The Power: Building the Circle - Book 2 Read online

  He loved Lucy too much to risk this. It was time for things to change. He'd been selfish. She'd be the one to pay the price for it. He couldn't allow that. He was meant to be alone; he would be alone. The house would be ready soon. He'd make himself scarce until then and end things.

  The thought made him physically ill. He barely made it to the bathroom before puking. After brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower, he climbed back in bed with Lucy. He intended to lie awake for the night, soaking up the feel of her next to him, knowing he wouldn't have this again.

  But, Adrian was asleep before his head hit the pillow. He was out before realizing it.

  The dream started with Lucy. The look on her face when she slapped his hand that first day. The panic attack at finding him in her apartment. The look of hopelessness in Dr. Garaff's office. The laughter that came with teaching Ree the rules of smart men everywhere. Sitting in the sun, watching Ree dribble the ball-

  And then he was walking through a dense forest. Not really an outdoorsy kind of guy, Adrian was startled by the new surroundings. He walked on, trying to figure out where he was. About fifty yards in, he reached a clearing.

  Sam sat in the clearing, back to Adrian, holding a girl with blue-black hair in his lap. The girl started when Adrian walked into the clearing, jumping away from Sam and climbing to her feet.

  "What?" Sam asked her.

  She looked at Sam and then met Adrian's eyes. After a minute, she nodded toward Adrian.

  Sam turned around.

  "Adrian?" Sam asked. "What the fuck?"

  "How am I here?" Adrian asked.

  "I don't know. I thought about you. She's hurt. Maybe I said it out loud. I don't know. But you're here! How did you get here? How did you get through the ward? Can you talk to her?"

  "Can you hear me?" Adrian asked the girl.

  She nodded.

  "Where are you? How does he find you?" Adrian asked. "He's been looking for you all his life."

  Her eyes welled with tears. She nodded again.

  "Can you write it down? Where you are? Even a just a state," Adrian suggested.

  She shook her head and reached for Adrian's hand.

  At her touch, he could hear her, even though her lips weren't moving.

  "Brothers?" She asked. "You love him? Would not harm him? Would not harm me?"

  "Yes. Yes, he's my little brother. I'd never harm him. Or you," Adrian said, trying to understand what was happening.

  "You need the Wind, why do you fight it?" She asked.

  Adrian shook his head. "I don't understand."

  "Will you bring me Wind?"

  He shook his head again. "What is the wind?" Somehow, he knew they weren't talking about air. This was very much like a classic Sam conversation.

  She shook her head, sighing in frustration that Adrian could feel.

  "What is your name?" Adrian asked.

  Her lips tilted up. Not quite a smile, just like Sam. "Adaline."

  ✽✽✽

  Adrian started awake in bed. He could hear his phone ringing in the kitchen.

  "SAM?"

  "Adrian. Adrian, what did she say? You believe me now, right? Adrian, you were there!" Sam panted, trying to catch his breath.

  "I saw her, Sam. I saw. I've always believed you," Adrian said, feeling like he was being electrocuted by the raw energy running through him.

  "What? What did she say? Did she talk to you when she touched you?" Sam asked, still panting.

  "She asked me to bring her the Wind. Do you know what that is?"

  There was a pause. "No, not yet. I don't see it yet. What else"

  "She couldn't tell me where she was. But her name is Adaline."

  Sam gasped. "She could tell you her name? She's never been able to tell me before. I don't remember when I last asked. I wonder what changed."

  "That's it, Sam. She didn't say anything else," Adrian said, vibrating with energy. "Too much energy, Sam. Too much. My brain is short-circuiting."

  "Adrian! No. Don't hang up! Adrian!" Sam was screaming as Adrian hung up.

  Adrian walked toward the stairs, intending to climb back into bed and wake Lucy up. The energy - the rage and the happy energy - were screaming for her.

  Instead, he turned the corner and walked into the back yard. He wanted the breeze in his face.

  He woke up lying in the grass a few hours later, covered in morning dew, in nothing but his boxer briefs.

  When he got back to the house, he had sixteen missed calls and thirty-seven text messages from Sam.

  The phone rang again as Adrian looked at it.

  "Sam-" Adrian started.

  "I'm out front. Open the door," Sam cut him off.

