Chrysocolla by B. Kristin McMichael Page A

but he didn’t seem to notice or maybe just didn’t care.
    Kye smiled and nodded. He had such faith in me, but I had no clue how to do any of it. Kye held up the stone, which he had spent the night cleaning. It now had a very vibrant blue shine to it and even standing away from it, I could feel the stone pulse with the energy of the goddess. I had had the stone all along.
    “The mom I grew up with could do anything. I know you can too, because it is in you. Some things people are just born with. You were born to be able to do anything. That’s why the goddess chose you. That’s why she never trained you. You have it in you if you just believe that you can do it.”
    My heart beat a little faster. After seeing my mother in the future, I knew exactly what he was talking about. My mother was always born to be my mother. That much couldn’t be changed. Maybe Kye was right. Maybe I was meant to be able to do it.
    “So, what? I just imagine the stone breaking up into tiny little pieces and put it on him?” I asked.
    I loved his confidence in me, but I still wasn’t sure of anything anymore. I looked over at Seth. He had just as much faith in my ability. He smiled at me, and it made me even more determined. He believed in me, too. I had no clue what to do, but I wanted to put the stone in Seth.
    “Um, yeah, just like that,” Kye replied, pulling my attention back to him.
    I turned back to him and couldn’t stop my mouth from dropping open. The place in his hand where the blue chrysocolla stone had been was now replaced by a mass of blue dust swirling.
    “Umm, what am I supposed to do with that?” I asked. I was too shocked to even know how I did it in the first place.
    “Well, put it on Seti, would be the logical thing to do,” Kye said, keeping his hand still. I was guessing that he was worried that I would lose my concentration and the dust would fall. That was very much likely to happen since I had no clue.
    “Where do I put it on him?” I asked, trying not to panic at the powdery cloud that I was somehow controlling.
    Seth took my face in his hands and made me look only at him.
    “Mari, this is easy. You’ve got this.” He was being as reassuring as he could be, but I still had my doubts. “Remember how all I had to do was tell you how to do the log run back at college? You could do exactly what was asked, just by believing in yourself. Believe in yourself now. You can do this.”
    “Where should I put it on him?” I asked Kye and Ty. “If it’s on his skin, most won’t see it, but Logan will.”
    “How about the soles of his feet?” Kye suggested.
    “We walk around barefoot a lot. He might still see it,” Ty nixed Kye’s suggestion.
    I moved to look at the guys as they talked, but Seth kept my face looking at him.
    “In his hair?” Kye suggested.
    “Not a problem when I have hair, but if I were to shave it off, Logan would be able to see it,” Seth answered, staring straight into my eyes while talking to the guys.
    “I don’t know where I can put it without it being seen,” I replied. Really, Egyptian clothing left very little to hide anything.
    “Mari, you’re a natural in this world. You can figure it out,” Seth replied, his thumb stroking my face.
    I kept looking into his eyes. I had to figure out some place to put the stone in him. I had to find some place hidden on him. I had to keep him safe, and Kye was right. Seth was going to be a target when Logan found he couldn’t lure me back. I didn’t want Logan to find out we had the stone already. This had to be a surprise.
    Seth’s deep brown eyes twinkled as if he could read my thoughts. He had complete faith in me. I stared back at him, wondering what he was thinking. His mouth quirked a little into a smile, but I couldn’t take my gaze away from his eyes. The beautiful brown color kept me concentrating on him as I thought of the blue swirling mist of stone. Slowly the edges of his brown eyes became blue. Startled, I moved to