We paused at the closed gates. "Don't worry, it's mostly for show," Aaron said, giving me a rea.s.suring smile.

I wasn't sure what he meant but nodded like I understood. Two guards came forward, glanced inside the car, then opened the gates for us. I noticed the guns strapped to their sides almost immediately. My stomach lurched. Lewis had said S.P.I. was a real threat. Was the fence here to keep out S.P.I. or us in?

The car rolled through the iron gates and Aaron's home came into view. For a moment I forgot my unease. "You're our honored guest. Anything you want, anything you need, we have it here. In fact, there's no reason to leave." Aaron laughed after he said that, as if he was joking.

I kept my smile in place, but it was hard to do. I was tired, I told myself, merely exhausted from the day's events. Yet, as the gates closed behind us, I couldn't help but glance back.

I might have been an honored guest, but I was a guest who was apparently going to have to get permission to leave.

Chapter 9.

I felt like I'd slept on a cloud of soft loveliness. Last night the wind didn't seep through the windows and rattle the gla.s.s panes, keeping me awake. The floorboards didn't creak and moan. And I didn't have to listen to Grandma's kitchen noise. Even though I'd expected to feel odd in a strange house, I'd slept silently, deeply, wonderfully.

I lifted my arms above my head and stretched my muscles until they eased. The room was dark, only a sliver of light pierced the thick drapes that hung over the floor to ceiling windows. It was a large room, as big as our living room and kitchen combined. I pushed my down comforter away and rolled off my Queen sized bed. The warmth of my coc.o.o.n called to me, but the room wasn't chilly, even though the house was atop a hill and the wind was battering the island outside. They must have had some amazing heating system to keep this huge place warm when even the smallest of homes got cold during fall and winter in Maine.

I went immediately to the bedside table and picked up my cell phone. No messages. No one from school calling to ask why I hadn't arrived for history cla.s.s. Not even Grandma had called. I dampened down my disappointment. That blue light of my cell merely mocked me.

Well, screw them. I wouldn't think about Grandma, I wouldn't think about school. I was starting over. Last night I'd had a wonderful dinner with Lewis and Aaron. We'd talked until midnight, discussing when I'd start my studies and what I'd learn. He'd even given me some CDs on meditating, apparently the first step on my road to success. I'd felt safe and for the first time in my life, I'd felt like a normal person...like an adult ready to make her own decisions. No more hiding, no more pretending.

With a sigh, I set my phone down and walked toward the windows. Would anyone even care that I'd moved away? How would Grandma explain my disappearance? My feet sank into plush, white carpet. It was so warm I didn't need my typical double layers of socks. Managing to avoid the shadowy furniture, I gripped the thick blue curtains and threw them wide.

The rooftops from the buildings in the town below glimmered under the morning sun. And there, just beyond, the brilliant blue ocean shimmered, sparkling like a million diamonds trapped in a mermaid's net. The few trees sprinkled across the large yard wavered and weaved under the autumn wind. To the left the sky was gray. A storm was coming, but that wasn't uncommon along the coast. Here quickly and gone just as fast.

A sudden movement drew my attention back to the yard below. A small girl stood upon the brilliant green gra.s.s as if she'd just appeared there like some fairy from the books I'd read as a child. She couldn't have been more than eight. With blonde hair and a round face she was far cuter than I'd been as a gawky child. What was she doing down there alone?

The dress and jacket she wore wrapped around her thin legs, the material pulled fierce by the wind. As if sensing my attention, she tilted her head back and stared directly up at me. I sucked in a sharp breath, feeling her gaze as if she'd looked into my very soul. Who was she? Lewis had said Aaron took in people with our abilities, was she another Mind Reader? Or maybe his daughter? I felt an odd and completely ridiculous sense of jealousy at the thought that Aaron might have a daughter. Was I so pathetic and needy that I was already thinking him as some sort of father figure?

"About time," an unfamiliar voice mumbled from behind me.

I spun around, the curtains falling back into place and shadowing the room.

