Enigma (24 page)

Jack cut the engine. It seemed like we’d been waiting forever before there was a glimmer of hope. Over my shoulder, Jack saw a silhouette and calmly whispered into my ear, telling me what he’d seen. Jack spun around, launching himself off the boat and onto the cliff. In a bid to catch the stranger, Seb joined Jack, and both of them powered their way up the cliff in different directions.

I watched, and soon, they were both out of sight. The waves rippled as I stood on the boat, looking in every direction in search of them. Then, three figures appeared at the top of the cliff before jumping in the water. My heart skipped a beat and I hoped that the stranger had the answers that would set us all free.

Reaching the boat, neither Jack nor Seb were out of breath. Oddly enough, neither was the stranger. They dragged the guy onto the boat and as they released him, he fell and sprawled out on the floor. Jack crouched down beside him and Seb walked over to me.

“Kate, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. So who is he?” I asked.

“That’s what we want to know,” Seb said.

Jack, Seb, and the stranger exchanged stares. When the stranger stood and ran his hands through his hair, I noticed that he towered over me, and was just as tall as Jack and Seb. His thin lips curved into a smile, like he was pleased to have been captured, and he stood awkwardly, like his body wasn’t his own.

“Well, explain yourself. Who are you?” Jack demanded.

“My name is Ethan Anderson. I pose no threat to you.”

“Okay, Ethan Anderson, tell us what you’re doing spying on me and my girlfriend.”

We all stared at him, waiting for a response.

“I’m not some weirdo, okay? I’m not spying on you.”

“Well, why were you watching us and shouting out things that nobody else should know?” Seb asked.

“Has someone sent you?” Jack asked impatiently.

“Nobody sent me. I’ve been watching you, making sure I had the right people before I said anything.”

“Who are you to us? What do you want from us?” Seb questioned.

“I’m your half-brother,” Ethan said, his thin lips once again parting into a zealous grin.

“You can’t be,” Seb said.

“There’s no mistake. I’ve seen what you’re capable of. I can do the same things. We have the same father,” Ethan blurted out.

“How old are you, Ethan?” I asked.

“I’m seventeen. I’m guessing I’m around a year younger than my brothers?”

“Ethan, what is it you’ve seen us do?” Seb asked cautiously.

Ethan grabbed a bottle of water and threw it so high that it was completely out of sight. He then leapt off the boat and disappeared. We all looked up at the night sky, and with great speed and accuracy, Ethan landed on the boat with the bottle in his hand. The boat rocked and Seb caught me just before I fell overboard.

Jack and Seb looked at each other and Ethan stood with folded arms, waiting for a reaction.

“Is that proof enough for you?” he asked.

“So you have some of the same skills as us, but you’re not as fast,” Jack said sarcastically.

“Just because you share our skills doesn’t mean you’re related to us,” Seb said. “But I’m interested to know how you gained your powers.”

“I swear I’m your brother.” Ethan took a pocket knife out of his jacket, held up his hand, and sliced his palm. Purple blood slid down his arm and he wiped it away with the ocean water. As he took his hand out of the water, he held it up for us all to see: the cut had already healed.

“You’ve proved your point. So what do you want?” Jack asked.

“I’m here looking for you and a Jonathan Jones; I think he can help me find my father.”

Seb and Jack looked at each other with confusion etched all over their faces. I was positive we were all wondering how Ethan had heard of Jonathan and why he would think he could help him find his father.

Ethan continued explaining. “Jonathan was our father’s best friend and I’m hoping that he can help me find him.”

“Let’s take a break. There’s obviously a lot we all need to discuss,” I said.

I was attempting to be the voice of reason and it worked. Everyone sat down, and after a few minutes of silence, Seb was first to speak.

“Ethan, it seems that you know more than us. We have no idea who our father is; we don’t even know his name,” Jack said.

“Our father’s name is Marcus Anderson. I’m sorry; I assumed you would know. If you don’t want to know anything else, point me in the direction of Jonathan, and I’ll go. I have no intention of disrupting your lives.”

