I felt slightly unsure under his compliments. I’d had so few of them while growing up. “I’m not a superhero. I’m just…me.”
He grinned. “That’s all I want.”
I gave him a hesitant smile. Maybe Lewis only wanted me, but what about the rest of them? My mom. Aaron. Nora. They wanted so much from me. What if I couldn’t live up to their expectations?
“Let’s go.” Lewis tugged me back toward the entrance. “We need to get back before we’re caught.”
As much as I didn’t want to return, I knew he was right. As we started down River Street, I glanced back at the statue one last time. Suddenly I understood. Hope. It was all we had, wasn’t it? The one thing that kept us going. Without hope there was no reason to live.
Chapter 19
“There are five fully used entrances and exits,” my mother explained as we walked through the tunnels the next evening. “And a handful of others that have been blocked off.”
Nora, Mom and Aaron were ahead, while Lewis and I stayed in the back like we were on some sort of tour of the Weird and Crazy of Savannah’s underground. The guard standing next to one such door nodded in greeting.
I’d been practicing controlling the energy all day at the beach and only wanted to sit in front of the television and veg out. Or better yet, head to the love shack and cuddle with Lewis. Unfortunately, the carrier of the source never rested.
According to our spies, we had three days and my dad and his army would be here. They were coming for one thing…me. Yep, nothing like being the special one.
“We don’t have video cameras,” mom said, turning around and walking backwards. “There’s no point as they can disable them. In fact they can destroy almost any electronic device.”
As Lewis could, and as I had done to the security system at the compound only days ago. I shook off the unsettling memory. It seemed like it had been years, so much had happened since then. Yet the memory of fear remained bitter on my tongue. All it took was one little thing going awry and our win could turn to a loss.
“But S.P.I. likes to use electronics because it’s run by the government, people without our abilities. People who don’t trust mind readers. So they use both electronics and mind readers to guard their compound.”
Not surprising that they didn’t trust anyone. I could still picture their pale faces, those beady eyes like rats, waiting for a meal. They didn’t even trust each other.
“Our keypads aren’t to keep out mind readers, but merely to keep normal people from finding us. Every time someone enters or exits, we know.”
She looked pointedly at me, then Lewis. I flushed, realizing she’d known all along about our trip along the river. When she turned back around Lewis slid me a glance and grinned. We were like children who’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
“So then how do you keep other mind readers out?” I dared to ask, trying to change the subject.
“For years now we were fortunate enough to be protected by secrecy. No one knew where we were located. We didn’t really need much of a security system.”
Not one person glanced my way, but I could feel their attention. Yep, they’d been safe and sound here in the tunnels… until I’d given away our secret days ago. Sheesh, talk about holding onto a grudge.
“Still, we have always had mind readers who are adept at security better than others and they watch the city.”
“In what way?” Lewis asked.
“Their specialty is sensing energy fields.” She turned around and went left down another tunnel.
But even I knew that there were ways to cheat the system; to make people think they were sensing, hearing, seeing things they weren’t. Heck, Nora had tricked me more than once, making me think I’d heard things coming from a certain direction.
“Remember those exits. Especially you, Cameron.” Mom turned left. “If it looks bad, or if Nora, Aaron or I tell you to go, you need to run.”
I bristled at the thought. “Run?”
“Get out of the city. Hide. Your best bet is to go to England where there are more of us than there are S.P.I. agents.”
Yeah, sure plan. I’d just hop aboard a plane, head to jolly old England and start asking where the nearest mind reader compound was located. “Are you joking?”
She turned toward me and crossed her arms over her chest. I might not have spent much time with her, but I knew that look. She wasn’t going to budge on the issue. “We will do our best to protect you, but if it seems like we’re losing, you need to escape. It’s very important, Cameron.”
Stunned, I looked at Nora, Lewis, Aaron. Did they all agree with her nonsense? Apparently so because no one spoke up. “I can protect myself. I’ve done quite well so far, thank you.”
“No, you’ve done well because you’ve had help from others,” Aaron piped in.
I wasn’t sure which annoyed me more, that he had given his opinion, or that he was right. Yeah, okay, so maybe I wouldn’t have been able to escape Aaron’s island without Lewis. And maybe I wouldn’t have escaped my father’s compound the first time without Nora. And maybe I wouldn’t have been able to escape the second time without Maddox… Ugh, what was my point?
“That doesn’t mean I can’t fight.”
“No one is saying you can’t fight,” Mom said. “We know how powerful you are.”
“Then let me help protect you,” I implored.
“You don’t get it,” Nora said, sighing. “It’s not about protecting us, it never has been. It’s about protecting the freaking source. How do you not get it?”
She shouldered her way between us and stomped down the hall back toward Mom’s house. Sure she wasn’t jealous. The girl was seething with contempt. She was more likely to hand me over to dear Dad than protect me from him.
“So, what? You’ll all do your best to protect me, even give your own lives whether you want to or not?” The thought that I was more important than they were, was ridiculous. Did they not see that? Yet, no one responded. Not even Lewis. I turned away, planning to return to the house with Nora. “No. I won’t have it.”
