Eleanor ripped the brown paper off the package, revealing a stack of paper. She sat down on the bed and, resigning herself, began to read.
I read over her shoulder as she sat there. I was so close I was absolutely positive she would feel me, considering all the times I’d seen her spirit, but this was definitely a memory and I could discern more of the difference between them. There wasn’t the vibrancy to her that I’d detected in my visions.
I frowned in surprise when I saw John Dexter’s name on the page. How could he possibly be involved again? Eleanor blew upwards, making her bangs flutter, and kept reading.
I scanned the paper. It was a letter from a friend back at the orphanage where Eleanor had lived before being adopted.
“You came to us as a new foal, and as a personal favor to a man whom I personally despised but had done good by my own family,” the man had written. “He did not want to keep you at his own orphanage because people would have asked questions. He swore me to secrecy that day, to take the utmost care of this baby girl, and never tell about her parentage.”
Eleanor became increasingly more pale and withdrawn as she kept reading and flipping pages.
“John had a romantic relationship with one of his own charges. She was a sixteen year old, nearly too old to be there. John has always been, if you’ll pardon, a bit of an oddity.
“He said it wasn’t possible when I asked him why he didn’t just marry the girl. That too many in town would talk and he’d lose his reputation, even though everyone is aware of his wealthy eccentricity. But that union resulted in a baby.
You.”
Eleanor dropped the papers to the floor, where they scattered into a mess of white rectangles.
Wait. Wait one freaking moment.
Dexter was my great-grandfather? I jumped off of the bed, turning around. How was that even possible? I felt all the blood drain from my head and the room swayed in front of me.
Eleanor seemed to have the same reaction as me. She burst to her feet. “That awful man! It can’t be! Is that why I’m seeing that place in my dreams?”
She grabbed her hair with both hands, pacing her tiny room.
Then I felt a tap on my shoulder, and my blood ran cold. I turned.
“What are you doing in my memories?” Eleanor’s ghost purred. Her grip on my skin was vice-like. We were face to face, and her black eyes burned into me. I opened my mouth to shout or scream, and felt myself jet up into blackness and Eleanor’s room became a small dot below me.
As soon as I came to, I sat up. It wasn’t possible. That evil man, responsible for the torture and deaths of children, could not be my relative. I never, ever would have thought it was possible. I hadn’t even known my grandma was adopted before all of this, but I guessed it was just another thing we never talked about.
I was shaking and I could hear my own heart rate beeping a staccato on the monitor. Sweat dripped off my forehead and stung my eyes.
“Ariel, what’s wrong?” Callie asked, putting her hand on my arm.
“You were under for such a long time,” Hugh said. “What did you see? Are you okay?”
I opened my mouth to speak, then shut it. How could I explain?
Before I could figure it out, there was a banging on the front door. I was given a reprieve. Everyone in the room looked in that direction and Hugh and Callie rushed out. I disconnected myself from the monitors abruptly and followed.
Phillip Rhodes was standing in the doorway. My breath caught painfully in my chest and the dizzy, faint feeling returned. I had a very bad feeling.
“What are you doing here?” Hugh demanded coldly.
Phillip held up a packet of paper. “This is a deed of sale. I just bought out the entire building, including this gallery. I plan on converting them all to offices for Thornhill.”
He handed the packet over to Callie, as though he didn’t want to risk touching my father. Then he held up another missive, this one looking very legal.
“This is an eviction notice. You have ten days to vacate the premises, or I sue you out. I assure you, it’s all perfectly legal.”
Hugh hadn’t spoken, just looking shocked and sickened. “So, it wasn’t enough to destroy my wife? You have to destroy my business, too?”
Phillip looked a little taken aback, but recovered. “I told you I’d get you back.”
“How is this possible?” Callie said, flipping through the papers.
“Anything is possible when you know the right people,” Phillip said. “I’ll leave you be so you can start packing.”
