by Maya Banks
“Feed and change her and then meet me in the video surveillance room,” Gavin said in a low voice, keeping it calm and steady so Ari didn’t pick up either his or Ginger’s distress.
“What’s happening, Gav?” Ginger whispered.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But I intend to find out. Take care of Ari and then we’ll sort this out.”
Ginger silently walked from the bedroom but tension emanated from her in a nearly tangible wave. He hated that she was scared. Damn it, he was scared. Nothing in his life had prepared him for something like this. How did you defend the indefensible?
He wasn’t a spiritual man, but in this moment he found himself whispering a prayer to God to remove whatever evil spirit had invaded their home.
Gavin went to the door after Ginger disappeared down the stairs en route to the kitchen, where she fed Ari. Carefully he examined the lock, looking for any sign of forced entry. To his discerning eye, there were none. No scratches, nothing at all to mar the paint, the bolt or the door handle itself. How the hell had the door been opened and the two stuffed toys end up in his daughter’s crib without his knowledge?
He was a light sleeper. Always had been. But after Ari, he slept even lighter than ever, trained to hear any noise, any cry, any sign that something was wrong. And yet he’d slept the entire night, his arms wrapped securely around his wife, while Ari had slept in her crib mere feet from the bed. He’d purposely placed her crib against the far wall so his and Ginger’s bed was between the crib and the door.
Shaking his head, he descended the stairs to see Ari in her high chair gurgling happily, clutching one of her lovies while Ginger prepared a bottle. He dropped a kiss on top of Ari’s silky curls and was rewarded by a smile that never failed to melt his insides to molten lava.
What had their lives been like before Ari had come to them at a time when they’d thought a child would forever be lost to them? He couldn’t remember. He and Ginger had been happy. He had the woman he loved more than life itself and thought himself complete.
Until Ari.
Ari was a true gift from the angels. She’d made him believe in the spirit of Christmas, of giving. And with her arrival, there was no more misery for Ginger to endure. No more doubts of whether Gavin would ever leave her for a woman who could give him something he didn’t even want unless Ginger provided it.
Ginger finished prepping Ari’s bottle but set it down on the counter when Gavin wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Her kisses would never grow old. Would never lose their magic to make him completely forget himself and the world around him.
Ari, obviously impatient, dropped her lovie and made a banging noise on the tray of her high chair and said, “Mamamama!” An obvious demand for her mother.
Ginger laughed softly as she broke away from Gavin’s kiss.
“I think our daughter is hungry. I’ll feed her in the video surveillance room. You did say you had something to show me?”
He hated the fear in her voice and her attempt at making light of it and the façade that she wasn’t worried when he knew damn well she was.
“Gavin!” she said in a choked whisper. “Look!”
To both their astonishment, the fully prepared bottle simply lifted into the air and floated gently across the kitchen and right into Ari’s outstretched hands.
Neither moved. Neither breathed. They merely stared in disbelief as Ari grasped the bottle with both hands, attempting to angle it enough that she could suck the nipple.
“Did that just happen?” Ginger whispered, her entire body trembling against Gavin’s.
He was so shaken that he didn’t—couldn’t—form a response. First the stuffed animals that had inherently found their way to Ari despite a locked door. And now this?
For the first time he began to suspect that Ari was making these things happen. But she was a child—a baby! It was mind-boggling to even consider she had the ability to move things she wanted into close proximity.
Jolted into action, Ginger hurried to the high chair where she always left Ari while she prepared her bottle and gently pried the bottle from Ari’s grasp. Ari made a sound of displeasure and to Gavin’s further shock, it appeared as though Ginger was in a tug-of-war as the bottle strained and tried to pull itself from her grasp.
Gavin immediately hurried over and slid back the tray before picking Ari up in an attempt to soothe her. As soon as Ginger handed him the bottle, Ari immediately settled and began sucking contentedly while cradled in her father’s arms.
He lifted his gaze to Ginger, who was deathly pale, fear evident in her enormous eyes.
“What’s happening, Gav?” she asked anxiously. “Is it possible she was the one who moved the stuffed animals? We can’t refute what we just saw, no matter how illogical it may seem. We didn’t both imagine it. How could we?”
Gavin wrapped his free arm around his wife, drawing her close so that his daughter and wife were next to him.
“It would seem that our daughter has some very unique abilities,” Gavin murmured.
“What are we going to do?” Ginger asked, desperation creeping into her voice. “The very last thing we need is for anyone to find out. What if her birth parents come forward the instant it’s revealed that she has . . . ?”
She closed her eyes a moment and laid her head against Gavin’s chest, so close to Ari’s forehead.
“What does she have, Gavin? I don’t understand it, much less know whatever ability she has is called.”
“The evidence points to telekinesis, but she’s so young, just a baby. This may merely be the tip of her abilities. We have to prepare for anything. It’s more important than ever that we never expose her to the public eye. She won’t be able to attend school. At least not until we determine the depth of her powers and she learns to control them.”
“That isn’t the life I wanted for her,” Ginger said brokenly.
