Chapter Eleven

“What?” Brandy asked, mirroring my alarm.

“I think that mental connection, likeness thing, happened to me and Ian this afternoon,” I replied in a panic.

She pulled to the side of the road. “Calm down,” she said. “I would have sensed it if it had. Hang on—I did sense something.”

I couldn’t catch my breath. I was starting to see stars.

“It wasn’t likeness, though,” she stated with certainty. “Explain exactly what happened.”

“Ian used his joining on me during lunch. It was supposed to be a shortcut to show me how joinings work. Things started out fine, everything was all business, but then it took a turn.”

“So what’s the problem?” she asked.

“The problem is…it turned into some kind of weird mind-kissing thing. That sounds crazy, but there is nothing else I can compare it to. Whatever it was that happened, it was most definitely a mental connection, and no offense to Ian, but I don’t want to be permanently connected to him for the next three hundred years. I mean, he’s great, but I hardly know him, and I’m the last person anyone should be linked to right now. I’m a mess, and there’s giant targets on my back. Not to mention I haven’t even really kissed a boy. What if there’s a dewing out there I’d like better than Ian? If by some miracle I survive this meet and mingle with Sebastian, I should probably check my options before settling on someone for the rest of my life, don’t you think?”

Brandy laughed. “Breathe, Alison. Ian became a target the minute he came looking for you, and as far as the rest of it goes, you’re thinking human, and look at how things turn out for them. They get divorced 50 percent of the time. We don’t pick our likeness, and they don’t pick us. It’s something the universe determines. The end result is that we are a lot happier with our partners than most humans are with theirs.”

“Maybe,” I agreed, “but what if he wasn’t supposed to use his joining that way? What if we messed things up and destiny can’t undo it now?”

“Listen, Alison, you have to believe me. I would know if the two of you had formed a likeness connection today, and you didn’t. I felt a pulse of energy at lunch this morning and guessed Ian was up to something, but it’s not the kind of energy that comes off a likenessed pair, so relax.”

Seeing the sincerity in her eyes, I told myself to calm down. Gradually my heart rate began to slow. “What did happen?” I asked. “Because it was definitely something more than just a confession session.”

She shrugged. “Ian connected to your energy on a different level. It’s like a separate access point into your mind. It’s something we aren’t supposed to mess around with. I mean, we all know that access point exists, but since dewing and humans don’t form romantic relationships, at least not ones that last, it’s pretty pointless. What Ian did today is frowned on, but your comparison is good. It’s more like kissing than anything else.”

“Why did he do it if he’s not supposed to?”

“You aren’t human, so technically he wasn’t breaking the rules. Maybe he was really trying to help you learn, or maybe he was curious to see if it would affect you at all.”

“Please don’t tell him I freaked out about this.”

“Why shouldn’t I tell him?” she asked with a laugh. “He should have warned you what to expect before jumping into your mind that way.”

“I told him he could do whatever was necessary,” I admitted. “And it was effective. I learned a lot.”

She laughed again. “I’ll bet you did.”

“I’m serious, Brandy. He helped me. I understand joining better now, and I don’t want to repay him for that with embarrassment.”

“Okay, I won’t mention your panicked reaction to the idea of likenessing with him,” she agreed. “But it would have made a lovely tease.”

Signaling, she pulled back into traffic. She switched lanes and then glanced over at me. “Just a friendly heads-up for you. If he hasn’t made it obvious enough, Ian likes you. I think he’s almost as confused about all this as you are. Some things you just can’t help. I understand your reaction to the idea of likenessing with him. It’s a foreign concept. Just know you could search everywhere and not find another man comparable to him. The only one was Jack.”

I didn’t want to think about likeness. Not with Ian or anyone else.

Brandy pulled into the parking lot of a large home furnishings store. She grabbed her purse from the backseat and then squeezed my hand. “Let’s go shopping,” she said happily.

A senior sales associate approached us as we walked through the doors. With a professional smile in place, he introduced himself as Todd. He was young, straight, and single. Brandy had him eating out of her hand in a matter of seconds. His squinty eyes never lost their gleaming admiration as he answered Brandy’s questions. Her wish was his command and the command of all the workers he managed. She only had to point toward something, and it was whisked away to be wrapped and packaged.

Brandy was decisive in her shopping. She chose curtains, rugs, pictures, and dishes rapidly and convinced Todd to sell us a floor model dining set, two big bookcases, and some accent tables. I was used to Mom changing her mind three times about something before going with her initial choice. This type of rapid-fire shopping was a new experience, and I liked it.

