Sierra had settled near the campfire, and watched me walk toward them. But Mom and Aaron were still arguing, completely oblivious to the fact that I was headed their way.
“I want Lewis back as much as the rest of you, but there is no way we can reach him,” Aaron said harshly.
Was he joking? Since when did he want Lewis back? Since when did he care? Anger quickened my steps. “You want Lewis back?”
They turned toward me.
“He’s there because of you!”
I could feel the pulse of Aaron’s annoyance; it came at me like the waves currently crashing upon the shore. “No, he was safely in Massachusetts where I left him.”
I narrowed my eyes, was he blaming me?
“Stop,” my mom demanded, standing. “Just stop. I’m tired of the lies, tired of keeping secrets, tired of the fighting. No more trying to control each other.”
Aaron pointed toward me. “If she goes to the compound, she will be caught. If she’s caught, she’ll be tortured. Nora barely escaped and she’s better qualified then Cameron.”
“You don’t know how qualified I am.”
“Did she tell you?” he asked, settling his hands on his hips. “Did your sister tell you about the pain she went through?”
“I think I know a little about pain.”
“The pain you felt when I erased your memory is nothing compared to what they will do.”
Despite myself, a shiver raced over my body. I’d tortured prisoners, hadn’t I? Probably even killed one or two while I’d been at the compound, working for my dad. Was this karma coming back to kick me in the butt?
“You think you’re so qualified,” Aaron sneered. “Can you keep me out?”
I barely had time to reinforce my mental wall when I felt him come after me. The force of his mental invasion sent me stumbling back, although he hadn’t physically touched me. For a brief moment everything went black and I fell onto my butt into the cold sand.
I stared unblinkingly up at the dark sky, the voices of my Mother and Sierra a muffled murmur. As I lay there, stunned, I knew I had to regain control and fast. I had to prove to them that I was capable of helping Lewis.
I clawed my way through the darkness, forced myself to feel the strength of my body, the strength of my energy. Gritting my teeth, I jumped to my feet and reinforced my mental wall that had crumbled so easily. The world came roaring back, leaving behind a dull ache in the back of my skull. The firelight danced and blurred before me. My mom was arguing with Aaron, their voices overly harsh. Sierra stood to the side, merely watching.
Aaron, who had hurt me with ease, no reservations. A man who I swore took delight in torturing others and abusing his power. He hadn’t even bothered to glance my way to make sure I was all right. It would be his mistake.
With a mental roar, I threw my energy forward, directed the source right at him. I took perverse satisfaction in watching Aaron cry out and fall to his knees. When he gripped his head in his hands, I only grew more delighted.
“Cameron, stop!” my mom was suddenly in front of me. “You don’t understand your own strength! Now stop!”
When I didn’t immediately cease, she gripped my shoulder and shook me. I pulled back my energy and jerked away from her, my giddiness turning to anger. “Why? He wanted to see what I could do; I showed him.”
Aaron was breathing harshly as he regained his feet. A trickle of blood trailed from the corner of his mouth and glistened in the moonlight. The sight of that blood made me ill. I looked away, realizing what I’d done, the same thing my father had me do to his prisoners. What the hell was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I stop myself?
“I see you’ve learned something new since you left Maine.” He swiped the blood with the back of his hand, smearing it across his pale skin.
Left him? As if I’d had a choice. The anger I thought I could control had returned.
“More than one thing.” I swiped my arm through the air, sending my energy toward the fire pit. A log lifted. I jerked my arm left and the log took off toward Aaron, twirling and spinning through the air like a baton on fire.
Aaron gasped, stumbling out of the way.
The log fell harmlessly to the sand, embers bursting into the air like fireworks.
Aaron’s attention snapped to me. “Anything else you want to share?”
“I
am
ready. As ready as I can be.”
My mom sighed, rubbing her hands over her face. “Do you understand how secure their compound is?”
“I’m touched you care,” I said wryly.
The cool breeze shifted as a dark cloud rolled over the moon. It was as if the weather matched our moods.
“I do care,” Mom insisted.
I dismissed her comment. The weight of her words meant nothing, at least that’s what I told myself. “I was there; I know the lay of the land.”