Gavin could feel the warmth of her tears soaking through his thin T-shirt and his heart clenched. He squeezed her to him and kissed the top of her head.
“She’ll have a good life,” he assured. A vow. One he fully intended to see through. “She may not be able to do all the things normal kids her age do, but she will have a full and rich life. You and I will ensure it. Once she’s old enough to understand the consequences of using her powers then she’ll know never to do anything that draws unwanted attention to herself.”
Ginger drew away, her smile trembling but a smile nonetheless. “I always knew she was special. A gift from God when I needed it most. Perhaps it was meant to be. We have the means to protect her, to give her an education and provide her with the necessary guidance and tools that she’ll need as she grows up.”
She hesitated a moment, biting her lip in consternation.
“I suppose my biggest fear, from the moment she appeared in our lives, is that someday someone may come looking for her and want her back.”
Gavin slipped the bottle from Ari’s grasp and then hoisted her to his shoulder so he could burp her. He looked Ginger squarely in the eye, because he wanted her to know he meant every single word he was about to say.
“Nothing or no one will ever take our daughter from us. As far as most of the world knows we’ve dropped off the map entirely. I made it known we had moved to Europe and even now reside there. This house can’t be traced to me. The business I maintain here is owned by a handful of dummy corporations all belonging to me. It would take a lot of digging, a hell of a lot of red tape to wade through and a hefty dose of luck to ever link me to anything in the United States.”
“I don’t doubt you, Gav. Please don’t think I do or that I don’t have faith in you. But I suppose I’ll always live with the fear of having her taken from me. Maybe in time it will diminish. Maybe one day I’ll truly relax, but the mother in me realizes that I’ll always worry for my baby girl no matter how old she is.”
Gavin was utterly sincere in his response. “Me and you both, honey.”
Th
is time it came as no surprise when Ari’s lovie floated from the floor where it had been dropped and hovered directly over Ari. Gavin plucked it from the air and turned Ari so she could take her stuffed animal.
“I guess she’s ready for a nap already,” Ginger said ruefully. “I don’t suppose there’s any point in keeping her lovies from her any longer.”
Gavin’s expression and tone were wry as he imagined the years ahead. “I think, my darling, that you and I are in for quite an adventure in raising our daughter.”
FOUR
TWENTY-TWO YEARS LATER . . .
ARIAL Rochester sighed as she walked through the gate of the private academy where she taught English, a hint of sadness that always accompanied the end of the school year tugging at her.
But she shrugged off the momentary melancholy because soon she would be with her parents, and she’d spend the summer with them wherever her father chose to surprise her mother with this year.
She smiled as her thoughts drifted to her parents. So in love even after so many years of marriage. Her father was fiercely protective of her mother and in turn her mother and father were fiercely protective of her.
With good reason.
Never tell. Never let anyone know. Never use your powers.
It was a mantra her father had instilled in her since she was old enough to remember. She had grown up very sheltered, protected and extremely isolated. With good reason.
Her parents had done as much as they could to give her some sense of normalcy, but it wasn’t possible because Ari wasn’t normal. She was a freak of nature. Something from a cheesy sci-fi movie. People like her didn’t exist. Except . . . she did. And there was no logical explanation as to why.
Her father was the epitome of logical. He had a brilliant, analytical mind, and even he seemed baffled over Ari’s abilities. His greatest fear had been . . . discovery. That somehow Ari would be found out and taken away from her parents or exposed to danger from people seeking to harness her powers and use them for God only knew what. And so they’d hired tutors to homeschool her. She went nowhere without a security team.
But now, as an adult, graduated with honors from a small, private college, she’d stepped outside of the protective bubble created by her father so many years earlier.
He didn’t like it. Neither did her mother. But they understood, thank God. All her father had asked was for her to never give anyone reason to believe she was any different from any other young woman in the world.
It was a promise she had no problem giving because normalcy was exactly what she wanted—craved. She didn’t want to be “that freak.” Her parents had raised her in constant fear of discovery, at least until she was old enough to understand not to ever use her powers and expose herself to the rest of the world. Only then had they relaxed somewhat and no longer lived in constant terror of Ari mistakenly revealing all that she could do.
Her parents had made great sacrifices for her. Their entire lives had revolved around her protection. It was a fact Ari regretted with all her heart. That, because of her, none of them had been able to lead normal lives.
She dug into her purse for her keys as she walked briskly down the sidewalk of the busy street the school was on. The large brick building was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence with a gate that closed promptly after school started and opened just minutes before school let out. The teachers’ parking lot was a half a block down from the gate and she was the last teacher to leave, judging by the vacant parking area.
Just as she was about to exit the sidewalk and cross the lot where her car was parked, she was shoved roughly to the ground, the pavement scraping her knees and palms as she planted her hands down to break her fall.
Shock splintered up her spine as she tried to comprehend what the hell had just happened!
“You fucking bitch! You think you’re going to get away with failing me? If it weren’t for you, I’d be going to college in the fall. Do you have any idea what my parents are going to do when they see my final grades?”
