by A. P. Jensen
Her throat ached. She lay flat on her back, staring up at a dome made of glass. In the middle of the dome was an Olympic sized pool surrounded by wooden benches. Sunlight poured through the glass, warming the tiles beneath her. She squinted and let out a low moan. Every inch of her body ached.
She turned and saw Mr. Parker sitting on a bench watching her. Neither moved or said a word for almost a minute. Jordan was the first to break the staring contest. She tried to push herself into a sitting position and sagged back to the floor as her arms gave out. When her eyes widened in alarm Mr. Parker got up. Jordan let out a strangled sound and tried to scoot away when he reached out. He clasped her shoulders with his hands and she braced herself for the pain his touch would evoke but there was none. He set her back against a bench and settled beside her.
Memories began to surface although most of them were blurred and unfocused. She lifted a hand to her chest and pressed at the sharp ache there. Her heart beat slowly, sluggishly as if she were recovering from… something. She glanced at his hands and for the first time saw the laurel leaf tattoo circling his left wrist.
“What did you do to me?” Jordan whispered.
“Saved your life.”
“Feels like you almost killed me,” Jordan muttered.
“Almost,” he agreed.
“What’d you do?”
“Have you ever heard of a soul tie?” he asked in that still distant tone.
“No,” Jordan said curtly, trying to remember what occurred after he ordered everyone out of the kitchen. She remembered his approach, the pain and then nothing else.
Mr. Parker turned his head to look at her. “William created a soul tie with you. I broke it. Do you know what that means?”
She shook her head.
“William believed that by taking a piece of you, by leeching onto your soul, you could keep him sane.”
Jordan shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.
“You know I’m telling the truth,” he said and his voice was cold. “You know he did something to you, that you’re missing something.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jordan said through clenched teeth.
Anger burned in his eyes. “Don’t you?”
Mr. Parker rose and walked to the Olympic sized pool and spread his arms wide. The water in the pool began to solidify. Ice appeared at the edges of the water and rapidly progressed to the middle. When the pool was as solid as an ice pond, Mr. Parker stepped onto it and faced her.
Jordan’s head swam. She clasped her knees to her chest and tucked her face between her legs. When she heard no sound, she looked up and found Mr. Parker sitting across from her, back against the wall of the dome so they faced each other.
“Your time’s up. I need answers,” he said.
Jordan tensed, waiting for him to pressure her. It was how William- she blocked that thought. Mr. Parker wasn’t William. He hadn’t hurt her… yet. She searched within herself for that place she would go to when reality was too much; when she needed calm she didn’t feel. She cloaked herself in ice and took a deep breath. She wished she had some pills to slow the frantic beat of her heart.
“What do you want to know?” she asked.
“Who introduced you to William?”
Jordan’s face tightened. “Catherine.”
“How does she come into this?”
“She took me from the asylum. She collects the kids and brings them to Haven. She’s the right hand man for the Master of Haven.”
“Have you ever met the Master?”
Jordan couldn’t hide her fear. “Yes.”
“Are there a lot of kids in Haven?”
“I would say at least fifty but they keep us locked up so it’s hard to tell. I was doped up most of the time. They keep us on a pill that makes you forget everything.”
Mr. Parker’s eyes narrowed. “They gave you pills?”
Jordan held up her thumb and pointer finger to demonstrate how tiny the pill was. “It was blue. One every morning.”
He stared at her for a long moment before he stood. He reached into the pocket of his sweats and opened his palm. On his hand, smaller than a dime, was the blue pill Jordan knew so well. Without thought, she reached out to take the pill from him. Mr. Parker pocketed it, clearly troubled.
“Why do you have it?” Jordan asked. “You could have given it to me last night! That pill is the only thing that makes the pain go away.”
Mr. Parker stared at her until she fell silent. For some reason, shame bloomed within her. Just seeing the pill made her body itch as if she had a rash. She tried not to stare at his pocket.
“Were you taking drugs before Haven?” Mr. Parker asked.
“No.”
“Then why did you start?”
Jordan shrugged. “I didn’t care either way.”
Mr. Parker ran his hands through his hair. “That pill suppresses power.”
“Power?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
Jordan opened her mouth and then closed it. The time for denial was long gone. “That’s what you call what we can do?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Power, magic, gifts, intuition, luck, energy, insight… It’s all the same.”
“Does everyone have it?” she asked, looking away from his dissecting gaze.
“No. People that possess magic inherit it during puberty. But there are some with power that can go their whole lives never using it, never knowing it’s there. But those like you, like me, who have more than the average person... Our power won’t let us deny it.”
“You make it sound like,” Jordan waved her hands, “like a person or something.”
“Our power has a mind of its own. You know that already,” he raised his brows. “Did you mean to blast the back doors to splinters? You melted most of my chandelier. Did you or did your power do that?”
Jordan paled. “I didn’t mean to. When the pain-”
He waved off her apology. “I’m just pointing out that you don’t control your power. Untrained and uneducated, your power controls you.”
