The Strange Power - Page 11/16

And while it didn't trigger any of her normal senses, it mimicked them. Kaitlyn smelled roses. She felt a burning in her head-a painful searing that built until a light like one of Lewis's flashbulbs went off in her brain. Then, through the explosion, she heard a voice.

Gabriel's voice.

Get out of there! He just came in the back door!

For a moment Kait stood paralyzed. Knowing that Gabriel could communicate directly with her mind was very different from feeling it. Her first reaction was that she was hallucinating; it was impossible.

Rob was gasping. "God. He's a telepath."

Shut up, Kessler. Move. Do something. You're about to get caught.

Kaitlyn felt another wave of astonishment. The communication was two-way-Gabriel could hear Rob.

Then some primitive instinct within her awoke and shoved all speculation aside. This wasn't the time to think-it was time to act.

She threw the letters back in the tray and slid the drawers of the file cabinet shut. Then she had an idea and she tried to do something she'd never done before. She tried to send a thought. She didn't know how to send one, but she tried, concentrating on the burning-roses sensation in her head. Gabriel-can you hear me? You need to tell Anna he's here. Tell her to hang on to the dogs until-I can hear you, Kaitlyn. It's Anna. The answer was lighter, calmer, than Gabriel's communication. It was a lot like Anna's speaking voice.

Kaitlyn realized something. Not only could she hear Anna, but she had a sense of where Anna was, and what Anna was doing. It was as if she could feel Anna's presence. And Lewis's . . .

Lewis, shut the panel, she thought. And then get upstairs. Anna, let the dogs go as soon as he does.

And what are you going to do? Lewis asked. Kait could sense that he was working on the panel.

Hide, Rob said briefly, turning off the fluorescent lights in the hallway and the office.

Although it seemed like hours since the explosion in Kaitlyn's mind, she knew it was only a few seconds.

This strange telepathy might be very, very disconcerting, but it was an extraordinarily efficient way to communicate.

I've got the panel shut. I'm going upstairs, Lewis said.

I'm letting the dogs go-quick, Lewis! Come on! Anna's voice sharpened, and Kait felt a surge of urgency from her.

What's happening? Kait demanded.

Wait-I think it's all right. Yes. Now what Kait felt from Anna was relief. He was coming around through the dining room just as we went up the stairs, but I don't think he saw us. He was looking down at the dogs.

You two had better get into bed. He might come upstairs, Rob said. Kaitlyn turned toward him in the dark. It was fascinating-his silent mental voice sounded just like his ordinary voice, but more so. It was more honest, it seemed to carry more of him in it. Right now it was full of quiet concern for Anna and Lewis.

"Or he might come down here," Rob's real voice whispered to Kait. "Come on."

He took her hand. How he could navigate in the dark was beyond her, but he guided them both to the corner desk.

"Get under it," he whispered. "The file cabinets block off the view from the door."

Kaitlyn found herself squeezing into a very tight place.

And then they waited. There was nothing else to do. Kaitlyn's heart was beating violently, seeming loud in the quietness. Her hand in Rob's was slick. Sitting still was much harder than moving and talking had been.

Another fear had gripped her. This was Gabriel's power, right? The one that had killed Iris, the girl in Durham; that had driven the Mohawk volunteer crazy after forty-five seconds. How long had Gabriel kept their minds linked up tonight? And how much longer before he started to suck their brains out?

It has to get unstable, she reminded herself. That's what he said. He can control it if he keeps the contact short.

She was still afraid. Even though Gabriel hadn't said anything since the beginning, she could feel him out there. A strong presence, surrounded by smooth, hard walls. He was keeping them all in contact. And every second that ticked by made the contact more dangerous.

Beside her, Rob stiffened. Listen, he said.

Kaitlyn heard. A sliding, rattling sound. The panel.

I don't think that's Lewis, Rob said.

It's not. I'm in bed, Lewis said.

Anna's mental voice was clear and purposeful. Do you want us to do anything, Kait?

Kait took a deep breath, then sent the thought, No, just sit tight. We'll be fine. At the same time she felt Rob squeeze her hand. There were some things that could be said without even telepathy. She and Rob both knew that they wouldn't be fine-but she couldn't think of any way for Anna to help.

