Page 8 of Touched By Destiny
“Why aren’t you ghost-hunting with Eric?” Rhonda asked.
“Eric preferred to stay at home,” Gabriel responded. By the time Gabriel had presented himself at the mansion for breakfast, Eric had already eaten and planted himself on his piano bench in the great room. He’d plunked the notes to a melodic tune with a scowl on his handsome face and barely noted a world outside his playing existed. Gabriel had had no choice but to stand and listen for a few minutes. The piece had been ethereal—as delicate, otherworldly, and untouchable as the man moving his fingers over the piano keys with such exquisite care.
“I barely got a grunt goodbye on my way out,” Clark mused. “I’m so glad Rosalind insisted on giving the children piano lessons. Eric has such a passion for it, and he’s so gifted at music.”
Rhonda smiled. “Your son is gifted in many ways, as my existence and rapid ability to heal can attest to.”
“And it does wonders for my heart that the man I picked to oversee his safety gets so bent out of shape at the mere thought of him tripping into danger on a date,” Clark said. “I’m not sure why you’re concerned though, Gabriel. Are you suddenly feeling ill-prepared to ensure nothing happens to Eric?”
“Of course not. But if you want him to stay safe, I can’t be informed of changes to his schedule with only ten hours’ notice,” Gabriel stated.
“Gabe, what would be a decent amount of notice for Eric to give you when he has a date?” Rhonda asked, mischief ripe in her tone as she grinned impishly at him.
Ignoring her and not bothering to question her on why she was pulling his chain, Gabriel focused on Clark. “Why did you want to speak to Rhonda and me this morning?”
Clark leaned back in his chair and grinned. “You mean besides listening to you complain about my youngest child’s love life? What makes you think that’s not the sole reason I scheduled this meeting yesterday afternoon?”
“I don’t know what’s going with you two, but I’d really like to focus on something besides Beaumont and his failed attempt to woo Eric,” Gabriel said despite the fact that he’d been the one insisting they discuss it in the first place.
“Of course,” Clark replied, and he lost his smile. “Yesterday I received an invitation. One that immediately caught my attention. It’s from the Arwynn family. They claim to have enticed several other prominent-but-reclusive necromancer families like us for a meeting. I think they want an alliance. That’s what the last Arwynn wanted from me anyway. They have someone new at the head of their family. Even with my contacts, I can’t tell you what happened to this young man’s father. Rumors suggest it’s the Arwynns who’ve closed ranks and kept it a mystery. I’m considering going and at least listening to what they have to say.”
Gabriel’s mouth twisted, and he took a seat near Rhonda. “If nothing else, you might learn a few things you don’t already know about the Arwynns and whatever other families are present.”
“And I must consider what’s best for the Marwoods and how to ensure we keep Eric’s abilities concealed,” Clark said. “In the past I’ve learned about vague threats against the destiny-touched, but I have yet to hear any whispers about anyMarwoods being born with gifts. I’d like to keep it that way. If that means agreeing to an alliance with other families to learn what they know, then I’ll do it.”
Throughout the past three decades, Clark had often come into information which he’d shared with Gabriel, but he’d kept his sources and how he’d learned about rumors or threats to himself.
“When are we going?” Gabriel asked.
“It’s in a couple of months. I want you both there. I don’t know if they’ll let you in the meeting room, but I’ll damn well include you if I can. Some families have wonderful attitudes about inspirits, while others treat them like indulged children. The Arwynns are nearly as secretive as we are, so I don’t know where they stand.”
“I can’t imagine another family as good to inspirits as yours,” Rhonda remarked. The Marwoods were generous, kind, and did whatever they could to offer every inspirit a wonderful life. Since most inspirits were like Gabriel and preferred independence, Clark built luxurious condo buildings for them and charged them a nominal fee to live there.
They were paired with jobs that suited them and granted generous salaries. Every inspirit was treated like family, and they celebrated the dates of their resurrections like birthdays with gifts and cake. And it wasn’t only the inspirits granted life by the Marwoods themselves; they routinely picked up stray inspirits left behind or estranged from other necromancers.
“It’s our pleasure to help you find your happiness,” Clark said. “And it benefits me too. I’m surrounded by people I trust. I’m not sure what I’d do without all of you. Especially now that my brother is so lost in grief he has essentially retired from the company. Without such talented people who I can count on, we would’ve had to downsize after Nariko’s death.”
“Such a shame about Nariko,” Rhonda remarked with a shake of her head. “I wish I’d had the chance to meet her.”
“She was a lovely woman, and Maribeth looks like her,” Gabriel said. “Has a lot of her personality too.”
Clark’s smile was wistful. “Sometimes Maribeth will hold her head in a way that instantly reminds me of Nariko, and it takes me a minute to recall I’m looking at her daughter instead. Those moments are bittersweet, but I’m so grateful she lives on in Maribeth.”
“I thought Alden was showing interest in the company again,” Gabriel commented. Although Alden technically lived next door to Rosalind and Clark, he was rarely there. Nariko hadn’t been his soulmate, but he’d loved her as fiercely as if she were his other half. Her death had turned Alden into a stranger. “He’s in his office nearly every day.”
“I have no clue what my brother’s doing in there, but if he’s working on anything related to the Marwood properties scattered across the world, he hasn’t let me in on his plans,” Clark said. “In the first couple of years, he was dedicated to raising awareness and money for cancer research. Then he took off traveling. Since his return, he refuses to confide in anyone. Whatever he’s involved in, I hope it brings him some measure of happiness. He deserves it. Watching Nariko suffer for so long was hard on him. Maribeth was five when her mom died, and her memories of her are scant. It’s such a shame. I know she’s thrilled to have her father at home again.”
“Are you going to invite him to the meeting with the Arwynns?” Gabriel asked.
“Rosalind suggested it, but I don’t think I will,” Clark said. While Clark was the reclusive and now sole owner of the Marwood properties, he did little without Rosalind. She preferred her home and refused to keep an official office, but many of their most successful ventures were her ideas. Likeher children and soulmate, she was intelligent, spoke three languages fluently, and liked to push her limits on her own terms. “Alden was always the first to suggest I place no trust in anyone outside our relatives. I’m not sure he’d approve, and the last thing I want is to put more distance between us. On the off chance I find a reason to consider an alliance, I’ll bring it to his attention and get his input. For a fact-finding trip, I’d prefer to keep it between the three of us and Rosalind.”
“Where is the meeting?” Gabriel asked.
“Interestingly enough, it’s here in Vegas,” Clark replied. “Last I heard, the Arwynns were based out of Washington, DC, but maybe they’ve moved. Or they think that showing up on my doorstep will sweeten my mood toward the idea. They picked a rival hotel chain, of course, but I would do the same. They’ll likely record every word we say despite their rules, and we don’t know if they have anything nefarious planned. But we can all pretend it’s aneutrallocation if that’s what they want.”
“Any idea who the other families are that they’ve convinced to attend?” Rhonda asked.
“Not yet, but I hope to learn more before we go,” Clark said. “I put feelers out through my sources this morning. They may or may not be on the short list of prominent families I know about. A couple of those live far from the US. If they’re willing to fly here, it says a lot about what they think of the Arwynns’ idea, or maybe they’re curious like me. It should be interesting to see who shows up, if nothing else.”