I met Emma’s challenging look; I wasn’t about to let her know I was afraid, so I shrugged. “After you.”
She raised an eyebrow. I was pretty sure she knew I was scared; she’d always been good at detecting my emotions when we were kids. Good enough to use it against me a few times. Now she didn’t say anything as she turned and stepped onto one of the cables, easily adjusting her balance to the rhythm of the sway. She’d only gone a few steps before Kevin joined her. I held my breath as his weight changed the movement of the cable. Naturally, both of them kept their balance perfectly.
One by one, the rest of the cousins followed. Lange chose the same cable as Emma and Kevin, but Zoe and Hugh each chose their own cable. I gripped the railing and told myself to go for it, but I couldn’t seem to make my legs move.
“Come on Olivia.” Hugh stood with one foot on his cable. He held out his hand. “Want some help?”
“No!” Accepting help would certainly make me look weak. I shook my head. “Go on. I’m coming.”
Walking on an unoccupied cable seemed like the most stable option, so I chose one on the outermost edge. Before I could take the first step, Kevin whooped and did a backflip; Emma and Lange just laughed as the cable rocked beneath their feet. Kevin’s moves inspired the rest to daring feats. Zoe zigzagged from cable to cable while Lange bent down into a handstand.
Ugh, now I really couldn’t chicken out; the least I could do was walk on the stupid cable. At that moment, Emma turned around. “What’s wrong, Olivia? Scared?”
I glared at her as I took the first step forward. My stomach swooped uncomfortably as the cable undulated beneath my feet, but I forced myself to take the next step and the next. I kept my eyes forward, afraid to look down at the bridge and water below me.
“Ollie, just relax. You’ll be fine,” Kevin called out.
Just relax? Was he crazy? I was on a cable the size of my thigh a couple of hundred feet above the river, with the wind buffeting me. Only sheer willpower was keeping me steady. I made the mistake of glancing down and felt my head go light with dizziness. Hastily I looked back up, but I felt my body wobble and I clenched with panic.
The cable rippled under my feet, and I felt someone grip my arms from behind me. Lange said, “Ollie, you’re going to be okay. Take a breath.”
I breathed out, surprised to discover I’d been holding my breath.
“Good,” Lange continued. “Now close your eyes.”
I didn’t want to speak, afraid my voice would be too shaky, and so I didn’t argue with this insane request. He must have sensed my reluctance, because he said, “Seriously, it’ll help. Just close your eyes.”
I took a shuddering breath and closed my eyes. Lange kept his hands wrapped around my arms. I waited for something to happen, not sure what to expect. After a minute I said, “So…” I stopped because something was happening. The orientation of my body kept righting itself with the sway of the cable as if there was gyroscope in my head. I no longer felt unsteady; instead, my body relaxed into the movement, adjusting and re-adjusting as necessary.
I opened my eyes cautiously in case my sense of balance went away, but I stayed steady. Lange sensed my release of tension. He let me go and I felt him step back.
“Wow.” It was all I could come up with to describe how amazing it felt to be standing comfortably on a narrow cable a couple of hundred feet above the river, with the wind buffeting me.
Eastside and westside Portland glittered in the darkness; the moisture in the air made the lights from downtown glow with an ethereal brightness. Those lights gleamed off the water, with the reflection rippling gently. It looked like another city lay beneath the river. The sound of cars and voices drifted up, as remote as a sound from another world far away from where we stood above the bridge. The car lights on Interstate 5 snaked along like Christmas lights strung along the waterfront.
A new noise bubbled up from the river, just beneath the regular sounds. It was very faint, but it sounded like the splash of swimmers coming from under the bridge. I peered down to see what could be making the noise before realizing I wouldn’t be able to see anything from this far away, and then the oddest thing happened. My eyes felt tight as the target of my gaze came into sharper focus as if my eyes were a telescope adjusting to see an image more clearly. Dark shapes drifted out from under the bridge, moving against the current.
Intent on finding out what I was seeing, I leaned out. “Hey, does anyone else –” and then my internal gyroscope overcorrected. Suddenly, horribly, I was falling through the air toward the dark water.
Zoe screamed and Hugh yelled, “Lange, catch her."
