He grinned, that dimple flashing, and settled comfortably beside me. “Forever?”
“Or at least for this evening.”
He rolled atop me and pressed his mouth to mine. While the sun set, the world paused and for a brief moment there was no such thing as mind reading, there was no such thing as fighting. There was no one, nothing, but Lewis and me.
****
“Where the energy comes from, we don’t know,” my mom explained as the night wind sweeping off the ocean played with her hair. “The universe. God. Buddha. Believe whatever you want, but it’s there… around us.”
The moon was a crescent that hung suspended in the dark sky as my mother and I sat on the beach, a fire crackling between us. Lewis had left, back to the city over an hour ago and since then my mother and I had practiced controlling my energy. I’d broken through Sierra’s wall. I’d tried to break through my mom’s with no success. I’d moved a variety of objects, even the water that rolled toward the shore. I’d kept Sierra from breaking into my mind and had tried to keep my mom out.
I was spent. My head throbbed. The world had taken on a dreamy quality that only a person totally exhausted could understand. As my mom spoke, I barely paid attention, more interested in thinking over the moments I’d had with Lewis. I swore my lips still tingled from his kisses, and his scent clung to my T-shirt.
Mom shifted, drawing her knees to her chest, her gaze on the waves that lapped at the shore. “It’s in everything, everywhere. The trees. The water. The pull from the moon. It’s in every living thing, every human. But in most people, the energy is buried so deep it will never awaken.”
I didn’t say a word as she talked. I’d asked her to explain and now I almost wished I hadn’t. The night was too quiet, the world too still and my body too exhausted for deep concentration.
“It comes through in a few chosen ones and spreads from us like electricity, branching to the others, giving them their powers.” The left corner of her mouth lifted into a crooked grin. “Aaron says we’re like lightning rods.”
At the sound of Aaron’s name, my mood automatically soured. “Lucky us,” I muttered. It was obvious my mom thought highly of the guy, although why, I wasn’t sure. I mean seriously, what had he done that had been so great? As far as I could see, there was no benefit to having the guy around.
“We’re lucky. We’re chosen, as Aaron says.”
I rolled my eyes. Did she have to constantly drop his name? And what was with him being at her house all the time? Didn’t he have his own home? They might as well have been…
It hit me suddenly and the words stumbled from my lips before I could pull them back. “You’re dating!” The words came out like an accusation.
When she didn’t respond, didn’t even look at me, my stomach dropped. “Oh God, you’re in love with him.”
She slid me a glance. There was still no response, but it was there in her eyes. I took in a deep, trembling breath, trying to understand. How? How could she love someone who had hurt me? Who had broken into my mind and stolen my memories? I wasn’t sure if I should be stunned, sickened or angry.
“We’ve known each other for a very long time.”
That was her defense? I released the air I hadn’t even realized I held, and focused on the moon. Focused on the energy flowing around me, pulling at the tide, in the bats that swooped above looking for insects.
It would be pointless to be angry about Aaron now. Besides, I was too tired. Tired of the bombardment of emotions that were constantly hitting me. She was in love with him. He was in love with her. I supposed it was none of my business. It’s not like I was planning on staying in her house, living in the guest room for the rest of my life, was I?
I shook off the uneasy question of my future. “So, Nora and I get our powers from you? And your power was passed down from your mother?”
“Exactly.” She seemed relieved to change the subject. “But because the source has chosen you, you have special abilities. In fact, you’re able to tap into any other person’s energy and use their powers.”
“It’s why Maddox told me to use my father’s powers to break out.”
“Exactly.”
She picked up a stick and stoked the flames. Sparks of light burst into the air, whispering away on the ocean breeze. “At some point my powers will transfer to you completely.”
“When you die?” I said, my voice catching with emotion.
“No.” She dropped the stick and brushed her hands off on her shorts. “If I die before they transfer and imprint on you completely, they die with me. Not all your powers, just the powers from the source. It will be reabsorbed into the universe…somewhere.”
She said the words in an unconcerned manner, as if death held no power over her. “And after I absorb the source completely?”
“Then you will transfer them to one of your children.”
