Revival (The Variant Series, Book 1) (22 page)

“So is Nate your cousin, too?”

“In all the ways that matter. Nate’s mom died just after my aunt and uncle did, so he went to live with Grayson at the same time as Kenzie and Decks. To me, he’s family. Same with Brian in there. And Brian’s dad, too.” Aiden looked out over the water. “Grayson was more like a father to me than my
own
dad was.”

They stood there for a long while, side by side against the railing, lost in a companionable silence.

“So tell me, Cassie.”

“Hm?”

“How did
you
get mixed up in all this?”

This blanket wasn’t nearly warm enough. She stared down at her hands.

Blink
.

The warehouse.

Cassie swallowed hard.

“I was Brandt’s leverage,” she said. “He wanted to draw Alex into a meeting… so he… so he kidnapped me to ensure that she’d show.”

Aiden’s good humor evaporated. She could feel him studying her in the low light as an uneasy silence settled over the two of them. Not knowing what else to say, Cassie gazed out over the water.

Her vision blurred.

Blink
.

The trunk.

Something warm was dripping onto her forearm. Crap. She wiped furtively at her cheeks. She’d been able to hold it together
this
long. Falling to pieces in front of a guy she’d only just met was
not
an option.

It wasn’t.

She was stronger than this.

…So why were the tears still coming?

“Want to talk about it?” he asked.

The question caught her off-guard. “You know you’re the first person who’s asked me that? Everyone else just wanted to know if I was ‘okay.’ What kind of question is that, anyway? Am I
okay
? A crazy man snuck up behind me in a parking lot, held an awful smelling rag over my face until I passed out, shoved me in the trunk of a car, and then left me tied up in an abandoned warehouse for the
longest
ten hours of my life. After that he burned my classmate alive right in front of my eyes.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. No stopping them now. “Oh, yeah, I’m okay. Life’s a friggin’
peach
.”

“Hey,” said Aiden, his voice soft. Lifting one hand, he caught her chin and gently turned her face toward his. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe here.”

With a subtle wave from his free hand, Aiden summoned the tears cascading down Cassie’s cheeks into the space between them. The droplets swirled above his palm and then disappeared, evaporating into the cool night air.

Just as Brandt had controlled fire, Aiden could control water.

There was a hint of worry in his eyes, as though he wasn’t sure what her reaction might be.

She surprised both of them by taking a step forward, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face against his chest. After a moment’s hesitation, Cassie felt Aiden return the embrace, holding her tightly against him.

Safe.

For the first time since Brandt had taken her, she felt
safe
.

Arms still wrapped around Aiden, Cassie closed her eyes… and saw nothing.

Maybe she wasn’t so broken after all.

— 19 —

W
hen Alex had mentioned earlier that she’d rather be trained by Nathaniel, this wasn’t what she’d had in mind.

“Arm up,” said Nate. “What are you doing? I said to hold it taught, not to dislocate your shoulder.”

Nate was acting weird.

And, okay, Alex had only known the guy for two days. There was always an outside chance that he got moody and secretive about things
all
the time, and that this sudden turn for the pithy was nothing out of the ordinary.

But she didn’t think so.

“Tensing up like that won’t help,” he was saying. “Your arm is simply a tool to help you visualize and narrow the direction of your focus. It’s your
mind
that does the work. Now try again. Move the can.”

The can shuddered, teetering on the edge for one long moment before slipping off the wall and clinking against the flagstone. It continued to roll until it met with the toe of Nate’s boot.

“Is that what you were trying to do?” he asked doubtfully, staring down at the can.

Alex was starting to understand why sleep-deprivation was considered a form of torture. “Actually, I was trying to levitate it.”

“Huh,” said Nate. “Well, it’s a start, I guess.”

Alex couldn’t get the image out of her head.

She’d only stumbled across it by accident. It’s not as though she’d
intentionally
gone digging into Nate’s private thoughts. One moment, she was memorizing the image of the sun-drenched park in DC he’d offered her—and the next, she’d found herself somewhere else entirely.

Somewhere in the realm of his memories.

Nate bent to retrieve the can.

