The Elders (34 page)

I prove how much of an understatement my preamble was by hitting them with factoid number one: the secret existence of Readers and Guides.

Predictably, my suspicious detective mom and her ever-skeptical, scientifically
minded partner look unconvinced. So we give them demonstrations that makes the stuff I did for Bert at the airport look like a cheap magic trick. Mira tells them to think of random facts, and then tells them what those facts are. I talk about information I gleaned from them the two times I Read far into their past, such as their trip to Israel, the funeral of the M&Ms (their nickname for my parents),
and that time Lucy had drinks in a bar with Kyle and my dad. I mention details that only they would know.

To clinch the deal, we ask Hillary to perform a Guiding demonstration. My aunt makes everyone in the cafeteria, including my moms, dance the Macarena. As my moms watch the others dance, their resolve noticeably waivers. In the end, though, I’m confident that the reason they finally look as
if they’ve accepted this incredulous information is because of Liz and Mira’s secret manipulations. Otherwise, this process would’ve likely taken a few weeks of nonstop demonstrations. My moms are just that skeptical by nature; plus, they long ago adopted the illogical attitude of ‘Darren knows stuff he shouldn’t because he’s
that
smart.’

“Okay.” Lucy crosses her arms. “Assuming we believe you,
why do I get the feeling that there’s a lot more to this than telepathy and hypnosis?”

“Reading and Guiding,” I correct her. “And yes, you’re right. There is more. It has to do with my parents.”

I proceed to tell them how the M&Ms—Mark and Margret—were respectively a Reader and a Guide. I tell them a little bit about the animosity between the two groups, and how things are changing. When I talk
about the wars between Readers and Guides, I surprise even my friends when I mention how my Reader great-grandfather killed my Guide great-grandfather. Since it looks as if my moms are taking all this in stride, I move on to trickier information. I tell them how my biological mother used her powers on them, making it so they couldn’t speak about me not being Sara’s biological son for many years.
I include this last tidbit as an extra bonus, since I’m sure they—and Sara especially—harbor guilt over keeping that fact from me for as long as they did. Their eyes widen as I tell them this part of my tale, but at regular intervals, Liz and Mira must do their magic, because Lucy and Sara calm down and accept the information relatively meekly.

“So you can do both? Read minds and make people
do things?” Sara asks. “And your time-stopping delusions were actually for real?” She looks at Liz.

“She probably owes you a big refund,” I say, thinking of all the therapy to cure me of my ‘delusions.’ “Anyway, it’s probably more accurate to say that I
did
Read and Guide—past tense.”

They look surprised, so I do my best to hide my sadness and explain, “The situation has changed. I can’t do
either at the moment, and there’s a chance I’m like you now—well, almost like you, since no one can Read or Guide me in my current state.”

Sara looks at me worriedly, as if she actually understands what I’ve lost. Seeing the pity in her eyes only worsens my ache for the Quiet.

Lucy has been looking troubled throughout all of this. Seems like even Liz’s juju hasn’t been enough to completely sidetrack
Lucy’s analytical brain.

“So,” she says in that ‘about to uncover a secret’ voice. “People get amnesia when someone Guides them to do something that’s too out of their character, right?”

“Hmm, I think I know where you’re going with this, honey,” Sara chimes in. “For some reason, I can’t recall the last couple of days. Did one of you—”

“I’m sorry,” Hillary says. “I made it so the two of you
wouldn’t worry about your situation, which, given that you were kidnapped and all, probably made you forget certain things in the process.”

“We were kidnapped?” Lucy’s more shocked by this than by some of my earlier revelations. Or perhaps Liz dropped the ball and didn’t stop her from worrying.

Sighing, I proceed to tell them the lengthier tale of how the Enlightened, my biological grandparents,
kidnapped the two of them, Mira, and Thomas to use as leverage against me. As I talk, I feel as though either Liz is slipping in her duties or my moms are getting more resistant to her treatment, because the idea of being kidnapped and then forgetting about it seems to be causing them noticeable distress. If I could phase in, I’d have a talk with Liz about it. As is, I just give her a look, and
she surreptitiously gives me an okay sign. Whatever distress they’re feeling, my guess is she’s allowing it on purpose.

