Ethon (The Other Worlds Series Book 2) (20 page)

“This is it?” Will sat in the chair beside Olinia, dropping his hands onto the armrest.

She nodded. “Now we wait.”

You’re smarter than I thought.

I want to ride in a wagon!

What time is it?

A book club would make a nice hobby.

Olinia groaned, shutting her eyes as she tried to lock out the minds that enveloped her. For some reason, the quieter the place the louder people thought. There were too many people thinking rather than talking. Speech was easier to dismiss as white noise than internal monologues.

“You alright?”

Will’s voice brought her eyes open. He was watching her with a concerned look on his face. She winced. “Sorry, I’m struggling to ignore everyone.”

“Are you hearing everyone in the building?” He raised an eyebrow. “What’s it like?”

“It’s awful,” she replied. “I know things about complete strangers that no one should.”

“Like what?”

Olinia sighed and began describing the conversations as they came to her. “A kid’s reading Curious George and I think something about a wagon. Two high-schoolers are making-out, blissfully assuming their parents will never find out that they’re dating. The old librarians are chatting about some book club they want to start for local singles, and a couple of college students are studying on the main level for a history test.”

“Is that all?” Will chuckled.

“I guess the library isn’t very busy today.” She grunted.

“Your gift has grown stronger.”

She let out a short laugh. “I used to work to get inside of people’s heads. Now, I work to get out of them.”

“Does it frustrate you?”

“Most of the time,” Olinia admitted. “But it’s not all bad. I’ve learned most of my knowledge on Ethon culture from listening to people’s thoughts. And I never seem to need a GPS. There’s always some guy around with a map of the area in his head.”

Last chance to run
. Hillary warned herself as her inner voice joined the others swarming in Olinia’s head. She was nervous to join them downstairs.

Olinia glanced at Will. “She’s here.”

He straightened slightly in his seat. “Is she on her way down to us?”

“Yeah, she is.”

A couple minutes later, Hillary appeared from behind one of the shelves. When she was close enough for them to hear her without having to raise her voice, she said, “I think you should know that you’re all over the web right now.”

Olinia winced. “What?”

Hillary lowered into a chair opposite of Olinia and Will. Her eyes briefly scanned the cherry coffee table that separated her from them. “Some guy managed to record the ground rolling beneath his feet on his phone at the university. Even though you weren’t in the video, eye witnesses described a thin brunette as the culprit.”

“That’s not too bad. There are a lot of thin brunettes around here.” Olinia relaxed slightly into her chair. “What are they saying about it?”

“That it was either some insane large-scale prank or it was a domestic terrorist attack,” she answered. “But no one seems to know who you are or where to find you, so I don’t really think you have anything to worry about.”

“Fantastic.” Olinia grunted. Web traffic covering her recent display though wasn’t really the sort of news Olinia wanted to hear at the moment.

 “Why does DS want Legann and Olinia so badly?” Will changed the subject, asking the same question Olinia was wondering herself.

An image of Legann walking in a school hallway at a distance suddenly flashed across Hillary’s mind, causing Olinia to stare. Hillary secretly admired her little brother.

“I’m not sure,” Hillary thought and spoke simultaneously. “DS doesn’t usually kidnap its new additions. But then again, people generally just accept the invitation. I don’t know of anyone who’s refused a Seeker until now.”

“A Seeker?” Will repeated.

“Yeah, you met one earlier.” The name
Porter Mires
went through her head. “A Seeker is the term for basically a DS recruiter.”

“I wasn’t under the impression that DS even knew who I was until today.” Olinia’s head was pounding and the adrenaline from yelling at Harney had completely worn off. “Why is it such a big deal to refuse their invite?”

“DS thrives off of new recruits,” Hillary replied. “They want to grab as many of the gifted as possible, so they send out Seekers and loads of commercials to find those that are still young enough to be taught to control their gifts.”

Olinia frowned. “So, DS assumes everyone wants to join their little school?”

“Most are happy to join, until they’re stuck.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “Stuck?”

Hillary’s eyes darted between Olinia and Will. “I told you before that I was the only one who could help you, remember?”

“Yes,” Olinia said slowly.

“That’s because DS controls its students. DS doesn’t allow them to use or even think about their gifts unless a teacher is around. It’s a way to keep students from being discovered by parents, friends, or strangers,” Hillary explained. “DS calls it a safety precaution for the lives of its students, saying that if they were ever discovered the government would do all sorts of tests on them and the whole world would change. But really it’s just to raise up a generation of trained gifted individuals, the like of which the world has never seen.”

Her face reddened slightly before she went on. “You mentioned your brother yelling at me. That little stunt was something DS had us do. It’s to show that as DS students, we’re special and above the Normals. Serena can take on the appearance of others. She uses her gift usually after a normal student moves away, so there’d be no mix-up with the actual student running into her. None of us really want to humiliate the Normals on purpose. It’d be like harming little kids. They can’t fight back.”

“Normals?” Will frowned.

“The ungifted,” Hillary returned.

“Porter didn’t seem to have any trouble discussing his gifts,” Olinia muttered.

“Why does DS want a generation of gifted individuals?” Will asked.

“Porter’s not a student anymore,” Hillary told Olinia. “He’s a Seeker. At DS, Seekers can basically do whatever they want as long as they find more gifted kids. By the time students become Seekers, they’re already brainwashed enough to do whatever DS wishes without much of a fight.” To Will, she said, “I’ve wondered the same thing for over a year now. It makes me nervous how much control DS has over their gifted.”

“How does DS control people?” Will was still frowning.

“And what about you?” Olinia pointed out.

Pink touched Hillary’s cheeks again. “This is where my gift comes into play. It allows me to avoid DS limitations without them knowing.”

