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Rachel didn't react, even though Bitty had said no such thing the previous day. Dani sighed and said, “I guess I'll come. But I thought she didn't like our family.”

Claire shrugged again in response, then asked, as lightly as possible, “How are Darrell and Tammy? Any change?”

“Dunno. Let's go down and see,” was Dani's response. “I haven't been downstairs yet and it's time for breakfast.”

Reaching for her lipstick, Claire put on a splash of color that she hoped would distract from the dark circles under her eyes.

What the hell was her subconscious doing to her? Why did she care what she looked like right now? And worse, why wasn't she stopping herself?

Closing the door firmly behind her, Claire followed Rachel and Dani downstairs. Before she reached the kitchen she could hear Asylin, sounding nearly frantic. “You have to eat something, Darrell. Please, honey. Just a little scrambled eggs or some toast.”

The boy Claire had rescued was sitting at the far end of the table, surrounded by other family members who watched him with worried expressions. The child's brown eyes were distant, unseeing; his mouth open just a touch and his breath was coming in great gasps like he was struggling for air. His white-knuckled hands clutched the edge of the table for dear life. The scents in the room were similar—ranging from fear to worry, sorrow to joy. But it wasn't the emotion scents that caught her attention most. It was the wave of actual emotion that hit her in the chest. While her empathy wasn't developed yet, she could feel
this
. He was terrified.

“We need to get him back to Marilyn,” John Williams said, his voice showing his anger and frustration.

Denis lowered his eyebrows, his nervous energy filling the room with more tension. “Just let him be. He's freaking out because we're pushing him. He's not even here.”

Surprisingly, Denis was exactly right. Darrell wasn't here. But Claire knew exactly where he was. She'd been there. He was having a waking nightmare, likely of his captivity. She had to try to bring him out before his mind broke. In order to do that, she would have to go to where he was. This wasn't going to be fun.

She pushed aside all of her own drama and found the place in her mind where she could project a wave of calm at the boy. She spoke to him mentally, using the wave of terror to slide into his mind, pressing positive emotions against him, hoping the words behind them would sink in.
Darrell, look at me.
It was both request and command.
You can stop screaming.
That was what the great gasps of air were. He was screaming without sound.
The darkness is gone.

The gasping stopped and his head turned toward hers. Everyone in the room fell silent.

Claire took one of his hands with both of hers, wrapping his dark, chapped skin with her pale smoothness. She petted his hand and his breathing slowed.

Closing her eyes, Claire let her emotions flow through her fingers into his. She'd never tried to project. Mostly she'd received and interpreted. But it was important she try. She felt her breathing slow until she could feel her heartbeat vibrating her lungs. A trickle of magic pushed past barriers that had been erected in Darrell, likely to keep him from talking. Time to deal with that later. Now she needed to pass them, find any tiny break into his mind. “I think I can reach him. Bring him out of this.”

Inhaling deeply, she tasted
his
scent, so close that she couldn't ignore it. Cloves, fresh cut hay, and spiced musk. A flicker of green light burst at the back of her eyes. Alek was in the room. Did she dare draw on him to reach the boy?

She had to. “I'm sorry.” The words were a whisper. If he answered, she didn't hear.
I'm here too.
Amber's voice was distant, miles away.
Go slow. Take what you need.

A hand grabbed her arm, then was taken away. The voice she heard was John's. “Asylin, let her do this. She's a healer. Maybe she can help.”

Another voice. Was it Dani's? “Darrell's calm, Mom. Look. Whatever Claire's doing, I don't think she's hurting him.”

Then the voices faded and she was alone on a dark path. Alek's green flickers were like fireflies, lighting her way enough to take a step, then stop when they went dark between flashes.
Darrell?

Dripping water and the scent of wet clay. The scrape of metal chains on stone brought back memories she had to quickly suppress. She repeated his name, louder.