“Cameron,” my mother called out, but I kept walking.
Firm fingers bit into my upper arm, jerking me to a stop. “You,” Aaron hissed, spinning me around. “Are being selfish. It’s not about you, it’s about everyone. It’s about the source. To protect us all, we have to protect you.”
Lewis gripped Aaron’s arm and jerked him away with more strength than I’d thought possible. Aaron stumbled back, hitting the wall and looking as stunned as the rest of us.
“Do not hurt her,” Lewis snapped, seething.
I was touched that he’d felt the need to protect me, even knowing I could protect myself. I reached out, resting my hand on Lewis’ arm. The tenseness of his muscles didn’t put me at ease. I had a feeling Lewis still hadn’t forgiven Aaron for erasing our memories.
“It’s okay,” I said softly.
“Aaron’s right,” Mom said, of course coming to his rescue. “This isn’t just about you, Cameron.”
I released a wry laugh. “Yeah, the greater good.”
Mom glanced at Aaron, then Lewis. “Give us a moment.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing a lecture was sure to come. Seriously, she so wasn’t going to get that Mother of the Year mug I’d been planning on purchasing for Christmas. Aaron immediately walked away, like Mom’s little lapdog. At least Lewis hesitated.
“It’s okay,” I muttered.
Lewis nodded and followed Aaron, heading back toward the house, but I could sense his reluctance and knew he worried about me. I could only hope they wouldn’t kill each other along the way. I sighed, rubbing my throbbing temples. I felt like I was on the cusp of losing control and I didn’t like the feeling.
“Come on.” Mom started down the hall. “This way.”
I followed, my curiosity getting the better of me. We walked for a good five minutes, taking twists and turns I’d never remember, moving by another guard who nod
ded in greeting, until finally we paused outside a door. Mom typed in yet another code and the door opened. It was a small room with three computers, a table in the middle, and a large book on a pedestal toward the far wall.
A young woman with blonde hair was seated at one of the computers.
“Sam, can you give us some time?” Mom asked.
“Sure, Kat.” She stood and left without a fuss even though she was obviously in the middle of doing something. Once again I was reminded of how much power my mother had. I wondered if when the source transferred, these people would hail me as their new leader. As much as I loved the idea of ordering Aaron about, I didn’t exactly want the role.
“Sit.” Mom nodded toward one of two chairs placed around the table. “This is our research center. There are hidden chat rooms on the web where we discuss our powers and mind reading in general. We use code, of course, in case anyone were to stumble upon them. We keep our records and research on these computers.” She started toward that pedestal.
So this was where Lewis had been researching. I pulled out a chair and sat behind the table. She lifted the large, leather-bound book from the pedestal and turned toward me.
“But we also have this.”
She dropped the book in front of me. “Here. Everyone who has been chosen as the source for the past four hundred years. Take your time.”
Without another word she turned and left. The door clicked closed and silence settled around me. Alone. Completely alone. I hesitated only a moment, then curiosity got the better of me and I opened the leather-bound book. Yellowed pages crackled with age, protesting the movement. It was the very first page that caught my attention.
What we are we do not know. Where we come from remains a mystery. But we will always strive to do what is right.
-Lucy Shire 1825
Shire.My mother’s maiden name.
But we will always strive to do what is right. I wondered if my father had ever seen this book. Wondered if he ever felt guilty about turning on us, or if he was so blinded by his cause that he didn’t see that what he was doing was wrong.
Careful not to rip the brittle paper, I flipped to the next page. Lucy had written in flowing, faded ink the names, dates and powers of families from all around the world. Most of the names I didn’t recognize, but there, at the very front, was Lucy’s family line… Shire.
And there was me. My name in a handwriting that was different from Lucy’s, who had died long ago, but my name was there all the same. Most likely written down by my mom. I followed the tree branches, reading every name in my family back until the early 1700s. So many mind readers. I couldn’t help but wonder what their lives had been like. More importantly, when had it all started? But our tree branch ended. I flipped through a few more pages and skimmed some more family trees of people I didn’t know. The earliest date was 1600. Surely the powers hadn’t just appeared out of thin air. How had we gotten them?
But there was something odd that stood out… names underlined. I flipped back to my family tree and it dawned on me. Mom was underlined, I was underlined, Nora wasn’t. They had marked those who held the source. And there, next to my mother’s name, was her sister… Elizabeth. A woman not chosen. A woman I’d never known existed. A woman who had faded into obscurity. And I wondered, if I hadn’t been chosen as the source, would I have faded too?
I followed the line of the source. Mom had gotten her powers from her mother, and my grandmother had gotten her powers from her mother. Mother to daughter, for centuries. Overcome with emotion, I leaned back in my chair and stared at our family tree. A shiver of something I couldn’t quite identify raced over my body. A weird combination of awe, wonder, excitement.
Bewildering.
I realized with some annoyance that Mom had done exactly what she’d set out to do all along.
She’d made me proud to be part of this family. Proud to be a mind reader.