An older girl, perhaps a year or two younger than me, sat in the wing-backed chair near my stone fireplace. Her jean-clad legs were curled up underneath her and a strand of her dark hair was between her lips. It wasn't surprising I hadn't noticed her until she'd spoken; she was wearing all black, even her hair and eye shadow was dark. She blended into the shadows like some sort of ghost. Another Mind Reader?

Daring to look away, I glanced back out the window. The little girl was gone, as if she'd never been there. I sighed in frustration. There was way too much mystery going on this early in the morning. I turned back toward my intruder. "Uh, hi."

She spared me a quick glance, then pulled the strand of hair from her mouth and began to play with it, twisting it over and over around her finger. "I'm Olivia."

She didn't look me in the eyes, only quick glances up, as if to make sure I was still there. "Cameron."

She unfolded her legs and stood. She was a couple inches shorter than me. "I know."

Taken aback by her response, I flushed. She apparently knew about me, but I didn't know a thing about her. "Okay." Why the heck was she here? Did everyone know who I was? Did I have no privacy? A million questions rushed through my mind at once.

"Aaron wants to see you in his office." She moved toward the door, only to pause and glance back. "You don't hide your thoughts very well."

Confused, I frowned. She pulled open the door and disappeared into the hall. It was only after she'd left that I realized I hadn't been able to read her mind.

"Oh G.o.d." Like Lewis, she'd learned how to block her thoughts.

I was so not used to having to worry. Annoyed, I opened my suitcase and pulled out a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a green hoody. I dressed slowly, my mind spinning with the possibilities and irritation quickly gave way to wonder. The place had seemed so quiet last night, internally and externally, that I hadn't thought there was anyone else in residence. How many other Mind Readers lived here?

I moved into my huge, private bathroom, barely aware of the marble tile and ma.s.sive tub that had so impressed me last night. As much as I wanted to enjoy my new day, two things nagged at me: the fact that I was basically locked inside a fence and the fact that people seemed to appear and disappear like ghosts haunting this mansion.

I brushed my teeth, then pulled my hair into a ponytail. Usually I put on a little makeup, but I was too eager to know what Aaron wanted. Realizing my natural look would have to do, I moved into the hall, only to pause. Carpet ran the length of the corridor, and it was a long hall. Small, crystal chandeliers twinkled above. I was so tired last night, I hadn't gotten a good look. Now I could study every minute detail and one realization remained clear; Aaron had money, but how had he made his fortune?

Deep in thought, I made my way down the wide steps that led to the foyer where more marble tile lay upon the entryway floor. I knew where Aaron's office was as we'd had dinner there last night. Still, I paused, feeling odd now that it was the bright light of day. Things seemed harsher, more real under the sunlight. As much as I wanted to belong, it would take awhile for this mansion to feel like home.

The door opened and Aaron stood there. "Come in!"

I flushed. Of course, he'd heard my thoughts. G.o.d, it sucked being the only person in this place who couldn't hide her feelings.

"We'll get to it."

Confused, I stumbled as I moved into the room. "What?"

He grinned, looking just as rich in jeans and a sweatshirt as he had yesterday in his b.u.t.ton up shirt. "I know how you feel. But I promise we'll teach you how to block your thoughts. First, though, I have something for you."

I didn't have time to feel embarra.s.sed because he left me standing in the middle of his office as he went to the bookshelves that lined the far wall. The room was just as beautiful as the rest of the house, with rich burgundy carpet, a dark wood desk and plenty of bookshelves full of novels. No pictures. Not of Olivia. Not of the young girl I'd seen outside. Maybe they weren't related.

He returned with a small box in hand. "For you."

Any worry gave way to excitement. Cradling the box in my arm, I lifted the lid. Photos. "Um, thanks." Polaroid's of people I couldn't identify. I didn't know what I'd expected, but not this. I lifted one yellowed picture and studied the two men standing side by side. Both were smiling, one was familiar, one not.

