The lasers were pointed on him, and Addison shouted as loud as she could, “No! Not him.” She sighed when the familiar face of her brother peaked around the corner, and he raced for her side.

  “Addy!”

  His hand cupped her cheek, and his eyes locked on hers.

  “Oh God, Addy.”

  He stopped and started to untie all the ropes that held her down, focusing only on getting her out of the room. One of his counterparts held out a knife and he took it. He found that slicing through the material was far easier and quicker than tugging at the ends.

  The doctor’s hands were zip-tied behind his back, and he was brought out of the room. Two more people came in carrying a portable stretcher. They carefully slipped Addison onto it and left the room, being cautious of how they held her. In the back of the large van, Rob held onto her hand and glared at the doctor that was seated across from him.

  “You didn’t have to do this.”

  “Didn’t I?” the man questioned back. It wasn’t an answer, and it wasn’t meant to be one.

  Addison watched as her brother went to respond and squeezed his hand. “Rob, don’t. He’s done far more for me in the past few days than I could have hoped for.”

  “He watched you get beaten. Fixed you up. And then let them beat you again. Who does that?” His question was aimed at the doctor, and his voice was raised.

  “Rob,” Addison cooed and squeezed his fingers once more. Her brother took a deep breath and tried to release the tension that was holed up in his chest. “James, did she get out?”

  “We got her four days ago. Her and the kid. They’re fine, checked out fine. All is good.”

  “Are they still at home?” She swallowed and winced when they drove over a bump or a pothole. She didn’t really care, either way it hurt like hell.

  Rob’s eyes locked on hers. “Yeah, waiting for you and then Norma wants to talk to them, and you, before they get released.”

  Addison nodded her head and closed her eyes, trying to slip into a deep sleep. “Is that where we’re going?”

  “Yeah, sis, that’s where we’re going.”

  “Good.”

  She swallowed again, her hand still clasped in his as if he was afraid if he let go that that he would lose her forever. She tightened her grip and gave him a soft smile before allowing exhaustion and hurt take over her body and the grace of sleep to caress her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The house was large. Borderline excessive. James had a room, as did Lily. The little girl was situated right next door. Lily was currently running amuck on the front lawn with two other kids who were slightly older. James was seated in a small study, reading a book. She hadn’t really talked to anyone after the doctor had looked her over. She’d been given a phone for her personal use. She had called her parents and Max at least three times a day since her arrival. It was mostly at their insistence that she did. The conversations were filled with quiet and awkward silences where neither person spoke.

  Norma sat across from her with a tray filled with soup and sandwich slices in front of her James wasn’t allowed to sit alone for too long, otherwise food would magically appear somewhere nearby and someone else would sit next to her. James suspected it might have to do something with her not really eating for days on end during the kidnapping and after. She certainly wasn’t starting to gain whatever weight she had lost back.

  Picking up a bowl of soup, she smiled when she realized that it was potato. There were small slices of green onion sprinkled over the top and chunks of bacon floating around with a large quantity of cheese.

  Taking a bite, she let the piece of potato melt on her tongue before swallowing. “This is excellent, thank you.”

  Norma nodded and took her own dish. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about what happened.”

  James shrugged. She didn’t want to have that conversation, but she figured that sooner or later someone would force her to sit down and have a chat.

  Giving in, she started, “Nothing really happened. At least not to me, anyway. I was in the cell pretty much the entire time.”

  The pixie blonde nodded her head and let a moment of silence take over. “You said nothing happened to you, do you know what happened to Addison?”

  James’ yellow eyes flicked up to the face across from her, and she slowed her eating. Drawing in fresh air to her lungs, she tried to calm her body that had tensed. She didn’t want to remember it.

  “A bit.” Thinking if she stuck to short answers then she wouldn’t have to deal with it all, she decided to give no more.

  “She was tortured.”

  James nodded and refused to make eye contact. Instead she took another sip of the hot meal.

  “Do you remember if she gave any information?” Norma was being insistent.

  Thinking through everything was not high on James’ priority list, but if it would help them find Addison, she would try.

  “Nothing really. Your name, she said she worked at a school. That was it.” She set the food down, deciding that she was done with it. “She was gone before I woke up, so I don’t really know much.”

  “Ah.”

  Norma sat quietly, taking in the information and watching for signs of stress and trauma. James was well-guarded even though her file said that her life had been fairly benign up until she met Addison.

  “And Lily?”

  “They didn’t touch her,” James responded.

  Norma gave her an odd look, and James realized that she had seen the image that flashed through her mind. The band aid being pressed to Lily’s skin—Scooby Doo, not princess.

  “Wait, I think that they took her blood, but they didn’t do anything else.”

  James reached out for the spoon and started to scoop the soup before dropping it with a plop back into the bowl without eating.

  “It was mostly Addison,” James mumbled the last bit.

  “I see.” Norma put down her own bowl and relaxed back into the chair. “How much did Addison tell you about us?”

