Kindred Read online

  I knew using my powers was tiring, but for some reason, I never clearly remembered the muscle fatigue, the breathlessness, and the overall weakness after controlling the earth. Carrying Sam was easy. He was all long arms and legs; there was no meat to him yet. But once I set him on his bed, the fatigue hit. I sat for a moment, and he woke with a smile on his face. “You’re home!” he said; his voice quiet but excited. His face fell, “I didn’t want to tell them where you were. I told them I promised not to tell, but Hannah was scared.”

  “It’s okay,” I assured him, holding up a hand to stop the flow of words. Tremors shook my hand, and I put it down quickly, hoping he wouldn’t notice in the dimly lit room.

  “Are you okay?” he asked cautiously, peering up at me tiredly. “You look tired.”

  “I’m okay for now. Kindred showed up, and before that one of Mason’s former employees. So I had to use my abilities. I’ll be better tomorrow. Don’t worry about telling them. Kindred threatened Hannah. I would have come back willingly for that alone. I won’t leave you again, Sammy. You have my word on that.”

  I couldn’t. He was my little brother, and I couldn’t run the risk that Kindred or anyone else would use him against me. I could protect him here, but only if I was with him. “I’m going to go get some sleep. I’ll probably see you when you get home from school tomorrow, okay?”

  He blinked up at me sleepily, and I wondered how much of this conversation he’d remember in the morning. “Sure,” he sat up and gave me a hug, holding me fiercely, and I realized he would remember. “I’m glad you’re okay, Jase. See you tomorrow.”

  When I left his room, the others were still talking, but the exhaustion had almost won, so I hurried down to my room before I collapsed. I hardly made it, falling face first onto the soft mattress. My shoes were still on, and I was uncovered, but it didn’t matter anymore, because I was out as soon as I hit the mattress.

  My dreams that night were strange, dancing from one worst-case scenario to another without allowing me to escape, or have a reprieve. In one scene, Kindred held Hannah, killing her as I tried futilely to save her. In another, everyone I cared about was trapped in a cave, looking to me for help, but I grinned evilly and extended a hand toward the mouth of the cave, sealing all of us in to die. In every scene Kindred won. He controlled every aspect of every meeting, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Which, when I woke up the next day, made me all the more eager to win.

  It was only a matter of time before he tried to take me over again, and who knew what he could accomplish with the access to my powers. And it would look to everyone else like I was doing it. The worst part of the dreams was the look of betrayal on the faces of those I cared about when I’d sealed the entrance to the cave. I could not allow that to happen.

  “Jason? Are you awake?” Dustin’s voice came from next to me. I opened my eyes and looked over at him. He was fully clothed, but rumpled, as if he’d slept in his clothes.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked; my voice thick with the vestiges of sleep.

  “I was waiting for you last night, only when you came in you didn’t notice me and you collapsed on the bed. I’d hoped it was just the events of the day catching up to you, so I took off your shoes and moved you to a more comfortable position. But you didn’t seem comfortable last night. Were you having nightmares?”

  I nodded. “But they won’t happen. None of them will happen.”

  “What were they about?” he asked. I met his eye and realized he was going for the session I was supposed to have given him last night. I snorted. “What?” he asked.

  “You’re going to play therapist now? Before I can wake up? Isn’t that cheating?”

  He shrugged, “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On whether or not you’ll be more honest with me if you’re tired,” he answered seriously. “I’m trying to help, and when you’re fully awake, you’re guarded. I was hoping you’d be more open if I caught you just waking up.” He grinned at me. “Apparently my hope was in vain. You caught me before you gave anything away.”

  “The dreams were all about Kindred. He was hurting the most important people in my life. And he was controlling me in a few, making me hurt Hannah, Alice, Sam…I won’t let that happen, Dustin. He won’t turn me against my friends or my brother.”

  “I believe you,” he said. “You started sensing when he was trying to take control. The next step is going to have to be somehow protecting your mind from his attacks.”

  “I almost saw him, you know. In Torsten. He lost control and was flickering. I almost saw his true self, but he ran before he showed up completely.”

  Dustin seemed confused, “What do you mean, 'he flickered'?”

  “I guess that’s part of his ability,” I answered with a shrug. “He was able to hide himself from view. It could be how he managed to keep Mason from being seen at so many crime scenes.” He nodded his agreement. “Either way, that ability makes it more difficult for me to know when he’s there. Somehow, I think it’s linked to how softly he walks. It’s hard to feel him coming, even now that I know what the steps feel like.”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Jason. You’re doing well against a formidable opponent. There aren’t many who could do better against him. And you aren’t alone,” he assured me, apparently noticing my lack of confidence. “Alice and Dan are with you, so is Agent Jones. Hannah and I are here for you when you need to talk. You can’t beat up on yourself for anything that’s happened.”

  I hung my head, realizing I hadn’t told him what I did to Brayden. “I almost killed someone last night,” I admitted softly. “I wanted to, and probably would have if that cop hadn’t stopped me.”

  His eyes widened in surprise, but only briefly. He would make a good therapist once he graduated. “Again, that’s normal for what you’ve been through, Jason,” he said, no sign of shock or disgust in his voice. “The important thing is that you didn’t kill him. You held back enough to save yourself and the cop, and then let him go, right?”

