Free Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) by Morgan Kelley Page B

committed suicide.”
    “I’m sorry,” Luke said. He was researching everything the man was saying, and everything was checking out.
    He shrugged.
    “My grandmother had the gift. She gave birth to her daughter, my mother, and she died in childbirth. At least she didn’t go crazy. Graymoor has a way of doing that to you.”
    They listened.
    “My mother and father lived here before me. My father loved her so much, and they had their fairytale.”
    “Until?” Avalon asked, getting him to relive it. In order to heal, he had to see his fairytale was still out there.
    He focused on her.
    “She went crazy and killed herself. My father remarried. It didn’t last long. He couldn’t bear to live without my mother. The only reason he tried to find someone else was a bid at political office. He made that crystal clear that it was a marriage of convenience. His new wife was a wicked witch too.”
    “What happened?” Avalon asked.
    “He wanted to be governor of the state. He lost, and he took his life to be with my mother.”
    “And your stepmother?”
    He shrugged. “I was eighteen at the time, and I took over Graymoor. She wasn’t happy when she was escorted off the premises. She really thought that when she married my father, she’d get this place. She was mistaken. She didn’t read the prenup. It’s all mine. This monstrosity is my burden in life. Since I won’t be getting married, or having kids, I’ll donate it to some historical society. Maybe they can contain the curse.”
    “You will get married.”
    He laughed at the mere thought. “At one time, I was engaged. I thought she was the path, but she wasn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to pick a date.”
    Nate looked at Avalon.
    Shit!
    She couldn’t do that either.
    “My heart was never hers. Then when I was finally able to come to grips with it, this happened. The woman who was so interested in marrying me took one look at the monster I’d become, and she bolted. This, this, isn’t an easy thing to deal with.”
    “It wouldn’t bother me,” Avalon offered. “Maybe it bothers you so much that you’re giving off that ‘keep away’ vibe. You should chill. Girls dig pirates, right, Maura?”
    She laughed. “Oddly, yes, yes, we do. If they have a parrot, even better,” she teased.
    Even Luke stared at her.
    He might be joining his partner in losing his mind. It was all fun and games when Avalon was checking out the guy, but when Maura did it, he was going to shit a brick.
    “I think I’ve met people crazier than my ancestors. I didn’t think it was possible, but here we are…”
    “Let’s focus,” growled Nate.
    The man got the hint.
    They let him continue.
    “My mother had the gift. She didn’t use it. She refused. It still took her out. It still drove her mad.”
    “It won’t drive you mad,” Avalon offered. “They didn’t know how to control it. I can help you. Once you can keep it in check, you can keep it separate from your life.”
    “What life? I’ll never have one. This is a curse, and I’m destroyed. I scare children when I leave the manor. I’m a prisoner here.”
    Avalon felt the darkness.
    It was creeping up in him.
    “Close your eyes and focus on your aura. I want you to force it to go from red and orange to cool blue.”
    He did what she said.
    Why?
    He didn’t know.
    Maybe she could help him. What did he have to lose at this point? His sanity and Graymoor were the only two things he had left.
    As soon as he did what she said, the calm came.
    The voices got quieter.
    “It’s like tuning a radio,” she offered. “If you let the crappy stations in, they’ll mess with your mind and you’re stuck singing the same song over and over. You have to find the easy listening music and that quiets the demons.”
    He smiled at her analogy. “Thank you, Avalon. You’re amazing.”
    Yeah, Nate was aware.
    As in she was his amazing…
    “It’s my pleasure. I’m so glad I can help you out. This is what I’ve always wanted to