She recognized the voice as one of her students. Derek Cambridge. He came from a wealthy family and had a sense of entitlement a mile wide. He was arrogant and egotistical, but she would have never dreamed he would attack her for the grade he’d earned in her class.
She’d gone out of her way in an attempt to help him. She hadn’t wanted to fail him, but he resisted her efforts at every turn, assuming in his arrogance that she would pass him regardless of his efforts—or lack thereof. Perhaps he thought his parents’ wealth and social standing would allow him to glide through school and life.
When she looked up, her blood froze, because he was not alone. Two boys she assumed were his friends were with him and looked every bit as pissed as Derek. Were they crazy? Attacking a woman in broad daylight on a busy street in front of a school?
She glanced desperately around, looking for any source of help.
A kick to her side propelled her over onto her back, her purse now underneath her back as she gasped for breath.
What she saw when she looked up and met the furious gaze of Derek Cambridge chilled her to the bone.
This wasn’t merely him roughing her up and blowing off some steam and rage. She saw death in his eyes. Her death. And his friends made no move to intervene on her behalf. They both wore smirks as if they firmly believed she was getting precisely what she deserved.
A flash of metal glinted in the sunlight. A knife.
Derek held it tightly in his fist, the blade pointed downward and she knew—she knew—he was going to kill her right there.
Though her powers had long lain dormant, though she had made a practice of suppressing them at all costs, they came roaring back, self-preservation overtaking all else.
It was instinctual. She didn’t even have to force herself to concentrate. A cascade of stones suddenly pelted her attacker, sending him reeling backward, one hand covering his face protectively while the other hand still gripped the knife.
The wind kicked up in a fierce surge that rivaled a tropical storm. Now that there was adequate space between her and the teenager holding the knife, she searched the area for any possible weapon to use against him.
She glanced upward at the tree that lined one part of the sidewalk. A heavy branch cracked, the pop like a gunshot, and then propelled itself directly at the trio who posed a threat to her.
“What the fuck is going on, man?” one of Derek’s friends shouted.
Ari didn’t recognize the other two kids. She was ninety-nine percent certain they didn’t attend school here because attendance wasn’t as high as the public schools, and she was well acquainted with the faces and most of the names of the students who attended Grover Academy.
“Get the little bitch and hold her down so I can gut her like the pig she is,” Derek snarled.
She’d done some damage. Blood was dripping from Derek’s nose, and he didn’t bother to wipe it away. His eyes glittered wildly, and Ari realized that, not only was he enraged over the failing grade he’d received, but he was also high as a kite on God only knew what.
This shit was about to get real.
She scrambled upward, using their momentary hesitation to her advantage. She needed leverage. She needed to be able to see what resources were available to her.
The brick planters that lined the front of the school where neatly trimmed hedges grew began to shake and tremble as though an earthquake was occurring. The boys felt it too, because unease spread rapidly over the two friends’ faces. Derek was too hyped up on whatever drug he was on to notice anything but his determination to make her pay.
The bricks shook loose, falling one by one from their neat formation. And then one flew through the air, striking Derek in the back of the head.
He dropped like a stone, the knife falling from his hand and clattering on the pavement.
The two friends watched in stupefaction as more bricks hovered in the air, spinning and changing direction when the kids took several steps back.<
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“Holy shit!” one of them exclaimed. “She’s a fucking witch. I bet she’s a Satan worshipper!”
Now that the knife lay on the ground a foot from where Derek had fallen, she summoned it. It floated effortlessly to her and she opened her hand as the handle pressed gently into her palm.
“Get away from me,” she hissed.
At the moment she didn’t care what they thought she was. If their belief that she was Satan himself aided her then let them believe it.
The bricks flew toward them, stopping mere inches from their heads. They already had their hands up to protect their faces, eyes closed, cringing, braced for impact. When nothing happened, they carefully opened their eyes and panic spread like wildfire over their faces.
When they hastily took several steps back, the bricks shot toward them again. Evidently deciding to leave their “friend” to his fate, they turned and fled as if the hounds of hell were nipping at their heels.
The bricks dropped to the pavement, one of them chipping at the corner. Ari stood there, trembling in the aftermath of her brush with death.
And then realization struck her that she’d done the unthinkable. No matter that she’d had to act to save her life, she’d just used telekinesis in front of three witnesses. But the witnesses weren’t what concerned her the most. Most likely if they went to the police with such an insane story they’d be laughed out of the precinct. But the parking lot, as well as the entire school and all it encompassed, was monitored by surveillance cameras.
There would be tangible proof of her inexplicable powers.
She began to shake violently, the knife dropping from her hand with a clatter as it skittered across the uneven pavement. Paying no heed to her bleeding knees and palms or the pain in her side from the vicious kick, she yanked opened her bag, digging desperately for her phone.
It took three attempts before she managed to punch the right button to bring up her father’s contact and connect the call.
“Ari,” her father greeted in an affectionate tone. “How was your last day of school?”