He turned around and began to walk away. That was his first mistake.
Hugh ran right behind him, grabbing him by the neck. Phillip was a tall man, but so was my father. Hugh, his face going red, punched Phillip straight in the side of his head. Mr. Rhodes wriggled away, pushing Hugh backwards and grabbing the side of his own head like he suddenly had a splitting headache.
“Your wife worshiped me until you came along and filled her head with lies,” Phillip roared. “It didn’t take much for her to come back to me.”
Coming forward, Phillip tried to punch Hugh back, but stumbled as Hugh dodged out of the way, his fist screaming through the air. He wobbled and almost fell over, holding his hands out for balance. They were in the middle of the street now. I put my hands over my shocked mouth. Theo stood by my side, equally flummoxed.
Rearing back, Hugh swung again and jacked Phillip in the lip. The pink skin split, blood spraying out. Phillip stumbled backward.
Men rushed into the street, pulling my father and Henry’s dad apart. I squeezed my sweaty hands together, not believing it was happening.
Callie wiggled her way in, putting her arm around Hugh and leading him away. Sensing the fight was over for now, the men who had helped stepped back. Phillip tugged his twisted suit jacket around, blood running in a shiny trail from his fat purple lip. I’d never seen him so visibly flustered.
“Yeah, take your dog,” Phillip shouted weakly at Callie. The gawkers on the street withdrew as Callie took Hugh back inside. Theo followed behind them. It was just me and Phillip. He glared at me, leaning in close enough for me to smell his strong, musky aftershave.
“You should have listened to me, girlie,” he warned in a soft, deadly voice. He was trying to hypnotize me with his eyes.
“Don’t talk about my mother, ever,” I said, glaring back.
“Your mother and I had something you’ll never understand.” He pointed one shaking finger in my face. “You stay away from my son. I know about you, and you won’t lure him away.”
“We’re not leaving, no matter what. You won’t scare us away,” I said evenly, pulling myself to my full height, keeping his gaze. “You’ll never be the man you wish you were.”
His eyes registered recognition and confusion, his lips pressing into a frown. I turned and stalked back to Erasmus.
Callie was comforting Hugh on the bench I’d just been using for the grounding stone vision. Her hand was on his back, his head was in his hands.
“Way to go, dad,” I said. “Nice punch. He’s gonna be bruised for weeks.”
Hugh looked up at me grimly. Tears of frustration stood out in his eyes. My heart sank.
“Ariel, violence is never the answer,” Callie admonished.
“You gotta admit, though, that was a good punch,” Theo said, boxing the air.
Callie couldn’t help but grin. Hugh looked at her, then grinned himself. Our group laughed together. Hugh looked at the paperwork in his hand, and the grin disappeared. He started reading through it in earnest.
“So, is there a loophole? Can we get out of it?” I asked after Callie had gone to make a pot of coffee.
Hugh tossed the paperwork on the floor and put his reading glasses back into his pocket. He webbed his fingers together and leaned back.
“No, it’s valid,” he sighed. “We only have ten days to get everything out of here. I don’t have enough money for an attorney, and I can go to court to ask for more
time, but I don’t really have good cause. At the most I might get thirty, forty-five days.”
“You should definitely fight it,” I said.
“Let them have it,” Hugh said.
“Hugh?” Callie asked, surprised, as she returned with the coffee. “You can’t mean that.”
“I mean it.” I could tell by his tone that he was absolutely set.
“But why?”
“They’ll have it anyway sooner or later. Rhodes can have whatever he wants. It will just give me that much more time to figure out how we’re going to destroy him.”
“What are we going to do for money in the meantime?”
“Honey, Erasmus hasn’t been making me much money for a while. Ever since my advertising got dropped. I still have some savings, and Claire’s insurance should be figured out soon. She still had quite a bit of savings in our account, so all of her bills are paid for. It’s just the day to day stuff. If I have to, I’ll get a damn job at Dante’s.”
