Impossible Things (Subparheroes), page 16
I still wasn’t sure what to do, but I tried a couple of the relaxation techniques I’d learned doing yoga. When I felt calmer, I stood up and muttered, “Here goes nothing. You should probably stand up too, and get ready to run.”
Arden leaned back, propping himself up with his elbows. “I’ll be fine. Focus on those four deer. Visualize what you want to happen, and then call them over.”
I did what he suggested. I pictured them slowly walking over and stopping before they got too close. Then I concentrated and tried to call them. The four deer perked up and looked at me, their huge ears pricked as if they were listening to something.
I blurted, “Nope,” as I grabbed Arden’s arm and dragged him to his feet. A low sound started to rumble in the forest. In the next instant, the four deer started running toward us—and their friends were right behind them.
Arden grabbed the bag and dumped out a bunch of apples, and we both sprinted for the house. Sam was already on his feet and holding the back door open. We made it inside and slammed the door behind us, and then we went over to the windows and watched as deer began flooding onto the lawn. The apples distracted the first few, but the rest came right up to the house and peered at us through the glass.
As we watched a large buck climb onto one of the lounge chairs, like he was the king of the hill, Arden whispered, “Wow.”
Sam turned to me and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m better than okay,” I said with a smile. “I almost had it that time.”
CHAPTER 18
SAM
Pine Grove Manor might have been odd and eerie, but Arden went out of his way to make us feel welcome. He quickly became a good friend, in addition to being a gracious host. It was obvious he enjoyed having company, and I could see why. When I’d felt lonely in San Francisco, all I had to do was leave my empty house and go to a club, where I was surrounded by people. But this place never let you forget how isolated you were.
We couldn’t help but feel a bit trapped, too, especially with something in the woods that might rip us to shreds if we ventured past the edge of the lawn. Not that we wanted to take up hiking or anything, but being hemmed in like that made the cabin fever start to build.
Our solution was to keep ourselves occupied, the same way we had at Reg’s cabin. Since Andy couldn’t go for runs and I didn’t have access to a gym, we spent a lot of time on yoga, exercising, and self-defense training. Andy also devoured the books we’d bought at the library, passing them on to Arden as he finished them.
Meanwhile, Arden filled his days by finding projects around the house and attempting to make progress on a novel he’d been writing for three years. We came together for meals, and in the evenings the three of us watched movies or played cards in the game room.
We always said good night around midnight, and then Andy and I would get cozy in our room. Arden had a raging case of insomnia, though. Every night, he went to the far side of the house so he wouldn’t disturb us, and he played the violin for hours.
The sound carried throughout the house, and whenever we heard that gorgeous, mournful music, it left us with a tinge of heartache. That made it seem like an appropriate soundtrack for this place.
On our fourth night at Pine Grove, as we held each other in the darkness and listened to a haunting melody drifting to us from the other end of the house, Andy whispered, “When do you think we’ll get to go home again?”
“I wish I knew.”
He tucked his head under my chin, and I pulled the blanket up to cover his shoulders. This was so much harder for him than it was for me. All I had back in San Francisco was an empty house. But he had his whole family, his Mom and Julie and Moira, and I knew he missed them.
I wanted to fix this for him and make it so he could go home again, but there was nothing I could do. That feeling of helplessness was truly awful.
The next afternoon, Arden and Andy were hard at work. They both seemed determined to get a handle on Andy’s powers, and they were making progress.
After the deer incident, they’d decided to practice indoors, where the only thing to call was the Abyss—Arden’s black cat, who was clearly getting sick of their shenanigans. When Andy called her for the fourth time in an hour, the cat darted into the kitchen with a hiss and tried to bite him. He scrambled onto the table to dodge the fangs and said, “Maybe we should switch gears.”
I accompanied them outside, and we spread out beach towels on the grass. Then the three of us tried to meditate and center ourselves. That was the idea, anyway. I had very little chill, so I kept raising a lid and sneaking peeks at Andy.
He was overdue for a haircut, so he was using a bandana like a headband to keep his hair out of his eyes. He’d cut off the collar and slightly cropped one of the touristy T-shirts I’d gotten him, and he’d paired it with the lavender sweatpants that had once belonged to my ex’s sister. He was messy and mismatched, and I thought he looked absolutely adorable.
What a huge difference from the buttoned-up guy I’d met at work, the one with a bowtie and sweater vest for every occasion. Not that he hadn’t been cute then, too. He was, for sure. But he was different now. It seemed like he’d stopped caring what people thought about him, and a lot of freedom had come with that.
He snuck a peek at me, and when he caught me looking at him, his face lit up in a gorgeous smile. It made me feel warm and happy, and it made my stomach do funny things.
“I can feel you two goofing off.” Arden said that without opening his eyes.
Andy and I chuckled, and I whispered, “Busted.”
Our friend blinked and stretched his arms over his head. “It’s fine. That was a lot for today. Let’s go inside and get something to drink.”
We got up and grabbed our towels. I draped my arm around Andy’s shoulders and kissed the side of his head as we started to head for the kitchen door. But after a moment, we realized Arden wasn’t with us, so we turned back to see what was keeping him.
