Mystics #1: The Seventh Sense (25 page)

Zoey had to act
now. She looked around the roof for something to help her. She could see
Caution High Voltage written in bold,
red letters on a large metal panel that was fastened to the side of the air
conditioning unit on the opposite side of the roof. It gave her an idea.

Movement caught
her eye. Tristan and Simon dodged behind the other air conditioners. They were
alive. Simon held her golden boomerang in his hand. She made sure Mrs.
Dupont
and
Nazar
hadn’t seen
them, pressed her finger to her lips, and motioned for them to come closer.

They made it to
the air conditioning unit closest to her. She met Tristan’s eyes for a second,
and ignoring the weird feeling she felt in her chest, she pointed to their
slingshots, and to Mrs.
Dupont
and
Nazar
. Then she pointed to the panel with the high voltage
sign. She sucked at charades. She hoped they understood.

They both nodded—thank
God.

Tristan and Simon aimed
their slingshots, but the roof trembled, and they lost their balance for a
moment.

A shadow passed
above them. Zoey looked up.

Thunder boomed and lightening turned the sky into daylight. Zoey
thought her eyes were playing tricks on her—a black line appeared in the sky
above them. The line got bigger and bigger, until it was like a second black
horizon line across the London sky. She watched in horror. The line widened,
like a giant movie screen unfurling, until it became a giant, black rectangle.

And then she saw something that made her blood freeze.

Inside the rectangle was another world, a red world of wind and rain
and fire. An otherworldly landscape of vast deserts spread out for miles inside
the rectangle. She could see giant volcanic mountains billowing brilliant red
smoke over a blanched plain. Black ash rained down, and plumes of smoke and
steam rose from the burning ground.

And then she saw tens of thousands of evil looking mystics charging through
the smoke towards the mouth of the portal.

It was a savage army of giants with three heads, mutated humanoids
with animal limbs, and decomposed human-like undead running with their rotting
limbs falling behind them. Creatures like mummified corpses ran towards her with
their skin hanging in loose folds from their bodies. An immense translucent
worm with two ominously long tentacles slithered to the mouth of the portal
beside hundreds of monstrous spiders with small, humanlike arms below their
mandibles. Creatures that resembled gigantic, floating eyeballs shot out
towards her followed by skeletal humanoids clad in metal armor riding on huge flies.

The creatures clawed savagely at each other, racing to enter her
world before the portal closed. Their numbers overwhelmed her. No one could
defeat such an army. The howling mystics cascaded down into the streets of
London like a tidal wave.

Mrs.
Dupont
laughed triumphantly. She
lifted the interloper above her head like an offering to a God. Her twisted
features were contorted in madness.

Zoey signaled to Tristan and Simon. They took aim and fired.

A metal ball hit
Mrs.
Dupont
on the side of her temple. She crumpled
to the ground, and her interloper slipped from her hands and dropped to the
ground.

Nazar
was struck in the
back of the neck, and he stumbled to one knee—but he still hung to the
interloper.

Zoey staggered
forward, the adrenaline in her veins feeding her with renewed energy. Every
step was agonizing, but she forced herself to ignore the pain and strained on. Roars
erupted above her as more hostile mystics surged towards the portal, but she
didn’t look up.

Her broken arm
seared in pain as she picked up Mrs.
Dupont’s
interloper. Then she shuffled towards
Nazar
. She
kicked his hand awkwardly, and the interloper fell from of his grip. She clasped
both interlopers clumsily to her chest and hobbled as fast as she could towards
the other side of the roof.

“STOP HER!”
bellowed Mrs.
Dupont
.

Nazar
was on his feet.
And faster than she would have liked, he was nearly upon her.

Zoey shuffled towards
the high voltage sign. She could feel
Nazar
reaching
out behind her, about to grab her. Simon and Tristan fired at
Nazar
, but he ducked and the metal balls rocketed off the
roof. They shot at him again, hitting him in the chest and arm with satisfying
cracks
—but he kept coming.

Just as Zoey’s
energy was about to run out, she reached the electrical panel.

“God, I hope this
works.”

She kicked it open.
Blue sparks shot at her, and she jumped back. Electric charges danced
dangerously around the wires like venomous snakes.

She swallowed
hard. “Here goes nothing.”

“NO!” screamed Mrs.
Dupont
. “STOP HER! KILL HER!”

Zoey tossed the
cubes onto the wires, just as
Nazar’s
hands wrapped
around her neck. She opened her mouth to scream, but
Nazar
squeezed harder, and she felt her last breath escape. She knew she was going to
die.

