by Jon Davis
Plates clinked harder in the sink, making Angela jump. I looked over at Dana, out of the corner of my eye I also saw BJ looking uncomfortable. What was going on? Why was Dana suddenly acting like this? I had asked her if she’d trained others beside Alex, and she had been reticent about answering. So much so that I’d doubted her claims. But she’d said that she had trained them, that her coven had trained them. So this was also the only thing that made sense. But why was she reluctant to talk about it?
Angela said, “Okay, there’s a third group, so what? It has to be other Empowered. Parry didn’t catch on, that’s all. I mean, if they blocked Yasmine, then it makes sense that they could hide from Parry. Hell, if they can stop Yasmine, maybe we should find them and ask for help.”
Without looking, Dana said, “It was the Empowered. It has to be others that BJ didn’t know about.”
I looked at Dana, but I answered Angela. “No, Yasmine would’ve said something about it if they were another Empowered group. I’m sure of it.”
I got up and went to her. Reaching out, I put a hand on a shoulder. I said, “Dana, you told me that your coven has been training for years. And you knew how to handle Alex. So are you sure it’s Empowered stopping other Empowered?”
She stopped moving for a moment. Water flowed from the faucet for a moment longer before she turned it off. Reaching for a towel, she dried her hands as she glared at me. “You don’t know what you are talking about, Vaughn. Back off!”
Angela looked at Dana and me and then turned to BJ. “Want to explain what’s going on? What’s with the sudden tension?”
BJ said, “It’s nothing. Vaughn, just let it go. It can’t be what you think.”
Something was wrong. Dana was pissed. I was touching on something much deeper than just teaching a bunch of psi-gifted people how to read a pack of Zener cards. The way she was reacting to my questions told me that whatever was upsetting her was on a more personal level than just teaching psychics. Still, this wasn’t the time to be diplomatic. Too much was at stake.
I said, “You know that if it were other Empowered, Yasmine and Paradoxis would have seen it. So I have to ask you Dana. Did another telepath block Yasmine? Could one of those that you or your coven trained be strong enough to block an Empowered telepath?”
Angela blinked. “Wait…is that even possible? I mean, we’re talking about levels of power that could strip normal human minds in one second flat! I’ve seen it! Yasmine wiped out entire armies in Africa. Seriously, how could any human being manage to block her?”
Dana looked away from me. Then, without warning, she walked away. On the way to the back of the house, she said, “BJ, explain it. I…I need a moment.”
BJ said, “But…wait, Dana…all of—”
“Just do it!” she snapped, walking off.
I looked in her direction, then back at BJ. I said, “Okay, I know I was getting personal about the training thing, but, seriously?”
There was no joy in BJ’s voice when he said, “Man, I told you to let it go.”
I looked at him, surprised. “BJ, what’s up? Why is she reacting this way? She told me herself that our powers come from the psionics. Okay, they’re amped up with whatever happened, but…okay, what’s going on?”
BJ sighed. “This was the reason I didn’t want to have Dana involved with the Empowered. She was…there was a disappearance, it devastated her.”
Yep, there it was. The reason for why she had taken my idea so personally. I said, “She trained the guy, didn’t she?”
BJ said, “She fell in love with him. They were going to get married. And he disappeared. It hurt Dana so much that she left San Francisco to move here.”
He looked at Angela and said, “It’s why I kept steering everyone away from the coven. I should never have even brought it up. But all of you wanted to know how I got so smart about the subject. Well, this is why. I grew up with it. But to ask her to get involved would have been asking too much.”
BJ looked at me. His eyes were darker, a stormy gray. He said, “And now, you just did.”
I shook my head and said, “BJ, she was involved the second Alex came into her life. The question is, was he alone?”
Angela said, “New Men…but not Empowered…could they possibly be that powerful?”
BJ sighed. “They could be. No, I know they are.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
After a while, Dana returned. She was composed, but there was a deep sadness in her eyes. I felt a twinge of guilt, but I couldn’t do much about that. I was beginning to worry about Angela. In the silence that had been left by Dana’s reaction, Angela pulled into herself. I knew she was worried about Alan, and now my idiot idea was only causing her further stress. If she didn’t have something come up to distract her, I worried she’d jaunt out of here to look for her brother.
