

DESTINY'S PATH

By Robyn Steele

A Dalle Stelle Trilogy

### The tranquil, coral sky at twilight is probably my favorite time for relaxing on the verandah on my cherished porch swing. Grandpa made this swing for me while I was still a toddler. He and I would swing until I fell asleep and he would swoop me up and carry me upstairs and tuck me into my little princess bed. Most of the time, it was the only way to get me to sleep. I was an indulged child, to say the least. Being the only child and only grandchild, I got smothered with attention from everyone. But I often wondered what it would be like to have siblings. I may have felt left out in that department. However, they made up for it everywhere else.

Momma married daddy right out of high school and "adorable little me" followed soon after. The trouble was that daddy disappeared when I was very young. Momma never got over him. She never remarried or even dated. She said daddy was the only man for her, ever. Subsequently, there were no siblings for me.

### We immediately moved in with grams and grandpa so they could help mom raise me, making yours truly one of the most pampered little girls in town. No complaints here, though. I adored my grandparents as well as momma.

### No one ever spoke about daddy or his mysterious disappearance. The newspapers alluded to the fact that he ran off. That he wanted to disappear. That he didn't want to be found. Momma never believed that for one minute, although she didn't elaborate on what she supposed happened. I could tell from the pictures of my parents that they were truly captivated by each other. No one could convince me that daddy had left on his own accord. Deep in my soul I knew he loved me and momma and would be here with us if he could.

### I had spent the last 15 years of my existence living in the big Palladian-style home that grams and grandpa had lived in since they were married and where daddy grew up. I loved this handsome home, with its tall, arched windows and massive porticos surrounding the entire structure. It was fashioned so one could walk or sit on any side of the home to view the breath-taking vistas. This European-style structure was not indicative of any other home in our town. Being an architect, grandpa had built the home the way he and grams had wanted, nestled on top of a little knoll over-looking the small little town of Harrington. Which by the way is my last name.

### My parents named me Talitha, after one of the stars in the Ursa Major constellation. Momma says they put great thought into choosing my name because I had a destiny of great importance. Sometimes momma can be so dramatic. I think she was born in the wrong decade. She seems more like a hippie from the 60's. She laughs at me when I say that. "Talli dear, you have no idea of what you speak. But we love you all the more." I call her drama momma for endearment.

### Grams is more like me. Rather, I am like her. Grams and I would rather go for a hike in the red rock; while momma would prefer to ski down a slope of powdered snow. Momma loves shopping and I absolutely loath it. However, I do indulge my mother and accompany her on shopping excursions. I know how she hates to go alone. Mostly she takes Gabrielle shopping because Gabrielle lives for major mall trolling.

### Gabrielle, or Brielle for short, and I have been best friends only for forever. Gabrielle Marilyn Monroe is her real name. Her mom thought naming her after someone famous would be an assurance of stardom someday. Since her last name was Monroe, she just put the "Marilyn" in the middle. Although Brielle hated that part of her name, she bore quite an uncanny resemblance to her namesake. She could command anyone's attention whenever she entered a room. She was graced with the most beautiful, deep brown eyes and smooth blonde hair that just dipped below her shoulders. Her looks were so stunning that every boy in our high school would have loved to call her his own.

That privilege was bestowed upon the star quarterback Pason Johnson. Pason was tall, muscular, and dreamy. His brown eyes and cinnamon hair could lure you in and his fun loving personality kept you there. However, my attentions were spent on Nathan Broadwell. I had been friends with Nate all through elementary and junior high. He had sparkling green eyes and wavy blonde hair that he wore "Jimmy Dean" style. So when I was finally old enough to date, I set my sights on the tall, gorgeous boy next door. Well, actually it was down the road-next-door. Although the Broadwells were our closest neighbors, they were a quarter mile down the road.

### Conveniently, they were close enough for Nate to pick me up every morning for school. That was my routine, comfortably so. Nate was so reliable. I knew when I heard the front door open in the morning it was 7:45 on the dot. Momma, grams and grandpa liked Nate well enough. However, they weren't too fond of our exclusive dating. They always told me to "have fun" and see the world before I became involved with someone. "Get your education before you ever get serious with a guy," Grams would advise me. "Don't settle for the first boy that comes along," warned momma. Grandpa would just tell me he wanted me to be happy and to make sure whomever I chose to be with treated me like a princess.

### It was Sunday evening and I was just chillin' out on the porch swing until it was time to get ready for bed. Nate had just gone home after spending the day with me. After dinner we had gone for a ride on the four-wheelers and then met up with Brielle and Pason. It was pretty much a normal Sunday afternoon. Life was comfortable with these three people. I didn't think I would ever need anything more in my life than these three friends and momma and my grandparents. I was contented. At least, for the time being. So I thought.

### Just before I was going to go inside, a red sports car pulled up in front of my house. I turned slightly to see if I knew anyone inside. Sitting in the driver's seat was a dark, mysterious man, or rather a boy about my age. He wore dark sunglasses and a leather jacket. All I could do was stare at him. We lived on a dead end road, away from anyone or anything. What the heck was this person doing here? Maybe it was someone grandpa knew. "Gramps. Someone's here for ya." I called out into the house while still facing the vehicle in front of me.

The door opened slowly and he stepped out of the car. He had dark brown hair that feathered onto his collar. He was about 6 feet tall, well-built and very attractive, with chiseled cheek bones and a firm jaw. He pulled down his sunglasses and revealed the best part of his appearance; beautiful ombre blue eyes that faded from black to several hues of blue. His long lashes covering them when he chose to hide them. He slipped off his jacket and tossed it into the back seat. Holy biceps! That dude definitely works out. He sauntered halfway up the steps and stopped. I wondered who he was looking for. OK Talli, I thought, just ask him already. Don't just stand there like an idiot.

### I made a lame attempt to clear my throat. It seemed to restrict and I felt it difficult to speak. Why was I so captivated by this stranger? I know he was extremely good-looking but so are a lot of guys. What was it about him that seemed to have me in a trance? "Can I help you find what you're looking for," I incited him.

### "I certainly hope so my dear lady." How strange. He looked about my age but he talks like someone much older or maybe from a different era. I gave him a puzzled look as I slightly turned toward the house and called out to grandpa again. No way was I turning my back on this mystery of a man. Grandpa stepped out on the porch with me and immediately thrust his arm in front of me and crossed over to completely block me from this unannounced visitor. Of course I peeped around grandpa to maintain my gaze on the beautiful creature before us.

"Name's Cruz DaMonico." He extended his hand to grandpa as he approached the steps. But his eyes were on me. Did I detect an accent? I couldn't quite tell what kind and for sure if it was an accent, but there was something about his voice that attracted, no, compelled me to him. He couldn't be much more than 18 by his looks, but his mannerisms were a different story. His speech avowed to much more maturity.

Grandpa was not impressed with our visitor, in the least. "DaMonico? As in the Salerno DaMonicos? As in Alessandro DaMonico?" Grandpa spoke with caution or maybe it was thoughtfulness. I wasn't sure what was going through grandpa's head. However, he wasn't his usual jovial self. The silence seemed to last forever. Although I'm sure it was only a few seconds, the awkwardness made it seem longer. There were definitely unspoken words between the two men in front of me.

### "Gramps, what or who is Salerno and DaMonico and Alessandro?" I tried to mask the silence. For good measure, I locked my arms around grandpa's waist. I could afford to be curious with grandpa there to protect me.

### "Talitha, just go inside. Nothing here concerns you." Grandpa had always been over-protective of me. In fact so were grams and momma. However, I was not easily compliant with their protectiveness. There was far too much interest here to leave. "Talitha, I mean now."

### Most kids knew they were in trouble when they were called by their middle name. I, however, did not have a middle name to be used in such incidents. I knew, though, when my full name was used instead of my nickname, to take them seriously. I stepped inside the door but stayed close enough to eavesdrop.

### "Yes, sir, you are correct in your assumption. Alessandro is my father." Cruz seemed benign. Certainly polite. Grandpa shut the door and moved down the stairs so to keep my ears from hearing anymore. I went to the window, put my fingers between the shutters enough to peak out and see what was happening. Grandpa was shaking his finger at the visitor. Cruz slowly backed away, nodded and departed. Now I would never know what that was about. I thought to myself. I felt a pang of disappointment.

### Grandpa came back in the house and tried to ignore me. However his efforts were futile. "Gramps, who was that guy you were talking to?" I probed.

### "No one. Nothing that concerns you." Grandpa answered hastily. There was something that didn't sit right with me. It wasn't his answer, but the way he said it. I wasn't buying it.

"Gramps, who was it and what did they want?" I asked relentlessly as if he hadn't answered the first time.

### "Talitha, don't be disrespectful. It doesn't concern you and you need to drop it, now." Grandpa kept his voice at normal volume, but he answered sternly. I knew to leave it alone. I went upstairs to my room and got ready for bed but didn't sleep at all. Thoughts of this mysterious guy kept playing through my head. The gorgeous "Cruz DaMonico" occupied my mind the whole night.

### Monday morning I got out of bed as usual. I got ready for school as usual. Despite not being able to sleep all night, I was full of energy and enthusiasm. I don't know what it was but I felt as if I could tackle the world. Something had changed in me. I didn't know what. I could just feel it.

### I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen where my nose led me to grams waffle and strawberries and cream special. They smelt wonderful. Sometimes grams really spoiled me. I wasn't really hungry but I ate some since she went to all the effort to make them. "Talli, you sure are chipper today. What's up?" Grams asked me while I was savoring my breakfast.

"Idk. I'm not sure what you're talking about. Just going to school as usual." I answered, because I didn't know why I felt this way, so I definitely couldn't tell anyone else why I felt this way. I finished eating, brushed my teeth and Nate was at the door to take me to school. "Bye grams. Love you. See you later."

### We met up with Brielle and Pason at the school. Brielle and I were talking about the cheer tryouts for next year and Nate and Pason discussed the baseball tryouts. It was a pretty normal day. It just didn't feel normal. It felt like there was something about to blow into town that would change my life. That's silly, though. Sometimes my imagination just runs away with me.

### "So have you ordered your graduation announcements yet?"

### "Huh?" I wasn't sure what Brielle had just said. My mind was still on the cute guy at my house last night.

### "Well okay then. Am I boring you or what?" Brielle asked.

### "Sorry, just thinking about a guy that came to my house last night."

### "Oooo. Let's hear about it. He must have been a hunk if you're still thinking about him."

### "I don't know. There was definitely something about him that I can't forget. But let's drop it. You know Nate and I are together."

"Okay, but something tells me you're not going to drop it. What was he at your house for, anyway?"

"I wish I knew. Grandpa chased him away real fast and made me go inside. So I have no idea what he was doing. At first I thought maybe he was lost or looking for an address or something. Then grandpa knew who he was. He wouldn't tell me anything and it's really bugging me."

### "Well if he shows up again be sure and call me. He sounds interesting to me."

### First period was cheer. I worked hard to become good at cheer. I had practiced and practiced my back tuck until it was perfect! Cheer is a tough sport. A lot of people don't realize that. Some people don't even think it is a sport at all. I'd like to see the football team or basketball team put in the workout that we do in cheer. Or even better, the tennis team. They don't do anywhere near the workout that we do every day. We have practice in the morning, sometimes even early morning too. We run and workout and practice stunts over and over. We learn new cheers every week to perform. And practice them every day. Then starting in the afternoon we cheer at all the events on into the night, usually not getting home until midnight. And it's not just one event, it's all of them! All year long. Not just a season. There's football and girls and boys basketball and girls softball and baseball and wrestling and girls and boys volleyball and track. Then on top of that we still have to get good grades. So we're usually up late doing homework. If others understood what we did, they would have more respect for us.

### Even though cheer was always a hard workout, this morning it was a breeze. I didn't even work up a sweat. That was so strange! And basing a flyer is hard work. Lifting a girl up that's my own weight is not easy stuff. However, today it felt like lifting a feather. And when everyone did their four laps around the track, I did four extra laps. I just couldn't stop.

### Next period was calculus. Not my best subject. I had always struggled with any kind of math. I passed with good grades, but I had to work extra hard and use tutors to do it. Not today. For some reason, everything the instructor was teaching was clicking so well it made me second-guess my answers. However, they were always right. I even finished my assignment before class was over and went around helping other students. Normally I would have to take it home, meet up with my tutor, and then do my assignment.

### The rest of the day went the same way. English was always easy for me. However, today it was a breeze. Science, economics, everything was so easy. All the time I was breezing through my school work, my mind was on the stranger that had been at my house the night before. I just couldn't quit thinking about him even when I tried. Those mesmerizing eyes, his chiseled physique, it all played over and over in my mind. Who was he and why had he taken control of my mind? Well, not really control of it but I certainly couldn't shake him out of it.

### When I got home I did my chores and rearranged my bedroom and fixed dinner and cleaned up after dinner and was still not tired when it was time for bed. I just didn't know where this burst of energy came from. I wasn't complaining though. I loved the energy I was feeling. Momma and grandpa and grams kept giving each other looks like they were talking to each other without speaking. I'm sure they thought I had lost it. Maybe they worried I was using some kind of drug. I hope not. I would never do that. I'm pretty sure they knew that. I wondered if maybe it was something they had fed me. I tried to think what it could be but I don't think I had anything different. I just had no clue why I had all this energy and why school had become so easy. I was just enjoying it.

### Brielle came over after dinner to do homework. I didn't have any to do but I helped her with her homework. I could tell Brielle was wondering why I didn't have homework but she didn't ask. I was glad for that because I had no idea what to tell her. I couldn't explain it to myself.

Nate and Pason came over and we just hung out for a while. We were sitting on the porch talking. My mind kept wandering back to that elusive stranger that came to our door. I was definitely attracted to him but why was I still thinking about him. I'm sure I'll never see him again. I don't even know who he is. So why is he still occupying my head?

### "Where are you tonight Talli?" Nate asked me in an attempt to get my attention.

### "Idk. I thought I was right here."

### "Physically, yeah but where is your head? I don't think you've heard a word we've been saying."

### "Sorry. Just tired I guess."

### "So do you want us to leave?"

### "Heck no. It's still early. Maybe we can go for a ride on the four wheelers." I suggested to get the spotlight off of me.

### "I think I'm gonna head home. I'm pretty tired." Brielle said.

### "I'll take you home." Pason left with her.

### "If there's something on your mind or if you need anything, you know I'm here for you, right?" Nate told me.

### "Of course I do. I'm just thinking about how close we are to graduating. It's kinda good and kinda scary. But I'm still excited for it. You know what I mean?" I tried to deflect the conversation. I couldn't talk to Nate about the cute guy that came to my door.

### "Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel the same way. I'm excited to go on to college but it is a big step. What about us, Talli. Have you decided where you want to go to college?" Nate asked.

### "I can't decide. Momma doesn't want me to go far away but you know I don't always follow her advice. I think she just thinks she'll miss me or something. She'll get over it. She needs someone in her life. You know, like a boyfriend or something. She wants me to stay here and go to school locally. I haven't decided what to do. Maybe I'll have to go here for a year while I decide. I just don't know what I want to go into yet. Maybe I will take a year off from school and do some travelling."

### "I was really hoping you would go to Southern University with me. You know, since that's where my scholarship is. You can still get in there. They take late applications." Nate said hopefully.

### "Yeah. I might still do that. I just haven't decided yet."

### "What are you waiting for? I didn't think it would ever be a question of going. I always thought we would just go together." Nate said.

### "I'm not saying I won't go there. I just want to be sure. I don't want to go just because I'm following you. Not that I don't want to be with you but I want to make it my own way. You know, go to school for what I want to do." I said.

### "Didn't you apply for scholarships there?" Nate asked.

### "Yup. They offered me one for cheer and an academic one, full ride. That's not the problem. Grandpa said he will pay my way to any school I want to go to. I did accept the scholarships so I can still go. I promise I will think about it some more."

### Nate looked at me with probing eyes. "I don't understand, Talli. You and I have always been together. I never thought we would be apart after high school. Do you want me to stay here with you? I could go to school locally too."

### "No! Don't give up your scholarship, Nate. You worked hard for that and you deserve it." I told him.

### "But it means nothing if you aren't with me. I would stay if you wanted me to." Nate looked sad.

### I needed to cheer him up. "Okay Nate, we'll work it out. Don't worry. Keep your scholarship. Promise me."

### "Sure. As long as you promise me we'll be together." Nate said as he kissed me. Good thing he kissed me because that saved me from having to promise him anything. I wasn't sure why, but I just couldn't make that promise.

### When I went to bed I still couldn't get the elusive stranger out of my head! It was almost annoying. However, He was so gorgeous and interesting that he could never be annoying. I couldn't help but wonder who he was and what he was doing here and why grandpa didn't want me to talk to him. Was it the mystery that kept him in my head? Or was it his alluring looks? Or was it both? I did sleep that night. I dreamt that I met Cruz and went with him. In my dream he was very polite and sweet. Nothing amiss about him. The beautiful stranger played in my head until daylight.

### Chapter 2

The next morning Nate was at my door like clockwork. I grabbed a pop tart and milk and headed out the door. I was still full of energy, almost skipping out the door. "Wait a minute!" Grandpa came after me. "I think you should stay at home today, Talli." I could detect sadness in grandpa's concern. Obviously discerning the puzzling look on my face, grandpa attempted to change his attitude. "I need you to keep an eye on grams today. She's not feeling well and momma and I need to go on some errands." It didn't work. Grams never got sick and she certainly wasn't incapable of taking care of herself and grandpa and mamma going on errands? When did that ever happen?

### "Gramps, really? Grams never gets sick." I laughed.

### "Well there's a first for everything." Grandpa was serious.

"Gramps, I really can't miss school today. I have core testing this week and besides, you don't really need me here." I knew why he wanted me to stay. Well sort of. It had something to do with the visitor we had Sunday night, but other than that I can't imagine why he didn't want me to go to school. There was definitely something looming here and I wanted to know about it. "Nate, I'll catch up with ya later. Okay?" Nate, of course, was his usual sweet self and kissed me quickly on the cheek and headed to school.

### I followed grandpa into our homey kitchen. This is where we gathered with family and friends. The living room was formal and the family room was for activities. The large, comfy kitchen was where we hung out and talked. Grams and momma were already in there and just as I suspected, grams looked good and healthy. As I slowly sat down on my favorite bar stool, all eyes were on me. Not their usual chatting or laughing or even eating breakfast. "What is going on here?" I separated each word for emphasis, as if that would encourage someone to spill the beans. Knowing my stubbornness derived from these people, I knew I would really have to pry it out of them.

"It's not that we want to keep anything from you...or maybe we do. It's just that the more you know the less safe you are." Momma was first to speak. Her hand lovingly brushed a lock of hair behind my ear. That wasn't going to work. I wanted answers and I was sick of being "protected" by all of them. I'm 18 years old! I'm not a baby! I deserve to know!

### "Honey, we know you're not a baby, although you're not 18 yet. " Momma always tried to smooth everything over.

### "I will be in a couple of months! " Wait a minute. I didn't say anything. I was thinking all that. To myself, not aloud. Momma was always overly intuitive. It was as if she could read my mind, or something. But that was a little freakish. It's like she read my mind word for word.

"And you are right. You do deserve to know." Continued momma. I just sat there staring at her. I wanted to try not to think anything. Could she read my mind, my thoughts? I could test her. You never trust me. I thought in my mind.

### "That is so not true and you know it young lady!"

"Aha! You can read minds. Why have I never known this before? Or why haven't I noticed it before?" I rubbed my temples. This was so surreal to me.

### "Talitha," Grandpa began, "We have taken great care to conceal our abilities from you. We wanted you to live a different life than that. We wanted you to live a normal life. We knew we would have to tell you eventually because...well because you too will have abilities someday. It happens sometime just before you become an adult. Actually, in our culture it means you are an adult when you acquire your abilities."

### My head was reeling. This was so much to take in. What are they talking about? This is insane! I leaped to my feet and ran out of the house. I didn't want to hear anymore. When I was outside I realized I had nowhere to go. My ride had left already. I didn't want to walk four miles to school. I stomped around the grounds for a while and then I just collapsed in my swing. Abilities? Reading minds? Our culture? They had to be making this up! It didn't make any sense. But they never made things up before; why would they now? I buried my head in my arms and curled my legs up to my chest.

### I'm not sure how long I sat there in the swing. Thoughts reeling through my head. I tried to think of past times that could have been like this. Sometimes momma would know what I was thinking and know how to make me feel better or know what I was looking for. I just thought she was intuitive. Lots of moms are. That was pretty normal, right? Except now she knows exactly, word for word, what I'm thinking. That's not possible, is it?

### All of the sudden I needed to get out of there. This was too much to think about. I seriously needed to clear my head. I started walking down the road without a thought of where I was going. Walking turned into jogging and then running. The harder I ran the better I felt. It seemed as if it had only been a few minutes and I found myself just outside my high school parking lot. Wow. That was freaky. I must have lost track of time or something. Its four miles to my school from our house!

### Now, I'm not the most athletic person around. Neither am I sedentary. However, I'm not in the habit of running four miles like that. Not in the habit of running 2 miles that fast. I run a mile every day in cheer but not that fast! Once I ran a full marathon but I trained before I ran it and I got pretty exhausted in the process. Right now I feel as if I could run another ten miles and not break a sweat.

### I was pretty lost in my thoughts until a deep, soft voice broke my musing. "That was mighty impressive running, Talitha." My head jerked up to discover Cruz standing next to me. Scanning the area, I couldn't see his car. OMG! He's a stalker!

### "Did you follow me?" Sure Talli, I thought to myself. You're that important to him. Right. He had to have been here already since I don't see a car around.

### "Oh, but you are my dear. Important to me"

### "What! Do you read minds, too?" I don't think this day could get any weirder!

### "Actually, who else reads minds? Do you read minds Talli?" He leaned in closer as if this was a secret he was willing to guard.

"And I am not your dear." I raved at him. He may be Mr. gorgeous but I'll be darned if I'll let anyone lay claim to me like that when I don't even know him. "And no, I don't. Read minds, that is." I didn't feel threatened by Cruz. Something inside me seemed to be telling me he was okay and I could trust him. I could almost hear those exact words in my head as if someone were whispering in my ear. Except I had been taught all my life not to speak to strangers, not to trust strangers and to not even approach a stranger if I were alone.

### The more I thought about it, I realized that momma had always been emphatic about making sure I never went near any one I didn't know. I thought she was being over protective. I got the message when I was little and I'd never gone against it; so why was she so ardent about reminding me.

### "Who are you Cruz? And why did my grandfather send you away so quickly? And why did he not want me to hear anything? And why are you here now?" I was sincerely interested in his story, whatever it may be.

### "Come with me and I'll reveal everything." A dimpled grin barely decorated his face. He seemed harmless. Something in me was trying to convince myself he was harmless. And then my dream last night was confirming that he was harmless. Still, the reasoning in my head kept saying I was crazy to even consider going anywhere with a stranger, and one grandpa didn't want around! I trusted my mom and grandparents. He must have heard my thoughts because he pressed me further, "Your grandparents and mother will try to keep this from you. If you want to know the answers to your questions, you need to come with me. You are completely safe with me. This could be your last chance. They are on their way here looking for you as we speak. When they get here they will take you away and you will never see me again."

Holy freakin' salesman! He didn't give up easy! What a line. Still, that voice in my head is affirming everything he said and telling me that it's okay. However, I just couldn't make myself think that going with a stranger was okay! Who does that, anyway! I would have to be out of my mind to go off with a complete stranger. On second thought, he was probably right about momma and grams and grandpa on their way here. There was something inside me saying it's okay. You'll be fine. I turned to him. "Let's go." I stated simply. This may be a big mistake. Then again, it may not be. There are things I need to know. I followed this dark, handsome, mysterious stranger. Not quite certain what was to come from this, but I knew I had to find out.

### Chapter 3

"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death."

~Leonardo da Vinci~

We drove silently for a while, this handsome stranger and I. Glancing over at him slightly, through the corner of my eye, I could see he was staring straight ahead. No expression apparent on his face. What I would give to know his thoughts right now. I really wish I could read minds. Then I could truly know if I were safe. I must be crazy going with a complete stranger like this! I hope I made the right choice. I hope I won't regret this.

### "Talitha, you must know, there is no one whom you would be safer with than me." Cruz offered solace, without turning his gaze.

The mind thing again. I forgot. Okay, so I need to know what you are thinking and what you are going to do. And you need to know that I am trained in self-defense and not afraid to hurt you. How's that for communicating since you can read minds.

### "You should know, Talitha that those of us who can read minds don't just go around reading minds all the time. That would drive us crazy hearing everything everyone thought. We have to... sort of hone in on a person's thoughts. Like, we concentrate on a certain person to hear what they are thinking. Only then can we hear." This time he looked right at me with those mesmerizing eyes of his. I could feel my cheeks flush. Those eyes made me want to surrender my tenacity right there, although I wouldn't. I am much stronger than that.

### "Where, exactly are we going? I can't be gone that long. They won't stop looking for me"

### "You measure time quite different than I do." A sweet smile embellished his face. "We could go where ever you like. However, must I remind you, we need to evade your mother and grandparents?" One eyebrow arched as he peered through his eyelashes at me. "What is your suggestion?"

### I couldn't think of anywhere we could go in this small town that momma and grams and grandpa wouldn't think to look for me. Geesh. Look at me now. I can't believe I am actually trying to deceive my family. That's not like me at all. I don't want to worry them. That's not right.

### "Text them. Tell them you're okay and you'll be in touch." Cruz answered my thoughts again. "Don't tell them where we are."

### I texted my mom and told her not to worry, that I was fine, that I would be in touch. Then I turned my phone off so I wouldn't be distracted. Something told me this was big. We drove out of town and turned off on the old road that went to the next town. The road was still used because it meandered around a few farms and houses. However, the only people that used the old road were the people that lived out there. We turned down a dusty, dirt road and pulled off to the side under a big umbrella tree. Cruz stepped out of the car and I followed. We straddled an old log facing each other. His deep blue eyes were piercing me to my soul. I was ready to hear all he had to say. Good or bad, I was ready to hear it.

### "Okay, I'm waiting. Start talking." I demanded. I was a little impatient, a little frustrated, and profoundly curious. Doubt of my competence to handle what was to come, crept into my mind. I quickly chased it away.

### Cruz leaned in closer to me as if what he was about to reveal was a secret and there were a crowd of people around to hear. "I must reveal to you a little at a time." He put a hand up to still me as I began to open my mouth in protest. "Not to keep anything from you. It's just a lot to take in at once. I must reveal it one precept at a time. When you understand what I have given you, I will give you more. Do you understand?" I hesitantly nodded, but wasn't sure I did understand.

### He told me about a galaxy called Seletria. There were a great people that populated the center star in this galaxy. The star, called Teletria, became polluted to the extent that it could no longer sustain life. Inhabitants of Teletria all planned a great exodus of their planet in order to preserve their race. They had the technology to propel their ships for long distances. However, unbeknownst to them, they did not have technology perfected enough to land their ships at the chosen target. Some ships had landed on Earth. They had no idea where the other ships had landed.

"My family the DaMonicos, were among the people that came here from Teletria." Cruz paused after providing me this information. I'm sure trying to read my mind to decipher my attitude towards this edifying information. Amazingly enough to myself, I was not shaken by this revelation. It was if I had just savored my first piece of fruit and craved more. There was something familiar about his words. It was if the knowledge were already there waiting to be awakened.

### "Who were the others that came? My family, perhaps?" Sometimes when a story is being revealed to me I just know the rest of the story before it is told. This was one of those times.

### "You are correct in your assumption. You are a descendent of these people, or more precisely, you are a descendent of the Zoraidas." Cruz took a deep breath and then proceeded. "Your grandfather changed his name to Harrington when he moved to this country. The DaMonicos mostly still live in Italy." He settled back, leaning on one hand to let all this soak in.

### Teletrians are gifted, so to speak, with abilities that Earthlings don't possess. We use the full capacity of our brains, or near to it. Like the ability to read minds and the super strength. Teletrian brains are more advanced in neurogenesis than Earthling brains. Our brains are more evolved than theirs. Earthlings may have the same capacity but have not learned to use it yet. Our genetic makeup is very similar to Earthlings, as if we were all created by the same being.

### I had a bazillion questions and wasn't sure which one to ask first. Conveniently, Cruz could hear my thoughts and knew which ones to answer first. So he continued, "When our people first came to Earth, they were a very peaceful people. We tried to live unnoticed for our uniqueness. We tried to not let our abilities show and tried not to speak of where we came from. No one could know we were from another galaxy. People could definitely not accept that back then. In those days people would have killed anyone they could not understand. Ignorance led to fear and fear led to killing. A lot of people were called witches and burned to death. Nowadays people cannot know about us because they would capture us to run experiments on us and may ultimately kill us in the process. So you see why we need to protect our secrets."

### Cruz adjusted himself around the log to get more comfortable. I wanted to know so much more. This was so much to take in. "Why don't we drive somewhere? It seems this may take a while." I offered. I wanted to be sure we weren't interrupted by my over zealous family.

### We decided to drive farther away from my home, towards a neighboring town. As we drove on, Cruz continued to fill me in on my heritage. "Our ancestors decided to not divulge the secrets of our race to any children born here until they reached the onset of adulthood, when our abilities begin to emerge. That assured children would not have to keep secrets until they were old enough to understand. It would not only be burdensome to children to keep secrets, it would be extremely difficult not to slip up and release information accidentally." This eased my anger towards my mom and grandparents for keeping everything from me.

### I still didn't understand why grandpa chased off Cruz so quickly and didn't want me to talk to him. He certainly wasn't dangerous and I think I'm old enough to handle the "secret" now. If he is from our same "culture" why wouldn't grandpa welcome him to his home?

### "The answer to that, my dear Talitha, is an old and long story." Cruz let out a big sigh with this statement. "Let's pull off to that little café over there and grab a coke or something, relax a little so I can finish." He pulled the car up to the curb.

### Inside the cozy little café were 6 tall bar stools, we sidled up on two of them at the end. There was a young girl with long brown hair pulled up in a pony-tail wiping the counter down. She came over with her note pad and pen and took our order for two Dr. Peppers, one with lots of ice, and one order of cheese fries.

### There were only four other customers in the café. Three guys who looked about my age, and a girl with them maybe a year or two younger. One boy had his arm around her pretty cozy. The boys were laughing and joking pretty loudly. We weren't eaves-dropping. However, they were just too loud to ignore. We heard the boy with his arm around the girl saying, "Come on, you know you wanna go." The girl just shook her head and said, "I can't." The other boys were laughing and said, "Come on TJ, you're not gonna take no for an answer are ya." They carried on for a few minutes, laughing and poking at the boy and girl.

### Suddenly, Cruz walked over to the table, said something to the guys sitting there and turned around and came back. I asked him what he had said to them but he just told me he gave them a warning. It seemed a little strange that he would interfere like that. However, I shrugged it off because I still wanted my answers, and not change the subject. I wanted to get back to our conversation.

### Cruz began the long, old story he had promised me. His great-great-grandfather and my great-great-grandfather had been close friends. They shared the same struggles with trying to keep secrets and maintain normalcy. They collectively had decided to marry only among their own people from Teletria in order to preserve their purity and to keep their secrets. They had made a pact that no one was to marry a non Teletrian.

### "I don't understand." I wondered. "You speak as if this was when our people first came here and yet it is about our great-great-grandfathers. That is only four generations back, as in about 150 years. Have we only been here that long?"

### "No amica. Our people have been here for hundreds of years. Our lifespan is about five hundred years. About half a millennium" Cruz carefully landed each word as to not alarm me. He knew this was a lot to comprehend at one time.

### "Holy birthdays! That is like forever! I can't imagine living that long. What do you do? How do people not know? What.....what did you call me?"

### "Amica, it means my... a...oh great. I didn't mean to slip that out. Sorry. You are not ready for that. Just know that it is a term of endearment." Now, it was Cruz' turn to have crimson cheeks.

### Although I was a little curious about that "term of endearment," I just wanted to learn more about "my people." I continued my inquisition, "So if our life expectancy is about a 500 years, how old is my grandparents? How old is my mom? How old are you?"

### I no longer had the last syllable out of my mouth when Cruz jumped up and ran out the door into the parking lot. As soon as I realized he was out the door, I followed. I got there just in time to see Cruz catapult, one by one, three guys across the street. A closer look revealed they were the three boys sitting in the café earlier. The girl stood in the parking lot, mouth gaping open. Cruz asked her if she was okay. She nodded but could not speak. When Cruz offered her a ride somewhere or asked if he could call someone for her she just ran inside the café.

### Cruz grabbed me by the arm and suggested we leave quickly. "Now do you understand the necessity of hiding our abilities from the rest of the world?" He explained as we drove away. "That girl is going to call a friend and tell her she just saw 'superman' save her. I don't know if anyone will believe her, but we can't take a chance. It's a good thing they don't know us around here."

### "What, exactly did you save her from?" I wondered aloud.

### "Those guys were thinking some pretty bad stuff. They were trying to force her to get in the truck with them. One was sort of her boyfriend but doesn't take 'no' for an answer. The other two were along for the ride and wanted to join in. Something bad would have happened to her if they had succeeded in getting her into the truck. Normally I wouldn't interfere and would never have used my strength like that in front of others. I just heard what they were saying and thinking and I knew where it was going. Since I couldn't diffuse it inside, I had to follow them outside." Cruz rubbed his forehead like he had a headache.

### "Nobility is a good trait, although I thought you didn't listen to people's thoughts all the time." I countered.

### His deep blue eyes searched me. "Please don't be afraid. Sometimes I hear people's thoughts when I am not trying to. It is usually when there is a need to protect someone. All I know is that if I can hear thoughts when I'm not trying, I better pay attention. If I don't, someone will suffer. I have learned that this past year or so since I got my abilities. It's like a premonition of danger, but it's audible and it's directly from someone's thoughts, sometimes projected at an unusual distance."

### We sat in silence as we drove on to the next town. He was letting all the information set in and I was trying to process it. Finally, he continued, "As to your last question; I am not much older than you. I am almost twenty years old. My father, Alessandro, is 142 years old. Your father is the same. They grew up together, very good friends actually."

### "You know my father? I never knew my father!" I interrupted excitedly. This was the best information he had given yet!

### "I did not know him. My father knew him and spoke often of him. He told me many stories of when they were young." Cruz' dimpled smile was emerging. We had found a common ground here. He knew he had brought up the right subject at that point.

### The mention of my father reminded me of the other cherished people in my life. "I need to call home and let them know I'm alright." I told him. I pulled out my phone and turned it on. It lit up like Christmas. 20 texts and 30 missed calls. Wow! Now I was kind of scared to call. However, that didn't stop me. I didn't want them to worry, no matter how much trouble I was going to be in.

### "Hi momma..." I couldn't even get a word in.

"Where are you? Are you okay? Where have you been? Who are you with? I can come get you right now. Just tell me where." Momma pleaded.

### "Sorry mom. I didn't want to worry you. Just trust me, please. I'm fine..."

"Talitha Harrington. You have worried us sick! You need to come home, now. We need to see that you're okay!" My mother was frantic. I really couldn't blame her but I needed to do this. She needed to let me.

### "Mom, I know everything. I'm with a friend. I'm really sorry but you just need to let me do this. I need to know about my dad." Tears were forming. I couldn't talk any more. I just hung up the phone and turned it off. Then I rethought about it and turned it back on. I texted:

### Love all of you. Please let me do this. T

### I then turned the phone back off and put it in my pocket. "You should probably turn around and head home. They're pretty worried. I think they'll let me continue our conversation back home." I told Cruz. I slid down in my seat, wondering what kind of repercussions I had to deal with.

### "Certainly my dear. Home it is. The last thing I want to do is upset you or cause you any problems." Cruz turned around and headed toward Harrington. He continued to offer me the information I was now craving. "Our grandfathers were close friends, as well. Our families had been close for as long as anyone could remember. The riff started with our grandfathers, though. The two families have been apart ever since. Silly, don't you think, that people would let an argument keep them from a long old friendship?" He peered over at me to see my reaction.

### "I suppose that depends on the argument. Although, there are not many things that would warrant a feud. If that's what it is." I answered.

### "Our people have always married within our race, as I told you. We have been very careful to not cross into other races. One way that we insure this is we are betrothed at birth. I know that may sound old-fashioned but you realize how long this tradition has been around." He paused to observe my reaction. "No one is forced to marry their betrothed. They spend time together and cultivate a relationship. If it doesn't work out, they simply don't unite in wedlock and go their separate ways."

### "How many times does that happen?" I asked.

### Cruz hesitated for a minute. He looked away and thought for a minute. "I can't think of any. They always fall in love. All the times I have seen. I'll have to ask about that later. I just know that the option to not marry is there. Anyway, a long time ago our grandfathers had both been betrothed at birth, as per custom. The girl your grandfather was betrothed to had been killed before she reached adulthood. Unfortunately, your grandfather had fallen in love with the same girl that my grandfather was betrothed to. They both courted her but she fell in love with my grandfather and they were married. Your grandfather's heart was broken. He knew that it was best for my grandparents to marry and he accepted it. Still he was distraught. He left the village they lived in and no one seen or heard from him for quite some time.

### "But here I am." I prompted. "I am his descendent. Don't tell me we're cousins! I really couldn't handle it if my grandma had a baby like that." Oh my goodness. This is getting bad.

### "Oh no! Not at all. Your grandma is a very honorable woman. No... your grandpa went to live in another village. While he was there he met a woman and fell in love with her. She was not of their race. They were married and had a child. Your grandfather thought if he went back home that people would accept him and his wife. They didn't. The punishment in those days for marrying out of the race was death. Your grandfather pleaded for his life. Not for his own sake, but for his wife and their unborn baby. The council decided to let him live because he had a family and a baby on the way. The baby was now part of their race. They could not deny him, even if he was only half. But my grandfather never accepted your grandmother or her son, I'm sorry to say."

### "Wow! This is like Romeo and Juliet. This is a fascinating story. So the baby was my father, right?" I guessed confidently.

### "You are correct. However, many of our people didn't agree with the council's decision. They thought that laws were broken and there should be no allowances made. Your grandfather still fearing for their lives packed up his family and left our village. He never spoke to any of our family again. That is where the feud began." Cruz' eyes were saddened and did not sparkle the way they did before. I could tell this feud really bothered him.

### "That's silly. You're so right. That is just silly. People shouldn't be torn apart because of a disagreement like that." I said. I couldn't imagine how people could let ridiculous disagreements sever their ties. It sounded very immature.

### "I'm glad you feel that way. Our fathers felt that way too. They secretly became friends even though they were miles apart. They even made a pact between them that my father has passed on to me."

### "What is the pact?" I asked.

### "I will tell you later." That was all Cruz said. We remained silent the rest of the way to Harrington. I was glad to hear that Cruz' dad and my dad had sense enough to remain friends. I was curious about the pact but I would not push it. He would tell me when he was ready. For some reason I felt I could trust Cruz.

### Just at the outskirts of town a van and a truck forced us off the road. We were cornered by the two vehicles and before we could make a move both our doors were suddenly ripped open and four large men pulled us out of the car and dragged us into a van. Cruz kicked the heads of two of them and knocked them over but the other two pulled guns out and jammed them into our faces. We temporarily surrendered as we didn't really want our heads blown off. As they sped off out of town they tied us up, gagged us and put blindfolds on us.