She thought she
heard Tristan calling her name. It sounded like she was underwater. Her arms
hung at her sides like dead branches. She looked away from
Nazar’s
murderous smile and caught sight of the interlopers. For a second nothing
happened. Then the blue electric current coiled around them, and the
interlopers’ lights grew steadily brighter, until they were both white hot. Then
they exploded.

The force of the
blow caught Zoey in the chest. She and
Nazar
flew into
the air. He lost his grip on her, and she drew in a desperate breath. She crashed
brutally into the wall on the edge of the roof and felt something snap. She
couldn’t feel her legs or her arms, and warm liquid seeped from the back of her
head. Her ears rang, and she knew was dying. Her body was broken.

With the last of
her strength she watched the portal shimmer and split apart. Like a mist
blowing in the wind, the black rectangle flickered and disappeared. The last
things she saw were the angry faces of the mystics staring down at her from above.

She closed her
eyes and let the darkness take her.

B
uildings burned.
Mystic and human bodies littered the streets of London. The air was hot and
Zoey fought to breathe in the hot smoky air. Mutes ran screaming past her as
they tried to escape their invisible enemies. Zoey watched a giant flying
insect swoop down on them as they crowded the narrow streets. They couldn’t
fight back. They couldn’t see the threat.

But Zoey could see
the creatures. She had to help.

A blast of blue light
hit the giant insect, and it crashed into the window of a burning building. A
group of humans who could see them fought the creatures. All was not lost.

“Zoey.”

Zoey turned and
followed the voice.

A woman with long
fire-red hair stood in the middle of the street. Her hair and her emerald green
eyes were just like Zoey’s. She waved at Zoey, and Zoey waved back. She recognized
the woman immediately, and as she moved towards her, her mother smiled.

And then someone
appeared behind her mother—the woman in a hat with a face like a cat—she sneered
at Zoey with a look that chilled her to the bone.

But before she
could reach her mother, a black line formed in the air right above them and grew
steadily larger until it was the size of a door. The cat-woman took her mother
by the hand, and before Zoey could react, they both flew into the air and
disappeared through the black doorway.

“NO!” Zoey ran to
the spot, but they were gone.

Zoey woke with a start.

As she focused, she realized she was in a single bed with white
linens. She blinked the fuzziness from her eyes and looked around. She was in a
large room with three other single beds. It looked like hospital with white walls
and the smell of disinfectant. Her lids were heavy like she had slept for
months. Her right arm was in a baby-blue sling, and she had a jumbo headache.

She felt a presence with her in the room and turned to see who was
there. Aria smiled at her. With effort, Zoey pulled herself to a sitting
position.

“Aria,” her voice cracked, like she hadn’t used it in weeks. “What
happened? How did I get here?”

Aria placed a left hand gently on hers, while her three other hands
rested on her hips. “Take it easy, Zoey. You were hurt really badly. I don’t want
you to overexert yourself. You’re safe and in the medical bay back at the hive.”

And then the events with the interlopers came back to her like a
slap in the face. She tried to breathe normally.

“Are Tristan and Simon okay? They were on the roof with me. I don’t
remember what happened to them after I blacked out. Are they safe?”

“Yes,” said Aria, calmly. “They’re both fine.”

Zoey let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Thank
God. How long have I been here? I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck.”

“About a week. You injured your back badly, and you suffered a
concussion. You’ll have to stay here for a while, I’m afraid.”

“That explains the massive headache—it’s like someone hit me over
the head with a baseball bat.”

Zoey struggled to remember what had happened. Where were Mrs. Dupont
and Nazar?

“I remember being choked before the explosion, and then I hit a wall.
But the rest is such a blur—do you know what happened? Are the interlopers
destroyed?”

“Yes, thanks to you.” Agent Barnes entered the room on crutches. He
gave her the biggest smile.

Zoey’s grin matched his. “You’re okay! I can’t believe it!”

Agent Barnes hopped over to the side of her bed. “I’m a little
broken here and there, but I’ll live.”

“I was so worried,” said Zoey trying to keep the emotion out of her
voice. “I didn’t want to leave you there—I felt terrible.”

“You did what I told you to do,” said Agent Barnes. “You did what
was necessary—you destroyed the interlopers—which was far more important than
saving my life. You saved us all, Zoey. You did it.”

