The Forbidden Trilogy (81 page)

"I don’t understand."

"In time, you will. Look into yourself, boy. What
defines you? What gives your life meaning? Is it that purple drug? Is that the
full extent of your worth? If that were true, we wouldn't be talking. You have
to look deeper."

"Where did you get your powers?" Drake hadn't
intended to ask that question, but once it popped he didn't take it back.
"You have powers. I've always known it. How? If we were bred for powers,
where did yours come from?"

"There are many mysteries in the world, son, more than
the mind can fathom. The doings of humans are but a microscopic fraction of the
whole. Now, if you'll excuse me, we should both get some rest."

Drake stood and said goodbye. Just as he was about to close
the door behind him, Father Patrick stopped him.

"Drake, what will you do when the vials run out?"

"I'll get more."

"And if you can't?"

"I will."

Again, he had no choice. He'd find a way to get more drugs,
or get his powers back forever. Then he'd save Ana, and Sam would want to be
with him again.

Drake's proposal had rattled me, and Darren couldn't look me
in the eye as he slipped off to bed. I could tell Drake hoped to sleep with me,
but I refused to even allow the question to come up. He had no right to waltz
back into my life and expect so much from me, not after everything he'd put us
through.

Sleep evaded me for hours, until emotional exhaustion pulled
me into slumber.

A voice on the wind haunted my dreams, and a vision gripped
me, tearing me from my room and throwing me into the space between. Images
overlapped each other, beaches and trees and a compound with kids. Tommy
screamed for me, and another presence settled in my heart once again.

Ana had found me, and now I knew how to find her.

I leaped out of bed, heart pounding as I sent out a group
text. "Meet me in the library in thirty minutes. I know where Ana
is."

***

Around me sat the people I trusted most at the school: Brad
and Desirai, Greg and Gary, Norm and Robyn, Darren, Father Patrick, Bernard,
and of course, Drake. Toby had wanted to come, but I couldn't let him. He was
too young and this was too dangerous.

We sat in an empty classroom, closed to the students.
Everyone waited for me to speak.

"I'm going after Ana. I know where she is."

Bernard nodded. "At the facility Luke and Lucy are
assigned to take down, yes?"

"Yes."

Father Patrick wrinkled his brow. "But we don't know
where it is. Lucy had the address and handed it over to the IPI agents the
night of the escape."

I smiled. "My new powers finally kicked in while I was
sleeping. I connected with Ana and Tommy. I felt them and saw where they
were—at a compound on one of the islands in Hawaii." I pulled out a map
and pointed to a small cluster. "Right there."

Norm raised his hand as if we were in class, then lowered it
when we all looked at him. "Sorry. Habit. But wouldn't Luke and Lucy still
be on the assignment? Aren't they working that angle?"

"Yes, but I spoke to Simmons. Their plane went down.
They're alive, but missing." The words tore out of me, but I stayed
strong, firm in my resolve.

Desirai bobbed her head. "I haven't been able to find
them in my dreams."

Greg spoke for the first time. "Have we heard anything
more from IPI?"

Bernard shook his head. "We've left more messages, but
they are clearly giving us the run around."

Father Patrick ran his hand over the rosary I knew he had
tucked in his pocket. "So you want to interfere with an IPI investigation,
break into a secure clinic, and steal your baby back?"

"Yeah, basically."

He nodded. "This will be dangerous, and it could
sabotage whatever IPI is doing."

I knew they'd argue this, but I couldn't back down.
"Luke and Lucy are missing. Almost everyone in this room has powers that
would help." I pointed to each of them in turn. "Darren is
telekinetic. Greg can infiltrate surveillance equipment. Gary has control over
metal. Des can dream walk and send nightmares to people. I can read and control
minds. Norm can fly. Robyn can take on the shape of anyone. And Drake has accessed
his powers as well: strength and mind control. We would be an asset, not a
liability."

Bernard entwined his fingers in a way that let me know he
was at least considering my idea. When he disagreed, he made small fists.
"What's your plan?"

