BEYOND GRACE

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                                                               CHAPTER ONE

 

 

Genevieve struggled to control her windswept umbrella. She lost the battle, much to Grace’s delight. The umbrella turned itself inside out and jerked out of her hands, taking flight into Paris’s gray sky.

How I wish I could do the same.

Instead she left the balcony and prepared for Genevieve’s arrival. She lay on the massive bed with its intricate carving and silk linens. The room mirrored the bed, outfitted with patterned wallpaper, a chaise lounge, a vanity and mirror, and curtains that ran from the ceiling to the floor. The bathroom continued the decadence with a claw-foot tub, two sinks, and a huge walk-in shower with a spout that mimicked a rain shower.

Under any other circumstances, Grace would have delighted in such luxury, especially after living in less desirable foster homes. Like those homes, this was just a building, void of the family she loved and missed so desperately she couldn’t breathe at times.

Now the woman who had taken them away stood in the hallway with her assistant, Marie. Susannah eavesdropped on their conversation.

“No one’s been able to detect Ms. Evans or her alters since her arrival,” Marie said.

Genevieve huffed. “It’s only been a week since Grace arrived.”

“A long, frustrating week. Grace has found a way to defy us.”

“Have the medical and psychological test results come back?”

“Yes. Nothing of significance showed up. She walks around like a zombie, doesn’t eat, and won’t talk to anyone. Her alters haven’t manifested themselves either.”

“No one’s been able to access her mind?” Genevieve asked.

“No one,” Marie answered.

“We’ll see about that.”

“It’s been a long time since you’ve been challenged. Don’t be surprised if you’re a little rusty.”

After a lull in the conversation, Genevieve said, “Spaghetti.”

“Really? Not eggplant parmesan?” Marie asked. “If I knew you planned to invade my thoughts, I would have made them worth the intrusion instead of my pondering what to have for dinner tonight.”

“Just proving a point. Anyway, an invasion is supposed to be a surprise. Therefore, no forewarning. Let’s hope I have the same luck with Ms. Evans.”

Grace didn’t respond to the knock on the door or the arrival of her uninvited visitors.

“Ms. Evans,” Marie called from the doorway. “I’d like you to meet

Magistrate Dubois. Ms. Dubois, Grace Evans.”

“Hello, Grace.”

“Hello.”

Genevieve fidgeted with the buttons on her blazer. “I hope you’re enjoying your stay. Have you been sightseeing?”

“No.”

“Not even the Eiffel Tower?”

“No.”

“We could arrange such an excursion.”

“No.”

“Perhaps in time.” “No.”

Genevieve sat at the foot of the bed. “I know you’re upset we brought you here, but it was with your best interest in mind.” She waved to Marie to leave them alone. “Grace, please talk to me.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to know what you’re feeling.”

“I thought you of all people would know what I’m feeling.” “I thought so too.”

“Hollow. I feel hollow.”

“I know this is difficult for you.”

“Do you? For the first time in my life, I belonged. Jack gave me a family. After being a ward of the state, I was no longer alone in this world. You’ve taken the promise of a better life away from me.”

“Clare gave us no choice. Her ability to channel the dead isn’t just dangerous for you but for all of us. Until we know more regarding

Clare, we cannot risk exposure to humans.”

“Have you spoken to Jack?”

“You know I have. I’ve spoken to his parents too. They have concerns. We can guarantee your safety here, and I hope you’ll come to think of us as family. You haven’t known Jack or his family long, yet you’ve come to trust them. And you haven’t given us a chance.”

Grace blinked back tears. “I trust Jack. We feel safe with him.”

“You feel safe with him.”

“We are safe with him.”

“Sometimes a person is too close to a situation to see the solution clearly, to know what’s best.”

“And sometimes they are close enough to know it’s for the best.”

“Time will tell. I ask you to indulge us for the time being. If you give us a chance, you’ll see we aren’t the enemy.”

Marie peeked her head into the room and tapped her watch.

Genevieve nodded. “I have a meeting to attend. I’m asking for your cooperation, although it isn’t necessary.”

Grace didn’t acknowledge the threat. Instead she looked past Genevieve to the door. “Marie, I think you should have eggplant

parmesan instead of spaghetti for dinner tonight.”

Marie’s jaw dropped. “I agree.”

