“Yay for swimming again,” Max deadpanned and sat next to me. He took the last plate without asking and used his arm to block it from me. He thought that was enough to keep me from stealing some of it... how wrong he was. I snorted and he smirked.
I swallowed and took a sip of milk, then scooted closer to Max.
“You know you like it,” I said and smiled at him, he glanced from the corner of his eye. “And it makes Ezra happy.”
I slid my hand under his arm and pitched a piece of his cake, but he caught my hand and pulled it to his mouth. With a wide smile, he forced me to feed him. I laughed and Levi made a gagging noise.
“Don't be greedy, Misty,” Harvey said as she took another small bite of hers, moaning again.
“Please stop making that noise,” Levi said quietly and Max chuckled.
“We can swim but I need to get home before dinner. I promised Sara I’d be there.” Max took a corner of his cake, then he pushed the rest over to me. I smiled and shoved it in my mouth.
Chapter two
Misty
The younger kids had their own building a block away from the high school. They were dismissed thirty minutes after we were, which gave me time to get my stuff together and walk over to meet Ezra when he came out. Unlike me, my baby brother had a hard time making friends. I kept my group small, but it was my choice to do so. I got along with pretty much everyone just didn’t let them too close, trusting people had never been easy for me. Ezra wasn’t so lucky, he was still young, but he had a hard time talking to people. I think the kids treated him differently because of who his family was. When the school first started, it wasn’t well-known who adopted me, so I didn’t have the same problems.
I wish the other kids wouldn’t shut him out. If they’d taken the time to get to know him, they would’ve been surprised to find how awesome he was. Maybe I’m biased, but I thought my little brother was the coolest kid in the world.
He ran out of the building to meet us, and the smile on his face stretched when he saw I brought my friends.
“Hey, little man.” Max lifted Ezra to his shoulders and Levi took his backpack from his hands.
“You’re all coming swimming?”
“Yep, couldn’t pass it up,” Levi said and wrapped his arm around Harvey’s shoulders. “You know how much I like watching this one flop around in the water.” Harvey pushed away from him and grunted.
“I’m getting better.” We all laughed, because it didn’t matter how many times we tried to teach her, the girl couldn’t swim to save her life.
We made it back to the parking lot and got in Max’s truck, then headed to my house. A couple years ago Sebastian tore down a few of the guest houses in the back of the property and had a swimming hole dug out. Which turned into an actual pool after Andi saw how nasty it was. She said she wasn’t letting her kids swim in water if she couldn’t see the bottom. After months of construction, we had a whole water park to ourselves. Or as close as you can get to one. We had a large pool, a few swings, and a massive slide. I had to admit it was pretty awesome. Like I said, my life since being adopted had been pretty amazing. Having Andi and Sebastian as parents was the best thing I could have asked for.
Harvey and I sat on the edge of the pool while the boys played around in the water. Ezra loved having them there, and they never failed to make the kid feel like one of them. He might not have had friends his own age but he had us. I hoped it was enough.
“One more time!” Ezra called out, and Harvey smiled before using her hand to lift him out of the water high enough for him to fall back in with a splash. Harvey was the only telekinesis I knew. Her power was strong, but she rarely used it. The only time she was open with it was at the pool when Ezra asked to be thrown. Other than that, I never saw her use it for anything. None of us used our powers much, though. It wasn’t something we talked about, but it was something we silently agreed on. Nobody wanted to abuse what we had, we’d all seen too much abuse of power in the past.
We stayed out for a couple of hours before Max said he had to go for dinner. He took Levi and Harvey home and I walked Ezra to the house. Our nanny, Margarette, was in the kitchen making dinner when we got there, yelling at us to take off shoes before walking on the clean floors. She had been Sebastian’s nanny when he was young and became mine when they adopted me. Then Ezra’s when he was born. She used to be at the house all the time, but as I’d gotten older she spent more time away- finally taking time for herself to enjoy life.
“Where’s mom?” I asked and hopped up on the bar stool.
“They had a meeting,” Margarette said and glanced over her shoulder. “Should be back soon. You have homework?”
I told her about the project we had, and how we needed to write a paper about the differences we found. When I said it was based on what the NBRC was doing her eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything about it other than to ask my parents or grandparents. It was strange she didn’t want to help since she usually did, but I didn’t push the issue. I’d wanted to ask my parents anyway, or maybe grandma Emily, she was always patient with her lessons.
When my parents walked in we took our seats for dinner. Ezra told them about his day at school, and how we took him swimming afterward. They smiled and thanked me, but I waved it off.
“You don’t have to thank me. I like hanging out with him.” When they thanked me it made me feel like an outsider, even though I knew it wasn’t their intention. For me hanging out with my little brother wasn’t a chore, it was a gift. When they thanked me for it, I’d feel like I was his babysitter and not his family.
“What about you, Misty? How was school?” Andi asked and I raised my head to look at her. Her white hair was piled high in a messy bun, and she wore the same style clothes she always had. A black tank top and black pants, with boots covering her calves. They were both technically too young to be my parents, and it was more obvious now that we looked close to the same age.
