Inescapable (Talented Saga #7) (71 page)

“
Turn it off,” Talia
demanded. “Now.”

Mutely, Kenly obeyed, it would have been
hard not to with the authority Talia infused into her command.
Kenly did, however, leave the center monitor on, and the sound
turned to max volume. Dana Duval was reporting from Trafalgar
Square, the camera zoomed in so close on her face that only flying
limbs and tails could be seen in the background.

“
UNITED has just provided
me with the list of lottery winners who have spots waiting for them
on the Isle of Exile,” Duval said, eyes gleaming brightly as though
the massacre behind her was the most interesting thing she’d ever
witnessed. “The names will begin scrolling on the screen
momentarily. Additionally, UNITED has sent comms to all of the
winners, along with instructions on how to proceed.”

Most other reporters probably wouldn’t have
had the stones to announce UNITED’s plan for mass extermination of
their criminal elite. Duval wasn’t most reporters. She took delight
in reporting the controversial and outrageous. That was precisely
what she did.

My heart broke for the inmates, all of whom
hadn’t committed crimes that warranted death sentences. The thought
of how close Talia had come to being one of those inmates made my
blood boil. But I did understand and appreciate the difficult
position Victoria and the others had been forced into. And I wasn’t
unsympathetic to the plight of so many displaced refugees.

At the other end of the desk, Emma was
curled into a ball, sobbing. Kip was holding her, looking as though
he’d just had the shock of his life, which he probably had. Kenly
and James had their heads together, talking in low voices.

Talia turned to face me, violet eyes
brimming with unshed tears.

“
I can’t believe it. I
mean, I knew this was a possibility, but not like a real
possibility, you know?” She took a deep, calming breath that gave
her new resolve and determination. “I think we should call
Victoria. I’m going to turn myself in.” Gently, she touched her
fingertips to my lips to quiet my protests. “I know, I know. But
UNITED needs all the help they can get right now. This is already a
nightmare. I am more use to her on the frontlines than on Vault, or
dead. She’ll understand that. We did sort of bond over the last
month.”

The trapdoor snapped open, as if pulled from
its hinges by a tremendous force. Talia and I whipped our heads
upwards simultaneously. There was a flash of amber as something
came tumbling through the opening. Or, as it turned out,
someone.

Talia jumped to her feet. “Victoria!”

I grabbed for Talia’s arm to catch her
before she got any closer, because my girlfriend hadn’t noticed
what I had: Victoria’s neck had a weird bulge and her head was
turned too far on her shoulders. Talia yanked out of my grip and
hurried to Victoria’s side, skidding the last few feet on her
knees.

Kenly screamed when she saw the
councilwoman. James tried to block her view. Emma’s wails
intensified.

Shadows appeared over Victoria’s limp
form.

“
Talia, move!” I hollered,
using telekinesis to force her out of harm’s way, since I knew she
wouldn’t go willingly. My girlfriend hadn’t been lying when she’d
said that she and Victoria Walburton bonded. Talia felt genuine,
deep-seeded remorse over Victoria’s death. So much so that her
grief nearly crippled her.

Four figures jumped through the opening,
landing in a semicircle around Victoria’s body. My stomach hit the
floor. Emerald eyes pierced me from across the room. Deep down, I’d
known this was the case. Hell, I’d even shared my concerns with
Victoria. Still, seeing really was believing.

“
Hello, Anya,” I said
calmly.

“
Shame we’re meeting this
way. I thought you’d come see me at least once over the last month.
After all, you were
so
concerned about me at the auction, concerned enough to
risk
her
wellbeing.” Anya shot daggers towards Talia, who was climbing
to her feet near the wall where I’d thrown her just before the
newcomers entered the bunker.

Talia grinned, but her eyes remained cold
and her thoughts were far from friendly.

James and Kenly moved to stand on either
side of me, the combined power radiating off of them comforting.
Both were prepared to fight to the death if necessary.

“
How long have you been
working for Nightshade?” I asked Anya conversationally.

