The Ashes of My Soul, page 29
“The other part of the good news is that he doesn’t believe she had anything to do with it. She and her team are off the hook.”
It was Jess’s turn to sigh and Andreas’s turn to look concerned. “Absurd. From everything you have said, Alistair Ripley is not a fool.”
“That’s the bad news. I’m pretty sure he knows I had something to do with it. There’s barely enough plausible deniability to cover my ass.”
“Plausible deniability cuts both ways,” he replied. “If he thinks you had something to do with it, he could act, as long as it does not trace directly back to him. Are we in danger now?”
Max and Jess were paying close attention again. I chose to change topics. “You said Drew and Kait went to the safehouse? They didn’t go straight there, did they?”
“No, they each went downtown with a psionic disruptor. Drew met with his Resistance contact and borrowed a car, picked Kaitlyn up, then went to the house.” Andreas didn’t seem too happy with the situation. “Is that the answer to my question?”
“I don’t want any of you heading to the safehouse anymore,” I said. “You’re in danger, yes. You’ve always been in danger. Whether you’re in more danger now, I’m not sure.”
“Are you sure?” Max asked. “I mean, we’re all in now. We were only in danger because we were associated with you before, but now we did something. I pepper sprayed a goddamn nurse. Granted, his eyes were glowing green and he seemed a little annoyed we showed up to ruin his routine, but that’s not the point. Even if they didn’t recognize us, if they did have reasonable suspicion, we’d be dead. So dead.”
“It was stupidly risky,” Jess said. “Fuck, Kev. There were way too many things that could have gone wrong.”
I turned to Andreas. “How many of those things do you have?”
He held up nine fingers. “Three of them are first generation, the rest are current. Acquiring the necessary components is difficult, and it takes me several days to test and tune them. I could steal some from the campus electronics labs, but I have no official reason to be there. Ordering them online in bulk could draw attention. I try not to visit stores in person too often for the same reason.”
“Can you give me a list of what you need?” I asked. “I’ll give it to the Resistance. Star and Grace can smuggle them up here when they visit, and I can bring things back from their place too.”
“I can do that.”
“For now, try not to draw attention. I’d like everyone to carry one of Andreas’s devices with them at all times, but don’t use it unless it’s a life or death situation. It’s already bad enough we keep this room cloaked so much.”
“Bet you anything they think we have Absynthe stashed here.” Max grinned. “How stupid would that be? It’s not Andreas is some sort of mad scientist with a lab capable of keeping her alive.”
My answering grin faded as soon as it arrived. While Absynthe did have an intact mind, her body was still unresponsive. She needed some level of medical care. While Drew could give her some of the basics, she needed an IV and monitoring at the very least. We’d already called for a Resistance medic, but they were still a day out. “All right. Let’s get out of here and pretend everything’s perfectly normal.”
Everything was perfectly normal for the rest of the day until my phone rang at one in the morning. I fumbled for it without opening my eyes. “This better be worth waking me up for.”
“Kevin?” My mom’s voice was as panicked as I’d ever heard it. My eyes snapped open. “It’s your father.”
“What? What happened to Dad?”
“He was attacked.”
“I’m on my way to your office.” I hung up without waiting for her to say anything more. I didn’t want to hear anything more. Instead, I tried to get dressed with one hand while calling Star with the other. As soon as she picked up, before she could say anything, I started to talk. “Can you come up here now? My mom’s office. Someone went after my dad.”
“Of course. What happened?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“See you there.” She hung up and I realized my voice was far too calm. I didn’t have any reason to panic yet, did I? Mom had said he was attacked. Not hurt. Not dead. That meant he was fine, right?
“Yeah,” a voice said from the bunk above me. I hadn’t realized I’d said anything out loud until Drew spoke. “Anything we can do?”
“No. Get back to sleep. I’ll let you know when I find something out.” I pulled on my sneakers and headed for the door without waiting for a response. I was halfway down the hill before I realized I could teleport right to her office. It was probably for the best I hadn’t. I didn’t trust my control right now.
Mom was sitting at her desk, on the phone as usual. Unlike her usual demeanor, her eyes were wet and her voice was tense. “One moment, doctor. My son just arrived.” She pressed a button on the phone and looked at me. It wasn’t a look I’d ever seen on her face before. “I’m sorry, Kevin. I don’t know what’s going on. I think he was attacked, but I’m not sure. He was in a car accident, very minor. No real physical injuries, but he’s unresponsive. He’s not waking up. They’re doing every scan they can. Nothing yet. I don’t know.”
“Calm down, Mom,” I said. “Take a breath and listen to the doctor. I called Star. She’s coming now.”
“Ok.” She took a deep breath before unmuting her phone and putting it on speaker. “Doctor? Sorry. My son’s here and I put you on speaker.”
“Not a problem, Mrs. Parker.” The doctor’s voice was calm, professional. “As I was saying, a CT scan didn’t show any signs of a stroke. I was concerned, based on his age, but there’s no signs of traumatic brain injury. There’s no signs of brain injury at all. We’ll do another scan in six hours to make sure there isn’t something we missed.”
