Morgan pulled into the parking lot of the Daily Grind just before seven that night.
“You think we’ll get a good seat?” Ris asked as she got out of the car.
Morgan shrugged, falling into step beside her friend. “Don’t they have, like, special seating for the girlfriend?”
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
“I think the kiss you landed on him last night tells a different story.”
Ris stopped walking. “Wait—I what? I kissed Corbin last night?”
Morgan stopped too and turned to her. “Yeah. You don’t remember?”
Ris covered her face with her hands. “I thought that was a dream.” She removed her hands and started walking again. “I can’t believe it.”
Morgan put her arm around Ris’s waist. “Look on the bright side. It wasn’t your first kiss with Corbin anyway. You kissed when you went out before.”
“Yeah, in the fifth grade.”
Morgan held open the front door for Ris and followed her in. The band was setting up in the front and Lucas was, as promised, behind the counter. She scanned the rest of the main room, which was more crowded than usual, and saw Lia sitting at a table right in front of the band. When she noticed Morgan, she waved enthusiastically and indicated the empty seats around her.
Morgan pinned a smile to her face and started over to Lia.
“I thought you were kidding about meeting Lia here,” Ris said quietly as they approached.
“Hi!” Lia greeted brightly, looking more genuinely pleased to see Morgan than Morgan ever recalled. “Have a seat.”
Morgan did as she was told. “Hey, Lia. Great seats.”
“I know, right?” Lia glanced up toward the stage area and waved demurely at Corbin, who seemed to have noticed their arrival.
The wave was not lost on Ris who immediately stood up. “I think I’m gonna go say hi,” she said, starting toward the stage.
Lia watched Ris go with mild interest. When Ris greeted Corbin with a deliberate kiss on the cheek, Lia turned her attention back to Morgan. “I was really surprised you called.”
Morgan shrugged. “Lucas made me.”
Lia laughed.
Morgan smiled, deciding not to point out she hadn’t been joking. “I was gonna head up to get something to drink—you want something?”
Lia looked surprised by Morgan’s offer. She turned to the menu board. “Sure. I’ll have—”
“Don’t bother. Lucas’ll just insult your choice and make you something different anyway.” Without waiting for a response, Morgan headed up to the counter.
Lucas greeted her with a smile. “Long time no see.”
“How was the family picnic thing?”
He shrugged. “Lame, as expected. But the food was pretty good, so I can’t complain too much. Ready for your mystery drink?”
“Yes. And one for Lia and one for Ris, too, please.”
Lucas nodded and set to work.
Morgan watched him. “I’m calling my freebie, by the way.”
“What?”
“The free drink you promised me on the night of the fedora. I’m cashing it in. And I think Lia’s drink should be on you because you’re the one who wanted me to invite her.”
Lucas turned his attention from the task at hand momentarily. “Oh, really now. And what about Ris’s drink?”
“Oh, I’ll pay for hers.”
He smiled and turned back to the drinks. One by one he placed three drinks on a tray, indicating which was for whom.
Morgan started rifling through her purse for her wallet but Lucas waved a hand at her.
“On the house.”
“Thanks. Aren’t you gonna tell me what they are?”
He shook his head. “Tell you what—you guess correctly and the next round’s on the house, too.”
Morgan smiled. “Challenge accepted.” She picked up the tray and walked back over to Lia’s table.
Ris had returned and she and Lia seemed to be making polite small talk. Morgan set the tray down and passed out the drinks.
“Don’t ask me what they are; Lucas wouldn’t tell me. But feel free to hazard a guess.”
Lia took a sip of her drink. “Oh, this is really good.” Then she glanced up at Morgan. “How much do I owe you?”
Morgan just shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks,” Lia said.
Ris raised an eyebrow at Morgan, who raised an eyebrow back.
Lia turned her attention back to Ris. “I didn’t realize you and Corbin were a couple.”
Color rose to Ris’s cheeks. “Oh—we’re not. Not officially, or anything. We’ve just been hanging out lately.”
Lia nodded appreciatively before turning her attention toward Morgan. “And you? Any special guy in your life, Morgan?”
“What? No.”
Lia looked like she was going to ask another question, but Dreamers Often Lie took that moment to thank the crowd gathered in the Daily Grind for coming out to see them. Lia turned her attention to the stage.
