Awaking (The Naturals, #1) (18 page)

Morgan sighed, exasperated. “Fine, you’re immoral. Is that what you wanna hear?”

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Just add in ‘depraved’ and I’m a happy camper.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re a weirdo.”

“And you’re willingly being seen in public with me. What does that say about you?”

She smiled. “Clearly, I’m deeply disturbed—hanging out with such a depraved, immoral individual…”

They turned their attention back to the checkers game for a few minutes before Lucas spoke again.

“So, you’d never, like, work for Orrick if he offered you a job?”

Morgan considered this for a moment. She picked up a checker and began running her fingers along the edges. “Dunno. I mean, I guess it depends what the job was. But… you know what? No. I wouldn’t want to just be given a job, you know? I’d wanna earn it. I don’t think I could just work for Orrick.” She turned her attention from the checker to Lucas. “How ’bout you?”

He shrugged. “Shoot. If Orrick gave me the opportunity to make some serious money, I can’t say I’d say no.”

She shook her head. “Depraved, immoral…” she said, smiling.

Lucas smiled, too, and turned his attention back to the checkerboard. “You don’t seem to have any problem with Kellen working for Orrick,” he said, eyes down as he moved one of his pieces.

Morgan returned with a move of her own before responding. “Why would I care if Kellen worked for Orrick?”

“Dunno. You just seem… close to him is all.”

She sighed. “Seriously? First Kellen calls you and Corbin my boyfriends, now you’re accusing me of—”

“Wait—I’m not accusing you of anything,” Lucas said. “But if you’d like me to...”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lucas moved one of his checkers before responding. “You’re not exactly difficult to read—now that I know how. And when I see you with Kellen, there’s a certain—”

“Fascination?” Morgan supplied. “Because, yes, I’ll admit, I’m a little fascinated by him. Because of his abilities—and what he knows about—” She lowered her voice and leaned toward Lucas. “—the Veneret.”

“I was gonna say attraction, but if you wanna call it fascination, sure.”

Morgan threw a checker at Lucas, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Lucas ignored her abuse. “You coming tonight?” he asked, nodding toward a flier on the community bulletin board.

Morgan glanced at the flier, which announced a band was playing here tonight at seven. “Dreamers Often Lie… Never heard of them.”

“It’s Corbin’s band,” Lucas supplied. “I work tonight, so I’ll be here.”

Morgan shrugged. “Dunno. Ris might wanna come. If she wants to, I guess I’ll probably end up here.”

“Lia might want to come, too.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “What, we’re BFFs with Lia now?”

“Well, no, but…” Lucas shrugged. “I mean, we weren’t friends before all this started, but now…”

“Well, you weren’t a total bitch before all this started happening.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed her for a moment. “Give her a chance.”

Morgan sighed. “If you insist. But—oh, no!” She brought her hand to her mouth in mock horror. “I don’t have her number. I guess I can’t invite her…”

“Lucky for you, I’ve got her number.” Lucas pulled his cell phone out and began scrolling through his contacts.

Morgan pulled her phone out, too. “How do you have her number?”

“She, Corbin, and I exchanged numbers last night. Must’ve been when you were in the bathroom.”

Morgan felt a momentary twinge. Something shadowy danced formlessly around the edges of her mind.

“Whoa—what just happened?”

“Huh?”

“You. You just… You went all fuzzy just now.”

Morgan raised an eyebrow at him. “What did you say you were drinking?”

Lucas ignored her. “Your energy,” he said quietly, intently. “Usually it feels a certain way, but a second ago it went all—”

“Fuzzy?”

“Kinda, yeah. Just… off, y’know?”

“No.”

“Did something happen last night?” Lucas asked, leaning forward.

“What? No,” Morgan said quickly, though something inside her told her that wasn’t the truth. Last night she’d been looking for the bathroom and she’d found Kellen and Ris together… But there was nothing wrong. Kellen had said there was nothing wrong.

Lucas eyed her dubiously. “There you go, all fuzzy again,” he said quietly. Then he sighed. “You ready for Lia’s number?”

“Yes,” Morgan said, eager for the subject change.

After Lucas rattled off Lia’s phone number, he shifted uneasily. “Oh—uh oh.”

Morgan eyed him. “What, uh oh?”

