Revelations (16 page)

“No,” Jesse answered. “You?”

“No,” Anthony said. He cranked the radio again and drove to the burger place where Aiden should be waiting for
them. He spotted Aiden right away, sitting on one of the outside tables even though it was sort of too cold for it. “We
came up with zip,” he announced as he and Jesse joined Aiden at the table. “I think now we go to the cops.”

Aiden picked at the table’s peeling yellow paint. “Usually I’d say you were right. I’d say we come up with a
convincing story and go to them right now.”

“But?” Jesse asked, reaching for one of Aiden’s fries.

“But it’s almost a certainty that Yana has some kind of psychic power. I don’t know what kind, but as the G-2s-the
children born of the women who participated in the original group-reach adolescence, they have all begun showing
abilities of some kind. Some stronger than others.”

Knowing Yana, she’s probably a freakin’ power genius,
Anthony thought.
And it’s not like Rae’s power is going to

give her a lot of help. It’s not like she can make fire come out of her eyes or puke acid.

“If the cops go in using conventional methods, they could get hurt, even killed,” Aiden continued. “And we
couldn’t warn them. They wouldn’t believe us.”

“How dangerous can the powers be?” Jesse asked, stuffing a handful of fries into his mouth. As usual, he’d asked
out loud the question Anthony really didn’t want to hear.

“One of the G-2s is telekinetic. He can turn pretty much anything into a deadly weapon because he is able to hurl
most objects, light or heavy, with phenomenal speed and accuracy,” Aiden answered. “I’d say his powers are the
most dangerous of those we know about. We, the agency, didn’t even know Yana existed, so I don’t have any data
on her.”

“And Rae?” Anthony couldn’t help asking. “What kind of data do you have on her?” He was aware that now
wasn’t the time to speak in a voice laced with steel to the one person who could help him, but he couldn’t help
getting pissed off at the idea of this agency
tracking
Rae.

Aiden’s eyebrows raised. “We were aware that she had, well, come into her abilities. The incident in her school last
year and her subsequent stay in thehospital… She obviously has some power related to hearing others’ thoughts.

We hadn’t narrowed it down to anything specific, however.”

Anthony met Aiden’s gaze directly, trying to read if Aiden was giving him the whole truth. Aiden stared back,
challenging Anthony to push it further. Maybe even to tell Aiden what
he
knew.

“So what are we supposed to do now?” Jesse asked, returning Anthony’s focus to the present.

“Yeah, it seems like we’re up against a bunch of dead ends,” Anthony said.

“I wish I could tell you you’re wrong.” Aiden carefully began placing his food wrappers into the empty takeout bag.

“There’s something else you should know.”

Anthony knew it wasn’t going to be good. He could hear it in Aiden’s voice. “What? Just say it.”

Aiden paused. “I unearthed another of Mercer’s log books,” he said. “It gave almost a moment-by-moment account
of his days. As we thought, he hired someone to plant the pipe bomb that almost killed Rae. He had her under
surveillance almost constantly after that. And he did hold her and Yana hostage in the Motel 6.”

“But?” Anthony asked, twisting his hands together to keep himself under control.

“But Mercer wasn’t the one who kidnappedJesse,” Aiden said, his gaze flicking over to Jesse. “Going on the
information we have, I’d say that the kidnapper was Yana.”

“She could have killed him, keeping him in that warehouse,” Anthony burst out.
Yeah, she could have,
he thought.

And it didn’t matter to her at all.
Which meant Yana was capable of a lot more than stupid high school stuff. What
was she doing to Rae right now? Was Rae even still alive?

She’s alive,
he told himself.
I’d know if she wasn’t. I’d
know.

“We’ve got to find them. Right now. Today,” Anthony said. He glared at Aiden. “You have to figure out how.”

“I’ll try. But I’ll need to do more research,” Aiden said.

Anthony pictured the boxes and boxes stuffed with paper. “We don’t have time for that.”

