Page 4

Maci

I knew that man was like me. Why wouldn’t Hamilton see it? I’d been watching him a long time, and I saw how he reacted when someone lied. He itched his arm like it hurt. Mine did the same. I might only be seven, but I wasn’t a baby. No matter what Hamilton said!

The sun shone as I sat in my chair in the garden. The pain was bad, and Hamilton was too tired to block it. That happened sometimes. Hamilton was taking a break to recharge. So, it was medication and hot baths to help me relax. Mom thought it helped, and they did a bit. I might only be seven, but I wasn’t silly.

Though today, the pain had been horrible, and Mom had kept me off school. Mom was working, so I was out here reading. I’d managed to edge closer to the fence. He was home. I’d heard him earlier. I was trying to figure out how to force him to admit he was special. There had to be a way, and I was very clever. That man would tell the truth.

Soul

Maci was watching me again. I could sense Maci’s eyes boring through the panels separating us. I was unsure whether to talk to her or not. Was it wrong if I approached first? Maci was a kid, and I was an adult.

Bryony was protective of her kids; that much was clear. In the end, I decided it was best not to rock the boat.

I lay in the sun, soaking up the rays for the following hour, when I heard voices.

“Maci, you’re becoming obsessed,”

Hamilton stated.

“And you never listen!”

“Because what you are saying is wrong. Mom says we’re special. Do you really think we moved next door to someone like us? Mother told us never to mention… our thing. I bet he doesn’t have a thing. That would be—”

“What?”

“Outrageous,”

Hamilton exclaimed.

“Ham, you don’t know what you’re talking about… ow.”

“Maci, you okay?”

Hamilton asked with concern.

“A spasm,”

Maci dismissed, but the agony in her voice was clear.

Strangely, that was the first time I’d heard pain mentioned.

“I’m sorry. I’m burned out at the moment,”

Hamilton muttered sadly.

“It’s fine. I’ll manage,”

Maci replied bravely.

“Give me a week, and I can block you again,”

Hamilton murmured, and I sat up.

What had Ham just said?

“Shhh. He’s next door,”

Maci hissed.

“Oops. Quick, move away,”

Ham demanded, and I stood up and peered over. I saw the back of Hamilton pushing Maci towards the house.

Had that kid just stated what I thought he had? Could they possibly have powers? Shit, the odds of that happening were astronomical.

“I can tell when people lie,”

I called before I realised my intentions.

Hamilton stopped and looked over his shoulder, frightened.

“Take me back, Ham, I want to talk,”

Maci hissed.

“What’s that meant to mean, mister?”

Hamilton asked.

“When people lie to me, I feel it,”

I explained. Hell, I’d already opened my mouth.

“I don’t know what that means,”

Hamilton replied and started pushing Maci away.

Maci began arguing with Hamilton, and he won because he pushed her towards the house.

“If you ever want to ask questions, I’ll be here,”

I called out and felt cringey. Did that come out wrong? Probably.

“Can I help you?”

someone asked, and I glanced up. The kids had reached the house, and I was still peering over the fence.

“Sorry,”

I said and backed away. Bryony sent me a suspicious stare before heading inside. Shit, I didn’t want to consider what I’d looked like.

Two days later

“Hi, mister!”

Maci exclaimed as she steered herself onto my yard. My jaw dropped open at the little intruder as Slasher, Priest, and I sat up. Priest had taken a nasty slash from a randy cougar while on a hike, and mine had been the closest place. I’d called Slasher when I had seen how bad it was.

“Maci! Is your mom aware you’re here?”

I asked, jumping up.

I didn’t like Maci’s colour. Her skin looked grey, and there were lines around Maci’s face that no kid her age should have. She was also slumped in the wheelchair.

“Nope. Mom doesn’t know you’re like us. And they are, too!”

Maci answered, turning to Slasher. “You glow like Ham. And you’re green.”

“I’m green?”

Priest repeated, amused.

“Yeah. He’s gold, and you’re black,”

Maci explained, pointing at me as she said black.

Was Maci seeing auras? But I thought she’d said she was like me.

“Maci, we better tell your mom. She’ll be worried,”

I announced as Slasher and I exchanged glances.

