Storm Season (33 page)

“What?” Jasper didn’t care how crazy she thought it sounded or how little chance she thought it had of working. He needed to do something to try to help Tobias, and if the thing Samantha and Aaron had talked about had even the slightest chance of working, he needed to know what it was.

We were thinking that maybe the tree guardian drained him so much that, well, his mind became like yours or Darius’s or Carla’s and he can’t use his psychic powers anymore.

Jasper didn’t see how that helped. “What does that mean?”

I’m getting there.
Samantha flashed a strained smile.
This is hard to explain, but basically, Aaron says there’s a way he can, um, unlock someone’s mind and let them use psychic powers. So, in theory, if we can do that, we can do it to Tobias and he’d be able to talk again.

It sounded reasonable, but Jasper could sense the hesitation in her voice and knew that there had to be a catch. “So why don’t you try it?’

We don’t know if it will work.
Samantha held up a hand as Jasper opened his mouth to protest.
Aaron overheard his father talk about it one time, but he’s never seen it done, or tried it. He knows what to do—we think—but not if it will work, and we don’t want to get Tobias’s hopes up until we do.

Something heavy settled in the pit of Jasper’s stomach. “How would you find out?”

Samantha ducked her head briefly. When she lifted it again, her bottom lip was caught between her teeth.
We want to try it on you first.

J
ASPER
blinked, reviewing what he’d just heard and trying to make it come out as something different. No matter how many times he went over it, it always sounded the same, and he ended up tipping his head to the side and giving Samantha an incredulous look. “You want to what?”

Try it on you first,
she repeated, amusement coloring her tone.
That way we’ll know if it works or not before talking to Tobias.

“But how? I’ve never had psychic powers. Hail, it hurts me when one of you talks to me without physical contact!”

Exactly.
Samantha looked at him earnestly.
That makes you perfect. If we can unlock your psychic potential, then we’d know for sure that it would work on Tobias. We’ll know we did it right.

Understanding dawned, casting a gloomy light over the entire situation. “So if it doesn’t work, we’ll know that wasn’t a viable solution for him.”

Right.
Samantha picked up a lock of hair and twirled it around her finger.
If we can unlock your potential, we’ll know Aaron remembered right. If we can’t, we won’t even try on Tobias. If we can, and it doesn’t work on him, we’ll know we were wrong about why he can’t talk.

“Again.” It came out harsher than Jasper intended, and Samantha hung her head.

Yeah,
she said, her hair falling to block her face.
Again.

“What does it involve?” Jasper asked, not quite sure he could believe he was doing this. “If you try to unlock my, uh, buried psychic powers or whatever it is?”

Latent powers,
Samantha corrected.
Everyone has them, or they wouldn’t give off psychic energy.

“Okay,” Jasper said, quirking his lips up into a small smile. “What does it involve if you try to unlock my latent psychic powers?”

Nothing on your part.

“That’s not what I mean.”

I know.
Samantha flashed a small smile as she took him by the arm and started walking.
Did Tobias ever tell you about how we can make people think things? And some of us can make people feel things?

“Yeah.” Jasper left it at that, figuring that the arguments he and Tobias had about the issue weren’t Samantha’s business, particularly not since they’d been resolved long before he met her.

Okay,
she said, glancing over at him as they stepped over more train tracks. Carla and Darius had maneuvered the train on to the most out of the way holding tracks in the train yard, which meant that they had to cross the entire yard to get to the garage where they’d left their SUV.
It’s like that, sort of. We won’t make you think or feel anything, but it’s going into your head like that and then… flipping a switch, I guess. It’s hard to describe.

“Will it hurt?” Jasper lowered his voice a little as they approached the SUV. Tobias was already inside, sitting in the back with his knees pulled up to his chest, looking small and vulnerable, and Darius, Carla, and Aaron were packing the things they’d pulled off the train into the back. There wasn’t much. Most of their stuff had been left in Shaleton and the furnishings and supplies from the train stayed with it.

I don’t know.
The pitch of Samantha’s voice was lower as well, as though she were consciously speaking only to Jasper.
I hope not, but I can’t promise anything. We’ve never done this before. We’ll try not to hurt you and stop—if we can—if it does, but that’s all I can promise.

Jasper nodded. It wasn’t the most comforting thing to be told, but at least he knew it was honest. And really, if it worked for both him and Tobias, it would be worth some pain. Temporary pain would be far better than leaving Tobias like he was. “Okay.”

Samantha tilted her head to the side.
Okay what?

“I’ll do it. Or let you and Aaron do it. Whatever.” Jasper waved his hand to indicate the semantics really didn’t matter. He’d do whatever Samantha and Aaron needed him to for a chance at helping Tobias. “When should we? And where?”

Tomorrow,
Samantha said after exchanging a glance—and probably more—with Aaron.
Aaron and I will get ready tonight, and we can slip away somewhere in the morning. I don’t want anyone else to know until we’ve tried it.

Jasper wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but he nodded in agreement anyway. “All right. Tomorrow. Early. If it works, can you try it on Tobias tomorrow too?” He didn’t want to leave Tobias upset and unable to talk for a moment longer than he had to.

We’ll try.
She squeezed his arm, stopping his protest.
I don’t know how much energy this is going to take. If it works, and we have enough energy, we’ll try as soon as we find out. But I’m not going to try if we’re too tired. That would be dangerous.

Jasper nodded. He didn’t want that, either. “As soon as possible after we know, then, right?”

Of course. I don’t want him to wait any more than you do.
Samantha grinned and let go of Jasper’s arm, effectively ending the conversation.

