I lay in my bed, watching the hands go by on my clock, hoping Gram will have everyone filled in on last night’s painful drama before I make it downstairs. I just don’t know if I have it in me to go through the whole thing all over again.
There’s no avoiding the questions, so I take a shower, slap on a little make-up, and throw on sweats, a tank, and my favorite baseball hat. Good enough.
As I walk downstairs, I hear the sound of raised voices a few rooms away. I hope they’re not upset with me, but my gut tells me it’s because of Hunter. I’d be pissed, too, if I were them.
I head in the kitchen just as Gram says, “It’s the right thing to do.”
I wonder what that’s about? “Sounds like I picked the wrong time to come down,” I say with a nervous giggle.
“Actually, Chloe, you picked the perfect time. We need your opinion on something.” Gram gets up from her stool to stand in front of me.
They need my opinion? “Oh . . . okay. Well, what is it?”
Gram turns towards the glum faces in the group. “I told everyone about your vision from last night, But Morgan thinks we should tell the Russo’s about the fire. Unfortunately, your brother and sister, as well as the boys, don’t think we should be so considerate.”
Seriously? “Why on earth wouldn’t you want them to know they’re in danger?” I look around the room at my shocking family members.
“I’m a firm believer in karma,” Aidan replies. “It’s because of Mr. Russo that we never knew our father.”
“Exactly. And it’s because of Mr. Russo that our mother had a broken heart for twenty-one years, so he deserves whatever comes his way,” Ash throws in, very matter of fact.
I can’t believe their reaction. It’s so out of character for them. “Is that really how you feel, or are you just trying to be a tough-ass? I realize what he’s done, but no matter what, he is still your grandfather.”
Everyone looks at me with a stunned, blank expression. “Who is this crazy girl standing before us, and what have you done with our Chloe?” Pap says.
“Seriously, Chloe. Where is that coming from?” Ash asks with a touch of attitude in his voice.
“Well, perhaps it’s because I understand how he feels. I’m not sure how much Gram told you, but this vision was different. I was seeing and feeling everything through Mr. Russo, instead of through myself. The man was in so much pain. He came over here that night to apologize for what he’d done. And he wanted to meet you two.
“But when he showed up at the worst possible time and saw the unbelievable things he did, he was scared out of his mind. He about had a heart attack. He fears what he saw . . . because he doesn’t know any better. So maybe we should tell him what he’s about to do. Maybe we need to make him realize we’re not evil and we do ‘good’ with our magic.” My words surprise even me, but deep down, I know it’s right.
The four non-believers look at each other. Dru and Dhelia shrug, nodding like they understand where I’m coming from. I’m not so sure about the boys, though.
No one breathes a word. I hate it when that happens.
Ash and Aidan look at each other as if they’re having a conversation in their minds; a secret language no one else is privy to.
After a few minutes of silence, Aidan says, “Look, we know you all think it’s the right thing to do, but we don’t have to agree with you. You can do what you want, but we’d rather not be a part of it. Considering everything that man has done to our mother, and to our father, we consider this ‘karmic retribution’. Whatever happens to him is of his own making. Not ours.”
This unexpected negative attitude baffles me. Normally, they possess more compassion and objectivity than anyone I’ve ever known. Somehow, I don’t think we’ll sway them this time.
Aunt Morgan stands, walking towards her boys. As she lays her hands on their shoulders, she says, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. No one is forcing you. Just try to understand I need to warn Michael. Chloe’s vision wasn’t clear on the fire, so we don’t have any idea who else might be there, or where it will be for that matter. If there’s even the possibility someone could get hurt by this—when we could have done something to prevent it—I would never forgive myself. It’s just not who we are. It’s not who you are either, no matter how just you might feel right now.”
Both Ash and Aidan hang their heads as she rubs their backs.
Dru gets up from his chair. “So, Chloe. Should I say ‘I told you so’, now, or later?”
Taken off guard by his comment, I can’t help but reply, “Huh?”
He struts around the room until he’s by my side. “Did I, or did I not tell you Hunter was hiding something?”
