Read Online Breaking Normal (Dream Weaver #3) by Su Williams - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Su Williams
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phantoms that lingered, even now, in the very air. So much blood was spilled on the sandy ground outside. Nick’s. Sabre’s. Thomas and William’s. And a fair bit of mine. My shoulders ached from battering the bag and the weight of the memories. I dropped my arms to my side.
“I’ll hold the heavy bag for you. If you want a stationary target for a while.”
I glanced up at Nick, always so willing and helpful. I turned and met him at the punching bag that was bandaged with duct tape.
“If you phase to mend a little bit, you won’t be so sore,” he advised.
“Thanks.” I phased from the garage and back again. “Would you call out a punch routine for me to follow?” I asked, and as an aside I said, “Please?” I placed my hands at neutral position and waited.
“Lead with the right. Jab. Hook. Jab. Hook. Uppercut. Roundhouse.” The kick command surprised me, but I managed to get my feet under me and positioned for the kick. There was a little more power than I intended in the move and Nick staggered back with an ‘ooph.’
“Nice,” Sabre approved from his workbench. “Now pretend it’s Nick and kick his ass. No names. Just ass.” Nick and I looked at each other and back to Sabre.
Seriously?
Sabre sniggered quietly and continued his work. I returned to the bag and followed Nick’s nonverbal commands with renewed vigor. The ache of his thoughts leaked into the commands. I fell into a jab-hook-jab-uppercut rhythm and beat my aggressions out on the bag.
“Tell me—” jab “more about—” hook “how Dad—” jab “and Adrian—” uppercut “know about you.”
Nick sighed. “Your dad and Adrian grew up together. But you probably knew that already. Yeah, so…once we were shipped home from Nam, we—Sabre and I—started hanging out with Zecharias and Adrian. Shooting pool, playing cards, that sort of thing. Sabre started noticing some of the pre-Caphar signs in both of them. We took a risk and confided in Adrian, as well. They each allowed us to test their blood, run brain scans—you know, Sabre’s damn experiments.” He shot a look of disdain at his mentor. “They were both within the age range to develop into full Caphar. So we waited. Of course we had no idea at the time that death was the catalyst.” I wondered if Sabre would have killed them back then, if he’d known what he knew now. “In the meantime, William and Thomas were waiting in the wings. Observing. I wonder sometimes if they know that death is the mechanism to immortality.”
“I doubt it,” Sabre intoned from his bench, never looking up from his work. I’d almost forgotten the man was even in the same room.
“Why do you think that?” I asked and paused my assault on the bag.
“On the suspension bridge, when William said you had to die, it didn’t sound to me like he knew. He wouldn’t have wanted you to die and become Caphar. He just wanted you die.”
Well, that’s reassuring. “He just wanted to hurt you as much as he could,” I said. “Even indirectly.”
“Yup.”
Nick nodded at the bag and I resumed my battery. “Your dad met your mom a couple years later. They were married almost fifteen years before you came along. But you already knew that.”
In frustration, I plowed my fist into the bag. Nick grunted from the force.
“We continued to be friends with them. At first your mom didn’t know, but she started asking too many questions, so he finally told her.”
“Does Celeste know,
“I’ll hold the heavy bag for you. If you want a stationary target for a while.”
I glanced up at Nick, always so willing and helpful. I turned and met him at the punching bag that was bandaged with duct tape.
“If you phase to mend a little bit, you won’t be so sore,” he advised.
“Thanks.” I phased from the garage and back again. “Would you call out a punch routine for me to follow?” I asked, and as an aside I said, “Please?” I placed my hands at neutral position and waited.
“Lead with the right. Jab. Hook. Jab. Hook. Uppercut. Roundhouse.” The kick command surprised me, but I managed to get my feet under me and positioned for the kick. There was a little more power than I intended in the move and Nick staggered back with an ‘ooph.’
“Nice,” Sabre approved from his workbench. “Now pretend it’s Nick and kick his ass. No names. Just ass.” Nick and I looked at each other and back to Sabre.
Seriously?
Sabre sniggered quietly and continued his work. I returned to the bag and followed Nick’s nonverbal commands with renewed vigor. The ache of his thoughts leaked into the commands. I fell into a jab-hook-jab-uppercut rhythm and beat my aggressions out on the bag.
“Tell me—” jab “more about—” hook “how Dad—” jab “and Adrian—” uppercut “know about you.”
Nick sighed. “Your dad and Adrian grew up together. But you probably knew that already. Yeah, so…once we were shipped home from Nam, we—Sabre and I—started hanging out with Zecharias and Adrian. Shooting pool, playing cards, that sort of thing. Sabre started noticing some of the pre-Caphar signs in both of them. We took a risk and confided in Adrian, as well. They each allowed us to test their blood, run brain scans—you know, Sabre’s damn experiments.” He shot a look of disdain at his mentor. “They were both within the age range to develop into full Caphar. So we waited. Of course we had no idea at the time that death was the catalyst.” I wondered if Sabre would have killed them back then, if he’d known what he knew now. “In the meantime, William and Thomas were waiting in the wings. Observing. I wonder sometimes if they know that death is the mechanism to immortality.”
“I doubt it,” Sabre intoned from his bench, never looking up from his work. I’d almost forgotten the man was even in the same room.
“Why do you think that?” I asked and paused my assault on the bag.
“On the suspension bridge, when William said you had to die, it didn’t sound to me like he knew. He wouldn’t have wanted you to die and become Caphar. He just wanted you die.”
Well, that’s reassuring. “He just wanted to hurt you as much as he could,” I said. “Even indirectly.”
“Yup.”
Nick nodded at the bag and I resumed my battery. “Your dad met your mom a couple years later. They were married almost fifteen years before you came along. But you already knew that.”
In frustration, I plowed my fist into the bag. Nick grunted from the force.
“We continued to be friends with them. At first your mom didn’t know, but she started asking too many questions, so he finally told her.”
“Does Celeste know,
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