Arcane Awakenings Books Three and Four

Chapter 1 The dream wrapped around me, an intoxicating blend of fear and wonder, drawing me deeper and deeper. I was back at the Wood Estate, standing in the hallway leading to the room I’d been confined to after my last escape failed. The floor undulated beneath me, making it hard to maintain my footing. Cracks appeared in the walls as the earthquake built in intensity, parts of the ceiling collapsing to the floor. I ignored the chaos, my focus fixed on my old room. The door was ajar enough to let a narrow beam of light spill into the hallway. Unbridled power swirled within the room, accompanied by a scent reminding me of lush green grass and rich soil, inviting and sweet. The sheer magnitude of the power washed over me in a wave that set my pulse racing. I’d never got this close before, most of the dreams cutting off once I’d exited the stairwell and spotted my room at the end of the hall. This time it felt different; the very air around me charged with possibility. Three steps. That was all it would take for me to see who waited inside. I took the first step. Then another. My sleeping body jolted, the movement tipping me out of the dream. ‘No!’ My shout sounded only in my head as I bolted upright, fists clenching the sheets. I sagged against the bedhead, groaning as the remnants of the dream danced around me, tantalising me with what might have been. I’d come so close. My eyes struggled to adjust to the dark of night, thick curtains blocking the light from the lamppost outside my bedroom window. The thrill of power unleashed somewhere nearby thrummed through my body, making me gasp. It hadn’t been a dream. The earthquake was real, a deep rumble sounding a split second before the house shook around me. I let instinct take over, sending my mind soaring, already sure of what I would find. Sure enough, just like the other times I’d done this, my mental probe travelled west, out of Easton, in the direction of the estate. The power surging in the air around me was raw, uncontained, giving off that rich earthy scent. The power felt undeniably male. I focused on the feel of it, wrapping my consciousness round it and sending out my own power in a calm wave. Tears pricked my eyes at the emotional turmoil flooding through the tenuous connection I’d made. The turmoil came because of burgeoning powers in someone with no idea what they were or how to control them. I tried to connect on a deeper level with the person who had created the earthquake, to let them know they weren’t alone and that I was there to help them. But the distance was too great, diluting the strength of my sending. My head spun as I did my best to reach them. A flare of surprise travelled back along the line of power feeding the earthquake. It wavered for a moment before pushing me away, casting my mental probe adrift somewhere between home and the estate. A car alarm shrieked nearby, pulling me back to myself. I drew my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them as the bed continued to shake, books falling from the shelves above the desk on the far wall. I stretched out an arm to secure the lamp on my bedside table before it could topple to the floor. Faint cries filled the night as our neighbours woke to find themselves amidst yet another earthquake. The shaking continued for what seemed like hours, but would have been less than a minute. A shadowed figure appeared in the open doorway to my room moments after the last of the shaking subsided. ‘Angel, are you okay?’ Daniel reached out and switched on the light. Blinking against the sudden brightness, I unwound my limbs and brushed hair out of my eyes as I gave him a nod. ‘That one lasted twice as long as any of the other quakes. Felt stronger too,’ said Andie, appearing in the doorway behind him. She nudged Daniel aside and came to sit on my bed, dark blonde hair identical to mine falling in loose tangles over her shoulders. ‘They’re only going to get worse,’ I told her through the telepathic bond we shared. ‘He’s getting stronger, with little to no control of his abilities.’ Tonight had been the closest I’d come to connecting with him, before I’d been pushed away. Andie grimaced. ‘More earthquakes. Something to look forward to. Not.’ Celeste poked her head into the room, flame-coloured hair tamed by a braid. ‘Are you sure someone like us is behind the earthquakes, Angel? I still don’t sense anything.’ ‘Hey,’ said Daniel, before I could answer her. ‘You guys aren’t supposed to have conversations where I can’t join in. I’ve been working hard on my signing. It’s not fair if you girls won’t let me use it.’ My smile was rueful as I made the sign for “sorry”. He was right. He had been working hard, him and Nick, at the sign language classes the three of us went to on a Tuesday and Thursday evening at the Easton Community Centre. I loved knowing both he and Andie’s boyfriend were determined to be able to communicate with me, without my having to write everything down on a whiteboard as Dr Wood had forced me to do. So far, Celeste and Andie were the only people who could hear my mental voice. Celeste was like me, possessing psychic abilities, while Andie was a reservoir of power I could tap into as her identical twin. I frowned, thinking about the earthquake. Perhaps the guy who had created it would be able to hear me as well. But first I had to find him. I faced my family, and focused on making the correct signs so Daniel could follow along with what I was broadcasting to Andie and Celeste. ‘I’m sure. His pain and confusion fill the air each time a quake hits.’ Andie narrowed her eyes. ‘You still think it’s the missing patient, the one Celeste knocked out?’ Celeste’s cheeks paled, making the fine dusting of freckles across her nose stand out even more. ‘It’s the only explanation that makes sense,’ I signed for Daniel’s benefit, though Andie and Celeste would hear my words in their head. ‘Celeste said energy flared between them when he touched her. I think that first moment of contact must have sparked his latent ability.’ ‘We don’t know for sure it was their first contact,’ said Andie. ‘She could have been touched by the guy a thousand times while she was catatonic. Or even before that. With Celeste having no memory of her life prior to when she woke up at the estate, we have no way of knowing for sure.’ Celeste flushed. ‘I may not have my memory back, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the type of girl to go around touching strange guys. Besides, Dr Wood kept me locked away to make sure I didn’t contaminate her research data. I think I was only stuck in general population once she’d fried my brain.’ Daniel reached out and wrapped Celeste in his arms. ‘Andie didn’t mean it like that.’ ‘I know. It’s fine. I’m just saying, Angel could be right. The same kind of energy was present the first time I touched Angel, only it was gentler. What if that was because both of us already had our abilities awakened? Call me crazy, but it makes me wonder if the same thing would happen any time either of us encountered someone who also had powers, latent or otherwise.’ Andie snorted. ‘I can just imagine how well that would go down. The two of you could go to shake someone’s hand and wind up knocking them unconscious. Maybe both of you should invest in a thick pair of gloves.’ ‘I’m sure we’ll be fine,’ I said, and signed. ‘We’ll just have to be careful to keep contact with strangers to a minimum. We have more important stuff to worry about right now. If it is Ethan Rhodes causing the earthquakes, you can bet Dr Wood is behind it.’ Andie gave a shudder. ‘And isn’t that an unpleasant thought.’ ‘There’s been no sign of her, or the hulk of an orderly who worked for her, since their slimy lawyer got them released on a technicality,’ said Daniel. Dr Wood and Karl Sypher had disappeared before the police could get their case in order and return to the estate to arrest them for a second time. ‘Do you really think she’d be stupid enough to come back to Easton, knowing they’re on the look-out for her?’ Daniel asked. ‘Yes,’ Andie and Celeste said at the same time as I signed it. ‘She’s obsessed with her research, and proving the scientists who ridiculed her all those years ago were wrong,’ I added. No one said anything for a long moment, and I was sure they were all thinking the same thing. They’d thought we were free, safe. It was a sobering thought to realise the life we’d built for our little family over the last couple of months could be taken away from us at any moment. We’d moved into the sprawling four-bedroom house one month ago, after Celeste received the remaining money left in the trust fund her father had set up for her. The fund lawyers had also arranged the sale of the estate. Around the same time, after numerous sessions with doctors, psychologists and counsellors, I’d finally been approved for a government allowance, which enabled me to cover my share of the rent for a bigger place. Nick had helped with the move, and I’d covered my bedroom walls with photos of the five of us. After six months of having to stare at the blank and impersonal walls of the room that had been my cell, only allowed out at night for exercise, I’d been determined to fill this one with colour and treasured memories. The knowledge Dr Wood was out there, biding her time, planning how to take this away from me, made it all the more precious. I would not let her ruin the new life I’d created, or the family I loved. But I also couldn’t forget the rest of her victims. ‘We have to find Ethan. Help him.’ A strange feeling of peace settled over me after I said it. This was the right thing to do. ‘Hang on a minute. How are we supposed to help the guy when we don’t know where he is, or even if he’s in trouble?’ I lifted my chin and looked at Daniel. ‘I know exactly where he is.’ ‘The Wood Estate,’ said Celeste. ‘That’s where you said the power surges are coming from. That’s where you think he is, right?’ Her voice rose. ‘You want us to go back there.’ I sent a wave of reassurance toward her. ‘You don’t need to come. I can go on my own.’ ‘Like hell you will,’ said Daniel. ‘You’re not going anywhere near that place without me,’ said Andie. ‘And anyway, it was sold. Surely the new owners would’ve noticed if a guy who can create earthquakes with his mind was running through the halls?’ Celeste shook her head. ‘The lawyer for the trust fund said the new owners can’t move in until the police have completed their investigation. At our last meeting he said that was a month away, at least.’ ‘Fine,’ said Andie, arms crossed in front of her chest. ‘The place should still be empty, but what if it’s not? What if the earthquakes, Angel’s dreams, all of it, is a way for Dr Wood to lure us back there?’ Andie was right. This could be a trap, but it didn’t matter either way. ‘If Ethan doesn’t get help soon his powers will continue to spiral out of control. He could easily reduce Easton to rubble. We can’t let that happen.’ Celeste lifted her chin, a determined set to her features. ‘If you say Ethan needs our help, then I’m coming too. Besides, the three of us proved more than a match for Dr Wood last time.’ ‘The police have checked every inch of the estate,’ said Daniel, staring over at me. ‘There was no sign of Dr Wood, this Ethan guy, or the orderly. What makes you think we’ll have more luck when all you’re basing your theory on is a feeling? Celeste has the same kind of powers as you, but she’s not getting the same impression.’ Celeste twisted in Daniel’s arms and gazed up at him. ‘I’ve had my powers for a few months. Angel’s had hers since she was born. If she says whoever is causing the earthquakes is at the estate, then that’s good enough for me.’ ‘I’m not saying I don’t believe her. I’m just saying we need to be smart about this. We can’t race off to the estate in the middle of the night.’ He looked over at me. ‘If we’re doing this, we do it properly. Nick and I have a rostered day off tomorrow. Andie can call Nick, and then the five of us will go out there together. When it comes to the estate, and Celeste’s crazy mother, there’s no way the three of you are going there without us.’ Celeste grimaced at the mention of her mother, but made no protest as Daniel ushered her and Andie back to bed. There were still a few hours before daylight, but even though I lay back down I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Come morning, I would finally get to follow the power behind the earthquakes back to the source. Ethan Rhodes. I’d seen his picture in a police report, when I’d been at the station to make a statement. The officer in charge of the investigation into Dr Wood’s illegal activities had shown me his photo, asking if I recognised him. I’d stared at the image of a smiling and confident young man with messy black hair and laughing green eyes, unable to understand how someone like him had found himself at an institution that treated mentally ill youth. Then again, I was aware outward appearances could hide a lifetime of pain and suffering. I’d never met him before, but as I’d gazed at his picture I’d felt a connection, a ripple of awareness that made me think I did know him in some way. It wasn’t until the next earthquake, a week later, that I realised what the connection was. He was the source of the power surge the day Andie, Celeste and I had confronted Dr Wood at the estate. More importantly, it was Ethan I’d sensed the night before that, when we’d fled with the proof we needed to have Dr Wood arrested. Something had called to me from the lowest level, making me hesitate as we’d made our escape. I’d felt his confusion and pain, no doubt caused by having his latent powers awakened after he’d encountered Celeste; powers that had resulted in him being locked away by Dr Wood, to be experimented on, tortured, as I’d been. He’d needed my help, called out for it, and I’d let myself be pulled away, leaving him trapped and alone. I’d failed him. I would not fail him again. Tomorrow we would return to the estate and I would free Ethan Rhodes.