  ✽✽✽

  "Can you push it out?" Sam asked as Adrian opened the door.

  "Push what out?" Adrian asked.

  "The emotion. Whatever emotion you have. I know there is one, but I don't know which. Sometimes your food tastes angry, sometimes just red," Sam admitted. "Lucas can give peace. Maybe I'm not supposed to share that. I'm not sure. He told me not to talk about mine. That doesn't mean I can't talk about his."

  "Peace?" Adrian was startled. "That would be… amazing."

  "Yours is not peace?" Sam asked.

  "No." Adrian tasted envy and rage, spitting out the word. How fucking wonderful would it be to hand out peace rather than wrestle with fucking rage?

  "I hate Luke a little bit right now," Adrian admitted.

  Sam smiled a real smile. "I had a hard time with it, too. I spend three-quarters of my life not knowing what the fuck is happening and the other quarter knowing things that scare the shit out of people. Giving peace sounds so much better."

  "Right there with you, Sam."

  "Can I come in?" Sam asked.

  "Yeah, I'm sorry. What time is it?" Adrian asked, stepping out of the doorway.

  "A little after five, I think," Sam said.

  Lucy was walking into the kitchen from the other doorway when Sam and Adrian entered the kitchen from the front hallway. "Hi. Hi, sorry. I thought I heard people talking. Is everything OK?"

  Sam's eyes closed as his head tilted to the side. "Lucy, what is your name?" The words were heavy, and they echoed in the room.

  "Huh?" Lucy blinked hard, trying to clear a wave of vertigo.

  Samuel straightened his head and looked at her. "What is your name?" Samuel asked, quiet voice booming with power.

  "Uh. Lucinda Lee Wallace," she said, confused and nauseous.

  "No, Lucinda, what is your Name?" Samuel asked.

  "I don't know what you mean," she said, as fear began to rise in her.

  "Not yet, then. Not yet. OK," Sam was Sam again.

  "What did you just do?" Adrian asked.

  "I have no idea," Sam said. "Other-Sam was driving. Do you have an Other-Adrian?"

  "No, man. I don't think so. Not like that. It felt like the house was vibrating, like at dinner tonight," Adrian said.

  Sam shrugged. "Oops. It's fine, though. Tell me again. Tell me what she said. Do you remember the exact words?"

  "What's going on?" Lucy asked.

  Sam looked at her. "I have dreams of a girl. Adrian was in the dream tonight. He talked to her."

  "Wow, that was some epic shorthand, Sam," Adrian said, trying not to laugh. "So much for this being like a major family secret, huh? You told Matty."

  "Matty can call me. I had to tell her. Lucy is highly skeptical. Of everything. Including me. And you. But it's fine. She won't tell. She won't tell because I wouldn't let them take Ree last week. When she was moving. She'll remember that." Sam was staring in her eyes.

  Lucy nodded. "I won't say anything to anyone."

  "So, tell me again. What did you ask her? What did she say?"

  Adrian rubbed his face. "She said I need the wind. I don't know what that means, but I don't think she was talking about gusty air."

  Sam was quiet for a few heartbeats. "What else?"

  "She told me her name. That's it," Adrian
said.

  "No, it's not. Tell me again."

  "Sam, that's all she said-"

  "No, it's not. Start at the beginning again. She walked over and touched you. What was the first thing she said when you realized you could hear her?"

  Adrian tried to focus. He shook his head, wondering if he was going to be sick again. "She asked if we were brothers. If I would hurt you. If I would hurt her."

  They sat down at the kitchen table as Lucy started making coffee.

  "What did you say?" Sam asked.

  "I said that you were my little brother and I wouldn't hurt either of you. I think she nodded. She said I need the wind, asked why I fight it. I asked where she was, told her you'd been looking for her all your life. She nodded, looked like she was going to cry. I asked if she could tell me the state she was in, even. She didn't say anything. I asked her name. She told me, and then I woke up."

  "How many Adaline's could there be in their early twenties on the planet?" Sam wondered.

  "I suspect we're going to find out. I suspect there are fewer Adaline's then there are bars in the US. So, hey, that helps," Adrian said.

