Unraveled

EIGHTEEN

A few hours earlier…

THE DAY PASSED in a haze for Mary Ann, classes and tests and friends mere blips in her mind. Riley had ignored her, even though they shared the same schedule. That was more than a blip, but not the cause of her upset.

There were only two more days until the witches’ death curse took effect. If it did. Health-wise, she still felt fine. And yet, she’d never felt so helpless. Or more desperate. “What if” was a constant refrain inside her head. What if she went to sleep in two days and never woke up? What if her heart simply stopped beating? What if a car plowed into her?

If she had to round up every witch in the area and call a meeting to order herself, she would. And she would—hey. Wait. Her eyes widened as her mind whirled. Maybe she could do that. What if she used her…aptitude for sensing magic to find the witches, kinda like following her very own yellow brick road, and forced them into the same location?

Finally, a “what if” she liked.

Would calling a meeting to order herself count, though? Or would she simply earn the wrath of some very powerful women?

Worth trying, she thought. And besides, she’d already earned their wrath. So, next question: when to begin? Aden would be busy most of the evening; he had an appointment with his therapist and a dinner at the D and M Ranch. But Riley and Victoria, and even Lauren, could help her. They’d all planned to meet up anyway, but if Mary Ann struck out on her own, she could find the witches, call her friends, and they could bag and tag. Of course, Victoria and Lauren might wonder exactly how Mary Ann was able to sense witches now, and Riley had told her not to tell anyone about her new ability. With very good reason.

Crap. Victoria and Lauren were out. Mary Ann would have to rely on Riley. Only Riley. Her stomach clenched. He was clearly angry with her again. After all, she hadn’t told him about Aden’s possible murder. And she’d broken up with him, had meant it, and she wouldn’t change her mind. Don’t cry. That didn’t mean they had to stay away from each other, though. Didn’t mean they couldn’t be civil. They could work together, amicably, to save their lives. Couldn’t they? Yes. Yes, they could. And next time she saw him, she would tell him so. Even yell at him if she had to.

He’d commanded his brothers—the snow-white wolf and the golden wolf who had followed her and Penny that night—to walk her home after school and had taken off. Where he’d gone, she didn’t know. She’d asked the brothers, but they had ignored her, merely keeping step beside her.

Now she pounded inside her house, shutting the two out before they could race past the front door. Her dad could barely tolerate Riley. No way she’d introduce him to two more wolves. Wolves she didn’t even know, at that. Wolves who clearly hadn’t wanted her to know them.

“How old are you?” she’d asked both after failing to gain Riley’s location.

Nothing.

“Do you have the same parents as Riley?”

Nothing.

“Are you nervous about the death curse placed on him?”

Again, nothing.

Finally she’d given up on that, too. Her relationship with their brother was over—seriously, don’t cry—so of course they hated her and wanted nothing to do with her.

She sighed. Her dad was still at work, the house silent. Mary Ann sprinted up the stairs, down the hall and into her bedroom. All the colors splashed throughout blended together and created a bright rainbow haze. Usually she found comfort in that. Today, not so much.

At her desk, she withdrew her cell phone from her backpack and sat down. Are you really going to do this?

A moment passed before she nodded. Oh, yes. She was going to do this. There was no other way. Just after she punched the first word in her text, her house phone rang. Frowning, she leaned over to the unit poised at the edge of her desk and glanced at the caller ID. Penny.

Though she felt harried, Mary Ann answered. “Hello.”

“Hey, you. You raced out of school today before I could talk to you.”

“Sorry. I just—” What? Telling the truth wasn’t an option.

“I hardly see you anymore. Unless you’re sneaking out, that is. Which brings me to the reason I’m calling.” There was so much glee in Penny’s tone, Mary Ann had no doubts about what her friend was thinking.

“I can’t sneak out again,” she lied, and hated herself. Honesty was prized, but she didn’t want Penny involved in tonight’s hunt. “I need my rest.” Now that was the truth. She needed it, but she wouldn’t get it.

“Oh. Well, that’s too bad because I hear a big group of kids will be making an appearance in town tonight.”

Mary Ann groaned. “That’s not safe.”

“The fun things never are.”

“You’re going?”

“Nah. Not if you’re staying in. The baby…”

“Are you sick?”

“A little. Only, it’s not just morning sickness anymore. It’s now nighttime sickness, too. And get this. I think I saw Tucker today.”

Mary Ann straightened, her ears perking. “Me, too. Yesterday, I mean, but I wasn’t sure.”

“I know the feeling. He was in the trees when I walked out of school. Not that he bothered to come talk to me, the bastard. And he was gone so fast I couldn’t tell if it had really been him to begin with.”