Maci’s breathing seemed troubled. “No! I want you to admit you’re special!”

Maci demanded.

“What do you mean?”

Slasher inquired gently. I saw his fingers twitch and guessed he was picking up on Maci’s ill health.

Before Maci could answer, Bryony called out from next door. “Maci? Where are you?”

“She’s here,”

I shouted back.

“What?”

Bryony exclaimed, and her head appeared over the fence. “I’m coming over!”

There was a clear threat in Bryony’s voice. One I could appreciate. Moments later, Bryony entered and headed straight for Maci.

“What are you doing?”

Bryony hissed.

Maci struggled to fold her arms as she winced in pain, and Slasher stepped forward. I held out a hand and stopped him.

“Mom, they’re like me. All of them,”

Maci announced.

Bryony snapped upright and gazed at us as she grabbed Maci’s wheelchair handles. “Sorry for Maci bothering you, she has a vivid imagination.”

“Lie,”

I boomed. I hadn’t experienced pain, but Bryony was lying.

“What?”

Bryony gasped.

“That was a lie. I felt it,”

I replied.

“Lie,”

Maci stated, and I laughed.

“Ditto, kid!”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about,”

Bryony responded as she began backing away.

“Lie!”

“Stop that!”

Bryony snapped.

“I have powers. I sense when people are lying to me. Slasher can heal, and Priest talks to animals,”

I offered, trying to give Bryony something to work with.

Bryony’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think you’re funny? Maci is a little girl. You shouldn’t be bullying and teasing her like that. She’ll think you’re serious.”

“We are, Bryony. Can I call you that? We have… for the lack of a better word… psychic abilities. Half of my MC does. But Maci and I share one, the ability to sense lies,”

I replied.

“You’re loathsome!”

Bryony hissed. “People like you, who tease and make fun of her, have made their lives a misery. Leave us alone. Maci has a fanciful imagination, and there’s nothing wrong with that!”

“Slasher,”

I said, and he nodded.

“Can I approach Maci, ma’am? Maci’s pain is grating on my skin, and I’ll take it away from her,”

Slasher asked softly.

“No!”

Bryony exclaimed, and I saw the panic in her face. Shit, what had this family been through? Somehow, I guessed the kids had slipped up a lot when younger, and they’d paid the price.

“Look at me. You don’t know me. That’s fine. But Slasher can help block Maci’s pain and even try healing her if we understand what’s wrong with her,” I said.

“Liar!”

Bryony hissed, but Maci let out a soft cry and twisted her body.

Slasher stepped forward, ignored gaining permission, and put a hand on Maci’s head. Slasher closed his eyes as Bryony moved to intercept him.

I stopped Bryony.

“Let Slasher work,”

I murmured.

“Are you getting off on this?”

Bryony accused in a low voice.

“Look,”

I replied with a nod at Maci. Already, her colour was returning, and the lines around her eyes fading. Maci sat up a little straighter, and a smile crossed her face.

“The pain has gone, Mom,”

she exclaimed and clapped her hands together.

“There, that’s better,”

Slasher murmured, stepping back and sitting heavily. Healing often drained him.

“Maci,”

Bryony whispered.

“I feel great. Better than even when Ham blocks it,”

Maci cried.

“What happened?”

Bryony asked, looking between us.

“We’re telling the truth. We all have abilities, like I told you,”

I explained as I offered Bryony a chair.

“You can’t! We’ve heard of people with powers, but they’ve always been fakes,”

Bryony said. “My kids are the only ones I’m aware of.”

“Lie. Because now you’re aware of us,”

I replied and wondered why I wasn’t experiencing pain at her lie. “Do you have powers?”

“No,”

Bryony answered.

“Did their father?”

Slasher questioned, and Bryony bristled.

“Yeah, at lying through his teeth,”

Bryony snapped.

“Wow, okay then. Maci’s not mistaken. We are alike,”

Priest spoke into the awkward silence.

“The kids haven’t had any training, have they?”

Slasher asked.

He was looking grey, so I headed into the house to get him a high-energy drink. When I returned, Bryony was stunned but a little more relaxed as Maci fired questions at Slasher and Priest. I handed Slasher the drink and turned to Bryony.

“Would you like something?”