My biggest worry was that she’d find him and then Yasmine would kill her. Definitely not something that I wanted to see. Dana must have noticed Angela’s behavior too, because once she came back, Dana started throwing questions at Angela as she put leftovers away. After she finished, Dana took Angela into the living room. On the way, she turned her head and whispered to me to grab some magnesium vitamins for the three of us.
I looked at Angela. Dana whispered, “I’ll help her. Go.”
I wasn’t going to argue with Dana’s logic. I went into the bathroom and saw the magnesium in the medicine cabinet. I sighed. Whatever the element was doing to my body, it was helping me heal. After my shower, I’d felt achy and looked like hell. When I’d glanced in the mirror, I had winced at the deep, dark bruising that crossed my entire body.
Now, getting the vitamins from the bathroom, I noticed that I felt barely a twinge while lifting my arm. Lifting the shirt, I was startled to see that the deep bruising had started to fade. I knew I wasn’t regenerating, or anything like that, but I was definitely recovering. That was a good thing. I had a feeling we’d all be seeing Yasmine very soon. I took my magnesium and went to rejoin the fun. And then went back and grabbed the magnesium for Angela and BJ. Oh yeah, I’m recovering—right, sure I am.
Out in the living room, tossed the bottle to BJ. He and Angela were lazing on the couch while Dana sat in her leather chair, drinking from a Vaughners mug. Angela was fighting hard not to smile while BJ continued to describe his absolute hatred for the show Glee. He said, “Seriously, I can’t stand it! They set up the show plots to do the songs! It’s so obvious that it’s not even funny! And every season has been worse than the one before!”
Dana said, “And they didn’t hire you.”
BJ froze in mid-speech. He looked askance at Dana. His face turned red, and he stuck his tongue out at her. Angela gave up fighting it and started laughing. I snorted. I said, “So you’re an actor, then?”
Taking some magnesium pills, BJ swallowed them down, and then said, “Well, it’s either that or I continue getting paid for my Parkour stunt work. I don’t mind doing it, though, since it's fun. It was especially fun when I got to jump off the top of a four-story building.”
I glanced at Dana as BJ told us the story of a stunt he did off a four-story building. She seemed fine for the moment. That was good, because BJ was a good storyteller. By the time he finished, Dana’s eyes were wide. After he finished, she groaned and said, “Dear Goddess! I saved you from a car running you down only for you to go out and do this. I want a refund!”
I asked, “I’m sorry? BJ almost got hit by a car?”
Angela said, “And you didn’t let it happen? Why?”
We all laughed. But I could tell that while Angela joked and laughed, she still wasn’t feeling good. I know she wanted to get out and look for Alan. Hell, I wanted to get out there and find Brand, and beat some sense into him. And yet a part of me wanted to find a bed to hide under. Damn Yasmine and her mind stunts. She’d left me feeling more vulnerable than ever.
I shook my head. No, I couldn’t have that kind of doubt building in my mind. I knew it would leave me ope
n to Yasmine’s attack. And she wasn’t someone I wanted in my head ever again. So, to push the worry away, I said, “So, BJ, how did you become so involved in all this craziness?”
He said, “What? I met Parry on the Internet—that’s it. She helped me work out my problems over being Alex’s boyfriend with the FBI. They were going nuts interrogating me about my boyfriend’s sudden rise to demigod status. And I helped her to develop the conclave. We worked at putting the virtual chat site together. Heck, I was the one who created the big ‘E’ shaped table and, um, other stuff.”
“And you’re also the one who thought up those stupid codenames!” Angela said with a bemused-sounding chuckle. I groaned. I had been right. Damn. Then I realized that Yasmine used codenames, not actual names. Perhaps she was using more than just names. Wait a minute… names? She had used one when she’d talked to me.
I glanced at BJ and said, “Where did the name Sonics come from? Yasmine called me that, and I don’t remember ever hearing it before.”
BJ looked guilty, and I just shook my head. But even with the guilt on his face, I could see this twinkle in his eyes. He was laughing at the idea. Jeez, some guys just never grew up! But now I knew what was going on. Joy.