  After hesitating momentarily, I nodded. “I trapped him with no air. I could feel his heartbeat slowing, and…I liked it.” My heartbeat sped up as I spoke, and my breaths came in short pants. “I liked it, Dustin! Why would I like it?” My eyes met his, hoping for an answer to my question.

  He put his hand on my shoulder, offering support. “You’ve been through so much, Jason. You finally had some control over something. That’s what you liked. You didn’t like the thought of hurting someone, but of being in control,” he said confidently. “But,” he added cautiously, “You need to stay in control of yourself. I understand that you need to feel safe, but make sure you don’t take it too far. You have abilities beyond those of most people, and—as cliché as it may sound—with that comes the responsibility to use them the right way. No killing.”

  My gaze dropped to the floor as I asked softly, “Will you help me?”

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Hannah

  It took me a long time to get to sleep after Alice told me what happened in Torsten. Another building nearly demolished by Jason’s frightening power, and another person who found out his secret. At this rate, everyone would know about Jason, and that would make him even more of a target than he already was. And the worst part of the story was his confrontation with Kindred. He almost lost. When Alice arrived at the little police station, he was slumped against the wall, almost unconscious.

  Jason was still sleeping when I got up to get ready for school, at least that’s what I thought until I heard low voices coming from the basement. I was confused until I figured out Dustin didn’t come up after going to Jason’s room to meet with him. He must have spent the night, waiting for Jason to wake up so they could talk. Sam was in the kitchen eating some cereal; he had dark circles under his eyes, but seemed happy enough. “You sleep well?” I asked when he glanced at me.

  The boy nodded, still crunching his cereal. I ruffled his curly hair and told hi
m, “Jason’s awake, but he’s talking to Dustin.”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed. “He’s talking again?”

  “Yeah. He went through some stuff yesterday, and he needs to talk it out. Don’t worry, he’s not leaving again.”

  “I know. He promised me last night.” He finished his cereal. “I’m gonna go say good bye. Are you taking me to Dan’s this morning?”

  “No, I’m able to take you directly to school today. The others will meet you there. Unless you’d rather I drop you at Dan’s first,” I offered, not sure if he would be comfortable with the idea of being alone at school even for a few minutes.

  He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Just take me to school. I’ll be back up in a minute, Hannah.”

  “All right,” I agreed as I watched him run down the stairs, eager to see his brother before he had to go to school. With Dustin’s help, hopefully Jason would be able to get through everything he needed to, so he could be the brother that Sam needed.

  Sam came back upstairs, more slowly and with less enthusiasm. “You ready, kiddo?” I asked cheerfully.

  “Sure,” he said.

  I caught him by the arm while he walked to the door and held his shoulder gently. “You okay?”

  He nodded and smiled widely. “Yeah, I’m good. I just,” he hesitated, the fake smile dropping. “I didn’t see the bruises yesterday. My room was too dark. I didn’t know he was hurt again.”

  I hugged him to my side and kissed the top of his head. “He’ll be all right. You’ll see. Your brother is strong; he’ll bounce back from this and be your big brother again.”

  “We should go. We’re gonna be late,” the boy said eagerly, once again bouncing back from negative emotions without missing a beat. Sam extracted himself from my grasp and rushed outside. He waved urgently to me from his place beside my car and I laughed and ran out to join him.

  I dropped him off at school, watching until he was in the building before I drove away to get to my own classes. As I was pulling away I saw Dan dropping off the other kids, so I waved. He was scanning the area. His face was relaxed, but his eyes were vigilant, watching for any threats. I knew how he felt. It was hard to leave the kids, even for school, knowing that Kindred could choose to go after them to get to Jason. But we couldn’t keep living in fear.

  I told myself to concentrate on school, and not worry about what was happening with Jason. For the most part I was successful, and classes went well. My group gave a presentation in our psychology class, and I saw that Dustin wasn’t there. It threw me off a little, but I knew he must be helping Jason through his experiences, so I shook it off and concentrated on the presentation. It was my last class of the day, so I started to head off campus, but one of my friends stopped me. “Hey, Hannah! You wanna get some coffee with us?”

  My first instinct was to say no. I wanted to get home to see how Jason was. But I thought about it for a moment and realized I hadn’t done anything relaxing or fun for quite a while. “Sure. That sounds fun.” And it could get my mind off things, even if only for an hour or so. I did wonder how Jason and Dustin were doing, but if they were still talking, then I wouldn’t see or hear from them until they were done anyway.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  Kindred

  After the fight with the Tracker, I slept for almost twenty hours. When he made me lose control, it took a lot of energy to regain it and slip out of the police station unnoticed. I needed to take care of my paying job so that once I was done with the Tracker I could leave. I would find a different place to live, and possibly find a different way to make a living. That thought was a bit foreign. All I could remember was me making money by getting rid of people for Mason or after his death, for other people who would pay me. What could I do other than that? I was what Mason made me: an instrument of death. I couldn’t fight what I was.

  Especially since I didn’t know what I had been.