“Another scan? That doesn’t seem like normal procedure.”
“It’s uncommon, but your husband’s status is unusual. So far, there’s no physiological reason for him to have fallen into a comatose state.” I heard voices in the background, suddenly becoming muffled. A moment later the doctor spoke again. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Parker, but I have another patient who needs attention. Right now, your husband’s stable. I’ll let you know immediately if his condition changes.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” she said. The line went dead and she made eye contact with me. “Kevin. Are you all right?”
I cleared a stack of folders off one of the chairs and sat down. “I’m ok so far. Honestly, hearing that was sort of a relief. As long as he’s not in any immediate danger, right?”
“Right.” Mom sat in her chair and placed her face in her hands. “Kevin, I think he was attacked.”
“Dropping into a coma for no reason?” Somehow, I chuckled. “Mindtwist, no question.”
“Why did someone go after him? He’s a civilian, he’s normal, his only crime is being married to someone in the Establishment!”
“Punitive measures,” I said. Her head snapped up and I tried to smile. It probably looked like a snarl. “His other crime is being my dad.”
“Are you implying what I think?”
I held a finger to my lips. “No,” I said. “I’m not implying anything. I think someone attacked him to get at me. Who does that? Shade.”
Something happened to my mom’s expression as I spoke. I’d seen her angry in the past, but never to this extent. Her hands dropped to the desk and she stared me in the eyes. “I’ll fucking kill him myself.”
“Whoa, Mom.” I held my hands up. “Don’t get too carried away. Besides, I have dibs, right?”
She almost smiled. It looked like a snarl. “Save me a piece, then.”
Star chose that moment to come flying in through the door. She was literally flying, or at least levitating herself, which explained her quick arrival. “Kevin!” I stood up and she skidded to a stop in my arms. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“Shade happened, I think, and no. Yes. Maybe?”
Her hug tightened. “He’s attacking more innocents? He needs an international kill order placed on him. We already have a kill on sight order, but everyone needs to. He’s a maniac.”
“We already tried,” my mom said. “You know we can’t justify it without proof.”
“We don’t need it,” Star said, emphasizing the first word.
I nodded against her shoulder. “I’ve got all the proof I need.”
My mom stood up and gestured at the door. “I assume you’re coming with me?”
“To see Dad? Of course.”
“I’m coming too.” Star let go of me and looked over at my mom. “Assuming that’s all right?”
Mom frowned at her. “Why wouldn’t it be? Come on.”
We filed out of the building and headed to the parking lot. My mom’s car was a no-nonsense brick of a vehicle, nothing like my car. I wondered for a moment where it had ended up. It wasn’t in the dorm parking lot. Star had driven it back by herself after I teleported home, so she’d probably parked it in her own parking garage.
The drive was quick. For a sturdy brick, the car could move when it wanted it. Both Mom and Star’s eyes were glowing the entire way, clearing the roads ahead of us and making sure no one tried to stop us. We didn’t even need to stop for gas. I needed to learn that trick. It was past four in the morning when we reached the hospital. Before we got out of the car, I put my hand on my mom’s shoulder. “Hold on a minute.”
“What’s wrong?”
I pulled a disruptor out of my pocket and flicked the tiny switch on. My mom winced as the power LED lit up. “Making sure no one’s able to listen in.”
Her eyes went wide for a moment, but then she nodded. “You were implying what I thought.”
“What would you say if I was?” I asked.
“It sounds like you’re accusing Alistair of attacking your father. That also implies you were involved in Absynthe’s disappearance, and the fact you disassociated yourself so much from it implies Alistair had something to do with it as well.” My mom ran through the logic. It sounded rehearsed, like she had already suspected it. “The final implication, being that we know Shade was involved with Absynthe’s attack, and perhaps with your father’s, is a connection between him and Alistair.”
I looked to the back seat where Star was sitting. “Yes,” she said.
She was right. I turned back to my mom. “It’s more than a connection,” I said. “Absynthe found something in the Establishment systems proving they were still in contact. Alistair’s giving him orders. That’s why she was attacked. She found out.”
My mom didn’t reply, so I pushed ahead. “Absynthe did communicate with me before she went down. Alistair’s been using Shade to keep me under control. Carrot and stick, a vicious, murderous stick. If they knew Absynthe told me, I’d be dead. If they knew she was conscious, I’d be dead.”
That was enough to stir my mom to life. “She’s alive? They said she wouldn’t make it through tonight.”
“She’s alive, but not conscious. Her mind’s intact under the damage they did to her. I don’t know whether she protected herself enough or if they wanted to make her death slow. But like I said, if they find out she’s conscious and able to communicate, they’ll kill me. They’ll probably kill everyone. No sense leaving anyone alive to look for revenge.”
Star spoke up from the back. “I called in a Resistance medic. He’ll be at the safehouse this afternoon to take care of her. Once her body’s taken care of, we’ll work on her mind.”
My mom leaned back into her seat. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave,” she murmured.
“So that’s the story so far,” I said. “Alistair and Shade are working together. They disagree on a few points, but Alistair’s still in charge. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before. It was too dangerous.”