"First, we find Luke and Lucy, and work with them to
take down the clinic and rescue the kids. If we can't find them, we rescue the
kids ourselves."

"We?" Bernard arched a brow.

I stood and paced the room. "Yes. That's why I'm asking
for your help. By myself, this is a long shot. But together, we can do it. We
each bring a valuable power or skill to the table. It would be like our old
assignments, only we'd be working together. Who's with me?"

Drake twitched, ready to get up, but Darren beat him to it.
"I am." He walked over and stood by me.

Uh-oh.
I so did not need the male pissing contest
now, but by the look on Drake's face, one was coming soon.

Drake walked over and put his arm around me, as if claiming
me, like a dog marking his territory. "We'll bring our baby back."

I appreciated his sentiment, but not the possessiveness. I
shrugged his arm off and moved away.

Gary stood. "Whatever the plan, you've got me."

"Me too," Greg said as he stood next to his
boyfriend.

Brad jumped up. "You know you can count on me." He
didn't look at his best friend, but Drake was trying to catch his eye. Drake
had a lot of people to mend fences with.

Desirai grabbed his arm. "No, Brad, don't go. You don't
have any powers."

Bernard nodded. "I have to agree, Brad. Besides, I need
you here. I can't run this place alone, especially if everyone else is
leaving."

Des rubbed his arm. "I'll stay with you." She
looked to me. "I hope that's okay, Sam."

I had assumed as much, anyway. "Of course. You can
check up on us in your dreams."

Brad sat back down, though he didn't look happy. "Just
be careful, guys."

Robyn stood, with Norm right behind her. "We're coming
too."

No one else knew about the pregnancy, so I couldn't say
anything, but I slipped into her mind.
'Sam, if you're listening, and I'm
pretty sure you are, you have to let us come. Our para-powers can be really
helpful. I'll be fine. I'm not that far along, and honestly, we need to take
care of those kids and your baby first.'

I didn't argue with her because, as selfish as it was, I
agreed; they were too powerful to lose.

We had a strong group together, and I was just about to
start talking about a plan, when someone knocked on the door. "Let me
in."

I sighed. "It's a private meeting, Mary. Go away."
She may not have been guilty of anything, but I still didn't like her.

She didn't listen. Shocking. "I know what you're doing
in there, Sam. Let me in." She knocked more aggressively.

Drake turned to the door. "Want me to get rid of
her?"

"No, I'll handle it." It seemed everything he did
irritated me today. I walked to the door and opened it. "Mary—"

She shoved her way in and interrupted. "I know why
you're having a meeting. You're going to go track down the sick bastard that
stole your baby. I want in."

I hadn't expected that at all. "Mary, you don't have
to."

She showed me the burn scars running up her neck. They
weren't nearly as bad as they were in her own mind, but I still had to stop
myself from flinching. "Those bastards did this to me. Let me come. I can
help."

I wanted to say no, but even Mary deserved to take down the
people who'd hurt her. And as much as I hated to admit it, she was one of the
best field agents we had.

"Okay."

She smiled and followed me back to the group. A few eyebrows
rose in shock, but no one said anything.

"She's coming too. Mary can be very useful, when she
wants to be." I felt a little bad for that last part, but whatever. She'd
done so much worse.

Norm, who preferred to fly everywhere these days, raised his
hand again. "How are we getting there?"

Father Patrick stood and walked over. "I can help with
that. During my younger years, I had a fascination with flying. Naturally, I
procured a pilot's license. And I may know of a friend with a plane."

The old priest was just full of surprises, even for me, and
I'd spent considerable time in his mind. "Thank you."

Bernard looked at each of us and laughed. "Nine
companions. So be it. You shall be the fellowship of the ring."

Everyone joined in the laughter, though I did hope it ended
better for us than it had for that fellowship. I watched each person who would
be helping me get my daughter back and save the other kids. Could I trust them?
Mary had spent years doing everything she could to ruin my life. Drake had
abandoned me when I needed him most. The others... well, they'd been
trustworthy enough. But Darren... would his feelings for me sour when they went
unrequited? Would that jeopardize the mission?

