Chosen

  Someone shrieked, and Julia nearly came out of her sweaty skin. She clutched Cayne’s arm, so not smooth, and glanced over her shoulder, past Mer, Carlin, and Drew, to where a woman was being tickled by her boyfriend. She shrieked again, and Julia flinched as she turned back around.

  “We’re doing fine,” Cayne murmured near her hair.

  Her gaze swept the street, the lanes crowded with snow-topped buses and trolleys and taxis; she combed the damp brick sidewalk, searching for Adam’s black hair, for an angry aura. Yikes—she shouldn’t be looking at auras.

  Julia put her hand over her heart and tried to slow her racing pulse. She focused on the hotel’s hunter green pavilion, sheltering a half-circle driveway. Almost there.

  The massive, stately building was swarming with staff; they wore green and gold livery and darted about a row of taxis, limousines, and compact cars, shuffling luggage onto carts, helping guests out of their cars, taking keys for valet parking.

  Julia breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth as she checked every face she saw. What if one of those was Adam’s? What if he somehow managed to capture her?

  When they reached the grassy edge of the hotel’s lawn, about ten yards from the pavilion, the crowd thickened and Cayne’s arm went around her waist. “Keep your eyes open for Edan, in a van.”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  Then Meredith gasped, and Julia whirled to find Carlin levitating a foot off the ground. She was waving her arms in tiny circles like a baby bird that hadn’t learned how to fly, and her eyes were wide and panicked.

  Drew grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down, but it looked like someone trying to hold a float underwater. Then Mer glanced out toward the street, and her face went ashen. Before Julia could see what was going on, Cayne swept her up and dashed toward the line of parked cars, now just a stone’s throw in front of them.

  Near the far end of the line, Edan was hanging out the driver’s side window of a narrow van, waving them forward. Julia wasn’t getting in it without her friends. She lifted her head, straining to look over Cayne’s shoulder, and saw that a scuffle had broken out on the sidewalk behind them. One of the hotel staff was waving his arms around, trying to prevent someone from pushing themselves under the pavilion—

  Holy shit. Dizzy! She backhanded the lanky hotel staffer with surprising strength, and Adam and Thierry fanned out behind her, scanning the crowd. Almost immediately they spotted Carlin, a heap of curly brown hair and billowing white suede floating above the sidewalk—probably suffering from the Dizzy treatment.

  Adam’s gaze passed over Dizzy. He stepped toward Julia and Cayne, and Julia’s stomach flipped. His face was a mask of fury as he stretched out his arm…and suddenly Drew was there, and he was rushing Cayne, leaping at Julia, and then just as suddenly he was crumpling to the ground.

  Holy crap, he dropped like a freakin’ fly!

  That was Julia’s last coherent thought before everything seemed to get stuck on fast-forward. Cayne lunged to the right, toward the hotel and away from Dizzy and Adam, and Meredith and Carlin’s voices rose behind them in a cacophony of panic.

  Julia twisted in Cayne’s grasp. “No, Cayne! TURN AROUND!”

  But he tightened his grip on her, using his next few steps to cover more distance before swinging back toward Edan’s van, which was maneuvering between two cars to get in the very front of the line, where he could speed away.

  Out of nowhere came Dizzy’s power, an egg scrambler in Julia’s sober brain, and everything went topsy turvy.

  Her body stiffened then sagged as she fought against the invasion. She felt Cayne’s arms shifting her weight and sensed that he was still running. The screeching of tires sliced through a confetti of colors, textures, and dimensions, and Julia heard Meredith’s cry at the same moment she inhaled what tasted like a mouthful of exhaust.

  Then—thank Jesus—Edan’s low voice.

  From behind a waving curtain of what looked like black velvet: “Edan…” It was Meredith, and she sounded ill. Julia heard her huff, then saw a bleary white form staggering across a sky of grass. “EDAN, GO GET DREW!”

  What was wrong with Drew? Julia couldn’t remember.

  “This way…” That was Edan, sounding uncharacteristically gruff. “Into the van, Carlin. And shut the door.”