Light suddenly showed in a diffuse fan pattern on the office floor. Mr. Zetes had turned on the fluorescents in the hallway.

Please don't let him come in. Please don't let him come in, Kaitlyn thought. Then she tried to stop thinking, in case the others could hear her panic.

The office door was opening, light spilling in.

Beneath the desk, Kaitlyn buried her face in Rob's shoulder, trying to keep absolutely still. If he didn't actually come in-if he only looked in ...

More light. Mr. Z had turned on the office switch. Now he had only to step beyond the file cabinets to see them.

I wonder if we'll be terminated, Kait thought. Like Sabrina. Like Marisol. She wanted to jump out and get it over with, to confront Mr. Zetes. They were lost anyway. The only thing that kept her from moving was Rob's arm around her.

Upstairs, she heard a wild clamor. An explosion of barking and baying.

What is it? she thought.

Gabriel's voice, cool sarcasm underlaid with heated anger, came back. I've riled the dogs a little. I figure that should bring him up.

Kaitlyn held her breath. There was a pause, then the lights in the office went off and the door shut. A minute later the light in the hallway went off, too- and then she heard a rattle.

She sagged against Rob. He squeezed her with both arms and she clung back, even though it was really too warm for clinging.

Above, the barking went on and on. Then, gradually, it faded as if getting more distant.

Gabriel's voice came again. He's taking them out to the limo. I don't think he's coming back, but Joyce might be-any minute now.

Lewis, Rob said, get us out of here.

Ten minutes later, they were all upstairs in the study.

It was perfectly dark except for the moonlight coming in the window. They could barely see each other, but that didn't matter. They could feel each other.

Kaitlyn had never been so aware of other people in her life. She knew where each of them was; she had a vague sense of what each was doing. It was as if they were not quite separate creatures-isolated and yet attached somehow.

Like insects caught in a huge web, she thought. Tied together by almost invisible threads. Every pull on the strands lets you know someone else is moving. Her artist's mind gave her an image: the five of them hanging trapped, spread-eagled, and the silken strands between them humming with power.

"Nice picture. But I don't want to be trapped in a web with you," Lewis said mildly.

"And I don't want to have you reading my thoughts," Kaitlyn told him. "That was private."

How am I. . . "I mean, how am I supposed to tell?" Lewis asked, changing from mental voice to ordinary voice in midsentence.

"Nobody likes it," Rob said. "Switch it off, Gabriel."

There was a silence which Kaitlyn sensed with both mind and ears.

Everyone turned to look at Gabriel. He looked back with cold defiance.

"Fine," he said. "Just tell me how."

Kaitlyn stared into the darkness where Gabriel was sitting.

What do you mean? Rob asked, deadly quiet. He didn't even seem to notice he wasn't speaking out loud.

"What have you done before?" Anna put in quickly. "I mean, how does it stop, usually?"

Gabriel turned to her. "Usually? When people drop dead or start screaming."

There was another blank silence, then a sudden gabble of voices, both mental and otherwise.

Are you saying it's going to kill us?-that was Lewis.

"Just a minute; let's all stay calm."-Anna.

I think you'd better start explaining, buddy!-Rob.

Gabriel sat for a moment, and Kait had the feeling of raised hackles and bared teeth from him-like one of the rottweilers. Then, slowly and coldly, he began to explain.

It was the story he'd told Kaitlyn about his powers:

about how Iris, the girl in Durham, had died, about his escape afterward, about the man who'd tried to kill him, the man he'd killed instead. He told it without emotion-but Kaitlyn could feel the emotion that was suppressed behind the wall. They all could- and Kaitlyn could tell that, too.

I hate this as much as you do, Gabriel finished. The last thing I want is to see what's in your helpless little minds. But if I knew how to control it, I wouldn't be here.

He feels more trapped than anyone else. Like a spider caught in its own web, Anna commented, and Kaitlyn wondered if it was meant to be a shared insight, or if Anna was just thinking it.

"But then why did you do it to us tonight?" Rob demanded. Kait could feel the bewilderment emanating from him. Direct contact with Gabriel's mind had shaken his view of Gabriel as a selfish, ruthless killer-Kaitlyn could tell that. Which was funny, she thought, because the image of a selfish, ruthless killer was exactly what Gabriel was trying so hard to project right now. "If you knew you couldn't control it, why did you use telepathy on us?" Rob said angrily.

