Chapter 19 #2
He still vividly remembers walking into the café one miserable morning, half-functioning and barely alive.
His barista, who he’d only exchanged a handful of conversations with at that point, had looked at him like Kieran held the answers to all his problems and said: “Hey, you’re good with computers, right?
Would you be able to track someone down with limited information? ”
And that’s how Kieran had become a permanent fixture at Lost and Ground, and a VIP customer.
Looking at his current situation and the mess that fraternizing with Gabe and Zeke has got him into, he should’ve stayed away.
Gabe smiles like freaking sunshine. “You did. We had a nice chat, thank you.”
Okay, that’s a little touching.
“So, it runs in the fam, huh?”
“Yeah, but it only presents in men, for some reason.”
“Hold on. If it runs in the family…”
Ash and Gabe are cousins.
The witchy shit, or whatever it is, presents itself in men.
Ash is a man.
Kieran snaps his gaze to him, and he gets a toothy grin in return.
“Hi.”
“You?” he says in the most accusing way he can muster.
Ash’s grin widens.
“Is that why I’m always angry when I’m with you?”
That would explain why Ash’s mere existence makes Kieran feel like a shaken soda bottle. And maybe all the weird feelings he keeps experiencing aren’t some sort of unresolved sexual tension or trauma bonding, but just Ash misusing his ability.
That’s…actually quite relieving. Kieran’s not wrong in the head. He’s not having a sexual awakening. He’s just being played like a fiddle.
“Pretty sure that’s just Ash’s personality,” Gabe says.
“I’m not an empath,” Ash crushes Kieran’s hopes. “The ability presents differently in me.”
Well, fuck.
“How?”
“I can see people’s thoughts.”
Kieran scoffs, then goes tense when Ash doesn’t laugh. “Are you saying you’re a mind-reader?”
“More like a mind-seer.”
“No way.”
“Why not? You believed Gabe.”
“He proved it.”
And Gabe didn’t claim to see inside people’s heads. Inside Kieran’s head. He didn’t claim to know exactly what Kieran is thinking all the time.
Oh god. There’s no way. Ash has to be pulling his leg. Because if he’s telling the truth, that would mean…
“Okay. Think of something. Visually,” Ash suggests.
That’s easy. Kieran doesn’t even need to try. His mind instantly supplies him with a very vivid image of his fist connecting with Ash’s smug face.
He watches Ash carefully. No glowing eyes, but his irises shift, just slightly. Steel blue to green, or turquoise.
No, that means nothing. He’s seen Ash’s eyes do that before; it’s just a trick of the light.
“So violent,” Ash comments, with a chuckle.
“What?”
“You imagined punching me in the face.”
“Th-that doesn’t count!” Kieran blurts. “I always want to punch you in the face. That’s not a psychic thing, that’s just common sense.”
“Honestly, fair.” Gabe says. “Pretty sure everyone wants to punch him once in a while.”
Ash rolls his eyes. “Okay, let’s try again.”
Fine. Kieran’s going to give him something really weird this time. Something impossible to guess. He scans the room for inspiration, for something random, then locks onto Zeke. He remembers something Gabe said earlier...
Yeah. That’ll do.
Ignoring the internal screaming of his soul, Kieran conjures up an image of himself and Zeke. K-kissing. Gag.
No, focus, just hold the thought for a bit—
“Kieran.”
His eyes snap open, the sound of his name coming out of Ash’s mouth like nothing he’s heard before.
“Stop it. Now.” The words are barely words. They sound more like a growl, which tracks because Ash looks feral.
Okay, he might’ve gone a little too far.
“What? What did he imagine?” Gabe demands, impatient.
Instead of responding, Ash aims his death glare at Zeke, who instantly pales.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I did nothing!”
“Fuck,” Kieran breathes out, heart hammering in panic. “Holy shit.”
“I guess it worked,” Ellis mumbles from his corner.
“You can read fucking minds?” Kieran yelps.
“See minds.”
“Whatever! It’s wrong! You just do this to unsuspecting people?!”
Ash doesn’t look even remotely chastised. “I told you, I’m as far from righteous as one can be.”
Unbelievable. Not only is he not ashamed, he even looks proud of himself. A whole new level of a control freak.
“How are you all okay with this?” Kieran demands.
“You can learn to block it,” Gabe tells him, apologetic on Ash’s behalf. “The other ‘you’ knows how to. I’ll teach you!”
“Maybe we should give him time to process before we drop the bomb,” Ellis suggests.
A knot of dread unravels in Kieran’s stomach. “The bomb? As in, this wasn’t one?”
“That’s why we wanted Cal and Dawson to be here,” Gabe reminds him.
“It’s probably better if they aren’t,” Ellis muses. “He’s already pissed.”
“What is it? Tell me. Now.”
No one seems up for that task—not a good sign, by the way.
Eventually, Gabe takes one for the team. “You know how Dawson always said Cal became a different person after the accident?”
Kieran answers with a grunt.
“He did. He’s a different person,” Gabe says, explaining…
well, nothing. He’s not making sense at all.
He must see it on Kieran’s face, because he sighs and elaborates, “Cal, the old Cal, the one who hurt Dawson, he died at the hospital. His soul was separated from his body, and a different entity took over.”
“Entity?” Kieran echoes, voice heavy with sarcasm. “Are you talking demon shit?”
Gabe shakes his head. “No, not a demon. A reaper.”
“A reaper.”
“The reaper who took Cal’s soul took over his body. But when he woke up, he couldn’t remember. Not at first. But eventually, it came back to him.” He gives Kieran a crooked smile. “So you don’t have to worry about Dawson, because the person who hurt him isn’t here anymore.”
Kieran stares at him.
Then laughs.
It’s a sharp, startled little sound, more bark than humor, and it dies as fast as it comes. “I’m sorry,” he says flatly. “You’re telling me Cal is dead. Like, actually dead. And a reaper made him into a condom?”
“I mean…yes?”
Kieran throws his hands up. “I give up.”
“Look, I know it’s a bit of a shock—”
“A bit of a shock, he says,” Kieran grumbles. “Just some casual supernatural possession. Nothing weird about that.” He stands abruptly, chair legs scraping against the floor. “Any more revelations, huh? Is Ellis a vampire? Is this damn café a portal for fucked up supernatural phenomena?”
“Well…” Zeke starts, and Kieran cuts him off with a sharp look.
“Are you telling me you didn’t notice Cal was acting weird?” Gabe challenges him.
“Yeah, like, manipulative-bastard-faking-amnesia-and-acting-all-innocent kind of weird, not paranormal-entity-hijacked-a-corpse weird!”
“Kieran—”
He waves him off and bolts out the door, stumbling into the street like he’s running from a bomb threat. The world outside feels too loud, too bright, too much. Everything has been too much since he was dropped here by some cosmic force.
His heart is hammering. His breath’s coming too fast, and the edges of the sky start closing in.
The last thing he registers is the sound of his name, distorted and coming from far away, and then just an endless stretch of dark.