He stood perfectly still, with a frown line etched between his brows. When I asked him what was wrong, he muttered, “I… I feel like we’re in danger.” Andy and I immediately turned toward the woods, but I didn’t see anything. “It’s not that.” Arden pivoted, then did it again before announcing, “Something’s coming.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know yet. It’s still a ways off. We shouldn’t be out here.”
We ran inside, and Arden locked the kitchen door behind us. Then he began pacing, while Andy and I exchanged worried looks.
After a minute, he turned to us with fear in his big, brown eyes and said one word, which sent chills down my spine. “Rosselin.”
“He’s on his way here?”
Arden nodded. “He’s close, and he’s not alone.”
Andy was the first to react. He ran to the open windows and started closing them as he said, “Sam, call April. Tell her we need help. I’ll make sure all the doors and windows are locked. Not that it’ll keep him out, but it’s all I can do.”
I asked, “What about the wards? Won’t they hold him back?”
“I doubt I’d have this sense of dread if they were going to hold,” Arden said. “I don’t know who he’s bringing with him or what kind of powers they have, but it feels like something really bad is about to happen.”
The three of us ran off in different directions. I climbed the stairs two at a time, grabbed the phone off the nightstand, and placed a frantic call to April. When I reached her voice mail, I growled in frustration and shouted, “This is Sam Miller. Andy and I are in danger. Edward Rosselin found us, and he’s not alone.” I recited the address before yelling, “Send help! Send the fucking National Guard! Please, April. We can’t let him hurt Andy.”
My heart was pounding in my ears as I ran back downstairs. Andy and I reached the foyer at the same time, and he asked, “What did April say?”
“I got her voice mail and told her to send help.”
A moment later, Arden raced into the foyer with an armload of hunting rifles. He piled them on the table in the center of the room and fumbled with a box of ammunition as he asked, “Have either of you ever fired a weapon?”
We both said no, and Andy added, “It’s probably not a great idea to start now.”
“It’s your call.” Arden quickly and expertly loaded two shells into the first gun, then reached for another. When he saw our looks of surprise, he explained, “I’ve been skeet and target shooting since I was a kid. My grandfather thought marksmanship was an essential skill for a young man.”
All of a sudden, he straightened up and went perfectly still. It reminded me of the way the deer on the lawn had reacted when they thought they heard something. Then he said, “They’re here.”
We hurried to the window beside the front door, which gave us a clear line of sight to the gate. A big, black SUV pulled up, and three men climbed out. They weren’t the same people who’d tried to abduct us in San Francisco. I was pretty sure those thugs had been regular humans—unlike this trio. We quickly learned these men had powers when one of them flung his hand to the side, ripping the metal gate off its hinges and sending it tumbling. Then the other two held their hands up and slid them around, as if they were assessing the invisible barrier.
When a slightly manic laugh slipped out, Andy turned to me, and I explained, “They look like they’re doing that trapped in a box thing, like a mime.”
Andy took my hand and turned back to the window. “I don’t see Rosselin.”
“He hasn’t bothered getting out of the car,” Arden muttered. “He’s actually a little bored, the fucker.”
I asked, “Is there a panic room in this house?”
Arden shook his head and held up a rifle. “My ancestors believed in fighting, not hiding. I, on the other hand, think you two should run out the back door and hide in the woods. I’m the one the monster wants, so he might leave you alone. Maybe. I’m not sure about that, but it still might be better than waiting here for Rosselin to bust in and capture you.”
“But you can’t go into the woods with us,” I reminded him, “and we’re not going to leave you here to face Rosselin and his people on your own.”
He turned to me with confusion in his eyes. “Why not?”
“Because you’re our friend, and we’re staying by your side. Isn’t that right, Andy?”
“Absolutely.” Andy glanced at me and added, “Besides, I like our odds better inside this house, rather than running into the woods. Getting eviscerated by a monster isn’t high on my to-do list, and maybe Arden’s wrong and the wards will hold.”
Our friend shook his head. “They won’t. It looks like Rosselin went out and hired himself the most powerful henchmen that money can buy. The energy radiating from them is off the charts.”
To prove his point, the hired guns conferred for a few moments, and then they lined up and pushed their hands forward in unison. The wards lit up for a second. In the next instant, we felt a wave of energy rolling past us. It reminded me of an earthquake.
“I’m so sorry for putting you in harm’s way, Arden,” I said. “I should have known Rosselin would find us here.”
“Don’t feel bad,” he said. “I’m the one who told you to stay, remember? You’d planned to get right back on the road the day you came here, but I really believed my cousin and his coven would be strong enough to keep you safe. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me.”
In the next instant, another wave of energy rolled past us. It was twice as strong as the first, and we had to brace ourselves to stay upright. Andy asked, “Is there anyone we can call for help besides SPAM? The police? The army? Anybody?”
Arden shook his head. “None of them would arrive in the next two minutes. That’s about all the time we have left.”
Sure enough, after three more attempts, bolts of electricity flew upward from the spot the men had been working on, like reverse lightning. The entire perimeter lit up bright white, and then it disappeared. Arden whispered, “They’re through.”