“School was school. You should have a talk with Thomas about his teaching methods.” I grunted and leaned back. “Science is bad enough, but to blend it with English and expect fully written reports? That’s just too much.”
They laughed but I was serious, I stared until they realized it.
“Well, I don’t think my opinion will matter much.” She laughed and laid her head on Sebastian’s shoulder. “What’s the topic?”
“NBRC.”
“What?” She sat forward quickly, leaning her body over the table. “What about them?”
I told her what the assignment was, and I saw her eyes flicker to Sebastian’s before landing back on me. She tried to hide it, but I saw something there, something she didn’t want to tell me.
“Do you know something about them?”
She waved her hand and tilted her head. I narrowed my eyes and looked between them. They were having one of their silent conversations, the ones everyone hated. They were the only people I knew who were able to communicate with each other in their minds. They looked ridiculous when they did it, and it pissed everyone around them off.
“Stop,” I said and cleared my throat. “I know you’re talking. Just tell me why you reacted that way.”
“It’s nothing,” Sebastian said and stood, gathered dishes and stepped away. “Really, we don’t know much about them, but be careful snooping around too much. I know Levi can get whatever he wants, but don’t let him hack their systems.” He leaned over to meet my eyes, still holding all our plates in his hands. “You hear me, Misty? I’m serious. Do your research like everyone else, but don’t break into their network.”
“Yeah, yeah. We know better than that.”
The last time Levi hacked someone’s system we were grounded from each other for a month. He was simply trying to get some free channels and they acted like he stole government information or something. They were all very dramatic about it.
After cleaning up the table, I went to my room and got ready for bed, then waited. Unlike most people my age,
I didn’t have a cell phone. I’d mastered controlling my power around almost everything else, but anytime I tried to use a phone I ended up frying it. So every night before bed Max came over and said goodnight. When we were kids we were allowed to have sleepovers, but the last few years our parents decided it wasn’t appropriate, and he was banned from my room. At least from walking in the door. I’m positive they knew he slipped in at night but hadn’t brought it up. Andi could have placed a ward to keep him out, but she never did. I assumed she didn’t care as much as Sebastian.
“Hey.” I turned over when he stepped out of the corner.
He moved toward the bed and took his side, laying on top of the covers like he insisted. Max was my best friend, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t started seeing him differently. There was no other guy I wanted to be around, and when my mind took me to places I hadn’t ventured to yet, he was the star. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but at some point, I knew we would have to talk about it. He never said anything, but I’d noticed the way he looked at me differently, too. And how he tried to keep some distance between us when he never had when we were younger.
But he always held my hand at night, knowing it helped me fall asleep. He linked his fingers with mine as I told him how my parents reacted.
“Did you notice how Levi acted in class today?” he asked and I nodded.
“He’s always vocal, but not usually so opinionated.” Levi had been weird, and I’d forgotten to ask why. It was something Max and I agreed to do the next day.
When Max left to go home thinking I was asleep, I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. Nighttime was the worst part of my day, closing my eyes and falling asleep was when the memories would sneak in and suffocate me. The dreams would replay my past and the pain felt real all over again. The things I’d kept from people threatened to take over and push me further down the hole I’d tried avoiding. It was easy to pretend during the day, to hide behind my mask, but at night when my mask was off, the hell I’d lived through surrounded me in a blanket of darkness.
“Why doesn't she cry?” The lady leaned down at stared at my face, but I refused to meet her eyes. I was maybe six and been living with them for a couple months.
“Who knows, maybe she’s mental.” Her husband snapped his belt and moved toward me. He’d already hit me twice, and the blood from my nose was dripping down my shirt. I didn’t know what I’d done, but it never mattered. Sometimes they hit me when they drank too much, and other times it was because they’d had a bad day. But sometimes it was just because they were bored and I was there. There was no reason or excuse for it, they were bad people, and bad people did bad things for no reason at all.
“We should have taken a different one. Maybe we could try to trade her.” They didn’t like the fact I didn’t cry. I caught on to that early on. People like them wanted to cause pain, it gave them a sense of power, made them feel in control. When I didn’t show the emotion they wanted, they felt powerless, and they didn’t like that. I knew they would either give me to someone else or kill me. I didn’t care which one happened, but I disliked them more than others. Some families at least gave me food to eat, they only gave me crackers and a small cup of water once a day. I missed having food, and if not crying got me out of their house quicker, then I wouldn't cry. No matter how many times the belt split my skin open, I wouldn’t cry for them. I wouldn’t give them what they wanted.
“I think we’ll break her first,” he said and grabbed my face, bringing it close to his. His breath smelt like old cigarettes and whiskey. Yellow teeth filled his mouth and his greasy hair hung over his beady eyes. I stared into them, not blinking, and then I smiled.
“I’ll pray for you tonight,” I whispered and closed my eyes as his arm came down with the leather belt on my face.