  My first step for the day was finding something to eat. I hadn’t eaten since before I’d gone after the Tracker yesterday. Once I took care of that, I decided to head to the hotel where I stored the stuff I needed for my current job. The route I took brought me close enough to the lady cop’s house that I could tell the Tracker was feeling very stressed. He was unhappy and nervous, and holding in those nerves in order to act like nothing was wrong. There was also a steel core of determination hiding under the anxiety, and I realized, once he reached that, I would have a hard time dealing with him.

  He would not stand for much more, so I would have to back off for a little while and hope the determination was hidden once again. It would also have the added bonus of him not knowing what would happen next or when. And then, when I decided I was ready, I would strike.

  THIRTY-SIX

  Jason

  Strangely, after the conversation with Dustin I felt much more relaxed. It may not last, but at least for now I didn’t want to think about anything negative. It would be nice to get away from the house and do something fun for once. Maybe I could convince Hannah to go to dinner with me. Or to do anything other than be in the house. I just needed to get out and do something. Dustin was still here, and it didn’t seem like he planned on going anywhere.

  “Hey, you want to head to the park and play some ball?” I asked impulsively. I was feeling restless, and some physical activity was just what the doctor ordered. It had the added bonus of releasing the tension I still felt from the previous day’s events.

  Dustin considered my request, eyeing me critically before smiling and nodding his agreement. “Sure. Sounds fun. Do you have shorts and a T-shirt I can borrow?”

  It was an off-handed question. He hadn’t been looking to hit a nerve. Heck, he hadn’t even been looking at me when he’d asked. But I wouldn’t wear anything that showed the scars, so I didn’t own anything like that. Would he question me, or would he just accept the answer and move on? Maybe I could redirect. “I’ve got some sweats and a long-sleeve Tee. If you want, we can swing by your place so you can wear your own stuff,” I suggested, hoping my tone hid my discomfort.

  There was a pause, and I felt myself tense in anticipation, but he just shrugged. “Sure. Just thought it would save us the time.”

  A small sigh of relief escaped. “We’ve got all afternoon. Alice is at work, and Hannah and Sam are both at school. No pressing needs today.”

  When I finally met his eyes, I figured out he’d caught my hesitation. He was trying to hide it, but his concern was clear in the way his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, and the small glint of worry was almost enough to make me explain. However, I figured I’d talked enough for one day, and I wanted to have fun. “I’ll change real quick and join you outside. Okay?”

  “Sure,” he agreed after a moment. I went to my room and changed into some light sweatpants, and a thin long-sleeved T-shirt. Both were black, but they weren’t a reflection on my mood, they just happened to be the only workout clothes I had. “Let’s go,” I said upon rejoining Dustin upstairs. I slipped on my shoes, and we walked out into the sunshine.

  “You’re going to get really warm wearing that,” Dustin warned, causing me to tense. But instead of suggesting changing he added, “You should probably bring a couple extra water bottles along so you stay hydrated.”

  A relieved smile crossed my face, but I hid it before turning back to him. “You’re right, thanks.” After going in to grab a few bottles, I came back out, as always sending bits of power into the ground to make sure we weren’t being followed.

  “You feel anything?” Dustin glanced at me as we walked.

  “Nothing unusual. Mr. Lewis is out walking his dog about a block away; Mrs. Lewis is watering her flowers. Steve next door is out walking around his yard, probably preparing to go for a swim in his pool. I’d think it was too early for swimming, but he’s pretty dedicated. Oh, and the mailman is out on his route.”

  He looked at me, eyes wide in surprise. “You can feel all that? While you’re walking? Is there anything else?”

  “Like I s
aid; nothing unusual. I don’t feel any strangers on the block and no Kindred for once either.” If I was a tad less superstitious, I might actually say that we were about to have a crime-free afternoon. But I was worried that I might jinx us. “Let’s just try to enjoy this, okay?” I seemed to be spending a lot of time today hoping my very perceptive friend wouldn’t notice certain things, and now was no exception. This time, it was the faint hint of pleading that I was hoping he’d miss.

  Unfortunately, I figured most of what I’d wanted him to overlook he’d noticed. On the bright side, his keen sense told him I didn’t want to deal with those emotions anymore for the day, so he let it slide. The small breaks in conversation told me he wasn’t going to let it go forever, but he allowed the reprieve for the day.

  Instead of driving, we decided to walk the two miles to the park since it was such a nice day. I found myself relaxing even more as we walked and the warm breeze ruffled my hair. I was tempted to roll up my sleeves and really enjoy the warmth of the air and sunshine, but still felt to conscious of the scars. A day may come when I’d be able to show them, but now was not that day. The only concession I made was to pull the sleeves up to the edges of the scarring, which left only a few inches of my arm exposed. I could feel Dustin’s gaze on me and I wondered what he was thinking as he watched me.

  “So, we gonna go one-on-one, or play horse?” I asked. I wasn’t really good at either, but both sounded okay right now.

  “Why not both? We can use a game of horse to warm up for a little competition,” he suggested. We reached the park quickly and I felt around us for any suspicious activity before concentrating on the game.

  “Are you going to do that all day?” Dustin asked.