I pulled the white duvet higher, attempting to get warm, but it was a fruitless effort. I was chilled to my very core. Chilled by my new knowledge and circumstances. Nora didn’t say more and I didn’t ask. She might have sounded blasé about it all, but I knew better. I’d seen Nora and my father together months ago in Florida, before I’d known she was my sister. I’d witnessed the anger in her eyes, heard the pain in her voice. I hadn’t understood it then, but I certainly did now. I knew deep down he would do the same to me, but it didn’t change the fact that I’d risk it all to save Lewis.
With a sigh of frustration I shoved aside the blanket. Last night I’d returned to the house defeated, realizing I couldn’t fight my father alone… at least not yet. I’d sat quietly at the kitchen table as my mom, Nora and Father Myron had discussed my powers as if I wasn’t even there. They seemed to think I could do so much more than I realized.
Although I’d been numb and lost, their conversation had stirred something within me. When I thought back through the years, I realized there had been times when I’d surprised myself. Only a couple weeks ago I’d moved that gun across the floor at my father’s compound without touching the weapon. Only a few days ago I’d mentally caused that man pain who had tried to attack Lewis. Last year I’d broken into Maddox’s mind. Maybe, just maybe, they’d been right, and with training, I could take on my dad, S.P.I. and even Maddox.
I curled on my side, my heart full of pain and anger. Maddox. The man I’d trusted. The man who had taken sides and it hadn’t been mine. I sniffed back the sudden sting of tears, refusing to cry. If I did, I feared I’d never stop. Instead, I focused on the curtains, light as air, and poured out my energy, picturing the linens moving. Nora said I needed practice, so I’d practice.
I was more than surprised when they fluttered, then slid open allowing even more brilliant light into the gloomy room. I frowned and pushed myself up. Why did my powers work sometimes, and not others?
A soft knock broke through the serenity of morning. I jerked my attention toward the door and searched with my mind, but of course no thoughts came. Another mind reader stood there, either Nora or my mother, neither of which I wanted to see. I hesitated as long as I could, avoiding the new day. I hated being under their watchful gazes. They acted like I was a caged animal that might at any moment go wild.
The knock sounded again. She wasn’t going away.
I sighed. “Come in.”
The door creaked open and mom stepped inside. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the jeans and dark blue T-shirt she wore fit her lean body like a glove. “Hi.” She smiled, but it was a hesitant smile. “Breakfast is ready.”
I nodded, suddenly too overcome to speak. The emotions hit me like a bulldozer; unwanted emotions I’d been ignoring since yesterday. They wouldn’t be ignored any longer. I curled my hands, my fingernails biting into my sensitive palms. I refused to give in while she still stood there.
She paused for what seemed like forever, as if she wanted to say more. Why wouldn’t she leave? Tears stung my eyes and I wished she’d leave, prayed she’d leave.
As if sensing my desperation, she gave a quick nod, turned and left, closing the door.
I spun around and pressed my face into my pillow as a sob tore from my throat. Oh God, my mom. My mom was here. My mom was alive.
No. No. No.
I drew my knees to my chest and allowed the tears to drop from my face and soak my pillow. I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t do anything other than cry. Everything I’d tried to bury, everything that lay deep within like a boulder, broke free, and crumbled from my body into those tears.
For at least five minutes the world didn’t exist… only my sorrow. But as my body drained of tears and emotions, I finally relaxed into a depleted heap. She was alive, and for some reason, she hadn’t wanted me. End of story. Time to move on.
Yet, for another five minutes I merely lay there, too spent to move. I had cried. I had cried for the first time in a long while and for some reason it made me feel better. Yeah, I’d released some emotions, but it was more than that. I felt…human again. No Tin Man here, I apparently still had a heart. I hadn’t become my father.
I took in a deep shuddering breath and stared out the window. The sun looked warm, the day hopeful. For some reason, crying had given me the strength I needed.