The music was good and loud enough to hinder conversation. Though Morgan had seen Corbin’s band perform before, given the nature of her discussion she hadn’t really been paying attention. Now she was and she had to admit they did a decent job with their covers. The crowd seemed to agree and a few songs in, a group of people got up and started dancing near the entrance. Ris got up to dance, too, and even managed to persuade Lia to join her. Under the guise of saving their seats, Morgan stayed at the table.
She allowed her gaze to drift between Corbin on stage and Ris and Lia dancing. As another song ended, a thought suddenly surfaced as if from a great depth: Kellen said he would be here.
Immediately, Morgan began scanning the room for him, but it was impossible to see through the bodies of so many people.
Then she realized something: She had something better than eyes for seeking people out. Hadn’t Kellen said she should never be surprised by a person’s presence? That she should always know who was around her?
Knowing she’d look silly closing her eyes in this environment, Morgan kept her eyes open as she pushed out with her mind, trying to locate Kellen’s energy. Almost immediately, she felt Lucas and Corbin. Their energies were so familiar to her, they seemed to jump out above the rest. When she pushed a little further she felt Lia and, more faintly, Ris.
Other energies ebbed and flowed around her—elation, irritation, sadness, affection. But she pushed all the unfamiliar energies away and tried to tune herself to the one she was searching for—the one that was Kellen.
And then, suddenly, she felt him. He was there, in the coffee house—in the back room he’d come from the first time she’d seen him there. Tesin and Wen were with him, along with a dozen or so other people—some common, some Veneret.
Morgan smiled, impressed with herself. Maybe getting better with her abilities wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
Up front, Corbin was speaking into his microphone. “Hope you all enjoyed the first set. We’re gonna take a short break, so don’t go anywhere. We’ve got another set coming up.” With high-fives to the band’s other guitarist and its bass player, Corbin hopped off the makeshift stage and was immediately swarmed by at least a dozen people.
Morgan couldn’t help smiling. Corbin the rock star.
Turning her attention back to the glass in front of her, Morgan pulled on the straw a few times, finishing off the beverage within. She noticed Lia making her way back to the table, so she took the opportunity to go to the counter for a refill.
After waiting in line for a few minutes, Morgan set her glass on the counter triumphantly. “Get ready to make me another free drink, Kenrick.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really. You figured it out, then?”
“It’s a chai. Only you did something sneaky to it.”
“Interesting guess. Can you identify said sneakiness?”
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” Morgan said, pointing at him. “You just said to guess what
it was, not to guess what craziness you did to it.”
“Fair enough.” Lucas smiled. “Another, then?”
“I trust you.”
Lucas took her glass and set to work on her next drink. As Morgan watched him, she allowed her mind to wander, to encounter the different energies buzzing around the room. She wondered if it would be possible to identify each one individually—to count them all.
When Lucas set the drink in front of her, he looked at her quizzically.
“What?” she asked.
“You just seem… more focused than you were earlier.”
“Less fuzzy?”
Lucas grinned. “Definitely less fuzzy.”
“Kellen’s here—did you know that?”
Lucas glanced around the room. “No. I haven’t seen him. Where is he?”
“The back room.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “I haven’t seen him either. But I can feel him. And Tesin and Wen. They’re all back there.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Someone’s getting better at this.”
Morgan nodded. “Got that right.” She glanced over her shoulder and noticed another person in line behind her. “I should let you get back to work.”
“Probably,” Lucas agreed.
When Morgan turned and headed back to her table, she noticed Lia wasn’t the only one occupying it. In her absence, Ris and Corbin had joined her. She smiled as she approached. “Hey, Corbin—good job.”
Corbin looked up as Morgan sat down, appearing slightly surprised by the compliment. “Thanks, Gypsy. It means a lot, coming from you.”
Morgan inclined her head and took a sip of her drink. It was even better than the last one.
“What’d Lucas make for you?” Corbin asked.
“No clue.” She held the glass out to him. “Wanna try?”
Corbin took the glass from her and took a few pulls out of the straw. As he did so, Morgan became aware of the surprise and unease felt by both Lia and Ris. Neither of them were sure how to react to this development. As Corbin handed the glass back to her, Morgan raised her eyebrow at him, wondering if he’d sensed what she had. Corbin’s confused gaze told her he hadn’t.
“That’s good,” Corbin said. “Wow—I could really use some water. I think I’ll go—”
“Oh, no, wait—I’ll get you some,” said Lia, springing to her feet.