Because I couldn't think of any other way to save your useless necks! Gabriel's reply had the force of a knockout blow.

Rob sat back.

"There probably wasn't another way," Kaitlyn said judiciously. "Mr. Zetes was just about to walk in on us when the dogs started barking. What did you do to them, by the way?"

Threw a shoe at them.

At those dogs? Jeeeez, Lewis said.

Gabriel seemed to give a mental shrug. I figured he'd have to come up and see what was going on. Then he couldn't get them to shut up, so he finally had to take them outside.

"Look," Anna broke in, "maybe we shouldn't be using this thing so much. Maybe it'll go away sooner if we all just ignore it."

"It'll go away when we go to sleep," Gabriel said flatly-but aloud, Kaitlyn noticed.

"Are you sure?" Lewis asked.

"Yes."

Kaitlyn decided not to mention that Gabriel didn't feel as sure as he sounded.

"We really should go to sleep, anyway," she said. It was only now, when all the panic and excitement were over, that she could begin to realize how tired she was. She was stiff from tension and from sitting under that desk. And her mind was exhausted from trying to take in everything that had gone on today.

From Marisol's seizure, to Mr. Zetes appearing by the hidden door, to her drawing in art class, to the burglary-so much had happened that her brain was simply giving up.

"But you didn't tell us what was down there behind the panel," Lewis said. "Did you find anything?"

"We found plenty, all bad," Rob said. "But Kaitlyn's right. We can talk about it tomorrow."

Kaitlyn could feel Anna biting her lip on questions, judging that it was wiser to wait. She could feel Lewis sighing. But it was all muffled by an enormous sense of weariness-even of dizziness, of illness. She wasn't just feeling her own fatigue, she realized. Gabriel was on the verge of collapse. He was-Rob, she said urgently.

Rob was already moving. In trying to stand up, Gabriel had staggered and fallen to his knees. Kaitlyn helped Rob put him back on the couch.

"He's bad off-like you when you burned up so much energy yesterday, Kait," Rob told her. He was holding Gabriel's arm-and Gabriel was resisting feebly.

"I don't burn energy doing this. I take energy," he said.

"Well, you burned something this time," Rob said. "Maybe because you were connecting so many people. Anyway.. ." Kaitlyn could hear him take a deep breath-and sense him getting a better grip on Gabriel's arm. "Anyway, maybe I can help you. Let me-"

"No!" Gabriel shouted. "Let go of me."

"But you need energy. I can-"

I said, let go! Once again, the thought itself was an attack. Kaitlyn winced and everyone backed up a little-everyone except Rob. He stood his ground.

Lewis said weakly, "I think he's got enough energy right now."

Gabriel's attention was still on Rob. "I don't need anything from anyone," he snarled, trying to pull out of Rob's grip. "Especially not from you."

"Gabriel, listen-" Kait began. But Gabriel wasn't in a mood to listen. She could feel waves of defensive, destructive fury beating at her like the icy battering of a storm.

I don't need any of you. This doesn't change anything, so don't think it does. By tomorrow it'll be gone-and until then, just leave me alone!

Rob hesitated, then released Gabriel's arm. "Whatever you want," he said almost gently. He stepped back.

Now, Kaitlyn thought, comes the interesting part. Whether Gabriel can make it to his room on his own or not.

He did. Not very steadily, but belligerently. Not needing words to send the message that they'd all better keep away.

The door to the large bedroom shut hard behind him. Kaitlyn could still feel his presence on the other side, but it was a feeling of walls, of spiky barriers. She herself used to have walls like that.

"Poor guy," Lewis muttered.

"I think we'd all better go to bed," Anna suggested.

They did. Kaitlyn's clock said 2:52 a.m. She wondered vaguely how they were going to make it to school tomorrow, and then exhaustion overcame her.

The last thing she remembered, as her defenses lowered in sleep, was thinking, By the way, Gabriel, thanks. For risking your own neck.

She got only nasty images of icy walls and locked doors as an answer.

She was dreaming, and it was the old dream about the peninsula-the rocky peninsula and the ocean and the cold wind. Kaitlyn shivered in the spray. The sky was so dark with clouds that she couldn't tell if it was day or evening. A single, lonely gull circled over the water.

