Once the nausea subsided I got up on shaky legs and leaned against the door, closing it behind me. Still unsteady, I turned the lock and tucked the key back in my pocket. What in the actual hell had just happened?
Chapter Sixteen
The meeting in Spencer’s room was still going on, and though I didn’t want to listen in this time I could hear Charles and Spencer yelling. I gave pause for only a second before I remembered Nolan waiting by the elevator.
“What took so long?” he scolded when I stepped out of the shadows. “And what is going on in there?”
“I have no idea but let’s get out of here.”
I dragged him by his elbow into the elevator. Once inside with the door closed, I bent over, resting my hands on my knees and gulping deep breaths.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, let’s just find Maggie and call it good for today.”
Nolan texted her and she said she’d be ready to go in five minutes. He told her to meet us in the park around the corner. I needed fresh air.
I said good-bye to Mrs. W. on my way out and she told us next time to have Nolan stop in for his ID badge.
“Wow.” I let out a breath. “You’re official.”
“Probably just want to keep tabs on me.”
“Either way.” I shrugged. “I’m pretty sure that’s all they want with the rest of us, too.”
Once we were in the cooling fall air I instantly felt better.
“So are you going to tell me what happened back there?”
“I wish I knew,” I answered honestly. “I’ll try once Maggie gets here.”
He checked his phone again. “She’ll be here soon.”
“You like her, don’t you?”
His cheeks burned scarlet.
“I’m sorry.” I held my hands up. “I wasn’t trying to be nosey. I just wanted to say I think you should ask her out.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’m pretty sure she feels the same.” I gave him a wink.
“Thanks, Morgan. I hope this isn’t weird for you.”
“Zero weirdness.”
He grinned and I knew Maggie must be approaching as he stared off into the distance.
“What have you two troublemakers been up to today?”
“It’s funny you should say that …” I unloaded the whole experience on them and followed with the pictures I’d taken.
Maggie put her hands on her hips. “What could those mean?”
“Well valeo means power.”
Maggie and I both stared at Nolan.
“You speak Latin?” I asked him, astonished.
“Yeah, it was offered as a foreign language at MAC.”
Maggie rubbed her forehead. “What about the rest?”
“Um, lux means light, so light power?”
“What could that mean?” She directed her question to me.
“No idea,” I answered. “What else is there?” I asked Nolan.
“Infusco … I can’t remember that one.”
“Google it,” Maggie suggested, and I whipped my phone out.
“But dimidium, I think that means half. So half power?” He shot his head up to look at me. “Is that what I am?”
“Uh, I-I have no clue, Nolan.” I showed him my phone though. “Is that right?”
He nodded. The translation for insfusco came up as ‘dark’. Meaning the scrolls referred to half, dark and light powers.
“What does this one mean?” I pointed to ‘praevaleo’ in the picture.
Nolan only shook his head so we Googled that one, too. ‘To have full power’. So if half meant someone like Nolan or Maggie, Dark could mean someone like Stephen, did light mean someone like me? Or was that full power?
“What could light mean?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t know. Unless …” A thought hit me. “Full Moon is light, right?”
“It could be,” Maggie replied.
Nolan shook his head again. “I’m so confused.”
“It would make sense if it talks about all Gifts; Full Moon, half, dark, and of course, the only one the Council is comfortable recognizing.”
“But that would mean,” Maggie started.
And I finished, “That they’ve always existed.”
We sat there silently staring at each other contemplating this.
“Rylan was right,” I said.
Nolan shook his head. “What?”
“Rylan said that the Council was hiding things from us. If they’ve always known about those Gifts and refused to acknowledge them he was right.”
Maggie nodded. “Especially trapped in some dungeon-style room and locked away.”
“With a key I found hidden in Charles’ office.” A chill ran up my back. “I think I’m ready to get out of here for the day.”
We spent the rest of the day walking around downtown so I could scope out what shops Aunt Carolyn would enjoy. We even stopped for lunch at a downtown pizzeria.
Once they’d dropped me off back at the Thomas’ house I lay down for a nap. No one else was back yet and the house was quiet. I took advantage of the abnormal silence. Chase’s bed was warm and inviting, and it took me no time …
Rylan sat in a chair by the fire. I was barely able to make out his shape in the darkness. He kept his back to me and I wondered if he hid more bruises from me.
“I know it’s a little earlier than you’d expected,” he said.
I stepped closer. “I’m here though aren’t I?”
“You are.” He spoke in the darkness yet still didn’t rise out of the chair.
“Are you hiding something from me?”
“Like what?” He played innocent.
I searched his face from the side. “Look at me, Rylan.”
He hesitated.
“Please.”
“Say my name again.” He closed his eyes.
I sighed “Rylan, please.”
He inhaled deeply and then turned to face me. The whole right side of his face was so bruised it was unrecognizable. His eye was completely swollen shut.
“What is he doing to you?” I dropped to my knees next to him.