“I can’t reach her!” was the last thing I heard before I hit the water.
Chapter 12
I plummeted towards the dark water, thinking wildly, Oh no, this is really going to hurt. However, seconds before I hit the water, I felt my skin turn to armor, as it had when I stopped the bullet during the bank robbery. I hit the water hard but was unharmed, falling almost to the mucky bottom of the river. I floundered, trying to reach the surface, but the dark cold water and mud churned up by my feet confused my vision. I flailed about, trying to orient myself and wishing I had someone to help me work the gyroscope in my head while underwater. How long could an untrained supernormal hold her breath in water? I felt my chest tightening with the desire to breathe.
If I could have screamed underwater, I would have when a strong hand gripped my upper arm and began pulling me along. At first I struggled, but I could've sworn I heard someone say, "Relax, I'm helping you. You'll be okay." Who could talk underwater? The voice sounded like it came from inside my head.
We surfaced near the shore. My rescuer dragged me onto land before I jerked away. I dropped to my knees and rolled over onto my back, gasping for air. I coughed and spit up water. Finally I propped myself up on my elbows and stared at the guy kneeling in front of me. He had straight dark hair and what might have been green eyes, though it was hard to tell for sure in the reflected light. His face had a hint of Asian ancestry in the shape of his eyes and angle of his cheekbones. He was staring at me with confusion, which increased when I got to my feet and stood panting in front of him. He stood up as well. I noticed he wasn’t panting.
“Who are you?" he asked, shoving wet hair out of his face. He narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. “That fall should have killed you.”
I was about to answer when someone grabbed my arm. I reacted instinctively by twisting around and punching whoever it was in stomach.
With an ‘ooff,’ Lange let go of my arm and raised his hands in the air. “Hey, hey, you’re okay.” He looked past me at the dark-haired guy. “Hello, Ben.” I sensed tension from Lange but was confused as to the source. I had just punched him, so he was probably annoyed, but he seemed more cautious than mad.
“You know her?” Ben looked from me to Lange thoughtfully.
“Yeah, Ben, meet cousin Olivia. Olivia, meet Ben Hallowfield,” Lange said. “Ben is from the other family in Oregon.” Lange turned to Ben. “What are you doing in town?”
Ben shrugged. “I guess our parents are having some kind of meeting.”
Lange tapped his index finger on his lip, looking thoughtful.
It took me moment to realize ‘family’ meant supernormal family. Before I could ask where in Oregon they came from, Ben spoke. “Cousin? I thought I knew all your cousins.” He looked at me curiously and then frowned. “Oh, that cousin.” He raised his eyebrows meaningfully at Lange.
I put one hand on my hip. “Oh, that cousin, what?” I was annoyed that this guy knew about me when I didn’t know anything about him.
Ben regarded me with an infuriatingly calm expression.
Lange answered with a sidelong glance at Ben. “Well, Olivia, you can't expect to remain anonymous."
“Guess I didn't realize there were other supernormal families." I thought for a moment, and then said slowly, “Wait a minute; I sort of remember playing with some kids at one point. A
nd we didn’t have to be careful.” I looked at Ben. “You know, hide who we were.”
Ben smiled at me. “Welcome back, Olivia.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes and I wondered why.
I smiled back, thinking he was really hot. I felt a spark of interest. It might be nice to hang out with a cute guy and not need to hide my abilities.
“Yeah, well, come on Ollie.” Lange touched my arm lightly. “The others are waiting.” He stepped back, preparing to leave.
The rest of my cousins were making their way down the riverbank towards us. About halfway down, Zoe stopped, frowned and exchanged an intense look with Emma. They scrambled down the incline and stood behind Lange.
I turned back to look at Ben and realized he was no longer alone. A man and a woman had come up from the river to stand on either side of Ben. The woman was Asian, small, dark, and slim, and the man was pale with dark brown hair. The way they stood close to Ben said ‘parent’ to me.
“Hello, Lange,” the man said with a serious expression.
Lange nodded at him in a friendly manner. “Hello, Mr. Hallowfield. When did you get into town?”
“We arrived a few hours ago. Thought we’d explore a little.” Like everyone else, Mr. Hallowfield went back to watching Ben.
