My mom was dusting when I got home, and since the apartment is so small she can dust the entire space in less than an hour, I figured she was just nervous. Still upset about our fight, I managed a small smile, but it probably looked forced, and I headed toward my room, thinking I needed to empty my gym bag and get started on my homework so I could do what Cadence and Aaron had asked me to do. If she wanted me to tell her about the meeting, she’d have to ask. I wasn’t the one who’d asked her to look over the data.
“Well?” Mom inquired, following me into my bedroom. I was leaned over, picking up my bag, and zipped past her out the door to dump my dirty clothes in the hamper for really stinky clothes I keep in the bathroom.
“Well what?” I asked, flying back around her before she even moved out of my room.
“Well, how did the meeting go? Did I do it right? Is that what they needed?”
“Yeah, it was fine
Closing my laptop, I tried to calm myself down. My heart rate was still faster than normal, even though I was over the initial wave of adrenaline the fight had caused. In the silence around me, I could easily hear the rest of the apartment. My mom was in the other room crying. Part of me wanted to run out and tell her I’m sorry, that I’m still her little girl, and I didn’t mean to be such a horrible brat. Part of me was glad she was so upset. She deserved it, after all. There was no reason for her to stick her nose in my business all the time.I turned on some soothing music to cover the sounds of my mother’s soft sobs and closed my eyes. I needed to figure out who this Daunator person was, and I needed to reach out to Larundel and see if I could find any Vampires that were still there. When Paul attacked, I wanted him to have as much information as possible. Not only was he my cousin, but we were linked now that I had been in his mind so frequently, p
A knock on my bedroom door startled me, and I realized I had heard it with my ears, and it wasn’t some mind trick. “Yeah?” I asked. When my sister stuck her head in, I was relieved. At least it wasn’t my mom.“Hey? You all right? I’ve sent you a couple of messages.” She walked in and flipped on the light switch. It had gotten darker while I was in Melbourne, though the clock told me it had only taken a half hour this time.“I’m fine. Just....” I shook my head, not sure how to tell her everything. “I couldn’t get anything useful.”“Oh.” She was disappointed. She smiled and nodded, but I knew the team had gotten used to having me as a resource, and I’d failed them.“Daunator may have stolen all of my thoughts, and Holland has some giant wall around Larundel.”“Yeah, we’ve seen it from surveillance footage,” she replied, misund
I slept well that night, despite the research I’d done regarding my newest scheme. Brandon and I hadn’t chatted for long because he was still trying to convince his dad to let him go through with the procedure. I knew Elliott would cave, so when I woke up to a message that Brandon would meet me at 7:30 to walk over to the facility to get it done, I wasn’t surprised at all.My mom was dusting again when I came out of the bathroom, towel drying my hair. I wondered if we should buy stock in Pledge. “Good morning, honey. You’re up awfully early.”“Yeah, no training today,” I replied. “Aurora is having her procedure done. So is Brandon.”“Oh.” I was surprised my sister hadn’t mentioned any of this to my parents. “Are you going over there, then?”“If that’s all right,” I replied, thinking it wouldn’t hurt to be polite. I was still upset at her, but
By the time my sister walked in, everyone was on their cots, and the Healers were meeting in the back of the room, talking about who would administer what to whom. I heard Jamie mention he had some extra syringes, just in case something happened, like a spill or a drop. “It can get a little violent,” he said, and I wondered what made him say that—until I realized how ferocious my own Transformation had been. I realized Tara’s had been, too, though Cadence and Elliott had undergone theirs with some form of grace. I had an idea Aaron’s had been pretty vicious, too.“How are you?” Cadence asked Brandon.“Never better,” my boyfriend replied dryly.“You’ll be fine.”He nodded and looked at the door. I was about to ask Cadence if she had any idea where Elliott was when it flew open and he rushed in. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, stopping next to Brandon’s bed. “Go
Across the room, a bloodcurdling scream cut through the relative silence, and I looked over to see Meagan thrashing around uncontrollably. My sister moved to help, as well as Shane, who hadn’t undergone the procedure yet, and everyone shifted that direction.Brandon settled down about the same time that Aurora started crying. Since Jamie was preoccupied with the disturbance around Meagan and Ashley, who wasn’t screaming, but was shaking, I took a few steps around the end of Brandon’s bed undetected.The entire room erupted into chaos as one by one the patients burst into sobs, violent shaking, or screaming. While it made me want to smile to see Christian crying, I tried not to focus on that. When Jamie looked away concerned about Meagan and Shane, I had my opportunity.Meagan was starting to calm when Dr. Morrow injected Shane. The bulky Guardian knocked the physician across the room, and Jamie hurried over to keep him from hitting the ground.