  Sam shook his head and looked at Lucy as she put the coffee down in front of them. "Lucinda. Lu-cin-da. That's why Will calls you Lou. Lucinda.

  "How did Ree come to be with you? He is not of your blood. Will you tell me? Hennessy won't. I've asked. Repeatedly. He will not tell me how Ree came to you, and he will not tell me what William loves, but he knows both."

  Adrian snorted. "Hennessy is refusing to tell you things? You're losing your touch. He used to be fucking terrified of you."

  "He still is. He won't tell me though," Sam said, still watching Lucy.

  Lucy's eyes flicked to Adrian.

  "No, Lucy," Sam said. "No. I don't think there's anything you can say at this point that would make him stop caring. We're not built like that."

  Lucy's cheeks flushed red.

  Adrian's stomach dropped, knowing what was coming. Then he acknowledged the truth of that statement to himself. He'd love her until the day he died.

  Face scrunched up, Adrian said, "It's true. You had me at the hand slap. BFF's."

  Lucy burst out laughing, relieving some of the tension that Sam introduced.

  "You're much better at this than Jake. It'd take him a year to admit that," Sam said.

  "Jake's an idiot."

  Sam nodded. "Jake is an idiot."

  "Will you tell me? How Ree came to be with you?" Sam asked. "It's important, but I don't know why."

  "I was in foster care," Lucy said. She paused to take a deep breath as both men watched her. "Linda was also in the system. We were placed in the same home. We were foster sisters."

  "Oh. Linda? Henry's mom is Linda?" Sam asked.

  "Linda Jane Wright," Lucy said.

  "Hmm." Sam tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "How old were you? When you knew Linda? How old?"

  "Fifteen. I was fifteen when we were placed together. Sixteen when we ran away," Lucy said.

  "You ran away?" There was a crease in Sam's forehead.

  "Yes," Lucy replied.

  "You didn't stay together. For a little while, yes. But then, you split up," Sam said. It wasn't a question.

  Lucy nodded in confirmation, anyway.

  "She's not dead. I know you think she is, but she's not. She knows about the violet-eyed girl. Did she tell you? Do you know?" Sam asked, focused.

  Lucy gasped. "Wow! Wow. Holy fuck," The hairs on Lucy's arms stood on end, her mouth was hanging open.

  "Lucy, please. I…, please tell me. Please. I need to know." There was a glassy-eyed look bordering on madness in Sam's eyes.

  "Sam, relax," Adrian soothed. "Want something to eat?"

  "Lucy, please tell me about the girl," Sam asked again.

  "Holy fuck!" She said again.

  "Lucy, please. I'm sorry. I need to know. I need to know now," Sam was biting off the words.

  "Ah, OK. OK. Sorry, but this is seriously freaky," Lucy said, suddenly out of breath.

  "Um, We ran away. Linda had an aunt that she thought would help us. She said her aunt was weird, new age, witches and Wicca and all that, but that she would understand. Understand and help.

  "She lived on a farm about 60 miles outside the city. We walked and hitched most of it. When we got there, the aunt wouldn't let us in. She said we belonged to the violet-eyed girl, to the violet-eyed miss or something like that. No, mistress. The violet-eye mistress, and that she would not risk the wrath of the mistress. She babbled about someone finding me if I stayed and that I couldn't be found.

  "We left. The aunt died not long after that, of some kind of undiagnosed heart thing. But Linda brought up the violet-eyed girl often. She thought it was funny. Said she had dreams about her sometimes."

  Sam frowned. "Do you dream of her?"

  "Of Linda? No."

  "The girl with the violet eyes. Is she in your dreams? Have you seen her?"

  "Uh, no."

  "Do you dream of fire? Or people suffocating?" He asked.

  "Sam," Adrian said with a warning tone.

  "You're really freaking me out," Lucy was starting to shake with adrenaline and fear.

  "I'm sorry, Lucy. I'm sorry. I don't mean to scare you. I'm sorry," Sam apologized. "I dream of her often. I have for a very long time. Most of my life. I can't find her. Do you know where she is?"

  "No," Lucy said, still shaking.

  "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Lucy. Do you know where Linda is? Or the farm?" Sam asked.

  "Sam, enough," Adrian said. "Leave it be for a while, OK?"