Hugh asked, “Are you here to see our parents?”
The woman, who I guessed was Mrs. Hallowfield, smiled and said, “Yes, Kate wants our opinion on the recent destruction of your Vera statue.” She touched her son’s shoulder and he twitched slightly. “And we thought Ben would benefit from some time away from home.”
Ben sighed and shrugged at his mother’s statement. Kevin, Zoe, Emma, and Hugh gathered closer to Lange and me, all watching Ben.
All this staring at Ben was starting to unnerve me. It was as if they expected him to blow up at any moment. He didn’t seem all that surprised by the watching eyes. He stuck his hands in his pockets and regarded me thoughtfully.
I’d had about enough of everyone’s odd behavior when Mr. Hallowfield said softly to Ben, “She may not know how to shield yet. Don’t try anything.”
Ben glanced at him sharply. “I’m not.” He sounded like he was gritting his teeth.
His father held up his hands. “Ok, just checking.” Mr. Hallowfield looked at me. “Can you shield yet? It would be safer for you.” His gaze very obviously didn’t go to Ben.
I frowned. Though I was glad there were others like us, and though Mrs. Hallowfield looked friendly, I was not to be diverted from everyone’s weird treatment of Ben. He looked perfectly nice. At about six feet, he was taller than his father. He was probably about my age or not much older. After snapping at his father, Ben was back to his calm demeanor.
“So why are you all watching this guy like he’s a time bomb?” I asked. There was no point in being subtle.
Zoe snorted with laughter, while everyone’s gaze turned from Ben to me. I caught the flash of a smile from Ben, before he stared at the ground. Mrs. Hallowfield moved closer to her son and touched him lightly on the arm. Mr. Hallowfield frowned at me.
“Um.” Lange shifted on his feet, gave Ben an uncomfortable glance, and then turned to me. “Okay, here’s the thing. Ben’s a good guy, right? But the thing is…” He trailed off with a grimace.
There was an awkward silence before Emma spoke in clipped tones. “He’s a mind reader.” She crossed her arms over her chest, regarding Ben clinically. She was standing as far away from him as possible on the narrow beach. Her expression was even more closed off than usual.
Oh. A mind reader. Well, that explained everyone’s cautious treatment of Ben. Even I knew how much the supernormal community was wary of those who developed this significant ability. Most mind readers eventually went mad and turned evil. It was almost a joke in a way, except that it was the most feared ability. Any supernormal who developed the ability was forbidden from using it. Fortunately, it was extremely rare; when we were kids, Hugh used to terrify the rest of us by telling us that some families still killed kids who showed the ability to mind read. I shivered. Ben closed his eyes as if in pain. Was he reading my mind right now? I glared at him and he opened his eyes wide, shaking his head.
Mr. Hallowfield gripped his arm. “Stop it.”
“I’m not reading her.” Ben pulled away. “It doesn’t take a mind reader to see that she’s scared of what I am.” He swallowed hard and said to me earnestly, “I don’t do that. I don’t try to read anyone’s mind.” He silently pleaded with me to believe him.
I noted the word try but didn’t comment on it. I nodded in acceptance of his explanation.
“Well, um, I guess we should get going.” Lange glanced around as if counting us to make certain we were all present.
“Of course,” Mrs. Hallowfield said. “It was nice to see you again, Olivia. We’ll meet again soon, I’m sure.” Her voice was soft with a firm undertone.
“You too.” I watched with some amusement as Mr. Hallowfield led his family back to the river. They slipped into the water with hardly a ripple. The last to go was Ben, who looked back at me with a cryptic expression before immersing himself.
“Huh, do they live in the water?” I realized it was silly question the minute I asked, but I was still a little freaked out from meeting a mind reader. In addition, a tiny voice inside me admitted I was bummed; Ben was really cute and seemed nice despite his fearful ability.
“No.” Zoe gave another laugh. “They really like to swim though.” She wrinkled her nose. “I can’t imagine swimming in the Willamette, but whatever.”
I thought of the man I’d seen pulling himself out of the river near the warehouse last Sunday. Could he be any relation?
Kevin gave a big sigh, shaking himself like a dog coming out of water. “Whew, that guy gives me the willies.”
