Jacob's Ladder (String of Fate) Page 6

  “Heard and understood, Major. Do you want a check-in when we get there?”

  “That’d probably be best,” Jake replied, looking up to meet Ria’s gaze. Everybody on the bridge heard the conversation, but Jake didn’t mind. He was firmly in the presence of allies—something that was usually a rarity in his line of work. “While I have you, can you give me an update?”

  “Sure thing,” Ben agreed affably. “These cats heal quick. The youngster is able to walk, which is a goddamn miracle, if you ask me. He’s moving slow, but he’s moving under his own steam and the healer says he’ll be good as new in a few days.”

  “That’s a relief to hear. So everyone is up and able to evac?” he asked, just to be clear. He could see Ria was eager for any word on her people.

  “Oh yeah,” Ben answered. “There’s no holding these folks back. They’re impatient to be off and out to get a little of their own back. They’re mad more than anything else. And kind of appalled that a mere human is doing their job.” Ben laughed and Jake had to smile in response.

  “I bet. Just tell them to sit tight. They’ll have ample opportunity to bloody their claws before this is over. That’s a guarantee.”

  Jake looked over at Ria, raising one eyebrow in silent question. If she had any further questions, he was giving her an opportunity to ask them. She shook her head and Jake ended the call with a few final words to his friend, Ben.

  When he disconnected, he sat back, sighing heavily. He contemplated the console for a moment, trying to gather his wits from the early morning vision. He was still a little disoriented, but having Ria’s steady presence at his side helped in ways he never would have expected.

  “You okay, son?” Edvard’s deep voice cut through the fog that still surrounded Jake’s mind.

  Jake looked up at the older man. “Yeah. I’m getting there. Sorry. This one was a little intense.”

  Edvard put one beefy hand on Jake’s shoulder. “It’s always worse when they hit during sleep. Or so my sister claims. I’ve seen her stumble around in a fog for an hour or two after waking from a vision more than once. She was a seer from an early age, as I think, were you.”

  Jake nodded, not seeing any reason to hide the fact that he had come to his talent young. He stood and immediately, Ria was at his side. Edvard watched them with a calculating grin as he moved back enough to let them pass.

  “Since we’re all up, can I invite you to join me for breakfast? Or maybe a bracing dip in the ocean?” Edvard asked, a teasing light in his eyes.

  “Looks like you’ve already been in the water,” Ria observed as they walked toward the door that led off the bridge. “But if it’s safe, I’d love to give it a go.” She looked at Jake, challenge in her gaze that he couldn’t ignore. Seemed his lady had a spirit of adventure that had been kept under wraps until now.

  Jake pushed the door open and looked downward toward the dark water far below. Dawn hadn’t quite started yet and the early morning air was dark and mysterious. One of his favorite times of day. He checked his pockets for anything that wouldn’t handle a dunking, toeing off his boots. He was glad he had chosen to arm himself with a knife rather than a firearm when he’d left the stateroom earlier.

  “You—or your people in the water—won’t mind if I dive from here, will you?” Jake asked, sensing it was time to demonstrate a little of his abilities. He might be human, but he’d trained hard to be able to keep up with most shifters. He might not be able to outswim a selkie, but he definitely could put on a show that might earn a little bit of respect.

  Edvard looked at him with a measuring gaze. “No need to prove anything to me, lad. There’s a perfectly good platform for diving a few decks down.”

  “And I hope you’ll escort Ria there,” Jake replied, moving his boots out of the way as he climbed up on the rail that ringed the bridge. He was on the side of the ship and the drop was substantial to the water, but doable. “I know many of your people are wondering who I am and what gives me the right to be here. Actions speak louder than words, in my experience. Plus, right now, the water is just what I need to clear my head.”

  Without further ado, he dove.

  It might not be the smartest thing he’d ever done, but his emotions had been running high since being with Ria. She had quite literally blown his mind. His emotional equilibrium was shot to hell, but he didn’t really mind. He knew he had to get a grip—and soon—for the sake of their mission, but a part of him wanted to revel in the storm of feeling that rushed through him each time he took Ria in his arms. Hell, it happened every time she even just looked at him in that certain way she had. He was a goner and he didn’t mind at all.