Mom kicked sand over the fire pit, extinguishing the flames and throwing the beach into darkness. “Whatever you saw was the basics. There’s more. There is no way to get in and out without being seen. Tara can’t help you; you’ll be on your own.” Mom shook her head. “I’m sorry Cameron. We can’t risk it. We can’t lose you again. You’re not going.”
She turned and started for the house, Aaron following. Just like that, they thought they could actually tell me what to do? I was eighteen, for God’s sake. She didn’t have the right to control me, not after she’d abandoned me.
For one long moment, Sierra and I merely stood there, the soft murmur of the ocean waves our only company. As my mom disappeared into the house, so did my anger, leaving me lost and confused.
“Well,” Sierra said softly. “That was quite dramatic.”
I slid a wary glance her way, wondering what her point was.
She started toward the cottage. “I’m off to bed. You better get some sleep, you’ll have a long drive ahead of you tomorrow.”
I stiffened at her comment, watching with some shock as she moved toward the deck. How had she known I was planning to leave with or without my mom’s permission? I shook my head in exasperation and started toward the cottage. It didn’t matter what Sierra knew. What mattered was she was obviously not going to tell Mom.
It was settled; in the morning, I would save Lewis.
****
While the rest of the house slept, I shoved a pair of jeans, an extra T-shirt, and my measly fifty bucks in a backpack. The sun had yet to rise, but the sky had turned from black to gray, indicating dawn would soon make an appearance. I didn’t plan to be here when that sun peeked over the horizon.
“They’ll most likely catch you,” Nora said, her voice unnaturally loud in the quiet morning.
Startled, I glanced toward her bed. She was wide awake, sitting up and watching me. So much for sneaking out. Seriously, was I being punished for some crappy past life where I’d murdered bunnies or something? I wondered how much I’d have to pay to keep her mouth shut.
She drew her knees to her chest and leaned back against the headboard. “And if they catch you, they will torture you.”
How many times would they try that line? The threat hadn’t worked when Mom and Aaron said it, and it wasn’t working now. I pulled the backpack straps over my shoulders. “I can handle the pain.”
She released a wry laugh as she jumped from bed. “Right. So your plan is to stroll in there and rescue the damsel in distress? No problem.” She grabbed her jeans and T-shirt and started dressing.
I frowned, wondering if she was going to tell Mom and the others. “Yep, that’s the plan.” Okay, I was acting completely blasé about the entire situation, but I knew enough to show no fear. Any weakness and they’d pounce.
She flipped on the bedside lamp, adding a soft glow to the dark room. “Aaron thinks I should tell you in detail what they did to me so you’ll drop this asinine plan.”
My face flushed with annoyance. Ignoring her, I turned and started toward the door, but she was too quick and stepped in front of me, blocking my exit. Dressed in jeans and a baby blue T-shirt, she pulled on her tennis shoes as if she had plans to go somewhere. My instincts clamored in warning.
“Here.” She lifted her hair, pulling the strands away from her face. Even in the low lamp light I could see the thin white scar that followed her hairline under her ear and down around the back of her skull.
A shiver of unease raced across my scalp, as if I’d been the one to have the surgery.
“The first thing they did was crack open my skull.” She let her hair fall back into place, hiding the damage. “Dad didn’t know. Although I’m not sure he would’ve stopped them even if he had.”
I felt ill, my knees suddenly weak. Were they doing the same thing to Lewis even now? If she’d thought to talk me out of leaving, she was only doing the opposite. In fact, I should have left days ago.
She grabbed her purse and pulled the strap over her shoulders, letting it fall diagonally across her chest. “They placed some sort of implants in my head, to collect my brain waves. After I healed they used me to break into the thoughts of other mind readers.”
The same thing they’d done to me, except I hadn’t been forced.
She grabbed her own overnight bag and hefted it upon her shoulder. “Mom had a surgeon friend, another mind reader, who extracted the implants once I escaped and returned home.”
She’d had two bouts of brain surgery. Yeah, you could say I felt like a wimp for whining about the things that had happened to me. I shook off my dread, replacing it with a driving need to save Lewis. “I have to go.”
Nora opened the bedroom door. “Then let’s go.”
“Wait a minute. Go where?” I demanded, confused.