“Ethan, we want to know what you know before we point you in anyone’s direction. We need to know everything,” Jack said, folding his arms.

“Unfortunately, I’m the result of a meaningless one-night stand. Until a few months ago, I’ve been living with these powers in secret. My mother told me on her deathbed that my father had twin sons born a few weeks before she got pregnant with me. She told me a man named Jonathan Jones would have answers for me. He probably has answers for you too.”

“Ethan, I’m sorry about your mother,” I said.

Jack reached out to shake Ethan’s hand and Seb looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“Sorry for the hostility, Ethan. I’m pleased to meet you,” Jack said. Ethan shook his hand and smiled.

“I’m finding this a little hard to take in. How did you find us?” Seb asked.

“My mother told me the town you were born in, so I took my chances in traveling down there, and it paid off. An old man who lived near a secluded beach told me that you had moved to Long Beach. I’ve been watching you all for weeks to be sure that I didn’t reveal myself to the wrong people. I’m hoping Jonathan Jones can help me find our father. Do you know him?”

“Yes,” Jack and Seb said in unison.

“Great! How do you know him?” he asked excitedly.

“He’s our adoptive father,” Jack answered.

Ethan’s eyes widened. “Didn’t Jonathan tell you that he was best friends with our father?”

“We’ve never heard him mention Marcus Anderson. Our father isn’t the type to have friends,” Seb said. “Is that everything you know?”

Ethan nodded.

“Well, it seems our father has some explaining to do, Jack,” Seb said angrily.

My heart sank. Ethan obviously didn’t know about the curse, and we knew Jonathan didn’t have the answer to destroy it. I slumped back into a corner of the boat feeling completely deflated.

W
e arrived back at the house a few hours later with a new family member in tow, and Jack told me to get some sleep. I hoped that Jonathan had the answers that we needed to break the curse, and after tossing and turning for a couple of hours, I finally fell asleep.

CHAPTER 24

T
he next morning, Jack opened the door, and the smell of freshly ground coffee filled my nostrils as the four of us walked into the kitchen. Lindsey was setting a spread of muffins and pastries next to a pot of coffee on the table.

“Where’s Dad?” Seb and Jack spat at Lindsey. Jack held my hand and Ethan tried to blend in behind us.

“He’s—”

Jonathan waltzed into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He poured a second cup and handed it to me, but before I had the chance to take it, Jack snatched the cup and launched it across the kitchen. Everyone gasped as the cup shattered against the wall and coffee spilled all over the table.

I shot Jack a disapproving look.

“How dare you disrespect your mother’s kitchen? What’s wrong with you?” Jonathan asked, staring at Jack. “You’re embarrassing yourself, Jack. And who is
he
?” Jonathan pointed at Ethan. “A new friend of yours?”

“Oh no, he’s not our friend,” Seb replied.

“Then who is he and why is he in my house?”

Poor Ethan didn’t know what to do or where to look.

Seb looked at Lindsey. “Mom, you’d better sit down.” She refused, so Seb continued. “Let me introduce you to our half-brother, Ethan Anderson: the son of Marcus Anderson.” Seb dragged Ethan forward.

Jonathan looked at Ethan, his face as white as snow. He dropped his cup, which shattered against the floor, and grabbed hold of the table. Lindsey ran to his side, also looking pale.

Ethan looked uncomfortable. Lindsey looked fragile and as she was about to sit down, she fainted and Seb caught her before her head hit the floor. He took her into the living room and laid her on the couch. I sat next to Lindsey, fanning her with a dog-eared magazine.

“Our brother has been looking for you, Dad. He seems to think that you were Marcus Anderson’s best friend. He thinks that you may have some answers for him.” Seb glared at Jonathan and Jack followed suit.

Lindsey groaned and her eyes opened. I helped her sit up.