I wanted to tell him about what I’d learned about Dexter being my relative, but I couldn’t bring myself to reveal it. I wanted to wait until we were alone.
“What did you see in your vision, Ariel?” Hugh asked hopefully. “Anything that might help us?”
“Everything was pretty much as you said. There was a fire that distracted them, then you and the other adults came running in. But I don’t think just bringing in parents is going to stop them this time.”
Hugh stood back up, shoving the eviction papers and the deed of sale into his briefcase. “I’m sorry this is coming down on you, Ariel.”
“It’s not.” I shook my head.
“We really need to find out Thornhill’s current situation. Mine isn’t the only business they’ve gotten rid of. The sports supply store just went under, too, and they were doing great last year.”
“So I just need to go back to a recent point in time. Maybe the meeting when they decided on taking Erasmus,” I said eagerly. “I’m guessing they just wanted you away from their office, but who knows?”
He rested his hands on my shoulders. “Take a little break first, Ariel. I can tell that the grounding stone is having a physical effect on you. It’s all you’ve been talking about lately. I told you, if it gets bad, we’re stopping.”
“It’s not bad,” I insisted, but I didn’t meet his eyes. I could still feel the touch of Eleanor’s hard, strong hand on my shoulder.
CHAPTER 12
“YOU’VE GOTTEN BETTER at holding still. Must be all that grounding stone practice,” Theo said. “You could come be my model in class.” She was sketching a picture of me on her easel as we sat in her room. A few days had passed since Hugh got the eviction notice, and we were catching up.
“Probably. Not to mention all of the lying around I’ve been doing.”
“How are things with Henry?” she asked innocently, staring at the image she was sketching. I was doodling a picture of her in my notebook, and although I was trying, her face was still a perfect circle and her fingers looked like hot dogs.
“I haven’t talked to him much,” I admitted, tossing my artistic mess on the floor. “It’s been over a week since we’ve had a conversation.”
“Why is that?” she asked, surprised.
“It’s hard to explain. When I went back into those visions, Phillip looked and acted so much like Henry, they could have been twins. And my dad was talking about how he thinks Henry is going to unavoidably be like Phillip someday. I mean, how can he resist the allure of power? He says that he loves me―in fact, I know he does, but I just feel uncomfortable.”
“You need to talk to him about it. Take my advice, even if I don’t always take it,” Theo said seriously. “If you love each other, don’t let this stupidity and not talking come between you.”
I was surprised that she felt that way, especially considering it was Henry. She must have really been warming up to him.
“Just let him know that if he breaks your heart again, I’m yanking out his for payback,” she said sweetly. That was more like it.
“I miss so many people,” I said, admiring how much prettier I looked in her sketch than I did in real life. “I miss my mom, I miss Jenna. I miss when things were simple, when we could talk about boys and dresses and not this looming evil. Before I suspected I was part angel.”
“The last part’s got to be the kicker,” Theo said, joining me on the bed.
“I feel bad that I don’t miss Jenna as much as I expected. I guess it’s because I knew she was dead the whole time and I was living a dream.”
I started to cry, and Theo gave me a big hug, squeezing me tightly.
“You sound so serious. Is there something else?” She tilted up my chin and studied my face. “There is, isn’t there?”
I knew I couldn’t hide it, in the interest of being honest with my friend. “Yeah, I went back to a time when Eleanor was at Bernhardt. That bad day she was referring to? She found out that she was John Dexter’s illegitimate child with one of the orphans. He must be the Luminos bloodline that I’m a part of.”
Theo sat back, her red lipsticked mouth open in shocked awe. “Whoa, that’s heavy.”
“It explains why I was always called there, from the beginning. And why that black dog called me, I think he’s actually Dexter now, but I don’t know how or why.”
“Have you told your dad?”
“Not yet. It’s such a big thing. I don’t know how he’ll react and he’s already got so much going on.”
