Angel Seduced (13 page)

Kasabian held out his hand. “I'm John Thorpe, Lyle's guidance counselor.” He gestured to Kye. “This is Mary James, the Harbor's staff therapist.”

Kye, in professional attire, handed him a card with her credentials spelled out—minus any reference to sexuality, of course. She gave the man a firm handshake. “Psychologically, Lyle is doing very well at Harbor. But he's struggling with issues I feel can be helped with some answers from his mother. We can then talk about his future.”

Paul referred to a folder he'd brought out with him. “I've asked that his mother join us. She should be”—he glanced up as the door opened—“ah, here she is now. Lisa.”

A very pregnant woman waddled in and paused as she took in the three of them. Kasabian paused, too. It was always a surprise to see a Caido female.

She pasted a smile on her apprehensive face and gathered Lyle in an awkward hug. “Lyle! I've missed you so much.” She stepped back too quickly, her arms crossed over her belly and then loose, obviously not sure what to do with them. She assessed him, but not in the hungry way a mother would, had she been truly eager to see her son. “You ran off, saying all those crazy things.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I was terribly worried.”

Kasabian wondered if she'd been worried about her son or what he might tell others. “He's been safe and sound at Youth Harbor.”

“He would have been safe and sound here, too.” Her expression hardened as she met Kasabian's gaze, but she turned back to Lyle. “But it doesn't matter now. You've come back.” She flicked a glance at Porter that sent apprehension through Kasabian again.

Kye must have felt it also, either through their bond or on her own. She put her hand on Lyle's shoulder. Surprisingly, Lyle moved closer to her.

Porter stepped forward. “We've been looking for him. He made some wild accusations. Is that why you're here?”

Lyle's mother's laugh was so phony it grated on Kasabian's nerves. “He's always had a vivid imagination. Add in puberty hormones, and…” She shrugged.

So that was her story. Kasabian needed to allay her concerns and put her at ease. “He hasn't told us anything other than that he's heartsick over the loss of his brother. He needs answers so he can move on with his life. His preoccupation with finding Jonathan is not only holding him back, but it's also putting him in precarious situations.” Kasabian turned to Porter. “Give us the name of the family who adopted Jonathan. If Lyle can talk to the boy, that will help immensely.”

Porter stiffened. “All adoptions are private. But let me assure you that Jonathan is a happy, well-adjusted boy. Why, I did a post-adoption visit just last week, and I've never seen him so content.” An outright lie. His smile was even phonier than Lisa's laugh had been. “But perhaps I can arrange to get you a picture. If you come back here to stay, we can keep you updated.”

Son of a bitch.

Lyle's expression shuttered again, seeing the trap for what it was. “I want to talk to my mom. In private.”

They wandered outside, leaving Porter to watch from the window. Kye and Kasabian followed at a discreet distance. Lyle couldn't keep his gaze from his mother's belly. “Who's the father?”

Lisa's eyes flicked toward the office as her hand rubbed her distended belly. A subconscious giveaway. Porter.

“When you left, I was distraught,” she said. “I turned to someone for comfort.”

Kasabian's fingers twitched with rage. She was using Lyle's escape to manipulate his feelings, make him feel guilty. Kasabian couldn't tell whether Lyle was buying into it or not. That his expression was still shuttered was a good sign.

“You sold my brother,” Lyle said, his own anger just beneath the surface.

“I didn't sell him, sweetheart.” She lifted her hands to encompass the Bend just as Porter had done. “I came here for all of us. I needed time to get straightened out. Jonathan was so young and impressionable. I hurt him.” Lisa put on an appropriately bereft expression. “So I let him go to a camp where he could emotionally detox. The people who run the camp fell in love with him. They had the ability to offer him so much more than I could, even living here. They could give him a family.”

Did she believe that? Maybe she'd convinced herself. “Did you meet this family?” Kasabian asked when Lyle went silent.

“Yes.” She kept her gaze on her son, even though Kasabian had asked the question. “They seemed like a wonderful couple.”

She was in on whatever was going on here, had to be.