Lucy’s face darkens as she says, “Are you done beating around the bush?”

“What do you mean, Mom?” I ask with concern, though again, Liz is nodding as if everything is cool.

“There’s a big secret. Something very disturbing that I was made to forget.” She doesn’t ask this; she
states it as fact. “That’s why I’ve been going to see her.” She points to Liz. “That’s why I have this lost time . . . these gaps in my memory.”

Sara looks worriedly at Lucy, but then suddenly, her face relaxes. Whatever Liz’s strategy is, worrying Sara is not part of it.

“Yes, Mom,” I say, deciding to go with it. “There’s something so big that I don’t know how to tell you.”

“Give me the worst
of it,” Lucy says, staring at me. “And give it to me straight.”

“Kyle made you kill my parents,” I blurt out, wishing someone would Xanax
me
for this part
.
“He used you as his weapon. You shot them, and then he made you forget about it. He also tried to have you kill yourself later.”

My moms look shellshocked, and that’s after whatever Liz did.

As I watch Lucy’s face, I see how quickly her
shock gives way to quiet contemplation.
 

“Of course,” she whispers to herself. “That’s why I couldn’t solve the cursed case.”

She must feel like medieval people did when they learned the Earth isn’t flat.

After murmuring to herself for a few more seconds, she looks at me and says, “As bad as
that
is, I think there’s something worse. Something you still haven’t told me.” She takes in a breath.
“Something deeper. Something that also has to do with Kyle.” She says his name with trepidation.

Hoping Liz has planted the necessary seeds, I gently say, “There is, and as bad as it is, it might not be
all
bad.”

I look at Thomas and feel a treacherous knot in my throat.

“Kyle . . . he—” I swallow. “He forced you to . . . to sleep with him.” I try to control my voice to keep it from cracking.
“You had a child . . .”

She looks horrified, but there’s also a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. Liz prepared her for this, but at the same time, nothing could ever prepare a woman to learn she was raped. Nothing could prepare her to learn she was forced to give up her baby.

I watch her realize how she was wronged, and it pains me to watch the turbulent emotions kaleidoscope across her face.
Finally, tears form in her eyes and spill down her cheeks. Covering her face with her hands, Lucy quietly sobs.

Sara hugs her, her own face showing her incomprehension.

“What—what happened to . . . ” Lucy’s unable to finish her thought as another bout of grief takes hold and wrenches more emotions out of her.

“That’s the happy part,” I say, tears sliding down my face. “It’s Thomas.” I gesture
at my friend, who’s been sitting on her right. Now that I look at him, I see that Thomas’s typically emotionless face is tense and twisted with sorrow.

Lucy turns and stares at him intently.

She keeps on looking for what feels like a dozen heartbeats without saying a word. Is she in shock?

Thomas stares back at her, and then suddenly, they hug.

She’s sobbing loudly, and he’s looking pretty
emotional, especially for Thomas.

They speak softly to each other, and I can only hear pieces of what they’re saying.

“I knew something was special about you the first time we met,” I think I hear her whisper.

“You’re exactly how I always imagined you’d be,” I hear him say.

I feel as if I’m invading their privacy, listening in like this, so I wipe my face with my sleeve and look away.

Liz,
her voice choked-up, says, “Why don’t we take a walk and give them a moment?”

Everyone complies in a dazed manner.

“Sara,” Liz says when we’re far enough away from the mother-son reunion. “Why don’t you take a walk with Hillary and me? We can answer any questions you have.”

“Thank you,” Sara says, her tone zombie-like. I think Liz overdid it with the Xanax therapy.

“Are
you
okay?” Mira asks,
wiping the moisture from her cheeks with her index finger.

“I think so,” I lie, cognizant that Liz is still here. “I’m glad it’s done. I’m glad they know.”

