Cloud Riders(54)

Tears ran down her face as she recalled this story. It had struck deep; it had been the final straw and the last time she ever saw home. She knew she was a bad person but she had started to confess her sins to Woody now and like her tears, they just kept pouring out, so she let them. ‘Mum and Dad were furious when they found out what I’d done to that poor boy. They had to pay the parents a huge sum to keep it quiet and then I heard them fighting and Dad was saying I was evil and I was too dangerous to keep around any longer. He said I would kill them in their sleep given half a chance and he wanted me gone. I cried myself to sleep that night and when I woke I’d been blindfolded and crammed into a box. That’s when I busted out and found that I was somewhere between Perth and Mt Newman. Checking my watch, I’d lost two days so assumed I must have travelled for that amount of time. I swore to myself that if I survived I’d never use my powers again. Well, that was until Jason …’ Cassie stopped, realising she’d gone too far and had said enough.

‘What happened with Jason? You have to tell me everything, Cassie. Holding on to all this hurt’s not going to heal what you’ve been through.’

More tears sprung into her eyes. ‘It’s a secret and if I tell, you might get angry.’

‘Cassie, he didn’t.’ He seemed to guess, his voice almost a whisper.

She shook her head. ‘No, he didn’t get a chance to go too far. I threw him against the wall and nearly put him through it. That’s how Kayden guessed about my powers.’

‘K was there? Shit, Cassie. The rotten bastards. How can you stand being around them?’

‘Woody, let me explain. They had only seen me all dirty and thought I was a whore from the brothel down the road or maybe a plant to infiltrate your group. I’d been locked in that box for over two days and then was caught in a dust storm. I smelt bad and was covered in red dirt from head to foot. The kidnappers had been rough when transporting me so on top of that I was all bruised from banging around in that stupid container. He just thought … it was a mistake and he has apologised heaps.’

Woody sat very quietly and she could tell he was fighting back anger.

Cassie burst into tears, stood and walked away, hiding her face so he couldn’t see her face screwed up with emotion. How embarrassing this all was. Why did I tell him so much? Shit, shit, shit! She was annoyed with herself.

Woody was at her side in seconds, pulling her in for a hug. ‘Stop running, Cassie and face this mess with me. It’s the only way to get through it,’ he growled at her and she cried more. He sat back down on the log, cuddling her until she calmed down. He handed her a hanky to wipe her face. ‘That is the last time you ever cry because you think something is your fault, Cassie,’ he said softly. ‘None of this was your fault and you have to start believing that. I wasn’t angry for one particular thing—I was mad at all of them. The dirty old man that needed castrating, not just a broken arm, your stupid uneducated parents and the nanny who should have been the one packed in a box. And yes, Jason for not knowing what a treasure you were,’ he said, kissing her forehead. ‘You have been treated appallingly for most of your life and it is remarkable you have stayed so sweet and kind. You’ve had every reason to go off the rails and maybe even use your talent for evil, just to get what you wanted. Instead you stayed the course and kept love in your heart. So from this day forward there will be no more blaming yourself, Cassie Wyatt,’ he said, holding her shoulders and looking deeply into her eyes. ‘No more, Cassie. It stops here now.’

‘But if I didn’t have this power my life would have been so different.’

‘Yes, that is true. However you have powers and they led you to us and we are all so glad they did.’

She smiled weakly. ‘Me too.’

‘You were a gifted child, Cassie that’s all. Your parents were idiots and should have asked for help from others like yourself. Instead they tried to slap it out of you and kept you imprisoned in your bedroom. Their actions were criminal and I can’t believe you had nobody around you to let you know how truly clever you are or how your talent, later in life, would be used for something as incredible as we do now. Cassie, you are now involved in an organisation whose primary job is to save the world, sometimes weekly. You are one of the most important souls in the universe.’ He lifted her hands. ‘These are the hands of a very exceptional and powerful woman: a gift from the gods. You will find that in time, others will bow down to you for the lives you save. Never let me hear you say anything is your fault again.’