I was terrified! Who were these men and what did they want from us. Did they want money? We weren't the wealthiest people around but I'm sure my grandparents could manage something to appease them. I wish I could get this tape off my mouth so I could at least talk to Cruz. Wait a minute. He can hear my thoughts. Now if I could just figure out how to hear his thoughts. Concentrate Talli. I concentrated hard trying to send my thoughts to Cruz. I focused all my strength on getting a message to Cruz. Try hard! Harder! Concentrate!

That's right! Keep trying babe. You can do it. Cruz thought.

### OMG! I just heard that. Say something, Cruz! Let me try this again.

### You did it! That's amazing! Now try to keep calm. Don't let them know we are communicating. Try to act dumb.

### No problem! I have no idea what's going on! I'm really, really scared, Cruz.

### Don't worry hon. I'll get us out of this. I won't let anything happen to you. I just don't want them to see any abilities if I can help it. I need to wait for the right time to move.

### You mean you can break these ties and get us out?

I'm pretty sure I could. But I can't try yet. I'm going to try to hear what they are thinking for now. Then we can make plans for our escape.

### They're... planning to take us... to their...bunker? What could that mean?

What?! Cruz! What is it? Who are they?! I panicked. I would have spoken out loud had there not been duct tape over my mouth.

I can't tell who they are. They aren't interested in me. They want you. Actually, they want your grandfather. I don't know what for. They haven't mentioned that. I don't understand much of this. Cruz was looking alarmed, now. I need to move quickly. I can't let them take you.

### The two men in the van were both sitting up front and had their guns put aside. Cruz broke his hands free and untied my hands. He pulled out a pocket knife and in what seemed to be one swift movement, cut both ties from our feet. Before I realized what was happening, he grabbed me around my waist, pulled our blindfolds off, lifted me up and kicked the rear doors of the van open and flew out onto the side of the road. I don't think we actually flew. It's just that the jump was so powerful we seemed to fly across the road. Cruz set me down on my feet and hollered "run!" Holding my hand, we ran through the trees on the side of the road. We ran further and further away from the road at my new super speed. Soon we found ourselves by a lake and no one seemed to be in sight. We stopped and sat down on a rock to plan our next move.

### Looking around at our surroundings, I realized we were at Silver Lake, one of the most resplendent lakes around. It was also about 30 miles from Harrington. The lake was completely hidden by thick woods. We should be pretty safe here but we weren't taking chances. Who knows how close those guys could be. Maybe they could run fast too.

### "Where should we go from here? Do you think we should go to my house and tell my grandfather? Or do you think we should run further away?" I inquired. I paced around frantically. Cruz was deep in thought. This was like a scene out of a James Bond movie. This can't be really happening to me!

### "If we go to your house I guarantee they will be waiting incognito somewhere nearby. They would surely grab you. They probably split up and one of them is probably searching around here for you now." Those gorgeous blue eyes looked so worried. He looked up at a hill just above us. "Let's hide in that cave for now while we figure this out."

### The cave was hidden by bushes and rocks. It was about four feet wide and twenty feet long. Inside was damp from a spring that emerged from the mountain. We sat in the back of the cave where it was dark, while we planned our escape. We kept quiet and spoke through thoughts only, in case someone was hunting for us. We decided it would be best to sneak out and head towards the airport. We decided to hide out at a friend's house in Italy.

So what do you think they want from my grandpa? I asked Cruz. Do you think they are Teletrians or regular people?

My guess is they are probably Teletrians by the way they tore off the doors on my car. Cruz answered. "Regular" people, as you call them, could not have done that.

### So they can run fast and read minds and all that stuff?

Probably. Not all Teletrians have the same abilities but collectively they probably have them all covered. Cruz told me. We need to lay low until we can figure this out.

### I wasn't real keen on the idea of spending the night in a cave without a sleeping bag or blanket. However, I wasn't too keen on being caught either. I guess the cave was the lesser of two evils. Building a fire was definitely out of the question. This was going to be a long night. I wanted to text momma or someone for help but they had taken my cell phone when they tied us up. How did I get myself into this situation? My life had been so average and now look at me; thrown into this nightmare!

We sat in the very back of the cave and remained quiet. I heard some voices talking, faint at first and then they got closer. I was so scared and nervous I thought I could hear my heartbeat get loud and I was afraid someone else could hear it. Can you hear my heartbeat? I asked Cruz. He gave me a quizzical look as if he couldn't understand why I would think that was a possibility. I just feel like it's loud. I guess I'm just scared.

Understanding dawned on his face as he scooted over by me and put his arm around my shoulders. I didn't stop him. It gave me a feeling of protection, even if it wasn't going to make a difference. It calmed my soul to have a strong arm around me. Try to keep still and try to keep your mind clear of thoughts. Hopefully they will not see the cave and keep moving on. Cruz tried to console me.

### This mysterious stranger was becoming my friend, someone I could trust, and someone it felt good to be around. The voices were audible for some time as they were moving about looking for a trace of their prey. Obviously they did not see the cave and could not find us. The voices faded away as they moved on. Although we did not let our guard down in case they were bluffing or still in the area.

### As night fell upon us, the temperatures fell also. I wasn't sure if the chills were caused from terror or cold. It was probably both. Cruz took his jacket off and wrapped it around me. We stayed in that same place and position all through the night. Neither one of us dared to sleep.

### By morning we were stiff and cold and starving. We hadn't heard any voices all night so we decided to venture out of the cave. Luckily we drank water from the spring in the cave but we were in great need of something to eat. It felt good to stretch my legs and back and moving warmed me up really fast. If only my stomach wasn't growling.

### "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with your territory here. What would you suggest we look for to eat?" Cruz asked me.

### "I could really go for a nice juicy steak right now." I joked with him.

### "Umm, sure, I'll get right on that." He laughed.

### "One can dream, right?"

Stop. Don't move and don't talk. Cruz communicated with his mind.

What is it? I asked, but as soon as I thought it I heard what he had heard! It was a rattle snake! OMG! Now what? The terror was back all too soon. I had a huge fear of snakes. Stopping was not a problem. I froze in my tracks. Keeping quiet was another thing. An overwhelming urge to scream bloody murder had overtaken me. Okay Talli, keep your cool. Don't let it out. I kept trying to talk myself into staying calm. I knew any minute I would lose it. The snake was squirming towards me and I didn't know how much longer I could stand it.

### Suddenly, in one swift move, Cruz pulled out a pocket knife and speared the snake, severing the head. I let out a big breath and collapsed on a rock with my head in my hands. Either my emotions overwhelmed me or I was releasing pent up emotions because the tears were pouring from my eyes and I was shivering again.

### Cruz wrapped his jacket around me again and tried to comfort me. "I'm okay. I just think that I've been holding it in too long. I'll be alright. Thanks so much for taking care of the snake, though. That honestly terrified me."

### "I don't think the snake bite would have hurt either of us. However, it will make a good breakfast."

### "What?!" I was puzzled. How would it not have hurt us? He was headed right for us.

### "Snakes don't usually bite Teletrians but if they do, the bite doesn't hurt us. Well it may sting a little initially, but it isn't toxic." Cruz explained.

### "Shut up! That is totally cool! You mean to tell me that I do not have to fear snakes?"

### "I don't see any reason for it, no. So help me gather kindling to make a fire. We're going to cook breakfast." Cruz began picking up small pieces of wood and dried leaves and arranging them in the middle of stones he had placed to create a fire pit.

### I reluctantly began to gather kindling also but couldn't help but grimace at the thought of eating a snake. The thought definitely was revolting. However, my gut protested loudly and angrily at the thought of denying nutrition any longer. It's amazing what you are willing to do to for self-preservation. Still, I could not get enthused enough with the cuisine to motivate or salivate.

### Cruz seemed enthusiastic, though. I mostly watched him gather and build and then rub sticks together to start the fire. Then he skinned the snake and roasted it over the fire and then quickly extinguished the fire. The procedure took a while so by the time the meat was cooked I was so famished it was appealing more and more.

### I couldn't help but notice the lean, strong, muscled physique Cruz was blessed with. Definitely some nice eye candy to enjoy while I waited. What was I thinking? I guess it couldn't hurt to just think and look. That didn't mean anything. I noticed the edges of his lips curled up slightly and his lovely blue eyes twinkled. OMG. Did he just hear my thoughts? Is that why he's smiling? I really need to watch that. I don't want to send him the wrong message.

### "Bon appetite." Cruz said as he handed me a piece of snake meat.

### "Thanks. I guess." I reluctantly took the meat and slowly held it to my lips. Ugh! There has to be another way. I can't do this. "Sorry, Cruz. Thanks for finding the 'meat' and cooking it and everything but I don't think I can eat it."

### "Are you sure? You've got to be starving."

### "I am but I guess not that much. Not enough to eat a snake."

### "Many people like the taste of rattle snakes. They think it tastes like chicken." Cruz tried to reason with me but when it comes to eating strange things I am not reasonable. I don't even want to be reasonable.

### "I'm fine. I'll wait 'til we get to civilization. Thanks any way."

### "Hold on. I think I have a mint in my pocket." Cruz put his hand in his pocket and retrieved a peppermint wrapped in cellophane. "It's not much but maybe it will keep your blood sugar up." Cruz shrugged as he handed the mint to me.

### "Thanks!" I grabbed the mint and shoved it in my mouth. Okay. Maybe I was hungry. "Umm, maybe I'll try the snake meat after all."

### "Good, I will feel much better if you do." Cruz tore off a piece of meat.

### I closed my eyes, held my nose, threw the meat into my mouth and swallowed whole. I guess that wasn't so bad. Maybe I can handle a little ole snake. I tore off another piece and did the same. Eventually we both had satisfied our hunger and were ready to move on.

### We ran through the desert towards the airport. However, we didn't make it to the airport. About halfway out of the desert we were spotted by the kidnappers. They had been waiting for us to leave. As soon as we spotted them we turned around and ran back the other way towards Harrington. We almost reached Harrington when we were met by the kidnappers again. They had split up and had us covered from all angles.

### We ran back the way we had come and when we noticed they weren't following us we found our cave and slipped inside again. We huddled together in the back of the cave and kept quiet, waiting to see if they followed us.

We really need to come up with a plan. How are we going to ditch these guys? I asked Cruz in my mind.

I have no idea, yet. Cruz answered. Don't worry, though. I will think of something.

You really think you can? I had serious doubts.

I think we need to summon backup. Cruz suggested.

### We began to leave the cave but stopped when we heard two men's voices talking nearby. "The old man won't come around unless we find her. It's your fault they got away. You'd better find her. I need Demetrio fast! I can't wait any longer."

Did I hear that correctly? What did he say? It sounded like he said Demetrio. I thought to Cruz.

### I was wrong before. I assumed when they said "old man" that they meant your grandfather. Obviously they are referring to your father.

### "My...father..." I spoke at a whisper. I was stunned. I had never known him but yearned to do so. In my excitement I ran out of the cave. I had to know about my father. If this would get me the chance then it was well worth it. "I'll go with you..."

Talitha! No! Cruz attempted to stop me and pulled me back into the cave. However it was too late. The men heard me and ran towards the cave. Cruz met them with a swift kick to the head to both men. A battle ensued between the three of them. Cruz bloodied both men badly and I thought we could run for it until one of them pulled a gun out. We froze in place.

### Two of them grabbed me as I felt the blunt object smash into my head. I don't remember anything after that. They must have knocked us out. Because the next thing I remember is laying on the floor of the van, blindfolded, gagged and tied. When I came to and began to stir, one man said don't bother tying that again as he shoved the end of the gun into my abdomen. Ouch! I must have a broken rib.

### There wasn't a chance of escape. I didn't want that. I wanted to meet my father. This was more than I could ever imagine. I never knew if he was alive and now I may get the chance to meet him. Then it occurred to me that that wasn't such a good idea after all. What was I thinking? I wasn't thinking. I reacted on emotions. If they are doing this drastic measure to bring my father out of hiding, what are they going to do to him?

### Exactly! You didn't do him any favors and now your life is at stake too! Cruz sternly rebuked me. I'm not sure what to do now. I've got to figure this out. I'm going to try to send telepathic messages out there. Some family and friends have the ability to pick these up. Some have the ability to send them. I'm hoping if I send strong enough messages that they will get to somebody. Sometimes it works if the person you are sending them to has a strong ability with telepathy.

Then I will try that too! Maybe someone in my family can do that. I offered. It's worth a try. I'm really sorry I got us caught. You don't deserve this. They're not even after you. You just got captured for association with me. I don't blame you for being mad at me. I apologized to Cruz.

Talitha, my dear, I would never be mad at you. Frustrated, yes, but not mad. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you. It is my duty to protect you. I'm glad I'm with you. Cruz was not only sending me messages, but I could feel something radiating from him that enveloped me and made me feel somewhat safe. I know that sounds weird. I really can't explain it, even to myself. I just can feel something unexplainable and it is comforting. If I have to be in this predicament, I'm glad Cruz is with me. I wonder if Nate would be able to comfort me this way. Somehow I think only Cruz can do this.

I concentrated my mind to think thoughts to momma and grandpa and grandma. I thought them separately, hoping that would give more energy. I concentrated to momma first. Momma, please hear me. This is Talitha. I am in a lot of trouble and need your help. I've been kidnapped by three men who want to use me to bring my father out of hiding. Please, please hear me. Grandpa, please hear me. This is Talitha. Grams, hear me please. I took turns focusing on each one. I pictured them in my head while pleading with them. Then a thought came to me suddenly. Daddy, or father, or whatever I should call you, Demetrio this is your daughter Talitha. Please hear me.

### I concentrated and plead with these four people until my head ached from concentrating and then I still kept trying. Each one I focused on I would try to imagine them in my mind. When I imagined my father I pictured grandpa at a younger age but thought in my mind it was my father.

### We drove for quite a while. I didn't know exactly how long since I was blind-folded. It felt like half a day. However, it was probably not quite that. But then it could have been more. Time became blurred in that situation. Then the van stopped and they moved us out of it. It felt like we walked about a mile, being prodded forward by our abductors. Then we were led into an enclosure of some sort. We walked up a ramp and then through what seemed like corridors and then into a room. There they took off our blindfolds and removed the duct tape. They told us not to bother screaming. We were too far from civilization for anyone to hear. I didn't bother testing it to see if that were true. We had walked so far through trees or bushes, it was most likely true and I didn't want the duct tape back on.

### "So where do you think we are?" I asked Cruz when we were left alone. They hadn't tied us to anything. They just left the ties on our hands. They had put shackles on our feet so they could move us out of the van and into this place. The shackles remained on, I'm sure to deter running away if we could get outside.

I'm not sure where they have brought us. Are you okay? Cruz answered with a question of his concern. I would guess about 200 miles from Harrington. Which direction could be anyone's guess? There seemed to be a lot of brush out there on our way in.

### Yes! That's it! We are out on the reserve. I could smell sagebrush. About 170 miles south of Harrington is the Juniper reserve. There are miles and miles of nothing but Juniper trees and sagebrush. It's rocky and mountainous. No civilization. If we travelled to the middle of the reserve, we would be about 225 miles from Harrington. We go there to hike sometimes. There's a huge gorge we like to hike in. My grandma knows the place very well.

### You should keep trying to contact them telepathically and include this knew information. Have them contact my family for backup.

### We were still speaking through our minds in case our captors were listening. I continued to send thoughts to my family in hopes they could receive them. Including the information of where we thought we were.

So the question I have is how do they get the message to my dad if they don't know where he is? The question was just as much for me as for Cruz. They probably think my mom will call the cops and it will be on the news! That's how they get the message to my dad.

You're right! They think he will see it on T.V. and come out to find you. Then they can get him for whatever it is they want him for. Cruz answered enthusiastically. If we can stop them from reporting this to authorities and it doesn't get on the news, it will buy us more time to get away because they will still be waiting for your father.

### Yes! That's a great plan! I just hope I can get through to them. I'm going to try some more.

### I am too.

### We both sat there concentrating on contacting our families for help and warning them not to contact authorities. As I was concentrating on contacting Grams, I felt a strange sensation. I didn't hear anything but I felt like I was being heard. It was just a feeling I can't explain. But it gave me hope. That was a start.

### Chapter 4

Sometime later I woke up with my head resting on Cruz' lap. His arms wrapped around me. He was propped up against the wall. Did I fall asleep? How long have I been sleeping? Sorry... I sat up after realizing I was sleeping on his lap. I didn't remember falling asleep. I certainly didn't remember lying down on Cruz. I rolled my neck around to stretch it out.

### No, I'm sorry. You just looked so uncomfortable and your neck was kinked. I really wasn't taking advantage of you. Just trying to let you get some much needed rest. I think you've been sleeping for a couple of hours. I broke my hands free from the ties and broke yours also. I hope they don't get angry and retie them. Maybe if we act compliant they won't.

Ya, right. Maybe they'll reward us for good behavior. Not. I sarcastically retorted.

I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have untied them. Cruz was sincerely contrite.

### That's okay. It's worth a try. It does feel good to have them out. Maybe we can put them back on. I mean... make them look like they are on.

It's probably best not to deceive them. That would probably just anger them more. Cruz cautioned.

### Just then a woman came in carrying a tray with two cartons of milk and two pop tarts. She sat the tray down on the floor next to us. "You kids eat up. We have no idea how long this will take. We don't want anyone accusing us of mistreatment. Go ahead. Eat."

### "Why would it matter if you feed us? I mean...isn't kidnapping worse than not feeding us. Call me crazy, but I think kidnapping is like a f e l o n y." I dragged out the last word to give it more significance.

### "Look little girl, don't smart off to me. I can make this easy for you or hard for you. Your choice." The woman looked to be in her late twenties. She was tall and slender but muscular. The tank top she wore emphasized her physique. She noticed me eyeing the gun slung on her hips. "I wouldn't if I were you. I can assure you I am faster than either one of you." Then to demonstrate, she grabbed the gun out and had it pointed at me in a mili-second.

### I put my hands up. "I wasn't thinking anything. I just noticed it is all."

### "Good. Make sure you keep it that way. I don't even need my gun to take you kids down. You understand?" She paused as we both nodded. "You play nice and I'll play nice. When we get what we want, you're free to go."

### "What, exactly, is it you want? Cruz prodded for more information.

"You tell me. I know you know." The woman answered. "I was gifted with all the abilities. You understand? I've heard all your thoughts. I'm not here to hurt you. You know that. If we hurt or kill you, we lose our leverage. You notice I haven't tied you back up. Mostly cuz I know you can't get past me. And if by some miracle you make it past me, there are many more right outside your door to stop you. So I suggest we work together on this and get this over with as soon possible."

### "And you expect us to believe you're just gonna let us go when you get what you want?" I snorted.

### "I really don't care what you believe, little half breed. However, I have no intentions on keeping you or killing you." The woman answered. "Oh wait, you're not a half breed. You're a quarter breed, right?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I was just learning about my people. Now she's saying I'm something else. I can't keep up. "It really doesn't matter to me what kind of blood I have in me. I have the greatest family on Earth!" On Earth. That held a whole new meaning for me now.

### "You are so naïve." The woman sneered.

### "So what the tramp means, my dear Talitha, is...." Cruz began.

### "Hey! Watch your mouth scamp!" The woman sneered as she made a swift kick to Cruz' abdomen.

"Are you... not... here trying... to steal... what does no...t belong to you? Cruz managed to spit out in pained breaths. No need to break my ribs.

Cruz, are you okay? I tried to reach him.

### "Like I said, I can make this easy on you or hard on you. It's simply your choice. I suggest you keep your snide remarks out of here." The woman locked the door as she left.

I'm fine. What she means by quarter-breed is that your grandfather is Teletrian and your grandmother is human. Your father is half Teletrian, so you are quarter Teletrian. But it seems to me that the Teletrian blood is very strong in your veins. I have seen you run extraordinarily. You can read minds. And we still haven't tested out any other abilities and you may not even be fully developed yet. You could still gain more abilities. Cruz explained.

This was a lot to take in, still. It hadn't quite sunk all the way in. I think I'm just exhausted. I wonder how long we have been here. I thought to Cruz.

Just rest your head over here. We can think and rest. We won't be any good to ourselves if we get too tired. Cruz offered.

### Okay. And I'm still trying to contact my family. I need to warn them. And we need the back up.

### The door suddenly burst open and the woman was back in. She grabbed me by my arm and yanked me up to my feet. Her closed fist connected with my jaw, which knocked me back down to the floor. "No more contacting family! Do you understand? I'll be listening carefully so don't even think about it. Besides, if you bring your family here, they will probably get hurt. Or worse. Are we clear?"

### "Crystal." I spoke sarcastically as I spat the blood out of my mouth.

"I really don't like your attitude, little quarter-breed." She started to leave and then stopped and turned around. "I just realized. You have no idea who your grandmother is, do you? Or should I say, what she is." Then she turned and left.

### "What is she talking about?" I asked Cruz.

### "I have no idea. Maybe she's just messing with our heads. Part of the game, probably. Don't let her get to you. That's what she wants. She wants to break you and intimidate you." Cruz breathed out as he was holding his ribs to ease the pain.

### "Well she's doing a great job of it." I rubbed my jaw. Cruz took his shirt off and ripped strips of fabric and handed them to me.

### "Do you think you could wrap these around my ribs tightly?"

### As I wrapped the strips of cloth around his ribs, I couldn't help but admire his beautiful six-pack, although I tried not to look. His skin felt warm to the touch and the task at hand almost felt sensuous. I tried to keep my mind on something else. Where were these feelings coming from? After we were satisfied with the wrap, I help him put his jacket back on. Thank goodness that was over.

### Time passed very slowly. I would get so exhausted I would sleep for a while and then wake up and remember where I was. I've never been homesick before. Mostly because I've never been away from my family. However, I was learning what that meant now. If only I could be at home on my porch swing with grandpa or sitting in grams kitchen with the aroma of bread baking or even shopping with momma. I think I really did take them all for granted. As soon as I get to see them, or, I hope I get to see them, I am telling them. I wonder what Nate's doing. I wonder if he knows I've been kidnapped. I wonder if Brielle knows. I wonder what the woman meant by "what" my grandma is. There was plenty on my mind.

### There was plenty on Cruz' mind, too. When I listened in I could hear him try to think of a way to get out. He would also think about his family and how he missed them. He also wondered if he would ever see them again. He also wondered about some girl and if he was ever going to be able to marry her. Strange, though, he never thought her name. I'll have to ask him sometime. I actually feel safe with Cruz. He must be a pretty good guy, even though I don't know him, I can tell. The girl he is pining over is a very lucky girl. Is that a hint of jealousy I feel? 'Course not! That would be silly. He is good-looking and kind and strong.....what am I thinking. I hope I didn't think that so he could hear. I better watch what I think.

### I looked up at Cruz and his eyes were shut but he had a big smile on his face. He must be asleep and dreaming. I think maybe I'll sleep for a while, too. I snuggled on to his lap and closed my eyes. Might as well be comfortable and get some sleep. Cruz' hand came around me and held me. He must be dreaming about that girl and he thinks I'm her. That's okay. I'll let him think that while he's asleep. He needs his rest so he can get us out of here.

### I awoke to the sound of the door opening. A man brought in a tray of food and sat it down by us. "Here you two. You better eat this. I promise it's not poisoned. Not too bad tasting, either. You're lucky I'm on board tonight. I'm a good cook. You'll like it. Aster's not even a cook period. When she's here you'll just get pop tarts or canned food."

### I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I must have slept a long time. I was starving and the food did look good. Lasagna my favorite.

Cruz must have been awake for a while. Well, good morning, sleeping beauty. Actually, I don't think its morning but what other greeting works when you wake up. He thought to me.

"Did I sleep long?" I asked as a grabbed a plate of food. Then I remembered Cruz' abs. How are your ribs feeling? I asked him.

Sore. Was his only reply.

### "You kids enjoy." The man said and turned to leave.

### "Wait!" I said to him. "What is your name?"

### "You can call me Max." He smiled as he told me, then turned and left, locking the door.

### "What?" I asked Cruz. He had this strange look on his face.

### "You just surprise me how well you adapt. "Asking that guy his name like he's a friend."

### "I just was trying to establish a rapport with him. If he's going to be watching us and we make a connection, maybe he'll take these things off." I said, pointing to the shackles.

### "I think that's a great idea. It just surprised me, is all. You're very brave, you know." Cruz complimented me.

### We ate our dinner insatiably. We were both hungry and it was really good. If this were different circumstances I would love to have Max as my personal chef. Sometime after we finished eating, four men came in and tied our hands up behind our backs.

### "Why are you tying us up? We've done what you wanted. We haven't tried anything." Cruz asked the men. "Haven't we been compliant enough?"

### "Shut up! We don't need to hear from you. If you behave, we will take them off after the transport." The largest man said.

### We took that as our cue to zip our mouths and not even try to telepathically communicate. They moved us out the door and on down a long hallway. There were no windows so I suppose that's why they left the blind-folds off.

### The building we were in must be extremely large. It seemed like we walked a half mile. It probably wasn't that long, but it seemed that way. We passed several doors that were closed. The doors had no windows so we couldn't see where they went. We stopped at a door and one of the men opened it. The others pushed us into a room. The room was about 20 feet by 20 feet. There was a sofa and two chairs. There was also a television, a refrigerator and another door that led out from the other side of the room. There were no windows.

### "Make yourselves at home." One of the men laughed. "This will be your home until your father shows up. The fridge has drinks and snacks in it. The bathroom is off that door over there. The T.V doesn't have cable or anything. You can play games on it." They took off our ties and shackles. Then the men all turned and left.

### I looked at Cruz. "I'm taking advantage of that bathroom for now." I said.

### "I will after you. Right now I'm going to check out the fridge. See what they left us."

### We tried to pass the time but it was really hard. We were worried and didn't know what to expect and there wasn't much to do. Even conversation evaded us. This wasn't quite the setting for small talk. Cruz was such a gentleman, though. He tried to comfort me and worried about me. It seemed he was more concerned for my welfare than his own. And we had just met. I don't know too many people that altruistic that isn't family. I was impressed with him.

### We spent the night cat-napping. I slept on the sofa and Cruz pulled the two chairs together to sleep on. I offered to switch half through the night but Cruz wouldn't let me. I really wanted him to sleep on the couch the whole time because of his ribs. We would sleep for a while and then wake up to find nothing had changed. We were still in the same room and no one around. We had no more information. We were getting frustrated. What was going on out there and had they found my dad or had our families heard anything. We were really in the dark.

### Chapter 5

### It seemed like morning when I woke up. There was no way to tell. They had taken our phones and neither one of us had a watch. There was no way to measure time and we were sleeping in small increments. It just felt like morning. It was probably something to do with my body's bio-rhythm or something. Not that I know much about bio-rhythm. I've only heard about it. Something in my body just feels like morning. I'm going to guess this is our fourth day being held by these jerks.

### The woman Max called Aster brought our food in. We didn't speak to her at all. She wasn't the friendly one and we knew she wouldn't tell us anything. She left without saying anything. Cruz and I tried to pass the time playing games on the television but couldn't concentrate on it so we gave up on that.

### The bathroom had a bathtub in it so I took a bath. Putting my dirty clothes back on was gross. However, the shower was refreshing and made me feel a little better. The warm water soothed my achy body that screamed from the lack of sleep and the accommodations. Cruz did the same when I finished. We felt more relaxed afterwards, even though our predicament was the same. That's the magic of water. I'd love to be stretched out on a nice warm beach somewhere sunny.

### While I was daydreaming about sunbathing, the door opened. I couldn't believe my eyes. Were they playing tricks on me? I rubbed them with my fists. OMG! They weren't! Nate stumbled in as they pushed him through the door into our room. He was still shackled and bound and blindfolded. I ran over to him. The door slammed shut and the men that brought him left us alone. I pulled his blind fold off and hugged and kissed him. It was so good to see him, even though I would rather he not be kidnapped, too.

### "Tallie! You are here! Are you okay?" Nate was obviously as thrilled to see me as I was to see him. Cruz came over and helped me pull off the shackles and ties. No sooner did we have his hands untied did Nate grab me with a big bear hug and lip-locked me. I pulled back slightly.

### "How did you get here? Did they go after you, too? Why would they kidnap you? I'm just getting everyone involved in this...this....mess!" I said. "I'm sorry Nate, I didn't want you involved."

### Nate pulled me closer and held me tight. "I had to find you. I was persistent. I kept trying to find out where you were from your mom and grandparents. They said you were hiking with some out-of-town family. I knew something wasn't right, even though they wouldn't tell me. I knew where your favorite hiking spot was; and I was looking around here for you when these goons grabbed me and tied me up and brought me here."

### I pulled away a distance. Although I'm not sure why, I did feel uncomfortable that we had an audience. "You shouldn't have got involved, Nate. I don't know what's going to happen to us."

### "Well I'm glad I'm here. If you're in trouble, there's no place I would rather be." Nate told me as he pulled me back into him.

### Cruz cleared his throat. "Hi, I'm Cruz DaMonico." He extended his hand in greeting. "What exactly do you know, Nate?" I pulled back away from Nate. Nate hesitantly shook hands with Cruz.

"Are you the out-of–town family?" Nate spat the word "you" out like it was a bad taste in his mouth.

### "I'm from out-of-town, yes. I'm a friend of the family." Cruz answered without much information.

### Nate looked me in the eyes with a hurt look in his eyes. "Why are you out hiking with this guy? What's going on here?"

### "We weren't hiking, Nate. These guys grabbed us from in town and brought us out here. We were blind-folded and guessed where we were. This is really great news cuz this tells me my family might know where we are! There's hope. Did they tell you anything else? Were they doing okay?" I was careful not to say too much or have Nate say too much since I never knew how much our captors could hear.

### "What do they want from you? Why would they, whoever they are, kidnap you?" Nate asked.

### "They think my father is alive and that this will bring him out of hiding. I have no idea what they want with my father. They haven't really talked to us. They get angry if we try to talk to them so we just keep quiet. Did they say anything to you?"

### "Just that your mom hasn't involved the media so maybe my being here will get some action." Nate replied.

### So obviously my mom didn't call the police and they think if Nate is missing, his parents will call the police and the media will get involved. Hopefully my mom can talk them out of that. Most likely she can't, though. What would she tell them: hey your son is with aliens and we have it all under control so don't call the cops. Ya, that's not happening. Or maybe momma gave them a story of where Nate was, like he had to take me to the airport or something that took him out of town for a while.

The three of us just had to wait it out and see what happened. It was so frustrating not being able to do anything. I mostly paced around the room, aimlessly. Nate did pushups and Cruz watched both of us, not saying a word. We didn't hear anything all day from our captors. They brought food in once but no one said anything. I tried to make small talk to pass the time but it didn't work very well. For one thing, I was worried about what was going to happen. Also, Cruz and Nate seemed to have this unspoken aversion going on between them. It must be a guy thing. They didn't really talk to each other, just to me. It might have been my imagination but it seemed like they gave dirty looks to each other. That's silly, though. It's probably this captive situation and not getting enough sleep that makes it seem that way.

### I had sat on the couch to relax for a while when I heard in my mind a voice that sounded familiar. It was very faint and I couldn't make out what they said. "Did you hear anything?" I asked Cruz.

### "Not really. I wasn't trying to. Let me listen for a while." Cruz answered.

I heard it in my head. I told him.

### Yes, I figured that's what you meant. I'm concentrating.

### Talitha, Talli. Can you hear me?

### "It's grandpa!" I shouted. I was so excited. Then I realized I needed to be careful. Stupid Talli. Think before you speak.

### "A...Talli, I think you're losing it babe. Your grandpa is not here. There's no way you can hear him. As a matter of fact, I can't hear anything. You are definitely hearing things." Nate snorted at me. "Come here babe. You just need me to hold you and let you rest a bit."

I didn't pay any attention to what Nate said. I was answering grandpa. Yes, I can hear you gramps but so can they, if you get my drift.

### I didn't hear any more after that. I think he must have got my message. We didn't want to alert these people if grandpa was here. I looked at Cruz and he nodded to me as if he understood.

### "Ok, what is going on here?" Nate dragged the words out for emphasis on his question.

### "Just try and relax, bud. There's nothing we can do at this point." Cruz advised.

### "I'm not your "bud", dude. And you're the one that got my girlfriend into this mess. So don't tell me to relax!" Nate became defensive.

I stepped in between the two of them to diffuse anything beginning to start with them. "Cruz did not get me into this. Actually, he got dragged into this just for being with me. Otherwise he wouldn't be here."

### "Well, I for one, wish he weren't here. I don't get why he was with you anyway." Nate was obviously jealous or something but I couldn't understand why. There was nothing between me and Cruz. "And you two keep having this unspoken conversation with your eyes. What am I supposed to make of that, huh?"

### "You're not supposed to make anything of it, Nate. There's nothing going on." I pleaded with him.

### "Ya, right." Nate mumbled. He obviously wasn't buying it but I really hadn't given him a reason to not believe me. However, he let it go for now.

### Things quieted down for a while. We all sat around playing black jack. Anything we could find to keep our minds busy and not spend our time worrying. It was interesting watching the interactions between Cruz and Nate. Why do guys have to be so competitive?

### "So where are you from, Cruz? I can't really tell by your accent." Nate glared at Cruz as he asked the question. Well, at least they were talking now.

### "I'm from Italy. Salerno, Italy. Have you heard of it?" Cruz' answer seemed to contain a little sarcasm.

### "Never heard of it. So how is it you know the Harringtons? Specifically, how is it you know Talitha?" Nate answered with contempt.

### "Actually, my family and the Harringtons have been friends for centuries. I've never met Talitha before. Although, I'm delighted to know her now." Cruz retorted.

### "What do you mean by that?" Nate spat out the question.

### OMG! This is ridiculous! What is going on here? "Can we just talk about something else?" I asked. "I'd rather not be the topic of your conversation. I am right here, you know."

### "Okay, I'll talk to you then. Is there something going on between you two?" Nate pointed to me and Cruz.

### "Of course not! Don't be ridiculous! We just met. Jealousy does not become you, Nate." I said.

### "I'm not jealous. Just wondering where things stand is all. But you can't convince me this guy doesn't have his sights on you, Talli." Nate accused.

### "Let's just focus on getting out of here, alright. Let's work together and figure this out." I tried to change the subject. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with boyfriend issues when my life and my family's lives were at stake.

### "So did my mom or my grandparents follow you here?" I spoke in a whisper so the captors wouldn't hear.

### "Nah. I'm sure no one followed me." Nate replied.

### "They could possibly have extraordinary hearing. They could hear even if you whisper." Cruz warned.

### "Who are 'they', if they can hear that well? Or better yet, what are they." Nate joked. "Vampires?"

### "No, you idiot. They're aliens." Cruz played along.

### "Okay, I get it. They're aliens that have taken over bodies here on Earth so we can't see how disgusting they look." Nate laughed.

### "Yup, you got it. And now they want your body for their buddy back home." Cruz kept up the humor.

### I wasn't getting into the game with them. I was really worried about grandpa, since I heard him. My mind was focused on him. I would never forgive myself if these people hurt my grandpa. I hope he hasn't come here alone. No, actually, I don't want him to bring mom or grams. I just don't want them around here. Maybe he will bring the cops. That would be a good thing. Let them handle it. He probably won't risk exposing our people to the public. This would be hard to explain to the police. Oh my heck. This is so bad.

### Max came into the room, bringing our dinner. I have to admit, it was nice to see Max. He was much friendlier than the others. We tried to get him to stay and talk to us for a while. He refused, naturally. He didn't want the wrath of the goons to come down on him. We just wished we could get some information from someone, but it wasn't happening. All we could do is sit and wait. It was so aggravating!

### After we ate dinner we played some more cards and then we all got comfortable enough to get some sleep. We had become so exhausted that falling asleep had become a little easier. The exhaustion was more a mental exhaustion from worry and fear. Also our bodies weren't able to sleep in a good position or a comfortable place. Max had brought us some blankets to lie on, which helped. I got some good sleep for a change. Cruz slept a little better. However, Nate didn't sleep much since this was his first night here.

### I was awakened early by six men that came into the room and tied and shackled us. They moved us out of the room and into the hallway. We proceeded down farther into the building, not back towards where we had come in at. Judging by how much we had travelled inwards, this must be a very large building. We passed several doors that led out of the hallway. Again, they had no windows so we didn't know where they led to. After walking down the hall for a while, we were taken into another room which looked much like the last room we were in. It had a larger sofa, love seat, two chairs, a lamp, a fridge and a table. There was also a bathroom off the room. The men took off the shackles and ties and left the room.

### "I guess we're playing musical rooms or something. It doesn't make a lot of sense to keep moving us." I vented. What is the point, I wondered. "Maybe they are trying to confuse us. It seems we are moving farther back into the building but maybe it's an illusion. I'm pretty sure there isn't a building this big out here on the reserve. In fact, I have never seen any buildings out here. I assumed they put us in a temporary shelter that was erected just for this purpose. But if that were the case, it wouldn't be so big."

### "Unless..." Cruz began and then hesitated. "Are there big enough hills to hide a building under the ground?"

### "I suppose that would be possible. It would have been here before they took us. I haven't ever seen anything but it's a big area. I haven't covered all of it. Yes, it's possible." I considered the idea.

### "I think they moved us to this room, farther in, in case someone found the building. It would take them longer to find us and by then they would be able to trap everyone in here along with us. Like sort of a trap. They leave the opening unguarded. Watch for someone to snoop around in here and then close in on us and trap everyone." Cruz said.

### "OMG! That's awful! I hope they don't fall for it! We better warn them!" I shouted.

### Cruz stepped toward me and put his arms around me. "Calm down, Talli. Try to be quiet and stay calm. We will do one quick warning and then say no more. Do you understand?" Cruz whispered in my ear.

### Nate jumped over to us and pulled us apart. "Hey, dude, that's enough grabbing my girlfriend and no more whispering in her ear!"

### "Chill, Nate! Don't bring attention to us. There's nothing going on between me and Cruz and you don't need to be inviting the goons in here." I warned.

### "Are you serious? He just put his arms around you and whispered in your ear! In front of me, no less."

### "Think about it, Nate. If that meant anything do you think we would be flaunting it in front of you?" I disputed. "Calm down before you give everything away to the goons."

### "Actually, play along with me for a minute, Nate." Cruz mouthed at Nate. Then mouthed to me, "Warn your family while I create a diversion."

That was a brilliant idea, I thought. Mom, grandpa, grams, dad, don't come into the building. It's a trap. Don't come in here to get us. They will capture all of you with us. Please stay out. While I warned my family not to come in here with my telepathic abilities, Cruz picked a doozey of a fight with Nate. They were yelling loud at each other and accusing each other and then they started shoving and then Nate threw a punch to Cruz. Cruz grabbed his fist before it connected with his face and held Nate's hand there. Even with his injured ribs he was fast and strong. He was using his speed and strength and Nate was a little surprised. He just backed off and stared at Cruz wondering what had just happened.

### "I don't even know if I wanna know what's going on here." Nate remarked. "But Talli, you can't give up on us like this. We've been together for a long time, like forever! Think hard about what you're doing, babe."

### "Nate, just know that my feelings for you have not changed, I haven't done anything wrong, there is nothing between Cruz and I, and you need to just give it a rest until we are out of here. If you really care about me, you will trust me on this." I pleaded with Nate, as I put my arms around his waist and looked in his soothing green eyes.