“Making me pay.”
I wiped my face with my hand. “This is all my fault.”
“You were worth every minute of pain he subjects me to. Please know that.”
“This isn’t fair,” I said. “I can’t even Heal you in my dream. That’s it, isn’t it?” I asked. “He’s doing this so I’ll come to you and Heal you.”
“Yes. And don’t you fall for it.”
“I can’t leave you to keep taking the hits for me.” I laid my head in his lap. His hand found my hair and stroked my locks.
I cleared my throat “Thursday.”
“What about it?”
“Come get me Thursday. If you’re staying close like you said, you’ll know where to get me. We can confirm Wednesday night.”
His hand stopped in my hair. “Morgan—”
“No, I’m serious. My aunt is coming to see me tomorrow so give me a couple of days.”
“Are you sure?”
I looked up into his amber eyes. “Yes.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do, and I hope you trust me.”
He brought his face close to mine. “I do.”
Aunt Carolyn arrived Tuesday morning around eleven. I had skipped the Council that morning since they clearly offered me no other enthralling ventures. She looked just as beautiful as always in a wine-colored dress, a grey pair of leather boots, and a matching grey scarf. Her hair was twisted up into a loose bun.
“Morgan!” she squealed. We hugged in the Thomas’ driveway. I think Chase wanted me to invite him along but I honestly needed the girl time. I was about to do something beyond stupid and I just needed to talk it through with someone I trusted. Someone that wasn’t driven by their romantic feelings for me.
“How long are you staying?” I asked.
“I’m not leaving until yo
u’re back home safe and sound.”
“Really?” I had no idea she was going to stay through our take down of Stephen.
“Someone has to help Laura corral all of these male egos. And honestly, they could use another brilliant mind to help with all of this planning.” She brushed a piece of hair out of my eye and her amethyst eyes searched mine. “Now, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I hope so. Do you want to rest or anything?”
“Honey, I’m not that old. I could use a walk, though. That drive has my legs kind of stiff.”
“I thought you might like checking out the downtown shops.”
“You are my blood all right. Anything we can use to excuse a shopping trip!”
We hit a lot of craft boutiques and art shops. More than anything we just enjoyed strolling downtown and keeping each other company. We stopped at a fancier looking restaurant that she had been wanting to visit. The quiet setting at least gave us the opportunity to catch up in peace.
“How is Uncle Michael doing?”
“He’s good. Couldn’t quite get away from work, but he will be joining me soon.” She took a drink of her wine and nodded in approval at the waiter. “He’ll be flying out here.”
“Why didn’t you fly?” I asked.
“Not my favorite thing.” She made a face that told me she was definitely afraid. “I don’t mind heights as long as I have my feet on the ground.”
“I can understand that.”
“Do you plan to travel much?” she asked.
I took a bite of the soft breadstick before answering. “You know, I haven’t thought about it much. I think I’d like to, I just really haven’t thought past our current task at hand. I’ve already missed a lot of school.”
“So tell me about the task at hand … Are you comfortable with everything?”
“Yeah, I am.” I watched her face to look for any signs that she had an opinion but she seemed pretty neutral. “I actually trust Rylan and I know that sounds crazy to some but I’ve seen a different side of him.”
Aunt Carolyn continued to listen without interrupting or offering her thoughts.
“He seems to regret it and I know he’d leave Stephen if he had the opportunity.”
“Did you and Rylan spend a lot of time together?”
“Yes and no. When he wasn’t helping Stephen with whatever jobs he needed done he’d come for me.”
“Did he talk to you about joining him?” she asked as they brought us our salads.
“Yes. He was never pushy, though. Now he sees how Stephen is. Stephen has been punishing him for letting me go.”
“How do you know that, have you talked to him?”
I averted my eyes and stabbed a tomato with my fork.
“Morgan, I’m not judging. If you don’t want to talk about it that’s okay.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it. Chase just always has something snarky to say about how Rylan is still doing what Stephen tells him and I’m just gullible.”
She waited patiently.
“Rylan came to see me not long ago and I Healed him.”
She nodded to indicate she was listening while eating her salad.
“Stephen’s been abusing him for letting me get away when Chase and the others came to my rescue.”
“That’s his Dark Gift? Being able to enter minds, correct?”
“Yes. So he came to me last night and even after I’d Healed him the first time the whole side of his face was black and blue.”
“In your dream?”
“Yeah.”
“The same dream he can control?”
“What are you thinking?” I asked suspiciously.
“It’s just that if he can control these dreams I find it a little strange that he left his face beaten in them. It seems a lot like he’s looking for attention.”
“So you think he’s still on Stephen’s side?” I felt myself getting upset and took a deep breath to calm down.
“I’m not jumping to conclusions, Morgan. I’m only saying that I can see why Chase would be suspicious. You know him better than I do. I’m sure he can’t be all bad if you see the good in him.”
