Phoenix Inheritance

by Corrina Lawson

  No wonder her nerves were shot.

  “What about your cat? Does he need food too?” Daz asked.

  “Odin said he needed to keep sleeping when I checked on him. He said the mean dude who owned him never liked to let him rest.”

  “He said that to you in your head, like Thor talked to you last night?”

  “Yep,” Charlie answered.

  All the more reason that Charlie should see Beth ASAP. Just as well Alec was coming to get them.

  “Did Odin give any indication as to why he picked you as his friend?” Daz asked, more to keep Charlie talking about it than any interest in the cat.

  “He didn’t say anything that made sense.”

  Considering they were discussing talking to a cat, Daz doubted any of it made sense. “Why not?”

  “He said he had orders to go be friends with me from the mean guy. But he liked me better, so he’s staying. That’s just silly, that someone would order him to make friends with me.”

  “I agree. I mean, orders?” What a weird element for Charlie to make up. He’d no idea what to make of it.

  Charlie shrugged. “I told you, it didn’t make sense.”

  “I get you.”

  The dogs began barking, reacting to a truck pulling in the driveway. Charlie hushed the dogs, telling them his mom had to sleep.

  “Who’s outside? What if it’s the mean guy who wants Odin back?” Charlie began backing up toward his bedroom.

  Daz smiled. “It’s not. It’s my friend, Alec. The one I work with. Want to meet him?”

  Charlie frowned. Meeting new people wasn’t his thing. “Is Alec nice?”

  “Yep. He drove all the way out here to make sure we were safe. And I think he brought something to move the tree off my van. Want to watch?”

  The promise of a spectacle did it. “Sure!”

  Charlie grabbed his coat and boots.

  “Hey, put on some pants, first,” Daz said.

  His son ran to his room, came out wearing pants, and put on his coat and boots. Explaining Alec to Charlie would probably be easy, at least in comparison to explaining to Renee. Kids loved the idea of someone with superpowers.

  Adults, well, they were far more wary.

  Conscious thought came slowly, as Renee drifted out of a deep sleep to slight wakefulness in which she heard the vague noises of Daz taking care of the dogs. She came to full alertness when Thor and Loki started barking.

  She sat up and ran her hand through her hair. Wow, she hadn’t slept like that in ages. What a day.

  There had been a storm. Daz had saved them. She’d slept with Daz. Charlie had thrown a fit. And then she had a heart-to-heart talk with Daz that hurt to even think about.

  She blinked sleep out of her eyes. Wait a minute, where was Charlie? He shouldn’t be running around outside alone. She called his name. Thor and Loki came running with Charlie, dressed in his winter coat, hat and gloves, just behind them.

  “Hey, Mom.” He grinned.

  She grinned back. He looked better. Happy. Thank God.

  “Hey. So where’s your father?”

  “Outside. Dad’s friend is here and he’s going to move the tree off the van.”

  “Dad’s friend?”

  “Alec. He’s really nice.”

  “I’m glad you like him.” She was surprised that Charlie liked a new person so quickly but, hey, she wasn’t going to complain.

  “Can I go back outside with them now?” he asked.

  “Wait, I’ll come with you.”

  Renee stood up but her bandaged shoulder threw her off balance and she grabbed the back of the couch to stay upright. “Ow…” she hissed.

  “You okay, Mom? What’s that thing wrapped around your arm and shoulder?”

  “It’s fine, I’m just sore. That’s why Dad wrapped it up. Tell me about Dad’s friend. Did he bring construction equipment?”

  Charlie glanced back outside. “No, I don’t think so.” He tugged at her good hand. “Just come see, okay? I don’t want to miss it.”

  “I’ll come, I’ll come.” Moving trees that size was dangerous. “But if they’re moving that tree, is it safe to stay outside? We could watch from the kitchen window instead.” She could just picture Charlie getting so excited that he ran toward what was happening.

  “No way. This will be too cool.” He scooted out of the room. She heard the door to the mudroom slam shut.