  "I don't know where Linda is or where the farm is. I would tell you if I did," Lucy said.

  "I don't mean any harm to you or yours, Lucy. I will do everything I can to help you. I don't think it was me you were supposed to hide from," Sam said. "I knew you at the hospital. That first day. When I saw you. I knew you. Remember, I knew your name? I knew you, you belong here. It's going to be fine. We'll find the girl."

  ✽✽✽

  "I mean this really sweetly," Lucy started after Adrian walked Sam out. "Your brother freaks me the fuck out."

  Adrian nodded. "Me too, sometimes. He freaks himself out, too. I've never seen him this bad. The last two weeks or so have gotten exponentially worse. He's been dreaming of the girl since he was about twelve. Looking for her for his entire adult life. To the best of my knowledge, no one else has ever seen her. I don't know how I got there tonight, but I definitely saw her.

  They sat quietly for a few minutes.

  "Tonight was different," Lucy acknowledged. "It felt different."

  Adrian nodded.

  "What happened? What changed?"

  Adrian was silent and still for a minute. Lucy thought he wasn't going to answer.

  Adrian rested his elbows on the table as he scrubbed his hands over his face.

  "I'm going to make myself scarce for the next couple days," Adrian said, looking at his hands.

  Lucy's shock quickly morphed to raw pain. "Adrian?"

  "This can't be, Lucy. It just can't. I don't want to hurt you, and there's no way to avoid it if we're together. I know that's fucked up, but it's the truth."

  "I don't understand," she whispered. "I don't understand what happened. We were fine earlier. Why? What happened?"

  "I'm sorry. I know this seems nuts. But it can't be. I can't be with you. I can't do this to you," he said.

  Lucy was silent for a while, trying to figure out what happened. What to do. How to fix it.

  Lucy cleared her throat. "If it's not what you want, it's fine, Adrian. I don't want to chase you out of your own house. We'll leave. But why? Why all of a sudden, don't you want to be with me?"

  Adrian snorted. "Are you fucking kidding me? I want it so bad I can taste it. But it's not gonna happen."

  "Why?" She asked.

  He shook his head. "I just can't."

  "We'll leave today. Stay elsewhere. The house will be done soon, anyway."

&nbs
p; "You don't need to leave. Stay until the house is ready. It'll be easier for Ree. I'll stay away," Adrian said.

  Chapter 16

  The following week was lonely for Lucy. Having spent most of her life on her own, loneliness was a new sensation for her. Other than Henry, she wasn't used to having anyone else around. While she never took his presence for granted, Lucy was still surprised by how much she missed Adrian. Romance aside, he was the first friend she'd had in a very long time. She felt somewhat lost without him. Every aspect of her life had changed in the last two weeks. There was no one to discuss it with.

  Hank had given her the paperwork for the trust fund on Sunday as they were headed out the door to go back to Adrian's house. Before everything went off the rails. When she finally opened it on Monday morning, she had an anxiety attack. Glad that Ree was still asleep, she called Hank and asked him to take it back.

  "Lucy, I wouldn't take it back, even if I could. Why are you upset?" He asked.

  She was trying to sound calm. "We don't need that. Once Henry's through treatment, I'll get a job and go back to being a real adult."

  There was a long pause as Hank thought about how to respond. "It's a trust fund, sweetheart. I can't and wouldn't touch it. It's for you, and for Ree. It is my sincerest wish that you never want for anything that money can buy, including time for you to enjoy life with your nephew.

  "I'm not sure what getting a job and being a 'real adult' means to you, but the way you say it concerns me. Please consider what happiness is for you and seek it out, Lucy. You have the means to do as you please. Now you just need to figure out what that is."

  Lucy suspected she knew what happiness was for her, and that it was already gone.

  ✽✽✽

  Tuesday morning, Lucy drove her new car to Ree's doctor's appointment. There were security guards following her to a hospital that was treating her sick kid.

  Two weeks. So much has changed so quickly, Lucy thought.

  Ree would start chemotherapy next week, assuming his bloodwork and immune system held up.

  Tuesday night, Ree picked at his dinner.

  "Why the long face, Ree?" She asked. "Feeling OK? Dr. Garaff made the medicine stronger for this week. Is it bothering you?"