Silent Scream (Bittersweet Series, Book 2) Read online

  Chapter Two

  “The only reason why we’re talking about this now is that you’ve made a decision.” I filled my plate with a chunk of lasagna before grabbing a garlic knot to go with it.

  “You’re so astute.” Kurt was already digging into his meal before the salad even made it to his side of the table. “They teach you that stuff in college?”

  “Shut up,” I snarled.

  “Okay, both of you, stop it.” Mom finished helping Nadia fill her plate. “I don’t like being awakened to referee the two of you.”

  “But did you?” My little sister asked. “Decide?”

  “Not entirely.” Mom placed the glass lasagna dish on the table before handing her a napkin. “We’ve seen a lot of trouble at this house over the past couple of years. Most of it was when you and Nadia were taking care of me. Granted it’s tapered off a bit with social services not having been here in the last six months, but I don’t want to chance it. If we could disappear into the supernatural community, I would.”

  “I wouldn’t.” I lowered my fork. “Call me a paranoid control freak if you want, but I don’t trust them any more than I trust Mason.”

  “You trust your friends at school, don’t you?” Kurt scooped up a forkful of salad. “That’s assuming you have any.”

  “Can you stop now, please?” I glowered.

  Three cabinet doors slammed open in the kitchen. Thank goodness they didn’t break off the hinges or dishes didn’t come flying across into the dining area.

  “Kurt...” Mom warned as though she were ready to pop his head off. She cooled long enough to turn her attention back to me. “I know where your trust is and it’s duly noted. And as much as I agree with you, given our conversation upstairs, you can’t argue that we’re more secure now than we’ve ever been. That’s the truth, Phae, and you know it. For once in our lives, we have the ways and the means to have more bittersweet leaves than ever. That alone counts for something.”

  “Look...” Kurt held up her fork like he was about to jab something else on his plate. “I’m more familiar with this world than any of you are only because I’ve been in it longer, but even I’m a little suspicious of this new development. Our house isn’t even on the market—doesn’t that count for suspicious?”

  “Even worse, the first couple of offers were pathetic.” Mom picked up one of several printed out emails and glanced at it before placing it down on the stack. “These recent ones are more intriguing. It makes you wonder what people are up to these days.”

  “Oh, man.” I slumped back in my seat. “You’re seriously entertaining these people.”

  “There’s one more thing,” Kurt said, leaning on his elbows and staring across the table at mom. “Given the type of house that would really suit our needs, we’d still end up with a mortgage that my salary couldn’t afford and your dwindling fashion design business would barely cover.”

  “How many offers are there?” Nadia stopped mid-forkful and stared between all of us.

  “Ten so far.” Kurt sighed. “The latest one is more than double what the first one was. Nobody offers that kind of money without wanting something in return.”

  “Wait a sec,” I sat with my elbows on the table and glanced at the email pile. “We have offers to buy our house, but I haven’t heard anything about a real estate agent. All we have are letters that have been slipped inside our mailbox. How is that professional?”

  “It’s the supernatural world,” Mom swirled her glass of wine. “They run by different rules than the rest of society. They can give us an offer on the house and if we accept, then both parties go to a lawyer and a real estate agent to finalize the paperwork and close the deal. Both get a cut of the profits while making sure everything is legal from a human perspective.”

  “I sure don’t see how this is legal.” Kurt reached for a side table behind him and sifted through the stack. He found a letter with a red star someone marked in the upper right corner and handed it to mom before going back to his meal. “It’s not money that’s being offered in that one. It’s more like a trade. Our house-on-life-support for a house that used to be a bed and breakfast that sits on a farm. Plenty of land. Plenty of privacy. And more important, mom won’t have to live in an attic.”

  “Is there room for horses?” Nadia asked.

  “You bet. I'm not sure how we’ll afford them though.”

  “Hold on,” I said. “These maniacs are talking about an even trade when our house doesn’t even measure up to a one-room shack? What the—?”

