Controlling the Elements (The Manipulator Series Book 1)

by N. R. Spratlin

  Great. Good job, Dill. Way to screw things up. You look like you can’t even care for yourself, let alone a child. How is he supposed to take you seriously now?

  I can feel her disappointment and fear as if it were my own. Why am I feeling her emotions so intensely? I don’t normally feel others that strongly. Well, besides the alliance with the guys. But besides them, with others it tends to be at an arm’s length; I end up having to strain myself to get all of the emotions. I may pick up one or two loudly on the odd occasion if their emotions are extremely heightened, but emotions are normally at a safe distance away to observe and not be entangled.

  It has never been so effortlessly and crystal-clear like that before, not to an outsider anyway. I throw my barriers up against her impending thoughts, blocking her from my mind as well. I let out a relieved breath.

  Good to know it works with her too.

  Everett would most likely know the source of this, but I don’t think I want to include him just yet. First off, he would go bat shit crazy with the fact that she aligned herself with us. Second, her eyes; he would focus on our matching eyes. Third, I don’t honestly want to see how he would react. Everett is the level headed one of the group, and also the logically thinker. When he loses his shit, he goes scary. He’s like the Hulk on steroids. Yeah, not a real pretty picture. I think I’m better off keeping this to myself, and making Con do so too.

  Dillon walks back out of the bathroom with a little more confidence.

  “I am so sorry about that, it has been a crazy morning.” She reaches down to pick up her folder once again, and eases herself back down in the chair across from me.

  Please don’t hold this against me; please don’t find a reason to take Ly from me. I stiffen at the way her thoughts are going.

  “No worries Miss Dillon. I understand completely. Just this morning, one of my roommates destroyed our kitchen over a ‘spider mafia invasion’” I roll my eyes, giving her a big smile. Dillon chuckles, yet the tension remains.

  She doesn’t trust me. I honestly don’t blame her. I guess in her mind I am the guy who could take Lyon away.

  “Thanks for mentioning my near brush with death, dude.”

  “No problem.”

  “Okay Dillon, before we start let me reassure you of a few things. First, I am so sorry about your tragic loss,” I look down at my case notes, “I see here it only happened earlier this year and it has been a little more than eight months. Most people who have just adopted feel overwhelmed. It’s an adjustment period. But, I want to say thank you for being the type of person who has stepped up to the plate and taking on the responsibility of Lyon—” She nods her head and seems a little taken a back that I would say thank you.

  She has no idea the type of horrible cases I sometimes get.

  “—and mostly, thank you for adopting Lyon and not letting him fall into the foster system. From the cases I have been a part of, I can tell that it is always easier on the child when they have a family member they are close to adopt them.” I have to concentrate extra hard to keep her thoughts at bay.

  I start to feel it slip but quickly secure the barrier once more. I need to focus. “With that being said; you are doing a really great job at adapting with Lyon’s day to day lifestyle.” She sits up straighter, clutching the documents to her chest tightly.

  I wish I can take his words to heart; I really am trying, but after everything...

  Her insecurity breaks through my barriers. I blink, whoa. Her emotions start to overwhelm me. I don’t know where she begins and I end.

  I swallow thickly, the weight of them suffocating me. I grip my desk tightly, trying to gain control but failing. Suddenly, Connor’s presence fills into my mind like a cool, summer rain shower and calms my frazzled nerves. He uses his energy to help build my walls back up, bit by bit. I sigh in relief once it’s done, then sit back in my seat, assessing the woman.

  “Thanks, Con.”

  “Not a problem. Her mental influence is powerful, dude. I don’t think I have ever felt that much energy coming from one person.”

  “No kidding.” I internally roll my eyes. “Thanks again.”

  I reposition my tie, giving myself a few minutes to gather my wits. I hope she hasn’t picked up on my internal struggle.

  “You have always had that bond and love. Every mark in his file has nothing but positive things to say. Please be assured this is all just formality. I have a feeling you are one of the few I won’t have to watch out for.”

  With the assurance of my words, she calms down. It brings her some level of comfort. Her death grip on the documents tucked tightly to her chest eases. She places them on her lap. The strain of holding her potent thoughts at bay eases. She’s looking at me with a hopeful expression. The tension in my spirit eases alongside hers in relief. Optimism begins to fill the void of negativity left behind.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to find out quick! Something felt different when we aligned. Something just clicked in my soul. I’m not saying it feels off, but it feels too comfortable and that’s what’s worrying me.”

  “This can’t be good. What is going on? How are you feeling that way? How can she just align with us? I never heard of this just randomly happening before.” Connor voices everything my thoughts are mirroring.

  But my soul feels complete, full, like a missing piece I never knew was missing until it was finally found. But that’s impossible. Unless…

  “I think that’s all for this meeting. In all honestly, I just wanted to meet you. I like to get to know each of my cases personally to make sure the child is in the best situation that can be provided for him or her. Their welfare and happiness is my main priority.” I stand, smiling down at her, ready to escort her out and piece together what the hell just happened.

  She stands up and reaches her arm out for me to shake her hand. I look at it and hesitate, worried.

  Will skin on skin contact be worse?

