“I’m not sure what he wants from Laila.”
“So is that what Duke does? Teaches people how to extend their abilities?”
He blows air between his lips as if offended. “No. That’s what I do. He’s just one of my students.”
“Why? What’s the point?”
“Each person I teach teaches me a little something as well. It’s like I’m able to gain a little bit of each of their powers. Did you know that before our abilities become stable, they’re volatile? Our powers come out in shorter, stronger bursts than in adults. It’s why they don’t like us attempting to advance our abilities so young. They want them to stabilize first. But it seems the stronger a burst of power, the more I can glean from it.”
An uneasiness creeps into my chest. “You can take people’s powers?”
“Not take them. Just borrow a little bit of them.”
“How? I thought you manipulated mass.”
“Energy, Addie, has a mass. Your energy hangs around you; sometimes it’s as thin as the air, but sometimes it’s dense and malleable.”
I stand. “Your phone is probably charged enough to use by now.”
“Do you know what emotion triggers strong, dense bursts of a person’s energy?”
I drop the bottle, and water splatters the bottom of my jeans. I run and dive for the door, managing to shove the slider across, and push my shoulder against the frame, waiting for it to free me. The palm pad next to the door gives a triple beep accompanied by a red flash.
“No.” I bang on the pad, not knowing the security code.
“I’m surprised you didn’t see this coming, Addie.” He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me away from the door, relocking it. He’s stronger than I thought possible, considering his average stature. “If you can’t even see your own perilous future, you could really benefit from one of my sessions,” he says calmly.
I remember he said his parents were upstairs asleep, so I let out a scream so loud, he has to clamp a hand over my mouth. “Listen, I can force you to be quiet, like Poison did out there. Is that what you want?”
I shake my head no.
“Good, because I don’t want that either. It limits my ability to do much more than control you.”
When nobody stirs upstairs, I know he lied to me about his parents. We are alone. “So you taught Poison how to extend his ability then? Took a piece of his nervous-system control. Did you give him my phone number?”
He loosens his grip on me, and I slide to the floor. He doesn’t answer my questions.
“What do you want from me?”
“I thought I made that obvious. I would like just a little piece of your Clairvoyance. I have no idea how it will enhance my ability, but I know it will.”
“You’re messing with things you shouldn’t. What if you damage your mind?”
“How sweet of you to worry.” He stands above me and runs his hand down my hair, then takes the dyed blue chunk between two fingers. “Let’s get started, shall we?” He pulls on my hair until I stand.
“And then what?”
“And then I either convince you this never happened, or you become too sad to go on.”
This has to be a Search. I’m in a Search. I try to test out that theory, and when only a static buzz enters my mind, I’m convinced I’m right. I’m going to be fine. Soon I will be done with this horrible vision, snap out of my Search, and everything will be okay. I would never choose this future. I let the only thoughts keeping me halfway sane loop through my mind like they are playing on an old movie reel.
“Addie, concentrate. Try to Search the future now.”
I lay my hands flat on the kitchen table. “Why should I?”
He’s sitting across from me. “Do you really want to play mind games with me?”
“Duke is going to be angry with you for doing this.”
He laughs. “Duke is elbow deep in his own secrets, don’t you think? He hardly has a right to judge.”
If I can just keep him talking, I know I can figure out a way to escape. “So he doesn’t know about your little project? I thought you were best friends. Have you been stealing bits of his ability too? Show me how it works. Move something.”
He gives a low laugh that chills me to the bone. “Move something? Because that’s what Duke does? You are so naive.”
Bobby’s phone chimes. It’s sitting on the counter, not plugged into any sort of charger. Maybe I am naive. His chair lets out a moan as it scrapes along the tile. He picks up the phone and looks at the screen. With a chuckle he starts to read aloud, Hey, Bobby, have you seen Addie? Her car is out front. I think I might be in trouble. He looks up at me. “Is he in trouble, Addie?”
I don’t answer.
“Do you know what’s funny? If he had called me, he might’ve heard you in the background, but because he texted me, there’s no chance of that.” He turns his attention back to the phone. “No, Duke,” he says as his fingers move over the keys. “I haven’t seen her. You know she doesn’t talk to me. Maybe she saw Laila’s truck parked in front of your house. It was the first thing I noticed. Bad luck.”
If he had called, he would have heard me. I’m hung up on those words. Duke and I have been practicing Thought Placement, but my mistrust of him lately has slowed my progress. One time, in my frustration, I told him that I would just call him if I needed him. We both thought that was pretty funny. I’m not laughing now.