“Shhh,” she whispered as she moved into the living room.
With a frustrated sigh, I followed. The house was silent. Mom and Aaron were sleeping in the other guest room. Gross. I prayed they were just sharing the bed as friends. Sierra was somewhere, probably talking to spirits, meditating or something equally as spiritual.
“The pain was unbearable,” Nora whispered, scooping up the car keys Mom had left on the coffee table. They clanked together, the sound so loud it made me cringe; I was sure we’d be caught. I glanced at Mom’s door, but the room remained silent, thank God.
“I lost count of how many times I blacked out,” she continued. “They broke into my mind, shifted through my memories to find answers. It was like a rake clawing over your brain.”
Bile rose in my throat. I didn’t want to know any of this, yet I couldn’t help but ask, “And Dad knew about the breakins?”
She released a soft chuckle. “He planned them.”
I wasn’t sure if I could believe her. Yeah, Dad had his issues, but torturing his own daughter? I wondered if there was more to the story, and I wasn’t sure who to believe. She started to the front door and I followed, wondering where the heck she was going.
“How’d you escape?” I whispered.
A dark look hooded her gaze. A weary look, as if she’d seen too much in life, experienced too much. “I had help. There was no way I could have escaped without help.” She paused, her hand on the doorknob. “You won’t have any. If you go, you’ll be totally alone.”
I gave a quick nod. “I understand, but you haven’t talked me out of anything.”
“I know.” She opened the door, a breeze of early morning air sweeping inside. “My point wasn’t to talk you out of going, it was to tell you that if you love Lewis, truly love him, you have to save him. Injured, he won’t last long. He certainly won’t last if they do to him what they did to me. We need to leave now.”
My mouth dropped open as she moved onto the front stoop.
“Wait,
we
?” I started after her, but came up short when she stopped.
“Sierra,” she said in an overly cheerful voice. It was obvious she wasn’t expecting the old woman. “Good morning.”
Oh hell, Sierra? I inched around Nora. Sure enough Sierra was seated on the front stoop looking fully awake and cheerful, a cup of tea in hand and two brown lunch bags at her side.
“Lovely day, isn’t it?” She clutched the bags and lifted them toward us. “Breakfast. I didn’t want you to leave hungry.”
I slid Nora a glance. She hesitated, then took the bags, the paper crinkling in her hand. “Thanks.”
Sierra had known all along I was going to leave, but why hadn’t she warned my mom? Did she actually want us to save Lewis and the others?
“Go on then, before your mother senses your energy.” She turned and made her way toward the boardwalk and around the house.
“Weird,” I whispered.
“Totally.” Nora shook her head as if shaking off the experience, and headed toward Mom’s car. “Get in.”
I hesitated for the briefest of moments. The plan wasn’t to take anyone along. But I could admit I needed the help, even if it was just a ride to North Carolina.
She pulled open the driver’s side door, tossed the bags inside, and glanced expectantly at me. “Come on.”
Hey, if she wanted to offer help, who was I to deny her? Shrugging off my backpack, I pulled open the passenger side door and settled on the leather seat. When she started the car and we drove away from the cottage, I could finally breathe with some normalcy. We’d escaped the house. Next on the list… break into the compound. As we headed away from the island and back toward Savannah, I opened Sierra’s breakfast bags.
“I’m guessing they aren’t pop tarts and cinnamon rolls?” Nora said sarcastically.
I held up an apple and what looked to be a bran muffin.
Nora shook her head. “Least she could do is give us junk food for what could be our last meal.”
I ignored her comment. “One thing,” I said. “You can come along, but you’re not going into the compound with me.”
She shot me a curious glance, as if trying to read my thoughts. Instead of arguing, she just nodded her agreement. I had enough guilt on my conscience; I didn’t want to see her tortured again.
“So what’s your plan?” she asked, rolling down the windows and letting the crisp morning air burst into the car, a whirlwind that had papers scattering and our hair billowing. The sun peeked over the horizon; a brilliant half-circle of orange and pink that sent light tiptoeing across the landscape.
I took in a deep, cleansing breath and gazed out over the marshland, watching a white egret move slowly through the water. The bird reminded me of Sierra. “No idea.”