The Enlightened (Mind Dimensions #3)(8)

“Oh?” I say noncommittally. “Why is that?”

“Because, child, Mark was our son,” she says, gesturing toward Paul. “You’re our grandson.”





Chapter 4





Rose is my grandma? Paul, the guy I nicknamed ‘Grandpa,’ actually is my grandpa? That’s just too much to take in. Since I learned Sara isn’t my biological mom, I knew I’d eventually come across new family—and it’s logical that my family would be from the Reader and Guide communities—but knowing this and actually having it happen are two different things. I’m more surprised by Paul and Rose being my grandparents than I was to learn that Hillary is my aunt.

Studying their features more closely, I notice the resemblance: Paul has my eye color, and Rose has my chin. Or rather, I have theirs. My heart starts beating even faster. I hate that we’re in the Quiet, because that means I can’t phase out to take a breather, as I usually would in similar situations.

“As soon as I saw your pictures online, I suspected you were my grandson,” Rose says, pulling me out of my shock. “I hoped. You look just like Mark did when he was your age, and even more like Paul.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Caleb asks, looking at Paul. Apparently, this is a surprise to him, too. “It would’ve been nice to be in the loop.”

“Did you need to know?” Paul retorts coldly.

“I guess not,” Caleb says, deflating. “But it would’ve helped. I thought—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Paul says. “Rose, I think we should bring in a few of the others.”

I have to say, in contrast to Rose, who is beaming at me, I’m not getting any warm and fuzzy feelings from Grandpa. Not one bit. Maybe he’s one of those crankier older gentlemen.

“You may go,” Rose tells Caleb. “But do stick around in this Mind Dimension for the time being.”

“You got it,” Caleb says and walks off. If it’s possible to express anger through one’s gait, he’s doing an extremely good job of it. It sounds as though he misunderstood their reason for having me brought here, and I wonder what the actual reason is.

Rose and Paul walk over to two other white-robed figures. She touches a bald man on the head, and Paul goes for the neck of a heavyset woman who’s sitting on the other side of the circle.

The moving versions of the two new people appear. I’m still digesting having grandparents—grandparents who are among the Enlightened, no less.

“Darren, this is Edward, my husband,” Rose says, introducing the bald man.

“And this is my wife, Marsha,” Paul says.

Both newcomers look at me with varying levels of fascination.

“I can see it,” the bald one, Edward, says.

The chubby lady, Marsha, nods.

When the introductions sink in—and though it’s not the weirdest thing I’ve heard today—I can’t help but say, “Wait, you two aren’t married?”

“No,” Rose says, giving her husband a reassuring squeeze on the arm. “Paul and I had Mark because it was genetically advantageous, but when it came to choosing life partners, each of us married for love.”

Okay, so fact one: I have grandparents. Fact two: they’re swingers. It just gets better and better.

“Rose and I are the most powerful of our kind,” Paul says. He must’ve interpreted the expression on my face as incredulity about the ‘genetically advantageous’ reference, when my astonishment was in regards to their sex life.

“Yes,” Rose chimes in. “We were bred, through generations, for our Depth. Our ancestors have been trying to—”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, hon,” Edward says to her, “but shouldn’t we do the Joining first? Before we tell him everything?”

“That’s a great idea,” Paul says. “We can only fully confide in him after the Joining.”

“Joining?” I ask, slowly regaining my scattered wits. “Like when I joined my mind with Caleb’s to read the fighter’s thoughts?”

“Something like that, yes,” Rose says, “but on a bigger scale.”

“Caleb gave us the report on your experience,” Paul says. “He gleaned your guilt about your Pusher nature without fully understanding the situation. Since you obviously can Read and all.”

“He did? I was so afraid he’d find out I was a Pusher and kill me like he did that guy in his memories,” I blurt out. “I can’t believe he saw my biggest fear and didn’t confront me about it.”

“The man Caleb killed was one of the Pushers allied with the Orthodoxy,” Paul says. “You witnessed the event out of context. The explosion Caleb prevented was meant to put a deeper wedge between Readers and Pushers. It was also how we began suspecting Jacob of being in league with the Orthodoxy. He wasn’t at the community when the explosion was supposed to happen.” His voice hardens. “Believe me, he won’t be missed.”

“You mean to tell me that Readers don’t kill Pushers just for being what they are?” I give him a dubious look. “What about the genocides?”

“That’s in the past. Modern Readers don’t kill Pushers for being born as they are. Or better to say, anyone we have influence over doesn’t, not since we’ve learned of the good that Pushers have done in the world,” Rose says.