Age of Power 1: Legacy (23 page)

“She does?” I said dumbly. Then I realized what was going on,
and quickly nodded.
“Oh yeah!
Um, is she upstairs?”

He gave me a wry grin and a nod. He said, “Yes, and she’s
talking about you and what happened yesterday with your mother. Pretty brave
kiddo.”

I felt heat rise in my face. “I just ducked. That’s all. Sorry…”

Dad laughed, but then his smile fell away. I took the moment of
silence to finish dressing, but I knew something was bothering him. I threw on
a shirt and grabbed a blue jean jacket out of the bottom of my dresser. The old
jacket was threadbare, but it would do until I replaced the one I had lost.

Just as I put it on, Dad said, “Not to criticize, son, but this
is starting to get repetitive—the memorial, then Jessup, and now this.”

Feeling sheepish, I said, “Sorry, Dad, it’s a lot of bad timing,
I swear.”

Dad winced. He said, “No, don’t be sorry, Vaughn! You did well
with all those people you saved. I just hope you’re being careful. We don’t
want to see you hurt.”

I sighed. “I can’t say I’m sorry about helping people. It’s just
that I got caught up in the craziness.”

Dad raised an eyebrow and said, “You aren’t planning to join the
Army, are you? You aren’t getting a hero complex or anything?”

“Oh, gods no,” I nearly yelled. Me, join the Army? There
wasn’t a chance in hell of me ever doing that! Dad chuckled and visibly
relaxed. Was he really thinking that I was going to do something like join the
Army?

I said, “Uh, where’d this come from? Why would I join the Army?”

Dad coughed and said, “Uh, because of Kyle. You did have a
bit of a hero-worship thing going on when you were growing up with him around.”

Ah
. I said, “Yeah,
but…um…no, I don’t want to join the Army, Dad. That would be…no.”

Kyle had been like a big brother to me. I loved him like one,
and would always remember him that way. When he left for the military, I always
felt the loss. I was proud of him, but when he died, I didn’t feel good about
the military. I still didn’t. It’s not the fault of the military, mind you, but
that was just something I’d never quite gotten past. A part of me always felt
they could’ve protected him better, I guess.

Dad said, “So are you still on for Chicago University next year,
then?”

I nodded. Dad visibly relaxed. Heading back out of the room he
said, “Good. Now you’ll have to find a place to live. But I’m sure we can work
out something with finding a new place to live. I have friends I can talk to
about it.”

Jokingly, I said, “Wait, can’t you two stay divorced until I
graduate from college? It’s cheaper than renting an apartment on my own.”

“Ha ha!
 Get
upstairs and come see Dana!” he said as he headed upstairs. I chuckled. I
finished doing my thing with the bathroom and dressing and quickly went
upstairs. In the dining room, Dana was talking with Mom. Outside, the sun shone
bright against the snowdrifts, but I could see that it was melting on the driveway.
Crazy weather.

Mom, who
was seated
on the other side
of the table from the kitchen, looked past Dana and smiled and said, “Well,
look who’s up—the hero of the hour.”

You know that red-faced thing I do. It got deeper. I
muttered without moving my mouth, “Stop it.”

The chuckles made me feel more embarrassed. I took it in stride
and ignored it all. I grabbed a bottle of orange juice out of the refrigerator,
and drank it down quick. Dana grinned impishly as she said, “Okay, we’ll be
nice. Guess what?”

I raised a brow, glancing at her from the corner of my eye. Dana
said, “I got a call from the FBI. They want us at Ryan Technologies. They’re
doing the interviews there because they already had a command setup dealing
with the Avatar. Care to join me in giving them the low-down on what happened?”

So much for training today.
Dana noticed my worried look and gave an apologetic shrug. She said, “I know.
Guess they don’t want to wait any longer. But since I have to pick up BJ later,
I thought we could all go out for dinner and just relax afterward.”

Turning to my mom, she said, “That is, if you two don’t mind?
After that mess, I think we could all use a winding down period.”

