by Krysta Scott
“Right.”
“You never answered my question. Where are my parents?”
His gaze shuttered. “That’s best left in the past.”
“Why? You were all a twitter to let me know you and I are related. It’s not like my question is unexpected.”
He exhaled. “I told you that to prove I was telling the truth. It’s important that you trust me completely.”
“Well, I don’t.” She hunched down in her seat. “I don’t even know you.”
Songe clasped his hands together as if keeping them in place would set order to his world. “There are more important things we need to discuss.”
“More important than my parents?”
“If you are ever to meet them there are tasks you need to perform first.”
Nikki tightened her fingers around her cup and glared at him. “If I’m ever to meet them?” The effort to restrain tossing water in his face was difficult. But she would. If…indeed. Nikki scowled. She had a right to know her parents and Songe’s gatekeeping tactics were not only not appreciated, but now impossible for him to control.
Songe bowed his head and let out a long breath. “The truth is, unless you fix things, you will never be able to see your father. He’s dead.”
His cold matter-of-fact words stung. There was no sadness or grief reflected in Songe’s voice. He relayed the information as if he’d just read an obituary from the newspaper. What a cold-hearted prick. And he wanted her to fix things? How dare he. And how the hell was she supposed “fix things”? She couldn’t bring someone back from the dead. An ache pulsed in her heart over the death of a stranger. A man who would never be her father. “And my mother?” she demanded stiffly.
“She is in a very fragile state. After your father’s death, she fell apart.” He studied his coffee before piercing her with a penetrating stare. “You can help fix this. That’s why I arranged for the Angeluses to adopt you. It was critical for you to grow up outside of the Guild. With no restrictions.” He paused, seeming to weigh his next words. “The Angeluses couldn’t have children, you know.”
Really? He was actually playing that card? “Are you forgetting my sister?”
“Ah, your sister,” he said. His face took on a sage expression. “She came later. Sometimes when you accept that you can have no children, biology takes over.” A small smile touched his lips, marking him as somewhat human. An aperture clicked in her chest. “She was unplanned and unexpected.” His eyes turned to a calculating glint.
Unexpected for whom? Apparently, Cassie took everyone by surprise leaving Nikki caught between two worlds. “Again, I ask. Where is my mother?”
“I can’t tell you.” He sat so calmly, denying her access to her family tree, it infuriated her.
“Doesn’t she want to see me?”
“She thinks you are gone.” Sadness replaced the calculating glint. “As I said, she is fragile. Her mind couldn’t handle the loss of Dale. She has been heavily medicated for decades.”
“What do you mean gone?” For a man she was supposed to trust, Songe was very adept at skirting around a subject. He circled every question like a vulture hovering over road kill dropping bits and pieces, never giving enough detail to reason it all out. There were tidbits, however. Her father was dead and his name was Dale. Her mother, alive but unwell.
“I need to see her.” Maybe then the surreal dizziness she felt would subside. If she could recognize the resemblance in her mother’s face maybe she could make sense of the shaky ground that had become the foundation of her life.
“That wouldn’t be wise. I told you, she doesn’t know you exist. We felt it best that she think you died the same day as your father.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“We had to keep you safe. We didn’t want you raised by a society member of the Guild so I arranged for you to be adopted outside the Guild.”
Now the facts were coming much too fast for her to comprehend. Nikki took a calming breath. It wasn’t the information she desired but he was talking about the Guild. Hadn’t she wanted to talk about this when she first walked into the diner? Yes. But she hadn’t been expecting the impromptu history lesson. Her heart rammed against her chest. A deep seeded longing for a life lost nestled in her gut. Each word Songe uttered was foreign, yet changed her life. Was it possible to be thrust into something so fantastic, so unthinkable? Surprisingly she was beginning to understand, believe it was devastatingly true. She took another deep breath.
But first things first. She had no alternative but to enter into attorney mode. “Start with the accident. Tell me what happened.”
