blinked, and the color slowly returned to his eyes. He canted his head side to side as if cracking his neck. The movement unlocked the terror holding me in place. I sucked in great gulps of air as I blinked away the lingering images.
His mouth moved, but the words got lost in the past. His head jerked, his gaze darting past me, as if he heard something. A few seconds later his lips tightened, and his brow furrowed. He muttered something I couldn’t catch.
Abruptly, he slammed the heel of his palms against his temples in two short strikes, then shook his head.
At his weird behavior, tiny spider feet raced along my spine. He was acting
weird. Weird enough to wonder if his mental deterioration was happening faster
than we assumed.
He raised his head, and a carefully composed smile was firmly in place. He
got to his feet and brushed his now empty hands against his jeans. The move flashing the damning scratches that decorated his wrists. Scratches Kelsey left behind when she tried to pry his hands from around her neck.
Violent fury cascaded through me, all sharp edges and bright intent.
Forgetting the very real flesh and blood man standing next to me, I launched myself at the monster taunting me from the past.
Strong arms wrapped around me and held me back. Ellery’s image broke and
scattered like ashes on the wind.
I LAY on the bed and listened to Kayden pace in the living room as he spoke on
the phone with Delacourt. He was retelling what I shared about the weird heat mirage that manifested around Ellery just before his telekinetic drop of the bullet
into the gun safe, and his even weirder behavior at the end. I could only hear Kayden’s side of the conversation, but it was enough to follow along.
“Yes, sir, she’s certain he didn’t jimmy the lock in any way.” A pause. “No,
but we know Nate’s ability could have.”
For the first time I considered the ramifications of Ellery using the full spectrum of the abilities he stole. If we listed just the ones we knew about—
telekinesis, healing, fire, predicting the future—outwitting him would be
difficult.
And if he got his hands on my ability?
Dear God, that wouldn’t be good. My ability was a spy’s wet dream—walk
into any building, peek into the past, gather pass codes, see documented
information, find out who met with whom, listen in on conversations—all of that and more. Who would consider security being breached after something was set in motion? For a moment, the bedroom walls crowded in, and the world took a
sickening dive. A small whimper escaped.
Needing air, I got up and on shaky legs crossed to the sliding glass door. I opened the curtains wide and let the warm afternoon sun wash over me. Even this late in the afternoon, the July temperatures guaranteed hundred plus degrees.
Right now, I needed that heat to chase away the unnatural chill settling into my
bones.
I slid the door open and stepped out on the balcony. I tugged over one of the
chairs tucked in the corner and settled in, propping my boots on the railing’s edge. I slouched farther down in the chair and rested my head against the chair’s
back. The heat started to seep through muscles and sinew, until bit by bit, I began to warm. I closed my eyes against the stabbing sunlight. Not that it did much to alleviate the now familiar throb of an impending headache, another legacy of my jaunts into the past, but it helped. Microscopically, but still.
I sat there, trying not to think. I realized, after hearing the condo’s AC kick
in, that I had left the door open. I’d get up in a minute and close it so the electric bill wouldn’t require ritual sacrifice. I just needed a minute. Maybe two. The faint sounds of people and traffic drifted from the street below to add an interesting counterbalance. I drifted, searching for a calm that hovered just out of reach.
Vibrant, ruby grooves carved into masculine wrists.
Kelsey gasping in much-needed air, her face, bruised and pale.
Her fingers gouging into tan-skinned wrists, struggling to pry them from her
neck.
The frantic acceptance of her impending death, changing to accusation.
My eyes flashed open, and the sunlight left me blind, my vision white and hazy. Guilt and pain tore through me, jerking me upright, and my boots landed
