close to death as anyone you ever saved."
"Yeah, no kidding. I've never seen anything like that. It was like a scene out of a gory movie. Good thing tomorrow's a Saturday so I can rest up." I reach up to run my fingers through his thick dark hair and let myself get lost in his deep blue eyes.
"Well, hate to tell you this, but we don't have the day off."
"What do you mean?"
My mom walks into the living room and smiles at me. "Good, you're up. You feelin' okay, sweetie?"
"My head feels like there's a man inside banging a Chinese gong, but I'll live. What's this about not having tomorrow off?"
Her smile disappears as she turns to Ryan. "You didn't tell her?"
"She just woke up, Mrs. Spectre. Didn't have a chance."
"Tell me what?"
She turns back to me with a familiar look that tells me something is very wrong. She bites her lower lip, then exhales. "We need to go to The Summit. Sebastien called."
Uh-oh. An emergency trip to the home office for those with paranormal powers. This can't be good. "Yeah? And?"
"There's been a change with your father."
So it turns out my father, the deadbeat dad who abandoned me and mom when I was a year old, the guy who tried to turn society into a bunch of pod people with a mind controlling cell phone and now has a day job as a comatose villain, has taken a turn.
For better or worse, we don't know. Although worse wouldn't break my heart considering he nearly killed my boyfriend and best friend. But something tells me if that were the case, we wouldn't have been summoned to western New Jersey by Sebastien, head of The Council. The old guy in charge of monitoring everyone with paranormal powers doesn't mess around.
Sebastien leads me, Ryan and Mom into the antiseptic secure chamber. It's become my father's permanent home since we basically fried his brain and his ability to meld with technology by using a powerful computer virus provided by your tax dollars and Fuzzball's Man in Black buddy who works for the feds. He's still in a coma, face drawn, skin lacking in color, oblivious to the rest of the world. Nothing's changed since that day in May, the last time I saw him.
Well, nothing had changed until yesterday, according to Sebastien.
"So, what happened?" I ask, looking at my father through the glass. "He looks the same."
"His brain waves changed slightly," says Sebastien, as he stares at my father's body. "We monitor the activity constantly and last night something happened that we cannot explain."
"Is he waking up?" asks Mom, staring at the man who was once the love of her life before turning into an evil maniac. Her tense face tells me she's still conflicted, still wondering if we shorted out the evil part of his brain and the good man might be inside.
Sebastien shakes his head. "No. But we detected a change in his Delta waves. Jillian, you know the implications of that."
I nod. "Yeah. The brain waves of the subconscious. How he was going to control me with the phone. So, could he simply be dreaming?"
"Our experts don't think so. There was no rapid eye movement detected, and dreams would produce a different kind of brain wave pattern that we've seen before from him. The change in his pattern is not unlike what we saw when you combined yours with Ryan and Roxanne. Our theory is that…well, the simplest way to put it is that we think he's been contacted."
Ryan furrows his brow. "How is that even possible?"
Sebastien shakes his head. "We don't know," he says, then turns to Ryan. "Which is why I asked you to come along. We were hoping…"
"You want me to read his mind?" asks Ryan.
"No!" I yell, throwing out one arm in front of Ryan before Sebastien has the chance to answer. "My father almost killed him twice, and you want to risk his life over some brain wave change? Find another way."
"There is no danger," says Sebastien.
My blood pressure spikes. "How the hell can you be sure of that?"
Mom grabs my arm. "Young lady, watch your tone. Don't yell at Sebastien."
"I'll yell if he's going to risk my boyfriend's life."
"We know there's no danger because we already tried using other mind readers. None of them suffered any after effects," says Sebastien. "But they also got no results."
"Then why do you need me?" asks Ryan. "I just finished my apprenticeship. I'm sure the people you've got here are the best and have a lot more experience."
"You've made contact with him before," says Sebastien.
"There's another part to that equation," I say. "My father also went into his mind, remember?"
Sebastien ignores my comment and keeps looking at Ryan. "We feel you may experience different results because of your previous connection with Jillian and Roxanne. Your powers are slightly different than the average mind reader."
"What are you talking about?" asks Mom.
Sebastien looks at the ground. "I admit, I should have told you this before. But when the three of them connected it took his powers in a slightly different direction. Roxanne's as well. They are both more finely attuned, as if they somehow absorbed some of Jillian's incredible gifts."
"I don't care if he's the best mind reader on the planet," I say, folding my arms. "He's not doing it. End of story."
Ryan rests his hand on my shoulder. "Hang on a minute, Sparks. The two times he attacked me he sent his own thoughts. He can't do that now."
"You don't know that!" I say.
"Yes, we do," says Sebastien. "There is no risk. But it is up to you, Ryan. I certainly understand if you don't want to do this."
Ryan nods, and I can tell he wants to do it.
Damn friggin' testosterone. That rampant Y chromosome needs a leash.
I reach for Ryan's hand and tangle my fingers in his, then give him the most soulful look I can muster. "Please don't. You're not bulletproof."
"I'll be fine, Sparks," he says, smiling. "Besides, you're here to heal me if anything goes wrong. You've done it before. Twice."
Damn friggin' logic. Why am I in love with the only eighteen year old guy on the planet with a forty year old brain?
Ryan turns to Sebastien. "You want me to do this now?"
He nods. "The sooner we find out, the better."
"Okay." Ryan closes his eyes, which is what he does when he's about to read a mind. I squeeze his hand harder and he squeezes back.
My heart slams against my chest and I focus on him, ready to send as much healing energy as I can muster. But thankfully nothing happens.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity but is actually about sixty seconds, he opens his eyes