  In a heartbeat, Julia’s head and her senses were clear again. She saw a flash of the van’s glossy black exterior before Cayne hoisted her inside, pulling her on top of his hard lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and Julia saw Meredith in the driver’s seat.

  “Have your foot on the pedal,” Cayne said tightly.

  “Will do, Cap’n.” Mer banged on the wheel, looking in the rear-view. “Move, Edan, move! Damnit!”

  Julia turned around to see if she could spot Edan through the back window, but her view was blocked by Carlin, who was still levitating. She sat cross-legged a few inches above her chair—shaking and pale and not at all her usual feisty Carlin self.

  “Finally!”

  Julia’s eyes flicked to Meredith, and back to the rear window in time to see Edan dashing around the van, carrying huge, limp Drew over his shoulder. Still holding Julia, Cayne leaned forward and opened the front passenger’s door; Edan was climbing inside with Drew when a familiar, sharp-featured face appeared through the glass to Julia’s left: Thierry!

  Carlin shrieked and Meredith hit the gas—which would have made a grand getaway except that a battered, blood-stained Dizzy had appeared in the street in front of them.

  Meredith plowed over her, the big bump below the tires making Julia’s stomach roil.

  In Edan’s lap, Drew stirred. “We see them again,” he whispered hoarsely, “by…some water.”

  “Water?” Carlin, still hovering, with her eyes shut, made a noise of disgust and muttered something in Spanish. “Drew, this whole town is water. That doesn’t help at all!”

  *

  The beautiful buildings of Zurich sailed by like Tetris pieces gliding too quickly toward a pile-up. The four seats in the back of the van were arranged in a square, creating an around-the-campfire effect; Cayne helped Julia to the seat against the driver’s, giving her a view out the back, which she wanted.

  He was overly fussy, even buckling her in, but she didn’t mind.

  “Do you think I KILLED her?” Julia turned, a little dizzily, to find Meredith with one hand tugging at her straight, black hair, and the other one driving like an escaped convict.

  “No,” Drew said. “I think that bitch has nine lives.”

  “What if she doesn’t?”

  “Then you might have,” Edan said.

  “Don’t be a dick,” Drew growled.

  Edan waved, like it was nothing. “You’re welcome, by the way. I was pretty amazing. And you’re not exactly light.”

  More arguing. Julia was too overwhelmed to follow. The other Chosen really were there, and they really were after her. She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth and let the voices rise around her.

  I hate her but I never wish death on… Like, The Three’s great-great-granddaughter? Would The Three be mad?! …What about this van …Off a politician’s chauffeur …We can always dream. …And rescue! Edan did save you… I couldn’t get off the ground for… Re-set the GPS? …Wings were out only for a second. …Quiet, people. Shut your traps.

  That was Meredith. “Julia, are you okay?” She sounded urgent.

  Julia made an effort to respond appropriately. “I’m fine. Just like everybody else.”

  She couldn’t see Meredith’s face, but Carlin, who had climbed into shot gun at some point, was leaning into the back, and hers looked skeptical.

  “Are you sure? You don’t look so good.”

  “I’m sure.” …That if they didn’t stop talking to her, she was going to combust.

  She forced herself to meet Cayne’s eyes; she’d planned to give him a reassuring smile, but when their gazes locked, his eyes were filled with such concern, she didn’t have the hea
rt to be disingenuous. She pressed her lips together and thought about how much she loved him. He bumped her All-Star with the tip of his boot and leaned forward to cover her with the big, green military jacket he’d scored at the thrift.

  People talked some more. There were details of the run-in at the hotel, and she tried to piece them together into a step-by-step account, but her brain just wasn’t with it. Instead she focused on making eye contact and taking deep breaths and following the conversation superficially.

  “I hope you got her! She was a bitch,” Carlin was saying to Meredith.

  Julia wished she was less zoned, because she wanted to console Meredith, who sounded totally miserable. “The police are probably looking for us. I’m a murderer.”

  “Dizzy was a murderer,” Carlin said. “What you did was self-defense.”

  “You protected Julia,” Cayne told Meredith, and Julia was proud of him for trying to make her feel better. To Edan, he said, “We need a new car. The police are most likely looking for this one.”

  Meredith moaned, and Julia wanted to slap her own forehead.

