Free Whisper of Memory (Whispering Woods Book 2) by Brinda Berry Page A

weird.”
    “What?” Austin and I said in unison.
    “There’s a million results here on something called the Goliath Lights.” More clicking.
    “What is the light?” Austin asked.
    “They’re famous for it. Apparently there’s even been TV shows filmed about it,” Em muttered, then…more unintelligible mumbles as though she was reading.
    “Can you read out loud, Em? I asked. “The suspense is killing me.”
    “A mysterious light with a legend. There’s something about a murder, a man’s head being cut off, and other theories. A light will appear over some railroad tracks and some say it’s the worker who fell and was decapitated and is looking for his head and…” Em trailed off.
    “And what?” Silence. I fidgeted. “Em, keep going. And what?”
    “Some scientists think it’s due to some quartz crystals. That’s about it,” she said.
    “I think we need to go see what’s in Goliath,” Austin said.

     
     
     
     

Chapter 7

Fight
    T he crunching of dry , fallen leaves alerted us to the arrival of Regulus and Arizona. Grabbing my phone and pressing the button to activate the screen, I realized that the guys had been absent for two hours. I knew from one trip with them into another dimension that it didn’t necessarily mean that they had been there for the same amount of time. Still, waiting was not my strong suit, and I glared at both of them.
    Austin ignored them and continued to stare at the man we had tied to the tree. Earlier, he had played games and texted on his cell phone for entertainment. Guarding a prisoner had turned out to be a very boring gig.
    “You’re back.” I got to my feet, then brushed some leaves and damp debris from the back of my jeans. My mind briefly went to the need for some stain spray at home, and I scolded myself mentally for letting my mind wander. Surely agents didn’t have to worry about laundry care, but neither did most teenagers.
    “Yes, back in a meteorite moment, as they say,” Arizona said with a pleasant smile.
    “Nobody says that.” Austin stood also as he commented in a deadpan tone. “Unless you are from a galaxy far, far away. Wait. That would be you, wouldn’t it?” Placing his phone back in his pocket, he came toward us with his usual swagger. Austin’s confidence coupled with his sense of humor usually drew people to him. It did the opposite in this case.
    “What did you find out?” I asked, wanting to divert the conversation away from the tension brewing. I looked at Regulus.
    “Nothing.” His answer was quick and even.
    I couldn’t help but be suspicious, although the delivery was pretty much the standard from him. Austin nonchalantly hung an arm over my shoulder, a habit he’d developed over the past year. Before Regulus had come along, it had never been an issue.
    “If you would like to keep that limb, I recommend that you make a decision to keep your body off her.” Regulus stepped forward. I thought that his shoes might even be bumping Austin’s.
    Oops. I hadn’t slipped away from Austin fast enough. “Hey, no harm done. He didn’t mean anything by that.” I laid my hand lightly on Regulus’s chest.
    “You don’t seem to be worried about it when you leave her in the woods with me for two hours while you play super-agent man. I can’t even tell that you guys are dating except for the fact that you are always hanging around and needing help with your IIA gig. You have no idea what we’ve been doing together while you were gone.” Austin was taunting Regulus. First he couldn’t get along with Arizona and now Regulus. I was tired of this.
    “She’s mine.” Regulus said in almost a whisper. He pulled me to his side.
    “Um, wait a minute. I don’t belong to anybody. You’re acting like a caveman,” I turned to Austin. “And you. You’re being a jerk.” I tried to disengage myself from Regulus. He held tighter.
    “Maybe I’ve decided that you like jerks. It seems to work for this guy.” Although I didn’t