by Amie Gibbons
She took a deep breath and I mimicked it.
I knew she’d gone over all this with her therapist, but she still hadn’t been able to internalize it and kill the hope that built every time he showed up.
“AB, I hate saying this, I hate to hurt you, but he does not care about you,” I said slowly. “He just cares about himself and what you might do. I’m psychic, and I’m tellin’ you this. He. Does. Not. Care.”
She gave me big eyes. “So why was he being all friendly and like, ‘Sit by me,’ tonight? Why did he say happy birthday?”
“I don't know.” I shrugged. “The fact that you happen to run into each other at an event means you can’t avoid each other, because it’s a small industry, but it doesn’t change his message of, ‘I don't care if I ever speak to you again.’
“Because if you didn’t happen to be in the same field, or if he stayed gone or something, so you didn’t run into each other, you never would’ve spoken again. Ever.
“He said he was done, and did it by ghosting you. That means forever.
“Him texting you was probably him trying to get back into the friend group, cuz he said they haven’t hung with him since he got back.”
Her face fell, and she looked like she was two seconds from crying.
I flinched. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt my friend. But she needed to hear this.
“And him tryin’ to talk to you tonight and being all friendly,” I continued, “is nothing more than a shallow attempt to get back in good with your friends, and maybe make himself feel like less of a jerk and a coward. And he doesn’t care that he’s messing with your mind.
“It’s minimal effort for him to be nice and friendly at a crowded convention where it’s all small talk and surface, just like at the Christmas party.
“And I guarantee you, after tonight, you won’t hear from him unless he’s still trying to get back in good with your friends.
“You know how I know that? Because you told me that’s exactly how you two interacted seven years ago!
“You told me, after he graduated, you’d run into each other at some event here or there, you’d talk, it’d go well, and then crickets. And then he moved, and if he hadn’t moved back and ran into you, you never would’ve heard from him again.
“You’ve said you felt like you were repeating the past, right? It’s cuz ya are!
“So you can let him assuage his guilt by actin’ like nothing’s wrong, think you have a chance again, and get all upset when he disappears again, or you can tell him you’re not friends, he’s the one who chose that, not you, and to go suck on an air freshener.”
She snorted. “I forgot I told you he was sensitive to those. We should’ve put those spray ones at the entrances, like charms to keep him away.”
I smiled. “Thomas repellent.”
“Did I tell you about the time we went to a friend’s house where they had those and he went full drama queen? He pulled his shirt up over his mouth and backpedaled out like it was fucking nerve gas. It was so funny at the time.”
I grinned, nodding. “I can hit the store and put some up in the room, and we can watch him run out. Turnabout’s fair play. Or you can ignore him, and I can tell him you’re done with him.”
She grinned and sniffed.
“I can’t believe he was doing a talk on PTSD,” AB said after a moment, shaking her head. “He not only crashed my event, he was doing a talk on what he gave me. I… Ari, I don’t know how I’m feeling right now. It’s like… it’s like my body wants to burst into a million pieces, shatter and just be done, because I’d feel better then. But… but I don’t want to shatter, so I’m holding my skin as tight as I can so nothing pops out. I… what is this feeling? I don’t understand. I don’t understand.”
She shook her head, taking another long drag of her drink.
Then slammed it to the counter.
“He has used, lied to, and manipulated me so many fucking times, I should turn it into a drinking game!” AB suddenly shouted.
I jumped in place.
“Um, Annabeth,” I said, pinching my nose then pointing to the glass, “in case you haven’t noticed, you already have.”
She met my eyes, hers filling with tears, and I pulled her into a tight hug, focusing on her as she burst into sobs.
“AB,” I said as she hugged me back, “right now, all I’m getting off you is panic. I think that’s what that feeling is. You feel like you have to do something, and I’m telling you, you don’t.”
She nodded against my shoulder. “I feel like I need to be hugged very tightly right now to keep me together. Like I want a blanket to roll in, so tight that I can’t move. I don’t know why. I don’t… no, I know this. I learned this in med school, something about tight pressure calming the sympathetic nervous system. I… I can’t think. I can’t remember.”
I shushed her, holding her tighter and focusing my magic around her body, pressing the air in like a giant fist.
She tightened, then relaxed, letting me and my power swaddle her.
“I think I’m okay now,” she said after a moment.
I nodded and let up on my magic, but kept her in the hug cuz she didn’t loosen her arms.
That was okay. I could give her a few more minutes.
Something pinged in my brain, like a bell breaking mid-clang, and my chest seized like a sudden asthma attack.
“What the quack?” I gasped as I pulled back.
And the room plunged into darkness.
Chapter two
“What. The. Quack!” I said again, lunging for the door, eyes searching the darkness on reflex, even though I couldn’t actually see anything, as I shot psychic vibes against the door to find the lock.
“There’s probably a short or something,” AB said, soundin’ way too calm as I flipped the lock. “What’s the big d-”
She cut off as I flung the door open.
To a pitch-dark hallway.