She gestured to her fellow bad guys. The
shock of seeing Talia’s doppelgänger among them was hard to keep
from my expression. Violet eyes that were identical to Talia’s
stared at me lovingly, and I started to feel nauseous. The coffee
sloshing around in my stomach intensified the feeling.

Even worse though was the horrible
realization the sight of the doppelgänger brought with it. I’d
planned to meet the fake Talia the night before. But after
everything that had happened in the VIP longue, the meeting had
slipped my mind. Not Penny’s though. She must have told Victoria,
who’d gone in my stead. The councilwoman was dead, and it was my
fault.

“
We aren’t Nightshade,
Erik.” The face I’d once found so pretty suddenly seemed so ugly,
particularly when Anya made a pouty expression. “We’re better.
Better than everyone. We’re Privileged.”

This time, I didn’t bothering hiding my
shock. Privileged was what the little girl had said she was, just
before she blew herself up. So, Privileged was apparently an
euphuism for crazy and suicidal. Good to know.

Kip rose and stood on James’s other side,
drawing Anya’s attention to him.

“
Vester Ozolos, we’ve been
looking for you. Fancy our luck, finding you and the little
manipulative brat together,” Anya said delightedly.

I felt Kip’s fear, but his face remained
impassive.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something
careening across the bunker towards Talia.

“
Distraction,”
she sent me frantically.

“
How did you find us,
Anya?” I asked, reclaiming her focus.

Anya laughed bitterly. “Victoria Effing
Walburton. At first, when she showed up last night at the fountain
instead of you, I was miffed. Then, I realized it was really a
coup. First, we pulled every last nugget of information from her
pretentious head, which included Talia’s location. Then, we killed
her. Slowly.”

My guilt was all consuming. Anya had just
confirmed my assumption.

“
After all the trouble your
stupid little girlfriend has caused UNITED, the councilwoman
protected her to the very end.” Anya shook her head, baffled by
such loyalty. “It’s nonsensical. She knew she was going to die
either way. Still, she refused to hasten her death, even when we
made it oh so tempting.”

I wasn’t the only one of the non-crazy
people in the room feeling sick to my stomach now. Everyone, save
Talia who wasn’t listening, was worried about becoming violently
ill.

“
What do you want, Anya?” I
demanded, putting an end to her tale of torture. “You aren’t fool
enough to believe that you and those three stand a chance against
us.” I gestured down the line of James, Kenly, and me, careful not
to include Talia so that no one would look her way.

“
You’re the fool, Erik,”
Anya spat. “Gracia here
is
Talia, in every possible way. Talia’s DNA was
used to make her, they share all the same powers. She’s just as
strong as your stupid doll-sized girlfriend.”

The object Talia had summoned was in her
palm. She quickly hid it behind her back when Anya glanced
over.

“
She might look like Talia.
She might sound like Talia. But there is only one—”

“
Save it,” Anya snapped,
cutting me off. “I don’t care to hear your false declarations of
love.”

“
False?” I
echoed.

With painstaking slowness, Talia began
inching her way towards me and the others.

“
Oh, come on Erik. Gracia
fooled you into believing she was Talia last night. Silly me, I
thought you actually loved Talia too much to sell her out. But
that’s what you did, isn’t it? You told Victoria that you’d set up
a meeting with Talia, and then sent the councilwoman instead. Guess
both of us were wrong about your love, weren’t we,
Tals
?”

Black hair fanned out behind Anya as she
whipped her head in Talia’s direction. My girlfriend froze
mid-step.

“
There is one delusional
person in this room,” Talia agreed smoothly.

Anya narrowed her gaze.

“
You, of course,” Talia
continued. “And I’m not talking about whether Erik loves me or not.
I’m talking about the fact that you believe your fake me is capable
of fighting, let alone killing anyone.” Talia turned to the
imposter. “Gracia, was it? Even she knows that she is no match for
me. Look at her, she’s trembling.”