### "Okay. I will honor your wishes, even though I don't like it." Nate agreed reluctantly.

### "Thank you Nate. Thanks for trusting me." I gave him a hug. Just a hug, though. No way was I kissing him in front of Cruz.

### Chapter 6

The next morning when we woke up we could tell things were different. We had been exhausted and had slept late. No one had come in to bring us breakfast so they hadn't woken us up, yet. For some reason Cruz walked over to the door and tried it. It was locked, of course. "I wonder what's going on out there." He stated. "Something's changed, I can tell. I don't know quite what it is." Cruz began pounding on the door and yelling for someone to open the door.

"So now you're buddies with these guys and they're going to open the door for you?" Nate taunted. "They are just sitting there waiting for you to wake up so they can come get you, huh?"

"Something tells me they are not there. If that's true I'm busting this thing down." After a couple of minutes of pounding and yelling, Cruz kicked open the door. We all ran out the door and looked. There was no one around for as far as we could see. We edged our way down the hall, keeping close to the wall and watching and listening vigilantly for any signs of life. We heard nothing. We walked down a long hallway for a while, seeing and hearing nothing. Then Cruz decided to open a door off the hallway. It wasn't locked.

We cautiously peered through the door. It was another hallway. "Did we come through this door?" I asked the other two. Cruz and Nate were as unsure as I was about the way they brought us in.

### "Listen." Cruz whispered. "There might be someone down here. Let's go back the other way." We went back to the other hallway and continued on, hopefully towards the outside. Again we heard a faint sound. "It could be someone coming this way." We opened another door and slipped into a large empty room. Cruz peeped through the door that was held open a slit to see if anyone was coming.

### "Well I'll be.....Mr. Harrington! We're in here." Cruz exclaimed. I practically knocked Cruz over getting to my grandpa. I hugged him so tight. I had never been so happy to see someone.

### "What are you doing here? Where's momma and grams?" I began to bombard grandpa with questions. "Has anyone heard from my dad?"

### Grandpa held me and comforted me as he explained that my mom and grandma were right behind him and they were fine. They had attacked the kidnappers and were looking for us to take us home. They had tied all the kidnappers up. I couldn't understand how the three of them had done that. It didn't make a lot of sense to me. However, the questions could wait. I just wanted to get out of there and go home. There would be plenty time to hear all the details.

### Nate and Cruz came home with us. When we got home, Grandma took Nate outside on the porch for a while. When they came back in things got real strange. Nate walked in like he had just arrived at my house and had not seen me for days.

### "How was your trip, Talli?" Nate asked me as he hugged me. "It's good to have you back. I've missed you. I hope your grandma's feeling better now"

Go along with it Talli. I'll explain later. Grandpa told me from the other room.

### "You wanna go grab a burger or coke or something?" Nate obviously wanted some alone time, thinking he had not seen me for a few days.

### "Oh Nate she can't go right now. I've got some things I need her to do for me." Momma answered. "She can go out later."

### Glad she intercepted that. I wouldn't have any idea what to say to him. I don't know what's happening, but about now nothing would surprise me anymore. My life as I knew it was over. I walked Nate to the door and promised to call him later. I hated lying to him. I had never done that before. I really had a lot of feelings for Nate. I just wasn't sure if it was love or strong like. We had basically grown up together. We had been through a lot together and spent a lot of time together. My whole family liked Nate. However, I was way too young to know what love is and I wasn't sure that was the definition of what I felt for Nate.

### Back inside the house my family sat in the living room, ready to explain everything. I knew this was serious by the fact that they were gathered in the living room and not the kitchen. I took a seat in the big arm chair by the fireplace. Not next to or by anyone. I wanted a good view of all their faces while they related to me all the information I needed to put my life in perspective.

### I was not prepared to hear what they had kept from me all these years. If finding out my family derived from another galaxy was not enough to turn my world upside down, this new information definitely was. The Talitha I thought existed, did not exist.

### Momma and my grandparents had heard my thoughts and made a plan from the start. They had figured the approximate area to look for us. Grandpa's special abilities are reading minds of some people, but not all, he has extra strength, and can see through things like walls and buildings. Momma can read people's emotions but not thoughts, she is extra strong and has some visions of the future. This was overwhelming at best.

### However, the real shocker was the story of grams people. While grandpa was visiting another village, he met my grandma and they instantly fell in love. Although grandpa knew it was not good to get involved with another race, he had already fallen hard for the raven beauty he met while travelling. He spent time with her and her family for almost a year and couldn't bring himself to leave her. They were married in her village and lived there for a while.

### Grandma was from a village of people with special powers, also. Sometimes they were referred to as witches. People referred to them as witches because of their ability to cast spells. However, they were just people with extra supernatural powers. No one could remember where their abilities came from. They did know if it was passed onto generations through blood. So they too kept to themselves and did not marry out of their village. They had a special relationship with the Earth and elements and could command them to do certain things.

### Grandma's people were all like her, for the most part. They tried to be only good and kind and were equally appalled if one of their own was not. Grams explained to me that her family was very misunderstood. That is why they were burned to death a lot in the early years. People feared them because they were different. She reminded me that a lot of people thought that Joan of Arc was a witch because she was strong and smart and led her country to victory in the war against the British. Because of her heroin acts and strong abilities, France and England together burned her to her death.

### This was starting to make sense to me and something inside me reaffirmed the stories I was hearing to be true. I felt a closeness to these people I was hearing about but had never met. I truly wanted to meet them. I hope grams would take me to meet them someday.

### Even though Grams family accepted grandpa as their own, there were a few people in the village who did not accept him. In fact, they wanted him exiled from their village. It is so sad that so many people are so biased against others who are different from them. I don't understand that kind of thinking. I was taught to accept everyone. Why couldn't they do the same?

### This is one reason why grandpa and grams left her village and went back to grandpa's village. They didn't want to be a source of contention there. When they went back to grandpa's village, grandma was pregnant with my dad.

### "So that means my dad is half... um... witch?" I asked. "And that means I am part witch also?" I don't think I will ever know who I am now. All these years I thought I was just a person. A human person. I never felt different than my friends. OMG! My friends! What will I tell them? What can I tell them? My best friend Brielle deserves to know something. But what can I tell her? What can I tell Nate? I can't lie to Nate!

### "They don't refer to themselves as witches. It is not their religion or way of life. They just possess these special powers. We have no idea what qualities of grandma's people you will possess. We haven't noticed anything. Your father possesses all the qualities. In fact, his abilities are enhanced by his Teletrian blood. We suspect yours will be also. You really don't notice your qualities until you know who you are and exercise them.'" Grandpa explained.

### "Your father can cast a spell faster and farther and stronger than anyone I have ever known." Grams stated with pride.

"You said "can." Does that mean you believe he is alive?" I probed.

"We believe he is. We hope he is." Momma added. "He left when the TEC was searching for him. They said because his powers were magnified they wanted to test him. We were worried they wanted to experiment on him. He didn't want to be a guinea pig or experiment. We didn't want grandma's people exploited. They wanted their privacy. We wanted our privacy. The TEC was not going to leave us alone and dad was afraid they would not stop with him. We were afraid that they would take you also. We didn't think he would be gone this long and he would have kept in touch. Because of this, we think they found him and have him somewhere. We have not been able to contact or find him.

### "The TEC? That sounds ominous." I mused. What kind of people have captured my father? How dangerous were they?

### "Actually the TEC stands for the Teletrian Elected Committee. When Teletrians first came here they wanted to band together and organize themselves. They decided to vote for a committee that would govern the people and the rules that they voted to incorporate. It wasn't meant to be a dictatorship but more like a democracy. It, of course, does not supersede local governments. It was meant to keep Teletrians from exposing each other. However, due to the fact we were a secret society, there wasn't anyone to govern or control the TEC once they were elected. They became corrupt and tried to misuse their position." Grandpa explained. "Some people still support them and others don't. I went back to Italy and confronted them when we didn't hear from your father after a while. They denied doing anything but I could tell they were hiding something."

### "So is it the TEC that kidnapped me?" I asked.

"We don't know. It wasn't the committee themselves that we destroyed to get to you. However, they wouldn't come here themselves. They would send someone else. Although, they did not identify who they were with, so we don't really know. We do believe it's highly probable that the committee was responsible."

### Well now that I knew almost everything there was to know about me and my family, I had to know where my dad was. I needed to bring him home. But if the guys who took me were trying to "smoke" out my dad by taking me, it didn't make sense that the same people had him that took me. There has to be another entity involved here.

"I agree." Cruz answered my thoughts. He must have been listening in my head again. I almost forgot he was there, I was so captivated by the stories of my ancestors. "There has to be someone else involved here. But the trick is to know which one had us and which one has your dad." Cruz continued.

### "You're right." Grandpa agreed. "Let's focus on who else that could be. It must be from the other side of the family. Grams family might have a vested interest here. But it's not likely. They are a more peaceful people. I can't really think of anyone else that even know our secrets. Unless someone has leaked information." Grandpa was looking straight at Cruz.

### "Don't think for a minute I would do that. You know me better. I would never put Talitha or her family in jeopardy! You have to know that! She is mi amica! You know that!" Cruz disputed. "You know what losing her would do to me!"

### "Enough!" Grandpa shouted. "Don't say any more. I believe you would not do this. It was just a thought. We need to find out who did, though." Grandpa obviously didn't want Cruz to continue, definitely hiding something.

There's that word again. Amica. Why does everyone use it and no one will tell me what it is. I think I'm still in the dark, here. "OK, no more secrets! All of you need to tell me everything! It's not fair to me and I can't help myself or my dad if I don't know the truth!" I was irritated.

### "She's right dad. You know we'll have to tell her everything. What can it hurt?" Momma backed me up.

### "Thanks, mom."

### "Don't thank me yet. This may turn your world upside down, again." Mom said. "Amica means betrothed. Your father and Cruz' father were friends growing up. They made the betrothal agreement when you were born."

This took a minute to sink in. "I'm betrothed to him? I don't even know him! Holy shockers! That's ridiculous.....wait.....would your father know who this might be that took us?" I asked Cruz. "Or would he know who took my father? Can we call him to see what he knows?"

"Glad I'm not so repulsive now." Cruz joked. I probably hurt his feelings but I didn't care. Who are they to plan my future? "I don't think he knows anything, although I'm sure he will want to help. I'll call him now. I'll need to borrow a phone. We didn't get ours back from the kidnappers."

### Grandpa went to hand his phone to Cruz when there was a knock on the door. Momma walked over and opened the door. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised, I guess. You and Demetrio were very close." She stepped aside and waved the guest in.

### "I got here as soon as I could, son. Your mother is in the car with your sister. We were so worried about you!" The man said as he ran to Cruz and grabbed him in a full embrace.

"Dad, you got my messages, I see. Sorry to worry you." Cruz replied. Cruz filled his dad in on all that had happened. He went out to bring his mom and sister into the house and fill them in as well. His mom was elated to see him. She had been so worried when they first received his messages. Although the worry showed on her face, she was remarkably beautiful. She looked about 25. She must have been around the same age as his father but this race is well-preserved. I had always noticed grandpa and grams and momma looked younger than most people their ages. I just hadn't thought much about it, I just accepted it. Now it made sense why.

### Mrs. DaMonico was model tall and slender. Her striking combination of auburn hair and green eyes were stunning. Her daughter was almost a carbon copy of her except she had silky black hair and emerald eyes. Coupled with their designer jeans and high fashion tops, they both could have passed for models. Mrs. DaMonico wore stiletto heels and her daughter wore leather boots that ascended to her knees. Both were more like my mom than I was.

### Cruz was showered with hugs and kisses from his mom and sister. Obviously they had been very concerned about his safety. Introductions were made all around and then we got down to business trying to figure out who had kidnapped us and who had my dad. Mr. DaMonico, Alessandro or Alex for short, had a theory that the TEC had my dad and grandma's people had taken me and Cruz. But grandpa didn't agree with that because grandma's people would have used spells to keep them from finding the underground bunker. Grandma argued that even if they used spells, the spells would be useless against her powers. They decided that it might have been the other way around. Grandma's people took dad and the TEC took us. We weren't sure why they wanted dad but it was the only conclusion we could come to. It was a place to start. Either way, we were going after both groups.

Cruz' sister Lissandra was 16. She and I became instant friends. Even though she was from another country, she was just like most of my friends. I decided Brielle would really like her. They are a lot alike. "So you and I may become sister-in-laws, huh." Lissandra said with a slight accent. "I think I like that idea."

### "Well actually, I just met your brother and I just now found out about the arrangement our fathers made. Here in the United States we don't do things that way." I countered.

### "Oh honey, most the world don't do things that way. We're just special. Don't you know that by now? You had to have noticed while you were growing up that you were different than others or that your family was different. We're Teletrians, honey. We make these "arrangements" as you called it to protect our race."

### "Right. I know, that's what they told me, but it's still foreign and strange to me." I protested. "And I have a boyfriend. Nate has been my boyfriend for a long time.'

"Awww. A boyfriend. And you love this boyfriend?" Lissandra asked with skepticism as she sat on my bed picking up a picture of me and Nate at last year's Prom. "He is handsome. But not as handsome as Cruz, no?"

### "Look, I like Cruz. He is cute and all, but I am not making plans for marrying anyone at my age! I've got a lot to do before I ever get serious with anyone. There's college and..."

### "So you admit he is cute! That's good enough for now. My mom and dad were betrothed, of course, but it took a while before they fell in love. Everyone takes their time getting to know each other and building a relationship. That's where you two are now. Get to know each other and let it go from there." Lissandra said.

The idea was not as appalling anymore. Cruz was good-looking. He was even fun to be around. The only objection I had was not making the decision myself. I was not used to people planning my future and making decisions for me. And I was still very young. "So are you betrothed to someone?" I asked Lissandra.

### "Well of course! Mi amica is so handsome! I've known him all my life and we have been good friends our whole life. We've grown up together. He is actually my age so we have a long time before we ever marry. We have plans for college, too. In fact we want to come to the U.S. to study. We both graduate this year and have been accepted to attend Stanford University."

### "You're graduating this year, too! So am I. That's exciting for you two. I haven't thought about where I want to go yet. I really don't even know what I want to be."

### "You have plenty of time to decide. I just wanted to graduate from college early and begin my career. I'm driven that way. Paolo, my boyfriend is just following me so we can be together. You see, we are in love, very much. It usually turns out that way."

"Your brother said he couldn't remember anyone not ever falling in love with their betrothed. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens. I'm not against getting to know Cruz. I guess I kinda like him. I never thought about it because we were trying to survive out there." I considered. I thought about Cruz' ombre blue eyes that invite you in, and his dark brown, thick hair that begged to have fingers frolicking through it. The dimples that graced his cheeks when his smile began to form were adorable. Even his serious look was full of charm. He really was someone I could enjoy getting to know. If I could just get past the aversion I have against people making decisions for me. Like promising me to someone in marriage. I've never even let people order my food at a restaurant. It's just so weird to think that people are actually betrothed in this day and age. That's so middle ages.

### Just then my mom knocked on the door and opened it. "Nate's here to pick you up. What should I tell him?"

### I totally forgot about Nate! I promised to go out with him tonight. "Uh...just tell him to wait a minute for us." I told momma. Then I turned to Lissandra and asked her. "Do you wanna hang out with Nate and me for a couple of hours?"

### "Sure. You can show me around your charming little town here."

### When we went downstairs and announced that we were leaving with Nate to hang out for a while, Cruz invited himself to come with us. It seems like a rather forward thing to do but he made it seem so natural that it didn't feel intrusive at all.

### Chapter 7

### "Holy ride! Those are some impressive wheels over there." I exclaimed when I stepped onto the porch. In front of our house was a long stretch limousine. As I approached the vehicle I saw that it was a Rolls Royce limo. I don't think I had ever seen one quite this nice. The pearl white car glimmered in the moon light. A man dressed in a full tuxedo stepped out of the driver's side door.

### "Oh that's how we got here from the airport." Lissandra explained. "We should take this for our ride."

### Actually that was a very good idea due to the fact that we would have to squish into either Nate's truck or Cruz' sports car. We opted for the limo. The driver opened the door for us and Nate gestured for me to climb in; which I did but Cruz quickly followed me in. Nate looked perturbed but just walked around the limo to the other side and slipped in next to me. I was sitting awkwardly between Nate and Cruz. Lissandra was on the other side facing us. It looked very unbalanced with three people on one side and only one on the other side.

So Cruz, maybe you should go sit by your sister. I told him telepathically.

Oh no thank you. I'm fine here. He answered back.

### Don't you think it would be nice to not make Lissandra sit alone? I countered.

Oh no, don't move on my account, brother. I'm just fine. You sit there where you can see out better. Lissandra added.

### "Uh... Cruz, why don't you go sit by your sister?" Nate asked.

"We really don't get along that well," answered Cruz. "It might be better for you to go sit by her." His dimples started to dent in his cheek.

I began scooting down into the seat. This was going to be interesting at the least. No telling what's going to happen. Be nice. I told Cruz.

Have you ever seen me be anything but nice? Cruz thought to me. Apparently Lissandra could hear all my thoughts as well.

I'm sure my brother will be the perfect gentleman. After all, he is sitting next to my future sister-in-law. Now Lissandra had dimples as well as she thought these words.

### Oh brother. What have I got myself in to? No, I haven't got myself into anything! It's everyone else who has decided my fate that has got me into this. This is a conspiracy!

Nate and Cruz both attempted to put an arm around me. When their arms reached on top of my shoulders they collided. It was kind of funny actually. Lis was giggling and I was trying not to giggle. Nate pulled his arm back down and slid it over to thread his fingers through mine. Cruz put his arm across the top of the seat trying to look coy. Nate kept throwing daggers at him with his eyes. Lis kept giggling. I was rolling my eyes and still sliding down into the seat. This could get painful. I thought to myself.

For whom? Cruz thought.

For everyone! I thought back.

You will never be in pain if I have anything to do with it. Cruz thought.

### "Oh brother." I accidentally thought aloud.

### "Do you want me to get rid of him?" Nate said as he was pointing to Cruz.

### "No I don't want anybody doing anything for me! I'm a big girl! I can take care of myself!" I didn't mean to shout. Well, maybe I did but I was sorry afterward. "Let's just all go for a quiet ride and have a good time, please." I pleaded. I don't know if it was the pleading or my yelling that worked but everyone got quiet after that. At least the bickering stopped.

### Despite the seating disputes when we got started, we actually had a great time. Lissandra and Cruz proved to be fun to be around. I showed them the whole town in about thirty minutes. We were out of things to see but didn't want to go back home. So I took them to see "The White Lady."

### There was an old folk tale that had been around since any one could remember. Legend said that a girl had been stood up at the altar on her wedding day. She was so distraught she had taken off running into the hills. She never came back and no one ever found her. They didn't know what had become of her but if you drive up the canyon and get out of your car you can see her running around in her wedding dress. Some people say she even chases you. I had never seen it but it was fun to try.

We drove up the canyon and instructed the driver to pull over at the spot that was supposed to be where you could see "The White Lady." There was a beautiful view of the painted sky as we got out of the Limo. Maybe this was the real reason people came out here at night. After we admired the sunset we walked off the road for a little ways to see if we could "see the white lady." We walked around and joked about it. We kept calling, "White Lady, please come here." We were laughing and joking around. None of us really expected to see her. We said it a few more times but we didn't see anything, so we were headed back when we saw a van pull up behind the limo.

### We all took off running back to our ride and barely jumped in, telling the driver to hit the pavement fast! Four men had climbed out of the van and almost grabbed us before we got into the limo. The men turned around and jumped back into their van.

### "We need to turn around and head back out! This is a box canyon! There is no way out except the way we came in." I yelled at the driver.

### "With all due respect, ma'am, if we turn around they will surely get you. It would take quite a maneuver to turn this long thing around." The driver said.

"Okay. We need to think of a better plan. Help me think!" I pleaded. We headed farther and farther up the canyon. We could not shake the van following us. If you find yourself running from another vehicle, a limo is not the vehicle to be in. We couldn't turn the corners fast or get much speed. The van stayed right on our tale.

### "What would you like me to do?" Asked the driver. "We have come to the end of the road."

### "Actually, we should just get out and face them. There are four of us and we could probably take them." Lis said.

### "Unless they have fire power." Cruz said.

### At the end of the road there was a wider area to turn around in. However, as we made the turn, the van pulled up to the side of us and trapped us in place. We could not move forward or backward.

### Okay, that's it! I'm not endangering my friends this time. I jumped out of the limo and was prepared to face the guys in the van. For some strange reason I felt no fear, only anger. Nate and Cruz both tried to stop me and followed me out, trying to pull me back in. I just got more and more angry! I shook my arms out of their hold, "let me go! This is my fight."

Four men got out of the van and began to walk over to me. I could feel my anger growing. Those goons were putting people I care about in danger just because they wanted me. "Stay right there!" I commanded them while throwing my arm out in front of me and pointing at them. Just as I did, a flame of fire burst onto the ground in front of the men, catching them all on fire. The men began to roll around in the dirt to extinguish the fire.

"Holy smokes! What did you do? How did you do that?" Nate was bewildered and staring into the flames.

### Cruz grabbed me and threw me into the limo. Then he pushed the van out of the way. Then climbed into the limo and hollered to Nate to come in, too. Nate slowly turned around and then climbed back in. The driver backed around until he could pull forward. We took off down the canyon as fast as the limo could maneuver the curves. I looked back and saw that the men had extinguished the flames but seemed dazed. They were not moving too fast to get into their van. We got away from them while they were trying to figure out what happened.

I was still trying to figure out what happened when we got home. The flames were real, weren't they? That was so intense! The reality of what had just happened began to sink in. No one spoke on the way home. I got out of the limo with the help of Cruz. Nate followed me into the house. "I think you better go home, Nate. I'll call you tomorrow. I think we all need some sleep." I told him.

### "Seriously?! You honestly think anyone is sleeping tonight? I think not! We don't even know what happened." Nate protested.

### "Oh dear." Grams sighed. She walked over to Nate and said some words I didn't recognize, while looking at him straight in the eyes. "Faloo mitha ta noku." When she was finished, Nate gave me a kiss on the cheek, excused himself and left. "He won't remember a thing." Grams told me. "Have a seat, Talli. Let's talk about what happened."

"Well that's a great idea!" I exclaimed. "I would love to know what happened!" I plopped down on the sofa. Cruz sat next to me on one side and Lissandra sat next to me on the other side. We related the past events to the adults in the room. My mom nodded and grams gave her a look that seemed to say, we knew it. Apparently momma had a vision of what happened while it was happening. Grams had sensed the danger after we left. Clariee tried to call Lissandra since she is the only one left with a phone thanks to the kidnappers. They didn't get an answer so all they could do is just wait for us to come home.

### "The flame throwing is a gift that some of my people have the ability to do, Talli. It's very rare. We think that you are exceptionally gifted due to the mixed blood. It probably manifested with strong emotions. What were you feeling at the time it happened?" Grams asked me.

### "I...uh....I guess I was angry. Yup, I was angry that those men were endangering people that I care about. I remember getting more and more angry and then I threw my arm out and told them to stop or go away or something to that effect. So are you saying it was me that started the fire?"

"Yes, mi caro. You are the only one there that could have done it. No one else would have that ability. You are very lucky to have such a strong ability. However, you must be wise with your talents. Use them only for good and protection and do not let the wrong people witness them." Grams instructed me.

### I nodded to acknowledge grams advice. "How much more do I not know?" I asked all of them.

### "There's no way of knowing all your talents at this time. They will develop as you mature and discover them. I can tell you about others' abilities and you can explore to see if you have them too." Momma answered.

### "This has been a very enlightening week, I must say. I don't think anything will ever surprise me ever again. Yup, you just took the element of surprise from my existence. My new norm is that there is no norm." I deliberated.

### Although I was totally exhausted that night, I could not sleep because of all the events of the day running through my head. I kept wondering what other talents I might have and what this would mean for my life. Would I be able to keep it from my friends? Would I be a freak? Would I always be in danger from people wanting to kidnap me? It suddenly made sense why my mother and grandparents had kept all this from me. I would give anything to have my life back to normal. Well, almost anything. Or, maybe not. These things were going to help me find my dad. That would be worth it.

### My thoughts kept drifting back to my father. My father is alive! This is the best thing that has come out of all this. Whatever happens, I am going to find him. I am going to use my new abilities to find my father. What better way to put them to use.

Suddenly there was an image in my mind. It was a large room with no windows. Inside the room was a long desk or work counter. There was some kind of computer on the desk. A man sat at the computer, working diligently trying to solve something. He was a tall, dark, handsome man. He looked to be in his thirties, but then again, so does my mother and she is 140 years old, apparently. The man seemed so perplexed by whatever it was he was trying to solve. He looked very tired in spite of his good looks. He resembled my grandfather and I knew it was my father.

### The image soon faded and left me feeling empty and alone. I now knew what I needed to spend all my time doing. I am going to develop my abilities so nothing can stop me from finding my dad. I lay in bed concentrating hard on what powers I might have. I know I can read minds. I know I can communicate telepathically. I think I have extraordinary speed. It seemed that I ran pretty fast lately. I will test that out in the morning. If I'm fast, I'm probably strong. I'll test that out too. The fire starting thing really scares me, but I need to practice that so I can control it.

I decided to get out of bed and put my mental notes into concrete form so I can go over them later. I got out my IPad and opened the memo app. I typed in everything I was brainstorming about my abilities, things I had just learned about my family, and things I wanted to know more about. I typed all through the night. I typed anything out of the ordinary that I had seen in my life to see if it was connected.

I lay back in bed and concentrated on communicating with my father. I pictured him in the room at the computer that I had envisioned that night. I began to send messages, dad, can you her me? This is Talitha. I have just discovered my abilities and my families' origins. I don't know where you are. None of us do. Could you give me a clue so I can find you? I appear to be very talented. Please let me help you come home.

### I fell asleep somewhere around five A.M. just trying to contact my dad. I didn't hear anything from him. However, I'm not giving up. I've decided to try to contact him every morning and every night and once midday to see if I can get through to him. Until I find more answers or a better way, that is all I can do. It just has to be enough.

### Chapter 8

### Monday morning was a usual school day. Nate picked me up and we met up with Brielle and Pason. School, once again, was a breeze. Brielle couldn't figure out why I had all the sudden become a brainiac. So I tried to pretend that I wasn't. I would purposely miss a question once in a while. However, I didn't want to do it too much. After all, I wanted the grades I deserved. It didn't matter that I had super powers. It was still me and I deserved the rewards.

### At lunch Brielle confronted me. "What's up with the smarts lately? Did you discover some magic pill?"

### ""What do you mean? I've always got good grades." I tried to play dumb.

### "Good grades, yea but now you don't even have to work at it. You had a tutor for math for like three years and now you're helping everyone else in class. I just want to know how you do it so I can get in on it."

### "I guess it just finally clicked. You know, my brain probably matured or something."

### "Well I wish mine would! I wish it were that easy for me." Brielle sighed.

### "You know I will help you anytime you need me to. Just come over anytime to do homework."

### "Yea, I know." Brielle agreed. "Hey, so has Nate asked you to prom yet?"

### "Yes. Remember I told you about it just a couple days ago." I was glad to change the subject. "We need to go pick out our dresses soon. You wanna go to the mall this weekend?"

### "Sure. That would be awesome. I don't want to wait 'til they get picked over."

### "Me neither. While we're there we can get our graduation dresses too."

### "Good idea. Hey, I think I'll take you up on the studying tonight."

### "Sure, come on over. Why don't you come for dinner and then we'll study after."

### Brielle showed up a little after school and we went into the family room to work on math. It wasn't unusual for Brielle to show up earlier than we had planned because she practically lived at my house anyway. When we finished math we were just hanging out and painting our nails; fingers and toes. It was now flip flop weather so we needed to have our nails looking good. Lissandra came in and asked if she could join us. "So have you seen my brother, lately?" She asked.

### "No, I haven't seen him today." I answered. "Why?"

### "I think he went to town early this morning and I haven't seen him come back. I was just wondering if you had."

### "Maybe he found a girlfriend." Brielle suggested. "Lots of girls around here like those hot Italian men." Her comment made my head jerk up. Was it jealousy? I don't know why but the thought of Cruz with someone else just didn't sit right with me. Why should I care? I'm with Nate. He should be able to be with someone else. But I didn't want that to be true.

### "Not my brother." Lissandra said. "He's only interested in one girl."

### "Oh, He has a girlfriend back home, then?" Brielle guessed.

### I had to stop her from answering that. "So Lissandra, we are going to the mall this weekend to shop for prom dresses. Do you wanna go? We'll make a whole day of it."

"That would be a lot of fun! And I really need to do some shopping, too." Lissandra answered. Then she told me with her thoughts, I guess you don't want me to say anything to your friend about the betrothal.

Not really. It's too much information for her right now. Thank you for not mentioning it. I told her with my thoughts.

### "So I totally got that side-stepping the girlfriend thing." Brielle told me. "You changed that subject really fast. Do you wanna talk about it? Maybe later?"

### "No, actually. It's nothing. So, what are we doing for prom? Has Pason mentioned anything? Nate said he thought maybe we'd go out on the lake. Is that what you two were thinking?" Brielle is a good enough friend to drop something when she knows I don't want to talk about it. That doesn't mean she's not speculating on her own. But that's alright. At least I won't have to talk about it.

### I wondered where Cruz had gone and why he wasn't back yet. There I go again. I'm planning a date with Nate and wondering what Cruz is doing. Why was I having thoughts about Cruz? Were these feelings of curiosity or were they beginnings of liking him? Or worse, an obsession? I was becoming more and more confused. I resented that Cruz was causing this confusion. Maybe I would just concentrate on Nate and forget about Cruz. Yea, like that's going to happen. Especially having him right here in my house all the time. I looked over at Lissandra. She was grinning. Was she listening in on my thoughts? Maybe she was because she excused herself saying she had promised grams some help. That left me and Brielle alone. "Are you starting to like this Cruz guy?" Brielle asked me.

### "Of course not. I'm with Nate, remember?" I tried to convince myself as much as Brielle. Although I had never been good at lying.

### "I hope you know that you can trust me. Just because you and Nate have been together forever doesn't mean you're stuck with him. It's not like you're married or anything. You haven't made any commitments to each other." Brielle said.

### "What about you and Pason. You've been together for a long time. Would you go out with someone else?" I asked her.

### "True, Pason and I have been together for a long time. However, I'm not tied to him. I like him, yea, but if I met someone I liked more I wouldn't pass it up. I don't see myself being with Pason the rest of my life. We just ended up together and it's stayed that way cuz...I don't know...it's convenient I guess. Nobody makes lifetime commitments in high school." Brielle tried to explain her feelings but it's hard to explain something you don't fully understand.

### "Do you like someone else?" I asked her.

### "Not exactly. I mean I don't right now. But it could happen."

### "I think I get it. You just don't feel a strong commitment to Pason even though you care a lot about him. That's kind of the same as me and Nate. I care about Nate but it's like he's a really good friend that I've had for a long time and I don't want to lose that friendship. He means a lot to me and I have fun being with him. I just can't picture myself being with him forever. I don't know if it's cuz we grew up together or what."

### Brielle and I understood each other better than anyone. She was like the sister I never had. Although I couldn't help but have a feeling that she did like someone else. The "someone else" must not be available or doesn't like her in return so she is not talking about it. She will when she's ready. I know that about Brielle.

Cruz walked in the door just before dinner. He was looking tan and lean and buff. It made my heart twitter when he walked in. What is that about? I really am trying not to pay attention to him but I can't help it. He is just so hot! I can't believe I thought that. I need to be careful with my thoughts! Too many people are eaves dropping in on my thoughts. How unfair is that? Some of these abilities are annoying!

### Grams had made Italiano for dinner, with Lissandra's help. It was actually really good. Italian had always been one of my favorites but it was even better when it was authentically made by real Italians. We had Lasagnette with gagonzola. Apparently gagonzola is a type of cheese. Whatever it was it was heavenly. We had Chicken Marsala to die for. They also made tomato and basil bruschetta. I might have to keep Lissandra around just to be my personal chef. Well, if she would agree I would. Maybe I'll just have her teach me how to do it myself.

### Cruz sat next to me at the dinner table on one side and Brielle on the other side. I kept talking to Brielle so I wouldn't have my thoughts going off thinking about how hot Cruz was while he was sitting right next to me. How embarrassing would that be? I didn't look over at Cruz except one time when he asked me to pass the sauce, which I did quickly and then turned back to Brielle. I think I managed that rather well.

### When it was time for Brielle to go home I walked her out on the porch. We talked for a couple of minutes and then she left. When I went back in the house momma was waiting for me. "That was pretty rude, tonight, Talli."

### "What are you talking about?" I played dumb again.

### "You know what I'm talking about. Don't play dumb with me. I'm your mother, remember. I made you. I know you. You cannot fool me." She looked at me with the look that went clear through me and made me wish I was invisible.

### "Okay, I just don't want him reading my thoughts, is all. I wasn't trying to be rude or anything."

### "Well maybe you weren't trying but you sure as heck were rude."

### "I'm sorry. I just hate people reading my thoughts all the time. What if I had a thought like 'he's hot' and he heard it?"

### "I'm sure they don't read them all the time. And I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

### "Okay, I'll apologize to him." I reluctantly agreed. I started to walk into the family room to apologize but momma stopped me.

### "So do you think things like that?" She asked.

### "Like what?" I asked.

### "Like 'he's hot'." Momma said.

### "Sometimes. Okay, a lot. He is. I can't help it."

### "Even more reason for you to go apologize." Momma smiled, turned and went upstairs.

### I went into the living room. Cruz was sitting on the sofa reading as if he didn't notice me standing there. "Hey." I awkwardly said to him. He looked up and smiled and said hi and then looked back at his book he was reading. I guess I must have been rude. He barely even knows I'm here now. Awkward. I don't know where to begin. I am sorry I was rude but I wasn't trying to be. "So I guess I was a little rude at dinner and... I'm sorry." There, I got it out. Is that a dimple emerging on his cheek? Well if it was he quickly extinguished it.

"Its okay, Talli. Don't worry about it." He said and then kept reading. Either he was being rude now or he was still mad at my being rude. Well I was just going to take that as my cue to leave.

### "Well, goodnight." I said.

### "Goodnight."

### I slowly turned around and headed upstairs to my room. I met Lissandra on the way. "You look sad. What's going on?" She asked me.

### "Nothing. Well maybe something. I don't know." I answered.

### "You want to talk?" She suggested.

### "Sure, you got a minute?" We sat on my bed and talked about my unwarranted feelings for her brother and my unsure feelings for Nate. I admitted that my feelings for Cruz were growing into something. I told her how sorry I was about being rude at dinner and how Cruz hadn't paid much attention to my apology. I didn't know if that meant he was mad or just didn't care. She told me he probably was brushing it off to spare my feelings. Is anybody really that altruistic? Maybe I'm just a selfish person. Maybe Cruz was a good guy. He's been nothing but good to me. I told everything to Lissandra.

"I am getting used to having Cruz around. He is appealing to me more each day. We just seemed to be connected in a way that I can't explain. He makes me laugh. He always finds a way to compliment me. I just feel good around him. I don't really know why. And still, he is mysterious and interesting to me. I find more and more that I want to be near him. The more I am near him, the more I want to be near him. There is something compelling about him that's more than his being attractive and buff. And there is something familiar about him that feels as if I have known him a lot longer."

"I understand." Lis said. I could tell she was really listening to me. "This feeling is common with people who have been betrothed."

"The problem is I still have feelings for Nate. However, Nate just felt like an old friend I couldn't live without. Cruz felt like someone I really wanted to get to know. Was I being disloyal to Nate? Was it wrong of me to be interested in Cruz? Could I have them both in my life? Maybe I'm just being selfish. No, I didn't ask for this. I'm still young and I never promised Nate anything. They would just have to understand that they were both important to me."

### "I can't speak for them, Talli. They may be patient while you figure this out. But again they may not." Lis advised me.

Lissandra, or Lis as I began to call her, was becoming my best friend. Not to discount my friendship with Brielle. Brielle was still one of my best friends. It's just that our common interests had changed a little. I was a different person. At school I spent a lot of time with Brielle and after school I spent a lot of time with Lis. Saturday I was going to try to combine the two.

The DaMonicos were staying at our house until we could solve our problem. Grandpa insisted they stay here and not at some hotel. He and his family were helping us to figure out who was trying to kidnap me. They could be there a long time if we didn't figure this out right away. Things were going to get real complicated, I could tell. The fact that I didn't know what I wanted yet was only making matters worse. Why am I so indecisive? Why can't things get black and white, cut and dried, easy to figure out? Momma laughs at me when I say that. She said if life were that easy it would be boring. I'd like to find out what boring feels like. But then again, maybe not.

Lis, Brielle and I decided to go hangout at the mall and do some shopping. We got an early start for the hour drive to the nearest mall. Cruz insisted on going to protect us, well mainly protect me, and my mom and grandparents agreed he should go along. Momma couldn't pass up a trip to the mall and invited Cruz' mom along, so we took the van for enough seats.

Mom, of course drove and Clariee, Cruz' mom sat in front with her. Lis quickly climbed into the middle captain chair and pulled Brielle into the other captain chair. That left the back seats for me and Cruz. Couldn't she be a little more subtle? This was ridiculously obvious. She was always putting me and Cruz together. Lis turned around and winked at Cruz. You don't need to try so hard, Lis. I told her telepathically.

Oh good. That means the deals cinched? She replied.

Sigh

I looked over at Cruz and he was trying to play dumb, looking out the window and ignoring me. Or maybe he wasn't playing dumb. Maybe he really was ignoring me. I didn't really like that. I guess I just expected him to pay attention to me. What if he lost interest? What do I do now? I turned my head and stared out the window. Two could play at this game.

It was a long drive to the mall, trying not to notice Cruz ignoring me and trying to keep my him out of my thoughts so he couldn't hear me think about him. I listened to his thoughts and it was things about the weather, his dad, his car and a to-do list. Keeping your thoughts to yourself can be pretty tricky when you're surrounded by people who can read minds. It helped to keep making small talk with Brielle and Lis. Brielle kept asking me questions about Nate, which helped a lot. Lis just kept talking to our moms. It was kind of like she was avoiding me. What's up with those two?

It was a relief to finally get to the mall and get out of the van. As soon as momma parked we all climbed out. I was last to climb out and as I stepped out, Cruz offered me his hand to help me out. I took hold of his hand and a warm sensation spread through me and a tingling feeling was in my tummy and a zing of electricity surged through my whole body! It was such an intense feeling that I could feel my cheeks heat up. Thank goodness Cruz looked over to his sister just before the blush. Then he dropped my hand as soon as I was out of the van. A part of me wished he still held my hand. That was just an act of chivalry. He would have done the same for any girl sitting in the back. I was somewhat disappointed.

Brielle grabbed my arm and steered me towards the entrance of the mall. I grabbed Lis and pulled her along. I glanced back at Cruz to see if he was watching. He wasn't. Darn! I longed for that feeling I got when he touched me. What was that, anyway? I had never felt anything like that before. I've held hands with Nate for years and never felt anything like that. I am attracted to Nate. He is an attractive boy and lots of girls would love to be in my place with him. Still, I have never felt that with him. It's probably an ability that Cruz has but how do I find out about that?

