Age of Power 1: Legacy (34 page)

We sat there for a bit, drinking the hot chocolate. Then I set
mine on the table, unfinished. I had had enough. I needed something with
meat on it. Hours had passed. All the time I’d spent at Ryan Tech, the
time in San Francisco, and the time at the hospital had all combined to eat up
the entire day. Now, even when so much was going on, here I was, unable to
think about much beyond the fact that my stomach was rumbling.

The doorbell rang, and Dana got up. She said, “There’s the
pizza. We need food.”

I guess she really was psychic, after all. She went to pay for
it. Before long, we were munching on pizza and letting things ride. I wasn’t
going to argue. It gave us a chance to be normal. Whatever was going on outside
the house, whoever was out there preparing to attack Riverlite, it could wait.
I hoped so, anyway. So we gabbed about gossip, music, and movie stars, and, to
my amusement, BJ’s absolute horror about the television show 
Glee
.

But I wasn’t completely distracted from what was going on
outside. I listened halfway while my mind started running over the attacks. I
realized that my brain was attempting to find a chink in Yasmine’s armor so I
could get an advantage. Actually, something specific kept coming up, something
Yasmine had said. Then it clicked.

Swallowing a bite of the pizza, I said, “New Men.”

Dana looked up at me. “I’m sorry? Is that another name for the
Empowered?”

Angela finished eating a breadstick and said, “No, it’s
copyrighted by a comic company. All the cool names are. BJ coined the one we
used—well, actually he grabbed it.”

BJ raised his hands, gesturing with a hand that had a slice of
pizza in it, cheese hanging down. “Hey, it was either that or…yeah, I had
nothing. But the word ‘Empowered’ pretty well fit with what was going on.”

I said, “Okay. But did you ever hear Yasmine complain about a
group of people calling themselves the ‘New Men?’”

BJ glanced at Angela. They shook their heads, giving me confused
looks. Dana said, “Where is this going, Vaughn?”

I held up a hand to stop her for a second.
“BJ?
Did another group ever appear that might have used the name?” Then I gave him a
wry look and said, “After all, not everyone knows everything that’s copyrighted
by comic book publishers.”

BJ ignored my comment, and he and Angela looked at each other.
Then BJ looked back at me and said, “No. Paradoxis did a worldwide reading of
the Empowered. She has the info on everyone. If these New Men ever showed
up, she never told us about it. And I think she would’ve told me, at least.”

I nodded and said, “I figured that. I just wanted to make
certain.”

Dana looked annoyed, not with me, but with the term ‘New Men.’ I
saw her mouth the words silently. Then she looked at me and asked, “Vaughn,
what are you thinking?”

I said, “I’m not sure. But once I brought up the training of
other psi-talents a possibility kept coming to mind. What if it isn’t other
Empowered we’re talking about?”

BJ looked skeptical. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,
Vaughn. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

I said, “I think there’s a third group. Think about it. Kular
and Yasmine can’t get information from Ryan Technologies. Why might that be?”

I looked at Dana. “You told me that you trained people with
controllable psi-gifts. What happened to those people over the years?”

Dana’s eyes widened in shock and then narrowed with suspicion.
And, oddly enough, anger. She covered it up by taking a moment to take plates
from the table. She didn’t say anything as she rinsed them off. Angela looked
even more confused.

BJ was startled. He stared at me and said, “Dude, no, let it go,
man. It has to be something else. It can’t be…”

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 open 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.”