A tiny whisper, far in the distance.
Who's there?!
The sound increased and came closer.
No noise, no noise, no noise. Quiet, quiet, QUIET!!!
The scream in her mind startled her, made her flinch and drop his hand. Because it wasn't Darrell's voice saying those words—it was the other, the Darkness! Claire pulled back as quickly as she could, coming back to herself in the kitchen in a rush, praying that she hadn't accidentally made a connection that could be traced back to her.

Everyone in the room gasped or let out a startled yip when she yelped and fell backward in her chair.

Alek was instantly at her side, his arm around her shoulder, one hand lifting her chin so he could stare into her eyes with his glowing, starlit ones. “Are you okay?”

She leaned into his touch, blinking repeatedly, trying to get used to the brightness, as though she hadn't seen light in days. That was another memory she didn't want to relive. She nodded, trying to collect herself. “It's in his head. The creature that attacked our car. I found it, but I don't think it knew I was me.”

Dani's face paled to the color of coffee with double cream. “The creature? It's in his head? Oh my god!” She backed up until her shoulders were pressed against the cabinets, fingernails chewing at the wood. The stink of her fear filled the room, soaked into the paint and wallpaper. “Get it out of him!”

Alek turned to her with confidence. “We will. I promise you.”

Darrell had stopped screaming and was sitting quietly. As an experiment, Claire filled a spoon with some scrambled egg and put the spoon in his hand. She guided it to his mouth.
Eat. You're hungry.
She didn't try to enter his mind again, just pressed the spoon to his lips.

He opened his mouth and bit down on the spoon. Like feeding a toddler, once he had the food in his mouth, he remembered to chew and swallow. Claire turned to Asylin. “It's the best I can do for now. We need a real healer to get him back to normal.”

Alek squeezed her shoulder and she looked into those starry eyes once more. “Thank you. It's something. He's not in pain right now.” He'd felt it too, through her.

Claire got out of the chair and Asylin took her place, petting the side of her son's face while she fed him. Tears rolled down her cheeks but Claire couldn't tell whether they were from joy or sorrow. There were too many scents in the room.

Doing his best not to tear up, John cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. “Okay, everyone. Let's let them finish eating. You all have chores to do.”

Once they were out of the kitchen, Claire stopped to catch her breath. Too much, too soon. Alek gathered her into his arms without a word and just held her. She leaned into him, took the comfort for what it was. When he let her go, he didn't say a word, just walked into the living room to talk to his adoptive father.

Denis darted up to Claire, lowered his voice, and glared daggers at her through the hair that shaded his eyes. “Stay away from my brother. You're screwing everything up!”

He slammed a palm against her shoulder so hard it hit the staircase painfully, then stalked to the living room too. Okay, what the hell was that about?

In a few seconds, she knew. “Alek, what the hell did you say to Paula? She spent the whole night in the diner crying. And Fred said you left the letter about Sonya at the post office. Said you never came back to get it. What is
wrong
with you?” He raised a finger in the air sarcastically. “Oh, wait. I know. You're sniffing after that new wolf. Stop it! You're acting like an ass!”

Claire eavesdropped shamelessly, edging forward until she could see into the room without revealing herself. Alek blinked a few times and looked at his brother. “That's right. I need to find someone to translate it. I'll see if I can track someone down.”

Denis's voice rose to nearly a shout. “Sonya's our
sister,
Alek. Our real one! She might be alive, waiting for us to get her. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Alek and John were both visibly stunned by the ferocity of the teenager's outburst. Alek laid a placating hand on his brother's shoulder. “Denis, calm down. It's only been a couple of days since I got the letter. I've already spent hours trying to find someone to translate it. It might take time. It's been ten years. Another day or two won't make a difference.”

Denis slapped Alek's hand away. “Oh, it makes a difference. That bitch has made all the difference in the world.”

“Denis!” John's voice was stern, unyielding. “You'd better shut your mouth right now, before you say something you can't take back.”

The boy let out a sound that was part laugh, part spitting rage. “I don't plan to take it back, but I'll shut up.” He spun on his heel and headed toward the door. Claire just managed to duck behind a pillar so he didn't see her watching.