  Jake parted the water with barely a ripple and he was proud of the dive he’d just executed. He might not win any gold medals at the Olympics, but he knew that near-silent high dive had probably scored points with the selkies on that giant boat. And those in the water beside him.

  Jake circled upward and headed for the surface. He popped up the way he’d gone in, with as little sound as possible, unsurprised to find a trio of selkies in seal form swimming in a loose circle around him. They checked him out for a moment or two, then moved off to a slight distance, keeping him within the perimeter they’d set up around the anchored ship.

  A splash to his right made him look. Sure enough, Ria—clad in a lovely turquoise bikini she must’ve borrowed from the ship’s stores—was entering the water from a much lower diving platform. He propelled himself in her direction, wanting to keep her in his sights while she was in the water. They were surrounded by some of the best and most magical swimmers in the world, who were thankfully, on their side, but something inside him demanded that Jake keep his new mate in his sight whenever the slightest danger presented itself.

  He realized right away that she was a strong swimmer. She might not be the diver he had worked to become, but she was at home in the water. She swam over to him and splashed him playfully.

  “Jake!” Her low tone was chastising, but filled with humor at the same time. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. I didn’t know you were part fish.”

  “Well, now you do.” He swam around her, teasing her as she turned to keep him in sight. “I worked very hard to learn how to dive, and I enjoy a chance to show off in front of my girl now and again. You don’t begrudge me that, surely? Don’t shifter males show off for their mates?”

  “Not by scaring them. Not if they want to keep their bits in the proper places.” She reached out and dug her fingernails—which were just a tiny bit sharper and a lot stronger than they would be on a human woman—into his shoulders. Her leg slid between his and he had to suppress a growl.

  “I like my bits exactly where they are,” he replied to her teasing, both verbal and physical. The cold, ocean water made not one bit of difference when he had Ria in his arms. She turned him on like a lightning bolt.

  “Mmm.” She rubbed closer, sliding against his body, heating the water in their vicinity. He wouldn’t be surprised to see steam rising around them. “I do too.”

  “Come now, children,” Edvard’s voice cut through the pre-dawn ocean stillness. The selkie—in human form—had come up behind them silently. “I thought we were going to swim, not cuddle.”

  Ria sighed loudly. “Okay. How about a lap around the yacht?”

  Edvard looked at Ria doubtfully, then moved to assess Jake. “Do you think you can both handle that?”

  Ria shrugged as Jake nodded. “If I get tired, I’ll depend on one of you to fish me out,” Ria joked, clearly not ashamed to admit that she might not be able to keep up with a selkie in the ocean.

  Jake had a little more pride, but he would’ve admitted it if the trek around the huge ship was going to be a problem. He knew he could make it and between him and Edvard—and all the shifters in the water around them—they would keep an eye on Ria.

  Jake met Edvard’s gaze over Ria’s head, nodding once more. “We’ll go slow. A nice, leisurely morning exercise swim,” Jake said
, knowing by the challenging light in Ria’s eyes that she wasn’t going to do any such thing.

  She turned and splashed away. The race was on.

  Ria loved the cool water and the vastness of the ocean. It was refreshing after being cooped up inside for the past day. She was used to moving and stretching her legs. Activity was second nature to a shifter and she had been idle too long.

  She didn’t usually get much chance to swim—especially not in the ocean—so she enjoyed setting as fast a pace as she could manage around the big yacht. She had expected Edvard to keep pace with her easily, but Jake surprised her not only with his stamina, but his speed. He was a better swimmer than she was, hands down. Her human mate was full of surprises.

  When they lapped the boat and came back to the low platform where she had entered the water, she made for the ladder, winded. Jake wasn’t even breathing hard. And of course, Edvard waited only until she climbed out to do a spectacular backwards leap away, diving under the water and staying down so long, she lost track of him as she collected a robe and toweled her hair.