“No, I’m good, thank you. This is so difficult to believe, but I saw him heal Maci,”

Bryony replied.

“Priest?”

I asked, and he nodded at my unspoken question.

“Don’t anyone move, or you’ll frighten them,”

Priest said.

Bryony frowned, but Slasher and I became still. Within a few moments, three rabbits hopped into the yard, followed by two squirrels. Several birds appeared, and a mole popped up, blinking in the bright sunshine. Field mice approached with three cats and two foxes.

“I don’t understand,”

Bryony whispered, but Maci was delighted.

“Watch,”

I murmured.

“Sit,”

Priest said, and the animals sat. “Stand up.”

They all stood. Priest ran them through some other commands and then gave each a fuss.

“I wouldn’t believe it, but I saw that with my own eyes,”

Bryony muttered.

Maci looked beside herself. “I told Ham that Soul was like us and, even better, he has friends like us!”

“Does nobody in your family have powers?”

Slasher asked at Bryony’s stunned expression.

I glimpsed interest in his face and bristled. I saw Bryony first! Catching Slasher’s eye, I moved closer, and Slasher grinned. Fucker.

“No. I didn’t know Hamilton had them until I cut myself badly when he was about two. I grabbed the kids, intending to go to the hospital, when Ham held my hand. The pain disappeared, and before my eyes, the cut healed. The scar remains today, proof it happened. Then Ham cured a child at nursery, and shit kicked off…,”

Bryony’s voice trailed off.

“What happened?”

I asked gently.

Bryony shuddered, and Maci looked upset.

“The care worker insisted Ham had healed the boy, which he obviously had. But she made a massive deal out of it, and I pulled Ham out. Word started spreading, and people began knocking on our door, wanting Ham to heal them. He was two! Madden moved us into a gated community, and things calmed down. I worked from home to stay with the kids, and then Maci’s abilities kicked in.”

Bryony stared into the distance as Maci patted her hand. “Mom says that I kept screaming and drove everyone crazy.”

Maci seemed proud of that fact, and I was amused.

“Maci is lucky she made it to the age she has,”

Bryony said dryly, and Maci laughed. “But yeah, Maci kept shrieking when people spoke around her, and her first word was lie. Once I understood what was happening, I felt awful. I’d exposed Maci to some of the worst liars in the world. People who were paid to lie.”

Guilt soaked Bryony’s voice.

“How so?” I asked.

“Their father is Madden Brighton.”

A stunned silence fell. “The actor?”

“Yeah,”

Bryony said shortly.

“No wonder that poor kid was in agony,”

Priest grumbled.

I studied Bryony’s expression. She was looking defensive. “What did he do about the kids?”

“Oh, Madden thought they were…”

Bryony looked at Maci, who shrugged.

“Dad says we’re defective, and it comes from Mom’s side. We don’t really like him,”

Maci explained matter-of-factly.

How the hell did someone respond to that statement? If it had been an adult or not Maci’s father, I would have commented, but I was unsure what to reply.

“Dad’s a grade-A jerk,”

Maci stated, and I choked on a laugh.

“You say it as it is,”

Slasher said in approval.

“What do you want?”

Bryony asked.

I was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“My kids are like you. So what?”

“Ah. You’re wondering if we plan to use them?”

Slasher added with a shake of his head.

I was insulted. Did we come across like that?

“Nobody will use them. Not a single one of us. What your kids have gone through, so have we. There’s no way any of the club would harm, embarrass, or use your children,”

I replied.

“I don’t know that! And I’m not discussing this in front of Maci,”

Bryony retorted.

Maci was starting to seem worried. And Bryony was clearly becoming defensive, and she had no reason to trust any of us.

“We’re available if you ever wish to discuss things or if something surprises you. The door is open for you, Bryony,”

Slasher said. “And if you’d like to meet more of our club with abilities, inform Soul. He can arrange it.”

“I’ll think about it,”

Bryony replied and began pushing Maci down the drive. I watched Bryony go and guessed this wasn’t the end of it. In fact, I bet Bryony would completely pull back, but Maci would get her way. She was too stubborn not to!

Bryony

The kids were on a computer game while I was on my laptop. Yet I wasn’t working. I was searching for a house in a different state. Maci hadn’t meant to expose us to danger, but she had. I was trying to decide how to handle this. The blame game was not the way to go, but Maci needed to understand what she’d done.