After he slammed the front door, she heard Alek say with befuddlement in his voice, “What the hell was
that
about?”

John sighed. “He's feeling jealous, Alek. He's always been the center of your world. Now he's not. It's pretty obvious you have feelings for Claire. He's trying to adapt. Give him some time.”

Claire felt Dani move up behind her. “Denis has always been a hothead. He'll get over it.”

She wasn't so sure. The look in his eyes wasn't just jealousy. There was a lot of anger in him. “I really don't want to start a family war, Dani. Maybe I should find somewhere else to live.” Living here might prove too distracting to her goal. She didn't have time to pussyfoot around a petulant teenager.

Dani sighed. “Actually, I was coming out to get you. Darrell won't eat for Mom. As soon as you left the room, he disappeared into himself again. She can't get any reaction. Please, could you help us feed him? He's so thin and weak. We're really worried. Then we can run over to see Bitty and find out what she wants.”

Claire leaned her head back against the staircase. She'd forgotten all about Bitty and Amber. Worse, she still had to go submit herself to the police chief's tender mercies, if he had any. But the look in Dani's eyes won. “Sure. I'll be happy to.”

It didn't take long. He seemed to respond best to the press of emotions, not words or even thoughts. That was for the best, as she was confident the Darkness couldn't sense them. While it was much like spoon-feeding a toddler, once Darrell started to eat, it was obvious he was ravenous. The first scrambled egg led to two and to chopped-up bits of toast and spoonfuls of fruit smoothie.

“This is so wonderful, Claire. I don't know how to thank you!” Asylin hugged her from behind, nearly knocking the last spoonful of strawberry liquid from her hand.

She accepted the hug. “I'm glad I've been able to help. It's rare my empathy gift has any practical use. But if it calms him and keeps the nightmares away, it's worth the effort to connect with him.”

Asylin froze and then asked quietly, “Have you ever tried to connect with a rogue?”

“You mean Tammy? Could I?” She asked the question both out loud and in her mind. Was it possible that empathy was the key to reversing the insanity?
It's never been tried to my knowledge
, came Amber's voice in her mind. She would know.
But I could envision a scenario where it could work. I'd be willing to shield your exit if you're willing to try.

But could she afford to be distracted from the task at hand? She looked up at Dani, to her hopeful eyes, and then she looked at a calm Darrell who could finally blink again. It might be a long road coming home for him, but there was potential.

Amber apparently agreed.
You're not the only empath in the world, and this Tammy I see in your mind isn't the only rogue. If there's any chance this could work, you could help hundreds of others.

“Let's try it.”

This time it was Dani who hugged her. “Thank you! Maybe it won't work, but at least we tried. I can't
not
try. She's my sis.” Claire understood that. She was determined to do her best.

“I'll stay with Darrell,” Rachel offered, sitting down in the seat Claire was exiting. “We came through at different times, so I don't really know Tammy all that well.”

The stairs to the basement were solid metal, driven deep into the surrounding stone. At the bottom of the stairs, Tammy was propped up on a wicker bed painted bright turquoise and purple, surrounded by pillows, her feet tucked under a fluffy throw. Wires drooped from a pair of earbuds that drove a thumping bass into the air. Her head was bobbing and her foot tapping while she read a dog-eared paperback novel. Posters hung behind her head—one of a band Claire didn't recognize and another of a hummingbird, caught in midflight above a morning glory blossom. It looked like a typical teenager's room. Except for the thick steel bars that separated her from them. The bars were as thick around as her wrist and, like the stairs, were driven straight into the bedrock below and surrounded by concrete above.

She looked up when she spotted their movement. She popped the headphones out and spun to set her feet on the ground. “Yay! Visitors. Come to see the freak show?” She was smiling when she said it, but there was an underlying edge in the words.

Dani let out a frustrated huff and put her hands on her hips. “You're not a freak show, Tammy. We're going to try to see if we can fix you.”