Flood Rising (The Water Keepers, Book 4) Read online

I was hoping when I saw that I was able to pull out of the man’s head without losing my strength that it meant I had become strong enough to avoid the whole passing-out thing all together, but once I went back in and pulled out the tainted physical energy from inside him to heal his body, I passed out anyway.

  I would have to test the theory again to be sure, but I came to the conclusion that using this ability to perceive someone’s thoughts and feelings required less of my resources than physical healing. It still took a great deal of energy and focus, but when I healed someone’s physical ailments, I could actually feel the sickness enter my body and spread through me. It was like my body had to shut itself down in order to heal myself of these foreign ailments. Strangely though, when an injury occurred directly to my body instead of someone else, I always healed much faster, sometimes immediately.

  I still didn’t understand why it was this way, and I wasn’t sure I ever would. But I had to keep trying. The most important thing at the moment was to gather as much information as possible, anything that would help me further understand my abilities.

  I sat up in the bed. “Agent Kelsey?” I said, trying to get his attention. He was the only person in the room.

  When he saw that I was awake he nodded and moved wordlessly to the phone that hung on the wall by the door. Before he could even push the button that connected to the observation room down the hall, Orion appeared at the doorway.

  Agent Kelsey hung up the receiver and moved out of the way.

  “I see you recovered quickly today,” Orion said cheerfully.

  “I did?” I asked.

  “Well, about twice as fast as yesterday, so I’d say that was pretty quick.” Orion smiled and sat in the chair beside the bed. “How are you feeling? Anything out of the ordinary?”

  I had a feeling he wanted me to expound on the first part of the session, why it had taken me longer to heal the man even though I was positioned so close to him.

  Instead, I shrugged my shoulders awkwardly. “Um… I don’t know. Not really.” I paused and glanced up at him. “He’s okay though, right? I healed him?”

  Orion looked at me in that ultra-pleasant way he always did, as if he were doing everything in his power to make me feel as safe and coddled as possible. “Yes, you healed him,” Orion said. “He’s as good as new.”

  I let out a happy breath. I was almost positive I had healed the man, but now that one patient had died, it was hard to feel sure. It was also hard to feel sure about the things I had felt within the man’s mind. Everything was still so new to me.

  I looked at Orion hesitantly. “I know this isn’t really normal protocol, but is there any chance you could tell me something about the patient from today? Do you know how he got hurt or anything like that?”

  Orion didn’t even blink. “Of course I know,” he said, “but as you’re well aware, this is privileged information.” He paused and studied my expression. “Tell me, Sadie, why the sudden interest? Does it have anything to do with the… incident yesterday?” Orion paused at the word incident as if he were trying to avoid even mentioning the agent’s death. Orion looked at me with encouraging eyes. “Perhaps we should have you talk to someone about it.”

  I was pretty sure he meant a counselor of some kind, probably some shrink that was in the Council’s pocket and ready to spill my innermost secrets to them at a moment’s notice.

  “No!” I blurted. “I don’t want to talk to anyone!”

  Orion’s brow creased with concern, and I realized my mistake. If I got overly upset, it would only give him more reason to push the matter.

  “I mean…” I tried to sound as casual as possible. “I mean… it was a little traumatic at first, but I’m better now.”

  Orion eyed me carefully. “Are you certain?”

  I bowed my head, still feeling a pang of sorrow at the man’s death.

  “I’m fine,” I said.

  Orion crossed one leg over the other and folded his hands on his knee. “Sadie, if you’re feeling up to it, there’s something I’d like to discuss.”

  I nodded, allowing him to continue.

  “The thing is,” Orion began, “your readings have been showing some unusual brain activity recently, especially in the last two days. Can you tell me if you’ve been noticing anything in particular that might be different? Perhaps about the test subjects themselves, or the conditions in the room?”

  I paused to take a breath. I didn’t feel ready to tell them what I was really up to. Then, an answer seemed to come to me from out of nowhere.