“I have an idea,” Jesse blurted, his blue eyes glittering with excitement. “It might not work. But it might. It actually
might.”

Yana flipped a card, aiming for the pot she’d positioned in the middle of the floor. She missed. Again. The floor was
covered with half the deck. The kings and queens and jacks all seemed to be staring at Rae, mocking her.

Rae is cra-zy, Rae is cra-zy, Rae is cra-zy.

The thought singsonged through her head over and over. It wasn’t hers. At least it didn’t feel like hers, which didn’t
mean it wasn’t some other personality or the kind of voice a psycho hears. Or maybe it was the playing cards.

Maybe she was hearing their voices. Yeah. That made much more sense.

“Do we have any aspirin?” Rae asked. Yana didn’t answer.
Did I say it out loud?
Rae wondered.
Or do I just think I

said it out loud? God, I don’t even know for sure.

Rae is cra-zy, Rae is cra-zy, Rae is cra-zy.

“You want to play cards?” Rae burst out, needing to talk to drown out the cruel voice inside her head and
unwilling to ask the aspirin question again in case she already had.

“I am playing cards,” Yana said. She flipped another card, zinging it so hard, it hit the opposite wall.

“I can see that,” Rae answered through gritted teeth. “I mean do you want to play cards
with me.
Like hearts. Or
crazy eights. Or go fish. Whatever, anything.”

Rae is cra-zy. Rae is cra-zy. Rae is craaaaa-zzzzzzzy.

“It would be like we were in that book,” Rae rushed on. “What was it called?
The Outsiders.

Ponyboy and this other guy were hiding out because one of them killed someone. And they spent their time
playing cards and reading
Gone with the Wind
to each other. I loved that book.”

“Sounds stupid. Two guys reading
Gone with the Wind.
That would never happen.”

Flip, flip, flip went Yana’s cards.
Crazy, crazy, crazy
went the not-her thoughts in Rae’s head.

“Why are you being such a bitch?” Rae exclaimed. “I’m here because I’m trying to do you a favor. Do you even
remember that?”

Zzzzy. Zzzzy. Zzzzy. Zzzzy.

The taunting thought had been shortened to a buzz, a buzz that competed with the pounding of Rae’s headache.

Yana flipped her last card, then she started crawling around the floor, gathering up the deck again.

“Did you hear me, Yana?” Rae demanded. She might be crazy. But not so crazy that she couldn’t realize Yana was
treating her like crap. For absolutely no reason.

Yana stopped crawling and sat down cross-legged across from Rae. “Okay, let’s talk,” she said. “What do you
want to talk about?”

Rae shrugged. Something in Yana’s tone made it seem like no answer Rae gave would quite work.

“I have an idea,” Yana said. “Do you still want toknow about my mother?”

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Rae answered, trying to ignore the buzzing in her brain.

“Okay, well, you probably figured my mom ditched me and my dad, right?” Yana inched a little closer to Rae.

“Yeah. I didn’t know for sure. But yeah, it seemed like what could have happened,” Rae answered.

“Nope,” Yana said. “My mother was murdered.”

“Oh my God,” Rae said, her eyes widening.

“Oh my God,” Yana repeated, imitating her. She started cracking her knuckles. When she was done, she began
working on her toes.

What was with Yana? It was like she couldn’t sit still. And Rae couldn’t decide if Yana wanted to keep talking to her
or if she wished Rae hadn’t come with her at all. Casually she brushed her fingertips over one of the cards Yana’d
been flipping. The buzz in her head got louder. No thought wriggled its way through.
Another person’s thoughts in

my head is the last thing I need,
Rae told herself.
I just need to hang on, keep a grip on myself. I’ll be okay. I’ve been

okay all along. I never really needed to be in the hospital, and I don’t now.

“So aren’t you going to ask me how it happened?” Yana asked, tilting her head from side to side to crack her neck.

“How did it happen?” Rae asked obediently.

“Her best friend did it,” Yana said. “Can you believe it? That would be like you killing me. Or me killing you.”