  I hope she doesn’t leak through my barriers again. With encouragement from Connor and more willpower than I process, I shake her hand. As soon as her soft fingers glide across my palm, the vibrations start back up again. They shake me to the core of my spirit. I watch her carefully and this time her eyes scrunch in confusion, almost like she feels it too.

  But that’s impossible.

  When nothing else seems to happen, I sigh inwardly.

  “That was a close one, looks like your barriers are holding out better this time.”

  “Yeah…” I give a tight smile to Dillon.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Tucker. I appreciate your honesty and encouragement. It means more than you realize.”

  Oh, I know how much it means.

  Her soul is at peace over my words and acceptance of her role in Lyon’s life. That in itself is strange, how my influence can cast such a strong, lasting impression. She checks her small, old, brown watch on her wrist.

  “It looks like I will have enough time to make it to work and get everything done early enough to make it to Lyon’s tee ball game without rushing.” She flashes me a glorious smile.

  She’s breathtaking.

  It causes my brain and heart to short circuit again. I blink and stare at her blankly for a second or two.

  “Wow. Tucky, you are smooth.” A trickle of Connor’s mirth comes through the alliance. That kicks my brain back into motion once more and a brilliant idea comes to my mind. If I spent the rest of my day feeding positivity into my emotional shield I’m pretty sure I could be around Dillon long enough to figure out just what the hell is going on here.

  Really, it’s the only choice I have. I’m not quite ready to let Mr. Hulk, AKA—Everett, start smashing things.

  “Just one more thing before you go,” I stop her when she reaches the door. “This of course is another formality, but I need to be able to see Lyon in a place he would consider a ‘comfortable surrounding’. Do you mind if I come with my colleague in training and sto
p by for his tee ball game tonight?” Her eyes narrow slightly and I can feel her emotional distrust trying to slide back into place. “Like I have said this is all formality. I have no concerns when it comes to Lyon and yourself. It would just be a great situation to teach my rookie the ropes. It’s sad really, I don’t get a lot of cases that are as open and shut as this. In all honesty, you would be doing me a favor.” I look at her with what I hope are pleading eyes.

  I hate to manipulate people’s emotions, especially with guilt, but I need answers. The only way I am going to get those answers is to be around her more.

  Once again, she lets that distrust evaporate and readily agrees. “Sure, that’s fine with me. The game starts at 6:30 p.m, and he will be playing on the front right field of Buxton Fields. Do you know where that is?”

  “Yes, I sure do. Thank you again, Dillon. We will see you then.” I reach around her to open the office door. She steps out, turning around to face me.

  “See you tonight, Mr. Tucker,” as fast as the distrust came, just as quickly it goes.

  I nod and say goodbye, watching every swift shake of her hips, every step she takes. I frown, shaking my head to try and snap out of it.

  I don’t let my wall down against her just yet; I don’t think my mind can handle any more questions at the moment

  “Well, that was intense,” Connor states as he pops up in my line of vision. I blink and look at him, realizing I’ve been staring out after the girl for some time. He shakes, and waves his arms around, almost like he is shaking something off from him. “Did you feel how intense those vibrations were?” he asks, as he nudges me backwards so he can step into the office.

  “Oh, yeah I did,” I confirm trying to fight the urge to shake the static tingles off like he had. My thoughts start to race a mile a minute. I try my best to rein in the chaos. The last thing that I need to happen at the moment is for me to lose myself over to my emotions. I need to keep it together enough to keep Connor from worrying about me.

  All of my questions and worries seem to taunt me from every angle. My insecurities and doubts feel like snakes that slither along my feet, rooting me to the floor. I can’t seem to process anything at the moment.

  “Well, what’s our next move?” He questions as he picks up my office coffee pot.

  “It’s time for you to find your love of baseball, because we are going to Lyon’s tee ball game tonight, Rookie.”

  “Crap, somehow I knew that you were talking about me. Alright, but I’m telling you this; popcorn better be involved.” He tries his best to school his features like he’s serious, but on the inside, I can tell that he is just as curious and anxious for answers as I am.

  “Only if you behave yourself,” I warn him in my most parental voice. Spirits help us; I hope we find the answers without any more chaos.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “End to end, we are caught up in the hurricane of their emotions; trying to straighten the mess.” – Connor

  Connor

  I haven’t seen Tucker in such a disheveled state in a long time; he and Everett are usually the backbone for our bi-polar group. He might be the tallest out of all the guys, but right now as he is fighting his internal demons; his stature reminds me of a broken child. His clean white polo shirt and pressed khaki pants already look worse for wear and he still has the rest of the day to get through. If Mr. Emotion himself is this worked up, then I know I have a reason to worry. I bite my fingernail watching him. For the first time in a while I’m hesitant to leave him alone. The way his thoughts have been changing at such a rapid speed within the alliance, has me on edge. A roller coaster of emotions keeps bombarding me and stopping me from leaving. The only other time he has felt this off was when I met him shortly after his dad had left him at Flint’s house when he was fifteen, never to return.