I’ve never been in one of those sensory deprivation chambers—the ones where people float around in salt water so they can use their superpowers, or just get in touch with their inner self—but I imagined this is what that must feel like. Coming back to my body after the second Transformation serum application can only be described as otherworldly. Every fiber of my being seemed to be vibrating on a higher plane. It was both religious and supernatural at the same time.I was aware of voices before I even opened my eyes, and it caught my attention that they sounded alarmed. I could hear Brandon and my sister for certain, and then Jamie and Elliott. In the back of my mind, I was aware that I would likely be in huge trouble for what I’d just done, but before I was even fully conscious, I knew it was worth it. Something had changed... everything had changed. And it was for the better. I can’t describe how powerful I felt, but I knew the next time I fac
Everyone walked out into the hallway, though it took more than a nudge from my sister to get my mother walking in the right direction.Once they were gone, I swung my feet over the side of the bed, and Jamie took out his stethoscope. He paused to shake his head, I assumed at me at first, but then my sister asked for visuals through my IAC, and I thought perhaps he was telling her no. I allowed it. I needed to know someone was with me right now, and even though I love Jamie, he’s not my family. I was about to see if this was as worth it as I thought it was.Jamie listened to my heart and took my pulse, listened to me breathe, whatever doctors do with stethoscopes, and then he said, “Your pulse is a little slower than usual, but everything sounds okay. How do you feel?”“Weird,” I admitted. I moved my hand in front of my face, expecting the super speed I’d seen from the others who had undergone this procedure, and while mine was
When I opened my eyes, Jamie looked concerned, and I glanced down, realizing I was clutching my abdomen. I imagined my arm had moved into that position while I was in Holland’s head. I wondered how long I had been gone. “Are you okay?” Jamie asked.“I’m okay,” I assured him. “But Holland isn’t. She’s having the baby. She’s unconscious right now, but while I was in her head, I could feel it. That’s never happened before. Also, I spent some time with Hines. It’s different now. I can access their thoughts a lot more quickly than I could before. I tried making him do something.” Jamie didn’t speak, but his eyebrows shot up in curiosity. “He looked like he was getting ready to do a surgical procedure, like maybe he was going to deliver the baby, and I wanted to see if I could get him to do what I wanted, so I had him take one of the scalpels and cut a hunk of his hair off. It really freaked h
Cadence was glowing, holding both of her babies, one in each arm. I smiled at her and then focused on Josephina. She wasn’t crying now, but her little face was wrinkled as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Aaron had his hand on her back, beaming with pride as he looked at his little family. Jamie and another Healer, Ona, were cleaning up a tray table, but I caught his eye, and he winked at me. I hoped he could tell how grateful I was. If it wasn’t for him and his life saving blue magical healing powers, not to mention his medical skills, Cadence never would’ve come back to life.“Where’s my new favorite lil girl?” Elliott asked beside me.“Hey! I’m your lil girl. You’re going to have to think of something else to call her.” I threw an elbow at him.“Oh, I’m just teasing,” Elliott assured me. “Still, she is definitely lil. And she is my girl.”“I&rsqu
I’ll never forget the day my sister died. Even now, eight months later, sitting outside of Jamie’s operating room with Brandon’s hand in mine, every time I think about what happened that day, I get tears in my eyes. So many things could’ve gone differently, if only one of us would’ve made a different choice. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on what I could’ve done differently myself that day, and even though everyone tells me there’s no point in dwelling on it, what’s done is done, it still haunts me sometimes when I’m trying to fall asleep at night, when I can so vividly see Cadence hanging there in the air before she plummeted to the ground, the whoosh of power that left my hand just missing its mark.The new Hunter Leader is a guy named Daniel Bower. He came in from California a few months ago. He’s awesome. I’ve known him for a while. He’s the one who helped capture Professor Stewart after th
I continued to beg and plead with her to come back to us. At fifteen minutes, Scarlet’s whispers were loud enough for me to detect what she was saying to Cale. “How long will he give it?”“I don’t know.” Cale seemed agitated and upset, certainly more connected to my sister than Scarlet. “Not yet.”“Please... Cadey, please.” I felt as far and as deep as I could, thinking about how I’d had to go so very far into her brain to plant that dream. The clock continued to tick. Cadence still wasn’t breathing, and Jamie began to sound desperate. At twenty-five minutes, when Jamie said “thirty,” his voice broke. He knew that the chances of her coming back to us now, after this long, were minute at best. He couldn’t give up, though. We couldn’t give up.Aaron blew two breaths of air into my sister’s lungs, and Jamie started counting again.Something was diff