  “I wonder if they have a dryer on this tub?” Jake asked, struggling out of his wet jeans at her side. He had put on the big robe that had been waiting for him. There were several of the big, fluffy garments hanging ready for people to hop out of the ocean.

  “I suspect there’s every comfort of home on this vessel,” she replied, bending to help him by grabbing the end of one leg of his jeans as he hopped, struggling with the wet fabric.

  As they moved to one side of the wide platform, a seal bounded out of the ocean next to them, transforming as it went, into a man. A sleekly muscled, very good looking man. And he was naked…and very well endowed. Ria couldn’t help but notice before the man reached for a robe and hid his…uh…assets…from view.

  “Son of a gun,” Jake swore, but there was a broad smile on his face. “I should’ve known.” He stepped forward to meet the man, his hand outstretched. “Tom Kinkaid as I live and breathe.”

  The two men shook hands and included a back slapping bro-hug in their repertoire of greeting. It was the friendliest greeting Ria had seen Jake give anyone so far. This guy had to be a good friend—or at least, one Jake hadn’t seen in a long time.

  “I thought that was you doing the swan dive off the bridge deck. Trying to impress Uncle Ed?” Tom asked, grinning from ear to ear.

  If anything, the smile made the man even more handsome as a dimple appeared on one cheek. It was a good thing Ria had found her mate, or she’d have been in mortal danger of falling in serious like with the handsome selkie.

  “Not sure anything impresses the old man,” Jake answered with a rueful expression. “But I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. I’m feeling at a decided disadvantage around all your people. Hell, Tom. I had no idea you were one of those Kinkaids.”

  “And I had no idea you knew about us. Damn, Jake. Too many secrets.” Tom shook his head as Jake stepped back to include Ria into their small circle.

  “You can say that again. Ria, honey,” Jake said, putting a possessive arm around her waist as he drew her into the conversation. “This is Tom Kinkaid, the dive master who taught me everything I know about diving, both with gear and off the high diving board.”

  “Ma’am,” Tom nodded to Ria respectfully, his gaze taking in the way she fit against Jake. Yeah, she saw the moment he figured out they were together. “I never realized the major here was mated into a Clan.”

  “He wasn’t,” Ria replied honestly. “Not until just recently, though his sister mated my cousin a few months back. He’s known about us for a while.” She reached out to shake the man’s hand. “Why do you call him Major?” She realized that was the second time she’d heard Jake referred to by that term. Was it a rank? Had he been a soldier? It made sense. He certainly had all kinds of military skills and training.

  Tom seemed confused for a moment as he looked from Jake to Ria and back again. “Uh…”

  “I was a major in the Marines. Force Recon. Special Operations. I did a little training with the SEALs—though I didn’t realize at the time that you guys really were seals.”

  Tom shrugged. “We like the irony.”

  Ria laughed. “Our mating is very new,” she explained, knowing the selkie was still confused about why she hadn’t known about Jake’s background.

  “Congratulations are in order, then,” Tom smiled. “Will I see you both at breakfast? I’d love a chance to catch up a bit, now that Jake knows what we are.”

  “Edvard invited us to breakfast after our swim but he’s still in the water,” Ria looked back over the dark ocean, the dawn just barely beginning to kiss the sky to the east.

  “He’s giving you time to shower and change. Go up to your rooms, get the salt off your skin and I’ll see you in the breakfast room. I can send someone to show you the way if you don’t know the lay of the ship yet,” Tom offered.

  Ria looked to Jake, but he shrugged. “I guess we could use that guide. I haven’t seen the breakfast room yet.”

  “All right. How about a half hour? Is that enough time? I’ll send my sister to get you. She’s got too much spare time on her hands as it is,” Tom joked.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Ria answered. “Now which way was our cabin?”

  Tom took pity and showed them the way to the guest cabins, chatting a bit with Jake as they went along. He showed them parts of the ship they hadn’t yet seen and talked about how the salt water didn’t bother selkie skin the way it did other shifters and humans.

