Unraveled

In two hours, I’m hunting witches. Either come with me or don’t. Up to you. Either way, I’m headed out without the others.

Good or bad, she had to try to find them, and she had to go before her dad got home. That way, she could leave him a note—studying with friends, be back later—and not have to endure the Spanish Inquisition.

Are you really going to do this?

Yes, she thought again. She was. Though her trembling increased, she pressed “send.”

ADEN LAY ON Dr. He

“Did you take your medication today?” the doctor asked him.

“Yes,” he lied.

“If that’s so, why aren’t your pupils dilated?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had any medical training.”

Good one, Caleb said, mentally high-fiving him. Julian laughed.

Behave, Elijah cautioned. We have to tread carefully.

“Do you like the souls, Aden? Is that why you refuse my aid?”

Aid? Ha! For once, Aden opted for honesty with this man. “Actually, Dr. He

“I see.” The good doctor didn’t seem like he cared.

“What did you do to me, the last time I was here?”

“What I always do. Talk. Listen.”

Hardly. “And you plan to talk and listen to me again this evening?”

“Of course. Mr. Reeves is very pleased with your progress. He says you now get along with the other boys at the ranch. He says you’re doing your schoolwork and are even impressing your teachers. But he also says you’re still talking to yourself, and you and I both know why that is, Aden. Don’t we?”

He stiffened, even as the soft lounge beneath him begged him to relax. “You tell me.” He would have to act soon. He couldn’t risk being sucked under again. No telling what the doctor would do.

“I’ve encountered your kind before, you know.”

“Crazy?”

“No. A…what did you call yourself? A magnet.”

And he’d thought himself stiff before. He’d never told Dr. He

What else had he learned?

Not yet. Steady. He wanted to gather as much information as he could before acting.

“No lies to feed me? That’s not like you, Aden.”

“You mentioned that you’ve met others.”

“Yes.”

“Who? When? What could they do?” Did he believe Dr. He

But lies could be checked out, information verified—or not.

Good. Keep him talking, Elijah said.

“What do you know of your parents?” the doctor asked, rather than answer him.

Not much. He knew they’d once lived next to Mary A

“Nothing,” he finally replied.

Dr. He

In unison, the souls snorted.

Yeah. Right. “What of the others? Did they trust you?”

Again, the doctor sidestepped the question. “It’s time for you to relax, Aden, and let your troubles fall away.”

Subtle. Clearly, there was to be no more talking. Well, then, it was finally time for Aden to act, even though he’d learned very little. He straightened, throwing his legs over the side of the chair.

“Lie back down, Aden.”

“In a minute.”

Caleb, he said inside his mind, praying the soul could, for once, hear him through the constant flow of chatter. Get ready. He closed the distance between himself and the doctor, and as he made contact with the cold skin of the doctor’s wrist, He

Caleb leapt into action.

Aden moaned in pain as his body morphed from solid mass to insubstantial mist, that mist slipping inside Dr. He

“Thank you,” Aden said, speaking in Dr. He

Welcome, Caleb replied with no small amount of pride.

Aden took stock. The doctor’s body was cold, empty and hungry…so hungry, but underneath the cold and the emptiness and the hunger was a rush of power, u

Dr. He

So what was he? Figure that mystery out later. Aden glanced at the clock on the wall. Thirty-three minutes until the end of his session. He got to work. He looked through files, but only a few were out in the open and none applied to him. Dr. He

More than human, but no powers.

Completely human, but could be useful.

Warmer than most. Reasons?

Linked.

What did that mean? What did any of it mean? The cabinets were locked, and he tried to jimmy them loose so he could read other files. When that failed, he searched for a key.

The desk was neat, tidy, a few unimportant papers. Inside the drawers, there was nothing but paper clips, rubber bands and pens. No photos, no personal notes. No booze. No snacks. And, of course, no key. He moved to the bookcases. To his surprise, he found hidden drawers at the bottom. Inside them? Tattoo equipment, of all things. Everything from needles to body paint to gloves.

Aden made sure to put everything back in its place so that Dr. He

You gotta get into those file cabinets, Julian said. That voice recorder he stuffed under your nose might be in there.

“I know. Elijah? Any ideas?”

Sorry. Drawing a blank.

Trying not to drown under a wave of frustration, Aden returned to the desk and fell into the chair. If he couldn’t get to the files and the recorder, maybe he could gain the information he wanted by traveling through Dr. He

Eve, though, had been the one to manipulate time. She’d merely had to visualize a scene, and she had been able to transport Aden there. With Sha

“Get ready, guys. I’m go

Elijah groaned. I don’t like this.

You can do it, man, Caleb said.

Julian sighed. God help us.

Aden closed his eyes, blanked his mind, drew in a deep breath…exhaled…slowly…He thought back, painting the dark canvas of his mind with images from his last visit here. He’d been on the lounge, lying down, staring up at the ceiling. Dr. He

A spike of dizziness caused his heart to speed up. He continued. Soft music had played, was playing even now. The ceiling had blurred. Darkness had swallowed him whole.

Aden’s skin tingled, the dizziness spreading, strengthening, and suddenly he was falling, whisking through a never-ending pit, arms flailing for some kind of anchor. This was it. He was doing it, traveling back. In control.

When he stilled, when the dizziness subsided, he slowly cracked open his eyelids. Yet still he saw only…static? There was no office, no desk, no lounge. At the very least, he should have seen himself lying down.