Christopher took one sip, spilled the crappy coffee down the drain and sat the cup in the sink.
Damn.
He was going to have to get Zellie and Avery back together.
I tapped my foot against the log, reluctant to sit down next to Ben, even though he’d promised eleventy billion times to never so much as shake my hand again. We needed to figure out what to do about Assistant Pastor Morris, and we still weren’t any clearer on why our rewinds stopped or what our painful shared vision had meant. Basically, we knew nothing, could do nothing, and were about as useless as a couple of frozen cat turds.
“Why don’t you try to glimpse maniacal pastor guy and see what goes down when we confront him?” Ben said, nuzzling his chin down into his scarf.
“It’s not that easy and you know it. I can ‘try’ to glimpse all I want, but my body chooses what it wants me to see.” I relented at last and sat down next to him on the log.
“What if you purposely tried to glimpse something other than what you really wanted to see? Like, tricked yourself?”
“I guess.” I shrugged. Anything was worth a go at this point. We had nothing to lose. “So, you mean like, I attempt to glimpse my dad and because he and Assistant Pastor Morris work together, I might get some info on him?”
“Sure. Worst case scenario you have a glimpse about your dad and he’s scratching his butt or something.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Remind me again why you’re not doing the glimpsing?”
He looked at me, incredulous. “Why would I bother when yours are a hundred percent accurate? Seems stupid for me to expend the energy.”
“God forbid you have to expend your energy.”
“Well, I could expend some of the pastor’s weird energy, but you might try to hump me,” he teased.
“Please,” I shot back, “I was the humpee, not the humper. Get your damn facts straight.”
“You’re the humpee, got it.” An expansive smile broke out across his face and he started snickering.
It was contagious. I fought to keep the corners of my mouth from lifting. “Stop it!” I said, slapping his arm. “We need to be serious!”
Ben continued on laughing. “You realize humpee is about a thousand times better than Little House, right? I’m totally going to make you a laminated name tag.”
I turned away from him. He was making me want to laugh with him and I was still angry. Well, I was still trying to be angry. “I’m glimpsing now. Shh!”
Because Ben had put the notion in my head, when I concentrated on Dad all I could think of was him scratching his butt. Awesome. I adjusted my focus and imagined my father making me an omelet for breakfast like he used to every Saturday morning.
My eyes snapped shut.
I lay on the ground at Ben’s feet, rolling around clutching my head. It felt like it would explode, the pressure was so great. Ben knelt beside me, pulling my hands from my face, asking me over and over again. “Are you okay? What do you see?
“Fire,” I screamed. “She’s going to burn us alive!”
“Who is, Zellie, who is going to hurt us?”
I prayed that my eyes would stay closed, but they flipped open just as the violent pain in my head took control.
Christopher grabbed the edge of the sink and hoisted himself up off the floor. What in the hell had just happened? He coughed and spat a thick glob of phlegm into the sink, expecting it to be black, as charred as his lungs felt. He replayed the vision in his head.
The brown-gray smoke hovered before him, encasing his body, leaving his nostrils and mouth dry and burning. The weight of another person’s hand in his. A man’s hand, squeezing so hard that he thought his fingers would break. He didn’t let go. The pain was worth the contact. He heard a female voice off to his right, Zellie Wells’s voice, yelling in between her own coughs. On his right, blue flames raced up the heavy brocade draperies that hung from the massive floor to ceiling windows of the Lodge ballroom, increasing the temperature of the room.
Why weren’t the sprinklers working? Where were the rest of the party guests? This was not what his plan had been. He had never considered a fire of this magnitude to kill Ben and Zellie. He was simply going to apply pressure to their brains until they hemorrhaged and then set a small controlled fire to cover his escape. But that had been his evil plan, and it was obvious now that the script had been flipped.