I had to save Lewis. It was my fault he was imprisoned. I would never, ever get my childhood back. I would never get the parents I wanted. I might not ever see Grandma again. I couldn’t change the past, but I would sure as hell focus on the future.
And my future would be saving Lewis.
I sniffed and sat up, swiping my forearms against my damp cheeks. From outside I could hear the soft buzz of the city; cars rolling up and down the roads, tourists strolling the square and chatting excitedly about their day. A sparrow landed on my windowsill. He fluffed his feathers, turning his head this way and that, then noticing me, took flight. The world went on…always, and so would I.
I stood, stretching my arms overhead and working out my stiff back. A week. I would give them a week. A week for Lewis to heal. Then I would leave. I turned and pulled open the door. Nora was coming out of her room at the same time. She wore a white tank top and pink boxer shorts, her blonde hair sleepily mussed. She paused. I paused. I could feel the rawness of my skin from crying and embarrassment flushed my face. If she mocked me, I’d punch her.
I turned, averting my gaze and moved into the bathroom. I certainly didn’t want to confront my newfound family looking like I’d just bawled my eyes out. They thought I was too weak to face my father, and my swollen eyes would only confirm my weakness.
I turned on the cold water and splashed my face, even as I sensed Nora following me into the bathroom. Although I felt no connection to her, I couldn’t help but admit that we had an awful lot in common. Our parents, for one. I slid her a glance out of the corner of my eye. She leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest. I couldn’t imagine what it had been like to be tortured by your own father. Would he have done the same to me? The thought was a bit sickening.
“After breakfast, put on some shorts and a T-shirt,” she said, her voice still groggy with sleep. I had a feeling she wasn’t a morning person. “It’s going to be eighty-five today and we’re going to the beach.”
Annoyed I jerked a clean towel from the bar. “I thought we were training.”
“We are.” She grinned, shoving past me and grabbing her toothbrush. “But if we’re going to train, might as well be at the beach.”
It was a small bathroom, too small for two people. I watched her warily. I’d never shared a bathroom with someone, especially not someone who didn’t know anything about personal space. She pulled her hair back and started brushing her teeth, not in the least caring that I stood there.
If they thought to make this some sort of family reunion, they’d learn soon enough that I needed no family. I needed no one.
****
Twenty minutes later my mom pulled into the driveway of an ocean-front cottage. Although it was small, the white paint on the clapboard siding was clean and fresh. Potted plants were settled around the front stoop, the flowers in full bloom with daisies, roses and a variety of other colorful blossoms I didn’t recognize. It was picture perfect and I was immediately suspicious.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Tybee Island,” Nora provided from the front seat where she had called out shotgun. I’d been only too eager to have the back all to myself, the furthest away from my happy little family as I could get. I’d spent most of the drive staring at my mom’s head, wondering how in the hell she could possibly be alive, and wondering why I cared when she so obviously didn’t care about me.
Still, as Mom put the car in park, I sat up straighter, peering through the car window over the wavering sea grass. Even though the water was much fiercer than the Caribbean, it was still the ocean and I was eager to be close to the waves.
The sea had always pulled to me; promised to take me anywhere, promised comfort within its mysterious depths. I pushed my door open and stepped outside, breathing deeply. Salt water peppered the air and made me feel alive, made me feel at home.
I didn’t wait for my mom and Nora but quickly found a boardwalk that led around the small cottage and followed it to a beach. It was still too early for tourists, but there were a few locals who strolled the shore looking for sand dollars and remnants of shells. I kicked off my flip-flops and stepped into the sand. The tiny crystals seeped between my toes, cooled my feet. The water looked cold, rough, unforgiving. This was not the gentle sea of the Caribbean. This was the roar and crash of the east coast.
It made me miss the warmth of my island. It made me miss Grandma. Made me miss the life I thought I’d finally had. A life that had slipped away, much like the sandcastle a child had made yesterday, now crushed under the tide.
