Finding Obscurity: The Secrets Series, #1

PROLOGUE

I wiggled in the driver’s seat as I attempted to dance to our favorite song. My sister Sara laughed at me. Her curly blonde hair bounced and her blue eyes sparkled, which were a striking contrast to my dark hair and hazel eyes. Even if we looked like polar opposites, we were sisters and best friends.

We’d just left a graduation party that my best friend Anne had thrown for me. I was a good girl, but my sister snuck a few beers from the keg. Since I just turned eighteen and she was only fifteen, I was hoping she sobered up a little before we got home. I didn’t want to be at the receiving end of my parents’ wrath if they found out she’d been drinking on my watch.

What a night! I don’t think I’ll ever forget about it, Sarah squealed, beaming at me. Brian was so hot, and when he asked me to dance, I almost fainted!

I frowned. Well, there is no way I’d let you go out with him. He’s nineteen and you can’t even drive yet! Plus, he may be cute, but he has a reputation of sleeping around, and if he so much as touched a hair on your head, I would kick his ass.

Please, Lily, just because you don’t have any interest in boys doesn’t mean I can’t! Besides, I could sneak around and you would never even know about it.

She was right about both statements. I had liked boys, but there were things I knew about the guys I dated that I wish I didn’t. And Sarah was so much better at doing sneaky things than I was; she’d even left the house to sneak to this party. I had tried twice to sneak out of the house and even with my freaky abilities; I never saw her slipping out or even caught myself when I tried.

I have these abilities that started occurring when I turned thirteen. I dreamt of different situations, from birthday gifts to the neighbor’s dog hit by a car, which all happened shortly after I dreamt them. Of course it scared the shit out of me when everything I dreamt about starting coming true. After speaking to my mom about it, she sent me to a psychiatrist, thinking I was out for attention, or clinically insane.

When I was about sixteen or so, I got my second ability. When I was upset, I seemed to short out electronic devices, similar to static cling, but just a tad more powerful. The older I became, the more powerful these abilities evolved. That was one reason why I didn’t have a cell phone, because after going through five of them, my parents stopped replacing them. Of course, I left that little secret to myself so I wouldn’t have to see that shrink again. My parents already thought I was a little crazy.

Still, I don’t want him anywhere near you. I gave her a stern look. What were you thinking, trying to sneak out and come to this party? You should’ve known better than that—and drinking on top of it! What if Mom and Dad find out? You’re going to give me a nervous breakdown!

I reached to turn down the radio, but felt the static electricity on my fingertips and the hum down into my bones, so I changed my mind. I didn’t need to buy another CD player for my car...again.

I’m almost able to drive, she pouted, and Mom and Dad will never find out. You know it’s true! I’ll head straight to my room when I get home and they’ll never know.

I don’t know how you get away with it, but I’m jealous. I must have a silent alarm on my window or something, because I always get caught!

Sarah giggled. Maybe you need to learn the art of stealth. I can hear when you get up to pee, and it sounds like a herd of elephants walking around.

I do not sound like a herd of elephants! Should I get some lessons from the expert?

She grinned. I would be happy to show you the ropes. A little stealth training would do a body good.

Chuckling, I shook my head. Sarah, I’m still upset that you snuck out tonight and ended up at the party. Somebody could have kidnapped you, and I wouldn’t know what I’d do without you in my life.

I couldn’t miss my big sister’s graduation party, and you know that. You mean the world to me.

I know, and I love you more than anything.

I love you, too, sis.

The vision came out of nowhere, and I gasped. They never came while I was awake. I was driving, but this I couldn’t stop, even if I tried.

A car barreled down a country road and I instantly recognized the little green Honda as mine. We were about to round the sharp curve that would lead to the road heading home. That was when it happened. The car swerved to the right and hit the ditch off the side of the road. I tried to correct the car, but it all went wrong. There was a loud pop of a tire and the car started fishtailing before hitting the ditch again with a slam. The car went tumbling end over end, with dirt flying in the air, when suddenly a body flew out the windshield. I didn’t know which one of us it was, and that made me panic.