“That’s… God, that’s horrible,” Rae replied. There was something about what Yana was saying-something familiar,
like an echo in her brain. But it was hard to focus through the pounding and buzzing that filled her head.

“You’re right!” Yana exclaimed. “It’s completely freakin’ horrible.” She tried to crack her fingers again but couldn’t
do it. “And the only thing that would make it even a little better is if I could get revenge. But the woman who
murdered my mom-the best friend-is dead.”

Rae could feel her heartbeat in the veins of her forehead. Each beat brought a stab of pain.
Focus. Stay focused

for Yana,
she told herself.
This is important.
“I guess death is a kind of revenge,” she offered.

Yana gave a snort. She pushed the fingers of her right hand back. So far back.

“Yana, come on, stop. You’re hurting yourself.” Rae reached out and wrapped Yana’s left hand in hers. Yana ripped
it away.

“You don’t understand at all,” Yana shot back. Rae felt a light spray of spittle from Yana’s mouthhit her on the
cheek. “Someone dying isn’t enough for revenge,” Yana continued. “They have to suffer. Don’t you get it? And you
can’t suffer when you’re dead. But I found someone who could suffer.” Yana slid even closer until her face was only
inches away from Rae’s. “Do you want to know who?”

Rae slid back a few inches, the rough wood floor snagging her pants. Yana was really starting to scare her. What if
Dr. Hachin had been
right
? What if Yana really did need-Yana leaned forward, and Rae’s breath caught as she took in the expression on her face. “The murderer’s
daughter, that’s who,” Yana said. “You should see this girl, Rae. She has the perfect life. Perfect father. Perfect
house. Even a housekeeper, if you can believe that. Plenty of money. You know the kind of girl I’m talking about.”

She’s talking about me,
Rae realized, the pieces finally all fitting together in her head, even through the rest of the
noise and pain. Yana was-Yana was Erika Keaton’s daughter? It was too much, too much to understand. But Rae
could see the hatred in Yana’s eyes, and it all just made too much sense.

Now that I get it, what do I do?
Rae thought, struggling to concentrate.
She brought me out here to
-
she must have

brought me out here to kill me.

“That really sucks,” Rae said, trying to play dumb.

“It must destroy you knowing that girl has it so good.” Her voice was shaking. She had to get it under control. Had
to think of a plan. A way out of here.

“Yes!” Yana beamed at her. “Especially because my life is the absolute opposite. It’s not fair. She’s the daughter of
the murderer. I’m the daughter of the victim.
I
deserve the perfect life.”

“You do. You so do.” Rae thought about suggesting that maybe Yana didn’t know the whole truth about her
mother’s death. But that might infuriate Yana, and Rae really, really did not want to see Yana angrier than she was
right this moment.

“I do,” Yana repeated. She shoved herself to her feet. “I’ll be right back. I’ve got to pee.”

Thank God,
Rae thought.
Thank you for giving me a chance.
As soon as the bathroom door shut behind Yana, Rae
scrambled up. Keys. Where were the keys? Her headache was so bad, it was hard to keep her eyes open, but she
scanned the room and spotted the keys on the counter by the sink.

Quickly, silently, Rae darted over to the counter and snatched up the keys.
Get out, get out now!
she ordered
herself. With three long strides she was out the door of the cabin. She raced to the car, clambered inside, and
jammed the key in the ignition. She didn’t shut the car door. The first sound she wanted Yana to hear was Rae
peeling out.

“Rae!”

Rae jerked her head toward the scream and saw Yana rushing toward her. She slammed the door and fired the
engine.

Drive into that tree!

That’s not my thought,
Rae told herself. She tried to slam the car in gear. Got it wrong. Tried again. Got it. Then she
shoved her foot down on the gas.
I’m not even getting close to that tree. It’s way out of the way.

Drive into that tree!

The thought hit her brain like a bullet. Rae’s hands jerked the wheel to the left. Toward the tree. Her foot kept the
gas pedal on the floor.