"You." I looked up at Aaron and pointed toward the tall man with blond hair.

He leaned against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah. And the other man..."

He didn't go on, but he didn't need to. My heart stopped for a brief moment as I realized who I was looking at. I suppose Mom might have had pictures of my dad, but she'd dropped me off at Grandma's when I was so young I didn't remember much. Grandma had nothing and I'd always supposed it was too painful for her.

My hand was trembling, I didn't realize that until the photo started shaking. "My dad?"

"Yeah," Aaron said softly.

He was right. I did look like my dad. Same dark hair, same hazel eyes. My lower lip quivered, my nose stinging as I tried to fight the tears.

Aaron took the box from my hands and set it on his desk, then led me to a chair. I let him because I was too overwhelmed to resist, overcome with emotions I couldn't seem to identify. How could Grandma not even give me a picture of my father? Vaguely, I was aware of Aaron sitting in the chair next to mine. When he took my hand, I let him. Even though I should have felt weird holding his hand, I didn't. His touch brought me comfort in a way I couldn't even begin to understand. Comfort I'd rarely felt before.

"There are so many things your father would have wanted you to know, Cam. He might not be here now, but I am."

They were the exact words I needed to hear. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a hankie, an actual cotton hankie, and handed it to me. "You don't know how long I've searched for you. I made a promise to your father that I would see you survive. That you would be proud of your ability and not shun your powers. That you could protect yourself and know who to trust."

Shun, which is what Grandmother had wanted me to do. I sniffled and dabbed at my eyes. This was where I belonged, where my dad would want me to be.

He smiled again, those perfectly straight teeth blindingly bright. "There are many things I'm so excited to teach you. Will you let me?"

I gave him a wavering smile. "Yeah."

He patted my hand. "Good. I'm here for you, Cameron. I'm not going anywhere."

The words I needed to hear. The same words Lewis had said to me that night I'd confronted Annabeth and changed my life forever...for the better.

"Now, Lewis is waiting for you in the dining room. You get some breakfast and if you're up for it, we'll start your lessons today."

I clenched the picture to my chest, excitement replacing my sadness. "Really?"

He nodded, laughing in delight. "So like your father."

I grinned, accepting the compliment.

"Now, go along and after breakfast I'll teach you how to block people's thoughts."

Block people's thoughts?

Silence. I'd hear pure, wonderful, silence. "My G.o.d, I'll know quiet."

He laughed again. "Only your own thoughts to keep you company."

Not that my thoughts would win me a Pulitzer anytime soon, but they were mine and only mine. I knew as I left his office that I'd done the right thing. This is what my father would have wanted for me. More importantly, this is what I wanted.

"Are you relaxed?" Aaron asked as he settled on the floor across from me.

I shrugged. As relaxed as I could be in a room with a man I barely knew and a guy I had a crush on. I slid Lewis a glance. He, too, was seated on the floor but a few feet away from me, half hidden in the shadows. He looked so serious and he was so cute when he was serious. Obviously he wasn't reading my mind or he'd be laughing right now.

"Okay," Aaron started. "Close your eyes."

I did as was told.

"Deep breath in, deep breath out. Again. Feel your body relax."

I knew I looked like some sort of meditative Buddhist with my legs crossed and my arms resting on my thighs, but I wasn't a very good Buddhist. I tried to sit up straight in an imitation of a beautiful lotus flower, as my meditative tape had suggested earlier. But sitting straight hurt and so I was sort of curved like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. So much for being a flower.

"Cameron." Was that a note of warning in Aaron's voice? c.r.a.p, he knew I wasn't paying attention. "I'm going to count backwards. Five. Deep breath in. Four. Breathe out. Three. Deep breath in. You're becoming more relaxed with each breath. Two. And one. Now picture yourself somewhere you love. Somewhere that makes you feel relaxed. A meadow, a lake, the ocean..."