### "I need to hit the little girl's room. Anyone else need to?" I asked.

### "I'm good." Brielle said.

### "Well you're coming with me anyway." I grabbed her and pulled her with me.

### When we got inside I asked her, "have you ever felt a warm sensation go through you and butterflies in your stomach when a guy held your hand?" I just came right out with it.

### "Sure, haven't you?"

"Well yea, just now.... with Cruz." I looked at Brielle for a reaction.

"Really? Is there something going on with you two? This is great! Well, no I guess it isn't great. What about Nate? Haven't you felt that with Nate? But Cruz is so hot! How could you not feel that with him?" Brielle rambled on. Then she stopped and looked at me seeming to understand my dilemma. "I see. You haven't felt that with Nate. Maybe Cruz and you have more chemistry. But that's not good is it. Cruz lives in another country and you're with Nate. What are you going to do? What do you want to do?"

### "I don't know. I like Nate and I like Cruz. I don't want to hurt Nate or lose him, but I can't deny what I feel for Cruz. I've never felt that sensation before. I'm not saying I have strong feelings for him but I can't deny it could happen. And part of me kind of wants it to. Is that really bad of me? I'm a horrible person, right?"

Brielle took hold of both my hands and looked me in the eye. "I think you're a bright, intelligent, caring person. You are not horrible. You can't keep feelings from happening. You can only control what you do about them. That is a tuff decision, though. It should not be a quick decision. Let's talk about this more when we get home. We'll have a sleepover and lay it all out to examine. See what we can figure out. Come on, let's go shopping! Best remedy for anything." Brielle grabbed me and pulled me back out to the mall.

Brielle and I caught up with the others at the electronics store. Cruz and I both needed to buy new phones since the kidnappers took ours. Cruz was standing at the counter talking to the sales girl about a phone he was interested in. She was cute and bubbly and had his attention. I wasn't real happy with the short distance between their heads. I know they were talking about phones and she was showing him the features. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Did I just think that? Get a grip, Talitha!

Cruz looked up and seen me and smiled. That was promising. He noticed me. Good sign. I walked over to him and asked what phone he was looking at. He showed me and then was telling me about the features. I stepped in a little closer, nodding to what he was telling me. I was hoping he would put his arm around me or touch my hand or something. However, I was sadly disappointed. He was very business-like.

My mom called me over to see a phone she was looking at. I went over to look at the phone, secretly wishing Cruz would follow me. He didn't. Momma showed me a cool smart phone and I decided to get it with a hot pink and black zebra striped case. I also got a bling to hang off of it. I stepped out of the store and set down on a bench to activate my new phone. Lissandra set down next to me.

### "Are you two playing hard to get or something?" Lissandra asked.

### I sighed. "No, I just think he's not interested in me."

"Now that is funny. And so not true." Lis laughed.

"I need to ask you something." I told her. "Does your brother have an ability that would cause a warm sensation to go through my body when he touches me?" I asked her.

"Oh, now that's really funny. You get butterflies in your stomach too, right?"

### "So he does have that ability?"

### "Well if he does, honey that just means you are falling for him. No special ability, just what every girl feels when she meets that special guy for her."

"Really?" I wouldn't know, I guess cuz I had never felt it before. "Oh.... I see. Then... I guess it's... one-sided. My side. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted, anyway." I confessed. I wished he had felt it too. If he had he would have said something or tried it out again. I was so disappointed. There I go again. One minute I want him to like me and the next I'm pushing him away. It just felt unfair to Nate. But really, what is fair to Nate? That I stay with him even if I don't have that 'special' feeling with him. And don't I need to be fair to myself? Why does life have to be so complicated?

I finished activating my phone and got up to find Brielle. We walked around looking at prom dresses and trying them on for a while. We each bought two dresses, one for prom and one for graduation. I bought some accessories and a couple pairs of jeans. Brielle bought a few tops and some shoes. Lissandra bought a whole wardrobe. Apparently they hadn't brought a lot with them due to the limitations the airlines has for luggage.

We went through just about every store at the mall. Cruz followed a safe distance behind and usually waited outside the store we went in. He was very calm and just acted like he was watching for anyone to come around that looked suspicious. I secretly wished he would walk closer to me but I didn't say anything. Every time I tried on a dress I would parade around the front of the store secretly hoping he would see me. If he did, he didn't say anything.

I noticed every time we came out of a store, Cruz had cute girls gathered around him. It was so unnerving to watch. He would laugh and joke with them and they would play coy and try to impress him. One time Lis asked him why he was gathering girls. He smiled and said that he didn't gather them, they just showed up. Every time he would stop walking they would show up and start talking to him. He said he couldn't be rude. I was trying very hard to not let my jealousy show. However, I could totally understand why girls flocked towards him. He has that effect on me too.

### After a few hours of shopping we decided to stop and eat. We called our moms to meet up with us. We decided to go out of the mall to eat dinner at the Olive Garden. We were seated in a cozy corner by the window. I sat in a chair on the end of the table. Cruz sat kitty-corner from me on the end. This was nice! I would be close to him and maybe get a chance to talk with him. After the waiter took our order, Cruz picked up my hand again and weaved his fingers through mine. The warm electric feeling spread through my body again and my stomach did flips. My cheeks were feeling warm and I wanted to hide. But Cruz pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it. All I wanted to do at that moment is scoot closer to him. I was staring into his eyes and he into mine.

You feel it too, don't you? He spoke telepathically. I nodded. I thought I heard you say it but I wasn't sure. I promised myself I would give you time to come around and I've been trying to let you have your space. It's been kind of difficult trying to ignore you. You, mi amore, are not easy to ignore. I could get lost in those crystal blue eyes of yours.

### I was speechless. I didn't know what to say so I didn't say anything. I was just basking in the warm feeling. I had no idea these feelings could exist. But I was certainly happy they did and I was more than willing to accept them and encourage them. Maybe I was falling for Cruz. And now I knew he was falling for me too! He felt the same thing I did when we touched!

### "Ahem." My mom cleared her throat and I jumped as it brought me out of my trance. "Your food, dear. The waiter is trying to sit it down."

"Oh, um...sorry." I moved my arms that were evidently leaning towards Cruz and covering the table where our food would go. The others at our table snickered. Great, now Cruz' mom probably thinks I'm an idiot. I looked at Cruz and asked him with my thoughts, how long has the waiter been waiting for me to move?

I have no idea, love. I wasn't paying attention. Cruz winked at me and then slowly pulled his hand away to take a drink. I was rewarded by the dimples that played on his cheeks.

### While we all ate and talked, every now and then Cruz would glance at me through the corner of his eyes and give me a quick smile and then return to the conversation with the others. This was good. I didn't feel pressured to marry anyone. I didn't feel like I had lost control of my own life. And yet I could get that feel good feeling whenever he looked at me or touched my hand. This felt right. Like we had known each other all our lives and had just discovered our feelings for one another. Even though I really didn't know him yet, I knew I wanted to know him. I knew he was someone I needed in my life. Whether it be for now or for a long time or for a lifetime, I didn't know. I just knew I needed him in my life now.

The ride back home was totally cool. We all sat in our same spots that we had on our way there. However, this time I snuggled next to Cruz and he had his arm around my shoulders. I was in a perfect position to fall asleep, which is what I usually do on the ride home. Not this time. I didn't want to miss a minute of this. I just nestled into his shoulder and enjoyed the ride. The coolest thing about being with Cruz is we could totally have a conversation and no one else could hear when we conversed telepathically, which we did on the way home.

Cruz, I need you to help me develop my abilities. I told him.

### Of course. When do you want to start?

First thing tomorrow morning.

Sure thing. Well, how early were you thinking? I'm not a real early riser. He snickered.

I was thinking about 5 A.M. I teased.

### Seriously?

### No. I was joking. More like 9.

### That I can handle. You do realize that tomorrow is your birthday, don't you?

### Holy birthday! I totally forgot! But how did you know?

### I'll never tell. But I do have something in mind for your big day. 18 right?

### What is it? What do you have in mind?

### That's for me to know, and for you to find out tomorrow.

### Hey! No fair.

Oh, I forgot. You don't like surprises.

### Some I like.

### Well then, you'll love this one.

### Chapter 9

### Momma woke me up as she usually does on my birthday with blueberry crepes for breakfast. She had invited Brielle to spend the night, which she always did on my birthday. What's a birthday without your bestie? However there were a few extra people for my birthday breakfast this year. The DaMonicos were here and the best part was Cruz was spending my birthday with me. I couldn't believe how fast I was falling for him and how much I wanted to be around him.

### We had breakfast out on the veranda, since it was such a beautiful sunny morning. We had a wicker dinette set out there for just such occasions and momma knew it was my favorite place to dine. The hummingbirds were already frolicking around the bird feeder grams kept hanging from the eaves. The honeysuckle clinging to the archway filled the air with sweet perfume. A vase of lilies graced the table with an array of colors. The only thing that could make this day more perfect would be to have my father here.

### After breakfast Cruz and I stayed outside to enjoy the morning air and enjoy each other's company. As we lounged on the railing, consumed in small talk and laughing at each other's jokes, Nate's car pulled up. Oh crap! I'm going to have to have a talk with him. Not looking forward to this at all. I walked over to him and gave him a very platonic hug. Just a friend hug. I didn't want to encourage him.

"Happy birthday sunshine! Do you have plans for today?" He cheerfully said. Here is your first of many presents." He gave me a lingering kiss on the lips. Awkward!

### Nate was really sweet and I liked spending time with him, but I didn't feel anything. Nate kissed me on the lips and I didn't feel a thing. I don't think I ever have felt a thing with Nate. Not to disregard the fact that I do care about what happens to him and I definitely don't want to hurt him. Nate is my friend. He has been for years. How do I keep the friend and let the boyfriend go?

On the other hand, I have never kissed Cruz, and yet whenever I touch him I get a zing all through my body and a warm feeling all over. I hope to kiss him someday, in the future. I don't know if I can handle that yet. No telling what kind of sensation that would cause. "Cruz, could you give Nate and me some time alone?" I asked him, and then with my mind I said, I need to tell Nate our relationship has changed and I need to do it easy.

No problem, my love. I'll be waiting for you inside. Cruz replied with his thoughts. He then slid off the railing and went inside.

### "Nate, let's sit down." I directed him. We took a seat on the porch swing. We had spent many evenings here talking and watching sunsets, many mornings here sipping OJ, and many hours here just chilling out. My mind was filled with memories of Nate and me. All the pictures flashed through my mind as I was trying to find a way to tell Nate we weren't going to be boyfriend-girlfriend anymore. I could feel the tears behind my eyes begging to break free. My heart was aching for what Nate was about to hear, what I was about to reveal to him.

### "So what's up, babe?" He solemnly probed. He took my hands in his and looked into my eyes. I couldn't look at him and turned my head down to look at my hands. "Come on, whatever it is just tell me. I can handle anything."

### I thought about all the times Nate had made me laugh. I thought about all the times he cheered me up. How could I possibly make him sad? "Remember that time we hid up in the apple tree when it was time for me to go to the doctors to get my shots so I could start school?" I asked him. "I was determined not to go and you were trying to help me." I laughed.

### "Yup. That was forever ago."

### "I was just remembering it. I was thinking about all the times you have been there for me, no matter how crazy it got. Like the time you told my grams that you knocked the lamp off the table to keep me out of trouble. We couldn't fool her though. She knew it was me that knocked it off."

### "Geesh Talli that is old stuff. Why the trip down memory lane?"

### "That's how long you have been here for me. I just wanted to say thanks." Now I looked up into his eyes. Those gorgeous green eyes that gleamed back at me. I reached my finger up to feel a strand of his golden hair and brushed it back off his forehead.

### Nate tucked my hair behind my ear and pulled me close to him. "You should know I would do anything for you. Why so melancholy today? You're just turning 18, not 80." Nate joked and kissed the top of my head.

### "Nate, I have had lots of great years with you. You have been my best friend..." I began.

### "Whoa! Wait a minute. You're not dying are you? Oh my heck! You...aren't...sick...or dying, are you?" Nate slowly speculated.

### "Oh no! Nothing like that. I'm fine." I corrected. He looked so puzzled now. I wanted to get inside his head and read his thoughts. Then suddenly he had that aha look.

### "You are breaking up with me, aren't you?"

### "I just think..."

### "You are! What are you doing, Talli? After all we've been through together. After all these years! I don't understand why you are doing this."

### "I'm not really doing anything. I just think it's time to move on. I don't feel like we have enough chemistry to be romantically involved. I still care about you and....."

### "You have got to be kidding! If you cared about me you wouldn't hurt me like this!"

### "You're wrong, Nate. Because I care about you I can't let this go on any more. I don't want to hurt you, but if I let you believe things are different than they are, it will hurt you more eventually."

### "You're wrong! You're just confused because there is someone else, isn't there. It's Cruz, isn't it?"

### "It's not Cruz' fault. I just think my feelings are different. I really don't know how to explain it, but I know it's different."

### Everything became so quiet. It's like time froze. The hurt in Nate's eyes was unbearable. I instantly wanted to take everything back and tell him it was a mistake, and that I didn't mean it. But I knew that would make things worse. I would just be leading him to believe things were different, which would just hurt him more later. "I'm really sorry, Nate." I couldn't think of anything else to say so I ran in to the house.

### Inside the house Cruz, momma, my grandparents and the DaMonicos waited in the kitchen. The mood in there was solemn as well. Momma and grams and grandpa had always liked Nate a lot. This probably hurt them as much as it did me.

### The kitchen had been cleaned up so we were just sitting there. No one was saying a word. Lissandra was first to break the silence. "Well, let's get this party started, shall we?"

### "Talli may not feel like partying now, sis." Cruz spoke.

### I did, though. I needed to do something to get my mind off of Nate. I needed to focus on something else or I would lose it. "On contraire. Let's party." I said half-heartedly.

### They all knew it was a front but played along anyway. Cruz reluctantly stood up and motioned for me to follow. "Well, let's find out what the plan is." I followed him to his car and got in. I noticed all the others getting into the limo and followed behind us. We drove out of town. "Where exactly are we going?" I asked Cruz and I looked over at him just in time to see the dimple in his cheek.

### "I don't know. Let's find out."

### "That's not fair." I protested jokingly. Then I settled down into my seat and was deep in thought. Cruz obviously decided to change my demeanor.

### "Okay. I'll give you a hint or two. You see if you can guess." Cruz said, trying to keep me talking. "We are going somewhere there are ancient landmarks." He looked at me for a sign of recognition. "This place takes a while to get to." He added.

### "Not sure. How long does it take to get there?"

### "Make a guess and I'll give you more hints."

### "Petroglyphs?"

### "Nope. It will take us all day to get there." He looked over at me and grinned.

### "We don't really have anything ancient around here except petroglyphs. I give. Where is it?"

### "Not that easy. You have to guess."

### "Ancient, huh. Are you taking me to Greece?" I joked.

### Cruz chuckled. "You're getting closer."

### "No way! It's close to Greece?"

### "Well it's closer to Greece than it is to here."

### "OMG! Is it on the same continent as Greece?"

### "Yes."

### "Italy!" I guessed jubilantly.

### "Yes." Cruz answered. "How'd you know? I was careful to hide my thoughts."

### "That's where you live, right?

### "So, what do you think?"

### "Are you kidding?! I think that's great! I haven't seen Italy before. We have travelled a lot but momma never would let me go to Italy or anywhere near there. It was probably to keep me from the goons that kidnapped us. I can see that now. We went to Africa, South America and Hong Kong. But never to Italy. I can't wait!"

### Cruz smiled, obviously pleased that I was pleased with his surprise.

### "But I need to go back and pack some bags." I said.

### Don't worry about that." Cruz just smiled and kept going forward.

### "No, really. Turn around." I protested.

### Amica, don't worry about it. Just relax and enjoy the surprise." Cruz replied.

### "I just need some things. I can't go half way around the world and not take some things."

### "Okay. I might as well let you know that your mom pre-packed a couple of bags for you with some necessities. We will buy the rest there. Now, can we continue?"

### "Ok." I answered timidly. I should have known they would have it all planned. I sure wasn't used to this surprise thing. But I think I could get used to it pretty easily.

### Italy was beautiful, just like I had always imagined. The Tuscan countryside with its rolling hills was begging for my attention. I wanted to run across the vista with the wind rushing through my hair and the sun kissing my cheeks. I wanted to experience this splendor with Cruz, but I couldn't help thinking how much Nate would appreciate this. I wanted him to see it too.

### It was confusing to me. I cared about Nate. I even liked him. However, I thought of him more as a brother or a good friend. I didn't dream about him. I didn't long for his touch. I had never even known those feelings could exist until I met Cruz. Cruz awakened something in me. Something I never knew I missed until I found it.

### I loved Cruz' home in Salerno. They had a sprawling ranch of vineyards and olive trees that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. Cruz held me in his arms as we basked in the sunshine, atop a knoll watching the fishing boats out at sea. "My father owns a few of those. We could go out there sometime on our family yacht." Cruz whispered in my ear. "That would be a great way to show you the scenery."

### After we all survived our jet lag, Cruz took me and momma, grams and grandpa touring all over Italy. Cruz' family came along for company. We all loved spending time with the DaMonicos, as they did with us. Momma and my grandparents had finally found someone they could be free to be themselves around. I had found someone who I could learn to be me around. I not only enjoyed being around Cruz and his sister, they could teach me about our culture and help me develop my abilities.

### We first went to Rome and Venice. What a treasure trove of art and history and beauty! I wished I had more time to spend there. I didn't have enough time to see everything I wanted to see. We were able to see some of the masterpieces from Leonardo da Vinci, Batiste, and Michelangelo. We toured rich, gothic architecture such as the St. Mark's Basilica, one of the massive medieval churches in Rome. I wondered how difficult it was for my grandparents to leave such a magical place as this. They must have missed it dearly when they did. I made a mental note to come back and spend a large amount of time myself.

When we all decided to take a ride on the water taxi in Venice, grams had a premonition that we were being followed. We decided to go back to the DaMonicos' ranch and lay low for a while. The DaMonicos had plenty of security guards to keep a look out. So we were probably more safe there than back home in the States or anywhere else. However, it was disappointing to have our tour cut short. We would definitely come back and finish at a better time. I was so grateful to Cruz for bringing me here. By far my best birthday gift ever!

I decided this was a good time to practice my abilities. Cruz and Lissandra took me out by the pool to teach me what they knew. We had our swim suits on. I, of course had a t-shirt over mine. Cruz took his shirt off. Holy abs! Now that's a six pack! I was definitely not taking my shirt off. I was uncomfortable wearing a swim suit around him. Still, the crystal clear water in the Olympic size pool was beckoning me to indulge in it. How could I resist such pleasure? However, I didn't want to be first in, so I tried to push Cruz in. He was too fast and strong for me so I was the one that ended up being pushed in. Although Cruz jumped in after he pushed me. I loved his playfulness. I was glad I got pushed in with my t shirt on, though.

### As we were swimming around and basking in the sun, I thought I heard something in my head. I stopped and paused to listen. I heard nothing so I continued swimming around. Then I heard it again. I paused and listened.

### "What is it?" Cruz asked. "Someone is talking to you, right?"

### "I thought I heard something but now it's gone."

### "In my experience it's always someone trying to contact me when that happens. You need to sit still and listen for more. Concentrate on who you think it might be, or in your case who you want it to be." Cruz instructed me.

I sat very still, my eyes closed trying to concentrate. There it is again. Talitha, can you hear me? Talli, it's me, your dad. Talitha, let me know if you can hear me. This is your father.

"Holy telepathy! It's him! It's my dad!" I exclaimed excitedly. Dad, I can hear you! Where are you? I paused to listen for an answer.

Talli, I don't know where they have me. I'm going to try to guide you here. Keep tuned to me so I can communicate with you. I'll give you more when I get it. Wow, it is so good to hear you! I have waited a lifetime to hear you. I can't believe you have a great ability with this. I heard you trying to contact me and I've been trying to contact you back. This is wonderful! I have to go but I will be in touch. I love you so much...and your mother! I can't wait to see you both! I have to go. I love you!

### Then he was gone. I wish I had more! Why did he have to leave? "That was my father. I heard him! This is fantastic! I never thought I'd ever hear my father! This is so cool! I can't wait to hear him again!" I shouted to Cruz and Lissandra.

### "That's great! Even more reason to start developing your abilities. I have a feeling you have only begun to tap into them and your abilities are going to blow us all away." Cruz said.

### Chapter 10

### The birthday surprise was only for one week. Momma insisted I get back to school. Mr. DaMonico and Cruz were coming back with us to protect me. Mrs. DaMonico and Lissandra were staying in Italy, so we said our goodbyes. I was going to miss Lissandra a lot but we would keep in touch. I wanted to stay there and search for my father. Momma said I would have to wait until after graduation. That was only a couple months away but seemed like forever. However, with Cruz at my house he could help me develop my abilities and get me ready to find my dad. Momma said as long as it didn't interfere with school and my grades. No chance of that since school was so easy lately I didn't ever have homework.

As soon as we got back to the states Cruz and I went to work on developing my abilities. We ran at least 10 miles every day after school. My time kept getting faster. Cruz and I raced each other until I began to outrun him by a long shot. He just kept pushing me to go farther and faster until I did. Although I don't think he was expecting me to be faster than him. Grams said that's what happens when the Teletrian blood is mixed with hers. The abilities are magnified.

Next we practiced moving objects without touching them. I tried and tried but just couldn't seem to do anything. This was an ability that Cruz didn't have so it was difficult for him to teach me. He decided to bring in someone who could move objects with her mind. We drove to the airport one Saturday and picked them up. Cruz introduced me to Tietro, a tall, dark man that looked to be in his 30's, and Bianca, a tall, slender woman that looked about the same age. Bianca was the one that could move objects with her mind. That was her only ability but she did it well.

Bianca opened and shut the door without moving a muscle. She pulled flowers out of the ground and knocked Tietro on his back while she just sat in a chair. She could move anything under 50 pounds across the room. She could knock anything over that was under 200 pounds. She was ready to teach me the art of moving objects with my mind.

Bianca had me start by trying to flip a light switch. She said the switch had natural energy already and it would be easier to manipulate that energy. I concentrated hard on that switch, willing it to move. It was so frustrating! I couldn't seem to make any progress. I tried for hours and I just wanted to give up. "It's no use! I probably don't have the ability." I complained. I was tired of trying and just wanted to give up. This was wasting my time.

Then Bianca gave me an exercise to do. She threw a softball at me and I caught it. Then I threw it back and she caught it. Well that was silly. What does that do? "Just be patient." Bianca said. "We'll get there." We threw the ball back and forth a few times and then she had me use my mind to throw the ball when it was already in motion. I would throw the ball with my hand and then after it left my hand I would concentrate my mind to send more energy to help it move. After a couple of times the ball suddenly jerked forward and moved extra fast. I could tell I was moving it with my mind as well as throwing it! It was exciting to feel the power. I kept practicing and then I tried to move it with just my mind. The ball sped forward with ease without me touching it!

### "I did it! I can move it with my mind!' I applauded myself.

"You did! You were great! Now try something bigger." Cruz encouraged. "How 'bout this chair?" I concentrated on the heavy, mission-style arm chair. It slowly lifted off the floor and then suddenly flew across the room, nearly landing on Bianca.

"I am so sorry, Bianca! I really didn't mean for that to go that far! Are you okay?" I ran over to her to see if it hit her. Luckily it didn't.

"You're fine. Don't worry about it. This is how you learn." Bianca assured me, but it didn't make me feel any better.

"Come on. Let's work on control now. Then we'll move on to bigger stuff." Cruz said as he consoled me with an embrace.

I spent all afternoon practicing control. Just like the first time I rode a bike. I was shaky and unsure of myself at first. However, the more I practiced, the better I got. Soon I felt like a pro. I gained a new confidence in myself. This newfound ability was changing my self-identity. I was moving things all over the place. I felt unstoppable and powerful.

### "With this ability comes responsibility. You must remain humble and not proud. This ability is a gift. If you abuse this power it will be the destruction of you and all you love." Cruz admonished me.

I thought about what he said, not absolutely sure of his implications. This is my ability, not his or anyone else. What does it matter if I'm proud of myself? Didn't I earn that? I looked into Cruz' eyes. They were soft and loving and melted my soul. Maybe he did know what he was talking about. Maybe I could learn from him.

"Okay. Let's continue." I said. "I need to find my dad. I'm going to need all the ability I can get." We continued to work on perfecting my ability, controlling the speed and direction and amount I moved things. I also practiced moving bigger items. By the end of the day I was exhausted from working so hard.

The next day we took Tietro and Bianca back to the airport, thanking them for their help, then they went back to Italy. Cruz and I just took a day off from working and decided to have some fun while we were in the big city. We decided to go roller skating.

We were just skating around the rink, holding hands when I realized we were whizzing past everyone else. Soon everyone just stopped and stared at us. Oh no. Cruz, we need to stop. I told him in his mind. We both stopped.

### "Let's go get a drink." Cruz said as he pulled me over to the concessions. People slowly began to return to skating but most of them were whispering and pointing at us. We sat down at a table with our drinks and I burst out laughing. Cruz couldn't help but laugh too. "We need to be more careful. We just don't know our own strength when it's combined."

### "Ya we do need to be more careful. People are staring." I added.

"They'll get over it. They will all think to themselves that they really didn't see what they thought they seen. Then they won't even remember." Cruz said.

### "Maybe if we go back and skate some more but don't hold hands and keep a normal pace that will help."

### "It won't be as much fun, though." Cruz teased. We skated back into the rink. This time we didn't hold hands. However, now we were able to free style. Cruz was showing off turning and jumping and doing figure eights. I showed him I could do the same but better. We competed for a while and then decided to head home. People were still whispering and pointing when we left.

We got home just in time to help grams with dinner. She was trying out some more Italian recipes she had got from Lissandra. While I was helping grams the doorbell rang. I heard grandpa holler that he would get it. Soon after that Nate walked into the kitchen. "Hey Nate." I greeted him.

### "Hey Talli. Can we talk?"

### "Sure. What's up?"

### "A...well...."

"Oh, let's go out on the porch." Nate and I walked outside and sat on the steps. He was staring down at his hands. I took his hand in mine. "Nate, you are my best friend. You can talk to me about anything."

### "Well, I was just wondering about prom. You know, we were going at one time. Is that still on or are you going with the Italian?"

"Well, Nate, you asked me and I said yes. You're still my friend so I would hope that we could still go as friends. Unless you found someone else to go with."

### "I was hoping you'd say that!" Nate looked hopeful now. I hoped this wasn't leading him on but I did say 'friends' so I guess it's not. "So can we get together with Brielle and Pason and make plans?"

### "Sure. Whenever you want to we will. Maybe before school tomorrow." I suggested.

"Okay. Well, I better get home. I'll see ya tomorrow." Nate gave me a hug and left.

I went back in to the house where Cruz was waiting patiently for me. "Boyfriend issues?" He asked.

### "No, he just wanted to know if I was still going to prom with him."

### "And what did you tell him?"

"I told him yes." This was a bit awkward. I bit my lower lip waiting for a response.

### "I guess I should be jealous. Actually, I am jealous. But the reasonable side of me understands that you need to keep your word to a friend." Cruz put his arms around me which was my favorite place to be. I loved that he was so mature and understanding.

"Thanks." Was all I said. I didn't want to put too much significance on the subject by talking about it anymore.

Friday Brielle and Pason and Nate and I went water skiing on the lake for our pre-prom date. We had lots of fun, just like old times. These were my good friends and I loved being with them. The only difference was I kept wondering what Cruz was doing. I would text him every once in a while and then he would text me. Then the others began to wonder what I was doing so I quit. I didn't want to be rude. I just missed Cruz. I need to chill out. I really can't be that attached to him. Not this independent chick!

I spent all day Saturday getting ready for prom. "You look stunning." Cruz told me as I walked down the stairs. "I hope you dress up for me sometime. This is very different for you."

"I know. I'm a jeans and a t shirt kinda girl. But once in a while I like dressing up. So, ya, we'll do it sometime." I assured him that he was important to me. Cruz gave me a quick kiss and watched me walk into the living room. He didn't follow me in there. He chose to stay out of there while Nate picked me up. That could be awkward for me and for him. Actually for Nate, as well.

Nate showed up wearing a black tux and a pink shirt with a black tie. I loved that he was so accommodating to my choices. I was wearing a pink ruffled dress. The front was just above my knees and the back dramatically dropped to the floor. The top was held up by one strap on the right side. My hair pulled up off my shoulders was dramatically rolled into a series of messy buns. A single ringlet hung down the side.

### We went and had pictures taken with Brielle, Pason and some other friends. Then we went to dinner and then to the prom. Nate and I danced a couple of dances but mostly we just hung out with our friends. Brielle had been nominated for prom queen and Nate and Pason had been nominated for prom king, so we had to stay there until they announced the outcome.

"And your junior prom queen for 2013 is.....Gabrielle Monroe!" The MC announced. I congratulated Brielle and hugged her and she walked up to the MC. A crown was place on her head as everyone applauded her. Then we all paused to hear who the king would be. We expected Pason to be king since everyone would have voted the two together. Then the MC announced "your junior prom king for 2013 is.......Nathan Broadwell!" I hugged him and congratulated him but had to push him up to the MC to receive his crown.

Then the MC announced that the couple would now dance as queen and king. Nate was a little hesitant and looked over at me like I was going to save him from having to do the dance. I smiled and nodded to him. Brielle grabbed him and began dancing. Then I turned around to talk to Pason. After a while Pason pulled me out to dance as couples began to join the royalty couple.

I was dancing with Pason and he was chatting away about graduation and his plans. I looked over at Nate and Brielle. I may be crazy but it sure looked like they were pretty cozy. Then Pason asked me about my plans after graduation and it brought my attention back to him. Then the song was over and we walked back over to our friends.

"Brielle, you wanna go to the little girl's room with me?" I asked.

"Okay." Brielle answered. When we were in there I asked her if she had a thing for Nate. She just laughed it off and told me she was with Pason. I wasn't sure what to think. Maybe I just imagined that, but it had seemed like there was something more than just a couple of friends dancing. Like some kind of chemistry going on.

We left the dance and went to Nate's house to watch movies. The guys had picked the movies and were really in to them. The girls were mostly just talking. When it got late everyone left and Nate took me home.

### Things were sort of awkward when we got to my house. We stood on the porch in front of the door. "I really had a good time, Nate." I told him honestly.

"But you still just want to be friends, right?"

### "I don't want to lose your friendship." I just didn't know what to say.

### "Well, can I kiss you?"

### "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"That's what I thought. Can't blame a guy for trying. Well, thanks and we'll see ya around." Nate gave me a hug and then awkwardly backed away and left.

I felt horrible for hurting him like that. Was I doing the right thing? I just didn't want to lead him on to think we were going to be together. But I really didn't want to hurt him. This was so hard! I went into the house where Cruz was waiting in the living room with momma and grams. Holy waiting committee!

### "So how was your night?" Momma asked.

"It was a lot of fun." I told them, honestly.

### "Then why do you look and sound so sad?" Grams asked.

"I really did have fun tonight. I just hate hurting Nate is all. I like being friends. He's one of my best friends. But he wants to be more than friends. I just can't give him that and it hurts." I replied.

"Well, honey, this happens to almost everyone at one time or another. It's part of life and part of growing up. These things help us to be stronger so that we can handle the 'adult' things to come. You both will eventually get through this and come out a more mature, stronger, well-rounded person. The trick is to take from this experience and see what you can learn from it." Momma had her arm around me, stroking my hair. There was something soothing about her touch and voice that made me feel just a little bit better. Not completely, but time would do that.

### "That is probably an advantage humans have over Teletrians. They have more opportunities to have broken hearts and to heal. We are betrothed to one person at birth and never experience all of that. I can see the wisdom in that." Cruz was reflecting.

### "Yes, we have seen that also since we have lived in this country away from our people. We always told Talli it would be best to not get serious with anyone in school and to date many different guys. We realized it was a break from tradition. However, we could see the wisdom in it." Grams added.

### "Well I hope she has had enough experience now that she will not have the need to date any more guys. I mean I hope she just dates me now. I guess that's kind of selfish of me, huh?" Cruz said.

### "Maybe." I agreed. "But I might just be selfish too. Just sayin'."

Momma and grams went to bed and Cruz and I stayed up for just a few minutes. Then he gave me a lingering kiss goodnight that melted my heart and sent that familiar zing through my body. I floated upstairs and into my bed for the most glorious night sleep I had had in a long time, maybe ever! The kiss lingered in my mind all through my dreams. I wanted the memory to last and last. Our first kiss would be burned in mind forever.

### The following month just whizzed by so fast. I spent a lot of time getting ready for graduation. School was still a breeze, luckily. I didn't have to spend much time studying for finals and cramming to get all my assignments in. That was one of the best things of my new abilities. However, I did spend a lot of time practicing my abilities and searching for new ones. I was also getting ready to go to Italy after graduation. We were all heading back there because we thought that is where my dad would be and we would be able to search better there.

Graduation was bitter sweet. We had worked for twelve years preparing to complete and leave our childhood education. We had anticipated it with yearning and desire. We planned and prepped for this moment. We counted down the years, the months and the days with excitement. As the day got closer, so did the reality. Some of these friends we may never see again. Some people were going to schools far away. Some were joining the military. We would all embark on our personal journeys now. There was a lot to miss and a lot to happily be done with. Bitter sweet.

The day after graduation momma, grams, grandpa, Cruz and his dad and I boarded a plane to Italy. After the long flight I was happy to see Lissandra and Paolo meet us at the airport. I couldn't wait to stretch my legs and settle into a nice hot bath. The four of us went in Paolo's car and Momma and my grandparents and Cruz' dad went with Clariee, who had also come to meet us. We were all going to stay at a luxury hotel in Venice and then head to the DaMonicos house the next day.

Being the beautiful city Venice is, made staying there a pleasant surprise. Even though we would be spending most of the time relaxing or sleeping, there were still breathtaking views from our windows. The next morning we did a little sight-seeing before leaving.

On our way to the DaMonicos home, Cruz looked behind us frequently. He took a quick turn to the left and headed down another road. "Someone following us?" Asked Lissandra. "You wouldn't be going the wrong way otherwise." Cruz just nodded slightly and honed in on his driving skills. We sped along the village streets, taking sharp turns until the car following us was no longer in sight.

### "Change of plans." Stated Cruz. "Call our parents and have them meet us at "plan B." He told his sister.

### "What's plan B?" I asked.

"They'll know. The less we say it the better chance of it remaining secret." Cruz answered. We drove to a Port and boarded a luxury house boat. It was more like a cruise ship because it was so big but it was a private boat. I had no idea where we were but didn't ask so we could keep it out of our thoughts. We spent the night on the houseboat in very nice accommodations. However, sleep evaded me. My mind was hectic with a multitude of thoughts about my father, my mother, my grandparents, where we were going and what was going to happen to us. Who was following us and what did they want. Cruz said I needed to perfect my abilities before meeting these people.

I must have fallen asleep eventually. I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a serene beach. I just looked around from the confines of our boat. I didn't want to venture onto land yet. I wandered around the boat and my nose led me to the kitchen where a cook was preparing a full breakfast for us. It smelled wonderful! I was famished and the bacon was calling to me.

### "Hello. Is this for us?" I asked the cook. I sat down at the counter and watched him busily preparing a feast.

This is for Signor Cruz and all his guests, so yes this is for you. Where would you like to eat Signorina?" The cook addressed me.

"I think I will go see if anyone else is up yet." I said as I snatched a piece of bacon and left the kitchen.

I went back up to the deck where Cruz was leaning over the railing sipping a cup of deliciously smelling raspberry tea. His face lit up and dimples emerged as he straightened his posture and wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. "Good morning sunshine. I hope you slept well."

"Good enough." I lied. "I'm starving. Are we leaving the boat eventually?"

### "After breakfast we can."

We had our breakfast on deck enjoying the scenery. Where ever we were it was beautiful. There was no sight of civilization but there was a rugged rocky beach where we had docked. After we ate we took a few supplies that had been pre-packed in a backpack and headed inland. We walked through a thickly wooded area that was embellished with many different flowers. This was definitely a paradise.

We walked about a half hour and a huge stucco home with a tile roof, Mediterranean-style, emerged in front of us. The home sat atop a black rocky hill. Concealed by thick, lush woods. There were steep steps leading to the entrance of the home. We climbed the steps, which Cruz pointed out numbered 132 in all. It should have been a good workout that would normally have had anyone catching their breath or breathing hard. Not us. We were all Teletrian and could handle the exertion with ease. Cruz opened the large ornate door with a key card which he held up to a metal device hidden by a sunburst decoration.

Inside, the high ceilings were painted with murals. The floors were polished marble with tapestry rugs finishing each room. This home was truly majestic but showed no signs of being lived in. Cruz pushed a button on the wall which rang chimes. A full staff appeared before us. "Good to see you, Signor Cruz, Signorina Lissandra. We are all here for your service." Spoke the man who appeared to be in charge. "And your guests as well." He added.

"Cruz took my hand and led me up the stairs. Lissandra followed. "This is Lissie's room." He pointed to the first door. Then entering the second door he said, "This is your room. You will find clean clothes in the closets and drawers. If you need anything else just call the domestico through the service intercom. He will alert whichever staff member you require." He pointed everything out. "My room is down the hall. You can press this intercom button to call me in a hurry." He pointed to another button. "I'll leave you here for a while to freshen up or whatever and then we'll meet in the game room. The butler will escort you there." Then he and Lissandra left.

### I curiously explored my room. It met every expectation I could possibly have. The miniature refrigerator contained soda so I grabbed me a cola. I needed some major caffeine. I enjoyed a long hot bubble bath in my own private bathroom connected to my room. The room-size walk-in closet contained many clothes in many sizes. I picked out some comfy Silver jeans and a Hollister t-shirt. Funny, they have American clothes in here. We import Italian clothes and they import American clothes. I put a denim jacket over the top, then I pulled my hair up into a messy bun. I found a pair of running shoes my size and threw them on. I flopped onto the large, overstuffed, four-poster bed and relaxed. I could get used to this.

### I called for the butler and he led me to the game room. I could easily see why it was called the game room. There were two beautiful pool tables, an air hockey table, a tennis table, and several T.V. screens with gaming device, and there was still a big wide open space in the middle of the room. Cruz was waiting for me there. "Would you like to challenge me in a game of pool while we wait for my sister?"

### "Only if you're prepared to be slaughtered." I teased. "I play to win."

### "Me too." He grinned.

### We played two games of pool, I won one and Cruz one won, before Lissandra joined us. She was such a gorgeous creature, I felt plain next to her. Although everyone always told me I was beautiful, I never felt extraordinary. People would tell me they would kill to have my naturally blonde, curly hair, which they could only obtain through a bottle or salon. I got that and my big blue eyes from my mother. I was a little self-conscious of the little freckles that dotted my nose. Grams called them sun kisses. Momma called them angel kisses. I called them annoying. I know I am attractive to others, but I just think of myself as normal.

### Lissandra bounced down the stairs wearing jeggings with a pumpkin colored sweater that accentuated her "Barbie doll" figure. Her 5'9" height accentuated by her 3 inch stiletto boots. Her long silky black hair flowing down her back was complimented by her emerald eyes. She looked as though she was ready for her vogue cover shoot. Even though her looks were stunning, her personality was her best asset. Her confidence was never outshone by conceit. I always felt comfortable around her. She was genuine and open and we were fast becoming good friends.

