“That’s what I thought, too,” I said. “It was kind of strange, though, how enthusiastic they were.”
“And why did you decide to go along with them?” Aline’s eyes were compassionate. I dropped my head onto the back of the couch and sighed.
“Oh, I know. I know it was the guilt over last spring. I want to do something to make them trust me, to make them proud again. So I’ll go along with this, and who knows—maybe it will help me control my powers. Maybe I won’t shake the walls or throw glass or bring on a windstorm whenever I get a little shaken.”
Aline regarded me without speaking for several beats. “Tasmyn, we’ve talked a little about your powers and how Marica helped you develop them. Do you remember what I said?”
I frowned, trying to remember. “You said she exploited my emotions to intensify the abilities.”
“Right. She tied your feelings to your growing powers, and those cords are still there. You can’t just cut them. You have these gifts. They aren’t returnable, Tasmyn. You can’t make them go away. You need to master them, but it’s not going to be as easy as your parents might think.”
I threw up my hands. “So are you saying that Carruthers won’t be able to help me? I’m a lost cause?”
“Never.” Aline shook her head emphatically. “No, you can do it. But don’t expect it to be simple, and don’t think it’s going to happen overnight. As far as Carruthers, just try to be very careful. Be aware of each decision. Don’t make any choices impulsively.”
Aline rarely expressed that much opinion, so I understood that she was very serious about this. I smiled in agreement.
“I promise.”
“All right then.” She glanced at the clock. “Well, I think that’s good for today, don’t you?”
We both rose, but as she opened the door, I heard a buzzing across the room and saw her cell phone dancing across the table.
“Tasmyn, I need to take this. Can you go out to reception and wait for me?” I nodded and closed the door behind me.
I wandered down the hallway and was startled to see a man in one of the waiting room chairs. He was taller than me, with longish wavy light brown hair. He looked vaguely familiar.
“Hi,” he greeted me, laying down the magazine that he’d been flipping thorugh.
I nodded in return and stood awkwardly for a moment. Aline usually made me her last appointment of the day, so I was surprised that this guy seemed to think he belonged here. I probed gently into his mind and came up with the answer.
“Aline had to take a phone call,” I offered. “She should be here in a minute.”
“Oh, that’s cool.” He stood and offered me a hand. “I’m Seth Phillips. A friend of Aline’s.”
I concentrated on not raising my eyebrows and smirking at him. From what I’d picked up, he was a little more than her friend.
“I’m Tasmyn,” I answered, shaking his hand. “I’m a patient.”
Seth grinned. “Yeah, I figured.” He cocked his head, studying me. “Hey, do you go to Perriman by any chance? I feel like I’ve seen you.”
I smiled. Aline took her patient confidentiality seriously; Seth really had no idea who I was. I hadn’t picked up even the slightest blip in his mind, and I’d been listening.
“Yes, I’m a freshman,” I answered. “Do you work there?”
He stuck a thumb at his chest. “History professor.”
I smiled, an involuntary reflex. “That’s my major! Or at least I hope it will be. It’s my favorite subject.”
Seth leaned back, sticking his hands in his back pockets. “Yeah? We’ve got a great department at Perriman. Are you taking the 101 now?”
I shook my head. “I tested out of them, so I’m doing a junior level course this semester. The Reformation.”
Seth pursed his lips in a silent whistle. “Impressive. Well, listen, when you’re ready to declare, come see me. I’m a pretty decent advisor.” He fished a card out of his pocket and handed it to me.
I glanced down at it and frowned. “You said you were history. This says student ministries.”
“Oh, sorry.” He dug into the other pocket and pulled out another card, glanced at it and passed it over. This one had his number at the history department. “I’m in the history department, but I double majored in religious studies and then went to seminary while I was a TA. I lead a group on campus.”
I remembered now why he seemed familiar, and it wasn’t his face—it was his mind. “Do you have Bible study on the green on Saturdays? I was there with my parents last weekend and I think I heard you—I mean, saw you.”