A deep rasp of air filled my lungs and I instantly reached out to turn the radio down, and with a crackle, it shorted out. The car went silent. My sister turned to look at me with wide eyes, but I didn’t have time to explain. The curve was close, and I gripped the steering wheel as a tear slipped down my cheek. I knew what was going to happen, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

My foot slammed the brake pedal to the floor as we started toward the curve, and even though the car started to slow down when I turned the wheel, it edged off the right side toward the ditch. We were going excessively fast to round the bend, and no matter how hard I hit those brakes, we wouldn’t slow down fast enough. The tire fell off the side of the blacktop. I turned the wheel to the left, but the car hit the ditch again. The car started to fishtail, thrashing both my sister and I inside the car. Things happened so fast that I barely had time to scream. For a split-second, it felt like we were in a washing machine on spin cycle. Then the car stopped with a slam.

Upside down in the backseat of the car, my vision hazed in red as I attempted to right myself. Wiping my eyes, I pulled my hand back and saw blood. Then noticed I was alone. Noooo! I sobbed, exiting the car, cutting my arms on the shards of peppered glass.

The car landed right side up in a twisted metal heap, and I finally pried myself out of the passenger window. Sarah had been the one thrown out of the car from my vision, and frantically, I tried to find her, aided only by the one headlight still working on the car. The field had mounds of dirt where the car had flipped, and I kept faltering over them before finally losing a sandal.

Sarah! I tripped over another pile of dirt and fell on my hands and knees.

Eyes wide, I saw a pink shoe a foot in front of my face. Scrambling off the ground and running in the direction of the shoe, I spotted my sister. Obviously, the wreck was bad, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I found her. Her pink fleece hoodie was no longer pink, but shiny black with blood. Her arm twisted behind her head at an odd angle, her leg bent backwards, and even though she was breathing, it was gurgled. Each deep breath ended with a cough and a choking wheeze.

Tears and blood streamed down my face as I awkwardly landed beside her damaged body. My hands hovered over Sarah, not sure what to do or how to touch her; I was scared of making it worse or doing more damage. Her eyes closed, and she was having trouble breathing. I wanted to shake her to wake us up from this nightmare.

Oh, God....Sarah.

Lily... my sister croaked. She tried to take a breath, coughing up blood on her pale lips.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Sarah... Please look at me. PLEASE!

Somebody yelled, and I thought it might have been me, but the next thing I knew gentle hands pulled me back, hearing something about 911 being on the way. My legs kicked out, trying to fight the person holding me. I had to get to Sarah; I had to do something to help her.

Sirens blared in the distance and flashes of red and blue broke through the darkness. Keys jingled, handheld radios squawked, and everything else seemed like a blur of motion. Police, several EMTs, and a fireman ran across the field. A stocky bald man, who happened to see the accident and called in the emergency, held me back. As I fought the man, trying to get back to my sister, one of the police officers asked if I needed help. Sobbing, I shook my head and could only point in the direction of the people surrounding Sarah. I stood in the field haloed in headlights forever, watching the scene unfold as if it were a dream. There was a loud thump-thump-thump of a medical helicopter and I stared in a daze as people frantically ran past me toward the wreckage.

My parents came running onto the scene, screaming for Sarah, but several police officers restrained them. I looked back at them as an EMT dragged me to the ambulance to check my injuries. I searched for Mom and Dad while they tried to ask me questions about what was hurt and tended to the gashes on my body. I shook my head at them, looking back in the direction of Sarah. Surprisingly I felt numb, disconnected, and cold.

When I finally spotted Mom, I sagged with relief. They were here and everything would be okay now. The wreck had been my fault. I had overcorrected the car. Because the vision told me this would happen, I should’ve gained control. I wept when my parents fought to get past the officers holding them back.

Then the unexpected happened.

My mom looked me straight in the eye with hatred. I’d never seen such fury in a person’s eyes, and I was befuddled at the venom aimed in my direction. Why would Mom be so mad at me? I know the wreck was my fault, but Sarah would be okay.

Mom... My body jerked on a sob but stopped at her look of revulsion.

Man, they were pissed, and I couldn’t blame them. The hospital bills alone would cost as much as college if I didn’t have a full-ride scholarship. But Sarah would be fine, and we’d laugh about this once we got to the hospital.

Yanking my body away from the medical staff trying to clean the gash on my head, I knew needed to get to my parents. But when I had finally gotten a few feet away from them, the EMT attempted to grab my arm. He said something about me being in shock, and that I needed to sit back down.

As I walked up to my mother, I tried to ignore the vicious look from her. I’m sorry about the car. It’s going to be okay, Mom.