  Argh. So much for Charlie’s promise not to run off. At least Daz was out there and presumably watching over him. She put on her boots, just barely managing with one hand. She put one arm in her old peacoat and just put the other side over her shoulder.

  Thor and Loki followed her into the garage. The door was already wide open. Only belatedly did she realize she’d forgotten to comb her hair. Or change out of her sweats or do anything to make her presentable for company. Ah, well, she wasn’t trying to impress Daz’s friend. And Daz had seen her mussed up the first time they’d met. He wouldn’t care. One of his best traits.

  “Charlie!” she yelled. Where had he disappeared to now?

  “Over here, Mom.” She walked out to the driveway and forgot all about looking presentable when she caught sight of her yard. Shit. Even the lovely white coating of snow couldn’t hide the destruction.

  “Oh, hell,” she said out loud. Where did she have the number of her home insurance company?

  “We’ll get it cleaned up,” Daz said, coming around the side of the van holding Charlie’s hand.

  “It’ll take a while.” She wasn’t going to be able to clean anything up herself, not with this shoulder. She wondered how much a removal crew would cost and how much her insurance would cover. And how fast she’d get be able to hire someone to do it even if she had insurance money. She suspected people in the removal business were about to be very, very busy.

  “When can we find my sandbox again, Mom?” Charlie asked.

  “I’m not sure.” She picked her way through fallen tree limbs to get a good look at the side and back yards. “Not for a while, I think.” She knelt down to make eye contact with him. “Didn’t you promise not to run off? So what did you do just now?”

  “Oh.” Charlie stared at the ground. “Right. But Dad was here and he knew where I was. And I really want to see Alec move the tree.”

  Yeah, that was something she’d like to see too. But what could Alec do with this mess? Nothing short of construction equipment was going to be able to move that bulk of combined tree and van.

  She shook her head, studying the poor tree. Damn. All those years of growing, all those spectacular branches, all that it must have survived in all that time and now it’d been brought down by a freak snowstorm. Everything, gone in a blink. Just like she and Charlie could’ve been yesterday.

  She’d see Charlie hanging on by just his fingertips in her nightmares for a long time. Hell, she’d see it every time she closed her eyes during the day.

  Daz came over and put his arm around her. “I know it all looks bad but we’ll make it as good as new.”

  We. Huh. “I’ll be glad of any help you can give.”

  “Good. But there’s something I should explain first about Alec.” He pulled her back toward the garage.

  “What?”

  “Alec can move things with his mind, Mom!” Charlie waved his hands around. “He showed me. That’s how he’s going to move the tree. With his mind.”

  “Charlie,” Daz snapped. “I told you to let me tell her.”

  Charlie scuffed his boots in the snow. “Sorry.”

  Renee put up her hands and stepped back. “What the heck are you talking about, moving things with the mind?”

  What she wanted to say to Daz was how dare he play this kind of trick on Charlie when her son was so emotionally fragile. But that would have to wait until they were alone. S
he wasn’t going to have a yelling match in front of Charlie.

  “He’s talking about me, ma’am.”

  Ma’am? She looked up in the direction of the voice. The man—Alec?—spoke from his stance on top of the downed tree.

  “Uh, Renee, this is Alec Farley, my boss at the Phoenix Institute. Alec, this is Renee Black, Charlie’s mom and one of the best search-and-rescue people I’ve ever met,” Daz said.

  “Good to meet you. I love the dogs.”

  “Uh, thank you,” she said.

  “Could you give us a minute, Alec, so I can explain this to Renee?”

  “It won’t help to explain, Daz. Trust me, I’ve found it’s much easier to show people what I can do. They never believe it otherwise.”

  “Explain what to me?” Renee stammered out.

  Alec grinned and clambered down the trunk. No, what he was doing was nothing so inelegant as climbing. Alec practically floated down, as if his feet were only half-touching the trunk. He wore only a T-shirt and jeans. It was warmer than yesterday, maybe up to even forty degrees but it wasn’t T-shirt weather.

