The Gifted (Book 2 of Seer Series)

Chapter 6

Michael waited until I finished crying and cleared his throat. A look of pain flashed across his face before he had this business look on his face, and I had a feeling that he didn't like me being scared and not knowing how to help. "What do you mean you heard him?" he asked gently.

Mom moved me over a little and sat down beside me. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and rubbed her thumb up and down my bare arm, leaving it tingling in its path. She didn't say a word, and I knew that she was waiting for me to say something and answer his question.

You are safe, Ruckur said. No one can hurt you here. His voice was soothing, and it helped me calm down a little, even though all I wanted to do was find another place and think over what had happened this past couple of hours.

"I heard Carith talking to my brother," I said. I licked my lips and cleared my throat before I shifted in my seat, trying to get comfortable. "Ummmm... like I had said before, I have no idea how I heard, but I did."

"When?" Michael asked.

"At the skating rink during the hockey game," I replied. "Or at least before it." I cleared my throat and shifted again, nervously. "He wanted Chase to submit to the darkness and let it consume him, but Chase didn't want to." I cleared my throat again and licked my lips, wringing my shaking hands together. "Afterward, while he was still trying to fight the darkness, one of his teammates went to ask him what was wrong, and Cairth wanted him to hit him with a stick and kill him."

"Did he?" Michael asked, and I shook my head, no. Relief flickered through his eyes, but he didn't say a word while he waited for me to continue with what I had felt and seen before the hockey game.

"He had looked around the arena before his eyes landed on the seats and saw me in tears," I said, the image of his concerned and fear filled eyes flashing through my mind. "His pain became my pain, and his fear became mine. Ummmm, the darkness that I felt coming off of him slowly ebbed away, but it was still there, waiting for him to coax it out and do what he had been told to do. Carith said that they, our family because they were gathered around me and trying to get my attention, cared about me more than him, and said that he would never fit in."

"That is not true," Mom said. She bared her teeth, and if she were more animalistic than human, she would have growled. Power surged around her, and I flinched back from the power, not knowing what to do and how to get away from it.

"Joesylin," Michael warned, and she turned her heated gaze to him. He frowned and cocked his head while he studied the female before him and nodded his head towards me. "You are scaring her. Calm your anger before you do something stupid."

My mother set her jaw and let out a slow hiss while her nostrils flared. She huffed and rubbed the bridge of her nose before she looked at me and offered me a grim smile. The power that came off of her settled itself, but it was still just below the surface, ready when she became angry again. "I'm sorry, Kid," she apologized, dipping her head. "I didn't mean to scare you further. Please, continue with the story." She gestured for me to continue, and I hesitantly nodded while I licked my lips and cleared my throat.

"Umm..." I cleared my throat again and shifted in my seat. Furrowing my brows, I pursed my lips and tried to recall what had happened, knowing full that I needed to go through as many details as I could, praying that these two would be able to help him with the information that I provided. "The darkness came back when he said that, but he kept his gaze on me. Anger and pain filled his eyes, but he focused solely on me and not on the guy trying to get his attention. Carith wanted him to say a spell, but he didn't do it."

Michael nodded slowly while he stayed silent. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, waiting for me to continue with the story. "Did he ever look away from you?" he asked, finally, when I had said a word, and I nodded. He cleared his throat again and leaned back in his seat while placing his hands in his lap. He cocked his head and studied me before, asking, "When?"

"When Mom walked over to us," I replied. "The darkness was pushed back, and I could breathe easily again." I cleared my throat and rubbed my hands together. "I heard Carith again before Mom entered my bedroom because Sabian was being a brat and saying that he was evil and such."

"Is that why he called me "Mother," before he left the room?" Mom asked, even though she knew the answer to that question, but I nodded, anyway. "What did he say?"

I sighed and shifted in my seat. "He said that you think he is evil too. He also said that everyone thinks that he is evil and worthless."

Mom sighed and leaned back in her seat. A look of hurt flashed through her eyes, and I had no idea if she was hurting because of what he had said or because she felt the pain that my brother had to be feeling. "That isn't true," she said, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat before she moved a hand across her face.

She looked older, more worn out, and I had a feeling that whatever was affecting my brother and me would affect her a heck of a lot worse because she had to be the one that has to see what was happening and not know how to deal with it.

We were both at a loss, and I knew that it would cause my mother so much grief until we got this finished. It would hurt us both while we watched my twin face Carith head on and could not tell him that we knew.

I pulled my mother into a hug and was shocked when she started crying. I rubbed her pack and closed my eyes, sending a silent prayer to the Gods, praying that I would never have to see her cry like this for as long as we live. "I know," I said, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat and squeezed. "We'll help him. We'll get him back."

"Promise?" Mom asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I nodded, feeling as if I was the adult and she was the child that needed to be soothed and promised that everything would be alright in the end. "Promise."

I didn't know how true that promise was, but I knew that I would do anything in my power to back it up. I would not lose my brother to that creature, no matter how much power he thought over him.