I said, “Last I heard, you guys didn’t think I had powers. When did I get this name?”
BJ winced. Then he sighed. “I knew when I shook your hand. The buzz we feel is a telltale for active ability. And I told Parry. She scanned you the morning after the whole thing with Jessup.”
Dana blinked and her eyes narrowed. “You were here…and not once did you tell me about this. Huh. Brat!”
He faked hanging his head in shame. Then with a chuckle, BJ shrugged and said, “What? I told you, I didn’t want you getting back into this crap. You were dealing with Alex, and that was on top of Ian. I know how you felt about that. So, yeah, I went silent. I’m not sorry you found out, just the way you found it out.”
Glancing at Angela and me, Dana raised a brow up and said, “Oh we’ll talk, BJ. We will talk about this. Trust me.”
BJ’s eyes flashed. Uh oh, we didn’t need a sibling squabble, again. To head it off, I said, “And where did you get the name Sonics?”
BJ blinked and looked at me for a second before he said, “Uh, actually it’s spelled S-O-N-apostrophe X. Son’x. It’s a catchy name, and it looks cool on a screen. And it’s accurate, isn’t it? You have super hearing, and you amplify the sound from your voice. And you might be able to control sound energy altogether. You’ll have to study it.”
I gave him a snort in response. Then I said, “Great, and did you give everyone these cutesy names?”
He waggled his hand. “It was kind of a half and half situation. I named some, and others named themselves. Mainly, it was for Paradoxis’s benefit. She really is from another country, so she asked for something easy to remember to label her files with.”
Dana took a drink and said, “I don’t suppose you could contact any of these codenamed friends right now? Maybe we can get their help finding Yasmine and Alan.”
Then she blinked and looked at me. “And Brand, sorry.”
I sighed. “Stopping Yasmine is the more important thing.” I glanced over at BJ and Angela as they made faces at each other. Kids. A part of me wished I could join in. Why did I feel a thousand years old?
I interrupted their silent communication, saying, “Hey, Dana asked if you knew anyone who might be able to help stop Yasmine. An answer would be nice.”
Startled at my hard tone, BJ shook his head. “Sorry, but without Parry to be the bridge, neither of us knows if we can actually trust anyone in the conclave. They’re untouchable until she shows.”
I sighed. “Do you even know who Paradoxis really is?”
BJ grimaced and said, “No, she’s a shadow to me. And believe me, I’ve asked.”
Angela backed him up. “I asked her once too. She said she lived in an oppressive culture. She didn’t feel safe to reveal herself yet. And I have to agree with BJ. We don’t know who Yasmine has on her side, Vaughn. If we start pulling in people, we could end with getting stabbed in the back.”
I stared at them and said, “Hasn’t anyone heard of online moderators? Come on! Just how well organized is this conclave? I mean, how many could you get into the group, anyway?”
BJ looked at me and then he got off the couch and went into the kitchen, muttering, “I need soda…must have my sodas!”
I glanced at Dana, whispering softly, “Attention Deficit Disorder?”
She glanced at BJ as she said, “No, just BJ.”
“Dana, where’s the soda?” BJ called to her, his head inside the refrigerator.
Dana sighed. “We’ll get some in the morning. You know I’m not big on caffeine.”
“Noooo! I must have my sodas!” BJ said. He looked irritated as he looked back at us. BJ was the kind of person who bounced from one subject to the next in a single thought. I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing.
I was startled when BJ suddenly pointed at me with an imperious look and said, “I must have my soda! You! You will lead me to the soda places!”
I hid a smile. BJ had an impish face that made me want to laugh. His eyes were twinkling with mirth, and I could tell he knew how insane and silly he sounded. Dana just shook her head, smiling at his antics. Even Angela was hiding a smile behind her hand. I had to admit, he made for a good break from Yasmine’s insanity.
But I knew he was also trying to distract me. And I knew why. Orishai, Letze Reich, and the Children of Rodina were names for comic book super-groups. Maybe Yasmine had gotten it from others in the conclave, but somehow it just didn’t feel right. No, BJ was the one who had come up with the individual codenames. And something told me that he had done more than that. Yasmine’s plan hadn’t come out of nowhere. Now I only needed confirmation.