Jasper scowled but decided it wasn’t worth pursuing. He climbed into the SUV instead, taking the middle seat in the back so he could sit next to Tobias, and left the two center chairs and the front seat for Aaron, Samantha, and whichever one of Carla and Darius didn’t drive. Tobias looked at him as he sat down, giving Jasper a little hope, but looked away again before Jasper could say anything. As Jasper buckled his seat belt, Tobias fixed his gaze out the window and pulled his knees in tighter as if he wanted to take up as little space as possible.

“Hey,” Jasper said, putting his arm around Tobias’s shoulder and doing his best to ignore the flinch. “We’re going to figure this out.”

Tobias shrugged, pulling away as best he could in the small space, and Jasper sighed as he let go. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

T
HEY
spent that night in Jasper’s safe room as the storms raged outside, none of them getting much sleep. The room had been crowded with four adults. Six—as Darius and Carla hadn’t had time to get home before the storms hit—was claustrophobic. Jasper was glad they hadn’t had time to go over to his neighbor’s house to retrieve Kyree before they’d had to hide. Six adults and a dog would have been unbearable.

When the radar finally indicated it was clear the next morning, Jasper pushed his way through the closet into his bedroom, wryly thinking that even with the window, it was safer than that night in the clearing or any of the nights he spent hiding in the woods outside Shaleton. Before, when he’d been the man who had almost been caught in a coastal storm in Crittendon, the precaution of the safe room had made perfect sense. Now, as the man who had survived standing in the storm and sleeping in trees, the safe room seemed overly cautious.

The others seemed to think so too. Darius and Carla grumbled under their breath and Tobias, Samantha, and Aaron scowled as they left the room. Tobias in particular had seemed exceedingly uncomfortable all night, and half the time Jasper should have been sleeping, he’d spent worrying about him. The other half he’d spent worrying about what Samantha and Aaron were about to try.

Breakfast seemed to take forever, yet when Samantha put her hand on Jasper’s arm and tilted her head to the side, it seemed too soon.
You ready?

Jasper felt anything but ready, but he couldn’t back out now, though, not with how miserable Tobias was, so he nodded. “Yeah. Where do you want to do this?” Tobias had already disappeared and Darius and Carla had gone out to finish unpacking the car, so they could have done it right there, but it didn’t feel right. Not when anyone could walk back in at any time.

Aaron and Samantha shared a glance.
The barn?
Samantha asked, shrugging.
Unless you think Tobias will be there.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Jasper had no more idea than Samantha and Aaron where Tobias had gotten to, but the barn seemed their best bet. He would feel weird doing it in his bedroom or the guest room, the rest of the house was too exposed, and he didn’t want to get too far away from his friends in case something went wrong. The barn, being close by, yet not someplace his friends were going to walk into without reason, was ideal. “If he’s there, we can find somewhere else.”

He wasn’t. They trooped out to the barn and found it empty except for the horses. Jasper’s neighbor had obviously been diligent in coming by to feed them—their stalls were clean and their feed tubs half-full—but Jasper doubted he’d be by for a few more hours. He had his own animals to take care of first.

After a quick glance to reassure himself that the barn was empty, Jasper sat down on one of the hay bales and looked expectantly at Aaron and Samantha. “What do you want me to do?”

You might want to lie down.
Jasper shrugged at Aaron’s suggestion and lay back so he was stretched across the hay bale, his feet resting flat on the barn floor. Aaron sat down on the floor next to him and gently touched one finger to Jasper’s temple.
Just stay still.

“Okay.” Jasper closed his eyes, ready and waiting, but nothing happened. Seconds ticked by with no sign that Aaron was there except for the slight pressure on Jasper’s temple, and he started to wonder when it was going to start. He was just about to open his eyes to ask when he felt pressure inside his skull, moving around like Aaron was literally poking into all the corners of his brain. It wasn’t painful at first, just strange, but then Aaron pushed against something and Jasper gasped as pain shot all the way down to his toes.

Stay still.
Aaron put a finger against Jasper’s other temple.
This is probably going to be painful.

Jasper braced for the pain, but it was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. The agony he’d felt after Durrysville and during the fight was stubbing his toe compared to this. He imagined Aaron ramming against a door inside his head, trying to break it down, and every time Aaron hit it, it felt like Jasper was being thrown to the ground from a great height or being crushed under the weight of a vehicle.

Just when Jasper thought he couldn’t take it anymore, Aaron shoved harder than he had before. The pain was blinding, but when it faded, Jasper noticed a buzzing in the back of his skull. Gradually, it resolved itself into words, Samantha’s voice echoing in his head even though she wasn’t touching him.

… it work? He’s not—

Give it a minute, Sam.
The light pressure of Aaron’s fingers left Jasper’s temples, and he blinked his eyes open, turning his head to the side so he could see Samantha and Aaron.

“Sleet! That was…,” he started, then decided to think it when he saw their amused expressions.
Horrible.

But it worked.
Aaron leaned back, bracing himself with his hands spread behind him.
Sorry it hurt so much but—

Jasper cut him off, thinking loudly so that he would be sure to be heard.
You can try this on Tobias today, right?
He really wasn’t interested in the how or why of how easy it had been. He just wanted to know if it was easy enough to help Tobias or if they’d have to wait another day.

Both Samantha and Aaron pinched the bridges of their noses, making pained expressions.
You don’t have to scream. We’re right here.
Samantha said, squeezing her eyes shut and rubbing along her nose like she was trying to get rid of a headache. Jasper supposed it was their equivalent of covering their ears.