### Even though there was an Olympic-sized pool behind the house, Cruz insisted we go to the beach. Maybe he just wanted some sun. Or maybe he thought I needed some sun. So we headed to the beach.

### Chapter 11

### We worked on expanding my abilities out on the man-made beach. Sand had been hauled in to create a smooth surface to work on. The other beaches around what I now had learned was an island, were all covered in lava rock. This privately owned beach was serene and beautiful and isolated. It was perfect for the work we had to do.

### The houseboat had been tethered to the pier on the other side of the island and was concealed by the sharp, high cliffs over-hanging there. It couldn't be seen from the air and anyone approaching by water would be instantly discovered by our private army of bodyguards.

### Luckily we had our swimming suits on underneath our clothes. However, I was self-conscious in mine. Cruz and Lissandra stripped down to their swim suits. There was that perfect six pack again! I hesitated. Nate was the only boy that had ever seen me in my swim suit and that's when I was 10 and younger. Nate always complimented the way I looked. He thought I was perfectly proportioned. However, I couldn't test it on Cruz. So I tried to stall.

### "Come on, Talli. Get down to your swim suit so we can check out the water. It's really nice this time of year. It's like bath water." Lissandra coaxed me. Sure she can say that. She looks like a model in her bikini. I have a suit that covers my curves a little more, thank goodness. I would rather have on a full wet suit, though.

### I finally gave in and stripped off my jeans and jacket but I left my t-shirt on. That made me a little more comfortable. Cruz' dimple appeared as he observed me. "You look adorable, mi amica. But I don't understand why someone would want to cover up perfection. But whatever makes you happy is what counts." He knew just the right things to say and they felt genuine. I was starting to feel at ease with him.

### At the end of the sandy beach were some lava rocks that led up to a waterfall that plunged down about 100 feet to the ocean. We climbed to the top of the waterfall and sat on the edge looking down. Although it was breathtakingly beautiful, it made the butterflies in my stomach do backflips over and over. "Holy heights!" I yelled. "I'm not good with heights. In fact, I really don't like them at all!" I began to get up and leave but Cruz threw his arms around my waist and held me tight. There's that electricity again. I froze in place. That feeling was definitely addicting. "What is that feeling we get when we touch?"

### "I'm not sure. I've asked around and I haven't found anyone that has experienced it yet. My guess is it has something to do with an ability that we both share. So, shall we continue to explore abilities?"

### "Um...ya...but not here. I'm not comfortable here."

### "I'll help you with that. The thing is, when you experience high amounts of adrenaline is when your abilities will break through. This jump is intended to facilitate the discovery of your abilities." Cruz explained.

### "Shut up! You are not making me jump! Me and heights don't get along too well." I protested with all my might. I started to back away but Cruz stopped me.

### "I'm not going to force you to jump, but I highly recommend it. This will bring out abilities you don't know you have yet." Cruz encouraged me. "We can jump together if you like. I will hold you."

### He was so calming and soothing and encouraging. However I didn't think I could do it. I'm scared to death! I do need to find my dad, though. That is my driving force. I think I could do just about anything to find him. "Can I close my eyes?" I asked hopefully. "I don't know if I can jump if I'm looking down there."

### "Sure, you can close your eyes and just hold onto me. But dig down deep, babe. You can find the strength and courage to do just about anything if you really reach for it." I thought about the time I wanted to learn to do a back tuck. I didn't think I was ever going to get it. My tumbling coach said the same thing to me. She told me to reach deep inside and find my inner strength. I mastered my back tuck after that, with perfection I might add. I could look at this the same way, I guess.

### I held tight to Cruz and closed my eyes and said, "Okay, I'm ready. Go now before I change my mind."

### He held me close and whispered in my ear, "We're doing this together. You will never be alone. " Then he pushed off the cliff with me clinging to him.

We plunged down, down, down until we hit the water, slicing through towards the bottom. I felt a rush of water swoosh past my body. For a split second, time stopped. I felt the adrenaline explode in my body. Besides the fear and excitement that I was feeling, I also felt every emotion that Cruz was feeling at that moment. He was exhilarated and excited. He had an overwhelming affection for me. He was proud of me for jumping. He was in awe of me and enamored with me and he felt a huge responsibility to protect me.

### Then we shot back up to the surface. Cruz had me in his arms the whole time. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I hadn't experienced before. I felt invincible. I felt empowered. I also felt a new emotion for Cruz. I felt like I could always trust him to protect me.

### We swam over to the bank, climbed out onto the lava rock and sat next to the falls. I was so caught up in my fears and adrenaline and thoughts that I hadn't even noticed Lissandra had hiked back down to meet us at the bottom.

### "Great job, Talli! You did great. I can't believe you did that! By the way, I don't do heights. I've never jumped that and I don't plan on it either." Lissandra said.

### "Well I didn't plan on it either. I probably won't do it again. But I'm glad I did it. Thank you, Cruz."

### "I hate to change the subject, but did you feel anything different while jumping?" Cruz asked me.

### I thought hard about my experience. It was so fast it's hard to tell in that short time. I did feel Cruz' emotions but I'm not sure I should tell him about that. I don't think he would like me knowing something that personal. I closed my eyes and tried to relive the jump.

### As soon as I did, a picture entered my mind. It was my father again. He was running from someone. He kept looking back to see where they were. I couldn't see anyone else, just him. Where was he? He was in a building without windows so I couldn't tell where he was. He ran from room to room and changed hallways and went through doors. Still, I could not see where he was. Then the picture faded.

### "You saw him again, didn't you?" Cruz suggested.

### "I did. Does that have anything to do with the jump?"

### "Inadvertently it does. Like I said before, the adrenaline will bring abilities out or magnify them. It's like a defense mechanism that is built into us. When our body feels challenged or threatened it will create defenses, so to speak. It's really just my theory, but it seems to be true." Cruz explained. Well that just changed my mind.

### "I'm ready to jump again." I said. I stood up and began hiking to the top. Cruz quickly followed behind me.

### "No one can ever accuse you of not being determined." Cruz genuinely commented, with a chuckle.

"True that. Let's go." This time I jumped alone. I was going to find my dad if it killed me. Okay, wrong choice of words. However, I was determined, as Cruz said. I hit the water feet first. I seemed to be entering the water in slow motion. Then my father appeared in my head and I could feel his emotions. He felt worried about me and my mom and he felt a lot of love for me and my mom. He also felt anger towards some people. I got a name. Pietro? The name Pietro is in his head. Also, I can hear the name Senesi. What could that mean?

### I glided to the surface of the water and looked around. Cruz popped out of the water. "Nice jump." He told me. "Did anything happen?"

### "Yes. I need you to help me figure it out but I think I have something that will help." I swam over to shore and Cruz and I sat on the rocky beach near Lissandra who was waiting for us. I told him about the feelings I felt and the names that came to my mind. Cruz knew the names. He told me that Senesi is a village not far from where his home is and Pietro is a common name in Italy. We had great information to go get my dad. We just needed to make a plan and get more people involved. We would start with our parents and grandparents.

We went back to the house to clean up and change into dry clothes. We met in the dining hall and had a quick lunch and were discussing my abilities I had just discovered. Cruz asked me if that was the only time I had felt some ones feelings. I couldn't lie to him. I had to admit that I had felt his feelings when we were under the water. That made him blush. I tried to think of something to change the subject fast, but luckily I was saved by the bell.

### The doorbell rang and a in a few minutes we were joined by momma and my grandparents and Cruz' parents and Paolo. Cruz filled them in on my newfound abilities and the names I had discovered. The adults were pleased to hear this new information. Grandpa said we would definitely be able to get my dad now.

While the adults were talking to Cruz, I looked across the room to Lissandra and Paolo. They were obviously delighted to see each other. They truly had a relationship born of love. This was not just an arrangement. I could deal with that kind of relationship. If I could have that, it wouldn't matter if it was arranged. Maybe there is some kind of special bond that happens when you share a culture or have a common heritage. That makes sense. I looked over at Cruz. He was still talking to the adults but he winked and gave me his special smile with dimples, which sent butterflies to my tummy. Butterflies without the touch. These butterflies weren't as intense as the butterflies I get when he touches me. But they were there. This is the butterflies that normal people feel if they have feelings for someone. I get it now. I see the difference.

### I could sit and feel these sensations forever and never tire of them. But I had to be practical and I did have a purpose. We needed to focus on the problem at hand. We started to devise a plan. It was hard for me to contain my enthusiasm. I was so excited to finally meet my dad. However, momma was probably the most ecstatic one of us all. It had been years since she had seen her soul mate. She told me about their dating and wedding and things they had done together. She told me about them planning and expecting me. She told me how my father had been so nervous when I was born. I was his little princess and he didn't want to break me.

### She had never told me these things before. It was too painful to think about him and she didn't know if she would ever see him again. Now I was learning all about him and their life together. Grams even contributed her memories of him when he was a little boy. It was so wonderful to hear about my dad, what he was like and who he was. This was a refreshing change from my childhood of no one talking about him. It was definitely time to put our plan into motion.

### Chapter 12

### Our plan began when we went to Senesi to stay with friends of the DaMonicos. They figured my dad would be in that village and the friends there were willing to help us get him. They were the Domingo family. Once we were settled at the Domingo's we began recruiting others to help. We soon had our own little army of Teletrians who were willing to help us free my dad.

### "I would like to contact my family, too." Grams said. The people from my village have special abilities too. They can help us.

### "Are you sure they will want to?" Grandpa asked. "Some of them didn't accept me and Demetrio."

### "Things have changed since then. We can just contact the ones that accepted you. They are very family oriented, so if it concerns me it will concern them. They have talents that can help."

### "Let's contact them then. Should we go in person?" Momma asked. It was decided that grams and momma and I would go to their village. The rest would stay at the Domingos. We didn't want to gain the wrong attention by taking too many people there. We didn't know who in that village might have been involved in kidnapping Cruz and me. We could only contact those we trusted.

Grandpa decided he wanted me to go with them. He wanted me to meet grams family and he thought they might be more inclined to help if they met me. On the way to the village, grams filled me in on her heritage. The rest of the story they hadn't told me yet. The Teletrians live about 500 years. Grams family live about 300 years. Just good genes I guess, was their only explanation for the prolonged life span.

### Grams' family didn't have abilities like the Teletrians but they could cast spells on a lot of things like the weather, a person, or objects. Some of them did have the ability to read minds. Most of them weren't real powerful. They were pretty innocent. They mostly used their spells to better life. Increase crops. Bring on rain. Things like that. There were rules they had to adhere to. An ancient code they lived by. There were a few decenters that tried to not abide by the code. They were dealt with harshly. Sometimes death, if they were caught. Grandma's people were as discreet and private as the Teletrians. They mostly married within their species but if they married outside their group, they would swear that person to secrecy. They were bound by the same code.

### I was pretty excited to meet grams' family. They had tried to protect me from harm so much I never got to meet any of my extended family, on either side. We pulled up to a modest, but beautiful country farmhouse. Grams said her family was really in to living off the land. It was the home of grams' sister, my great aunt Catarina. Aunt Cat's house was warm and inviting but nothing fancy. Her furniture was well worn, the carpet was well worn, and the house looked very lived-in. It was very welcoming. It smelled like baked bread and oranges and cloves. Aunt Cat was pleased to meet us and ecstatic about seeing grams again. The two sisters hugged and hugged like they were afraid to let go. They must have been very close when they both lived here.

### I immediately felt a connection to aunt Cat. She lived alone. Her children were grown and her husband had been killed in a fishing accident years earlier. She took us to meet her son Caio and his wife Mitra and their two children. She also took us to meet her daughter Concetta and her husband Antonio and their daughter. All of them were eager to help.

### I fell in love with this village. Catarina told us that the people were more spread out now but there was still about 5,000 people in this village. It was so quaint and inviting it made me want to stay. There was a big city center with a pavilion where they would hold meetings or enjoy performances from entertainers. The streets were all tree-lined and made of cobblestone. There were no cement sidewalks but plenty of beaten pathways along the road. It looked like a little town straight out of a story book that was settled right on the edge of the sea. I think after I find my dad I will come back for a lengthy visit.

### "You know, Mrs. Harrington, there are people from our clan that would try to get your son for his Teletrian blood. They can extract DNA from him or force him to procreate with them to create a superior race. I've just heard rumors of people doing things like that." Antonio said.

### "First of all, young man, I am your auntie. You can call me Aunt Sophia. What you said is very interesting. There could be some merit to that. Do you have any particular persons in mind?" Grams asked him.

### "I've only heard talk around. Nothing substantial. I didn't even pay much attention to it because it seemed ridiculous. But now, it's more credible. I just don't have a clue who it would be."

### "So, Antonio, if someone from your people wanted my dad to extract DNA or use him to create test tube babies, where would be the likely place they would take him?" I asked.

"They are your people too." Antonio rebuked me. "I really couldn't speculate on that. There would have to be a lab or some kind of research place. Wait a minute. There is a University near Senesi, isn't that where you thought he might be? I believe that there are some of our people working there. They work for...I think it's Professor....Peters or Petro or something like that."

### "That's the name I got from dad! It's Pietro, right?" I exclaimed excitedly. I was eager to get started and wanted to go immediately. Grandpa said we needed to plan some more and make sure we're absolutely ready when we begin our plan of attack. We needed to gather more supporters, whether they went with us or just supported us from here.

### We continued to discreetly contact people we thought we could trust. With the help of our newly recruited family members, we were able to find a total of 21 people to help us. Six of them went back to Senesi with us to the Domingo's home where we could plan our strategy.

### Although the Domingos lived in a spacious home, we were still crowded with our large number. There was a small castle on the outskirts of Senesi that was used as a bed and breakfast resort. Actually, that's what we call it in the U.S. Here they call them villas. Grandpa convinced the owners to rent the entire place to us for what he told them was a family reunion. There was plenty of rooms for everyone to stay, plus we had large meeting rooms to gather in for our planning. There was also a large grounds area to practice my abilities some more.

### We stayed at the villa for an entire month in preparation for our plan to get my father. I was anxious to get this over with, but grateful we had a solid plan. Time actually passed quickly as I was busy perfecting my abilities. There was a wide open meadow near the villa that we practiced in some of the time. The rest of the time we practiced on the private beach the resort sat on.

### Cruz wanted me to perfect my fire skill. I hadn't done anything with that but I just knew it was going to come in handy with this mission. Momma called an old friend of hers and my dad's. A Teletrian named Orion. I loved that his name means warrior. We needed warriors. The best part was Orion had the fire ability. Momma thought he could teach me to perfect my skill.

### Orion had me close my eyes and practice creating fire by thinking of something that made me angry. It took a whole week of practicing, but I did it over and over until I could summon fire easily and without needing to get angry. I was so excited when I accomplished that. Momma was so proud of me. All I needed to do is control where I sent it and how much. Orion told me never to use this ability until I could do that. He spent the rest of the time teaching me to control fire with my thoughts.

### It was very tiring and tedious work. There were many times I almost gave up or felt like I would never be able to do it. Momma kept reminding me about my goal to keep me focused. She also reminded me that I was trying to learn in one month what most people took years to learn. She told me that abilities came on slowly as a person grows and then they still need time to learn how to use that ability. "Don't be discouraged just because we are rushing it." She told me.

### Orion's wife Stella also helped me. She taught me how to put up an invisible wall to protect me from anything sent to me. So if someone was trying to read my thoughts I could block it. If someone had fire ability I could keep it from reaching me. She was showing me her ability and I tried it myself. To my delight it worked! There were many ways I could use this. She also told me that it might deflect bullets. No one had tried it because who wants to be the guinea pig? If it didn't work, that would be a little bit of a problem. She still believed it could work, though. I prayed that it could.

### We decided that Stella would go with me to get my dad and maybe we could both deflect any bullets the kidnappers might use. Clariee DaMonico had the ability to cause someone confusion momentarily. It only lasted for about 20 minutes, however it could come in handy for the rescue. Consequently, she would accompany me also. Grandpa had super hearing and could see through buildings, so he was coming with me. Mr. Domingo was going to get us into the University labs. Caio, Aunt Cat's son, could render someone unconscious with a spell within seconds if he was within 20 feet of them. So he was going too. Then, of course, Cruz insisted on coming with me. And I have to admit that I wanted him there, as well. The others would be close by in case we needed them.

### The Domingos had a daughter my age named Antonella. She didn't seem to like me much but I didn't have time to figure out why or talk to her about it or even give it any thought. I was pretty busy getting ready. Antonella approached me one day while I was alone practicing on the beach. "You don't deserve him, you know."

### "Excuse me?" Was my puzzled answer.

### "Cruz. He may be your amico, you may be his amica, but you don't have a clue how great he is." She spat the words out at me. If looks could kill, I would be six feet under.

### "I don't see where this is any business of yours." I said and then started to walk away. I did not have time to get into this with her.

### She grabbed my arm and I twirled around to face her with loaded fists. "He follows you everywhere and lives as if you are his only purpose in life. And what do you do? Not much." She rebuked.

### "Well, to begin with I am pretty busy right now. I don't have time to......oh I see. You're in love with him, aren't you? Don't you have your own amico?"

### She turned her head. I had hit that nail right on the head. Now she was embarrassed. I no longer was angered against her. I softened. "Look, Antonella, is it? I didn't ask for any of this. I don't have time to discuss it right now. I'm pretty busy trying to get my dad. You, must I remind you, already have your dad, and probably have had him all your life. I have never met mine. Just leave me alone while I do my thing and I will talk to you when it's over. Deal?"

### She obviously didn't care what I had to say. She just turned and huffed away. I continued to train. I was a little peeved that she had interrupted my day that way. And who the heck was she to talk to me that way? I tried to put it out of my mind and not let it bother me. However, I was still ticked off that she had spoken to me that way. Then I tripped over a large rock on the beach and landed on the sharp edge protruding up. Now I was angry with myself for not paying attention. I had a big gash in my shin and it hurt like hell! I sat down to examine it. It was bleeding quite a bit and I didn't have anything with me so I just put my fingers on it and pressed hard to stop the bleeding.

### Instantly the blood stopped. I lifted my fingers to look at it. The gash was completely gone! "Holy Moly!" I'm pretty sure that gash was deep and it was bleeding profusely! I was thinking I might need a couple stitches. In a matter of seconds I couldn't even see where it had been. I ran up to the house and called for my mom, my grams, my grandpa and Cruz. They all ran into the great room to see what had excited me.

### "Is healing one of the abilities?" I asked them.

### "That comes from my side." Spoke grams. "There is usually only one healer in a village at a time."

"Well apparently I'm the one." I informed them. "I had a deep gash on my shin and when I touched it with my fingers it disappeared."

### "That's amazing." Momma said. "You are like your dad and have the best of both worlds. Except your father is not a healer. You may have even more abilities than him."

### I made an inventory of my abilities, so far. I could read minds and send messages telepathically. I could run super-fast and I have super strength. I could start fires with my mind. I could move objects with my mind. And now I can heal. I'm like a freak! I need to keep these things hidden from most of the world but for now I'm using them to get my dad.

### I think I'm ready. I know I'm ready.

### Chapter 13

### It was Monday morning and we had our solid plan laid out. We went over it again to be sure we were all in sync. I was very nervous but also excited. Today may be the day I see my dad for the first time. I prayed that I would see him today and that our plan would work.

### Stella, Clariee, grandpa, Mr. Domingo, Cruz and I drove to the University. All of the others followed us in other vehicles. They all parked in the parking lot to wait if we needed them. The six of us went into the research and laboratory building. We waited in a foyer area while Mr. Domingo went to find Pietro.

### Mr. Domingo taught at the University and had access to most buildings but not this one. He carried in a box of mice and asked the receptionist to direct him to Pietro, telling her that he had a package he needed to deliver personally. The receptionist told him to wait there and she would call him. Pietro, of course was not expecting a delivery but when Mr. Domingo kept insisting he had one, Pietro came to the reception area to see what the mix up was.

### Mr. Domingo had his cell phone ready with my phone number. When Pietro appeared and began to question him, he pressed send on the phone in his pocket. That was our cue to join him there. When Caio was within reach, he put the receptionist under a spell to be unconscious. I stepped right up to Pietro and asked him where my father was. He played dumb at first and said he didn't know what I was talking about. Then it dawned on him that if he could get me too it would benefit him. So he amazingly "remembered."

### "Follow me little girl and I will take you to him." Pietro purred. He motioned for me to follow him and I obeyed. He was very cunning but I mostly just wanted to get my dad, no matter what the cost.

### "We all go." Grandpa said.

### "No, just the girl." Pietro commanded.

### "How stupid do you think we are?"

### "I'm not saying anyone is stupid. However, she does want to see her dad. I have the upper hand. Only the girl goes."

### "We all go." Grandpa said firmly.

"Then I guess you won't be seeing him today, sweetheart. Come back another day, please. I would love for you to see him."

### "No, really guys, I need to go in. Just give me some time. Please." I pleaded with them.

### "Can she take just one with her?" Grandpa asked.

### "Well let's see now. I might let you take one of the females."

### "Okay. I'll take Stella."

### "And since you chose Stella, I will let you take the other female. Come, both of you." He held the door open and ushered us through. Then he closed the locked door behind him.

### I had wanted Clariee to come and that is why I suggested Stella. Mr. Domingo had planned that part. The door being locked was not a problem since grandpa and Cruz both had super-strength and could just lift it off its hinges. Caio was going to stay at the reception desk in case the receptionist woke up and needed the spell again.

### As Clariee and I walked down the hallways with Pietro, Clariee threw confusion on anyone we passed. She kept it away from Pietro because we needed him to take us to my dad.

### Grandpa, Stella and Cruz came through the door when we were out of sight. Grandpa could see through all the walls and know where to find us. They were not going to enter the room right away.

### Pietro took us through some more locked doors until we finally entered a room with no windows. I knew immediately that the man at the computer was not my dad. He looked up at us in confusion. Pietro filled him in. "We have a new specimen. We can resume our studies. This is a half breed. This is Demetri's daughter."

### "Ah ha. Nice job P. How did you manage to do what we couldn't do in her own home town?" The man stood up and walked over to me. He ran his fingers down a lock of my hair. I jerked away and slapped him. I forgot my extra strength. He fell to the ground. When he stood up he sent a right punch to my jaw. "Don't ever do that, little girl." He turned around and addressed Pietro. "What is the other one?" He was pointing to Clariee.

### "Nothing. She just insisted on bringing her. Kill her."

### "No! I will cooperate. You don't have to do that." I screamed.

### "Oh, you will cooperate, all right. But this extra witness.....we don't need."

"Clariee, I'm so sorry I brought you here." I told her. Cruz, I'm so sorry I got your mom into this. They want to kill her. I told Cruz in my mind. That was their cue to come in.

### Pietro started to grab Clariee. She sent him confusion and he hesitated. The other man, I assume was Bentley, went to grab her and she sent him confusion also. I gave them both a quick kick to the jaw, sending them flying across the floor. We bolted for the door just as grandpa and Cruz entered the room.

### "Where is he?" Cruz asked.

### "I read their minds. Another group came in here and took him. They think they are from grams village but they aren't sure. He's been gone for a few months and they can't find him. These are the guys who kidnapped us, trying to find my dad." I filled them in.

### Pietro and the other man began to stand up. They were still dazed but attempted to attack us as retribution for me kicking them. I threw fire on them to stop them. They rolled on the floor to put out the fires but the fire alarms had already gone off. The sprinkling system came on. I searched around and found a vault. We threw the two men in the vault and closed it. Then we began searching the room for any information to take with us. I grabbed some files out of a cabinet and then we all left the room.

### In the hall a man tried to stop us to ask us what we were doing in here. Clariee sent him confusion and he just stood there as we ran out. Everyone else was running to get out of the building and paid no attention to us. They all assumed there was a fire. We made it out of the building without incident other than we were soaking wet. We gathered everyone and headed back to the villa.

"Well, back to the drawing board." Grandpa sighed. We filled everyone in on what we had learned at the University.

### "So I figure my dad didn't see who took him because he sent me the name Pietro and Senesi. So I need to try contacting him and see if he can get us more information." I deliberated. "Could we contact the governing committee in your village, grams, to get help?"

### "I don't know if they will help. We can try and see but I'd rather wait until we have more information because we don't know who else is involved. We don't want to contact the wrong people." Grams said.

"Since we have all of these people to help," said grandpa, "we should go straight to the TEC headquarters and confront them. Is everyone still in?" He looked around at everyone, searching for each response. All of them were willing to help. They were appalled that people would do this to anyone. They were even more appalled that it was people of their own kind.

### Paolo suggested we recruit more Teletrians to side with us. "They don't necessarily need to come with us, just be on our side."

### "But we don't know who we can trust in this matter." Protested Cruz. "I can't risk Talitha's life."

### "I don't want to do that either." Stated Paolo. "But if we just approach people we know and we take a mind reader to talk to them, we can just tell the people whose thoughts are pure."

### "I could go too and put a truth spell on them." Said aunt Cat. "That's my specialty."

### "Perfect!" I exclaimed. "Let's get started. Cruz and Aunt Cat and I went to visit some Teletrians. All the others stayed at the bed and breakfast and made phone calls. They called Teletrians they knew to see who they could recruit. Grandpa or someone good at reading minds would be in on the conversation to screen out who was truly with us and who we could trust to share our plight with.

### We gathered 13 more Teletrians to stand with us and 102 more Teletrians to support us from their homes. Things were looking up. There is strength in numbers which gave a boost to my confidence in our mission.

### I was so exhausted from the last month's events, when we were back at the bed and breakfast I crashed on the sofa and put my feet up. Cruz sat down next to me. "You look like you could use a break, mentally and physically." Cruz told me. He gently massaged my neck muscles.

### "Okay. That really hits the spot." I said.

### "Your muscles are very tight. You need to relax."

### "Is that one of your abilities? Relaxing muscles."

### "No special ability here. Just old fashioned massage."

### "Well it feels like heaven."

### "That's my goal."

### I was so relaxed I fell asleep right there. When I woke up it was morning. I had a blanket over me and I was lying on the sofa. Cruz was sleeping in the chair. Even though I had slept on the couch, I felt so rested. There was a peaceful feeling that I had not felt in a long time, if ever at all. I felt as if my life was right on schedule, so to speak. No, my life was not perfect. Whose is? But it felt close enough to perfect for me.

### I stood up and stretched. Cruz was still asleep. I went up to my room to shower and change. I was just finishing blow drying my hair when my phone rang. It was Nate. I let it go to voicemail. I just couldn't deal with him right now. What could I say to him to make it any better? I needed a good heart-to-heart with momma.

I texted momma and asked her where we could have a talk at. She texted back that she would meet me in the garden. I went outside to the beautiful flower gardens. There were at least twenty different kinds of roses arranged in a pattern that complimented each other's colors. There were lilies of all varieties and colors spread throughout the garden in a designed pattern. Jasmine and Narcissus flowers contributed strong fragrances. Babies' breath and bridal lace accented each collection. In the middle of all the flowers was an arbor with a stone bench under it. I sat on the bench waiting for my mother. This was serenity at its best; tranquility at its finest. One could almost forget the worries waiting externally. I consumed deeply the heavenly aromas drifting in the air. If only I could stay here cocooned in this private little paradise.

### Momma breezed in and sat next to me, giving me a big hug. "Good morning my beautiful daughter. What's on your mind?"

"I just needed to talk about Nate and Cruz and my abilities and everything, I guess." We talked about not wanting to hurt Nate but not really feeling anything special with him. We talked about the special connection I had with Cruz and my reservations there. We talked about my dad and how I longed to see him. Actually, I talked and momma listened intently and compassionately. That was my momma's gift. She had a great knack for listening without passing judgment or giving advice. Now I really felt at peace. Momma had a gift for that too.

### "Talli, dear, it is time to teach you to be one of us." Said momma.

### "What? I thought that's what we've been doing already."

### "No, actually, we've been teaching you to be a Teletrian. I mean it's time to teach you to be like grams and me."

### "What does that mean?" I questioned.

### "You know all about grandma's people and that they have special abilities, too." Momma told me. "What you haven't heard yet is that I am from her same village but a different family. Grams and I are alike. We need to teach you our ways. We are in harmony with the land and elements and they come in handy quite often."

I gave a look of confusion so momma kept explaining. "We can call upon the elements to influence things. For instance, when I plant my garden I call upon the Earth and sun to nourish and strengthen my plants. Have you ever noticed that my garden produces much more in quantity and bigger and healthier plants than other people's gardens? My tomatoes are bigger than anyone else's and I have twice as many. We always end up giving them away because we have so many."

### "Well, ya but I always thought you just had a green thumb, so to speak. You know, like you were just good at it." I said.

### "Well I can only take credit for using my talents to call upon the elements. So in a way, I have a green thumb. But it is a talent I am born with, not just learned. It's both. You are born with it and you have to develop it. And if you don't use it regularly, you lose it."

### "I think I get it. What else do you use it for?" I asked.

"We only use our talents for good. Sometimes there's a fine line between what's good and what's not. If that ever happens, you need to seek guidance. You can be creative in what you use your talents for. You can persuade people, like diffusing contention. You can do that by confusing their thoughts or putting a suggestion in their mind. If you are really good you can cause someone to fall asleep. You can bring on rain and wind. There are many things you will learn as you develop your talent. Use your intuition and creativeness. You are your only limit." Momma sat there like she was reminiscing about times gone by.

### "Well, where do I start learning?" I wondered aloud.

Momma stood up and gently pulled me towards a rose bush. "See if you can make this bud open by calling the element of the sun and energy of the earth." She told me. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind. I focused on the tiny rose bud folded in on its self. I called upon the warmth of the sun and the energy of the earth to surround me and persuade this little bud to open its pedals and present its beauty to us. To my amazement the bud slowly opened each pedal, one by one until it was fully exposed.

### I was speechless. Words could not express what I was feeling. This was one of the most beautiful things I had ever witnessed. And I had caused it! Momma put her arm around my shoulder and gave a little squeeze. "Well done mia cara."

### "What now?" I asked her.

### "It's up to you, Talli. You can explore and try things. Use your creativity." She answered.

### "So is it okay to let Cruz know?"

### "Of course it is. One day you will share everything with him. You don't want to start a relationship with secrets."

I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around the betrothal thing. But she was right. I didn't want to have any secrets with Cruz. I went back to the great room to see if he was awake. He was gone so he must have gotten up. I decided it was time to use my abilities more. I thought in my mind, "Cruz, where are you?" I concentrated on projecting the words to Cruz.

He answered right away. "In the kitchen, love."

### I went to the kitchen and poured some orange juice, got a croissant and sat down to talk to Cruz about my new discoveries. He was so proud of me and excited to use these new abilities to rescue my dad. Cruz called a meeting of everyone to start planning our mission.

### We all met on the beach, sitting on the large lava rocks at various heights around a semicircle. I was in the middle facing everyone with Cruz by my side. Cruz asked me if I wanted to fill them in on my new discovery, which I did.

### "I had no idea your mother was from the same village as your grandma." Mr. DaMonico said.

### Grandpa stood up and walked over to me to address everyone. "When Sophia and I had our son Demetrio, we weren't accepted by the Teletrians so we could not arrange a betrothal for our son. We were still concerned about him marrying a normal person. We thought it might expose our people to others. So to solve the problem, we took him to Sophia's village to meet young girls to develop relationships with. He met a few of them and wrote to them as he was growing up. The relationship with Natalia developed into more and they were married eventually. Natalia's family wasn't very happy about it so we have not seen them since."

### "So we have even more talents to use in our plan. Let's get started, shall we?" Cruz proposed. Everyone agreed eagerly. There was no telling what my abilities would be. However, I was ready to find out.

### Chapter 14

### The next morning I was woke up by my phone ringing. It was Nate again. I thought I'd better talk to him in case it was something important. "Hey Nate, what's up.? I tried to act casual.

### "Talli, I just thought you might want to know," Nate began, "There was an accident...uh...my mom passed away from a car accident a couple days ago. I know you liked her a lot and I just....sorry to interrupt your vacation."

### I instantly sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. I couldn't believe this news. "Oh my goodness, Nate. I'm so sorry. You're right to call me. Thank you. Uh, how are you doing? How is your dad doing? What happened? I really loved your mom. She was always great to me. I want to come home right away."

### "No need to do that, Talli...."

"But I want to. I need to." I interrupted him. "Nate, I'm still your friend. And your mom's and dad's and your sister's friend! This is terrible news! I can't believe it." I sat on the phone with Nate for almost an hour. We talked a little about his mom and his dad and the funeral plans. But mostly we just sat and consoled each other.

### When I finished my phone call I went and told my mom about the sad news. Momma was friends with Nate's mom and took the news badly as well. We called immediately and booked flights back home for me, momma and my grandparents. Cruz was staying at the villa to continue the plans for our mission. I was grateful to him for continuing that for me while I was gone.

### It took a few days to get flights so we barely made it back in time for the funeral. After the funeral we spent the rest of the day at the Broadwell's house. Momma and grams were cleaning the house and washing clothes, trying to help out the family in some way. I just spent time sitting with Nate as we consoled each other. We just sat and held each other. Sometimes, reminiscing about his mom. Sometimes, crying into each other's shoulders. Sometimes just sitting in silence, feeling the familiar comfort of a friend. I felt as if I had lost my second mom. I had spent many days in Mrs. Broadwell's house in the past twelve years. This was my home away from home.

### "This feels really good having you here, Talli. Thank you." Nate said.

### "There is no place I would rather be right now, Nate. Your mom meant a lot to me."

### "She was pretty sad about our break up. She would be pleased to see you here, now."

I was there for my own need as well as the Broadwells. There really was no place I'd rather be. However, I hoped that Nate wouldn't take it as hope for us to be together. He was my friend. A very good friend. Just not my boyfriend. I hoped he knew that. I hoped he understood it was for the best.

### "Talli, tell me what I did wrong. What can I do to get us back together? We can work through this. Can't we just start over?" Nate asked the dreaded question. And asked it now when he's mourning the loss of his mother. Who am I to add more to his loss? Is this really fair to him? Am I being selfish? But to delay the inevitable now would just make it worse later. If I spare his feelings now, it will hurt more when I do tell him the truth.

### "Nate, it's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. You've always been good to me. I've loved the time we have spent together."

### "Then there is a chance for me!" Nate exclaimed with hope shining in his eyes. "I knew you wouldn't throw it all away." Nate hugged me close to him. It felt comfortable in his arms. Like my favorite pair of jeans comfortable. I was a little confused. I needed to talk to momma. These feelings don't feel romantic, but they are real. I feel a love for Nate that is like the love I feel for my family.

### "Nate, let's not talk about this now. I don't feel right about discussing us when we just buried your mom. Can we just talk about this tomorrow?" I replied.

### "Sure babe. You are right. We'll continue this conversation later." Nate brushed a lock of hair away from my face. I looked up at him. His beautiful green eyes were glistening from the tears that had filled them earlier. My hands slowly found their way into his soft curls at the back of his collar and intertwined their way into the familiar locks of golden hair. Our lips seemed to drift towards each other. Nate softly brushed a kiss over my lips.

### Then he pulled me closer and kissed me passionately. I didn't stop him. However, he could tell that I wasn't engaged in the kiss as he was. He pulled back and looked at me with his trademark smile, sweetly tempting me. "Okay. Later." Was all that he said.

### Momma and grams walked in and announced it was time to go. We could come back tomorrow if we needed to. However, it was late and we needed to go home and let the Broadwells get some rest. Good thing, because I needed to talk to momma.

### We didn't say anything on the way home. We were pretty emotionally spent. Mrs. Broadwell had been a part of our lives for years. It was still hard to believe she was gone. Once we got home, momma asked me what I needed to talk to her about. She had always been intuitive to me but this time it was perfect timing.

### I told her how I had kissed Nate, or rather he kissed me and I let him. I told her that I hadn't felt any romantic feelings towards Nate. However, I had felt a kind of love for him, like I would love a family member. I told her I was confused because until I met Cruz I hadn't questioned my relationship with Nate. I just accepted it. It was a comfort zone for me. I enjoyed being around him and doing things with him. Much like I enjoyed doing things with Brielle. "Am I wrong to break up with Nate?" I asked my mom. "Am I letting my interest in Cruz cloud my feelings for Nate?"

### "Well now that is the million dollar question, isn't it sweetie." Momma put her arm around me. "Only you can decide that. I can give you guidance and advice, but ultimately, you need to figure this out. You're the only one that will know. However, you need to do what is best for Talitha and not what is best for Nate or Cruz. It's your life you pilot, not theirs.

### "Can you tell me about you and my dad? What you felt with him. I think that would help."

### Momma sighed and settled back into the sofa. Her face was full of longing, reminiscing and love. I could see she was reliving her experiences from long ago and it brought a tear to her eye. "We will bring him back, momma. You will be with him again." I encouraged her.

### She wiped her eye and said "I know we will. I'm just happy. The first time I met your dad, he was so handsome and dapper. Well, I guess that's a word from way back then. You probably haven't heard it. Anyway, he was "all that," he had it goin' on. If you know what I mean." We both chuckled at her attempt of current lingo.

### "It was at a teen community dance in our village. He was a mysterious new kid we hadn't seen before but my grandma said he was one of us. When he asked me to dance my heart did flips. I was so excited to be the first girl he asked to dance. He picked me out of all the girls there. Back then we had to dance with different guys. We couldn't dance with the same one over and over, unless you were engaged. We had dance cards that the boy would put his name on to be the one to dance with you a certain dance. I had wished that Demetrio could have all of my dances, but we couldn't." Momma said dreamily.

### "He was so charming and a great dancer. Almost all of the girls wanted to dance with him. And he did dance with a lot of them but he kept looking back at me. After the dance he left with his parents and I was afraid I would never see him again. Just the thought made me physically sick. I couldn't eat or sleep. All I could do is think about the most wonderful guy I had ever met and worry that I would never see him again."

### "Then what? When did you see him again?" I was genuinely interested in this story.

### "I was pleasantly surprised when a letter came addressed to me the next week. In those days it took a long time for mail to get to us. It was true 'snail mail.' He had written it that night. He told me he would love to see me again sometime. My heart, once again did flips. We exchanged letters for about a year and then his parents brought him to visit again. When we saw each other this time, we had already fallen in love through our letters. I cherished the time he was there. I have never felt as much alive as when I am with your father." Momma finished abruptly. I wanted to hear more.

### "So did you get married then?" I prompted her.

### "Not then. He asked my parents for my hand in marriage and they refused. He didn't want to dishonor them, so he left. I became so heart-broken at that time. I couldn't eat. I withdrew from everyone. I felt like a piece of my heart had literally been ripped out of my chest. I didn't want to be around anyone else. My parents brought other guys around to court me. However, I couldn't stand to be around any of them. It just made me miss your dad more." I could see that the sadness, as she related the story, was still there. Or was it the new sadness from missing him now.

### "But you eventually got married." I added.

### "About a month after your dad left, I received a letter from grams. She told me that your dad was miserable too. He missed me very much but would not write to me and go against my parents' wishes. Grams told me that if I encouraged him he would write back. It was just her intuition. I wrote to him and told him how much I loved him and missed him. However, I didn't receive a letter back. I was terribly disappointed. I wrote another one, thinking maybe it was lost in the mail. I put a spell on that letter to ensure it would get to him."