“Yeah, that was us. Good group of kids.” A door opened and closed behind me, and Aline came down the hall, heels clicking. Her smile encompassed us both.
“Seth, hello. I’m sorry I was held up.” She held his eye for a moment longer and then turned to me. “Tasmyn, are we set for Friday in two weeks, same time? And you’ll call me if anything comes up before that?”
I nodded. These were Aline’s typical parting words, meant, I knew, to remind me that I was not alone and that I should not be afraid to reach out for help. Her mind was veiled to me as it always was, but I was picking up little spikes in her feelings. She didn’t want to rush me out the door, but she was anxious to be alone with Seth. I didn’t blame her.
“Sure, see you then.” I turned to leave and then realize I still had both of Seth’s cards in my hand. I stopped and held it out to him. “Sorry. I don’t need this one.”
He made no move to accept it. “Hey, hold onto it. You never know.”
After the stress of the previous weekend with my parents, I was looking forward to spending a quiet few days with Michael. We drove off campus to see a movie on Friday night after my appointment with Aline, and as we pulled back to the parking lot alongside my dorm, I was blissfully relaxed, snuggled into my familiar groove in the passenger seat of the Mustang.
Michael turned off the car and reached to tousle my hair affectionately. “Hey, there, sleepyhead. Am I going to have to carry you upstairs?”
“Mmmm,” I answered. “Maybe.” I twisted my head to smile up at him. “You could take me back to your room and carry me upstairs. Because then there could be a reward for the big, strong man who took such good care of me.”
He laughed but shook his head. “Not tonight, princess. Not only is Charlie there, but he invited the whole soccer team over to party. So no privacy for us.”
I made a face. “I thought he was an athlete. Shouldn’t he be in training or something?”
“They’re celebrating a very rare weekend off, I guess. I’m planning to lock the door to my bedroom and hope they don’t get too wild.”
“And I’m going to go upstairs and try to tune out Sophie while she studies. We’re just a bundle of fun, aren’t we?”
Michael fingered a lock of my hair. “Sophie still thinking loudly when she does homework?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, yeah. Too bad we don’t take the same classes, because I wouldn’t have to crack a book if we did. I could just soak up what she’s thinking and be ready for anything. For someone who’s so quiet in real life, she more than makes up for it in her thoughts.”
“A shame we can’t talk her into joining the soccer players’ party. Then we’d have your room to ourselves.”
I laughed at the idea of my quiet and serious roommate partying with Charlie and his raucous friends. “Highly unlikely.”
“Well, then...” Michael reached for the door handle. “I’ll walk you upstairs. We’ll have all day tomorrow.”
“Wait a second.” I touched his arm. “Kiss me goodnight here. You won’t be able to do it justice in front of Sophie or in the hallway.”
Michael raised one eyebrow. “Oh, really?” He reached out to caress my face. “I guess you’re right. I’ll have to try to live up to your goodnight kiss standards down here.”
I giggled, feeling his playful indignation as he pulled me onto his lap, trapping me between him and the steering whe
el.
“I have very high standards,” I whispered, leaning into his ear. “Very high.”
I felt Michael’s smile against my neck as his lips skimmed my throat and then traveled to return my whisper. “I do aim to please.”
I shivered and wound my arms around his back, shifting so that I straddled both him and the seat. Michael ran his hands along my sides, up my back and beneath my hair, firmly holding me in place as his mouth plundered mine.
I leaned in as close as I could get, desperate to touch him everywhere at once. I felt Michael’s thoughts and feelings tumbling over me like a waterfall—a sweep of liquid heat that drove away all rationality.
He groaned and slid his hands down my back and under my t-shirt. The warmth of his fingers against my bare skin ratcheted everything up another degree. I tore my mouth from his and attacked his neck, moving my lips to the pulse that pounded just above his collarbone.