The second our eyes meet, I know he’s not upset. Something in his demeanor almost seems relieved, if that’s even possible. The smirk on his face seems like he even finds humor in the whole thing. Though I can’t imagine why.
I shake my head. “I guess I should have known you’d find a way to point out how right you were.” The sting from this truth goes right through my heart.
“Oh, Sis, come on. You knew I’d have to pick on you a little bit.” He wraps an arm around me, pulling me close to his side. “Look, as bad as this seems, it isn’t that bad. Didn’t you tell Gram he defended us to Mr. Russo? And didn’t you also say he was closing the case?”
“Well, yeah . . . that’s what I saw.”
“He was doing his job. It must have been hell for him considering his feelings for you from the get-go. He couldn’t tell you the truth about who he was, any more than you could have. I sure wouldn’t have wanted to be in his shoes.”
I can’t believe Dru is the one defending him. The one person who never trusted Hunter. Wow. “You’re defending him? Seriously?”
“Look. If I thought for a second he was pretending to like you, just so he could get close to the family, I’d be the first one in line to rip his throat out. The fact of the matter is, I know how he feels about you—and I know how he feels about the family. I guarantee his feelings kept him from looking for dirt on us. Regardless of how much he may or may not know, at the end of the day, he knows we’re good people who aren’t here to hurt anyone.” Dru crosses his arms over his chest, pursing his lips.
“I don’t disagree with what you’re saying . . . I’m just shocked you’re the one defending him. The irony is killing me.” I jab him in the ribs as we laugh.
The doorbell rings and I jump.
“Oh yeah, Hunter’s on his way over, dear.” Gram winks, walking to the living room to answer the door.
My stomach twists into knots. “Ah, okay,” I mumble, even though I know she can’t hear me.
Is that him, already? My heart races as I hear his voice in the living room.
Sitting down might be smart about now—before my knees give out from under me.
As they walk in the kitchen, my stomach flip-flops. I’m not sure if I have the strength to look at him yet. How can I be prepared to see him so soon? I’m not. I’m not prepared.
Give me strength!
Hunter drags his feet, moving to the open stool beside me. “Morning, Chloe. Did you sleep okay?”
The absence of confidence in his voice bothers me more than I’ll ever admit, but I’ll be damned if I’m letting him off the hook so easily. No matter what my family chooses to do.
Breathe Chloe—you can do this. “How do you think I slept, Agent Payne?” I glare at him for a few brief, but painful seconds.
“Whoa. Looks like I’m rubbing off on my big sister.” Dhelia chuckles as Dru smacks her arm. “Ouch!” She swats him back.
Gram puts her hand on my shoulder. “You two can work out your issues later, dear. Right now, there are things the family needs to know.” Gram’s serious tone forces me to put my personal feelings aside for the time being. I bite my tongue, nodding in compliance.
She clears her throat, sitting down in the seat opposite Hunter. “The reason we asked you here today is first and foremost, to thank yo
u. We understand you were only doing your job, but your personal feelings must have undoubtedly gotten in the way.”
She sends me a sad smile. “Regardless of what you heard from the Russo’s, you took the time to get to know this family. Then once you did, you defended us. Sometimes people don’t understand us, so it scares them. The Russo’s never gave us a chance. From the bottom of my heart, Hunter, thank you. It means so much that you gave us the benefit of the doubt, regardless of what you were told.”
He blushes. From guilt no doubt. “You don’t have to thank me, Aurora. This is the most amazing family . . . so it was no trouble at all. I know you’d never hurt anyone—and that was the entire reason for the investigation in the first place. Once Mr. Russo heard Sam was sick, he pretty much figured it wouldn’t be long until Morgan came back to town. Within a week, he called us to say she was here. The FBI devised a plan to see if he was out of his mind, or if there truly were ritual sacrifices happening at the Crawford house.
“After we found out which hospital Sam would be in, we had my partner moved to North Shore. Trevor really was hurt on the job. It just wasn’t in a fire . . . it was in an explosion.” He pauses, rubbing his hand across his stubble. “I swear to you all, my only intention was to observe the family to see if I noticed any suspicious activity. I never planned to meet Chloe and fall for her. But I guess some things are out of our control.” He leans his elbow on the counter, resting his forehead in his palm.