“The pain I feel,” she began and paused. “My power, why does it hurt? The only way to make the pain go away is to take pills- lots of them. Is there another way?”
“You need to use your power. That’s the only way the pain will stop.”
She looked stricken.
“Your power will regenerate throughout the day. You need to use it because your body can’t contain it. Letting it build up causes pain.”
Jordan pressed a hand to her buzzing temples and rubbed slowly. Use her power when all she’d ever done with it was destroy?
“I need to know about William,” Mr. Parker said.
Jordan’s shoulders hunched defensively before she could stop herself. She straightened and met his gaze.
“What do you want to know?”
“How long have you known William?”
“A month.”
“What did he tell you?”
Jordan swallowed and tried to push away the memories that wanted to choke her. “William said I was special. He said if I obeyed, he would give me what I wanted.”
“And what is that?” Mr. Parker said quietly.
“Freedom.”
“What did he tell you to do?”
“Relax,” Jordan said.
“Relax, honey, this won’t hurt,” William crooned.
“But what am I supposed to do?” Jordan asked.
“Think happy thoughts.”
Jordan shot him a scornful glance. “Happy thoughts?”
“You’re lying in a hammock on a beach. There’s a cool breeze coming in from the ocean. You’re watching the sun set. The sky is pink and yellow and you’re on the verge of sleep…”
“Jordan?” Mr. Parker said.
She stared at him blankly for a moment. She could hear William’s voice as clear as if he sat beside her. She shook her head to banish the memories of how he manipulated her.
>
“Are you okay?” he asked. “What did he do to you?”
“He would paint these pictures in my mind to put me into a trance.” Jordan shivered, running her hands feverishly up and down her arms. “When I was relaxed, I could feel his power moving in me, rifling through me-” she stopped and shook her head. “I know that sounds stupid but-”
“It doesn’t. He linked your minds together so you could Ground him. Men like William have so much power that it takes a toll on their sanity. The only way to save themselves is to find a woman that can handle their power and ground him.”
Jordan blinked. “Why’d he pick me?”
Mr. Parker’s jaw clenched. “Either he sensed how powerful you are or he knew you were mine.”
“What does that have to do with- Oh,” her eyes widened.
He rose and paced. “Catherine took you out of the psych hospital and faked your death so they could take you to Haven. They put you on the pill to tamp down your power until they could use you.”
“Why would William think I could handle his power?” Jordan asked slowly.
His jaw flexed. “Sorcerers have an instinct where powerful women are concerned. Being my daughter makes you a good candidate to handle his power.”
Jordan opened her mouth to ask who knew that she was his daughter but decided not to when she saw his face.
“Are there many men like William? Men with too much power?” Just the thought of more men like him made her skin creep.
Mr. Parker’s jaw clenched. “No. There’s less than twenty on the whole planet.”
“That’s comforting,” Jordan muttered and then asked, “Even if he knew I was your daughter- so what? There must be someone other than me.”
“Women that can handle that much power are called Grounders. They’re… guarded in my world. Rare.”
Jordan absorbed this slowly. “But I didn’t save him.”
“What?”
“Once I realized what he was doing- pushing his power into me, I fought back…” Jordan’s voice faded.
He sat up straighter. “Tell me.”
There was no sympathy in his gaze and somehow, that allowed her to explain. “He punished me for fighting him. Pain brought my guards down. I didn’t know- didn’t believe I could-” she shook her head. “I could feel the essence of him in me. His energy is warped, like sandpaper against my heart. It felt as if he was trying to take me over. It- I can’t do it again.” Her back ached because she sat so stiff.
“How did you end up in Wal-Mart that day?” Mr. Parker asked.
Her hands fidgeted in her lap. “I ran away from Haven. I couldn’t drive anymore because of the pain. I ran into Wal-Mart to get some pills and he found me.”
“And that’s when he tied your souls together with power,” Mr. Parker said thoughtfully. “You didn’t save his sanity but you did handle his power. Not many women could.”
Something in his voice made her ask, “Did you know him?”
Mr. Parker didn’t answer for several seconds. “Yes. He is- was a very important man.”
Her mouth went dry. “Important?”
“He was what you would call a President. His death and the circumstances surrounding it have thrown our government into chaos. He was well liked by everyone. People want an answer which means they want you. Penn managed to keep your name a secret but the footage from the cameras in the store was released to the media today. Penn is doing all he can to make sure no one knows your identity.”
Fear flooded through her. “If they do find out who I am will they take me-”
“No.”
“But-”
“No one can touch you. The fact that you’re dead helps.”
“But what if-”
“You’re safe here. Right now we concentrate on teaching you how to control your power, how to harness it. ”
“We? A-all of you are-”
For the first time, a smile drifted across his lips. “You have no idea.”
“Why is Mr. Penn helping?” Jordan asked, rubbing her aching chest.
“It’s his job and he’s an old friend of the family.”
Jordan hesitated. “The soul tie… he kept it on me even in death?”
He gave a curt nod. “I severed the physical bonds he had on you. When the soul tie is new, it keeps other males with power from making physical contact with you.”
