Veiled Existence

  Legacy in Legend

  Veiled Existence

  Book Two

  Scribe Publishing Company

  29488 Woodward, Suite 426

  Royal Oak, Michigan 48073

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people or real places are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, people or places, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2017 by Barbara Pietron

  www.barbarapietron.com

  Cover design by Hadrout Advertising + Technology

  Interior design by Inanna Arthen

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  ISBN 978-0-9916021-3-1

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2017941040

  Produced in the U.S.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Epilogue

  A Note from the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Other Books

  About the Author

  To my mom, who spent her birthday traveling the Great River Road with me.

  And to Tim and Ann who graciously acted as tour guides for our River Road adventure.

  Jeni carefully skirted the unfenced graveyard, remembering the anxious note in Ice’s voice when he’d advised her not to tour the effigy mounds because of the mystic nature of ancient burial grounds. She gave him credit for attempting to sound nonchalant, but they spoke on the phone often, and she wasn’t fooled.

  “Come on, Jen,” Carolyn called.

  “Thanks, but no thanks,” Jeni muttered. Then, raising her voice to answer her best friend, she said, “You guys go ahead. I want to get some pictures.”

  It had been easy to convince Carolyn that they should choose this land tour. Once her friend knew that Jeni’s cousin, Tyler, would be on the trip to a state park and an old church, she was on board. They could be seeing the world’s largest frying pan as long as Tyler was going to be there.

  The not-so-furtive glances had started on the shuttle ride. The flirting began in earnest when they arrived at Pike’s Peak State Park. By the time the tour group reached the old church, Jeni was surprised Carolyn remembered she existed.

  In her peripheral vision, Jeni could see the couple ambling through the cemetery, feigning interest in the grave stones. A disgusted expression twisted her features. Her best friend and her nemesis cousin were a match made in Jeni’s personal hell.

  As if on cue, a girly giggle arrived on the crisp breeze eliciting an eye-roll from Jeni as she extended her phone to frame a picture.

  The quaint church with tombstones peppering its rolling green lawn, backed by a bluff of red, gold and green trees, begged to be captured by photo or paint. But Jeni made a production out of photographing the picturesque grounds simply to kill time and put some space between her and the incessantly flirting couple.

  Well, that and to stay off the hallowed ground.

  The setting sun cast the bottom of the bluff in deep shadow and Jeni eyed the darkness suspiciously before backing that way to fit more of the landscape into her picture. A second later she careened backward, pinwheeling her hands with a death grip on her phone. A grunt escaped her lips as she landed hard on her butt. She blinked, frowning, her focus on the reason for her fall.

  A rock about the size of a loaf of bread lay next to a depression in the earth rimmed by pale green roots. A tinkle of laugher floated her way accompanied by a low chuckle. Aw, man. Seriously? Had Tyler and Carolyn seen her fall? Reluctantly, she glanced up, her tension easing when she saw they were stooped over, reading one of the headstones.

  Behind them though, standing near the back of the church with a rake in his hand, a man glared at her.

  Dropping her gaze, Jeni squatted. Although the stone looked innocuous enough—likely a chunk of rock that had tumbled from the bluff—she would have liked to use the toe of her shoe to roll it back into its depression. But the grounds keeper’s stern attention made her feel like using her foot would be disrespectful, so Jeni reached down and flicked the stone back into place, making as little contact with it as possible.

  A chill crawled up her arm and across her shoulders and she shrugged, tugging the zipper on her jacket up before burrowing her hands into the pockets.

  “I thought you were taking pictures.”

  Jeni started and spun on her heel. Carolyn stood behind her, wearing a grin. She was alone. “All the dead people making you skittish?” she teased.

  Jeni forced a chuckle. “Yeah. Apparently. Hey, are you ready to head to the shuttle? I’m freezing.”

  The van that had picked them up at the riverboat dock early in the day idled in the parking area at the base of a slight hill. Ducking through the metal archway, topped by letters that spelled out “Wexford,” the girls descended cement steps to the shuttle. They were the first of the tour group to return. Jeni shook off the last of her jitters as she climbed into the warm vehicle.

  Energy emanated from her friend, hinting that Carolyn was bursting with things to say about Tyler. But they’d made an agreement: Jeni acquiesced to let Carolyn make a play for her cousin as long as she didn’t have to talk about it as if he were any other guy. Jeni hoped that didn’t make her a bad friend, she just…couldn’t. Tyler had always acted like a surrogate sibling, bugging the heck out of her every time their families got together.

  Carolyn dug through her purse. “Want a piece of gum?”

  “Sure.” The van door opened, letting in a swirl of cold air as other passengers climbed aboard. Shiny, white-blonde hair drew Jeni’s attention and she tried not to stare as a gorgeous girl came through the doorway. Jeni rubbed her chin, positive the girl hadn’t left with them this morning. No one—male or female—would forget a girl like that. The elbow she tapped on Carolyn’s ribs went unnoticed as her friend concentrated on the excavation of her purse.