My parents looked at each other. I saw a quick look of
speculation in my mom’s eyes. And there was a slight smile on my dad’s face.
Great, they were thinking that more was going on here. It wasn’t, darn it
all! Then a flash of a blonde’s face went through my mind’s eye as I
thought about that particular idea. Bah. Was she always going to be on my mind?

Dana caught the look between my parents and laughed. She raised
a hand. “Mark, Andrea, swear that we’re just friends. But after all that mess,
well, I know I need someone to help with my mad brother. I’m too exhausted to
deal with him alone. Vaughn has a good head on his shoulders. Please?”

My dad snorted. “Wow, your brother must be something else.”

Dana sighed. “You have no idea. But honestly, nothing is going
on.”

My mom shook her head. She said, “Even if it were, he’s eighteen
now. Vaughn is responsible for himself.”

Ouch, that was a shot across the bow. As in, 
‘Vaughn,
behave.’
 My mother made sure I got the unspoken message with a follow
up look. I nodded that I’d gotten the hint. I had to be a gentleman. Jeez, some
parents, they never trust you until you’re married with seven kids, a yard, and
a constantly worked on house. Oh no, that wasn’t in my plans! I ignored
the blue eyes and wavy blond hair in my mind’s eye even as I thought that.

“So should we go now? Like, right now?” I asked. Really, I
wanted so much to stay and listen to my parents talk about my romantic life
with a girl I liked to look at. Yep, these are my parents. Open to talking
about everything. It only took a near hit by an asteroid for them to do it with
each other. Go figure.

Dana stood and started to slip on her coat. She said, “As a
matter of fact, yes. The sooner we get past this, the better I’ll feel!”

I nodded. I didn’t want to deal with the FBI any more than she
did. Hell, I’d much rather have been training today. The sooner she could do
something, the better 
I
 would feel. With a wave to my parents,
we headed out.

Dana started the SUV and said, “I like your parents, Vaughn.
They’re very refreshing and levelheaded. That’s nice to see.”

“Thanks. Though, as for ‘levelheaded,’ they’re just getting back
together, so I don’t know if you could call them that yet. But I like ‘em.”

Dana laughed. Pulling out onto the road, she said, “Trust me, as
parents they’re very good! My parents had issues, too. My dad moved here, after
all, while my mom stayed in San Francisco because of her career as a producer.”

I looked at her and said, “Wow, San Francisco. I remember
hearing you were from there. That’s a big change, coming here. You grew up
there?”

She nodded and continued, “Oh, yes. But after some…well, Dad
offered me a chance to start over here. So, while it’s a big change between a
city and a town, I actually have enjoyed Riverlite. BJ doesn’t mind it, as it’s
a break from his busy life, so it’s not a bad town for us.”

I said, “You know, maybe getting to know you and BJ will be a
good thing, after all. I’d like to see San Francisco. I’ve been to a couple of
cities, including Chicago. What’s San Francisco like?”

Dana grinned, and I could see her wistful love for the home
she’d come from. For the next four miles, she told me about San Francisco and,
along with it, a bit about herself. By the time we reached the turnoff to Ryan
Technologies, I knew that the city was diverse, filled with good and bad, and that
her favorite area to hang out was some area called Russian Hill.

We pulled up to the road’s checkpoint to show our I.D.s. As she
came to a stop, she said, “I think BJ would love it if he could give you a tour
of the place. As for me, well, I have some memories that I need to get past.
But really, it’s where I met Caryn Collins and her wife, Maria Del Gado. They
brought me into the circle.”

Some of what she told me sounded a bit familiar. My Aunt Cassie
lived in Seattle, Washington, but their lives seemed a lot alike. Both she and
Dana were naturists and strongly into what they called ‘ritual magick.’ They
each relied heavily on Wicca. But where Cassie did her stuff with what the
public saw with Wiccan religion and a general ‘Goddess,’ Dana called on the Earth
Goddess—specifically, Gaia.