Michael’s hands were playing against my back now, and his fingers glided under my bra straps, just toying with them. I felt the faintest bits of his indecision as I made my way back up his throat and covered his mouth again.
The surge of desire that tore from him when our lips met screamed to something deep and primal within me. And before I knew it, the power, pure, unbridled and sweet, rose out of me and erupted.
Michael grunted in surprise and jerked away, still breathing heavily. I was dizzy and clung to his shoulders, trying not to sway.
I heard a shout from outside the car, down the sidewalk. My eyes refocused on one of the sabal palms that lined the walk from the parking lot to the front of my dorm. I couldn’t miss it; it was on fire, flames crackling merrily from the base and up to the fronds.
“Michael,” I gasped. “Look—I didn’t mean to—look!”
He shifted, trying to follow the direction of my horrified gaze. I knew when he saw it, because I felt his shock.
“What do we do?” I whispered, as if someone might overhear us.
He rubbed my back. “Shhh. It’s okay. We were here in the car. No one can connect it to—to us.”
I slid my leg up and over him, dropping back into my own seat as gracefully as I could even as I stretched out my mind to hear what was going on. “That guy called emergency services. Someone is coming to put it out. I hope it doesn’t spread to the other palms.”
Even as I said it, sirens filled the air and disorienting lights of two fire trucks pulled into the lot. Michael opened his door, climbing out, and I followed his lead. I listened to him formulating a plan for dealing with this new mess I’d created.
We joined the small knot of people standing out of the way, watching the firemen pull out a hose and quickly extinguish the fire. Michael caught the eye of one of the guys next to him.
“What happened?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just on my way to pick up my girlfriend. I didn’t see anything until I came around the corner, and then it was like—bam! Fire.”
“Weird.” Michael struck a perfect balance of interest and boredom. “We just got back from the movies. Saw it when we were getting out of the car.”
One of the firefighters sauntered over to us. I culled through his mind, picking up that they had no idea how the fire had started and that he was pretty tired of dealing with college kids.
He took our names and brief statements on how we’d come to see the blaze. And then he lifted one shoulder and shook his head.
“Who knows?” It wasn’t really a question directed at any of us. “Crazy stuff. Those palms go up fast, but nothing else was damaged. If any of you hear anything, let us know. Otherwise...” He waved his hand vaguely. “You know, go about your business.”
Michael gripped my hand, leading me toward the doors of Rollins Court. We climbed the steps in silence, but just before we started down the hallway that led to my room, he tugged me closer against his chest and brushed my lips with his.
“At least no one can say I don’t make you hot, huh?” he murmured.
I punched his shoulder, relieved that he could joke about this, and we made our way to my safe and boring room, where I could already hear Sophie studying chemistry.
Cathryn and I met on campus over the next two weeks, mostly hanging out in her small office or on the green. Our time together consisted of her testing my abilities, determining the distance at which I could hear thoughts and making me work on my mind guards, as she called them.
She seemed satisfied with my progress, and when we met on the first cool Monday in October, she had her car keys in hand.
“Today we’re going up to Harper Creek. I have some practice exercises for you that need to be done in a...more protected environment.” Cathryn’s face was impassive.
I followed her to the convertible. “What kind of exercises?” I focused on keeping up my guards so that Cathryn couldn’t gripe at me again.
“Practice that goes beyond your mind hearing. We want to test your telekinesis.”
I wanted to make a flip joke about nobody touching my telekinesis, but I’d learned that Cathryn had no sense of humor to speak of, and my sarcasm would not be appreciated. So I took a deep breath and answered her seriously.
“I’m not comfortable with that. You recruited me for my mind-hearing, didn’t you? Let’s leave the other stuff alone.”
“On the contrary. We hired you for the full package. Your mind reading is important, of course, but one of our main goals is to help you control your newer powers. Your parents seemed to think that was important, and we do, too.”
