The Gathering (Darkness Rising 1)

He stretched his legs, getting comfortable now. "Same goes for the visions or whatever they are. You're more freaked out about them than I am." He paused. "Well, no. I'm a little freaked out, but only because they seem to come with a sudden lack of consciousness, which could be dangerous. Remember what I said about getting your parents in there with you? That goes double now."

"And otherwise I should just ignore the fact that every time I touch an animal, we do a body swap?"

"Not a body swap. You're seeing memories, I think."

"You know what I mean."

He stretched out farther, leaning back on the porch now, face gathered in thought. It was a minute before he spoke again. "It could be temporary. Maybe stress related. If it's not, I guess you'll have to learn to handle it. It could be part of

the healing power. Imagine how helpful it would be if you actually saw what happened to the animals when they were hurt."

"Uh-huh. Visions. That strikes you as just a normal extension of a healing gift."

He sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say, Maya. Does it seem strange? Yes. Do I think you're going nuts? No. Maybe I should be taking this more seriously but ..." He shrugged. "It doesn't seem serious."

He meant it didn't feel serious. That was what mattered for Daniel. What did his gut instinct tell him? He wouldn't say that, because it sounded all touchy-feely, but it was the way he processed things. Healing an animal in less than a week and seeing visions of its trauma seemed seriously weird to me. If it didn't to him, though, how could I argue with that?

"Like I said, the passing-out part does worry me," he continued. "You might want to visit the clinic about that."

"Just don't mention the visions if I want to stay off Dr. Fodor's couch."

"Exactly. Now, let's get some food. There's something I need to talk to you about."

EIGHTEEN

I'M PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF cooking lunch. Well, making sandwiches or popping something in the microwave. Daniel could do the whole operating a stove and mixing ingredients routine. Mom insisted on making lunch, though. Dad insisted on supervising, asking me to set the table, pour drinks, et cetera.

Normally, not their style, but they were worried about me and knew I didn't react well to hearing "I'm worried." They were using meal prep as an excuse to make me hang out in the kitchen with them.

The conclusion, I believe, was that I might have been upset by something to do with Rafe or the party, but I was fine now. Well, maybe not completely fine, but enough for them to back off, which they did, letting us take our lunch outside.

"I found this shoved under our front door this morning," Daniel said after we settled on the porch.

It was Mina Lee's business card. My pulse sped up. I forced myself to sound casual as I asked, "You think we should meet? Figure out what she wants?" I paused, as if considering it. "That's not a bad idea."

"Turn it over."

I did. On the back, she'd written the name of a library in Nanaimo, a Dewey decimal reference code, and a page number.

"Huh?" I said.

"Exactly. I called her. No answer. Called again on the way here and her phone's either turned off or she's out of range."

"Which isn't that strange out here. We should call Corey. See where she's staying."

"He already told me. She's at the Braun place."

I stood. "Well, then, let's go talk to her."

Daniel cast a pointed look at my grilled flatbread. Then he glanced up, squinting as if he were avoiding the sun, but I knew he wasn't. He was studying me, just like my parents had done.

I pretended to stretch, then sat back down. "After we finish eating, I mean."

He wasn't fooled, but he let it slide. Another bite of his sandwich, then he nodded. "I think we should talk to her. First, though, I want to check out that book."

"Drive all the way into Nanaimo to find a book, when she's staying ten minutes away?"

He shrugged. "I'm curious. Got a couple of things to pick up in the city, too. We can go out for dinner, make a day of it."