Then, as if he could hear her thoughts, Luca’s head snapped up. Evaine froze. He looked at her like he couldn’t place her. His tan face and long brown hair, with eyes like milk chocolate; he had truly been handsome when he was human. He was up in a flash. The woman dissolved and disappeared.
“Evaine.” His image changed. He became the new Luca with his long white hair and ice blue eyes.
She shook her head. He stepped closer.
“Evaine, wait.”
She bolted down the hallway into the front room. His heavy footsteps sounded right behind her. Looking for a way out she saw a front door. Throwing it wide she stepped out into midair; there was nothing there. She fell like Alice down the rabbit hole.
Evaine shook awake. She was in the family room and Judge Judy was telling someone to put their listening ears on. Luca called her name from his room. She didn’t want to see him, not now. Bolting into the study she heard his door slam open. She stormed down the hallways and headed toward her cell. She ran past Curtis, who stared at her through the glass with his hand pressed against it. She rushed into her room and closed the door. He would be there any minute. Being in his head again, not knowing the why or how of it was confusing enough; but all of his talk about never having felt something so special before—it had been a lie. A lie that she had dared to believe.
Her vision sharpened and she could hear his footsteps pounding down the hallway. He was thirty feet away. She backed away. Twenty feet. She didn’t want to see him. Then he was there at the glass. His hair down and wild. He wore only black pajama bottoms, his feet bare, his muscular chest pounded, sucking in deep breaths. He tried the door; it didn’t open. Punching in the code he looked up into the security camera and pulled on it again, but nothing happened. Evaine crouched down on the floor and pressed herself into the wall. His fiery gazed turned to her. She knew they mimicked her own.
“Open the door.” He pulled on the handle.
As if he had pulled on her physically, she felt a jerk.
He pounded on the door and yelled her name. Had it all been a ploy? A way for him to try to control her too powerful ability? Was everything a lie?
Luca ran his hands over his face and then put his palms on the glass as if trying to reach her.
“Evaine.”
She threw her hands over her ears; she didn’t want him in her head. She tried to push him out, but it didn’t work. She could feel his anger at being shut out.
“Evaine, I cannot control what I dream anymore than you can. I know you’re confused by what you saw.”
She pressed her fingers against her temples. “Get out!” Again she pushed at him with her mind, and this time she felt him leave. First he looked confused. Their eyes locked, and she could tell that he was trying to speak to her, but he was unable to get back in. He pounded on the door with his fist, and she knew he’d figured it out.
His fury blasted her in the face as he howled in rage. Slowly she lowered her hands from her ears. She stared at him blankly and watched as he tried to connect with her.
Finally, he sat on the floor outside of her door, defeated. Her eyes continued to burn with rage long after his rage had died. Aron and Nate appeared. Nate tried the handle, and she felt a small mental tug. Ten minutes had passed while she held the door shut and blocked out Luca, and she’d begun to fatigue.
Luca stood again, as if he could feel her tiring. Aron stepped forward and looked at her then said something to Nate and Luca.
The door had become heavy for Evaine, like Atlas holding the world. One of her hands fell from off her bent knees and hit the floor. Painstakingly she picked it up and set it on her knee. Aron said something, and then he and Nate turned and left. Luca stood again, ever vigilant. He tried the doorknob. It went halfway down before she was able to snap it up. He pulled his hand away, waiting, his face a blank mask. Her legs fell flat on the floor uncontrollably, too heavy to hold up any longer.
Another five minutes passed and Luca stood, never moving, except to try the door. Her vision dulled first, then her hearing. Finally she could barely hold her head up anymore. It felt like carrying a cannon ball on top of her slender neck. Laying it against the wall she momentarily closed her eyes. She’d only let go for a second, but in that instant the door swung open and Luca slid inside. Slamming it shut behind him, she nearly took off a couple of his fingers. Behind him, Nate and Aron rushed to the door and tried the handle. Luca looked back at them and connected with Nate. Nate nodded his head and the two men left again. Luca turned to her. He didn’t speak, just stood there in his relaxed stance that she found so aggravating.
She no longer felt the need to keep the door closed; she was sure Nate and Aron had left for good this time. Concentrating her powers now on keeping Luca away from her, she could feel him physically in her room. The space around him bent to her will as she pressed on his skin to keep him at bay. Her temples throbbed. Finally he took a step closer and she held up her hand. She pushed hard, but he wouldn’t budge. He shoved against her mental block, but he could get no closer. Minutes passed and her hand began to shake from the strain of the impasse. He tested her and got a step closer. She tried to push him, but couldn’t; her head pounded all over.
He spoke softly. “You need to stop now or you are going to seize again.”
She knew she needed to stop. Her head told her she needed to stop, but her heart wouldn’t give up. Somehow this had gone beyond the dream now. This had become a battle of wills, and she needed him to see that she was stronger.
“I don’t care.” She clenched her teeth.
“I do.”
He pushed again against her hold, and this time her whole arm began to shake. She couldn’t hold him off much longer.