“That’s why you all had to wear gloves,” Jordan said slowly and glanced down at his bare hands.
“Breaking your tie depleted me. I do wear gloves a lot though so there are no accidents.” He noted her labored breathing. “It’ll take time for you to recover.”
Jordan pressed a hand to her chest where her heart beat sluggishly. Mr. Parker watched her with fathomless black eyes.
“Once you break a soul tie with someone your soul is never complete again.”
When she said nothing else Mr. Parker rose and started towards the tunnel that led back to the house. She tried to turn her body and groaned at the pain that action caused.
“Where are you going?” she called out, voice echoing in the dome.
He paused and looked back. “Nevada.”
She didn’t ask why. “Take me with you.”
“It’s not safe.”
Jordan didn’t want to see Haven ever again but the thought of Mr. Parker leaving made her feel strangely bereft. His undeniable confidence that he could keep her safe made her feel… shielded. After all she revealed, how could he just leave?
As if he could read her mind he said, “I’ll be back.”
“But how do you know where to find it? It’s in the middle of the desert!”
He cocked his head. “I have my ways of finding places, people too. They’ll take care of you while I’m gone.”
He disappeared down the tunnel leaving Jordan alone. So many emotions swirled through her. Panic was uppermost. On quivering arms, she tried to lever herself up but her body was so weak. She tried to call after Mr. Parker but her voice was choked with tears.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered.
She remembered her mother, Star, pushing her away, embarrassed by her daughter clinging to her leg. “She’ll grow out of it,” she’d said and turned on Jordan. “Don’t embarrass me!” Star turned back to her new boyfriend, trying to convince him that her three year old wouldn’t interfere in their relationship. Jordan shook her head, trying to forget how many had walked away from her, those she’d trusted and betrayed her. Her first impression of William, that he was the most dangerous man she’d ever met was accurate and yet he’d been so charming, so caring at first. She’d ignored her instincts and trusted him… until she awoke from trances feeling violated. Then she’d fought back and he’d shown his true colors.
Jordan leaned heavily against the bench. Her body was so exhausted that she slipped sideways to lie on the cool tile. Emotions too foreign to interpret swirled through her chest. She tensed. Emotions always roused the beast within her but for the first time since the Master had taken away the pills she felt… nothing. No pain, no fire eating up her insides. She was just so tired.
She looked out of the glass dome and the door to Mr. Parker’s office and beyond that, another bridge crossing the stream. How much land did he own? As far as the eye could see was rolling pastures and it was heaven to her. The grass and flowers bowed in a gentle breeze. Jordan closed her eyes and couldn’t stop the tear that spilled onto the tiles.
Chapter Seven
Kelly gave Jordan two hours before she entered the pool room. When Kelly saw Jordan lying on the tiles she flew to Jordan’s side, startling her awake.
“I shouldn’t have given you so much time! Are you hurt?” Kelly demanded, turning Jordan on her back.
Jordan blinked up at her. “I’m fine.”
Kelly’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie to me, Jordan. Donovan broke your soul tie with William. I know only one other person that’s survived that horror.”
Jordan didn’t know how to reply so sh
e didn’t say anything. Kelly muttered to herself as she propped Jordan up against the bench. Kelly’s eyes touched on the sweat pants stained with blood on the knee and the puncture would on her arm. She raised the pants leg and clucked her tongue. Jordan watched warily when Kelly took a deep breath and placed her hands around the seeping wound. Jordan tried to jerk away but Kelly held her firmly and between one breath and the next, the wound was gone. The pain in her knee vanished and Jordan blinked in surprise. Kelly crouched in front of Jordan and put her hands on the wound in her forearm. Like spreading aloe over sunburn, Kelly’s power healed what she could of the wounds Jordan carried like a soldier returning home from war.
Jordan sat motionless as Kelly took away aches she hadn’t even known she had. The tiniest cut, the smallest bruise, Kelly didn’t stop until there wasn’t one blemish left on Jordan’s body.
“What?” Kelly said almost defensively.
“You didn’t have to do that. I hardly noticed,” Jordan said quietly.
“You’re welcome,” Kelly said. “How do you feel now?”
Jordan paused to take inventory of her battered body. “Better. Still tired though.”
“That’s to be expected. Your body’s still in shock. Creating a soul tie can put a Grounder in the hospital for months. For Donovan to sever the soul tie within days of it being made…” Kelly ran a shaky hand over her face and gave Jordan a weak smile. “Let’s just say either Donovan is good or you’re just as powerful.”
“Is that what I am? A Grounder?” Jordan said tonelessly.
Kelly reached out to stroke Jordan’s hair from her forehead and chose not to comment when Jordan jerked away. “It’s too soon to tell.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
“You’re here because this is where you belong.”
“Everywhere I go, death follows me,” Jordan said.
“William killed those people, not you,” Kelly said firmly.
“I don’t know how to deal with my, uh, the-”
“Power?” Kelly supplied helpfully.
“Yeah.”