I thought of the crystal goblet so narrowly missing Cathryn’s head, and I smirked. “I guess maybe my aim could use a little work.”
She started up the car and pulled out of the lot. “You need to learn to control the emotions that feed those powers. Once you do that, being able to use them more precisely will be much easier. At least, that’s how I understand it. I don’t have those gifts.”
The ride up to Harper Creek was mostly silent. Cathryn was not one for small talk, and I definitely didn’t have much to say to her. I was less surprised—but still impressed—by the beautiful white home as it appeared over the rise.
Cathryn pulled the car around to the side, where I saw now that there was a small parking lot. I assumed the valet who had parked my parents’ car was only there for special events.
Apparently the front door was also for new visitors only, as Cathryn led me around to a small entrance on the side, tucked between two large bushes. She used a key and carefully closed the door behind after we entered.
We stood in a hallway, much narrower than anything I had seen in the house on my first visit. There were a few small rooms there, and I could see desks and filing cabinets beyond the open doors.
“This used to be the servants’ wing,” Cathryn explained. “Now it’s our administrative offices. We use this entrance when we’re just coming into work. The front door is reserved for clients and recruits.”
“So we work in the servants’ quarters?” I asked, eyebrows raised.
“No, we work upstairs, but we use what used to be the staff’s staircase. Come on, follow me.”
The stairs were steep and winding, but the room upon which they opened was bright. There were couches and chairs flanked by simple wooden tables; it seemed to be a lounge of some sort. Two girls sat in one of the smaller sofas near a wide expanse of windows. They both looked up expectantly as Cathryn and I came in.
“Fiona, Emma, this is Tasmyn. She’s here on her first visit to the Creek as one of us.”
I attempted a smile, flashing back to all of my first days of school. But this time, it was really different. Fiona stood up with a genuine smile, extending her hand to me.
“Tasmyn, it’s so nice to meet you. I’ve been looking forward to it.” She cut a glance to Cathryn. “Does she know...?”
“No, I haven’t told Tasmyn about any of you. I figured it would be easier for her to keep you all straight if she met you first.”
Fiona no
dded. “Okay. So...I’m Fee. I’m a precog.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “Precog?”
Fee cocked her head to the side. “Precognitive. I can tell the future. See it, I mean.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t really considered any of the other talents that might be lurking up here. “How does that work? I mean, is it hard to do? To know what’s going to happen before it does?”
Fiona shrugged. “Now that I’ve learned more about it, it’s not so bad. The hardest part in the beginning was when I saw things and they didn’t happen. Then no one believed me.”
I shook my head. “Wait a minute, you see things that don’t happen?”
“The future is fluid. It changes because we change—our plans, our feelings...nothing is set in concrete. So right now, when I look at you, I might be able to say that you are going to see Michael tonight and...” She closed her eyes for a moment and then smiled. “Wow. Yeah, let’s hope for your sake I’m on target this time. He’s a cutie.” Fee winked at me, and I blushed, wondering what exactly she was seeing.
“Anyway, that’s what is going to happen at this point, but if anything changes for either of you, that scenario is out the window. You could get stung by a bee and end up having a bad reaction. Or Michael could find out that he has to study for a big test. Who knows? But right now, with the conditions the way they are, I can tell you about your evening.”
Beside me Cathryn radiated annoyance, which only made me smile.
Emma leaned around Fee and smiled at me. “Hi. I’m a broadcaster.”
This one I knew. “You’re my counter part then. I can--”
“—hear minds. Yeah, Fee told me. I guess you’re our mini-Cathryn.” Her ironic half smile made me feel in on the joke, not the target. Cathryn’s irritation ratcheted up one more notch.
“Emma is an influencer, too. She can plant suggestions in people’s minds,” Fee patted the other girl’s arm. “We work together sometimes.”
“Fee lets me know when my stuff is working, when the future has changed for the person I’m trying to help.”
King Series Box Set Page 83