I’m not used to seeing him so stressed. But it’s not my problem. It’s just not!
“Hunter, we believe you. You don’t need to defend yourself. We know you’re telling the truth.” Gram looks to Dru. They share a smile.
He watches their interaction. “Yeah, I sort of figured that. You guys always seem to be one step ahead of the game.” Hunter smiles in return, as if he knows why.
“So that brings me to the other reason I asked you here.” Gram looks my way—then back to Hunter. “We know you’re closing the case and that’s wonderful. But we’d like to find out what you do know about our family. Chloe’s still upset, but if you stand any chance at all with her and this family, we need to be on the same page. Which means, no more secrets—from either side.”
A tiny smile curls up on the edges of his mouth. “You honestly want to know what I’ve been able to figure out?”
Gram nods. “Yes, dear. We need to know everything. It’s the only way to move forward. We’ve done an incredible job over the years of protecting this family. Very few people know our secrets, and we’d like to keep it that way. So it’s important we find out exactly what you know about us.”
“Fair enough. I can respect that.” He pauses, looking around the room at the curious faces watching him. “Well, I haven’t been able to figure everything out, but I’ll tell you what I did—and when.” Hunter takes a deep breath. “Right off the bat, I figured out Dru is some sort of Empath or Mind Reader. He’s the only one who had his guard up in the beginning. I could tell he didn’t trust me. Plus, he always seems so in tune to what the people around him are feeling. I don’t know the degree of what he can do, but I know he can somehow read what people feel.” He looks to Dru and smirks, nodding his head in approval.
Dru breaks out into laughter. “Good job, dude. It seems you might have some sort of power of your own.”
“Well, we can get into that later.” He nods at Dru. “The next thing I figured out was Dhelia.” He glances her way. “The night at the party in The Hamptons, she didn’t realize I was watching out of the corner of my eye when she moved a piece of driftwood into Chloe’s path. Thank you by the way—I still owe you one for that. But the thing I found the most interesting though, was the way your eyes flashed bright blue when you used your Telekinesis. Really cool.” He smiles, giving her the thumbs up.
“We all do the ‘eye thing’, but I didn’t think you saw me. I never took my eyes off you.” Dhelia sounds shocked he fooled her.
Hunter smiles, triumph glinting in his eyes. “Let’s just say, I have impeccable peripheral vision.”
“What did you figure out next, dear?”
He turns to me, looking down at the ground for a second. “Well, Chloe was a tad more difficult. I had my suspicions on the second day when I saw her outside on the bench at the hospital. But it wasn’t until a few days later when I saw her sleeping in Sam’s room that I knew for sure.” He locks eyes with me. “You ‘see’ things. I get the feeling it’s both past and future things, but I’d say mostly future. You talked in your sleep about ‘masked strangers’, but I still have no clue what it means. When I’ve been around you and you’ve seen something, your body language isn’t always consistent. The one thing that is, though, is how you stiffen up . . . as if you’re preparing yourself for pain.” Hunter pauses, his face losing all expression.
“The night Ash and Aidan came to town and we were all sitting here talking, I noticed you doing it. Then you asked me to go to the store for you. I figured it must have been something you needed to tell your family right away. Then when I came back and things were so intense with Michael, I figured you must have seen him coming. And then there was last night, of course. You really freaked me out, you know. I knew you were seeing something by your closed eyes and body language, but the way you thrashed like you were in pain scared me.” He puts his hand on my knee while searching my eyes.
I look away, his hand automatically retreating.
“I was in pain, but not the way you think. I was seeing and feeling things through Mr. Russo. Something horrible happened to him and I felt it all.” I shiver at the memory.
“I’m so sorry you had to find out about me that way. I swear I was planning to tell you. I needed to be sure the case was closed first, and then I was going to tell you everything.”
His eyes glaze over. Are they filling up with tears? God, I can’t take seeing him this way again. And I can’t let him get to me right now.
I look away, desperate to avoid his eyes.
He takes the hint, focusing his attention back on the family.