  Sidestepping toward the back of the van, the girl’s gaze brushed over Jeni, her eyes seeming to tighten slightly as they made eye contact. Then she was out of Jeni’s line of vision. Jeni tilted her head. She hadn’t seen the girl at the state park or in the church, either.

  “Aha.” Carolyn handed her a piece of gum.

  “Thanks.” Jeni popped the gum into her mouth, dismissing the girl. Maybe a local was catching a ride back to town. In any case, it wasn’t her problem. “I wonder how Ice’s move-in went today,” she mused, patting her jacket pocket to ensure her phone was inside. The river bluffs blocked cellular signals and she hadn’t been in contact with her boyfriend all day.

  Carolyn unscrewed the lid of a water bottle. “That’s right. Move-in day at the University of Minnesota. I bet that’s some kind of special chaos.
”

  Jeni’s lips curved slightly. “I can only imagine. His mom followed him out this morning to help, which is cool. She’s probably gone by now though.” She watched as Tyler claimed the front passenger seat, shooting a smile at Carolyn before buckling his seatbelt. He didn’t seem to notice the girl in the back and Jeni was surprised to feel relieved. Maybe she wasn’t a terrible friend after all, if she was rooting for Carolyn despite her personal feelings.

  Jeni’s parents and grandma appeared at the door, her mom confirming the girls were aboard before setting foot inside the shuttle. As the last of the tour group shuffled to the back of the vehicle, the woman next to Carolyn rolled the door shut and the van began bouncing over the dirt road toward the highway.

  While the women behind them prattled on about old churches they’d visited in Europe, Carolyn leaned her head close to Jeni’s, voice lowered to private conversation level. “Hey, did you ask Ice if he can take you to homecoming?”

  “I plan to after he’s on the boat with us. I don’t know what the chances are that he’ll be able to come, that’s one of the many things I hate about a long-distance relationship. But at least Minneapolis is closer to Detroit than Cass Lake. It cuts a twenty hour drive down to a mere sixteen hours.”

  “You know he’ll come if he can.”

  A pang of guilt twisted inside Jeni. Carolyn was right. Ice always made her feel like she was a priority, that he’d do anything for her, even after she totally reneged on the promise she’d made to him and his mentor months ago. “Have you decided if you’re going with Carter?”

  Carolyn hesitated, her gaze on Tyler. “No. I mean I like him—his long legs and buzzed hair. And he always makes me laugh. I don’t know. I have a thing for Zach. Something about the brooding, quiet guy… I want to unwind his man-bun and get him to loosen up.”

  “That would be epic.” Jeni laughed. “And realistic,” she added, hoping Carolyn caught her meaning that Tyler was not a viable homecoming option. He lived in Wisconsin and surely wouldn’t go to the trouble of traveling to Michigan, especially for a high school function. “Do you think Zach would ask you?”

  “I don’t know. He’s so freaking quiet, he probably won’t ask anyone.”

  “Then you ask him.”

  Carolyn drew in a breath. “I don’t know…”

  Jeni unzipped her jacket partway. The van heated up quickly with a dozen people packed inside. She let her head fall back against the seat and kept her gaze trained out the windshield to minimize the nausea rising in her empty stomach. “Honestly, I figured you’d go with Asher.”

  “Really? Asher?”

  By the time they reached the dock, Carolyn had a half dozen prospective homecoming dates and Jeni was desperate for fresh air. “Every girl wishes she had your problem,” Jeni said, following Carolyn as she slid to the end of the seat. Waiting for other passengers to disembark, she glanced to the back of the van, noticing the pale-haired girl in the seat behind them. Before slipping out the door, the girl rounded her dainty eyebrows and smiled sweetly at Jeni.

  Not sweet as in nice. Sweet as in sticky-sweet. A mean-girl smile. The smile a girl uses when she’s being nice so you’ll invite her over and she can hit on your brother. Or the smile of a popular girl as she tells you she likes your boots and then seconds later is laughing with her friends while they shoot poorly disguised glances in your direction.

  Outside the van, Jeni scanned the passengers approaching the riverboat’s gangway, but didn’t see the girl. Twisting, her eyes swept the lighted parking lot behind them and found it empty of people.

  Lifting her shoulders with a slight shake of her head, Jeni drew her phone from her pocket, eager to talk to Ice. She wasn’t at school. She had one week left of not having to deal with that kind of petty behavior.

  And she planned to enjoy it.

  Ice put down the roll of tape and lurched for his phone, recognizing the ring. “Hey, you’re back.” His wide grin warmed his voice.

  “Yep. Just got here,” Jeni said. “How’d the move go?”

  “Pretty smooth.” Ice surveyed the small dorm room, thinking how much better it looked now that most of the boxes were in the hall. “They had fraternities here to help people carry their stuff to their rooms.”

  “Wow. That’s cool.”

  “Yeah. It definitely saved us a few trips.” Ice sank into his desk chair and swiped a hand across his brow.

  “Is your mom still there?”