He shot her a disgusted look. “We are wasting too much time on this subject.”
“Humor me,” she said calmly. “They were my parents after all.” Nikki’s insides burned with irritation. It was taking too long to discover the truth. Couldn’t the man just spit it out? The unpleasant grease odor of the restaurant nauseated her. The stench suffocating. Her stomach rebelled. Nikki covered her mouth before the contents of her stomach emptied onto the floor. But she had a right to the information she sought.
“There was a fire. We don’t know how it started but the authorities were sure it was arson. Your father died inside. The official cause of death was smoke inhalation. Your mother was visiting me at the time. I was to take her to the doctor the next day.” He recited facts with no emotion, very little vibrato. So cold while sharing details of his son-in-law’s last moments. But then he’d had more than twenty years to rectify himself to it.
“How did I survive?”
“You weren’t there.”
That couldn’t be the full extent of the answer.
“Where was I?” She held his feet to the fire in relentless attorney fashion.
“I found you huddled in the bushes in the back yard.”
“But if my mother was with you she should have known I was alive.”
He arched one eyebrow and cocked his head in a knowing fashion. “You underestimate my casting skills. Trust me, she doesn’t know.”
Sharp talons of panic pierced her composure. He had the warmth of a reptile to take advantage of a tragedy. Hiding her from her mother. “Skills? What the hell are you talking about?”
A feral smile lit his lips. “Now we’re on topic. Your family is descended from a long line of dream casters. Specifically, the Guild of the Celestial Night. A society formed to give structure to people with these skills. Our people.”
Nikki pressed her fingertips on her closed eyelids. As if this day wasn’t strange enough, she’d now learned she was the lost daughter of some ancient family line. She couldn’t have made this up if she were Dean Koontz. “Are you implying I have some kind of power?” The idea was incredulous.
“Come now, Nikki, are you saying you don’t? You’ve already drifted about in other people’s consciousness.” Songe thrust his thumb at his chest. “I taught you how. And if I have done my job correctly, you will be my greatest accomplishment.”
She shuddered. Those crazy dreams were events that actually happened. But what did that mean? “How come I didn’t know about this so-called power until now?”
“Because I wiped out any memory you had regarding your past. It was essential for you to grow up outside of the Guild.”
“What’s the Guild got to do with me?” More importantly, how much was this Guild mixed up in her current situation? Hadn’t her dad mentioned them? Stay away from them, Nikki. From the fog of her childhood, she remembered her dad didn’t care for Mr. Songe. Yet they had the same agenda. At least on the surface.
“Long ago, the dream casters evolved to great potential. Our people thought some had too much power. It only took one bad incident to really scare them. A government of sorts was designed to keep the casters in line. Rules were created to follow, and the children carefully trained. Obliterating their true talents.”
So the Guild policed ‘her’ people. That didn’t sound so bad. Everyone needed rules and someone ha
d to be in charge. “Why was that wrong?”
“We were reduced to nothing,” he spat. “I tried to convince the Guild that we needed to let our powers develop into what they should have been in the first place. But they felt it was too dangerous to allow dream casting to go unbridled.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“You are what they fear. A dream caster without their rules and restrictions.” He chuckled, sending a wave of terror up her spine. “They will be unable to stop you from changing everything they know to be true. I expect you’ll do our family proud.”
So, she was kept out of sight of the Guild to develop—but into what?
“How can they be scared of me when I don’t know anything?” Frustration filled her.
Mr. Songe sat up straight. He beamed as if he’d discovered the cure for cancer. His intentions for her were far more serious than a simple family reunion. He expected her to do miraculous things. She wasn’t anything special. Her father, or should she say—adoptive father, made that clear enough. All she had ever been was a disappointment, but this man thought she was the answer to obliterating all evil in this world.