“Darren, isn’t that Eugene over there with your little friend? And there’s a woman with them,” Liz says, her voice once again composed.

I look at where she’s pointing. I see Eugene running toward us, and I do mean
running
. Bert is accompanying
him, and to my huge surprise, Julia—Eugene’s ex-girlfriend and the almost-mother of my child—is with him too.

Hands on her hips, Mira stalks toward her excited sibling. I follow as fast as my hurt ankle will allow.

“Zhenya, what the hell?” Mira’s voice has that irritated quality it sometimes gets when she’s exposed to too many emotions. She points at Julia. “And why bring
her
here?”

Eugene
looks from his sister to Julia, then back at his sister. “Julia has nothing to do with my news. I was just showing her the mobile lab, so she was around when I made this discovery.”

“Tell him already,” Bert says. “Tell him what happened. You know he’s probably dying to know.”

“Yes, sorry,” Eugene says. “Darren, I have good news for you.”

“Just tell him.” Bert looks as if he’s about to start
jumping up and down.

“I can Read him now.” Eugene jerks his thumb at Bert. “Him and Kiki.”

“I tried also,” Julia says, “to make sure.”

Mira looks thoughtful for a second.

“I just Read Bert also.” Narrowing her eyes, she buttons up the top of her shirt and says, “Thank you, Bert. It seems they were indeed showing.”

Bert turns beet red, but I ignore him.

Instead, I do my best to process this
development.

“You’re saying I’ll recover my Depth?” I ask, hardly daring to let myself hope. “That I won’t be Inert forever?”

“Correct,” Eugene says. “My dad’s calculations were off. I was always better with math, and I should’ve triple-checked before worrying you so much.” He smiles sheepishly. “It will take twice as long as your regular Inertness, but you will certainly recover.”

I don’t
even say thank you. Tears blur my vision, and I suppress a sniff. This hospital must be atypically dusty, and all this dust is clearly causing my allergies to act up—again. Bert and Eugene look at me as if I sprouted a second head. They don’t know how allergic I sometimes get, especially when I’m around my crying moms.

I’m so full of happiness that I get this odd feeling, like if I currently
had my powers, I’d jump right into Level 2 from all the emotions running through my system.

I’m overwhelmed with relief—brimming with it. I don’t know whether this state is somehow related to the rollercoaster of emotions I just went through with my moms, or if I really feared losing my powers that much, but in this moment, I feel like a disaster survivor.

I grab Mira and give her a deep kiss,
like the sailor in the famous
V-J Day in Times Square
photograph.

As I kiss her, I finally feel like everything will be all right.

I feel unstoppable elation.

I feel like myself.

~THE END~

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Close Liaisons
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The Sorcery Code
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Close Liaisons.

Excerpt from
The Sorcery Code

Once a respected member of the Sorcerer Council and now an outcast, Blaise has spent the last year of his life working on a special magical object. The goal is to allow anyone to do magic, not just the sorcerer elite. The outcome of his quest is unlike anything he could’ve ever imagined—because, instead of an object, he creates Her.

She is Gala, and she
is anything but inanimate. Born in the Spell Realm, she is beautiful and highly intelligent—and nobody knows what she’s capable of. She will do anything to experience the world . . . even leave the man she is beginning to fall for.

Augusta, a powerful sorceress and Blaise’s former fiancée, sees Blaise’s deed as the ultimate hubris and Gala as an abomination that must be destroyed. In her quest
to save the human race, Augusta will forge new alliances, becoming tangled in a web of intrigue that stretches further than any of them suspect. She may even have to turn to her new lover Barson, a ruthless warrior who might have an agenda of his own . . .

* * *

There was a naked woman on the floor of Blaise’s study.

A beautiful naked woman.

Stunned, Blaise stared at the gorgeous creature
who just appeared out of thin air. She was looking around with a bewildered expression on her face, apparently as shocked to be there as he was to be seeing her. Her wavy blond hair streamed down her back, partially covering a body that appeared to be perfection itself. Blaise tried not to think about that body and to focus on the situation instead.