Kids? I had never really thought about having kids. The idea frightened me. What sort of life would my child have? “And if I don’t have any kids?”
“Then the source will either reabsorb into the universe or it will choose another.”
I picked up a pebble and tossed it to the waves. It disappeared into the darkness, the splash barely audible over the roar of the ocean. “So this is why everyone says I’m so special.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t feel special.”
She grinned. “You will.” She waved me around the fire. “Come here.”
I moved around the flames and settled on the cool sand in front of her, the fire warm beside us.
“When you are connected, you will feel amazing. The world will be a place of positive energy and flow. You could be fighting in the midst of a battle, and you’ll feel oddly calm because you’ll know that there is much, much more than this. There’s an entire universe beyond the physical realm. You will no longer fear life, and you’ll certainly no longer fear death.”
I’d felt it already…although just an inkling. Those moments at the compound when I’d felt unbelievably strong. Moments when I’d no longer felt on the earth, but more a part of the universe.
She took my hands in hers. Her fingers were long, delicate, like mine. “Some say our ancient ancestors were aliens, which is why we are so connected to the universe. Others say we’re from fallen angels. Some say we were blessed, some say cursed.”
I’d heard it all before from Father Myron. “What do you think?”
“When you are connected, you realize that there is nothing evil to this. Only men make it dark.” She took in a deep breath. “Close your eyes.”
I did.
“Relax. Feel the pulse of energy.”
Almost immediately my hands warmed as energy branched between us… electricity that spread up my arms, and through my chest. My entire body buzzed with heat. I was no longer there; I was no longer on earth. I floated in nothing but peace.
“Perfect, concentrate,” Mom whispered.
Through the darkness that surrounded me, white pinpoints of light burst to life. I felt nothing but life and energy. Although I no longer felt as if I had a body, I was somehow moving… moving through time…through space.
The darkness suddenly gave way and golden light burst around me; the most brilliant sunshine I’d ever experienced. Warm, comforting, like a warm summer day. I don’t remember having a thought, a worry, as I floated there, not wanting to return. It was pure and utter bliss.
But suddenly my mother’s hands pulled away. A coldness washed over me, the light faded and I was jerked back into my hard body. I opened my eyes with a start. Disappointment sucked away all the happiness.
My mother’s face was bathed in the light from the fire as she watched me intensely, as if judging my reaction. “That is just a small picture of the universe. That is the energy. That is the source. And that is the thing John wants more than anything else.”
Yeah, I had powers, but I knew I was not that power. That power came from the universe. A shiver of unease vibrated the very air around us. It didn’t matter what happened, it didn’t matter what side I picked. They claimed it was a matter of life or death, this fight for the source. But they had no idea that, in reality, their world was a pittance of what was out there. Life would go on no matter what we did. The energy would flow even if we all killed each other, leaving the world empty of humans.
“You did well.” She brushed the hair from my face, then took my hand and helped me to my feet. “Let’s go home.”
I glanced once more up at the sky, the flickering stars and the endless universe. I wasn’t sure what I looked for, perhaps answers, a sign. But receiving none, I turned and followed my mom toward Sierra’s cottage.
Two days had gone by since I’d last seen Lewis, since I’d been at my mother’s home. But it felt like a lifetime. While he had been hiking the tunnels of Savannah with Nora, I’d been forced to train at the beach over and over. I’d been tossed about by Sierra and my mom, pushed to the limit, my head throbbing so I thought it might crack open, and all I could think about was getting back to Lewis.
“Why do I need to be so prepared?” I asked, staring blankly out the dark windows as we drove into Savannah once more. After all she was the source, not me. At least not yet.
Mom flipped on her blinker and we turned down her street. Most of the homes were dark, the people fast asleep. “Because you always have to be prepared. You never know when you might have to fight on your own.”
True. It would be nice not to rely on others, but why did I feel like her answer had another, deeper, darker meaning?
Mom parked the car alongside the curb, and when I noticed the flickering television light coming from the living room windows, I prayed Lewis was awake. I was out of the car before my mom had even turned it off.