“Please, don’t. Please, just go.” It was barely a whisper, taking the last of the strength she had. She felt his resolve beginning to fail him, but then her arm dropped and he moved toward her. She pitched sideways and her body slumped to the floor. He caught her before she hit the cement. Touching her softly he tilted her head from side to side, looking in her ears. Picking her up in his arms like a baby, he cradled her to him. The electricity from his bare chest gave her strength. She started to resist, but he carried her to her bed, laid her on her side, and curled behind her, wrapping his arm around her tiny waist. He smoothed her hair and kissed her temple, rubbing her neck and shoulders. Minutes passed until exhaustion gripped her.
“Her name was Mya. We were to be married before I rebirthed.”
She said nothing, simply stared at the wall.
“She was the only girl I had ever cared for before you.”
* * *
Evaine awoke under her covers. Rolling over she found Luca sleeping on top of the comforter next to her. He had put on a shirt and his hair was tied neatly in a ponytail. She knew it wasn’t his fault that he had dreamed about his former life. Hadn’t she done that too? She was sure she had, though she couldn’t remember.
At that moment his eyes opened. He stared at her, not moving, not blinking. Slowly she slid her hand out from under the blankets and touched his face. They lay there, letting their emotions flow into each other. She knew that he hadn’t lied to her. The feelings he had for her were real, just as her feelings for him were. He turned his face and kissed her palm, then stood and pulled out his phone. He called Nate and told him she was awake and that he could come down.
Several minutes later Nate and Aron came in. Aron checked her ears and eyes, and then sat down.
“So we don’t need to do any training today because it appears that Luca took care of that for us. You did very well, Evaine.”
He was praising her?
Nate smiled. “You controlled your powers without hurting anyone. You held the door shut and then fended off Luca for far longer than we could ever have thought possible, and you didn’t hurt him. You were enraged, but you didn’t lose control. You also managed to not give yourself a seizure this time, which is good news.”
“I think that wa
s more Luca than me.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I was on the floor, Luca held me. I could feel his energy and it helped.”
“Interesting. If the link between you and Luca is able to strengthen both of you, that’s a good thing, since you sap your energy with lots of exertion and Luca’s ability is not something that takes much. So if it ever came to it, you could use him like a backup battery.”
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly why it is that you two have a connection that’s so close. I’m hoping we can figure out what that bond might be,” Aron said. “As far as we can tell from the brain fluid we were able to collect from you—a much easier process than the way we normally have to collect it, I must say—you two have no more in common than any of the rest of us. But if we could find a connection and link everyone together it would be great on recon missions.”
“And in marriages,” Nate muttered.
Evaine laughed despite herself.
“We’ll start again tomorrow. We have something coming up in a couple of weeks and we want to make sure you’re ready. We’d like you to go on the mission. We think that you could be very helpful, if you can control your ability.”
She felt Luca tense. “I want to once again say that I don’t like it and I don’t want her there. No offense, babe, but I would rather have you here and safe than out there with us. I think she’ll be a distraction.”
Nate nodded. “I understand, but this is for the good of all of us. If we could keep one of the scientists alive to question…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence.
“We’ll start again tomorrow,” Aron said.
* * *
Training session after training session filled the next several days. First they tried getting her to do easy things like move objects. Then they tried having her get the objects to move a certain way. She held doors shut while Victor tried to break through. She held Aron down while they used distractions such as noise and lights and things being thrown at her. Luca talking to her in her head distracting her. At one point she almost dropped a desk on top of Nate when Luca mentioned a particularly specific set of things he wanted to do with her. Aside from that one mishap, she did well. When she felt frustrated Luca was able to talk her down. If she tired, she would use their connection to recharge, but never more than once a session.
Through it all Luca remained conspicuously quiet, except when he was used as a distraction. He was supportive of her learning and training, but every time the talk turned to tactical strategies, he found an excuse for her to have to leave, and training would end for the day.
They taught her other things as well. Self-defense techniques, meditation, even yoga. When she wasn’t training, she was playing Halo with Luca against Victor and Ronan or resting. Her hand-eye coordination had improved as well as her aim and strategy skills in the game. All things together she was stronger and more in control. More than once she heard someone talking about how impressed they were at her ease of learning to control her ability.
On the fifth day of training Nate decided to try a new approach. He started out the day with the tactical stuff, so that Luca couldn’t make an excuse for her.
“We are going to pair you up with Victor today,” Nate said.
Evaine eyed Victor dubiously. He looked equally as hesitant.
“Here’s the plan,” Nate said. “We send Victor in first with Evaine behind. Evaine opens the doors for Victor while he’s already charged. Victor will subdue any hostiles, but if he needs help Evaine will hold them off till Luca and Victor can get to them.”
“No.” Luca had a frown on his face. “I won’t let her go unless she’s behind everyone.”
“But if I’m behind everyone what good will I be?” Evaine asked.
“That’s the point, none, so you should stay here,” he said.
Luca’s protectiveness had gone too far. “Luca, I can’t stand around all day making cookies.”
“I think you should work with Ronan. Head up the house defenses.”