“There’s something else about Chloe, but I haven’t been able to put my finger on it. It’s the same for you, Aurora. I feel power in you, but I can’t tell exactly what it is. As far as Morgan, Ash, and Aidan go, I’ve never been around you when you’ve used your power, but I know it’s there. There’s a strong energy that radiates from you.”
“Wait a minute,” Aunt Morgan interrupts. “What aren’t you telling us, Hunter? How do you feel these things?”
Hunter clears his throat. “I have a few more secrets I suppose.” I feel his eyes on me, but I don’t look. “I’m able to ‘read’ people, but not in the same way any of you can. If someone uses magic around me, I know what it is right away. Other people can take a little longer, but I read it on them eventually . . . which is why I’m on the unit I am at the FBI. Once they figured out I could read people, they found the perfect place for me. Granted, they don’t realize the extent of my ability, but they know it’s a quality few possess.” He pauses for my reaction, but I have none. At this point—nothing surprises me.
“Well, that’s very interesting indeed.” Aunt Morgan nods. Then she gets up from her seat, walking around the table to where Hunter sits. She places her hand on his shoulder then closes her eyes.
What on earth is she doing?
Hunter’s face lights up with excitement. A few seconds later, Aunt Morgan opens her eyes, pulling her hand away.
“I had no idea you were a Reader. Yours is different though. You can see where I’ve been . . . what I’ve done. That’s awesome!” His face glows with anticipation.
Shouldn’t he be running for the hills by now?
“Well, this one is new to me. I only found out a few days ago I could do it. It also works on objects. I can touch anything and tell you whatever you want to know about it,” Aunt Morgan reveals with a joyous voice.
“Oh, really? We sure could use someone with your abilities on our team at the
bureau. Imagine the murders we could solve if you could read the evidence.” Hunter sounds like a little boy who just got his first video game.
“You’re right. You know, I never thought about it that way. Well, maybe we can talk about it some other time,” Aunt Morgan says, glancing at the spectators.
“Wait a minute. You said ‘this one’ is new to you. Does that mean you have another power?” Hunter asks, a curious twinkle lighting up his eyes.
Aunt Morgan shrugs, modesty written across her rosy cheeks. “Yes, I do. But I haven’t used it for more than twenty-one years.” She takes a deep breath. “It’s Mind Control.”
Hunter’s eyes widen. No doubt from the same surprise I’m experiencing. “Mind control? If you’ll forgive me for asking, why didn’t you use your power on the Russo’s then? Couldn’t you have forced them to accept the family and not be afraid?” His brows scrunch together.
“Of course I could have, but there are two reasons why I didn’t. The first is because of the whole ‘personal gain’ rule, which we take very seriously. The second is because I wanted them to accept us on their own.” She picks at the label on her water bottle. “Sure, there’s a lot we could have done to change the outcome—but at the time—I guess I didn’t want to. After I received the letter I thought was from Michael, I didn’t care anymore. Thinking he no longer loved me broke my heart. I gave up on everything. Perhaps the path would have been a different one, if not for that.” She shrugs again.
“Letter?” Hunter asks.
“Oh, that’s right. You don’t know about that. Long story short, Mr. Russo wrote letters to break up Michael and me, which is why Michael didn’t know about the boys.” She rubs her hands while staring at her sons.
“I suppose I can understand that.” Hunter sounds somewhat embarrassed.
“Now that I’ve answered your question, don’t you think it’s time to share what I saw when I touched you?” Aunt Morgan eyes Hunter like an impatient mother.
“Yes, yes. I was planning to tell them at the end, but I guess now works, too.”
“You have another secret?” Are you kidding me? My god, I don’t think I can take anything else today.
“Well, it’s not really another secret, but it’s the reason why I’m able to read people. It’s something very different from the powers you all have, so I hope it doesn’t freak anyone out.” With timid hands, he touches my arm with his fingertips. “I’m still me, Chloe, so please remember that.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
Hunter gets up. He takes a few steps back, giving himself room for something. But what? As we wait to see what he’s up to, a strange crackling sound comes from his direction.
What the . . . !
Right before our eyes, he contorts and thrashes all over the place. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Then he stops.
