She shrugged. “You wouldn’t have agreed.” Her voice had a hard edge, at odds with the desperation I felt from her. “You don’t understand what it’s like here, Talia. We live in a tiny, closed-off society. It’s downright primitive. We learn about the ‘real world’ in school, but we never get the chance to be part of it. Right now, the biggest thing in our history since the discovery of the Talented is about to take place in London. And I am stuck on this stupid island. I just want to experience life. That’s why I told you about Kip in the first place. I knew you’d want to utilize his abilities.”
Emma was way more manipulative than I’d given her credit for, and not simply in the gifted sense.
“We’re wasting time,” I declared. “I know there is nothing I can say to make Emma stay behind, either on the trip up to Mt. Tipper or the one to London. So, I won’t waste my breath. If you have to stay in London for a couple of hours, well, I guess that’s how it has to be. You will stay with me, though. The city is extremely dangerous on a normal day. This close to the vote, it will be suicide for you two to wander around on your own. Those are my terms. No amendments, no arguments.”
“I’m in,” Kip said instantly.
“Me too,” Emma agreed, her relief palpable.
“Okay. Emma, lead the way,” I said before I gave too much more thought to mess I’d made of their lives.
“There is one thing I need to do first,” Emma said. She withdrew a folded piece of paper from her jacket pocket. “I want to leave this note for my dad. So he’ll know where I went. We can leave it in Andromeda’s healing cabin. She’ll make sure he gets it.”
“Yeah, okay,” I agreed.
The detour took all of ten minutes, and then we were off for Mt. Tipper.
The three of walked in silence. Emma and Kip were annoyed with each other. Emma because she thought Kip was treating her like a baby. Kip because he didn’t understand why Emma couldn’t understand that he only wanted to keep her safe. I filtered out their thoughts and tried to reach Erik yet again.
Unfortunately, the only thoughts in my head were my own. And they weren’t comforting. I had yet to choose an exact location in London for Kip to teleport us to. I didn’t know the city well enough to select a secluded spot. Walburton Manor would have been a good option, but it was too far from the actual city. With Emma and Kip along, I couldn’t just morph and fly the rest of the way. Victoria did have a bunch of hovers in her massive garage. Knowing her, the vehicles were alarmed, and stealing one would tip her off.
Just as I was wracking my memory for the name of that shady pub where I’d met Riley, one of Kenly’s friends, voices invaded my thoughts.
I grabbed ahold of Kip and Emma, who were walking on either side of me. They stopped abruptly, and I held a finger to my lips. In a voice barely above a whisper, I muttered, “Guards. Three of them. Fifty yards ahead. Let me go first. I’ll incapacitate them.”
My companions were skeptical, but they both nodded their agreement.
Alone, I crept silently through the woods, using the guards’ voices to guide me in the right direction. When I had them in sight, I locked onto their minds and prepared to order them to sleep.
“Talia!”
The scream was both inside my head and ringing in my ears. I whipped around in time to see six furry white objects dragging two people between them. Emma stumbled and fell to her knees. Kip reached for her, but one of the furry objects slapped him hard across the face with a huge paw. The boy tripped but recovered quickly, venom in his infuriated gaze when he met his attacker’s eyes.
I snapped into action, sprinting towards Emma, Kip, and their captors without any thought as to how I was going to help. Instinct born from my years of training kicked in. Using telekinesis, I ripped two heavy branches clean off of a tree near Emma and the others. I brandished them like clubs, smacking the two furry heads closest to my new friends. The captors released their respective grips on Emma and Kip.
“Run,” I screamed, still barreling towards the action.
Kip hauled Emma to her feet and together they headed in my direction. Behind me, the original three guards I’d heard were yelling words in a language I didn’t speak. I focused the tree branch weapons on the four people pursuing my friends, smacking them to the ground and slowing their advances.
“Where’s the boost?” Kip yelled, gasping for air.
“My pocket,” I shouted back.
“Talia, behind you!” Emma screamed.