Alex had asked him about it, of course. How could she not?

When you stumble across a memory containing a crystal clear image of yourself—dripping wet, decidedly unconscious, and sporting a blue-lipped look of death—in someone else’s mind…

Someone you’d only just met…

Well, it’s going to raise a few questions.

Questions
that had been met with a look of blind panic from Nathaniel. Oh, he’d tried to hide his reaction, but the damage had been done. He knew exactly which memory it was that Alex had been referring to. And his response told her that the image she’d glimpsed had a story behind it.

A story that Nate wouldn’t be sharing with her
any
time soon, no matter how many times she might ask.

Alex returned her focus to the task at hand: figuring out how to move that stupid can. She’d get the truth out of Nate eventually. She’d just have to work out the logistics of
how
to do it later.

“So is Grayson coming back tonight?” asked Alex.

She sized up the soda can Nate had once again placed on the stone wall that lined the patio. He stepped back and she obediently raised her arm, preparing for her sixth attempt.

“Declan said Grayson would check in with us again tomorrow, but that he and Brandt had an errand to run,” said Nate. “Whatever that means.”

The idea that Grayson was out there somewhere with that monster—and that he was there
willingly
—had taken them
all
by surprise. There was something very strange going on and Alex was desperate to find out what it was.

Grayson had hinted that the man he was with might not have been the same man that she’d met. But if the man coming after her wasn’t Carson Brandt, then who was he?

“Come on, Alex,” said Nate. “Where’s your head right now? Focus.”

Alex pulled a face. No matter how hard she concentrated, she couldn’t move the lousy hunk of tin more than an inch in any direction.

Next to her, Nate’s shoulders quaked with silent laughter. It was the first time he’d cracked a smile in over an hour. “
Relax
, Alex. You look like you’re about to strain something. Remember what I said: you’re moving it with your thoughts, not with your actual muscles.”

Why was this so hard for her?

Telepathy had been a cinch, once Kenzie had shown her the ropes. Even her lessons with Declan hadn’t been this challenging.

It didn’t matter what she tried—the stubborn can simply wouldn’t move the way she wanted it to.

Someone yawned behind her. She turned to find Kenzie wrapped up in a blanket. Alex hadn’t heard her approach.

“And how’s our prodigy doing?” asked the redhead.

Nate gave a noncommittal grunt. “She’d probably be better with a full night’s sleep.”

“You’ll get no argument from me,” said Alex. Her eyelids were growing heavier by the minute. “What time is it, anyway?”

“A little after two
A.M
.,” said Kenzie.

Geez. No wonder she was so tired.

“Has Declan made it back with Brian yet?” asked Nate.

Declan left shortly before Alex began training with Nathaniel, intent on taking Cassie and Connor home and bringing Brian back from Aiden’s.

The decision to send her friends back to Florida hadn’t been an easy one for Alex. After what had happened with Cassie, Alex wanted to keep her friends and family as close to her as possible—close enough that she could keep an eye on them.

Eventually, the others had convinced her that Cassie and Connor would be safer at home with their families and Alex had relented. She still wasn’t certain she’d made the right decision.

Before Declan left, Alex had asked him for two favors.

The first was to have Cassie call her at the cabin as soon as he dropped her off at home. After everything Cassie had been through today, Alex wanted nothing more than to hear the sound of her best friend’s voice and make certain that she was alright.

The second request was that Declan stop by Alex’s house and check in on her Aunt Cil.

She wasn’t answering at the house or on her cell phone and it was making Alex nervous.

Worry had started to sink its gnarled teeth into her, causing a tight knot to form in her chest. What if Brandt had come after her? Or the Agency? What if she hadn’t been able to jump in time?

A thousand different scenarios, each one worse than the last, had played themselves out in her mind. 

“They’re not back yet,” said Kenzie. “But Declan left ages ago. They ought to be home soon.”

Alex sure hoped so. She wasn’t sure her nerves were going to hold up much longer.

How did people in high-stress situations do it? Cops. Superheroes. Bruce Willis in all those Die Hard movies… How did they stay so cool and collected while the world was going mad all around them?

