Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(22)

Unable to sleep, he got up again, walked to his laptop, and started typing in the name Humbug. Of course Google came up with definitions that had nothing to do with an owl. That was when he headed down the path of unnatural bonds with animals. Quickly he had to change unnatural to incredible bonds with animals.

As he read through the stories, there were all kinds of mentions of men and their dogs, women and their cats, even falcons. And he wondered, was she in a falcon club? He quickly checked the local clubs. Some had members listed on the pages; others didn’t. There was one in Colorado. He checked his watch and realized it was too early to make a phone call. On a notepad, he wrote down the names and phone numbers. He still hadn’t had any luck searching for the name she’d given him.

But there could be many ways to spell her name. Without a last name, it was damn near impossible to narrow down the search. He continued to delve into the mythological world until the sun rose. Then he got up and set the pot of soup to reheat for her and put on a pot of coffee for him.

As soon as both were ready, he went to the bedroom to see her lying there, staring at him. He let out his breath gently. “Well, you scared me once again last night.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “Why?”

“You screamed out of the blue. We’d just been talking. I turned to get some soup started, and you cried out in terror and passed out.” He shook his head. “Are you sure there is nothing more you can tell me about who you are, where you’re from, about your family?”

Her gaze widened. “My name is Issa.”

He nodded. “You said that before. How do you spell that?”

“I-S-S-A,” she whispered.

“I tried that version of the spelling but couldn’t find anyone with that name.”

“Why did you look?”

“To see if there were any missing person bulletins. Are you in a falcon club?”

She blinked and then smiled. “I belong to one, I believe.” She turned her head slightly, her gaze staring off into the distance. “I have friends there.”

“And you have a last name?”

“I must have, but I can’t remember it.”

He nodded agreeably. “You ready for a cup of coffee?”

Her gaze widened in delight. “Absolutely. Is there any chance of that soup?”

“I’m heating it up again.” He turned and walked back into the kitchen. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with both.”

*

Stefan picked up the phone. “Tabitha, have you ever connected with an owl?”

“I’ve never tried to, and I don’t recall any ever connecting with me,” she said slowly. “Why?”

“I drew a picture of a bird, a big snowy owl called Humbug.”

She gave a startled laugh. “I love the name.”

“Humbug has been separated from someone he cares about.”

“What? Oh, poor guy,” she said. “Are you thinking a human partner?”

“I can’t see any other reason for me to have picked up on Humbug’s distress. Because, if I start connecting with every distressed animal, you know I’ll never get any rest,” he said with a note of humor in his voice. “Animals are injured and separated from family all over the world all the time. Almost as often as humans.”

“So we have to assume he’s important to somebody and that somebody is either important to you or you’re important to them.” Then she added with spirit, “Any idea who the owl is connected with?”

“No, I don’t know. But, for several weeks now, I’ve had some very strange visions connected with Humbug, and I’ve heard a woman’s cries of distress, but I haven’t been able to find her.” His voice was filled with great regret as he added, “And I don’t know why.”

“Meaning you can hear her cry out, but you can’t speak to her?”

“Yes. It seems to be that way. But often I can track someone’s energy regardless. I’m not even seeing her energy. It’s like I’m up in the sky floating, and I can hear her cries, but I can’t find her.”

“A disconnection?”

“Possibly. I don’t really know what it is or how to explain it. Then the visions stopped, and I was afraid she’d died.”

Tabitha gasped. “That would make sense, sadly enough, and it could also be why Humbug is distressed.” Tabitha paused.

Stefan could see her smiling when she said the bird’s name.

“He’s looking but can’t find her,” Tabitha said.

“That’s a lot of assumptions. I’m not even sure about my visions because they weren’t normal. In the past I’ve always been able to track something down somewhere in one way or another.”

“Sure, we’re making assumptions. But we make those every day in this type of work.” Her tone turned brisk as she asked, “Maybe I can track him down myself?”

He told her the little bit he knew. “Now almost nightly I wake up, and I’m floating on a bed of clouds. It’s full of sunshine and blue sky. Within seconds it turns to a midnight sky.”

“That certainly fits with an owl because they’re night hunters. So are many other animals and birds. Let’s hope we’re sticking to birds,” she said. “If we start into the whole animal kingdom, it’ll get even more complicated.”