What was he doing, lurking about? After surviving a vampire attack, he’d vowed to behave. “Just…be careful. Okay?”

“I will. Love you, Mary Contrary.”

“Love you, too, Penn.”

As she hung up, Mary Ann spied another of her candy bars from the corner of her eye. Her mouth didn’t water, but she found herself ripping past the wrapper, lifting the chocolate sticks and holding them to her nose, sniffing. Not a single hunger pang, no flooding of moisture in her mouth.

She’d been without any food for nearly a week. Well, except for that one bite of Snickers, but it didn’t count since she’d immediately barfed. In front of Riley. How mortifying. His opinion doesn’t matter. You can’t have him.

Don’t cry.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, set the candy bar aside and reclaimed her cell phone. With trembling fingers, she typed the rest of the text to Riley. He rarely used his phone, but she wasn’t going to concern herself with that. It would be his fault if he missed her message.

In two hours, I’m hunting witches. Either come with me or don’t. Up to you. Either way, I’m headed out without the others.

Good or bad, she had to try to find them, and she had to go before her dad got home. That way, she could leave him a note—studying with friends, be back later—and not have to endure the Spanish Inquisition.

Are you really going to do this?

Yes, she thought again. She was. Though her trembling increased, she pressed “send.”

ADEN LAY ON Dr. Hennessy’s couch again, the room dimmed, that same tranquil music playing in the background. He waited…craving answers…

“Did you take your medication today?” the doctor asked him.

“Yes,” he lied.

“If that’s so, why aren’t your pupils dilated?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had any medical training.”

Good one, Caleb said, mentally high-fiving him. Julian laughed.

Behave, Elijah cautioned. We have to tread carefully.

“Do you like the souls, Aden? Is that why you refuse my aid?”

Aid? Ha! For once, Aden opted for honesty with this man. “Actually, Dr. Hennessy, I just don’t like you.”

“I see.” The good doctor didn’t seem like he cared.

“What did you do to me, the last time I was here?”

“What I always do. Talk. Listen.”

Hardly. “And you plan to talk and listen to me again this evening?”

“Of course. Mr. Reeves is very pleased with your progress. He says you now get along with the other boys at the ranch. He says you’re doing your schoolwork and are even impressing your teachers. But he also says you’re still talking to yourself, and you and I both know why that is, Aden. Don’t we?”

He stiffened, even as the soft lounge beneath him begged him to relax. “You tell me.” He would have to act soon. He couldn’t risk being sucked under again. No telling what the doctor would do.

“I’ve encountered your kind before, you know.”

“Crazy?”

“No. A…what did you call yourself? A magnet.”

And he’d thought himself stiff before. He’d never told Dr. Hennessy he saw himself as a supernatural magnet, but he had thought it. He’d told Mary Ann and the others, but none of them would have confided in Dr. Hennessy. Which meant that the doctor had dragged the confession out of him, without his awareness.

What else had he learned?

Not yet. Steady. He wanted to gather as much information as he could before acting.

“No lies to feed me? That’s not like you, Aden.”

“You mentioned that you’ve met others.”

“Yes.”

“Who? When? What could they do?” Did he believe Dr. Hennessy? No.

But lies could be checked out, information verified—or not.

Good. Keep him talking, Elijah said.

“What do you know of your parents?” the doctor asked, rather than answer him.

Not much. He knew they’d once lived next to Mary Ann’s mom and dad. That Mary Ann’s mother had been pregnant at the same time as Aden’s mother. That he and Mary Ann had been born on the same day, in the same hospital. That Mary Ann’s mother had died immediately after giving birth and he’d somehow pulled her soul into his head—along with several others, people who had probably died at the hospital, as well.

“Nothing,” he finally replied.

Dr. Hennessy sighed. “Perhaps one day you’ll trust me.”

In unison, the souls snorted.

Yeah. Right. “What of the others? Did they trust you?”

Again, the doctor sidestepped the question. “It’s time for you to relax, Aden, and let your troubles fall away.”

Subtle. Clearly, there was to be no more talking. Well, then, it was finally time for Aden to act, even though he’d learned very little. He straightened, throwing his legs over the side of the chair.

“Lie back down, Aden.”

“In a minute.”

Caleb, he said inside his mind, praying the soul could, for once, hear him through the constant flow of chatter. Get ready. He closed the distance between himself and the doctor, and as he made contact with the cold skin of the doctor’s wrist, Hennessy’s eyes—a rainbow of colors now, a pretty mask once more appearing beneath that plain face—widened.

Caleb leapt into action.

Aden moaned in pain as his body morphed from solid mass to insubstantial mist, that mist slipping inside Dr. Hennessy and taking over mind and body. Never failed to amaze him when this happened.