What a desolate place, she thought.

"Kaitlyn!"

Oh, yes, Kaitlyn remembered. The voice calling my name; that was in my first dream, too. And now I turn around and there's no one there.

Feeling resigned, she turned. And started.

Rob was climbing down the rocks. His gold-blond hair was flecked with spray and there was damp sand on his pajama bottoms.

"I don't think you're supposed to be here," Kaitlyn told him with the confused directness of dreams.

"I don't want to be here. It's freezing," Rob said, hopping and slapping his bare arms with his hands.

"Well, you should have worn more sensible clothes."

"I'm freezing, too," a third voice said. Kaitlyn looked. Lewis and Anna were behind her, both looking chilled and windswept. "Whose dream is this, anyway?" Lewis added.

"This is a very strange place," Anna said, gazing around with dark, thoughtful eyes. Then she said,

"Gabriel-are you all right?"

Gabriel was standing a little way down the peninsula, his arms folded. Kaitlyn felt that this dream was getting crowded-and ridiculous. "It's funny-" she began.

I don't think it's funny, and I'm not going to play, Gabriel's voice said in her head.

... if it was a dream.

Suddenly Kaitlyn was very much in doubt.

"Are you really here?" she asked Gabriel. He just looked at her coldly, with eyes the color of the ocean around them.

Kaitlyn turned to the others. "Look, you guys, I've had this dream before-but not with all of you in it. But is it really you, or am I just dreaming you?"

"You're not dreaming me," Lewis said. "I think I'm dreaming you."

Rob ignored him and shook his head at Kait. "There's no way for me to prove I'm real-not until tomorrow."

Strangely, that convinced Kait. Or maybe it was just the nearness of Rob, the way her pulse quickened when she looked at him, the certainty that her mind couldn't be making up anything this vivid.

"So now we're sharing dreams?" she asked edgily.

"It must be the telepathic link. That web of yours," said Anna.

"If Kaitlyn's had the dream before, it's her fault," said Lewis. "Isn't it? And where are we, anyway?"

Kaitlyn looked up and down the narrow spit of land. "I don't have a clue. I've only had this dream a couple of times before, and it never lasted this long."

"Can't you dream us somewhere warmer?" Lewis asked, teeth chattering.

Kaitlyn didn't know how. This dream didn't feel like a dream exactly-or, rather, she felt much more like the waking Kaitlyn than the fuzzy Kaitlyn who moved semiconsciously through dreams.

Anna, who seemed least affected by the cold, was kneeling near the edge of the water. "This is strange,"

she said. "You see these piles of stones everywhere?"

It was something Kaitlyn hadn't noticed before. The peninsula was bordered with rocks, most of which looked as if they had just washed up. But some of the rocks were gathered into stacks, piled one on top of another to form whimsical towers. Some rocks had their long axis up and down, some were placed horizontally. Some of the towers looked a bit like buildings or figures.

"Who did it?" Lewis asked, aiming a kick at a pile.

"Hey, don't," Rob said, blocking the kick.

Anna stood up. "He's right," she told Lewis. "Don't spoil things. They're not ours."

They're not anyone's. This is just a dream, Gabriel said, throwing a look more chilling than the wind at them.

"If it's just a dream, how come you're still in it?" Rob asked.

Gabriel turned away silently.

Kaitlyn knew one thing: This particular dream had gone on much longer than any of the others. And they might not really be here, but Rob's skin was covered with gooseflesh. They needed to find shelter.

"There must be somewhere to go," she said. Where the peninsula joined the land, there was a very wet and rocky beach. Above that, a stony bank, and then trees. Tall fir trees that formed a dark and uninviting thicket.

On the other side, water . . . and across the water, a lonely cliff, bare in some places, black with forest in others. There was no sign of human habitation, except-

"What's that?" she said. "That white thing."

She could scarcely make it out in the dimness, but it looked like a white house on the distant cliff. She had no idea how one might get to it.

"It's useless," she murmured, and at the same moment a surge of warmth swept over her. How strange-everything was getting cloudy. She was suddenly aware that while she was standing on the rocky peninsula, she was also lying down . . . lying down in bed....

For a moment it seemed as if she could choose where she wanted to be.