“Let’s go check on Mom at the hospital, grab a bite to eat and come right back,” Cole suggested diplomatically.
Meg looked at Cole’s earnest, green eyes and decided he was right. She nodded once then stood and walked to Maze’s face. Carefully she leaned her forehead against his and thought positive, prayerful thoughts over him. She felt warmth deep inside her belly that burst up and climbed inside her chest, pinking her cheeks. It spilled past the physical skin-to-fur contact she was making with the broken coydog. Under her, Maze sighed and seemed to sink deeper into the bed’s vinyl cushion, as though relaxing all his muscles.
I’ll be back for you, she thought directly into Maze’s body. Your only job is to get better. You’re mine and I need you. She stepped back, breaking the connection, and watched Maze’s yellow eyes watching her. They looked alert, as though he completely understood her wishes.
“Okay, I’m ready to go.” Meg pushed her shoulders back and walked confidently out of the examination room. The others watched her, not sure what to make of her unpredictable behavior. Evan whispered his goodbyes to the coydog, patting him carefully before following his sister out of the room. Cole was right on his heels, and caught Evan by the shoulder.
“Is it me or is Meg acting really—”
“Weird? No, it’s not just you.” Evan peered around the corner and saw his sister standing with her arms crossed, staring out the lobby windows.
“What do we do? I feel like I’m walking on eggshells around her. What if I say the wrong thing and she completely loses her mind?”
“See, that’s just it, Cole. I think she’s already lost it. She’s barely hanging on.” Evan shook his head worriedly.
“Well, it’s a good thing we’re not about to take her to a highly emotional and potentially volatile situation.” Cole’s words were tight with sarcasm.
“Let’s just hope the visit with Mom doesn’t twist her windup mechanism too much. Meg doesn’t remember us or herself or anything. Heck, we had to make sure she knew her own name. Give her time, Cole. She just needs time.”
“We don’t have time, Ev. Remember Captain Bloody-Face and Senator Nano—Nuts are on our heels.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Well?”
“Well, nothing. We can only take on one thing at time. Let’s get to the hospital.”
Chapter 16 Nothing But The Truth
Meg turned around and looked pointedly at the boys whispering in the hallway. Seeing her, they stopped and headed toward the exit. Meg gnawed on her bottom lip as they walked in silence to the SUV.
Once everybody secured their seat belts, Meg spoke up. “Just so you know. I already feel like a freak, so please don’t make it worse for me by whispering behind my back. Besides, I heard every word you both said.” She looked at each boy pointedly. “Metahuman hearing with empath skills? Come on. Give me some credit,” she grumbled before turning to stare out her passenger window.
“Sorry, Meg. We’ll work on being more sensitive to your—feelings,” Cole glanced at her trying to catch her eyes but only saw the back of her thick head of hair.
“No, that’s not what I want,” she turned and stared daggers at both of them. “I want you to treat me the way you always must have. I’m a lot tougher than you’re giving me credit for and if these bad guys are as wicked as you claim, you’re going to need to focus on them, not me. I can take care of myself. No ‘eggshells,’ just honesty. Besides, you’ve got to know I can tell when you’re lying.”
The boys exchanged a look through the rearview mirror.
“No lies or even half-truths. On that note, Meg, your abilities seem different now.”
Cole’s attention was on the road but he listened to Evan and wondered where he was going with this conversation.
“How so?” she asked as she turned around in her seat as far as her seat belt would allow.
“Well, when you could tell my phone was going to ring and that it was ‘an anxious male’ calling. That is definitely new.”
Meg shrugged. “What did I used to do? Maybe we should start there.” She was having a hard time keeping the fatigue from her voice.
“Prior to Kentucky, you were a powerful empath, able to read emotions of those around you and even channel people far from you. You could reach inside them and somehow lift away their emotional pain. You were a healer of hearts, essentially. More recently, you could push your influence on some people, under certain conditions, to get them to do what you wanted.”
“That feels about right,” she said softly, deep in thought.
Evan looked up and to the left, chewing on the inside of his cheek for a moment. “Maybe it’s like people who lose their sight or hearing. The remaining senses become more acute to make up for the loss. It’s God’s way of righting the scales.”
“So I lose my memory and gain even more psychic skill?” Meg mulled the idea over. “Interesting theory.” She nodded slowly. “Do all metahumans have gifts like mine?” she asked.