I felt someone approach and I immediately stiffened, annoyed that they were interrupting. Nora paused beside me, her blond hair pulled into a preppy ponytail, a large bag over her shoulder. She looked like a freaking all American cheerleader.
“Deborah’s been imprisoned at the S.P.I. camp,” I said, assuming she would know the woman who worked with Aaron, the man who had erased my memory. The man who had destroyed my life. They were like one big incestuous pool. Enemies, friends, they all seemed to know each other.
Nora nodded. “We know.”
I swallowed hard. Deborah had been in charge of the children at Aaron’s estate. If she had been captured… “The children?”
Nora sighed and shoved her hands into the back pockets on her shorts. “They were taken captive.”
I felt ill. “I’d promised Caroline I’d come back for her.”
My father had them, and who knew what he would do to innocent children. I looked up at the sky, fighting my guilt. Why had I ever promised Caroline that I’d save her? Why had I ever left her in Aaron’s obviously incapable hands? Now she was gone, perhaps for good.
“Life constantly changes,” Nora said. “You can’t take things personally. You made a promise and sometimes you have to break them.”
I jerked around, facing her. “No, you don’t understand. I made her a promise and I keep my promises. Maybe I haven’t saved her yet, but I will.”
Nora narrowed her eyes. I’d obviously pushed her too far. “Listen Miss High and Mighty, before you put yourself on that pedestal, let me tell you something. You have no freaking idea what my life has been like, so stop judging me based on your saintly ways.”
I wanted to snap back something sarcastic and mean, but I didn’t because Nora was right. I hadn’t a clue what her life was like. But I knew one thing, she had been tortured by her own father. I had no right to judge what she did and didn’t do now. My sudden compassion flustered me.
“Whose house?” I asked, deciding to change the subject for both of our benefits.
The cottage was small, but I knew it had cost a pretty penny, being right on the beach. Up on stilts, there was a deck that ran the length of the back. A variety of plants stood in pots and swayed on the ocean breeze. And there, in the middle was a stone statue of Buddha.
Nora’s gaze softened a little as she focused on the cottage. “Sierra’s place.”
An older woman with tanned skin and long, white hair stepped from the French doors followed by my mother. They paused on the deck, looking out at us as they spoke softly. I could only imagine what Mom was telling her.
“She’s sort of a grandmotherly figure for us all,” Nora explained.
But I didn’t need another grandmother. Funny enough, I wanted my old one back. Mom and Sierra moved down the weathered steps and started toward us, Sierra’s long, white dress whispering across the sand. The old woman’s gaze was on me and although I should have felt uneasy, there was nothing malicious in her faded blue eyes.
“Cameron,” Sierra said, a light accent to her voice, although I couldn’t place it. She took both my hands in hers and looked unflinchingly into my eyes. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”
Her smile was natural and warm and I felt like she meant it…she actually was pleased to see me, which was more than my own mother had seemed. Still, I wasn’t here to make friends and small talk.
She pulled back, dropping her hold. “Shall we head toward the water?”
I slid Nora a glance, but she was oblivious to my confusion, following after Sierra and Mom like a little lapdog. Irritation fought to the forefront. How would we train on a beach with tourists strolling by?
Reluctantly, I followed them to the shore. My leg muscles pulled, tightening as I stepped through the sand, but quickly found a natural rhythm. My body and my mind remembered the beach. Nora threw some towels upon the ground and we settled in an uneasy circle. My patience grew thin. This was ridiculous. Hanging out on the beach was fun and all, but were we seriously going to sunbathe like college students on spring break?
“I thought we were here to train?” I said immediately.
“We will,” my mom replied, slipping off her jacket and tossing it aside. “Nora told you she was imprisoned?”
I nodded, wondering what their agenda was by discussing this now, and I knew there was an agenda. I had a feeling there was always an agenda with these people. A week, I thought to myself. I only had a week and I’d be free of these people.