Genevieve walked to the door. “You would.” She turned to Grace. “I hope you’ll consider sightseeing. It may change your mind about making Paris your home.”

Grace glimpsed at Rachael pressing her strong frame against the impending fog. Clare had arrived.

“Let her come.”

Rachael stepped aside to let the dense haze engulf them. Grace caught sight of Clare, a small shadowy figure beyond the haze with ghostly figures trailing her like zombies toward a meal.

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                                                                                     * * * *

 

From the third-floor window, Jack glared at Genevieve Dubois as she exited a limousine, fresh off a private plane from Paris. He fidgeted with his tie and cursed his lack of control, fearing he might break and prove Ms. Dubois right in keeping Grace at the institute’s headquarters in Paris.

A gentle wave washed the tension in his neck away, his white knuckled fists sprang open, and warmth caressed his forehead to mellow the ache in his head until it disappeared.

“Thank you,” he said to Nathan but also to whomever blessed him with an alter who controlled emotions. It sure came in handy on days like today.

“You’re welcome. Too many people want Clare, and not just the dead, who may want to take possession for nefarious reasons. Phineas wanted her too. You can’t believe his death ended our dissidents’ desire to take her.”

The mere mention of Phineas’s name threatened the return of the nervous tension Nathan had allayed. Jack had never dealt with the loss of a host under his tutelage. Yet he lost Phineas to dissidents, then to death. There must have been clues to Phineas’s unsuccessful plan to kill him and kidnap Grace. I must have missed something. But there was no time to dwell on such matters—others like Phineas might come for Grace. Apparently, the institute held the same concerns.

Nathan nodded. “There’s also the risk of Clare exposing us to the human world.”

Tobias rushed forward, his muscles flexed. “We needed more time.”

Oliver joined them. “I guess they thought we had enough time.” “Or they used it as an excuse,” Jack said.

Grace’s departure had happened abruptly, without Jack’s knowledge. He had arrived at a board meeting, where Dad broke the news. All hell broke loose. Jack tried to catch Grace at the airport, but his fellow Guardians restrained him. With Tobias’s help, he put up a good fight but, in the end, he lost. His only solace became Grace’s equally rebellious behavior.

Tobias’s chest swelled. “Grace showed them.” Jack smiled. “She sure did.”

To everyone’s astonishment, Grace’s alters had staged a revolution and remained locked in her mind. No amount of prodding or testing detected their presence, a testament to their powerful abilities.

Although they were a continent apart, Jack joined in her quiet rebellion, isolating himself from his family and friends, even from Oliver, Tobias, and Nathan at times. For the first time in his life, he understood how Grace had lived before she learned about her alters. Sure, he had experienced black holes when his alters acted out, but this didn’t compare. He saw no light, no escape, and no end to it.

Dad joined him at the window, his eyes looking as tired as Jack felt. “You need to relax, change your attitude.”

Jack straightened his tie and tucked his shirt into his trousers, which drooped on his hips. Dark circles rimmed his eyes.

“I’m going to ask to go back with Genevieve.”

Dad nodded. “I assumed you would. Grace is fine.”

“Do you know this for sure?”

“Why would they lie?”

“Because they want to keep Grace, that’s why—like some kind of science experiment. I’ve failed her.”

He walked away before he lost all composure; his future as Grace’s Guardian would be risked even more if Ms. Dubois saw him in such a state. He had to be the strong one.

Instead he was a wreck, especially after he’d received more bad news this morning. Grace had disappeared for three days and returned in such a fragile state she needed hospitalization. He couldn’t believe it. Grace had sent him texts each of those three days, yet he hadn’t had a clue she’d escaped.

Perhaps her confidence in me has waned. Maybe she ran away from everything and everyone. Even me.

After hearing of her injuries, he imagined Grace suffered from a broken heart too. Not a broken spirit though; she’d battled the authorities from the moment she’d arrived in Paris.

A strong voice brought him back to the hallway. “Mr. Elliott, Ms. Dubois will see you now.”

Genevieve Dubois sat at the far end of the conference table. She appeared to be in her mid-forties, tall in stature, refined. She stood as he approached and motioned to the seat next to hers.

“Mr. Elliott, I’m Genevieve Dubois. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “Jack.” He shook her hand and sat down.