Don’t call me that! she shrieked. This is your fault, Liliana. Something like this was bound to happen, and I never should have let you in my home! I knew taking you in would be our worst nightmare! You were never my daughter, and my only daughter is going to die because of you!

I jerked at her words, and the next thing I heard shattered my heart.

Time of death: Saturday, June tenth, 12:05 am.

CHAPTER ONE

My name is Liliana Canton, and after my sister died, things quickly spiraled into a living hell. My supposed friends gossiped about how I had killed my sister, and my adoption news spread fast. The rumors even began circling, again, about how I was the little crazy girl who said I could see things in my dreams. I didn’t sit with the family at the funeral. And because of that experience, I was hesitant to trust anyone again.

Leaving home with what little a teenager would own, I went to college, graduating with a Master’s in Business. During my time in college, I was the nerdy, loner, weird girl who stayed to herself and never made friends because I just couldn’t find it in me to put myself out there. How did I know that they wouldn’t leave when they found out that I was a freak of nature?

In class, I sat in the back row with my head down, and didn’t make eye contact with anyone. Then I would go straight to my room to study. Thank goodness for a full-ride scholarship to Northwestern University. I was thankful to them for allowing me to get an education and to get away from the small town crapshoot where I grew up. I had promised myself I would never step foot in that place ever again.

Shortly after the car accident, my adoptive mother informed me that a family who had lost their lives to a horrible fire in Tennessee were actually my parents. I knew nothing more of them other than that, and I’ve never spoken to the people who raised me after my sister died. I wouldn’t get any more answers about by birth family, and sometimes I wondered if they knew from the beginning that I would be different. How my life had changed that night.

Pulling myself out of the memory of my past, I looked out the windshield of my dark blue BMW toward the club called Revive. The club was on the seedy side of town in an abandoned industrial park. The building had a worn red brick exterior, with big multi-squared updated blacked out windows so you couldn’t see any lights on the inside. The building would look abandoned if it weren’t for the line of people and the bright red neon sign announcing the name of the club above the door. Revive was known as the best dance club in Indianapolis, even if only a few select people got in the doors and cleared the bouncer.

Slowly exiting the car, and careful not to flash the goods with my sequined dress, I decided that going nude on my long legs wasn’t the best idea with the cold March air. The heels from my knee-high boots clicked against the broken concrete to the sound of bass coming from the club. I straightened my sequined dress and pushed up the tiny bit of cleavage I had as I spotted the doorman. I was not going to be standing in line with hundreds of people tonight.

The doorman held a clipboard and had one of those fancy earpieces. He was wearing a red T-shirt with the Revive logo across the front and tight leather pants like second skin. His 80s cut, intense blue hair was a startling contrast to his coffee-colored skin. He was guarding the red velvet rope as if it were the gates to heaven. Maybe it was heaven, because I’ve never gotten past the guy in all my attempts in the past. He was intimidating, full of muscles, reminding me of a body builder. But he didn’t scare me in the least, because I made sure I had gotten a name from the list from my acquaintance, Sam, who worked at the club.

Walking straight up to him, I stood waiting for the burly guy to look over at me. Finally, I cleared my throat. If you’re not on the list, you go to the end of the line, the guy said with a raised eyebrow.

Paisley Greenwood, I announced with an innocent smile and slightly upturned nose. I don’t know this chick from Adam, but come on, her name screamed rich bitch.

He took his little gadget and started typing into a computer screen that I originally thought was a clipboard. This place was high-tech, and as long as I didn’t get upset and knock out the lights, we would be okay. Trust me; it happened once at a large electronic store when the rude customer service worker wouldn’t return my busted TV. Okay, so I blew the TV when I got mad one night at something stupid, but I guess my payback at the jerk was cutting the whole power down as I leaned my hand against the wall while yelling back at him.

The bouncer grunted and used his stylus to hit another few buttons. With a sneer, he released the rope to allow me inside, watching me as if I were smuggling drugs. His stare made me a little nervous, but soon I was inside, moving among the crowd. They wouldn’t go looking for a rich, snooty girl who would be spending money in this place, and Paisley probably spent her nights on yachts and in mansions rather than at Revive.