  “I can make that happen,” Edan said.

  “How exactly? How do you do it without an imprint?” Drew asked, referring to the shadow of energy the rest of them would leave if they used their gifts; Edan had said he didn’t leave one. “And what about the people whose cars we take?”

  Edan, sitting across from Drew, patted his knee. “No good deed goes unpunished.”

  Drew’s cheeks seemed to maybe blush; his skin was so dark, Julia couldn’t tell for sure, but she wouldn’t put it past Edan to bother Drew on purpose, the man whore. “How exactly do you do it?” Drew asked again.

  Julia winced, already penciling in a perverse answer, but Edan didn’t go there—for once.

  “Same way Cayne does things,” he said smoothly. “Except I don’t leave a trace. As the only one of my kind, my ‘shadow’ is unique. I’ve been told that only others like me can track it.” Edan shook his head sadly, but in a way that didn’t really seem sad. “But I’m the only one…alive right now.”

  “That’s so horrible,” Carlin said.

  “Meredith, we’ve lost them,” Cayne said, looking at Julia and clearly not following the conversation. “Pull over when you can.”

  Julia watched Cayne in return as Meredith turned off the freeway—‘the A51’, according to Carlin—and onto a smaller road, which dead-ended at a cafe on the water.

  Julia wanted to scream “Are you kidding me!”, but she remembered that, as Carlin had pointed out, there was water everywhere; they couldn’t really avoid it just because of Drew’s premonition.

  Edan took the keys from Meredith and got out, and Julia wondered if they were safe just sitting there. Cayne reached out and stroked her knee.

  No one said anything, and each second the tension in the car seemed to double. Fortunately Edan pulled up beside them within seconds, driving the same model van, but this one painted white.

  “Carlin, could you re-set the GPS?” Meredith asked after they all piled in.

  “Certainly.”

  “Wait—where are we going? Specifically,” Drew said.

  In Julia’s still-swimming head, everything seemed to have an echo, but Drew’s English accent was the worst.

  “We decided on St. Moritz,” Meredith said, back on the A51 and weaving through traffic.

  On the way to the airport, right after the attack on the Chosen compound, Mer had filled everyone in on the resort that was supposedly a haven for ‘ex-pat’ Chosen. She’d claimed that Monte had told her a bunch of details about the place and the people—“But that was like a year ago. I don’t really remember much—except that there’s a tiger on the resort’s helicopter landing pad. Or maybe it was a lion.”

  “This sounds like something you invented,” Drew had said.

  He said it again this go ’round. “You don’t even remember who told Monte those things! How are we to know this is even remotely reliable?”

  “Because it is,” Mer insisted. “He didn’t tell me who told him because I never asked.”

  “Therefore it still sounds like something you made up.”

  “Why do you think I’ve been studying German for the last year, dummkopf!”

  “I don’t know,” Drew said, still skeptical.

  “He said it was a popular resort town on the border with Italy. And that it had a tiger on the helicopter landing pad,” Mer reiterated.

  They continued to bicker until Carlin settled the argument. “This is the only lead we have. We’re going and we will check it out and move on if it isn’t right.”

  St. Mortiz was in the Graubünden region, where rich people liked to hang. Carlin pulled a fold-out map out of her coat pocket and started sharing St. Moritz facts; to Julia’s dismay, there was a lake there, too.

  After Carlin folded the map back up, silence fell over them, and Julia used the moment to try to shake the spacey fugue that seemed to have overtaken her mind. Out of nowhere, she remembered Harry’s super-secret 30th anniversary surprise trip for Suzanne. He’d planned a two-week tour of Europe, with stops in Italy, France, Germany, and yes, Switzerland. He’d let Julia in on his secret just a few months before Samyaza ruined her life—and ended theirs. Harry’d had a secret savings account for three years, putting away money. Just two more…

  Drew cleared his throat. “So. They’re really here.”

  “Oh, yes,” Carlin said. “And they sent the best.”

  “For Julia,” Edan said, arching a brow at her.

  “Well they’re not getting her,” Mer snapped.

  “No. They’re not.” Cayne leaned forward and put his hand on Julia’s knee.