Gracia was indeed shaking. She may have been
made to look like Talia, and she did have the same talents. I could
feel that about her. But she hadn’t spent half her life training to
be an assassin. When push came to shove, Gracia lacked the ability
to do what was necessary. Someone had given her Talia’s genes, but
they’d forgotten the sequence for self-preservation.

“
You are all going to come
with us, without a fight,” Gracia said in a surprisingly even
voice.

Admittedly, she was a strong manipulator.
Too bad for her and her friends Gracia lacked conviction. Her words
had little effect on anyone.

Gracia turned her mind games solely on
Talia. “Go. Stand with the others.”

Biting her lip to hide her smile, Talia
obeyed. She even went so far as to get all glassy eyed like so many
people did when being controlled.

“
Emma, come here. Now. Take
my hand.”
It was Talia’s voice inside my
head, even though she wasn’t speaking to me. When James and Kenly
both stiffened beside me, I knew they’d heard her, too.

“
You. Get up,” Gracia
snapped at Emma, her voice stronger with the confidence she’d
gained from her believed manipulation of Talia.

Emma struggled to her feet.

“
I’m scared, Talia.”
Again, Emma wasn’t talking to me, but I heard her
voice inside my head.

“
I know. So am I. You have
to trust me, though. Kip, you ready? Wait for my
signal.”

“
Ready,”
came Kip’s mental reply.

Too busy marveling at Talia’s group mind
connection, I didn’t think to scour her mind for details of her
master plan. And she wasn’t ready to share with the class, expect,
apparently, Kip, who was the only one not experiencing
confusion.

Talia held out her hand, and Emma took
it.

Anya nodded encouragingly to Gracia. The two
other goons in their squad raised tranquilizer guns, one pointed at
me, and, interestingly, the other pointed at Kenly. They were under
the very false assumption that we were their greatest threats. Or,
Talia’s greatest weaknesses, either way.

“
Ron and Rand are going to
cuff you all now,” Gracia began, and then seemed to think better of
the idea. “I’m going to cuff you all now,” she amended. “Then, you
will come with us. Our backup is upstairs, right through that
trapdoor. Don’t try anything.”

Gracia, Ron, and Rand moved towards us.

“
Um, Tals? If you’re going
to do something, now might be the time,”
I
sent.

In response, an image I
knew well filled my head, followed by Kip’s,
“Got it.”

“
Grab the person next to
you,”
Talia sent.

Everyone did as told. When Gracia was within
reach, Talia’s hand, the one she had linked with Emma’s, darted out
and grabbed hold of the girl’s wrist.

“
Now, Kip!” Talia shouted
aloud.

It was as though every light in the bunker
went dark at once, and then a vacuum sucked all the oxygen out for
good measure.

“
NO!” Anya wailed, her cry
a mix of fury and panic.

I had a brief moment of disorientation,
followed by the trippiest out of body experience ever. One second
there was ground beneath my feet, and then there was empty air. I
barely had time to form a single thought before the ground was
back.

Blinking rapidly, I took in my surroundings,
strangely not shocked to see a familiar bed and familiar pictures
hanging on the walls around me. I’d only visited Talia there once,
but I recognized her bedroom in the McDonough’s house immediately.
A part of me must have known from the instant the image flashed
inside my head that this was her plan, to have Kip teleport us to
the place where, unbeknownst to Talia at the time, her nightmare
began.

Beside me, Kenly sank to her knees, panting.
James coughed several times as though trying to hack up a hairball.
Kip was deathly pale and shaking with exertion. Emma looked as
though she’d been hit over the head with a very heavy object. Of
our motely crew, only Talia was undaunted by the
blink-and-you’ll-miss-it transatlantic journey. Her cold, murderous
gaze was fixed on the pile of limbs at her feet: Gracia. And I only
had eyes for my girlfriend.

And I thought Talia was
more brute force than brains,
I thought
wryly.

We could have fought our way out of that
bunker. The collective abilities in our group of misfits were
enough to take down an army. But Talia had chosen the path of least
casualties.