When we finished, Todd’s people packed the trunk and backseat of the car with home decor items and then silently drifted away. Todd lingered, telling Brandy the furniture would be delivered the next day. His eyes followed her with a dreamy expression for several seconds before he got up the nerve to ask for her phone number.

She laughed merrily before telling him she was in a serious relationship with someone else. I’m sure his commission softened the blow.

As Brandy maneuvered the heavily laden car out of the parking lot and onto the main road, I heard her sharp intake of breath. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Dewing at six o’clock.”

I quickly checked the side mirror for a black car. I couldn’t see one anywhere. “Where?” I asked.

“In the Ford Focus three cars back.”

Checking the mirror again, I spotted the correct car. “Is it following us?”

“I’m not sure. It isn’t the same person who’s been driving the dark car. I’m old enough that once I feel a vibration, it’s marked in my memory like a signature. I can tell this is a woman. She feels like Ormolu clan. I’d like to get the license plate number. If we get the plates, I can have Spencer do a little detective work. We might be able to get her name.”

Even though we couldn’t be sure she was following us, I still felt sick to my stomach when Brandy slowed the Toyota. “Don’t freak out,” she said. “You feel human. For all she knows, we’re just two friends who’ve been shopping. We’re just going to let her pass us and get her license plate number. So look ahead and pretend you’ve got no interest in her.”

I did as I was told. I heard the soft shush as the car passed us and then Brandy said, “She’s gone.”

She was breathing hard and there were tiny beads of sweat on her forehead. “Something went wrong, didn’t it?” I asked.

“No. I just had to be ready to protect you if she was going to try something. Most of the time we don’t fight with our fists. It’s a mind thing. It takes a lot of energy. If I was healthy, it wouldn’t be problem, but I’m not so healthy anymore.”

The rest of the way to my house Brandy was unusually quiet. We pulled into my driveway, and she spoke again. “Thanks for coming today. It’s always more fun to shop with another girl around.”

“I had fun, too,” I said sincerely. She was paler than usual. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive home?”

“I bounce back quickly,” she assured me.

I checked my watch while she drove away. It was seven o’clock, and because I’d traded with Alex, my night to cook. Going straight to the kitchen, I began searching the refrigerator. I did a happy dance when I found a package of ground turkey behind some of Mom’s tofu crap. Assuming my dad had secretly bought and stashed it, I got the low-fat cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes out of the fridge. Fifteen minutes later, I had the table set and a dozen turkey tacos ready to eat.

Alex came in saying he was starved. He was fresh from skateboarding, and his red hair stood up in spikes all over his head. There was a hole in the knees of his jeans. “It’s not Tofurky, is it?” he asked.

“Nope. It’s the real thing tonight.”

He immediately dropped into a chair and started loading tacos onto his plate. “Leave some for the rest of us,” I said. His mouth was already full. “What did you make for dinner last night?”

“What do I always make?”

“Macaroni and cheese.”

“Yep.” The freckles that dusted his nose wiggled up and down as he chewed. He put out a hand. “Twenty bucks, remember?”

I’d been expecting it, so I dug into my pocket for the money.

My dad was next into the kitchen. He kissed the top of my head and glanced at Alex, who was enthusiastic about dinner for a change. “Real meat tonight?” he asked with optimism.

The male members of my family had downed two tacos each by the time Mom came in to eat. “You’re all heathens,” she said. “I could smell the flesh cooking a block away.” She moved two of my carefully crafted tacos to her plate and dissected them. She threw the offending turkey in the trash. “I like your friends,” she said. “The girl…Brandy, was it? She seems nice.”

My dad and Alex looked up, each of them interested but for entirely different reasons. “She is nice,” I replied.

“And the boy, what beautiful eyes he has,” she continued.

“Will they come again?” my dad asked. “I’d like to meet some of your friends.”

My skinny brother watched me with pathetic hopefulness. “Maybe. Ian and I still have more work to do on our presentation, and I’m helping Brandy with a get-together she’s having this weekend.”

“Fabulous!” my mother said. “I’ll drive you and stop in for a minute to meet her parents.”

I swallowed the lump of anxiety rising in my throat. There would be no parents around for her to meet, and I didn’t want her knowing where Brandy and Ian lived, in case she decided to make a surprise visit on a different day. I needed to get that thought out of her mind by replacing it with something else.