“He’s done this whole opposition for years. Trust him; he’s got a handle on it. Hey, at least your dad isn’t soup with too many noodles, like mine.”
“How are things with Richard?” Richard Weaver was her father, and I didn’t like him. From what I’d experienced, he didn’t treat her very well. Theo had told me he had mental issues, but I didn’t feel like it have him a free pass to hurt her.
“I told him off. He was using me as a slave and I finally just got sick of it.”
“Good for you.”
She bit the end of her pencil and looked up at me through her lashes, flecks of green glitter sparkling on the edges. “And I’m moving out to Chicago as soon as school is out.”
“I’ll miss you. More than anything,”
“I’d bring you out with me. Just say the word.”
“I have my own plans, if I make it that far. Some part of me really thinks that’s not going to happen. I sent in my acceptance to Washington. I want to get as far away from Hell as I can, as long as I’m still alive for graduation.”
“Don’t say that,” Theo scolded. “Now hold that pose so I can finish my picture.”
###
The next day at school, I approached Henry. Prepared to be on the defensive about my recent actions, I clutched my books in front of me like a shield. He was standing by his locker, looking like he hadn’t slept in a while. He tossed the books in his arms back in and grabbed another set. Turning his head, he noticed me, but his expression didn’t change.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” he croaked, his brown eyes darkening a little.
“How have you been?”
“Uh, confused.”
“Where’s your pin?” I asked, rubbing my own empty collar.
“I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing one of those things,” he said. “You should know that.”
I just stared at him, the words in my brain drying up.
“Is that all you wanted to ask me? Since you suddenly don’t want to trust me anymore?”
“Henry, it’s not like that.”
“That’s how it seems,” Henry said. He leaned in closer since we weren’t alone. “I thought you loved me. You said you loved me. I love you. And yet you keep pushing me away.”
“I’ve been doing some heavy stuff.” I glanced around me and lowered my own voice. “With the grounding stone I told you about.”
“So why don’t you tell me about it?” He gnawed at his bottom lip, searching my face.
When I looked at him, his face was cold and empty. “I’m nothing like my father.”
“I know you try not to be.”
“I don’t have to try.”
“Well, let’s get together and talk about things,” I said quickly. I could sense he was pulling away again, but I didn’t want him to go. “Let’s meet up at the hill, like old times.”
“Fine.” He said, slamming the locker and stalking away.
###
I set out that night to go meet with Henry. Even though I didn’t know how the night would turn out, I did my makeup and wore a red sweater that he’d complimented me on. Hugh wouldn’t have approved, but I didn’t give him the chance to say no. I told him I’d be studying at Theo’s, and while I didn’t relish lying to him, I didn’t feel like I had a choice.
He was finishing up his packing at Erasmus. It was the first week of March, but despite the early thaw, it was beginning to snow again. My car had been acting up since winter started, not wanting to start, but I got it moving after it had warmed up.
At a stop sign, I caught a glimpse of red out my mirror. Goosebumps popped up on my arms. I looked closer at the rear view mirror and saw a red flag on a black Cadillac behind me, and let out a sigh of relief. The Cadillac’s paint was shiny and immaculate. Nice car. I wondered who it belonged to.
Even though I’d had my car for a while, I still wasn’t entirely comfortable driving in snow yet, especially since it was getting dark. Traffic was fairly heavy and stop and go, which didn’t help. I slammed on my brakes again. I turned onto the next street.
I glanced in the rear view mirror again idly at the next light and frowned. The Cadillac was still there, its gentle cloud of exhaust trailing behind. I could barely make out the dark shape of the driver behind the tinted windshield.
I kept driving. The Cadillac stayed behind me. I was starting to get paranoid. Was it following me? I’d never seen the car before, but it had been behind me almost the whole way. But why? Was Phillip or one of his drivers spying on me? The hairs on my scalp prickled and the goosebumps returned.
Velocity (The Gravity Series) Page 10