“I just noticed the time. Told my mom I’d be home about five minutes ago. We’ve got some family picnic thing to go to—”

Morgan waved her hand dismissively. “Go, go.”

He stood and gave an apologetic smile. “See you tonight, though?”

She nodded, also standing. “Yeah, I’ll be here. So, be thinking of what drink you’ll be convincing me I should have tonight.”

Lucas started toward the door. “Oh, I already know,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.

“Oh, really?” Morgan asked following him. “Care to share?”

Lucas opened the door and allowed Morgan to exit before him. “You’ll just have to wait and be surprised.”

“Ooh, intrigue.” She stopped to face him, smiling.

Lucas smiled, too, and shifted his weight from foot to foot. After a moment, he offered an awkward wave. “See you tonight, then.” With that, he headed toward his car.

Morgan watched him for a moment before heading toward her own car. When she got in, she immediately, mechanically, pulled on her seatbelt and put her keys in the ignition. But before she started the car, she realized she had no firm plans about where to go or what to do. It wasn’t quite noon yet and she knew Ris was supposed to be shopping with her mother, which might take all day.

Suddenly, Morgan felt it again. The twinge. She wondered briefly if Lucas were still nearby if he’d insist she’d gone fuzzy again. It was silly, though, she convinced herself. There was no reason for her to go fuzzy when she thought about Ris or Kellen.

Kellen. Her phone was in her hand and before she realized what she was doing, she was scrolling through her contacts. She would call Kellen.

The thought that she’d never been the one to initiate contact with Kellen didn’t enter her mind as she placed the call. That she wasn’t sure what she would even say when he picked up didn’t faze her as she listened to the line ring once, twice. It wasn’t until Kellen picked up the phone on the third ring that Morgan’s actions even registered with her, so when Kellen’s voice greeted her, she didn’t know what to say.

“Morgan?” Kellen asked after his initial hello went unanswered.

“Yeah,” Morgan managed to say.

“I figured you’d call today.”

He said it with such certainty that Morgan was taken aback. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kellen laughed on the other side of the line. “Don’t get all offended. You’re a curious girl; I figured you’d call eventually with some questions.”

“And you figured it’d be today?”

“Yes. You got something to write on?”

“Um…” Morgan’s eyes scanned the vicinity. She found a pen, but nothing to write on. Pinning her phone between her shoulder and ear, she poised the pen over her palm. “Yeah. Ready.”

Kellen recited some directions and Morgan wrote them—as small as possible—on her hand. When he finished telling Morgan how to get to their rendezvous location, he bid her farewell and hung up. Morgan put her phone down and started her car.

It took twenty minutes to arrive at the location Kellen’s directions led. Morgan wasn’t familiar with the area, so she found herself checking and rechecking the words on her palm.

She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t what she found. Kellen’s directions led to a subdivision filled with luxury condominiums. When she parked and got out of her Honda Civic, she felt slightly bad for not having stopped to wash the car before arriving. The few automobiles visible as she walked up the driveway were spotless SUVs and sports cars.

When she arrived at the front door, her hand barely had time to lift to knocking position before the door opened, revealing Kellen, who had evidently just gotten out of the shower. He wore a pair of dark washed blue jeans, as usual, but no shirt, and he was towel-drying his hair as he stepped out of the doorway to allow Morgan passage.

Morgan walked into the house, attempting to take everything in. Opulence was the only word that came to mind as she walked down a hallway decorated with handsomely framed canvasses interspersed with ornate sconces. Kellen ushered her into what appeared to be a living room: the carpet a rich cream color; the walls just hinting at gold; the couch, love seat, and chair all of a soft brown leather.

Morgan sat down on the couch and marveled at the glass-topped coffee table before her; there was no dust, no fingerprints, not even a water ring from a cold glass.

As Kellen sat down beside her, she turned to him. “Whose place is this?”

Kellen seemed mildly amused by this question. “Mine.”

“You own this place?”

Kellen shrugged. “Don’t need to.” Then, to answer Morgan’s unvoiced question, he added, “Orrick owns it.”

“You live here by yourself?”

At this, Kellen smiled in earnest, and it was not lost on Morgan that he still wasn’t wearing a shirt. “Would you be jealous if I said I shared this place with a gorgeous supermodel?”