Calming myself, I felt for my own energy bubble. After a moment of concentration, I thought I knew where the edges of it were. Then I felt for the energy around Mom, and I felt an immediate jolt between us. My mind had joined with hers. I copied Ian’s approach and started searching for what I hoped were her thoughts. After a moment, I could tell where they were. I couldn’t see the content of them, but I knew they existed as concretely as the table in front of me. I waited patiently for a break between two of them, and when I found it, I slipped Alison will drive herself into it.

Mom’s expression changed. “Sorry. Of course, you’ll drive yourself,” she said.

Later that night, I sat on my bed and thought about what I’d done. For the first time ever, I’d been able to override my headstrong mother on something she was dead-set to do. It had been easy once I found the open spots in her thoughts, but I felt guilty about doing it. It was like I’d cheated on a test or something.

I was working on homework when my cell phone rang. The noise startled me. The only people who ever called me lived in my house. Pretty pathetic. “Hey,” Ian said when I answered. My heart thumped at the sound of his voice.

“Is this the girl who charged a couple thousand dollars to my dad’s credit card today?” he asked.

“I’m innocent. I just pushed the cart.”

He laughed. “Guess what I’ve been doing since Brandy got home?”

“Lugging ten tons of home decor into your house?”

“That is correct. Even with all the stuff she bought, it still looks empty in here.”

I rolled back onto my bed. “There’s a truckload of stuff scheduled for delivery tomorrow morning, and she’s planning to do more shopping in the afternoon. She’ll have it ready in time.”

“Or she’ll kill us both trying,” he said. “She’s sending me out to get the television, game systems, stereo equipment, and other miscellaneous electronics.”

There was a defeated tone in his voice. Knowing Brandy’s energy when it came to shopping, I felt bad for him. “Did she tell you we ran into another dewing on the drive home?”

“Yes. A lot of our kind have houses here. They don’t always live in them, but Vegas is a fairly popular spot for us. It’s probably nothing. Regardless, my dad is trying to find out who’s around, and more specifically, who was driving the car.”

I felt better knowing Spencer was looking into it. “Is Brandy okay?” I asked. “She was really worn out after…whatever it was she did.”

“I think so. She feels well enough to boss me around. She just gave me orders to get some stuff for my room. According to Miss Manners, only heathens live out of a suitcase. Which is ironic because she’s living out of one, too.”

The mention of suitcases reminded me that he had a life in Sydney to get back to. “How long do you think you guys will stay around?” I asked.

“As long as it takes to teach you what you need to know and deal with Sebastian.”

I was quiet for a moment, thinking I would miss him when he left. “Speaking of teaching,” I said, “I did something tonight I haven’t been able to do before. Mom totally wanted to meet your parents on Saturday, but I mentally suggested I was going to drive myself over, and she changed her mind. She never would have done that before.”

“That’s really good,” he said pleased.

“I’ve been feeling guilty about it ever since, though.”

“I feel that way sometimes, too. Maybe it’s because our joinings mess with free will. Most other joinings don’t. It’s different when I use my mind on another dewing.”

“I thought dewing couldn’t use their joining on each other.”

“We don’t use them in exactly the same way,” he said, “but we use them.”

“Right. Like how you did with me today.”

“We can do something similar, but what went on today was a human-dewing thing.”

“Brandy told me mind kissing was a no-no. Why did you do it?”

“Mind kissing? Hmm. I told you it would be an unconventional teaching method.”

“You did,” I agreed with a smile.

“I hoped using that access point would help you understand quickly, because you would be more aware of the process.”

“I’d like to argue and be pissed off at you, but as usual I can’t. It worked. I would appreciate a warming if you ever decide to do it again.”

“That’s fair.”

I could hear Brandy’s voice in the background. She was referring to him as the Golden One. “She just told me to stop wasting time and start putting stuff together,” he said. “I’d better go. It’s probably going to be a late night for me.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this but…thank you for what you taught me today.”

He laughed. “Any time. Good night, Alison.”

Putting my phone on the nightstand, I thought about what Brandy had said in the car. If he hasn’t made it obvious enough, Ian likes you. I had a decision to make. Was I going to let myself fall for him, or was I going to keep some emotional distance between us? I was attracted to him. It was useless to deny that anymore, but my life was a mess. Getting involved with Ian would take my attention off what was really important—getting ready to deal with Sebastian. And Ian was going to leave when it was all over, anyway. My time in foster care had taught me the heartache of losing someone I loved. With all the other uncertainties in my life, I just couldn’t go down that road.

Ian and I could be friends and that was all.