Breaking Normal (Dream Weaver #3) (22 page)

              Turning from Sabre’s gloomy face, I grazed my fingers across Nick’s brow. They only trembled a little.
A kiss for Prince Charming.
But I couldn’t bring myself to lean forward into his face and press my lips to his. The images of his wrath were still too fresh. I stretched myself out beside him, and felt Sabre’s eyes still on me. I drew a bracing breath. “You can go now,” I told him, and before the ‘now’ was out of my mouth, he was gone.

             
I trailed still-jittering fingertips down Nick’s cheek, and thumbed the dark circles under his eyes that seemed to be growing darker with each passing day. Many shadows, many worries plagued this beautiful man that lay by my side. So many times he’d sheltered me from the storms, mended my sails and set me adrift once again. I stroked his face and gifted what little peace I’d attained into his brain. The violent virus implanted in his memories converged and attacked my offering. Their darkness all but overwhelmed my precarious calm, but I rallied my courage and pushed back. Minutes or hours passed as I warred with the chimera in his mind.

             
Are you a man? Or a mouse?
Timothy Q. Mouse from the Disney movie,
Dumbo
spoke into my thoughts, and I knew I was growing giddy and fatigued. Yet, I pressed on. Bit by grudging bit, the dark damaged places in Nick’s mind sparked back to life. By the time Nick’s eyes rested peacefully under his lids, I was spent.

             
Eddy hopped on the bed and burrowed a nest between our bodies and laid down. I smiled and tugged his velveteen ears, closed my eyes and fell into an exhausted sleep.

*          *          *

              “Emi?” Nick’s voice was soft and desperate. I nuzzled against his chest, until the visions of the night before assailed me again. I scrabbled to the foot of the bed and hugged my knees to my chest. Nick’s hands raised, placating me. “It’s okay, Sweets. I won’t hurt you.” He scanned my face. “Emi…I’m so…”

             
“Stop! Don’t you dare apologize for that,” I barked. But grief still twisted his brow, and desperation pinched the corners of his eyes. “I’m done,” I said with a note of finality. Panic convulsed in his breast. “I want Thomas gone. Dead. If that’s the only way to get some peace around here. I don’t care what it takes. I just want him gone.”

             
“That’s what we’ve been trying to do for ages, Em. He’s just grown so powerful, with all the gifts he’s stolen, that we can’t really get a handle on him. We can damage him. We just haven’t been able to end him for good.”

             
I rose from the bed and walked toward the door. With my hand on the door knob, I said, “Well, this time, he’s going down. For good.” I thought I caught a proud smile on his lips as I marched from the room.

Chapter 29  Dirty Work

              With hardened determination, I put myself through my paces every day for hours on end, between testing sessions on my computer for graduation. When I wasn’t beating the hell out of the heavy bag, I was honing the Caphar abilities that filtered to the surface one by one. None of us really understood why I, in particular, had more than a single gift, like most Caphar. But I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth if it meant I could rid the world of a plague like Thomas.

             
“Why does he hit and run like that?” I asked between punches.

             
Sabre ignored the question like he was too involved in his project, or too exasperated with my incessant questions to answer, but Nick responded. “We don’t really understand why he does what he does. It doesn’t really matter though. He always comes back, healed and whole. Ready to tear us up again.”

             
“Each time he comes back, does he have some new trick to use on you?” I asked.

             
“It seems so.”

             
“Then he’s out conquering other Caphar to usurp their powers, so he can come back and use them on you.”
Usurp. Isn’t that an SAT vocab word?
Nick shrugged and I bristled. How could they have such an apathetic attitude about all of this? “Well, like I said, I’m done. This ends now. I will not be made to live in fear the rest of this damned eternal life.” My phone rang in my pocket. I stuffed my bloodied, tape-wrapped hand in and retrieved my phone. It was Molly. Blood smeared across the gorilla glass as I thumbed the answer button.

             
“Hey! Guess what! We got the dog back. The perp was exactly how you described him.”

             
“That’s great! Was he okay? The guy didn’t hurt him any, did he?”

             
“No. Hadn’t fed him anything for three days, but he’s no worse for wear. Anyway, I was wondering…well, the Chief was wondering…we have a case we’re having some difficulty with. Could you come into town and meet with him? See if you can pick up anything off the evidence?”