  Once on solid ground, Alec walked over to them. Whoa. Up close, Alec Farley was a heart-stopper, almost blindingly handsome, with dark hair, blue eyes and an aura of energy that practically crackled around him.

  She wasn’t drawn to him. She was struck dumb by him.

  Alec offered his hand. “Hi. Nice to meet you, Renee.”

  Renee shook hands. Was that her imagination or was his hand toasty warm? He should be freezing but he obviously wasn’t. What was going on?

  “I guess you don’t feel the cold much,” she said.

  Alec grinned, amused. “Nope. Never have.”

  “Now, could you please explain why you teased my son about moving things with your mind?” She glared over at Daz, who had to be part of this joke.

  “Alec can do it!” Charlie tugged at her sleeve. “He already showed me by moving some branches around. So can I watch him move the tree?”

  Renee shook her head. “Daz, if you and your friend are teasing or playing a joke on Charlie, you need to stop.”

  “Renee, take it easy,” Daz said. “Look, I was trying to explain but…” He glared at Alec. “Just do it, already, okay? You’re freaking her out and she’s not going to believe it until she sees it.”

  “I’m sorry, Renee. I know people have a rough time believing what I can do,” Alec said. “And, hey, your son is awesome. I wouldn’t trick him or you. I’m going to move the tree with my TK. Watch.”

  Her eyes darted from Daz to Alec and back. They seemed serious, and Daz wasn’t a practical joker. What was going on? “TK?” she asked.

  “Telekinesis. It’s the formal term for moving things with your mind.” Alec knelt down to Charlie. “I’ll be moving something heavy and that can be dangerous. So do what your mother says and step back into the garage with her.”

  “Get back. Give Alec some space to work,” Daz ordered.

  Renee put her hand on Charlie’s shoulder and steered him into the open garage. None of this made sense, but getting Charlie into the garage was at least one step toward getting him away from this lunatic.

  Alec stood in front of the smashed van and put his arms out. As if he could move the tree with hand gestures. She glared at Daz again.

  “Watch,” he said. “It’ll all make sense in a second.”

  The downed tree started to shake. Had Alec hidden a machine on the other side?

  “Daz, some of these branches are jammed in the van,” Alec called out. “Suggestions?”

  “Chop them off to free the rest of the wood and then you should be able to shove the trunk away to the side.”

  “I’ll still have to move the van.”

  “One thing at a time. Didn’t you ever practice stuff like this?”

  “I wish! Now, if there was a ninja army attacking or this was a tank, I’d know what to do.”

  They’re maniacs, Renee thought. Beside her, Charlie said nothing.

  Alec flicked one hand. Wood cracked and splintered. Metal twisted. Something was going on inside the wreckage. There must be some trick to this.

  The frame of the van creaked as it gave up the massive oak.

  “More!” Charlie yelled, waving his hand.

  Alec grinned. The tree began to rise into the air.

  Her mouth dropped open. She put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder to feel something solid and prove to herself she wasn’t dreaming. The trunk kept rising, first six inches in the air, then several feet. It hung there, suspended, defying gravity. Hell, it defied logic and every law of physics Renee had ever learned.

  Moving things with the mind. Telekinesis. TK.

  I have just walked into a completely new world.

  Loose leaves floated down onto the driveway. It was as if an unseen giant hand simply held the dead tree steady in midair. Renee could see no rope, no machines, nothing holding it in place. Just Alec, standing there, his arms stretched out, his fingers pointing.

  Using his TK.

  “He’s really doing it with his mind,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Daz said. “If it helps, I had the same reaction when I first saw him do it. Most everyone does.”

  “Where do you want the tree, Renee?” Alec called out.

  Was that her imagination or did his voice sound strained?

  “Renee?” Daz tapped her shoulder.

  “Uh, where?” Right, Alec wanted her to answer. “Uh, off to the side, near its roots, where it used to be.”