  “That’s exactly why we’re all sitting at this table and discussing it now.” Mom turned her attention to us while adjusting the napkin on her lap. “Nobody offers you an answer to your prayers without having a vial of blood in their back pocket. But if they’re on the up and up, it’s worth reaching out to know more.”

  “But what if—” I stopped when mom held her hand up.

  “I didn’t say we’re accepting anything. I’m saying it can’t hurt to ask questions before the rafters fall in on our heads. Whether we decide to take one of these offers now or not, doesn’t matter. Given another year, this fixer-upper is going to be condemned due to safety violations. Whatever money we have in the bank is not going to cover a new roof, fix the heating and AC unit, nor deal with the structural issues we have.”

  Silence.

  We all knew mom had pretty much made up her mind. She was right, too. We barely had enough money to cover even one of those problems. Structural issues would be the most pressing, but what good would it be if the roof leaked and caused even more structural damage? Our heater was on its last legs and would go anytime now since it and the AC were both original to the house. It was a miracle, they hadn’t completely died, yet. Add the need for new ductwork and our lives would go from complicated to unbearable.

  “So what’s next?” Feeling the weight of the powerlessness we had, I didn’t know what else to do. For now, this was about as supportive as I could get.

  “Well...” Mom leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. Something in her forlorn eyes said she wanted to do more. “I can ask Mason to give us some ideas on how to go about our search.”

  “I can do that.” Kurt had practically finished off his food without anyone noticing. “Besides, you might be back in the attic before he can get back to you.”

  “In that case, we’re going to need at least four bedrooms, if not more. An attic or a basement is a must. Reinforcement is even better.”

  Nadia’s hand jumped in the air before she spoke. “Can I have my own bathroom this time?”

  Mom chuckled as she smoothed her hand across Nadia’s foiled curls. “We’ll see. No promises.”

  “Okay.”

  “As for you...” Mom focused her attention on me. “Spring break at college doesn’t equate to spring break at your high school. The only thing you need to worry about is your grades.”

  “I can ask around,” I offered.

  “No, you can’t.”

  Anyone who was part of the preternatural world or touched by it in some way was an automatic candidate for a hub school. Wealthier members of the paranormal community loved to scope out poorer members by offering to pay for the tuition with a promise of something in return. Not everyone has a skill that’s in demand, but between my multi-linguistic abilities and my mom’s talent for fashion design, we’ve been able to scrape by in spite of tuition costs.

  Hub schools went from kindergarten to college and were located throughout the world. They looked and acted like regular schools on paper, but in reality, they serviced only the supernatural society. You had to be invited to attend one, too. Even better if you had a sponsor because they could vouch for your validity in this world. Mason Satoris is our only sponsor, since leeching off my mother’s powers also feeds him in return. The mere thought of that grosses me out, so I try not to think about it.

  #

  All of us got a chance to get hugs and goodnight kisses before tucking mom back into the attic
with two sleeping pills. That would guarantee us a night of peace while she slept her way back into schizophrenia. Come the morning, she would be her old screaming, psychotic self.

  We all decided to go to bed not long afterward. As always, I let Nadia sleep in my bed. I put a pillow between us in case her elbow ended up in my back.

  Irritation coated the back of my throat. I coughed a few times before pulling the blanket over my head. Something crackled, but since I slept with my TV on, it was probably the local channel going out.

  Pounding came at my bedroom door.

  I jolted awake and noticed smoke had filled my room.

  “Get up!” Kurt yelled from the other side. “Phae! Nadia! The house is on fire!”

  Son of a—! I gulped, only to suck in more smoke.

  Chapter Three

  Kurt smashed in the bedroom door just as I pulled Nadia out of bed and into my arms. We only kept the door locked out of fear that mom might sneak out of the attic at night. It wasn’t much of a barrier, but we hoped it would be enough to wake us before she tore into the room if it came to that.

  “Take her.” I tried to hand my frightened little sister off to him. “I’ll get mom.”