Zoey’s face was suddenly hot and her ears burned. She smiled
awkwardly. “So what happened? What happened after I blacked out?”

“Well,” began Agent Barnes, “more backup teams were sent in, when I
and the other agents didn’t report back. Communications were down at headquarters
because all the mirror-ports had been destroyed, so they used the
backdoors
to get in.”

Zoey nodded. “—like the fake window on the top floor of Parrods.”

Agent Barnes smiled. “Yes, among others. They had been installed
years ago for emergencies like this. Unfortunately the help came too late, and
most of the damage had already been done. They arrived at Headquarters, only to
find the bodies of the dead agents. There were no signs of the Alphas
anywhere.”

Zoey’s eyes widened. “But they were there—we saw them! They shot at
us! And there was a woman with a red globe—she killed people by scaring them to
death with it. I saw her use it on a man, and he died of fright, I swear.”

“I believe you,” said Agent Barnes.

“When they found me I told them about you—and about Agent Stokes.
They helped me to the roof where I found Tristan and Simon watching over you.”

He beamed at her. “They told me what you did, and I saw the pieces
of the interlopers. I’d never thought of an electrical charge. That was very
clever of you, Zoey.”

Zoey felt heat rise to her face. “It was nothing.”

“It was far from nothing. You stopped the most dangerous mystics
from crossing over.”

Zoey bit her lip and shook her head.

“Not all of them. I remember seeing a lot of really big and nasty
looking ones get through the portal. They were angry and vengeful, like they
couldn’t wait to start killing people. I couldn’t tell you how many exactly,
but there were lots.”

“The agency is preparing to deal with them,” said Agent Barnes. “
Lots
is a lot better than hundreds of
thousands. You closed the portal just in time. We’re not sure what kind of
mystics got through, and I’m sure management will be very interested in what
you have to tell them, once you’re feeling better.”

A shiver ran along Zoey’s shoulders. “So, are Mrs. Dupont and Nazar
in custody?”

For a moment Agent Barnes said nothing, then with a serious look on
his face he said, “There was only the body of Agent Stokes. Mrs. Dupont and her
ally were long gone when we got there. They must have fled after you destroyed
the interlopers.”

“She’s going to try again, you know,” said Zoey angrily. “The
woman’s insane. She wants to destroy all the agencies and to rule this world
like the Originals did—whatever that means. The woman’s a freak.”

Zoey thought about asking Agent Barnes why Mrs. Dupont had been
searching for her for fourteen years—and how she had known that Zoey had the ability
to influence her destination when she transported through the mirror ports. But
at the last second she decided not to. She wanted to learn more about her skills
before she said anything to anyone. Maybe if she found her mother, she would
learn more.

“Well, at least for now, we can take comfort in knowing she won’t be
trying anything for a while,” said Agent Barnes.

“What about the
other
interlopers?” said Zoey suddenly. “I know there are others—she might go after
them to finish what she started.”

Agent Barnes smiled. “Don’t worry, they’re safe.”

“Safer than before?” she said and raised an eyebrow.

“Let us hope so,” answered Agent Barnes.

Tristan and Simon came to visit her every day at lunchtime. And even
though her heart still skipped a beat when she saw Tristan, she was very glad
he visited. Soon it was just like old times. Unfortunately her ribs felt like
they were ripping apart from the inside when Simon made her laugh, so the nurse
told them to leave her alone to heal. Although her ribs still felt like they
were on fire, she finally felt well enough to be out and about, and she left
the medical bay to meet with management.

But there was something she needed to do first. And it would only
require a few minutes.

Simon and Tristan were waiting for her outside. Although the fluffs
of snow that had fallen the night before melted in the sun, she could feel that
winter was finally on its way. Her sneakers crunched under the wet leaves, and
she wrapped her new wool toggle coat around herself more tightly to keep the
cold from coming in.

“Is everything set?” she asked, as she neared Simon and Tristan.

“Yup,” said Simon beaming mischievously. “This is going to be the
best day of my life.”

“Is he here?” Zoey searched the grounds. Most of the operatives were
out enjoying the afternoon sun.

“He’s right over there,” answered Tristan.

Zoey followed his gaze and smiled.

Stuart King stood inside a circle of his cronies, proudly putting on
a show. Claudia was there, too, flipping her long brown hair over her shoulders
and laughing at everything Stuart said. It was perfect.

“Let’s do this.” Zoey felt the blood pump in her veins as she and
her friends advanced towards Stuart. They stopped and stood just close enough
to be in earshot. She smiled at Tristan and gave Simon a nod.