There wasn’t even light coming from the end to indicate the power was still on out in the lobby.
“Okay,” she said. “That might be something bigger. But still, we’ll fix whatever it is. Don’t worry yet. Your convention will be fine. We’ll figure it out.”
What was she…?
“Ohhhhh,” I said. “Duh. You’re a null. You didn’t feel that. AB, this isn’t an electrical problem. This is magic.”
I could practically feel her pale.
“What?” she squeaked.
“Come on,” I said, running forward.
My feet echoed on the hardwood floors I couldn’t really see, and I could hear AB behind me, moving a lot slower.
Being careful in the darkness.
Wait.
Why wasn’t I hearing anyone else?
Why weren’t people jabbering in the lobby, asking why the lights were out?
My heart sank and my stomach turned to goo as I hit the lobby, eyes searching the darkness.
There should’ve been the early evening light coming in from the giant windows lining the lobby.
All I saw was darkness.
I felt more than heard AB approach as the carpeted lobby muffled her steps.
“Hello?” she called.
Nothing.
“Ari, why can’t we hear anyone else?” she asked, voice tight and high.
The lights came back on.
We both let out little shrieks as the sudden brightness stabbed our poor eyes, and I closed mine against it, sending my magic out like a mental pulse.
Seeing while my eyes adjusted.
And that one snapshot made my stomach seize up completely.
I blinked my eyes open, already knowing what I’d see.
The lobby littered with bodies.
People lay on the floor, stretched out or curled on their sides, like they’d all decided to take a nap at the same time. Little plates with apps on them and drink glasses dotted the carpet between people, put down instead of dropped.
It was how I knew for sure w
ithout checking that the people were still alive.
Dead people didn’t lay themselves out nice and comfy, and certainly didn’t take the time to place their cups and plates down.
AB gasped behind me and made a small noise.
“Magic sleep spell?” she whispered.
I looked around.
Everyone was down.
And I didn’t have to check the conference room to know everyone still in there would be down too.
“Has to be,” I said. “One meant to make them go down gently too.”
“So whoever it is doesn’t want to hurt anyone?” she said. “But what…?”
She shook her head.
“Okay, okay.” AB repeated it a few more times. “We have an entire conference asleep, and we’re the only ones awake. Why? Because we were out of range probably? But we’re drunk.”
“Hey, speak for yourself,” I said. “I’m barely tipsy.”
“Oh, good. So one of us can think. People are okay, but asleep, and it only didn’t get us because we were out of range. I think I got it all. Just not the why do this part. Or who. What do we do?”
“Ughhhhhh. Call for reinforcements and make sure nothin’ gets the sleeping people.”
I pulled out my phone.
It wouldn’t even turn on.
I held it up. “Phone’s dead.”
“Mine too,” she said, holding hers up. We tucked the useless husks back in our little bags. “We get out and get reinforcements?”
We ran for the line of doors at the front.
I oompahed as I hit the push bars.
And they didn't budge.
“We’re locked in, aren’t we?” AB asked as she stopped next to me.
“I think so.”
“Locked in a convention center in the woods with a psychic. I’ve seen this movie. It doesn’t end well. No, wait, that was a hotel.”
I squinted at the doors.
Nothing.
I focused on calling out mentally for help.
My voice hit a block so hard, I felt my brain bounce off it.
“It’s worse than that,” I said, the pit in my belly knotting my stomach tighter. “My powers can’t reach outside this place. You’re stuck in a hotel with a bunch of knocked out people and a broken psychic.”
“Okay,” she said. “So, sober up or stay not panicked?”
“What? I’m gonna go with do both.”
“I’m not sure I can do both.”
“Do it anyway,” a voice said behind us.
I let out an embarrassing half shriek as I whirled, and Grant walked across the floor, stepping over sleeping bodies without looking.
“Sir?” I asked, biting my lip. “I mean, Grant?”
“Lights went out. I put a shield over the table. When the lights came on, everyone but us was asleep. You?”
“In the bathroom. Lights went out, we left, and lights came on when we were in here. The team?”
“My team was still at the table. Mender and Crowley were already out here and are asleep. My people are checking exits and other rooms for anyone who’s awake in pairs. I didn’t want anyone alone.”
“Besides yourself?”
He met my eyes, and I was already too twisted for my stomach to react.
“Of course,” I said. “Not like you need the backup.”
The place was dead silent as we stared at each other.
No pun intended.
And definitely no predictions of the future intended.
“One more awake back here!” Jet called.
I jumped again.
Way too on edge to be useful.
I turned and snorted.
It really wasn’t the time, and it wasn’t funny, but I couldn’t help it.
Because he and Kat walked over with Thomas behind them.
“What the?” AB looked behind us back toward the hall we’d been in. “Where were you?”
“I was on the phone out on the patio,” Thomas said, following it with something in German.
AB and I looked at each other.