Immediately, the ocean came to mind... the waves crashing against the sh.o.r.e... the very spot where Savannah was found. Her gray body flashed behind my eyelids. "No." I hadn't realized I said the word aloud, until Aaron reached out, resting his warm hand on mine, bringing me back into reality.

"Concentrate. You're here, at the estate. You're completely safe. Did you see the beach from your window this morning?"

I nodded, my eyes still closed, but my heart racing.

"Good, picture yourself on that beach. It's summer. It's warm. Yellow wildflowers are sprouting out of the dunes, white b.u.t.terflies floating on the breeze. Do you see it?"

I saw it, everything he said. I wasn't sure if he was implanting those pictures in my head or not, but it didn't matter. The images called to me, calmed my racing mind.

"You're lying down in the sand, on a blanket. Do you hear the ocean waves? Roaring in...out...in...out. You've closed your eyes, the sun is warm on your skin." He was silent for a moment, letting the picture sink in. "You feel drowsy, but you're not sleeping."

I was there. The library room was gone. Lewis was gone. Aaron was just a vague rumbling voice in the background of loveliness that had become my reality. I didn't want to leave this place, not ever. I didn't want to think. I didn't want to do anything.

"Focus on those waves," Aaron said softly.

I did so easily. I'd always loved the sound of the beach, that soft roar that drowned out everything else in life. The mystery of the deep waters.

"Take a deep breath in, breath out." Aaron was suddenly gone, replaced with a deeper voice, an unfamiliar voice that spoke directly beside me.

Confused, but too numb to be afraid, I turned my head. My dad sat next to me, grinning down with a warmth that invaded every cell of my being. Startled, I sat up.

"Dad?"

"Breathe in, and out," he said. "Concentrate. I need you to concentrate."

I frowned. Was it my dad? Or was it Aaron...I wasn't sure. I didn't want to know. I closed my eyes and lay back down, focusing on the air coming in and out of my lungs.

"Now, I want you to picture a shimmering, silver wall in front of you. Nothing can get in through this wall, nothing. You are protected."

Easy enough. The silver wall was there, hovering around me protectively.

"Now Cameron," Aaron was back, his voice replacing Dad's. "I'm going to ring for a maid. She doesn't know we can read minds. You'll keep your eyes closed when she enters. She thinks I'm teaching you to meditate. You'll hear her thoughts, but I want you to try and block them. The moment you hear her words, you'll picture your ocean. You'll smell the salt, you'll hear the waves. When her thoughts come at you, you'll push against that silver wall, push her thoughts back toward her. They will not penetrate that wall."

I think I nodded. I wasn't sure. I didn't care. I only wanted to continue to float into oblivion, in my make-believe world. There was a soft rustle of movement as he made his way to the door to call for the maid. My mind reached for the noise, wanted to focus on his movements and drag me back to reality.

Keep breathing, I heard Lewis's voice whisper through my head. Focus on your breathing...focus on those waves.

A few moments later I heard the door crack open.

She's here, Lewis said. Suddenly he appeared sitting on that blanket beside me, wavering in and out of focus through that silver wall. Was I imagining him, or had he placed himself in my mind? He looked gorgeous with the wind blowing through his dark hair, the sun warming his skin.

But don't focus on her, he continued. Let your mind wander, listen to her thoughts but keep your eyes closed.

"Sarah," Aaron's voice was low and calming as he spoke to the maid. "Can you make sure it's kept quiet today? We're meditating."

"Yes, of course," the maid replied, but I was more interested in her thoughts. What is she doing? Sometimes I really don't understand these kids.

I could practically feel the maid's attention on me. Her gaze burning into my face.

"And make sure the windows are cleaned by tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." I shouldn't be surprised, weirder things have happened here. But oh well, as long as he pays me.

My mouth twitched as I resisted the urge to smile. The ocean was fading, that silver wall fading as I naturally focused on her thoughts.

Cameron, Lewis' voice pulled me back. Focus on the ocean. Focus on your breathing. Focus on that wall. Picture the maid. She's standing in front of you. Now push on that wall, push her thoughts back to her.