She rested her hand on top of mine to comfort me, and I smiled, reassuring her I wasn’t angry with her. We dropped the topic for the rest of dinner, though, and just went back to light banter and enjoying our visit.
Chapter Seventeen
All of the key players met at the Council Wednesday morning. I was to surrender myself the following evening and everyone wanted to finalize plans. As usual, I was sent off with Nolan while the others tended to the important stuff.
“I really thought this would be more exciting,” Nolan said through hands rested on his chin.
“Me too. Sorry, you’re stuck with me. That’s why it’s lame.”
“Hey,” he sat up, “I didn’t say lame just that I thought there’d be more action, you know? Something blowing up or fighting …”
I chuckled. “I think that’s still coming.”
He flicked a pen on the table and we both watched it spin.
His other hand propped up his chin. “Think they’ll come for us or should we just call it a day?”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “I’d say just call it a day but I rode with my aunt so I guess I’m stuck here.”
“That’s right.” Nolan had ridden with Chase. “Have you told anyone about that room yet?”
“Nope,” I replied, reaching up and touching the key I hid carefully under my shirt. I’d slipped it on the chain with the locket my Aunt Carolyn had given me. “Honestly, I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to Chase.”
“You should try,” he suggested.
“I know, I will tonight.”
“I think it would make you feel better.”
“Well enough sitting around here then, let’s go see who’s ready to get out of here.”
Nolan was on my heels and we were off checking room to room. I found Maggie hanging back with Jackson, Kali, and Laura. I let them know I was ready to go home, but Laura was adamant about checking with Chase and the others before we left.
They were on their way out of Spencer’s room when I spotted Chase talking to Charles. They were headed our way so I met them halfway down the hall.
“Hey,” I said tentatively to be sure I wasn’t interrupting anything. When they looked up at me I almost lost my nerve. Both men were so serious neither gave me their usual affectionate greeting. “I actually was hoping I could talk to both of you.” I wrung my hands together nervously. “The other day I did some exploring …” I glanced at Charles’ face to gage his attentiveness. “The hall back that way, past the room with all of the old scrolls—”
“No one is permitted back there,” Charles said sternly.
“I just wanted to—”
“No, that’s enough. No more talk of this. You do not go back there for anything, do you understand me?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Now I have to get back to some important matters, so if you’ll excuse me …” He left Chase and I standing there alone.
“What was that about?” he asked.
“I’ll explain later. Can we just get out of here?”
“Yeah, where’s your aunt?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve been looking for her, too.”
He scratched his head. “Could she have already left?”
“It’s possible, I guess. I just thought she’d wait for me.”
We grabbed Maggie, Jackson, and Kali on our way back out. We took two cars home and I texted Aunt Carolyn to let her know we had already left. The six of us ordered a couple pizzas when we got back to the Thomas’ and waited for the adults to come home.
We had time to watch a movie and Jackson polished off the last of the pizza. He crammed a greasy bite of the stuffed crust into his mouth and choked it down before he said, “Maybe they don’t trust us.”
I straightened up. “What do you mean?”
“They�
��re always sneaking off on these meetings without us. Maybe they think we’ll just get in the way.”
“I don’t think that could be the case after we pretty much stormed that mansion and found the girls on our own,” Nolan said
“On your own?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Nolan answered, and I noticed Chase was sitting quietly. “They were headed in the wrong directions and Chase was the one who organized our group and found you. We had to clue the old guys in as to where you were.”
“So that only confirms they’re keeping me out of the loop because of Rylan.”
Chase appeared to be uncomfortable. “Why do you think that?” he finally spoke up.
I met his eyes evenly. “Because I overheard the conversation.”
He looked away and changed the subject. “Did you guys want to put that other movie in?” he asked.
“Why are you avoiding talking about this?” Jackson asked.
“Because he’s the only one they’re not leaving out,” I answered.
“Morgan, you have to learn that sometimes people do things to protect you. You may not always like it—”
I cut Chase off, “But this isn’t just about me. They’re pretty much sitting us all out.”
“Exactly,” Jackson jumped in. “I understood them wanting to give Kali a break at first, but now they’re kind of shutting all of us out.” He pointed at me. “You and Kali know them the best and so far all they’ve done is pick your brain.”
Chase squared his shoulders. “That’s not true. Morgan has probably the toughest job in all of this.”
“What? Playing the damsel in distress until you all rescue me again?” I folded my arms. “I’m kind of sick of that honestly.”
“You agreed to this plan.” Chase sounded defensive. This wasn’t how I wanted to spend my time with him but he had to see how asinine this all was.
“I did. I didn’t agree to be kept in the dark on everything else or to have Charles not listen to anything I have to say!” I hoped my stomp was effective in emphasizing my point and not making me look like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
Maggie stood up. “I think all of us feel that we could be utilized a little more effectively is all.” Always the diplomatic one, she tried reasoning with Chase. Her approach was undoubtedly the best.
Exposed (The Broken Soul Series Book 3) Page 15