“Hey, Stuwie,” Simon called loudly. He waited for Stuart and his
friends to turn around.

“What do you get when you mix a
king
with a
moron
? Give up? A king
dumb!”

Stuart glowered at him.

Zoey and Tristan threw back their heads and laughed hysterically,
making sure they had the entire academy’s attention. Even some of Stuart’s
friends laughed, but his face darkened.

“What’s the matter, Stuwie,” said Simon innocently. “Can’t take a
joke? Did we hurt your
royal
feelings?
Are you too
sensitive
to take a joke?
Well, at least now you’ve got some color on your face. Between you and me—that
white vampire look you had going, wasn’t really working.”

Stuart scowled again.

Zoey pulled a large golden bracelet set with precious stones from
the folds of her jacket. She admired it on her wrist, and the sun’s rays
reflected myriads of colors onto her face. She lifted it up for all to see.

Stuart reached out and grabbed the bracelet.

“Give it back.” Zoey stepped up to Stuart, scowling.

Stuart smiled and twirled the bracelet in his hand.

“There’s no way a
Drifter
could afford this.”

He inspected the bracelet more closely. “It’s real. You stole it,
didn’t you? Wait till the agents hear about this—their precious little orphan
is a thief. They’ll send you away for good this time.”

“I didn’t steal it. It’s been in my family for years. Give it back.”

Zoey reached out to grab the bracelet, but Stuart laughed and twisted
away from her.

“No. I think I’ll keep it for now,” he said. “Your days are numbered,
Drifter. Go back to the streets where you belong.”

With a flick of her long hair, Claudia took the bracelet from Stuart
and inspected it. She smiled and handed it back to him. She moved towards
Tristan.

“Still think she’s all that great, Tristan? We all know she’s a
liar, and now we have proof that’s she’s also a thief. How can you even
like
her?”

When Tristan didn’t answer she turned away from him angrily.

“Come on,” said Stuart turning away, “let’s go show this to Agent
Ward. I’m sure she’ll love to hear where we got it.”

“Wait!” Zoey stepped forward. “I’ll fight you for it. If you win,
you can do whatever you want with it. You can go tell the entire agency that
I’m a thief. But if
I
win, I get the
bracelet back.”

Stuart’s face twisted in disgust.

“I’m not going to fight you,
Drifter
.
I don’t want you near me. I might catch some disease from that orphanage you
crawled out of. Originals don’t mix with the help.”

“What’s the matter?” taunted Zoey. “Too proud to fight a girl? Or
are you afraid I might actually win? I’ve fought guys much bigger than you and
won. Admit it—you’re afraid of me— you know I’m going to win.”

She glanced over to Tristan who stood with his arms wrapped around
his chest, grinning. She gave him a smile and caught Claudia glaring at her.

Stuart’s laugh was ice cold. “You
won’t
win. Okay, you’re on, Drifter.”

Zoey flashed him a small smile.

“Good. There’s a perfect spot at the back of the Wander Inn. The agents
won’t see us there.”

She led the way around the back of the Wander Inn.

Stuart laughed and boasted how he was going to crush the drifter. He
made sure that Zoey could hear him. Claudia bounced beside him, clearly looking
forward to seeing Stuart do a number on her.

Zoey stood with legs apart in a fighting stance, and raised her
hands, curling them into fists. Simon and Tristan stood behind her.

“You’re going to regret this, Drifter.” said Stuart. He made his way
forward and stood in front of her. “I’m going to send you back to the medical
bay.”

“We’ll see.”

Stuart took off his jacket and handed it to Claudia, but he kept the
bracelet. He twirled it in his fingers. “This is way too easy,” he said.

Simon snickered.

Stuart looked at him. “Why are you smiling, Brown? Are you happy
that I’m going to
ruin
your only
friend?”

He laughed and turned to his friends who joined him in a chorus of
overdramatic laughter.

Simon sighed lazily. “It’s just—this is going to be the best day of
my life.”

Stuart lowered his eyes. “What do you mean?”

With a sudden roar, a thunderstorm erupted all around them. Twelve low-riding
motorcycles crashed through the woods. T
heir emerald-green frames glistened
in the sun as they circled the operatives. Despite the cold, the small men
riding the motorcycles were dressed only in leather vests and pants, and
tattoos covered most of their exposed skin
. They
circled around the operatives, making them cough on the gasoline fumes. After a
few more turns, they stopped and killed their engines.