BJ came back into the living room and pointed at Angela. He said, “You, glowy flash girl! Go! Grab me sodas and return to me!”
She laughed and said, “I can’t pop into some place and bring you a soda, you goof! I barely know the town!
I started to ask BJ how he designed the conclave’s chat site, but I stopped when my hearing flared. I lost my focus on the room when I heard something I really didn’t want to overhear. I sighed. So much for the party-like atmosphere. I looked at the three as I thought fast. Soda…okay…time to send people off to get…soda…bah. It’s ‘pop’ to me.
I said, “BJ, you’ve been in Riverlite before. You know the town well enough. Why don’t you and Angela go down to the gas station near the river and get some chips and soda from there? Here, get me a couple bottles.”
Pulling out some cash from my wallet. Waving it prompted BJ to come over for the money. I pulled the money in toward me to make him come closer. As he did so, I took the opportunity to whisper, “Did you talk to Yasmine about comic books and superheroes more than just for the codenames? I think you know what I mean.”
BJ’s eyes widened. After a moment, he nodded. I handed him the cash and just nodded back. And there it was. I said, “Go. We’ll deal. I want Pepsi, and not the diet stuff. And chips!”
BJ pulled away, trying not to react to my question. Angela stood and looked at the two of us, wondering what I had said. I smiled. I said, “It’s nothing ‘gel…um, Angela. I just needed a question answered.”
She looked at me a moment longer, worry in her eyes. But she only said, “Okay, BJ, come on, you overactive, hyper child. You and I can actually walk somewhere, and maybe we can brainstorm some ideas about finding someone that we can trust!”
BJ said, “Yay! Maybe we can ogle at some boys!”
On the way out the door, I heard Angela say, “Hello! It’s winter! The boys are bundled up!”
“Imagination, Angela! Imagination!” BJ said as the door closed.
I sighed. “How did he make it past childhood?”
Dana smiled. “I don’t think he has. Mom indulged him a bit too much.”
Then she got up and went
to the kitchen sink to rinse out the mugs. We had eaten all the food, and she’d been doing dishes throughout the evening. Something to focus on, I guess. I wished I could do something as simple as that for a distraction, but things were happening too fast.
After a moment of listening, I said, “Dana, it’s warm enough. I think I’m going out back for a moment to think.”
Dana glanced back, smiling. The smile didn’t seem to reach her eyes. “Okay.”
I went into BJ’s bedroom and grabbed my jacket. It really wasn’t all that cold out. The snow had melted away on the streets. I’d noticed that while walking around with Angela earlier. As I headed for the back door, I stopped and turned to Dana. "It wasn’t your fault. Whatever happened, the stuff that happened wasn’t your fault. Alex was who he was. In the end, he made his own choices. Nothing you could have said would have stopped him.”
I walked out, as I did, I heard a slight gasp behind me, followed by her muttering something in Gaelic. I smiled, hoping that I’d broken through a wall that had been up since before the chaos had started. Since meeting her, I had always had a feeling that Dana felt responsible for what Alex had done. She wasn’t. I knew that Alex was responsible for his own choices from the moment he had thrown that brick at James Jessup to his flight into space. Once Alex decided something, he carried it through, no matter the consequences. And I’d thought he was a sociopath for doing such a thing. Not anymore.
Outside, I looked up and saw that the sky was bright with twinkling stars that shone on this moonless evening. I took in the air, smelling the coming spring. It was a good smell. It was the smell of the coming spring. For a few moments, it gave me a moment of peace.
A falling star crossed the night sky, flickering away. Sighing, I went through the gate and walked to the bench, noticing snow melting in patches around the yard and on the trees. Sitting down, I looked at the shadowy oak, trying to let my mind process things. I needed to do this. It wouldn’t be long before something new happened.
Somewhere, a madwoman was gathering a group of super humans. She was going to come here, and she was going to destroy the town where I’d grown up. And it was from some insane idea to start a new war between good and evil—no, rephrase that, between heroes and villains. Thank you, BJ.
