She shakes her head. “Everything we did was classwork. All of our classes were self-paced, so if we didn’t finish something, we just kept working on it the next day. Our schedules were very structured. I always knew exactly what I was expected to be doing. It’s a challenge not having that. I start translating and get consumed by it sometimes.” Annabelle stands up and slings her messenger bag across her body. “Do you mind if we stop off somewhere to eat before we head to my place? I didn’t get a chance to go grocery shopping today.”
“Sure, I’m starving.” I stand up as well and start for the doors. “How have your classes been so far?”
I listen to Annabelle talk about her classes and homework as we leave the high school and drive to a source of food. I’m surprised again by how much she’s having to adjust to being here. It’s not just the typical culture shock people have to go through when moving out here to the desert. It’s a completely different way of experiencing life for Annabelle. My appreciation for her multiplies. I pull into her favorite deli and cut the engine. When we get out of my truck, I find myself putting my arm around her shoulder on instinct. Annabelle pauses for just a moment before smiling and continuing.
“I’m a little disappointed in some of my science classes,” she says as she pulls open the door.
“How so?”
“I thought they’d be harder. I already know most of what they’re lecturing about right now.”
“It’s just the first week,” I laugh.
Annabelle smiles. “Yeah, I suppose it’ll get harder.”
Placing our orders only takes a moment since we both get the same thing every time we come here. Annabelle loves the blue cheese turkey sandwich, but I stick to a meatball sub. The guy behind the counter has our order ready quickly, probably because he started making it the second we walked through the door. We head for a table by the window and sit down.
“I hope doing the translation isn’t cutting into your studying time. I don’t want you to put off school work for this,” I tell Annabelle.
She shakes her head quickly. “Don’t worry. This first week has been a little overwhelming, but I’ve looked through all my textbooks, and none of my classes this semester are going to be much of a challenge. Besides, I enjoy the translation work. It’s amazing how much crazy stuff is in that book.”
“Did you find anything interesting today?” I ask. Over the past two weeks, we’ve learned so much about the Eroi and the Richiamos. Most of the beginning sections of the book have been talking about the belief system, basic ideas of rewards for Richiamos service, and instructions on training methods they should follow on their own. Everything will be valuable when we actually have to face the Eroi, but I have been disappointed that we haven’t found anything more specific about Richiamos origins or what happens to them once they’re taken in by the Eroi.
“I did come across one thing I thought you’d want to hear about,” Annabelle says. “There was a chapter dedicated to explaining things to the parents of a Richiamos child who’s taken from a family not associated with the Eroi.”
“Really? I’ve been wondering how they could convince parents of these kids to let them take their children away.”
Annabelle picks a piece of blue cheese up off her tray and pops it into her mouth. “Yeah, me too. This chapter was bizarre. I don’t think the parents are given this book. I mean, unless they can read Italian, it would be completely useless anyway. The chapter wasn’t written to the parents. It was more like an instruction book on talking to parents and telling the person reading what they should explain and how to approach them.”
“So, I’m guessing they don’t tell the parents everything.”
Shaking her head, Annabelle says, “Not even close. From what I can gather, they approach the parents from the medical side of things.”
“What do you mean?”
“Apparently, Godlings aren’t the only ones that have health issues if certain rules aren’t followed.”
“Really?” I ask. “Ivy always seemed perfectly healthy.”
Annabelle sets down her sandwich. “That’s not surprising. She would have been following all their rules, I’m assuming.”
“What happens if they don’t?”
“It sounds like they go crazy, basically.”
I take another bite, giving myself a few minutes to think before saying anything. Why would being Richiamos effect Ivy’s sanity? I consider the question, trying to understand what her being a magnet for Godlings might have to do with her health at all. Somehow, Ivy was able to radiate an intense pain that compelled any Godling in her presence to go into a frenzy, even though she wasn’t in physical pain herself. I sit back as I realize this is the first time I’ve ever thought to ask that question.
“So, Richiamos not only die young, they are capable of expressing huge amounts of pain even when their body is physically unhurt. How does that makes sense?” I ask.
“It doesn’t,” Annabelle confirms, “but when the Eroi find a Richiamos—sorry, they didn’t explain how they did that—they tell parents that they can basically fix their kid’s health problems.”
“Mental health problems?”
Annabelle shrugs. “That’s what it sounded like. The longer it takes them to find one of these kids, the worse the problems are. They can become emotionally and mentally unstable, even violent if they’re left alone. It’s pretty sad, actually.”
“So, I’m guessing the Eroi look for emotionally messed-up kids, hunting them down to find out if they are Richiamos.”
“But how would they know for sure? What if they find a kid who’s just screwed up? They’d have to have a Godling to test them against, wouldn’t they?” Annabelle asks.
I don’t have an answer for that. I don’t know how they would ever be sure. The doctors my family works with have labeled my siblings me and as having a genetic disorder, but only because they have no idea what it really is. Genetic testing revealed absolutely nothing abnormal. The best they can figure is that it’s a hereditary condition because all three of us have it. There’s no way to diagnose a Godling as far as I know. David could certainly be hiding something, but I doubt they know how to identify Godlings through medical testing either.