### "Then he wrote back, right?"

### "No. Not then. I was devastated. I became more and more depressed. My grandma noticed my depression and was worried for me. She wrote a letter to Demetrio and told him my condition. She immediately received a letter back from him stating that he had answered my letters and wondered why I hadn't got them. Grandma wrote back and told him she had an idea why I hadn't got them. She also told him that she had a plan."

### "Did she put a spell on your parents so they would like dad?"

### "No, it is forbidden to put spells on our own family members. And usually not on other people either. Remember what I told you about using our talents."

### "Then how did you and my dad end up together?" I dragged out the sentence for dramatics.

### "Grandma had tried to reason with my parents but they wouldn't listen. So grandma had me pack some bags and we took a carriage to where your dad was living. She told me that if I wanted to stay there and marry Demetrio I would have her blessing. So after a lot of praying and thinking I decided to stay with your grandparents. We planned a quick wedding with only my grandma and your grandparents attending. I wrote to my parents to explain that I loved them and didn't really want to disobey them but this is where I belonged. I told them I would still love to have them in my life. They sent the letter back saying it was refused by the recipient."

### "That part of the story is very sad." I admitted. "But I like the part that you felt things and missed dad. That helps me. I miss Cruz a lot. I kind of missed Nate when we were in Italy. I thought about him sometimes but I wasn't wishing I could be with him. I just missed him the way I missed Brielle. I can see the difference, now. Thanks momma." I kissed her goodnight and ran up to bed. There was something I needed to do.

### I texted Cruz and told him I missed him and couldn't wait to see him. Then I climbed into bed and slept like a baby. I woke up early in the morning feeling like I could handle this. I ran downstairs and started cooking breakfast. Scrambled cheese-egg and toast. Grams came into the kitchen surprised to see me up so early.

### "What are you doing up so early and why are you cooking breakfast? Who are you and what did you do with Talitha?" Grams joked.

"I think that Talitha is gone for good. I'm the new and improved Talitha." I joked back.

### "I see. And just what is it about you that is improved, cuz I kind of liked the old one." Grams said.

### "I just feel more confident in making decisions. Maybe I'm just more mature. I am 18 now, you know." I winked at grams.

### "Well new and improved Talli, would you mind passing me a plate?"

### "You betcha. Coming right up." I said.

### "But why are you so chipper today? With the funeral and everything I thought you would be down in the dumps."

### "I am sad about Mrs. Broadwell. It's just that life goes on and I'm trying to do the same. Actually I'm chipper because I know who I am and what I want." I tried to explain. Then I said playfully, "I am woman, hear me roar."

### "Now you're quoting Helen Ready? She's way before your time." Grams laughed.

### "Some things are just timeless." I said as I passed grams a plate of eggs and toast.

### While grams and I ate we discussed relationships and how she felt with grandpa. That was a good example. They had been together for over 142 years. Grams told me that even though they have had disagreements and things to work through, she still had the butterflies in her tummy once in a while. She told me that relationships evolve and become more meaningful as you grow old together. She told me that I need to choose to be with someone and then commit to keep the fire going, that we would have to work at it and not take it for granted. I could see maybe doing that with Cruz. I couldn't envision a forever with Nate.

"Thanks grams. You and momma both helped me a lot." I cleaned up the dishes and headed back up to my room. I texted Nate, how are you doing today? He texted me back, a little numb. Can't believe all this. Call me when ur ready to talk us. I showered and changed my clothes and headed downstairs to call Nate. Instead, the doorbell rang. It was Cruz. I was so happy to see him. I hugged him and then pulled back. "There's something I need to try." I told him. Then I planted a kiss right on his lips.

### Immediately I was filled with electric-like feelings surging through my body as my heart did flips and butterflies danced in my tummy. "Whoa! I wasn't expecting that." I said as I pried my lips off of his."

### "I'm so happy to see you too." Cruz laughed. "That was breathtakingly enjoyable. What made you decide to do that?"

### "I just needed to. That's all." I lied. I really wanted to see what it felt like. I definitely was not disappointed.

### "I think the reason our feelings are so intensified when we touch, is we both have the ability to feel other people's emotions. It didn't happen when we first touched while we were held captive. It didn't happen until we both had feelings for each other." Cruz explained.

### "Well it makes perfect sense to me. However, I really don't care why. I just like it." I grinned. "Then it occurred to me that I had no idea Cruz was coming to the States. "So to what do I owe my gratitude for bringing you here to me?"

### "I was just missing you, that's all. I can continue planning from here. Do you mind?"

### "Of course I don't mind! I wouldn't let you go back if you tried." I told him and then planted my lips on his again. I absolutely knew at that moment, what I needed to do. All doubt was washed from me.

### Chapter 15

### But I won't cry for yesterday. There's an ordinary world somehow I have to find.

### ~Duran Duran~

### I left Cruz at the house and headed over to Nate's. This was not any easier, even though I had no doubt about what I needed or wanted to do. Nate was happy to see me and greeted me with a hug and kiss on the cheek as I turned my head so he missed my mouth. The hurt was already showing on his face. It broke my heart to hurt Nate. He was truly one of my best friends. Still, it was better done now than to lead him on to believe we could be together.

### "How are you doing this morning?" I tried for small talk to start with. "Did you get any sleep last night?

### "I actually slept well last night. I was just going to ride up to the cemetery to collect some of the flowers. Do you wanna go?" Nate asked.

### "Sure, I'd love to." We didn't talk much on the way to the cemetery. I was thinking about how I was going to tell him that we couldn't be together. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Nate, but I couldn't think of any way to tell him that wouldn't hurt. We sat down by his mom's graveside. Nate sat behind me and put both of his muscular arms around me. I have to admit it felt good in a comforting way. I always felt comfortable and safe with Nate. He had been there for me so many times.

### I thought about the time when I was 10 years old and sad because Lucy Jackson hadn't invited me to her birthday party. Nearly everyone was invited, including Nate. Lucy had been mad at me because I won the art contest at school and she thought she should have won. I told her she could have the trophy. I really didn't care. Friends are more important than trophies. However, she was still mad at me and didn't invite me. Nate had refused to go and he stayed at my house and threw a "good sport party" for me. He brought cake and ice cream and party hats. We watched movies and played board games until late into the evening. We had much more fun than anybody at Lucy's party. At least we thought so.

### Then there was the time my dog smoky had wandered off and Nate helped me look for him. We rode our bikes all over while calling him. Nate noticed something in the road ahead of us and told me to stay put while he went to look. It was smoky. He had been hit by a car and was badly hurt. Nate carried him all the way back to my house and then stayed with me until smoky was healed. We didn't know that grams and mom healed him. We thought they took him to the vet and they wouldn't allow us to go. I was so upset because I couldn't go. Nate calmed me down and waited with me.

### "You don't know how much this means to me to have you back at this time." Nate said. "I couldn't have gone through this alone." He tightened his arms around me.

### "You're not alone, Nate. You have your dad and your sister and all your extended family and all your friends. But you know you have always been there for me. I wouldn't dream of not coming to your aid if you ever needed me." I was trying to not mention the boyfriend-girlfriend part, yet.

### He pulled me around so I was facing him. "Yes I do have a lot of support, but it's not the same as having you here. I mean I'm glad you are here with me. You know, back together. Aren't we back together?"

### I felt a stab to my heart and it rose up to a lump in my throat. I couldn't say anything. I just stared into those gorgeous green eyes looking back at me. I leaned in to hug him so I no longer had to face him and look into his eyes. I shouldn't hug him, though. That gives him false hope. I couldn't hurt him! I couldn't do this! There must be a better way. I closed my eyes and searched inside of me for the answer, but it wasn't there. I couldn't take this! It was too hard! I stood up and walked over to Nate's car. "Can we go now?" I asked him.

We got into his car and drove back to his house. I could tell he was sensing something was wrong. I think he just didn't say anything because he was hoping it wasn't true. I wasn't saying anything because I just didn't know where to start or how to start and I so badly didn't want to do this. We pulled up in front of his house. Nate turned off the car and we both just sat there. Finally, I got the courage to tell him.

### "Nate." I had a hard time beginning. A cry was caught in my chest making it difficult to speak. The tears behind my eyes were threatening to emerge. "You have been nothing but sweet to me and we have had some fun times together. We've been friends since we were in grade school and I would love for us to remain friends. Maybe it can't happen now, but I hope it will."

### Nate sniffed and turned his head, I'm sure to hide his tears. He wasn't saying anything. I know this was overwhelming to deal with just after his mom's funeral. "I didn't want to deal with this now, so soon after your mom died. I know you're in pain from that loss and so am I." I needed to push myself to go on. "I think you're a great guy and you're good-looking and fun to be with. You will find that perfect girl..."

"Just stop, Talli! Don't say anymore. You are that perfect girl for me. I can't believe you said that! Just go! Just leave me alone! I really can't deal with this right now." Nate was bitter; and rightfully so. It broke my heart to see him in this much pain. I hated having to let him down. I just didn't want to give him false hope. Was I right to break his heart? Should I have waited a couple of months? I knew I had done the right thing. I just felt horrible about it. Why is it that doing the right thing is so hard sometimes?

### Then a thought occurred to me. I had a talent that could help him! I wonder if that would be okay to use my ability that way. I didn't care. I was doing it anyway! I owed Nate that much. "I'm so sorry, Nate." He had turned his head the other direction and would not look at me. I didn't know what else to say, so I got out of the car and just left.

### I drove down the street until I was out of sight. Then I pulled over and turned off the car. I called upon the elements of the earth and the sun and the stars. I commanded them to surround my dear friend Nate, to lift his sorrows and bring him happiness, to help him find peace, to help him find true love and to forget his feelings for me. I asked the elements to surround his family and comfort them too. I hoped I had done that right.

Then suddenly I felt a huge burden lifted from me! I felt light and love and happiness. I was overwhelmed with happiness. It was a feeling I could get used to! I just knew that everything would be okay. I had done the right thing.

### I returned home to find Cruz sitting on the porch swing. "Hello handsome. Are you waiting for someone?"

"You seem awfully happy for someone who just broke a heart." Cruz mused.

### "I am ecstatic!" I answered him. Cruz raised an eyebrow, eyeing me suspiciously. I continued. "Not from breaking a heart, silly. I used the elements to diffuse his heartache and it filled me with happiness. It's hard to explain. I just feel so good right now!"

### "I see." Cruz said as he put his arms around me and pulled me into him. "Aha! I can feel it, too! It's a very strong feeling. I don't know much about your abilities from your mom's family. I actually don't know anything about them except what you've told me. I would guess, though, that this euphoric feeling is the elements telling you that you have done something good."

### "I think so, too. I was worried at first if I should use them that way. But now I know it was good." I said. I was learning quickly.

### We spent the rest of the day just relaxing in the swing or sitting in the kitchen talking. Cruz was just getting over his jet lag. The time difference really played havoc on him. Then after dinner we took a drive down town and decided to go to the movies. The new Stephanie Meyers movie was playing. I had read the book and was dying to see the movie. It was nice to get back to some normalcy, whatever that may be for me.

### "That was better than I expected." Cruz said as we were leaving the movie.

### "It was fantastic!" I argued. "I loved the book so I knew I would like the movie. But I loved it!"

### "I liked it a lot too. I just meant that alien movies usually don't excite me. This one was different. It was really good." He responded.

"I agree. I don't normally like alien movies either. Thanks for bringing me here. This was nice to get out and do something fun for a change. I guess we are the aliens, huh? I just realized, that's why you don't like alien movies."

"Yup. It's weird to see what people's perception of aliens are. Like they use monsters to portray aliens, or life from other worlds. When here we are. We are just the same as they are, in looks any way. Although the aliens in the Stephanie Meyers movie were supposedly monster-looking, they didn't look like monsters because they were in their hosts' bodies. So it didn't bother me like it usually does. And I like how the alien in her movie had compassion and 'human' feelings."

### "Ya, I can see that now. We aren't monsters. We're just people. We have feelings and emotions just like Earth people." I agreed. My world was definitely anything but ordinary. Ordinary as I used to know it. This was my new ordinary life and I was liking it more and more.

The next day Cruz and I took skateboards to the skate park. This had never been so easy for me to do. My newfound abilities were coming in handy for a lot of things. Cruz and I raced around the skate park, flying over the jumps and up the half pipe. There were some kids there who were totally amazed at how well we could skate because they had never seen us there before. We impressed them with our skills and speed and strength. We weren't trying to show off. In fact we were trying not to show off. However, that was going to take some practice.

One day momma and I put our vegetable garden in. We tilled the spot and prepared it. Then we put the vegetables in. Then we held hands and summoned the elements to nourish and protect the plants. Cruz gave support from the sidelines. We set up a drip system on a timer to water the plants while we were in Italy. Then momma asked Mr. Broadwell to keep an eye on them for us. This was my first lesson in using my talents to produce a garden. Momma said I did well. I felt good about it.

We spent a full week just relaxing and spending time together, getting to know each other. The more I got to know Cruz, the more I liked him. When we were downloading music we discovered that we liked a lot of the same music. We both liked Muse and Lifehouse and other artists. We also learned that we both like to hike and blade and swim. Spending time with him was definitely rewarding. Cruz had never been camping and since it was one of my favorite past-times, we made plans to do that as soon as we rescued my dad. We also spent time planning our mission in between having fun. Then it was time to go back to Italy. So we headed back to our villa, along with momma and my grandparents.

### Chapter 16

"Mt Etna?" I thought aloud. "Why am I hearing Mt. Etna? Do you know where that is?" I asked Cruz and his parents.

### "Everyone knows where Mt. Etna is." Cruz laughed. "It's the largest active volcano in Europe. It's in the city of Catania on the island of Sicily. It is a very popular tourist attraction. Are you thinking you want to go sight-seeing?" He teased.

### "Yup. That's what I'm going to do." I teased back. "Are you coming with me?"

### "Absolutely."

### "Wait a minute, here. You two aren't going off playing while we do all the work." Mr. DaMonico said.

### Cruz and I laughed then I explained to them that my dad keeps sending me the message "Mt. Etna." I guess Cruz had figured that's what I was talking about. "We need to go to Mt. Etna and see if there are any more clues there." I told the group.

### "So do you have a plan when you get there?" Cruz' mom asked.

### "Well the plans we've been making can be altered to where ever we go. But no, I don't have definite plans. I just need more information. I'm thinking I will find it there."

### "Well then we all need to go since we are part of the plan, right?" Clariee responded

### "Yes. We would like everyone to go if possible." Cruz replied.

We loaded our vehicles with supplies and personal belongings to last a few days. We had quite a ways to travel and we didn't know what we would encounter there. We went prepared for anything. Cruz told me that the volcano was the most active volcano in the world. He said it just erupted in February of 2013, just a few months ago. It is quite possible it could boil up while we are there. That would be awesome! He also told me that the mountain is almost 11,000 feet high. Although it is located off the Mediterranean Sea, it can be pretty cool at night after being warm during the day. So we had to pack clothes for all climate possibilities.

We took a caravan of 21 vehicles. There were several villas for rent around the perimeter of Mt. Etna. We acquired a beautiful villa near the town of Catania that had 29 private rooms and five common areas. It was perfect for our group. We settled in to our respective rooms and then met at the great room. We went over our plans to refresh everyone's memories and make any changes. Then everyone went to bed to be refreshed for the next day.

Early the next morning Cruz and his parents and grandpa, momma and I headed to the Borgo train station in Catania. We planned to take the three hour train trip that circled Mt. Etna. We thought this would be a good way to feel out the area. We rode the Circumetnea train through the Mt. Etna national park searching for clues but mostly hoping we would receive some information telepathically.

The breathtaking views were an unplanned bonus. The old lava flows from years past had formed craters and formations and had filled in with pine, beech, and birch trees. The generously wooded areas were accented by numerous caves formed by the lava flows. As I gazed out the window in awe, a golden eagle soared alongside the train as if it were floating in air, guiding the train. My eyes followed his path for quite a while. Then it scooped down below the hillside to snatch its dinner and then soared back up out of sight.

I really needed to focus on my mission to get my dad or else I could get carried away sight-seeing here. Focus Talli, I told myself. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my dad. Dad, can you hear me? I sent him messages. Nothing. I wondered why I hadn't heard from him much lately. I wished I could reach him somehow. I was getting frustrated. I only received bits and pieces and then not much after that. I wondered if I was doing something wrong or if he was unable to send messages.

I was looking out the window at the beautiful landscape when an idea came to me. I concentrated on the mountain, the wind, the sun and all the elements. I summoned all the elements to go to my father, wherever he may be, and give him strength and power to fight and to be able to contact me and hear me. I concentrated the elements to go to my dad for a long time. Then I summoned the element wind to come to me and assist me in contacting my dad. I said wind, take this message to my dad and assure its delivery. Then I had momma and grams invoke the elements to do the same as I spent time concentrating on hearing anything from my dad.

Look in the cave. I am not there but there is a clue. "Dad!" I exclaimed. "I heard my dad! He said to look in the cave."

"Did he happen to mention where the cave is? There are over 200 caves here." Cruz informed me.

"Not yet." I said. "Is there a map somewhere of the caves? A map of where they are at."

"I think the park headquarters will have some of them documented. We can head over there and find out. However, a lot of the caves have been used by the locals for burials and food storage and different things. Those caves exist on private property which the park might not have documented."

### "Well aren't you the walking encyclopedia." Clariee teased.

### "Enclo.....what?" I asked.

Clariee laughed. "You kids have no idea what an encyclopedia is anymore. It's a book of information. We had to use them because there was no internet. We had to go to things called libraries." She dragged out the word library for emphasis.

### "Very funny, mom." Said Cruz. "I had to do a report in school so I just remember some of the facts about Mt. Etna."

### "So maybe that's what the kidnappers used. One of the burial caves, I mean. Because maybe they thought no one would go near it if it was a burial cave. That's just gross. I guess that's a silly idea."

"Actually that's not a bad guess. What better way to hide someone. See if you can get any more information." Cruz encouraged me.

### I closed my eyes and concentrated on my dad. I concentrate so hard I got a headache. Cruz had a solution for headaches. He put pressure with his fingers at the base of my skull and massaged. A miraculous thing happened when he did that. I got the usual zing going through me when he touched me. However, it seemed to sharpen my senses. I heard my dad again and it was a clear, concise dialogue!

Go to the cave on the northern side of the mountain, just above the vineyards. It is where the Martinas family buried their family members. Roll the boulder to the side and you will see a map. I was blindfolded after that and don't know where they took me. I think I was unconscious for most of the trip.

"OMG! Cruz!" I shouted. "When you touched me it increased my ability to hear my dad! He gave me exact instructions. Can we get off the train and head back? We need to go to the north side, by the vineyards."

"Well, it looks like we need to stick together! If touching you increases your ability, I will never let go." Cruz laughed but he was serious.

"I'm counting on that." I gave him a smile just reserved for him. Then I weaved my fingers through his.

The train didn't make any stops once it left the station and it was basically the only way to get back so we just rode it back. Once back at the train station we rented two jeeps and headed to the north side. We came to some small villas that were surrounded by massive vineyards. Cruz told me that volcanic ash makes very nutrient soil. Therefor, the people had capitalized on that to grow lush vineyards. They were impressive to behold.

### We asked some people walking along the road if they knew the Martinas family. Luckily they did and pointed us in the right direction. Once we located the Martinas vineyard we followed it to the top. We circled around the mountain and found a tiny cave. There was a cross placed at the entrance with Martinas names on it so we knew we were in the right place.

It felt sort of irreverent to be snooping around a burial spot. However, I reminded myself that we were here for a good reason and the people who kidnapped my dad were here for an evil reason. So what we were doing was making up for the evil. Okay, so that was really stretching the justification but I did feel like the end justified the means. So we continued. There was a large stone covering the entrance. The entrance had been sealed off and the stone was just an added measure to keep people and animals out. So moving the stone would not expose the grave. I was glad for that.

### The stone was about 6 feet in diameter. It looked pretty solid and was, I'm sure, rather heavy. However, Cruz and his dad were able to roll it aside.

### "I like a man with muscles." I joked with Cruz. While we were joking around grandpa was looking at the site.

"There's a tube embedded in that rock there." He said pointing at the edge of the cave where the stone had been. They had drilled a hole in the rock and hid the tube in it and then put the rock back in and camouflaged it. We pulled it out. Inside the tube was a map. We grabbed the map, filled the hole back up, rolled the stone back and left quickly before any one seen us violating a gravesite.

When we were back at our villa we gathered in the great room. We opened the map to study it. Aww. He wasn't here after all! I knew this area! Imagine that. We came half way around the world only to find out he was close to home.

Everyone packed up to leave and we booked our flights home. Me, grandpa, grams, momma, Cruz, Alessandro, Clairee, Lissandra, Paolo, and Caio were all going to the states. The rest, we decided, could go home. We didn't need their help in this way. We just needed their support when we dealt with the TEC and grams' people. We had enough room at our house for the ones that were coming with us.

"I really have a good feeling about this." I told Cruz. "Now that I know you can intensify my abilities, I think we have got this in the bag." I slipped my arm around his waist and he put his around me and I cuddled up to him on the long drive back. Maybe we were meant to be together. It seems that way more and more every day. I've never believed that people are predestined. I just believe we create our own destiny. If this wasn't meant to happen, then I'm one lucky girl to have found a perfect soul mate to navigate my destiny with.

Chapter 17

We had been over the map a dozen times and were pretty sure where they had my dad at. The map was meant to be disguised so there were no towns or cities or roads named. However, I could tell by the roads that were on the map and it did have the landmark of LDHC. I knew this place! Little Dead Horse Canyon. I could tell that the interstate on the map was I-70 by the way it was positioned. I could see the little road going off from I-70 was state road 24. I noticed the topography of the map was correct for that area. I knew this area like the back of my hand! This was one of nature's masterpieces and I had been there often.

We took a large motorhome and two jeeps. We needed the conveniences of the motorhome since this was a remote area. Because there was mostly sand in this area, we needed the jeeps to get around to the areas where my dad might be. We drove the motorhome to the camping area at the state park and set up camp there, then left in the jeeps to explore around to see if we could find any clues.

We started with Little Dead Horse Canyon. I knew exactly where it was. I loved this place and hiked there many times. We parked the jeeps at the base of LDHC. There is no vehicle access past that. We hiked up the canyon, looking and listening for clues. We hiked up through the narrows that were sculpted centuries ago by water. The waves of sandstone swirled around us creating a beautiful encasement of several hues of orange, beige and brown. The smooth, shear walls that enveloped us were over a hundred feet tall. In some places the sky was not above us, only the overhang of sandstone cliffs.

### "This place is beautiful!" Lissandra commented.

### "It's breathtaking!" Clariee added.

"We will have to come back with a camera when we are not looking for your dad." Cruz told me.

"You can count on it." I told him. "This is one of my favorite places to hike. I think one or two pics won't hurt or slow us down, though" I paused, took out my cell phone and snapped a picture of Cruz and me against nature's canvas. Then I took one of everyone else.

Cruz and I continued hiking, holding hands to intensify my abilities. We let go only at the places rock climbing was necessary and it took both hands to maneuver the rock, or it was narrow and we had to go single file. I couldn't believe how easy these rocks were to climb now. It was going to be difficult to find challenging hikes now that I had my abilities. We hiked up the canyon on one trail and came back on another trail, making a full circle of the slot canyon. There was no sign of dad.

They probably just hid someplace near there. They wouldn't likely hide him in LDHC because there are too many tourists going through there and that would be a risk of getting seen. I just wanted to get it out of the way first thing and to see if any clues were here. The LDHC on the map must be a marker of the path to take.

Next we went to the picnic area by the goblin formations. Sandstone had been eroded to look like goblins. Hundreds of tall and short and varied sizes were all around. Pure sandstone rose up into goblin-like creatures. Goblin upon goblin. When we hiked over a group of goblins, all we could see was more goblins. This was a vast area that could not be seen as the whole. Someone could be hidden anywhere here. We hiked around the formations for a few hours but didn't find anything. This area was so big I almost didn't know where to start. However, I could tell he wasn't there. Something just told me he wasn't there.

We took the jeeps on a dirt road that was in the area. I was familiar with this road too. There were lots of rock formations and old dirt roads that prospectors had made and abandoned. There were also lots of dirt roads sheep herders used. We were driving along one of the dirt roads and grandpa suddenly said to stop. We pulled over and got out.

"I see something right there." Grandpa said as he was pointing to an overhang about 500 feet off the road we were on. "That is a camouflaged underground bunker. I bet he's in there."

### "Can you see anyone?" Alessandro asked.

"Not yet. I need to get closer."

We carefully and stealthily moved toward the base of the hillside. Then we decided to climb to the top and grandpa could see into the bunker from that direction. When we were on top he had a clear view of everything in the bunker. He told us that my dad was sitting on the ground in a corner spot. The opening was small and it had several little rooms that branched off of the main room. It was a pretty good sized bunker.

"The sandstone is perfect for people to carve into. Many people have made homes in the sandstone. I should have looked here first." I told the group. Serious self-doubt crept into my mind.

"Sometimes the obvious is hardest to see." Momma said. "Don't blame yourself, Talli. It was a mistake anyone could make with the clues you had."

We decided to go into the back of the bunker, dig our way in and grab my dad that way. Grandpa saw about ten guys in the bunker up front guarding him. We decided to get him out and then deal with the captors after.

### We went back to the jeeps and got some tools we had brought. Then we began digging the sandstone out. Those of us who were gifted with super strength were digging because we could move the sandstone easily and quickly. The others kept a look out for unexpected visitors.

### Cruz and I held hands and I told my dad our plan so he would know who was digging there. I barely heard him answer okay. Something was wrong. I was glad we were getting him first. It only took us a few hours to dig down to him.

I couldn't believe it! There he was...in person! This was my dad! It seemed surreal. It only took me a second to climb down to him. With apprehension I put my arms around him. This was the first time I had ever hugged my dad. The tears behind my eyes broke free. I couldn't help from releasing them. So much emotion burst in me. He was almost unconscious so he did not recognize me or anyone else. Or maybe he did but couldn't respond. We needed to act fast.

### When we pulled him out he was semi-conscious and weak. He appeared to be drugged with something to alter his consciousness. Cruz put him on his back and carried him out. Our jeeps were hidden down the road about a mile so as to not cause suspicion near the bunker. We hiked back to our jeeps and went back to the motorhome. This was not good. I couldn't get much response from my dad. His pupils were dilated. Dark purple skin underlined his eyes. His skin was dry, thin and blotchy. It looked as if death were right on his heels. I was so worried. Momma was crying.

### "We need to get him to a hospital, fast!" I demanded.

### "I know you're worried, Talli, and rightfully so." Grandpa began.

### "Then let's go! We need to hurry!"

### "We are going pretty fast, honey. Just stop and think for a minute. Have you ever been to a doctor or hospital?" Grandpa asked me.

### "I don't care! I don't want my dad to die!" I was inconsolable. "Okay, I've only been to the doctors to get immunizations so they would let me into school. But we have to.....okay, I get it. I can do something. I hope it will be enough."

### "It will." Grams said. "Just do it, fast."

### I placed my hands over my dad and called the elements to heal him. I concentrated hard and prayed it was enough. It had to be! I concentrated and called on the elements continually until momma stopped me and said to look. It worked! This was the best thing my abilities had ever done for me.

### By the time we reached the motorhome he was sitting up and looking good again, just amazed at the sight of everyone. Momma and grams were hugging him so much I thought they would smoother him. And he definitely recognized them. I was speechless. The happiness of having my dad, the amazement of healing him, and the shock of seeing him in front of me left me astonished. This was by far the happiest day of my life.

### Although the healing made it possible for my dad to talk to us, his words were slow and unsure. He had been locked up for so long. He gave us as much information as he could.

### It seemed like the kidnappers infused my dad with drugs to keep him controlled. He also was mal-nourished from obvious lack of food. This is what had made it so hard for him to contact us. I'm sure the kidnappers knew he would try. I was grateful my healing ability had undone the damage. "I'm your daughter." I reluctantly told him. I wasn't sure how he would react to that information after being held captive for so long. My concern was soon extinguished as he grabbed me and looked intensely at me and then just hugged me so tight. I couldn't believe I was with my dad. This was a dream come true!

"I can't believe you're so grown up. I've missed so much. I had no concept of time. They kept me doped up most of the time. That was to keep me from sending messages. I got your messages, I just couldn't send messages most of the time." His eyes were shiny from tears and he couldn't stop hugging all of us.

### "Demetrio, we need to make sure you're okay, get you rested, and then we can attack these guys." Grandpa said. We decided not to go after the kidnappers until we were sure my dad was okay. We drove to the nearest town to check into a hotel. Green River town was about a half hour away. When we checked into the hotel I refused to leave my dad's side. I had just met him and I couldn't leave him alone. Grandpa was filling dad in on all the details of looking for him and the people we had encountered.

### "Talitha, I am so proud of you." My dad said. "I don't know how you did it but you have completely healed me. They had me in such a weakened state that I couldn't send messages. I was afraid the drugs they pumped in me where going to have a lasting effect. Sometimes I even felt like I was losing my mind. I can tell you have taken that away. Thank you."

### "I'm just so happy to have you back." I hugged him again for the hundredth time. Momma never left his side. She was crying so much her makeup had smeared. I took a Kleenex and wiped the smear off. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

### "Yes we do." Dad replied. "I have been out of civilization for a long time. I'm sure I'm up for some culture shock, too. You will have to help me with that."

### Just then my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket. "Hi Cruz." I answered. "Idk. I think we're all hungry too. We could all go to the restaurant by the river. They're not half bad. K, we'll meet you there." I put my phone back in my pocket.

### "For crying out loud!" Dad used an old expression I don't think anyone uses anymore. "They have cordless phones that are small enough to fit in your pocket?"

### "It's a cell phone, dad. We all have one. We need to get you one too." I enlightened him. "We'll be getting you caught up on a lot of things, looks like."

### "I think I remember now. Cell phones...that's right. Some things are a little fuzzy still. I was remembering the great big cordless phones but now I remember the small cell phones."

### "Yup. They kept getting smaller all the time. And then they came out with the smart phone and got bigger again."

### "A smart phone?" Dad was puzzled. "It must work like a computer. I broke into a room with a computer and I was trying to figure it out. Those have changed a lot too. I have a lot to learn being kept in the dark all these years."

### "That was the vision I had of you! The vision was of you at a computer. Your mind must have been clearer then and you sent me that vision." I realized.

### "I'm glad that's all behind us and we can all move forward now." Dad said.

### "Amen to that!" Momma affirmed.

### "Let me see one of those 'smart phones'." Dad said. I handed him mine and he examined it. "There is a lot of things on here that don't make any sense at all to me. It does look like a mini computer with all these icons on it. Wow, this is going to take some time to learn all the new things that have been invented since....how old are you Talli?" Dad wondered.

### "I just turned 18."

### "So that means I've been gone for...about....a little over 12 years. Is that right?"

### "Yes my dear. It has been that long." Momma affirmed.

### "The last thing I remember about Talitha is teaching her to ride a bike. Then they took me. I've missed so much!"

### Wait a minute. Ride my bike? That's when I was around five. "If you taught me to ride my bike, why don't I remember you?" I have other memories from when I was five." It was my turn to be confused.

### "When your dad was taken," momma began reluctantly. I could tell she was hesitant to say what she was about to say. She squirmed around and then finally gave me the whole truth. "You refused to eat or sleep and all you did was cry for your dad. We tried everything to help you but to no avail. After a long while we couldn't let you go on like that. You were making yourself sick from heartache. We spelled you to forget all memories of your dad until he came back. You should be getting those memories back a little at a time now. If you don't, we will have to do another spell."

"Holy deceit! You kept all my memories! I can't believe you did that!" I was furious. "You can't just go around playing with people's lives like that! You can't mess with my life like that! How could you?" I was infuriated with them. I could have grown up with memories of my dad. That was so unfair!

### "Talli, we had no choice. It wasn't like we could take you to a doctor and say: she isn't eating can you help her. If we ever went to a doctor they would know we aren't human. Don't you see? We couldn't let you die. We had to do something. Maybe it was the wrong something, but it was all we had at the time. We didn't have a healer. Grams people would not help us because you are part Teletrian." Momma pleaded for me to understand why they did that to me. "We also didn't think it would be this long. We thought it would be a year at the most."

I was still angry they had robbed me of my memories. I tried to calm down because I didn't want to ruin my dad's happy reunion. I thought about how I spelled Nate and his family. Was that any different? Maybe they did do the right thing. Or maybe I did the wrong thing. "Okay, I kinda get it. I did something like that to Nate. I couldn't stand hurting him at the same time his mother died. I thought that would be too much for him to bear at one time. I spelled him to forget his feelings for me."

### "Talli, you took something from Nate that belonged to him; his feelings for you. I don't know what the consequences of that will be. I can see why you did it. However, with these abilities comes great responsibility." Grams deliberated.

### "You think I did something wrong?" I asked her.

### "No. It's not for me to judge. I don't know if it was wrong or right. I'm just saying that interfering with lives can have consequences we don't want. I just want you to know that you need to be cautious when using your abilities. We knew there might be consequences from spelling you. We thought a lot about it. We came to the decision that taking your memories to keep you alive was our best option, even if there were consequences."

### "I get it, grams. Just so you know, I didn't spell Nate without thinking it over. In fact, I agonized over it."

### "I'm sure you did, Talli. I'm very proud of you. You have grown up to be a very responsible young woman." Grams gave me a big "grandma" hug.

### "Well, I don't know about the rest of you but I am famished! I have not had a good meal in 12 years!" Dad exclaimed.

### "Oh my goodness! Why didn't I realize that? We were so excited to see you that we forgot about what you have been going through. Let's get some good food into your dad, Talli. Shall we go?" Momma said.

### We met up with the DaMonicos and Caio for dinner at a restaurant nearby. Dad was so happy to see his old friend Alessandro. They were catching up on old times. Dad realized that the young man sitting by me was Cruz, the DaMonicos son, my betrothed. He was very pleased to see that we were together, since he was the one to design the plan along with Alessandro.

### "I don't think we could have found you without Cruz." I told my dad. "It seems that when he touches me my abilities are magnified. That's how I heard you telepathically."

### "It doesn't surprise me." Dad said. "We've always had a special connection with their family. Actually, that's how Alessandro and I communicated through the years, most of the time. We could communicate telepathically with each other very well. We have always had strong connections with the DaMonicos."

### "Except for the feud." I said.

### "That would be our fault." Grandpa said. "Mine and Leonardo's. It's a good thing our sons kept in touch."

### "Who is Leonardo?" I asked.

### "That is my grandfather." Cruz answered. "He still isn't on board with us. He doesn't agree that we should be betrothed. Luckily it isn't his decision." He squeezed my hand.

### "Well I am certainly happy that you found your way here, Cruz." Dad said.

### "And I'm glad he was persistent." I said. "He almost got chased away. Right grandpa?"

### "Okay, I admit I was wrong to try to keep you apart. I thought I was doing what was best for you. I can see now it wasn't." Grandpa said truly repentant. How could I be mad at grandpa? He was always there for me and took care of me while my dad was gone. I loved gramps. I knew he had done what he thought was right. I knew he wanted to protect me. He thought the DaMonicos had something to do with kidnapping my dad since Leonardo DaMonico was angry with him. Sometimes people do the wrong things for the right reasons.

### "I forgive you gramps. You know I love you. How could I not forgive you? Anyway, you brought grams into our lives, and mom. That's why I went with Cruz in the first place." I told him.

### "Sorry Talli. You lost me there."

### "I think that grams and mom passed on the ability to be intuitive to me. When I saw Cruz, I didn't know him at all. He was a complete stranger to me. However, I kept getting these feelings that he was okay and that I was safe with him. I don't know how to explain it but it was like someone telling me to go with him and that it was okay. You know I normally would never have even spoke to a stranger, yet alone go with one. Pretty much out of character for me."

### "You're right Talli. It is an ability you get from us. I'm glad you followed the right feelings. You are showing great responsibility and good decision making skills. We are very proud of you." Momma said as she squeezed me.

### "Well I am certainly glad it all turned out the way it was meant to turn out." Mr. DaMonico said.

### "It's not over, yet." I said. "They can't get away with this. We need to make sure the kidnappers pay for what they did and are stopped."

### "We will, Talli. We will stop them." Momma assured me.

### "For now, let's just celebrate that I'm home!" Dad announced.

### "Great idea!" Alessandro agreed.

### I could definitely celebrate that.

### The next day I rode with my dad and mom on the way back to our house. I didn't want to let him out of my sight. Cruz wanted to ride with me. He was still very protective of me. Cruz drove the motorhome while momma and dad did some catching up sitting in the captain chairs in the back. They were so happy to be together. Momma told dad about all the years he missed. She told him a lot about my growing up, which was pretty boring to me so I rode up front with Cruz. Grandpa and grams took a jeep and The DaMonicos took the other jeep.

### "They seem really happy." Cruz said.

### "Ya. I am too. I never thought this day would happen. It probably wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come into my life. Thanks." I said.

### "It might have happened. You'll never know. But this is destiny that I am here and your dad is here. It feels right. Like everything is in place."

### "I still don't believe in destiny." I said. "But I agree. This does feel right."

### We had about an hour drive home. It was nice just riding there with Cruz listening to the Goo Goo Dolls greatest hits. Cruz and I held hands all the way home so we could feel that zing. Life was good. I was one lucky girl.

### Just as I entered my room when we got home, my phone rang. It was Nate. What could he possibly want? Maybe the spell didn't work, after all. "What's up, Nate"

### "Just wondering how you're doing?" Nate replied.

### "Well now I feel stupid. Shouldn't that be my line? You're the one that lost his mother. I'm sorry, Nate. How are you doing?"

### "I'm great. Just thought I'd let you know things are looking up. I've come to terms with my mother's death. I still miss her, but I can handle it okay now. I think it was probably her 'time.' Also, I didn't want you to hear this from someone else; I've been seeing Brielle. Before you get upset let me finish. We didn't plan it that way. It just happened. We really have a lot in common and I think.....we're in love." Nate finished and waited for my reaction. I'm sure he thought I might be upset by this revelation, or shocked. I, however, took it as great news.

### "That's wonderful! I love that my two best friends are together! You and Brielle both mean a lot to me. I hope for nothing but the best for both of you." I sincerely responded.

### "Hi Talli. I'm glad to hear that! We were worried that you would be mad at us." Obviously Brielle grabbed the phone from Nate.

### "Of course I'm not mad. I'm crazy happy for both of you! It is going to be great that my two best friends are together. I couldn't be happier for you both! That's all I ever wanted. We'll have to plan a few double dates, you know. Do some things together."

### "Absolutely! That would be awesome!"

### "I have some news for you two also. I found my dad! He's here with me now." I told them.

### "Oh Talli, that's terrific news! We're so happy for you. Where was he?"

### "I'll tell you later. I have to go now but I'll call you when I get back."

### Oh great! What am I supposed to tell my friends where my dad has been? I can't tell them the truth. I really can see why we have had to be so secretive all my life. Talli, this is going to be tricky, I told myself. I need to get some help. I finished packing for Italy and went downstairs.

### I told my mom about my conversation with Brielle and Nate and my dilemma about telling them where dad was. She and dad told me to tell them that mom and dad had separated years ago and were now back together. Tell them it had been a mixed up fight and that is why they hadn't stayed in touch. They said it would be better to think my dad had been a dead-beat dad rather than giving them the truth. It didn't matter to dad what people thought about him as long as he had us. It bothered me what people thought about him because they wouldn't know what a great guy he is. However, it was more important to keep the secrets. I understood that.