Not bothering with makeshift weapons this time, I sent the guards trying to sneak up on me flying with one huge gust of power. I heard one moan and another curse as they landed off in the distance.
Two of the guards chasing Emma and Kip were on their feet again. When I went at them with my tree branches, the smaller of the two waved a hand to deflect the blows. She, at least I thought it was a woman, snarled and hissed jumbled insults. The only ones I understand were my name.
How did she know my name?
Something small and pointy was suddenly hurtling through the air, set on a collision course with my head. I swatted at the object with my mind.
Knife, I thought, as the object sailed harmlessly ten feet to my right. The blade sunk into the bark up to the hilt.
Out of nowhere, dozens of voices were thundering inside my head. Reinforcements, I realized with a stab of fear. We were about to be seriously outnumbered, and I had a feeling that Emma at least wasn’t a great fighter. I spared a second to gauge the closeness of the newcomers. One hundred yards and closing fast. Too fast. And not all of them were in human form.
More sharp objects were winging towards me from too many directions to count. I deflected them with my mind, hating being on the defensive when the only way I was going to win this battle was with a strong offense. Or, I could not play the game. Which was what I’d decided to do.
I made a decision.
“Take off your jacket, Kip,” I shouted, already fumbling in my pocket for the booster and syringe. I transferred the liquid to the hypodermic needle using my mind, since performing the stunt manually while running wasn’t feasible.
Kip didn’t hesitate. Feet still in motion, he shed his outer layers until only a thin thermal shirt remained. I sent a pointy object of my own catapulting through the woods. My target: Kip’s arm.
Kip and Emma were approximately twenty feet away from me when the syringe pierced his skin through the fabric of his shirt. He clung to Emma with one hand and extended the other towards me, but we were too far away for me to grab it just yet.
All around us, the woods were crawling with more Hoya tribesman in their white furry outfits. Arrows zipped through the air. Spears whistled. Rifles cracked. I summoned all of the power I could muster to halt the projectiles. Kip depressed the syringe’s plunger, and then threw the needle aside.
“Give me a location!” he bellowed.
The name of that stupid pub finally surface, and I blurted it out. “Pink Giraffe.”
Picturing the pub in my mind, I sent the images to Kip. I had no idea how his gift worked, but it was the only idea I had.
We were still five feet apart. So close. And yet so far.
The barrage of pointy objects was still converging on us. My strength was waning. I wasn’t going to be able to hold them off much longer. In one last-ditch effort for salvation, I sent a tsunami of power downward. The ground quaked violently. I dove for Kip and Emma. My fingers closed around Kip’s ankle as the earth beneath me split in two.
The Privileged
Besançon, France
Two Days Before the Vote
“What’s happening? What did you guys do?” Lyla’s frantic shouts from the level two observation deck were barely audible over the screeching siren filling the cavern.
Hands over her ears, Cressa tried to dampen the noise, to no avail. Both Daphne and Hartley were wide-eyed and terrified.
“Breach in the Observation Catacomb. Breach in the Observation Catacomb. All available personnel, please resp
ond immediately. Breach in the Observation Catacomb. Breach in the Observation Catacomb.” The message played on repeat, the pleasant female voice at odds with the high-pitched shrieking of the alarm.
“Run!” Cressa screamed to Daphne and Hartley.
Without waiting for a response, she sprinted for the staircase. When Cressa reached the landing, she saw the twins and the Jacobs were already on the move. Taking the stairs two at a time, she reached the first floor landing before checking behind her to see if Hartley and Daphne were following. Hartley nearly collided with Cressa when she abruptly stopped. Daphne, who had much shorter legs, had yet to reach the second flight of steps.
“Save yourself,” Hartley shouted as he sped by Cressa.
Shooting furtive glances between Daphne and the entranceway, where Shyla’s ponytail was disappearing through the opening, Cressa was torn. Daphne was obviously the weak link, and would probably slow Cressa down. Still, she couldn’t leave the younger girl behind, even if it meant being caught herself.
“Come on, Daphne! We need to hurry,” Cressa called.
