Gray stared at the four long pages as they lay spread out across the table of the library. When Wynn had said he had some things that would help him understand what had happened to Christian, he hadn't been lying.
For one, Christian's body was the main focus of the center one. He was splayed out in an inhuman manner, right leg bent back atrociously and his torso was twisted two degrees too far the opposite way. There was no blood so he hadn't been stabbed or shot. Gray would have liked that better.
He could clearly see why Wynn had called him for a meeting. The other boy had seen how Christian had been murdered. He had known the murderer was. He had to. Christian had been a breath of fresh air. He had been popular but down to earth. He hadn't been a bully, preferring to stick up for the underdog instead of trashing him. He'd had a sensible head and had known what he had wanted to do with his life.
Christian had wanted to be a lawyer, taking care of his need for inequality to be dealt with. But no one was going to see that side of him. Instead of living for the next eighty years, he was now immortalized in a teenager's drawings.
The second draing had the murderer. The face couldn't be seen but it was definitely someone Christian had known. His face was too calm. There was no fear. Only the look of betrayal and shock. He had been close to his murderer. That meant it could be anyone around the late teen. He had been well-liked by everyone in the community.
Black gloves were etched into the third picture. Gray wasn't stupid enough to believe they were the murder weapons. No, far from it. They had been used by the unidentified person to hide DNA evidence. It was honestly a very smart move on the person's part. No evidence meant no one can be blamed and that it would be considered a freak accident. No one had considered a precognitive dream being their undoing.
Rubbing the sudden tiredness from his eyes, Gray looked across the table at Wynn. The other teen's eyes were darting from one page to the other as his mind tried to piece together the puzzle before them. He had barely known Christian, but he had been the only one to see his murder.
Gray had his suspicions about Wynn. He had never met anyone that pulled at him the way had did. He'd been able to see through all of his magic. Now he was drawing things he had never witnessed before. He had met Christian personally twice but they'd had no interaction whatsoever.
How had he drawn this with such accuracy that he'd gotten Christian's scars correct? This was his murder. How had he known no one had seen the files except Gray and the police?
"I don't know what any of this means?" he murmured. Gray looked up. Wynn was biting his nails as he stared at his own drawings. "Why would they kill him? He was a kid. What good was it? Why would someone do it?"
Gray couldn't answer those questions. He hadn't been given the go ahead to give away their secrets. Despite what Wynn had seen, Gray's hands were tied without permission. He'd have to bring it to a vote with the others. There was no guarantee they would allow it.
"Did you sketch these in order?" he asked.
Wynn nodded. "He was walking then turned when somoene called his name. He turned and smiled. He knew the person." He pulled the one of the park forward. "This is where he was, this was when he knew who he wasling talking to."
Gray knew where he was going. He picked up the grotesque one. "This is the after effects. And this," he held the one with the murder in progress, "is who killed him."
"Wynn?" The other boy looked up. "You can't tell anyone else that you have these."
The curly headed man laughed. "Who's going to believe a kid who says he saw the murder in his dreams? The only reason I told you is because of what I saw the other day, but now it's beginning to look like that was a mistake." He started to gather the sketches.
Gray sighed and grabbed his wrist. Wynn jerked out of his grip and slipped back. "You were right to bring these to me, but there are other things going on that you may not know. I can't say anything right now, but you wanted honesty."
"Yeah, about things at school. This is way different." His eyes took on a horrified glint. "Did you kill him?"
"No, Chrisitian was a friend. I don't hurt my friends." Wynn wasn't buying it but anyone would be freaked out. He looked down at the pictures. "You can leave them with me."
"That'd be great. I don't want my family to freak out. My dad would have me down at the precinct faster than we can fall asleep in class. I don't think anyone needs that."
Gray watched him gather his things, and they left the library. The night was cool since it was fall. They could smell the grapes in full bloom. They would be ready for harvest soon. Some would be used to make raisins, but the majority would be used for wine.
Wynn shivered in the breeze. In his rush to meet Gray, he'd forgotten a jacket. He didn't usually leave the house after dark, opting to stay home to read or work on his portfolio. These pictures were good enough to go in, but that kind of morbidity wasn't what he was going for in his submission works.
A gentle weight hit his shoulders. Gray draped his jacket over him to fend off the chill. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. He'd seen him shiver and had decided to help him out.
They walked to Gray's car. He unlocked it and took Wynn's portfolio from him. Once the other man was safely in the passenger's seat, he put the black folder in the back seat and went to the driver's side. Getting in, he started the car and turned the heat up. Wynn had his arms wrapped around his waist in an attempt to warm up.
"Why didn't you bring a jacket?" he asked.
"I was focused on collecting my things and meeting t you that I forgot. I'm used to wearing a long sleeve shirt, maybe a sweater, and a blazer. I don't usually get cold," Wynn replied.
Gray smiled at that. He wasn't sure how he was going to get Wynn to open up to him more, but he took this as a step forward. If he had the first instinct to tell him things, it meant he trusted him. Or was beginning to.
Wynn stared out the window as the dark night passed them by. He could feel Christian's murder as if he'd done it. If he could walk the scene, maybe there were clues the police had missed. He knew he wouldn't be able to do so, so he would have to wait for another dream that may or may not be connected to this one.