“Did the chapter say anything about how they fix the problems?” I ask Annabelle.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t find anything yet, but I’m sure it’s in there somewhere. We’ll find it.”
I hope she’s right. If we could discover these people before the Eroi, we could stop them from using Richiamos against us. I frown as I wonder what would happen then. What would the Godlings do if they got their hands on an untrained Richiamos? Would they kill them outright, too afraid of their lure to let them live? Would they study them or subject them to tests to better understand them?
Is there some other use for a Richiamos nobody wants to talk about?
What did that passage mean when it said a Richiamos could choose to work with the Godlings to extend their lives? I can’t image what we would do with one that wouldn’t end badly for everyone involved. The question bothers me through the rest of the meal and all the way back to Annabelle’s apartment.
I get out of the truck and shut my door, feeling distracted. When Annabelle walks over to me, I put my arm around her shoulders automatically, but she seems to sense my mind is elsewhere and doesn’t say anything. We reach her apartment door in only a few minutes. Annabelle pulls away a little out of necessity when she stops to dig through her purse for her keys. She gets it in the lock and twists. I’m not quite ready to lose the comfort of her presence, so I let my arm fall from her shoulders to the small of her back.
A moment later, Annabelle pushes the door open and steps through. She stops so suddenly that I crash into the back of her. I can’t understand what stopped her until David steps into view. I can feel the fear radiating from Annabelle through her tense muscles and stiff posture. My hand already on her back moves to her shoulder and squeezes tightly, willing the
both of us to calm down.
“David,” I say as calmly as I can manage, “what are you doing here?”
“How’d you get in?” Annabelle demands.
David gives Annabelle a withering look. He doesn’t even bother to answer her question. Clearly, he thinks he has every right to be in her apartment. Ignoring Annabelle, David focuses on me. “I’m here to check up on the two of you. Apparently, you’ve been spending quite a lot of time together.”
“And you have a problem with that?” I ask. He’s the one who was more than happy to get Annabelle settled here. She may have come because she wanted to, but he sent her here as a distraction for me.
“Not at all,” David says icily, “so long as your time is spent… appropriately.”
Annabelle’s eyes snap up to mine. The embarrassment she’s clearly feeling blossoms on her cheeks, turning them a deep pink. It distracts me for a moment, long enough for Annabelle to look away and address David.
“We’re not doing anything inappropriate, David. We’re not even dating right now.” Her face screws up in confusion. “We’re both consenting adults, though, so even if we were sleeping together, why would that be a problem?”
Gently, I push Annabelle forward and close the door behind me. David’s smug expression says he’s clearly enjoying Annabelle’s mistaken conclusions and discomfort. I drop my backpack on the ground and step around Annabelle.
“That’s not what he was talking about, Annabelle,” I say, not taking my eyes off David. “In fact, I sure David’s disappointed we aren’t sleeping together.”
“What?” Annabelle demands.
Before I can say anything else, David steps forward to confront me. “Sleep with whoever you want,” he says. “Your bedroom activities don’t concern me in the least. What does concern me is your choice of hobbies.”
He turns sharply, pulling mine and Annabelle’s gazes to her coffee table. I close my eyes and groan at the sight of her laptop, printouts, and notebooks spread all over the surface. Those aren’t for school.
“We just wanted to know what is said,” Annabelle says quietly. “If we’re going to be in a war with them, we should know everything we can about their side.”
David touches the top of Annabelle’s open laptop screen. It went to sleep long ago, but David has clearly seen enough already. One flick of his fingers sends the lid slamming down to meet the base. He turns to glare at us both.
“But you don’t want to know everything about the Eroi.” His cold, calm voice is filled with fury. “All you want to know about are the Richiamos. Every note, every highlight, every printed image is all about one thing. One obsession.”
Annabelle’s head drops, but I refuse to let him cow me like this. David meets me toe to toe. “Step outside,” he says, “now.”
Back at the compound, I would have responded with a “yes, sir.” Not today. I turn on my heel and march to the door. I don’t hold it open for David. Stepping out into the hallway, I turn to face him. The fear I felt at first seeing him disappears the moment he squares up in front of me. I can’t explain why, at first. David holds the power of every Godling on this continent in the palm of his hand. I should be quaking, begging him not to punish me, promising to do as he says.
But I don’t.
I meet his eyes and finally see the reason for my confidence. Fear. He tries to hide it with sharp movements and a covering of anger, but he can’t bury it deep enough for me not to recognize it.
My defensive posture melts away into one of dominance. If David notices the change, he doesn’t comment. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares at me. “I thought we already had this discussion, Zander. Ivy was to be forgotten, put away, never to be brought up again.”
“Being targeted by one of the Richiamos isn’t something you can just set aside, David. You should know that better than most.”
“I never said it would be easy, just that I expected you to do it!” he snaps.
“Like you did?”
A flicker of pain flashes in his expression. “Yes, like I did.”
I laugh, but it’s not a happy sound. “You’re lying to yourself if you think that’s true.”
“Who are you to judge me?” David demands angrily.