Still halfway between the first and second floor landings, Daphne leapt, attempting to take the remaining steps all at once. Her back foot left the stair at an odd angle, causing her ankle to twist. The little canary smacked the handrail with her hip. In horror, Cressa watched Daphne tumble over the side of the staircase, as if in slow motion.
“Daphne!” Cressa shrieked the girl’s name as she ran to the edge of the landing.
Like a rag doll, Daphne somersaulted ungracefully through the air, screaming like a banshee.
Cressa reached out instinctively, as if this were a movie and she might actually have a shot at snagging the other girl’s arm and saving the day. Unfortunately, this was real life. Daphne was falling too fast, and was too far away for Cressa to have a prayer of playing the hero.
You may not be a superhero, but you do have powers.
Concentrating all of her energy, just as Madame Gillis had taught her, Cressa reached for Daphne with her mind. The little canary’s tiny body continued to free-fall. Panicking, Cressa pushed harder, exerting so much energy that she started to sweat profusely, despite the cold draft in the air. Just as she was certain that Daphne was going to slam into the ground, the younger girl jerked violently. Her spine bowed to the point her legs were nearly above her little blonde bun. Stomach inches from the earth, Daphne came to an abrupt halt.
“Please be okay.” Repeating the phrase like a mantra, Cressa released her and raced down the last set of stairs. By the time she reached Daphne, her friend was on her hands and knees on the ground, dirt and tears streaking her cheeks.
Cressa knelt beside Daphne and gathered the little girl in to her arms. “You’re okay. You’re okay,” she cooed, just as her mother used to do when Cressa was a child.
Overhead, the sirens were still blaring. The ground vibrated beneath Cressa. Though she was unable to hear the pounding of the guards’ boots in the outside tunnel, she was sure that was what was causing the earth to rumble.
“Get her up. We need to go, unless you want to see the inside of one of those electric cages.”
Hartley, Cressa thought, relieved. Despite his callous warning to leave Daphne behind, he’d stayed to help them.
But the figure that emerged from the shadows beneath the staircase was too short to be Hartley. The golden wreath of hair encircling his head like a crown was also much different than Hartley’s close-cropped dark locks.
“Kev?” Cressa asked disbelievingly. She’d barely whispered his name, but the star nodded in confirmation.
“Yeah, it’s me. Hurry. They’re coming.”
Kev darted over and pulled Cressa to her feet, then Daphne. Still shaken from her fall, Daphne was too shocked to react to Kev’s sudden appearance. By unspoken agreement, Kev and Cressa each looped an arm around Daphne’s waist and dragged her towards the entranceway.
Peeking his head through the opening, Kev looked right and left. He swore under his breath.
“They’re here. We have one shot. Follow me.”
Nodding, Cressa helped Kev carry Daphne into the outer tunnel. There were no sirens out there, so Cressa was able to hear the guards rushing toward them from both sides, even though she had yet to see them.
Kev didn’t go far before stopping.
“Can you hold her on your own?” he asked Cressa.
“Yeah, I think so.” Readjusting to accommodate more of Daphne’s weight, Cressa nodded decisively. “Yeah, I’ve got her.”
Kev released his hold on Daphne and focused on the section of wall in front of them. Just like the entrance to the observation cavern, there were no obvious markings to indicate there was a secret entranceway before her.
He laid both his hands on the wall and pushed. The stone gave way under the combine efforts of his mental and physical strength, moving several inches inward.
The shouts and footfalls of the guards grew louder.
Cressa’s heart was racing faster than a Kentucky Derby winner. One of those electric cages had Cressa’s name on it already—she just knew it.
Kev gave the door another hard shove. With a groan, the stone slab retreated a full foot this time. He grabbed Daphne roughly by the arm and forced her through the opening. The little girl whimpered, but didn’t fight him.
“Go,” Kev insisted.
You don’t need to tell me twice, Cressa thought, sliding sideways through the doorway.
Kev was much broader than Cressa or Daphne, and didn’t fit quite so well in the small space. He got stuck when he tried to wedge himself through the opening.