Ris eyed her warily but didn’t stop her. Her eyes watched Lia as she sauntered to the lineup at the counter. She seemed to deliberate for a moment before saying, “I’ll be right, back, too.” With an apologetic smile toward Corbin, she got up and wove her way toward what Morgan could only assume was the bathroom.
Morgan took her drink back from Corbin and took a few sips before speaking. “Kellen’s here, you know.”
Like Lucas had, Corbin immediately began scanning the room. “Where?”
“In the back.” She leaned forward, smiling. “I can Feel him.”
Corbin nodded appreciatively. “Well done. Should we go say hi?”
She shrugged. “If you wanna.”
“Why not, right? I’ve got a few minutes.” He stood.
Morgan stood too and cast a glance at their table. “You think it’ll be okay, us leaving the table empty? I think Lia’d be pretty mad if someone else claimed it.”
“Leave your drink. And Lia’s jacket’s on that chair—it looks like someone’s coming back. And if anyone takes the table, we’ll just take it back.”
Morgan nodded and, leaving her drink on the table, followed Corbin through the crowd toward the back hallway. As they passed the counter, Morgan noticed Lia watching them, suspicion evident in the arch of her eyebrows. Morgan just grinned and kept walking.
As she and Corbin passed through the hallway and into the back room, Morgan felt the atmosphere around them changing. Things felt more loose and casual, like they were in a friend’s basement, not a coffee house. There were two couches forming an L in the corner and a small coffee table loaded down with an old television against the nearby wall. Against the only remaining wall were three high-top tables surrounded by stools.
Every seat was occupied and the air buzzed with conversation. As Morgan and Corbin pushed further into the room, some of the conversations halted as people watched them.
Only the Veneret are paying attention to us, Morgan realized.
Kellen, Tesin, and Wen stood from their locations—Kellen and Tesin each on a couch and Wen at a table—and crossed to Morgan and Corbin.
“Music’s sounding good,” Tesin said to Corbin by way of salutation.
“Thanks,” Corbin said. “You can hear it back here?”
Tesin nodded toward the wall and Morgan noticed a speaker hanging in the corner.
They probably have a remote to control the volume, too, Morgan thought. Or—maybe Kellen just controls the volume with his mind.
“I agree,” Kellen said. “Excellent job, Corbin. So good, in fact, I think you deserve a reward.”
Corbin gave an uneasy chuckle. “That’s not really—”
Kellen shook his head. “I insist.” He turned and beckoned for Corbin to follow.
Corbin glanced at Morgan and shrugged. The two of them walked toward the couch—seemingly Kellen’s destination. Kellen motioned for them to sit and they did so, each perching on the edge of the cushion.
Morgan noticed that the eyes of every person in the room were turned to them. Some were still speaking in low tones, but the majority of the noise in the room now came from the main room of the coffee house. Anticipation built, both in Morgan’s own stomach and in the emotion of the room. Morgan could sense it, and it was almost too much to bear.
Kellen nodded at a girl who had been sitting at Wen’s table. Petite and brunette, she hopped down from the high stool and crossed to the couch. Kellen flicked his eyes to the empty seat beside Corbin and the girl sat.
Corbin looked up at Kellen unsurely. Morgan could sense his discomfort. “Kellen, I—”
Kellen cut him off with a shake of his head. “Don’t worry. Just… look at her.”
Corbin looked at the girl. Morgan did, too, wondering what it was Kellen wanted Corbin to see. The girl was pretty, sure, but in a generic sort of way. She wore a little too much eye makeup and her top was, in Morgan’s opinion, a bit too tight.
Then another impression came to Morgan. This girl wasn’t Veneret. She was common. At that moment, she had a vague impression of what was about to happen, but she wasn’t fast enough to prevent it.
Kellen placed his hand on Corbin’s shoulder, and Morgan could feel immediately what Corbin was feeling. The common girl’s energy lay bare before him, and then her energy flowed into him, strengthening him. Morgan could feel the power radiating from him.
And she knew she had to stop it.
Morgan stood and pushed Kellen squarely in the chest, breaking his connection with Corbin. Corbin’s connection with the girl was also severed, and he looked up, slightly bemused, and searched for Morgan’s eyes.
“That was—”
“Completely wrong!” Morgan exclaimed.