A picture of Grace glared at them from the screen on the wall, seeming to watch them decide her fate.

Genevieve looked around the barren room. “I hope you don’t mind.

I wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Not at all.”

“First of all, I’d like to thank you for taking good care of Grace.”

He squirmed in his chair. “Then why did you take her away from me?”

“It’s our belief Grace is safer at headquarters, where she’ll receive the best care, the best instruction, the best of everything.”

“Not everything. Look, there’s no use trying to hide my thoughts, so I’m going to come right out with it. Grace belongs with me. I’ve known her all my life. She’s a part of me, almost like an alter. And apparently Grace agrees with me. She’s worse off than before.”

“I think you might be a part of the problem.”

He gripped the table. “I’m the solution. Grace needs me.”

“And you?”

“I don’t know why I feel drawn to Grace. I’ve lived my life knowing she’d come to me someday.”

“Perhaps you’re not meant to be Grace’s Guardian.”

Genevieve’s implication echoed something Mom had suggested. He was Grace’s soul mate, not her Guardian.

“Your theory doesn’t matter. Whatever Grace is to me, I will always protect her.”

“What is Grace to you?”

“My job…my life.”

“I admit we’ve failed to win Grace’s confidence.”

“Can you blame her? You uprooted her again. Grace lived with uncertainty, loneliness, and rejection, until now. She’s finally found a family.”

“But she poses a threat, not only to us.”

Jack nodded. “I’m aware she’s a danger to herself.”

“And to you. Your parents are concerned for your well-being too.”

He clutched his chest. “Look at me. Do I look well to you?”

“You’re certainly impassioned.”

“Which means I won’t allow myself to fail.”

“Or die doing so. How will Grace feel if you die because of her?” He faltered.

Genevieve leaned toward him. “Guilty.”

“Like me, Grace is dedicated to making this work. There’s too much to lose.”

“I agree. Let’s discuss Grace’s disappearance.”

“You mean Clare’s escape.”

Genevieve handed him a piece of paper. “Do you recognize the handwriting?”

He read the note, pride filling his every pore.

Took your advice and went sightseeing. Don’t wait up. The girls

“It isn’t Grace’s. It was probably Clare.”

Genevieve half shrugged. “As you know, Clare negotiated the terms of her return.”

Clare had appeared four days after her escape, standing outside the main gate amidst a group of tourists, all waving American flags. And she wasn’t alone. She had channeled a man.

It worked. Several children on a tour pointed at Clare. Their frightened mutterings garnered the attention of their chaperones.

Clare waved her American flag.

Genevieve frowned at the memory. “Clare left me no choice. As soon as I agreed she could come home, she sauntered by me, allowing the man to fade in and out until we reached the lobby.”

Jack shook his head. “Clare can’t control whom she channels.” “Maybe she does now. She appeared to be aware of his presence.

His image faded at will.”

“If so, Clare will tell me. She trusts me.”

“She doesn’t speak to you.”

“She doesn’t speak to anyone. Clare appears only to me. I have her trust. You provoked her into action.”

“I provoked someone. It could have been Phineas. I didn’t get a good look at him.”

Jack shook his head. “We just need more time.”

“I’m afraid we may not have such a luxury. It’s impossible to contain the threat she poses to us.”

Visions of Grace imprisoned flashed before him. Genevieve grimaced while sharing them.

“Please give Grace a chance.”

“I have no choice. Clare escaped under our watch. We failed Grace too.”

“Paris is a big city. Exposure of such a magnitude would be catastrophic. If humans discovered our existence, who knows what would happen to us. My hometown offers little risk, and Clare likes it here.”

“Her homecoming may promote integration.” Genevieve seemed to pose the theory more to herself.

“I’m the motivation,” Jack said.

“I believe you’re right.”

“Then you will let Grace come home?”

“Yes.” Genevieve looked at Grace’s picture. “I’ll let Grace return home after she’s recovered. How does two weeks sound?”

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Thank you.”

“Can I ask one favor?”

“You can.”

“Can I tell Grace? I’d like to be the good guy for a change.”

“You may.”

Genevieve stood. “Jack…”

“Yes?”

“I’ll be watching.”

“I’m sure you won’t be the only one.”

“Good luck.”

“Thank you.”