As for the buckles themselves, Gideon knew he had to get rid of them, so he shoved them deep between the mattress and box springs. He sheathed his knife and walked back to the girl to check her once more before he pulled a scarlet, silk throw over her and stumbled toward the door.
His body was shaking so violently that he was barely able to make it out into the hallway before the pain began ripping at his skin. Sirus was raging inside—chastising Gideon for being so foolish as to defy what was obviously the Senator’s wish. And now he would pay for his defiance. Gideon had to get away from the girl’s room and back to his cell where he could writhe in pain without fear of discovery.
His punishment wouldn’t be short or merciful. His punishment would be handed out again and again until he stained the sheets with his blood. The body memories were without mercy and the skinning was beginning.
Chapter 54 The Pyro in Cairo
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Margo was shaking her head, confusion clear on her face. “I mean, I’m the first to believe in miracles, but he’s just a toddler. Could it just be coincidence?”
“Those are some pretty compelling coincidences,” Sloan mumbled.
Evan stood abruptly from his seat in the corner of the room and started to walk away from the family conversation.
“Evan?” Margo started gently. “Do you have any thoughts on the matter?”
Evan stopped walking, but he didn’t turn around. His damaged left hand was shoved deeply into the front pocket of his blue jeans. His shoulders moved with his slow inhale as though he was trying hard to calm down.
“He clearly has a gift of healing,” he finally said and started walking away again.
“Evan, what do you mean?”
He’d known from the moment they saw Maze’s healed leg what Danny could do and was struggling to come to terms with his resentment because of it.
He spun on his heels and locked eyes with his mother. “Danny is a healer,” he enunciated slowly as though speaking to an idiot.
Ignoring his arrogant tone, Margo pressed him, “How could that be?”
“Why do I have to be the one to explain this to you?” Evan yanked his hand from his pocket. “It’s not as if he used his gift on me!”
“Back up Evan,” Theo said, standing and walking to the center of the room. “How can Danny be a healer?”
“He has already gone through his evolution! Williams and his henchmen thought the kid was sick and dying—that’s why they left him behind instead of taking him with the other eleven kids to Arkdone to become metamonarchs. He was evolving, Mom—evolving into a healer who seems to need water to help him channel his gift!”
Margo’s eyes darted to the sleeping little boy still curled up in the crate with the much improved coydog.
“But he’s—he’s so young,” she repeated in a whisper.
“Exactly—this is why his abilities are erratic at best. He also seems able to cure some ailments more than others.” Evan waved his hand rudely at his mother’s wheelchair.
“Williams left him to die and he could have been his most powerful asset,” Cole mused.
“Evan, if you knew all this, why didn’t you say something sooner?” Theo asked.
Evan had turned away from the family, “Did you need any more reason to worship the kid?”
Theo and Margo exchanged worried looks.
“Well, Se?or Sunshine really knows how to make an exit,” Cole murmured to Sloan.
“I need to leave to get the other kids from the airport. Cole, Sloan, would you keep an eye on Evan?”
“Uh, Dad. In case you didn’t just wrap your head about what he was dishing out, Evan resents the heck out of all of us—especially Danny. He’s different since Flagstaff. And I know it’s the giant ass elephant in the room we’re not supposed to acknowledge, but there it is. He wants nothing to do with any of us and has been distancing himself from the family.”
“He’s just going through a tough time.” Margo frowned as she straightened the cuff of her blouse.
“No offense Dr. Winter, but he’s been going through a tough time for the past three months. Cole’s right. Evan’s a different person than the one I first met. I don’t know if it was the injuries he sustained or his evolution or a combination, but he’s definitely—changed.” Sloan’s steel-gray eyes shone brightly in her objectivity on the subject.
“We’ll stay with Evan, but I really think you should take Danny with you. Ever since you all told us about Ev’s—gift—well, it’s like walking on egg shells around him. Danny would be too hard to defend if Evan goes all pyrotechnic on us.” Cole’s eyes were wide with the intensity of his worry.
No one had seen Evan’s new abilities in action except Margo. It wasn’t as though Evan was offering demonstrations.
“Agreed,” Theo answered solemnly. “Margo, let’s gather Danny and take him with us. We may need to try to smooth the waters with Alik and Creed before we bring them home anyway.”