### All my life I had been taught to tell the truth. It was agonizing trying to incorporate this new 'code' into my well-established beliefs of integrity. Although it wasn't as much lying as it was omitting the truth, I had always been taught that they were the same, omission and lying. How did they manage to do both keep integrity and keep the secret? Momma explained to me that keeping this secret was only necessary to preserve our race. Otherwise we would not keep the secret. That keeping our secret did not infringe on anyone else, it did not hurt us or anyone else, and it protected absolute truths. I could understand that but it still felt contradictive to me. Lying to Brielle and Nate just felt unethical to me. It caused a great dissonance in my soul. I wasn't sure how to remedy this.

### "Look at it this way, Talli." Momma said "you aren't keeping secrets from others as much as you are keeping something personal to yourself. There will always be things in your life that you don't share with everyone. Like the things that you only share with your closest family members. Some things are just too personal and sacred to share with others. Does that make it any easier?"

### "I get the 'keeping our ancestry private.' I get that we can't tell people we're Teletrians or whatever. But now I have to make up a story about why my dad was missing for most of my life. That's the part that is a real lie and it's killing me to tell it." I complained.

### "I understand. It might have been easier to omit the news about your dad being back. Am I right?" My dad asked me.

### "But that's just it! I want to share that news with my best friends. They are a big part of my life and they are really happy for me." I protested.

### "Then maybe it is time for you to share the whole story with your friends." Dad proposed.

### "No! She can't do that!" Grandpa exclaimed. "She would bring down the whole Teletrian people on us. Not to mention Sophia's people!"

### "Point taken Dad." I resigned. "I get it. I will just have to learn to reconcile my feelings with keeping the secret. I will work on that."

### "I knew you would figure it out. After all, you are my daughter." Dad gave me a big hug. "And Natalia's daughter. You have great genes." He was right. I looked like my mom but I was more like my dad. Now that I knew him I could see how much we were alike.

### Chapter 18

### That night I dreamt about being five years old and having a big birthday party bash. I had just received a pink two wheeler bike for my birthday. I was so excited to have a "big girl bike" finally. I couldn't wait to learn how to ride it so I made my dad get up and take me out to teach me first thing in the morning. It must have been about 6 or 7 A.M. I was still in my pajamas and dad was in his sweats. It only took a few tries for me to learn. I was shakily riding it up and down the driveway screaming with excitement. And I made grams and momma come out to watch me.

### When I woke up and went downstairs for breakfast, I told grams about my dream. "I must be really excited to have dad back home if I'm dreaming about being five again." I said.

### "Well, actually Talli, the dreams are true. At least that one is. That's just your memories coming back." Grams explained to me.

### "I see. That's pretty cool. The dream did seem real. I just assumed it was a dream. When do you think the other memories will come back?"

### "I'm not real sure but I think they will all come back real soon." Grams assured me. "I think the more you're around your dad and talk to him the more they will come back."

### "Oh, well that's pretty cool cuz I'll be spending a lot of time with him and talking a lot to him so they will come back pretty fast. So grams, do you think we could throw kind of a welcome home party for dad?"

### "That's a great idea, Talli. It will just have to be our family and the DaMonicos. We can't really bring other people in yet."

### "That's okay. I'm sure dad's not ready to deal with a lot of people right now. Just our little group will be fine. Can we make some of his favorite foods and maybe rent an old movie he liked?"

### "Talli, those are all very good ideas. Let's get together with your mom and make some plans."

### "Great! I'll go get her." I said.

### "Go get who?" Momma sleepily asked as she entered the kitchen.

### "You must have stayed up all night catching up, huh?" Grams asked momma.

### "Mm." Momma answered as she plopped down on her favorite chair.

### "I was just coming to get you to tell you we want to throw a welcome home party for dad." I filled her in. "And I got a memory back!"

### "That's awesome.' Momma replied. "On both accounts. What did you have in mind?"

### "I just thought we could fix all his favorite foods and rent some old movies he liked back before he left." I answered. "And any ideas you might have."

### Grams and momma and I planned a spectacular but small party to welcome dad home. We had a buffet fit for a king and an all night movie marathon complete with popcorn. Dad seemed to enjoy it a lot but mostly I think he was enjoying having us and the DaMonicos around him.

The next day dad sat us all down and announced that he needed to divulge some information to us. This sounded pretty serious. I wondered what this could be. He had all of our undivided attention because we were all curious. Dad told us this was going to be alarming and to be prepared.

### "First of all, I want you all to keep an open mind. None of this was warranted by me." He began.

### "Go ahead, Demetrio. No one here is going to judge or blame you. You were held captive for many years. We get that." Grandpa urged him.

### "Yes, I understand, but this information will rock your world. I'm not sure how you will all take it. I've had years to accept it."

### "Whatever it is, if you accepted it, so shall we." Momma encouraged him.

### "Natalia, this may hurt you the most." Dad said as he pulled my mom into him and kissed the top of her head. "The last person on earth I can stand to hurt is you, mi caro. But you deserve to know. While the TEC had me, they took my DNA and mixed it with DNA from another Teletrian. As a result, they created a boy, my son. He has spent some time with me as they had me teach him. However, I don't know where they keep him or where he is."

### "OMG. That is intense, dad. That means I have a... brother. Holy sibling." I was trying to process this information. Momma looked shocked. Grandpa and grams seemed to accept it the best.

### "Actually your mother had a premonition this was happening about 12 years ago. We pretty much expected this to happen." Grandpa said. "We didn't tell Natalia because we didn't want to upset her."

### "Nattie, say something." Dad begged my mom.

### "I'm speechless. I'm not sure how to feel about this. Do you know who the mother is?" Mom asked. Momma was struggling with this new information and her emotions.

### "No. I don't think they have kept the mother donor apprised of their activities. The boy has no mother that he knows of. He knows me as his father. It appears that he is being raised in a controlled environment. He seems to be lacking in social skills and ways of the world. The captors just keep him in their little lab, I think. I would like to rescue him. I don't want to see him raised that way."

### "So he's a test-tube baby?" I concluded.

### "Yes Talli, but that does not diminish his humanity. Well, I guess that's a poor choice of words. It doesn't make him less of a person. He's Teletrian, but still he is a person just like you and me."

### "I want to meet him." I said. "I'm with you, dad. We should go get him. No one should have to grow up like that."

### "Actually, we are all on board with this." Momma said. "Now that we are over the initial shock, we can see it is the right thing to do. He is part of you, therefore, he is important to us."

### "I knew you would feel that way." Dad said. "His name is Tio. He has brown hair and brown eyes and looks a lot like me. He is very talented in scholarly things as well as music. He plays the piano and violin fluently. He does not have his abilities yet. They had me try to teach him but they have not developed. And you are correct, mother. He was born almost twelve years ago. About nine months after my capture. He will be twelve in November."

### "Can we tell the DaMonicos about him?" I asked.

### "Of course you can. Talli, Alessandro has been my best friend my whole life. There isn't anything I wouldn't share with him. However, he will embrace this information as you have. I know him well." Dad explained.

### "Then I say we all pack for Italy. We get Tio first and then go after your kidnappers later." I suggested. Everyone agreed, so we filled the DaMonicos in on all dad had told us. They chose to go with us to get Tio. We all booked our flights and packed immediately.

### Chapter 19

### The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.

### ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

### When we arrived in Italy we went straight to the DaMonicos home, even though it was a long ride there after a long plane ride. The DaMonicos had their chauffeur pick us up so we could relax somewhat on the way home. We were just anxious to get to their home and we were tired of staying in hotels. Dad commented how nice it was to see the countryside again. When he was held captive he was never allowed to see outside his prison walls. Things had changed drastically in twelve years and it was going to take a lot to get used to it. It was still nice to enjoy the scenery along with his freedom. Maybe that's the real reason we chose to go straight to their home. So dad could reacquaint himself with the country.

### "So has a lot of things changed, Dad?" I asked him.

"You have no idea, mia cara. It's almost culture shock for me. No, it is culture shock. The cars look different. The roads are different. Buildings have moved and more have been built. It's surreal. I'm going to have to spend a lot of time catching up. Venice airport is so big and modernized. Luckily the old historical places are the same. Otherwise I would feel I was in the wrong place." Dad chuckled.

### "Not to mention how different we look to you." I added.

### "Most everyone looks the same except for you and Cruz. Teletrians don't age that fast."

### "So how do you keep people from noticing?" I asked.

### "Well, we don't usually deal with outsiders on a personal level. Until now. You are the first to have a life with humans, Talli. This is a new dilemma we will have to deal with. We will probably have to move to another country where you will not see them." Grandpa sadly informed me.

### "I don't like the sound of that." I protested. "That means Brielle and Nate and all the people in Harrington will no longer be in my life! That's horrible!"

### "Well, that is not something you need to worry about yet." Dad said. "You have a few years before you have to deal with that."

### "Somehow that does not make me feel any better." I sulked.

### "Look at it this way, Talli; if we had never moved to the states you would not have known them at all. Isn't it better to have known them for a few years than not at all?" Momma proposed.

### "When you put it that way it does seem a little different, but it will still be hard to deal with when the time comes." I said.

### "Life is hard. But isn't it worth it?" Momma asked me.

### "Well I guess if you're going all philosophical on me, it is better than the alternative." I joked. But she was right. I wouldn't want to change knowing Brielle or Nate. That's part of who I am. These life experiences make me who I am. I just need to find my own path through this extraordinary world.

### I slept so well that night. The long plane ride and long car ride had exhausted me. Even though I have had more energy and could get by with less sleep since my abilities emerged, the last few weeks had all been exhausting physically and mentally and I was in need of some good R and R. I even slept in. It felt good just to relax and not be in hyper-vigilant mode for a while. I was soon going to be trying to find my brother and fight off the "bad guys" again. But for now I was just chillin'.

### There was a balcony just off my bedroom that overlooked the ocean. Still in my pajamas, I wandered out onto it and lounged in the teak wood Adirondack chair. The sun warmed my skin as the morning breeze carried both the sea salt air and the promise of a bountiful harvest from the vineyards. The elements were arousing my senses as if I were one with them. It seemed like the grasses were whispering my name in a song and the birds were humming along.

I was awakening to my heritage. This was the part of me that belonged to grams and mommas people. The Earth was calling me to join them. I was meant to be here. I belonged with my people. I was not quite there, but I was close to where I was meant to be. I felt it in my soul. Maybe this was what destiny is. A path I am supposed to take. Or, a path that I am supposed to make. Not a life that is predestined, but a way of life that is the right way for me. Destiny held a whole new meaning for me. And I began to believe in destiny. Making my own path in the right direction. That's what destiny means to me.

### Cruz texted me to see if I was awake and to invite me to go down to breakfast on the veranda with him. The breakfast table was covered with all kinds of fruit, bagels, sweet rolls and juice. An arrangement of tropical flowers just flown in adorned the buffet. I took a stoneware plate and filled it with fruit and sat down at a small café style table across from Cruz.

### "Did you sleep well, love?" Cruz asked me as he reached for my hand. The familiar zing pierced my soul as if it was recharging my battery.

### "Oh yeah! It was so nice. I could have slept another four hours except I have work to do. How 'bout you?"

### "Perfect." He answered. Then kitchen staff came to our table and asked us if we would be wanting any breakfast or brunch this morning. I was perfectly satisfied with the food that was here so I told her no. Cruz ordered some crepes.

### "I really want to explore the side of me that is from my mom's family." I told Cruz. Then I waited for a response. I wanted to see his reaction. He sat his fork down and settled back into his chair as if he was giving some serious thought to my declaration.

### After a long pause he took my hand and looked at me seriously. "Does this exploring mean going to their village for a while?"

### "Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking."

### "I think I should go with you, for protection."

### "I don't know if that's necessary. I think between my abilities and their abilities I would be alright there and I don't think the kidnappers would follow me there."

### "I see. You really don't want me to go, then." He looked disappointed.

### "It's not that I don't want you to go. I want you with me all the time." I confessed. "I just don't know how they would accept you since you are not of their race. I hate the bigotries that exist, but I can't deny that they do exist."

### "I understand your reasons but I'm not real comfortable with you not having protection." Cruz protested.

### "I will make sure I am never alone. I will be with family who can watch for anything or anybody unusual. I will keep in touch every day and let you know what's happening. I just had an epiphany this morning and I feel that I need to be there. I think learning about this part of my heritage will help me find my brother. I'm not sure why, but I feel there is a reason."

### "Have you told this to your parents?" Cruz asked. I think he was trying to find a way to change my mind.

### "No, I haven't seen them yet this morning. I was going to talk to them as soon as I see them." After breakfast I went in search of my parents and found them on the beach. I told them of my intentions and received the same response I had from Cruz. However I was persistent. Momma didn't want to leave my dad after having lived without him for so long and dad wanted to stay with the DaMonicos and search for my brother. They decided that grams would accompany me to the village. She could introduce me to people and teach me their ways and also help protect me.

### So it was agreed that grams and I would go spend some time at her village and momma and dad would stay with the DaMonicos, as well as Cruz. I packed for a long stay because I had no idea how long I would be there. When I said goodbye to Cruz I was torn between wanting to stay with him and wanting to be where I thought I should be. "I promise to call and text every day and we will meet up once in a while outside the village." I consoled both of us. It did little to ease Cruz" fears for my safety and little to ease the way I was going to miss him. But it would have to suffice for now.

### Grams and I decided to rent a car to take to the village. I was filled with many emotions. I was excited to learn more about grams people and I was curious about how they would accept me, and a little worried about that. Grams assured me there would be many who would accept me, even though some would not. Not much different than the world I grew up in. I guess they weren't much different here after all. One thing I was sure of, I would soon find out. I was determined to stick this out no matter what.

### We contacted Aunt Cat before we left and made arrangements to stay with her. She was happy to have us there and there were no hotels in that village. When we arrived at her house she had a welcoming committee there. Caio and Mitra and their two children were there. Concetta and Antonio and their daughter were there as well. Aunt Cat had also invited her and friends Tizio and Lucia. She felt strongly that she could trust them and they lived close by so they could help keep watch for anything suspicious. She also invited, at grams request, grams childhood friend Giovanna and her husband Necko. Grams felt that Giovanna could be trusted. She had actually kept in touch with her all through the years.

### We spent the evening getting to know each other casually. These people would become my support system while I was there. I would get to know them much more over time. I really liked aunt Cat's daughter Concetta. She reminded me a lot of momma. We formed an instant bond. I already knew her son Caio, he had helped out a lot when we were searching for my dad. His wife Mitra was nice and their daughter Mila was my age. We found in spite of the geographical and cultural differences, we had a lot in common. We were going to become good friends. Aunt Cat's grandchildren were all about my age so they were going to show me around the village.

### After all the guests left aunt Cat showed us to our rooms. But I was not tired so I came back down to the kitchen where aunt Cat was having her chamomile tea. "Would you like some?" She asked when I walked in. She poured me a cup and then asked me what was on my mind. She was very intuitive. "I hear you are a healer. That is a great honor, you know. Do not take it lightly."

### "I don't plan to." I said. "That's sort of why I'm here. I feel a need to connect with this people. I can't explain it, I just feel something."

### "Yes, of course you do. That is a natural instinct since you are a healer." Aunt Cat explained.

### "Do you know other healers?" I asked.

### "Of course. We use them often. We only have one at a time so I have only known two in my life."

### "Could I meet the one?" I asked.

### "I could arrange that. When you are ready I will contact her."

### "Is it always a 'her'? Or do men ever become healers." I wondered. "What is expected of a healer? Do I have to live here for the rest of my life, being a healer?"

### "My, my you are full of questions, aren't you?" Aunt Cat chuckled. "First of all, you do not have to do anything. That is entirely up to you. You are a free agent. And usually it is a woman that is a healer. I've only heard of women healers. But there isn't a rule against men being healers. I think it's just that all women have a natural tendency to heal or nurture or care for others. I think that is why it is women that become healers. As far as what is expected, it's up to you. You will be summoned to heal people and hopefully you will respond."

### "Why did I become a healer?" I asked her.

### "I can't tell you. You may understand that someday. I can't say when or how."

### "It seems very mysterious. I feel inept."

### "You will grow into it. You are definitely not inept. You must have something in you that is connected to healing for it to develop in you." Aunt Cat explained. "Never underestimate yourself, Talitha."

### "Thanks Aunt Cat. That helps me a lot. Since I didn't grow up in this culture, everything is new to me. I did feel incompetent for this life. I felt competent for what I was used to, but not this. Thank you. I will remember this." I gave her a hug and told her goodnight, then went to my room. My cell phone rang.

### "Cruz! I'm so glad you called. Things are really going great here. I think my aunt will help me a lot." I told him when I answered.

### "O k a y." He dragged out the word. "You didn't miss me?"

### "No, not at all." I teased. "Of course I did! I'm just excited to talk to people that can help me develop my other abilities. I really wished you were here to share this with me..."

### "Great! I'm on my way!" He interrupted.

### "However, I can't risk it. Sorry." I finished.

### "Darn! I thought you had changed your mind. Well, I guess I will just have to settle for a rendezvous in Rome this weekend. What do you say? Could we do that?"

### "I think that could be arranged. I would like that, a lot."

### "It's a date then. I just wanted to say goodnight and I miss you and see how things are going. Sounds like they are going good. Too bad for me but good for you and you already know that what is important to you is important to me, so I'm happy for you."

### "Thanks. For the support." I said. We talked for a few minutes and then said our goodbyes and I went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. I wanted to get up early.

### Chapter 20

### "Don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the Divine." Ludwig van Beethoven

### I woke up early and thought I was the first one up but Aunt Cat was in the kitchen fixing breakfast and grams was there too. "Wow, you are both up early." I said.

### "You have to get up pretty early to beat Aunt Cat, Talli. She is queen of mornings. I got up early because I knew she would. So why are you up so early?" Grams asked.

### "I have a lot to do and I wanted an early start. I'm meeting Cruz in Rome Friday so I want to get a lot done before then and I'm anxious to find my brother. The sooner the better."

### "I didn't know Natalia had a son." Aunt Cat looked confused.

### "It's not her son, Cat. It's Demetrio's son." Grams answered.

### Now Aunt Cat looked really confused but I don't think she wanted to ask.

### "The people that took Demetrio wanted him to breed. I think they are trying to build a super race for all the wrong reasons." Grams informed Aunt Cat but it was enlightening to me as well.

### "You think they are making a super race?" I repeated her words but knew the answer. "Do you think they have created others besides Tio?"

### "Unfortunately I do think that. I hope it's not true but it's a real possibility."

### "Holy cow that would be a lot of siblings! Where do you think they are?" I thought.

### "I think if we find Tio, we will find the others." Grams answered.

### Aunt Cat finally got over her shock. "That's terrible! But it makes sense. What other reason would they have for taking Demetrio? So there's one you know about already? A son?"

### "Yes. Demetrio has met one. They took Tio to him to train. Demetrio wants to bring him home." Grams said.

### "That's terrible. They will be dealt with, I'm sure but what about all these kids? Who is the mother?" Cat wondered.

### "They used donor eggs. Demetrio thinks the mothers are unaware of what they did. It is my guess they used our people's eggs to breed with."

### "How do you think they obtained them?"

### "They either kidnapped them or there was a willing donor among us."

### "Both scenarios implicate horrible things! Do you think we should notify the governors of this suspicion?"

### "I don't think we know who to trust at this point, Cat. We should hold off until we know more." Grams suggested. "I would like to start by going back about twelve years and see who came up missing during that time. I have an instinct that will give us some answers."

### The three of us went to the library to search old newspaper clippings. This was a local paper and they would not have their paper on the internet. They were very protective of their information. So we looked the "old fashioned way" grams called it.

We started 13 years ago and began searching archives of newspapers to see who had died suspiciously or became missing. It was very tedious boring stuff mostly. Not much ever happened in this village. Marriages, births, socials, very mundane stuff. We searched for about an hour before we found something of interest. "Grams, look at this." I pointed out an article. The headline read: The Ambrosi family lose their daughter while travelling abroad.

### We read the article thoroughly together. This was a 16 year old girl who disappeared while they were on vacation in the U.S. It said the family had not called authorities there because they did not want to bring attention to themselves. They had looked for her and others from the village had gone over and looked for her but there was no trace of her to be found. The parents had finally come home and resigned to her disappearance.

### "I remember that now." Cat said. "That is Armando Ambrosi. His wife died shortly afterward. We all assumed from a broken heart of losing her daughter. Armando kept to himself after that. He became a loner. Doesn't leave his house much. He didn't want anyone around either."

### "That's it!" I exclaimed. "His daughter is kidnapped and never heard from again. They must have her somewhere and are harvesting her eggs."

### "Or worse." Grams stated flatly.

### "What do you mean?" I asked her to elaborate.

### "If this Armando is in on the kidnapping, he would take his own daughter to them and maybe his wife also." Grams said. "We should pay him a visit."

### "You need to be careful, sorella. These people are dangerous."

### "Of course we'll be cautious, but we won't be afraid. Will we Talli?" Grams said.

### "Not in our vocabulary." I said. "Only fearless."

### "You should take Caio with you." Cat suggested.

### "Good idea, if he's willing." I said. I remembered he can render someone unconscious. We may need his help.

### We called Caio over to meet up with us. Then we all headed to Ambrosi's house. I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I knocked again. "Don't bother knocking, Talli. I can tell no one is home." Grams said. Her intuition was very helpful. I needed to develop mine. I used my mind to turn the lock on the other side of the door. Good thing Bianca helped me with that.

### We wandered through the house looking for clues. Caio got into his computer to get email contacts. "Look at this." He declared. "This is very interesting." He had found a file on the computer listed as "project SR" which proved to be quite informative. The name Pietro was all over the file and the University's address. TEC was mentioned several times as an advocate to their cause. The Governors of the village were not mentioned. That was good to know. There was another name mentioned that Aunt Cat was familiar with. Mario Valenci was mentioned as the leader of this project.

### "Holy files!" I said. "Good job Caio! That's going to be very helpful to us. Print that file off and let's get out of here. I have a feeling we're about to get visitors."

### "I was just thinking the same thing." Grams said.

### Just as Caio got the file printed off we heard the front door open. "Caio, do something." I whispered. "If they catch us here we're in deep doodoo. We just did a breaking and entering." Caio closed his eyes and concentrated. Then we heard a thud downstairs.

### "Done." He said. "We have about 30 minutes to get out of here and make it look like no one was here."

### "Cool! I like having you for a cousin. Nice job cuz." I said. We left the house looking just as it was and stepped over the unconscious body lying at the bottom of the stairs. I'm sure he will wake up and think he tripped down the stairs. Then we headed back to Aunt Cat's house to regroup.

### "So who is this Mario Valenci?" I asked Cat. "Do you know him very well?"

### "I only know of him. He was on the governing committee about ten years ago. He wasn't very well liked and was not voted back in. I know where he lives if you want to go there. His wife also died about ten years ago. I think it was a plane accident. That's right. It was so sad. She and her daughter were flying to France to meet up with Mario.......Oh my goodness! Do you think that was staged too? Mario and his son were in France already and were not in the plane wreck. That seems like the other couples story." Aunt Cat was stunned by her thoughts. To think that her own people would do something like this.

### "I'm definitely seeing a pattern here." I concluded. "I wonder if there are any more. We need to find them and stop this madness! Not only have they stolen my dad's DNA, they are messing with these people's lives too."

### "We need to go to Senesi again. See what we can find there. Even though we rescued your dad, Pietro and the others are still there doing their dirty work. We didn't stop them at all." Grams said. "I think Demetrio should go with us. I also would like a few others to back us up. Talli, go call your parents and Cruz. Let me think about who else we want with us. Cat, are you coming?"

### "Absolutely! These monsters need to be stopped." Cat was adamant. "But don't you think we should pay a visit to Valenci, as well?"

### "I agree. Let's see what we can find out from Valenci. I'm not sure why, but something tells me we need to go there too. I just have that feeling, again." I said.

### We all agreed and went to the Valenci home. Once again no one was home and I unlocked the door with my powers to move things. Inside we did the same sweep through the house to find anything we could find. This was a disappointment. We found nothing in his house or on his computer. I must have been wrong about the feeling of needing to go there. How could that have happened? I was disappointed that my skills were lacking accuracy. We had nothing more to work with. We could do nothing but return back home.

As soon as we got to Aunt Cat's house there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." I called to Cat since she was in the other room. I opened the door and OMG! Holy Hot! The most gorgeous creature I had ever seen stood in front of me. Okay, maybe he was in the running for the most gorgeous since Cruz was absolutely the most gorgeous. However, they were a close competition. This guy was about my age, give or take a year or two. It was extremely hard for me to guess these people's ages since they didn't age very much. He was a little over six feet tall. Maybe 6'1" or 6'2". He was just a slight taller than Cruz. His lushes milk chocolate eyes were mesmerizing. I just wanted to stare into them and get swallowed up by them. His hair was the next noticeable feature. The chocolate brown, soft curls demanded I wrap my hands around his neck to caress the silkiness. Of course I constrained myself. I wasn't that brazen. But the thought definitely enticed my mind.

### "Hi. Are you here to see Catarina?" I asked since she was the only person who lived here.

### "I'm here to see all of you who broke into my father's house." He said with a stern face.

Busted. "Would you like to come in?" I figured once I got him inside we could erase his memory.

### "I'm fine here. Just tell me what you were doing there?" He said.

"Who is your father and why do you think I was there?" I probed.

### "I seen you. In a vision. Then I followed you here. So now you answer my question. Either answer to me or answer to my father. Which would you prefer?"

### "Actually, something tells me I'd rather deal with you."

### "So go ahead."

### "Why don't you come in and have a seat."

I can't do that. You may be an enemy to my father and then what would you do to me. "I'm waiting patiently." He said.

### I thought I just read his mind before he talked. I needed to be sure. "Excuse me, I didn't hear what you said."

### "I'm waiting patiently. Now, my patience is wearing thin."

### "Why does your father have enemies? What did you say your name is?"

"I didn't. I also didn't say my father had enemies." Marco said aloud. Is she a mind reader or something? He said in his mind.

Interesting. This could work to my advantage. "I think your father does have enemies. However, I might not be one. I'm certainly not your enemy. Won't you please come in?"

### "Wait a minute! Are you a Teletrian? That would explain why you can read minds."

### "What do you know about Teletrians?"

### "My father knows about them. He's just told me a little about them. He told me they can read minds sometimes. I've never met one but my father has. I don't agree with the things he does so he doesn't tell me much. I moved out of his house a couple years ago."

### "What is it he does that you don't agree with?"

### "You tell me." He was avoiding the question.

### "I've never met your dad and I don't know him."

### "Lucky for you."

### "Why do you say that?"

### "He is an enemy to the Teletrians. That's mostly what I don't agree with."

### I watched him intently to see if there were any thoughts I could get from him. Grandma stepped up behind me. "He's telling the truth, Talli. I put a truth spell on him. That's why he was trying to side step the question." Then she turned to the visitor. "Won't you come in Marco. You are safe here."

### "Will you tell me what you were doing if I come in?" He asked.

### "Yes." Cat and I said in unison.

### Marco reluctantly came in and sat down on the sofa. Since he had a truth spell on him he had no choice but to tell us what he knew. His dad had taken his sister and mom to Pietro to use to breed. They were trying to create a super race. All they had so far was a few children who did not have their abilities yet. Pietro had been the male DNA donor for most of them. Marco had vowed to his father to keep quiet and in exchange his father would let him live.

### "Holy evil!" I exclaimed. This was horrible! I could tell Marco was disgusted by his father's actions. "Marco, we are here to stop this madness. We are going to rescue the victims and stop the perpetrators. Are you on board with us? Are you willing to go up against your father?"

### "I am willing. However, you need to know that my father is ruthless and will not hesitate to kill anyone to get them out of his way. I believe he staged a plane wreck that killed 150 people in order to fake my sister's and mother's deaths. He won't think anything of killing you."

### "Well, you need to know that I am not afraid. We will defeat him." I professed confidently.

### "I hope you're right. For all our sakes." Marco said.

### "What makes you think we can trust him?" Caio asked with contempt.

### "We can tell." Said grams.

### "Yes, I can tell too." Added Cat.

### "I have no doubt. I seem to have a sense for who I can trust. I learned that when I first met Cruz." I reassured him.

### "I will take your word for that. However, Marco you need to know that I will have my eye on you. One false move and your history." Caio warned him.

### "Understood. But not necessary. You will have no need to worry about me. I loath the man probably more than you do. He has ruined my sister's and mother's lives. I have not seen them for years."

### I just realized that Marco had gone through the same things I had with my dad. He did understand our plight. "Marco, we will return your mother and sister to you. I promise." I told him. I didn't know if I could keep that promise. I didn't know if they were alive. I just knew that I had to bring them back and I would not stop until I did.

### Marco spent the day with us, filling us in on anything he could think of about his dad that might help. He hadn't talked to his dad in a couple years so it would cause his dad suspicion if he tried to contact him now. He decided not to try. We just had his old information to go on. He took me back to his dad's house to look for more clues. He said his dad had not been around the house for a long time and did not expect him to show up now.

### After completely searching his father's house, Marco offered to buy me lunch and show me around the town a little. We went to a quaint little café in the center of town which he recommended highly. The cuisine was home-style Italian that was to die for! I couldn't wait to introduce my family to that place. We walked through the center of town while Marco pointed out the different sites and then settled on swings in the park. We were just barely swinging on them as we continued our conversation of the town and what it was like growing up there.

### I told him about the town I grew up in and what it was like there. We found a lot of similarities and some differences that made it interesting. "You know, Marco, I am also from this people." I decided to confide in him. The puzzled look on his face told me I needed to explain, so I continued. "My grandpa is full Teletrian. My grandma is from here and my dad is half and half. That makes me a fourth Teletrian and three quarters from your people."

### "Well I wasn't expecting that." Marco replied. I wasn't sure how to take his reaction so I decided to try to read his mind. I promised myself I wouldn't invade people's privacy that way unless it was necessary. This, I believed was borderline necessary. So I would try.

That explains the beauty in her. I heard his mind speak. What did he mean by that? Could he sense something from me that made him trust me or what? Well, I guess it didn't matter because he didn't hold my mixed blood against me. That was what I wanted to know. That was good.

### "So that is why I am here. I need to learn about my heritage. I actually just learned where my ancestor are from, or what they are I mean. So it is all new to me. I need to learn more. I felt a...I don't know... a calling from here or something telling me I needed to come here. Does that make sense? Probably sounds crazy, huh? I don't know how to explain it but I just felt like I needed to come here to learn something. I also learned that I have healing abilities and that it comes from this people. I need to learn more about that, too." I awkwardly tried to explain to him.

### "That makes perfect sense to me. If you have this blood in your veins, of course it will lead you here." Marco assured me he didn't think I was crazy. That was nice. Someone else that accepted me. I was starting to feel at home here.

### Marco walked me to Aunt Cat's house after we were done talking in the park. He was very old-school gentleman-like. He put his arm around my shoulders to walk across the streets like he was protecting me. He opened doors for me and let me go first. You very rarely see behavior like that back home. I was surprised how much I liked it. Me, miss independent and strong woman liking chivalry. Who knew? I guess it doesn't mean that I'm weak and can't do things for myself. It just means I like being shown the respect. These old-fashioned Italian men are growing on me. Maybe the American boys could learn a thing or two from them.

### We got back to Aunt Cat's house just in time for dinner so she invited Marco to stay and eat. That was a perfect time for all of us to make plans to go find my brother and Marco's sister and mom. Marco sat next to me and kept looking over at me through the corner of his eyes. Then he'd offer me one of his heart melting smiles. Was he flirting with me? No, he was just being nice, wasn't he?

### "So, Talli, have you heard from Cruz today?" Grams asked me out of the blue. How random.

### "Yea. Why?"

### "We need to call the DaMonicos and your parents and have them join us in Senesi."

### "O k a y." I dragged out the word. Not sure where she's going with this. "I'll get right on it." I excused myself from the table as we had a rule of no phone usage at the table, text or talk. I called Cruz to let him know our plans. Then I told him I had to go and I'd call him later. I couldn't be rude to our guest could I?

### Marco walked into the room and said he needed to get back home to arrange for our trip. "I'll see you tomorrow bright and early." He kissed my hand and left. He was like a character out of a Jane Austin novel. I didn't mind, though.

### Chapter 21

### We went to Senesi the next day. We didn't want to waste time. Too many lives were at stake. Marco's sister and mother, my brother, The Ambrosi's daughter, and who knows how many others. Everyone wanted in on this. They were upset about what we had learned. Most of our people are peaceful, law-abiding citizens. These activities were appalling to them.

### My parents and grandparents met us there, of course. All the DaMonicos were with us too, as well as Paolo. Caio, Orion and Stella came and the new people I had met. Tizio and Lucia, Cat's neighbors and grams friends Giovanni and Necko came. There was something wrong about Necko. I couldn't tell what, I just didn't feel good around him. I was beginning to not trust my feelings since I had gone over to the Valenci house and found nothing. So subsequently I did not tell anyone about my apprehensions about Necko.

### We went directly to the University in Senesi. This time we did not alert the receptionist of whom we wanted to see. Caio just made her unconscious, I unlocked the door and we went directly to where Pietro had been when we were there before. Clariee and Stella stayed with the receptionist in case anyone else came around or if the receptionist came to. Clariee would cause them confusion and Stella could deflect any weapons.

### A man walked by us as we were walking down the hall. He looked at us suspiciously since there was so many of us. I was worried he might call someone or do something. Grandpa quickly did some ad lib to make it look like he was an employee taking us on a tour. "And this is the research part of our campus." He said to us as he pointed around the building.

### I held my breath and hoped it worked. The man just kept walking. I sent a message to my mom to cause this man confusion. Hopefully she could do that from where she was. We cautiously proceeded toward the door we had been to previously. Grandpa slowed down when we reached the area, obviously scanning to see who was inside. "Pietro's here." He said. "Someone else is with him. There seems to be others in the room behind them. Looks like three. Two men and a woman. Okay, is everyone ready?"

### He received a collective affirmative. We were all way past ready. I unlocked the door, dad walked in first to a very surprised Pietro. "Demetrio! You missed us, I see. You decided to join our cause. I always knew you were a smart man." Pietro said but he wasn't fooling anyone. He knew my dad would never join them. Pietro reached into his jacket, I assume to retrieve a weapon of some kind. Before he could reach whatever he was after, I knocked him across the room with just my mind. I was nowhere near him! I was getting stronger! Caio rendered him unconscious. Then grandpa and dad tied him up and gagged him. At the same time, Cruz had kicked the other man across the side of his head landing him on the floor and Caio had made him unconscious. Lissandra and Paolo tied him up and gagged him, as well.

### The people in the other room had heard the commotion and had pulled their guns out. Grandpa had seen them behind the door and warned me silently. I put up a shield around all of us to deflect bullets. When the threesome fired their weapons, the bullets ricocheted off the shield and hit the walls. They had not opened the door at that time and did not know the bullets didn't hit us. We waited until they had emptied their firearms and then grandpa gave us the signal to go in.

### As we entered the room, I knocked the woman across the room and unto her back. Cruz and Paolo took down the two men and Caio made them all unconscious. We tied and gagged all of them. "It doesn't seem like a very fair fight." I joked. "They don't stand a chance against us. Too bad, though. We don't care."

### Marco stood over one man staring. I knew it must be his dad. "I'm sorry, Marco." I said. I didn't know what to say. I just felt bad for him.

### "Don't be sorry." He said. "He is a monster and needs to be dealt with accordingly. But this is unexpected." He said pointing to the woman. I could see tears where welling up behind his eyes. He was trying his best not to let them out. This was obviously his mother. How horrible for him to learn that his mother was a willing participant. "I almost would rather believe she was being held against her will. All these years she tried to make me think she was dead! What kind of mother does that?"

### "Someone not worthy to be called mother." Grandpa answered him.

### I walked over to him and put my arm around his shoulder. ""I'm truly sorry. I can't imagine how you must feel. But just know that we are all here for you. We are now your family. I know that doesn't help much now." I really didn't know what to say to make him feel better. There was nothing I could say. This was his personal torment to work through. Maybe finding his sister would help.

### "Where do you think they keep the children?" I turned and asked my dad.

### "I'm sure they are close by." Dad answered. "We'll just have to look around."

### "There's a secret door over here." Grandpa said walking over and moving a book case. It was a heavy metal door that was locked. That couldn't stop me, though. I unlocked the three locks that bound the door and we opened it. There was a hallway which we proceeded down. We saw four doors off the hallway. "The children are behind here." Grandpa said after he looked through the walls.

### Behind one of the doors was a boy about twelve years old. I knew it was Tio before I even asked. I walked over to him cautiously. I didn't want to scare him. I extended my hand out to him and said, "I'm your sister Talitha. We've come to rescue you." He looked past me to our dad.

### "Dad, where have you been? I haven't seen you for days. They told me you had deserted us." Tio stated very mechanically. Although more human than I expected.

### "No son, I haven't deserted you. I am here to take you home." Dad had tears in his eyes as he walked over and embraced his son.

### Tio was reluctant to believe anyone. I'm sure they had been brainwashing him. However, dad was able to break through to him. They had obviously built a bond while he was there. I don't think the kidnappers counted on that. They underestimated the power of a parents love. That was obviously something they didn't understand. No parent who loved their child would do what they had done to theirs. Tio and dad embraced and dad was able to convince him to leave. Seemed like Tio had learned to trust dad. That would be beneficial in his adaptation to our world.

### The next room had a girl that looked my age but could have been a little older. Immediately Marco ran to her and picked her up hugging her relentlessly. He kept saying her name and calling her my sister trying to get her to see who he was. She was alarmed at first and fought him off but then recognized him and began to cry. "They told me you were dead. They said you were killed in the plane crash. I thought all I had left were mom and dad."

### "You are safe now. You will never have to see them again." Marco told his sister.

### "Mom and dad? I will never see them again? Where are they?" She asked.

### She was obviously confused and brainwashed. She would need some deprogramming. "I will explain everything on the way home." Marco said.

### "Home? This is my home. We have to stay hidden because the world has discovered our abilities." She protested.

### "So that is what they told you. Our home is very much still there. Our family and friends and neighbors are all there. They have told you a lie to keep you confined to this prison. I will show you." Marco coaxed his sister.

### "I'm afraid." She said.

### "Do you trust me, sis?"

### "I want to... but I don't know if I can."

### "That is a start. Just come with me. You will see."

### Marco finally convinced his sister to leave with him. He left the building with her while we continued to look for more victims. Dad took Tio and left the building also. The four of them left in a car to grams village to wait for us. The rest of us continued on.

### The next door we opened revealed a young woman about the same age as the last one. She was afraid of us since she didn't know any of us. We tried our best to convince her we were friends. She was very distraught and we were unable to convince her to trust us. We were just going to have to take her home and deprogram her. We had decided to take her to the governing committee for that. We left her in the room for now so we wouldn't upset her any more.

