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She nods.
“When Penn saw your vision, I think it was you pushing it on him, not him drawing it out.”
“Like I said, it’s never happened before,” I remind her.
“But Penn is special. That might make him more open to it.”
I suck in a breath. “You think I might be able to do it with other gifted people? Like you?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s just a theory, and not an easy one to test. You’ve touched me a few times now and haven’t had a vision.”
She’s right. I have touched her, and I haven’t seen anything.
“It’s not unusual for me to go weeks, even months, without one. You have to remember that I only see horrible, mostly violent things. It’s like my subconsciousness calls to all that negative energy somehow.”
“As someone who relies on energy to heal, I get it more than you think.”
I nod. “So if nobody here has any dark things due to happen to them, then I won’t pick up anything. That being said, and it’s really important I say this now, I don’t see everything. Don’t ever think you’re safe just because I didn’t give you a heads-up. I don’t understand why I see some things and not others. I don’t control them—they control me.”
“I know it wasn’t easy for you to come here and share what you saw. And I know we made it ten times harder, even if we did it with the best of intentions. I just want to say, whatever happens, thank you for trying.”
I tense before looking into her eyes. “Nobody ever believes me. That’s not me feeling sorry for myself. It’s the truth. And if people don’t believe me, they dismiss what I say until it’s too late. I’m hoping that you’ll have a little faith in me, enough to stay away from Christmas lights.”
She offers me a smile, but it doesn’t fill me with confidence.
“Well, Christmas is still four months away. So, I’m good for now. I’m sure nearer the time, Oz and Zig will lock me in the bedroom for my own safety.” She chuckles, but her hand drops to her stomach. She strokes it lightly, reminding me that it’s not just Salem’s life at risk but her baby’s too.
“Hopefully, I’ll get another vision that will give us something more to go on before then. I mean, what’s the point of having this gift if I can’t change the things I see?”
She doesn’t answer for a second before she swallows. “Sometimes it’s not the event you need to navigate, but the aftermath.”
Her words slice through me like a knife. I’ve lived through more aftermaths than any one person should have to. But staring into Salem’s sad eyes, I know one thing. Losing her would change everything. And Oz and Zig would burn the world to ashes in retribution.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Slade
“You need to get out more, or at least take a fucking shower. You stink.” I scowl at E as I hand him a plate with a sandwich on it.
“I’m so fucking close. I can feel it.”
“E. Evander,” I snap when he ignores me. Reluctantly, he turns and looks at me. “I know this is important to you. We all do. But we need you in fighting form. That means you need to look after yourself too. Eat this, take a shower, and take a nap. And so help me God, if you argue with me, I’ll send Salem in next.”
His eyes widen at my threat before he squeezes them closed and groans. “Fine,” he concedes, opening his eyes. He takes a bite out of the sandwich and glares at me. “Happy?”
“Ecstatic.”
I take a seat on the sofa and look up at the wall of screens in front of him. Staring at it for two minutes gives me a headache. Fuck knows how he can stare at it for hours.
“You need a break after this.”
He shrugs but doesn’t disagree, probably knowing he won’t win in an argument right now.
“I’m close. Judge Jones was even dirtier than we suspected, and we already assumed he rolled in shit like the pig he is. Every trail I follow leads to another. By the time I’m done, this man will be lucky if he ever sees the outside of a prison cell again.”
“That bad?” Ev doesn’t shock easily, so when he looks at me with wide eyes and a jerky nod, I look at the screen again. “Any players involved we should be wary of?”
“Tons. But I’m working through which ones might pose a threat and which ones are most likely to just crawl under a rock once their puppet master’s strings have been cut. This guy has lived and practiced all over the map, so I have thousands of pieces to try and fit together.”
