Grim Echoes

Chapter 27 - Ander

He wanted to be trusted again. Will had good reason not to trust him, hell he had good reasons not to bother with him at all. How long would he have to pay for his mistakes? It did not matter, he would pay any amount of time needed. Will was his brother. Perhaps not by blood, but in any way that mattered. Will had always been and always would be there for him, just as he would for Will. He moved his gaze to the sleeping pair, struck by gratitude and awe.

Will must have sensed, because his eyes snapped open. Ander watched his body tense and then relax when he recognized Ander. He lifted his arm off Maeve and rubbed the back of his head. The movement caused her to stir.

"You know that fucking creeps me out."

"I apologize." Ander averted his eyes and sat and checked his FitBit.

It was 11am, they had slept eight hours. His eyes widened with surprise. Typically, they only slept five to six hours at a time. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Maeve. It must be her. There was no other rational explanation. They moved off the couch, Maeve's eyes darted around.

"Do you need the bathroom?" he asked.

She nodded and followed him out of the room into the hallway. Will stayed in the room, presumably searching for his cigarettes. Ander stopped a few doors down. It was Mason's bathroom, which he realized he would catch hell for allowing Maeve to use it, but it was the only clean bathroom. Maeve scurried inside.

Ander waited across the hall and peered at the drop ceiling, deceptively normal in appearance, but he was aware of all the traps that laid in wait above the panels. He rubbed his eyes. His contacts bothered him and needed to be cleaned. Maeve opened the door.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't have any of my clothes or anything."

"We can speak with Will about it." he motioned for her to walk.

Will was not in the room, but Mason sat in her recliner near the wall, drinking coffee.

"Feeling rested?" she asked both of them.

Ander nodded and cast his eyes to the floor before he moved to the table in the middle of the room. He sat, kept his eyes on the floor, concerned she was irritated with Will for falling asleep. Even though Mason's was the safest place to sleep, she always told them to keep to the code. Someone had to be on watch. Will had been on watch and fallen asleep. Ander's stomach knotted.

"Coffee?" Mason asked, her voice too smooth.

Familiar with her morning voice, it was raspy and always on the verge of a cough. It likely meant she had been up for hours. He unsheathed his knife. The weight of it comforted him.

"Sure, thank you," Maeve replied.

Mason handed her a travel mug of coffee, knowing Mason it was twice the strength needed to be and probably had Irish creme in it. Ander watched Maeve's eyes bulge in surprise and confirmed his suspicions.

"So the boys told me about your abilities." Mason took a drink of her coffee and stared Maeve down.

"I don't really know much about it. I was just worried that the angel was going to hurt Ander."

Her truth once again resonated in his chest and made it hard to breathe.

"I wasn't talking about the protective power. I was talking about how you got in his head."

Maeve's posture changed. She gripped the coffee mug tightly and bit her lip. Stiff, she sat at the table near him and as far away from Mason as she could. She took a sip and then a deep breath.

"Well, that's different but sorta the same." she sipped the coffee again.

Will walked into the room and appeared refreshed. He had showered and changed his clothes. Both he and Ander had rooms there. He glanced at Maeve and raised an eyebrow.

"I mean its different because it works differently but similar because I can't really control it." her voice trembled.

"Huh, and how long you had these abilities?" Mason questioned.

Maeve shrugged. "What happened with the angel is new, that's never happened before." Maeve looked at her feet. "My soul touch, that's been around for as long as I can remember."

"Soul touch?" Will asked incredulously.

"That's just what I started calling it after a while when I understood what was happening." she placed the mug on the table and put her hands in her lap. "It's almost like dreaming the important parts of someone's life. I can see pieces of things that impacted them but not the circumstances around it. It feels like a five second dream. Everything is confusing, out of order and hazy. I don't really get any good details but I know their soul." she swallowed.

Ander listened and tried to discern how much she had seen in his soul.

"I don't have control over it. Who it's with or when it'll happen. Sometimes the timing is really bad,"

"Do you need physical contact with someone for it to happen?" Ander asked.

She shook her head no. "It works better, or at least the details are clearer, but it isn't necessary. Just eye contact. And even then it only needs to be for a few seconds."

"Do they know its happening?" Will sat in the empty chair at the table.

Maeve jumped in her seat when he sat. "Yeah, they feel an instant connection with me. They don't see anything about me, at least not that I know of. Most people freak out and deny anything happened." her fingers entangled themselves in her hair. She twirled a chunk in her hand over and over.

Will looked at the wall and rubbed the back of his head. He did not believe her. Ander's head pounded with mounting irritation. No one was innocent, but Mason and Will had no reason to view Maeve as a threat. It was preposterous.

"I think what we need to focus on for now is why dickhead demons want you and what interest the asshat angels have in you," Will changed the subject.

"I already told you I have no idea why demons want me. Until a few days ago, I suspected they existed but had never actually saw one in the flesh. And until yesterday I thought angels were good." Maeve pinched her lips together.

She picked up the coffee and took another drink. Will's gaze moved to Mason. Mason's head tilted to the right, and indicated she did not think Maeve was a threat. Will's grey eyes turned to Ander. Ander repeated the slight movement. To an outsider, their movements were so insignificant they were almost unnoticeable.

"So if you don't know, then we need to look at the bigger picture." Will smiled and flashed his even white teeth.

Ander's jaw clenched. It was Will's charming smile. Her lips turned upward in the corners. Ander felt like someone punched him in the stomach. It was so easy for Will.

"Other people I know? Or where I work? Or do you mean something else?" she asked, now focused on Will.

He flashed another quick smile. "That's a good start. All that and a lot more. Somewhere something or someone that's connected to you sold you out or realized you had abilities and then sold you out. Cause unless you did something to gain the attention of demons or angels, they wouldn't bother with you."

Together they made a list of all the humans she knew or could think of and how they fit into her life. Ander did not comment on how short the list was compared to most humans they aided. After that, they expanded the list to date back to college. Ander wanted to speak more with her about college, but Will cut him off and declared it was enough to begin research. 

Which meant Ander would do the research and Will would review the results. Of course, most of the time Ander wanted to do the research. He excelled at it and was faster than any other Soldiers of Night he had met over the years. Except Mason. However, this was their mission, and so it was Ander's duty.

He had begun a file on her when they were on the werewolf mission. Excited to have permission to dig deeper into her life, he wanted to know everything about her. Ander sat with the list but did not wish to stop speaking with Maeve. He revived the conversation by returning to her abilities and explained how dormant powers activated and behaved until the owner gained control over them.