  It seemed as though he was enjoying the ability to speak freely about what he was with Jake for the first time. It was clear the two men respected each other and had a deep-seated friendship.

  They were almost to the cabin when Jake stopped short. Ria looked at him, touching his arm as she looked into his eyes. Power swirled there, making her gasp. His eyes were fixed straight ahead as he stood stock still in the middle of the companionway.

  Tom looked back, halting as his affable smile disappeared by slow degrees. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think he’s having a vision.”

  “Sweet Mother of All,” the selkie swore. “A vision? He’s a seer? A mage?”

  “A seer, yes. Not a mage. Not exactly,” she answered absently, worried about Jake as he just stood there. “Or so he says.”

  “I always knew there was powerful magic around him, but I had no idea it was…this.” Tom looked both appalled and kind of reverent. “Let me get Ed. He’ll know what to do.” Tom ran ahead to the junction of the companionway where an intercom was tucked discretely into the wall. Ria heard him connect with the bridge quietly while she held Jake’s hand and watched him, worrying.

  Edvard came up behind them a moment later, but Jake hadn’t moved. He took in the situation quickly and began barking questions.

  “How long has he been like this?” Ed bit out, taking Jake’s other hand and feeling for his pulse.

  Tom looked at his watch. “About a minute and a half.”

  “Damn,” Edvard cursed. “A powerful one, then. But he’s got a lot of personal energy. His pulse is erratic but strong.”

  “What can we do to help him?” Ria asked in a small voice, not willing to disturb her mate. She didn’t know what loud noises would do to his state.

  “You’re doing it,” Edvard replied in a similarly gentle tone. “Protect his body while his mind is in the otherworlds. Be there for him when he comes out of it. Hold his hand. Be ready in case he needs you,” Edvard ticked off his list as he let go of Jake’s wrist and placed his arm down gently at his side. “Just do what you’re doing. It is all we, who do not share his burden, can do. He’ll come out of it on his own, once the vision has had its way with him.”

  “Are you sure?” Ria asked, still scared for her new mate. The cat inside her was clawing to get out, wanting to protect its mate from whatever threatened him.

  “I’ve seen this before, with my sister. So far, she has always come out o
f this state on her own, but there are dangers.” Edvard was as brutally honest as she expected him to be. She valued that about him.

  “What dangers?” she demanded quietly.

  “There are tales of seers falling into fugue states from which they never awaken,” he said quietly, his voice kept low, but strong. “But Jake is made of stronger stuff than that. I have no doubt he knows how to handle these things. From what I have learned, he has carried this burden since he was very young, just like my sister. When it comes to them young, the power is greater, but so is the control over their abilities. Or so my sister’s teachers always claimed.”

  “I don’t even know if Jake had teachers for his gift or if he learned how to use it all on his own. There aren’t a lot of humans running around with this amount of magic who aren’t full-out mages, and Jake said he didn’t like being around mages. He said they make his skin itch,” she told Edvard, rubbing her thumb over Jake’s knuckles, feeling the warmth of his skin.

  “Sneeze too.” Jake’s voice was weak, but there. When she looked quickly up into his eyes, the power had stopped swirling in their depths. He was back. Mostly.

  “What?” His words made no sense.

  “Mages make me sneeze too,” he clarified, his voice growing stronger as he seemed to regain his grip on the waking world. “Sorry. Was I standing here long?” He shook his head, looking around him as if to assess where he was. He was definitely disoriented. Like he had been earlier that morning, only worse.

  “A little over five minutes,” Tom reported, looking at his watch. “You back with us, Major?”

  Jake shook his head from side to side, as if to clear it. “Yeah, I’m with you. Damn. That was a long one. Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize for your power,” Edvard intoned as Jake bent over and put his hands on his knees. Ria stood protectively at his side, watching him carefully to see if there was anything she could do to help him. Jake looked up at Edvard as his eyes continued to clear.