Will’s brow furrowed. “What’s your gift?”

“I can show you.” She extended her hand to Will. “Can I borrow your cell?”

“Where’s yours?” Olinia asked.

“In the car,” she answered as Will slipped his phone into her hand. “It’s too tempting to play with it for me to have it all the time.”

“Why is it wrong for you to play with it?” Will said, watching her.

“The way I play is wrong.” Hillary threw a quick scan of the empty basement before holding out her hand in front of her, the phone flat on her palm. “Watch.”

Will leaned back in his seat, waiting. All at once, the smartphone came to life, flickering between multiple images. It was as if someone were skimming through a bunch of different apps, except no one was touching the screen. Will stared, transfixed. He tossed a glance at Olinia and saw her inspecting it as well.

“My gift is electricity,” Hillary confessed, smiling slightly to herself. “I can jump start a car by touching it, drain a whole neighborhood of power by snapping my fingers, talk to electronic devices, and catch lightning with my hands.”

“I couldn’t understand your thoughts when you did that.” Olinia sounded as if she were in awe, her eyes still on Will’s phone. “Controlling electricity – I wondered if it were possible.”

“My thoughts?” Hillary blinked and the phone’s screen went black again.

Olinia nodded. “It’s another one of my gifts. I can hear people’s thoughts.”

“How does DS control people?” Will repeated his previous question to Hillary.

Suddenly, Olinia cried out beside him, clutching her left arm to her chest. Hillary jumped to her feet and took a step towards Olinia, obviously surprised. Will grimaced. He knew what would follow. He stood and grasped onto Olinia’s shoulder, nodding for Hillary to do the same. “Come with us.”

“Where are you going?” Hillary gripped Olinia’s right arm, just as Olinia lifted her left. Blue light erupted from Olinia’s fingertips and then spread outward, creating a new scene.

:  :  :  :  :

“Well, this feels familiar,” Tiara muttered, tilting her head back against the side of the now moving van. She was sitting on the van’s floor beside Archrin and across from Sazx. All of their handcuffs had been removed – not that they had ever really needed the restraints since they’d surrendered willingly.

Archrin rubbed his eyes with his hands. “I swear you trap trouble like a fly in honey.”

“What is Lady Aeorin doing outside of Relivaynt?” Sazx asked.

“You know her?” Archrin glanced up.

“Just by reputation,” Sazx replied. “We have never met.”

“She thinks I’m Olinia.” Tiara knew they already knew this but felt like bringing the topic up. “I guess it makes sense. In Aeorin’s mind, there’s only one person who looks like Olinia, and that’s Olinia. She has no idea I exist.”

“Who was her friend?” Sazx frowned. “He seemed to know the princess.”

“I don’t know,” she answered. Then, remembering her Globing escapade with Olinia and Will, she said, “Aeorin’s supposed to be getting married to Talik the Velvitor. Why would she be here in Ethon?”

Sazx grunted. “Talik must have received his wish.”

“What do you mean?” Archrin furrowed his brow.

“Talik used Dagon’s Nagreth to attack Relivaynt,” Sazx told them. “He wanted Aeorin to be forced into the role of his new bride. Who else would be the king that she spoke of?”

Tiara let out a short laugh, remembering her Globing trip with Olinia and Will. “She didn’t need much forcing. She almost suggested it herself. If she’s here in Ethon, Talik’s got to be the one who sent her here. But how would Aeorin know that Olinia is here too?” Tiara ran her tongue along the back of her teeth. “Why do I get the feeling I’m being pulled into something I shouldn’t be?”

“Legann was in here,” Archrin said it almost matter-of-factly.

“What?” Tiara blinked.

“Legann was in here,” he repeated.

“Do you smell him?” Tiara found it hard to believe that Legann had been in the back of a van recently, especially one belonging to Aeorin.

Archrin nodded. “There’s a hint of his scent on the floor.”

“Only a hint?” She frowned. “Are you sure he was really here? A hint isn’t much to go off of.”

“Maybe not for a Saerd,” he retorted.

“Why would Aeorin want the young Lantz?” Sazx asked before Tiara could make a rebuttal.

“I’d assume for the same reason why she wants Olinia,” Tiara replied. “She wants power over High Royalty.”

“I think you should pretend to be the princess.”

Tiara turned to her fiancé in surprise. “You do?”

“I agree,” Sazx added.

“But I’m not a Wend,” she pointed out. “I can’t do what Olinia can.”

“Feigning to be Olinia may keep you alive longer,” Archrin explained.

“Just me?” She pulled a face.

“Sazx and I are trained soldiers,” Archrin told her. “Even though we may not know Ethon warfare, we are more prepared for a fight than you. Right now, your safety has the greatest risk.”

Tiara sighed, resigned to the idea. “Alright, I’ll be Olinia for as long as I can.”

Just then, the van came to a stop and its engine turned off. Tiara grimaced.
Hopefully I can be convincing,
she grumbled to herself.

Muffled orders were shouted outside and the three Other Worlders shifted in their spots. The van’s back door opened to five of the men in black, their guns pointed at their prisoners. Beyond the men, Tiara could see that it was late afternoon.

“Come on,” one of the men ordered, “out with you.”

Archrin went first, followed by Tiara and then Sazx. The man who had ordered them out lowered his gun to help Tiara down from the van, but raised it again once she’d gained her footing. Tiara was surprised he had helped her at all.

Tiara noticed that the van had deposited them on a wide, flat road with small, red reflectors lining either side. A little ways off in the distance, she could make out a row of buildings.

She frowned. “Where are we?”

“An airport,” Sazx answered from her left.

“You’re taking us on a plane?” Tiara blurted, turning to one of her capturers. “Where are we going?”