Cressa met his penetrating gaze, alarm flashing in both their eyes.
“Just go,” Kev told her. “Run straight, until the tunnel dead-ends. Then, take a right. Pass the first three turnoffs, then you’ll take another right. That will dump you in the tunnel that connects to your floor. Got it?” He spoke so rapidly that Cressa had a hard time understanding his instructions. But that wasn’t the only reason she hesitated.
Kev could have run earlier. He probably would have already been safe and sound back in his own bed, far away from the tunnels and the guards. Yet, he hadn’t. Not only had he likely saved Daphne’s life, he’d stayed to make sure both girls made it out of the observation catacombs.
“No,” Cressa said decisively. She grabbed ahold of Kev’s arm and tried to pull him inside the tunnel with her.
Wincing, Kev twisted and turned to no avail. “Please, just go,” he pleaded with Cressa.
She considered it, but again refused to repay his acts with cowardice.
Switching her focus to the partially open stone door, Cressa took a deep breath and concentrated on moving the slab with her mind. A sharp stab of pain shot through her head, and her brain felt like her legs usually did after running the mile in gym class. Ignoring her own fatigue and discomfort, Cressa focused harder. She could do this.
It was like she was back in the exam room, except failure carried much steeper penalties. There wouldn’t be another chance. From the noise in the tunnels, she knew the guards were nearly upon them. Only the many twists and turns in the passageway had kept them from seeing Kev thus far. But as soon as the first of the Dame’s men rounded the bend, he’d be caught.
“I can do this,” Cressa grunted.
With one last shove that made her entire body shake from exertion, the stone moved just enough for Kev to wiggle the rest of the way through. To Cressa’s surprise, the door sprang shut behind him, plunging the trio into utter darkness.
The stone walls were thick, drowning out the sound of the guards on the other side. Cressa could only hear her own beating heart and Kev’s panting.
Exhausted, Cressa leaned against the tunnel wall, letting the cold stone cool her sweaty skin. For several long moments, no one spoke, all three contemplating how close they’d come to being the Institute’s newest PDs.
Finally, Daphne broke the silence.
“Thank you, both of you.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, yet still echoed in the passage.
Cressa’s eyes began adjusting to the darkness, and she was able to make out the silhouettes of the other two. Daphne was ashen, clearly still shaken from her near-fatal accident. When she took Cressa’s hand, Daphne’s was damp with perspiration and trembling.
“Thank you,” Cressa replied pointedly, understanding that Daphne must have been the one to close the door.
“Oh, well, it’s the least I could do.” Daphne giggled nervously. “I sort of lost it out there. If you two hadn’t been there…. Like I said, it’s the least I could do.”
Cressa found Kev in the darkness. He was bent at the waist, rubbing his ribs with one hand. “Why were you there?” she asked accusingly.
“Huh? Oh, you mean in that freak show of a room?” Kev shrugged. Even in the dark tunnel, Cressa could see the smirk that melted so many hearts. “I like to look around at night—been doing it since I arrived. I knew Hartley and his lackeys were out for a stroll, so I decided to follow. You know, see if they’d discovered stuff that I hadn’t. I saw you guys go in to that observation room, and I followed you.”
“Good thing you did.” Cressa glanced sideways at Daphne. “Really good thing.”
“Yeah, those guys are jerks,” Daphne added. She was clearly trying to sound annoyed, but her voice shook when she spoke.
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Kev replied. “Hartley’s the worst, and the other two are just idiots. All three of them have been trying to cozy up to me since I arrived. Hartley even ratted on his former roommate to make sure there would be a vacancy when I advanced, so we would live together.”
“What? Really?” Cressa had sort of liked Hartley. His beliefs were a little too radical for her taste, but at least he hadn’t reveled in the sources’ suffering like the Jacobs.
“Yeah,” Kev confirmed. “His old roommate was the one who discovered the tunnels in the first place. One night when he went exploring, Hartley reported him to Gregor. The kid was dismissed immediately.”