  “Ambrosia,” I said. “Those men from the last two days were from Ambrosia, right? And the other people were from Earth?”

  A gleam appeared in Orion’s eyes. “That’s true…” he marveled. “How did you know? Could you sense their Water Systems?”

  I really wasn’t sure how I knew; I just did.

  “I think so,” I said.

  Orion leaned forward. “Would you say that this affected the healing process in some way? Was it more difficult for you?”

  I didn’t answer. I suddenly realized that Orion was always getting his questions answered while I just did whatever he wanted. This time, I wanted some answers of my own.

  “Both those men were agents, weren’t they,” I said.

  Orion’s mouth twisted a little. “Yes, that’s true. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the people who cross the Threshold border are agents after all.”

  “But I thought they were all sent out with Healing Water,” I said. “Why didn’t they just heal themselves?”

  Orion looked amused, as if he found my question naive. “The job of an agent can be dangerous, Sadie. Sometimes things go wrong.”

  “Why did you bring them to me then, especially when their injuries were so severe?” My jaw clenched at the thought. I couldn’t hold back the strain in my voice. “I mean, I understand why we have to be discreet with people from Earth, but these were agents. Why didn’t you take them back across the border immediately? You risked their lives. A man died.”

  Orion cleared his throat. “I assure you,” he began, “when we made the decision to bring the agent in, his vital signs were stable. The decision was not made lightly. Because our agents do carry Healing Water with them, as you pointed out, it’s not very often that we have one come back with an injury. We had to take the opportunity to test your abilities on one of our own while we had the chance.”

  His explanation didn’t sooth me in the least. “So then… the very next day you just happened to have another agent show up with a life-threatening injury and you decided to risk his life too? For the sake of research?” My hands balled into fists. “And here I was, blaming myself—”

  “Sadie…” Orion said sympathetically. “The agent’s death was a terrible loss. We know this. But you have to understand—”

  “No, I understand,” I cut in. “I understand that you and the Council saw something that could be of benefit to you and you were willing to do whatever was necessary in order to get it, no matter who it might hurt. I understand completely.”

  Instead of getting angry or defensive, Orion went quiet. He stared at the floor until he was ready to speak.

  His tone was calm but regretful. “Being the person in charge,” he said, “means making difficult choices. It’s one of the duties required of a good leader. Sometimes you have to risk the few, in order to save the many. It’s one of those sad realities that nobody wants to face, but it has to be done. So, we do it for them. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about the wellbeing of our people. We do it because we care.”

  I sat there without a response, trying to decide if I agreed. Maybe if Ambrosia were in the middle of a war and they had to send in an agent as a sacrifice to save everybody else, but this was different. This was simply a chance for them to learn more about my healing abilities. I couldn’t see how it was dire enough to risk an agent’s life.

  Even more unsettling was the strange feelings I sensed from Orion’s essence as he sp
oke. Orion was always so difficult to read. I often got the feeling that he was withholding information or telling me only half of the truth, but I always figured this made sense in the past. I figured he knew things that he could not divulge to me, or to anyone for that matter, especially those without security clearance. But today, it felt like more than that.

  This time, my impressions left me extremely uneasy. I sensed a great deal of devotion in Orion’s being, although I wasn’t exactly sure what it was he was devoted to. I wanted to believe it was devotion to the people of Ambrosia, or even to the Council… but something whispered to my mind that it was something else entirely.

  6. RAYNE SEEKS ADVICE

  The afternoon sunshine blazed across the awning of their booth at the farmer’s market in Banya City Park. Rayne grabbed another box of lizzy fruit to pack away in one of the crates when his younger brother nudged him in the side with his elbow. “Hey,” Lark said, “check it out…”

  Rayne followed his brother’s hopeful gaze to find Lexa Baker and two of her girlfriends talking and laughing together just outside her father’s booth, where he sold the best meat skewers in the city.

  “Maybe I should go over there,” Lark said. “You can handle this, right? I promise I’ll be back in a minute to help you finish cleaning up.”

