dodge this one—and throw a right hook back at him. But Ryan just stepped into Cooper’s punch and, instead of getting hit, somehow sent Cooper sailing back to the couch again, where he lay, disoriented, while Ryan kept talking.
“Human beings learn quickly to avoid and respond to things that might hurt them,” Ryan said. “It’s simple. We pick up cues that warn us of approaching danger. We become more sensitive to those cues when we know we’re in danger. And when we find a way to defend ourselves, we use it instinctively.”
Cooper rubbed his jaw, still wondering how this guy who looked like a college kid and spoke like some kind of professor had managed to knock him off his feet twice in the same afternoon.
“Now,” Ryan said, continuing, “I’ll give you the same option I gave Brent when he first came here. I can help you clamp down so hard on your ability you’ll never reach it again, or I can teach you to use it as you choose, instead of just lashing out with it in a blind panic. Either way, in the process you’ll learn how to keep yourself contained when you need to be, so the scavengers can’t make a meal out of you.”
“I appreciate the offer,” Cooper grumbled, “but … first, two more questions. If you’re saying these abilities are developed through some kind of protective response, then why is mine putting me in danger? Brent said his telepathy put him in the hospital.”
“Because sometimes your body makes mistakes. It’s a bad idea to shut your eyes when something flies at your windshield while you’re driving, or to freeze in place in the middle of the street when a truck is about to run you over, right? But people still do it. That’s why we need to make a conscious effort to control our responses.”
Cooper knew there was sometimes a difference between what your body wanted you to do, and what you needed to do, especially when it came to football, where he had trained himself to hold on to the ball, even if it meant falling on his face.
“Next question,” he said. “How do I put this? You’re kind of an asshole. Why do you want to help me at all?”
“I told you,” Ryan said, a hint of frustration in his tone. “Possessing real magic involves making deals with powers beyond your current comprehension. My family made those agreements centuries ago, and we have been sorcerers and scholars ever since. The le Coire family is the oldest and most powerful human line on this continent to ever study these magics. I believe, as did most of my ancestors, that our power isn’t just a gift to be squandered. I don’t have to like you, and vice versa, for me to have an obligation to offer to teach you. Whether you say yes is up to you.”
Cooper hesitated. He knew he needed to learn what Ryan had to teach, if only to prove that Samantha wasn’t evil, and to convince Ryan to help her, somehow, too. He just didn’t like the idea of spending more time with him.
“Take a day,” Ryan suggested. “Ask Brent and Delilah what it’s like to study with me. Look around and see if you can recognize which people near you have your shadows clinging to them, and how it’s affecting them. And,” he concluded with a cool smile, “maybe you should see what Samantha thinks of the plan.” He shrugged. “Or maybe you shouldn’t. If she is the one keeping you alive, and she thinks you might not be useful anymore, it could end badly. Either way, be here tomorrow morning if you want my help.”
Cooper wanted to defend Samantha again, but couldn’t seem to find the words as a shiver ran down his spine.
15
Cooper rubbed his jaw as he and Brent climbed onto the train going back to town. “I’m wondering if Ryan and I would both survive it, if I accept his offer to teach me anything.”
“I don’t know of anyone who’s died there yet,” Brent assured him. “Ryan is always pretty abrasive, but he gets easier to work with once he believes that you’re willing to put in the effort.”
“How hard is it to convince him of that?”
Brent seemed to ponder that one for quite a while, before saying, “As you might have guessed, you’re not the first person to try to hit him. I’ve never seen anyone connect, though I tried my best. More importantly, I’ve never seen Ryan get angry about it. He says that it’s easiest for most people to tap into their power when their emotions are running high, so I think he baits people on purpose.”
“Oh, fun,” Cooper grumbled.
“Speaking of which, is Samantha angry about being locked out?”
Cooper nodded. “She said she was going to follow Delilah, so she’s probably at the car wash now.” He wasn’t sure what to make of her abrupt about-face on her opinion of Delilah. Was she as unsettled as he was by finding Delilah at Ryan’s?
“Do you want to swing by after we get back to town?” Brent asked. “I think the flyers I saw said the car wash would run until five, so we could get there half an hour or so before they shut down.”
“I don’t know,” Cooper said. “If Ryan’s right, my being around them could hurt the other guys, too, couldn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” Brent said, before he blurted out, “You have to have some thoughts on what Ryan said about Samantha. What if she isn’t what you think she is? Maybe she isn’t even what she thinks she is, and that’s why you two haven’t been able to figure out who she is.”
“I just don’t believe she would hurt anyone,” Cooper said, recalling too vividly how scared Samantha had seemed after having been “lost” last night. No matter what Ryan said, Cooper had a hard time believing it was really all an act.
Of course, her fear made him more afraid, which was what those shadow-creatures were supposed to—
No. He didn’t believe that. Even if Ryan was right and Samantha couldn’t be a ghost, that didn’t mean she was evil. Maybe Samantha didn’t mean to lie to anyone, but was deceiving herself, like Brent said.
Despite his reservations, when they left the train, Cooper found himself heading toward the grocery store parking lot where he knew the team would be. He wanted to see Samantha again to make sure she was all right.
And he wanted to see the guys. He had been so nervous about even calling them all summer, but if part of that nervousness had been caused by the shadows, then he should seize the moment before they came back. Ryan had said that healthy people weren’t at risk, so Cooper didn’t think he’d actually be endangering them. He would say a quick hello, and hopefully find Samantha in the process.
Brent was following quietly beside him, “Going to check out the car wash after all?”
“I guess I am,” he said. “I mean, I should, right?” He felt as if he could breathe easier than he had been able to in months.
Brent shrugged. “You want company or should I ditch?”
“Would it be absolutely pathetic if I asked you to come?” Cooper asked. John had seemed willing to forgive and forget that he had abandoned him for months, but their conversation had still been awkward even before the shadows came. Cooper didn’t know how the rest of the team would react. They had a right to be pissed at him.
“No problem,” Brent said. “I can provide an excuse and drive the getaway car if we need to make our escape.”
Cooper laughed a little at the image, but it was mostly forced.
John looked up just then and did a double take. Cooper froze like a rabbit as the 227-pound linebacker ran at him. If John actually hit him with any force, he was going to go down, hard, before John even realized that Cooper had lost most of the bulk and muscle that would enable him to meet that kind of greeting.
Thankfully, John stopped, grinning, a couple feet in front of Cooper. If the shadows that had harassed John back at school had done any damage, it didn’t show.
“It’s good to see you up and about and not looking like hell,” John said bluntly, his smile not fading.
“Yeah. I’m sorry I haven’t called or anything.”
“I figured you’d get in touch when you felt up to it. I told the guys to leave you alone until then … though I