“If they're so wonderful, why won't they let their new son see his brother?” Kasabian asked.

Lisa's mouth worked but no words came out.
Can't come up with an answer for that, can you?
Finally, seeing that Lyle was waiting for an answer, too, she said, “They want him to have a fresh start.”

Lyle tentatively put his hand on her belly. “And what will happen to this baby? My half brother or half sister?”

Lisa placed her hand over his. “If you stay, you can help me raise it. Be a big brother.”

Holy hell, she was good. Kasabian clamped a hand on Lyle's shoulder at the same time that Lyle withdrew his hand from beneath hers. He gave Lyle a warning look.
Don't buy this load of bullshit.

As they wandered the sidewalks, Kasabian studied their surroundings. The Bend certainly seemed like a normal community. The sidewalks could use pressure washing, yards were overgrown here and there, but overall it was well maintained. He saw mostly women, many of them in various stages of pregnancy from baby bumps to due-any-second. That was odd enough. What he didn't see were a lot of children's toys, swing sets, or other evidence that these women kept the children they carried.

What was this place, a breeding farm? The thought gave him a sick feeling.

They passed an unmarked, utilitarian building. “What's this?” Kasabian asked Lisa.

“Security. Administration. Job training and child care.”

“Funny, Lisa, I don't see a lot of evidence of children here,” Kasabian said.

“They're here,” she said in a rush of words, regarding him warily. “No, not a lot of them. Some of the women find themselves in, uh, unfortunate situations.” She rubbed her belly. “The Bend finds good homes for their babies.”

“They must do a hell of a job,” he muttered. He sensed that pressing Lisa would get him nowhere. “I'll be right back. I spotted an old friend. Lisa, if you're hoping to lure—I mean, to convince Lyle to live with you again, it would ease our minds to see where he'd be staying. Why don't you show Ms. James?”

Kye's eyes widened in question, but she nodded. “Yes, that would be helpful.”

He watched them head off, wanting a bead on the direction they were going. Then he ducked into the building. The lady at the front desk looked a bit startled when Kasabian approached and loudly asked, “Do you have any children who need a home? My wife and I are unable to conceive, and I understand you facilitate adoptions.”

“Sir, this is not—”

“I see lots of pregnant women here,” he interrupted. “Surely one of them is ready to pop out a baby she has no plans to raise on her own?”

Two men came out of their offices, drawn by Kasabian's desperate and rude plea. The thinner of the two said, “You got this, Gemini?”

The big, beefy Caido with a white trimmed goatee and mustache stalked toward Kasabian. “Your father just doesn't give up, does he?”

Now it was Kasabian's turn to be startled.

“You are Treylon's son, aren't you?” Gemini asked.

How much did this guy know? Kasabian was going to have to tread carefully. “I am. How did you know?”

“It was a guess. You look like him, and considering he's been here bugging us so much lately, it wasn't hard to put together.” Gemini came to a stop mere inches away. “So he's sucked you into this whole”—he made finger quotes—“getting ready for the big, bad solar storm, huh?” He gestured for Kasabian to follow him outside, where they didn't have the receptionist for an audience. “Does he know something we don't, or is he just panicking like all those preppers? He seems to have the inside track on the storm, when it's coming, how strong it's going to be.”

Kasabian decided to bluff. “He's serious enough to be stockpiling kids. How many has he gotten from you?”

Gemini shrugged. “I'm not sure exactly, maybe a dozen in the last few months. He's made some special arrangement with my boss, borrowing them until the storm passes. Supposedly he's using their essence to keep the
Deus Vis
even during the storm for his friends and family. Using it like the Essex, right? Son of a bitch has wiped us out.”

He was talking about children as though they were merchandise. Kasabian swallowed back his outrage, and the implications of what he was saying. “The people who run this place are okay with him using them like that?” His shock and disgust was leaking through, and he could see that it was putting Gemini on guard by his closed expression. He tempered his voice when he asked, “Is that what you do here? Sell kids?”

Gemini sounded almost robotic. “We don't sell children. We find loving homes for them with Caidos who want a child. We give unwed mothers a safe place to have their baby.” There wasn't a speck of concern or warmth, no indication that he cared at all what happened to the kids who were born here.

