Part 7 (1/2)

So many things my Grandmother had never told me. I wasn't sure if I should be angry or confused. Why was she keeping me in the dark? My G.o.d, that's amazing.

He grinned.

”Why didn't she tell me? Why hasn't she let me develop these abilities?”

His smile faded. ”Some people are frightened of what they can do.”

I laughed, a forced, hard sound. ”My Grandma's not afraid.”

He looked at his cup, tracing the rim with his finger. ”Your Grandma's different. She's never fully accepted what we can do.”

I stiffened. ”You say that like you know her.”

He looked up at me. ”I know of her.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. ”Decades ago, Mind Readers stuck together. Almost like a family. They lived and worked as a group. Unfortunately, there was some falling out and they divided. Some went the way of your Grandmother, going into seclusion and hiding. Others went with Aaron, not hiding, but being proud of what they could do. I don't really know the details, but I do know your Grandmother wants to keep her powers to herself.”

For some reason I felt the need to defend the old bat. ”Maybe she has a reason for hiding. You saw how the school treated me, how it backfired.”

He latched onto my hand, his grip strong and sure. ”No. You saved countless lives today, Cameron, don't ever forget that.”

He was right. I was being selfish by worrying about my social standing and not proud of the fact that I had helped put a murderer behind bars. ”But how can we fit in?”

He shrugged, his gaze s.h.i.+ning with excitement. ”Why should we? We don't have to fit in. We don't need others. Humans don't understand us.”

I pulled my hand from his. I couldn't think straight when he was touching me. ”You say humans like we aren't.”

He blinked a few times, as if surprised by my comment. Without responding, he glanced outside onto the wet streets, deep in thought. ”Maybe we aren't. Who knows.”

What the heck was he saying? How could we not be human? We were quiet for one long moment, my mind spinning with confusing possibilities. ”What do you know?”

He looked directly at me. We know the ability to read minds is pa.s.sed down in the family, although it can skip generations.

I nodded. That certainly made sense. My Grandma.

Your dad.

I stiffened. I hadn't realized Dad could read minds, but then I didn't know much about Dad and Grandma didn't speak about him. I'd always a.s.sumed it would be too painful, having lost her only child. The only thing I knew for sure was that he'd died in some freak accident.

My dad could read minds?

He nodded. Your father was great, Cam. One of the best. The things he could do... He shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. He's the stuff of legends.

I wasn't sure whether to feel proud or confused. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to think about a man I hardly knew. ”Why didn't Grandma tell me?”

”Your father was killed, murdered and she doesn't want the same thing to happen to you.”

”What do you mean?” My voice was growing shrill again and I had the sudden, odd urge to cry.

”There are people out there who are afraid of our powers, people who want to use us and if they can't, destroy us. People we call SPI, Society for Paranormal Investigation. Years ago, many Mind Readers used to work with SPI. Then they turned on us, wanted to control us. The battles have died down in the past ten years or so, mostly because we've gone into hiding.”

It was all too much. I'd gone from being thrilled, realizing there were more people like me, to terrified I'd be hunted down. ”So then my Grandma was right to hide.”

”No,” his voice was hard, insistent. ”There's power in numbers, Cam. Besides, by not being able to use your powers to your fullest ability, you're just a sitting duck, waiting for them to find you.”

A s.h.i.+ver of unease raised the fine hairs on my arms. ”We've been okay so far.”

”Have you really?” When I didn't respond he sighed and raked his hand through his hair, the strands s.h.i.+fting and s.h.i.+mmering under the light of the cafe. ”G.o.d, Cam, they're coming. Rumors are circulating that they're on the move again, searching for ones with the ability.”

Fear settled in my gut. ”Why?”

He shrugged. ”The world is changing, with everything going on in the Middle East, my bet is the government wants to use us again.”

”Would that be so bad?”

He released a harsh laugh, shaking his head. ”Yes. We can't trust them. Not after what they did to us in the past. You think you have no freedom now, wait and see if they get ahold of you. Your life will no longer be your own. And if you even think of rebelling they'll know and they'll make you regret it.”

Regret it. That definitely sounded like a threat. Grandma had told me Dad was accidentally shot by the cops. That memory combined with my newfound knowledge made me suddenly sick to my stomach. ”S.P.I. killed my father?”

Yes.

The word whispered softly through my mind and I wondered for a moment if I'd imagined it. But no, there was Lewis looking so serious that it must be true. My father. A man I knew nothing about...dead because of some abnormality he'd been born with. Something he'd pa.s.sed to me. I wrapped my arms around my belly, my chest feeling suddenly hollow.

Lewis reached out, laying his hand on the table, an offering of comfort. I paused for only a moment, then settled my hand atop his. His grip was strong, sure. ”Your father would want this, Cam. He'd want you to know how to use your abilities. He'd want you to be protected and to know how to protect yourself and your Grandmother.”

I didn't know what to say, who to believe. Lewis, a boy I barely knew, wanted me to believe him, but I couldn't, not until I talked things over with Grandma. ”No offense, but how do you know what my father would want?”

”Aaron knew your father.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. Over the years, I'd thought many times about my dad, what he was like, what he believed in. I'd never even seen his picture. Did I look like him? I certainly didn't look like my mom. And here was Lewis, telling me this man named Aaron knew my dad.

”Cam, you're a sitting duck right now. Think what you could do, who you could help. There would be no one to judge you where we live. Come with me, Cam.”

Leave Grandma? The thought was shocking. ”Where would we go?”

”To see Aaron. He'll train you, he'll protect you.”

The urge was strong. I was like a kid in front of a candy store full of temptation. It would be so easy to merely slip back into my old life. To pretend I was normal. I could laugh off Annabel's rumor, say she was as insane as her boyfriend, somehow get back into Emily's good graces. Yet, how happy had I truly been pretending to be someone I wasn't?

”Think of the people you could help,” he insisted, but I was still bitter about Annabeth's reaction.

”Maybe they don't want my help,” I muttered, annoyed at the confusing thoughts rumbling through my mind. Too much had happened in the last few days. I needed time to think.

He was silent for one long moment. ”I'm leaving tomorrow, Cam. I'm going back.”

I felt his words like a slap in the face. He was leaving? Leaving me? I'd only just found him and already he was leaving. ”What? But you can't!”

”I came here for you.” His words excited and scared me. He looked out the window and so I looked too. The rain was tapering off, the sun breaking through the dark clouds, but I felt heavy, drained. A police car parked in front of the building, reminding me of my father's supposed death.