could have been avoided. But now to make things worse, they’re also looking for Cara’s stepbrother. He’s on the run, and apparently he has something these guys are after—something called the Stone of Igarle.”

  His mother gasped and steadied herself on the edge of the table. “No. That’s impossible.”

  Rafe wanted to reach for her, but his father jumped forward to assist her into a chair. Once she was settled, his father pulled out a chair for himself and sat, sliding his arm around her—the very picture of unity. Rafe hesitated before seating himself across from them. “So, you’ve heard of this thing?”

  “In legends. Ancient texts.” She glanced at his father. “It’s one of the Stones of Ekhia.”

  “The Stones of Ekhia?” Just uttering the name sent a prickle along Rafe’s spine. “What are those?”

  His mother folded her hands, but he could still see the tremor in her fingers. “According to the scrolls I have in the vault, the Stones of Ekhia were the central source of power for Atlantis. The Seers used the stones to talk to the Creators.” She waved her hands as if dismissing the idea. “But they’ve been lost for eons, since the cataclysm. They may never have existed at all, just myth.”

  “What if they’re not? These goons tried to kill me and kidnap Cara to get to her stepbrother. Supposedly he has this stone.”

  “No,” she whispered hoarsely. “How could it possibly exist and we do not know about it? Our ancestor Agrilara was the apaiz nagusi, the high priestess. If anyone could have saved any of the Stones of Ekhia, she would have been the one.”

  “I don’t know how they would know about it,” Rafe said. “Maybe these Atlanteans have access to some ancient records that we don’t have. Whatever the case, there are some big-deal people chasing this thing. The president of Santutegi sent the goons who blew up my car.”

  “Cara’s coming,” Tessa said, seconds before the sound of approaching footsteps reached them.

  “Quiet now,” his mother whispered. “We will talk more of this later.” She sent a hard look around to each of her children to emphasize her order.

  “Mama—” Rafe began.

  “Later!” Maria hissed.

  Cara appeared in the doorway of the dining room and hesitated when she saw his parents. “Hello,” she said.

  Rafe could practically hear the mental closing of doors as his family put on their game faces for the non-Atlantean. He’d started to tell them she already knew about them, but he supposed they would discover that soon enough. He got up and went to Cara. As he led her toward the table, he could feel her reticence. She knew she’d interrupted something. His Cara was no dummy.

  His Cara. When had that happened? “Mama, Dad, this is Cara McGaffigan.”

  “Hello, Cara. I’m Maria Montana.” His mother held out a hand. Cara took it, and his mom looked deeply into her eyes. “It’s very nice to meet you, dear. So sorry about the circumstances.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Cara replied.

  His dad stood and offered a hand. “John Montana,” he said, shook, and sat.

  She offered him a smile. “Hello.”

  “Over here.” Rafe steered her toward the empty chair between him and Darius. “I was just telling everyone what we’ve been through over the past couple of days.”

  “Lordy, I must have taken longer in the bathroom than I thought. But I couldn’t help washing up once I caught sight of myself in the mirror.” Cara wrinkled her nose and sat down in the chair Rafe held for her. “So everyone is filled in? The explosion, Adrian Gray, and the whole thing?”

  Rafe shook his head. “I didn’t get there yet.”

  “Who is Adrian Gray?” Tessa asked. She focused on Cara, got that distant look on her face, then said, “Oh. Nice-looking guy.”

  Cara stiffened, and Rafe reached out to cover her hand with his. “Tess, don’t pull things out of Cara’s mind without asking.”

  “Oh!” Tessa winced. “Sorry. I told you I was rude.”

  Darius leaned forward. “Hold on a minute. Sh
e knows?”

  “She knows about me,” Rafe clarified.

  Cara looked around the table. “Let’s get this out in the open. I know you’re all descended from a survivor of Atlantis and that Rafe is psychic. I assume the rest of you are as well.”

  “Rafael!” his mother chided. His father narrowed his eyes.

  “Just hold it.” Darius slapped both hands on the table. “This day just keeps getting worse. What happened to keeping our abilities secret? No offense,” he said to Cara, “but we don’t know you.”

  “Darius,” Tessa said softly, “I know you must have seen what I did in Cara.”

  His brother’s mouth tightened, and he slouched back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.

  “I apologize for my children,” Maria said to Cara. She sent Rafe a warning look.

  “Don’t apologize for me, Mom,” Darius said. “Apparently this lady knows everything about us, thanks to Rafe. It’s dangerous, if you ask me.”

  “Chill out, Powderpuff,” Rafe said. “Sorry to be cramping your style, but we need a place to spend the night and regroup, a safe place. We’ve got to get ahead of these guys. Then we can stop them for good. I think we all want that.”

  Darius scowled. “Listen up, Roid Rage. You may have led this danger right to us. Did you think of that?”

  “Of course I thought of it.” Rafe tightened his fingers around Cara’s. “But I also brought new info, things you might be interested in hearing.”

  “Like what?” Darius challenged.

  “I already told you that there are other Atlanteans.” Rafe calmly met his mother’s furious glare. “But some of them have powers other than Seeing. Some can manipulate the wills of others.”

  “What kind of BS is that?” Darius demanded.

  “It’s true,” Cara said. “I’ve met these men. I’ve experienced their power for myself.” She caught and held Darius’s gaze. “Look into my eyes and tell me if I’m lying.”

  Darius clenched his jaw. “By the Creators, does she really know every damned thing about us?”

  “About me,” Rafe corrected. “Though now she’s getting a feel for what a sweet, sensitive guy you are, bro.”