I look around the room at my family, mouths gaping open in shock just like mine.
How in the hell did he just do that?
I turn my head back to Hunter, but the overwhelming sight makes me dizzy—like I’m going to faint.
I’m looking at Mr. Russo, standing not more than ten feet in front of me.
What the hell was that?
“That was so clutch! I can’t believe you’re a Shape-shifter!” Ash squeals with excitement.
“I knew there was a reason I liked you. That’s so awesome, dude.” Aidan shrieks.
But I’m numb.
I see Mr. Russo, but I know it’s Hunter. I never imagined Shape-shifters truly existed. How is this even possible?
“So what else can you turn into?” Dru asks, like a little boy seeing his favorite super hero.
“Yeah, what about animals? Can you turn into a rabbit or a wolf?” Dhelia bubbles over with anticipation.
Before Hunter speaks, he returns to his normal form. “I can pretty much turn into anything. As long as I can visualize it, I can turn into it.”
“Well, Mr. Payne, it would seem we aren’t the only ones with a secret to keep. I would assume the FBI doesn’t know about that special gift?” Gram asks, her mocking tone makes us chuckle.
Hunter laughs. “Um, no. You would be right. I don’t think they would see it quite the same way you do. Even though it’s been more than useful in my undercover work, I wouldn’t want to freak them out. Actually, the only other people who know about it are my family. That’s it. I’ve never shared it with anyone. Ever!”
Oh, that’s such a load of bull. “Then why are you now?” I ask, with just a hint of disdain in my voice.
“Because it’s only fair, Chloe. Plus, I want you and your family to trust me. By sharing my secret, we’re all on a level playing field.”
“We appreciate your honesty, Hunter. I’m sure I speak for most of the family when I say . . . it’s wonderful. Now it makes so much sense why we were so drawn to you from the second we met you. We’re kindred spirits.” Gram smiles, adoration consuming her feminine features.
Hunter puts his hands in his pockets. “To tell you the truth, I don’t usually come across people like us. Sure, I’ve seen people who have stolen or borrowed power, but not those who were born with it like we were. It’s truly special.”
“Well, now you know why you can’t figure out what my gift is. I don’t have an active or passive power, per se. My natural gift is with mother earth. I’ve always known the exact ingredients to use for spells and potions. Some Witches need years of research on herbs and the elements to understand what they can do. I was born with the knowledge and have successfully used it over the years.” Gram stands before him, proud of who she is. “I can also sort of ‘read’ and ‘sway’ people, but it’s more influence than ability.”
“So that just leaves us with Ash and Aidan. I get the feeling there’s something truly unique about them, but I can’t put my finger on it. When I’m around Ash, I think about Magicians for some reason. With Aidan, I get these images in my head of him being in a thousand different places—different moments in time. Does that mean anything?”
Gram lifts her hands to her cheeks. “Yes, it does, actually. You see a Magician with Ash because he’s a Conjurer. Only, he doesn’t need any sort of gimmick to make things appear. And Aidan is a Teleporter, which explains why you see him in so many places. As far as the different moments in time, perhaps time-travel is part of it. It would make sense. We’ve recently learned a lot of new information about our gifts. So, we have a lot of experimenting to do.” Gram rubs her hands together, most likely contemplating the vast possibilities before us.
“Really, Gram? Do you really think I might be able to time-travel?” I’ve never seen Aidan so anxious.
“Hunter hasn’t been wrong about anything so far, so I’d say it’s worth looking into, dear.” Gram winks his way.
“Aren’t you kids forgetting one very important gift we just found out about? From the night that nosey son-of-a-bitch across the street spied through the windows?” Pap speaks up for the first time since Hunter arrived.
Gram squeezes Pap’s arm as she remembers. “Oh, that’s right. Okay, everyone sit back down so I can tell Hunter what really happened that night.”
We obey.
But before she begins, she jumps off her chair and opens the fridge. “Does anyone need a drink?”
“Sure, I’d love some lemonade if you have it,” Hunter says.
“Yeah, me too, Gram.” I swallow, brutally aware of my cottonmouth.