“Yet, you let one man borrow a dozen so he can prepare for the solar storm?”

“You'll have to take that up with your father.” Gemini's eyes narrowed. “How'd you get in here, anyway? All outside guests come through the office.”

“I'm here to talk to a resident about her preteen son. This kid's been at a youth center, and we're trying to negotiate his…adoption. My father thinks getting older ones may work better, because there's more availability.”

Gemini's mouth tightened. “You're trying to work around our office?”

“The kid's not part of the Bend, so we aren't violating any rules.” Whatever those might be.

“And I say he is.”

Kasabian felt Kye before he saw her. She came up beside him, Lyle at her side. “We should go.” Her wary gaze settled on Gemini.

Gemini clamped his big hand on Lyle's shoulder. “If he's a resident's son, he's technically ours.”

Kasabian gripped Gemini's wrist and let the Shadow cross his eyes at the same moment he sent a magick jolt into Gemini's skin. “He came in with us, and he leaves with us.”

The man jerked back with a hiss. “What the fuck?”

Kasabian anchored his hands on Lyle's shoulders. “We're leaving now.” He steered the boy toward the small parking lot, keeping his eye on Gemini.

As soon as they were inside the car, Kasabian headed toward the gate. “Forgive me for not making introductions. That was Gemini, a cog in the Bend's organization.”

Kye rubbed her arms. “This place is more like the Bent. Something's wrong here. Very wrong.”

Lyle looked behind them where Gemini simply watched them leave. “Dude's scary.”

Kasabian watched their surroundings as he drove. No sign of movement or people gathering. He'd feel much better once they cleared the heavy iron gate. Except it wasn't opening. His chest tightened. He'd brought Kye and Lyle to a potential prison. The guard in the gatehouse held out his hand in a
Wait
motion.

Kasabian put the car into reverse, ready to ram it. He was so focused on the guard, the tap on the window made him jump. Gemini motioned for him to roll the window down. He did, ready for anything.

Gemini was breathing heavily, obviously having run here. “If your father does know something about the storm, would you let me know?” He thrust his card at Kasabian. “With the news talking about it, and Treylon…well, it can make one a bit paranoid, if you know what I mean.”

Relief swamped Kasabian as he took it, followed by anger. The guy wasn't worried about all those kids he'd farmed out, but he sure was worried about his own ass. “Yeah, sure.”

The gate opened, and it felt like ten minutes passed before it was wide enough to drive through. Everyone in the car collectively blew out a breath once they turned onto the road.

“You're right about this place being bent,” Kasabian said. “It's definitely twisted. I think it's a breeding farm that supplies kids for Caidos as their own personal Essex device. Most of the women there were Dragon or Crescent.”

“What's an Essex device?” Lyle asked.

Kasabian met Lyle's gaze in the rearview mirror. “You know how it's uncomfortable to pick up Dragons' and Deuces' emotions? It gets worse once you hit puberty and you're Awakened.”

“That's when I come into my full Caidoness, right? When Dragons can become all beastly and Deuces find out what their magick is. Cory's been preparing all of the twelve-year-olds for that.”

“Exactly. Then it will be a lot harder to be around other types of Crescents, and Mundanes as well. The Essex is a way to alleviate that pain temporarily.” He explained how it worked. “Caidos can't take someone's essence without their permission, but children don't have to give permission. If a Caido adopts, say, a Dragon child, he can do the Essex with the child as often as he wants.” Kasabian didn't say that it could drain that child to the point of death. Like the children who'd been rescued with him.

Kye looked horrified. “And if that child was raised from birth with the Caido, he wouldn't know any different. All those pregnant women are breeders…”

“Like my mom.” Lyle's face blanched. “So everything she said about wanting me in her life, me being with my half sibling…”

“I'm sorry.” Kasabian had to tell Lyle the truth so he wouldn't be ensnared by the rosy picture she was painting. “I know how it feels to be betrayed by the one person who should be doing everything in his or her power to protect you.”