             
I chuckled. “So, the boss man actually believes?”

             
“He’s still skeptical. But finding the dog went a long way to getting him to believe. Can you come?”

             
“Well—I suppose,” I teased, like it was some big hardship for me.

             
“You’re awesome, Emari.”

             
“Not as awesome as Ivy,” I taunted.

             
The cop giggled—a momentary slip out of cop mode. “I’ll be by to get you in an hour.”

             
“Works for me.” I was still grinning when I hung up and stuffed the phone back in my hip pocket.

             
“Are you out of your freaking mind?!” raged Sabre.

             
“Again, says the man straddling the darkness.”

              “Listen, little girl!” he fumed and shook a threatening finger in my face. “First, you savaged Nick’s mind. Then, you’re contemplating the nightmares you can induce. And now, you’re revealing our kind to humans. I think you’re nearly as crazy as me.”

             
Nick cringed, but didn’t intercede. Maybe he and I were thinking the same thing: that Sabre James had already stepped over the line.

             
“I’m going to go get shower and feed the little man. Molly will be at the cottage to get me in an hour. I’ll be back later to work out some more,” I said as I toweled the sweat from my face. Before either of them could argue, I faded from the shop.

*          *          *

              The Spokane Police Chief sat by my side. A suspect sat across the grey metal table in a stark interrogation room with a one-way mirror. Stern and fierce, Chief Houser put the screws to the guy, who visibly trembled in his seat. The suspect wore a ratty T-shirt and holey jeans, his hair in a spikey mess, but not sexy messy.

             
I pushed my chair away from the table and stood. “Perhaps, Chief, when you’re done playing games with me you can let me know.” I strode to the door.

             
“Miss Sweet. Wait. I apologize. I just had to know for sure. Officer,” he said to the ‘suspect’, “thank you for your time. You’re dismissed.”

             
With that, the undercover cop rose, gave the Chief a curt nod and left the room.

             
“Are you quite done fucking with me now?” I growled.

             
“You have to understand how this would look to my superiors, using a psychic. I had to know beyond a shadow of doubt that you can do what you claim.”

             
My eyes narrowed at him. “Fine. I can understand that. Now, do you actually have a suspect you want me to read? Or was this all just another test and you just wasted my f-freaking time?” I’d had enough of final exams for graduation to last a lifetime.

             
“Yes, ma’am, we do have a suspect that we’d like you to sit in on the interrogation.”

             
‘Ma’am?’ I’m not old enough to be a ma’am. My mother was a ma’am.
“Fine.” I was growing to resent this man by the minute.

             
Houser tugged his suit jacket straight and adjusted his tie. “Okay. So this guy doesn’t have a single tell. Not a blink, or twitch. No picking at his nails. Nothing. We were hoping you could read him better.”

             
My brow knit. “You keep saying ‘we’. How many people have you told about me? It was one of my stipulations: no one else knows.”
Hey! Another SAT vocabulary word.
I smirked at myself in the mirrored glass.

             
“Only Officer Elliot, myself and the Commissioner. I’ve tried to honor your request, Miss Sweet.” I realized I hadn’t offered him use of my first name. That wasn’t an offer I extended to hostiles.

             
I nodded and Houser waved in the officer who stood outside the door. He lead a man, who looked less like a criminal than their sham suspect, into the room. Man, I had a lot to learn about not judging people by their outsides. The man flopped down in the chair opposite me, slouched and spread his knees wide. He lifted his chin and puckered his lips at me. I fought to keep any response from my face—and to keep from diving over the table and showing him just how well-trained I’d become.

             
Chief Houser began his questioning, and he was right. This guy didn’t have a single tell when he was lying or nervous. But I didn’t need a twitch or blink to alert me of deception. The Chief grew more and more angry at the smug suspect seated across from us, so I weaved some tranquility into his thoughts and nudged him to take a different tack and ask different questions. I was sure manipulating him wasn’t what he’d signed on for, but his hostility was only agitating the perp.

             
“We’ve got the murder weapon, Mr. Standish. It’s only a matter of time until we link it to you,” Houser said as he slammed his palm down on the table.

             
Standish smirked. “If you had anything, I’d be under arrest.” He looked at his watch. “And I’d say you’ve only got four more hours before you have to release me.”