“Anyone else?” She sits the pitcher on the table. “Okay. I won’t bore you with all the details. But the night we brought Samuel back from the hospital, I decided I wanted to try a spell or two, on the off chance there might be something we could do to bring him out of his coma.
“The first spell didn’t do anything, so I remembered something I’d heard a long time ago about our ancestors. Apparently, most of our Wiccan descendants are buried on this land . . . and it turns out their unused powers have just been sitting around waiting for us to call upon t
hem.”
Hunter’s eyes widen.
“Oh, just wait, dear. It gets much better.” She giggles. “When we performed the spell, it opened up a Power Well that somehow made our family ascend and become one with our power, and with all the power of our ancestors. What made the whole thing so amazing was that the ghosts of our ancestors also appeared before us, like some sort of ‘changing of the guard’. It just so happens, that was the moment Mr. Russo chose to sneak behind the house. The poor man must have been scared out of his wits. I know we were until we knew what was going on.
“One of the ghosts came forth to speak. It was Chloe, Dru, and Dhelia’s mother, Moira. She told us so many things, but the one thing that’s the most important in this whole story, is when Chloe’s twin sister Cassie died at birth, her power automatically transferred to Chloe. But none of us knew anything about it. Can you guess what her power is, dear?” Gram beams, unable to hide her pride.
“I don’t have any idea.” Hunter shrugs.
“Let’s just say this . . . when the family ascended and received this extra charge of power, Chloe was holding onto Samuel. Can you guess what it is now?” She’s trying so hard to get him to figure it out. It’s like watching someone tell a joke for the first time, praying the captive audience gets the punchline.
Hunter looks around the room as he thinks. His attention keeps going back to Pap. Then it hits him. He looks at me in dubious awe. “You’re a Healer, aren’t you? It wasn’t a miracle . . . it was you who saved your pap?” His eyes widen.
I really hate when someone puts me on the spot.
I shift in my seat. “So they keep telling me. It’s still hard for me to believe, but my mom told us I got Cassie’s gift, and Morgan got hers. Some magical ‘twin thing’ in our bloodline.”
“And what a way to find out. This is so incredible. You must be so thrilled to have a Healer in the family.” Hunter shakes his head, unable to take his eyes of Pap.
“Well, I was never really meant to die right now. The entire time I was in a coma, Moira was with me. She told me what was going on. My getting sick was necessary for Morgan and Chloe to return home. But then they needed to think I was almost dead so they could do what they did to find out about their powers. It was all part of some greater plan devised by a higher power.” Pap’s shoulders go back, holding his head high. He’s so proud of the family desperate to save his life.
“That brings me to the other thing Moira mentioned. The ‘prophecy’.” Her eyes fill with a searching look. She turns to Hunter. “Oh my god . . . ‘The man of many shapes’. You are a part of the prophecy, too!”
She gets up from her chair and leans over, wrapping her arms around him. “I can’t believe it didn’t hit me immediately when you showed us your gift. There’s an ancient scroll called ‘The Gemini Prophecy’. The entire family is in it, and now I believe you are, too, dear. The line that mentions you says, ‘The man of many shapes shall form, a union between Believers’. This is so extraordinary.” Grams eyes overflow as she solves another piece of the riddle.
“Well, it certainly does make sense that it would be me. How many ‘men of many shapes’ do you know?” He chuckles.
You’re kidding me! He’s part of the Prophecy? As if it wasn’t overwhelming enough on its own.
So you mean to tell me, we were meant to find each other?
It was all part of the master plan?
I’m not even sure how I should feel about this news. Learning he’d been lying crushed me, so am I just supposed to magically forget?
Impossible.
I’ll have to find a way to accept it, but trusting him again is going to take time.
But for the family, I’ll have to suck it up and put on my big girl panties. As best as I can, at least.
I turn to Hunter. “It would appear as though you’re destined to be in my life. I guess that means I’m stuck with you.”
His face lights up—then he turns to my family. “Okay, so who plans to show me this so called ‘prophecy’? I’d like to see what sort of trouble your ancestors have gotten me into.”
Chapter 19
THE VISION