“Wow.” Cort sat back down. “Then I really did see Lucien throwing fire. I’m not losing my mind.”
“He’s the Fire Weaver, yes. Clay is the Earth Weaver, and Baer is Animal. He can shift into any animal he wants and also compel other animals.”
Cort got up and started pacing again. It was like he couldn’t stay still. “And that was a giraffe in your backyard the other day.”
Grey couldn’t help the small grin that stretched his lips. “Probably.”
“And Wiley talked about actual spell books. I thought you guys were a little crazy, but this is something even I couldn’t have dreamed up. This is a lot to take in. I’d say I don’t believe it, but I saw actual vines creeping along the sand to attack those—”
“Pestilents,” Grey supplied. “I promise, they aren’t like us, and they’re nasty and evil.”
Cort took a loud breath and blew it out. “What do they want?”
“They come from another dimension, and that world is dying. They broke into our world and leech energy off it. They want to kill us because we’re the only thing that can stop them from succeeding and taking everything. There’s a rift between the worlds, and only the Weavers can close it.” Grey thought about the dying and reincarnation thing, but he didn’t think Cort could handle more information right then. They’d obviously been successful in healing the rift in past lives but not in closing it permanently before they were killed.
That could happen this time, too.
The only difference was, this time there were soul mates. They were the only things giving them a fighting chance this time.
“You’ve had powers your whole life?” Cort asked as he came back to the couch. The couch moved as he sat.
Grey couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to touch Cort. He placed his palm on the back of Cort’s hand. “No. The aunts you met are goddesses, and they hold on to our powers until we get here to give them to us. They’re probably giving Calder his as we speak.”
“How did you know which one was Calder out on that beach?”
“It came to me. His image came to me.” He shook his head and moved his hand, running his palms over the cushions again, feeling the rough texture of the couch against his fingertips. “That’s the first time I’ve been able to do that since I lost my sight.”
“So for you, losing your sight is much more with it being tied into your powers. Oh, Grey.” Cort reached for his hand and held it between his two. “I have to say you’ve handled the loss of your vision well, then.”
“Oh yeah, tearing up the apartment is well,” Grey grumbled under his breath.
“Every single client of mine deals with the loss in their own way. Grief, depression, and anger are common, and a lot of them don’t take it nearly as well as you have been doing. And now I understand that your sight is an integral part of your powers.” He let out a bark of laughter. “Never thought I’d say anything like that. Powers.”
“Well, the loss of mine has put my brothers in danger. They need me to have my sight to fight this upcoming battle—all of the upcoming battles. Those pestilents you saw will keep coming after us. They won’t stop.” And now, they’d be after Cort, too. His heart clenched at the realization he’d put Cort into danger.
“I suppose if my world was dying, I’d do the same.”
Surprise filled Grey. “You’d steal someone else’s world? Sacrifice the lives of billions of people to save yourself and your world?”
Cort was silent for a moment. “No, probably not, but I understand their desperation.”
“They don’t give a shit about the people who live here.”
“I wonder if the man in the suit, the one I saw watching everything, was one of them.” Cort’s shiver was so hard, Grey felt it move the couch. “He made my skin crawl. There was something about him I can’t explain, but evil comes pretty damn close.”
“Could you describe him to the others? It’s possible he’s one of the wizards.”
“The pestilents have magic, too? Great.”
Grey threaded his fingers through Cort’s, noticing that Cort’s were slightly sweaty. He could only imagine Cort’s emotions right then, not picking up on them at all. “They do. We were in a battle against a powerful witch when I was hit with that explosion that took my sight. She could compel animals much like Baer can.”
Cort blew out a breath. “If I hadn’t seen the vines, the fire, and the sand sinkhole, I wouldn’t believe a word of this. It’s just too…crazy, you know?”
“Oh, believe me. I didn’t want to believe any of it at first myself. I’ve only had my powers about six months and before that, I had no idea that anything like this existed. The night I met the guys, Clay created an earthquake that knocked powerline poles right out of the ground. The pestilents were after us—as they always are.”