The Forbidden Trilogy (31 page)

I pushed my own power into the command, strengthening it.

Still nothing. Drake frowned at me, confused.

I shrugged.
"I have no idea why this isn't
working."

A rush of heat exploded in my belly. I cried out and doubled
over in pain. Our mental link intensified and the man spasmed, his body arching
off the ground. A small glass wall I hadn't known was there cracked in the
man's mind.

He cried out in pain, "The Seeker. He wants you. Tracks
you, using us. Not safe."

We tried to coerce more information out of him, but he
collapsed into unconsciousness. His mind reeled with wild images I couldn't
make any sense of.

"Guys, I think that's all we're going to get from
him."

Brad and Drake nodded, but didn't relax.

I stared at the body. "It's hard to tell with his face
so…you know…but this looks like one of the guys who asked Rick about you,
Drake. He has a partner somewhere. So... what do we do with him?"

Drake moved around the room. "We have to pack and find
someplace safe. We'll leave him here. Someone will eventually find him, or
he'll regain consciousness and make his way back to his boss."

"Dude," Brad said, "my name is on this lease.
I'm in so much trouble."

"For what?" Drake asked. "He broke into your
house. You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, we have to get out of here. We're
all in danger now. I need to get you two to a safe place so I can go after the
Seeker."

"Wait, what?" My head popped up. "Do you
intend to go after the Seeker alone? No way. Unless by 'alone' you really mean
with me, then yeah."

"Sam, we have to find out who this guy is and what he
knows. It's the only way we can stop these assholes from taking kids like us,
and from doing genetic experiments and God knows what else. Plus, you're sick
and pregnant. It's too dangerous."

"I'm stronger than I look. What makes you think you can
do this by yourself? You wouldn't have been able to crack this guy's mind
without me. These are just henchmen. You're going to need me when we meet their
boss. The Rent-A-Kids are my friends, the only family I've ever known. I'm
going, and you can't stop me."

Brad stepped in between us. "Sam, he's right. You're in
no condition to go chasing after these guys, alone or with Drake. You could get
yourself or your baby killed."

Drake nodded. "Then we're agreed—"

"And Drake, she's right. You can't go running off like
the Lone Ranger either. We need a plan. We need to regroup and figure out the
next step. But first, we need to pack and get the hell out of here before my
neighbors call the cops, or this guy's partner shows up."

Drake frowned, then gave a curt nod. It wasn't exactly a
gracious concession, but it would have to do.

I wasn't feeling too gracious myself, but it was hard to
argue with Brad's logic. It wouldn't hurt to get somewhere safe and at least
talk about the options.

The three of us scurried around the apartment packing
computers, medication, clothes, money, all the supplies and information Ana had
given us.

When we had finished, we stepped out onto the porch.

"Should I lock it?" Brad asked.

"No," Drake said. "Close the door, but don't
lock it. We can call the police to report a break-in. Say we're the neighbor or
something."

Brad nodded and closed the door.

I scanned the area around us as we walked to the car,
worried someone else might be stalking us. "We still have his partner to
worry about, and the guy I saw at Venice Beach."

"I know," Drake said.

Brad sighed. "Great, more people to run from, or
attack."

Drake chuckled. "Nobody said we'd be boring
houseguests."

Brad groaned and tried to flip him the finger while carrying
several bags. It looked painful.

I almost cracked a smile.

We loaded up the car and got in. I took the front seat while
Brad drove.

Drake sat in the back. "So where now?"

Brad revved the car and pulled out of the driveway. He
merged into traffic on the busy street and headed to the nearest freeway
entrance. "I know a place we can go. It's out of the way and can't be
traced back to me if anyone starts digging."

"Sounds perfect," I said.

"Well, almost. Just one problem."

Drake leaned forward. "What's that?"

"It's a cabin in the woods. My old journalism professor
retired there. We'd have to let him in on your secret."

Drake sat back, and I leaned my head against the cool
window. After a lifetime of secrets and lies, telling strangers about my
abilities didn't feel natural. Could we trust this professor? Would he put us
at greater risk?