“Who am I? I’m the only other person on this planet who knows what a liar you are! You haven’t forgotten her. You haven’t put her away. You think about her every second of the day. That’s why you’re so fixated on finding the Gift and destroying the Eroi! You can’t stop loving her or hating her. You can’t stop thinking about her any more than I can stop thinking about Ivy!”
I take a step forward. David holds his ground, but his jaw is quivering with rage. I point a finger at him angrily. “You’re a hypocrite, David. You have no right to judge me.”
“Cling to whatever delusions you want,” David says through clenched teeth. “I will not allow you to jeopardize the Godlings in any way. Your unhealthy fascination with Ivy and the other Richiamos is not something I will tolerate, Zander. I am ordering you to pack up this little research project and get your head back into your training where it belongs.”
“And if I don’t?”
David sucks in a strangled breath. His hands are clenched into massive fists. I am past believing that he won’t hit me, but I don’t back down. “If you won’t grow up and start taking your powers seriously, I will have no choice but to bring in the Godling council and stop you.”
“I’d like to see you try,” I say before pushing past him.
Chapter Twenty-Two: At Home
(Zander)
David barrels into the apartment after me, slamming the door open so hard one of Annabelle’s picture frames is knocked off the wall. I spin around to face him as Annabelle stumbles back in fear. The blatant fury on David’s face shocks me into silence. I have never seen him this angry before. I’ve never seen this much of any emotion come from him before. For all my bravado, when he jams a finger against my chest, I flinch.
“You want to see me stop you?” he growls. “Fine!”
Spinning away from me, David rounds on Annabelle. She squeaks in fear, scrambling to the other end of the couch to get away from him. David barely even notices the effect he has on her. All he cares about is proving he can stop me.
“Do you want to know the real reason Zander is here with you?” David demands. “It’s not for sex. It’s not even for a relationship. You don’t mean anything to him, Annabelle! You’re a means to an end in his eyes. He’ll never love you because he’s still in love with Ivy. He always will be. Zander will use you to get what he wants and throw you away. You. Mean. Nothing to him!”
David doesn’t wait for a response. He spins around, throwing me back into the wall as he marches out of the apartment, the door slamming shut behind him. I stare after him in shock. The fact that he blew up like that only confirms everything I suspected about him and his motivations. Keeping control of my fury at him is nearly impossible. Only the fragile sound of Annabelle’s voice breaks through my hatred.
Hearing Annabelle, I turn abruptly, to make sure she is okay. A whole new wave of anger slaps me in the face as I see her curled up on the couch sobbing. I want to kill David! How dare he attack her and scare her like this! Pushing the coffee table back, I kneel down next to Annabelle, intent on comforting her.
“Don’t touch me,” she cries. The sting of realization that she is crying because of the hurt I’ve caused her hits me when she pushes me away.
“Annabelle, please,” I beg. “Are you okay?”
“It’s all true, isn’t it?” She sobs into her hands, breaking my heart. “Are you going to throw me away when you have what you want?”
I move too quickly for Annabelle to stop me, wrapping my arms around her body. She tries to fight me off, but I have her pinned in a way that steals all her leverage. “No, Annabelle, no. I would never do that.”
“You want Ivy back.” Her whole body convulses against mine. “You’re still in love with her, aren’
t you?”
“Annabelle, please…” The answer to that question stalls on my lips, not because of Ivy, but because this is a moment a choice. This is a choice that could change everything. “Annabelle, this has nothing to do with Ivy,” I finally say.
Annabelle sobs again, but she pulls her head up to look at me. “What do you mean?”
I don’t answer right away. I can’t. Annabelle’s red, puffy face steals my words away. I stare down at her, struggling with emotions I can’t seem to name. I hate that David used her as a weapon against me. I hate that he hurt her, but even more, I hate that he was partially right. I am using Annabelle to find Ivy and I should have been more upfront with her about my intentions, but he was wrong about everything else. Annabelle means more to me than I can express. She’s something I’ve never had before. A true friend I would do anything to protect.
Ivy was never my friend. She was a drug, one I dove into headfirst and reveled in the addiction. I loved her fiercely, and I know it would be lying to say that had completely disappeared, but it is not my motivation anymore. Lisa wasn’t a friend like Annabelle is, either. We weren’t friends before we started dating. She never knew the truth about me. She never truly knew me.
Annabelle is something unique. She knows me inside and out and, despite what she knows, she accepts me with her whole heart. She sees past my mistakes and failings. Being around her gives me peace, and not just because of her gift. I would feel this way around her even without it. Annabelle accomplishes the impossible every time she looks at me, somehow convincing me that everything will be okay, that I’ll be okay.
I stare into the eyes of this beautiful young woman, finally understanding what a gift she is. Her heart is so pure, despite being raised by people like David. Her tearful eyes pull at my heart, begging me to tell her that she won’t be tossed aside like she has been all her life. Pressing my hands to her face, I brush my thumbs across her cheeks to clear away the last of her tears.
“Finding Ivy is my goal,” I finally say, “but not because I’m in love with her still. A big part of me wants to kill her every time I think about what she did.”
Wicked Power Page 23
