Seclusion (32 page)

“OMG!”

“I know, I had a tragic
childhood. I spent many nights lying out on my trampoline and using my
telescope, wondering if I was part alien.”

“You did not think that!”

“I did. I told one of my
tutors that E.T. was probably a cousin of mine.”

I could hear her warm,
happy laughter ringing through my mind.

“Show me more.”

She was sucking down
information so quickly, it was hard to keep her coherent. I told her about all
the trouble I gave the help around the house, and how I tortured my nannies. I
had five nannies by the time I was ten.

“I knew you were evil.”

“You’re listening!”
I laughed.

“Of course I am, where else
would I be?”

“My grandfather was my
life. I loved him, looked up to him, and hung on his every word. He was the
smartest and richest man I knew, and also the kindest. He taught me what to
look for in a woman. He would’ve liked you. In fact, he would’ve tried to steal
you away. He was a notorious flirt. Everywhere we went, women would make fools
of themselves trying to get his attention.”

“I know where you get it
now.”

I sent her a smile.

“What happened to him?”

“He got sick. He had
Alzheimer’s, and when I was fourteen his mental decline was at an extreme
point. When he was coherent, he made me promise to use my ability to give him
peace. This is another reason I kept myself away from you, and I won’t hold it
against you if you hate me for what I’ve done. I helped my grandfather die…at
his request. I killed him.”

“Damen, you were just a
boy. That was horrible of him to make you do that! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay. Only you and
Jay know that.”

*
* *

Damen shared so much with
me, and I wanted to share back, but I couldn’t remember enough to share with
him. It was horrible. He was wonderful, though. He just kept giving and sharing
himself with me. More than he’d ever done before.

I saw Jay walk into Damen’s
bedroom.

“Damen, it’s time. I’m
going to give you the quick version. Taylor is behind everything.”

“What! No,” Damen said.

“Don’t interrupt me, we
don’t have time for that,” Jay said. “Between Chase’s story and my ability, we
have been able to piece together that Taylor is reviving someone from the dead
using Raegan’s healing power, and Raegan’s mother’s power is generating her
ability.”

“My mother’s alive!”

“Chase was able to get back
here quick enough that he and I might be able to reach them before they are
able to raise Zach from the dead. My guess is that it’s Zach. It only makes
sense – he’s Taylor’s love. Taylor is at the grave now. Connor knows the plan,
and he’s going with you. You’ll need him to get through the retinal scanners
and ID code on the door. Just get Raegan and her mother and get out of there.
You can bring her back here with Connor, and then you can come help us. We’ll
need you if she’s able to raise Zach from the dead. Elsie believes that Dr.
Drake knows nothing of Taylor’s plan and would help us. She’s going to get him
and Sara to help. I’m not keen on bringing Sara, but everyone else seems to
think having a mental shield around would help. I can’t see what’s going to
happen, only what might happen.”

I watched Jay leave.

“Little one, I’m coming to
get you now!”

I could see Connor trying
to keep up with Damen.

“Do you know where you’re
going?” Connor asked.

“The link is leading me.”

I could see them jogging
across the track and into the rec room. It seemed like hours before I saw them
stop at the door to the lab. Connor waved his hand over the scanner and then
held his own eye to it. The light flashed green, and then he typed in some
codes.

“Okay, so I already stopped
the recording of this room, so we should be good,” he said.

I saw Damen run into the
room and straight over to the bed I was lying in. He crouched over me, cradling
my head and kissing my forehead.

“Raegan, can you wake up?”

“I’m still here, and that
isn’t me.”

I saw my sickly face
through Damen’s eyes and felt repulsed. Who was that?

“I think she’s in a coma,
like her mother,” Connor said as he leaned over the woman with the red hair.

I saw Damen’s eyes go wide
with fury. “No! She’s awake in there!”

“That is the case, but they
are in medically-induced comas. We need to stop the IVs with the medication,
but we should probably keep the other ones in. They probably won’t wake for a
few days. Let’s get them to your room and I’ll call the nurse while you go help
Chase and Jay.”

I saw Damen look at the IV
taped to my arm. I could see flashes of memory coming back to him. He saw his
grandfather’s sickly white arms and remembered how he had yanked the IVs out
using his power. He had unplugged every machine in the room and watched as his
grandfather took his last breath.

“I won’t do it, and neither
will you,” I heard him tell Connor.

Connor had already detached
my mother’s IV and was holding my mother in his arms. I saw her red and blonde
hair flowing around her gaunt, pale face. She’d been in this state for years,
and she did not look like the beautiful pictures I’d seen around the house
growing up. Connor looked at Damen in confusion.

“No one is unplugging
Raegan,” he said.

I could feel the power of
compulsion emanating through the room. The fury in Damen’s eyes was scary.

“DAMEN!”

He looked at my face and pushed
the hair away from my eyes.

“Love! I won’t let anyone
hurt you!”

“Damen, Connor isn’t trying
to hurt me. He wants to help me wake up. I want to wake up.”

He looked down at me,
confused, and looked to my arms again.

“What if you don’t wake up?
What if you stop breathing like he did?”

“I won’t. I promise!”

“I won’t take that chance.”

“You can! You have to! I’m
not dead; I’m alive and going crazy here. I want to be able to hold you and
kiss you! Unplug me!”