Christopher looked down at his body, unable to move as a trail of fire sped across the floor toward him and leapt at his legs. The pain was instant and excruciating. The hand holding his squeezed more tightly. Ben’s. Still Christopher burned. Mildred was going to burn the three of them alive and they weren’t going to be able to stop her.
He stumbled to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Quickly he stripped off his clothes and stepped underneath the cold spray. His skin felt instantly soothed. That vision had been more powerful than any he’d ever had, so realistic...and painful. Christopher stuck his face close up to the shower mirror he used for shaving. At least his eyes weren’t a bloody mess. He’d managed to retain enough of his power to avoid that nastiness. Washing up as fast as he could, he got dressed, ran out the door, and headed over to the Adams residence.
“Well that completely sucked.” I reached out for Ben’s hand to help me up.
“Jesus, are you okay? I thought you were going to burst into flames the way you were going on about the fire.” He picked a leaf from my hair.
“That,” I said, brushing the dirt from my backside, “is exactly what it felt like.”
“Was it like the vision we shared?”
“Yes, kind of. There was definitely more fire than what you saw before. I got a look at who we’re up against this time and it isn’t Pastor Morris, that’s for sure.”
“Who then?” he asked.
“Would you believe me if I said a little old lady?”
“I would,” Ben’s expression grew serious. “Little old ladies can be bad ass bitches in disguise. Look at your grandma. She’s example numero uno.”
I nodded. “True.”
“Was the pastor there at all?”
“He was. I couldn’t see him because of all the smoke, but I recognized his energy...I think I always will.” I thought for a minute, trying to recall the entire vision. “You were standing next to me, holding my hand and you could move but I couldn’t. I was held in place by a force. I’m thinking the little old lady is a mega mind controller or something.”
“Great,” Ben said, rolling his eyes. “Hey, why do you think I didn’t get the vision this time? Not that I really missed the pain or anything.”
I thought for a moment. “What if she’s behind all of this? The lack of rewinds and the painful visions? That can’t be a coincidence.” I continued on before Ben could interrupt me. “You shared a glimpse with me, but then you absorbed Pastor Morris’ mind control ability. If mind control causes the painful visions then maybe if you’ve used it, you become immune to others using it on you?”
“Maybe.” He didn’t sound convinced.
We both sat back down on the log, contemplating.
I picked up a small handful of rocks and chucked them at the slow moving water. It was almost frozen over, the ice crust thinner around the edges near the bank. I wiped my hands off on my jeans and rubbed my stinging eyes. The smoke and fire in the vision had been so realistic. Oh. Crap. I turned to Ben. “Are my eyes bloodshot?”
He looked away from me, back out at the water. “Yes, they are. Shall I find you a bellhop?”
“You might have to.” I sighed.
“I recommend Lance from room service,” he said, needling me. “Good kisser and he’ll bring you pancakes.”
“If my eyes don’t look better by Claire’s party, she’ll probably make out with me just so I don’t mess up her birthday pictures,” I joked lamely.
“Yeah,” he said.
Suddenly an image of draperies going up in flames jumped into my head and I knew the vision’s mystery loca
tion. Huge freaking duh. I grabbed Ben’s arm, forcing him to look at me. “The fire happens at the Lodge, in the ballroom. Claire’s had that place reserved for over a year. I’m her best friend. Even someone without abilities could figure out that I’m going to be in that place on that date. Someone with abilities definitely could have glimpsed you being there too.”
Ben shrugged. “So we just don’t show up.”
I elbowed him in the ribs. “You know it doesn’t work like that. If we’re not there, who knows what the hell could happen? Also, I would never do that to Claire.”
He rubbed his side. “What’s our plan then?”
“We need to talk to Pastor Morris and get Frank and Melody involved. We’re gonna have to rewind the fire while essentially protecting a whole ballroom full of people.” I looked into his eyes. “Your powers are going to be the strongest of us three. We’ve got to increase them somehow.”
Ben smiled at me, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
Knowing what he was thinking, I picked up another handful of rocks and went over to the water, sliding them one by one across the ice, trying to reach the other side.