  Rayne had to laugh a little. He was well aware of his brother’s longtime crush on Lexa Baker. “Sure,” Rayne said, “I can take care of it. But you better bring me back a couple of those meat skewers.”

  Lark grinned and slapped Rayne on the back, “You got it. I owe you one,” and then he trotted off across the grass.

  Rayne glanced back up just before Lark reached the girls at the booth full of meat skewers only to see all three of them giggle and scamper away before Lark could catch their attention.

  Rayne shook his head and chuckled as he watched his brother stop short with a befuddled look on his face.

  Five seconds later, it became clear to both of them what it was that had ensnared the girls’ attention so abruptly—Jax Bennett.

  A swarm of females, both young and old, were buzzing around him like bees around a hive, swooning and calling out his praises in hopes for a picture or an autograph.

  Rayne had spent enough time around Jax to know that he was really like two people in one. He had two main sides to him that he basically rotated between... private mode and show mode. By the look of his flamboyant hair style, loud clothing, and the two scantily dressed women hanging on his arms by his side, Rayne knew that Jax was undoubtedly in show mode.

  Rayne, on the other hand, had been careful to keep his interactions to a minimum, wearing an old hat and dark glasses to help him go unnoticed. He did have a few customers recognize him throughout the day, but luckily, they were gracious enough to keep his whereabouts a secret.

  Lark sulked back to their booth with a paper plate full of meat skewers. Rayne reached to grab one but Lark pulled the plate away. “Your friend over there is stealing all the ladies,” Lark said. He held up the plate of meat and lifted his eyebrows. “This entire plate is yours if you can get him to disappear.”

  “Okay, you’re on,” Rayne said. He held out his hand as if to seal the deal with a handshake. When Lark reached out his free hand in return, Rayne moved quickly to the plate and grabbed one of the skewers. Before his brother could complain, Rayne took a huge bite. “Don’t worry,” Rayne joked, “that was just the down payment. I’ll have your girls back and ready to flirt in no time.”

  Jax’s entourage of fans had come to a standstill in front of the meat stand while Jax sauntered to the front of the line to order some food. Rayne took the opportunity and slipped in line quietly behind his friend. As if pretending to be a jealous bystander he purposely bumped Jax’s shoulder from behind and in a curt voice said, “Hey, buddy, why don’t you go get a real job like the rest of us and stop hogging all our women.”

  Jax turned, looking ready for a fight, when Rayne pulled down his shades with a laugh. Jax stopped as he recognized Rayne’s face and grinned. “Rayne! Buddy!” Jax said. “You almost had me there. I was ready to bust your nose in.”

  “Well,” Rayne replied, “I know how much you love a good brawl in the park.”

  Jax lifted his brow. “You got that right.”

  Lexa Baker’s father handed Jax a plate of meat skewers from behind the counter, and then turned in Rayne’s direction. “Can I get something for you?”

  “No thanks,” Rayne said. “I have a plate waiting for me.” He tilted his head in the direction of their booth, where his brother was ripping off a fat chunk of meat from one of the skewers with his teeth.

  Jax smirked and handed Rayne a skewer from off his plate. “You’ll be lucky if your brother doesn’t eat the sticks too.”

  Rayne accepted the skewer of meat and chuckled. “You’re probably right.” Before he could take a bite, two young girls, probably still school-age, ran up to greet them.

  “Jax!” the girls squealed. “Jax! Can we get a photo?”

  Jax put on a charismatic smile and waved the girls over. One of them looked like she was about to cry. “I’m your biggest fan,” she said to him, voice shaky. “I have all your posters and action figures and everything.”

  The other girl shoved a camera excitedly in Rayne’s direction. “Can you take a picture for us?” she said.

  Rayne laughed to himself as he replied, “Sure, no problem.” He held out his hand to take the camera from the girl when she froze and went white.

  She stared up at his face as if suddenly able to see past the sunglasses. “Wait, you’re—” She swallowed. “You look just like…” Then she spun to her friend and squealed again. “Brendi!” she called to her. “Brendi, look! It’s Rayne Stevens!”