“That’s the best part. I have shielded and trained you outside the knowledge and strictures of the Guild. You have the tools to rewrite history. All you have to do is let it surface. Unfortunately, I am not as strong as I once was and can no longer protect you. But I have faith in you. It’s time you learned to protect yourself.”
He was so earnest, his face so kind, that for a moment she believed she was loved and truly wanted. But how was that possible? The man kidnapped and hid her from her own mother. He had another agenda. Hadn’t that been written all over him when she walked into this dive? Instinct kicked in, warned her. She was a piece on a chessboard. She bristled. A pawn in a game she didn’t create. “I don’t even know what I’ve got.”
He chuckled. “It’s not a disease. What you are is someone who can go into minds and alter their psyche. Something we haven’t been able to do for a long time.” Somehow his hands managed to stay gripped around his cup, when his face showed he wanted to clap in glee. “We’ve had to be satisfied with being neutered to the point where we can only change small things. Maybe sway a decision or lessen the pain of a critical event. The Guild thinks that is all that we should ever be. I know different. We are more. You are more.”
“What does that even mean?” she whispered. The minute the words left her mouth it dawned on her she had already seen those talents in action. During her meeting with Garrett and Sam yesterday morning, Sam had been out of sorts. Talking nonsense about finances and his client’s health. Garrett must have been in his mind. Had he been in hers? It all started to make some kind of insane sense. Garrett wore a ring that matched her amulet. He had been so sure she would agree to his demands and when she hadn’t he wanted to know who was protecting her. The events gelled, shifted into clear focus.
Songe was protecting her and, if he was to be believed, that time was limited.
Now more than ever, keeping Garrett at bay seemed paramount. Nikki blew out a pursed breath. She didn’t want him rattling around in the attic of her subconscious. He couldn’t know all the intimate details of her life. He could manipulate her. After all, he’d grown up in the Guild. No matter what Songe said, Garrett was far more skilled than she at this point. She did need to protect herself. She pulled herself up, squared her shoulders, and looked her grandfather in the eye. “Tell me what I need to do.”
“Lock your mind, then start small.”
****
Garrett parked his car in the office complex lot. Only a few vehicles remained. He scanned the scattered automobiles for Barnes’ silver Lexus. Gone. His boss had left for the night.
One of the perks of Barnes’ association with the Guild was that he didn’t have to work late hours. Why would he when all he needed was someone to tweak a memory or influence a decision. Although the Guild could be very strict on the parameters, Barnes had reaped a healthy living off of their talents. Now it was Garrett’s turn to take advantage of Barnes’ absence.
He crept through the entrance, the automated lights activating as he walked through the reception area. Judging by the time on the clock that hung on the far wall, he’d missed the security guard’s first walkthrough. Good. That gave him some privacy for the moment. The guard shouldn’t question Garrett’s presence but why alert Barnes to his intentions? Especially if he was caught rifling around in his boss’s office.
With a steady confident pace, he made his way down the hallway. Barnes’ office held three filing cabinets reserved for the more delicate cases that contained information too sensitive to be sent to central filing. It was a long shot hoping the Angelus case resided here after sixteen years but it was a place to start.
Garrett grasped the handle and tugged. The drawer didn’t budge. Locked. Shit. Now where would that pain-in-the-ass hide the key? Garrett approached Barnes’ desk and eased open the middle drawer. He rummaged around. Only paperclips, an odd assortment of business cards, pens, and a small sewing kit. Sewing? A quick grin escaped. The remaining drawers yielded no key amongst the contents.
He pulled apart a fake floral arrangement on the credenza, looked under a CD rack, emptied the pencil holders but still no sign of a key, let alone something to even pry the thing apart with.
“Is there something I can assist you with, Mr. Nightshade?” Frank Gorman’s nasal voice caught him off guard. He glanced over his shoulder. The young weasel poked his wiry red head in. He radiated curiosity. Always searching for that golden tidbit to use to his advantage.