My exhaustion vanished at the thought of seeing Lewis. He was the one bright light in the last few days. I bounded up the steps and shoved open the door, only to pull up short, disappointed to see Nora in the living room. She was curled up in a chair, a bowl of chocolate ice cream in her lap.
“Welcome back,” she muttered around a spoonful.
I kicked off my tennis shoes near the couch, attempting to keep the disappointment from my face. “Hey.”
She smiled, but there was something about her expression that left me feeling uneasy. The smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. I could see the flicker of curiosity in her gaze, although she didn’t ask what we’d been up to. I wondered if she could actually be jealous. I’d never thought much about Nora and her feelings, to be honest, and I felt guilty for dwelling on my own issues. After all, she’d been abducted and tortured by our father. She’d saved me, and now she had to sit idly by while I took up Mom’s attention.
“How’s it going?” I asked, tossing my sweatshirt to the couch, leaving behind my t-shirt. I glanced at the stairs wondering how long ago Lewis had gone to bed, and wishing desperately he’d waited up for me.
“You’re still awake, Night Owl?” Mom said, coming in behind me.
I watched with some amusement as she locked the door and set the alarm. We needn’t worry about petty criminals; we’d hear their thoughts coming. And no alarm could keep out the real enemy.
“Yep. Lewis isn’t though. He was tired from our jaunts through the tunnels. I told him he could stay in the guest room since we didn’t know what time you’d be back. Plus, I figured he needed the time to recuperate. He still seems a bit exhausted from his little vacation in prison.”
I wasn’t sure if I should feel disappointed or worried. While I’d had to train, Nora had escorted my boyfriend around the town, doing only God knew what. I should have been grateful that she’d entertained Lewis; instead that jealousy I was so sure she had been feeling suddenly transferred to me.
“Looks like you’ve got the couch,” my mom said quite firmly. In other words, I wasn’t sharing a bed with Lewis again. The urge to argue was overwhelming. I was eighteen, and I’d been on my own for years, really. Yeah, Grandma had been strict about me not discussing or showing my abilities, but as long as I was at home by a certain time she didn’t care much what I did. Wasn’t it a little late for my mom to be playing parent of the year?
“Already have the blankets for her.” Nora nodded toward the stack at the end of the couch.
I threw her a frown, and she grinned back.
“Great. Tomorrow we’ll set up a cot in Nora’s room.”
That made my sister frown and I was suddenly grinning.
“I’m going to bed,” Mom said. “Try not to go on any life-saving missions while I’m sleeping.” She gave us a little wave and headed toward her room located at the back of the house.
I settled on the couch, stretching out and closing my eyes in an attempt to ignore Nora. But I couldn’t rest; instead my thoughts swirled in a whirlwind of confusing emotions. Exhaustion, excitement, eagerness, jealousy and leeriness. I lifted my lids, watching Nora through my lashes. We had never been BFF’s but now the feeling was even more off balance, tilting precariously onto its side. The universe had chosen me over her; I’d become Mom’s little pet project. Even though she’d had a lot of years to deal with the idea of not being the carrier, she hadn’t had years to deal with the idea of me.
“Don’t look at me like that.” She unfolded her legs and stood.
A heated flush rushed to my cheeks. “Like what?”
She moved into the kitchen and I waited, wondering if I should follow. I was so not used to discussing my feelings.
“Like you feel sorry for me,” she said, right before she turned on the water.
I could hear her rinsing out her bowl, and waited for the moment when I could respond. Sorry for her? Not exactly… okay, maybe. I frowned, leaning back against the cushions and pulling a blanket over my legs. I suppose I did feel a little sorry for her. Moments later she stepped back into the room.
“Look.” She leaned against the door jamb, her arms folded over her chest. “Yeah, you’re going to have more power than me. So what? I got to have an actual life. At least for most of my childhood. My ex-boyfriend works for the enemy; your boyfriend was pacing all day waiting for you to come home. You’ll have to save the world, I won’t. I don’t want the pressure, thank you very much.”
I bit my lip to keep from asking more about Lewis and his pacing. This
so
wasn’t the time. “He helped me, you know. Maddox helped me escape and they most likely realized he was involved.”