Free Jacob's Ladder (String of Fate) by Bianca D'Arc Page B

humans.
    It seemed as though he was enjoying the ability to speak freely about what he was with Jake for the first time. It was clear the two men respected each other and had a deep-seated friendship.
    They were almost to the cabin when Jake stopped short. Ria looked at him, touching his arm as she looked into his eyes. Power swirled there, making her gasp. His eyes were fixed straight ahead as he stood stock still in the middle of the companionway.
    Tom looked back, halting as his affable smile disappeared by slow degrees. “What’s wrong with him?”
    “I’m not sure, but I think he’s having a vision.”
    “Sweet Mother of All,” the selkie swore. “A vision? He’s a seer? A mage?”
    “A seer, yes. Not a mage. Not exactly,” she answered absently, worried about Jake as he just stood there. “Or so he says.”
    “I always knew there was powerful magic around him, but I had no idea it was…this.” Tom looked both appalled and kind of reverent. “Let me get Ed. He’ll know what to do.” Tom ran ahead to the junction of the companionway where an intercom was tucked discretely into the wall. Ria heard him connect with the bridge quietly while she held Jake’s hand and watched him, worrying.
    Edvard came up behind them a moment later, but Jake hadn’t moved. He took in the situation quickly and began barking questions.
    “How long has he been like this?” Ed bit out, taking Jake’s other hand and feeling for his pulse.
    Tom looked at his watch. “About a minute and a half.”
    “Damn,” Edvard cursed. “A powerful one, then. But he’s got a lot of personal energy. His pulse is erratic but strong.”
    “What can we do to help him?” Ria asked in a small voice, not willing to disturb her mate. She didn’t know what loud noises would do to his state.
    “You’re doing it,” Edvard replied in a similarly gentle tone. “Protect his body while his mind is in the otherworlds. Be there for him when he comes out of it. Hold his hand. Be ready in case he needs you,” Edvard ticked off his list as he let go of Jake’s wrist and placed his arm down gently at his side. “Just do what you’re doing. It is all we, who do not share his burden, can do. He’ll come out of it on his own, once the vision has had its way with him.”
    “Are you sure?” Ria asked, still scared for her new mate. The cat inside her was clawing to get out, wanting to protect its mate from whatever threatened him.
    “I’ve seen this before, with my sister. So far, she has always come out of this state on her own, but there are dangers.” Edvard was as brutally honest as she expected him to be. She valued that about him.
    “What dangers?” she demanded quietly.
    “There are tales of seers falling into fugue states from which they never awaken,” he said quietly, his voice kept low, but strong. “But Jake is made of stronger stuff than that. I have no doubt he knows how to handle these things. From what I have learned, he has carried this burden since he was very young, just like my sister. When it comes to them young, the power is greater, but so is the control over their abilities. Or so my sister’s teachers always claimed.”
    “I don’t even know if Jake had teachers for his gift or if he learned how to use it all on his own. There aren’t a lot of humans running around with this amount of magic who aren’t full-out mages, and Jake said he didn’t like being around mages. He said they make his skin itch,” she told Edvard, rubbing her thumb over Jake’s knuckles, feeling the warmth of his skin.
    “Sneeze too.” Jake’s voice was weak, but there. When she looked quickly up into his eyes, the power had stopped swirling in their depths. He was back. Mostly.
    “What?” His words made no sense.
    “Mages make me sneeze too,” he clarified, his voice growing stronger as he seemed to regain his grip on the waking world. “Sorry. Was I standing here long?” He shook his head, looking around him as if to assess