The air was smoky from a mix of fog machines and cigarette smoke, layered with the smell of sweat and cheap perfume. The club had multicolored laser lights zipping all over, while men and women with perfect bodies were doing several acrobatic dances on sheer fabric hanging from the ceiling. Others were dancing in cages, and I squinted in disgust at them, so cliché. Other than the cages, the place looked extravagant. The walls were painted a deep shade of crimson, which I figured was the club’s signature color, and occasionally there was a stripe of glittery black painted on the walls. The dance floor was impressive, painted a shiny black. Underneath the thick lacquer were large pieces of mirror and glass, and the floor sparkled when the laser lights from the ceiling bounced in between perspiring bodies.

When I found the main bar wrapped in metal diamond plate, I looked for Sam. When I spotted him, he took a big swig of some sort of alcohol and then made flames with a lighter, somehow spitting the concoction from between his lips. He impressed me even more by throwing the bottle in the air in a magnificent twist and catching it on one finger before pouring somebody a drink.

Sam Arbor and I weren’t really friends since I was leery of people, but he bought me coffee once at the mall and that was close enough. We had exchanged phone numbers that day and talked every couple of days, and usually had several shopping trips a month. He preferred the same sex and worked at Revive as a bartender. I was just glad to have somebody who was good with fashion to help me shop for the right clothes. I wanted to look sultry, not like a total slut. The fact that he knew how to make a killer cocktail was a plus.

The bass boomed through the club and through my body as popular dance song blasted through the impressive sound system. Dancing was tempting, but I had to let Sam know I was here first. I fought the throng of people and finally made it up to the bar.

I waved to Sam, who beamed at me, and after an expert bottle twist, made his way toward me. He was dressed like all the other bartenders in black leather pants and a skintight red shirt, and it looked good on his fit body. I knew for a fact that Sam ran every day, and I wished I had that type of motivation. He was good looking with dirty blonde hair up in pointy spikes and blue eyes. His tanned skin glowed under the lights of the bar. He being gay almost made me sad, but then again, I didn’t have time for a relationship, nor did I trust anyone to get close to me anyway, so it was a win-win. His lips moved when he came up to me, but because of the music, I had no clue what he said.

What? I shouted, cupping my ear.

After a laugh, he made the come closer motion with his pointy finger and I leaned forward. "What do you want to drink, Paisley? It’s on me."

Make me something good! I shouted back.

Sam smirked mischievously and started doing some more of the amazing bottle tosses with what looked like some sort of dance along with it. I bet the man he ended up falling in love with would be very happy in bed with him, judging by the way he moved, but then again, he wouldn’t have to be in love to please some lucky guy. I smiled as he handed me some sort of blue drink in a tall, thin glass. He winked at me as he moved on to his next customer.

I turned around and leaned up against the corner of the bar. There was a reason I was here besides Sam’s great cocktails. The next song that came on had my foot tapping to the beat as I glanced up at the dancers in the cages. Then my eyes roamed the acrobatic dancers hanging from the ceiling. I was looking for one of the women up in either the cages or doing some sort of routines from the sheer curtains. Rumors were one of the women had special abilities.

Sam had let it slip that a woman by the name of Stacy was able to sense emotions by touching somebody. He swore by this woman, calling her some sort of empath, but he had no idea about my abilities, and I liked to keep it that way. I had been following these rumors all over the country, trying to find somebody legit whom I could get some answers about who I was.

My abilities had gotten stronger over the years, and the glimpses of the future I blocked, unless it was a very strong premonition that caught me off guard. And even though I had a better control at not shorting out everything electric, very strong emotions would still let it slip. Heck, I’ve had my cell phone for over a year, which was a record, I think.

So far, I hadn’t located anyone with special abilities, besides one other woman. I found her in Florida. Her health records, left open on the computer in the room, read certified insane because she swore she could see the future. When touching normal people, they felt like a steady constant hum of energy, sort of like a cell phone on vibrate. However, when I touched the comatose female, it had felt like I’d stuck my finger in a light socket. That was how I knew she had to be different. Apparently, in a coma for years, she died a few days later when her family decided to pull the plug. Her ability to get glimpses of the future may have gotten me closer to the answers I desperately needed. Nevertheless, I’d never give up trying to find somebody like me.

I checked my watch. According to Sam, the dancers got a break in about three minutes, and then they danced with the rest of the people on the floor, mingling to bring up the atmosphere. That would be my chance to locate her, but they only were out for a few songs. My time was limited to find