“I remembered what Gordon used to say. ‘You are calm. All is well.’God. Even just saying those words makes me want to be sick.” Emma leaned closer to Zach, needing his warmth. “Gordon used to say them at the same time as he took my blood or tested different Shadows. I’ve always been terrified of needles, I just forgot why. I’m certain it was Gordon who made me forget.”
Zach’s jaw jumped and she could almost feel the waves of protective fury flooding off him.
Elizabeth nodded. “You’re right. Those are the exact words that James kept repeating. Kay noticed them when he…. Kay said the same thing. I mentioned it to James yesterday and he went completely white and then told me he needed to lie down for a while.”
“What are you suggesting?” Riley looked between them, her face still streaked with tears.
“I’m saying that my father tortured James and most likely controlled him with blood Shadows and some kind of hypnosis. And even in the worst of it, even when he was likely in a great deal of pain and extremely confused, James still kept all of you out of it.”
“Tortured?” Zach repeated roughly.
She rubbed his arm gently. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I’m explaining that Gordon is a psychopath. James did you—all of you—a huge favor by keeping you hidden.”
There was a moment of silence while everyone digested her words. Eventually, Ethan turned to Riley. “I know you’ve had a rough morning, but did Gordon say anything about where he is or what he’s planning?”
Riley shook her head. “No, sorry. He seemed annoyed that I’d phoned. He wanted to know where I got the number because it should have been private. I explained that James gave it to me for emergencies. And then he told me….” Riley sighed heavily. “He told me that James was in Wales, living with Kay. He said that James had always loved Kay and he’d chosen to abandon the Council to be with her.”
Damn. Emma could imagine her father doing something like that. Manipulating the truth to make himself look good and make everyone else look bad. He knew it would hurt Riley, hurt James, and cause disruption. If Gordon wanted everyone who could potentially work together to be constantly unsettled and at odds, what better way than to throw a secret girlfriend into the mix.
“He didn’t say where he is?” Ethan asked.
“No, sorry. Nothing like that.”
Ethan leaned back, disappointment written over his face, and Zach let out a rough groan. Emma could feel the tension still coiling through him. Everything about this situation was painful for him.
But maybe Riley knew more than she realized. Riley was the only person who had spoken to Gordon. She’d connected with him. Could it be possible? Maybe this was their chance. Emma turned to Elizabeth. “Tell me how it works, please. What do touch-Seers do?”
Elizabeth leaned forward. “Start by settling yourself. Clear your mind. Then you open yourself and invite awareness. Don’t force it, follow it. Once you start to See something, you can try to guide the vision. But I should warn you, it takes practice, and even then it doesn’t always work.”
Okay. That’s what she’d done with Zach. It hadn’t worked exactly like what she’d expected, but maybe that was because Zach always settled her Shadows.
Zach frowned down at her. “What are you thinking?”
“Elizabeth has been trying to force a vision but it keeps failing because Gordon has wards. But he wasn’t warded when he spoke to Riley. She connected with him. Maybe I can use that to reach him.”
Zach gripped her shoulder, his eyes dark. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. Your visions hurt you.”
“They hurt in the past because I couldn’t control what was happening and because all the images were fractured. It was like trying to see something in the shards of a broken mirror all while cutting myself on the sharp edges. But now the image is there and I get to choose whether I look at it or not.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “I might be able to help.”
“I think we should try,” Riley agreed, while the others all nodded. “Gordon manipulated me. He hurt me and he used me to hurt all of you. But maybe we can get something useful out of it.”
Zach’s hand tightened on Emma’s shoulder but, after a moment, he nodded reluctantly and let her go.
She stepped away from the warm safety of his touch. As much as she would have liked to stay by his side, she knew she had to try. All her life she’d been plagued by chaotic half-formed images. Maybe now she could finally use them.
She sank down on the sofa next to Riley and held out her hand, palm up. Riley dipped her chin, and then reached out and took Emma’s hand in a firm grip.
Nothing happened. No deluge of images. No rush of unwieldy emotions. Emma looked up at Zach standing beside her. He shrugged, but he didn’t look reassured.
Okay. Emma let out her breath, counted to three, and then imagined dropping her guard. She imagined her father. She imagined his smug look as he amused himself by toying with Riley’s feelings. And she imagined she was looking right at him.
A soft tickle brushed across the back of her mind. She could sense the images there. Sense that if she opened herself, just a little more, she might finally See. But she also knew that she could close it all down and block the images if she wanted to. She had the choice.
She took in a long breath, settling herself as Elizabeth had suggested. She imagined a massive door slowly lifting in her mind, letting the vision in. The earth shifted. A bright light exploded behind her left eye, and she was sucked through a raging storm of Shadows.
She almost pulled back. It was too much for her to control. But then Elizabeth murmured encouragement and a third hand joined hers and Riley’s. Emma’s soft Shadows of charcoal and mulberry-red were joined by a rush of dark grays and blacks shot through with deep ruby, and then the vibrant jade green of growth and healing.
Emma let out a soft sigh of relief. Elizabeth was with her and Riley was supporting them both. Their Shadows joined in synergy, boosting each other and she reveled in the power and awareness.