“Kevin!” Hugh said in reproof. “It’s not his fault. He’s doing the best he can to control it.”
“Yeah, but it’s still creepy.” Zoe scratched the back of her leg with her shoe. “It’s too bad, though.” At my querying look, she continued, “He used to be a lot of fun to hang around with. You know, until his ability manifested.”
“What happened?”
Hugh quirked his mouth into a grimace. Kevin sighed while Zoe shoved her hands into the pockets of her raincoat. She looked over the sparkling water as she answered. “He was up for a visit with his parents. Us kids went to the Saturday Market on a creature-spotting exercise. It was right before Emma and Kevin could start serious training at the warehouse, but we still let them come with us.” Kevin snorted and Zoe grinned at him. “Ben was just old enough to start training.”
“Creature spotting?” I couldn’t help asking.
“Yeah, the Saturday Market is great place to watch for some weird but mostly harmless creatures. Some of them like the crowds and can blend in pretty well.”
“Huh, okay.” I waved at Zoe to continue.
“Well, anyway, there we were. I was scouting near the waterfront side of the market with Kevin and Hugh. Ben and Emma were on the MAX train line side.”
Zoe shot Emma a glance as if expecting her to comment. Emma still had her arms crossed and was staring at the spot where Ben had slipped into the water. Her expression was pensive, and I had my suspicions as to why.
Zoe shrugged. “So, we heard yelling from the direction Ben and Emma had gone. When we got there” – Zoe swallowed hard – “Ben was on his knees, clutching his head.” Zoe met my eyes with a sad expression. “He was yelling over and over, ‘Make everyone shut up, stop talking, too many words.’ We were pretty surprised, I mean, it was loud at the market but not unusually noisy. And then he looked straight at some rich looking dude and screamed, ‘Don’t do it, don’t kill her!’” I winced and Zoe nodded. “That’s when we knew. The guy freaked out and ran off. We wanted to go after him, but we didn’t have any proof. And we had to get Ben out of there. He was staggering around, babbling.” Zoe sighed deeply at the memory. “We got him back to the warehouse. The ‘rents took c
are of him.” She looked at the spot on the shoreline where the Hallowfields had disappeared. “We don’t see him much anymore.” She finished with another sidelong look at Emma, but she was staring off at the Steel Bridge looming over us.
Lange delicately changed the subject. "Well, I guess we've had enough excitement for the night. I'll see you guys at training on Sunday."
We parted ways: Kevin and Hugh running off while challenging each other to a race, Lange and Zoe dashing up the waterfront side by side, and Emma giving me a considering frown before jogging after them.
I chose not to run. I wanted to walk and ponder the events of the evening. Foremost in my thoughts was Ben and his scary ability. When we were kids and talked about mind readers, I'd always imagined them as evil-looking individuals with large, bulging foreheads. I guess I thought their large foreheads held all the thoughts they'd gleaned from others. But Ben wasn’t scary to look at. Pretty much the opposite, in fact. I rubbed my arm where he’d held on while pulling me to the surface. It tingled warmly, and I smiled slightly. Then I thought of Emma’s expression and knew it was best to quash any attraction to Ben – not only because of his abilities, but because I sensed there was a history between him and Emma. Anyway I wasn’t sure where Jack and I stood relationship-wise. I’d texted him a few times but he was dodging me.
I walked over the 33rd Avenue Bridge spanning Interstate 84, stopping to lean against the railing and watching the traffic while thinking about the destruction of Vera. I wondered how the Hallowfields could help Aunt Kate with the investigation. Aunt Kate hadn’t said much about the incident since it happened three weeks ago. When I’d asked her about it, she sounded frustrated by the lack of clues at the scene. She wouldn’t confirm or deny if she thought it was the work of a supernormal.
Finally I pondered what had been bothering me since finding out Ben was a mind reader. If Ben wasn’t supposed to use his ability, why had I heard him speak in my mind when he pulled me from the river? Was that enough of a violation to mention or should I keep quiet out of gratitude? Remembering his warm touch, I decided to keep quiet for the moment. There was time enough to change my mind if necessary.
The Supernormal Legacy (Book 1): Dormant Page 10