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Cael threw open the doors that led outside to the deck of his beachfront home, the rage he had felt at his brother reduced to bitterness. Judah was proud and arrogant, secure in his position as Dranir. The beloved son. The chosen one.
Anger simmered a few degrees below boiling inside Cael, just enough to create rumbles of distant thunder, but not strong enough to bring lightning down or spark blazing fires.
Judah’s days were numbered. Cael had spent the past few years gradually injecting the seeds of anarchy into the bloodstream of the Ansara clan. At least half the young warriors were ready for battle, eager to prove themselves. But only a handful were loyal to Cael. Judah possessed a mighty hold over the tribe.
Stripping off his robe, Cael walked down from the deck and onto the beach, then straight into the ocean. He and the water became one. Powerful beyond measure. Primeval. A force to be reckoned with. With each stroke he went farther and farther out into the sea. Fearless. Reckless.
And then he paused and willed his body to float, gliding along with the current, as much a part of the ocean as the creatures who called the earth’s waters their home. Using only his mind and the more-than-human abilities he had inherited from his parents, he concentrated on transporting himself back to dry land without moving a muscle. He silently whispered ancient words his mother had taught him, adding strong magic to his supernatural skills.
His body trembled externally and internally as a current of pure energy shot through him. He felt himself lifting above the water. Even though all previous attempts to teleport himself had failed, he knew this time he would achieve his goal.
As suddenly as he had risen from the water, he fell, making a loud splash as his body shot a good ten feet down into the ocean. Forced to concentrate on making his way to the surface again, Cael focused all his energy on saving his life. After he managed to regain his composure, he swam upward and then back across the sea to the sandy beach.
He dragged himself out of the ocean, stood at the edge of water as the waves washed over his feet, and cursed the heavens. Cursed his own inabilities. How could he hope to defeat Judah unless he could surpass his brother in power and strength? The day would come—and soon—when he and Judah would face their destiny. One destiny. Winning and losing, flip sides of the same coin. Judah’s defeat. Cael’s triumph.
Why are you still in America, brother, still in North Carolina, near the Raintree sanctuary? What keeps you there one moment longer than necessary?
When he had conversed with Judah, Cael had picked up on a momentary flicker, just a flash of something, before Judah shut him out and protected his thoughts.
No, not a flash of something, a flash of someone.
A whiff of vision, there one minute, gone the next.
Green Raintree eyes.
I have to find out what Judah is hiding from me. There is something he doesn’t want me to know. A secret. A secret with green Raintree eyes.
FIVE
Monday Morning, 5:00 a.m.
Judah stood a top a low hill less-than half a mile from the Raintree home, darkness surrounding him, a man alone with many decisions to make. Suddenly the small phone in the inside pocket of his jacket vibrated. He retrieved the phone and checked the lighted screen for the identity of the caller. Claude. He and his cousin occasionally communicated telepathically, but since telepathic exchanges used up precious energy, they usually simply telephone deach other. And since using telepathy also made one’s thoughts susceptible to being sensed by others with the same capabilities, a secure phone was safer. The last thing he needed right now was Cael trying to listen to his private conversations.
“You’re up awfully early,” Judah said to his cousin.
“Where are you?” Claude asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. It could be nothing.”
“You wouldn’t contact me if you thought it was nothing. Is there a business problem or—”
“Bartholomew sent for me a short time ago,” Claude said. “Sidra had a vision.”
The two elderly council members had been married for over fifty years. Bartholomew possessed many powers in varying degrees, but his wife’s abilities were limited to a few, one quite powerful. She was a psychic of unparalleled talent.
Judah’s gut tightened. “Tell me.”
“She saw fire and blood. In the center of the fire was a Dranir’s crown. A Raintree Dranir. And within the pool of blood rested a gun that shot lightning.”
“We know that Dante Raintree possesses many of the same skills that I do, including dominion over fire.”
“Yes. That’s why we assumed her vision was about him and…” Claude he sitated for a moment. “Prince Gideon works as a police detective, doesn’t he? And we believe his greatest gift is connected to electrical energy and the elements, such as lightning.”
“You’ve surmised that Sidra had a vision about the royal Raintree brothers, but you haven’t told me why this is of importance to us…to the Ansara.”
“The fire consuming the crown an