  “Great, that’s the easiest,” Alec answered.

  He waved both hand and the oak pivoted in the air, becoming parallel with her driveway.

  “Holy shit,” she whispered.

  “That’s a bad word, Ma.”

  “I know,” she said.

  “I think it’s stupendous!” Charlie yelled.

  “Stupendous” had been one of Charlie’s vocabulary words last week. “It’s sure something,” she said.

  Alec took another deep breath, pushed out with both hands and the tree dropped right where she’d asked, gently, with only a small thud.

  “That was totally wicked!” Charlie yelled, jumping up and down.

  That, Renee noted in the back of her mind, had been what the little kid said at the end of The Incredibles.

  Alec certainly qualified as a superhero.

  “I have no idea what I just saw,” she said. “Wait, I know what I saw. It just doesn’t seem real.”

  “Told you he wasn’t lying,” Charlie said.

  “Yeah, you did, Charlie. I’m sorry, I should have believed you and your father.” But she had needed to see it to believe it. Wouldn’t anyone?

  “I’ll explain more in a second. We have a lot to talk about,” Daz said.

  “We sure do,” she said.

  Daz walked over to Alec. “We still have to get the van out of the way in order to clear the driveway.”

  Alec put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. “Give me a minute. Trees are heavy.”

  “Weakling.” Daz clapped him on the back.

  “Hah. You want to try it next time?”

  “I do!” Charlie ran out to them. “Show me how to do it, Alec! Show me!”

  Okay, that was enough, Renee thought. Just because Alec could do it, it didn’t mean Charlie could.

  Did it?

  “I wish I could show you how to do it, Charlie, but so far, we’ve only found one other person who can move things like this with TK,” Alec answered.

  Good, Renee, thought, because Charlie already sometimes threw stuff during his fits. She couldn’t imagine what throwing stuff around with his mind would be like. A real-life poltergeist?

  How had Alec controlled what he did as a toddler? Or maybe he hadn’t had this ability as a toddler. Damn
, she had so many questions, including how long Daz had known about this.

  “There’s another person who can do what you do?” she asked.

  Daz and Alec exchanged a glance that Renee wasn’t sure how to interpret.

  “He lives far away,” Alec said.

  Charlie tugged at Alec’s belt. “I can talk to animals. Can you do that?”

  Alec smiled. “Nope, you’re ahead of me there.”

  Did that mean Charlie’s delusions weren’t delusions at all? That he could really talk to animals? No, it couldn’t mean that.

  Could it?

  Renee stared at Daz. “We need to talk. Now.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Alec cleared his throat, looked from her to Daz and back, and knelt to Charlie.

  “Hey, kid, want to stick with me while I move some of the branches out of your backyard, if it’s okay with your mother?”

  “That’d be great!”

  Her son stared at her, bright and happy. Alec studied her, contained now, more human, less fantasy superhero.

  “You have to watch him closely. Very closely,” she said.

  Alec nodded. “Daz explained to me about Charlie. I’ll stay close and I can grab him with the TK if he runs away. He won’t get more than a step or two from me.”

  That made sense, as much as anything else did this morning. “He has to be right with you at all times.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Alec said again.

  “I promise!” Charlie said.

  “Okay. And I’ll be watching from the window to make sure,” she said.

  Alec took Charlie’s hand and led him down the driveway, to where branches and leaves were still scattered around. A few of them rose into the air. Charlie laughed.

  I wish I had TK, Renee thought. That would have made yesterday a lot less dangerous.

  “Pretty cool, huh?” Daz said.

  “It’s something, that’s for sure.” Renee flicked off leaves from the shoulders of her coat. “Charlie seems to think his ability is like Alec’s. Is there really a chance Charlie can be speaking to animals with his mind?”

  “Yeah.” Daz stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I know of two types of psychic abilities. There’s telekinesis and there’s telepathy, which means speaking to people mind-to-mind. Beth, the woman I talked about to you last night, is a telepath.”