Susie had said that without faith, there is no trust. So I
chose faith in hopes that I could learn to trust, and that it wouldn't be
betrayed.

Lucy opened her eyes to a bright morning. The grove of trees
they'd fallen asleep under the night before shaded her from the harsh light of
the sun, and had probably kept her more delicate parts from getting sunburned.
Hunter's arm tightened around her, and she sighed deeply and rested her head on
his bare chest, enjoying the feel of his heartbeat thumping against her cheek.

He kissed the top of her head. "Good morning,
Beautiful."

She smiled and titled her head to kiss him.
"Morning."

Her body ached, but in a very satisfying way. They'd spent
the night tangled in each other's bodies, and Lucy had never slept better,
but.... "Oh, crap, Luke's going to freak!"

She jumped up, realized how naked she was, and blushed from
head to toe as she scurried to find her clothes. "Don't
look
!"

Hunter sat up, clearly unashamed of his own naked form—and
for good reason. "Nothing I didn't see last night."

Lucy tore her eyes off of his body and focused on buttoning
her pants and getting her shirt on. "Last night was dark. This—" She
waved her hand. "—is far too much exposure."

He laughed, lunged for her and pulled her back down to the
ground, then pinned her with kisses. She struggled, albeit half-heartedly, then
submitted to his mouth.

She pushed him off. "Ugh, I need to freshen up. I feel
icky."

"Icky? Is that a technical term?" He still made no
move to dress.

If she'd had a pillow she'd have thrown it at him. Instead,
she walked to the water with the intent to drink and clean up, but it looked a
bit murky for her taste. "I'm going to find some fresh water for us. I'll
be back.
You
--" She eyed him pointedly. "—should get dressed.
I don't want Luke thinking we were both eaten by wild animals."

She walked past the trees and found a small stream that
looked clean enough. She drank deeply, then filled up their water bottles and
splashed cool water on her face. A bird landed on a nearby branch and sang a
sweet song to greet the morning.

The note soured with thoughts of her brother. She shivered,
afraid of facing him. But why? He could be an ass, but he wanted her to be
happy, and it's not like she was a virgin before this. Luke knew she'd fooled
around a bit at school, and had never really cared that much, so why would he care
now? Especially when she actually loved this guy?

At the thought of Hunter her knees turned to jelly, and she
sat on a rock and daydreamed about his kisses and his arms around her. She
thought about their future, playing through scenarios of them traveling
together or going dancing. She wondered if he was a good dancer. Given how well
he used his body, she'd have been surprised if he wasn't.

So Luke will be happy for me, right?
She tried to
convince herself that she had nothing to worry about, but she couldn't help it.
She was scared of what he'd say when they arrived back at camp, just like she
was scared of telling him about the sphere. Would her brother try to ruin her
happiness? Would he try to take her sphere or break her and Hunter up?

Lucy hated hiding anything from Luke, so it was time to fess
up—about everything.

She made her way back to Hunter, but stopped. Everything
felt too still, too quiet. Hunter should have been packing up, making some kind
of noise, but she didn't hear anything. A shiver of fear trailed up her spine.
On instinct she reached for her gun, but she'd left it and her pack with
Hunter.

She moved closer to their camp. "Hunter?" No
response.
Crap.

Wind blew across the valley, carrying Mr. K's voice with it.
"Lucy.... Run, Lucy!"

Oh, God, something bad did happen.
She couldn't leave
Hunter in trouble.

At full run, she reached the grove of trees where they'd
docked.

Hunter stood in the center, but he wasn't alone. Beleth's
large hands were wrapped around his mouth and throat.

No! Not Hunter.
"Let him go!"

Beleth tightened his grip. "You haven't completed our
deal."

No, wait, I'm not out of time yet.
She counted
backwards. It had only been a few weeks. She had a month. "I still have
time."

"A little, but you've wasted much, spending days in
this valley." Beleth's black eyes stared at her. "I wondered what
occupied you, but now I understand." He squeezed his arms tighter around
Hunter's throat. "He's pretty, isn't he? Consider this a reminder of your
mission."