“Why don’t you just let me do it? Your eyes will go back to normal and I’ll get some of your energy to use against the evil granny. Sounds win/win to me.” He steeled himself.
I gave him a bloody glare. “I swore to Avery that it would never happen again.”
“Under the circumstances,” he said, coming to stand next to me, “Don’t you think he would understand?”
“No, I don’t think he would understand. Even if he wasn’t under Pastor Morris’ influence--”
Ben grasped me by the shoulders, swinging me around to face him, and put his mouth to mine. I didn’t bother resisting, once our lips had met, my promise to Avery had been broken. He took his hands from my shoulders and slid them to my waist, wrapping his arms around me. Physically, he had a hold of my body, but he wasn’t using any mind control on me. Grateful for that, I decided to return the kiss, hoping that would make the whole process go faster.
I slung my arms around his neck, conscious of the way his hair brushed against the inside of my wrists. He kissed me harder.
“Dude, could you please get off of my girlfriend before I beat the crap out of you? I don’t want to injure her.”
We broke from each other instantly, both turning to look at Avery and Assistant Pastor Morris, Melody, and Frank.
“Avery--” I started to explain.
“I know Zel, red eyes. Past--, uh, Christopher said you’d have them.” He walked over to me. Taking the repaired necklace from his pocket, he slipped it around my neck and then turned to give Ben an expert boyfriend stare down. “I just wish this douche bag wasn’t the one to help you out.”
Ben snorted. “I got what I needed. Feel free to finish the job, lover boy.”
Avery took my hand. “Maybe after a whole bottle of Listerine,” he muttered.
Ignoring the slight, Ben turned to Assistant Pastor Morris. “Hi, Chris, I hear we’re going to be taking down an old lady together,” he said, shaking his hand.
Christopher shook Ben’s hand, giving him a wry smirk. “Oh, she’s not just any old lady, her name is Mildred and she’s the leader of The Society.” He gestured to the cabin. “Shall we go inside and have a chat? I’ve got a few things to tell you.”
Chapter Fifteen
“So,” Christopher sighed, “I don’t get to exact my revenge as I had once intended, which sucks, but at least I get to be a part of something.”
We all stared at him. Who knew Pastor Morris could be even more of an asshat than Ben? I was such a lucky girl.
Melody broke the silence first. “Wait. I get that you’ve been messing with Zellie and Ben, and why you would even use your powers on Avery, but why use them on Dad and Mrs. Adams?”
Christopher tsked at her. “Someone wasn’t listening,” he trilled. “I needed to find a way to keep Zellie and Avery apart so he wouldn’t strengthen her--”
“Not that part,” Melody interrupted. “You said they were going away together for a romantic weekend...that does not compute.”
“Most of the time I only intensify thoughts that are already present in a person’s mind.”
“Yuck,” she said, moving from her spot against the wall and flopping through Mr. Adams onto the couch. Mom and I exchanged an amused look. “No offense Avery, but I’m glad you don’t have a younger brother.” She gave us all a questioning glance, “You guys are aware that other people live in Rosedell, right? You don’t all have to date each other.”
“Oh Melody,” Mom said, humor in her voice, “it makes perfect sense to me. Becky can be a really fun person to hang out with and your dad isn’t as straitlaced and serious as you seem to think he is. Plus, they share a pretty big secret that would be difficult to explain to anyone outside our circle. I’m glad they’re enjoying each other’s company.”
Frank cleared his throat. “I believe prior to this fascinating discussion there was some talk of a strategy for Saturday?”
“Right,” Christopher said. “Rachel,” he winced and glanced at Mom.
She waved his discomfort away. “While the way that she died was horrible, I take comfort in knowing that everything she did was to protect her family. That’s the mother I remember.” Mom smiled weakly. “I’ve thought she was dead for more than half my life. Once you three defeat this Mildred lady and get Mom out of limbo I’ll probably see more of her. Plus, now she and Dad can be together again. That will make her so happy.”