Frank’s antics around the office meddling in everyone’s affairs was well known. The slimy bastard thought it would elevate his position in the firm. Truth was he was a toad. Not that it mattered at this moment because said toad caught Garrett, red-handed, rifling where he most definitely shouldn’t. Trouble was he had no legitimate reason for being here. A fact the social climbing junior associate already suspected. Otherwise, the dweeb wouldn’t have bothered him.
“Frank,” Garrett acknowledged. Thinking fast, Garrett said the first thing that popped in his head. Some plausible excuse before Frank thought to place a call to Barnes. This one time, he might just rise in the boss’s esteem. “Uh, I don’t think so. I’m trying to find a pleading for Barnes, but it appears he forgot to leave me the key to his filing cabinets.” Garrett held his breath.
“Boss man doesn’t generally like anyone in those cabinets. That’s why they’re locked.” Frank’s eyes narrowed on Garrett. The jerk didn’t believe him. And why should he? It was no secret Barnes steered clear of Garrett. Probably terrified his casting could be done while awake. In general, Garrett didn’t mind the displaced notion. It kept Barnes from prying into his own business. Right now, however, he wished he had the power to influence Frank. Unfortunately, he had to be crafty so Frank wouldn’t call Barnes. Later, he could easily slip into his mind and erase the incident completely.
“Usually, that’s true.” Garrett shrugged. “However, he forgot necessary paperwork for a trial tomorrow.”
“So he’ll get it in the morning.”
“That’s the thing.” Garrett adopted his most disdainful tone. “He’s going straight to court. He knew I was coming by tonight and asked me to get it for him.”
“If he wanted you in there,” Frank pointed his finger at the cabinets. “He would have made sure you had a key.”
Busted. Might as well call the man’s bluff. What did he have to lose at this point? “If you don’t believe me, call Barnes.” Garrett glanced at his watch. “You should be able to catch him. It’s just about the time he’d be sitting down to dinner with his family. Sooner’s will be on at eight. So, he might have a moment to spare for you.”
Frank rubbed his chin. “I don’t know…”
The little turd was clearly weighing how much wrath would descend upon him if he did make the call. His eyes glassed over at the strain of his contemplation. Garrett growled.
“Look, I don’t have the time to wait around for you to decide. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to locating the file.”
“It just seems odd,” Frank said. Definitely wavering.
Garrett pressed his advantage. “While I appreciate the irregularity, might I remind you that I still outrank you.”
Frank smirked. Garrett knew he wasn’t buying into his posturing. Frank looked down his narrow nose at him. “I don’t know where the key is. Couldn’t find it if I wanted to. Might check his secretary’s desk though.”
Of course. Shit. June would have access to all Barnes’ files. With one last look of contempt, Frank sauntered down the hall. Garrett shot into action. No telling how long it would take Frank to figure out Garrett’s bluff. The clock was ticking.
Garrett darted to June’s cubicle. He foraged through a monotony of staples, pens, and white-out. Then, nestled between rubber bands and a letter opener he found a set of keys. Hopefully one of them opened the filing cabinets.
Rushing back to the file cabinets, he inserted one key into the lock. It didn’t turn. He chose another. Tried again. Failed. With each key, his gut dropped another notch, until—pay dirt! The sixth key.
He perused the names on the folders. An adoption would be in Nikki’s original surname. There was no Songe among them. Good thing not all the files were adoptions. Garrett pulled every one with an FA adoption identification. There were three in all. Anticipation tingled his fingertips.
The second file held the adoption decree signed by the Angeluses. He quickly scanned the case style: In re the adoption of baby girl Summer. Her last name was Summer.
He searched through the file for Songe’s name, but found nothing. Damn, he was certain there was a familial connection. If there was, this file couldn’t corroborate his hunch. Hmm. Another interesting tidbit—no consent to the adoption. The order allowing an adoption without consent had been sanitized to the point where no identification of the biological family could be made. Only a member of the Guild could have encouraged such negligence from the judge.