I asked, “Okay, so how did the coven get into the whole ‘psi
training’ thing?”

Dana started to slow down, as we got closer to the turn off to
Ryan Technologies. I could see the straight rows of trees they had placed
between the highway and the complex. It afforded privacy and a sound break from
the highway. And in the summer, it looked like a small forest.

Once we got past the security guard post, Dana continued
explaining. “That started back in the last century. The 70s in San Francisco
were a time when Wiccan and pagan covens were moving in. My coven felt it was
important to find and help the strongly gifted empaths and psychic readers and
help control their abilities. Over the years, well, our teaching record has
been pretty good.”

I winced. I looked out at the road, taking in the trees. As they
were bare of leaves yet, I could see the edges of buildings past them. Ouch, we
were going to be there sooner than I’d thought. I said, “Did you train other
high-powered psi-gifted people?”

Dana was silent for a moment. Then, as she drove around a sharp
curve, she said, “Yes a few have shown up over the years. Psychic abilities are
like many other brain-based talents. Music, math, art—every skill of
the mind has those who are naturally gifted. Einstein, for instance, in math
and physics; Mozart, with music; and those are just two, off the top of my
head. Look at Van Gogh, one of the greatest painters in history—certainly he
used his gift to the greatest potential an artist can have.”

I looked askance at her, remembering that Van Gogh had been a
manic-depressive personality who had killed himself. But she had a point. I
nodded and said, “In this case—Alex with his powers—we can consider him the Van
Gogh of the psychically gifted?”

She nodded and said nothing more. I waited for her to continue,
but stayed silent as we drove past two similar-looking white stone and glass
buildings on the right. Each three stories high, with a large sign in front
that said ‘Space and Energy Development.’ The next one was longer. It had the
same type of sign—wood with gold metallic lettering—which identified the
building as the ‘Biology Labs.’

When put together as they were, the two buildings formed a
semi-rectangle shape, lined by wide entrances and sidewalks. They were set
behind more trees, far back from the road but not hidden. In front,
there was a small grove of trees with one large tree in the middle. They
obscured the doors to each of the buildings, but I could see people on
sidewalks as we drove past.

Then we drove into the parking lot for the main administration
building. This was a three-story-high rectangular building with red brick walls
and older style sliding windows. I knew that it once had been a halfway house
for the mentally challenged and the elderly. After the state closed it, Ryan
bought it and turned it into the main office building for his company.

Dana pulled into a space directly in front of the building and
turned off the SUV. But we didn’t get out. Dana saw my hesitation. “Vaughn?”

After a moment, I said, “Dana, not to cast doubt…”

She said, “I will teach you, Vaughn. I’m sorry, it’s just
that…well,
teaching
is a personal issue with me.
Something happened once…but…yes;
I can—and will—train you
.
Now, shall we go in?”

Nodding, I said, “Okay, well, yes, let’s head in and tell them
what happened. At least they won’t be asking what Alex liked for breakfast on
Sunday mornings every third full moon, or something.”

She gave me a mock glare, but it broke as she chuckled. “That’s
every 
fourth
 moon. Come on. Let’s get this over with; I want
some time to prepare for BJ’s surprise.”

Opening my door, I gave her an odd look. I asked, “How is it a
surprise? You knew he was coming!”

She sighed. “You have to know BJ. He can announce his coming a
week in advance, but every time he shows up, it’s a surprise! Gaia, help that
boy…”

I grinned at her description of her brother as we went inside
through a set of double doors. Right inside was a set of stairs leading to the
upper floors and another set of metal double doors. A security desk was set up
just prior to both the stairs and the doors. After
being
passed through
by the guard, Dana and I went into the reception area. In
the middle of the room was a large receptionist counter that curved around in a
wide half-circle between two large hallways. Behind the counter were a
half-dozen men and women, standing or sitting at flat-screen computers and
talking into microphones. It reminded me of a call center.