“I am?”
“Yes. My mother will be pleased. She was worried about him. And you.”
She scowled again at that, but the mention of Kane’s mother reminded her of something Jake had said back in Scotland.
“Jake said your mother told him that I was a Foci. I’d never heard the term before. Do you know what it means?”
Janelle nodded. “I do, though I’ve never actually met one. Apparently, the last Foci was killed in some sort of hunting accident shortly before they all moved to Scotland.”
“And?”
Janelle perched herself on the edge of the sofa. “From what I can gather, they were always the most powerful of us. But it was more than that. They could…” She frowned. “I’m not sure of the term. They could draw in the powers of others, channel them…focus them, I suppose. And amplify them.”
“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” Kaitlin said.
“Exactly. They could also borrow specific powers from others of the group.”
“You mean like Rose’s psi-bolts.” That sounded pretty cool.
“Yes. And because you’re more powerful than Rose, the psi-bolts would be more powerful.”
Definitely cool. “But how do I do it?”
“Good question. And I’m not sure of the answer. Why don’t you try?”
Kaitlin took a deep breath and reached into Janelle’s mind. Now what? How was she supposed to “draw” the other woman’s powers? What did that even mean?
“Come to me. Come to me.”
Nothing happened, and she felt like an idiot.
Janelle giggled. “There’s obviously more to it than that.”
“Obviously. Would Kane know?”
“Maybe. But the last of them died before he was born, so it’s not likely that he’ll know any more than I do.” She thought for a moment. “When we get to Uganda, we can call my mother. I’m sure she’ll be able to help.”
“Thanks. That would be great. You never know when a superpower might come in useful. I suspect we’re going to need every advantage we can get if we’re to survive what’s coming.”
“We’ll find a way.” Janelle patted her leg. “You look tired.”
“Yeah, it’s been an eventful few days.”
“I’ll leave you to rest, then.”
She watched as Janelle walked away and joined Kane and Rose. Maybe she was asking him about the Foci thing. But therewas time enough for that later. Kaitlin curled up on the sofa and rested her head on her hands, allowing her gaze to follow Kane. She loved the way he moved…all that leashed power. What would it be like if he ever let go?
Eventually, she drifted off into sleep. She dreamed of Sam. A sweet dream. They were about fourteen, on a rare trip out to the beach. They’d swum in the sea, eaten ice cream. Sam had said it was almost like being normal. She’d asked him, “Who wanted to be anything so boring?” They’d been happy.
She wasn’t sure what woke her, but when she opened her eyes, she found Kane seated at the end of the sofa, her feet in his lap.
“You were smiling in your sleep.”
“I was dreaming of Sam. But it was a nice dream.” She hadn’t had any nice dreams for so long. Hadn’t allowed herself to remember the good times. It had hurt too much. Maybe she was healing. Just in time to get blown up by a bomb. She grinned at the thought.
“You look happy.”
“I am—sort of, I think. It feels a little strange. I suppose I’m as happy as you can be with less than two months to live.”