“What?” Evaine furrowed her brows. He’d never mentioned anything to her before.
“I’ve been giving it some thought. Ronan could use the help and you would be the perfect protection for the house if we ever had an intruder. You could keep everything locked up.”
“So you want me to sit and be a guard dog.”
Luca grimaced. “No, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Her anger rose. For the first time she’d been feeling positive, as though she belonged, and now Luca wanted to shelve her. All because he was scared.
“I just, I couldn’t…” But he didn’t finish his sentence. He finally looked away from her piercing stare. He cleared his throat. “I’ll go along with you helping on the raids, but only if you come in last.”
She began to protest, but Luca held up his hand. “If she doesn’t go behind me, I don’t go at all.”
“All right.” Nate frowned. “Evaine goes in the back. She can hold the doors for everyone and then when you signal her to come in Luca, she’ll come in.”
Luca nodded in agreement as did Victor, obviously pleased to be the front man again. Aron nodded as well. And as if Evaine’s opinion didn’t even matter, they moved on. She leaped from her chair and stormed out of the room, making sure to tip Luca’s chair backward before she left. She heard him hit the floor with an indignant “Hey!” It made her smile to herself, but she kept on walking down the hall.
For three days Evaine grew increasingly bored with the tactical stuff. They practiced down in some tunnels that ran under the house. Evaine became the glorified doorman, operating only from the rear of the group.
On the third day, Evaine was returning to her cell when Karen appeared in the hallway, all decked out in a miniskirt, five-inch platforms, and a nice, tight sparkly top. Evaine ground her teeth together at the memory of their last meeting. Karen smiled at Evaine. The look sent chills up Evaine’s spine.
“Abbey has time now if you want to come up to the computer lab. Said you could order new clothes and toiletries.”
Evaine had completely forgotten about having new clothes. A few new things would be nice. She was really getting tired of wearing the same three outfits, day in and day out.
“I’ll be up after I have a shower and change.” Evaine moved around Karen.
“She said she didn’t have a lot of time. Personally, I would take her up on the offer if I were you. You definitely could use some clothes that didn’t look like they were made for Bobby Lee.” Karen gave her a look of contempt.
Evaine huffed out a sigh. “All right, fine.” Karen leaned against the wall and let Evaine pass.
As she walked down the corridor to the door separating the cell block from the house wing, a chill ran down Evaine’s spine. The door swung open and she could hear the distant cackle of laughter coming from Karen. Evaine’s shoulder muscles bunched up and she wrapped her arms around herself, scowling. She did not like that girl.
In the hallway of the computer lab she heard voices talking softly inside. The hairs prickled on her arms. Removing one of her earbuds, she focused her hearing.
“I can’t believe that I’m just now hearing about this.”
“Abbey, we’ve had a lot going on and you’ve had a lot on your plate with the new acquisitions. It slipped my mind.”
“Slipped your mind? Are you insane? Has he even talked to her about this? Have you talked to her about this?”
“I left the decision up to him as to when he thought it best to tell her. I think he wants to wait and see if she gets her memory back.”
“Nate, this isn’t right. She has to know.”
“I understand how you feel, but this is one thing I won’t push him on. Their connection is stronger than anything I have ever seen. We can all feel it when we’re around them. They’re like magnets, always drawing on each other. There’s an electricity that surrounds them when you get close. It’s hard to explain, but I think he really loves her.”
“Is he still going out there? Has he been seen?” Abbey questioned.
“He stopped going over a week ago, and as far as I know he wasn’t seen by anyone.”
“Well let’s hope that’s the end of it. This could all lead back to us. Is there really a Web site offering five hundred thousand dollars for her safe return?”
“Apparently it was set up shortly after she went missing.”
“Who is this guy that he has that kind of money?”
“His name is Tristan Atwater. He has lots of family money, but he himself—”
Evaine’s mind exploded. Images bombarded her. All the memories that had been pushed deep inside her brain rushed back to her. Their first date. Their first kiss. Swimming at his lake house. Barbeques with his grandparents and their friends. The opening of the restaurant. All of it, right there, like an open book in front of her. Tristan!
Her eyes flooded with tears. How could she have forgotten him? Her best friend. The one she loved, the one she was suppose to marry. She had to get to him. All this time, he still was looking for her. She turned to go, but Luca was right behind her, watching her. Only in a towel, he stood dripping in the hall. One look and she knew that he knew. This whole time he had known. She remembered now. Luca had been there, in her dream. He had seen Tristan.
“You knew, all this time, and you said nothing.”
He stayed silent, watching her intensely. He took a step toward her, but she backed out of his reach.
“You lied to me. All this time, I’ve been trying to remember and you’ve been hiding it from me. Why? Because you wanted me for yourself? Because you didn’t think I could make my own choices? You said to be who I am now, not to try to be something I’m not, when you knew what that meant. Were you just hoping I wouldn’t remember? That…this thing between us, whatever it is, would keep me from remembering? Keep me from being who I was, who I am?”
Dead Awakenings Page 14