             
The glint of light off the watch crystal flared with hazy, bloody images. I pressed the thought into the Houser’s mind to take the watch before he dismissed the suspect from the room. Standish snorted as he clunked it on the table and Houser escorted him out to waiting officers. I scooped up the time piece and pressed it between my palms. Minuscule traces of blood ringed the face and flashes of violence and brutality accosted me.

             
“Miss Sweet? Are you all right?”

             
I seemed to be hearing that a lot lately. I wrenched my mind from the savage images and focused on Chief Houser.

             
“Uh, yeah.” But I wasn’t quite back to the present. “What did you need from me?”

             
“Something to tie
that
asshole to
this
murder weapon,” he said as he thunked a butterfly knife in a plastic evidence bag down on the table. Blood stained the knife blade and smeared the insides of the bag. “Please tell me you don’t need to physically touch the evidence to do your thing.”

             
I scowled at him. “‘My thing?’ Seriously?”

             
Houser back-pedaled. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just…I’m not sure what to call it.”

             
“It’s a gift, Chief. And yes, I can read the knife without opening the evidence bag.” I dragged the knife over the table top, closer so I could render the memories imprinted in blood. And I didn’t have to wait long for images to accost me, like the blood of the victim screaming for vengeance. “Try Diamond Pawn out in the Valley. They should have records of who they sold this to.” A strangled death-moan seeped under my skin. “And have your lab guys test for two types of blood. There’s a piece of Standish on this thing, not just the victim. It’s co-mingled, but I think there’s enough that they can separate his DNA from hers. And have them swab the watch too. Around the crystal.”

             
Chief Houser nodded and scooped up the evidence bag. “Thank you, Miss Sweet. We’ll check into all of that.”

             
“You’re welcome. Can I go home now?”

             
“Absolutely.” He waved Molly in from the hall. “Officer Elliot will take you home.”

             
“Great. Thanks.”

             
“Thank you for all your help, Miss Sweet. But next time—stay the hell out of my head.”

             
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You noticed that, huh?”

             
“Damn straight! And it won’t happen again. Right?”

             
I smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Sure thing.”
Unless you’re being an ass again.

             
Molly took my arm and guided me through the maze of hallways and desks, and out to the cruiser, gleaming in the sunlight. “What was that all about?” she asked, once we were alone.

             
I chuckled quietly. “Apparently, Chief Houser is especially sensitive to people rummaging around in his head.”

             
“What?”

             
“Just comes with the territory.”

             
We both slid into the car and buckled up in silence. “So have you been in my head?” she asked after we’d been on the road for a few minutes.

             
I placed a hand on her arm. “Of course not. I have better manners than that. Just like you wouldn’t butt into someone else’s private discussion, I wouldn’t butt into your private thoughts. Unless absolutely necessary.”

             
“Promise?” she pleaded and I almost thought she was going to make me pinky swear.

             
“I promise. Relax. I don’t believe in voyeurism.”

             
Her shoulders relaxed a little. But only a little.

             
The remainder of the trip was shared in randomly broken silence. I wondered if she was hiding something about my girl from me. If maybe she was seeing someone else, or she wasn’t who she claimed to be. Twenty minutes later, she dropped me off at the driveway of my cottage. I waved goodbye from the porch as her tires popped over the gravel.

             
Inside, I slouched down in front of my computer desk and stared at the screen. Graduation was two days away and I was too chicken to check my test scores to see if I had passed. The computer screen glared back at me, silent and still, blank as a starless sky. With a reluctant sigh, I booted the machine and opened my email. A letter from the home-school administration topped the short list. ‘Test Scores’ was in the subject line. Not ‘Congratulations! You passed!’ or ‘Guess what? You get to walk the graduation ceremony with your class!’ I supposed that would be too much to ask. I sucked in a breath and held it, and clicked the email open:

Dear Miss Sweet,

We are pleased to inform you that you received passing scores on your required testing for graduation. Additionally, we have forwarded your scores to the high school of your choice,
Shadle Park in Spokane, Washington, with your request to be included in their commencement this Saturday.

We would like to also advise you, that your scores were well-above the average for home-school students and will gladly forward your transcript to any school of your choosing. Scores of this significance will open many doors to universities that might otherwise be closed to you.