“Tell them Jon, tell them. The boys deserve the truth. We can trust Kate. It’s time for the secrets to end,” she said weakly.

Jonathan looked over at his wife. “Lindsey, this isn’t a good idea. We spoke about this. We agreed—”

“Tell them or I will,” she demanded.

I smiled at her. It felt good knowing she trusted me. Jack and Seb also looked at Lindsey, but with hurt and disappointment in their eyes. They’d suspected their father had been dishonest with them, but not their mother.

Jonathan remained quiet and Jack and Seb were both becoming impatient.

“I’ve asked you both several times about our biological parents. You told us you knew nothing about them. You said you didn’t even know their names, so whatever it is you’ve kept from us, tell us now. No more lies,” Seb said calmly.

Lindsey began to cry and Jonathan looked down at the floor.

“Mom, please! We need to know everything. We trusted you!” Jack yelled.

Lindsey sighed. “I’m sorry, boys. We only kept secrets to protect you. I may not be your biological mother, but you’re my sons and I love you both dearly.” She began to cry again, and I handed her a tissue. Jonathan remained in his chair, unwilling to look at any of us.

“Mom, tell us everything. Don’t lie to us anymore,” Jack said.

“We want to know why we have these powers. We need to know who we are, where we came from,” Seb said.

“We’ve lived eighteen years wondering why we are the way we are. I can’t believe how you’ve both deceived us!” Jack yelled.

Lindsey was inconsolable; I held her as she sobbed in my arms. For the first time since we’d entered the room, Jonathan looked up at his sons.

“Please, give me a chance to explain everything before you judge us. Like your mother said, we kept these secrets to protect you. We thought we were doing the right thing.”

We were all on the edge of our seats, having no idea what secrets Jonathan was about to reveal. Thankfully, Lindsey had calmed, and Jonathan wiped beads of sweat off his forehead with a folded handkerchief.

“Marcus was my best friend and his wife, Alissa, was Lindsey’s best friend. The four of us were inseparable. Marcus and I were in medical school together. The science behind the medicine intrigued us, and at twenty-five, we thought we were invincible scientists. We thought we could create magic; we thought we were unique given our high IQs. Looking back, we weren’t special—far from it. We were immature and incredibly stupid.” Jonathan wiped his forehead again. “We were fascinated by energy, dreaming that we would one day find a drug powerful enough to keep someone’s energy level up so high that they wouldn’t need to sleep for days. We finished medical school and worked in the same hospital lab, spending most nights there experimenting—without the consent of the hospital of course. We were obsessed over our project, and one night, it all came together; we had created what we thought was a drug for energy stimulation. We worked on it further and came up with a name for it and its administration: adrenalization.”

“This is crazy,” Jack said, and Lindsey shot him a look.

“Listen to him, Jack,” she snapped.

“Marcus was so excited at the prospect of endless energy that he volunteered himself to be our guinea pig. He wanted to be the first person to trial the drug that we’d illegally created. Lindsey was cautious, but Alissa wanted in on the experiment, too. She was so daring. Both of them were so full of life and intrigue. I had my concerns, but they talked me into it.” Jonathan took a breath, wiping his sweaty forehead again.

“I was happy to test the drug on myself, but they wanted me to administer it. Alissa and Marcus were very persuasive and insisted that they both trial it so that we had results for both sexes. They both lay on steel beds in the basement of our house, pinned down with leather straps; we were testing a new drug and had no idea how they’d react to it. I remember them lying there on those beds, looking at each other with excitement.” Jonathan took a breath.

Lindsey sat with her head in her hands. As Jonathan told the story, it was like Lindsey knew what was coming and it seemed that she didn’t have any desire to relive it. Jonathan hung his head and continued.

“I simultaneously injected Marcus and Alissa with the drug and for hours, they screamed, winced, and pulled on the leather belts. I had to cover their mouths to stop the neighbors from calling the police. Your mother and I had to endure the screaming, but Alissa and Marcus had to endure the pain.