“Alright, Alex,” said Nate. “How about you give it one more go before we call it a night?”

Too tired to argue, Alex raised her arm and prepared for one last attempt.

A flash of light drove back the darkness. The orange glow of the patio lights had been replaced by an electric blue flash heralding Declan’s arrival.

Alex jumped to one side as four bodies appeared in the air next to her and tumbled unceremoniously onto the flagstone. Wisps of smoke surrounded them, filling her nostrils with an acrid stench.

Declan, Brian, Aiden and Cassie lay sprawled on the patio deck, coughing fitfully and looking rumpled. For whatever reason, Declan was the only one of the four that was dripping wet.

“
What happened
?” asked Alex. “Are you guys alright?”

She knelt beside Cassie as the other girl struggled to sit up. She was fighting to catch her breath, but other than that, she appeared unharmed.

“I’m okay,” said Cassie, waving her off.

“We’re fine,” Aiden managed between coughs.

“Speak for yourself.” Declan sat with his arms resting on his knees, water leaking steadily from his clothes into a slowly expanding puddle beneath him, his face haggard.

“Wait.” Alex did a quick headcount. Their group was one short. “Where’s Connor?”

“I took him home,” said Declan.

Alex looked from Cassie to Declan and back again. He’d taken Connor home, but not Cassie?

“Honestly, Alex,” said Cassie, her voice droll. “Did you
really
think that I was just going to go back home and leave you here all alone? Mind you, I didn’t realize it would mean I’d come so close to getting
roasted
twice in a single day.”

Declan glared at Cassie. “I tried to take her home, but she seemed to have other plans. Your friend can be quite persuasive when she wants to be.”

Persuasive? Declan wasn’t the sort of guy you reasoned with. And she was pretty sure that the two of them couldn’t stand each other. So how had Cassie convinced him to let her stay?

“Cassie stole his wallet,” Brian explained. “Said she wouldn’t return it until Declan brought her back here.”

“That reminds me.” Declan held out a hand. “Wallet.
Now
.”

“Seriously, Cass?”

“Hey, it got me here, didn’t it?” she said, fishing a battered leather wallet from the back pocket of her jeans. She threw it at Declan’s head. “Think fast, Grumpy.”

He caught it with one hand and opened it to check the contents before slipping it back into his pocket, mumbling, “
Klepto
.”

“You okay, kid? You look a little… singed,” Kenzie was staring at Brian in concern.

Brian rubbed the top of his head, causing a handful of ash to fall from his hair. “All in one piece. No worries. Although we can’t really say the same for Aiden’s apartment. Pretty sure that one’s a total loss.”

Next to Cassie, Aiden rubbed his hands across his face and groaned. “I knew… I freaking
knew
I’d regret helping you guys. If that asshat so much as
touches
Norma Jean, you’re the first one I’m coming after, Decks.”

Declan stopped coughing long enough to stare daggers at his cousin. His wet hair was still dribbling water into his eyes. “How the hell was I supposed to know that Brandt would be able to follow me from Florida back to Newport?”

“
Brandt
?” Alex echoed.

The soda can took off like a shot and embedded itself in the trunk of a nearby tree. The others flinched.

“Whoa!” said Kenzie. “Breathe, Alex.
Breathe
. Before you take someone’s head off with an adirondack chair or something.”

“Okay,” said Cassie, staring in surprise at the can’s remains. “That’s new.”

Alex tried to relax, but her nerves were becoming increasingly frayed around the edges.

It seemed ridiculous, but she was actually starting to miss the way things used to be, back when she only had to worry about the odd appliance getting fried.

Now she’d added flying projectiles to the list. What would she have to worry about next? Spontaneous combustion? Earthquakes?

Alex did as Kenzie suggested and sucked in a deep breath.

“I thought Brandt was with Grayson in Virginia?” said Nate.

“He is,” said Declan. “Or at least he was. When Grayson called earlier, he said that he was about to get some answers… But I’m still waiting on a phone call to find out what those answers were. All I know is that this was
definitely
the same guy that torched the bookstore and kidnapped Cassie.”