Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 13

Damn dogs.

I could barely move, and they were making me go find them? So. Not. Cool. I drained my cup again and set it in the sink, clutching my stomach with one hand as I made my way outside. I stopped and lifted my hand as a visor to shield my eyes from the sun, darting my eyes towards the entrance to the clearing on my right before glancing left as Onyx and Opal appeared again.

Two shadows crested the hill that led to our abandoned gazebo. Mom and Zach. Why would they be there? I used to lie on its benches and read, or admire the mosaic Celtic cross on its floor, but I hadn't been in the gazebo since long before I'd stopped going to the clearing.

"Hey, Mom! What are you guys doing?" I yelled from the bottom step of the deck.

They both turned in surprise that morphed into expressions of guilt. The shutters on my mother's emotions were closed behind an impenetrable vault, but Zach didn't hide.

"Hey, Noreena." My mom forced a smile when they were close enough to avoid yelling. "We were just checking the fence. You know, making sure the dogs hadn't dug a hole or something."

Zach looked to her, confirming the untruth I suspected. "Right. Your mother just wanted to check everything was okay."

Lies.

"So why did you go to the gazebo?"

"Well, uh..." A gust of wind blew between us, creating a distraction for her to look away.

"Your mom asked me to check the floorboards," Zach said. "She thought that all the rain we've had might have affected them."

"Seriously?" I didn't believe it for a minute. It was a mosaic—made of tile.

"Of course." My mother fidgeted and darted her eyes to look at everything but me. "I wanted him to look and make sure nothing was rotting."

"We never go out there." I shifted but watched her closely.

"That doesn't mean we should neglect repairs."

"Whatever." I sighed. There was no point asking questions they wouldn't give me the answers to. "I made coffee."

"Thank you." She smiled, looking relieved for the change in subject. "I think I'll have a cup on the deck. Do either of you want some?"

"Sure," I said, never one to turn down caffeine, and Zach nodded his agreement. I looked at him and added, "Please."

While she went into the house, we sat at the patio table under the open umbrella that kept us shaded from the sun. The perfect weather I'd been enjoying had purged itself of the sun-blocking clouds that had protected from an uncomfortable heat. My whole body began perspiring, and I felt ill-at-ease and warm, though the discomfort in my stomach had finally seemed to ease.

"So, are you ready for school to start up again?" Zach asked. He looked unaffected by the heat of the day, still wearing his threadbare toque and frayed, fingerless gloves that were full of holes. His outfit was completed with the trench I'd never seen him without. It was like his body had adapted to the weather. "I bet you're excited to become a senior."

"Hmm." I nodded. "I'm not excited about graduation."

"Why is that?" He raised his eyebrow and folded his hands on the top of the table, leaning forward with what seemed to be genuine interest. His eyes were much too watchful. "I thought all teenagers were excited so close to college, though I don't see the appeal. Moving away gives you the freedom to do all the things your parents never let you do, but it's also so much responsibility. Why do kids these days want to grow up so fast?"

I smiled at how right he was, knowing I was one of those kids. "That's not it."

"Then why?"

"Mom won't bind my powers after I graduate. That's scarier than moving away from home or having to get a job." I met his gaze without blinking. Would he talk to me if my mother wasn't present? Had I provided him with enough bait?

"You look tired." He observed me without breaking eye contact, obviously unwilling to disregard my mother's orders to keep whatever they were hiding concealed.

"I haven't been sleeping much."

"Worried about your abilities?" He looked upwards and shrugged. "Don't. You'll be just fine when they are unbound."

"I'm worried, but not enough to lose sleep over it. I never sleep much during the summer."

"Nightmares?" he asked, and I nodded. It was the longest conversation we'd ever had in one sitting without my mother present, and I wasn't even annoyed yet. "What are they about?"

"Nothing," I said before thinking, and then shrugged as though it didn't matter. "Just something I've been a bit apprehensive about. My subconscious intends to terrify me with it."

"This isn't about becoming unbound?"

"No."

"Well," he said and sat back in contemplation, rubbing his grey beard that was still riddled with crumbs from breakfast. "I think that if you face whatever this something is, the dreams might stop."

"What do you mean?"

"You said that this nightmare is about something you're afraid of. If you face it while you're awake, it'll stop being so scary, and the nightmares will end."

"That sounds too easy." I was wary of his mentoring capabilities, but it seemed legit. Was that all I needed to do? I'd thought of it before but had discarded the solution because of its simplicity.

The patio door swung open and shut, and my mother appeared carrying three steaming cups of coffee on a tray with a plate of biscuits. "Hey, guys."

"Thanks, Vav," Zach said with an easy smile and winked at me before continuing.

I was afraid of my mother eavesdropping on the rest of our conversation. As soon as that thought manifested, I realized that Zach wasn't talking aloud when he continued to speak and she gave no sign of hearing him, though his voice was loud and clear within my head, "If the solution was as easy as it seems, you would've done it already. Keep your chin up. Nothing can hurt you unless you let it. Don't let fear take power from you."

"Did I miss something?" My mother set the tray down and sat beside Zachariah, looking regal in comparison even in black track pants and a white tank top, her hair piled in a mess on her head.

"No, Mom, we were just talking," I hedged, though the mere act of conversation between me and Zach was suspicious enough.

"Really?"

"Yep," I said, standing. "I'm going to grab a shower."

"What about your—"

I grabbed my cup from the tray and scurried away.

If it was okay for her to keep secrets with Zach, then so could I.