I saw a tear run down his
face. He looked me in the eyes and shook his head.
“Don’t ask me to do
this!”

“I am not dead and I am not
dying! If you love me, really love me, you will do this.”

“
Raegan, I do love
you…I’ll do it, just like I did it for him.”

I could see the fear and
resignation in his eyes. His arms were shaking, and I could see he really
thought I might not wake up after he removed the IV. He breathed in and out,
and I saw him do what he always did to relax. He imagined the ocean, and he
gently removed the tape from my arm, holding pressure over the bandage as he
gently slid the needle out.

“Thank you.”

He looked at me.
“You
are still in there?”

“Yes, I’m fine; just get me
out of here!”

He scooped me up, kissing
my eyes and cheeks and holding me so gently. He actually thought I was going to
break.

*
* *

Damen and Jay laid my mom
and me down in Damen’s bed and put the covers over us.

“Connor, are you sure you
can watch them?”

“Yes, and I’ve changed the
retinal scanner and ID number,” he said, waving his hand over the little box in
front of Damen’s door.

“Raegan, I’m leaving, but
we will still be connected.”

“Okay, don’t worry about
me. I’m feeling better already. You pretend like I’m not here. You do what you
need to do and get back to me.”

“I will, Raegan, and I’m
sorry about my issues.”

“Don’t be sorry. Thank you
for loving me that much.”

I felt Damen mentally
prepare for battle. He grabbed his keys and found his car. He zoned in on Chase
and Jay. Chase was running out of power. Being invisible for so long had
drained him, so Jay was carrying him. They were just arriving at the graveyard
thanks to Chase’s super speed.

The moment they arrived,
they knew at once that they were too late. Carson was staring openmouthed at
Taylor, who was hugging what could only be described as a zombie: a dark-haired
man with pasty decaying skin. The air reeked of rotten flesh.

“Aim for the head,”
I murmured.

I heard Damen chuckle.

“I might not be able to
love you anymore if you say you aren’t a
Walking Dead
fan!”
I said.

“I own the first and second
season on Blu-ray.”

I sent him a smile.

Damen zoned in again while
driving. Taylor was dressing the zombie in an Armani suit and trying to put
shoes on his feet.

“I need to heal you more,”
she said.

The zombie looked at her
with his head tilted to one side. “Maddy? Damen?”

I saw Taylor’s eyes get
angry.

“You still aren’t over that
bitch. She killed you, Zach.”

“No. Maddy loves me.”

There were tears streaming
down Taylor’s face as she gripped Zach’s head. I could see the healing power
emanate through her and into Zach. She held on as long as she could before
falling to the ground. Zombie Zach’s skin healed to a grey tone, and there were
no more holes or bones showing. His face was gaunt, but his eyes were
calculating.

“Taylor, what have you
done? If Maddy is dead, why would I want to live?”

A worried look settled over
Taylor’s pretty face.

“Damen. He’s alive, and he
needs a father.”

The zombie's eyes perked
up. “Where is he?”

“Carson, call Connor,” Taylor demanded.

I could hear Damen cussing
as he pulled up behind the jeep. He was too far away for the zombie militia to
see him.

“Damen, you need to stay in
the car. Zach wants you.”

“I know, little one.”

Chase was recharging, and
Jay was trying to figure out what the best move was going to be.

“Connor says he’s holed up
in Damen’s room with the two girls, and Damen is on his way and probably
watching you now,” Carson said, looking at Taylor for direction.

“Why is Connor talking to Carson?”
I asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s not
good.”

The zombie sniffed the air.
“Little boys, you may come out now. No need to hide.”

“Crap,” Damen said.

Chase and Jay walked up to
Zach.

“If you call my son, I will
not let Taylor hurt the girls,” he said.

“Your son?” Jay asked.

“Yes, my son, Damen. I delivered
him and raised him and gave him his powers.”

I could see Damen shaking
his head.

“No, my mom’s journal said
this guy was delusional.”

“I can smell great power,
and it’s not yours. Don’t make me angry. Where is my son?”

“We don’t know,” Jay said.

“Taylor, call that boy
Connor. Looks like we are going to have to torture those girls after all.”

“Wait,” Jay said.

“Son, come out. I can feel
you watching us. You’ve grown. I’m so proud. I won’t harm her…Raegan…Drake. My
niece, she’s the one whose powers brought me back. Only fitting that the
strongest are from the Drake line.”

“Damen, don’t you dare go
out there. Connor will not harm us.”

“Sorry, Raegan. Please try
not to distract me. Wake up and use your compulsion on Connor if you need to.”

*
* *

DAMEN

I walked out to the
graveyard and said, “I am a Carbonel, not a Drake, and neither is Raegan.”

“Son, come here! You are
wrong about that. Right, Taylor? Janell Miller has always loved Zeke, or E. as
she called him. They had a fling before she ran away from the island, and that
is how your dear Raegan came into existence. Before I died, I intercepted a
letter meant for Zeke explaining Janell’s pregnancy. Of course I couldn’t have
him leaving the island because he got that slut pregnant, so I torched the
letter. Unfortunately, I overestimated Zeke’s need for love and he left
anyway.”

“What do you want from me?”
I asked.

“A relationship. I can
train you, teach you.”

Taylor
stood up and reached her
hand toward Zach. He flinched and slapped her away, and then a look of regret
flashed across his face.