  “Rayne Stevens? Are you serious? He almost never comes to the city!” Her friend’s eyes bulged as she rushed over to meet them.

  The girl near Rayne giggled as she turned back to him. “Don’t tell Jax,” she said with hushed excitement, “but you’re actually our favorite.”

  Rayne couldn’t help but chuckle, sending an amused look over to Jax. But then he realized they were holding up the line at the meat stand and quickly asked Lexa’s father to snap a picture of the group, so he could usher the girls off to the side.

  Before anyone else could approach them, Jax made eye contact with Rayne and flicked his head to the side, signaling for Rayne to follow him behind the back of the booth. Rayne nodded in agreement and they ducked silently behind the corner where they could stay out of sight.

  “Sorry about all that,” Jax said when they were alone. “I know you like to keep a low profile when you’re out. I was just in the mood for a little distraction. I didn’t realize you were going to be in the park today.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Rayne said. “No harm done. It’s really Sadie that I’m worried about when we go out anyway. I don’t want to drag her into all of the craziness, you know what I mean? She has enough to deal with as it is.”

  “Yeah, for sure,” Jax agreed, “especially after what she went through yesterday.”

  “Yesterday?” Rayne asked. “Why? Did Sadie tell you about the nightmare?”

  Jax shook his head. “No, I mean the thing… at her session…”

  Rayne’s neck went tight. “What thing?”

  Jax looked at him like he was completely clueless. “You know… the thing… with the guy at her healing session…” He paused after every few words, fully expecting Rayne to know exactly what he was talking about. Jax’s face wrinkled. “Wait, she told you, right? I mean, of course she told you…”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rayne said, his voice stiff. “What happened at her session yesterday?”

  Jax swallowed awkwardly. “Um, the test subject died… and this morning she told me that she thought it was her fault. She was pretty upset.”

  Rayne’s heart dropped. Sadie was blaming herself for someone’s death? Why didn’t he know this? How could he po
ssibly not know this?

  Rayne winced. This was a huge deal. It had to be killing Sadie inside. Just the thought of her upset over something so difficult made every muscle in his body ache. How could he be so blind that he didn’t see it in her eyes?

  And why didn’t she feel like she could tell him?

  “Man, I’m sorry,” Jax said. “I assumed you knew.” Jax placed a hand on Rayne’s shoulder. “She probably just didn’t want to worry you, you know?”

  An onslaught of questions raced through Rayne’s head. Why didn’t Sadie tell him? They told each other everything now, didn’t they? Was she worried he would blame her, make her feel even worse? She had to know he would never do that.

  So then, why? Why would she choose to go through something like that alone?

  But then he realized… she hadn’t gone through it alone. She had confided in Jax.

  Rayne could barely respond. His jaw started to shake. “I have to go,” he said to Jax curtly. “I told my brother I’d help clean up.”

  Rayne immediately turned away.

  “Want some help?” Jax called after him.

  “No,” Rayne insisted. “I’ve got it.”

  He had to get out of there before he did something he might regret.

  The faces around him were nothing but a blur as he pushed through the crowded marketplace, fighting the frustration.

  Why didn’t she tell him? There had to be a good reason. But there were so many bad reasons taking over his thoughts.

  Just as Rayne reached his brother at their booth, the building across the street caught his eye. Rayne stopped abruptly and changed direction. He just needed to talk it out. He needed to talk to a friend.

  “Hey, where are you going?” Lark called after him. “We still have a bunch of crates to load.”

  Rayne turned in his haste. “I’ll be back,” he called to his brother. “There’s someone I need to talk to.”

  Rayne hurried up the grand steps at the Court of Ambassadors and crossed the foyer, heading toward security.

  As he approached the screening area, Rayne pulled out his identification badge from his wallet and handed it to the Court guard. “Yes, hi,” Rayne said. “I’m here to see Agent Hastings in room 405.”