“And you couldn’t be one hundred percent sure I wouldn’t tell him.”
I had to look away. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m hurt, but I understand.” She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Is there anything else I should know? Most importantly, is Todd on his way yet?”
“Yes.” I looked back at Star. She hadn’t mentioned that until now. “I didn’t want to say anything about it until we were clear. He has some business to wrap up in Australia, but then he’ll be on a plane back. It’ll be a couple of days. Once he’s there we can work on waking Absynthe up.”
“Is he going to be safe with Alistair on edge?”
Star shrugged. “He can take care of himself, can’t he?”
My mom finally opened her door. “Let’s go see your father.”
We followed her into the hospital. Star entwined her fingers with mine. Finding his room was easy. Seeing him in the hospital bed wasn’t. Mom had to step outside almost as soon as she walked in. I found myself crushing Star’s hand until she cleared her throat. Dad’s condition was eerily like Absynthe’s, but with more monitors. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing regularly. My gaze tracked to the heart monitor. They’d set Absynthe up to slowly degrade. Had they done the same to him?
“I’ll cover if you want to take a look,” Star whispered.
I nodded and called up my Sight. His mind was twisted and broken, as I had expected. The pattern was almost like Absynthe’s. I examined the twists and saw the nexus where I could push through into his mind, if only I had the presence of mind to charge the ring before leaving campus. I’d do it as soon as I could.
“Doctor,” Star murmured. We both cut our power as my mom followed a doctor into the room.
“Good morning,” he greeted us. The voice was the same as from the phone. “I’m afraid there hasn’t been any update to his condition. I’ve asked some of our residents to check our records for similar incidents, but nothing’s turned up so far. His EEG readings are slightly erratic. I’m still concerned he had a minor stroke, though it could also be an undiscovered tumor. Either way, it points to a brain injury keeping him in this vegetative state.”
“Vegetative state,” I said. “He’s not a vegetable. He’s my father.”
Star clamped her free hand on my arm, digging her nails into my arm. “Easy. It’s a medical term.”
The doctor had stepped away from me. Something in my tone had alarmed both of them. I hadn’t meant to. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to get so upset.”
“I understand.” The doctor turned to leave. “I have to continue my rounds, then I’ll be off shift soon. I’ll have my replacement come by to introduce herself as soon as she can.”
“Actually, we’ll be leaving for now,” my mom said. We all looked at her, even the doctor pausing in the doorway. “I’m exhausted and if there’s no reason to believe he’ll suddenly wake up, I don’t want to sleep here. I’d only be in the way. We’ll be within ten minutes if something happens.”
“I understand,” the doctor said. His tone didn’t quite agree. My mom was a practical woman. If she thought it’d be best to stay at the house, that’d be what she did.
The whole visit to the hospital had been less than fifteen minutes. When we got to the house, she unlocked the door, stepped in, then paused in the entryway to lean against the wall. “I’ll be fine,” she said before I could say anything. “Let me get some rest and gather my thoughts.”
“It was the same people who attacked Absynthe,” I said.
She seemed to slump further into the wall. “I was hoping that wasn’t the case. All right. We’ll head back to the hospital around nine. That’ll give us about four hours of sleep.” She walked toward my dad’s room. The click of his door latch was familiar and alien at the same time.
I led Star to my old bedroom. Everything was still the way I’d left it last time, when I’d been here for a miserable Christmas vacation before heading to see her. Another layer of dust rested on the desk and the lonely computer in the corner, but my sheets looked like they’d been changed since then. I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. “Sorry if the bed’s a little small,” I said.
“We’ve slept in a twin size before,” she said. “Are you all right?”
“I’m all right.” We both sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m not completely fine, but I’m all right for now.”
“Your mom’s taking it hard.”
I hadn’t noticed anything aside from a few moments ago. “I’m sort of surprised.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t see her for years at a time when I was a kid, remember?” She nodded. “It’s always been hard for me to realize she cares about my dad. They were sort of forced together in the first place to have me. It’s hard enough to realize she loves me, let alone him.”
“How old is she?”
I opened my mouth, then shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know her birthday.”
“She’s known your father longer than you have.” Star pointed out the obvious. “I don’t know how old she is either, but she looks twice as old as the last time I saw her. If she didn’t love and care for your father, she wouldn’t look that way.”
“I know. You’re right, but it’s hard to accept.”
She flopped back on the bed. “I get that.”
“I want to bring him out of the coma. I know I can, especially if you help.”
“I won’t.” I looked down at her. She stared back at me. “That’s not your choice to make.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s your mom’s choice.”
“He’s my father!”
“And she’s his wife.” She paused to let that sink in. “Think of it this way. If you were in a coma, would you want me to make decisions for you, or our child?”
My heart skipped a beat at the last couple of words. “Our child?”
She smacked my leg. “Hypothetical, dumbass.”
“I know. I’d want you to make decisions, but it’s not the same. She was never around. I probably know him better than she does.”
Star snorted. “Not likely. Parents and children have a different relationship than husband and wife, and you know it.”