“Sorry,” Thomas said, accent thicker than I’d heard it before. “Something wrapped around the building. I ran inside, and it was all dark. My phone cut off. It’s…” He snapped his fingers. “I can’t think of the words in English. I could feel it. It wasn’t normal.”
“It’s magic,” I said. “Yeah. Did you get anything else? Have you been practicing your magic at all?”
He blinked at me, shock clear.
“You knew you were magic, right?” I asked. “Did that never come up?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m magic? I have magic!”
“Yeah.”
“Is that why I’m awake?” he asked.
“Grant?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “There are plenty of magical beings in here. Sensitives went down.”
“Sensitives?” Thomas asked.
“People with some magical ability,” I said. “They can feel if something’s off. Maybe do a few spells. A lot don’t even know they have something extra about them. They just think they’re intuitive or something. Grant, you sure if you hadn’t put up the shield you’d be asleep?”
“No,” he said. “But the rest of the team would be.”
“AB and I were thinkin’ we were outside the sphere of the spell,” I said. “But if it wrapped the place and knocked out the lights in the bathroom, I’m thinking it should’ve knocked us out.”
“Shield?” Grant asked.
I shook my head. “I’m a little fuzzy on how to do shields still. Carvi kinda bailed on playing teacher, and I’ve been busy.”
“Why is she awake,” Grant said, nodding at AB.
It wasn’t a question.
“Because someone left Ariana out,” AB said slowly, like she was testing how the words tasted as they came outta her mouth. “And since we were hugging, I got caught in that protection.”
I turned wide eyes on her.
Not even feeling anything, though I was pretty sure I was in shock.
“Me?” I squeaked.
“Makes sense,” Kat said. “You might be powerful enough to not fall asleep with the spell, but somebody with you? That’s a shield.”
AB nodded. “She’s right. It’s the only explanation. But why is Thomas awake then?”
He nodded, staring at her. “You’re the magic expert. If other people with some sensitivity went down, why didn’t I?”
“You’re sure you were inside the spell?” AB asked.
He nodded. “Affirmative.”
She smiled.
I resisted the urge to slam my hand to my forehead. She’d told me once how endearing she thought his weird use of words was. Especially when he said ‘affirmative,’ cuz literally no one talked like that.
They stared at each other.
This was the first time they’d talked to each other in months.
First time she’d looked him in the eyes in even longer than that.
I could feel the connection she felt to him.
No matter how much AB wanted to pretend it wasn’t there, she was tied to him, and it was very much one way. Even after all this time, it wasn’t gone.
My heart broke for her.
“Off the top of my head,” AB said, licking her lips, “you’re on whatever frequency the thing that put the spell over this place is. So, you’re part whatever did the spell.”
“Then we test Thomas to see what he has in his blood to figure out what type of thing did this spell,” I said.
“How?” AB and Kat asked as one.
Grant let a small half smile tweak his lip and light his eyes up. “Ariana can see that.”
“I still don’t know what you are,” I said to him, resistin’ the urge to stick my tongue out at him.
Trying to be more mature and all that.
AB wasn’t the only one who finally had an excuse to talk to the person who broke her heart.
“That’s because I blocked you once you starte
d to understand your powers better,” Grant said.
I squinted at him and pointed. “That’s not nice.”
“I’m not nice, Ryder.”
My heart fluttered the barest bit.
“Hey, guys,” a female voice said, breaking through the moment.
I rolled my eyes as we unlocked our gaze.
Heather and Dan picked gingerly over the fallen bodies, making sure they didn’t step on anyone.
“We hit the entire east side,” Dan said as they reached us. Heather slid her hand into Grant’s.
Nope, wasn’t gonna focus on that.
Denial. Denial was my friend till I had the time to process this.
“No one’s awake,” Heather said.
“And we got him in the west,” Jet said, jerking a thumb at Thomas.
We caught Heather and Dan up on what we’d just guessed about why me, AB and Thomas were still awake.
“Thomas, you okay with me crawling around your head?” I asked him.
He gave me a huge grin I knew now meant he was really nervous.
Maybe even terrified.
“I know,” I said. “But I need to figure out what you are.”
“Ariana…” He shook his head.
I met his eyes. “I won’t tell anyone what I see in there. But, after all this is over, if you tell AB, she might have a little more understanding in dealing with you.”
He blinked.
“I already saw how bad your mom was. And I can’t imagine how bad that was for you. I won’t go for anything like that. I do need to see what you are though.”
He nodded.
“Are you two talking?” AB asked, voice sharp.
I flinched.
Now that I wasn’t focused on Thomas, I could feel the jealousy pouring off her.
“I’m asking his permission,” I said.
“You can mind meld now?” Dan asked.
“Oh, I got tricks you ain’t ever seen,” I said, laying my accent on thick.
He sneered at me.
Apparently time hadn’t made the heart grow fonder when it came to him.
He’d never liked me.
Thought I was too country. Too Republican. Too young. Too blonde.
And I knew too much.
Honestly, if I had to guess, that was his big problem with me.
I’d known his deep dark secret from day one, thanks to my powers.