“Way to be Zen, Mrs. Wells.” Ben said. “I’m glad your mom turned out not to be a psycho bitch. I’m sure my mom’s spirit feels safe with her around.”
“And I’m sure I was about to reveal our master plan,” Christopher said, “so if the love fest is over?” Everyone shut up. “As I was saying, Rachel said that Mildred was coming to kill the three of us specifically and in the vision, we were the only ones in the ballroom.” He checked with me to see if I agreed. I nodded my head once and he continued on. “This leads me to believe that we get Claire and all of her guests out of there and that Mildred isn’t concerned one way or the other about them.” He turned to the Lookouts. “That’s where you two will be needed. Lookouts are on crowd control.”
After Christopher had laid out the rest of the plan, Melody and I headed over to Dad’s house for our Thursday night dinner. Avery stayed at the cabin and Ben, Frank, and Christopher went back to the Lodge to scope out possible escape routes.
When I got back to the cabin that evening I found a note from Avery on top of my chest of drawers.
Zellie,
Sorry we didn’t have much time to talk today. I want to apologize for spazzing out on you in church. As soon as I got home and realized what I’d done I hated myself for it. I know Christopher (btw, how freaking weird is THAT?) intensified my feelings, or whatever, but like he said, the feelings were there to begin with. I have to admit that I’m jealous of Ben, and not just because he got to kiss you a couple of times. For getting to spend time with you, for having something in common with you that I never will, for being able to see my dad. I just have a problem with the guy and I don’t know if that is ever going to change. I need that to be okay with you.
While I’m in an apologizing mood, I’m sorry I won’t get to see how beautiful you look at Claire’s party. Take some pictures before all hell breaks loose, okay? :) I’ll keep your mom and our baby bro safe while you’re off saving the world.
And for the five billionth time: I love you and think about you every second we’re apart.
Love, (5 billion and 1)
Avery
Tucking the note under my pillow, I drifted off to sleep feeling stronger already.
“I took the liberty of picking out a few dresses for each of you when we were in Portland last summer, I hope you don’t mind,” Claire said, flipping through the clothes in her gigantic walk-in closet.
“Wow, thanks,” I said.
&
nbsp; Claire draped three pink formal dresses over my arm and went back into the closet to retrieve Mel’s clothes.
“Looks like you spoke too soon,” Melody muttered.
“They are very...pink.”
“And shiny!” Claire called from within the depths. “You’ll look awesome in pink and shiny, Zel, trust me!” She stepped out and foisted two purple dresses at my sister. “All right you two, strip. Time for a fashion show.”
I did as I was told. It was Claire’s day and even though the color wasn’t my fave, all three dresses were way nicer than what I’d brought to wear. Plus, I was feeling massive guilt over not telling her that her sweet sixteen party was probably going to turn into a mini-apocalypse.
Melody went first, traipsing across the room in a shimmery plum colored gown that was beautiful, except for it being about 5 inches too short. The next dress had a layered skirt made of lavender tulle with a lace-up deep purple bodice. Something a Goth ballerina would wear. My sister looked nothing less than bad ass.
“That,” I commented, “is a dress befitting a Lookout if I ever saw one.”
Claire clapped. “Okay, time for pink and shiny!”
I slipped the first dress on, but like Melody’s, it was too short.
“Damn you tall girls,” Claire said, taking the dress from me. “So hard to shop for.”
“You know,” I said, stepping into the next dress, “we could have tried these on at the store with you.”
“Yeah, you could have, but then you would’ve insisted I buy something on sale and I wanted you to have full-price for once.”
The second dress was a simple silk gown that slid over all my curves. Melody and Claire both whistled as I sauntered by. I loved the dress until I felt a breeze on my backside. “Can you see my butt crack by any chance?”
Zellie Wells Trilogy Page 29