“Over eight years ago, your father decided to attack. He’d found out where I was located, and that I still had Nora.” She glanced at Nora. “We weren’t expecting it. We’d lived in peace for such a long time…”
She looked away, out to the ocean. I could sense the heaviness of her energy pulsing around me, as if my abilities had kicked into overdrive. I curled my fingers, confused by the sudden tingly feeling that swept over my body.
“I was…high.”
Startled, I wasn’t sure where to look. Mom had been drugged out while Nora had been abducted? So much for that Mom of the Year mug I’d been planning to give her.
“I’d just turned twelve.” Nora smiled, a sad smile that got to me, even though I’d never admit it. “They attacked at night. We were living near Boston at the time.”
“Over and done with before I’d even had time to prepare,” Mom whispered, picking up a smooth pebble. “Others had warned me not to be so trustworthy. They said we’d be protected if we joined the Savannah league, but I had refused. I’d wanted my space; my freedom.”
If I had been with her, would I have been abducted as well? The thought left me cold.
Nora picked up a broken shell and threw it toward the water. “First, he tried to pretend he loved me. Tried to pretend he cared. I didn’t fall for it.”
A heated flush crawled up my neck. Unlike me. I’d fallen for Dad’s pretty words, hadn’t I? But to be fair, I hadn’t grown up knowing our past. No, thanks to Mom, Dad, and Grandma, I’d been totally clueless. I’d been easy prey for his charm.
“I’m sorry,” I said, not wanting to hear anymore. “I am, but what does this have to do with me?”
“Nora was his daughter, she was a child,” my mom said, dropping the pebble she held. “I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”
“Yeah, but I’m not a child.”
“Not even adults do well against S.P.I.,” Mom insisted. “Just because you’re eighteen doesn’t mean you’ll win if you take on your father.”
“Deborah ring a bell?” Nora butted in.
And here I’d actually felt sorry for her. I should have known better than to feel anything for these people. “I have to save Lewis.”
Mom shook her head, releasing a harsh laugh. “You won’t listen to reason?”
I rose to my feet. This was a waste of time, I should have known they weren’t really going to train me. “I’m saving Lewis, so if you have nothing valuable to add, I’m leaving.”
Nora stood. “I’m going with her.”
“No,” I snapped at the same time as Mom.
r /> I jerked my gaze toward her. Mom’s response caught me more off guard than Nora’s. So, we agreed on something, anyway. “Exactly,” I said, returning my attention to Nora. “I don’t need your help.” And I certainly didn’t need the guilt if she was caught and tortured again. “Now, if you guys don’t have anything useful for me, I’m leaving.”
First things first, I’d have to find a way off this damn island.
“Don’t get your panties in a knot,” Nora said.
“Screw you,” I threw over my shoulder as I started for the boardwalk, even more determined to get off this island, away from these people.
“Ladies,” Sierra called out. I planned on ignoring the woman, until she called to me directly. “Cameron, please stop.”
There was something about her voice, about her very being, that forced me to stop. For one long moment I just stood there, my back to them. Pride begged me to flee. Rationality told me to stick it out, see what they had to say. Not like I had some great plan anyway.
“Cameron, please, just come here and listen,” my mother begged.
I released a puff of air that sent a loose lock of hair bouncing out of my eyes. How badly I wanted to ignore them and walk away. I closed my eyes and focused on the warm breeze coming off the ocean, rustling my clothing. One week. One week and maybe I’d actually have a chance at saving Lewis.
Please, my mom’s voice whispered through my mind. Just listen.
I wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, I turned. They were watching me expectantly. My instincts were on high alert. I knew there was some hidden purpose to whatever she would say. Why did they want me here so badly?
Mom picked up a reed. “There are three buildings, right?”
I nodded, moving unwillingly closer.
“The first are the offices.” She drew a rectangle in the sand with the reed. “Behind it, the interrogation rooms.” She drew another rectangle. “Finally, the last building.” She drew another. Three buildings in a row. “Where they keep the prisoners.”