  “About you? Nothing.” James crossed her arms over her chest and glared back. “We didn’t exactly have a lot of time to discuss the particularities of your operation while her fingers were being broken one by one.”

  Norma closed her eyes and took a deep breath to ease back into conversation. She ignored the anger in the last statement. “Well, aside from this facility and our work, did she tell you anything?”

  “Just that there are lots of different kinds of gifts. That I have one, and so does Lily.”

  “Yes.” Norma leaned forward then. “As do I.”

  James narrowed her eyes and copied the move, leaning forward and pressing her elbows into her knees. “I figured that.” Her remark was flippant and to the point. She rested back into the chair and resumed her glare.

  The tension in the air grew to be tangible. Norma could tell that James was losing patience. She didn’t want to pressure James into anything, but she wanted to at least give her some sort of structure and as many facts as possible.

  “I’ll give you the quick overview, and then you can do some research on your own. Does that work for you?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “Right.” Norma licked her lips and started, “Addison was correct, there are many types of gifts. The most common gifts are Life, Earth and Water. From there we often see Fire and Air. There are more but these are the most well-known. There are also subsets of each gift, depending on each person’s ability and family history.”

  Pouring herself a glass of sweet tea, Norma pressed it to her lips and took a long drag.

  “Right, so we each have the gift of Life. Same with Addy.”

  “Actually, I believe Addison was incorrect in her assessment of your ability.” She took another sip and let the comment linger. “The gift of Life is mainly used only in telepathy and empathy. Rarely are there other abilities that present themselves.”

  James stood and walked to the window so that she could stare down at her foster child who was playing hide and seek with the two other kids. James’ arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and her face remained passive.

  “Addy said it was because I was born to parents without gifts. That that was why I was more powerful than she was.”

  “You would be stronger then, yes, but I still believe she was incorrect. Being born to parents without gifts means there was a spontaneous mutation in your DNA. This allows the gift to be stronger since it has not been passed down through many generations and started to degenerate. Spontaneous mutation is very rare, indeed, but it is not why your gift is different. I don’t want this to sound like too much information, but over the past few decades we have noticed a decline in our abilities. The degeneration of the gift is a new issue that we are working to resolve. I suspect it is in part of why you were taken.”

  Norma paused and moved to follow James, standing on her right side and watching the child. Her eyes glanced to the woman who was staring intently out the window. James was so at peace in the moment that she didn’t catch the move. Norma interrupted James’ thoughts.

  “You love her?”

  “Of course I do. She’s so innocent.” When James turned to look at Norma, her eyes were soft and filled with emotion. “She shouldn’t know anything of what we just went through.”

  “Lily shouldn’t?”

  “Yeah, who else?”

  James turned back to the window and smiled when the boy with short, dark, and cropped hair ran around the tree to find Lily. Lily jumped out with a loud noise, scaring him. James smiled at the image of a three-foot four-year-old, scaring an eight-year-old.

  Norma watched the woman as she observed the little girl. She noted the change as the image faded, and James was brought back to the reality of her situation.

  “Do you want to keep her?”

  Letting out a breath through pursed lips, James waited and bided her time. Did she want to adopt Lily? Could she provide a family? Drawing in another breath, she paused. “In training to be a foster parent, we’re told how we’ll become attached to the kids that live with us. I’ve had kids stay with me before, mostly just respite care, but this girl is very different.” Turning to face Norma, there were tears in James’ eyes. “She is very different.”

  “That she is.”

  “Yes, I’ve given thought to it, but after this I doubt I would ever be able to adopt her.”

  James stepped away from the window and brushed an errant tear from her cheek before pouring herself some tea and gulping down the glass.

  “Lily has a gift. That means she needs to be in a home that understands her gift. Not only someone who understands it, but respects it and the responsibilities that come with having a gift.” Norma was prying, and she was very close to walking over the invisible line that would be James’ undoing.

  “Well, that’s certainly not me then.” James swung back around before plopping into her chair and letting out a long sigh.

  The pixie had a sneaky smile on her face as she glided back in her heels to the chair she had vacated. They were such a contrast: the jeans and a tank that James wore to the polished and professional skit-suit Norma wore.

  “The gift of Fire is powerful, and what the child possesses in control of her gift is amazing.”

  James wasn’t too sure that she liked the way the woman spoke. There was a tone of interest and admiration that seemed to take her liking of the kid a bit too far. “And what of it?”

  “Nothing, it’s just beautiful to watch.” Norma chose her words carefully. “I think her control is what increased the other’s interest in her.”

  “The others?”

  “The ones who took you.” Norma took another sip of her tea and watched the information dawn on James. “They took Addison because they knew they could use her to get to me. I’m well wanted in certain circles.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah.” She smiled and let the unasked question drop. “You, I believe, were just along for the ride. To give them more time. I don’t think they knew about your gift, otherwise you would have interested them far more than the other two.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  A smirk slipped onto the woman’s face and for some reason it put James at ease. “You, darling, have one of the rarest gifts of all.”

  “What gift is it? If it’s not the gift of Life, then what?”