  “No.” Shaking his head, he grabbed my elbow and guided both of us out the broken door. “You two get out of here. I’m going after mom.”

  “You’re insane.” I coughed as the smoke thickened. Tears burned my eyes. Crackling came from overhead like the roof was on fire. “You don’t have your powers anymore. Mine may be out of control, but at least, they have the twisted tendency to work in my favor.”

  “Look around you, Phae. The last thing we need is anything else out of control. Now, get Nadia out of here!” He shoved me toward the stairs before taking off toward the attic trapdoor.

  More cursing went through my brain, but he was right. I had to get our little sister out. I patted her back as she coughed and cried against my shoulder.

  Instead of fleeing, I went back into the room and found my satchel and my purse in the chair where I had left them. Nadia’s moaning made me go faster. Keeping her head pressed into me, I hurried down the hall, ducked into a room that mom used whenever she came out of the attic. After lowering Nadia to the floor, I found the backpack on the shelf and slung it onto my back. There were things in there we would need like credit cards, cash, checks, and passports. Mason advised we all get one in case we ever need them in an emergency. I guess this counted. I grabbed Nadia’s hand, hurried us downstairs, and out the backdoor instead of the front. Neighbors would be watching, so the less they saw the better.

  I pulled Nadia all the way to the worn fence line and dropped the bags by her. I fished around in my purse for my phone until I found it and dialed Mason’s number. He answered on the fourth ring.

  “The house is on fire,” I said. “I can’t talk to you now because I have to go back in and get my mother and Kurt out.”

  “What?” Any grogginess he might have had in his voice was gone. “No. Phaedra, wait!”

  “I can’t talk.”

  “Where are you? Are you anywhere around the house? Where’s Nadia?”

  “She’s at the far end of the backyard.” I knelt down beside her for a tight hug and a kiss. “You have to come get her. Do you hear me? We may have our differences, but...you’re all that she has at the moment. I have to get the rest of my family out.”

  “Phaedra if the house is on fire, you can’t go back inside. Just wait, okay? Wait until the fire department gets there. Hell, wait for me to get there. If nothing else, I heal a lot faster than you.”

  “I can’t. The fire looks like it started in the attic and at least a third of the roof is smoldering. One way or another I’ll be blasting my way out of there with my mom and my brother in tow.” I handed the phone to Nadia who was shivering, eyes filled with tears. “Mason’s coming for you. You don’t leave this yard without him, do you understand? If the cops come, don’t scream. Just stay here unless they find you first. I’ll be back. That’s a promise.”

  “Phae,” she pleaded. “Don’t go. Stay with me. I’m scared.”

  Oh my god. My gut wavered. Why did she have to go there? I pulled her into another tight hug and kissed her head hard enough to leave a mark. Tears filled my eyes until they washed down my cheeks. I hated leaving her. Hated it more than anything else in the world. But there would be at least one guaranteed dead body up there if I didn't get to Kurt before our mother did. She was a rabid animal when she was in crazed-rage mode. Add fire to it and there was no telling how far her psychotic personality would go to rip him apart. My powers were as strong as hers, so I knew I could take her. The only problem was my powers were just as sporadic as her psychosis. Anything was possible, but my family’s chances were non-existent if I did nothing.

  “I love you, baby,” I whispered to Nadia. “I love you more than life itself.” I pulled away so she could see my face no matter how pitifully stained in tears it was. “I’m coming back. I made a promise and I’m going to keep it.”

  Before her scared, saddened face could convince me otherwise, I tore away from her and ran back toward the house. Her sobs crumpled my heart but my legs kicked up the pace, tearing toward the house. The faster I moved, the further I got away from the one thing that might change my mind, and I couldn’t let that happen. I had to do this.

  When I got inside, more smoke filled the house. I went to the kitchen and found a towel to wet and wrap around my face. It helped, but it wasn’t enough. Something crashed on one side of the house, jumpstarting my heart into a stampede as I started toward the staircase. The roaring flames grew in ferocity as the smoke thickened. I had to feel my way along the walls until I reached my room.