One of the first houses I could remember was an older couple. They were completely insane and used religion to cover it. They claimed I was possessed because the first time they’d hit me, my body threw sparks at them. I couldn’t have been more than five so it’s not like I knew what I was doing. The women would force me to memorize scriptures. At the time I hated it because they used it as an excuse to hurt me, but after a while, I realized they were wrong. I’d found one of their older Bibles and read it at night when they went to bed. Teaching yourself to read wasn’t nearly as easy as people made it out to be, but I used the words she’d made me remember and figured out how to sound out the others. I loved the Bible, even if not all of it was true. It gave me hope when I’d had none before. It became my safety, the words became my weapons, and I used them against every evil I faced.
Chapter three
Max
I knew Misty was still awake when I left, but I’d needed to get out of there. She wanted more than I could give, and the more time I spent with her, the harder it was to ignore.
Slipping to her house was easier than slipping home, at least without getting caught. Every time I thought I was in the clear, Sara would sneak up on me.
“Do we need to talk about this again?” I jumped when her voice came from my desk, her face hidden by the darkness in the room.
Rolling my eyes, and not turning toward her, I continued to gather my things for the next day. Maybe if I didn’t respond she would go away, she’d leave it alone, for at least one more day.
“Max, I know you like to say goodnight, but you need to be careful. Unless you’re ready to be honest with her about your feelings, you need to start keeping your distance.”
I loved Sara, truly I did, but she was a nosy woman. I knew it was her job to ask questions, I also knew it was her job to worry about me- the adopted son of Lucifer. Neither of my parents spoke about it often, but I’d heard them enough times over the years to know they were worried. They were afraid of what I would be capable of, of what power I might gain as I grew. They were afraid I’d never allow myself a normal life.
“Max,” Sara continued, and I let out a sigh. The ignoring thing never works on her either. Neither she or Misty seemed to care if I’d rather not speak. If they wanted to talk they would badger me until I joined the conversation.
“We don’t need to talk about anything,” I said without turning to look at her. The chair bumped the desk when she pushed it back to stand, but I still didn’t look. I knew within a few seconds her hand would be on my back, giving me reassuring words. It was nothing new, and a part of me resented it, but another part- a very small part- was grateful for her dedication. She was the only mother I’d really had. My own mother spent the first few years of my life trying to kill me, so Sara’s soft touches were welcomed... for the most part.
“You know I only ask because I don’t want to see either of you get hurt.” Her hand lowered on my shoulder and the tension fled. Sara had become a sort of Guardian when she died for a minute during the war. Her best friend Andi- Misty’s mom- gave her part of the glory she had gotten from the Arch Angel Michael- making her a Guardian. She didn’t get the gifts most of them have, but she did get some. The ability to transfer peace being one of them, something she’d used on me more times than I could count.
“I know,” I said and glanced back at her. “I’m being careful and haven’t been staying too long. But she doesn’t sleep when I don’t show up.”
Sara dropped her hand and moved across the room, then turned and leaned on the door.
“I understand why you go. It’s why I’ve not said anything to anyone. I’m trying to give you space, let you make these decisions on your own, but you need to make it sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it could end up turning into something you can’t fix.”
I sat on the bed and propped my bag against the side table. Running my hands through my hair and taking a deep breath, I knew I needed to talk about it, I just didn’t want to.
“I don’t want to scare her,” I said and raised my head to watch her reaction. “Imagine yourself at seventeen, and you’re best friends with someone who most people are too afraid to make eye contact with.
Then he tells you he’s developing a power, one that seems to connect with you more than anyone else. And if he allows it, he’d be able to control your every move.” I closed my eyes when the pity filtered across her face.
“Max,” she whispered and I held up my hand.
“I don’t want to scare her, Sara. I will tell her, but not until I figure out how to control it.”
The next morning I sat down at the table and pulled out a notebook. Reed was already eating and Sara was making her way over with two plates.
“I have a question,” I said and scattered a few of the sheets in front of me. “We have this assignment for Thomas’ class and I was wondering if you knew anything about this company.”
Reed grabbed one of the papers and his eyebrows furrowed as he read it. It was just a list of statistics I found on their website, but when I’d been looking, nothing I found added up.
“You’re researching NBRC?” Reed asked and leaned back in his chair.
“Yep. Misty, Levi, and I are in a group. We have to write a paper about the opinions we find and use research to back it up. Then we have to form our own opinions.” I snagged a piece of bacon from his plate and shoved it in my mouth before he noticed. Reed was pretty cool for a dad, and he was a dad through and through. I’d heard stories about him from back in the day, but that guy was long gone. He was as strict as Sebastian was, if not more so. I loved him for it, but sometimes I’d wanted him to ease up a bit. I understood why he was the way he was, though. I’m sure adopting a kid with my heritage wasn’t an easy thing for him to do. Not to mention they adopted me before they were even married. One day they were pretty much secretly dating, and within a year they were living together and had a ten-year-old nephilim kid living with them. And not just any kid either, nope, they got to be the lucky people who ended up with the son of Satan himself.
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