Downfall - The Incorruptibles #1 (COMPLETE NOVEL)

Chapter 9: Doubt

I spent nearly half my time under Gaunt House with Cain, which meant I struggled to keep up with college work. One day near the end of term I even convinced Albion to finish an essay for me. I told him I'd run out of time but the truth was I wanted to spend the night with Cain. I only felt right when I was with him. Each evening the other three went through their visions from the day. Snippets of visions for Liz and Jude, and slightly longer, more detailed visions for Owen. Almost every day one of them mentioned the farmer, or the blue radio, but no one ever explained the significance of those to me. Cain didn't recount any visions during these sessions, so I figured he didn't have them as often as the others. It made sense that his would be less frequent than the others' fragmented visions, since his visions now showed the complete event. Part of me wanted to hear him describe a full vision and be part of the effort to prevent whatever tragic event was foretold. Another part of me was filled with dread at the thought.

Liz and Owen seemed more at peace with my presence now I knew their secret. Liz showed me photos of her nephew in Revel City. Owen explained his thesis work on sermon texts during the Enlightenment. Jude was another story. As always he wore his feelings plainly on his face, and although he tried to forgive me and Cain he had a hard time with it. For the most part he'd be fine, but every now and then I'd do something banal like tell a lame joke or pretend to cheat at cards and his face would darken. Maybe those moments reminded him we were together for a while and we weren't anymore. He'd brood for a bit, which made me feel bad. Jude had always been sunshine and laughter so it hurt to see his face marred by resentment. It was also irritating. I'd warned him not to get attached, for God's sake.

Covertly they tried to guess why I was there but I could see what they were doing. They asked me questions, trying out theories. Had I ever seen anything supernatural? What sort of dreams did I have? Did I ever experience déjà vu? Owen focused on my family history, asking about my father's work and my own faith. I disappointed them time and time again. I didn't know how to tell them what I knew about them, and they had no idea how isolating it was to hear their questions. Whenever they tried to work out how I was special it hurt me because I wasn't. I didn't belong to their little group. I wasn't one of the divine faces Cain had seen in his vision. I was just Francesca Caravaggio, just Frankie. A mistake.

One night Jude made the preposterous remark that I might be a healer. It turned out he was talking about the time I visited him at home and played with the broken electric can opener and made the thing work again. I healed a can opener. I was disgusted he even had the gall to tell the ridiculous anecdote.

"Have you ever healed before?" Liz asked.

"No," I muttered. "It was a stupid bloody can opener with a dickey switch. I didn't heal it."

In other words, shut up about my non-existent gifts already.

Later that night, as the other three departed, I remained huddled on Cain's sofa, my arms around my knees. He came back from saying goodbye and gave me a pointed look.

"You're not a mistake, Francesca."

I ignored him, pretending I hadn't been thinking about it. I had a question ready.

"What are they talking about when they mention the farmer and the radio?"

"Oh, yeah, the farmer. They've been seeing visions of this farmer for months now. We don't seem to make any progress with it, though."

"What's in the vision?"

"The guy is angry," Cain said. "He's sitting alone in the dark, by a bonfire. Flannel shirt, thin face. Grey hair and stubble. Weathered-looking. He's got a little blue radio at his side and a gun."