After Aaron finally moved forward, I followed, staying back a little bit. I didn’t want to see her like that. I had never seen a person’s body after they’ve fallen that far, but I could imagine what it was like.Only when I finally did take a few hesitant steps around the trees, Brandon’s hands on my shoulders, she didn’t look like I expected her to at all.Cadence was lying flat on the ground with her hands folded over her abdomen, sort of like Snow White. Her feet were out straight, and her hair was blown out around her. She looked absolutely beautiful. And still. So very, very still.Jamie was doing chest compressions, and when it was time to breathe, Aaron did that for my sister. Some sort of automatic pilot must’ve turned on for him because his movements were very robotic. Jamie would say thirty, and Aaron would breathe into my sister’s open mouth twice before Jamie started counting again.Tears were rolling
“No!” My scream echoed across the mountainside as I watched in horror as my sister fell. I cannot guide what I cannot see, and I didn’t have a chance to get a grip on her before she plummeted. My hands shot out in her direction, but the surge of power I’d sent to grab her went over her head. I saw a streak of blue do the same and knew Jamie had missed as well.Fumbling through Cadence’s stream of consciousness, I tried again, hoping I’d be able to figure out how to get my powers around her before she hit the ground, but she was moving too fast, and without my eyes on her, I wouldn’t be able to get a grip.Part of me wanted to at least jump into her head, to be with her, to let her know she was okay, but then, the thought of what she was about to endure, when she hit the tops of the trees and then cascaded down through them to the earth, I couldn’t bear the thought, and I knew she wouldn’t want me to see it.I
“Brandon!” I shouted, floating over to where he had disappeared. He didn’t answer, and I realized he must’ve fallen all the way in. “Dang it.” I looked around the battlefield. I knew he was safe down there, but I hated that he was in that miserable place. Cadence was firing at Daunator now while Christian moved in, to place the grenade, I assumed, so I thought perhaps she’d be safe for a few minutes. I decided to help Brandon.“Are you all right?” I asked, using my telepathy.“Thank goodness,” he thought, probably not even to me. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just really dark in here.”“I know. Hold on, and I’ll get you out.”“If I hold on, won’t it be harder for you to get me out?”“All right smarty pants.” I needed to focus all of my energy if I was going to do this
“You okay?” Brandon shouted to me as he moved a little closer to where I was standing. The holes in the ground were not shaking now as much as they had been before, but they were still an obstacle we had to consider. I didn’t want him to get too close because of my tornadoes, but I was glad he was nearby.“Great,” I called back, sending another pile of creatures over the side of the mountain.Aaron was fighting his way through the crowd of black creatures, working his way to Cadence. The path was getting clearer, as far as the minions were concerned, but once he got within about a hundred yards of Cadence’s location, one of the Vampires that had been engaged with our forces closer to the top of the mountain broke off, clearly on his way to intercept the Guardian Leader.Whether he liked it or not, Aaron wasn’t alone now. I wasn’t sure where she’d come from, but Eliza was running parallel to him, fighting off
Moving the black creatures off of the ledge worked well, and I was just starting my second round when I realized my sister had taken off running toward Daunator. Christian had reached him already, a grenade in his hand. I prayed he didn’t get sucked down into another hole. The fact that Cadence was so far away from Aaron was worrisome, but he was busy with the creatures. While Cadence was slowed a few times by the minions sinking their teeth into her arm or grabbing at her heels, for the most part, they seemed to be letting her through, which seemed like a bad sign to me. Did Daunator want her to fight him?A blast of light illuminated the mountain, and then a wave of smoke obscured my view of Christian and Daunator. He’d thrown a grenade, the old kind, the ones he knew wouldn’t work. When the smoke cleared, Daunator’s laughter echoed through the air, and Christian went flying twenty feet in the air.Paul’s voice came over the IAC as I tos
Christian’s eyes widened. “Get out of here? We can’t. We have to get Daunator.”“We will. But for now, we need to go back and regroup. The most important thing is that you’re safe now,” Cadence explained to him.Christian was starting to freak out again. “No, Cadence, you don’t understand. We can’t just leave from here! We can’t just let him go!” His eyes were wild, and he reached forward and grabbed my sister’s shoulders. That lasted about half a second before Aaron grabbed him and pulled him off.“Listen, Christian, I agree. It’s important we come back and end this, but you need medical attention. And a good visit with Hannah.”And a shower, I thought to myself. But I was staying out of this one for the moment. I felt a stirring in the ground and a shift in energy somewhere further up the mountain. The argument was about to be moot.“No,