“Thank you,” Aden said, speaking in Dr. Hennessy’s nasally voice.

Welcome, Caleb replied with no small amount of pride.

Aden took stock. The doctor’s body was cold, empty and hungry…so hungry, but underneath the cold and the emptiness and the hunger was a rush of power, unnatural power, glittering like that strange, clear mask Aden sometimes saw underneath the doctor’s face.

Dr. Hennessy wasn’t human.

So what was he? Figure that mystery out later. Aden glanced at the clock on the wall. Thirty-three minutes until the end of his session. He got to work. He looked through files, but only a few were out in the open and none applied to him. Dr. Hennessy’s scribbled notes were quite interesting, though.

More than human, but no powers.

Completely human, but could be useful.

Warmer than most. Reasons?

Linked.

What did that mean? What did any of it mean? The cabinets were locked, and he tried to jimmy them loose so he could read other files. When that failed, he searched for a key.

The desk was neat, tidy, a few unimportant papers. Inside the drawers, there was nothing but paper clips, rubber bands and pens. No photos, no personal notes. No booze. No snacks. And, of course, no key. He moved to the bookcases. To his surprise, he found hidden drawers at the bottom. Inside them? Tattoo equipment, of all things. Everything from needles to body paint to gloves.

Aden made sure to put everything back in its place so that Dr. Hennessy would never know what he’d done. He’d suspect, maybe, but he’d never find proof.

You gotta get into those file cabinets, Julian said. That voice recorder he stuffed under your nose might be in there.

“I know. Elijah? Any ideas?”

Sorry. Drawing a blank.

Trying not to drown under a wave of frustration, Aden returned to the desk and fell into the chair. If he couldn’t get to the files and the recorder, maybe he could gain the information he wanted by traveling through Dr. Hennessy’s past. He still possessed the ability, after all.

Eve, though, had been the one to manipulate time. She’d merely had to visualize a scene, and she had been able to transport Aden there. With Shannon, Aden had had no control. He’d simply whisked from one scene to the next, tugged by an invisible chain. Still. He would try.

“Get ready, guys. I’m gonna try and go back to that last session and see it through his eyes.”

Elijah groaned. I don’t like this.

You can do it, man, Caleb said.

Julian sighed. God help us.

Aden closed his eyes, blanked his mind, drew in a deep breath…exhaled…slowly…He thought back, painting the dark canvas of his mind with images from his last visit here. He’d been on the lounge, lying down, staring up at the ceiling. Dr. Hennessy had been behind him.

A spike of dizziness caused his heart to speed up. He continued. Soft music had played, was playing even now. The ceiling had blurred. Darkness had swallowed him whole.

Aden’s skin tingled, the dizziness spreading, strengthening, and suddenly he was falling, whisking through a never-ending pit, arms flailing for some kind of anchor. This was it. He was doing it, traveling back. In control.

When he stilled, when the dizziness subsided, he slowly cracked open his eyelids. Yet still he saw only…static? There was no office, no desk, no lounge. At the very least, he should have seen himself lying down.

He frowned. He closed his eyes, shook his head, then looked again. Once again, he saw only a void of static, as if the cable had been unhooked from the TV.

What’s happening? Julian asked, and he sounded scared.

I see nothing, like when Mary Ann is with you. Caleb’s voice trembled.

I have a bad feeling about this, Elijah said gravely. Something’s wrong here.

“I know.” But what? His hands fisted, the answer eluding him. He couldn’t picture another scene, because he didn’t know any other details about Dr. Hennessy’s life. And there were no photos in the room, so he couldn’t study them and use them as a guide.

Not knowing what else to do, he willed himself back to the present. As the darkness faded, he began to see the office through Hennessy’s eyes. Nothing had changed. He still sat at the desk, that handful of papers around him. Reeling, he could only watch the clock, waiting as time ticked away. When his session reached its limit, he walked Hennessy back to his chair and sat him down. Then Aden pulled himself from the body, returning to solid form, and dropped back onto the lounge. Waiting. Dreading.

There was a moment of suspended silence.

Hennessy would know only that time had elapsed. He wouldn’t know what had happened during those missing minutes.

“Time’s up,” Aden gritted out.

“Well, we were certainly productive today, weren’t we?” the doctor said, unemotional as always. His clothes rustled as he stood. Soft footsteps sounded, and then Hennessy was in front of him, peering down at him, hands fisted at his waist. “Before you leave, I need to issue a word of warning. If you ever again invade my mind and body, I’ll cut the souls out of you, one by one. Are we clear?”

Aden and the souls didn’t have time to panic. Their entire world fell back into that black, black sea.