  She was still being short and to the point, but she was tired of playing games. She had all the time in the world for it, but that was not the reason they hadn’t let her leave yet.

  “Omnis.”

  Bringing her brows together, James shook her head. “Omnis? That doesn’t sound like the others.”

  “And it shouldn’t. It is far different and extremely rare.”

  Norma’s fingers were fiddling with the arm of the chair and the fabric that was there. James noted that there were a few loose threads that she was pulling and twisting through two fingers and her thumb.

  “It is a gift that I have only ever seen once before.”

  “Once.” James rubbed her hands together and leaned over as she contemplated.

  “Precisely. It is very rare, as I said. I’ve worked and lived in this world for a long time and I have only seen it once before.”

  “Okay… so, what can I do then?”

  The crinkles at the corners of Norma’s eyes didn’t unnerve James; they made her feel at home. “Here.”

  The woman stood and moved to a bookshelf that lined the wall. Pulling out a book, she opened it to a particular page and strode back over.

  “Read this. It all depends on you what you can do with your gift.”

  “All right.” James looked down at the book that was now in her lap and sighed. She hated reading. “There isn’t a movie that I can watch?”

  Norma smiled and shook her head before gliding out of the room.

  “Fine, I’ll read. Omnis… Omnis…” Glaring at the book, she started at the top of the chapter.

  #

  Addison woke in a familiar room. She sighed at the sight of the pale, green walls and the dark wooded furniture. She’d always loved this room. The first thing she noticed was the complete lack of pain in her body. Licking her lips, she looked over and saw her brother seated in a chair awkwardly. His head was thrown back and his eyes shut, one foot was resting on his knee and his arms were wrapped around his chest.

  She smiled. “Rob.” When he didn’t answer she swallowed, trying to be louder. “Rob!” He started to stir, and she couldn’t stop the grin forming on her lips when he realized she was awake. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” He was grinning from ear to ear. “Good to see you awake, finally.”

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Day or so. Doc gave you some stuff to sleep because of the pain.”

  Addison nodded. “I don’t feel any pain.”

  “You might soon.” He was chuckling lightly. “Here have some water.”

  Holding a cup with a straw for her, he let her sip.

  “James and the kid are great and fitting in around here. The kid’s amazing, sis. She’s beautiful just like you said.”

  “I know.”

  “They came in to see you. I know you wouldn’t want them to, especially Lily, but she was insistent and so was James. She can be really hard-headed sometimes.”

  His comment made Addison smile, and she felt a slight twinge of pain in her cheek.

  “Anyway, they came in, the kid only once. She had to make sure that you were alive. Told me so herself.”

  “So, she talks to you?” Addison found that her hand was wrapped tightly in his and she didn’t think that he would be letting go any time soon.

  “Oh yeah, she talks to everyone. Anyway, James has been in here like three times a day. I think she’d be here the whole time if we let her, but she’s had a lot of meetings with Norma and Jean-Pierre. She needed to be brought up to speed. And, of course, she’s been taking care of the kid. I have a present for James, but I wanted to run it by you first.”

  “You, Rob, have a present for my girlfriend?”

  “Uh huh, totally. I think she’ll like it. I hope she’s speechless, but it wasn’t as hard to get as she’ll think it was. She’s going to want to go home soon. She wants to see Max and her parents, just so that they know she’s all right. I don’t want her to take the kid though. At least not if she doesn’t like the gift. Lily needs to stay with someone like us.”

  She squeezed his hand to get his attention. “Rob, slow down. What’s the gift?”

  “Adoption papers.”

  Addison bit her lip, her eyes roving over his face as she judged him.

  “Are you serious?”

  He nodded vigorously. When he went to speak, she shook her head making sure he knew to keep silent for a moment longer.

  “Has she said anything about it?”

  “Norma said she did. Well, kind of, sort of.”

  “What do you mean kind of?”

  Rob took a deep breath, “She said she hadn’t really considered it, but you haven’t seen them these past few days, sis. She’s amazing with the kid. I think she’ll do it.”

  “Well, don’t be pissed if she throws it back in your face.” Addison felt a sharp pain start in her side and work its way up her chest to her shoulder. She was guessing that her brother had seen the issue, because he stepped back and watched her carefully. “I’m fine.”

  “Like hell you are.” His eyes raked over her form. “The doc wants to talk to you.”

  “What about?”

  “There’s something that he needs to tell you. I don’t know what it is though; he wouldn’t tell anyone else.”

  Drawing in a deep breath, she coughed when she let it out. “Go get him then.”

  Her brother bent down, kissed her cheek, issued a quick endearment, and left the room at his usual pace of faster than she could blink.

  #

  James slipped into the room. The lights were off, but the curtains were opened, letting the light from outside in so that she could step around the bed. She moved to Addison’s good side and sat on the mattress, holding Addison’s hand and interlocking their fingers. She’d come every night, each time the child would fall asleep. She would wait until the rest of the house became quiet, and she would slide into this position.