  That was a black moment in his life. He struggled so much with losing his dad, he still doesn’t trust people when they say they will always stick around, be there for him. He lashed out constantly because what was the point in forming relationships people if they were just going to leave soon anyway? Or at least that was his mentality. He has only just started to trust that we will be there for him and that we won’t leave. That we are a unit; if one goes, we all go. Having the alliance has helped with that but in all honesty; I never want to see him revert back to how he once was. He was an emotional douche. I mean that in all seriousness. Think pregnant woman who is hungry for a certain type of food that is not available to her and add the fact that she needs to pee on top of the hunger and there are no bathrooms. Get my point? I scratch my head, still looking at him and trying to get some clarity on this situation; if only to help him organize his thoughts a bit more.

  “Dude, what is going on?” I ask, breaking up the thoughts he’s projecting as He grips his short blonde hair tightly, it looks like at any second he is going to pull it out. One corner of my mouth lifts up slightly, picturing what Tucker would look like bald.

  Can we just say, egg head alert?

  “I have no idea, Con.” He sighs out in frustration, letting go of his death grip.

  I shake my head to get rid of the mental image. “I really think we should call Everett.” Tucker turns his eyes to me and his thoughts start picking up again. He starts to panic with my suggestion. I feel like a lousy friend; I should have known better.

  He tries to cover it well, but I know Tucker almost as well as Flint, and I know he is trying to gain control.

  Trying to placate him, I say, “No worries dude; no Everett. Maybe it’s just a fluke. I can’t hear her now; can you?”

  Tuckers mind slows down, my words seeming to have calmed down his inner roar of thoughts. I sigh in relief, rubbing my forehead.

  I’m going to have a headache later.

  Now that the volume level has been turned down, it allows me to finally concentrate and search for the new invasion in the alliance. I push deep inside, letting my essence flow through, looking for something out of place. The energy levels seem normal.

  I trace each energy signature back to their sources but only sense the guys. I frown.

  Huh, that’s weird. I can’t find her anywhere, which is extremely odd as her presence was so forceful when she was in the room with Tucky

  “I can’t sense her energy source either.” I feel my brows crinkle with confusion.

  “Neither can I; it’s why I feel on edge,” Tuck agrees while dropping his hands and shaking off the tension. “I think we just need to go to her nephew’s tee ball game tonight to see if anything will happen again.”

  “I agree. I know you don’t want to hear it but I also think Everett should come along. You don’t have to bear this alone. “I say worriedly, as I lay my hand on his shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze.

  “Con, I’m not; that’s why you’re coming”

  “Of course, it’s just that Everett….” I trail off as I see his look. I sigh, giving his shoulder one last squeeze and removing my hand. “I’m just looking out for you, man.” His thoughts seem to calm down now that he realizes I’m here for him and just worried. Whatever happens, we are in it together. I’m grateful, because I was beginning to get whiplash in my mind. I grimace.

  My head will definitely be pounding here soon if he keeps flipping his emotional switch on and off like an errant child.

  “Thanks, Con. I’m okay, I promise.” He gives me a small smile, patting his hair down and straightening himself up. Even though he puts on a sturdy façade I can tell he’s just wearing a mask to reassure me. As if I haven’t been in his head and know how badly he’s stressing out and how it’s affecting him. I will let him get away with it for now, but if anything else happens I’m going to have to call the others in pronto, regardless of what he wants.

  “Alright, well I need to get to my class and drop off the assignments I had to grade for Professor Childers. What time do I need to meet you at the fields?” I ask as I sling my messenger bag over my shoulder and pick up the coffee pot in prepar
ation to leave.

  “Just meet me here at five and we will take my truck.” He answers swiftly, still struggling to take back control.

  “Alright man, call me if you need me.” I walk towards his office door, opening it to leave.

  “Thanks man, I appreciate everything.” He looks at me with earnest eyes. I hope to the Spirits he will regain his footing on his emotions. If I stick around any longer, I know I will worry enough to convince myself to miss class. I turn on my heel and walk through the door.

  “I know…. It’s because I’m awesome like that” I shout over my shoulder as I walk down the hallway. Laughter flows from our mental alliance and for a minute it seems like I have the same Tucker who woke up this morning coming to my rescue from the nasty eight-legged mafia. A shiver goes down my spine at the thought of them.

  ***

  I grit my teeth as I drive to campus, unable to get the unease I feel for Tucker out of my mind. I hold on to the steering wheel tightly, in a white knuckled grip. This usually signals a red flag for me. I’m what the group refers to as the calming one. Given my affinity for water, I have to agree with them. I know how to pay attention when my gut won’t let me settle down. I know Tucker has moved past that dark chapter of his life, but lately things have seemed to be tense and overwhelming with everyone in the group. I attributed the continued feeling of unease to the loss of the sixth member of our group recently, but it has been around eight months since it happened. I thought we would be on the mend by now and our alliance would be already directing Everett to the next person that would be filling in our missing piece. It sounds harsh but it is just the way of things; when one person dies another will fill his place.

  I never knew the guy who was destined to be our Manipulator. The high Lords of the Mikroelementy scheduled a time for us to be introduced and inducted to our group through our circle. The next thing we knew, we were told our sixth person had passed away tragically.