Gray pulled up to his house and he opened the door to get out. The other teen put a hand to his to stop him. Wynn turned to look at him, curiosity in his mismatched gaze. What could he possibly wnat this late after being told the horrendous news?
The other boy unfastened his seat belt and leaned across the console. He took Wynn's hand and pulled him over. Their faces were inches apart. Wynn could smell the last thing Gray had eaten.
Gray gave him plenty of time to back out. All he had to do was pull away. But Wynn's eyes darted from his mouth to his eyes quickly. He wasn't sure what he was thinking, but he wasn't giving mixed signals.
Then he did the only thing he could think of; he kissed Wynn. It was slow and gentle. His mouth coaxed simple things from him. It was sweet, Wynn's taste filling his nostrils. This boy was so different from anyone he had ever kissed before.
Wynn wasn't sure how he felt. He felt the familiar lull from his proximity to Gray, but there wasn't a definitive spark to let him know this was right. What had drawn him to Gray? What was it that made him like him even if he knew his attraction may only be emotional instead of physical? That he wasn't sure if it was romantic?
He pulled away, shoving the door open and scampering to his house. He ran up the steps and into the house without looking back.
Gray sat in his car and stared at the door the teen had just slammed. He should feel rejected. Instead, he felt amused. Wynn was more innocent than he'd first thought. He was going to have fun teasing him a little.
But as things got more serious, he was going to have to make a decision. He knew Wynn was the Key, both figuratively and literally. He was the key to cracking Christian's murder, but he was also the key to their livelihood. Without him, they wouldn't be able to find the others.
His phone rang as he was heading back to his house. He looked at the screen then answered, putting it through the car speakers.
"Autumn said you went to meet Wynn," Nathan said. No hello, no where are you. Straight to the point.
"I'm on my way home. Where is everyone?" he asked.
"All of us but Spenser, Kourtney, Jacie, and Lakin could get out. Spenser is babysitting."
"Good. I'll be home shortly. I have something to show everyone."
He hung up then glanced at the folder on his backseat. If anyone was able to tell them what had happened, it was Wynn whether he knew it or not. He had given them a major piece to a huge puzzle.
Norfolk Avenue was filled with cars. His friends sat on his front porch not daring to go inside without him. His adoptive parents' car wasn't in the driveway so they were either still at work or at a restaurant two towns over. Either way they wouldn't be an issue.
Gray pulled into his driveway and killed the engine. After grabbing the portfolio out of the back, he got out and went to let his friends in the house. They fanned out, everyone finding a seat around the living room.
"What did he say?" Nathan asked. He was reclined in the chair with WInter sitting on the arm. They looked very comfortable together.
"It's not so much what he said as what he gave me," Gray replied.
He opened the folder and pulled out the four massive pictures. He put the park scene up first followed by Christian, the attacker and finally the death. He took a step back and looked at them with eight pairs of fresh eyes.
"What is this?" Artie asked. He glanced between all four of them, not really sure what he was seeing.
"This is Christian's murder the way Wynn dreamed it," the older teen said. "He said he dreamed it in real time - as it was happening. Then he painted these. He's got everything correct down to the bag and shoes. Only someone who was there or knew Christian could have known all of that. But he was at home because I dropped him off an hour before the murder happened."
Ollie Sullivan, a junior, leaned forward and pointed at the second and third pictures. "He knew who killed him. He was caught off guard."
"That's exactly what Wynn thinks, but he didn't see the face of the murderer. Only the back."
"As they murdered Christian," Nathan said. He listed a hip and pulled out a wad of papers. "I snooped through his stuff after school. I found these in a notebook, AP history I think."
Gray took them and unfolded them gently. In black and white, they were simple pictures of dragons. But Gray knew what it meant. Wynn was connected to them, and he had a way to find them. A direct link if it was safe to assume.
"If he's dreaming about a muder of a boy he didn't even know, we can't deny that he may be able to see the Ancestors and their resting places," Autumn said.
Winter pierced her sister with a glare. "You said we shouldn't trust him. Why are you changing your tune all of a sudden?"
"He took a beating from Jarrod and still talks to us. He either has a death wish or he's the real deal. The last guy both Gray and Jarrod fought over ended up with three broken ribs and a concussion. He had to move away because of it."
"Wynn fights back," Artie said.
She nodded. "Exactly. If he's comfortable enough with himself to fight back, we won't have to sway him easily."
"But he trusts us because he brought this info to us willingly," Nathan confirmed. "If he has any more, he needs to know he can come to us with it."
Gray nodded. "We're going to have to give him space. He needs to think through some of this."
As much as he hated it, Wynn didn't respond well to being boxed in. He wasn't going to simply bown down and let them do what they wanted. He was too independent for that. But if they could get his trust, he would share with them everything he had dreamed.
Gray was just going to have to keep his hands to himself from now on. What he'd done earlier was in no way going to help him in the long run. He already knew who Wynn was destined for even if he didn't like it, and he couldn't force his feelings on him. He'd done that before and it had ended badly. So for Wynn to trust them, he had to trust Gray, and Gray had to behave.