  I hurried over to my dresser and dove into the back until my fingers found a cylindrical piece of steel. I clamped down and pulled out a dart gun. Next, I fished out a box of tranquilizers and loaded the gun with one. I put an extra one between my teeth since my tee shirt and bottoms didn’t come with any pockets.

  Again, I had to feel my way along the hall while waving my other hand in front of me for the cord to the drop door, which led up to the attic. My lungs burned and more tears filled my eyes. Rubbing them only irritated them worse.

  A rope touched the back of my hand. I reached up and grabbed the cord, pulling the trapdoor down. Next, I grabbed the stairs and unfolded them. Clutching the gun in one hand, I carefully climbed into the attic until my eyes were level with the floor.

  Mom sat in a chair in the far corner where the room wasn’t being eaten up in flames. Not yet, anyway. It was as though she hadn’t noticed they were there. Her bushy hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a white tee shirt with green pajama bottoms. In front of her was a sitting table where someone would normally do their hair and makeup before heading out for an evening on the town. The mirror had been removed a long time ago because we worried she’d use it as a weapon.

  Kurt was nowhere to be seen. More wood cracked and sparked around me. The fire had found its way through a hole in the ceiling large enough to throw a stove through. A large beam cracked and fell onto the floor near her sewing machine. It was a matter of time before the embers would ignite her bolts of material and finally her racks of clothes. All of it was kindling.

  I had been hesitating. Scared of going in there and hoping I’d come out alive. I made a promise to Nadia that I wouldn’t leave her. This was the first time I thought about how stupid it was to not only run into a burning house but to keep a promise like that to a kid her age.

  No turning back now. I continued my climb into the attic until my feet were on the floor. I held the tranquilizer gun with both hands, lowered, but still aimed in her direction.

  “Mom,” I shouted over the wall of fire burning to my far left. “We have to get out of here. The house is on fire. Where’s Kurt?”

  “Kuuuuuuuuuur-T.” It came out like a squawking crow spitting the last consonant on his name. “I love my son. Have you seen him? I’m so glad he’s back.�
��

  Oh lord. Here we go to schizo-ville again. “Yes, Mom. Your son. He came up here to get you out.” Another smashing beam made me jump. There was no telling when the whole roof would cave in. We needed to get out of here.

  I glanced around the makeshift attic we had tried to turn into a room a long time ago and failed. Now, it was completely in ruins. Before the fire, the only things left unharmed by her psychokinetic powers were three rows of beautiful clothes and a few dress mannequins that she used for fashion designing. The fire had reached them, turning them into charred bodies. I hoped to God we wouldn’t look like that. Her design table, sewing machine, and reams of beautiful fabric remained untouched and ready for a new masterpiece to be carved out in her hands. Helpless, I watched as all of it went up in smoke.

  “Kurt.” Mom half-turned and glanced over her shoulder, her psychotic eyes beaming as though I were fresh meat. “Your big brother is here.”

  “Where?” I asked. When she didn’t answer, I raised the gun. “I don’t want to shoot you, but I need to know if he’s still alive.”

  “He is. He’s my new mannequin.”

  Oh God. Please don’t tell me she threw him into the fire. I gulped. “Mom, either tell me or show me where Kurt is. We have to get out of here. We’re all going to die if we don’t. Nadia is waiting for us outside.”

  Chuckling, she pointed at the ceiling above me.

  I looked up. Only charred beams were there. Kurt wasn’t.

  Mom slammed into me, throwing both of us to the floor. I got off a shot to her upper thigh as I hit the hardwood. I got one arm between the two of us and shoved her hard, throwing her partly off me. I turned over onto my stomach and clawed at the hardwood floor to get away.

  She fisted my hair, exposing my neck.

  I wound my gun hand back and smacked her across her cheek. Mom fell off but continued to dig at my clothes. I kicked and punched her, anything to ward her off.