Corbin stood, shaking his head slightly. “Morgan—I can’t even describe it.” His green eyes looked brighter than usual. “I didn’t even feel this after the reading you gave me. It’s like… like I can… do anything.”
“But you just stole energy from her!” Morgan motioned to the petite brunette, but she seemed unaware of her surroundings.
Corbin looked at the girl. “She doesn’t seem to mind.”
“I doubt she was asked to volunteer!” Morgan looked around the room. All eyes were still on her, some confused, some incredulous, some seemingly entertained. She turned back to Corbin. “Kellen did this to Ris,” she said. “He’s taken her energy at least twice—and she has no idea!”
“Then it didn’t bother her,” Corbin said. “She didn’t even notice. It’s okay—”
“It’s not okay!” Again, Morgan looked around the room. Wen was the only person who looked back with any symp
athy. She rounded on Kellen, who had rebounded from her shove and made his way back toward the couch. “You can’t keep doing this! You have to stop!”
Kellen chuckled. “And you’re gonna make me, Morgan? I don’t really see that happening.”
“Well, if I can’t, I’ll find someone who can.”
“And who might that be?”
Morgan considered this for a moment. “Orrick,” she said at last. “I’ll tell Orrick what you’re doing and he’ll stop you!”
Kellen grinned at her. “Orrick, huh?” Murmurs traveled through the little room. “Orrick… Okay, then. Why don’t you go tell him right now?”
Whatever reaction Morgan had been expecting, this was not it. “I’ll tell him,” she said cautiously. “I really will.”
“That’s fine,” Kellen said. “In fact—I’ll drive you.”
Morgan opened her mouth to argue, but Kellen grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door. Instinctively, Morgan grabbed Corbin’s hand and pulled him along as well.
The three turned some heads as they walked that way through the main part of the coffee house. They were almost to the door when Corbin pulled himself free.
“Wait—I’ve still got another set to do.”
Morgan glared at him. “Seriously? You think your second set is the most important thing going on right now?”
“Morgan, I really think you’re overreacting,” Corbin began.
“Yeah? Well, I think you’re under-reacting.” She took a step closer to him, looking into his eyes intently. “Corbin, I need you to come with me on this.”
“Are we going or what?” Kellen asked, his hand on the front door.
Corbin glanced up at him. “Yeah—one sec.” He headed off toward the stage where the rest of his band mates were setting up. Morgan watched as the looks on his friends’ faces turned from mutinous to blank to understanding and she realized what was happening: Corbin was Pushing them. The power he’d absorbed from the girl must have given him access to abilities he didn’t normally possess.
Morgan scanned the room. Tesin and Wen had followed them from the back room. Lia and Ris were at the table, watching Corbin and looking confused. Lucas stood behind the counter, an expression of concern clouding his features. She looked right at him and focused all her energy on conveying an impression to him: I’ve got this under control.
Corbin was back at her side. “Taken care of,” he said to Morgan. Then, nodding at Kellen, he said, “Let’s go.”
They walked out of the coffee house, and Kellen led the way to his car. Before Morgan got to the passenger door, she heard the distinct clip-clop of high heels on pavement and looked back to see Lia.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her glance skimming over Corbin, Kellen, Tesin, and Wen before returning to Morgan.
“We’ve gotta take care of something,” Morgan said.
“Wait—something Naturals something?”
Morgan sighed, exasperated. “Kinda.”
Lia crossed her arms over her chest. “Then I think I should go. I mean, I am one of you, right?”
“Yes, but Lia, this doesn’t concern you right now, okay?” Morgan took a step toward her. “Stay with Ris. Please.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I drove her here and she doesn’t have a ride home… and I need her to be with someone I… with someone I trust. And I’m gonna trust you, Lia.”
Lia looked mildly shocked, but also moderately pleased. “Okay,” she said quietly. “But you’ll tell me what happens, right?”
“You’ll know everything you need to know,” Morgan assured her.
With a nod, Lia turned and headed back to the coffee house.
When Morgan turned, she noticed Kellen was watching her, a look of slight annoyance on his face.
“Touching moment over?” he asked. “Good. Get in the car.”
Morgan and Corbin did as they were told. As Kellen put the car in gear, Morgan looked around.
“Tesin and Wen are following us,” Kellen said.
“And where exactly are we going?” Morgan asked, feeling, for the first time that this might not have been the best idea.
Kellen glanced at her as he pulled out onto the road. “To see Orrick.”
seventeen