"You're asking the wrong questions," Lucy said to
the crowd of Rent-A-Kids huddled around her in an unused classroom. She stared at
a poster of Einstein to collect her thoughts, and hid her nervous hands under
the teacher's desk she sat behind. "It's not just a question of whether we
can break through the guards and high-voltage gates. The real question is what
are we going to do once we're out? We're in the middle of nowhere. None of us
have any forms of identification. We don't have cars, money, or contacts on the
outside. How the hell are we supposed to survive out there?"

Dozens of hopeless eyes stared up at her. She hated to burst
their bubble, but they had to face reality. She looked to Luke for support, but
even he frowned in disappointment. Did he really think they had any chance at
all of escaping? That the "Freedom Fighters" would survive?

Gary, the boy who had recruited Lucy and Luke, and the
apparent leader of the rag-tag team, stared down at the ground. He flicked a
coin up into the air and used his power over metal to spin it in hypnotic
circles.

Lucy held in another outburst. The kid had never even gone
on an assignment. He'd only arrived from the elementary ward at the sister
facility a few weeks ago. She looked at Luke again, begging him with her eyes
to make some sense. What was he thinking, going along with all this?

Gary cleared his throat and attempted eye contact with the
wall behind Lucy. "We have to do something. Sitting here waiting for them
to decide our fates isn't a plan."

She'd have agreed if a plan wasn't already in place: Sam
would get help. But she couldn't tell this group that—no one but she and Luke
could know Sam's plans—so how could she convince them this was a fool's errand?

"Okay, how would you do it?" she asked.

The other teens perked up.

Wally spoke first, "We'll use our powers to create
diversions. If we organize our whole team, we can do this. We may not have as
many people as they have soldiers, but we have para-powers. That should count
for something, right?"

Lucy looked around the classroom. She knew some of the teens
by name, others by sight. Laura, a girl from her calculus class, smiled at her.
They'd been friends in the lower grades, but had since grown apart. Still, she
liked Laura and didn't want to see her get hurt in this stupid plan that wasn't
even a plan.

A girl of about fifteen spoke up. "My name's Lisa. I
can hover above ground, and I'm learning to fly. We have a lot of powerful
paranormals in this room and there is a way we can use these collective powers
to escape. I know our ideas may not seem very thought-out yet, but that's why
we need you two. You've got more experience in assignments, and you have
friends on the outside. With your help we can do this."

"You don't understand," Lucy said. "My
friends escaped, yes, but in the process, someone very important to us was
killed. Do you get it? They killed her!"

She pounded her fist on the desk in frustration. "And
they weren't trying to free an entire school. Do you think we'll all make it
out alive? We won't. Some of us will die." Her voice escalated to the
point of yelling. "Are you ready to carry that burden, to watch your
friends die because you sent them in to disarm a guard or start a fire? Do you
have any idea what you are doing? You don't know the first thing."

Luke put an arm around her shoulders as she fought the sobs
building in her chest. No one moved or even breathed.

Lisa wiped a tear from her face. "You're right. We
don't know what we're doing, but we can't just sit here and wait. We have to do
something. I'm sorry you lost someone close to you. But, yes, I
am
prepared to die." Lisa looked everyone in the room in the eyes. "What
about all of you? Are you prepared to do whatever is necessary to take this
place down?"

Lucy held her gaze the longest, weighing the truth of her
words and intentions.

"Am I lying?" Lisa asked.

"No. But that doesn't mean this is a good idea."

"Right now, it's the only idea we have. But with you
and Luke on the team, maybe we can think of something better."

One by one, each person affirmed they were ready to
sacrifice everything to fight Rent-A-Kid. Lucy paid close attention, but
couldn't catch anyone in a lie.

It still didn't change her mind. She looked to Luke for
support, but he didn't make eye contact. At that moment she wished she could
read minds like Sam, or talk to Luke mentally. She needed to get him alone
before he agreed to this mess.