  “No. We had an early dinner so she could get on the road.” He plucked an extension cord from the box at his feet. “Danny took off to see some people he knows so I currently have the place to myself.”

  “So how do you think it’ll be living with him?”

  Ice shrugged even though Jeni couldn’t see him. “Time will tell. But he’s letting me hook up my gaming system to his TV.”

  Jeni laughed. “Duh. Of course he is.”

  Ice’s lips curved. “Yeah. True. How was your land tour?”

  “Aside from the disgusting part where Carolyn and Tyler flirted shamelessly, it was pretty cool.”

  “Oh, no. Guess you called that one.”

  “Yeah. Sometimes it’s a good thing to be proved wrong, but I saw this coming a mile away,” she grumbled. “Anyway, the view from Pike’s Peak was amazing. I took a lot of pictures. And the old church was cool, beautiful but in a… sparse way. You know, it wasn’t ornate or anything. There was a cemetery too, right next to the church, which I steered clear of, you’ll be happy to know. Although I was so close to the bluff that I managed to trip on a rock and look like an idiot.” Her sarcasm had an undercurrent of amusement.

  Ice’s eyebrows sprang up and his mouth dropped open as he pictured Jeni’s slim, five and a half foot frame stumbling clumsily over a rock. “What?”

  “I was trying to take a picture, and it was really low to the ground.” Her voice was high-pitched with mock-defensiveness. “I backed into it.”

  “Did you fall?”

  “Right on my butt. Which is now wet. Fortunately, Carolyn and Tyler were too busy paying attention to each other to notice. Although some guy, probably the grounds keeper, was staring me down, so I rolled it back into place.”

  A flash of fear warmed Ice’s chest. They still knew next to nothing about Jeni’s spiritual ability, but the one thing they did know is that her connection to the spirit world was channeled through—or possibly amplified by—stone. And she’d been at the outskirts of a graveyard.

  He didn’t like it. “But…you didn’t touch it, right?”

  “Ice.” All animation left her voice. “Let’s not do this again. I didn’t go to the Effigy Mounds Monument. When I saw there was a graveyard at the church, I made sure to stay away from it. I’m being careful. Besides, I’m sure I must’ve touched stone since I left Lake Itasca and nothing has happened.”

  There’s probably a reason for that. We just don’t know what it is yet. “Well, I’m glad you’re being careful,” he said grudgingly. “Because something could happen—”

  “At any time.” Jeni finished for him, her exasperation transmitting clearly. “Yeah, we’ve been over that. Look, the longer the nightmares stay away, the more I feel like I might be able to go back to researching my heritage. I just need some time.”

  “I know.” Ice held his frustration in check. He’d suggested that if she discovered the nature of her ability, she might demystify her dreams and they would go away. By that time though, she’d been too freaked out and abandoned her research instead.

  “Can we just have a few days to enjoy being together like a normal couple?” Jeni pleaded. “That’s all I’m asking for.”

  “That sounds great to me.” As much as his statement was sincere, Ice also knew that they would never be a normal couple. They were reminded of that every time they touched. He’d become adept at dispelling the visions Jeni saw when
they made skin to skin contact, but normal wasn’t a word that would ever apply to their relationship.

  The riverboat’s whistle bellowed loudly. When it stopped, Jeni said, “Hang on a sec.” Ice heard a voice in the background and Jeni’s reply: “Yeah, I know. I just have to change my jeans and I’ll be right there.” Then she was back. “Sorry, that was my mom. She and Dad are headed to dinner. That’s what the boat whistle was for.”

  “I’ll let you go, then. Text me later.”

  “Okay. I can’t wait until you’re here, Ice.”

  “Me too.” Ice ended the call and stood, flipping his phone onto the bed.

  His gaze traveled the room, settling on the box containing the video game console that was an unexpected gift from his mentor, Nik. Digging through the towels he’d used as packing material, Ice lifted the unit and placed it on the book shelf at the bottom of his bed.

  He considered calling Nik, then rejected the idea. The unknowns of Jeni’s ability bothered his mentor even more, and the subject generally turned into the medicine man lecturing about her irresponsibility while Ice came to Jeni’s defense, despite the fact that he, too, was aggravated by the situation.

  With the unit connected to the television, Ice found an open outlet on the crowded power strip and the welcome page of his gaming system blazed to life. He inserted the game he’d started at home and a few seconds later, a menu box appeared over a forest landscape with a misty-topped mountain in the background. Ice started the next level of the game, looking forward to taking out his irritation on digital foes.

  As his avatar trotted into the forest, Ice reflected on his new standing in life. He was on his own now. It was time he solved his own problems.

  Jeni crossed her arms over her chest and rose up on her toes as if she might actually identify and solve the reason for the blocked stairway. Her plan to whisk Carolyn from the dining room and avoid a close encounter with Tyler was failing dismally, as his table had just emptied and the group was headed in their direction. It was also too late to draw Carolyn’s attention elsewhere, since her attempt to pretend she didn’t see Tyler coming made it obvious that she had.