As the men climbed back into the SUV and drove up the long driveway, we stepped back from the window. Arden shifted the rifle’s barrel off his shoulder and aimed it at the front door.
At the same time, Andy and I turned to each other, and I took his face between my hands. “Go upstairs and hide,” I told him. “They don’t need both of us. I’ll go with them, and then you’ll be safe.”
“No! There’s absolutely no way I’m letting you face them alone.” He pulled me to him and kissed me with raw passion. Then he took my hand and told our friend, “Arden, go hide. Hurry!”
Arden shook his head. “This is my home, and I have to defend it. I have to defend you, too. You’re my friends.”
A voice outside taunted, “Come out, come out wherever you are.” We all flinched as the solid wood door was ripped off its hinges. It landed somewhere outside with a loud thud.
The three of us backed up as Rosselin and his henchmen climbed the stairs and crossed the porch. He looked cool and composed in his expensive suit, while the men flanking him looked feral. “What a bother you two have been,” Rosselin complained. “Making me chase you for days, as if I have time for such nonsense.”
They crossed the threshold, and we took another step back. I tried to keep my voice steady as I asked, “How did you find us?”
“Well, it was no thanks to the seven trackers on my payroll! They only got as far as that motel off the interstate, and then they totally lost you. So annoying. I finally asked myself where you would go if you wanted to use the formula for yourselves. There was only one person I could think of that would be able to help you—the little shit who thought he was too good to work for me.” He flashed our friend an ice-cold smile. “Hello, Arden.”
Our friend was visibly trembling as he raised the shotgun and growled, “Get out of my house.”
Rosselin rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. As if you could stop me.”
One of his men flicked his wrist and sent Arden flying across the room. Andy and I both cried out when our friend smashed into the wall and fell to the floor. He wasn’t moving.
I tried to push Andy behind me so I could protect him, but the henchman brought his hands together and pulled them apart, and the two of us slid in opposite directions. It felt like I was being held in a giant, invisible fist.
Rosselin frowned. “Let’s not waste any more of my time, boys. You know why I’m here. Which of you is going to tell me what I want to know?”
We both glared at him, and I yelled, “You can go to hell!”
He pulled a handgun from inside his suit jacket and pointed it at me. “You first. But before that, I’m going to need you to write down the formula for me.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
He extended his arm and pointed the gun directly at my forehead. Then he swung it to the right, so it was pointed at Andy. “How about now?”
Fear ran down my spine and made my skin prickle. I fought wildly against the invisible bonds that were holding me as I yelled, “Leave him alone!”
Rosselin’s grin was pure evil. “Looks like I’ve found your weak spot.”
“Take me with you, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” I lied. “Just don’t hurt him!”
A man with a thick beard and cold eyes came over to me and pressed his clammy hand to my forehead. After a moment, he turned to Rosselin and said, “He knows the formula.”
“Can you see it clearly?”
The man shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. I can only sense that he knows it.”
That annoyed Rosselin. “Let’s take him and go. I can extract the information back at my lab.”
One of his men asked, “What about the other two?”
“We don’t need them.” Rosselin met my gaze and smiled. There was no humanity whatsoever in his eyes. “There’s just one thing, though. I never leave witnesses.” I heard Andy’s breath catch when Rosselin pointed the gun at him again.
A yell of absolute terror tore from me as he pulled the trigger.
In the next instant, a huge flash of pure white light blinded me.
I blinked a few times and tried to make sense of what was happening as my vision returned. Then I realized the gun had gone off, and the bullet was hanging in mid-air. Everything was silent. Frozen. Rosselin and his henchmen held rigid poses, not unlike the taxidermied animals around us.
Energy surged through me. Some sort of instinct took over, and I threw my arms out to the sides, shattering the invisible bond that was holding me. Then I lunged at Andy and snatched him out of harm’s way.
A moment later, time started moving again. Andy was safe and secure in my arms, and somehow, we were hovering near the two-story ceiling. I couldn’t figure out why he was all lit up, but then I realized the light was actually radiating from me. He looked awestruck as he touched my cheek and whispered, “You’re so beautiful, Sam.”
It finally dawned on me—the moment I’d waited for my entire life had actually happened. My powers had emerged, but this wasn’t the time to try to make sense of it. We were still in danger.
Beneath us, Rosselin looked around in confusion. Then he looked up, and when he spotted us, he raised the gun. Without thinking about it, I pantomimed a pushing motion, which sent Rosselin and his men flying out the door and tumbling down the stairs.
Andy looked stunned. “How are you doing this?”
“I’m not really sure. All I know is, something happened when I thought Rosselin was going to kill you. It’s almost like… like something inside me cracked open. Now there’s all this energy flowing through and around me. I just instinctively started using it, which feels as natural as breathing.”
Even so, our landing was a little rough. It was easy to throw energy around, and apparently, to use it when I wasn’t giving it a lot of thought. Trying to do something precise and intentional was going to need some work.
After we touched down, we hurried over to Arden. He’d regained consciousness and was leaning against the wall. I asked him if he was okay, and he nodded and gingerly touched a spot on his temple, which was starting to bruise. “Take care of him, Andy,” I said. “I need to finish this.”