### Behind the next door was a woman about my mom's age. She told us her name was Antonia Ambrosi, the wife of Armondo Ambrosi. She had been held captive all these years but had not been allowed to see her daughter. Her husband kept telling her if she would join their cause he would let her see her daughter. She never did comply. She said they took her into the doctors and had her eggs harvested though. She was devastated about that. She was also afraid they had done the same to her daughter. We took her to the young woman in the other room. Instantly she ran to her and embraced her, sobbing. "Gini! You are here! Have you been here as long as I have? My dear daughter!" It took the young woman a while to recognize her mother and accept her after she had been told she was dead. However, she slowly gained recognition of her mother, realizing she wasn't dead and that she had been lied to.

### The last door down the hallway opened up to a nursery. There were four cribs lined against the walls. There were babies about two years old sitting in the cribs. They seemed intelligent. They spoke as if they were a couple years older. It seemed they were only in cribs to keep them confined. The sides of the cribs were taller than usual. They reached up to the ceiling. One toddler stood up and asked me to take him out. He said he needed to go to the bathroom and that the attendant was late coming in to take them. They must have been on a schedule for everything. All of the cribs had computer screens on the headboard. The children were engaged in learning activities on the computers.

### Just then a woman walked into the room. She began to scream and run for help. I instantly stopped her, covering her mouth. The others helped me tie her up and gag her. At this point we didn't know how involved she was with this operation. "That's just Margot. She is one of our nannies. She takes us to the bathroom and brings our food." One of the babies told us.

### "And what is your name, sweetie?" I asked him as if I was talking to a normal two year old.

### "My name is P231." He said. I wasn't sure if I heard that right. That was a number, not a name.

### "Well, you are adorable, whatever your name is." I told him.

### "My name is P211." Said the girl in the next crib.

### "My name is P101." The other girl said.

### "My name is P255." The other boy said.

### "Well you are all adorable, even though you have funny names." I said.

### "Our names are not meant to be funny. They are simply the number of the test tube we were made in. Some didn't take and then they got two girls and had to keep trying to get two more boys. You see, it's pretty simple. P101 was the first test tube to work. P211 was second. P231 was third and P255, that's me, was fourth." P255 informed us.

### That was so sad. They don't even treat them humanely. I guess they aren't human but they don't treat them like people. Test tubes! That's outrageous. "Well we are here to take you to real homes and give you real names. And treat you like real children!" I told them.

### "We are supposed to be here. We are going to be the first generation of the super Teletrians. We are destined for great purposes which we will learn when we get older." P101 told me.

### "Okay. We'll play along with that a little bit. Your destiny is now to go with us and learn the true beings that you are meant to be. How's that?" I said.

### "If you are our destiny, we will go with you and learn." The babies all agreed.

### It was odd that these babies were almost like robots in their action and speech. However they did not show signs of attachment disorder. When we removed them from the cribs and held them, they put their little arms around us and cuddled up to us. "Strange." I thought aloud. "They seem to be well adapted to interaction with people."

### "Nanny Margot cuddles with us all the time. She sings to us and rocks us." P101 told us.

### "So does Nanny Beatrice. Only she isn't here as much. Only on weekends. Nanny C. comes in at night. She doesn't hold is." Added P211.

### "I guess you are pretty attached to Nanny Margot." I observed. "We should probably take her with you to help the transition." We took the babies and their nanny to a waiting car to be taken to the village. We were not expecting to find babies so they had to stop to buy car seats on the way. The DaMonicos chauffeur drove them to the village. Aunt Cat went along to take them to her house. Tizio and Lucia drove along behind the limo to help.

### "We need to find where they are storing the DNA." Dad said. "There are no more rooms in this hall. There must be another place where they are. Let's go see what we can find." We went back to the original room. Pietro and the others were awake now, although they were gagged and bound. Giovanna and Necko volunteered to take them back to the village and keep them at their house until we got back.

### Everyone thought that would be good. I still had my reservations. Something just wasn't right about Necko. But then again, maybe my intuition skills were not that good. I did have the intuition to go to Valenci's house and there was nothing there. "Someone go back with them to help them." I said. I didn't mention my gut feelings, just that they needed help controlling them. My mom and Cruz' mom decided to go with them to help.

### We needed to get them out of the building so we waited for the work day to be over and most people had gone home. Caio went out ahead of us to make anyone we encountered unconscious before they could see us. The rest of us took Pietro and the other three guys and Marco's mom out to the waiting vehicle. We put them all in the back of a cargo van, tied up and gagged. They were able to transport them unseen. Giovanna and Necko drove them back and momma and Clariee followed in another vehicle.

### The rest of us searched the building for the stored DNA. We found a vault in the basement. Inside was a freezer. And yes, inside of the freezer was the frozen eggs and DNA. Bingo! We had found them. Now what? Do we destroy them or do we return them to the people they were stolen from?

### "I say we destroy them so there is no chance of them falling into the wrong hands." Caio said.

### "But they are labelled. What if the people they were stolen from want them?" I countered.

### "They don't have a need for them. Our people never have fertility problems. If they did, which they don't, someone else could spell them to be cured. So what would they do with them?" Caio said.

### "Good point. But what if they wanted them. Shouldn't they have that option? Shouldn't that be their choice? They belong to them. They have already been taken from them without their permission. I would feel better if we gave them control over them now." I argued.

### "Let's take them with us and then take a vote and include the victims they were taken from." Grandpa said.

### "Fair enough. That sounds good to me." Alessandro agreed.

### "Is everyone in agreement." Cruz asked. We all agreed. We packed the DNA and eggs into a portable cooler we found there that had temperature control to keep them frozen. We did a quick scan of the rest of the building to see if we were missing anything. When we were sure there was nothing more there, we headed back to the village.

### Driving back seemed so nice. I felt like I could finally relax and breathe a sigh of relief. I think we have finally put an end to this. The only thing left is to find the people from grandma's village that kidnapped me and Cruz. That could wait. They were just trying to smoke out my dad. It wasn't that crucial to find them immediately.

### Cruz was driving our rented SUV. Lissandra and Paolo were in the back seat. We were just chillin to music and enjoying the ride. Then it hit me. "I just realized why I had the premonition to go to the Valenci's house. We didn't find anything there so I assumed my intuition was not very good. But now I get it. I felt the need to go there so Marco would see us. He helped a lot in finding what we needed. We needed him on board."

### "Yea. So you now know your intuition is spot on. What's the big epiphany? We all knew that already." Cruz said.

### "No that's just it! I didn't know that, so I didn't pay attention to another premonition that I had! Who is with Necko?" I worried aloud.

### "Pietro and his gang." Cruz answered.

### "I kept feeling we shouldn't trust him. I had a feeling about him but couldn't quite tell what it was. I figured it wasn't real and so I never told anyone. OMG! What have I done?" I worried.

### "We need to hurry and get there! Maybe we can catch them before they get away." Lis was optimistic.

### "I'm sure they didn't go home or even to the village. They've gotten away to who knows where." I sadly responded. "I will need to let the others know." I texted my dad and grandpa and Cat to let them know what I had realized. Our joy ride had just become very somber. We rode the rest of the way in silence. It was disappointing that we had lost Pietro and his gang.

### Sure enough, when we got back we discovered that Necko's house was empty. They had escaped into hiding. Momma and Clariee had lost track of them about halfway there. Necko had shook his trailers. The good news was my intuition was good. The bad news was I had let the bad guys get away.

### Chapter 22

### We all met at the Governing Committee's headquarters to present what we had found and what we had learned and what and who we had brought back with us. There are twelve members of the Governing Committee. They were voted in every ten years. This committee had been in for nearly eight years. We hoped we could trust them.

### "We cannot let outsiders into our meeting." Said the Chairman of the committee. "I don't care if they are related. They are outsiders and those are our rules. We cannot break the rules for ourselves but enforce them for others."

### "Do you not require witnesses for allegations?" I asked. "How will you make an informed decision on the need for a trial?"

### "Do not address this committee, outsider."

### "I don't mean to be disrespectful, sir. However, I would think the committee would make decisions only after knowing the facts. And I don't know why you call me an outsider when my blood is the same as yours. Not only that, I am a healer." I protested.

### "If you don't mean to be disrespectful then I advise you to cease your discourse!" The chairman sternly warned me.

I have never been an extremely compliant girl, either to my detriment or benefit, however one chooses to see it. "I will not cease! I have been a victim of 'your people' as you call it. They kidnapped me in my own country. I was gracious enough not to call the police and expose them there, even though what they did was a felonious crime. They kidnapped my dad. I GREW UP WITHOUT A FATHER! Certainly you do not condone their actions. They kidnapped several of 'your people' also and stole DNA from them! I, no we, demand to be heard by your committee. Our only other recourse is to be heard by the Italian courts and United States courts. Which would you prefer?"

### The committee was speechless for a moment. I looked at my parents and Cruz. They were beaming with pride and nodded their acceptance. The chairman did not look happy. I wondered what was behind his unhappiness. Could he be trusted? I honed in on my mind reading skills. Could that be why he didn't want us here? I wanted to see if I could pick up any thoughts. Everyone was silent. I probably wasn't the only one trying to read minds.

### "You can all leave now. We will discuss the matter of allowing you to stay among ourselves. We will give you our decision within the hour." The chairman informed us. We all left the building but remained on the grounds. We all wanted to be close to see if we could pick up anything. Now that I wasn't arguing with them I could concentrate my skills.

I looked at grams to see if she had detected anything. She hadn't. Maybe they were trustworthy. Cruz picked up my hand. Do you detect anything from them or did you hear anything?

### Not a thing. Neither did grams. I'm beginning to think we can trust them. I just can't figure out why they are putting up so much resistance to having witnesses there. I would think that would help them.

Talli, it's just that they have lived with secrecy all their lives. They are not accustomed to outsiders in their lives. It's a learned bigotry. Dad explained.

### I guess it's just hard for me to understand how people can have such closed minds. I guess my openness is also a product of what I have been taught all my life. Just as their closed minds are a product of what they have learned. I just wish they would open their minds even a little.

### You know, Talli, you have been taught well. However, it is your mom and grandma that taught you to be open-minded and they are from this village. They aren't even what some people call half-breeds. If they can learn to have open minds, maybe others can too. They just haven't had the opportunity to develop that skill.

### Interesting that dad used a pun on the word skill. These people consider skills as reading minds and making spells and super strength and those sort of things. Maybe there is no difference in those kind of skills and life-learned skills. They both need to be learned and developed. Maybe these people can catch on.

The committee walked out of the building. It was hard to read their mind or faces. I couldn't guess what they were going to do or what they decided. "The committee has decided that letting the Teletrians who have witnessed these obscene events inside would be beneficial to our examination of the facts. We will allow you in. However, Talitha, we would remind you to show respect to the committee." Oh great. I couldn't assure that on their terms. My terms I would be respectful but they think if I speak my mind I'm disrespectful. "And we, in return, promise to show all of you respect." Well that was a huge step forward.

### "I will be on my best behavior, Chairman." I promised. Whether my best behavior is to their liking, I didn't know.

### "Yes, we all will be on our best behavior. We just want ethical outcomes here." Dad said.

### We presented all our evidence to an attentive committee. When we had finished relating everything the committee asked some questions to reaffirm things or fill in the blanks or clarify. The chairman spoke. "We thank all of you for bringing this to our attention and helping the victims escape. Since we have at least four people missing that need to be held accountable, our first order of business will be to find them. We have come to realize the value of the Teletrians, at least the ones who are present. You have proven trustworthy to us. However we do not know if we can trust other Teletrians. We realize the Teletrians who are present can be invaluable in helping us locate the perpetrators of these crimes. We not only welcome you to our community, we ask that you would assist us."

### "We understand your reservations toward Teletrians. We have reservations ourselves toward people we don't know. As you know, we have the need to protect our true identity from the rest of the world also. We appreciate your trust. We do not take it lightly and will not give you cause to lose trust. We accept the invitation to assist you and we will do whatever we can to locate these suspects and bring them back." Dad told them. He knew he was speaking for all of us and that we all agreed.

### The committee offered to find housing for all of us. There were no hotels in their village. We thanked them but had made plans to stay with Aunt Cat and her children. The Harringtons stayed at Aunt Cat's house and the DaMonicos stayed at Caio's house. The others stayed at Concetta's house. Not what any of us were used to for accommodations and our hosts were more crowded than they were used to. However, we were willing to make sacrifices to make sure these people were stopped. It was very humbling for all of us.

### We went to work immediately to search out Pietro and his men. The committee had a few leads to look for Necko. We were all using our specialties to help them. I thought this was nice that we were all working together. No outsiders among us. We were all just people working for the same cause. That was a big accomplishment.

### The next morning I was sitting on Aunt Cat's front porch, sipping my orange blossom tea. I was so accustomed to mornings on my porch and Cruz' veranda, this was where I did my best thinking. I looked up to see Marco sauntering up the walk. "What brings you out so early this morning?" I asked him.

### "I'm just an early riser. I always go for a run in the morning. It clears my head. Gets me going for the day. Do you want to join me?"

### "Sure. Why not. I haven't been running for a while, since all this madness. I've missed it." We ran for few miles and came to a small lake. I stopped to look around. Marco followed me. "This place is beautiful. Very peaceful. Does it have a name?" The crystal clear water reflected the azure sky. A white sandy beach made me immediately take my shoes off to feel the fine sand particles squish between my toes.

### "Bel Lago. It means beautiful lake." Marco said. "Lago tranquillo is too long." He laughed. "Although I agree, it is very peaceful here. It is one of my favorite places to be. Did you bring your swimsuit?"

### "Heck no. I really don't feel comfortable in a swimsuit in public."

### "So you only wear a swimsuit in private?"

### "No. I just don't wear one often because I don't feel comfortable in it. So I didn't bring one."

### "I'm sure you could buy one. I can't imagine why you don't feel comfortable in a swimsuit. This lake has a reputation of bringing about whatever one desires."

### "Don't tell me you have folklore about this lake." I laughed.

### "No. Not folklore. It's real. If you are having a difficult time making a decision, the lake clarifies your mind and helps you to make that decision. If you want to know something about someone, it will help you to find your answer. If you are seeking wisdom of any kind, it will help you find it." Marco informed me.

### "You're serious? How does it work?"

### "No one knows. It just does. Someday you must try it to see for yourself."

### "Ya, like today. I'm going to buy that swimsuit and come try it out." I professed.

### "Do you mind if I come?" Marco asked me.

### "Uh....like I said, I don't like people to see me in a swimsuit. But I guess it can't hurt. Sure, come with me."

### We ran the few miles back to Aunt Cat's house, where I got my wallet and we headed to the store. There wasn't a very good selection to choose from. Marco kept pointing out the two piece bikinis but I kept steering away from them. I really couldn't find a one piece I liked so I ended up with a two piece. I bought a tank top to wear over it.

### Once we changed into our swimsuits we drove out to the lake. I could have ran out there pretty fast but Marco did not have the ability for super speed. So we drove in his truck. "What do you hope to gain here?" Marco asked me as we were swimming.

### "Where Pietro is, obviously." I said.

### "Okay. You won't get the knowledge right away. It may take a day or two. Just keep your mind open." He instructed me.

### "Did you make this up just to get me out here?" I wondered.

### "No. Although that's a great idea." He grinned at me. "No, it is true. You can ask around town. Everyone will tell you."

### Marco was always so serious and now I think I saw him relax a little. We swam for a while and then just sat on the beach and talked. The warm sun soaking my skin felt nice. This did feel peaceful, sitting on the beach by Bel Lago. I could feel a surge of energy slowly filling my body and mind. I didn't know if the sayings are true, but I can see how people would think those things after being here.

"What do you hope to gain from this swim?" I asked Marco.

### "I just need to find some peace with the situation with my mom. It's hard to accept that she would do what she did. Sometimes the lake just provides peaceful feelings of something we don't want in our lives."

"Well if there is anything I can do to help just ask. I really am sorry you had to go through that." I told him.

### "Thanks. That means more than you know." Marco took my hand in his and kissed it like an old fashioned fairy tale. I could get used to these people and their quaint ways.

### We decided we better go home before people worried about me. We pulled up to Aunt Cat's house to our welcoming committee. "Talli. You're here, finally. We were beginning to worry." Momma said. "I see you went swimming. That's a surprise. I thought you went running."

### "Ya. That's what I thought, too." Cruz added.

### "I did but Marco showed me the most beautiful lake I have ever seen! You need to go there. It is so awesome!" I told them about the lake and how it made me feel peaceful and what Marco said about it.

### My dad looked at Aunt Cat but she nodded and confirmed what Marco had said. "We all should go out there. It will help us find these guys." Aunt Cat said.

### Cruz put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. "You know I will gladly go running with you any time you want. I can keep pace with you, you know."

### "Yup, I know that. I didn't plan a run but when Marco suggested it I realized how much I missed it." I told Cruz.

### "Marco suggested it, huh. Were you here this morning, Marco?" Cruz asked him.

### "Yes. I was out for my run and seen Talitha sitting on the porch. I just stopped to say hi and then asked her to join me."

### "How thoughtful of you." Cruz sounded sarcastic. "Did you know that Talli and I are betrothed?"

### "No. I didn't know that, actually. Isn't she rather young to be getting married?" Marco countered.

### "Yes! I am! Too young to marry, that is. The betrothal was an arrangement between our fathers when I was born." I explained. "I don't plan on marrying anyone for a very long time. And when I do I don't know who it will be with. That's too much for me to worry about right now."

### "I'm confused." Marco said. "Are you betrothed or not?"

### "Like I said, my father made the agreement. I didn't. It is a Teletrian custom. However, I did not grow up around Teletrians. I grew up in the United States where people don't do that to babies." I was tired of people talking for me. However, I felt bad now about saying that. I didn't want to hurt Cruz. I really liked Cruz. "I'm just too young to make that kind of decision at this point in my life. Cruz and I kinda like each other. For now, that's all it is."

### "I see." Said Marco. "I am sorry, Cruz. I didn't mean anything. Next time I'll invite both of you. But I need to get home. I need to check on my sister, now that she's back. I did leave my aunt with her but I still need to watch out for her until she gets deprogrammed."

### Cruz just muttered something under his breath.

### "Okay, Marco. Thanks for the run and for introducing me to Bel Lago. If you need anything for your sister let me know." I said.

"I gotta go too." Cruz said and left. That was odd. He must be mad at me now. I guess I hurt his feelings. But he would just have to deal with it. I'm not going to act like I'm engaged to him right now. I'm too young for that. But I didn't want to lose him either. I did like him, a lot. I texted him: wanna hang out later. He texted back: call you later. Uh oh. He was mad. I need to call Lis. She would know what to do.

### "Lis, can you come over for a while?" I asked her. I explained that I was afraid I had hurt her brother's feelings. She wasn't able to come over for a while but we planned to get together later. I decided to get my mind on something else. I asked my parents if they wanted to ride out to see Bel Lago. They thought that was a great idea and wanted to bring Tio and my grandparents and have a family picnic. We were trying to incorporate Tio into the family and help him feel at ease. This sounded like a good way to start. We also invited Aunt Cat since she was our host.

### Momma and grams loved the lake as much as I did. It was just so beautiful and peaceful. They all could feel the tranquility that radiated from it. We went swimming first since no one was hungry yet.

### Tio was an amazing swimmer. He had been trained for competitive swimming by the TEC. It seems they had spent all his time training him in everything. Tio was smart and could do a lot of things. It was just hard to relate to him because he had never socialized with kids. He talked more like an adult and wasn't familiar with anything kids talked about. I could teach him that though. I could get him back home and take him to the mall with Brielle and educate him on how to be a teenage boy.

### Tio and I were racing laps across the lake and back. He always won but I was getting better. I just needed to practice more. We finally got out of the lake and dried off. I was helping grams and Aunt Cat set out our supper. My parents were still swimming. I looked up and seen Marco's truck parked over by our car. That was odd. I wonder what he was doing back here. We just left this place.

### Marco and his sister walked over to our table. "I guess you probably think I'm following you, huh?" He said as he approached.

### "Well, as a matter of fact I was wondering." I chuckled. "I guess you couldn't get enough of this place either."

### "Something like that. There was something I couldn't get enough of." Marco said. "I wanted to bring my sister Dena out here to help her acclimate back to our village. I thought the lake would help her."

### "That's a great idea." I told him but I wondered what he meant by his first comment. "Dena, Marco, would you like to join us for dinner?"

### "If you think it's alright with your family."

### "Of course it's alright, Marco." Grams told him. "It's probably a good idea for Tio and Dena to talk with each other. Only they know what each other has gone through."

### Dena was a few years older than Tio and had a life before she was taken by the TEC. However, they both had been held in a controlled environment and kept away from the world. They were lacking significantly in social skills. Maybe it would be easier for them to talk to each other. Marco had taken his sister to see extended family members and old friends. He thought that would help her remember and readjust. It wasn't going as well as he had hoped.

"Tio and Dena, how about a quick swim before dinner?" I offered hoping they would go along. They hesitantly decided to go for a swim since that is what they were here for. Marco went with us. The four of us were swimming laps across the lake. I wasn't trying, but I heard a voice I knew was thought and not spoken. Talli, you belong with this village, not a Teletrian. You are a healer. This is your destiny and responsibility. I stopped swimming and looked around to see where the voice came from. I had a good idea but I wasn't sure. I thought it was Marco.

### I swam over to the shore that was opposite of where the family was except for Tio and Dena who were still swimming laps. I leaned back on my arms and was enjoying the sun caressing my skin. My eyes were closed, of course to keep the glare out. I was considering what the voice had said. Is that really why I am a healer? Is it my responsibility to stay here now? I love this place and I love being here, for now. But I don't want to stay here forever. I can't be with Cruz if I stay here. Would I be wrong if I left? Would that be selfish of me? There is a healer here already, so I don't really need to be here. There was a lot for me to contemplate.

### I felt a shadow over my head and a presence of someone. I opened my eyes to see Marco standing in front of me. "Hey you're blocking my sun." I joked with him.

### "Sorry, I didn't think you were the tanning type." He stepped over to my side and sat next me.

### "You don't think I could use some color? I'm pretty white next to all these Italians around here."

### "I don't know. You look pretty good to me."

### Okay, time to change the subject. "So how's it going with your sister? Does she know about your parents' involvement? Is there anything I can do to help?"

### "I know you heard me. Back there in the water. You left as soon as I thought it." Marco admitted he was the voice.

### "So I was just thinking about it. I am giving it some thought." I told him.

### "You know there is only one healer at a time, right?"

### "Well, yeah, but there is already one here. Why would they need me to stay?" I disputed.

### "I don't know. I just know that if you are a healer, there is a reason. And you owe it to your people to help them." Marco argued.

"Oh, now they're my people? They were calling me an outsider. A lot of people here do not accept me as one of them. They resent that I even exist." I said.

### "That is their problem. You are chosen to be a healer. No one can deny that. You belong here."

### "Marco, I promise I will give this some thought and I will speak with my parents about it. But you should know...I still like Cruz, and I make up my own mind." I stood up, jumped in the lake and swam back to the other side. I didn't look back but I knew Marco had followed me. I also knew he would not give up easy.

As soon as we finished dinner I texted Lis. Can u talk?

### Sure. My house or yours?

### Mine.

### K. B right there.

### I told my parents I was running home and would see them when they got back. They didn't feel good about me being alone until we settled all the uncertainty around the kidnappings. They decided to let me go if I took Tio with me. Marco offered me a ride but I told him I really wanted to run and burn off some anxiety.

### I got home just as Lis got there. I must be getting faster and Tio definitely could keep up with me. I think they must have had him training for a long time. He was giving me a run for my money and he was only twelve. He wasn't even finished growing. I could just imagine what he could do when he is full grown. I could see why these people had gone to such great lengths to create these super Teletrians. They were devious and evil and needed to be stopped.

### As Lis and I sat on the porch I just came right out with it. "I'm afraid I was too blunt and hurt Cruz' feelings. I'm not sure what to do about it. I really wasn't trying to hurt him. That's the last thing I want to happen. " I confessed.

### "I'm sorry. You seem distressed about it so I'm sure you didn't mean to. Don't worry. He will get over it. Did you apologize?" Lissandra asked me.

### "Oh dang. Not really. I should have done that. Maybe I should do it in person and not text. What do you think?"

### "I think you're right. It should be in person. He wasn't home when I left. As soon as he gets home I'll let you know. Or do you just want to come over and hang out until he gets there?"

### "No. I think I'll go shower and clean up first. Then I'll come over. He should be home by then. Where would he go around here?" I said. Lis went home and I went and showered. I looked for something special to wear. I wanted to look hot but not scream "easy." That's not me and not what I was trying to portray. But I did want to get his attention in a subtle way. I left my hair curly and natural. I found a baby blue tank top. Cruz' favorite color. I threw a white ruffled blouse over the top of it and put on my favorite AE skinny jeans.

### I walked over to Caio's house where the DaMonicos were staying. I texted Lis to give her a heads up. She texted me back and said that Cruz was there. I was nervous but I wasn't going to back out now. I knocked on the door. Lis answered it. She pulled me inside and hollered for Cruz to come to the door. A quick look in the hallway mirror let me know I had picked the right outfit. I still felt nervous. I had never felt nervous about talking to a guy before. But I usually talked to friends and not guys I liked more than a friend.

### I was sitting on the sofa trying to act casual, reading a magazine that was sitting there. "Hey." Cruz said when he walked in. He remained standing next to the sofa. Ugh. He didn't sit next to me.

"Hey." I said back. Then I gathered my courage and continued on to what I was there for. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings today." What else could I say? I was lost for words. Me, miss talkative lost for words. Then he sat next to me. That was a good start! I picked up his hand and threaded my fingers through his. Yup, it was still there! The zing went through my body. I was so relieved that it wasn't gone. Listen to me. I do want to be with him. Why am I so confused about it?

"Look, if you don't want me to hear your thoughts, you shouldn't hold my hand. It's really hard for me to ignore them. I was going to say if you want me to back off and give you your space, I will. And then I hear a thought like that and I don't know what to say. So what do you want me to do, Talitha?" He used my full name. This was still not good.

### "I don't want you to back off. I want to...I don't know. I want to spend time with you. I love being around you. I know we are good together with our abilities and it feels right to be with you. I just am...." I was trying to convey my feelings but I was struggling. Cruz interrupted my talking by pulling me close to him and planting his lips on mine. I instantly melted and kissed him back passionately. It was electrifying! I felt so connected to him at that moment. My whole body was on fire. How could I think clearly when he did that? Maybe that was his goal.

### He pulled away just enough to look into my eyes. "You are the single most beautiful creature in this world. Can you understand why I am jealous when you are with another guy?"

### "But I wasn't with him. Well not like that. We went running and then swimming, like friends." I said.

### "Talli, being friends was the farthest thing from his mind." Cruz said.

### "Why would you think that?"

### "I don't think it. I know it. I've read his mind."

### "Oh." I realized he would be able to do that, and would. "Cruz, have you ever had feelings for anyone?"

### "You mean have I ever liked another girl? No. I knew you were mi amica before I ever met you. No, that's not why. I don't know, I've probably flirted with girls a little but no one caught my interest. I had friends that were girls, but not any girlfriends. Why?" He asked.

### "I just feel like you were forced on to me and never considered anyone else. What if one day you meet someone and realize you never had a chance to like anyone else?"

### "That wouldn't happen."

### "How can you be sure?"

### Because I know how I feel about you. I am not going to look for anyone else. I'm happy with you, as long as you are happy with me. That would be the only thing to change me, if you aren't happy with me. You are beautiful, intelligent, fun, caring, strong....what more could I ask for"

### "That's just it. There are more beautiful girls out there than me. I've always considered myself average."

### "That's one of the things I love about you the most, Talli. You don't know how beautiful you are. There is no one who can compare to you."

### I could tell he was sincere. That meant a lot to hear his true feelings and know they were real. It just didn't seem right that people betroth their children. I couldn't see how a good relationship could come out of that. It seemed to me that if they hadn't made the choice themselves that they wouldn't be making a good decision. That's what was bothering me.

### I thought about the things he had said. Maybe he did know what he wanted. Maybe Cruz was just led to me and the rest just happened naturally. I was starting to lose my fears. Maybe his feelings for me where genuine and would have happened even if we had met another way. Maybe I was ready to make a commitment to him. Not marriage, but a small commitment. "Cruz, I think, no I know I'm ready for a relationship with you. I don't want to see anyone else either. When I thought I might lose you I felt physically sick. Like a part of me was missing. I don't want to feel like that again."

The biggest smile emerged on his face and then it disappeared as he kissed me again. I heard his mind tell me. Neither do I. I think this is a good place to be. I know what I want and I know how Cruz feels towards me. I know that this relationship was not forced onto anyone. It just happened naturally, even though the way we met was unconventional, the feelings are very real.

Whatever happens from here on will be okay. Whether we find Pietro and his gang or the ones who kidnapped me and Cruz, won't really matter. It would be nice to find them but if we don't, I'm good right here with him.

### Chapter 23

### The next day we had a meeting with the Governing Committee. They had a lead on where Necko might be. We were discussing who would go after him. I wanted to be the one to go get him. I didn't care how many wanted to come with me but I needed to go. There was a rumor that Necko had gone to Ireland where a group of Teletrians had settled. Years ago those Teletrians had wanted to live on their own and not under the TEC rules. Apparently Necko was in touch with those people.

### The Teletrians had settled a small private Island off the coast from Kilkee. They had the Island all to themselves. No outsiders lived there. If Necko was there we would find him. Kilkee was a small resort town on a peninsula on the west coast of Ireland, with a warm temperate climate. However, the Island they had settled was unknown to most people. It wasn't even on the map. We had a vague description of how to get there but it would take some time to find it.

### We all decided my dad and Alessandro would go. They both knew the area well. They wanted their wives to go and Cruz and I were going. We needed Caio with us, also. Lissandra and Paolo were going, of course. We stick together. Marco insisted on going since we were looking for his dad. And I had a feeling we should take Tio with us, even though he was probably too young. I knew that if I had a feeling I'd better follow it. We told everyone else if they wanted to go they could stay in Kilkee while we explored the Island and then we would call them if needed. We couldn't all go to the Island at once and alert them. The committee stayed behind but told us to keep them updated of all our activities.

### We flew into Kilkee but had to take a boat to find the Island. We chartered a large houseboat with a small boat in tow and some personal watercraft attached. We had a large area to look for the Island in. We passed a couple Islands that were public tourist spots, obviously not the one we were looking for. Our directions said to veer left after the second Tourist Island. We hoped we were on course. We kept track of our distance and direction travelled so we could tell anyone else that would join us.

### So Necko from grams village had joined with some Teletrians. The problem is we had no idea how many were involved. Obviously Pietro from the Teletrians and Mario Valenci and his wife from grams village. But who else? How many?

### "What if the whole Island is supporting these guys? How will we fight all of them?" I asked my dad. I didn't know if we were capable of doing this ourselves, now that I really thought about it. I had just been so dead set on getting them that I hadn't really thought about having to fight against a whole army of them. Maybe I was over-confident. The self-doubt was creeping into my mind again. However this time I didn't chase it away. I entertained it. We were dealing with ruthless people. People who had no regard for life. They would pursue their goal at any cost. They already had committed unspeakable crimes.

### Cruz stepped up behind me, both arms enveloped me with warmth and safety and that familiar zing. "Do not worry, Mi amica. We are on the side of good and right. We will prevail."

"If only I had as much faith as you." I turned around in his arms and placed mine around his neck. I was holding on to my anchor, my safety, my rock. At least I had Cruz and my dad and all the others to help me. It was also reassuring to know we had the committee backing us. Maybe I should chase away that doubt and block it away. We could do this.

### "Take a look at this." Dad said to Alessandro, handing him the binoculars. Cruz' dad looked through them for a while then nodded towards my dad, handing the binoculars back.

### "I think we found it."

### "Okay everyone, get ready." Dad said. "Natalia, text the committee and tell them we are about to dock at the Island. Give them all the coordinates."

### Momma texted the committee and sent them our dead reckoning position from the second Island. I took a deep breath. Cruz tightened his embrace and lightly brushed a kiss over my forehead. He didn't need to say it but I knew he was telling me it would all be alright; and I felt it would be. Sort of. I felt Cruz' strength. However, something felt wrong. I guess it was fear.

### There wasn't a launch pad or dock to handle the houseboat so we dropped anchor about a half mile out from shore. The depth transducer indicated we were getting into shallow water. There may have been a better place to dock on the other side of the island but we noticed this side was uninhabited. This would allow a surreptitious approach. We took the speed boat and two watercraft and docked on the rocky shore. Obviously they did not comb the beach or haul in sand there. It was completely untouched and natural. The beach was mostly lava rock with some sandy areas that were covered in shells, pebbles and sticks.

### We explored around the perimeter of the island for about a thousand feet in either direction. There was no sign of life. "Maybe this island isn't the right one. It doesn't look like anyone lives here." I said.

### "That's what they want you to think. It's not by accident, but it's design." Dad said. "Everything will be in the interior. We're just looking for the best approach."

### We continued to scout into the interior, slowly and stealthy. We didn't want to be seen before we seen them. Once we hiked over the lava rock, the interior was jungle-like with many trees and brush and flowers. No wonder they chose this place. It is concealed from the world. Every few feet we would stop and listen to see if we could read any thoughts or feelings indicating people nearby.

### The brush was so thick to walk through we had to constantly cut a path through it. The cutting and walking was causing some noise so I wasn't quite sure I heard something. However, I stopped to listen and everyone else did the same. "I can hear some voices but I'm not sure what they are saying." I whispered.

### "We must be close to someone. Let's get a little closer where we can hear." Dad said.

### There was voices and laughing. It sounded like two or three people. Then I realized it was children laughing and playing. "It's children." I laughed. "They are talking to each other but their words are foreign to me."

### "You want me to translate?" Tio asked me.

### "You can do that?"

### "It's Gaelic. Yes, I can."

### "They must have taught you Gaelic so they could bring you here." I considered.

### "Maybe. I learned several languages. Didn't you?" Tio asked me.

### "Uh.....no." I laughed. "I struggled with Spanish. But I would guess whatever I would take now it would be easier for me."

### "They are just playing a game of tag. They aren't saying anything important." Tio reported to us.

### We moved a little closer until we could see them. There were three small children playing in what seemed to be the back yard of a house. As we looked around we could see this was a small village of houses built somewhat close together. There looked to be around fifty homes, about the size of a small neighborhood. We skirted around the edges of the village, still remaining unseen, while we inventoried as much as we could. In the center of the houses was a few stores, a bowery, a park, what looked like a school and a meeting house.

### Basically it looked like a normal small town. There were a few people walking through the streets. There were no cars, however they wouldn't need any. There was a man behind his house cleaning fish. There was a woman at another house working in a garden. There was nothing alarming within our view. Nothing extraordinary. We continued to explore the island beyond the village. We thought that what we were looking for was probably hidden.

### As we were proceeding through the jungle, the sound of rushing water began to emerge. The closer we got I recognized the sound of a waterfall. I was excited to see what it would look like but cautious in my movements so I wouldn't draw attention. Most of our roving was hiking over lava rock. Something I was well accustomed to. As I pulled myself up over a hill, I was rewarded by the most beautiful waterfall I had ever seen. "OMG." I exclaimed under my breath. "I need to snapchat this!" I really wasn't going to snapchat. There was no time for that. But I definitely wanted a quick pic of this scene. I reached for my phone in my back pocket, but it was gone! "Oh no! It looks like I dropped my phone somewhere. Can I borrow yours, Cruz?"

### "Of course you can. Here, take mine. I'm just going to look back a few feet to see if I can see yours. I think I seen something back there a little ways just around the corner."

### "Don't worry about it. That will waste time. I'll just look for it later or get a new one."

### "It was just a couple yards back here. It will only take me a second."

### "Okay, but don't go too far back. It's not that big of a deal." I really didn't want him going back at all but if it was just a few feet I guess it was alright.

### I quickly took a picture with Cruz' phone and then tucked it into my bra so it wouldn't fall out too. There was a little pool at the bottom of the falls that I would love to go swim in if this were different circumstances. There was no time for that. We explored around the falls while we were waiting for Cruz. This area was void of any signs of life, other than wildlife.

### We were ready to move on but Cruz had not returned. That was odd. He was only going back a few feet but he'd been gone about twenty minutes. I told him not to worry about it if it was farther back. "I'm going to go get him." I told the others. "I didn't want him to go looking for it. It's just a phone. I have a bad feeling." I started back the way we came.

"Oh no you don't. We'll all go." My dad said. We turned around and went back the way we came. After a few feet there was no signs of Cruz. My heart dropped! Where could he be? He wouldn't go back any farther would he? We kept hiking back the same way. I called him in my mind. Cruz, where are you? This is not funny! Come back, now.

I kept calling him in my mind. I was frantic and worried. Then I faintly heard him answer. I don't.... know... where.... I am. They.... jumped me.... and blindfolded.... me and.... are taking.... me. I will.... Try.... to contact.... you..... Love you! His words were faint and spread apart as if he were falling asleep.

"Oh no! Cruz! No! You can't take him!" I meant to say it in my mind but it came out of my mouth. Cruz, keep talking. I'll follow. I love you too!

### "What?" Clariee yelled. "Oh no! Not my son!" She was screaming and crying and I was too. Alessandro hugged Clariee and tried to calm her down and also quiet her down. My dad was doing the same to me.

### "We need to follow him! He can't be far yet! We need to move fast!" I screamed.

### "Okay, we will do that. As soon as you calm down. You need to be calm and quiet so we can follow the trail and watch for clues." Dad said.

### "Okay. I...I can do that. Calm down. I'm calm. Let's just go! We're losing valuable time!" I sobbed. I was trying to be calm. It just wasn't working. Clariee was about the same.

### Momma put her hands on my shoulders and held me tight. "I call on the powers of the wind and sea and Earth to encircle Talitha and keep her calm." She said as she raised her head toward the sky. A few minutes later she released me. I felt a calm sensation begin in my feet, swirling around me and up to the tip of my head. Momma walked over and did the same to Clariee.

"Are we ready now?" Dad asked. "Let's go." We headed back the way we came but kept looking for signs leading elsewhere. There was brush trampled down in another direction so we headed that way. We followed the trail through the jungle for quite a ways. I kept telling Cruz in my mind that we were on our way and that I loved him. I told him I loved him. Wow. That was a surprise. But I really felt it. The bad thing was he was not sending messages back. That worried me, a lot.

### While we were following the path we heard a loud roaring sound coming from a distance. Then we saw a helicopter fly off. "I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means." Alessandro said.

### "It can't!" I said. I began running and running through the brush as much as I could with all the obstacles. I kept tripping over trees and brush but I got back up and kept running. I came to a large cleared area where the helicopter had obviously taken off. I fell to the ground and sobbed. "It's my fault! He went back to get my phone. Please don't hurt him!" I couldn't imagine where they would take him or what they would do to him. I was frantic with worry. I had to do something! I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to him. Why did I let him go back for it? It was just a phone!

### Momma and dad were trying to console me but it wasn't working. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. I think I did scream. I wanted to turn back time and forget my phone! This was a nightmare! I didn't want to go on without him!

### "Talli, just remember he is strong and resourceful. He will be okay and we will find him." My dad said to me but the words were muffled in my head. I couldn't hear anyone right now. I needed to hear Cruz! Why couldn't I hear him? My world just crumbled. I was numb, and yet I was in horrible pain as if part of my body had been ripped out. Dad picked me up in his arms and carried me out of the jungle. I could hear everyone talking around me but I couldn't tell what they were saying. My world faded to black.

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## Don't miss book two!

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Promised hope

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