"I need to think about all this, okay? And talk to my
brother." Lucy shot Luke a warning look.
Do not speak, Bro. We need to
talk first.

He got the message and nodded once sharply.

Gary smiled. "We're having another meeting on Thursday.
You could come then. Maybe you'll be ready?"

That gave her two days to convince Luke this was a mistake.
She hoped it'd be enough.

"Yeah, okay, we'll be back then."

The collective group seemed to relax. Gary fidgeted, and his
coin dropped to the ground. He held his hand over it, but nothing happened.
Lucy looked around the room. Richard, a fire-starter, had been playing with a
small fireball all through the discussion—something he'd gotten in trouble for
more times than she could count. He too stared at his hand in confusion. No fire.
Others shifted nervously and whispered to each other.

Lucy turned to Luke. "Lie to me."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

"Okay fine. Um... I love broccoli."

Nothing.

Lucy couldn't tell he was lying. Normally a pressure would
build inside of her and buzz in her head when someone lied. This time, nothing.
And she knew Luke hated broccoli. The emptiness inside her shook Lucy to the
core. Without her power she was... ordinary, useless. Bad enough to have a
passive power like lie detecting, but to lose even that terrified her.

"Luke, something's wrong. I can't use my powers. Can
you?"

He looked around, finally seeming to notice that others were
having problems. He walked to a wall and tried to put his hand through, but it
hit the surface like any other normal hand. He raised his voice to be heard
above the rumbling. "Can anyone use their para-powers?"

A chorus of "No's" started around the room.

Luke tried again. "Raise your hand if you
can
use your para-power."

Everyone looked around. No one raised their hands.

"Has this ever happened to anyone before?" Lucy
asked.

More "No's."

Before a full-fledged panic could start, the loudspeakers
crackled to life. "LUKE AND LUCY, PLEASE REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE
IMMEDIATELY."

Lucy's heart skipped a beat. Luke's brow furrowed in concern
and he balled his fists at his side. Were they in trouble? Did the headmaster
know about the meetings? Or about the failed powers?

"Come on." Luke pulled her up, then addressed the
rest of the group. "Everything will be fine. You should all go back to
your rooms and pretend nothing's happened. We'll see you at the meeting on
Thursday, if not sooner."

The twins walked out of the classroom and made their way to
Headmaster Higgins's office. Lucy knew they were thinking the same thoughts,
feeling the same fears. Talking would be pointless.

***

They sat in the plush waiting room for what seemed like
hours. Lucy spun her finger in her hair, over and over. Luke stared at the
wall, probably wishing he could just walk through it and into Headmaster Higgins's
office without permission.

Ms. Bradley clicked away at the computer, ignoring them—as
usual.

"How much longer do you think?" Lucy asked.

"He should be out shortly," she said without
looking up.

Truth or Lie? Who could tell anymore? Lucy stood and paced
the room while humming off-tune. Maybe she could annoy Ms. Bradley into
hurrying this process along.

She earned an evil look from the secretary, but nothing
more.

Finally, Headmaster Higgins buzzed for them to go in. Ms.
Bradley stood to escort them.

"I think we can find our own way. But thanks for being
so
helpful." Lucy didn't even try to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

Luke and Lucy sat in expensive leather seats in front of the
headmaster's giant mahogany desk. It defined him as much as his tailored
pinstripe suits, and shiny shoes as dark as his skin. Lucy cleared her throat
impatiently.

Higgins looked up, as though he'd just noticed they were
there.

Luke's mouth gaped open in shock.

Lucy inhaled the bitter words on her lips.

Higgins had aged ten years since they saw him just the other
day. His hollow cheeks and sagging red eyes made him look sickly.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked. She knew better than
anyone that people never answered that question honestly. Would her powers work
now?

"No. Not really. As you've undoubtedly noticed, things
are changing around here, and it's been very stressful."

Damn, I didn't expect him to tell the truth. I need a way
to see if my powers are working.