  Julia wished she could disappear. Cayne’s eyes were on her, worried and loving and she didn’t want it. She didn’t want anything to be happening at all.

  Behind her, in the two front seats, Meredith and Carlin started talking softly—so softly Julia could hardly hear them, but she definitely caught the name “Adam” and the word “immobilized” before her apathy bubbled into temper.

  She turned around toward the front, feeling uncharacteristically angry. “You know, there are other people back here, too. Other people in the same situation you two are. And at least one of them doesn’t know anything about being immobilized.” The word caught in Julia’s throat as she imagined herself unable to move, spirited back to the compound, placed in front of The Three.

  And okay, the compound wasn’t there, and The Three were supposedly old men. Old men that have a ‘leash’ on you…

  Carlin leaned into the back seat, her hazel eyes wide. “We weren’t meaning to be rude.”

  “I know.” She frowned. “But you kinda were.”

  Julia saw Meredith’s eyes meet Carlin’s in the rear view.

  “What?” she snapped. “Seriously. I heard you mention Adam. What’s his deal?”

  “He can immobilize people,” Meredith said slowly.

  “And that’s what happened to Drew? Not Dizzy?”

  Drew nodded, tight-lipped, and Julia felt a rush of guilt and gratitude.

  “He was aiming for me, wasn’t he?”

  “He didn’t get you,” Cayne said.

  “Thanks,” she said to Drew, who shrugged. “It’s not often I get to look gallant. And—” he said, with one of the sweet smiles he reserved for those he really liked— “I’m a bit fond of you.”

  “Did you guys see Theirry?” Carlin asked. Her voice was high and squeaky.

  “I did,” Meredith said.

  “And? What’s his power?” Julia prodded.

  “Gift,” Meredith corrected.

  “Thank you, Nathan.”

  Meredith winced, and Julia felt awful. She was so busy thinking about The One that she wasn’t thinking of anyone else. “So…”

  For the longest second, Cayne’s concerned gaze pinned her and everyone else just held their breath, refusing to meet her eyes.

  Well, really just Carlin and Drew. Edan seemed
bored. “Theirry is good at transportation,” he said. “Kind of like time-travel, but on this time plane. He can take someone and zip across the globe in seconds.”

  Chatter filled the car, but Julia’s mind was frozen.

  Adam could immobilize you and Thierry could spirit you away.

  And she never would be heard from, ever again.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “I call king, far left!”

  Meredith bobbed up and down like a cork in a choppy sea, her long, black hair bouncing.

  “King, middle!” Carlin laughed, dropping down onto the cushy white comforter.

  “King, right.” Edan’s gray eyes narrowed naughtily, and the look he gave Carlin was seriously wicked.

  “If anybody is sleeping beside Carlin, it’s me,” Julia said, crossing her arms. “Edan, you’re on the floor with the dust mites.”

  “Harsh.” He widened his gray eyes in that obnoxious, faux shocked way guys had that said you’re being ridiculous.

  “Whatever. Just go away so we can get ready for bed.” She waved toward the door; Cayne led the way, probably more out of fear than kindness. When the door was shut, Meredith walked over to Julia and put both hands on her shoulders, the way a parent might do to a child having a tantrum.

  “How ya holding up?”

  And Julia could tell from her softening eyes that Meredith was figuring it out for herself, using her special “sensing” ability.

  Julia took a step back, making a face. “Why don’t you tell me?”

  “Or me,” Carlin put in, hugging a pillow to her chest. “I need to know what’s what.”

  Meredith shook her pretty head. “I’m not spilling anybody’s secrets. But I will cast one vote in favor of Julia staying in the room with Cayne while Drew gets a hot shower for the pulled muscle he’s been whining about and you, Edan, and I go check the roof for tigers.”

  Julia smirked in a very Cayne-like way, then wiped the expression off her face; she wouldn’t have his smirky Cayne-li-ness rubbing off on her. “Are you sending me to boyfriend therapy?”

  “I think she is. You need it, grouch.” Carlin chucked the pillow at her, and she and Meredith headed for the door. Mer turned around and mouthed ‘talk to him,’ and half a minute later, Cayne stepped in.