Morgan rolled her eyes.

Kellen chuckled. “Yes, I live here by myself.”

Morgan surveyed the room. “How do you keep it so clean?”

Kellen looked offended. “What? You think since I’m a guy living alone this place should be some kind of cesspool or something? I happen to appreciate order. And beauty.” As he said the last part, his eyes found hers and held them.

“So,” she said, shifting slightly in her seat, “when you figured I’d call today, what’d you figure I’d be calling about?”

Kellen leaned forward. “Isn’t it obvious?” he asked, his voice low. Then, abruptly, he straightened, putting distance between them again. “Your powers. I could tell you were upset the other day when I said you were sloppy. I thought you’d want to start some training.”

“How are you supposed to train me? I mean—you’re not a Feeler, but I am, right?”

Kellen shrugged. “I don’t think there’s one label we can apply to you.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“That’s a very good thing. It confirms what Orrick already knows.”

“That I’m the One?”

Kellen smiled. “Yes.”

“I’m still not sure I’m sold on that.”

“If Orrick says you are, then you are.”

Morgan cocked her head inquisitively. “You’ve got a lot of faith in him, don’t you?”

“Absolutely. He’s a great man.” He leaned in toward Morgan. “You should trust him.”

“I know—I do.”

Morgan intended for her assertion to reassure Kellen, and for him to back away again, but he didn’t. Instead, he stayed close, his eyes traveling the length of her body. When his gaze was once again fixed on her eyes, he spoke.

“Tell me what I’m feeling.”

Morgan, who had been focusing all her energy on not shifting under Kellen’s gaze, was momentarily thrown by the demand. After a moment, she got her bearings and focused her mind. She closed her eyes and allowed her breath to fall into the same easy cadence it always did during her readings. When she reached out, she could feel Kellen’s energy, but it was muted—blocked behind the same sort of wall Lucas usually had up.

“I can’t,” she said, opening her eyes. “You’re blocking me.”

“That’s true,” Kellen said quietly. “But I still need you to tell me what I’m feeling.”

“Well, then, stop blocking me—”

“Push through it.” Kellen’s hazel eyes were intent.

For an instant, Morgan considered telling him that she didn’t know how, but she knew her words would be ignored. Instead, she closed her eyes again and reached out with her mind. When she came up against the barrier again, she attempted to simply push forward. Predictably, it didn’t work. For a few moments, she just sat, considering her options. If she couldn’t knock it over, perhaps she could tear it down? Or maybe just create a hole large enough to get through. But how could she dismantle something that didn’t really exist?

If the barrier between herself and Kellen were real, she wondered, what would it look like? The first image that popped into her head was a brick wall, so she decided to go with it. She began to scan the wall for any chinks, any weak spots. On first glance, the wall looked to be impenetrable, but when she looked a little closer, she saw two bricks that were crumbling slightly. She focused her energy there and slowly, steadily, the bricks disintegrated, as did the bricks surrounding them, until there was a hole large enough for Morgan to reach through.

“You’re curious,” Morgan said. “Excited. Anxious, a little. And… powerful. There’s power coursing through you—more than I’ve picked up on before.”

“Good… That’s good.”

Morgan opened her eyes. “Why is that? Why are you so much more powerful?”

He shrugged. “Maybe you’re just better at detecting it.” Before Morgan had a chance to respond, he was talking again. “That night with Lucas, you were able to Move some things, right? Why don’t you try that now?”

Morgan considered this. She hadn’t attempted to Move anything since taking Lucas’s fedora on the street. The only other times she’d Moved anything, she hadn’t meant to. “I’m really not sure how—”

“You weren’t sure how to get into my mind when I was blocking you, either, but you did it.” Kellen leaned back against the couch, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Let’s see it, then.”

Morgan’s first instinct was to argue, but he did have a point. She turned her attention to the living room. She wanted so start with something easy—a piece of paper or a shoe—but a quick look around the room revealed no such targets. After a short debate, she decided on the lamp on the end table beside the chair. The lamp was unlike anything she’d seen before: anchored to a thin metal square were at least a dozen spikes protruding upward, each terminating in a glass sphere. It looked light enough, so she focused her energy toward it.