“What are you doing?”

Ham questioned, eyes wide as he took in the house on my laptop.

“Nothing,”

I said, but Maci wheeled herself in and came to a stop.

“That was a lie, Mom,”

Maci stated, puzzled, as I began shutting the laptop.

“Just leave it alone,”

I ordered, but no, not my girl or boy.

“Are we moving again?”

Ham asked, sounding horrified and resigned.

“I’m looking at houses,”

I admitted.

“Why?”

Maci demanded.

“Because you did what I told you not to do!”

Ham burst out, annoyed. “I told you not to talk to next door, and you did. And now we have to move because you can’t keep your mouth shut! I liked it here, and you ruined everything. You’re so spoiled and selfish!”

“Ham!”

I cried, shocked at the level of anger in his voice.

“I’m sorry, Mom. But it’s true. I told Maci not to tell him we were special, and Maci thought she knew better. I’m so tired of moving, I’m never going to have friends!”

Ham yelled.

“Are we moving?”

Maci asked, her bottom lip trembling.

“We’re going to have to, Maci. At the end of the day, I have to protect you, and people knowing about you isn’t acceptable. There are dangers out there you can’t understand. Strangers who’d hurt you or your family to force you to do as they wished. At your age, it’s hard to see the world like this, but it’s dangerous for any child. Especially for the two of you,”

I clarified.

Ham sent Maci a disgusted glare. “This was a nice house in a friendly neighbourhood. There were children to play with. We have to start all over again because you know better than everyone else. I just want friends to last longer than four weeks!”

Maci’s eyes welled with tears. “I don’t want to move.”

“Maci, I’m sorry. We have to. You’re a child, but this is a lesson you need to learn. Actions have consequences. Ham is wrong to be so mean, but he is truthful about one thing. You ignored the rules and believed you knew better. It doesn’t matter if someone has abilities like yours, they could still hurt you. That fact you ignored, despite me telling you many times. Now, we must leave and start again,”

I explained gently but firmly.

The blame game wouldn’t help Maci and would make her feel awful, but she did need to understand that actions had reactions. And sometimes they weren’t a good reaction.

“I’m really sorry,”

Maci said, and I believed she was. Maybe this time, Maci would understand how she’d scuppered us all.

I wanted them to have as normal a childhood as possible. But not at the cost of jeopardising their mental health and safety.

There were many unscrupulous people who’d love to get hold of someone like Ham and Maci. They’d farm Ham out with his healing abilities and use Maci for all sorts of things. The scenarios I imagined were nightmarish.

But I’d made a massive mistake, too. I had identified them as Madden’s children. I’d been shocked and not thinking and had majorly fucked up.

“Maci, it’s okay. I also made mistakes. But the best thing we do is move on and learn from them. Mistakes are costly, and we all made one,” I said.

“I didn’t. Mom, I kept my mouth shut like I’d been taught,”

Ham complained with a baleful look at Maci. A tear rolled down Maci’s face.

“But Soul was like us, and I didn’t see how that could be bad,”

Maci argued.

“But all you knew, baby, was Soul had abilities. Does Soul kick cats or hurt dogs? No. An ability doesn’t make someone a great person,”

I explained, and Maci nodded.

“Like Luke at school? Luke pretends to be good but does mean things,”

she asked.

While I didn’t want to denigrate another child, Luke was an excellent sacrifice right now. “Exactly like Luke. Strangers can be nasty but pretend to be different. Is Soul like that?”

“Let’s get to know Soul. That way, we can tell,”

Maci questioned.

“Because by doing so, Soul could fool or wait for us to trust him and then harm you,”

Ham answered scornfully.

Oh boy. My little man was riled up. “That is true, but we can’t judge Soul for being bad when we’re unsure he is.”

“So, back to what I said. How do we tell if someone is bad?”

Maci demanded.

“Baby, even as adults, we cannot always see. But you’re able to protect yourself better as an adult than a child. You got to let me do my job and look after you.”

“Which means we gotta move again,”

Ham exclaimed in disgust.

“Yup. Exactly that.”

And with that, the conversation ended.