****
I was about halfway through the family trees when a soft knock interrupted me. Startled, I nearly dropped the book. How long had I been in the small room studying our history? I closed the book and set it on the table. The energy was familiar, although I couldn’t quite place it, and I wondered if the steel door or brick walls were interrupting my concentration.
“Yeah?” I called out, standing and stretching. The door opened and Lewis stepped inside, a silver tray in hand. He smiled that crooked grin that made my heart flutter.
“Hungry?”
“Definitely.” I started toward the door, closing it behind him, hoping we could have some privacy. I’d missed him, as silly as that sounded. “How long have I been down here?”
“Two hours.”
That certainly surprised me. Time flew when you were trying to uncover the source of your superhuman powers.
He set the tray on the table. “Find anything?”
“I did.” I lifted the dome, the scent of fried chicken and green beans heady and delicious. I pushed the book toward him and pulled the food closer. It seemed like an excellent trade. “My family.”
He sat at the table and started to flip through the pages while I ate. The chicken was so good, it practically fell from the bone and melted in my mouth. I knew Mom hadn’t made the meal as I’d never seen her make more than scrambled eggs. Another thing we had in common; I got my lack of cooking skills from her. Good thing I had mind reading to fall back on.
“There are so many mind readers in those pages. So many lives. So much history. It makes me feel…” I searched for the right words.
Lewis’ beautiful blue eyes found me. “Less alone?”
I nodded, wondering how much to divulge. Would my excitement only make him feel worse? As far as we knew, Lewis had no one left. Not one family member. All this time he’d been comforting me, when in reality he was the one who should have needed comfort. I set my fork down, my appetite gone. He didn’t seem to mind my enthusiasm, and that’s what I liked about him; he was always supportive. As he flipped through the pages, I stood and moved around the table needing to be closer.
“Hey,” I whispered.
He glanced up through those thick, black lashes. “Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
He took my hands in his. “For what?”
“For always believing in me.For standing by me.”
He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me onto his lap. “I understand.” He brushed aside my hair. “I understand what it’s like to be alone. But we aren’t alone anymore.”
There he went with his poetry, once more drawing me into his web of pretty words. And I fell for it like I always did. I pressed my lips to his, savoring the feel of his touch. I knew we didn’t have long before the war would rain down upon us; I planned on selfishly hoarding every moment I could.
I pulled back, rubbing my hand over his short hair. “Is Aaron mad?”
He grinned. “A little.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe you attacked him. Okay, yeah, it was kind of awesome but you could’ve been hurt.”
He laughed, and pressed his hand to his chest as if wounded. “Wow, what a blow to my ego. So much for saving the damsel in distress.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my mouth to his. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, but I’m not that invalid anymore.”
I slid my finger around the collar of his T-shirt. “I know. It was just so damn scary seeing you near death.”
“It won’t happen again.” He sounded so positive, I only hoped it was true. “Besides, I’m sure if Aaron would have retaliated, you would have protected me.”
I grinned, he was obviously joking but we also both knew he was right. “You think I can take him?”
“Absolutely, although it’s a bit humiliating. I mean,” he sighed dramatically, “what will the guys in the locker room say when they realize my girlfriend could probably kick my ass?”
“Not at all!” I reached out, gripping his muscled biceps. “You’re very manly.” br />
“As long as you think so.” He leaned close to me, resting his forehead to mine, his breath warm on my lips. “We’ll be okay, Cameron. I promise we’ll get through this.”
He’d grown all serious on me. I pulled back, our gazes locking. “And then what?”
His dark brows drew together, and he tilted his head to the side in a thoughtful manner, as if he’d never really contemplated the future. “What do you want to do? Not like I’ve got plans, or places to go.”
I shrugged, sliding my hand down the back of his neck. “At one time I’d wanted to go to college.”
“Be a typical teen, huh?” He grinned. “Then we go to college.”
But he hadn’t wanted to go when I’d known him in Maine, before his memory had been erased. That Lewis had seen no reason to go; not when he had powers. “Really? You never wanted to go before.”
He stared unblinkingly at the wall as if lost in the past, trying to see something he couldn’t. “I guess I’ve changed. Why not experience all that life has to offer.”
The relief I felt was overwhelming. I liked this new Lewis. I liked him a lot.
He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Now eat so we can take care of this war and move on.”
“Food can wait.” I started to push the book away, intending to kiss him when he latched onto my hand, stopping me.
“Hold on.” He lifted me off his lap and pulled the book closer.
I was about to protest, but one look at his pale face and my stomach dropped to my toes. “What’s wrong?”
“This.” His finger trembled as he pointed to a name in the book, a name underlined, a name I knew only too well.
The room around me spun, my heart denying the possibility. “No. He can’t be chosen. He can’t carry the source.”
“Looks like he does.” Lewis didn’t look anymore happy about it than I did.
I fell back into my chair, my legs suddenly weak. Lewis snapped the book shut as if he couldn’t stand to stare at the name any longer; I didn’t blame him. I felt like I was caught in a freaking nightmare, with no end to the shocking surprises that kept throwing me on my butt every time I seemed to get back to my feet.